Chapter 513

Rongguo Prefecture, Rongqing Hall.

When Jia Mu heard Lady Xing's insinuating words, she couldn't help but frown. Her second daughter-in-law was scolded by her son, and she must be dizzy with anger.

Is there any point in her saying these things to Cong-ge'er? With this boy's scheming and means, how could he be controlled by her words?

Jia Mu watched coldly from the side. Although Jia Cong's tone was normal just now, the words he said were already needles hidden in cotton. He had actually turned his face in his heart and didn't step into the second daughter-in-law's trap at all.

If her daughter-in-law hadn't provoked him with those words just now, with his respect for her son, he would definitely have spoken to dissuade her son from staying in the side courtyard of the West Prefecture.

Her son had always valued this boy, and if he didn't move to the East Road Courtyard, he might really listen to his dissuasion. Jia Mu called Jia Cong to talk, wasn't it just for this?

As a result, this boy felt uncomfortable after hearing the strange words of her daughter-in-law and simply washed his hands of the matter.

Saying that it was not good for a junior to talk too much and just let them decide for themselves were all excuses. He was just listening to strange words and cherishing his feathers, not wanting to get involved anymore.

Her second daughter-in-law, although she was cruel, was ultimately a dead-brained person who couldn't accomplish anything…….

Jia Zheng heard Jia Cong's words just now praising his careful consideration, righteous and awe-inspiring, and admirable, and he couldn't help but feel more confident in his heart.

Hearing him say that no matter where he lived, his admiration and closeness to him would be the same, Jia Zheng felt even more certain in his heart.

He thought of the embarrassment of the Imperial Clan Court and the Ministry of Rites coming to the mansion to question him that day, and he no longer had any hesitation in his heart.

He said: "Old Lady, let's settle this matter like this. My son will let Lin Zhixiao's wife arrange for the Eldest Lady to move to the West Prefecture, and my son will take the descendants of the mansion to move to the East Road Courtyard.

Only in this way can we show the proper path of our Rongguo Prefecture's rituals. Not only will the speculative words outside be self-defeating, but it will also be extremely beneficial for the harmony of the whole family and the stability of the family business."

Jia Cong heard Jia Zheng's words and sighed secretly in his heart. Jia Zheng moving out of Rongxi Hall could actually cope with the imperial court and clan rituals, and he didn't necessarily have to move to the East Road Courtyard.

But Lady Xing's words just now made Jia Cong raise his vigilance, realizing that some things could not be taken lightly.

Lady Xing had a deep grudge against him inheriting the title, and the feeling of injustice would probably never go away.

Jia Zheng proposed to move to the East Road Courtyard, which had nothing to do with him, but Lady Xing still used the meaning of filial piety and ritual to control him, with a sinister heart, clearly wanting to dig a hole for him and leave him with a handle of moral failure.

If there is a first time for this kind of thing, there will be a second time. In the future, letting such a person live in the West Prefecture, making trouble every day and provoking right and wrong, I don't know what will happen…….

Therefore, he had just used the etiquette of a junior to say evasive words about Jia Zheng's relocation, letting things develop on their own, not wanting to intervene anymore.

Jia Mu looked at Jia Cong on the side and saw his face was normal, and he didn't pick up the conversation about what her son said. How could she not see the truth?

The extreme words of her daughter-in-law just now had made Jia Cong decide not to get involved in this matter.

Jia Mu sighed deeply in her heart. How could her pedantic son and this not-so-bright daughter-in-law be able to deal with this boy?

……

Lady Xing called out with unspeakable sorrow: "Old Lady!" It seemed she still wanted Jia Mu to stop her.

Jia Mu's look at her daughter-in-law already revealed a trace of slight disgust. If it weren't for her daughter-in-law saying harsh words, things wouldn't be as they were now.

Now that her son had said his words, the momentum of this matter was difficult to reverse.

Moreover, her son's concerns were not unreasonable…….

Jia Mu sighed to Jia Zheng: "Since you have already thought about this matter, let it be according to your wishes this time. It's just that you have a bunch of sons and grandsons, and those few places in the East Road Courtyard will probably be too cramped to live in."

She turned her head to Jia Cong again and said: "Cong-ge'er, now that you are the one inheriting the family business, your father moving to the East Road Courtyard this time is also for the sake of this family. You can't let him live too shabbily.

I don't have the energy to manage this matter. You and Feng-yatou discuss a set of regulations to make your father live more comfortably, and that will be considered you fulfilling your filial piety and rituals."

