The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 95 Wastebasket
At the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Zhu confirmed the loss of the letters by his father and uncle, and was deeply puzzled.

With both my uncle and father like this, who else would be watching them so closely? Or is their family just a side project, and the other party's main target is Brother Zhen next door?
But that’s not right either!

Brother Zhen doesn't even have his uncle's affected elegance, so what could be in his study?
"The other party... may have gone in the wrong direction."

What?
Jia Zhu looked at her younger sister.

Yuan Chun sighed softly to herself, "Recently, everything that's been happening at home has been influenced by my aunt."

The eldest aunt was in charge of reorganizing the school, returning the treasury funds, and purifying the family.

The idea for Lian Er to buy land for the school in Jiangnan was actually suggested by his aunt.

Otherwise, with her family so old and so young... Yuan Chun simply couldn't imagine what it would be like twenty years from now.

Her older brother is hardworking and good at studying, but he is indecisive and prioritizes obedience to his parents and elders. With his temperament, he simply cannot support the family.

Without my aunt, my grandmother, while enjoying her wealth and status, would still harbor unrealistic fantasies about the woman in the palace. The family would still be pinning their hopes on her, and in less than three years, the family would be completely drained of its resources.

"I'm going to visit my aunt at the East Mansion. You stay at home..."

"me and you togather!"

Jia Zhu didn't want to stay at home.

His parents' desire to no longer go to the ancestral hall was so obvious.

His uncle had made up his mind again; he couldn't afford to offend either side.

Jia Zhu felt that she should stay away from the outside world for a while.

“My father and mother have decided to vacate Rongxi Hall and move to Lixiang Courtyard.”

Jia Zhu felt a little sad, but mostly relieved. "Uncle and Brother Zhen agreed, but they didn't say anything else. I guess... there are other things going on."

As he spoke, a bitter look appeared on his face. "I want to ask my aunt first, and then I'll come back and try to persuade my father and mother."

Yuanchun: "..."

Fortunately, her older brother wasn't so confused as to try to persuade his aunt.

She sighed inwardly, "Brother, have you ever thought about us, the second branch of the family, separating from Uncle?"

what?
Jia Zhu was shocked.

His face gradually turned pale.

Separating from the family meant that they became a branch of the Rongguo Mansion.

But is this what Uncle and Brother Zhen meant?

"You...you also think we should separate?"

At this moment, Jia Zhu's expression was very complicated.

He sensed that his sister had developed resentment towards their parents during the years she spent in the palace.

Life in the palace...

Jia Zhu couldn't imagine what kind of life she had in the palace, to the point that even her parents complained.

"They'll eventually have to separate."

Yuan Chun sighed deeply, "If you were the eldest uncle, wouldn't you want to separate the family?"

"...But Grandmother is still alive, she won't agree."

"That's why you can't get out of the ancestral hall."

Yuan Chun's voice was calm, "If your aunt wants you to support the division of the family property, would you speak to her in this manner?"

Jia Zhu: "..."

He felt flustered, yet utterly lost.

From a young age, his parents told him that the Rongguo Mansion depended on him to support it.

The uncle's attitude towards him and Lian Er also shows that he agrees with this.

Now his sister is telling him that he has to leave.

"I don't know, I... I'll go find my uncle."

If it were a matter of dividing the family property, he would prefer that his eldest uncle speak to him.

The eldest uncle wanted the second branch of the family to separate from the Rongguo Mansion, and he... he agreed.

Jia Zhu had a feeling that her sister might have guessed wrong.

If my uncle wanted to separate them from the Duke's mansion, he wouldn't have assigned Pear Fragrance Courtyard to my parents.

Yuan Chun felt even more distressed as she watched her elder brother rush off to find her uncle.

Her older brother still hasn't realized that when something happens, the first person he turns to isn't their father.

Actually, the person who loved them the most was not their father, but their eldest uncle.

However, whether it was her, her elder brother, or even Lian Er, they all subconsciously ignored him, and even believed their grandmother's words that their uncle was useless, and therefore despised him.

They poured so much of their filial love into their father, but their father…

Yuan Chun covered her face and turned to head towards the East Mansion.

Over here, Jia She was having two concubines massage his legs when he heard that Jia Zhu had come again. Thinking that something important had happened, he hurriedly invited him in.

"uncle!"

Seeing that fleeting figure disappear, Jia Zhu's face flushed slightly.

He came in so hastily that he forgot about his uncle's situation.

"Sit down, my legs hurt, let them massage them for me."

Jia She had already sat up when he came in and asked him with concern, "Did your father really lose something important?"

"no!"

Jia Zhu hurriedly shook his head, "Yes...yes, nephew has...something he wants to ask his uncle."

Jia She: "..."

