Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 381 Resignation

Xiangyun and Xichun left, and Jia She and Jia Zheng walked in.

Grandmother Jia asked Lady Xing and Wang Xifeng to sit down as well.

Yuanyang came quietly with his people and served hot tea, then quietly left with his people.

He closed the door from the outside and gave everyone in the yard a holiday. He then stood guard at the door of the ear room, holding a hand warmer.

"Our Jia family was created by the Emperor. From generals on the battlefield to two dukes in the same family, we have received great grace from the royal family.

"The children later on were not good at studying and were not ambitious. Except for the one who inherited the title and had a job to prevaricate, the rest of them just lived off the money.

"Fortunately, I still have the queen in these years..."

At this point, Jia's mother was silent for a while, then laughed at herself and shook her head, "Perhaps, if we hadn't sent Yuanchun to the palace to be an empress, we wouldn't have ended up in such a disastrous situation."

Jia Zheng didn't like what he heard, and couldn't help interrupting: "Your Majesty is very popular in the palace..."

"If it weren't for the queen, why would our family have to empty our savings to build that garden?

"Why do you have to stand by the King of the North and let him drag you all down, almost even letting Baoyu go?!"

Grandmother Jia gave him a cold look and said, "You've lost both your money and your life!"

Jia Zheng was speechless.

Jia She also frowned, stroked his beard and thought carefully, then nodded slowly.

"Now Lian'er, that bastard, has done something like this again, giving others a perfect handle."

When Jia's mother said this, she felt a tightness in her chest. She leaned back on the soft pillow, took a deep breath, and then said with difficulty,

“It’s over.

"Our family is doomed to fail."

Jia Zheng looked at the frustrated Jia Mu, then at the worried Jia She, and could not help but get annoyed:

"Can you just admit it like that?

"Brother, are you willing?!"

Jia She swung his sleeves impatiently and rolled his eyes at him: "What do you care whether I am willing or not?!

"The title is in the eldest house. What does it have to do with you?"

Jia Zheng choked, snorted, and turned aside.

Grandmother Jia didn't even look at him, she just sighed to Jia She and said, "You thought of that too?"

"Yes." Jia She's expression remained unchanged, "If a son is not taught well, it is the fault of the father.

"Lian'er is acting like this because I didn't discipline her properly.

"Now I have the matter of Lian'er, and my second brother has the matter of Huan'er stealing letters and associating with bandits. My second brother and I both use this as an excuse to resign from our official positions and titles.

“There are many talented disciples in Jiangdong, and it is unknown whether they will make a comeback.

“We might as well take a step back and return to our ancestral home in Jinling to study and farm.

"Now that we have Baoyu, Lan Ge'er, and Jia Lang and others in the family, it shouldn't be a problem to settle down and teach one or two generations well.

"The present ruler is a wise ruler, young and strong. The world will be at peace for the next twenty or thirty years, if not fifty.

"The Queen Mother is only over fifty years old now, and Sister Lin and the girl are also young.

"After a dozen years, when no one mentions these mistakes anymore, won't it be easy for our family to make a comeback?"

The more Jia She spoke, the brighter his eyes became.

Even Grandmother Jia kept nodding in agreement, and finally smiled slightly: "You can think of this, it's worth your father's personal teaching for several years."

Jia She suddenly felt relieved, and stroked his beard with a smile: "Since the old lady also thinks that it is right for her son to resign, then I will go and write the memorial this afternoon."

Jia Zheng's face turned pale when he heard this.

"Second brother, you have to write too." Jia She looked at him unkindly, "Think carefully about what was written in the letter stolen by Huan'er?"

Jia Zheng hesitated and looked away.

Grandmother Jia ignored him and looked at Mrs. Xing again: "I have enjoyed a lifetime of happiness, but now I only have a few days left to live. It's nothing.

"I'm sorry to wrong you. You've been controlled by Wang for half your life. You finally have a few days of relaxation, but now you have to follow your master back to Nanjing to suffer again."

Mrs. Xing had been crying since Jia She said he was resigning. She could no longer stop crying. When she heard what Grandmother Jia said, she burst into tears and shook her head again and again:

"It's all because of the incompetent daughter-in-law and the unfilial children and grandchildren! That's why the old lady has to suffer such a great humiliation at the age of seventy!"

Grandmother Jia also shed tears, but she smiled with relief.

Wang Xifeng remained silent.

Not a word.

Neither Lady Jia nor Lady Xing noticed her abnormality. However, Jia She, when he said goodbye to Lady Jia and was about to leave, turned back and looked at Wang Xifeng:

"Lian'er's, are you coming back?"

Wang Xifeng was stunned and shook her head hastily: "Master, my daughter-in-law has done nothing wrong except being childless!"

"If you don't want to leave, you may end up being a widow." Jia She looked at her deeply.

Wang Xifeng knelt down on the spot after hearing these words, raised her hands and swore loudly:

"I, Wang Xifeng, am a member of the Jia family in life and a ghost of the Jia family in death!

"If I can't serve the old lady and my wife wholeheartedly until they grow old, I will let my hair down and cover my face, and die a miserable death!"

Jia She raised his eyebrows as he listened to her oath.

She only served the old lady and the lady, and neither her father-in-law nor her husband Jia Lian was there.

Jia She understood what was going on, so he nodded and said, "Okay, okay!"

He turned, opened the door, and strode away.

Jia Zheng's legs had already gone limp by this time, and Yuanyang called over Caiyun and Xialai, who supported him and slowly led him back to his own courtyard.

Wang Xifeng secretly sent a letter to Lin's house about this ordeal, and Lin's house then secretly informed Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu took advantage of the sisters' casual chat at night to "quietly" tell Tanchun again, and Hongchang was listening.

"Amitabha!" After hearing this, Tanchun couldn't help but clasp her hands together and look up to the sky. She was finally relieved. "Fortunately, the old lady and the master are not confused!"

Hongchang pondered: "Living widow? What does it mean to be a living widow?"

"Our Second Brother Lian will neither die nor go back."

"Neither kill him nor release him. Isn't that just exile?" Hong Chang muttered in a low voice.

Lin Daiyu ignored her words, and while combing her hair in front of the mirror, she chuckled, "My sister-in-law is the most outstanding woman in the women's industry.

"When she returns to Jinling with our uncle and aunt tomorrow, she will be involved in all the businesses in Jiangnan!"

At this point, Daiyu's heart moved. She quickly put down her comb and called Xiaohong in. "Is Chu Qian on duty tomorrow?"

Xiao Hong smiled and replied, "Yes. Eunuch Chu said that there are too many people in the palace these days and it's a mess, so he doesn't want to take a break. He said that he can only feel at ease if he stays in the palace to watch over the Queen Mother and the Princess."

Daiyu smiled and said, "That's fine. Find a time to ask him to come tomorrow. I have something for him to do."

Xiaohong agreed and still walked out.

Tanchun looked at Daiyu curiously: "Sister, what do you want to tell me?"

"Guess?" Daiyu smiled but did not answer.

The next day, Chu Kai sent a small jar of ten-year-old girl's red wine to Tao Xingjian on behalf of Daiyu, and "by the way" found Cao Yu who was accompanying the emperor, and delivered a message word by word:

"The two people in the Rongguo Mansion are planning to resign their titles and positions and return to their hometown to study.

"The head lady of the eldest branch of the family will probably stir up trouble and do business in Nanjing in the future.

"The princess asks Master Cao to help her secretly if she has not violated the market rules.

"If she's too greedy and breaks the rules..."

Cao Yu: "Just come to warn them?"

Chu Qi looked at him blankly: "No, please change the rules, sir, and then report to the princess.

"The princess will consider advising the internal head of the household.

“And then add a dash of it.”