Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 318
The gate of the Grand View Garden.

"Brother sent someone to look for me, but what's the matter?"

Xue Baoqin looked at Xue Biao with a sad face and said doubtfully.

Xue Biao pulled his sister to a deserted place and sighed: "Oh! The second wife and the eldest aunt just came to see me..."

Then the conversation in the Xue family courtyard was repeated to Xue Baoqin.

If it is a normal marriage, it is naturally the order of the parents. According to the matchmaker, it is another matter to be a concubine.

Therefore, before reporting to his mother, he also asked Xue Baoqin for her opinion.

"Now I am holding back the second wife in the name of my father's filial piety, but it's hard to disobey the emperor's order. Not to mention our family, even the Rong Mansion probably can't do anything. To untie the bell, we need the person who tied it. For this plan, if my sister doesn't agree , we have no choice but to ask Brother Lai!"

Xue Baoqin shook his head and said: "Brother also said that the emperor's order cannot be violated. We have only met Brother Lai a few times, so how can we force others to do something difficult?"

"Having said that, if I don't do anything and let you become my concubine, how can I have the face to see my father in the future?"

Xue Baoqin took it lightly and said: "It's not my brother's fault, you forgot what did the eldest aunt and elder brother say when they came to Mei's house to withdraw the engagement last time?"

Only then did Xue Pan remember that Xue Pan had said last time that being Lai Shangrong's concubine would not be considered as wronging his sister.

And although my eldest aunt scolded Xue Pan, she did not explain it.

"You mean, what was their original plan? They just used the tiger's skin as a banner to intimidate us in the name of the emperor and empress?"

Xue Baoqin blinked his big eyes and pondered for a moment and said: "That's not true. Although the eldest aunt and the second wife are biological sisters, they will not falsely pass on the imperial edict just to help her, but the order may not be as they said!"

Xue Biao said angrily: "What good does this do to them? Are they so vicious that they insist on forcing a good girl to become a concubine?"

"Why is there no benefit?" Xue Baoqin sneered: "Have you forgotten what our family does? Where does Brother Lai take care of it?"

She is not like Xue Biao, she lives in the Grand View Garden, especially when she recently moved to the Xiaoxiang Hall, watching with cold eyes, she can somewhat see that her cousin from home intends to flatter her.

"Are you saying that auntie wants to use you as a bargaining chip to have a relationship with Brother Lai?"

"Isn't it? When Mei's family came to withdraw their marriage last time, there was no such gossip and me and Brother Lai outside!"

Xue Biao thought about it carefully, and it was exactly as his sister said, and he said indignantly: "Should we just let them dictate?"

"What a beautiful idea! It's fine if we don't know. Why should we still be their puppets if we know?"

Xue Biao was confused by Xue Baoqin and asked, "What does sister mean?"

"Brother, are you confused? I am the concubine for Brother Lai, not my cousin. We only need to ask Brother Lai to face our family, why do we have to give them an advantage?"

"You..." Xue Biao said dumbfounded: "Are you willing to be a concubine?"

Xue Baoqin stamped his feet and said angrily: "Brother, what are you talking about! No one is willing to be a concubine, but you also said that the Mei family spread those gossips outside, and now they have no choice but to do it, what else can you do?"

After a pause, he added: "Besides, concubines are not the same as each other. Do you think anyone dares to look down on Sister Xing?"

Then, he told Xue Biao what happened in the Grand View Garden ahead.

Gu Panshenghui said: "If he treats me half as much as he treats Sister Lin in the future, it will be better than marrying into a family with the surname Mei!"

Seeing his sister's appearance, Xue Biao said, "Since you have no objection, I will write a letter to my mother!"

Xue Baoqin lowered his head, drilled a hole in the ground with the toe of his embroidered shoe, twisted around and said: "I...I didn't expect it to happen so quickly...I just entered Xiaoxiang Pavilion with my front foot, and went to Lai's house with my back foot. , in case Sister Lin thinks that I have been planning for a long time... Brother might as well agree first, and then use the excuse of filial piety to delay it first, so that Sister Lin will be free of suspicion, and I can be free for another two years!"

…………

As soon as Mrs. Wang left the Xue family, Aunt Xue ordered Tongxi to go to the Grand View Garden to find Xue Baochai.

a while.

Xue Baochai stepped into the house and saw Aunt Xue sitting on the kang with her head bowed in thought.

Puzzled: "Mom called me over in a hurry, why?"

"Alas! It's all my fault for being blind and thinking only about a good match. It's really hurting you!"

"What? Could it be that something happened on my aunt's side?"

Although Jia Baoyu was a little embarrassed, Xue Baochai was still a little nervous because his choices were limited.

"That's not true. It's just that I didn't expect that the Lai family would be like this today. I missed a great opportunity."

Then, the emperor sent a message through Yuanchun to let Xue Baoqin be Lai Shangrong's concubine, and confessed to Xue Baochai.

"That's the end of the matter. Mom doesn't need to blame herself. My daughter didn't think the same way as you did back then!" She didn't know that Aunt Xue had other plans, and just thought she was regretting her original decision.

