Chapter 16 Casual Chat

Yuan Hongqu praised,

"You've been here for so long, yet you haven't been blinded by the wealth of the Rongguo Mansion, nor have you abused your power. Your values ​​are commendable!"

"Of course, the education we received from childhood is ingrained in our bones!" Wang Xifeng was somewhat pleased with the praise, but then she frowned slightly.

“I couldn’t stop the Xue family from going to the capital. I don’t know which heartless official came and cleared the case for them. No one would feel good about such illegal and disorderly conduct that disregards human life.”

"Second Madam, don't worry. The four great families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue have a lot of intricacies involved, but the Xue family's matter will definitely be resolved for now. However, logically speaking, the Xue family and the Wang family should be closer, so why would they bypass the Wang family and ask the Jia family for help?"

Yuan Hongqu was also puzzled by this.

“Sister Yuan, I know this. The head of the Wang family is about to be promoted, and he probably doesn’t want to get involved in these troubles, lest something unexpected happen.” Wang Xifeng said thoughtfully.

Yuan Hongqu nodded: "That should be the case. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for someone to ask their aunt for help instead of their own uncle first."

"That's right, the Xue family is really something, always causing trouble. Later, the Second Madam made me clean up Pear Fragrance Courtyard for the Xue family to live in after they go to the capital. I'm really unlucky, always doing these thankless tasks! The Second Madam won't let me rest for even a day or two!" Wang Xifeng complained.

Yuan Hongqu smiled but remained silent, only listening to Wang Xifeng's incessant chatter.

"I noticed that the Second Madam was making things difficult for me today, which was a bit strange. She suddenly started making things difficult for me out of the blue. Could it be because I've been lazy lately and don't want to deal with the affairs of the inner courtyard, and she's afraid I'll really give up, so she's deliberately making things difficult for me to make me face reality?"

Yuan Hongqu looked at her and shook her head:

“It’s not that bad. Even if you wanted to give up on things in the inner courtyard, your Second Master Lian wouldn’t let you... I think it’s probably because of something you said this morning that made her deliberately give you a warning.” Yuan Hongqu realized the crux of the problem.

Although Lady Wang wouldn't get Rongyue Courtyard even if Daiyu didn't live there, Wang Xifeng's suggestion to give it to Daiyu today was tantamount to humiliating Lady Wang and damaging her interests. Lady Wang was already in a bad mood, and she was using the Xue family's matter to put pressure on Wang Xifeng!

Wang Xifeng gained favor with the old lady through the Rongyue Courtyard incident, but on the other hand, she offended Madam Wang, and she will probably have to suffer Madam Wang's temper in the future.

Seeing that Wang Xifeng still looked puzzled, Yuan Hongqu became somewhat anxious:

Such a ditzy beauty, transmigrated into the body of the shrewd Wang Xifeng, and has actually survived for so long—her luck is truly heaven-defying! However, the crux of the matter stemmed from Rongyue Courtyard, so I might as well explain it to her clearly to prevent her from acting rashly and causing trouble again.

"The root of your suffering lies with Rongyue Courtyard," Yuan Hongqu said.

"Although I don't know why Rongyue Courtyard was uninhabited before Daiyu came here, I can imagine that there must have been many people eyeing this courtyard. The Second Madam who made things difficult for you today must be one of them."

Wang Xifeng then revealed a look of sudden realization.

"No wonder, she wanted this courtyard for the phoenix egg, Jia Baoyu!"

Wang Xifeng blurted out,

"No matter how good something is, as long as it's from this mansion, she'll eventually give it to Jia Baoyu!"

When Jia Baoyu was mentioned, Wang Xifeng showed a look of disdain.

"Sister Yuan, let me tell you, you must keep a close eye on Daiyu. You absolutely cannot let Daiyu be deceived by that little lecher! She's almost ten years old and still doesn't understand the difference between boys and girls. The other day I saw with my own eyes that he was actually pressing down on her own mother's maid and biting her lips!"

Wang Xifeng felt nauseous.

Yuan Hongqu couldn't control the images appearing in her mind and felt a wave of discomfort.

Wang Xifeng paused for a moment, then continued...

"If he were only three or four years old, it would be understandable if he didn't know any better, but Jia Baoyu was already ten years old and had been studying the classics for several years. That saying was really true: all the books he read were wasted!"