He sized up his nephew. "You think Pear Blossom Courtyard is no good?"

"no!"

Jia Zhu's eyes were a little red. "Uncle, I...I wanted to ask you whether we should separate the second branch of the family."

what?
Jia She was shocked. "How could you have such a thought?"

Although he had thought about it countless times.

But with an elderly mother to care for and several children to raise, he never considered separating from his younger brother, despite his despicable nature.

"Who said that?"

"No...no one said that. I just think that separating the family might be better for you."

Once she was sure her uncle didn't mean it that way, Jia Zhu felt relieved, but she couldn't help feeling guilty.

"What's better?"

Seeing his expression, Jia She couldn't help but laugh, and lay back down on the couch. "You and Lian Er are brothers. Your brotherly relationship is better than anything else."

Although he still has seven-month-old Jia Cong under his wing, he is still a long way from growing up.

First of all, it's impossible for Lian Er to get close to him.

As for Pearl, I've watched her grow up since she was little. Although she has her own little schemes, she's generally an honest child.

"Your father and I... that's it!"

Although my second brother is a scholar, he has only learned the self-righteousness of a scholar, and he has no sense of the cleverness and tact that a scholar should have.

For his elderly mother's sake, he couldn't kick him out.

"Don't overthink things. The reason we're going into the ancestral hall is to make your parents remember this lesson so they can think things through more carefully in the future and not just assume things."

"……Yes!"

Jia Zhu felt a little lighter. "Thank you, Uncle!"

Jia She waved his hand, "What are you thanking me for?" He moved closer to the couch, "You must be tired after traveling so far, come and lie down, take a nap, we still have to go to the ancestral hall to visit your parents later."

Jia Zhu: "..."

Just like when he was a child, he climbed onto his uncle's bed and said, "Then nephew will rest for a while."

"Hmm~"

Jia She was quite pleased that his nephew didn't treat him like a stranger. "Changfu, call two servants in and give us a leg massage."

"Yes!"

Someone outside answered.

Two servants quickly came in and started massaging their legs. "I've been sleeping so much these past few days, my back and waist are really aching!"

Jia She yawned. "Zhu'er, don't worry too much here with your uncle. Take a nap and relax."

"Ok!"

Jia Zhu felt a sense of comfort as the servant massaged his aching calves.

Having not slept like this for many days, he quickly fell asleep snoring, just like Jia She, with the right amount of pressure during the massage.

……

At Tai Xuan Temple, Jia Jing, who had just finished dinner after a busy day and was about to rest, looked at Xing'er with great disdain.

He is slowly adapting to life here.

He adapted to being unattended, to simple meals, and to being an ordinary Taoist priest who grew grains, vegetables, carried water, and even carried manure.

Although life is busy, I can now fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed.

God knows, he hasn't had a good night's sleep since the Crown Prince's incident.

I'm suffering from insomnia day after day, and my hair is falling out in clumps.

He can sleep now, but that doesn't mean he doesn't miss the days when he was served.

"what's up?"

Jia Jing's voice was cold.

"Master!" Xing'er was a little scared. Even the servants who used to serve the master had been beaten by him. "This is a letter that Madam asked me to deliver to you."

A letter from the lady?

Jia Jing frowned.

Last time, she gave him a thorough dressing down.

The last time she went home, she even took his Taoist robe.

When his daughter turned one month old, everyone else got to eat good noodles, but he only got a bowl of plain water noodles.

She was clearly trying to annoy him.

She let go of the past, and her life got better and better, but this only made her want to provoke him...

Jia Jing didn't want to accept the letter, but he was afraid of missing something important. "Has anything happened in the manor lately?"

“Our lady and master brought the eldest daughter of the West Mansion back. Our lady even arranged a marriage for her from the palace. The Emperor Emeritus personally bestowed the marriage upon the Marquis of Xinping.”

what?
Jia Jing was stunned.

By the time they learned of Yuan Chun's entry into the palace, it was already too late.

He rushed back, intending to persuade her and spend money to bring her home, but his second brother humiliatingly shut him down, citing the future of the family.

The couple were too ashamed to offer any further advice, as if they were ashamed to accuse him of illegally occupying Rongxi Hall.

Because of him, the Ning and Rong mansions, especially the Ningguo mansion, were even more disliked by the retired emperor and the emperor.

The Jia family now relies on the Rongguo Mansion.

Auntie likes Zheng Erdi, and Shedi didn't say anything out of filial piety, so what could a nephew from another branch of the family say?
Therefore, he became increasingly reluctant to go home.

Unexpectedly, just when he had given up hope on that family, Xing'er came to tell him that Yuan Chun had returned, and that she had been brought back by the madam.

