Shenjing, Qingyufang, Xia Mansion.

At the back door of the inner courtyard, apart from the maids sweeping the floor, few people walk around here on a daily basis, so it seems very quiet.

Under the shadow of the big locust tree beside the courtyard wall, Baochan was whispering with a middle-aged woman.

The old woman was forty years old, her clothes were neat and tidy, her face was full of smiles and her expression was shrewd.

Because Mrs. Xia returned home from Tongzhou yesterday, Miss Xia was worried that her mother would find out if she tried to find out the news, and then she would argue with her.

So he asked Baochan to open the back door of the inner courtyard, walk around the mansion, and stop the old woman to talk to her.

Because the matter was a bit complicated, Baochan took up a lot of time. Fortunately, she did not let the old woman sneak into the mansion to look for someone as usual, so as to avoid being exposed in front of Mrs. Xia.

The old woman worked in the Xia family’s shop. She was familiar with the ways of the world and human nature, and could write and keep accounts. She was a shrewd and capable person. It was a good idea for Miss Xia to choose her.

Compared to Mrs. Xu who buys groceries in the kitchen, who only knows how to ask about trivial matters and brags all the time, this old woman who manages the shop is much more thoughtful and reliable.

She talked about what had happened outside in the past two days, how many people had been arrested and imprisoned in the examination cheating case, some committed suicide in prison, some were cleared of the charges and escaped, and the chief examiner involved in the case was demoted to a commoner by the emperor.

Such ups and downs, eye-catching stories, all were narrated by the old woman in a fluent and logical manner, which was quite impressive.

Baochan was also surprised when she heard this, but Baoyu had nothing to do with this story, which made her feel a little regretful. Finally, she asked about the news of Weiyuan Bo of the Jia family.

The old woman continued to speak eloquently, and Baochan’s face changed when she heard it. She asked, “These things are all true. Why did you think of asking about them?”

The old woman smiled apologetically and said, “The young lady told me that our young lady wanted to marry into the second branch of the Jia family, so she inquired about the news of the Weiyuan Earl of the Jia family and knew whether it was appropriate for her to marry into the family.

So I was very careful when I inquired about things, and paid more attention to the second landlord of the Jia family. The affairs of these wealthy and noble families cannot be hidden from others, and I can find out everything with a little inquiry.

Didn’t the Jia family’s second branch and our Xia family discuss marriage? Why did they invite so many officials to come over, and they all brought their wives with them? This is not just playing two games at once, the rich families are really wild…”

……

Miss Xia was waiting in her boudoir until she was getting angry, when she saw Baochan come in with a strange look on her face.

He cursed, “You stupid girl, I asked you to do something, but you kept dilly-dallying. Are you itching for it?”

Baochan was frightened after hearing Miss Xia’s harsh words, and subconsciously took two steps away from her own girl to avoid her getting angry and slapping her in the face.

She said, “Don’t be anxious, young lady. My wife has gone home. I have been trying to catch that old woman Zhang and talk to her. It took me quite some time.”

Baochan knew that her daughter had been acting a little crazy and her temper had become increasingly irritable and angry ever since Mrs. Jia proposed marriage, so she did not dare to delay and told her everything she had heard.

Miss Xia had been confined in the inner courtyard for too long and had long been feeling angry. When she heard about the scandal outside, she was very interested and enjoyed it.

When Baochan said that a scholar committed suicide, nine other scholars were stripped of their titles and would never be employed again.

Miss Xia’s pretty face was filled with joy as she said, “These cheating scholars deserved it. Why did they only kill ten of them? They were all from the same group. It would have been great if there were more. Brother Cong would have gained a lot by being on the list.”

Baochan’s face turned bitter, and he continued, “There was also the one who came in third in the imperial examination. Later, the officials of the Dali Temple interrogated him and said that he had not cheated, so he was acquitted.”

Miss Xia glared at him with her beautiful watery eyes and cursed, “These officials are all good-for-nothings. They arrested him, so they must have caught him on some pretext, but they couldn’t convict him, so they let him go.”

Baochan was puzzled and asked, “I don’t understand what you mean, young lady. If you let him go, then let him go. It’s none of our business. Why are you angry?”

Miss Xia said proudly: “You are a pig-brained person. That person is the third on the list, right behind Congge’er. He is a really strong opponent. If he is disabled, Congge’er will be more likely to become the top scorer.

You can’t even understand such a simple truth, you deserve to be just a little girl.”

