Chapter 285 Visiting the Shi Family
The Shi family's mansion was also a marquisate, and was likewise not far from the two Jia family mansions. Even though they were not walking fast, it only took them two or three quarters of an hour to arrive.
The main gate of the Marquis Zhongjing's mansion was wide open, and Marquis Baoling Shi Nai and Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding led six or seven young men in the mansion to greet them.
Jia Cong dismounted from his horse and walked forward, bowing and saying, "How dare I trouble you two uncles to greet me!"
Shi Ding laughed and stepped forward, "Hahaha, how can I not greet you, the famous champion marquis, when you come to my house? Otherwise, wouldn't it be impolite?"
Although it was a joke, it was also the truth. With Jia Cong's current identity and status, when he came to the Shi family, they would indeed open the front gate to welcome him, and Jia Cong was fully worthy of it.
"Baoyu is here too!"
Baoyu also hurriedly dismounted and saluted, "Greetings, two uncles!"
The girls naturally wouldn't get off the car at this time. Shi Nai, who was standing by, said directly to the carriage drivers, "Let's go directly to the back hall!"
Jia Cong, led by the Shi Ding brothers, went directly into the main hall. After they sat down, Shi Ding said, "Brother Cong, you don't know these evildoers yet, do you?"
"Shi Yuan and Shi Yi are my eldest brother's legitimate sons, while Shi En and Shi Zhong are my eldest brother's illegitimate sons. Shi Xin and Shi Ken are my legitimate sons, while Shi Zi is my illegitimate son. You know Shi Ci and Shi Si. They are on duty today and will be back later."
"You bastards, you haven't even met Brother Cong yet!"
"Greetings, Champion Marquis!" The guys stood up and saluted.
Jia Cong smiled and said, "Brothers, there is no need to be so polite. We are all blood relatives. We should get to know each other more often in the future. Otherwise, we will not recognize each other outside and be laughed at by outsiders."
Compared with the Jia family, the Shi family is obviously more prosperous. The number of legitimate sons and illegitimate sons of the two brothers combined is about to break double digits.
It is no wonder that Xiangyun is favored by her two uncles in the mansion. In addition to the fact that the Shi Nai brothers are grateful for the kindness of their eldest brother in taking care of their niece, this is probably also related to this.
Some people say that Xiangyun still needs to do needlework at home day and night to supplement the family income, so the Shi brothers treat her badly, but this is a misunderstanding! It is obvious that the Shi family is in a bad situation. Not to mention Xiangyun, even the wives and concubines of the Shi brothers have to do needlework, so Xiangyun helping her aunt is not considered harsh treatment.
Moreover, in the original novel, when Concubine Nan'an visited the Jia residence, she was familiar with Xiangyun and was very friendly with her, which showed that Xiangyun had met this Concubine many times. For a girl in the boudoir, being brought by her family to attend a gathering of the Concubine's level could not be said to be treated harshly by her two aunts.
In another poem written in Aojing Pavilion, Xiangyun once said to Daiyu, "How can we get on a boat and drink wine now? If this happened in my family, I would get on a boat right away."
If Xiangyun did not have a high status in the Shi family, or was even disliked by her two aunts, she would naturally not be so comfortable.
Shi Ding and Shi Nai are the younger brothers and were brought up under the protection of their older brother. It is not an exaggeration to say that the eldest brother is like a father. Moreover, Shi Nai's title was passed on to the younger brother after Xiangyun's father died. Considering the feelings the two brothers have for their brother, it is indeed unjustifiable for them to treat their brother's only daughter and their own niece harshly.
After chatting for a while, a maid came over and asked, "Madams, please invite Marquis Guanjun and Master Bao to the back house!"
Shi Ding smiled and said, "Come on, let's go over there!"
Afterwards, Shi Ding and Shi Nai took Jia Cong and Baoyu to the back house, but Shi Yuan and his brothers were preparing the banquet in the main hall and did not follow. After all, this time it was not only the three sisters who came, but also Baochai and Daiyu, so it would be inappropriate for them to go.
The layout and status of the Marquis' Mansion were inferior to those of the Duke's Mansion, but the area was not small either. After walking for nearly a quarter of an hour, the group finally entered the back hall.
"Second brother Bao and third brother Bao are here?" As soon as they entered the door, Xiangyun came up to them with a smile.
While greeting him, he hugged Jia Cong's arm and said, "Haha, Third Brother, you guys are having so much fun in this first month of the year. Did you forget about me? Third Brother, you didn't even know to ask the old lady to pick me up. I'm so mad at you."
Jia Cong laughed and patted Xiangyun's little head and said, "If I bring sister Yun to the mansion in the first month of the year, wouldn't the two uncles block the door?"
Seeing that their niece was so close to Jia Cong, the Shi Ding brothers were happy but also a little worried.
Given the relationship between the Shi and Jia families and Jia Cong's current status, if Xiangyun could marry Jia Cong, it would naturally be a closer relationship and a great help to the Shi family. However, from Xiangyun's words, they knew that Jia Cong had already taken a fancy to Baochai and Daiyu.
In this case, if Xiangyun married Jia Cong, she could only be a concubine.
As their only niece and the only legitimate daughter of the Shi family, it is inappropriate for her to marry someone as a concubine...
"Don't keep Third Brother a prisoner!" Daiyu stepped forward and grabbed Xiangyun. "You just said you would take out your good stuff to show the sisters, why are you running away? Could it be that you can't bear to part with it?"
Jia Cong was amused when he heard this. This little hedgehog was just jealous. However, such a real Lin Daiyu really made people happy.
"Oh?" Xiangyun pointed at Daiyu and said with a smile, "I was wondering who it was. It turned out to be Miss Lin! I like to keep Third Brother as a prisoner. If Miss Lin doesn't like it, then come. That's right, you are usually brothers and sisters, so you are used to being close to each other. You can't tolerate others."
"Sister Bao, am I right?"
Daiyu was so embarrassed and anxious by Xiangyun's words that she rushed up to her and started a fight with Xiangyun.
"Hey, my aunts, please be quiet for a while! If you continue to make trouble, you two aunts will laugh at you. If you get hurt, I won't be able to report to the old lady when I go back." Wang Xifeng on the side said with a big laugh.
Shi Ding's wife Zhou laughed and said, "Let them play around freely. Will they be laughed at in our house? No wonder Jieyun likes to be around the old lady. Isn't she happiest when there are girls around? On the contrary, at home, no one plays with her."
Xiangyun and Daiyu surrounded Jia Cong and played around for a while before a group of sisters stepped forward to pull them apart. Jia Cong also stepped forward to greet Zhou and Zhao and said, "My nephew greets my two aunts!"
The two of them stood up quickly and did not dare to accept the gift. "Brother Cong, why are you so polite? We have been thinking of treating you to a meal for a long time. Since Shi Si and Shi Ci have got proper jobs, my sister-in-law and I have been relieved a lot."
"Why are you two aunts so polite? You two brothers have helped me a lot on weekdays."
Jia Cong chatted with Shi Ding and Shi Nai, while Baoyu drank tea quietly on the side. Fortunately, Shi Ding and his wife took the initiative to talk to him, so it didn't seem too awkward. As for the sisters, they were having a great time playing because they hadn't seen each other for a while.
