The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 183 Women's internal conflict, Master Zhan benefits
"Haha...Mr. Zhang is indeed a miracle doctor!"

Supported by Lady Wang and Aunt Zhao on his left and right, Jia Zheng moved his arms and legs little by little, walked slowly in the courtyard, his face full of ecstasy.

He originally thought that his illness would take at least three to two years to heal, but now, after taking just a few doses of medicine and receiving acupuncture for two days, he is actually recovering!

After falling ill once, Jia Zheng attached great importance to his physical health, and Zhang Youshi, the miracle doctor who could bring him health, naturally became an important guest in his heart.

"I'll send a big gift to Mr. Zhang later to show my appreciation."

"Originally, I should have invited him to my house for a banquet, but my body is not fully recovered yet, so it is not very convenient. Let's wait for a while. After I recover, I will definitely invite Mr. Zhang to my house for a gathering."

Mrs. Wang and Aunt Zhao laughed dryly. They both felt their throats itchy and their knees aching. But they couldn't tell the truth, so they could only agree:

"Master is right. We should have a good relationship with this genius doctor."

"If anyone has a headache or fever in the future, there is no need to look for a doctor. Just ask Mr. Zhang to come and take a look. Isn't that right? The medicine will cure the disease immediately!"

"Haha..." Jia Zheng laughed loudly and said angrily, "What are you talking about? How can you treat Mr. Zhang as an ordinary imperial physician?"

"For minor illnesses, I wouldn't dare to bother Mr. Zhang with help. I would only ask for help if I have a serious illness."

"Although this relationship is good, you can't abuse favors!"

"Yes, yes, the master is right." Anyway, they had the secret medicine as a tonic, and they would probably say goodbye to minor illnesses such as headaches and fevers in the future. The two girls let Jia Zheng say whatever he wanted.

"That's great. You can spread the news that I'm back in good health and see if those officials, gentry and merchants who are dependents of our family will continue to pretend to be dead this time."

"Before, I was paralyzed in bed and couldn't move. They just followed the trend and I don't blame them."

"But now that I have recovered from my illness, if they dare not come again, it will show their rebellious nature, and I will not forgive them."

"It just so happens that Tanchun will soon become a concubine in the Zhan Mansion. When the time comes, I will personally attend as a witness and let them all know that our Jia Mansion is not without powerful external support!"

When Aunt Zhao heard that her master was willing to attend, she was overjoyed.

Originally, marrying off a daughter as a concubine was a shameful thing. Jia Zheng was a pedantic person and could not stand such things. He was so angry that he vomited blood and had a stroke when he saw Tanchun dressed as a dancer to perform the ceremony of taking a concubine.

Therefore, even though it was Empress Yuanfei who spoke up, Jia Zheng was still reluctant to approve of Tanchun's opinion.

Now that he finally nodded and agreed to attend, no matter what the reason was, he was objectively supporting Tanchun.

Although Mrs. Wang felt a little unhappy, she did not dare to interfere and had to remain silent.

As the three were talking, someone came over to report that several relatives of the Li family had arrived in Beijing.

Mrs. Wang hurriedly let go of Jia Zheng, asked someone to call Li Wan, and went out of the house to meet him.

This time, it was Li Wan's widowed aunt who led the team again, and Li Wen and Li Qi also came along.

In the original book, they also went to Beijing, but because of the local unrest, they arrived much earlier than in the book.

His purpose of coming to Beijing was similar to that of Zhang Youshi. They both planned to live in the capital for a long time and live in peace.

Before coming to Beijing, they were a little uneasy. But now, seeing that Lady Wang and Li Wan were very kind and warm, caring about them and not looking down on them at all, they felt relieved and treated them both as family members.

Because they were all female relatives, it was not convenient for Jia Zheng to show up, so he asked Lady Wang and Li Wan to entertain them. They held a banquet to welcome them and introduced all the relatives and friends of the family to them.

Now Yingchun and Tanchun were both still married, so they attended the meeting together with Baochai, Daiyu and others. Even Youshi, Keqing and others came along after hearing about it.

The other sisters were all fine, they just came over to recognize each other's faces, but Youshi and Keqing came here on their own initiative, and each of them had ulterior motives.

They knew their master's preferences, so when they heard that a new daughter was coming, they would come over to take a look to see if she would be their sister in the future.

