Rongguo Mansion, East Courtyard.

Although Mrs. Wang was quite tempted by the small box of treasure, she was not completely foolish.

She didn’t believe that a maid from the Zhen family who came with the dowry had the confidence to give such an expensive gift just because she heard that Baoyu was engaged.

It is said that when you give someone a gift, you must have something in mind.

Besides, the old woman just said that the things in this box are all old items of the Zhen family, heirlooms of the master’s family, and they would not be given to others easily.

Mrs. Wang closed the box with some reluctance and said, “Your gift is quite heavy. I cannot accept it without any reason. I appreciate your kindness.”

Liu Baozheng’s wife laughed and said, “Mrs. Jia is too modest. The Zhen and Jia families have been friends for generations, but now they are far apart and it is inconvenient for them to visit each other frequently.

Now that the Zhen family has arrived in the capital, and learned that your brother is getting married, how could they not come to congratulate him? If my wife knew, she would definitely blame me for being rude.

I’m not afraid of being laughed at by Mrs. Jia. This time, my wife has asked me to go to the capital to handle an important errand. I want to ask for help from my relatives in a noble family.

I have visited all the noble families in Shenjing, and only the Jia family and the Zhen family have a strong friendship, and they are also well-known and highly praised in Shenjing.

I was just thinking of asking Mrs. Jia to take care of this errand I’m doing.”

Mrs. Wang smiled slightly. This old woman finally told the truth. If she didn’t need a favor from others, she would never give away such a bright box of things so easily.

He asked, “What does your wife want from you?”

Liu Baozheng’s wife said, “This matter is of some importance. I originally wanted to go to Rongguo Mansion to find your Second Madam Lian to make peace, but after thinking it over, I felt that it was not a good idea.

When I was at home, I heard that Second Lady Lian was Mrs. Jia’s niece, and was also taught by Mrs. Jia herself.

Although she is now the head of Rongguo Mansion, she is still a young generation after all, and is not as respected as Mrs. Jia.

I thought about what my wife had told me to do, but I didn’t dare to be careless at all.

If you want to find someone to help you, you should find the most influential person to avoid taking a detour or causing unnecessary trouble.

So I had the nerve to ask for help from Mrs. Jia, and hoped that Mrs. Jia could lend a helping hand.”

……

Liu Baozheng’s wife is also a very shrewd person. She knows that the first and second branches of the Jia family are a family once they close the door.

Sooner or later, the fact that I had asked Wang Xifeng for help would be revealed to Mrs. Wang.

Rather than letting her know about it later and creating a rift, it would be better for me to just keep it vague so that I can use it as excuse later…

After listening to Liu Baozheng’s words, which only belittled Wang Xifeng and praised her, Mrs. Wang felt very comfortable because it was exactly what she wanted.

He smiled and said, “Feng girl is quite capable. I was the one who taught her the ways of housekeeping. But she is still young after all. This is the truth.

You are also an adult, and you think things through carefully and thoughtfully, but I don’t know what exactly it is?”

Liu Baozheng’s words were clever and just the right amount of excitement, which made Mrs. Wang enjoy it and even eager to try…

When she saw Mrs. Wang’s expression, she felt that the time had come for her words.

He said: “This is a long story. Last year, something happened in the Zhen family’s eldest branch, and my wife’s third son was suddenly murdered.

The death of a person is already a tragedy for the family. The Jinyiwei investigated old cases and said that the third young master was involved in the private manufacturing of muskets during his lifetime.

The Zhen family is a family that always does good deeds, so they have never been involved in these things. The third young master is no longer around, so how can they defend themselves?

This matter lasted for several months, and the Third Young Master was convicted by the government, and even my master was implicated.

Even though the Zhen family is a century-old clan and has a foundation accumulated over several lifetimes, this one incident will not cause them to fall apart.

But my wife had lost her own son, and she was extremely sad and frightened.

I always think about how to make up for my mistakes and leave some way out for my descendants.

