Chapter 505: Lady Shi’s Two Banquets at the Grand View Garden (Part 2)
However, after kicking Jia Baoyu out, Wang Xifeng did not rush to speak, but walked to the door quietly - although Jia Lian seemed to no longer be jealous, for a single man and a single woman to be alone in a room, they still had to be cautious.
Therefore, after confirming that the maids and servants outside could see her figure through the Xiang curtain, Wang Xifeng turned around and sneered, "What kind of magic did Lord Sun use to bewitch our master and make him give away all the fragrant and smelly things around him to you!"
It was noon in autumn, and the sunlight, accompanied by the breeze, penetrated through the gaps in the Xiang curtains, rippling and spreading, coating her delicate facial features with a faint warm color. Therefore, although Wang Xifeng had a frown and a fierce look on her face, she did not appear cold at all, but instead revealed a different kind of charm.
Sun Shaozong spread his hands and said innocently, "Sister-in-law, this is really unfair to me. Ever since the misunderstanding with Second Brother Lian, we have never fought head-on. Even if I really have magic, I have nowhere to use it. Yesterday, seeing Second Brother Lian's enthusiasm, I thought that Sister-in-law was thinking of our past friendship and said a few good words for me."
Hearing him mention "past affection", Wang Xifeng immediately recalled the old incident of the riot in Yihong Courtyard - in fact, she couldn't remember what happened at that time at all, but the more vaguely she remembered, the more she couldn't help but imagine the "shameful" part.
Therefore, when she heard the four words "past affection", her mind was filled with all kinds of shameful embarrassments, which were even more erotic than what Sun Shaozong had experienced personally.
Wang Xifeng's golden cheeks immediately turned red again. She glared at him with her triangular eyes and spat viciously, "Who has any friendship with you in the past? If you dare to spew shit again, I will tear your stinky mouth apart!"
The intensity of this reaction was beyond Sun Shaozong's expectations.
He was stunned for a moment before he understood: "Why is Second Sister-in-law so excited? I'm referring to the friendship between us in doing business together—"
As he spoke, he took out two silver bills from his sleeve, shook them out and waved them towards Wang Xifeng, saying innocently, "This white silver, is it possible to say something?"
Seeing the words "One Hundred Thousand Taels of Pure Silver" clearly printed on the bill, Wang Xifeng's embarrassment and anger disappeared silently.
Since checking the accounts last fall, most of the income has been lost in the past year and more, and I have to struggle to maintain the status of the mistress of the house. The ups and downs of life are really beyond the understanding of outsiders.
Therefore, in Wang Xifeng's eyes, the 20,000 taels of silver note were like a long-awaited rain after a long drought. She no longer cared about avoiding suspicion and subconsciously took two steps forward, stretching out five green fingers like green onions, and was about to grasp the silver note in her hand.
Sun Shaozong quickly retracted his hand and said sternly, "According to the rules of businessmen, this money should not be given. It's just that I understand my sister-in-law's difficulties, so I asked my brother to advance 20,000 taels. Even if my sister-in-law doesn't care about our past relationship, she should at least pay attention to my painstaking efforts."
Although he did not mention Ping'er at all, his inner meaning was obvious.
Wang Xifeng's delicate body stiffened, and a hint of anger flashed across her rosy face, followed by a bit of hesitation and reluctance.
Seeing her pair of phoenix eyes fixed on the banknote, Sun Shaozong felt that he had won the game, but Wang Xifeng suddenly burst into laughter and said with her hands covering her mouth, "I never thought that Ping'er would really catch Erlang's eye. Well, we are master and servant after all, so I will help her."
Sun Shaozong was overjoyed and bowed deeply: "Thank you..."
"Wait a minute!"
Unexpectedly, Wang Xifeng shook her head and said, "Although I am willing to let her go, I really cannot leave her by my side. Erlang, please give me some time. I will find someone who can replace Ping'er, and then it will not be too late to let you two stay together forever."
As she said this, Yingying bowed and said, "I think the old ancestor should have had enough rest. I have to go to him and help him."
After watching her turn around and walk out of Xiaocuitang gracefully, Sun Shaozong looked down at the banknotes in his hand and secretly regretted that he should not have acted too hastily and exposed his importance to Ping'er.
Now that Wang Xifeng left in a hurry, it was naturally not because she wanted to give up the 20,000 taels of silver, but because she felt that she had found Sun Shaozong's weakness and there was no need to bargain with him for the two silver notes.
If Sun Shaozong guessed correctly, before he left Rongguo Mansion, Wang Xifeng would definitely arrange for Ping'er to come and ask him for the two silver notes.
If any conditions are put forward at that time, Ping'er will be in trouble.
Alas~
What a mistake! What a mistake!
It's too late to regret now, but fortunately there is still Jia Lian to rely on. I will find an opportunity to hint at him in the future to see what his intention is in being close to me, and then wait for an opportunity to get Ping'er over.
After comforting himself, Sun Shaozong also followed the curtain into the courtyard, where he saw a tall and strong woman whispering something with Jia Baoyu.
"Siqi?"
Sun Shaozong asked in confusion: "Why are you here instead of serving your sister-in-law?"
Siqi hurried forward to report: "Originally, Madam wanted to go back home with the Second Master in the afternoon, but the First Master suddenly sprained his foot..."
Tsk~
I was so busy avoiding this place of trouble that I ignored the impact of this matter.