Although Jia Lian, Jia Huan and other young masters of the mansion were also present, in order to avoid offending the female members of the family, they sat at the other end of the table, far away. However, they could see everything clearly from the opposite side.

Only Big Face Treasure lost his face immediately when he heard that his sisters had appeared. He insisted on sitting next to his wife with a drooling face, wanting to be closer to his two new sisters.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Wang had no choice but to let her precious son go after scolding him a few times. She could only apologize to Li with a wry smile:

"I've spoiled this little beast. He acts like a monkey all day, running around everywhere without any rules. I hope you won't blame me, sister."

What could Li do? Could she just turn her head away? She could only smile and say:

"I have heard that the young master of your mansion was born with a jade in his mouth and is extremely smart. Of course, he must be a little different from ordinary people."

"We are all relatives. Being more open-minded will make us closer. There are not so many rules to follow."

Baoyu took the opportunity to sit down and tried to please his two sisters with a playful smile, thinking that these two sisters deserved to be nurtured by Brother Zhan.

Mrs. Wang introduced everyone at the table and, after chatting with Mrs. Li for a few words, ordered the kitchen to serve the dishes to entertain the guests.

This veil may not be very good in other aspects, but after Mrs. Wang joins, at least she will not be in debt.

In the past, the Jia family had been living beyond their means, with less and less income from their properties, and they could only live off their savings. Especially this time, the construction of the villa for the visit of the imperial family had drained out all of their savings, and they had to survive purely by selling properties or borrowing money.

When Wang Xifeng was around, the mansion could still use money lent at high interest to supplement its savings. But after she left, the incident of Jia She's murder happened, and no one dared to lend money at high interest, so the mansion's spending became increasingly tight.

But things are different now. Master Zhan doesn’t have much but a lot of gold and silver. He is very generous to his women and never treats them unfairly.

Mrs. Wang now asks Mr. Zhan directly for money, and then sends it to Aunt Xue in the form of a loan.

To outsiders, they just think that they are sisters with deep affection and share money, but they don’t know that the truth is that they, well, to some extent, are indeed sisters with deep affection.

Before Master Zheng knew it, the entire Jia family had no idea how much money they owed the Xue family. In any case, Mrs. Wang had no intention of paying it back and didn't even keep a record of the accounts. It was unclear whether the Xue family kept a record of the accounts or not.

With so much money, Mrs. Wang could finally act like a housekeeper. She followed Lady Jia's standards for food, clothing and other expenses and was unwilling to treat herself badly in the slightest.

Now that the banquet started, the Li mother and daughter were immediately shocked.

They were also from official families. Although the head of the family died early and their living standards declined a lot, they had seen a lot of things and could tell at a glance how much silver was in this table of banquet. They immediately looked up to the wealth of the Jia family and spoke in a much softer tone.

Everyone chatted and laughed, talked about things in their hometown of Yingtian Prefecture, told stories about family matters, and strengthened their relationships with each other. The meal was a very enjoyable one for both the host and the guests, and everyone was happy.

After having enough wine and eating, when the party was about to end, Mrs. Wang asked:
"I wonder if my sister has a place to stay after entering the capital?"

Li said:

"My brother is now an official in the capital, you can go and stay with him."

Mrs. Wang asked about Li's brother's name and official title, and found out that he was only a minor official. She thought the courtyard might not be big enough, so she smiled and said:
"Now that you're home, why bother moving around? Why not just stay at my place?"

"The palace judge is now living in Daoxiang Village in the Grand View Garden. You may as well live with the palace judge. You can see each other day and night, and it's a good opportunity to reminisce about the long-lost relationship."

"As for your brother, I will have someone bring him a message later so that he won't worry."

"If he misses his sister and niece, you can go visit him anytime, but it's better for him to stay with me."

Li quickly refused:

"No, no, the Grand View Garden is the Queen's residence for visiting relatives. How can outsiders live there?"

Mrs. Wang advised:

"After the queen came to visit her parents, she gave an order that the courtyard could be used for family members to live in to increase the popularity of the family. It's fine."

Li was very reluctant, but Mrs. Wang wanted to arrange a marriage between her family and Lian Er, so she insisted on keeping her. Finally, she said bluntly:
"It's not that I'm talkative or gossiping, but your official position is not high, and I think your family has limited space."

