Chapter 486 Granny Liu Enters the Grand View Garden (I)
The next day, Youshi came to the door as expected.
However, she only hung around in the courtyards of Jia Yingchun and You Sanjie, and never went to You Erjie's room. Therefore, Sun Shaozong never found an opportunity to put the two sisters together to comment on them.
Time flies, and it is August 25th in a blink of an eye.
Because he had taken leave in advance, he did not have to report to the government office or the prince's residence. Sun Shaozong hugged Ruan Rong and slept until the hour of Si (nine o'clock in the morning), then he got up lazily.
When she got outside, Qingwen had already tidied up everything, but she pretended nothing had happened and took on some housework such as cleaning and sweeping, busying herself around in the living room.
Seeing Sun Shaozong coming out from the inner room, Qingwen paused for a moment, but immediately lowered her head and got busy again, without even looking at Sun Shaozong.
But how sharp is Sun Shaozong's vision?
Just a quick glance and one could tell that this girl was on high alert, with her two silver ingot-like ears always paying attention to Sun Shaozong's movements.
This girl has a really twisted personality.
Shaking his head speechlessly, Sun Shaozong raised his voice and said, "Now that everything is packed, let's go."
Having said that, he walked out of the hall without caring whether Qingwen agreed or not.
Qingwen's movements faltered again, and she was still hesitant holding the rag, but Shi Liu, who was standing beside her, had already snatched it away and said unhappily, "You've been looking forward to this the whole day, why are you still pretending at the last minute? Do you want my Second Master to stay outside and wait for you to come back to put on some makeup first?!"
Qingwen's pretty face sank, and she opened her mouth to retort, but she didn't want to miss this opportunity. After a while, she gritted her teeth, lowered her head and quickly chased after him.
"Pooh!"
Shi Liu threw the rag to the maidservant under her command, spat fiercely through the door curtain, and said with disdain: "Look at that pretentiousness!"
Just like this, Qingwen followed Sun Shaozong step by step to the front yard, only to see three carriages parked side by side in front of the corner gate.
Just as he was puzzled, Siqi and Xiuju appeared from the side and said crisply, "Second Master, the Madam is already in the carriage. She said that everything is ready for you and we can leave at any time."
It turned out that when Jia Yingchun heard that Sun Shaozong was going to visit Rongguo Mansion, she became interested, thinking that she had not been back to her parents' home for half a year since Baoyu was poisoned. Although she was not close to Jia She and his wife, she really missed her sisters at home.
Therefore, she sent someone to discuss with Sun Shaozong, and also planned to take advantage of this favorable situation and return to her parents' home.
Originally, this matter should have been handled by Yuanyang, but Yuanyang came to the Sun family just to avoid Jia She, so how could she be willing to send a sheep into the tiger's mouth now?
"Then let's go."
Sun Shaozong flicked his sleeves and got on the leading carriage. Xiu Ju would accompany Jia Yingchun in her carriage, so the last carriage would naturally be given to Qingwen and Siqi.
There were also two servants who were not afraid of being seen, so they climbed onto the shafts of the two carriages at the back and sat side by side with the drivers.
When the three carriages came out one after another and headed towards the Rongguo Mansion, the old women and the coachmen on the shafts started chatting about all sorts of things, regardless of whether it was their first meeting or not. On the contrary, Qingwen and Siqi remained indifferent in the carriage.
Even though they knew each other for a long time, both of them were arrogant and loved to compete with each other. How could they possibly reach an agreement with each other?
Especially since Qingwen entered the Rongguo Mansion halfway, there was already a gap between her and the maids who grew up there. It was only because Xiren had been with her for a long time that she didn't say these things.
Qingwen was fine, as her mind was not on the Sun Mansion, so naturally she didn't care much about Siqi's attitude.
But Siqi considered herself as the mistress's maidservant, and felt that she was ten times better than Qingwen, who had lost her power and was driven out by her mistress. How could she tolerate Qingwen pretending to be aloof and arrogant in front of her?
So halfway through the journey, Siqi couldn't help but sneer, "They say you only listen to orders and not announcements in the Second Master's room. I thought it was just nonsense, but today I'm afraid it's true!"
Qingwen didn't argue with Shiliu just now because she was afraid of missing the chance to see Baoyu - but now that she was already on the way, why would she be willing to take the lead over Siqi?
So Qingwen also said coldly: "You go your way, I go mine, we are not going in the same direction, so whether I am good or bad, what does it have to do with you?"
How could Siqi bear this?
He puffed out his papaya-like chest and sneered in a rough and angry voice: "I'm afraid that your single-plank bridge is blocked and you have to fight for the first place on the Yangguan Road!"
She was not a well-read person to begin with, and she felt awkward saying such a witty thing, so she added, "You just think that Master Bao is a loyal man, but don't forget what happened to Qianxue before. She had been with Master Bao since she was a child, and he kicked her out just for some trivial matters. He didn't even try to make amends!"
These words touched Qingwen's soft spot. Although she tried her best to cover it up, she couldn't help but reveal some anxiety.