This time, my wife’s brothers and I were asked to come to Beijing, firstly to smooth over some relationships and to give some exoneration to the deceased Third Young Master, so as to avoid disturbing the deceased’s spirit.

There is one more important thing…”

……

East courtyard, inner courtyard, Tanchun’s room.

Tanchun packed her belongings and changed into a pink magnolia embroidered double-breasted jacket, paired with a light green pleated skirt, which made her waist look even more slender and graceful.

He went to the outer study room again, ground ink and picked up a pen to write on two pieces of rice paper on the large rosewood marble desk, feeling quite comfortable and relaxed.

Cui Mo brought over some tea and said with a smile, “The Third Master really loves you, and when he renovated the East Road Courtyard, he specially chose this place for you to live in.

In order to make the girl live comfortably, a lot of effort was put into renovating the house, imitating the girl’s residence in the West Mansion.

Even this rosewood marble desk was purchased exactly like the desk in the young lady’s west mansion.”

After hearing Cui Mo’s words, Tanchun felt pleased and proud. She smiled, looking very pretty and charming.

The East Courtyard is much smaller than the West and East Courtyards, but when Jia Cong was renovating the East Courtyard, he thought that Tanchun would come to stay for a while in the future.

He and Tanchun had been close since childhood and had a tacit understanding. When he renovated the East Courtyard, he had some selfish motives, hoping that Tanchun would live more comfortably in the future.

Therefore, we chose two connected rooms facing the sun, with elegant views, on the right side of the inner courtyard.

The reason why he chose a place on the right was that according to family etiquette, Jia Zheng and his wife, and their eldest son Baoyu would not stay in this position.

In accordance with Tanchun’s love for Xuanlang, he asked the craftsmen to connect the two side rooms and decorate them like Tanchun’s old residence in Rongguo Mansion, so that she would not seem awkward and distant when she returned.

……

Cui Mo placed Cha Wan on the desk and said, “Now that the family has Third Master to support it, it is more prosperous than before.

The girl has always been close to the Third Master, and the Third Master loves the girl so much. Now their life is really good.

The girl is approaching the age of marriage, and she hopes that she will meet a suitable marriage partner in the future, who will love her as much as the Third Master does, so that her life will be complete.

We, the people around the girl, like her and will have a happy ending in our lives.”

After hearing what Cui Mo said, Tanchun couldn’t help but blush and said angrily, “You must be crazy today, you suddenly said such crazy things.”

Tanchun is the same age as Daiyu, but she is younger. She is already past the age of 14, and the buds on the branches are about to burst, and her heart is filled with love.

It was not uncommon for me to touch upon the topic of marriage when chatting with my personal maid in the boudoir.

So when Cui Mo said this, she was a little shy, but she didn’t care.

Cui Mo said, “I see that the young lady is kind-hearted, and she is living a very comfortable life in the East Palace with the company of the Third Master and other young ladies.

But he still wanted to honor his master and teach his brothers.

The girl’s mind is on the family, I think in the future when she has big things to do, the family should all take care of her. “

……

When Tanchun heard this, she was slightly stunned. Shishu and Cuimo were both her personal maids. They were destined to follow her for the rest of her life and would also marry with her in the future.

Therefore, it is common for personal maids in wealthy families to care about the marriage of their mistresses, after all, it affects their whole life.

The young lady and her personal maid are together day and night, so there are some things that do not need to be said out loud, as they know each other well.

When Tanchun and the maids were in the East Palace, they lived a comfortable and worry-free life every day. Who would think about any hidden worries?

But as soon as they returned to the East Courtyard, Cui Mo suddenly said these words. The little girl was not cunning and was naturally touched, so she said them casually.

Tanchun suddenly remembered that she had just entered the inner courtyard and had no time to return to her room, so she took her maid to pay her respects to Mrs. Wang first.

He was polite and respectful to Lady Wang, but his stepmother had a dull expression on her face. She didn’t seem to care about his return and seemed to be indifferent to him.

