Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

It is said that Baoyu is like a day, and Mrs. Wang is gradually relieved, so she tells Jia Zheng her idea of ​​dismissing the servants.Jia Zheng had no objection, and he still said: "Now it's no different from before. It's time to increase income and reduce expenditure." A few days later, male and female servants were summoned in the Rose Garden, and they said that they would be allowed to redeem themselves. Whether it was five hundred or not, they were paid out separately; those who couldn't afford it had to be vague, and those who would rather not have a monthly payment to stay as waiters, they all persuaded them to go separately; Only Wu Xindeng and Dai Liang were left. One was the head of the silver house and the other was the head of the warehouse. The one who knew the details of the accounts best still took care of the rent on the field, the accounts of entry and exit, etc.; A few people stayed in the room, and as for the tea house, pharmacy, and needleworkers, they all sent them away; and because the flowers, trees, spices, rice and water chestnuts in the garden were under the care of each person in the past, they still left the wishes, fields, and water chestnuts. These old mothers like Ye, although they didn't add extra money, they added chores such as cleaning, comprador, and guarding the door in shifts, and they didn't have anything to say.

Jiamu kept the mandarin ducks, Mrs. Wang kept the jade bracelets, Li Wan kept Suyun, and in Baoyu's room, only sheyue was left, and the rest were sent out.Qiuwen, Qilu, Bihen, etc. were crying to death. Sheyue persuaded this one, but not that one. When she turned her head and saw Tan Yun combing a pair of buns, leaning against the window alone, she just opened the curtain and looked out, but she was surprised.Qiu Wen also saw it, and asked him: "Could it be that you don't have to leave after you look around?" Tan Yun then looked back and smiled: "Could it be that you don't have to leave after crying for a while? Those who want to leave, are those who want to leave or get separated? According to me, those of us who leave just think that we can no longer enjoy happiness in this place, so we are sad; don’t you know that this place is not the same as before, and those who stay are sad. It's better to leave when the time is good, and you don't have to wait until the flowers and leaves fall in the future to be even more sad. In the past, Qingwen, Fangguan, Chunyan'er and the others wanted to leave, even sister Xiren , let alone us? But Musk Moon, from now on Yihong Courtyard has to take care of so many things, and I think it's not worth it for him. If we don't talk about persuading us well, but asking him to persuade us painstakingly, wouldn't it be unpopular? "

She Yue was hit in the heart when she heard this, she couldn't help but took Tan Yun's hand and said: "Good girl, it's not like what you said! You go back this time and go to your own mother, from now on you will be your own, What is there to cry about? No more than me. I had no father since I was a child, and my mother died last year. You are the only ones who have kissed you. Although you were not born to the same mother, in my eyes, you are closer than sisters who are real relatives. Now once they are separated, I will be left alone, wouldn't I be lonely." With that said, he withdrew his hands and started to cry.Everyone wept more and more, and they pulled out their hairpins and handed each other tokens.Baoyu looked on and felt sad, but not as sad as before. He just said lightly: "Tan Yun is right. There is always a banquet in the world. How do you know that you have no better place to go after leaving here? "

So I went out to study outside.Mingyan, sweeping red, hoeing medicine, etc. were all waiting there early, at a loss, holding Baoyu and refused to go. One said, "I grew up with my master since I was a child, and I understand my mind best. If I leave When my master is troubled, who will comfort me?" Another said, "I'm gone, what will happen when my master is bullied again?" When the door was closed, Fu burst into tears again, shook his head and beat his chest all the way, crying and went out.Baoyu couldn't bear it, and suddenly remembered an old incident, so she asked Jia Yun to discuss again, and asked him to find out if there was a girl named Wan'er among the sold girls in Ningfu. Married to Mingyan.After hearing this, Jia Yun bowed her head in thought, feeling rather embarrassed.

