The next day.
Mrs. Wang prepared a high-quality banquet, named the troupe, and invited Mrs. Zhen and her daughter.
As the eldest grandson of the Jia family, Uncle Rong also visited the Zhen family when he was in Jinling. Today Mrs. Zhen is coming to the banquet. As the eldest grandson, he cannot lose his etiquette. Then he returned to the house and went to the garden to pay his respects.
As the daughter of an old relative, Mrs. Zhen did not forget the rules in the house, so Uncle Rong only invited her outside. I also thought about Grandma Rong and Sister Feng in the mansion waiting to accompany me. I only thought that Aunt Xue and Lin Daiyu were not at the table and were not well, so the Xiaoxiang Pavilion was deserted.
I just wanted to pay my respects here, so I went to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to have a look.
"Brother Rong, why are you standing outside? Come in and talk." It turns out that not only Mrs. Zhen and Miss Zhen were invited today, but Miss Zhen, the second princess of Beijing County, was also invited.
Brother Rong couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing her voice. What does this girl mean by calling me so carefully?
The princess of the county asked the old lady inside to remove the screen, and naturally smiled and said: "Madam, have you heard of Brother Rong's name? This young master is a rare person. Now it is said in Beijing that the two houses are interested in him."
Listening to the county princess's exaggerated praise outside the station, even a man with a face as thick as a city wall couldn't help but blush.
"Now he is in charge of all the affairs of our two houses, so it would be nice to meet him." The old lady also held Mrs. Zhen's hand, and she couldn't help but feel happy. Then he smiled at Qin Keqing and said, "Brother Rong and his wife are also coming over and sit down next to me."
Just in time. The screen in the room was removed and Uncle Rong also entered.
At the moment, Keqing hesitated for a moment and then sat down next to Mrs. Jia Mu. Standing next to her were Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Xing, Wang Xifeng and Li Wan.
Sitting next to Jia Mu is Mrs. Zhen. The second Miss Zhen, Princess of Beijing County, who should have been seated the most, was sitting in the same seat as the third Miss Zhen.
The mother and daughter of the Zhen family were also accompanied by four women, presumably the daughters-in-law of the Zhen family who came to place them yesterday.
The other maids only stood below and outside, and Brother Rong stood out among them.
When the old lady saw him, she called out, "Brother Rong, sit down with Baoyu."
Only then did Jia Rong realize that there was a young boy sitting in front of the maids next to him. However, this guy's eyes were not very honest and he always glanced at Miss Zhen San over there.
Sure enough, no matter how a person changes, even..., Uncle Bao is still the same as before and wants to get close to the pretty sisters whenever he sees them.
Brother Rong sat down quietly, and Baoyu, who was sitting next to him, came back to his senses and greeted him familiarly.
"Do you think Sister Zhen San looks like our Sister Yun?"
Sister Yun?
Brother Rong didn't react for a moment, and curiously looked at the Zhen sisters over there, but was caught by the princess of Beijing County. He quickly avoided his eyes, turned around and asked, "Uncle Bao is talking about Aunt Shi, the eldest daughter of the Shi family?"
"Yes, yes. Does it look like it? I felt the same when I saw her yesterday, and I wanted to lure them to meet. Sister Pianyun is ill in Hengwuyuan, and there is no chance for them to meet today." Baoyu said He couldn't help but show a trace of regret on his face.
Baoyu didn't care about the occasion. After all, there were relatives from his maternal family and a man like his brother Rong.
Why call Xiangyun by his nickname?
Brother Rong glanced briefly, but he looked at the two Zhen sisters who were chatting and laughing in a low voice. The eyes of Miss Zhen, the second girl, kept falling on him, and he felt uncomfortable. He hurriedly looked away and replied to Baoyu: "It's not good to comment on the color of relatives in the family, but the appearance of this third aunt of the Zhen family is completely different from that of Aunt Shi."
Shi Xiangyun was more talented and was several years behind Miss Zhen San. Xiangyun looked like she had no hair at all, she looked like a girl. Although Miss Zhen San is also young, she is only sixteen years old now, but her slightly mature dress with colorful embroidery is completely different from the innocent girl from Xiangyun.
Baoyu listened and shook his head repeatedly.
"Brother Rong doesn't understand these women and sisters. The truth of Sister Yun is just like the truth of Sister Zhen. Fortunately, we only have one Sister Yun in our family. If there is another Sister Zhen, we should be more serious when there is noisy in the garden."
What a good guy, he is indeed a friend of women.