I think the maid also sensed the hidden coldness, which is why she suddenly said such words…

Tanchun knew the reason to some extent. Ever since her third brother inherited the title of Rong State, her stepmother had been filled with resentment, but she could do nothing about it, and it had become a mental illness.

In addition, over the past year, his second elder brother had repeatedly gotten into trouble and each time he ended up in a very embarrassing situation. The servants in the two mansions gossiped and ridiculed him in secret.

How could these rumors not reach the ears of my stepmother? She would think that my second brother’s words and deeds were absurd.

I just think that the third brother is gaining power day by day, taking advantage of the family, hindering and suppressing the second brother, which is why he has fallen to such a state.

Originally, my stepmother was quite nice to me, and she did not show the contempt and indifference that the first wife showed to my second sister.

But no one expected that the situation at home would change so drastically.

She has always been close to her third brother. Now that they live in the East Palace, the brother and sister are company every day.

If the second brother was as proud as the third brother, the stepmother would naturally not care, but the opposite happened.

In this world, there are people who love someone and love his dog, and there are also people who hate everyone else.

After such a long time, my stepmother would secretly feel resentful towards me. How could she be happy with me…

……

But Tanchun absolutely could not afford to alienate herself from her third brother, accommodate her stepmother’s private thoughts, and go against her own feelings.

She thought that her biological mother was a useless person who could barely take care of herself in the rear house. It would be impossible for her to get her biological mother’s support for her future marriage.

In the inner courtyard and backyard of a wealthy family, the mistress and the stepmother are as powerful as the sky, and illegitimate sons do not have too many concerns because they can continue the bloodline.

However, the marriage future of a concubine’s daughter is almost decided by the mother-in-law. When Tanchun thought of this, her heart trembled a little… Although she was good friends with her third brother, even if her third brother was the head of the family, it would be extremely difficult for him to go beyond her mother-in-law under the clan law and etiquette.

……

Just when Tanchun was feeling worried, she saw the maid Shishu hurried into the room.

Tanchun asked, “You came back so soon, but you came back empty-handed. Didn’t you find anything?”

The secretary said in a hurry: “Miss, I didn’t go to the East Palace to get something. I just left the palace and encountered a strange thing, so I came back.”

Tanchun asked curiously, “What happened to you that made you run back halfway without taking anything?”

The secretary said, “Miss, I just walked to the main gate and was about to go to the west corner gate when I saw a carriage parked at the gate that looked unfamiliar.

I casually asked the gatekeeper if there was a guest visiting the master. The gatekeeper said that there was indeed a guest, but not to visit the master, but to visit the mistress.

The servant also said that the visitor was a member of the Jinling Zhen family. I became suspicious and did not dare to go out. “

When Tanchun heard this, her heart beat suddenly and her pretty face changed color slightly. As a smart person like her could naturally think of what the secretary could think of.

She murmured to herself: “The women of the Zhen family, the Zhen family is far away in Jinling, where did so many women come from in Shenjing? Could it be that the person who went to the West Mansion yesterday…”

The secretary said, “I have the same idea as the young lady. I heard the Third Master talking in the ear room yesterday. The matter of the Zhen family hiding the silver is very dangerous.

I was worried that I had made a mistake, so I went to the main hall of the outer courtyard.

Just then, she met a maid who was serving tea. After she found out that the visitor was a maid who came with the dowry from the eldest wife of the Zhen family, she knew the truth about it to be 70% certain.

I deliberately passed by the corridor outside the main hall, and heard an old woman saying that the eldest master had been murdered, and that the Jinyiwei were involved in firearms and so on.

The Third Master also said something similar yesterday, so this was absolutely true, and that’s why he rushed over to tell the girl.

The Zhen family is really mean. They went to the West Mansion to mess around yesterday, but were sent back by the Second Mistress. Today, they came to the East Courtyard to seduce the Mistress. How despicable! “

After hearing this, Tanchun could no longer sit still, and stood up and said, “I think the Zhen family is desperate and has to find a place to hide the money.

The more they try to make trouble and the more they won’t give in, the more we should not provoke them. But the master happened to be out and there was no one in charge at home.

If the Madam is really fooled by that old woman and accepts the money from the Zhen family, and the news gets out and something goes wrong, not only the Master will suffer, but even the Third Brother will be implicated.

Shishu, go to the East Palace and tell my third brother that I will go to the main hall now. We can’t let that old woman mess around in front of the Madam…”

……

East Courtyard, the main hall of the outer courtyard.

Liu Baozheng’s family explained the matter of hiding the silver in a tactful and obscure way.

Since she was rejected in the West Mansion, she became more cautious in her words around Mrs. Wang.

The risk of hiding the silver was downplayed, and it was only said that the Zhen family was in temporary trouble and there was nothing to worry about, and it was just to leave a way out in case of emergency.

Mrs. Wang lived in the inner house and knew little about what was happening outside.

But that morning, all the ministers impeached the Zhen family, and Emperor Jiazhao ordered a strict investigation into the Zhen family’s case, which caused a huge uproar.

Although Jia Zheng was not qualified to attend court meetings, he listened to his colleagues’ detailed explanation of the matter.

Since the Zhen family and the Jia family are both aristocratic families in Jinling, the two families have had exchanges for generations, and last year because of the palace’s arranged marriage, the two families almost became in-laws.

Therefore, Jia Zheng took this matter very seriously and mentioned it to Mrs. Wang once after returning home. Mrs. Wang knew that the Zhen family was in trouble at the moment.

Therefore, after Liu Baozheng’s family explained the situation, Mrs. Wang was a little hesitant about collecting the Zhen family’s private silver.

But Liu Baozheng’s eloquence made the matter sound risk-free, which made her tempted.

Mrs. Wang was also from an aristocratic family, so naturally, like Wang Xifeng, she had heard many anecdotes about aristocratic families. It was common for aristocratic families to hide their wealth to protect themselves when their family fell into poverty…

When Liu Baozheng’s wife saw that Mrs. Wang looked hesitant, she thought of what happened in the West Mansion yesterday and her heart was in her throat.

He said in a somewhat urgent tone, “Mrs. Jia, don’t worry too much. Even if the things are placed in the mansion first, the matter must be kept secret and difficult for outsiders to know.

Even if outsiders heard the rumors and wanted to make trouble, the name of the Zhen family was not engraved on these treasures and gold and silver.

How can you still insist that it is something from the Zhen family? Madam only said it was a collection from the mansion, so how can others tell the difference…”

Liu Baozheng’s words were very bold. She was also desperate and was taking a gamble.

When Mrs. Wang heard this, her heart began to beat wildly, and her tense mind suddenly relaxed a lot…

Liu Baozheng’s wife continued, “This small box of items is just a wedding gift for your brother.

Before she left, my wife told us that the Zhen family would be very grateful to Mrs. Jia for her help and would definitely give her a generous reward.”

After hearing these words, Mrs. Wang became even more excited. She had just heard from Liu Baozheng’s family that a total of thirteen large boxes were shipped this time.

Mrs. Wang glanced at the small box on the table. The Zhen family had expressed their interest in the box, which contained jewels and valuables worth four or five thousand taels.

How much silver are those thirteen large boxes worth…

……

At this time, Liu Baozheng’s family’s several words had really broken down Mrs. Wang’s defenses.

She thought of Liu Baozheng’s family who were worried that Wang Xifeng was too young to be useful, so this time she specifically looked for someone of her seniority.

If she didn’t dare to accept the money, the old woman would turn to Wang Xifeng. If Feng accepted the money, she would become a joke in the Jia family.

The old woman returned to Jinling and said that among Jinling’s elderly relatives, she would become the object of ridicule by others.

Such a shameful thing would never be allowed to happen, given Mrs. Wang’s foresight.

Moreover, the fact that Liu Baozheng’s family had no inscriptions on the silver made Mrs. Wang have many wild thoughts.

If something bad really happened to the Zhen family, these thirteen large boxes would become ownerless…

Ever since the Second House lost its power and was forced out of Rongguo Mansion, Madam Wang felt extremely humiliated and had been holding back her anger, unable to breathe straight…

And her Baoyu, the legitimate son and grandson of the Rongguo mansion, such a noble and outstanding person, is so short of money even to get married, which is really sad.

Why must their second branch suffer such humiliation? Why can’t they be like that kid from the East Mansion, who enjoys all the glory of the family every day?

When Mrs. Wang thought about this, she became more courageous and more determined.

He said with emotion: “The Liu family and the Jia Zhen family are old friends in Jinling. They have been friends for several lifetimes. It is only natural for them to help each other. This matter…”

Mrs. Wang was about to say something like “it is our duty” or “it is our responsibility to lend a helping hand.”

Suddenly, footsteps were heard at the main hall door, and a clever and sharp voice came: “Madam, this is inappropriate, please think twice!”

……

When Liu Baozheng’s wife saw that Mrs. Wang had softened her tone and knew that she was going to agree to this matter, she couldn’t help but feel ecstatic.

The thirteen boxes she brought from Jinling were not filled with huge troves of gold and silver, but extremely hot potatoes.

She was eager to get rid of it as soon as possible so that she could return to Jinling safely. As for what happened afterwards, she let it go and could not take any action.

As soon as Mrs. Wang said yes, she would strike while the iron was hot and quickly send the box to the east courtyard, and everything would be fine.

I never dreamed that at this critical moment, someone would actually speak. I didn’t see the person, but his voice was sharp, and it was obvious that he was going to do something bad!

She looked back and saw a young girl coming in. She was pretty, with narrow shoulders and a thin waist, tall and well-built, and she stood tall and graceful with an elegant figure.

A pair of bright watery eyes, flashing with a cold look like cutting ice and jade, making people dare not look directly at it.

……

When Mrs. Wang saw Tanchun suddenly barging in, followed by her maid Cui Mo, and speaking unkindly, she wondered how she could save face in front of the women from the noble families.

He frowned and said, “Third girl, I am entertaining guests in the hall. What are you saying? It’s too rude!”

Tanchun’s face turned slightly pale. Her father was not at home today, and her third brother could not come over for the time being.

If I don’t cut in and let my wife verbally agree to the old woman, even if the box cannot be delivered, it will give her something to talk about.

Last time, Baoyu said a few presumptuous words in the inner house. Within two days, the clan office came to reprimand him, causing a big scandal.

The third brother once said that all the nobles and wealthy families in the capital have spies from the imperial chariot department, otherwise Baoyu’s bad words would spread outside.

Once today’s incident is used as a pretext, the danger from the past may recur.

If the commotion continues like last time, and the Censor-in-Chief accuses you of misconduct, then you will no longer be an official and how can you face people in the future?

She thought this through, bit her lips slightly, and said boldly, “Madam, you don’t know, but Aunt Liu from the Zhen family went to the West Mansion yesterday.

He went to Lian’s second sister-in-law to persuade her to hide the boxes of his family’s valuables in the West Mansion. The second sister-in-law knew that the Zhen family was already guilty and was afraid that their property would be searched and they would be convicted.

His private silver is like stolen silver. If our Jia family gets involved with it, we will definitely be charged with a crime by the court and bring disaster to our family.

So my second sister-in-law rejected her yesterday, and this was also what my third brother meant.

I didn’t expect that this Mrs. Liu was so ignorant. She had already rejected the offer from the West Courtyard, but just one day later, she came to the East Courtyard to deceive the lady.

The daughter was worried that her wife would be deceived by her, so even if it was disrespectful in front of her wife, she would stop it. Even if it violated the family rules, she was willing to accept the punishment! “

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang was filled with anger, her face turned pale, and she looked at Tanchun with cold eyes… (End of this chapter)