It turns out that both Jia She and Jia Zhen's mansions are famous for their many beautiful girls and concubines. When people in the city heard that the mansion sells maids, they all flocked to watch them.There are those idle men who only inquire about the details of princes and princes' mansions, and they can best recognize the heads and faces of the descendants of various factions. If Jia Yun goes to buy it, people will definitely talk about it, saying that the Jia family's girl was still bought by Jia's family members. Yes, not good.After thinking about it, he turned to Ni Er, the drunk king.Ni Er was reluctant at first, and said, "I'm an old man, but thanks to my reputation, I have my share in fighting and causing trouble. If you talk about buying a girl, it's a joke." Jia Yun had to say it again. When Baoyu came, Ni Er became happy, and said with a smile: "This second master Bao also values ​​love and righteousness, and treats his servants the same way. It can be seen that it is not bad. I, Ni Er, can serve his old man, and I am not in vain to be a hero. "Sure enough, I found out that Wan'er was in it, so I bought it from the official media.

Then Baoyu called Mingyan, rewarded Wan'er face to face, and asked him to live separately, and persuaded him: "Anyway, your mother is still serving in the courtyard, and your home is close, so you have to come and walk in the garden often. Just look at your mother." Mingyan choked up sobs and had no choice but to kowtow. The allocation has been decided, each room is cleaned the courtyard, furniture is added or subtracted, and the Grand View Garden is reorganized.Although the ostentation is far from what it used to be, it is still three meals and one night, the food and clothing of dozens of people.Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang are always on medicines, and doctors see a doctor in the morning and evening, which is also a big expense.What's more, there are no such talents as Sister Feng and Jia Lian in the mansion now, who are in charge of internal and external power, and live within their means, which is even more stretched.It is said that the belongings of this house are not allowed to be admitted to the government, but the returned property is much shorter than that of the previous ones. Jia Zheng knew that the plagiarism prosecutor had taken it himself without registering and reporting it, so he had no choice but to endure it deficit.Fortunately, Wang Ziteng and Aunt Xue came to inquire from time to time, but when they saw a shortage, they helped to make up for it; then many old relatives in the capital saw that things were going to be cold, and they all reconnected if there was nothing.Jia Zheng sent him to greet him. He was really busy for a few days, and he went to the book to take a long vacation. He didn't have to go to court every day, but only read at home, stroked flowers and bamboo, or played with birds and fished. He became a hermit. .

Mrs. Wang, Li Wan and others were not the kind of people who were blindly indulging in comfort, so they could be at ease with the situation.Only Aunt Zhao's mother and son had been envious of the Grand View Garden for a long time, and now they managed to earn their way in. They are hoping to show their strengths and enjoy the sway of gold slaves and silver maidservants. Who knows Jia Zheng resigned from office, Since then, this salary has been lost, and the mansion has no access, so it is hard to avoid; Mrs. Wang came up with this method of reducing servants. Only one old mother is allowed to stay in each courtyard, and one maid is allowed to serve, and the rest will be taught. Let go of the house.Aunt Zhao was very disappointed, she muttered, she was so angry that she was half dead, she wanted to make a big fuss, but when she found out that there was only one mandarin duck waiting beside Jia Mu, even the amber and glass were put away. I had a seizure, so I had to think about it alone, so I left the little magpie here.

The little Queer was unwilling, saying that his parents wanted to redeem him and go out. Aunt Zhao was so angry that she had no choice but to scold: "Little hoof without a heart, a bastard who doesn't know how to praise, let you go out to starve to death and freeze to death, then Only then will you know how powerful it is." Xiao Jixianger had to be left behind, and came to Jia Zheng to ask Caiyun and Jia Huan to take over the house.Jia Zhengdao: "Do you think it's the same as before? Before getting married, the two maids were taken into the house first. Now Baoyu and Huan'er don't know which item to pay for the serious marriage. It doesn't matter if you care about it? Besides, Caiyun is Madam's servant girl has already been sent out of the house, can't it be taken back again?" Aunt Zhao was so scolded that she didn't dare to say any more, she came back to her room with her mouth pouted angrily, pointing to heaven and earth, muttering curses.

Seeing his mother like this, Jia Huan asked why, and said with a smile, "I don't want to be like Caiyun. It was because of your troubles that you ran into this problem. Although there are few maids in the house now, they all respect me as the number one." Master, which one do you want to choose? It’s no different from the past. Although there are many people in the garden, those who pick high branches to hatch water don’t pay attention to me. It turns out that Caiyun is a discerning person, so he can’t help but take a high look. Now he is leaving by himself. , it's not that I don't miss the old love, why bother to chase it back. Isn't there anyone else better than him?"