Jia She had just injured his legs. Even if the injury was not serious, as a daughter, Jia Yingchun would never just walk away.
In that case, I really have to spend a night in the Grand View Garden.
Since there was no hurry to leave, Sun Shaozong simply calmed down and accompanied Lady Jia to appreciate the lake and autumn scenery in the garden.
The crowd first bustled out of Qiu Shuang Zhai and walked all the way to the pier called Xingye Zhu, where they saw two Tangmu pleasure boats already waiting on the shore. Four Gusu boat maids stood at the bow and stern of the boats, all dressed in tight short clothes, with bare white feet, looking charming and lovely.
Sure enough, the most beautiful scenery in the Grand View Garden is actually the women "imprisoned" there.
The older people, including Lady Jia, Mrs. Wang, Aunt Xue, and Granny Liu , all boarded the first pleasure boat, and the two wives, Li Wan and Wang Xifeng, followed closely to serve them.
However, after everyone else got on board, they sat in the cabin, but Wang Xifeng was the only one who was trying to be stubborn. She stood at the bow and insisted on rowing the boat with the boatwoman.
Grandmother Jia said anxiously in the cabin: "This is not a joke. Although our pond is not as deep as the big rivers, it is still more than ten feet deep!"
But Sister Feng refused to give up, saying, "It's okay, old ancestor, just rest assured." She pushed the pole hard towards the shore, and the pleasure boat was seen breaking through the waves and slowly sailing into the pool.
Seeing her swaying with the boat, a pair of mature waves were even more turbulent than the water. Sun Shaozong stared at her fiercely for a few times, trying to make up for the loss he had just suffered.
Unfortunately, Wang Xifeng quickly gave up the idea of rowing the boat and sat back in the cabin obediently.
Sun Shaozong had no choice but to reluctantly look away and followed Jia Baoyu onto the cruise ship behind.
Since there were only unmarried girls on this boat, Sun Shaozong couldn't follow Baoyu's example and shamelessly squeeze over to take advantage of them. So he sat upright in a clean place at the stern, pretending to be a moral gentleman.
It is now the end of August and most of the lotus leaves in the pond have already withered. Against the backdrop of the desolate scenery, the beautiful scenery on the shore lacks some of its artistic conception.
Jia Baoyu could not help complaining, "These broken lotus leaves are really hateful. Why don't you ask someone to pluck them away?"
Xue Baochai replied with a smile: "Since you moved into this garden, have you ever let this pond go unused? You walk around it every day, so why would you have time to ask someone to clean it up?"
Lin Daiyu, who was still angry with Jia Baoyu, also sneered and said, "I dislike Li Yishan's poems the most. I only like this line of his, 'Leave the withered lotus leaves to listen to the sound of rain', but there is a vulgar person who insists on plucking it away."
When Jia Baoyu heard that it was her who was speaking, he felt two ounces lighter and nodded hurriedly: "It is indeed a good sentence. Let's keep it for the rest of the future!"
Lin Daiyu found him being so timid that she felt even more bored. So she turned her head away and stopped looking at him. Then she saw Sun Shaozong sitting at the stern calmly, so she asked curiously, "I heard that the Crown Princess once wrote a poem about lotus, describing the summer scenery of the Crown Prince's Mansion. I wonder, in the eyes of Second Brother Sun, which scenery is better, the Crown Prince's Mansion, or this..."
Before she could finish her question, Xue Baochai pushed her lightly and interrupted her with a smile, "Before the Crown Princess got married, she was a famous talent in the capital. Regardless of her appearance, her talent alone is far beyond the reach of us sisters."
This girl from the Xue family is really cautious and doesn't want to give anyone any chance to criticize her.
Sun Shaozong also smiled and said, "The Crown Princess is both virtuous and talented. Not to mention you girls, even the several important officials in the court who are in charge of investigating the case respect her very much."
He said "respect", but what came to his mind were the black and purple things in the closet - the literary and the reserved, it was indeed a perfect match.
Hearing them mention the Crown Princess, Jia Baoyu couldn't help showing off again: "The Crown Princess' maiden name is Sun. She and the sister from the Wei family were known as the two beauties in the capital, one literary and one martial. I remember when the Crown Princess got married, all the scholars in the capital sighed with regret..."
As they were talking, the two cruise ships had already docked at the shore. When Sun Shaozong looked up, he saw the Hengwu Garden hidden by huge rocks not far ahead.
Tsk~
It seemed that the old lady had not made up her mind whether to choose Lin Daiyu or Xue Baochai as her grandson's wife, so after going to Xiaoxiang Pavilion, she found Hengwu Garden to avoid favoring one over the other.
However, it was not until the old lady, surrounded by the crowd, climbed up the hillside that the pleasure boat behind her finally approached the shore. Without waiting for the boat girl to set up the gangplank, Sun Shaozong jumped off the boat first and pulled the rope to secure the boat.
Just as he straightened his back, he saw a servant running over like the wind, bowing out of breath and saying, "Excuse me, Lord Sun, is my second grandmother here?!"
Jia Baoyu happened to jump down and couldn't help wondering, "Why are you looking for the second sister-in-law? Is there something fishy going on in the front yard again?"
"Master Bao is joking."
The servant said hurriedly, "It's not our family's business. Someone from Zhenguo Mansion came to announce the death of their old master, saying that he had passed away!"
