Chapter two hundred and ninety seventh greed for worship
On this day, Lian Er took a break to take a bath at home.
He didn't go anywhere, just waiting in Rongxi Hall. After a while, the maid came to report: Miss Bao is here!
Wang Xifeng personally welcomed Xue Baochai into the house. Thirty thousand taels of silver was still quite powerful, and at least Lian Er and his wife accepted it.
Seeing this, Xue Baochai's anxious mood relaxed a little.
At least Lian's second cousin-in-law and Wang Xifeng's cousin didn't burn bridges just because things didn't work out.
A screen was placed in the center of the flower hall to separate the two rows of chairs, just enough for Lian Er and Xue Baochai to sit on each side. This was the minimum sign of respect.
Lian Er has been an official for many years and still attaches great importance to these rules.
Xue Baochai saw the layout of the flower hall and followed Wang Xifeng to sit on the side of the screen. However, she was quite satisfied and couldn't help but feel full of emotion.
Who said Rongguo Mansion has no rules?
It's just that the second wife and the old lady didn't have any rules. At least the respect and rules shown by Lian's second cousin husband at this time made her quite comfortable.
Just because we are all relatives, we don’t have to talk carelessly and directly.
Seven-year-old boys and girls sit in separate seats!
Although such rules are a bit harsh, if you are unable to break the constraints, it is better to abide by the rules honestly. This will avoid a lot of unnecessary troubles.
At least Xue Baochai's mood has calmed down a lot at this time, which is conducive to the subsequent communication.
She rarely interacts with Lian Er. It has been almost two years since she arrived in Rong Mansion and they have not met once. They can be said to be strangers and acquaintances.
Xue Baochai preferred the rules shown by Lian's second cousin-in-law compared to Baoyu's seemingly innocent and unrestrained style, but in fact did not take etiquette seriously.
Don't talk nonsense like Baoyu is still a child. Unless there is something wrong with your brain, a direct descendant of a big family will naturally know some basic rules and etiquette after being exposed to them for a long time.
Baoyu is now nine years old, and even accompanied by a servant, he can move around in the small markets around Rongfu. How can he really not understand anything?
Xue Baochai has been hanging out in the second house all year round, and runs to Rongqing Hall from time to time to brush up on her presence. She has been in contact with Baoyu for a long time, and she can naturally see some clues with her shrewdness.
It's just relying on the old lady's love and the second wife's pampering, and just following my temper.
Because he knew that doing so would not arouse the resentment and dissatisfaction of the old lady and the second wife, and the servants around him did not dare to talk nonsense, which led to Baoyu's uncomfortable behavior.
He may not care about it himself, but he doesn't care at all about how this will affect the reputation of the girl from his relatives.
No wonder, Xue Baochai stayed in Rongguo Mansion for almost two years, and neither the girls from the Wang family nor the Shi family rarely came around.
Even if he came, he would act with the adults and not give Baoyu a chance to get close.
Shi Xiangyun is a fool. He has two uncles of powerful marquises whom he can rely on, but Bai Oh County shows that he is willing to live in Rongguo Mansion forever. This is a slap in the face of his two uncles.
Not to mention, the hurtful words this girl said under the guise of her cheerful appearance made her really think that others were fools.
An orphan girl from a noble family didn't know who she could really rely on. She kept saying "I love my brother" all day long, and her reputation was ruined at a young age.
Speaking of this, Xue Baochai was also angry. This guy Baoyu was such a pain in the ass. He just ignored girls when they met. Don't you know that this is quite deceiving?
…
"Brother Lian, what's going on?"
Putting back his wandering thoughts, Xue Baochai asked Lian Er anxiously across the screen.
"Miss Bao, this is the situation!"
Lian Er did not drag his feet. Since he had received Xue Baochai's operating expenses of 30,000 taels, he felt that he had to get things done.
If things don't work out now, we must at least explain the reason clearly to Xue Baochai.
"The situation was fine before, but when the Ministry of Internal Affairs was about to start selecting people, I submitted Miss Bao's name, but within a few days I was informed that Miss Bao's name had been crossed out!"
Lian Er looked depressed and continued to explain: "I thought the situation was a bit weird, so I asked someone to help me check the reason, and then I realized that Miss Bao's name had been crossed out on purpose!"
"What?"
Xue Baochai was taken aback and asked puzzledly: "How is this possible?"
"Sister Bao, does the Xue family have any enemies? Is there any opponent with strong connections in the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"
At this time, Wang Xifeng spoke, and said in deep thought: "It's obvious that someone has tricked someone into something like this!"
"Absolutely not!"
Xue Baochai said categorically: "My cousin and cousin-in-law don't know that the main business of the Xue family is still in Jiangnan. The business in Beijing is not big, and it is impossible to offend anyone with energy!"
"That's weird!"
Wang Xifeng followed the words discussed with Lian Er in advance and said: "Generally, such things are quite taboo. After all, intervening in royal affairs involves taking a lot of risks. Even if you are just choosing a companion for the princess and princess, you can't be too careless.