Baoyu's insightful ability is not something ordinary people can possess.
Even so, Brother Rong didn't want to look up. For some reason, Miss Zhen, the princess of the county, was always joking with her sisters, but she was looking down on herself.
Are you trying to catch yourself for being disrespectful?
At the moment, just listen to the old lady there and Mrs. Zhen talking about the origin of the two families.
It turns out that the Jinling Zhen family has often been married to the royal family since the beginning of the Taizu dynasty, and the living old concubine entered the palace at that time. The relationship between the Zhen and Jia families was even closer, and the first generation Ning Rong, the second Duke, even married a direct sister of the Zhen family, which was a good talk at the time.
I also met that the Zhen and Jia families were both in Jinling. They were not far apart on the left and right of each other, and their interactions were even more intimate. It is more like the current Ningrong Second Mansion.
"The Concubine is too old." Mrs. Zhen sighed, unable to hide the sadness on her face.
Everyone knows that as long as the old concubine is still alive, the Supreme Emperor will miss the Zhen family. Even if the current emperor has little contact with the Zhen family, he must treat the Zhen family well for the sake of the Supreme Emperor.
Once the old concubine died, the last connection between the Zhen family and the royal family was gone. The Supreme Emperor may still miss his old love, but the current reign title is Xian De, not the original Guang Xi.
Another day, everything has changed.
It seems that the Zhen family is here to ask for help this time.
What can the Jia family and the two houses do to help? The Zhen family is a local emperor in Jinling, and he is also the eyes and ears of the Supreme Emperor Guangxi. Xian De will not keep him no matter what.
No one else would be emperor and would not leave such a nail in the south. Even if Jia Rong was in that position, he would still choose to remove it. Even his approach is probably more cruel than Xian De.
This is a huge conflict of interest and there is nothing we can do about it.
Governor Sun Heting's suppression of bandits in the south of the Yangtze River may have been a way to uproot the Zhen family to demonstrate Xiande's ability in the south. Once the old concubine died, the money owed by the Zhen family in the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs became the key to Xiande's complete control of Jiangnan. Sharp sword.
Maybe Lin Ruhai's appointment as salt administration could be regarded as a move to show his virtue in the south of the Yangtze River.
Linked together.
Faced with the overwhelming power and means of the ruling upper class, both the Zhen family and the Jia family could only be consumed and swallowed up little by little.
Hopeless.
The Zhen family is hopeless.
For a time, Brother Rong thought a lot. It is not only the Jia family who has a relationship with the Zhen family, there is also a queen from the Prince's Palace of Beijing County present.
What can the Beijing County Prince's Palace do to help the Zhen family?
Prince Shui Rong of Beijing County is no longer in Shenjing. Should he rely on an old princess and a concubine, or should he rely on a young and escaping princess?
As the sky darkens, the lights turn on and the night banquet begins.
At this banquet, apart from the daughter Juan of the Zhen family and the wives and grandmothers of the Jia family, there were only two people, Baoyu and Brother Rong.
Other relatives such as the Xue family's aunt, the Li family's aunt, the Xing family's niece, the You family's mother, etc. were not invited. Even the Jia family's Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun, Shi's Xiangyun, and Lin's Daiyu were not at the table.
After a small drink, it was late at night and the play was over.
Mrs. Zhen and Miss Zhen arranged to live in Jiayin Hall behind Gu Ensiyi Hall in Daguanyuan Villa.
Princess Zhen Er originally planned to retreat to Zhujin Pavilion next to Gu Ensiyi Palace, but she didn't know what to think, so she said: "I am very familiar with the two mansions. I used to live in Conglvtang on the east side. Brother Rong's wife Take more care of her. I'd better go live in Conglvtang, where you can live in love."
As she said that, she secretly looked for Brother Rong in the crowd.
Little did he know that Jia Rong was being dragged to Yihongyuan by Baoyu.
"Brother Rong is a good man. We made this promise a long time ago. Let's make this decision today. Sheyue and Bihen won't let me suffer from that time. If it's late, it's okay to stay in Yihongyuan overnight. As long as my mother-in-law is not allowed to suffer. The boys saw it and went out to the north early tomorrow morning."
The faces of the girls Xi Ren, She Yue and Qiu Wen behind them turned red due to the lanterns in their hands. Du Qingwen looked at them coldly.
Brother Rong was shocked. Baoyu was really blind.
How could it be possible to stay overnight in Yihongyuan? How ridiculous would this be?
"Brother Rong, please take pity on me. The antidote you gave me last time only worked for a while and will be useless later."
