Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 15 Schemes

Wang Xifeng asked Laiwang a few more questions, then suddenly laughed: "You always listen to your second master, coming back to do things for him when he tells you to. How come you ignore my instructions?"

Although Wang Xifeng's smile was beautiful, Laiwang felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He knelt down on the cold, hard ground with a thud and said bitterly, "How could this servant dare to disregard Second Mistress's words? This servant also said that Second Master should choose someone else to handle the matter, but Second Master said, 'You must follow me. Is this because you received Second Mistress's order to monitor me from the beginning?' Upon hearing this, this servant was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. How could he dare to disobey Second Master again? He had no choice but to come back and report to Second Mistress."

Laiwang spoke earnestly, and Wang Xifeng did not doubt that he was lying, but she immediately began to calculate in her heart.

Feeling somewhat annoyed, and seeing Laiwang constantly begging for mercy, he became even more irritated and waved him away.

"Ping'er, look at your second master. We used to say he had changed his ways, but what do you say now?"

If he didn't harbor any ill intentions, why wouldn't he dare let anyone know, and why would he resort to these methods to send Wang'er back?

Wang Xifeng was very angry and complained to Ping'er.

Ping'er felt that Jia Lian might not be so sure, but she didn't want to contradict Wang Xifeng, so she remained silent.

"Hmph, he takes my money and pretends to be a good guy, then asks me to help him out. He gets all the benefits while we suffer? Just wait and see, when he brings back those worthless people, I'll distribute them to the beggars in the city..."

Wang Xifeng became increasingly resentful.

"No..."

Ping'er couldn't hold back any longer. She suddenly thought of something and whispered to Wang Xifeng, "Grandma, you can't do this. Perhaps I've figured out what the Second Master is up to."

Grandma said that Second Master sincerely explained that what happened that day was just a coincidence and a misunderstanding... Although Grandma and I believed it, since those words had already spread, there were bound to be some troublemakers who would treat it as a real thing.

However, we cannot arrest and punish everyone.

I think that although Second Master spent some money this time, he also won over the whole family.

On such a hot day, eating chilled watermelons, surely that can't shut them up?

Even if there were things that couldn't be stopped, as long as ten thousand people spoke well of the Second Master, those muddled and nonsensical words would naturally have nowhere to spread.

Therefore, I said that Grandma should not only not argue with Second Master, but also help him plan and treat this as a serious matter.

Wang Xifeng was only saying this because she suspected that Jia Lian was lying to her. She was extremely clever, and as soon as she heard Ping'er's words, she knew that this was Jia Lian's true intention.

It's rare that he actually cares about his reputation!

Although Wang Xifeng had realized that she might have been deceived by Jia Lian, she was not so sure that she would actually tarnish Jia Lian's reputation.

Therefore, he said to Ping'er, "You silly girl, why are you speaking up for him like this? Since you're like this, when he comes back tomorrow, I'll arrange for you to be given to him so you can be his virtuous wife, okay?"

Wang Xifeng just kept laughing, which made Ping'er blush with embarrassment. She scolded, "Bah! You're supposed to be a mistress, how can you say such things? You have no respect for anyone!"

"I'm afraid you secretly wish it were true..."

Ping'er then pretended to leave Wang Xifeng, which made Wang Xifeng laugh and grab her: "Alright, enough joking. Since that's the case, I'll leave this matter to you to handle for your second master. When Wang'er and the others bring the things back, you can pick out the best batch and send it to the old lady. As for the rest, you can decide how to distribute them to different places."

Ping'er nodded in agreement.

A few days later, when Laiwang was ordered to bring back the first batch of watermelons, Wang Xifeng and Ping'er began to distribute them, making the Rongguo Mansion lively.

While Lady Wang and the others came to pay their respects and speak to her, Grandmother Jia asked, "Why is there such a commotion outside today? Has something happened?"

Madam Wang smiled and said, "Reporting to the old lady, it's nothing serious. It's just that Lian'er bought a lot of winter melons from outside and gave them to the people in the clan to help them cool off. Even the servants got some. They were happy, so it was quite lively."

"Lian'er, didn't he go south?"

"They said they stumbled upon it on the street, thought it tasted good, so they bought it to give to the old lady and the elders in the clan."