It turned out that Jia Huan used to see that Baoyu and Jialan both lived in the garden, but it was difficult for him to even visit the garden for a while, and he always harbored resentment in his heart.Now that his family business has been defeated, he has fulfilled his original ambition and was able to move into the garden, and he is as happy as the New Year. It doesn't seem like he has just been plagiarized, but he seems to have been promoted by imperial edict, and he is very happy every day. He pursed his lips, thinking that his elder sisters Jia Tanchun and Fan got this kind of reward, and felt more confident and confident, and made great contributions. Although he tried his best to hold back in front of Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang, he couldn't be too ostentatious. But he flaunted his power to others, and regarded himself as the uncle of the country, even ignoring Baoyu.The wonderful thing is that Jia's mother doesn't care much now, and Jia Lian and Sister Feng are not in the house. That Baoyu was a little demented. Since hearing the news of Daiyu's death, she has lost her soul. Usually, there are other considerations as well.Therefore, there is no one in Tongfu who can control him.

Then Jia Huan played freely, drank five times and drank six times every day, and met many good friends of all kinds of religions and high schools. He gambled and drank alcohol, did everything, and walked frequently in the courtyard.Those fans all came to curry favor with him when they saw him lavishing luxury and squandering money.Jia Huan had never experienced it before. He saw some vulgar fans and hypocrisy. So when Caiyun went, he not only didn't feel nostalgia for it, but instead took it into his heart so as not to be entangled.Seeing that the men who were in charge of the mansion in the past, such as Lai Da and Lin Zhixiao, all left the mansion for the elderly, leaving only Dai Liang and Wu Xindeng, they made a plan, booked a room in the restaurant, and called a table to wait. At the banquet, please invite Wu Xindeng and Dai Liang to come and entertain them warmly, saying: "Such a big event happened in the two mansions, only our house has not been touched, and my sister has become a princess. The emperor and empress personally Sending you off on a boat, all civil and military officials from all over the dynasty came to watch the ceremony. Is my younger brother a fake? In the past, everyone flattered Lian's second elder brother and Lian's second sister-in-law, so what is going on now? I am not the serious master of the mansion after all, and besides, He did those shameful things, left a pile of bad debts, and finally kicked out. It can be seen that the affairs in this room must always be decided by the people in this room. If everyone is private, I will be the third master of the ring after all. It is not an exaggeration to use some of them in advance. In the past, when Lian's second brother was in charge of the accounts, which of your handy hands and feet and fancy accounts could hide it from me? It's just that you are not in your position, and you don't plan for politics'that's all. Now that there is no person in charge in the mansion, I have to worry about it. From now on, I have to discuss with me about the accountant. In the future, the benefits of both of you will be indispensable. " Wu Xindeng and Dai Liang couldn't help laughing out loud after hearing this nonsense.It turned out that when the two of them saw Jia's family dismissing their family, they winked and cried a vat of tears to confess that they refused to go to death. They said they were grateful for their master's kindness, but they actually looked at people like Lai Da and Lin Zhixiao. They all went, knowing that Jia Zheng was not good at housework, so he made an idea to pocket his own money.Just caring about the superficial article, I dare not let it go too much. Now that Jia Huan is a ready-made straw bag delivered to your door, how can you not like it?If you are happy to give ten to one, and to be half complacent, even if it is leaked afterwards, it can all be blamed on Jia Huan, so they all said: "We will do what the third master says, but if something goes wrong, we can't afford it." , at that time, the third master had to come forward." Jia Huan was overjoyed when he heard them talk about "Third Master", and said, "That's natural, how can you bear the burden? I have everything." Wu Xindeng and Dai Liang were secretly happy, and they flattered them in every possible way. To make him happy, Jia Huan allowed Jia Huan to act mischievously outside without dissuading him, but instead added fuel to the fire, encouraging him to gamble, eat and drink, and do everything.Since ancient times, there is no need to learn the skill of spending money. Although the situation in the mansion was good in the past, Jia Huan had to restrain himself because the money did not fall into his hands. Hulu drinking pheasants, cuddling with Cuiyihong at night, within a few months, they