Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

But Baoyu took a merchant ship and leaned against the awning window along the way, seeing countless green hills and endless smoke, and wished he could fly home in a while.After returning to Jinling after the moon, he went ashore and hired a car, and then entered Stone City. Before he reached the gate of Ningrong Mansion, he saw many chariots and horses crowding there. One sound.Immediately, there was a sound of Jiao Lei in the air, the tears had already flowed down like rain, so she let go of her voice and started crying, and walked in from outside the door.The gatekeeper had already seen the second master coming, and flew in with a cloud board to report all the way in. Then he saw Yuanyang leading many people to welcome him out, and saluted opposite Baoyu.

When Baoyu saw that the mandarin duck was full of filial piety and full of tears, he was stunned for a moment, and the crying stopped for a while.I saw a crowd of elegiac couplets, a complete set of incense and candles, and there was a spiritual seat for Mrs. Wang in the middle. Baoyu rushed forward to caress the coffin and wept bitterly. He asked Mrs. Wang when Shen Shi died, and when you were Yi Shi, she was only a day earlier than she entered the door. Weeping until the wind is miserable and the clouds are cold, the crows are buzzing and the cranes are buzzing, and everyone else is crying.Yuanyang comforted him in every possible way, and said that the master was still ill in bed.Baoyu stopped crying and hurriedly got up and went inside to see.That Jia Zheng was lying on the bed with his clothes together, and after three years of absence, he became more and more old, his temples were all gray, he was dizzy, and he was very tired.Baoyu felt more and more bitter, and said a few words such as Xuantang's disappointment, father should mourn and take care, and then changed into filial piety again.The mandarin ducks had already set up a white mattress to sit on the right side of the spirit, and Baoyu knelt there to perform the ceremony of a filial son.

It turned out that when Jia Zheng helped his mother's coffin back home, he abandoned the boat and went ashore. People from his hometown in Jinling knelt there to greet him, so instead of going home, he went to the ancestral hall to rest in peace.The filial piety shed has already been set up over there, and it is inevitable to invite monks and Taoists, to see yin and yang, to perform rituals, to break the ground for burial, and to write on the stele. It took more than a month to stop.So the remaining silver was placed in a hundred mu of land outside the city, and the head of the village was assigned to take care of it. Most of the male and female servants in the old house were dismissed, leaving only two or three very proper family members, four or five. a maid.It's easy for others to say, but the golden mandarin duck was originally Jia's mother's true love, and she treated her like a girl when she was alive. It's ruthless, and I feel quite embarrassed.The mandarin ducks themselves felt it too. That day, they changed into plain clothes, wore filial piety on their heads, and white shoes on their feet. They walked coldly and kowtowed to Mrs. Wang, going to the grave to keep watch for Mother Jia.

Mrs. Wang hurriedly helped her up with her own hands, and said with a smile, "You are the one who serves the old lady, so you don't need to perform such a great gift." Yuanyang just knelt down and said, "It goes without saying that the old lady's kindness to me is hard to repay by killing yourself. Yes. It’s just that I’m not good for the old lady when I’m dead. It’s better to guard the spirit of the old lady, visit the grave every day and sprinkle water, and be with her day and night, just like the old lady is alive. If my wife is willing to fulfill my heart, I will dare to get up." Mrs. Wang was surprised, and hurriedly persuaded: "My dear boy, although you have such a heart, I can't bear to see you like this. You are only in your twenties and You are at the age of flowers, so how can you talk for a lifetime? I have already planned for you, I want to find a good relationship with you, and watch you get married in a beautiful way, because I am busy with chores, I don’t care. Yes, I originally wanted to wait for the old lady's anniversary to pass before making arrangements with you."

Yuanyang said: "Although my wife is doing it for my own good, I gave up my heart long ago. Before the old lady was alive, I swore that I would follow her for the rest of my life and never marry until death; now that the old lady has passed away, I swear I'm still here, and I would like to guard the system for the rest of my life, to watch over his grave as a companion for the rest of my life, and never regret it." Mrs. Wang recalled what she said before, and she couldn't bear it, and said with tears in her eyes, "I know you have an arrogant heart. That's why I came up with that idea because of the old man's business. But now that the old man has passed away, why do you need to mention these things?" Yuanyang just shook his head and said, "How can you say what you said when you poured out a basin of water? Didn’t you say it? My heart has already been made up, and I just ask my wife to agree to me, and she loves me.” Mrs. Wang couldn’t resist him, so she had to agree, and allocated a house next to the ancestral tomb to live with him, and lived every month. It has been more than three years since people sent some oil and rice.

