Chapter 519: What Can One Expect from Merit and Industry?

Rongguo Prefecture, Wang Xifeng's courtyard.

Although it cleared up on this day, the bright sun melted the snow on the ground, and the air was filled with bone-chilling cold.

Under the south window of the main room, a red felt strip was spread on the warm kang. Fengjie was sitting on the kang, pillowing on a brocade backrest, and supporting herself with a red silk pillow on her left hand.

She held a Ru-kiln doucai flower porcelain bowl in her hand, which contained steaming bird's nest and lotus seeds, and was drinking it slowly.

Since Jia Cong handed over the Rongguo Prefecture's housework to Wang Xifeng, because Lady Wang moved out of Rongxi Hall, she no longer had the status in household affairs and could not balance Wang Xifeng in household affairs.

For Wang Xifeng, it was truly that the daughter-in-law didn't have an old mother-in-law, so she outlived the housekeeper mother-in-law. These days, her heart was clear and refreshing.

As for Lady Wang moving to the East Courtyard and Wang Xifeng's legitimate mother-in-law, Lady Xing, having to move back to the Rongguo Prefecture, Wang Xifeng didn't care at all in her heart.

Because Lady Xing is now a widow and has lost her title, she cannot compare with Grandmother Jia's super-grade national lady status, and can only stay in the back house in the future, and it is not good to be too exposed.

Plus, she has been good at tossing and trampling on Third Cong since she was a child, and the inner part of the legitimate mother and concubine's son has long been like enemies, but on the surface, they are responding to fake and false etiquette.

Now Third Cong is in charge of the family business, letting the legitimate mother have enough food and clothing, which is the bottom line. This eldest lady has no courage, no status, and no means to intervene in housework.

For Wang Xifeng, the tossing and turning some time ago, except for Jia Lian being sent to Liaodong, which was a bad thing, the rest of the things were unexpectedly smooth.

Since marrying into the Jia family for several years, her belly had no movement. Because the legitimate bloodline had no inheritance, Wang Xifeng was forced to use means to send away the two maids who accompanied Jia Lian.

Otherwise, if someone was made pregnant by Jia Lian, the legitimate heir would lose the first move, and she, the mistress in charge, would not be refreshing in the future.

But she didn't expect that this blessing came from misfortune. Although Jia Lian was sent away, Wang Xifeng unexpectedly became pregnant, which solved her knot for many years.

She not only turned around and became the mistress in charge of the Rongguo Prefecture again, but also had Ping'er and Wu'er as helpers. She only needed to take care of the pregnancy daily, and things were very refreshing and easy.

Wang Xifeng was talking to Ping'er about the miscellaneous affairs of the mansion, but heard the maid Feng'er say that Lin Danniang came to see the Second Grandmother.

Wang Xifeng thought of Xiao Hong being driven away by Lady Wang. Since Lin Danniang came to the door today, I am afraid it was not for nothing, so she asked Feng'er to invite her in.

The red-flowered soft curtain hanging outside the door was lifted by Feng'er. A woman in her thirties entered, dressed neatly and nimbly, with clean and upright features, and decent behavior.

Wang Xifeng smiled, "Why are you free to come over today? There have been big changes in the mansion these days, and the things outside are all busy?"

Lin Danniang smiled apologetically, "Today's things are all handled. One big thing is the cleaning and arrangement of Rongxi Hall, which has been completed with all kinds of furniture and decorations according to Miss Liu's meaning."

"Yesterday, Miss Liu said that she would invite Cong Sanye to come and see it today. If everything is appropriate inside and out, this matter will land."

Wang Xifeng said, "That is the best. Now Third Brother has inherited the title and is in charge of the family. His affairs must be done thoroughly and cannot have any mistakes. You give Third Brother face, and you will have face in the mansion."

Hearing Wang Xifeng's words, Lin Danniang felt a slight chill in her heart. Now the eldest Cong Sanye has obtained the title and is in charge of the family.