She took a big bite of the cake, suppressing the feeling of nausea.

"If he were fifteen or sixteen, I would think it's normal. It's nothing to have a crush on a girl during puberty... But he's not! He's not completely clueless either. Sister Yuan, do you know how disgusted I was? This kid is hopeless!"

"That's why I said you must keep Lin Daiyu away from him. I've only read a few episodes of Dream of the Red Chamber, but I know that Jia Baoyu is a scoundrel who falls in love with every woman he sees. He's absolutely not worthy of Lin Daiyu entrusting her life to him. Lin Daiyu has helped you recover your health and isn't crying all the time anymore. We can't let this guy ruin you!"

Wang Xifeng kept nagging and emphasizing it repeatedly.

"Heh, it's best if he stays away from Daiyu. If he dares to get close to Daiyu, those maids around her are no pushovers. They'll definitely teach him a lesson!" Yuan Hongqu sneered.

"He will pay the price for such behavior sooner or later."

Yuan Hongqu recalled the time Jia Zheng beat Jia Baoyu, almost killing him half to death, which taught him a lesson.

"I think so too. His father isn't a good-natured man. If Jia Baoyu's private behavior were to reach his father's ears, he'd definitely get a severe beating!" Wang Xifeng said gleefully.

"Second Madam, Second Master Lian has gone out on business and probably won't be back tonight. He just sent Wang'er over to tell him."

Ping'er didn't come in. It seemed that the Second Madam and Granny Yuan were catching up, and it wouldn't be appropriate for her to go in abruptly, so she spoke to Wang Xifeng from the doorway.

"I know, humph, what could he be busy with? He's probably tied up with some woman again!" Wang Xifeng's voice rang out.

Ping'er dared not respond to these words and silently retreated, thinking to herself that the Second Master seemed to have changed his nature in the past six months. She had never seen him get close to other women. Even though she was his nominal maid, he was no longer close to her.

But the second mistress didn't seem to do anything; on the contrary, she seemed to avoid the second master like the plague, always pushing him away.

I don't know what kind of personality the Second Master has. Even though the Second Madam doesn't like him, he still shamelessly tries to get closer to her.

Like tonight's Wang'er coming and going, in the past, if Second Master didn't come home at night, he would never bother to come and tell Second Madam. Now, he always makes a special trip to report to Second Madam.

Ping'er was completely baffled by the couple's behavior.

She had eaten in the side hall earlier and then went to the courtyard; she is still in the courtyard now.

Rongyue Courtyard is bustling with activity right now!

The maids and servants had mostly finished their tasks, and with the beautiful moonlight tonight, they were all chatting in the courtyard. When Ping'er came over, they offered her a seat and asked her about the rules of the Rongguo Mansion, as well as what had happened to them that day. If there was anything they didn't understand, they would ask Ping'er, an old servant of the Rongguo Mansion, for advice.

Ping'er was a kind-hearted person, and she would tell them everything she knew without reservation.

The servants of the Lin family who came to the capital to serve Lin Daiyu were all carefully selected. They were very knowledgeable about the rules and regulations of the mansion, and Ping'er had a very pleasant conversation with them.

"What are you saying? It's so lively." A clear voice came from inside, and everyone in the courtyard looked over.

There were lampstands on both sides of the small bridge, and the lights were shining brightly.

Little Daiyu, carrying a glass jade rabbit pounding medicine lamp, walked in the very center, like a fairy who had just stepped down from the moon.

Two maids carrying lanterns were in front of her, followed by Walnut and Mandarin Duck, who were with the old lady. Behind her were Zijuan and Xueyan, and two old women carrying large lanterns followed behind.

This group of people completely protected Daiyu in the middle, leaving no blind spots.

"It's the young lady! We were just asking her some questions!" someone in the courtyard replied.

"Yes, we can't let Sister Ping'er teach us for nothing. We should prepare good soups and water for Sister Ping'er in our kitchen."

"Don't worry, young lady, everything is ready."

As they were talking, Daiyu and the others entered the courtyard. The people who had been sitting idly earlier all crowded around Daiyu, first taking the lantern from her hand, and then settling the old women who had brought Daiyu back into the side hall to have tea.