spent nearly a thousand taels of silver, then felt embarrassed and owed a lot of gambling debts.Those bachelors then instigated him again: "Why do you have to have ready-made money? The many fields and real estate in your family are idle for nothing. If you take a few land deeds and mortgage them, aren't they all money? If you turn over the book, Then quietly redeem it and put it back, without anyone noticing, how neat and secure it is?" It turned out that after the family property was returned, because Jia Lian and Xifeng went out, all the land and house deeds were taken into Jia Zheng's hands, and they were all locked in boxes and never checked.Now the garden is sparsely populated and guards are neglected, and Jia Huan comes in and out at will every day, so it is not difficult to get it, so he steals many land deeds, pledges or pawns them, and exchanges them for money, gambling and whoring at night, for his squandering.He is also one who can't afford to lose, and of course he wants to win again if he wins, but the more he loses, the more he wants to gamble, so he snowballs, paying more and getting less, and quietly lost four or five out of ten of a house. Know. Jia Zheng never asked about housework in the past, but now there is no excuse. Although it is unavoidable to ask some questions, the accountant does whatever he says. How can he tell the truth from the fake? Very hesitant, I couldn't help thinking about Zhang Xiuying's autumn wind and perch, and discussed with Mrs. Wang in my spare time: "There is an old saying:'The gentleman's luster, the fifth generation will be cut." Generations of generation characters, generation of characters, generation of jade characters, generation of cursive characters, just five generations in Lan'er. After the previous changes, I now look down on world affairs and have no intention of fame. Besides, in this capital, people are thin and prices are expensive. How long can I last like this? It’s only because the old lady is old and dare not work, so I have to hold on here. Now I have made up my mind, and I will go back to the old house in the south when the old lady waits for a hundred years. There are still a few acres of Susukida that can be rented. It’s easy to spend the rest of your life with simple food and tea.” Mrs. Wang had no objection, but she had another thing on her mind, because she said, "It's good to say what the master said, but Baoyu's major event is not over, and he is always on one mind. Besides, this time, thanks to the shadow of our ancestors, the whole family died. Escape, although the old lady is in good spirits, her body has collapsed, it's not because I worry too much, I'm afraid that it will be bad for a while, Baoyu will always keep her filial piety for another three years, won't it delay Bao girl? What's more, the original intention of the empress was to have him get married in September. If we are still on the mausoleum and can't come back, we have no choice but to let it go; now that the rain has passed, it's better to get this important matter done quickly, and I will have more arms from now on. , not so strenuous." Jia Zheng also felt Baochai's perseverance in the midst of difficulties. Hearing this, he felt that it was reasonable, even if he ordered Baoyu to come and tell him about it.After Baoyu heard this, she was unwilling in every possible way, but she couldn't say it clearly. She just faltered and said: "The eldest sister and the second sister have not passed away for a long time, and they have filial piety, so it is inconvenient to marry." Mrs. Wang said: "You are talking nonsense again. My sister is a daughter who married out of the house, and she is of the same generation as you. What kind of filial piety do you want? Besides, the "Golden Jade Marriage" is written by the empress herself, and the ninth day of September is also chosen by the empress. Days, now that my mother is dead, it is more important to marry according to the order, so as to live up to my heart. As long as there is no extravagance." Jia Zheng also said: "I have worked hard for half a lifetime, and now I know that fame and fame are like floating clouds. Just like the morning dew, if it weren't for the great grace of the emperor, I'm afraid I would die in the prison this time. If you escaped with your life, how dare you think about wealth and honor again? I know you are lazy in studying and don't think about making progress, and you don't want to make progress now. I don't expect you to honor your ancestors and seal your wife and son. As long as you can see you get married soon and spread your branches and leaves, your mother and I will feel at ease. After you have done this, we will return to our old age and attach ourselves to the ancestral grave Go. You can’t make meritorious service in the country, and the Yu family should always be filial. If you can’t even agree to this, what will you do in the world?” Baoyu heard his father's words with tears in his eyes, he spoke very sadly, different from