Red Mansion Daiyu, the Rise of the Lin Family

"He was taken away so quickly? Didn't you see him?" Mrs. Wang sat upright in the chair, her brows furrowed and her eyes as sharp as knives.

"I didn't see her. She probably died of tuberculosis. Even her own family wouldn't tolerate her, right?" the servant replied tremblingly.

After listening to the servants' report, Mrs. Wang felt something was wrong. She suddenly thought of a question.

"Didn't her family ask for funeral money?"

The servant shook his head in confusion.

Zhou Ruijia said, "Madam, giving her a bond is a great favor."

"How dare you ask for funeral money?"

Mrs. Wang still felt a little uneasy. She wanted to teach Zhou Ruijia a lesson again. She had not been cultivating her Qi well recently, and she always wanted to teach others a lesson for no reason.

"You should think about it more. Her brother and sister-in-law asked for the body contract saying that she should be buried with Qingwen's dead mother."

"Why didn't her family follow the burial? How could the people at the cremation ground know where her dead mother was buried?"

Zhou Ruijia thought about it and agreed with that idea, but since the person was dead, it would be more economical to ask for a few taels of silver, and it would be more convenient for the living to spend it.

What's the point of having a useless indenture?

"Ma'am, do you mean that her family lied?"

Mrs. Wang glared at her and said, "Go and ask what Baoyu has been doing these past two days."

"Did you secretly give money to Qingwen?"

Mrs. Wang thought to herself, "Mrs. Zhou Rui is such a fool. How can I have the time to care whether her family members are lying?"

The person is dead, can he survive by lying?

When she died, I felt relieved.

What I care about is my son. Will he become alienated from me because of this?

Zhou Ruijia clapped his hands, thinking that his wife was indeed wise, this must be the reason.

"The Second Master secretly rewarded her family with money, so he didn't want funeral expenses."

"I'll ask about this. I'm familiar with the Grand View Garden."

Mrs. Wang looked at her helplessly. This was her only good point: she was diligent.

Suddenly, Mrs. Wang thought of another worry, "By the way, what happened to Granny Liu?"

"Nothing, send her away!"

"Three more days!"

Speaking of Granny Liu, Zhou Ruijia slapped her forehead and said, "Oh, I totally forgot about her."

"I'll go right away and do both things at once."

Mrs. Wang glanced at her and felt that she still needed to give her a few more instructions.

"Tell Granny Liu that she should be careful with her words when she goes out. She should know what she should and should not say."

Zhou Ruijia was naturally full of agreement, thinking that this was a simple and easy matter to handle.

A matter of words.

Then Zhou Rui's wife ran quickly to the Grand View Garden.

Her first step must be to go to Yihongyuan.

In the Yihong Courtyard, the four treasures of the study are placed on the study desk.

Jia Baoyu is wearing a blue shirt, with a hint of melancholy between his brows. He is concentrating on painting.

The last painting was ruined, so I have to repaint it this time.

But when he picked up the pen, he felt uneasy and his hands were shaking. He had no choice but to rub his hands and take a deep breath. Just as he was about to continue writing,

When he heard that Zhou Ruijia was coming, his hand trembled and a drop of ink fell on the face of the person in the painting.

Ruined again!

He had no choice but to crumple up the drawing paper and go into the hall.

In the small living room, Zhou Rui's wife held the tea poured by Xiren in one hand, while looking Xiren up and down. Now she was the number one person in Yihong Courtyard.

So she smiled and said,

"Miss Xiren looks more energetic in this outfit, and her complexion looks even fairer against the mauve color."

Xiren was now valued by the lady and became more dignified. She replied politely, "I'm sorry to make you laugh, Sister Zhou. We are just maids. How can we be spirited or not?"

"Isn't Mrs. Zhou busy with Madam's errands? How come she has time to come to us?"

Zhou Ruijia said mysteriously, "You must be here for something."

"Let me ask you, has anyone here visited Qingwen since she left?"

When Xiren heard this, she didn't know what she was thinking of, and her face suddenly changed.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Zhou? We have been busy with self-examination these days and haven't found the time yet."

Mrs. Zhou looked at her with a half-smile and said, "I understand. It's better if you don't watch it."

"You didn't go, and Master Bao hasn't been there either?"

Xiren raised her head abruptly, looked at Zhou Ruijia's expression, and analyzed what this meant.

Unexpectedly, I saw Jia Baoyu standing at the door in a daze.

Jia Baoyu asked angrily, "Did mother ask Sister Zhou to come here to ask about this?"

"She's out now, why don't you let her go?"

"Please tell my mother, Mrs. Zhou, that I went there the next day."

Zhou Ruijia's face was a little embarrassed. "Well, it's nothing. Second Master is really kind to remember the past. Now it makes sense. I can also give Madam an explanation."

"But you don't have to go anymore. She's dead."

"Bong..." Zhou Ruijia's words were like the sound of a huge bell striking Jia Baoyu's heart, making him feel cold all over.

"What did you say? Sister Zhou, when did it happen?"

"Say it again." Jia Baoyu's heart was beating violently.

He was clearly such a vibrant person, yet he was gone in just two or three days.

When Mrs. Zhou saw Jia Baoyu's distraught look, she felt a little sorry but also found it very funny.

"Well, today, I came here to report the news as soon as I got it."

At this time, Xiren was also standing there in a daze, pinching the flesh on her arm tightly with her hands.

Guilt gnawed at her heart.

I didn't mean it! Her tears started to fall.

She felt like there was something stuck in her throat and she couldn't relieve herself until she vomited it out. She said softly to Jia Baoyu, "Second Master, let's go burn some paper for her!"

"Let her live comfortably there, and have a good life in the next life."

"Impossible, I don't believe it. I'll go to her house and ask her."

"At that time, I clearly told them to take good care of her. I will ask the old lady to select her again later."

"How could he be gone in just two days?" Jia Baoyu couldn't believe it no matter what.

After saying that, he raised his legs and walked out, his steps were so big that he could not stand steadily.

Zhou Ruijia chased after him and shouted, "Don't do that, Second Master. He's all burnt to ashes."

"People who have just died are not clean. I can't even smell cigarette smoke when I go there."

Xiren also hurriedly took two large sweaters and chased after him, "Second Master, at least put on your cloak!"

Zhou Ruijia stamped her feet and said, "Who did I offend? I have to go and get into trouble again."

He hurriedly followed.

……

At Qingwen's cousin's house, Duohunchong and his wife were having dinner.

After being busy for so long, I just had a quick meal when I almost sneezed because of a gust of cool wind from the open door.

"Who is it? Do you have manners?"

Duohunchong complained unhappily, and when he looked up, hey! It was Master Bao.

He knelt down and kowtowed.

Jia Baoyu's face turned pale as he asked, "Where is Qingwen?"

Duohunchong half-squatted in a daze, not knowing how to answer. He turned his head and glanced at his wife.

"What's the matter? Our girl is dead, and you won't let her go?"

Duohunchong's wife, Miss Deng, was standing against the wall, picking her teeth, looking very unruly.

Jia Baoyu avoided the scrutiny of the lamp girl and looked at Duohunchong. "Didn't I tell you to take good care of her?"

"I gave you silver, how did you take care of her?"

Duohunchong's eyes were evasive, "I didn't treat her badly."

Seeing the cowardly look on the man's face, Miss Deng became tough instead, "Why, you still have the nerve to question us? We sent a good girl in, and she came out like that."

"Others think they have won the master's favor, but it seems that he wants to get rid of him as soon as possible."

"He used money on one hand and tripped us up on the other. He thinks we are all fools."