Before Grandmother Jia could say anything, a commotion broke out at the door. It turned out that Wang Xifeng had come over and bumped into You Shi and her daughter-in-law, who had come to pay their respects from the East Mansion. They entered the house laughing and talking together.

When Grandmother Jia saw Wang Xifeng, she said, "I was just talking about you two! Your Lian'er got some good stuff, why didn't he send any to me? He's only thinking about those outside first!"

Wang Xifeng immediately knew what Grandmother Jia was talking about, and laughed, "Look at what the old lady is saying. If there's anything good, who would dare not offer it to the old lady first? They'd probably be afraid of being struck by lightning!"

When the things arrived this morning, I told someone to pick out the best ones and put them in the deep well to cool them down. Just now I also told Ping'er that the old lady can't eat anything too cold, so I told her to take them out, cut them up, and bring them over here so that the old lady and the ladies can cool off!

"If the old lady wants it now, there are plenty piled up in the courtyard outside. She can simply send someone to fetch it; it's fine to give it to the maids and servants. However, I don't recommend that the old lady go through all that trouble. Lian Er doesn't know what's gotten into him, treating this thing like some rare treasure, insisting on distributing it widely! So, not only those in the old lady's quarters, but every single servant in the mansion will get a share!"

Grandmother Jia asked in surprise, "So, how much did he actually buy?"

"No more, no less, a full ten thousand catties."

"So many..."

Many people who were unaware of this immediately exclaimed in surprise.

As they were talking, Ping'er led her maids in, lined up in a row, and brought in more than a dozen trays, on which were neatly arranged and pretty watermelon slices, the kind without the rind.

Upon seeing this, Wang Xifeng laughed and scolded, "Old lady, you're not a big eater, why did you cut so much for me?"

"I thought that Madam, Grandmother, and the young ladies were all here, so I cut a little extra."

"Well, you're still the better one, more thoughtful than me."

Although Grandmother Jia didn't particularly like watermelon, she smiled because she appreciated the kindness of Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng.

Someone brought over a plate, and I picked up a piece from the bamboo skewer on the side and took a bite.

"It definitely tastes better than what I've had before."

Grandmother Jia gave a fair assessment, then smiled at Jia Baoyu and the others, saying, "Since it's your brother and sister-in-law's idea, you should try it too. Just don't eat too much, though, as it's cooling in nature, and your bodies might not be able to handle it."

However, Jia Baoyu's attention did not seem to be on those bright red and beautiful watermelons. He was called two or three times before turning around and saying "Yes" before going forward to pick out the best plate, preparing to share it with his sisters.

Lost in thought, and ignoring the slightly anxious looks from Sanchun and the others, he suddenly turned and walked to You Shi's side, saying to her new daughter-in-law, Qin Shi, "I think this is the best. Here, you all try it first..."

Madam You was somewhat flattered and quickly asked Madam Qin to accept the gift, saying with a smile, "Baoyu, there's no need to be so polite, we can do it ourselves."

Jia Baoyu's response to You Shi was somewhat perfunctory. He only watched as Qin Shi took the plate and gave him a sweet smile, and he felt half of his heart melt. He was stunned and didn't know how to react until someone called him. Then he walked back woodenly, casually took a plate of watermelon back, and shared it with Yingchun and the others.

The people in the hall didn't think much of Jia Baoyu's behavior. Although they were from the same clan, they were still considered guests compared to the people from the East Mansion. Therefore, Jia Baoyu's act of treating You Shi and her daughter-in-law with courtesy was not wrong.

As for Jia Baoyu staring at Qin Shi... so what? Baoyu is still young. What bad intentions could a child have?

The old women in Grandmother Jia's room, along with You Shi, kept praising Jia Baoyu for being sensible...

In the midst of their conversation, Madam You suddenly smiled at Wang Xifeng and said, "Speaking of this matter, your elder brother Zhen told me to thank you in person when I came over."

It's kind of you two to be so thoughtful.

When I first heard about it, I thought it was just a few pounds, a token of a gift. But when I got to the front yard and saw it, I was quite surprised.

The mule carts, covered with straw, were overflowing with fresh watermelons—about ten cartloads in total. The boys were carrying them into the house, sweating profusely from their work!

"If you think it's too much, send it back to me," Wang Xifeng retorted with a smile.

"Aren't you ashamed in front of the old ladies and other women? How can you ask for something back after giving it away?"

As everyone chatted and laughed while eating melons, the maids and servants nearby were quite envious.

As servants who could stand in this room, few of them were poor, so even if watermelons were expensive on the market, they could still buy them and try them.

However, after the mistress and the girls ate it, they all said it tasted better than usual. But how exactly did it taste better? How could anyone know without tasting it themselves? How could it not be so intriguing?

However, as servants trained by a large family, even if they are very greedy, they are unlikely to show it.

I was just thinking that since Second Grandma said everyone would get a share, I would definitely eat a lot when I got it and see how different it was!

After taking a few bites, Grandmother Jia stopped eating and had the head maids take the food away to distribute. Then she wiped her mouth and said, "Lian Er seems to be much more easy to manage than before."

I was surprised when he offered to go south to pick up his sister that day. What was rare was that he kept his word and made all the preparations in one night, and set off the next day.

I'm getting old and need less sleep. I've always been an early riser, but I remember that morning when he came to say goodbye, I was still asleep.

"Yuanyang, what time did he arrive that day?"

Yuanyang thought for a moment, "It's probably just past midnight."

Grandmother Jia nodded: "I thought he really treated this as a serious matter, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten up so early. It must be to make it easier to travel."

Everyone knows that, apart from Master Zhu, of all the men in the mansion, the old lady only likes Baoyu.

It was rare to hear her praise any of the gentlemen other than Baoyu, especially Jia Lian, so for a moment she didn't know how to respond.

But this didn't stump Wang Xifeng: "Oh, what's the big deal? He probably knows the old lady is reluctant to part with Qingwen and is afraid of giving her a handle to use against him, which is why he's acting so eager. Once he's out of the old lady's sight, who knows what he'll do?"

If someone else had said this, it would have been suspected of being backstabbing, but since it was Wang Xifeng who said it, it didn't carry that connotation.

And because what she said was so interesting, everyone couldn't help but laugh, and all looked at the neatest little girl standing to the side.

Believe it or not, it's actually possible. After all, what man wouldn't love such a beautiful girl?

Sitting among his sisters, lost in thought, Jia Baoyu was startled back to reality by their laughter and instinctively looked towards Qingwen.

What a beautiful girl, like a lotus emerging from the water! Her shy and reserved demeanor in the face of everyone's gaze left Jia Baoyu completely mesmerized!

On this side, Grandmother Jia scolded Wang Xifeng, saying, "Everyone else knows to speak well of their husbands in front of their elders, but you don't understand this principle. No wonder he's angry with you! If you go back and complain to me about his faults, see if I'll still listen to you!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, as expected, people say that one can become a Buddha by laying down the butcher's knife. I didn't believe it before, but now I do."

I always take the old lady very carefully when I serve her, afraid that I might not be attentive in the slightest. Even so, I still don't get a single kind word from her.

Now, Master Lian only showed filial piety to the old lady once, and she praised him to the skies, making even me look inferior in his presence.

It's clear that being a good person is hard! If I were to be unfilial every day from now on, never going to the old lady's side when she needs anything, only showing her kindness once or twice on days when she's in a good mood, she'd love me more than anyone else!

Wang Xifeng smiled and pretended to be clever, which made everyone laugh even more.

Grandmother Jia scolded, "You little monkey, nowadays you even dare to make up stories about me."

Although everyone knew that Wang Xifeng was joking on purpose, upon reflection of the scene just now, it did seem to make some sense.

Grandmother Jia herself realized that it was indeed impossible to erase all of Jia Lian's past mistakes just because he had performed well once, so she stopped bringing it up.

Seeing this, Wang Xifeng secretly felt smug.

Although he was willing to help Jia Lian curry favor with everyone in the household, he did not want Jia Lian to overshadow her in front of Grandmother Jia, otherwise she would be even less able to control Jia Lian in the future.

She still harbors resentment about her defeat in front of Jia Lian last time and is always thinking about getting her revenge in the future.