Red Mansion: Holding Space and Marrying Like the Sea

Seeing that his father did not intervene in his behavior, Jia Zhen became more and more unscrupulous and began to indulge himself even more, leading a life of extravagance. One day, Jia Zhen was examining the planks used to make the coffin, but after looking at them, he found that none of the fir planks caught his eye. They were all crudely made and unusable.

Just when Jia Zhen was overwhelmed by the matter, Xue Pan happened to come to the Jia family to offer condolences. When he saw Jia Zhen selecting boards with a sad face, he stepped forward to inquire about the situation. After learning that Jia Zhen was looking for the best boards, Xue Pan's eyes turned and he said with a smile: "There is an excellent board in my wood shop, called mast wood, which is produced in the distant Tiewang Mountain of Huanghai. If it is used to make a coffin, it is said that it can last for thousands of years without decay! This board was originally brought back by my father. At that time, it had been reserved by Prince Yi Zhong. Unfortunately, the prince encountered some misfortunes and was ultimately unable to take it away. So until now, this board is still sealed intact in my shop, and because of its extraordinary origin and high price, no one has dared to bid for it. But since Brother Jia is in urgent need of such a good board now, if you like it, just have someone bring it over and use it."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhen was overjoyed, unable to believe his luck. He quickly ordered his servants to go to the Xue family's wood shop and bring the mast back to the Jia residence. Soon, several strong servants carried the mast before the crowd. Everyone gathered to examine it. The base of the plank was a full eight inches thick, its grain as delicate and beautiful as betel nut, and its scent as delicate and fragrant as sandalwood and musk. Curious, someone gently tapped the plank with their fingers, and a crisp, melodious sound echoed, like the sound of gold and jade clashing, the lingering sound awe-inspiring.

Seeing this, Jia Zhen was also filled with joy, grinning from ear to ear, and hurriedly asked Xue Pan, "I wonder how much such a rare piece of wood is worth?" Xue Pan laughed heartily and waved his hand, saying, "Brother Jia, what are you talking about? A treasure as rare as this would be hard to find anywhere else, even if you had a thousand taels of silver. Why should we negotiate a price between brothers? Just give a few taels of silver to the workers as wages, and that will be enough!"

Upon hearing this news, Jia Zhen was shocked and quickly bowed, expressing his gratitude. He then immediately ordered his men to quickly unwrap the fine wood and begin painting it. However, just then, Jia Zheng approached and advised, "Such precious items are probably not for ordinary people to use. Using some high-quality fir wood for burial is already respectable enough." But Jia Zhen's heart was filled with deep affection for Qin Shi, and he even wished he could die in her place. How could he listen to Jia Zheng's advice?

At this moment, someone arrived to report that one of Qin's maids, Ruizhu, had, upon learning of her master's death, unhesitatingly banged her head against a pillar, committing suicide on the spot. This act was so shocking that the entire family was filled with shock and sighs. Upon hearing this, Jia Zhen was heartbroken and determined to bury Ruizhu properly to express his gratitude for her unwavering loyalty. He ordered Ruizhu buried with the proper ceremony for a granddaughter, and her coffin was placed alongside Qin's in the Dengxian Pavilion in Huifang Garden.

There was also a young maidservant named Baozhu. Seeing Qin Shi's childless death, Baozhu felt deeply sorry for her and offered to become her adopted daughter, vowing to wholeheartedly shoulder all the responsibilities of attending the funeral procession. Jia Zhen was overjoyed, impressed by Baozhu's loyalty and righteousness. He immediately issued an order: from then on, everyone must address Baozhu as "Miss." So, Baozhu, dressed in plain clothes and following the funeral rituals for unmarried women, wept heartbrokenly before Qin Shi's coffin.

At this point, the entire family, men, women, young and old, as well as the numerous servants within the mansion, sprang into action, beginning to follow the established rules and regulations, meticulously and orderly handling the funeral. Everyone fulfilled their duties, acting with extreme caution and treading on thin ice, fearing the slightest mistake or disruption. After all, in such a solemn and dignified situation, no one dared to be negligent or lax in their duties.

Jia Zhen had been worried that Jia Rong was merely a student at the academy. It would be awkward to have his name written on the spiritual banner list. Furthermore, the number of officials responsible for the memorial was relatively small, a situation that made him quite unhappy. Coincidentally, on this very day, the fourth day of the seventh day, early in the morning, Dai Quan, the Minister of Internal Affairs in charge of palace affairs at Daming Palace, had already prepared the offerings and sent his men to deliver them. Not long after, a magnificent sedan slowly arrived, guarded by umbrellas and accompanied by the resounding sound of gongs. It was Dai Quan himself, arriving to pay his respects to the deceased.

Seeing this, Jia Zhen hurried forward and respectfully invited Dai Quan into the mansion. He led the way to Doufengxuan and ordered someone to serve him fragrant tea. After the two of them sat down, Jia Zhen secretly thought about it and took this opportunity to mention to Dai Quan his idea of donating money to help Jia Rong find a better future. Dai Quan immediately understood what he meant and smiled slightly, saying, "I think you are doing this to make this funeral more dignified and respectable." Jia Zhen quickly smiled and replied, "You really understand my feelings!"

Dai Quan narrowed his eyes slightly, a half-smile plastered on his face as he spoke slowly, "What a coincidence! A lucrative position has just opened up: we're short two of the three hundred Dragon Guards. Yesterday, the third brother of the Xiangyang Marquis family came to me, begging me earnestly. And look, he immediately offered me a generous sum of fifteen hundred taels of silver, delivered directly to my residence. As you know, we've been friends for many years, and for the sake of his father's face, I accepted the position without a second thought. But there's only one position left. Who would have thought that today, that chubby Lord Feng, the Yongxing Jiedushi, would come to me eagerly, asking for a position for his son? Well, I was so busy back then that I didn't have time to talk to him. Now that our son wants this opportunity, he should just write a resume and send it over."