After hearing what Miss Xia said, Baochan staggered and almost fell down. She felt so aggrieved that she wanted to cry. She had just spoken and done something nice, but the girl had mocked and belittled her for no reason just for the sake of being a shitty third.

She was quite dissatisfied in her heart. The girl was getting more and more crazy. She really thought of herself as Jia Cong’s wife and actually helped him to calculate all these. Would he appreciate it? She was really meddling in other people’s business…

……

Miss Xia’s thoughts were jumping around a lot, and she suddenly came to her senses and asked, “You talked so much, why is there no news about Congge’er?”

Baochan said hurriedly: “Of course there is news about him, don’t worry, young lady, Jia Cong is fine, nothing has happened to him. A few days ago, the palace issued an imperial decree to promote him.

What is the fourth rank…Oh, the fourth rank General Xinwu.

It is said that the emperor also gave a large cart of gold and royal wine as a reward…”

Miss Xia smiled brightly, looking even more charming and charming, and said with a smile: “Others were either stripped of their titles or thrown into prison, but he was not punished at all and was even promoted by the emperor.

Now I believe it. He has nothing to do with the fraud case. Otherwise, the palace would not have promoted him at this time. It seems that they want to use him. He will definitely pass the palace examination this time.”

Baochan was a little depressed and asked, “Miss, what is this fourth-rank Xinwu General? How high is his rank? Is he higher than the county magistrate?”

Miss Xia said disdainfully: “The county magistrate is only a seventh-rank official, a mere trifle, and you are not comparable to Cong’s fourth-rank official. You eat melon seeds and sleep late every day, and you don’t read more books.”

Baochan murmured unconvincedly: “What’s so great about that? There are many officials, but only Jia Cong smells so good…”

After hearing this, Miss Xia glared and said, “You ignorant girl, don’t you think about how old Cong is? He has already reached the fourth rank. In a few years, he will be awarded the title of marquis.

Most of the men in this world are perverts like Xue Da Shao, or effeminate like Bao Yu. How many men are as proud as Cong Ge Er? “

Baochan was very upset when she heard what Miss Xia said. She kept complaining in her heart that the girl had never experienced Baoyu’s tricks. He was not a sissy…

But she only dared to mutter this in her heart and never said it out loud, otherwise she would die immediately.

When Baochan saw Miss Xia’s intoxicated expression, she began to worry. She felt as if her girl was under a spell. If she married Baoyu in this state, she would probably cheat on him sooner or later.

But no matter what, Baochan couldn’t let go of her ambitions. If her daughter didn’t marry the second wife of the Jia family, she would never meet Baoyu in her life. She had already done it with him, so she could only go on like this until the end…

Besides, Jia Cong must be a very shrewd person to be able to hold such a high position. Last time I heard that he has many pretty maids around him. The girl could only be thinking about them, so how could she possibly steal their favors?

She gritted her teeth and said, “Miss, Mrs. Zhang also found out about Baoyu, and it sounds a little strange.”

……

Miss Xia frowned and asked, “What’s the matter with Baoyu?”

Baochan said, “Mrs. Zhang said that the East Courtyard of Rongguo Mansion has been very busy recently, with many officials visiting every day, and they often bring their wives with them.

Mrs. Zhang asked someone and learned that Earl Weiyuan of the Jia family is highly regarded by the emperor. Not only had he just been promoted to a higher position, he was also about to pass the imperial examination. All the high-ranking officials in the capital are optimistic about the power of the Jia family.

However, Jia Cong was not only in mourning for three years and could not marry, but also had a noble status. In the future, his marriage would be arranged by the palace. Ordinary people could not count on him at all.
Therefore, those official families came up with other ideas. They thought about marrying into the second branch of the Jia family, thereby establishing a relationship with the Earl of Weiyuan and relying on the power of the Rongguo Mansion.

These officials and women who visited the East Courtyard of Rongguo Mansion wanted to discuss marriage with Baoyu…”

When Miss Xia heard this, her face turned ugly and she cursed, “These people are so shameless, trying to take advantage of Cong Ge’er in a roundabout way.

That Mrs. Jia is a piece of shit. She just told my mother that our two families were discussing marriage, and now she’s hooking up with someone else!”

When Baochan heard this, her eyes lit up slightly and she said, “Miss, I think there is a reason for this. Last time Baoyu celebrated his birthday, Mrs. Jia proposed marriage to you, Madam. Now it has been a long time and there is no response from our family.