Second Master and Second Lady even have to avoid ritual laws and have to move to the East Courtyard. The mansion has truly changed the heavens.

Second Grandmother and Cong Sanye are on the same line. Second Grandmother is reminding herself that today is different from the past, and that is the real master of the Rongguo Prefecture!

Lin Danniang hurriedly said, "Second Grandmother's words are all correct. Cong Sanye is a young hero, not to mention the Divine Capital, the whole world has a reputation. He is in charge of the Rongguo family business, which is truly well-deserved."

"We, these family-born slaves, have obtained such a good master, so that the family business can be long-lasting in the future, and we can follow to live a few generations of stable days."

"We are all very respectful to Cong Sanye in our hearts, and we dare not mess up the family rules and etiquette."

"Grandmother, please rest assured. I will handle Cong Sanye and Second Grandmother's affairs with all my heart with the people below, and there will not be any mistakes."

"This time I came, one is to visit Grandmother's body, and there is another thing I want to ask Grandmother to help. Now Grandmother is in charge of housework, and this matter can only be spoken by Grandmother to be appropriate."

Looking at Lin Danniang's expression, Wang Xifeng guessed eight or nine out of ten what she wanted to say.

She put down the Ru-kiln doucai flower porcelain bowl in her hand, but asked, "What is so urgent that it is worth you running over specially?"

Lin Danniang said with a bitter face, "Second Grandmother, although our couple are managers inside and outside the mansion, we have always been diligent and never meant to be big."

"My daughter Xiao Hong, because she reached the age to serve, we didn't dare to borrow convenience to pull her up, just let her go to Second Master Bao's room to be a third-class maid who feeds birds and waters flowers."

"Xiao Hong has always been clever and has never made any mistakes. The day before yesterday, she met Cong Sanye without a maid, so she ordered her to run errands. I don't know which black-hearted person stirred up trouble in front of Second Lady, making Xiao Hong bear the evil name of being unfaithful and lazy for no reason. Second Lady was furious and drove Xiao Hong out."

Actually, Xiao Hong being driven away by Lady Wang was not just because she ran errands for Jia Cong, but also because she ran errands for Wang Xifeng.

It's just that in front of Wang Xifeng, Lin Danniang didn't dare to mention this, otherwise she would have slapped Wang Xifeng's face on the spot.

Lin Danniang wiped her tears with a handkerchief and continued, "We are all family-born slaves. Thanks to the Old Lady's grace, we were allowed to be managers inside and outside. Although we have no ability, we can only do our best and try our best to repay the Old Lady's grace. We have no credit at ordinary times, but we have some hard work. We should always leave some face for us."

"My daughter Xiao Hong has always been careful. Cong Sanye is now the master of the mansion and happened to order Xiao Hong. Can we say no? Second Lady drove Xiao Hong out like this. Our Xiao Hong was really wronged. How can she see people in the future? She has been making a fuss at home these days, and I have no way."

Wang Xifeng seemed to turn a blind eye to Lin Danniang's grief. She looked back at Ping'er, and Ping'er nodded to her.

Yesterday, Wang Xifeng asked Ping'er to inquire about the reason why Xiao Hong was driven away. Seeing Ping'er's expression, she knew that Lin Danniang's words were not mixed with falsehoods.

Wang Xifeng sneered in her heart. The Lady is truly old and confused. Now she has fallen to the point of moving to the East Courtyard.

She is still full of resentment against Third Cong. If it weren't for Baoyu's lack of competition and ruining his reputation in advance, how could their second branch have today?

Now the Lady doesn't think about making more good connections and leaving some retreat for the future, but because of this little broken thing of Xiao Hong running errands for Third Cong, she actually handled the little maid.

I don't know who the Lady is singing this play for. Does Third Cong care about this kind of thing? Except for offending Lin Danniang and her husband, she won't get any other benefits. This couple is the manager inside and outside the Rongguo Prefecture.

If the Lady keeps making trouble like this, she will really break all the retreat of the family.

... Wang Xifeng was calculating in her heart, but said, "But all the maids in each courtyard only do the things of their own masters. Baoyu and the Lady are angry because of this, which is not strange."

"But Xiao Hong running errands for Third Brother is just a coincidence. You can't let Third Brother run errands himself, right? That wouldn't look like anything."

"I have seen your daughter. She is a clever child. How old is she, and how much weight does she know? Even if there are some mistakes, it is not a big deal."

"You go home and advise her. This little thing is not worth making a fuss about."

"But there is really no empty errand in the mansion now. Even if there is, it cannot be arranged for Xiao Hong at this juncture, otherwise the Lady's face will not look good."

"You don't have to be in a hurry. After this wave of wind and waves passes, I will have a vacancy in my hand, and then we will talk about it. Let your daughter stay at home and play for a few days."

Hearing Wang Xifeng's words, Lin Danniang was somewhat stunned. Although she was cautious in doing things and didn't speak much, she was a person with schemes.

She was a manager in the inner courtyard, and she was also a person with great face in front of a group of slaves. Now her daughter was driven out by Lady Wang, and an old face was torn off by someone.

Not to mention, now the eldest branch is in charge, and Wang Xifeng and Lady Wang are not right. She wanted to borrow Wang Xifeng's power to find an errand for her daughter, and take the opportunity to pick up the lost face.

I didn't expect Wang Xifeng to be ghost-clever and not take her bait at all. A few words said cloudily, neither saying Lady Wang was wrong, nor saying her daughter deserved to be driven out.

She also pushed the matter cleanly, saying that we would talk about it after this wave, and in short, it was iron-locked across the river, neither up nor down, and offended no one inside or outside.

Lin Danniang was very disappointed, but Wang Xifeng left a word, so she could only say a few idle words and left resentfully.

She also reckoned that since the eldest branch was currently in charge and Wang Xifeng and Lady Wang were at odds, she had intended to use Wang Xifeng's influence to find a new position for her daughter, and also take the opportunity to regain the face she had lost.

Ping'er smiled slightly, "She is also a manager in the inner courtyard, and she wants some face. She thought Grandmother was easy to fool, and she actually played tricks, but it was just that the mother was too distressed for her daughter."

Wang Xifeng sneered, "Lin Danniang also saved face for me just now and cut off half of the words. In fact, the Lady drove Xiao Hong away, not just because she did things for Third Brother, I am afraid it also counts me."

Ping'er said, "It's just a reason. Even if there was no Grandmother's matter, Xiao Hong would be driven away eight out of ten. I followed Grandmother's instructions and privately inquired about the matter."

"Before, there was no one in Baoyu's courtyard, so Xiao Hong poured a cup of tea for Baoyu, which made Qiu Wen unhappy, fearing that she would calculate to climb on her head in the future."

"It happened that Qiu Wen knew that she ran errands for Cong Sanye and Grandmother, so how could she not stir up trouble in front of the Lady? The Lady was angry in her heart, so Xiao Hong suffered."

Wang Xifeng sneered, "The people in the second branch have been smoked by the Lady. They only see three inches in front of them. Just like Baoyu, the maids in his room are treated as treasures, as if everyone is going to grab them."

Wang Xifeng asked, "Why didn't I see Wu'er this morning?"

Ping'er replied, "Wu'er told me when she went back at sunset yesterday that she would take Cong Sanye to see the organized Rongxi Hall this morning to see if there is anything that needs to be added."

Wang Xifeng said, "You also go to Rongxi Hall to see. Wu'er also heard about Xiao Hong being driven away yesterday. Third Brother must know, but I don't know the reason."

"When you get close, find a chance to tell Third Brother the reason for Xiao Hong, he can handle this matter better than me."