the words of strict training that he taught on a daily basis, it was quite bitter, and he bowed his head and was speechless.Seeing him like this, Mrs. Wang knew that her heart was already moving, so she cried: "I have lived for more than fifty years, and I have given birth to three children. Pearl is like that, and your elder sister is like that. I wish I could die. I can't do it for two of them; now you are the only one left, I have nothing to look forward to, I just want to see you start a family and establish a family, I open my mind, maybe the disease will be better; if you are not willing to do so My heart is to teach me that I can't close my eyes even if I die." Then he began to cry.Baoyu was so frightened that he had to knelt down and said: "Marriage is a major matter, and it is up to the parents. Besides, the mother has her own goals first, and she will do whatever the mother says, and the children will obey." Mrs. Wang was overjoyed when she heard that he was willing. Even if she wanted to arrange a make-up ceremony, when she wanted to discuss it with someone, she remembered that Sister Feng was not around now, so she felt resigned. The widow can't help looking forward to Baochai coming in soon, so that she can help her.Just as the time was counting, I suddenly heard an announcement from outside: "Second Grandma is here." I couldn't help being overjoyed, and hurried to please.Then I saw Wang Xifeng coming in with light make-up and plain clothes. When I saw Mrs. Wang, I bowed down to greet Ann, and the circles of my eyes turned red early.Mrs. Wang hastily pulled him to sit beside her, and asked him what he did here today and why he didn't see sister Qiao.Sister Feng said with a smile: "Aunt Xue's second child is going to marry Miss Xing from our side. It has been decided that the second day of next month will be a good day. I specially asked for this job to send posts to the old lady. I just got old Madam left sister Qiao to talk over there, come and kowtow to Madam later." Mrs. Wang knew that he had invited An Lai to Jia Mu, nodded and smiled: "The old lady's temperament and preferences have changed a lot after this accident, but the preference of loving girls has not changed. It should be Miss Qiao I often come here and walk around in my spare time, and talk to the old lady. Once the old man opens his mind, he may feel better." Sister Feng also laughed and said, "Isn't that what the wife said? The old lady has left Sister Qiao to teach me to stay longer. It's been a few days." Mrs. Wang nodded, and said: "Miss Qin, your aunt, just got married, and she is going to marry Miss Xing, which is a double blessing. Now I want to add another joy, but I am worried that no one will discuss it. You came by coincidence." Because he said again the difficult thing to do for the make-up ceremony.Sister Feng smiled and said, "What's so difficult about this? I know what my wife means. I'm afraid that the gift will be too thin, which will not look good on face, and if it is too thick, I can't take it out now. Besides, I don't know how thick it is to be considered thick. I have a unique gift. Good idea: They just sent Miss Xing’s make-up gift to us the day before yesterday. I still took the gift list. Now I’ll just add one or two pieces, not too thin or too thick, ma’am What do you think?" Mrs. Wang was overjoyed, nodded and sighed: "It is you after all, no matter how troublesome it is, you can take care of it in a few moments, where can you find such an arm now?" Sister Feng felt deeply remorseful about selling the Zhen family's antiques privately and exploiting them for profit, but she thought that Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang must be full of complaints. Unexpectedly, when Jia Mu came back from the mausoleum, the first thing she did was call for money. Jia Lian redeemed himself to come out, and divided those who belonged to the family and the elders to settle down, and did not even have a word of reproach. Not only did he save face in front of his mother-in-law and husband, but he also let others know how much the old lady loved him in the past. It didn't decrease at all, and taught her mother-in-law that she must look at it for the sake of money, so she shouldn't embarrass herself; now Mrs. Wang is full of praise for her ability, and she doesn't mention the past, and she feels ashamed and blushes.At the moment, with all my heart and soul, I discussed with Mrs. Wang to set up a gift list, ordered someone to write it, and went out to buy it immediately, and discussed about entertaining guests.Because the Concubine Yuan’s new funeral has not been long, it’s not good to be too ostentatious and grand, and I can’t afford it. If it can be done, there may not be many princes and nobles who are willing to show their face, so I have to keep things simple. nothing more. Once the discussion was settled, Mrs. Wang looked back at the present and thought about the past, and she couldn't help feeling sad again, and sighed: "In the past, when