The Jia family is also a big family that values ​​reputation, so they must have guessed that our family doesn’t want this marriage, so they are looking for other ways…”

Miss Xia’s face turned pale. She was extremely unwilling to get married. The thought of sleeping in the same bed with such a man made her feel nauseous and vomit.

But she also knew in her heart that if she missed this marriage, she and the man she loved would become strangers from then on, her passion would be like a dream, and it would be extremely difficult for her to see that man again in the future.

Thinking of Baoyu, that sissy thing, and that her own fate was in the hands of such a man, Miss Xia felt so ashamed and angry that she could not help but scream, and picked up the vase on the table and smashed it to pieces.

The loud sound of breaking startled Baochan, who saw her daughter running around the room, taking out her anger on anything she could get her hands on.

Miss Xia cried out loudly: “Get out of here, you damned bastard!”

Baochan saw many things coming towards him and was so scared that he ran away and hid everywhere.

She realized that the fire was too strong and drove the girl crazy, so she hurriedly crawled out of the room…

Xia Mansion, the main hall of the inner courtyard.

Mrs. Xia had just returned from her shop in the city and was sitting in the main hall drinking tea and resting when she vaguely heard some noise coming from the inner courtyard. She frowned slightly and was too lazy to pay attention.

At this time, a middle-aged woman entered the hall. She was Mrs. Xia’s confidant. Outsiders called her Mrs. Chen. She was the one who followed Mrs. Xia and Mrs. Wang around whenever they came and went.

She walked up to Mrs. Xia and whispered, “Madam, I just saw Zhang Fumei from the shop. She said she had seen Baochan, the maid in the mansion, and she also said those things according to your instructions.

I followed my wife’s instructions and gave her twenty taels of silver to keep her mouth shut.”

Mrs. Xia nodded, took a sip of the fragrant tea, and said, “This Zhang Fumei is a smart person. She knows that it involves the young lady and dare not deal with it carelessly. She came to explain it to me.

If she really did something behind my back, I wouldn’t let her off. How long has she been in the shop?”

Mrs. Chen replied, “It has been nine years.”

Mrs. Xia said, “She is considered an elder in the family. Give her a raise. If there is a vacancy there, give her a promotion.”

Mrs. Chen thought for a moment and said, “Madam, if the eldest daughter has such thoughts, and she is also a hot-tempered person, it would be inappropriate for her to marry into the second branch of the Jia family.”

Mrs. Xia put down her teacup and said with a smile, “You worry too much. The man from the Jia family is very capable and radiant, rare in the world. It’s not strange that he attracts the attention of a girl.

You and I both went through youth. It is very common for girls to fall in love and have wild thoughts when they reach a certain age.

The most important thing for a marriage in this world is to be well matched in social status. Everything else is not important. Many couples have gotten married blindly and have still lived happily together for their entire lives.

As long as we enter the bridal chamber, become husband and wife, and have children, all those unworthy thoughts will be gone.”

Mrs. Chen smiled and said, “Madam, what you said makes sense. The eldest girl is still young and has understood the matter herself after getting married in the past few years.”

Mrs. Xia sighed in her heart. Although she could control her daughter, she was afraid that something unexpected would happen if she let her daughter drag her feet for too long…

At this time, a maid came over and said that the wife of the Jia family had sent someone to deliver fresh gifts, and that the people and gifts had already arrived at the outer courtyard, waiting to see the wife.

When Mrs. Xia heard this, a smile broke out on her face, and her previous worries disappeared.

She said to the maid, “Take him to the side hall and tell him I will be here later.”

After Mrs. Xia finished speaking, she stood up, but did not go to the side hall, but went to her daughter’s boudoir in the backyard.

……

Mrs. Xia had just walked halfway when she saw Baochan coming towards her with a nervous expression and her head lowered, and she didn’t see her.

He frowned and asked, “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

Just now, Miss Xia was so furious that she almost tore down the boudoir. Baochan almost got her head smashed and was still in shock.

In a trance, I suddenly heard Mrs. Xia’s voice and couldn’t help but shiver with fear.

She had been working in the East Courtyard since that day. Miss Xia was still a virgin and didn’t understand much about these things, so Baochan thought she could fool them.

But his wife is much smarter than the girl, Baochan can’t help feeling guilty every time she faces her…

“Madam, the girl lost her temper again and broke everything in the room. I was just about to ask someone to clean it up.”

Mrs. Xia frowned and asked, “Why did Jingui lose her temper? Tell me everything you said.”

Baochan stammered and replied, “It’s nothing, young lady… young lady is just in a bad mood.”

