The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 135 Lantern Festival Night ([-])

In the flower hall, there were only two seats on the front, and when Aunt Xue was invited to the banquet, Mother Jia invited her to sit on the west side.

Jia Mu herself set up a low couch with short legs and short legs with a Kuilong shield on the east side, complete with backrest, pillows, leather mattresses and other things.

She leaned halfway, letting the servant girl Hu Po sit on the couch, and beat her legs with a beauty hammer.For a while, I took out my reading glasses from the box on the short table next to me, and took a picture of them on the stage outside, and for a while, I chatted and laughed with everyone in the hall.

Below the low couch, there are also two square tables. At the first table, sit Daiyu, Xiangyun and Baochai, and at the second table, sit Sanchun sisters.

In the west area, from Aunt Xue down to the gate of the flower hall, there are three tables sparsely arranged, in order of Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Xing, Mrs. You, Sister Feng, and Mrs. Qin. At the last table, Li Wan led his son Jia Lan. , and visitors from the family, Jia Zhu's mother, Lou Shi, led Jia Zhu, and four orphans and widows sat alone at a table.

Mrs. Wang, You Shi, Sister Feng and others, seeing Jia Mu's rare interest, tried their best to make Jia Mu happy.

Especially Wang Xifeng, exaggerating the atmosphere is her strong point, after a few gags and amusing, she easily became the focus of the audience.

Because of the high volume of Sister Feng's voice, it could easily be heard in the corridor outside, and all the men could hear it.

Jia Zhen smiled at Jia Rong and the others: "It's thanks to your Aunt Feng's upright and thoughtful speech that she can please the old lady. She alone is worth as many of our children and grandchildren as filial piety in front of her old man.

We are now able to drink here with peace of mind, all thanks to her. "

Jia Rong and the others quickly agreed.

In Jia's mansion, which governs the family with filial piety, whoever can win Jia's mother's favor and make Jia's mother happy has status.

Even if it's a servant girl, as long as Mother Jia cares about it, everyone in Jia's mansion should respect her from top to bottom.

At least on the surface.

Jia Zhen turned to Jia Lian again and said, "Of course, there is also Brother Lian. If you hadn't kept earning a decent living for our family, the old lady wouldn't be so happy today. You and your siblings are all heroes of our family. Come on, brother A toast to you."

Jia Lian said modestly, smiled and toasted.

For a while, the play on the stage reached the point of humor, which made everyone who watched the play laugh. Jia Mu also waved "reward" with a big hand, and sent women to come out with money in bamboo baskets and sprinkle it on the stage.

Previously, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen and others had prepared several baskets of copper coins at the bottom of the steps, just to prepare for such a situation.

At this time, under the orders of Jia Zhen and others, the dozen or so servants standing beside them all went down together, holding the brand-new copper coins, wave after wave, and sprinkled them on the table without feeling sorry.

All of a sudden, the sound of copper coins hitting the ground was heard!
Actors, kowtow to thank you one by one...

Jia Zhen realized that the time had come, so she invited Jia Lian, "Come on, let's go in and have a glass of wine with the old lady and concubine, and talk about our filial piety."

"Please."

Behind, Jia Rong hurriedly took a silver warm wine jug from the servant, and followed Jia Zhen and Jia Lian in.

As the head of the Jia family, Jia Zhen has received strict training in the etiquette of reciprocity. She knows what to do and how to do it on what occasion.

Because he went to Aunt Xue's table first, said a few words about longevity and well-being, and then made a toast with Jia Lian.

Aunt Xue got up quickly and said with a smile: "You two, please sit down quickly, there is no need to be so polite."

All three of them stood up, so in the hall, except for Jia Mu and Mrs. Xing and Wang, everyone in the other seats did not dare to sit and stood up one after another.

After paying tribute to Aunt Xue, Jia Zhen led the crowd to Jia Mu's bed.

Seeing that the couch on which Jia Mu was sitting was very short, Jia Zhen knelt down to worship without hesitation.

Jia Lian had no choice but to kneel with Jia Zhen.

Behind the three of them, they followed in. Jia Huan and Jia Yun, who were lined up according to seniority and seniority, also hurriedly knelt down.

Seeing this, Li Wan and Lou hurriedly ordered their youngest son to attend, and knelt down at the end.

Next to him, Baochai saw that Jia Baoyu was still standing there dumbfounded, as if he was distracted, and wanted to remind him, but thinking about what he had done before, he ignored it.

Daiyu and Xiangyun, who were seated at the same table, didn't know what it meant, so they just avoided watching this filial gift.

After paying homage to Jia's mother, Jia Zhen and Jia Lian also offered a cup to Mrs. Xing and Wang.

At this point, there was no one present who was higher in seniority or sequence than Jia Zhen.

It's just that people like Jia's mansion have a custom that unmarried daughters are more honored than wives and even brothers, and they can also toast at this time.

If it's just the Sanchun sisters, they are all brothers and sisters of the same clan. After all, there are still two cousins ​​Xue and Lin at this time, so it is inconvenient to face each other directly, so I asked Jia Mu with a smile: "How are you doing here, sisters?"

Jia's mother was also satisfied with Jia Zhen's thoughtfulness in terms of manners and etiquette, knowing what she meant, she shook her head and said, "You go ahead, don't worry about them, let them pour a glass of wine by themselves, feel more at ease.

By the way, Brother Lian, stay here, I still have a few words to ask you. "

Jia Lian stopped when he heard this.Jia Zhen smiled and was about to go down. Mother Jia told him: "It's cold outside. If you are tired of sitting or have other arrangements, just go. You don't have to stay with me here all the time. We girls It’s cheaper to talk and joke together.”

Jia Zhen should be, and then led the others out.

In the hall, a group of ladies were either blatantly, or subtly, looking at Jia Lian who stood on the aisle in the middle, although he had bowed his head slightly, he still stood out from the crowd.

Needless to say about the facial features and appearance of the second master Lian, the most rare thing is his well-proportioned and tall figure, which neither looks burly nor thin, which meets the standards of a peerless handsome man in the eyes of most women.

Jia's mother also took a few glances at Jia Lian, and said in her heart that as expected, only after becoming an official can a man's family truly show its prestige.

Jia Lian's demeanor now is much more bluffing than before!
When he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed that everyone was still standing, so he said to Jia Lian first, "Sit down too, you stand, your sisters are not easy to sit, everyone stands with you, don't you feel tired?" .”

"Yes, thank you, old lady, for your seat."

Jia Lian just smiled.In the past, when he came to see Jia Mu, it was rare for him to sit down, and the others probably didn't have to deliberately accompany him to "stand for punishment".

In fact, in the previous two prefectures, except for the old patriarch Jia Jing who went to become a monk, only the three men, Jia She, Jia Zheng, and Jia Zhen, entered the Rongqing Hall, and the sisters had to stand up to show their respect. respect.

From now on, he will be added.

No one even told them specifically, and everyone naturally felt that it should be like this.

Jia Lian glanced casually, and locked on the sisters' side... He is a majestic seven-foot man, so he won't be so cheeky as to take the initiative to sit next to his sisters-in-law...

The maidservant who reacted quickly took the stool, but got into trouble for a while.

If Jia Mu wants to stay with Jia Lian to talk, she naturally needs a seat closer to Jia Mu. However, Baochai, Jia Baoyu, Daiyu and Xiangyun are already seated at the table in front of Jia Mu's low couch. nice.

What's more, it's not good to put the stool in the middle of the aisle, it seems to be on trial.

Going down, the table for the Sanchun sisters can be accommodated just right, but in that case, there is no distinction between superiority and inferiority. How can I let Second Master Lian sit at the second table of Master Bao and the others...

Just when the servant girl hesitated for a moment, Daiyu took a step back, leaned over and said, "Second Brother Lian, sit here..."

Daiyu's timely action not only relieved the maidservant's anxiety, but also almost surprised everyone.

Who doesn't know about Daiyu's temper, Mother Jia's granddaughter?She is a weak and unforgiving master on the inside, even Bao Erye can't please her in front of her, how can she be so active and sensible.

Among them, Xiangyun felt the deepest. During the year when Jia Lian was not at home, she came to Jia's house several times, and she also thought she knew Daiyu's character, thinking that this was not in line with Sister Lin's character at all.

So he took a look at Jia Lian and nodded secretly: it turns out that sister Lin respects Lian's second brother so much!
Jia Lian also laughed from the bottom of his heart, but he had the nerve to grab Sister Lin's seat, because he smiled and said, "Thank you, sister, but don't bother, it's the same wherever I sit."

With that said, Jia Lian took the stool that the maid was holding, put it aside, and sat next to Yingchun.

Daiyu was not a forceful person. She offered to give up her seat under the watchful eyes of everyone, which made her feel uncomfortable and shy, which violated her own style of behavior, so she didn't say much, and after everyone sat down, she also took her seat.

At this time, everyone probably understood that it must be Jia Lian's affection for Daiyu, so Daiyu respected Jia Lian more, which made the two brothers and sisters respectful and rare.

There were also several people who secretly glanced at Jia Baoyu.In fact, in the situation just now, it was Jia Baoyu, not Daiyu, who should take the initiative to give up his seat.

Baochai thinks so.In fact, she was the first to think of giving up her seat for Jia Lian just now, but firstly, it was inconvenient for her to be seated inside, and secondly, she and Jia Lian were not familiar with each other, so it was inevitable that she would feel abrupt when she offered to give up her seat.

She had thought that Jia Baoyu would give in, and Xiangyun would give in, but she didn't expect that Daiyu would give in, so quickly and naturally.

This certainly made her realize that Jia Lian held a different position in Daiyu's heart, but more importantly, through such a small detail, she could see that Jia Baoyu was not as good as Jia Lian.

No matter Jia Lian's status, age or sequence, he was above Jia Baoyu, but Jia Baoyu didn't have the consciousness to voluntarily back down, so the scene became disharmonious.On the other hand, Jia Lian, who clearly deserves to be in the top position, is not arrogant, and his words and deeds are all admirable and impeccable.

It is strange to say that people are most afraid of comparison. She had heard her mother praise this cousin from her aunt's family since she was a child, and when she saw him in Beijing last year, she also felt that he was quite spiritual, not an ordinary person like her elder brother Xue Pan.He is even stronger than the children of ordinary aristocratic families, but compared with Lian's second brother, he pales in comparison.

He even hid in the house and did shameless things!
Thinking of this, Baochai felt completely disappointed with Jia Baoyu, a little cousin who was not as expected.

Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang didn't think much about it. They just thought that Jia Lian and Daiyu were doing well, but they subconsciously ignored Jia Baoyu's existence.After all, Baoyu is still young.

(End of this chapter)