The cannon fodder character in the "Dream of the Red Chamber" substitute marriage story tries to rewrite her life - Part 1. (Seeking...)
Back in the system space, Chen Xia recalled the moments she spent with Fang Erha in the small world and the funny stories of Fang Erha raising his daughter, and she really felt a little reluctant to leave.
But soon, her emotional memories from her past life were erased. Looking back at those memories, it was as if she were watching someone else's story, and her heart was no longer stirred.
After resting for a few days and adjusting his condition, Chen Xia entered the small world to continue his mission.
During the initial learning phase, to allow her time to adjust, she used her original name in the mini-world.
Now that she's officially a full-fledged employee, she naturally no longer gets those newbie perks. Although, for her now, the name is just a symbol.
But changing my name so suddenly is a bit of a shock for a while.
This time, she entered a heavily modified version of "Dream of the Red Chamber," which can be considered a prequel to "Dream of the Red Chamber," or rather, a prequel set during the Kangxi era.
The original owner, Jia Hui, was the third daughter of the Jia family, born out of wedlock. She had two older half-sisters, Jia Xuan and Jia Hui, and a younger sister named Jia Min.
The eldest daughter, Jia Min, and her two elder brothers, Jia She and Jia Zheng, were all of the "Wen generation".
The names of the three concubine daughters became "flowers and grasses," which shows that Jia Min was the precious legitimate daughter of the Jia family, while the original three were like weeds with unfortunate fates.
The original owner of this body was a complete tragedy in the prequel; she was tortured to death by her husband's family a few years after getting married.
By the time the plot of Dream of the Red Chamber unfolds, she is already dead, so naturally she has no chance to appear.
When Leng Zixing mentioned Jia Min to Jia Yucun, he casually mentioned that she was the youngest of the four sisters.
Of course, after the original owner got married, her life wasn't great, and her two half-sisters weren't much better off either.
Jia Xuan was the eldest daughter of a concubine. Her aunt, Liu, was Jia Daishan's favorite and a maid personally bestowed upon her by the old lady of the Jia family.
Before Shi had even settled into her new family, she became pregnant with her eldest son, born out of wedlock.
If the baby hadn't been stillborn, Jia She might not have been the eldest son of the Jia family.
In her first confrontation with the Shi family, Liu appeared to have the upper hand, but in reality, she suffered a great loss.
She gave birth to a stillborn child, which damaged her health. It took her several years to finally give birth to Jia Xuan. After that, she gave up her ambition to have a child and settled down to raise her child peacefully.
Tang, the aunt of Jia Wei, the second half-sister, was a servant born into the Jia family. Shi promoted her to compete with Liu for favor.
Unexpectedly, this turned out to be a case of inviting trouble. Tang was beautiful and knew how to be gentle and considerate, which made her very popular with Jia Daishan. As a result, Jia Wei also gained Jia Daishan's favor. Among all the sisters, she was the one who loved to compete for the best.
The original owner's aunt's surname was Qin. Her ancestors were a family of scholars and farmers, and they were quite wealthy. Later, a spendthrift son came along who not only squandered the family fortune but also tried to sell his children to continue gambling.
The original owner's aunt's family elders had a long-standing relationship with Old Madam Jia, so they asked Old Madam Jia to help find a way for their granddaughter to survive.
The old lady Jia thought that the original owner's concubine looked blessed, so she took it upon herself to let Jia Daishan take her as a concubine.
Qin was a concubine of good birth, unlike Liu and Tang, who were maids by origin. She was of good birth and came from a respectable family, so even if Shi disliked her, she could not beat, scold, or sell her at will.
Therefore, Qin became a thorn in Shi's side, even though she had always stayed in her own courtyard and behaved herself well since marrying into the family, never overstepping her bounds.
As the mistress of the house, Shi Shi didn't need to do many things herself; she could simply give the order and Qin Shi would die in childbirth.
Shi originally intended for Qin to die along with her unborn child, but unexpectedly, despite taking the medicine, Qin still managed to give birth to the original owner.
The original owner of this body lost her mother at birth and was regarded as an unlucky person who would bring misfortune to her mother by the Jia family. When the old lady of the Jia family was alive, she took her in and raised her for a few years. After the old lady died, she became a nobody in the Jia family.
If it weren't for Granny Zhang and her two maids, Yun Que and Yu Yan, who were left behind by the old lady, she probably would have already gone with the old lady and her aunt.
In the original storyline, Lady Shi "carefully" selected three marriages for her three illegitimate daughters.