Mrs. Xia snorted coldly and said, “Don’t think that I don’t know what you did!”

When Baochan heard this, she was so frightened that her legs went weak. She thought to herself, could it be that the lady had discovered that she and Baoyu were having an affair?

Mrs. Xia said, “Jin Gui is always making trouble, but you don’t try to persuade her and just follow her.

“Didn’t I know what you guys did during the days I was away?”

After hearing this, Baochan finally breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that she had been thinking wrong.

Mrs. Xia’s face was gloomy, and she said, “Why did Jin Gui lose her temper just now? Please explain to me in detail.

Don’t say a word. If you dare to play tricks in front of me, I will expose your good skin and see how you can act recklessly in the future!”

Baochan was startled and told the whole story without missing a word.

She saw that after Mrs. Xia listened to her words, her originally stern expression gradually softened, making her a little unpredictable.

She said timidly, “Madam, I dare not do anything rash, it was the young lady who asked me to inquire about the news.

I just said that many officials have come to the Jia family recently and wanted to marry Baoyu, and the girl got very angry.

I didn’t make these up, I got them from Mrs. Zhang from the shop on Hanyang Street…”

Mrs. Xia did not respond to his words and said, “You should take good care of Jingui. If anything happens again, you must be careful!”

After she finished speaking, she turned and left. Baochan felt puzzled. The lady clearly wanted to go to the girl’s boudoir, so why did she turn around and leave?
……

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

Grandmother Jia was leaning on the Luohan bed, and Yuanyang was sitting on a low table, massaging her legs with two beauty hammers.

Aunt Xue was chatting with Lady Jia, and Mrs. Wang was also there, but she seemed a little absent-minded.

Ever since Mrs. Wang suspected that Baochai and Jia Cong were having an affair, she also developed a grudge against her own sister.

However, the two sisters were both experienced women and there was no sign of anything unusual on their faces. They were as warm as usual.

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, “As the saying goes, old trees have many roots, and old people have many words. The years have passed so quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Baoyu has passed the age of dancing elephants.”

Aunt Xue was very good at praising playboys. She said with a smile, “Baoyu has grown up. I’m afraid it won’t be long before he gets married, starts a family, and has children. It’s not certain whether the old lady will have a great-grandson again.”

Grandmother Jia smiled at Aunt Xue and said, “I am content that my old bones can endure such a good thing.”

Then he said to Mrs. Wang, “You will soon be twenty-five. Choose a day for Baoyu to get married. The girls you have chosen, Xiren and Caiyun, are the best among the maids in the mansion. I will feel at ease if I let them serve Baoyu.”

Aunt Xue smiled and said nothing after hearing this. She had seen these two girls before, and they were indeed good, but compared with the girls around Congge, they were far inferior…

Grandmother Jia continued, “Although the two girls are good, they are not legitimate after all. Didn’t I propose marriage to the Xia family a long time ago? It’s been a long time. Has there been any response from them?”

When Mrs. Wang heard this, her face turned a little stiff. Yesterday, she listened to Jia Zheng’s opinion and arranged for her trusted maid to go to the Xia family early this morning to deliver fresh gifts and inquire about the progress of the marriage between the two families.

In fact, the Xia family had not responded for such a long time that Mrs. Wang had lost confidence in this marriage.

She thought that the Xia family was just a merchant family, and they were so lukewarm about this marriage. Could it be that Baoyu was really so unpopular?
As her trusted maid went out to do some work, Mrs. Wang felt a little restless. As soon as the sun rose a little higher, she came to the West Mansion to see Baoyu. She talked to her son for a long time before coming to pay her respects to Lady Jia.

Now, when she heard Lady Jia asking about this matter, she felt embarrassed and noticed that her sister was also looking at her with an inquiring look.

Mrs. Wang would naturally not say that she had sent someone to the Xia family to ask about the marriage. It would be too shameful to say it out loud…

Qiang smiled and said: “Originally, the Xia family would have responded long ago, but the Xia family is also a big family with a large business. Not only does it have a big presence in Shenjing, it also has a lot of business in Tongzhou.

Mrs. Xia is independently supporting her family, so she went to Tongzhou to cook a few days ago. Since she is not in the capital, things have been delayed. She will get a reply when she returns to the capital. “

Mrs. Wang was just trying to find something to say when Xiren suddenly came hurriedly into the hall.

He said to her, “Mrs. Xu, who is with the Madam, is outside. She went to the East Courtyard but couldn’t find the Madam, so she came here. She looked like she had something urgent to do…” (End of this chapter)