I married into the mansion, I brought twelve dowry maids and dozens of dowry boxes to the door to put wine Celebrating, it has been lively for more than half a month; it is the time when you come, although the mansion is not as prosperous as before, it is still beating gongs and drums, and holding banquets for days, from princes and ministers to emperors and rich merchants, which one Don’t sharpen your head and ask for a post for a treat, so that you can take the opportunity to get close to our family. Where are you still talking about these now? But it’s just a little bit of thin wine, as a courtesy.” These words touched Sister Feng's heart, and she couldn't help but sighed a few times along with her, and tried to comfort her a few words, because she talked about the sale of her family, she sighed: "Some time ago, the family members of the two governments sold at the entrance of the vegetable market. Sister-in-law Zhen bought Yindie and wanted to buy Ping'er back. However, my mother-in-law said that Yanhong and Cuiyun belonged to the master, and Ping'er and Qiutong belonged to the second master. Now the master's concubines are also If they said they would sell it, they would sell it, and if they had no money, they would buy it; if the second master's girl had money, she would buy it, so that her relatives would not look like she was hiding a lot of furniture, but she was not allowed. I was too anxious, I also discussed with my brother, asking him to take Ping'er home for a few days, and then discuss it later. Who would have thought that not only would he not help, but he would also say a lot of nasty things, which is not easy to learn from his wife. But in the past The members of the Liu family in the kitchen of the garden went out a few days ago to redeem themselves. Thinking of Ping'er's love for them to clear their grievances, they were willing to spend money and effort to run around. They borrowed money from a porcelain merchant from the south to redeem Ping'er. , and asked me out to have a secret meeting. I asked him whether he should stay at Liu’s house for a while to see the wind, or he would go back with me right now, and explained to his wife and second master who were on the opposite side. Ping’er burst into tears He said that he planned to follow me for the rest of his life and serve me to the end, but he had been chilled by the second master and was afraid that the eldest wife would not allow him. The reason why the porcelain merchant was willing to redeem him was because he wanted to marry him and go back to fill the house. He is well-off, at a similar age, and he is honest and stable. His wife died the year before last, and there are no other concubines in the family. Listen, I think it is better than following Lian'er. I just thought about our master and servant. Separated, now even he has left me, but I feel sad." As he spoke, tears came down. Mrs. Wang also sighed, and saw that Sister Feng's face was glowing with smoke and fire, and her hands were not as rough as before. Knowing that Mrs. Xing was stingy by nature, she might not be willing to take out the ladder to supplement the family, so she guessed that Sister Feng was in decline, and she swept away the cooking. You have to do everything by yourself, and you must have suffered a lot. I feel sorry for you, but you can't ask carefully, and sighed: "I have always said that Ping'er is a scheming person, and you can't blame him entirely. Don't say that your mother-in-law won't allow you to redeem her." He, even if he redeemed himself with money, your mother-in-law might not be able to tolerate him. He is complaining about the confiscation of the house. How is it not good for you? Why don’t you take it easy? It’s no wonder he wants to think for himself, Let go of Lian'er and find another way out. It's just that Wang Ren broke his bowels like this, it really makes me angry." I was discussing the lawsuit of the historian again, and I was talking about Wei Ruolan's life and death, and Shi Xiangyun's marriage was wasted, when I suddenly saw a mandarin duck Come over and ask where is today's dinner. While Mrs. Wang was thinking, Sister Feng had made up her mind and said: "Both the old lady and the wife like to eat vegetarian food. If we live in another place, the old lady will not be able to eat together. It would be better to accompany the old lady to eat vegetarian food in Yuancui Nunnery. Mrs. Wang nodded with a smile, Yuanyang also smiled and said: "Second Grandma has not seen for a long time, I heard that she was ill again a while ago, but her energy has not diminished at all, and she is still so considerate." She said and went.Mrs. Wang talked with Sister Feng for a while, and then she went to Yuancui nunnery hand in hand, read the list of gifts with Jia Mu, and said Sister Feng's idea.Jia Mu nodded in approval, and was very happy to hear that Baoyu hadn't messed around. From this day on, Mrs. Wang started to work hard to prepare for the wedding. Although she was