"Because the Empress Dowager and the eldest son came to the palace to express their gratitude, the Emperor specially bestowed a generous dowry upon our daughter on behalf of the old master."

Xing'er noticed a slight change in her master's expression and quickly added, "The dowry is even more than what was given to the eldest daughter—a hundred taels of gold and a hundred jars of imperial wine."

A hundred jars of imperial wine?

Jia Jing's lips trembled, and his heart ached terribly.

The retired emperor is indeed getting better and better at manipulating people's hearts.

He, like his father, once wanted to be loyal to the emperor for life.

But the result?

His father died worried about him and his family.

The retired emperor knew this, but he still wouldn't let him and his uncle leave in peace.

Now that his father and uncle have both passed away a few years ago, he has come to bestow favors upon them again.

Those fools in the family are probably incredibly grateful; they'll likely be telling everyone how great the Emperor's grace is.

Jia Jing let out a soft breath, trying his best to keep his expression from showing any other emotion.

After stepping out of the imperial court, he gradually realized that for a family capable of orderly succession, the imperial court could only be a means, never the foundation for survival.

Unfortunately, he realized it too late; his family...

Jia Jing knew all too well what kind of people were in his family. He only hoped that the imperial family would take pity on them for their stupidity and for the fact that the four ancestors of the Jia family across two generations had risked their lives for the country and the emperor. Even if they had made mistakes, he hoped that they would be treated leniently.

"So, you've come to deliver good news?"

Jia Jing's voice was cold.

Today is the fifteenth.

The daughter will be one month old on the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, and the ninth day should be the day when the wife and son go to the palace to express their gratitude.

The Emperor Emeritus's bestowal of gifts and the bestowal of marriage should also have taken place on that day.

In other words, they forgot about him for several days.

Although he had long ago decided to remain an outsider, Jia Jing's heart still ached and he was very saddened to be truly forgotten by his wife and son.

"……master!"

Xing'er realized his mistake and quickly knelt down, saying, "On the day of the young lady's full moon celebration, the old lady of the West Mansion, the second master, and the second mistress forced our mistress to help the eldest young lady with her wedding ceremony, which caused quite a commotion."

In a fit of anger, the lady even blamed our eldest master, punishing him, along with the two masters of the West Mansion, as well as Master Zhu and his second wife, to enter the ancestral hall.

Later, after expressing their gratitude, they brought the eldest daughter of the West Mansion back. When the Second Master and his family found out, they almost started another fight. Although it was suppressed at the time, the palace servants who accompanied Eunuch Dai Quan to deliver the imperial decree still tried to sow discord, saying it was a pity, because Consort Zhen originally wanted to recommend the eldest daughter to the Emperor to gain a better social standing...

Xing'er didn't know much about the quarrels between the masters, so he could only tell Jia Jing what he knew.

In short, the implication is that the lady was furious, the master and the others were locked in the ancestral hall, the young master was at school every day, and the servants were still investigating the murder, which is why the good news had been delayed until now.

Now that my wife has recovered, she immediately sent me a letter.

As Jia Jing listened, his expression gradually softened.

My aunt is very protective of her children, and even though my second brother Zheng is quite old, he is still pampered.

It was truly remarkable that the lady was able to keep her aunt in check and get so many people from the West Mansion into the ancestral hall.

Upon hearing that his home had been burgled that day, Jia Jing immediately snatched the letter from Xing'er's hand.

He was prepared to be scolded and complained about, but when he opened the letter, there wasn't a single word, only two small handprints and two little footprints.

this……?
Looking at the tiny handprints and tiny feet, Jia Jing seemed to understand something. His throat bobbed, and he forced himself to suppress his myriad emotions.

"Did Madam only entrust this to you?"

"Yes!"

Xing'er peeked at her, then quickly lowered his head again. "Madam asked me to deliver the message, so I didn't dare delay and rode here at top speed."

It's impossible for the item to be switched on the road.

"Okay, get up!"

Jia Jing carefully put the letter away. "It's getting late, hurry back and tell Madam that the letter has been received and thank you!"

"……Yes!"

Xing'er memorized their master's words again before turning to leave.

As the sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, Jia Jing leisurely returned to his room.

His wife was telling him that someone was stealing letters from the house, and that he should be careful.

He's been keeping a close eye on things ever since that incident.

His room was spotless, and no one could find anything there.

Jia Jing opened the letter, looked at his daughter's little hands and feet again, and seemingly casually threw the letter and envelope into the wastebasket.

Evening prayers have already begun at the temple.

He rushed off to do his evening lesson.

The night passed peacefully.

Early in the morning, Jia Jing rushed off to do his morning prayers again. When he returned to his room at noon, the things he had thrown into the paper basket were long gone.

(End of this chapter)