Jia Cong then opened his mouth and replied: "Old Lady, don't worry. Cong will discuss it carefully with the Second Sister-in-law and will definitely handle this matter properly."

Lady Xing was dumbfounded when she heard this. Why did the Old Lady agree, and even let this boy renovate the East Road Courtyard?

Originally, she used words to threaten, thinking that she had put Jia Cong on the stage, and out of respect for the Master, he would definitely speak to persuade the Master to stay in the West Prefecture.

She didn't expect this boy not to take the bait at all, saying a bunch of nice words, pushing the matter away completely, and letting the Master make the move to the East Road Courtyard a reality. This boy has such a black heart! ……

People often say that things have a fixed number and are inconclusive, but the human heart has a fixed trend. Even if there is a fixed number, it is caused by the fixed trend of the human heart.

If Lady Xing hadn't spoiled Baoyu too much, she wouldn't have raised Baoyu's lazy, cunning, and ignorant temper, and he wouldn't have spoken without restraint and insulted the Retired Emperor.

Under the clan rituals of the elder brother ending and the younger brother succeeding, even if Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao was biased, he couldn't find a suitable excuse. Jia Zheng might have really inherited Jia She's title, and there wouldn't have been the matter of Jia Cong inheriting dual titles later.

Lady Xing is like a candle on a pole, only able to shine on others, never on herself.

Regarding the matter of the second branch losing the qualification to inherit the title, she couldn't see her own mistakes and blindly felt that Jia Cong had snatched away the glory and nobility of the second branch.

It was precisely this psychological trend that made her treat Jia Cong like an enemy and rack her brains to squeeze and dig holes for him.

As a result, it was counterproductive, turning the trend into a fixed number. Not only did she have to move out of Rongxi Hall, but she also had to move to the East Road Courtyard to live in a snail shell. Who could she blame?

……

Things in Rongqing Hall have always been impossible to hide.

Not to mention the shocking strange news that Jia Zheng and Lady Xing were moving to the East Road Courtyard, which spread throughout the East and West Prefectures of the Jia family in less than the time it takes to eat a meal.

After Jia Cong returned to the East Prefecture, it didn't take long for the sisters to get the news, and Jia Cong told them the situation in Rongqing Hall today one by one.

Jia Zheng was a gentle person. Except for being strict with Baoyu and Jia Huan, he was considered kind to other juniors in the mansion, and his reputation was quite good.

Daiyu, Yingchun, and others were all a bit emotional when they heard the origin of the matter.

Jia Cong inheriting the Rongguo title and Jia Zheng and Lady Xing moving out of Rongxi Hall was just a matter of ritual and common sense. Although it was a bit awkward, it was within the common customs of aristocratic families.

But Jia Zheng's branch moving to the East Road Courtyard was a matter of weighing between the severity of ritual and law and leniency, which could be said to be dispensable.

But in the end, because it was driven by the situation and became a settled fact, I don't know what to say. Who can I blame in the end?

Seeing Tan Chun, as a young lady of the second branch, felt a bit gloomy when she heard this. She was delicate and shrewd, and after hearing Jia Cong describe the situation at that time, how could she not see the foundation of it?

With the rapport and tacit understanding between the Third Brother and the Master, the Master proposed to move to the East Road Courtyard, and the Third Brother must have spoken to dissuade him.

If it weren't for the Lady's provocation and mischief, how could the Third Brother have become wary and unwilling to speak about this matter, and how could things have turned out like this?

Jia Cong looked at Seeing Tan Chun's expression and could guess some of her thoughts, saying: "Third Sister, don't think too much. The East Road Courtyard was originally the Eldest Master's residence, and it was cut off from the Rongguo Prefecture."

The Eldest Master put a lot of thought into it when he lived there, and the rooms were exquisite and tidy, which was not bad at all.

I will discuss it with the Second Sister-in-law and renovate and expand the East Road Courtyard to make the Master live more comfortably, which will be considered us fulfilling our hearts."

Seeing Tan Chun wanted to say something but stopped, saying: "Third Brother, the Lady, she……."

Jia Cong smiled: "Every family has a scripture that is hard to read, which is not strange. This is also good. There will be less right and wrong in the future, and it will be good for the whole family to be stable……."

Seeing Tan Chun understood in her heart when she heard this. The Third Brother said there would be less right and wrong in the future, which meant he had already become vigilant in his heart. How could the Lady's thoughts be hidden from people?

……

Rongguo Prefecture, Baoyu's courtyard.