overwhelmed, her health was better than before. Jia Zheng felt very relieved when he saw it.Sister Feng came early and left every day to help with the preparations. Today, because she taught a tailor to try on clothes with Baoyu, she saw that although Baoyu described it as much lighter than before, she felt radiant after changing new clothes, and said with a smile: " What a handsome bridegroom, he is really like a phoenix." Baoyu tore off her clothes in twos and threes, and still handed them over to the tailor, complaining to Sister Feng: "My sister lied to me so hard, why did you tell me that Sister Lin married the King of Beijing that day?" One moment, another moment. At that time in prison, if I were to tell the truth, if you were sick like before, would there be doctors and medicine in the temple of the prison god? You are about to get married now, wait until you get married After Miss Bao entered the door, it’s not good to keep talking about your sister Lin. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing for Miss Bao to hear it?” Baoyu nodded in agreement, and then said: “My dear sister, tell me carefully now: Before sister Lin goes, What's the situation? Have you left any words? I said this time, and I won't mention it again from now on. Okay?" Sister Feng couldn't help it, so she had to tell him in detail: "That day I was welcoming the spirit at the Shelei Pavilion, but I didn't go with Xiaoci because of my poor health. I stayed in the house for two days, and when I got up that morning, I greeted the old lady and greeted the old lady. I went to the garden to visit your sister Lin. He had just eaten Baihua porridge, and he was in better spirits than before. He was still sitting under the window teaching parrots to read poems. Who would have thought that at night, his girl Xueyan suddenly Fei Pao said that the girl just came out of the garden to pay her respects to her ancestors. When she was passing by Liaoting flower garden, she saw peonies and hibiscus falling on the ground. When I arrived, I saw him lying with his eyes closed under a big peach tree on the northeast corner, almost never buried by falling flowers, and hurriedly sent people back to his room, and at the same time came to report. The old lady listened and was bluffed No, I wanted to go into the garden to have a look. When I was walking out, the officials who ransacked the house had already arrived. Halfway through the copy, I heard crying inside, saying that someone died in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion. What are the details? I couldn't see it. If you want to ask, I'm afraid only his two maids, Zijuan and Xueyan, will know, but the boat sank again - this is what your brother inquired about, saying that the king of Beijing sent a boat to send Miss Lin Ling returned to the south, but halfway through the journey, when passing through Guazhou, a sudden gust of wind and waves sank the boat. Not only Miaoyu, Zijuan and Xueyan disappeared, but Miss Lin's coffin was also missing. It was salvaged again, and the inside was already empty. There was an even stranger joke—that when the King of Beijing Jing came to search the mansion, he fell in love with your sister Lin’s parrot for some reason, and sent someone to pick it up. Who would have thought that the parrot would not eat, drink, or talk since he left the Xiaoxiang Mansion, and died within three days of entering the mansion. People say that Miss Lin was so smart all her life that she even raised her The parrot is the same, I am afraid that your sister has become a fairy, and that parrot has been taught by him and has already become spiritual, so he also went to the fairy world to accompany him, I don't know." It turned out that Wang Xifeng knew that Baoyu had always liked to hear these weird and colorful gossip, so he deliberately told him the rumors of Daiyu becoming a fairy and parrots psychic martyrdom to make him like it.Sure enough, Baoyu listened, murmured something, nodded and sighed with emotion, so Sister Feng took the opportunity to leave without mentioning it. In the blink of an eye, it was September, and the auspicious day was approaching. The Jia family sent a make-up gift, and the Xue family got ready early, and sent a dowry gift list the next day, which read: several beds with carved red sandalwood frames, and a red satin embroidered gold hundred-child tent. , a pair of pear wood round tables, a pair of pear wood book grids, two pairs of nanmu carved kang tables, two pairs of nanmu carved large cabinets; twenty red lacquer carved dragon and phoenix boxes, twenty red lacquer carved dragon and phoenix boxes; Jin Fushou A pair of double-happiness holding pots and plates, a pair of large golden begonia flower tea trays, a pair of golden Ruyi tea trays, a pair of golden blessing and longevity bowl lids; gold urns, gold tooth sticks, gold spoons, gold mouthwash bowls, and gold washbasins A pair of each; there are also twenty-seven boxes of clothes for the four seasons, rulers of various