The eldest daughter of a concubine, Jia Xuan, married Liu Zhi, the youngest son of Liu, the Vice Minister of Rites. This Liu Zhi was the son born to Liu's most favored concubine in his old age. He was raised by his legal mother from a young age and was spoiled by her, indulging in all sorts of vices, including eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.
Before the marriage was even finalized, more than a dozen beautiful maids were already kept in the house. Jia Xuan was overjoyed to become a mother after the marriage, but she was tormented by her wicked mother-in-law and annoyed by her concubines. Her life was a complete mess.
After several years of marriage without any happiness, Jia Xuan spent a lot of money to hire a famous doctor to treat her, only to be told that she had been given a drug that would prevent her from having children many years ago.
Jia Xuan asked a renowned doctor if he could determine when the medicine was administered. After learning the approximate time, Jia Xuan realized that this was definitely the work of her stepmother, Shi.
Jia Xuan was unable to have children and did not want to adopt a concubine's child, so he died of depression a few years later.
Jia Wei's situation was even worse. She married General Mingrui, whose great-grandfather was Prince Li, Daishan, a legitimate member of the imperial family. There must have been a reason why she ended up marrying a concubine's daughter from the Jia family, who came from a bondservant background.
Don't be fooled by the Jia family's reputation as one of the four great families alongside the Wang, Shi, and Xue families; they were nothing more than a bunch of bondservants. That's why Jia Yuanchun was chosen as a palace maid when she entered the palace—she wasn't qualified to participate in the general selection.
Mingrui's ancestors were also illustrious. His great-great-grandfather was Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, his great-great-grandfather was Daišan, and his great-great-grandfather was Yuetuo.
Yue Tuo was posthumously granted the title of Prince Keqin by Huang Taiji and was one of the eight iron-capped princes in the early Qing Dynasty.
Mingrui's grandfather, Marsay, was the sixth son of Yuetuo. Because he was an illegitimate son, he was separated from the family and lived separately after reaching adulthood.
Due to limited abilities and a strained relationship with the main branch, the title of Feng'en General was passed down to his generation, making him the lowest-ranking Feng'en General.
Although he was a member of the imperial family, he only had the surname Aisin Gioro and was not as respectable as a bondservant like Jia Daishan in front of Emperor Kangxi.
Mingrui's father was frail and sickly from childhood, and it was only after many years of marriage that he managed to have Mingrui, his only son.
Like his father, Mingrui was sickly from a young age. He started taking medicine before he even learned to drink milk, and now he is so sick that he can't even get out of bed.
The Shi family arranged this marriage for Jia Wei, which was essentially a way to bring good luck. Sure enough, not long after Jia Wei married into the family, Mingrui passed away, and Jia Wei became a widow.
Although the original owner's two half-sisters' marriages were each unfortunate in their own way, at least they came from respectable families. But the original owner's marriage was even more outrageous. The daughter of the Duke of Rongguo, even though she was an illegitimate daughter, was it too much to marry a poor scholar who relied on his widowed mother's embroidery to support his studies?
It's truly remarkable how the Shi family found this marriage from such a remote and insignificant place. They claimed that although Su Jingxing's family background was somewhat lacking, he was hardworking and ambitious.
As long as the original owner marries into the family, is dutiful to her mother-in-law, manages the household affairs, and supports Su Jingxing's continued pursuit of imperial examinations, it is possible that she will become a titled lady in the future due to her husband's status.
The most outrageous thing is that Jia Daishan actually believed it; this is not how you do poverty alleviation. In order to make the original owner manage the household affairs well and be filial to her mother-in-law, Shi even gave her carefully trained maid Jinque to her son-in-law Hongxiu Tianxiang.
With the help of the Jia family, Su Jingxing passed the imperial examination and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a high-ranking official of the third rank.
The original owner was tormented to death by Su's mother a few years after marrying into the family. After her death, Shi reciprocated by arranging a marriage for Su Jingxing, who married a legitimate daughter from a collateral branch of the Shi family.
Why did Chen Xia say this was a heavily modified version of the Dream of the Red Chamber world? Because the above plot is from the first playthrough. In the second playthrough, the original owner's two half-sisters are reborn. After Jia Xuan dies with resentment, she finds herself back in her boudoir. She decisively pulls in her aunt and plays the emotional card with Jia Daishan.
Ultimately, through Jia Daishan's machinations, she was selected to enter the palace, intending to follow the path of the Crown Prince. Even if she became a concubine, as long as she could endure until the Crown Prince ascended the throne, she could eventually be made a concubine or a high-ranking official. It was better than marrying a playboy.