"If you go like this, I'm afraid it will cause a lot of trouble to his family. It will also inevitably cause a lot of trouble between the sisters-in-law, causing discord among relatives, which is not good."

"Why not just stay with me? It won't affect our daily relationship. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

After hearing this, Li was moved. After hesitating for a long time, she finally agreed to stay in the Jia Mansion.

Mrs. Wang was delighted and ordered people to go to Daoxiang Village to make preparations.

After the banquet, Youshi and Keqing said goodbye and left. Although the sisters Li Wen and Li Qi were pretty, they were just little girls from a small family. In terms of beauty, they were probably not even as good as the head maid Qingwen. They posed no threat to the two of them and were not worth continuing to pay attention to, so they left first.

Li Wan took several other sisters to help with the move.

Baoyu was the happiest one who knew that the Li mother and daughter were staying at home. After the banquet, he started running around, directing people to move the luggage, tidy up the room, and decorate it with flowers and plants.

Jia Lian had always known Baoyu's quirks, and he did not take it as an offense. He also helped enthusiastically and tried to win some favor from him.

After everything was arranged, Mrs. Wang took Li away for tea and chat. She wanted to discuss business with her, and only left the sisters Li Wen and Li Qi to be entertained by Li Wan.

After entering the living room, sitting down and serving tea, and chatting for a while, Mrs. Wang directly stated her purpose, which was to help Jia Lian.

After listening to this, Li held the teacup and frowned as he began to think carefully.

It's not easy to live in Beijing. You can't just live here if you have some money.

In order to settle down in the capital, Zhang Youshi has been visiting relatives and friends and maintaining his personal connections these days.

Li Wan's aunt, Mrs. Li, is just a widow. She does not have the ability and connections that Zhang Youshi has. Although her brother is an official in the capital, he can only rely on a limited number of people. The only way she can use, apart from borrowing the resources of her deceased husband's family, is to arrange marriage.

So even if Jia Lian's incident had not happened, Li was still determined to find a good husband for her two daughters. Now, hearing that Mr. Lian in the mansion wanted to remarry, she was immediately moved.

Although her husband's family, the Li family, is also a scholarly family and has considerable influence in Yingtian Prefecture, overall, it is still much inferior to the Jia family. Therefore, even if her daughter becomes the second wife of Mr. Lian, it is not considered a low profile.

But after all, she was a newcomer and an inexperienced woman, so she was a little worried about this matter. After hesitating for a while, she delayed and said:

"This matter is of great importance. Let me consider it carefully before I speak."

Mrs. Wang smiled and said:
"Mr. Lian is in the mansion now. You can investigate his character and appearance as you wish. There is no need to rush."

Li was relieved then, knowing that she was not taking advantage of her power to force her. She kept the matter in mind and continued to joke and chat with Mrs. Wang.

In the evening, after bidding farewell to Mrs. Wang, Li was still thinking about this matter, so she went straight to find her niece Li Wan, wanting to find out the details of this Mr. Lian.

At this time, Li Wan was playing cards with Li Wen and her sister. These games were passed down from the Zhan Mansion and were perfect for girls. Once they played, they would be addicted.

The other partner is Suyun. If Li Wan loses, the winnings go to Suyun.

Seeing Li coming in, several people hurriedly stood up to greet her.

Li glanced at the mahjong tiles on the table. He didn't understand what they were, but he could roughly guess what they were.

This kind of boudoir entertainment did not involve anything immoral, so she was too lazy to care about it. She just waved her hand and ordered:
"You guys take a break first. I have something to ask the palace judge."

Several people hurriedly got down from the card table. Suyun quickly cleaned up the table, served more tea, and stepped aside to serve.

This matter was a major marriage event, and Li did not hide it from her two daughters. She told the whole story directly in front of them.

"Gong Cai, the lady in the mansion just told me something. She wants your sister to be the concubine of Master Lian."

"I don't know much about the affairs of the mansion, so I want to ask you, what is the character of this Mr. Lian, and is it appropriate for your sister to be his concubine?"

"Huh?" Li Wan was stunned when she heard the news. Didn't he say before that he was going to marry Fu Qiufang? Why did he change the person now?