Fortunately, this time, Mrs. Wang's affairs were taken care of by Yuanyang. Because Baoyu didn't come back in time, she was not good at it when she came back; Jia Zheng was ill again and was bedridden every day; Old servants are also afraid of things and refuse to take on them; only Yuanyang has helped Jiamu and Sister Feng deal with many important affairs in the past, and they know better than others about housekeeping and accounting, and they are not afraid to show their faces, so they came to manage the accountant, and they agreed. The colorful buildings, filial mantles and towels are all dispatched.Although Jia's family is small, there are quite a few old relatives in Jinling. Even the Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue families still have a lot of family members who stayed in their original hometowns. Yes, guests come and go, cars and horses converge, there are many busy welcomes and send-offs, and the spirit of the banquet is all arranged by mandarin ducks, and a few close relatives and men and women of the same family are invited to accompany the table. Very organized.Although Baoyu is a filial son, he is fine now, but every day he burns incense and lays paper in front of the spirit, and when guests come, he kowtows to return the gift and offers tea with incense. , Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Xifeng, Xue Pan, Xiangyun, Jia Lan, and Qiaojie all have their own festivals, or they died of illness, or their whereabouts were unknown, or the news was long gone, and they couldn't help crying again.

It was the first seven days of Mrs. Wang, and the mandarin ducks prepared a table of sacrifices, and Baoyu held up glasses to offer wine.A banquet was set up outside to thank relatives and friends. Baoyu, who had to observe the precepts, did not need to accompany the banquet, so he only came out to make room for a while, and then came in again.Anyway, no one offered incense during the meal, so he had to be free to wander around the backyard to relax.However, seeing that the wing rooms, warm pavilions, tea stoves, medicine pens, arrow gardens, deer gardens, and gardener's houses are all available, most of them are desolate and desolate. Although some rockeries in the garden are piled up exquisitely, the rest are collapsed and collapsed. The spirit stone rolled down on the ground, so desolate and desolate; I also saw a few pavilions, some with missing corners, and some with ruined windows and doors, all of which were in dilapidated condition, only the trees were still lush and dense. I can't see the sky, although the chirping of cicadas and birds is noisy, but there is still a bit of excitement.He couldn't help nodding his head and sighing: In the past, I only heard people talk about the grandeur of the old Jinling house.Thinking back to those bridal chambers, they might not have been brilliant when they were painted green and vermilion, but now they are all gray and white and bleak. However, the grass and trees are ruthless, and they are still so green.Thinking, I have passed a white jade stone bridge under my feet, and suddenly I heard the sound of a bell striking. When I looked up, I saw an ancient Buddhist temple in the gap in the garden wall, with a golden roof and a little purple on the top. Yun Huanhu, who seemed to be from a certain age, wanted to go and rejoice.

Suddenly I heard someone calling "Second Master" behind me, but it was my family member Wang Zhu'er who came and said that there was a guest who dismounted in front of the gate and was going to worship in front of the spirit, so I had to withdraw and hurried away Kneel before the spirit.Fang arrived at the main hall, but before he entered the hall, he saw mandarin ducks counting lamps and candles there.Baoyu hurriedly came forward to work hard, and said, "Since you came to Nanjing, Xiren has been thinking about you and talking about you every day." Yuanyang nodded and sighed: "I used to serve the old lady together and only said that we would never be separated for the rest of my life. When I was young, my sisters were good friends. I said so many naughty things about life and death together, but now they all take care of their own way. It's hard to see each other again. Then he asked Baoyu, "How is Second Grandma Bao? Sheyue, Suyun, Qianxue, are they all okay? Do you often see each other?" Greetings in two words, I was surprised. I didn't have time to agree, and the front was urging again, and the mandarin ducks also urged Baoyu to go forward.Although Baoyu was reluctant to give up, he had to go, knelt down in response to singing, offered incense and thanked him, and did not mention it.

After two days of being free, Baoyu suddenly remembered the temple behind the wall, so he went to the back garden again. Who knew that when he got out of the broken wall, he saw a narrow alley at the back, which was just next to the backyard wall of another family, but there was nothing wrong with it. Jinding Buddha Temple, can not help but be surprised.Later, I asked Wang Zhu'er carefully, and he also said that there was a family behind the garden, and there had never been any temple.It made Baoyu startled, suspecting that he was dazzled. After seeing the illusion, he had to put it down for the time being.