Seeing this, Siqi was immediately elated, as if she had won a battle. She stretched out her sturdy body and took up most of the carriage.
The book does not elaborate.
But when the carriage arrived at the Rongguo Mansion, Ping'er was already waiting at the corner gate with several maids and old women. They welcomed Jia Yingchun into the east courtyard like the moon surrounded by stars.
As soon as she stepped over the black lacquered threshold, Siqi opened the purse with silver threads and eight treasures, poured out a dozen bright yellow gold beans, and said calmly, "This is the first time Madam has returned home after suffering from morning sickness, and she has to count on everyone to take good care of her. These little things are just to bring good luck to everyone."
As the saying goes, "He who keeps company with vermilion becomes red, and he who keeps company with ink becomes black." Both Mrs. Xing and Wang Xifeng love to make money, so the small fry around them are naturally servants who are greedy for money.
After the audit incident, the extra income of the mansion was greatly reduced, and everyone was already very hungry.
At this time, looking at the bright yellow golden beans, each weighing at least two or three cents, which converted into five taels of silver, everyone was smiling and came forward to thank and receive the reward.
Ping'er didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She punched Siqi lightly on the chest and spat, "You little rascal, you are so ignorant. If you really want to be a money-giving boy for me, you should also try to please the madam. Why are you throwing gold as soon as you enter the house? How can you be so rude?"
"Of course everyone is happy!"
Siqi smiled and stepped forward to hold Ping'er's slender waist. She took a few golden beans and stuffed them into her hands, saying with a smile, "I know you don't like these, so keep them for rewarding others."
“Yo~!”
Before Ping'er could refuse, a burst of laughter came from the corridor between the two gates: "It seems that our family didn't have a relative come, but a boy who wants to give away money! Let me make it clear, if there is no share for me, I won't agree!"
As the refreshing words came on, Wang Xifeng came out in a riot of colour, with pearl hairpins and rings on her head, and rose-coloured ribbons adorning the hem of her brilliantly embroidered skirt. At first glance, she looked truly wealthy and impressive.
All the maids and old women quickly restrained their expressions and bowed their heads to greet him respectfully.
Jia Yingchun also took a few steps forward, leaned forward and called out "sister-in-law".
"Why are you being so polite to me?"
Wang Xifeng hurried forward to help her up, looking at her slightly bulging belly, she sighed, "You are indeed blessed. When my eldest nephew is born, I wonder how the Sun family will treasure you."
Then he took her arm and said, "Come on, come on, go meet the master and the mistress first, and show your filial piety. Then I'll accompany you to the garden at the back to play with your sisters."
Everyone else was behind, so they couldn't see anything.
But Jia Yingchun caught a hint of disgust and contempt when Wang Xifeng mentioned the word "filial piety".
Although Jia Yingchun had long known that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were fighting openly and secretly, this was the first time she had seen Wang Xifeng's uncontrollable disgust.
Could it be that the master and his wife have done something out of line again?
Jia Yingchun couldn't help feeling a little uneasy, but then she thought, with over a thousand taels of silver on her, she should be able to buy peace and comfort.
So she ignored the topic and took advantage of the fact that everyone around her was a little distance away from the two of them to whisper, "Didn't sister-in-law ask Ping'er to mediate a while ago, hoping to share some of the profits in advance?"
Wang Xifeng was just recalling Jia She's disgusting words from a few days ago. When she heard Jia Yingchun mention the issue of profit sharing, her eyes suddenly lit up. She lowered her voice and asked, "What's the matter? Have your master and second master made up their minds?"
Jia Yingchun nodded, and followed what Sun Shaozong had taught her in advance, saying seriously, "Originally, our master would never agree to this, but my second uncle persuaded him that since both sides are relatives, they can't follow the rules of ordinary businessmen, and then..."
She stopped talking and touched her slightly bulging belly.
How insightful is Wang Xifeng?
He immediately smiled and said, "It turns out that I am still benefiting from my nephew's help."
As he spoke, he could not help but ask, "I wonder how much of the dividends Sun Jia Erlang wants to share first - to tell you the truth, my sister-in-law is really short of money these days."
Jia Yingchun shook her head and said, "I only know that my second uncle brought some silver with him today, but I never had the chance to ask how much it was."
Wang Xifeng was so itchy after hearing this that she wished she could leave Jia Yingchun immediately and secretly go to Sun Shaozong to get the silver.
At this moment, a maid hurried out and reported from a distance: "Second Madam, Granny Liu is here again, and she brought several bags of mountain products."
"It's just for fun."
Wang Xifeng smacked her lips and was about to tell Ping'er to send the people away, but Jia Yingchun rushed in and said, "But is that old lady here last time? It must be difficult for her to come all the way here carrying such things. Sister-in-law, you should go and take a look. After all, we are in our own courtyard, so I won't get lost."
Wang Xifeng chuckled and said, "It's different now that you're a mistress. I've never seen you so eloquent before. Well, it's a kind gesture from someone anyway. I'll just go and deal with it."
Having said this, he ordered Ping'er to serve Jia Yingchun and hurried back to the west courtyard.