Ping'er looked embarrassed and said, "Grandmother, why bother Third Brother with such small household matters?"

"Wait until after the New Year when the Lady moves to the East Courtyard, and then you can take the chance to arrange an errand for Xiao Hong, and this matter will pass."

Wang Xifeng squinted and sneered, "Oh, you haven't married yet, and your heart is biased like this. I have treated you in vain for so many years. Mentioning Third, your legs are soft. You are really a heartless one!"

Ping'er was flushed by her, defending, "Grandmother, I don't mean that..."

"When you get close to him, find a time to tell the third brother about Xiao Hong's situation; he is better at handling this matter than I am."

"He is a man and the head of the family. If he doesn't establish power and buy people's hearts, how can he sit firmly on this family business? If someone gets on the stool and the table, he will be more annoyed in the future!"

Ping'er heard this and felt it made sense, saying, "Grandmother is right. I will go, okay?"

Seeing Ping'er hurry out of the room, Wang Xifeng touched her abdomen that had not yet bulged.

She muttered unpleasantly, "This dead girl, I originally wanted her to blow the pillow wind in the future. This time, it's like a meat bun hitting a dog."

Rongguo Prefecture, Rongxi Hall.

Rongxi Hall is the main hall of the Rongguo Prefecture. Entering from the Rongguo Imperial Mansion Gate, it is a large courtyard at the end of the straight road past the ceremony gate.

Entering the courtyard gate, there are five large main rooms, with deer-top ear rooms and diamond-mountain rooms on both sides, leading in all directions, magnificent.

In those years, Jia Zheng moved into Rongxi Hall, but he was the second son and only inherited the mansion, and the title was inherited by his elder brother Jia She.

Therefore, even if he moved into Rongxi Hall, he didn't dare to overstep and move into the five large main rooms, but lived in the East Small Courtyard beside Rongxi Hall with Lady Wang.

But Jia Cong is different from Jia Zheng. He inherited the Rongguo family business by imperial decree, and the title and property are one, which is more legitimate than Jia She and Jia Zheng in those years.

Therefore, he can move directly into the five large main rooms.

Jia Cong took Wu'er across the courtyard gate, and seemed to feel in the dark that in this courtyard representing the source of Rongguo power, there was a heavy air of time precipitation.

In those years, the first Rongguo Duke followed the Taizu to fight the world, set the country, and opened the mansion. What a magnificent and glorious time it was.

Now that he has also moved into this Rongguo source hall, can he also create an eternal merit like the predecessors of the Jia family...

The slender and beautiful Wu'er stood in the magnificent courtyard, seeming to appear even more small and delicate.

She couldn't help but turn her head and look at Jia Cong. Seeing him with eyes like bright stars, eyebrows like distant mountains, standing there like a jade tree in the wind, the morning wind blowing from the eaves of the courtyard blew his sleeves slightly.

He seemed to have an unusual fit with this courtyard, as if he was born to be the master here.

Wu'er remembered Jia Cong's difficult struggle in the East Courtyard in those years, and didn't expect that he could step by step lotus, reaching today's point, and admiration and unspeakable tenderness rose in her heart.

At this time, light footsteps came from the courtyard gate. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 520 =====

The slender and pretty Wu'er, standing in the magnificent and ornate courtyard, seemed to appear even more small and delicate.

She could not help but turn her head to glance at Jia Cong, seeing him standing there like a jade tree in the wind, his eyes like bright stars and his brows like distant mountains. The morning breeze blowing past the eaves of the courtyard caused his robes to flutter slightly.

He seemed to have a strange compatibility with this courtyard, as if he were born to be its master.

Wu'er recalled Jia Cong's difficult struggles in the East Courtyard back then, and never imagined he could walk step by step toward success, reaching the position he held today. A sense of admiration and reverence arose in her heart, along with an indescribable tenderness.

At this moment, the sound of light footsteps came from the courtyard entrance. (End of chapter)