The True Winner of the Red Chamber

Even though Ning Rong's two mansions were on the same street, separated only by two walls and a private alley, several people still changed sedan chairs at the second gate and were carried all the way to Ning's mansion.

There are many people in the Rong Mansion, and the gardens are small and exquisite, but the Ning Mansion is different. From the beginning of the establishment of the mansion, it is basically a single pass, so their mansion has a garden that occupies at least one third of the entire mansion. It is also very famous.

Not long after, the sedan chair stopped, someone lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, and Zhen Yingjia came out.

It can be seen that the Jia family really put a lot of effort into inviting him, and the garden is very delicately arranged.

Jia Zhen, the head of the Ning Mansion, came up to say hello: "Uncle Shi, please." Then, Jia Zhen led the way, accompanied by Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng, through an archway with the inscription "Huizhen Garden", along the Go in the narrow path.

Zhen Yingjia always felt that Jia's mother was indispensable among the people who were in charge of the Jia family. Seeing that she didn't come with her, she couldn't help but look back.

Seeing this, Jia Zhen smiled and said: "The old lady has poor legs and feet, and the sister-in-law will accompany her and watch slowly from behind."

Zhen Yingjia nodded, but she felt a little vigilant in her heart.

Isn't this going to let him relax his vigilance first, and then take it down in one fell swoop?

Several people walked forward, and Jia Zhen proudly introduced him to Huizhen Garden, which is well-known in the whole capital.

He pointed to the creek and said, "This water is from the same source as the moat, and our family is the one upstream."

Zhen Yingjia nodded, and Jia Zhen said with a smile: "There are not many in Beijing that can divert water in the garden." He laughed again, and said: "But there are also some in Shishu's new house, I'm afraid Much better than mine.”

Zhen Yingjia smiled very modestly, but thought that the news spread really fast enough.

Seeing that he was silent, Jia Zhen pointed to a pot of snow-white chrysanthemums in front of her and said, "Look at this pot of Yaotai jade phoenix. It took two full years for it to bloom, and I hired two people to look after it," he said While shaking his head, "Where are the chrysanthemums raised here? My son's ones are not so expensive."

Several people laughed together, and Jia She said: "But after looking at the flowers, I realize that these two years of hard work have not been in vain."

Jia Zhen became more and more happy, and pointed out to him a chrysanthemum clump in front of him. This chrysanthemum clump was very unusual. The inside of the petals was purple, and the outside was white or light yellow. It bloomed very lushly.

"It's called Zilong Woxue," Jia Zhen said with pride on her face, "I bought it myself in the market at the beginning. The man didn't know how to raise it, and the roots were rotten. It took him two years to grow it. Finally, this year It's blooming."

"It's really unique." Zhen Yingjia originally thought that chrysanthemums were all yellow, but only after entering Jia's mansion did she realize that these yellow chrysanthemums are actually common goods, like those in the garden of Ning's mansion. It seems that there are even green ones. There are no two plants that are yellow.

Looking at Zhen Yingjia, he couldn't help being interested, these precious varieties are indeed rare, he looked at the two-colored chrysanthemums and said: "Purple dragon crouching snow... I think the more purple the inside, the better, and the white outside is best? "

Jia Zheng smiled and said, "That's right, that's right."

The three of them went all the way in along the path, and Zhen Yingjia saw many rare and precious species. Not to mention what they wanted to say later, at least he is very satisfied so far. Not only did he see many rare plants, he also learned a lot of knowledge Woolen cloth.

Not long after, Jia Zhen led him around a corner, and when he came out, he saw a very delicate hall in front of him. Jia Zhen said: "The banquet is placed inside, but let's take a look at this first."

Following Jia Zhen's finger, Zhen Yingjia saw a chrysanthemum in front of it, with more than a dozen chrysanthemums of different colors and shapes blooming on it. Before he could figure it out, Jia Zheng exclaimed behind him: "It's really called you!" Developed!"

Jia Zhen was even more proud, she raised her head slightly, Zhen Yingjia stepped forward to have a look, and asked doubtfully, "Is this... grafted?"

Jia Zhen seemed to have found a confidant, and said: "That's not true! They used grafting techniques to make three or four kinds of chrysanthemums bloom together. It's not easy, but mine has thirteen kinds of chrysanthemums. The fourth prince the day before yesterday For the banquet, I also borrowed my chrysanthemum."

Hearing the words of the fourth prince, Jia Zheng and Jia She exchanged a look, but they just looked at Zhen Yingjia looking down at the flowers, without any reaction, and could not help frowning.

Jia Zhen made a show, and said: "Uncle Shi, please, the old lady is already waiting inside."

Zhen Yingjia straightened up, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, he understood what these people asked him to do.

Four princes.

When Jia Yuanchun from the Rong Mansion first entered the palace, she worked for the fourth prince's mother and concubine... She was several years older than Zhiyin, so it was time for her to be "promoted".

Zhen Yingjia entered the flower hall, and there were already two people sitting at the table, one he recognized Jia Mu, and the other dressed as a Taoist priest with half-closed eyes... It should be Jia Jing who was awarded a Jinshi in the Ning Mansion and then resigned to practice alchemy .

Seeing him coming in, Jia Mu smiled and said, "I'm not comfortable with my legs and feet, so I'll hold you up and I won't get up to meet you."

"The old lady is an elder, she was supposed to sit."

After greeting Jia's mother, Jia Jing also opened his eyes, said lightly, "You're here." Then he closed his eyes again, playing the image of a worldly expert very vividly.

Everyone sat down one by one, and Zhen Yingjia was pushed to the third seat.

This banquet... There was only one person at the top, Zhen Yingjia, and then the three members of the Rong family, plus the two members of the Ning family, sat around the round table loosely.