colors, and flower scarves. At this time, everyone was crowding in Xiaocui Hall to look at the gold-sprinkling post, and Aunt Zhao said in shock: "A lot of gold! The Xue family still has a lot of furniture hidden, so all the troubles didn't capture him. The dowry The list is still like this." Jia Zheng frowned and said, "If it was in the past, it would not be a big deal, but now his family still has the strength to organize these things. The two families are close relatives, and they know the details, so let's simplify it. We are not picky, so why is it so luxurious?" Mrs. Wang sighed: "People have tried their best to make this dowry, and they hope that the girl can hold her head up when she arrives at her husband's house, and her in-laws and wives will treat him with more respect, and her husband knows pain and heat, and knows how to be considerate. We don't want it." I have let them down." As he spoke, he looked at Baoyu.Baoyu hurriedly lowered his head, and everyone laughed.Then Jia Mu told Baoyu many things, and only Nuonuo agreed.Li Wan is a widow, so it's not easy to interfere in these matters, so she just sat on the side with a smile and said nothing. On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Jia Baoyu got up early in the morning, and without disturbing Musk Moon, first quietly changed into plain clothes, and went out on tiptoe.It was the wild goose autumn season, and the sycamore trees in the garden were all gone, red and thin, and green and thin. Fortunately, the chrysanthemums were in full bloom, and the precious jade was picked along the way.When I went to the Qinfang Bridge, I saw the dried lotus under the bridge and the duckweed covered the pond. I suddenly thought of the poem Daiyu said that she didn't like Li Shangyin the most, but loved him only. Nodding into the water, he sighed and said, "So I am the remnant lotus mentioned in the poem. I used to be with my sisters and sisters in the Grand View Garden to enjoy the lotus boats, how happy and comfortable; now I am the only one left, how desolate it is? Bone, jade is the spirit, once the fragrance dissipates, what's the use of leaving me this residual lotus leaf?" I looked at it for a while, sighed a few times, and then got off the bridge and came all the way to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion . I opened the door and came in, but I saw the cold smoke, the fallen leaves, and a desolate scene.That Baoyu had already shed tears in his eyes, because he offered the chrysanthemum in front of the spirit first, lit incense and candles, and worshiped for a few times, but he didn't say goodbye, so he opened the curtain and came into the room, and said with a smile: "My sister is getting better recently. With that said, she turned around and sat down on Daiyu's usual chair in front of the Xuan window, still facing the bed and asked with a smile, "I haven't come to see you for the past two days, has my sister ever annoyed me?" Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the curtains on the bed shook slightly, and the golden hooks on the tent shattered. Baoyu burst into tears, but still smiled and said, "I know my sister won't really annoy me. But he never forgot his sister for a day, just because they were under strict supervision and could not come over often. Sister Mingerbao passed the door, and she didn't have the time to spare, so she came here to say goodbye to her, and after a few days of busy work, she would come to meet her again Fragrance." As he spoke, he found a glass hand lamp on the table, lit it, and walked to the bedside to take a picture, and said, "My sister, the painting on the wall is old, why don't I change it for my sister?" Let's go." Put down the lamp, straighten the curtains, then go to the dressing table and look in the mirror and say: "Sister's rouge should be used up, and I'll make a new box for you some other day, I bought it on the street. How to use it?" He chose a bamboo-jointed jade tube brush from the blue and white brush pot on the case, and sighed: "I heard that when Zijuan left, she took all my sister's previous poems with me, but I didn't keep them with me. I am thinking. It’s just my sister’s clear words and beautiful sentences, how can I forget them? They are all engraved in my heart, so it is not difficult to silently come out at this moment. My sister is well-versed in classics and history, and poetry is steep, and reasoning should be poetry It is right to sort out the manuscript and publish it to pass on to the world. But I think of Meng Lang in the past, who was abrupt in the boudoir and caused great disasters. Now that I regret it, how dare I be presumptuous?" Speaking of this, I remembered that all kinds of changes were caused by passing down Daiyu's pen and ink. It is the crime of Huai Bi, but the disaster is self-inflicted.I just felt a bump in my heart, regret and pain, and couldn't help crying loudly. I studied the pen and ink again, spread the paper to moisten the hair, and made two elegiac couplets: