A stew of the Red Chamber

Chapter 1 Uninvited Guest

In the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty, at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter.

The Rongguo Mansion has a three-room annex hall behind the Rongxi Hall.

Wang Xifeng lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) by the window, the slanting sunlight filtering through the window screen, bathing the second mistress in a colorful halo.

The rear room is different from the main room. It faces north and sits on the south side. Whenever the sunlight shines through the window, it will create a colorful halo, which will also make Wang Xifeng, who is sitting by the window, look like a fairy or goddess.

That's why Wang Xifeng preferred to do her housework here.

Of course, this was only her inner thought. To the outside world, she claimed that this place was backed by Rongxi Hall, making it convenient to consult Madam Wang when she was unsure.

Unlike her usual radiant self, Wang Xifeng looked slightly tired today, propping her head up with her elbows and her eyes half-closed.

With her elbows spread open, the tight-fitting jacket taut against her body, accentuating her already alluring figure and making her appear even more curvaceous and breathtakingly beautiful.

The gold and silver threads on the colorful brocade silver fox fur coat shimmered dazzlingly in the sunlight, like mountains veiled by a rainbow after a fresh rain, making people linger and forget to leave.

Ping'er glanced at her grandmother's reclining sleeping posture, shook her head helplessly, and tiptoed to reach for a thin blanket on the shelf to slightly cover the beautiful scenery of the undulating mountains.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps were heard outside.

Ping'er quickly turned around and went to the door, lifted the bright red floral curtain hanging at the entrance, and stopped a steward's wife who was about to report.

She said in a low voice, "That thief came to the manor to cause trouble again yesterday. Madam didn't sleep much all night. She's only just managed to take a nap now. Sister-in-law Laiwang, what's the matter? Tell me first."

Upon hearing this, Lai Wangjia quickly lowered his voice and said, "A Mr. Qing came ahead. He said he is the old lady's great-aunt's grandson. He has already gone to Rongqing Hall."

"Since they are the old lady's juniors, they should naturally..." Ping'er paused, then asked, "Which old concubine's family?"

Just as Lai Wang's wife was about to answer, she heard a leisurely voice from inside the side hall: "What's all this whispering about outside that you have to keep from me?"

Although the voice was languid and devoid of any emotion, Lai Wangjia was startled and immediately straightened his posture.

Ping'er smiled helplessly, lifted the curtain, and went into the room.

Upon entering the room, she found that Wang Xifeng had already changed from lying down to sitting up. She quickly apologized, saying, "It was just a small matter. I saw that Madam rarely had time to rest, so I didn't let Wang'er's wife come in to disturb us."

Wang Xifeng glanced at Ping'er and said in an unfriendly tone, "These days, one messy thing after another happens. One or two more won't make a difference. But you little hussy, you're making decisions for me! Why don't I just give up my position as the second mistress to Miss Ping!"

"Why does Grandma treat me so harshly? I'm only doing this because I care about you."

Ping'er wasn't intimidated by her. She retorted and then shouted outside, "Hurry up and come in to answer!"

Lai Wang's wife hurriedly came in to pay her respects, repeated what she had said earlier, and added, "Even if the old lady's old sisters don't visit each other often, they still exchange gifts during festivals, but I've never heard of such a person. I find it strange."

Wang Xifeng raised her hand, hooked it around the back of her neck, shook her head to loosen her stiff neck, and said unhurriedly, "What's so special about this? Didn't that Granny Liu say she was a relative of Madam the other day? Even the imperial court has three poor relatives, let alone our family?"

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and after Lai Wang's wife left, she slowly stood up from the kang (a heated brick bed), nodded to Ping'er, and said, "Let's go! Let's go to the old lady's place and join in the fun."

Ping'er asked, puzzled, "He's just a freeloader. Grandma finally has some free time, why not take a nap instead of joining in this fun?"

Wang Xifeng sneered, "In the past two months, that thief has come to our mansion three or four times. Yesterday, he even alarmed the old lady."

"After three years in charge, even the cats and dogs dislike me. There are always some busybodies who try to sabotage me. Who knows that Granny Liu came to my house to beg for money the other day, so they deliberately didn't come to tell me today, hoping to take the opportunity to kick me when I'm down in front of the old lady and say that I'm being unfair to her."

Ping'er suddenly realized what was happening and quickly stepped forward to lift the curtain, following Wang Xifeng out of the three small side rooms.

We walked through the halls and corridors until we arrived at Rongqing Hall.

Wang Xifeng paused slightly at the screen at the doorway, reached her hands behind her waist, and smoothed the undulating curves of her robe before stepping around the screen.