She glanced at the blushing faces of the two new sisters beside her and asked directly, "Second Master Lian wants to marry a sister as his concubine? Which one?"

Li shook his head and said:
"I haven't promised your wife yet, and I haven't decided which one it will be."

"If it really comes to fruition, of course it depends on which one Mr. Lian likes. If he likes both, then let Sister Li Wen come."

"Is that so..." Li Wan turned her head and looked at the two sisters beside her. Her eyes swept over their curvy figures under their loose clothes, and other thoughts came to her mind.

The fact that the mansion was looking for a concubine for Jia Lian was not hidden from anyone. Many people knew about it, and they also knew why Fu Shi brought Fu Qiufang over that day.

This matter had nothing to do with Li Wan. Lian Er could marry whoever he wanted, and she was too lazy to interfere.

Especially Fu Qiufang, who is beautiful and intelligent, exactly the type that Master Zhan likes.

However, there were already countless concubines in the Zhan Mansion, both with and without official titles, and Li Wan did not want to add another competitor to her family.

So even though Li Wan knew that Fu Qiufang would sooner or later not be able to escape the clutches of her master, she would not take the initiative to push for this to happen now. She might even secretly create obstacles to prevent Fu Qiufang from being captured by Master Zhan later and not competing with her for food.

But if Lian Er didn't like Fu Qiufang and wanted to replace her with the current sisters Li Wen and Li Qi, that would be another matter.

Nowadays, the women in Master Zhan's backyard are too naughty. If they can't form a few bonds and do some fancy things, it will be difficult to attract Master Zhan's attention, let alone get him to stay overnight.

Apart from anything else, after Yingchun and her two sisters came to the mansion, Lady Wang, Lady Xing, Aunt Zhao, Mrs. You, and Qin Keqing all had an extra bond out of nowhere, and their charm attributes greatly increased.

Only she, Li Gongcai, did not have any additional ties in this matter.

The only bond she has now is the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The relationship is too distant and not close enough, so it is really not worth mentioning. She has almost no competitiveness in the backyard of the Zhan Mansion.

If anyone is to blame, it's her fault that she has remained chaste and secluded herself over the years, and has become estranged from the other female relatives.

I regret it so much!
Fortunately, God knew that she was alone and helpless, so he sent two younger sisters from her mother's side to her!

Although their beauty levels are not as good as hers, they are sisters, unmarried girls, smart, and bookish. If they join forces with her sisters, they will surely form a super bond among the three sisters and increase their charm several times.

She didn't want to interfere with Lian Er's marriage before because Fu Qiufang had nothing to do with her and there was no need to let her take advantage of it. But now it's her own sister's turn, so she might as well keep the benefits within her family!
After having this selfish thought, Li Wan no longer wanted the Li Wen sisters to have anything to do with Lian Er.

Anyway, even if they married Lian Er, sooner or later they would become sisters under the planning of their own master. Instead of that, why bother letting Lian Er have a go?
So Li Wan considered her words carefully and then said:

"Mr. Lian is not evil by nature. Although he is a bit of a playboy, he has not committed any serious crimes and is also a kind person. Even if my sister becomes his second wife, I believe she will not suffer any bullying in the mansion in the future."

"If it was a few months earlier, I might have thought this was a good and happy marriage."

"It's just that there have been a lot of changes in the mansion recently. My aunt has just arrived in Beijing, so she doesn't know much about it."

"Mr. Lian's father, Mr. She, was first convicted of a crime by the court and lost his title, then he had an accident and lost his life."

"Although Mr. Lian still has the title of a member of the Jia family, he is no longer a member of the powerful circle and has become an ordinary citizen."

"Even if I marry my younger sister as my first wife, I'm afraid it's not considered marrying above my station. But using my younger sister as a concubine is a bit too much."

"As a daughter-in-law of the Jia family, it is not convenient for me to talk about this kind of thing. However, we are a family after all, and I can't write two Lis with one stroke. I can't bear to see my sisters put their trust in the wrong person, so I will say a few more words. I hope my aunt will not let others know."

When Li heard this, her face suddenly changed color. She quickly grabbed Li Wan's hand and thanked her profusely:

"Good child, he is indeed our relative, and he is of the same mind as mother and me."

"Don't worry, these words will never be known to anyone else once they leave your mouth and enter my ears."