These past few days, the Rongguo Prefecture had been in chaos inside and out. First, Jia Zheng and Lady Xing moved out of Rongxi Hall, and then it was said that they were moving to the East Road Courtyard.

Later, Lady Xing suddenly fell ill and couldn't even get out of bed for a while…….

This kind of subversive news about the second branch of Rongguo naturally caused a great shock in Baoyu's courtyard, and everyone in the courtyard was a bit panicked.

Now the Rongguo Prefecture had completely changed its sky. The concubine's son of the East Road Courtyard in the early years had turned over to become the master of Rongguo, which was truly earth-shattering for the hundreds of slaves in the West Prefecture.

Thus, those who saw the wind and steered the rudder, those who tested the water, and those who planned, were all wanting to take advantage of the change in the mansion to find a good foothold and climb a high branch.

For example, the old women who worked with Sister-in-law Liu in the kitchen of the West Prefecture had been trying to get close to Sister-in-law Liu these days.

It was just that the East Prefecture's gate rules were strict, and they couldn't even enter the gate of the East Prefecture, let alone find Sister-in-law Liu to curry favor and pull strings.

That Liu family girl came to the West Prefecture every day. These old women found opportunities to see her by going around the corners, and they called her "Big Sister Liu" very loudly, but although she was gentle and polite, she didn't pick up the conversation at all, let alone fall for it.

These days, such drilling actions by the slaves of the West Prefecture were common, becoming more frequent day by day, and becoming a trend, and everything was a bit messy all around.

But the maids and old women in Baoyu's courtyard were not among them. It was not because their character was noble, but because they were Baoyu's slaves.

Baoyu was the apple of the Old Lady and the Lady's eye, the peerless phoenix of the Rongguo Prefecture, and was the most favored among the young masters and young ladies in the mansion.

Therefore, the maids and slaves in Baoyu's room seemed to be a cut above the other slaves in Rongguo. Whoever gave birth to a child and entered Baoyu's room was like bringing honor to their ancestors.

But precisely because of this, the slaves in Baoyu's room had already been branded by the second branch, and even if they wanted to wash it off, it was impossible.

Therefore, the Rongguo Prefecture changed its master, but this was unfavorable for them. It was absolutely impossible for them to learn from others, sell their master for glory, and climb another high branch.

The slaves under Baoyu, one by one, were not only all born in the mansion, but also none of them were not human spirits; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to drill into Baoyu's courtyard.

They all knew that the Lady had fallen ill recently, supposedly from anger, because the Lady felt that the Cong Sanye Cong of the East Prefecture had snatched away the title and family property of the second branch. Although it didn't come to the surface, in the Lady's heart, the second branch and the first branch of the Jia family were probably at odds like fire and water.

Although the Master and the Lady had moved out of Rongxi Hall now and had lost power compared to before, this was only relative to the East Prefecture.

For the maids and old women in Baoyu's room, the Lady was still the Lady, and she could still easily take their lives, so none of them dared to act rashly.

But even so, except for a few truly dead-set ones like Sister Xi Ren and Sheyue, others were somewhat swaying and panicked in their hearts.

……

These past few days, because Lady Xing had to move out of Rongxi Hall, after all, since the Old Master passed away, Jia Zheng and his wife had lived in Rongxi Hall for fifteen years, and the family assets accumulated were quite complex.

Lin Zhixiao's wife arranged for manpower and spent two days moving everything out. Because Lady Xing suddenly fell ill in bed, she transferred many capable maids to the side courtyard where Lady Xing was temporarily staying to organize things.

Early this morning, the two big maids, Sister Xi Ren and Sheyue, both went to the side courtyard to help organize.

Baoyu also went to the mansion early to offer condolences because a close concubine of Prince Beijing had passed away.

Only the two big maids, Qiuwen and Bifen, were left in the courtyard. Baoyu and the others had just gone out, and these two also went out together, not knowing where.

Another one, Tan Yun, was picked up because of her mother's birthday, and the other rough maids saw that Baoyu and the others were not there, thinking that they couldn't be summoned, so they each slipped out to play.

When Baoyu returned from Prince Beijing's mansion, he found the room empty. Except for a few old women sweeping and washing in the courtyard, not a single little maid was to be seen.

Although Baoyu was wealthy and lazy and didn't understand the depth of things, he never treated the few pretty maids in his room too harshly, and even indulged them a bit. Now seeing that they were all gone, although he was a bit annoyed, he wasn't angry.