Jia Wei returned later than Jia Xuan. By then, Jia Xuan had already been selected for the imperial concubine selection and, through Jia Daishan's connections, had been successfully assigned to Yuqing Palace. Jia Wei wanted to follow Jia Xuan's path, but it was too late for her to enter the palace. After much deliberation, she decided to sabotage the original owner's marriage.
In her opinion, although Su Jingxing's family background was not good in the early stages, he at least knew how to work hard and make progress. Later, his official career was also very successful. Marrying him would allow her to become a noblewoman by virtue of her husband's status, which was better than marrying into the Feng'en General's Mansion and becoming a widow.
She broke up the original owner's marriage, leaving the original owner with no choice but to marry General Mingrui. Unaware of the first playthrough's plot, the original owner didn't want to marry a sickly man on the verge of death, so she was beaten by Jia Daishan, locked in the ancestral hall, and died of a fever.
The original owner's resentment was so strong after her death. What did she do to deserve this? Why should she be the only one causing trouble?
In the first playthrough, she married a man from a poor background who had achieved success, and was murdered. In the second playthrough, things were even more rushed, and she actually died of a fever.
She made a deal with the underworld by using her merits, wishing that the person who performed the task would help her live a second life.
Jia Wei stole her marriage and then deliberately went to her to show off, just because she thought that marrying into General Feng'en's mansion meant she was destined to be a widow.
With such an old mother and the Shi family interfering, Jia Wei's life after marrying into the Su family was no better than her own in the first timeline.
She wants the wisher to revive Mingrui, to live a life that Jia Wei can't even dream of, so that Jia Wei will regret it. And if someone can help her get revenge on the Shi family, she'll give them a five-star review.
The system told Chen Xia that someone had accepted this task before, but failed. The reason for the failure was that the person who accepted the task helped Lin Daiyu in passing, and then helped the three sisters.
Lin Daiyu was a filial and good child, which allowed Grandmother Jia to enjoy her later years in peace after the family's property was confiscated. The original owner of this body, filled with resentment, immediately filed a complaint, arguing that she could not accept that the tasker was helping her mother's killer.
The little system repeatedly warned: "Xiaxia, remember, when we're doing a mission, the worst thing we can do is meddle or add unnecessary details."
The previous participant's experience is still fresh in our minds, so please don't be soft-hearted! Because of this complaint, the previous participant's task was deemed unqualified, and for the next three tasks, they only received half the points each time—it was truly miserable.
Chen Xia, who is Jia Hui in this life, secretly reminded herself that the lessons of the past were still fresh in her mind, and she must not make the same mistake as the previous mission taker.
She arrived at a time when the original owner, unwilling to marry in place of another, argued with Jia Daishan, was slapped by him, forced to kneel in the ancestral hall, fainted from a fever, and was then thrown back into her own courtyard to fend for herself.
After sorting through her memories, Jia Hui struggled to retrieve fever-reducing medicine from her spatial storage, took it with spiritual spring water, and then ate a body-strengthening pill.
Just as she swallowed the pill, she heard someone calling her. Turning her head, she saw a girl dressed in gorgeous clothes and adorned with jewels standing at the door.
She was stunningly beautiful, and the golden hairpin on her head glittered in the sunlight, making Jia Hui's eyes dizzy.
"Third sister, your second sister has come to see you. Third sister, how are you? Why are you arguing with Father?"
Actually, there's nothing wrong with General Feng'en's residence. Although General Feng'en is frail, you are a blessed person. Perhaps after you marry into the family, General Feng'en's illness will turn out for the better.
"Thanks to Second Sister, I won't die." Jia Hui smiled faintly: "But Second Sister, instead of embroidering your wedding dress in the courtyard, why do you have time to come to my courtyard?"
I feel so sorry for my second sister. She was raised with the utmost care and privilege at home. I never imagined she would be forced to marry a poor, unknown scholar.
"Oh dear, anyone who didn't know better would think my second sister had done something shameful and had to marry down to hide it."
Upon hearing this, Jia Xuan's face showed a hint of unease, but she quickly put on a smile and pretended to be friendly as she walked into the house.
"What are you saying, Third Sister? We are sisters, even if our bones are broken, our tendons are still connected."
My sister truly cares for you; she knows you'll be a widow after marriage, which is why she came all this way to see you. Your words are a betrayal of her kindness.
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