There, Grandmother Jia was sitting on the daybed, leaning forward, gazing intently at an embroidered piece on the long table in front of her, seemingly lost in thought.

Opposite them stood a handsome young man with striking eyebrows and bright eyes.

He looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, but he was physically strong with broad shoulders and a large build.

Wang Xifeng stepped forward gracefully and said with a smile, "Grandmother has even excused herself from the morning and evening greetings this day. I suppose she didn't sleep well last night. I thought that after taking a nap, she would have more energy, so I came to pay my respects to Grandmother."

As she spoke, she bowed deeply to Grandmother Jia, then looked at the young man opposite her and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that you would have such an important guest here, Grandmother. Your granddaughter-in-law has come at an inopportune time."

Grandmother Jia slowly raised her head and smiled, "You've come at just the right time. Come and meet my great-grandson."

Then, looking at the boy opposite him, he introduced, "Qing-ge'er, this is your second sister-in-law, Lian!"

"Wang Qing greets Second Sister-in-law Lian!" the young man quickly bowed.

"Greetings, Brother Qing!"

Wang Xifeng returned the greeting, then turned and walked to Grandmother Jia's side, saying with a smile, "Grandmother, where did you hide such a handsome and talented grandson? He looks just like your own grandson!"

Grandmother Jia reached out and subtly rolled up the embroidery on the long table. Then, she leaned back against the daybed and sighed, "There's nothing to hide. We just lost contact with it by accident years ago."

She seemed reluctant to elaborate, pointing to the long table in front of her, looking at Wang Qing opposite her, and asked, "This wisdom mark is quite rare; I imagine your maternal grandmother must have had a difficult time obtaining it, right?"

Wang Qing bowed and replied, "This was originally an unexpected gift from my father. My maternal grandmother was overjoyed when she saw it and instructed me to be sure to send it to her."

"An unexpected gain?" Grandmother Jia's lips twitched slightly, as if she found it hard to believe.

Wang Xifeng quickly flattered, "As expected of our ancestor, you are very knowledgeable. I have never even heard of this 'wisdom pattern' before. Why don't you explain it to me, so that I won't embarrass myself in public and lose face for you?"

As soon as she entered, she noticed that Grandmother Jia was looking at her with great focus. She wanted to get closer to see if there was anything special about it, but unexpectedly, Grandmother Jia had already put it away.

Now, upon hearing that this embroidery piece had quite a history, they couldn't help but feel even more curious.

Faced with Wang Xifeng's slightly self-deprecating flattery, Grandmother Jia seemed absent-minded and forgot to tease her, only introducing, "This Huiwen was originally made by Huiniang, a woman from Suzhou..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "What good things could have caught the old lady's eye? I'll have Lian Er go out and look for a few more for her tomorrow."

Grandmother Jia shook her head and said, "Hui Niang did not use this to make a profit. There are not many genuine items left in the world. Even among wealthy and powerful families, there are not many that have them."

Those outside are merely imitations of its needlework, designed to fool people for profit. Even if one were to leak out, it would be priceless; it's not something easily bought.

Even though she could tell that Grandmother Jia valued it highly, she hadn't expected it to be so precious, and Wang Xifeng was secretly astonished.

Grandmother Jia seemed to have thought of something and said somewhat awkwardly, "It's kind of you to make this special trip. How is your maternal grandmother?"

After exchanging greetings, Wang Qinggang claimed that he had come on the orders of his maternal grandmother and presented Huiwen. It was only then that Grandmother Jia realized that she had not yet inquired about the old lady's recent situation.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Wang Qing said with a sorrowful expression, "Grandma, my maternal grandmother has been gone for many years."

"Ah?" Grandmother Jia exclaimed, moved. "She was several years younger than me, and she just left like that? It's one thing that she didn't send anyone to tell me, but why didn't she inform the Marquis's residence?"

Wang Qing said with shame, "It is all my fault for failing to inform the elders in the capital!"

He wasn't taking the blame for his elders, nor was he going along with Grandmother Jia's words to offer any way out.

As a time traveler, clinging to powerful figures is naturally the best shortcut.

Unfortunately, the world of Dream of the Red Chamber contains too little detail about officialdom and the imperial court, leaving him with no starting point.

Since there are no shortcuts, we must minimize the risks.

Considering the possibility of being implicated by the regent, ever since he learned that he had been reincarnated into the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, he has been trying every means to sever ties with the Jia and Shi families.

Unexpectedly, just after he severed this relationship, the retired emperor outlived several of his sons, leaving only Prince Yizhong, Prince Zhongshun, and the current emperor.

It must be said that opportunity favors the prepared.

Thanks to his insight that far surpassed that of his peers since childhood, he easily persuaded his father not to align himself with the popular Prince Yizhong, but instead to secretly curry favor with the current emperor.

Prince Yizhong lived up to expectations. Seeing that he might not be able to outlive the retired emperor, he finally launched a military campaign four years ago under the pretext of purging corrupt officials from the court.

He originally thought that with the advantage of joining the dragon early, he could rest easy, completely relax, and live a comfortable life with beautiful wives and concubines on both sides.

Even when the Jia family fell into misfortune, they took advantage of the chaos to loot seventeen or eighteen women to replenish the inner courtyard.

But plans can't keep up with changes. Although his father fought bravely against the rebels, he charged too hard and was seriously injured and died.

At that time, the retired emperor had not abdicated, and because his son had rebelled, he was embarrassed and did not bestow lavish rewards.

The emperor, fearing exposure of his private connections with military generals, was reluctant to recommend Wang Qing for merit, so he simply granted him the rank of fifth-grade Yunqiwei.

Fortunately, his father had secretly trained a group of assassins for the emperor. Because the matter was confidential, he dared not entrust it to others, so he handed them over to him for training under the guise of training him to cover his tracks.

During the years of mourning for Wang Qing, the retired emperor held firm to his military power and refused to relinquish it. The emperor felt uneasy and thus planned to place some of his confidants in the army.

Wang Qing was of impeccable lineage, had trained imperial assassins, and was observing mourning at home, making him the obvious choice.

However, without connections in the court, it's difficult to rise to prominence, and since this matter is shady, the emperor can offer little assistance.

Wang Qing then planned to use the Jia family's connections and relationships to carry out his plan in secret.

However, after three years of not visiting each other, even relatives are no longer close, and the relationship between our family and the Rongguo Mansion is not particularly close.

Fearing that their efforts would be met with indifference and that the Rongguo Mansion might not welcome them, and remembering how much Grandmother Jia cherished Huiwen and how she seemed to have presented two of her items to the Emperor in the past, they proposed to the Emperor that they use the Huiwen items presented by the Jia family as a stepping stone, along with some ambiguous statements to confuse the public.

This was to mislead Grandmother Jia into believing that her father was a confidant of the retired emperor.

These behind-the-scenes schemes could not be told to Grandmother Jia, so she could only downplay the matter and say: "As you know, my maternal grandfather was originally an orphan in the army and had no relatives there. After my mother passed away, my father brought my maternal grandmother to our home to live in comfort and take care of the younger generation."

Four years ago, my maternal grandmother passed away, and my father was ordered to go away. The younger generation was young and ignorant, and we had hoped that my father would return and inform the elders. But unexpectedly, my father also...

At this point, Wang Qing choked back a couple of sobs, already sobbing uncontrollably.

Grandmother Jia seemed to understand his implication, and said in a complicated tone, "You've suffered so much, child. You've experienced so many hardships at such a young age. I'm afraid you were only two years older than Baoyu back then, and I wonder how much suffering you endured..."

Wang Qing calmed down a little, wiped away his tears, and gave a somewhat stiff smile: "I didn't suffer much. My father was loyal to the country, and the court, in its grace, granted me the title of a fifth-rank Yunqiwei. Now that my three-year mourning period is over, the court has summoned me to the capital to take up my post."

The Rongguo Mansion is frequented by nobles and dignitaries, so a fifth-rank noble title is naturally not worth mentioning.

Previously, although Wang Xifeng mistakenly thought that Wang Qing came to freeload, she had long since stopped confusing Huiwen with Granny Liu after learning that Huiwen was precious.

Upon hearing that he had come to the capital to take up a post, they were not surprised at all; instead, a sense of understanding appeared on their faces.

On the contrary, Grandmother Jia was quite concerned about this and immediately asked, "Which government office are we going to?"

"Five Cities Military Command".

"Oh?"

Grandmother Jia was clearly surprised by this answer, but nodded noncommittally and said, "It's a leisurely government office. I suppose the court is considerate of your youth."

She hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "You're new here and probably don't have a place to stay yet. Why don't you stay here for now, so you don't have to travel around?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Qing finally felt relieved. Fearing any unforeseen complications, he quickly bowed and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Madam. I'm sorry to have troubled you!"

Grandmother Jia sighed, "We used to live far away, but now that you've come to the capital, and there are no close elders left in the family, it's only right that you take care of your maternal grandmother."

She turned to Wang Xifeng and asked, "Which courtyard in the mansion is still empty?"

……