In a blink of an eye, Mrs. Wang was seven or seven years old, so she dug an acupoint next to Jiamu's grave and chose a date for burial.Among them, the round tomb, pouring, burning and repairing, and repairing the camp needless to say, Baoyu and Jiamu swept the tomb and watered the tomb, worshiped the ancestors, and worshiped the ancestral hall, which was very busy.Jia Zheng felt that he had worked hard to help the mandarin ducks in trouble, and ordered Baoyu to set up a special banquet to thank him.Baoyu also wished to do the same. He used to admire mandarin ducks for being reserved, flexible and assertive. Now when we meet again next year, seeing him still fragrant with plum calyx and cold green sleeves, I feel more and more like wild cranes floating in the sky, and when he speaks, he sees him Vice bullying Shuang Shengxue's cold face, there was no sign of a smile, always wondering in his heart, wanting to find a time to slowly accompany him, but it was always inconvenient.Now following this father's order, just in my heart, apart from filial piety, I deliberately ordered the kitchen to prepare a table richly, and I took the master's seat early, so I ordered the maid to invite it.

When the maid came back later, she said that the mandarin ducks had already returned to the grave, and left a message: "I have been away these days, I am afraid that the old lady will be deserted, so I hurried back. Thanks to the master and the second master who valued me and entrusted me with a big responsibility, but I have little experience. I haven’t had any major incidents, and I’m not clear about the beginning and the end. I care about one and lose the other, and make many mistakes. I will come to kowtow to accept the crime at another time.” Baoyu had no choice but to think of such a romantic and intelligent person. Seeing through, I am willing to be a company with the lonely grave of barren grass, keeping the chastity like jade, and inspiration like ice, but I have been feeling for a long time.He came back to reply and told his father that Jia Zheng listened and nodded his head twice, each of them was speechless. However, after all this fuss, Mrs. Wang has exhausted all the funds that Mrs. Wang brought back to Jinling. Although she sold some of the land to make up for the shortfall, the immediate salvation cannot be saved in the long run.What's more, Jia Zheng's illness is getting old and has become a serious illness. He can't live without medicine for a while, and he feels more and more stretched.Baoyu served the decoction every day, which inevitably delayed for several months, and the weather became colder day by day.When it comes to paying rent, those peasants deceive Jia’s family and no one knows how to do it, so they all hide it. You can't collect a hundred acres, and one or two can't be worth three dollars.Baoyu was originally ignorant of common affairs, but Kuang Ben's mouth was soft-hearted, so naturally he let those farmers fiddle with him. It was the Japanese side who had lunch, and several former elderly family members came to the house, and each brought some winter vegetables, ham, etc., to honor Jia Zheng.Jia Zheng felt that they did not forget the old master, so he came out to talk with them in person and offered new tea.When talking about the situation in Beijing, Jia Zheng remembered something and sighed to Baoyu: "It's time for you to go back these days after you come back. You can't leave your daughter-in-law alone in the capital for New Year's Eve. It is said that if you advance, you will be an official, and if you retire, you will be a farmer. As long as you settle down, I will take you back to live for a long time. Now it seems impossible. I used to say "sit and eat the mountain is empty", but now the mountain is really empty. I just said, "For example, morning dew , the past has suffered a lot, so I have to linger on, grow old in the countryside, and live day by day. But you are still young, and in the next few decades, if you don't make a proper living, what will you do in the future?" Baoyu had no good plan, so she had to hang her head and listen to her father's lecture, not saying a word for half a day.There was a comprador named Qian Hua in the seat. Since his hometown was in Jinling, he came back with Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang. Although he is no longer a servant in the mansion, he often visits to help buy some cotton, oil, rice, etc. .Hearing that his father and son were discussing matters, Baoyu couldn't answer, so he got an idea, offered a plan and said with a smile: "Since the second master fell to the ground, he was used to stretching out his clothes, stretching his hands to eat, and opening his mouth. Now he is suddenly taught to make a living. I can't figure it out in a hurry. I have a very good idea here, and it is up to the master and the second master to say it out—I heard the second master said that when I came here, I took a merchant ship, sold some antique porcelain from Beijing, and bought some from here Embroidery flowers and trees go back, and this way, it is a few hundred taels of silver. I think the capital and here are clearly homes, and the second master doesn't need to take it seriously as a business. He only comes back once a year, by the way. Doing some goods, so you can also visit relatives and learn business, isn't it a solution to achieve both ends?" Jia Zheng was also not good at planning. Hearing what he said clearly and logically, everyone agreed with him, and his heart