Just feeling thirsty, he called twice, but no one answered. The old woman sweeping in the courtyard wanted to enter the room to serve, but was rejected by Baoyu. He took the teacup himself and poured water from the bamboo basket where the hot pot was placed, and heard someone behind him say: "Bao Er Ye, be careful not to scald your hands, let me do it."

Baoyu was startled when he heard this. The teacup in his hand had already been skillfully taken by someone, who nimbly poured water from the hot pot and handed it to Baoyu.

Baoyu saw that the one pouring tea was a rough maid, wearing half-new, half-old clothes, with a long face, a slender figure, and a delicate appearance.

Baoyu asked: "Are you also someone in my room? What is your name? Why have I never seen you?"

The maid replied: "My name is Xiaohong. I usually only do miscellaneous work in the backyard and never do things in the Bao Er Ye's room, so it's not strange that the Bao Er Ye doesn't recognize me."

Baoyu thought this was also reasonable. In fact, he didn't recognize Xiaohong entirely because although Xiaohong was delicate, she didn't have an outstanding color.

So Xiaohong had been serving in his room for a while, but he had turned a blind eye to her.

If she were as pretty as Qingwen and as beautiful as Wuer, the Bao Er Ye Bao would definitely have recognized her long ago.

……

At this time, footsteps came from outside, heading toward the inner room. Xiaohong's face changed slightly, and she hurriedly left the room.

Seeing Qiuwen and Bifen return, their expressions were not very good. Seeing Xiaohong come out of Baoyu's room, both of them glared, and Bifen even ran into the room alone to look around.

After a while, she came out and shook her head at Qiuwen, saying: "Bao Er Ye Bao said he just came back."

Qiuwen heard that there was only Baoyu in the room, and her face became even more mean, saying: "It seems we came back early. If we came back later, it would have been to your liking, and maybe you would have done something good."

Xiaohong's face turned pale, saying: "What do you mean by that, sister? I just lost my handkerchief and was looking for it in the front.

Bao Er Ye Bao called for tea several times, but because no one answered, I went in to pour tea. I just happened to meet you sisters coming back, and there was nothing good."

Qiuwen saw that she had only said one sentence, and Xiaohong had retorted without showing weakness.

The anger in her heart rushed up because she was in a very bad mood today.

Now that the Rongguo Prefecture had changed its sky and changed its master, although Qiuwen and Bifen were Baoyu's first-class big maids, compared to the loyalty and vision of Sister Xi Ren and Sheyue, they were still a cut below.

Those two were dead-set on Baoyu and could see that even if Jia Cong inherited the family business, with his affection for the Master, even if the second branch lost its nobility, it would definitely not lose its wealth.

Qiuwen and Bifen were influenced by the people around them. Although they knew their situation, they still lacked some temperament and couldn't hold back their restlessness.

Although they didn't dare to climb another high branch, they still had some miscellaneous thoughts.

They first thought of Wuer. Because Wuer was weak in the past, she didn't serve in the mansion, but only helped with miscellaneous work in the kitchen.

Qiuwen and Bifen came to the kitchen to handle affairs, and everyone had met a few times, and they were all old acquaintances in the mansion.

Now everyone was a maid, but Wuer was actually sent by Jia Cong to assist in managing the affairs of the West Prefecture. How much of a confidant she was in Jia Cong's eyes was self-evident.

At the moment, the slaves of the West Prefecture, seeing this little girl who used to help in the kitchen, all had to respectfully call her "Big Sister Liu," which made Qiuwen and Bifen jealous to death.

They didn't have the courage to defect to a new master, but it was fine to get familiar with old acquaintances and leave a way out for themselves in the future.

Therefore, taking advantage of Baoyu going out and Sister Xi Ren and Sheyue going to Lady Xing's side courtyard early to help, Qiuwen and Bifen took the opportunity to go to Fengjie's courtyard to see Wuer.

……

Because Wuer followed Wang Xifeng to manage the affairs of the West Prefecture during the day, Wang Xifeng allocated a room in the courtyard for Wuer to rest in her spare time.

In the past, Wuer was just a rough maid in the kitchen, and Qiuwen and Bifen were already enviable personal maids of Baoyu. Now that times had changed, honor and disgrace were reversed, and there was a world of difference.

Fortunately, although Wuer was glorious, she didn't have any airs and was as kind and polite as she was back then, but she didn't pick up the dark words they used to pull her over, and both sides kept their distance.

Qiuwen and Bifen were not stupid. They knew that although Wuer was kind on the surface, she didn't take them to heart, and she even intentionally alienated the relationship.

In the final analysis, wasn't it because they were Baoyu's maids and people stamped by the second branch?

Now, who didn't know the reason why the Lady fell ill? Because of the Lady, Baoyu and Cong Sanye Cong were two people who couldn't get together.

How could Cong Sanye Cong's confidant maid treat them well?

Qiuwen and Bifen's thoughts of drilling fell through, and their hearts were naturally extremely uncomfortable.

Just now, they were soft-topped by Xiaohong, and Xiaohong was just a third-class rough maid. Bifen was still okay, but Qiuwen couldn't suppress the evil fire that had accumulated for half a day.

She scolded Xiaohong: "You shameless, low-class thing! Don't go do your rough work. Taking advantage of us all going out, you go do this clever thing. Do you think we are all dead?"

"You should also look in the mirror. You are not worthy of pouring tea and water!"

Bifen saw Qiuwen scolding, so she helped on the side: "Tomorrow, don't touch the tea and water. Just call her. We'll all break up, and just leave her alone to be proud."

The two were arguing vigorously, and Xiaohong was so angry that her pretty face turned red, but she didn't know how to scold people, and she held her breath in her stomach, feeling very uncomfortable.

Baoyu went out and said: "You weren't in the room just now, and it's fine to go out for a stroll, but why are you arguing as soon as you come back? I usually indulge you, and you just make trouble like this."

Qiuwen and Bifen stopped talking when they saw Baoyu come out. Xiaohong took the opportunity to enter the backyard to hide from the wind, and then went out of the small gate of the backyard. Because she was ashamed and annoyed, she strolled in a quiet place in the garden.

Walking to a rockery, she suddenly heard someone talking above.

"Second Sister-in-law, I want to tear down the courtyard wall on the north side of the East Road Courtyard, enclose the Master's Mengpo Study and a piece of land nearby, and build a few new courtyards."

"Third Brother, the land of the East Road Courtyard will be nearly twice as large as it was before."

"Since the Master wants to move there, we must make him live more comfortably……."

Xiaohong looked up and saw two people standing on the rockery, looking toward a house in the distance. One was the Second Grandmother, and the other was clear and handsome, with a striking appearance—it was Cong Sanye Cong of the East Prefecture.

Xiaohong heard Wang Xifeng say again: "Third Brother is thoughtful. Yesterday, when you sent Wuer to pass the message, I asked Wang'er to go to the West Market to find the mud and tile head who had renovated the garden for the West Prefecture in previous years.

I asked them to report the market price of bricks and tiles, and the roster of the West Prefecture slaves that Third Brother wanted is also ready. You can take a look at it now."

Wang Xifeng was about to go down the steps after speaking, and Jia Cong said: "Second Sister-in-law is not convenient now, so don't run back and forth. Just call someone to run errands."

Wang Xifeng thought it made sense, and when her eyes turned, she saw Xiaohong under the rockery and asked: "Which room's maid are you?"

Xiaohong smiled: "Does the Second Grandmother have anything to use me for?"

Wang Xifeng saw that she was delicate and clean, and spoke nimbly, and also smiled: "I didn't bring a maid when I went out today. I just thought of something and need someone to pass a message. I don't know if you can do it?"

Xiaohong looked at Jia Cong beside Wang Xifeng and hurriedly said: "Grandmother, please give your orders. I will definitely bring the message."

Wang Xifeng said: "Go to my courtyard, call your Sister Ping to take a volume of books placed under the Ru kiln plate rack in the outer room, and two loose sheets of paper, and come to me immediately."

Xiaohong hurriedly said: "Second Grandmother, don't worry. I will go pass the message now."

Wang Xi asked: "Which room are you from? I'll use you to handle things, and when your master looks for you later, I'll be able to explain for you."

Xiaohong walked while looking back and replied: "Reporting to Grandmother, I am from Bao Er Ye Bao's room, and my name is Xiaohong."

Jia Cong, who was on the side, heard this name and his heart jumped, and he muttered: "Xiaohong……."

Wang Xifeng saw Jia Cong staring at the girl's departing back, seemingly unable to take his eyes off her.

She joked: "Third Brother, why are you staring at that girl so much? Usually, your eye for picking maids is very poisonous. This girl's color is average, how can she enter your eyes?"

Jia Cong said: "Second Sister-in-law, what are you thinking? Don't you think this girl responds appropriately and speaks nimbly? She is a clever and wise person." (End of chapter)