Using the Hongmen banquet to describe them is a bit flattering. Zhen Yingjia felt that the Jia family had no intention or ability to kill him, but seeing this situation, there was no junior, and there was no one who could not call the shots. He knew that this banquet must say business.

Everyone toasted, and after drinking rice wine, Jia's mother said: "Since we are admiring chrysanthemums, chrysanthemums are indispensable in this dish, and crabs are also indispensable in this dish." After speaking, she looked sideways at Zhen Yingjia and said, "Crabs are cold in nature, so use some shochu wine first, How about eating some vegetables to warm your stomach?"

Zhen Yingjia nodded and said: "It should be so, the old lady is very healthy."

After eating, the expressions on everyone's faces became more and more relaxed.

Jia Mu pointed to a plate of fried chrysanthemums on the table and said, "Try this first. Most people make fried chrysanthemums with egg whites and noodles, and then roll the noodles thinly to make them look like chrysanthemums. They say they are fried chrysanthemums." Chrysanthemum, just add some chrysanthemums to the water of the dough to make it taste. The one in our house is made of whole chrysanthemums and sprinkled with a thin layer of fine flour, which is the most rare."

After Jia's mother finished introducing, a little maid immediately stepped forward to share the dishes with everyone.

The chrysanthemums were fried very crispy, and the flour was only a little thinner. It melted in the mouth and had the fragrance of chrysanthemums. Zhen Yingjia nodded her head in praise.

The few people surnamed Jia at the table exchanged a vague look, and they became more enthusiastic about persuading them to drink and eat.

Jia Zhen persuaded again: "Try this crystal tofu."

Another little maid came up to share the dishes.

Zhen Yingjia saw the tofu in his plate, and said it was tofu, but it was actually crystal clear, and the chrysanthemum in the middle, it was rare that the color hadn't changed at all, it was still so bright, just like the one that just opened.

He couldn't help but praise in his heart: people in the city really know how to eat.

After drinking for three rounds and eating a lot of crabs, the maids came up to remove the leftovers, put hot tea and snacks on the table, and then quietly retreated.

Even though he had just finished eating and the afternoon sun slanted in, Zhen Yingjia was very dizzy, but he still cheered up and said, "Thanks to your family's hospitality today, it really opened my eyes."

Mother Jia frowned, feeling that Zhen Yingjia's words didn't sound very pleasant to her ears, she just kept her business in mind, suppressed her unhappiness, and said, "Apart from the dishes today, this tea is also a good thing."

Zhen Yingjia was full of wine and food, and she was lazy and weak because she was curious. Everyone saw that he was not up to the trick, so Jia Zhen could only continue talking.

"This tea is a tribute, and it was sent by the Fourth Prince a few days ago." Seeing Zhen Yingjia looking at him with a half-smile, Jia Zhen somehow added, "It's a gift from the chrysanthemum."

Zhen Yingjia nodded slowly. Mother Jia saw that Jia Zhen lost her battle with just one look, then looked at Jia Jing who was pretending to be a Buddha with half-closed eyes, and her son who was nervous and his thoughts were all written on his face, rolled up his sleeves on their own.

"It's a pity to say it." Mother Jia said regretfully, "If it hadn't been for such a disaster... Zhiyin would have already settled for someone else." She couldn't help sighing, "Who would have thought that the crown prince would be deposed? Otherwise, the side concubine Zhao may have already been hired."

This is the beginning... Zhen Yingjia immediately realized that Jia Yuanchun had entered the fourth prince's room.He shook his head immediately, but didn't follow their train of thought.

"This statement is wrong," Zhen Yingjia said seriously: "I thought it was wrong in the early years. How can my daughter be sent to the palace to suffer? Instead of going to be a concubine for the princes and grandchildren, it is better to find a serious one. It’s good for someone to be the main wife. As scholars, we have our own strength of character, so naturally we have to stand upright and be a man!"

A passage of words was just and strict, but Jia Mu's face was fine, but Jia Zheng immediately showed embarrassment.

He is a scholar, and he even sent his daughter into a concubine. Zhen Yingjia's words just slapped him in the face.

Jia Zheng was so distraught that he couldn't even say what Jia's mother had told him earlier.

Seeing these scenes, Mother Jia sighed in her heart, and felt more and more that the men in Jia's mansion were not up to the mark, and she was determined to raise the girls well, and use them to honor the hearts of the family members of Jia's mansion.

"Ah," Jia She sighed, and said very bluntly, "There is no such thing as a concubine or not in the palace."

Jia Mu glared at him, thinking how could she follow Zhen Yingjia's rhythm, she smiled and said: "Speaking of this, I'm afraid you don't know yet, the eldest girl in our house has been taken over by the Fourth Prince, and she has done it. The side concubine is gone. Our two families have always been on good terms, and as soon as I got the news, I thought of telling you."

Zhen Yingjia twitched the corners of her mouth, thinking that if the news was just chatting with his mother, it would be more or less the same, but when she brought it in front of him, she didn't think it was the case.

So he smiled lightly and said: "Congratulations to the old lady. After all these years, I finally got what I wanted."

These words sounded really not at all tempting, Jia Mu was slapped twice in a row by him, even though she begged him, the smile on her face faded.

She looked around, and Jia Zhen spoke with a smile.

"Our Jia family is now considered the fourth prince's in-laws. Right now—" Jia Zhen stretched out her thumb and pointed to the sky, "The position has not yet been determined. Uncle Shi often enters the palace. Is this marriage a good deal or not?"

It turned out to be for this!

Zhen Yingjia looked at Jia Zhen licking her face and begging him, and said in her heart that it was really shameless, he was several years younger than herself, and it was not embarrassing to call her uncle and nephew that way!