Chapter 390 Mid-Autumn Festival
If that business deal with the Xia family had gone through, Wang Xifeng had planned to plant osmanthus trees in many places in the courtyard where she visited her parents.
The sweet fragrance of osmanthus blossoms fills the air in August, a truly auspicious time, but then this unexpected turn of events occurs.
The entire capital was filled with the construction of courtyards to welcome dignitaries home for family visits, and these auspicious tree species were hard to find.
So in the end, Wang Xifeng decided to use only fruit trees and not osmanthus trees!
The Xia family later learned that the Rongguo Mansion needed a large quantity of osmanthus flowers, which was why they had come to their house, only to have their daughter ruin the whole thing.
They weren't worried about losing this business deal, since the osmanthus flowers wouldn't be hard to sell this year. What they were worried about was offending the Rongguo Mansion, fearing that things would become difficult in the future.
So when the Xue family proposed marriage, they were somewhat interested when it was mentioned that the Xue family were relatives of the Rongguo Mansion.
If they were to become in-laws with the relatives of the Rongguo Mansion, wouldn't all the little conflicts between them in the past be easily resolved?
Moreover, the Xue family's ancestors were Ziwei Sheren, which was quite prestigious, and now they are major imperial merchants.
Even if Xue Pan has some flaws, their daughter is no pushover either. It's not certain who will come out on top!
Both sides quickly reached an agreement. Neither family was poor, and the dowry and betrothal gifts for their children had been prepared long ago. They were just waiting for the auspicious day when the Xue family's red sedan chair would be carried to the Xia family to bring their daughter over.
All of this had little to do with the Rongguo Mansion. As the matriarch, Wang Xifeng could send a generous gift, which was enough. Even though Aunt Xue was her aunt and Xue Pan was her cousin, she never thought of getting too close to the Xue family.
The Xue family was too adept at scheming, and she knew she wasn't that clever, so she constantly reminded herself:
Cherish life, stay away from the Xue family.
That day, Lady Wang did take Baoyu to the Xue family, but after Baoyu returned, he fell into a trance, constantly saying that things shouldn't be like this, that his sisters should all be together...
Hearing him say such things, Madam Wang was quite startled, though others might not think much of it. Baoyu had finally gotten rid of his habit of hanging out with girls these past few years, so why did he relapse after just one visit to the Xue family?
Lady Wang questioned the servant boy beside Baoyu and learned that Baoyu was not like this at all; there had been some clues when Rong Da Nainai passed away.
Lady Wang assumed that Baoyu was possessed by a curse, so she hurriedly went to invite a Taoist priest to her home. However, as soon as he entered, he was thrown out by someone sent by Grandmother Jia, who had just learned of the incident.
"It's only been a few days since what happened to Feng'er? And you've invited a Taoist priest to our house again? Are you trying to embarrass Feng'er on purpose? Aren't there enough Taoist temples and monasteries outside for you to see? Why do you have to bring one home!"
Grandmother Jia summoned Lady Wang to Rongqing Hall and gave her a severe scolding.
"I didn't think that much about it. Seeing that Baoyu was in poor spirits, and that Zhang the Taoist priest who used to come to the mansion had gone on a pilgrimage, I was just grasping at straws in my desperation." Lady Wang had taken the lead in the matter of Wang Xifeng being locked up in the ancestral hall, so she was now quite embarrassed in front of Grandmother Jia.
Lady Wang herself felt that nowadays, Grandmother Jia seemed to treat her second wife, Lady Xing, better than she treated herself.
If Grandmother Jia knew what she was thinking, she would surely say: "You're right, that's exactly how it is."
Grandmother Jia has come to terms with things now. Although Jia She is not a good man, he has a good son, Jia Lian, and Jia Lian has married a good wife, Wang Xifeng. The couple is very efficient and capable, and it seems that they are about to pull the Rongguo Mansion out of its previous quagmire and onto the right path.
Grandmother Jia naturally approved of the couple's current behavior, and her opinion of the main branch of the family also changed.
In contrast, the second wife's family suffered greatly. Jia Zheng failed in his official career, failed in educating his son, and failed even more drastically in educating his wife.
Grandmother Jia no longer believes that the virtuous concubine from the second branch of the family is the one who can lead the Rongguo Mansion back to its former glory.
After all, she now knew exactly where this virtuous consort came from.
Grandmother Jia also knew that if the Rongguo Mansion did not achieve anything significant, the title of Virtuous Consort would probably be the last respect the Emperor would give to the Rongguo Mansion.
Therefore, she showed no mercy when reprimanding Madam Wang.
"The visit to her family is just around the corner, and Feng'er is heavily pregnant, yet she's still incredibly busy every day. You should all behave yourselves and let Feng'er worry less!"
Sometimes, Grandmother Jia really wanted to crack open Lady Wang's head to see what was inside!
Lady Wang dared not say more and could only hurriedly take Baoyu to the Taoist temple outside the city.
Perhaps it was because the old Taoist priest at the temple was highly skilled in Taoist arts, because after Baoyu returned from the temple, he indeed stopped talking nonsense and saying those incoherent things.
Madam Wang was unwilling to delve any further into the matter.
In truth, Jia Baoyu himself knew that while he was Jia Baoyu, he might not actually be Jia Baoyu.
After all, the Baoyu he was now was quite different from the Baoyu he had seen in the place he visited in his dream.
On the night Qin Keqing passed away, Baoyu had a long dream.
He dreamed that he toured a celestial palace with a fairy, went to a place called the Land of Illusion, wandered around inside, entered the Department of Ill-fated Women, and saw the pronouncements on the Twelve Beauties of Jinling.
These were things he should have encountered years ago when he visited the East Mansion and stayed in Qin Keqing's bedroom, during a long dream.
However, Wang Xifeng kept a close watch on him that time, and Baoyu had no chance to sleep in Qin Keqing's room, so he never had this dream.
He saw the pronouncements in the Book of Ill-fated Women and felt they were very wrong. Clearly, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai were not like those in the pronouncements at all.
This judgment is utter nonsense. In a fit of anger, Jia Baoyu wanted to tear it up, but instead, he fell into another dream.
This dream took him through the scenes from the original book.
After Jia Baoyu woke up, he became somewhat delirious, and the condition worsened over time. Lady Wang had no choice but to take him to a Taoist temple for treatment.
The Taoist temple that Lady Wang took Jia Baoyu to had a master with real skills. He could tell at a glance that Jia Baoyu was immersed in a dream and had not woken up.
If we force him to come out, he will likely be either killed or seriously injured.
Lady Wang had no choice but to follow the Taoist priest's advice and leave Jia Baoyu in the Taoist temple. She would chant scriptures and do things to wake him from his dream every day, and to her surprise, the effect was quite good.
A few more days passed, and the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived.
That morning, Daiyu followed Yuan Hongqu into the palace.
This year, the palace made a new style of mooncake, based on a recipe contributed by the Women's Academy. The palace improved the recipe and made it into a royal dish. As a dazzling dessert, it is not only beautiful but also delicious.
The moon was beautiful on Mid-Autumn Festival night.
With everything arranged outside, Wang Xifeng felt a sense of relief.
"Second Madam, Her Majesty just met with Master Bao and said she wants him to stay and tour the garden with her."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