became active, and he bowed his head and meditated.Qian Hua tried his best to persuade him again, talking about how to deal with goods, how to take a boat and so on.Jia Zheng was more shaken, so he turned around and asked Baoyu what he wanted.Baoyu had no claim at all, remembering that when Xue Pan left home in fear of misfortune, he also did business once.Jia Zheng thought about it for a few days, and there was nothing else to do, so he entrusted Qian Hua heavily to help sell a few acres of land, and bought a lot of flowers, trees, spices, silk and satin with Baoyu, and packed them in boxes. Send it on board, and bid farewell with tears. Baoyu boarded the boat and traveled smoothly all the way, sailing day and night, and arrived at the boundary of Guazhou in less than a month.The owner of the ship wanted to take half a day off to visit a relative who had not seen him for many years, Baoyu naturally agreed.The man moored the boat and said to Baoyu, "the customs and customs of Guazhou have another advantage over Suzhou and Hangzhou. My son is bored in the boat alone. Why don't you go ashore for a stroll?" Baoyu raised his head and looked around, but saw the thin clouds rolling around, the breeze was blowing, and the weather was very fine, so he agreed with a smile and walked ashore.It is indeed a bustling place, except for the cloth village salt shops and medicine shops and food stalls on both sides, there are many jugglers, tricks, and sellers of King Kong indestructible pills. The class was full of mixed flavors, so it was crowded and lively. Walking along the way, I suddenly saw a two-story restaurant with corridors and cornices on three sides, carved beams and painted buildings, and a golden plaque on a black ground. : "Thousands of money are spent to get drunk, and thousands of volumes are read and burnt four books." Baoyu read it twice, aroused his interest for a while, and felt thirsty, so he pulled up his clothes and saw many diners in beautiful clothes and towels, talking and laughing by the window, talking about market news, and then turned to the window I chose a carved rosewood chair to sit down, ordered a pot of Longjing tea, and two plates of dim sum, while watching the scenery in the market, and listening to those people talking. I just listened to those people talking about Qinhuai Fengyue, Yangzhou thin horse, and gradually getting to the local scenery. They talked about a strange incident in the brothel. An old man sitting at the head said: "It's really unheard of to mention this oiran girl." A rare person in the world, his appearance is needless to say, since he is named the number one oiran of Cuiyulou, he is naturally unique; He can paint with a pen, even the talented scholars in Zhongju are not as good as him. Let alone this "Ten Du Yin", is there any second person in the past and present who can compare with it?" Baoyu couldn't help shifting his seat and asking : "This old gentleman invited me. Just now I heard you talk about a strange person in the world of cosmetics, and I admire him very much. But I don't know what "Ten Solitary Songs" is. Can you elaborate a little bit?" The old man smiled and said: "It's a poem written by the Huakui girl in the local Cuiyu Building. It takes ten unique and unusual women among the ancients, and sings them into ten rhythms, either chanting or praising, or sighing or pitying, so the total title is "Ten Solitary Poems". Since its appearance, it has been spread all over the south of the Yangtze River, and all talented scholars and scholars have recited it. If ordinary people want to visit him, they must first familiarize themselves with these ten poems, and they must also say Zi Wu Mao Chou You can only see it if you have unique insights, so "Ten Du Yin" has become an examination question, and all the officials are familiar with it, and they are more attentive than those who take the imperial examination." Baoyu heard such news, who was not surprised, and asked the old man again When Suo Shi came to see it, the man smiled and said, "I have no gold in my waist, no ink in my belly, neither the spare money to pay tribute to the Cuiyu Tower, nor the talent to get close to the Huakui girl, and what to do with those poems with me. ?” Baoyu was sighing, and Xiaoer came up to offer wine, and said, "We have a copy in the cabinet. If this young man wants to read it, I can lend you a copy. But it's just copied by our accountant. Go up to Cuiyu Tower, sit and chat with the oiran girl, and ask for Baomo face to face. I see the young master's appearance and conversation, he also looks like a person who can read and write, or he has some knowledge, so I don't know if he won the favor of the oiran girl." When the middlemen heard this, they all clamored and said: "You just take it, let this young master see it, and break it down for me, so that you can learn from the emerald jade tower in the future." Xiaoer turned around once, and sure enough, he took a stack of paper from the cabinet, and handed it to Baoyu with both hands.Baoyu originally thought that a woman in the world could write some good poems, but she only had a little proficiency in writing and ink.He also guessed that the "Drunk Jade Tower" and "Cuiyu Tower" had some beginnings and ends, and Xiaoer's words were likely to be a familiar accent, and the trick was to attract guests to come to the door.Thinking about it in my heart, I read the poems and saw that there were ten poems in the official script written in thick ink, and the first line read: