The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Rongguo Mansion, Jia Lian Courtyard, West Wing.

Today is Qingwen's birthday.

Fifteen and haircut, after today, she will be considered an adult.

Originally, Jia Lian arranged for Ping'er to prepare a wedding ceremony for her, but due to the death of the old concubine in the palace, the Jia family was a noble family and needed to follow the noble system, so everything was kept simple.

Qingwen was not discouraged.

From early in the morning, she asked the little girl to go out to buy snacks, eat, and prepare some entertainment programs for the guests.

The so-called guests are naturally some maids from Rongguo Mansion.

Counting her time in Jia Mu's courtyard, it has been five years since she entered the mansion, so naturally she has a bunch of little sisters of her own.

She didn't invite her cousins.

Firstly, it was because the location was in the inner house, the master's house, and secondly, she knew that Sister Feng disliked her cousin-in-law very much.

In fact, she doesn't like her cousin-in-law either, because her reputation is really bad.

She had vaguely heard rumors that there were few decent men in the house who had not been taken advantage of by many girls from her cousins!

For this reason, she also pointed out that her cousin was "a lot of worms".

Although Duohun Chong promised to deal with this shameless bitch, but judging from the subsequent situation, he obviously had no way to deal with her.

In this way, Qingwen didn't bother to care.

In the evening, when Qingwen and a group of good sisters and card friends were having fun together in the house, they suddenly heard the little maid outside shouting: "Miss Bao, Miss Yun and Miss Qin are here."

Qingwen quickly winked at Xiangling.

At present, Jia Lian and Sister Feng have gone to the palace to express their condolences, and Ping'er is also accompanying them. It is natural that she and Xiang Ling should be in charge in this courtyard.

She had the right cards and didn't want to get up.

Xiangling was not playful, so she dropped her cards and went out.

Qingwen immediately waved to the little maid next to her who had long wanted to come on stage to fill in.

I originally thought that the girls were here to look for Sister Feng and would leave when they knew she wasn't around.

Who would have thought that Xiang Ling would immediately lead him into the west wing, so Qingwen didn't dare to be lazy anymore and hurriedly welcomed him out with a smile.

"Why are Miss Bao and the two girls here?"

Baochai walked in with his two younger sisters and several maids. He glanced at the lively scene before looking at Qingwen.

Qingwen today is obviously dressed up carefully.

With delicate facial features and a peach-shaped face, she is dressed in gold and silver jewelry and a brand-new bright brocade skirt. It is not an exaggeration to say that she is not only a maid, but also a princess.

The end is charming and tight.

With just this color, Baochai understood why he was favored by Jia Lian.

"I heard that today is your birthday, so I came here to celebrate.

These two jars of wine were brought from the south by the family's waiter, and they were not worth much. If you don't mind it, just accept it and treat it as a congratulatory gift from the three of us. "

As Baochai spoke, he took two small jars of beautifully packaged wine from the maid's hands and handed them to Qingwen.

Qingwen was so happy that her grin widened even further.

She really didn't expect that Baochai and several other girls came to congratulate her.

Xiangyun is restless and Baoqin is young, so let’s leave those two behind.

Who is Baochai?

She was the eldest daughter of Aunt Xue's family. She was the leading figure among the girls in Grand View Garden and was known by everyone as a model of ladylike beauty.

Such a person actually came to celebrate her birthday in person and even brought congratulatory gifts.

Although Qingwen usually yells at the little maids, how can she not know the inferiority of others?

Let alone a maid, she was just a concubine of Jia Lian. Even if she really becomes Jia Lian's concubine in the future, she is not qualified to talk about friendship with the girls at home on an equal footing.

Don't you know that several concubines in Jia Zhen's house had birthdays back then, and they were qualified to have Sanchun come to congratulate them?

So Qingwen quickly smiled and said: "I'm very happy when Miss Bao comes. There's no need to give you any congratulatory gifts. I'm embarrassed."

Even so, Qingwen still took the wine.

She didn't believe what Baochai said was worthless.

No one in the entire Jia family knows that the Xue family is the richest. Miss Bao has never been shabby since she took action!

Qingwen, who felt that she was very proud, led Baochai and others into the room and put the wine on the table next to her, preparing to use it to entertain the guests later.

Shi Xiangyun was originally bored in the garden. Hearing Baochai say that today was Qingwen's birthday, he thought it would be fun to watch, so he followed her.

At this time, I saw that the place was really full of people, and two tables of mahjong were opened, so my interest was naturally high.

She smiled and said, "Okay Qingwen, you guys don't even call me when you're playing cards here."

Qingwen replied with a smile: "Miss Yun is an elegant person and can write poems and lyrics. We are common people, so we only have this pastime. If Miss Yun doesn't laugh at us, we will have fun secretly, so how can we dare to call you."

Shi Xiangyun was not polite and sat down on Qingwen's original seat. While shuffling the cards, he quarreled with Qingwen: "I'm not an elegant person, and I like to play this game the most.

Also, do you think those who play this are lay people?

I see that the old ladies at home also like to play cards. Are they also common people? "

Qingwen was speechless and glanced at Shi Xiangyun angrily, causing the others to shake their heads and laugh.

Shi Xiangyun was always playful and active. Seeing that there was still an empty seat at the table, he quickly called Baochai.

Baochai was originally here to make friends with Qingwen, but now he didn't put on any airs and just sat down with a smile.

Xue Baoqin, on the other hand, watched carefully for a long time, then came to Baochai and said, "Sister, I also played dominoes with my aunt and the others at home. Why is the one they play different from the one we play?"

"This is the game that Mr. Hou adapted from the old dominoes. He calls it 'Mahjong'. It's very interesting. Just watch it and I'll teach you." Baochai said.

It turns out that Jia Lian introduced mahjong, poker and other entertainment and pastimes into this era very early.

Entertainment and culture are essentially the same. Mahjong in later generations originally evolved from the "dominoes" of this era. Now Jia Lian just evolved them in advance.

Even the imported poker has a "leaf card" corresponding to it in this era.

Although the gameplay is very different, with Jia Lian's explanation, it is obvious that it is not too difficult for the girls at home to accept it.

Xue Baoqin naturally knew that the Marquis in Baochai's mouth was referring to Jia Lian. She originally thought these "dominoes" were strange, but when she heard that they were from Jia Lian, she immediately became interested.

Brother Lian has extraordinary foresight. Since he invented something, it must be extraordinary!

So he stood beside Baochai obediently and memorized and studied with all his heart.

……

Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Since several little sisters came to the house, the sisters in the Grand View Garden have been happy for a few days.

It's just that because of the national mourning, the elders went to the palace every morning and evening to express their condolences, so the younger generation had no choice but to talk and laugh together, write poems, and paint, and were not allowed to engage in large-scale cultural activities.

Since then, the enthusiasm has naturally subsided in a few days.

Daiyu also felt a little depressed today. She recalled that she overheard when she was greeting Jia Mu at noon that today was Qingwen's birthday.

After thinking about it, he asked Zicuckoo to light a lantern, and the master and servant came to Jia Lian's courtyard.

When Fang came over, Daiyu discovered that although the rest of the courtyard was dark and deserted, only the west wing was brightly lit, and the sound of dominoes could occasionally be heard from inside.

Just looking at the scattered figures on the window paper, Daiyu knew that there were many people in the house looking for fun.

The master and servant didn't say anything and went straight to the west corridor.

There was no one on the porch, except for a birdcage in the corner. In the cage were two young rabbits that I had never seen before.

It's gray and white, probably just came into the world not long ago, and it's very cute.

Daiyu glanced twice before raising her legs and entering the door.

I just felt a wave of heat hitting my face accompanied by a slight smell of alcohol.

Daiyu didn't have time to frown, she was surprised by the lively scene here.

In two rooms of medium size, two outside and one inside, there are three square tables arranged in a Zouzi shape, and they are all rubbing dominoes in full swing.

At a quick glance, there were at least twenty or thirty people.

And the people in the room, standing or sitting, were interrupted by Daiyu's sudden arrival, and they all looked at her.

"Hey, you guys are really busy here!" Daiyu lifted her hair on her forehead and said with a face-like smile.

"Yeah, Miss Lin is here too."

"Miss Lin, please sit down quickly."

Daiyu keenly heard the word "ye" said by the girls. She understood this when she walked to the door of the inner room and saw Baochai and others sitting upright.

Compared with the casualness of Baochai and others, Qingwen was much more serious when facing Daiyu's arrival.

This is her immediate boss, and she must not be offended.

Last time, she was punished for not letting the other party's maid see the second master.

"Miss Lin is here anyway, sit down quickly. Tan Yun will bring you some tea."

While Qingwen was saying hello, she took the stool next to the maid sitting on and gave it to Daiyu to sit on.

Daiyu was not in a hurry to sit down. Instead, she asked Baochai with a smile: "Why is Sister Bao here too?"

Daiyu knew that she came to see Qingwen because of her future friendship.

Why did Baochai come?

Although there were Xiangyun and Baoqin beside Baochai, for some reason, Daiyu subconsciously focused on Baochai.

Baochai, however, was calm. After playing a card, he said: "It's boring to be idle in the garden. I heard that Qingwen gave birth today, so I brought them over to have a look.

Why is Sister Lin here too? "

Daiyu's brows were furrowed.

Qingwen was scratching her head at the side. How could it be so easy for these two girls to meet each other?

As the birthday boy, the host couldn't let the two distinguished guests quarrel as soon as they arrived, so he pulled Daiyu and said with a smile: "Miss Lin is here just now. You sit here, and the four of you are sitting at the same table. I will play with them outside. go."

Daiyu laughed and said, "That's all, I don't have the money to lose to them."

Qingwen was the most thoughtful about money. She knew exactly who the masters and slaves in the house were, who had money and who didn't.

She knew very well that in terms of wealth, Daiyu was even worse than Baochai.

He rolled his eyes at Daiyu in his heart, but still smiled and said: "Don't worry, Miss Lin. If you lose, it's mine."

It’s just Daiyu. Her Aunt Qingwen has never been so generous to others.

Although her attitude made Daiyu smile even more, Daiyu still shook her head, "Forget it, you are the birthday girl today, and I don't dare to take your place. You don't have to worry about me, just play with you." Yes, I’ll take a quick look and then go back.”

"This……"

Although Qingwen was a little hesitant, seeing that Daiyu didn't look like she was joking, she couldn't force herself.

After giving the tea to Daiyu, she sat back.

But Daiyu sat aside and took two sips of tea, then put down the tea cup. He grabbed a handful of melon seeds and moved the stool behind Baochai, obviously preparing to watch Baochai's card skills up close.

Her actions actually made Baochai, who had been sitting on the Diaoyutai, feel a little nervous.

...(End of chapter)