"Wen'er, Qi'er, why don't you come over and thank your sister?"

Li Wen and Li Qi quickly turned over and bowed, expressing their gratitude.

The two sides exchanged politeness and their relationship deepened.

Li sighed:

"Fortunately, I came to ask you, otherwise I would have suffered a great loss."

"I just thought your wife was a good person, but I didn't expect her to scheme against us like this. It's really a bit too much."

Li Wan smiled and said to Mrs. Wang:
"It's not that our wife is deliberately plotting against you. It's just that they are surnamed Jia after all, and they always think that their children are good. They treat a person who is 100% talented as 200% talented."

"In fact, it's not just them. Who wouldn't look up to their own children?"

Li suddenly realized it and nodded in praise:

"You are the one who understands things clearly, the palace judge. I am the one who is confused."

"It just so happens that we are here in Beijing with the intention of finding a good husband for your two sisters. However, we are unfamiliar with the place and don't know which men are suitable and which are not."

"Gongcai, you are well versed in the capital, why don't you introduce a few young talents to me so that I can have some references."

Seeing that she came to him on her own initiative, Li Wan smiled and said:
"Of course there are talented young men in the capital, but those with good family backgrounds have probably been targeted by various families. Although the two sisters are both good-looking, their family backgrounds are weak, and their talents are not well-known. I am afraid they cannot compete with them."

"Among those who are of equal status to our Li family, any talented and learned man has already been engaged long ago, so it is not our turn to snatch them away."

"Most of the men who are eligible to marry my sister are those who have good family backgrounds and relatives serving as officials in the court, but who themselves are mediocre."

"If Auntie has other children and grandchildren, then it would be a good idea to use my two sisters to get married and give my brothers some help and support."

"But as far as I know, my aunt only has these two daughters and no sons. So the purpose of marrying off the daughters is not to get help from the in-laws. The main purpose is to provide for her in her old age and enjoy a comfortable life in wealth."

"So when Aunt is considering marrying off her daughter, she only needs to look at the man's character and reputation, whether he will be good to her two younger sisters in the future, whether he is willing to support her in her old age, whether he can be the master of the house, whether he will make his family suffer, whether his family will fall into decline in the future... and other such questions."

"Aunt, do you think my analysis is correct?"

Li was just an ordinary woman, how could she understand so much? The more she listened, the more she felt it made sense. She lowered her head and thought carefully for a long time before she said hesitantly:

"Actually, my aunt's brother's family has a male child. When it comes to marriage, we still have to consider the family background of the in-laws."

That's better!
Is the background of the popular earl big enough?

Li Wan frowned and sighed:
"That would be troublesome."

"If family background is not a consideration, there are many merchants, gentry and landlords in Beijing with capable children who would be willing to marry into our Li family."

"But if you have to find someone with a good family background, that would be difficult."

"Aunt only knows that there are many talented people in the capital, but she doesn't know that the good ones are in short supply and it is not our turn to have them."

"The rest are mostly crooked and broken!"

"Although Second Master Lian is somewhat unbearable, most of the dandies in the capital are actually worse than Second Master Lian. They only know how to eat, drink, gamble and bully others all day long. If the two sisters marry them, they will suffer in the future!"

After hearing this, Li Shi immediately became impatient. She hurriedly grabbed Li Wan's hand, shook it and begged:
"Good palace judge, we are all family, you can't just stand there and watch, you have to help your sisters choose a good husband!"

Li Wan hesitated for a long time before resolutely saying:
"Forget it. We are all family after all, so I will tell you my aunt and sisters what is in my heart. If there is anything I said that is not right, please forgive me and don't be angry."

Li then said angrily:

"What are you talking about, Gong Cai? We are not the kind of people who cannot distinguish between good and bad. How can we get angry with you just because of a few words?"

"You can say whatever you want. We all know you mean well. Even if your words are unpleasant to the ear, we will listen carefully."

Li Wan then persuaded:
"It is said that it is better to be a concubine of a hero than a wife of a bad man."

"Instead of marrying second-generation rich men like Mr. Lian, and suffering in the future, or even being divorced at the slightest disagreement, it would be better for you to choose a noble family and sell yourself as a concubine, which would give you more security."

"What? Be a concubine?" The third daughter of the Li family exclaimed immediately, covering her lips with her hands, looking at Li Wan in surprise.

"Yes, it's to be a concubine!" Li Wan looked at the three women and said seriously, "Don't think that being a concubine is all bad."

"Whether a wife or a concubine, what ultimately determines one's status is never one's identity, but the favor of one's master."

"Let's not talk about faraway places, let's just talk about our house. You have seen that Aunt Zhao, but have you ever seen her show the slightest respect for our wife?"

"She is just a concubine, but she has always been favored. Even our wife, the legitimate wife, can't do anything to her. Now she is even more honored because of her son, and she doesn't take our wife seriously at all."

"Besides, the young ladies in our mansion, Jia Yingchun and Jia Tanchun, will soon marry Master Zhan as concubines."

"Yes, you heard it right. They are the two young ladies from the Jia Mansion who were at the banquet earlier, and a young lady named Jia Xichun from the East Mansion. All three sisters will marry Master Zhan as concubines."

"Hiss..." The three Li daughters gasped, unable to believe their ears. "How is this possible? Three young ladies, three young ladies from the Jia family, marrying the same person together, and as concubines?"

"Haha..." Li Wan sneered a few times and continued, "I haven't finished what I want to say yet!"

"This Miss Tanchun only got this opportunity because of Empress Yuanfei's personal request. Otherwise, even if she wanted to get married, she might not be able to do so!"

The three daughters of the Li family were even more shocked and could not understand this matter at all.

Li Wan said proudly:

"You may not know that this Master Zhan is a popular earl, and he did not inherit the title by relying on the protection of his father's family, but purely by relying on his own merits and achievements, and was awarded by His Majesty and obtained the title."

"Besides, he is only in his twenties now, in the prime of his life. Everyone in the capital knows that this earldom is not his final destination. He will probably continue to rise in the future, and may even become a marquis or a duke."

"Instead of waiting for him to become rich and powerful before trying to curry his favor, it is better to marry him while his title is still low and marry my daughter to him as a concubine."

"That is to say, Master Zhan would rather have nothing than marry someone unqualified and would not accept anyone into his mansion without authorization. Otherwise, the women who want to marry him as concubines would line up from this gate all the way to the outside of the city."

Seeing the three Li daughters' eyes light up as they listened, as if they wanted to be part of the story, Li Wan smiled and said:
"Fortunately, the Jia family and the Zhan family are relatives by marriage, and the relationship is very close. I can also speak a few words. If my aunt is interested, I can introduce my two sisters to the Zhan family."

"If Earl Zhan takes a fancy to the two sisters, then the two sisters may as well follow Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun and marry into the Zhan Mansion together."

"Then you five will be one, and you can help each other and make progress together in the Zhan Mansion. At the same time, because you married into the Jia Mansion, you will naturally be considered a member of the Jia Mansion, and your relationship with the Jia Mansion will be deeper, which will also be of great benefit to the development of your cousins."

"Uh...this..." The three daughters of the Li family hesitated at the same time and looked at each other. They were clearly tempted, but they still had some resistance to the idea of ​​becoming concubines.

The mother, daughter and three of them whispered to each other for a long time, and finally it was Li who spoke up.

"This is a matter of great importance and we will consider it carefully."

Li Wan did not force them, and said with a smile:
"You two sisters can take your time to think about it, but the three young ladies of the Jia family can't wait. They will be married off together in a few days. If you still can't make up your mind by then, I'm afraid you will miss the great opportunity to marry off together."

"Of course, what you have missed is only the opportunity to deepen the relationship with the Jia family and become a natural ally in the Zhan family. It will not affect your chances of marrying into the Zhan family as a concubine in the future."

Li nodded repeatedly and explained:
"Don't worry, Gong Cai. I know everything. I just need to communicate with my brother about this matter and listen to his opinion."

"Tomorrow I will go to my brother's house to meet with him and ask him what he thinks. I will give you a reply soon."

Li Wan felt more relieved after hearing her say this.

Now all the dignitaries in the capital are queuing up at the gate of the Zhan Mansion, and she doesn't believe that Li's brother can be an exception.

If it was his own daughter, he might have hesitated, but his sister's daughter in exchange for a marriage relationship with a popular earl was really a great deal!
(End of this chapter)