The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Now, let's talk about the Rongguo Mansion.

Wang Xifeng mustered her energy to handle half a day's household chores. After taking a short nap at noon, she got up and asked if there was anything else to take care of.

Upon hearing the report from the steward's wife, she waved her hand impatiently and said, "Why are you bothering me with such trivial matters as collecting chicken feathers to make a duster? Let Wang's wife and Zhou Rui's wife discuss it and handle it themselves. They don't need to report to me when they're done. Let Lin Zhixiao and his wife give them their approval."

As he spoke, he led Ping'er out of the side hall.

Seeing that this wasn't the way back to Wutong Garden, Ping'er asked curiously, "Grandma, where are you going?"

Wang Xifeng glanced at her sideways, deliberately putting on a stern face, and said, "I'm going to Pear Fragrance Courtyard to exchange you for Xiangling!"

Ping'er knew she was joking, and covered her mouth with a smile, saying, "I'm afraid that while Second Master might be willing to part with me, Madam might not be."

Then she asked, "Grandma, have you figured out how to bring it up?"

Wang Xifeng said confidently, "I'm thinking that if we want Aunt and Baochai to relent, we should focus on Xue Pan's future."

Previously, it was because the Second Master disliked his character and was unwilling to promote him. Now that the Second Master has gone to the Imperial City Guard, it shouldn't be a problem to arrange a sinecure for him.

With a proper official position, it will be easier for the Xue family to arrange marriages in the future.

The master and servant arrived at Pear Fragrance Courtyard and met Aunt Xue and Baochai.

Wang Xifeng explained her thoughts and added, "Since the Second Master hasn't officially taken office yet, I don't want to bother him with matters concerning my maternal relatives. But coincidentally, he came to visit my aunt the other day and went back praising Xiangling's beauty. If my aunt is willing... I reckon this matter should be possible."

They are aunt and niece, so naturally they should call each other "aunt" behind closed doors.

Aunt Xue was overjoyed upon hearing this, and took Wang Xifeng's hand, saying, "If it can secure a future for your brother, I would give up ten or a hundred Xianglings, let alone one!"

As he spoke, he was about to call Xiangling in.

"Mommy~"

Xue Baochai quickly stopped her, saying to Wang Xifeng, "It's certainly a good thing that Sister Feng is willing to promote Xiangling, but Xiangling is still involved in a case that needs to be settled first before we can send her over."

"Is it clean?"

Wang Xifeng was somewhat surprised to hear this: "Wasn't your brother's case supposed to be closed? It was Jia Yucun who helped settle it."

Aunt Xue was also somewhat puzzled, but she always knew that her daughter was clever and resourceful, so she simply waited for Baochai to explain.

Baochai sighed and said helplessly, "I was young at the time and thought the case was over, but now that I think about it, my brother's case is not actually over. It has become a confused and unsolved case."

As she spoke, she recounted how Jia Yucun had lied about Xue Pan's sudden death and then closed the case based on that.

He sighed again, "Now my brother is practically a living dead person on the household registration. Not only is his future hopeless, but what if one day it's exposed..."

Aunt Xue turned pale with fright and exclaimed, "How could this be?! What's wrong with Jia Yucun? Isn't he trying to frame us?!"

Clearly, she hadn't paid any attention to this matter before, assuming that closing the case would be the end of it all. Little did she know that her son would become a living dead!

Wang Xifeng also felt that Jia Yucun had handled the matter improperly, as he had not only ruined Xue Pan's future but also left behind crucial leverage.

Xue Baochai offered a few words of defense for Jia Yucun: "If we don't do this, it will be difficult to resolve the situation. After all, my brother let his servant kill someone in the street. In broad daylight, with so many people talking about it, how easy is it to cover it up?"

As she spoke, Baochai rose and bowed gracefully to Fengjie: "It just so happens that Jia Yucun has now come to the capital. I would like to ask Brother Lian to help me think of a way to eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible."

She had actually been worried about this matter for a long time, but firstly, she didn't want her mother to worry, and secondly, she couldn't think of a suitable solution, so she kept it to herself and never said it.

Now that Wang Xifeng was offering to help Xue Pan secure a future, Baochai readily revealed the truth.

Seeing her daughter pleading, Aunt Xue also looked at Wang Xifeng with a sincere expression.

Wang Xifeng secretly groaned inwardly. She had originally planned to take Xiangling away, and then use the opportunity to curry favor with the Xue family and show off her power.

Who knew the Xue family was hiding such a big problem!

Although maids as beautiful and gentle as Xiangling are rare, she wouldn't take on such a big trouble just for a maid.

Then she looked troubled and said, "My sister also said that this is, after all, letting a servant kill someone in the street. In broad daylight, with everyone talking about it, if it had been handled properly at the time, it would have been fine, but now it's been done so poorly..."

Moreover, our Second Master also has his difficulties. On the surface, he appears to be living a glamorous life, but in reality, he is being used as a pawn by His Majesty. Just yesterday, he was besieged by a group of nobles, and even Prince Bei Jing made sarcastic remarks to his face.

She exaggeratedly recounted Jia Lian's verbal battle with the crowd yesterday.

Then he added, "I'll go back and discuss it with him to see if there's a solution. If it really doesn't work, please don't blame me, Aunt and Sister."

After saying a few more polite words, Sister Feng hurriedly took her leave.

Xue Baochai personally escorted her to the courtyard gate, then pulled Fengjie aside and instructed her, "Sister, you can go back and tell Brother Lian, but please don't spread this around."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng hesitated and said, "What about the Second Madam...?"

"Unlike my sister, my aunt can't make decisions for my uncle, so let's not put her in a difficult position in this matter."

"That's true."

Hearing Baochai say that she was better than Lady Wang, Fengjie couldn't help but feel a little smug, but she still refused to concede on Xue Pan's matter.

After Sister Feng had gone far away, Xue Baochai returned to Pear Fragrance Courtyard.

Seeing Wang Xifeng run away in fright, Aunt Xue became even more panicked, grabbing Baochai and saying anxiously, "What should we do?! What are we going to do now?!"

"Don't worry, Mom."

Xue Baochai held her hand and comforted her, "Several years have passed, and everything has been peaceful. So this matter is not urgent."

Aunt Xue calmed down a little, but she was still frowning and sighing.

In my opinion...

Xue Baochai pondered for a while, then said, "It would be best to leave this matter to Second Brother Lian. Uncle is an upright man and has never liked my brother. He probably won't help with this unless it's a regular thing."

Moreover, according to what Sister Feng just said, Second Brother Lian is now someone His Majesty values, and even a figurehead promoted by His Majesty. There are some things that others cannot do, but he can do.

Aunt Xue naturally trusted her daughter's analysis.

only……

She said worriedly, "Judging from Feng's expression, I'm afraid she doesn't want to get involved in this."

Baochai said, "Let's lay things out first, and then we can discuss the terms later."

"Yes, yes, yes, we can negotiate any terms!"

Aunt Xue nodded vigorously and said through gritted teeth, "We'd give anything to get your brother completely exonerated, even if it meant giving up all our wealth."

"It's not that bad."

Xue Baochai looked down at the gold necklace around her neck and said in a deep voice, "If all else fails, we still have another way to go."

"Another path?"

Aunt Xue hurriedly asked what kind of connection it was.

"My uncle might not be willing to help with the Xue family's affairs, but things would be different if we went a step further."

Xue Baochai lowered her head and fiddled with her gold necklace, saying without joy or sorrow, "Ying'er talked nonsense last spring, saying that the inscription on my necklace and the inscription on Baoyu's jade seemed to be a pair."

"You...you mean to..."

Aunt Xue immediately understood: "You want to strengthen your ties with Baoyu through marriage, and then have your uncle help clean up the mess?"

Baochai looked conflicted, and after a long while shook her head and said, "Baoyu is clearly closer to Lin Daiyu now. I...sigh, we can only take it one step at a time for now."

With Xue Pan's case in the background, Baochai does not meet the requirement of "clean background," so her claim of going to the capital for the imperial concubine selection is just a pretext, and she will eventually find another family to marry.

Previously, she was concerned about the relationship between Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu, and she was also not very satisfied with Jia Baoyu, so she hoped to find a son-in-law who was ambitious.

But if it's for my brother...

Hey~

If only Baoyu could switch temperaments with Lian Erge.