After comforting his mother, he changed the subject and said, "The strange road was in Xiaoxiang Pavilion just now. Xue Biao sent someone to find Sister Qin. It turned out to be for this matter."

"How can they not comment on the emperor's wishes? Even your aunt has to deal with it carefully!"

Baochai said thoughtfully: "My daughter was surprised yesterday. Since the empress had ordered Miaoyu to be driven away, why did she ask Brother Lai what he meant? It turns out that he meant to apologize for Baoyu."

"What apology?"

Aunt Xue, like Mrs. Wang, did not know anything about Lu Xue'an.

Xue Baochai told his mother about Jia Baoyu and Miaoyu's speechless speeches when Lu Xue'an formed a society, and what happened today.

"Ah! It's a pity that my aunt wanted to make up for it. Being disturbed by Baoyu, not only was her effort in vain, but I'm afraid she would offend people even more!"

After hearing this, Aunt Xue suddenly realized that she heard Mrs. Wang and Lai Shangrong talking about Miaoyu yesterday, and she only thought that Mrs. Wang was asking him for advice because Lai Shangrong was the chief official.

Only now did I understand the profound meaning of Mrs. Wang, but the more she did this, the more regretful she became.

"Alas! Baoyu, this child, is too ignorant. Once or twice, Shangrong might have taken into account the past friendship and ignored it, but again and again, I am afraid that he may not be able to help our family in the future, but instead I have to be implicated by him!"

Having said this, his heart skipped a beat and he gritted his teeth and said, "Fortunately, there is still a chance to make amends now, but we can't look forward and backward this time!"

"Mom, what does this mean?"

"I forgot to tell you just now, do you know what your aunt proposed to give Qin girl to him as a concubine, what did he say?"

"Is it possible that you don't want to?"

"He said that the gossip outside has something to do with him after all. If Qin girl feels aggrieved, let her serve as the second wife of the Lai family!"

"This...doesn't he have no intention of doing both?"

This answer surprised Xue Baochai, but thinking about it carefully, Lai Shangrong was quite responsible, which was indeed in line with his style of doing things.

He asked doubtfully: "Then why does mom still say that girl Qin is a concubine? Didn't aunt just follow the trend?"

"How dare she? The emperor already said that Girl Qin has a bad background and a bad reputation, so she can only be a concubine!"

This reason gave Xue Baochai mixed feelings. If these words had come from someone else, she might not have felt anything, but this was what the emperor said, which shows Lai Shangrong's position in the emperor's heart.

You can't write two Xue's in one sentence. Although the big house is richer than the second house, it only has this advantage.

Doesn’t that mean that I am only worthy of...

Thinking of this, I finally understood why my mother was so regretful.

She threw herself into Aunt Xue's arms and comforted her: "Now that the matter is over, mommy, it's better not to get into trouble anymore, so as not to hurt your body!"

Aunt Xue patted Baochai on the pink back and said, "Silly boy, how can this be a dead end? This is a great opportunity!"

Xue Baochai suddenly raised the head of the scorpion that was buried in Aunt Xue's arms, and the rings of her bun and hairpin shocked Aunt Xue's body, causing layers of waves to shake.

Looking up, he said: "Did mother mean..."

Seeing that her daughter understood what she meant, Aunt Xue was quite pleased. She lifted Xue Baochai up from her body and looked at her carefully and said, "Isn't that right! The emperor said that girl Qin can only be a concubine, but he didn't say that our family can only be a concubine. As a concubine, since Shang Rong is willing to let Qin girl do the same because of some gossip, then for you..."

"Can this work? If you don't care about your reputation, if the emperor hears about it again, wouldn't it be self-defeating to make such a decree?"

"Of course you can't be like Qin girl, otherwise the whole city will know about it, and if your aunt finds out, something will happen. As long as God knows and the earth knows, our monk, Shang Rong, knows..."

Looking at her daughter who has the same blood as her and has a plump and voluptuous figure, Aunt Xue couldn't help but think of Lai Shangrong's hot eyes in front of Liao Ting Hua Shu, and she couldn't help but feel a little more confident.

"Your aunt also said that Shang Rong is busy with office work during the day, but it doesn't stop us from having him over at night. We will inevitably have a few drinks at that time..."

This is not the first time that Aunt Xue and Baochai have done this. As early as when Jia Baoyu came to visit when the Xue family still lived in Lixiangyuan, Aunt Xue introduced him to Xue Baochai's boudoir and left with an excuse to create an opportunity for the two of them to be alone. .

Later, they arranged dinner and planned to let Jia Baoyu stay overnight. However, the plan was aborted because Lin Daiyu happened to be meeting.

Of course, ancient times are different from modern times. You don’t necessarily have to do anything. As long as you see something you shouldn’t see or touch something you shouldn’t touch, it’s enough.

"But once... aunt will still know?"

"Silly child, once things are done, with Shang Rong at the front, how dare she argue with Shang Rong?"

(End of this chapter)