!”
This is absolutely correct. Why do you say that the princess is the daughter of the emperor, and the princess is also the daughter of the prince? No matter how careless the Ministry of Internal Affairs is, it will not dare to go too far. Do you really think that people in the royal family can be easily deceived?
"My sister's name was crossed out before the selection was completed. It was obviously deliberately targeted!"
Wang Xifeng wondered: "If it wasn't an enemy, who would be willing to spend so much money to cause trouble?"
Lian Er answered at this time: "Miss Bao, due to my limited ability, I can only find out so much. As for the internal affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I have no way of asking. I'm really sorry!"
"it does not matter!"
Xue Baochai smiled reluctantly and said depressedly: "No one can predict that such a thing happened suddenly. My cousin-in-law has done a good enough job!"
This is not a lie. Not to mention how much thought and energy Lian Er spent, at least the first-hand information he obtained was quite useful to Xue Baochai.
If there hadn't been any complications along the way, and if we had prepared according to the information Lian Er found out, the chance of being selected would be quite high. After all, the strength of the opponents in the capital was average.
It's a pity that a good opportunity was missed like this.
Xue Baochai was depressed, but he couldn't show it in front of Lian Er and his wife. After saying a few words of thanks, he stood up and left without mentioning the 30,000 taels of operating silver.
“Miss Bao’s courage is truly extraordinary!”
Looking at Xue Baochai's retreating figure, Lian Er sighed: "I just gave up thirty thousand taels of silver. If she can really become the princess's companion, she might be able to have some good fortune!"
"really!"
Wang Xifeng also sighed: "I missed such a good opportunity in vain, and I don't know who did it!"
Lian Er didn't say anything, but he actually had some thoughts in his mind. As long as Xue Baochai was willing, and for the hard work of ten thousand taels of silver, he would be happy to help Xue Baochai find out the identity of the person who secretly made the move.
As long as you have money, everything is easy.
However, Xue Baochai's performance made him very satisfied, and he had no intention of pursuing the matter further. It was obvious that he had completely given up on this opportunity, and there was no point in worrying about it anymore.
He is a smart man!
…
Besides, Xue Baochai returned to Lixiangyuan full of disappointment. After meeting his mother, Aunt Xue, he said that he was feeling unwell and went back to the house to rest.
It was impossible for her not to feel depressed after missing a good opportunity.
It's just that she doesn't want to show her feelings to others, so as not to worry her mother, Aunt Xue.
However, the reaction of her mother, Aunt Xue, made her feel quite confused.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already crossed out his name as a candidate. Has the mother not got the news yet? Or is it that the aunt deliberately concealed the news?
Otherwise, my mother, Aunt Xue, would not have looked so relaxed just now.
Because Aunt Xue had told her before that "your aunt is great" and "your aunt is very well-connected", Xue Baochai did not tell her about asking Lian's second cousin-in-law for help with money.
It's just that the news from my cousin-in-law has been transmitted for a day. Even if the news from my aunt lags behind, the news should have been received by now. Why is there no news yet?
Little did she know that Mrs. Wang had indeed received the news from the Ministry of Internal Affairs at this time. She was quite satisfied with the Zhou Rui family for handling the matter well, and wanted to continue to hide it and trick Aunt Xue into investing money.
This matter was originally instigated by Mrs. Wang's Zhou Rui family. Through her husband Zhou Rui, she directly bribed an official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to eliminate Xue Baochai's qualifications.
"Madam, don't worry, even if Miss Bao has extraordinary abilities, she will still fail this time!"
Zhou Rui's family looked proud and said with a smile: "It's just that we spent a lot of money..."
"It doesn't matter!"
Mrs. Wang waved her hand and said nonchalantly: "Get things done well. As for the money spent, it will be spent. The Xue family will make up for it in the future!"
His expression was calm and calm when he spoke, and his expression was taken for granted.
Such a look and expression frightened the Zhou Rui family, and they had a new understanding of Mrs. Wang's ferocity and greed.
It can only be said that the servants of the second house were lucky. Xue Baochai was disappointed and did not pay Lian Er to investigate to the end. Otherwise, with their rough methods, Lian Er would have found out the clues long ago.
…
That night, Lian Er came to the other courtyard as a routine to meet the eldest master. While chatting, he mentioned the matter by the way, shook his head and sighed: "I don't know who did it, otherwise Miss Bao will probably have a good future!"
"I'm afraid the Wang family has something to do with this!"
The elder instantly understood the clues, shook his head with a chuckle and said, "I can only say that Miss Bao is unlucky to have met such an aunt!"
"No way!"
Lian Er was taken aback and said with a look of disbelief on his face: "How could the second aunt do such a thankless thing?"
For the first time, he wondered whether the master was too prejudiced against his second aunt. Why was Xue Baochai her niece, so how could he possibly cut off his niece's bright future?
"What's impossible? Greed is the only way to worship!"
The elder sneered and said: "The Xue family is too rich, and they show too much wealth in the house. With Wang's greedy temperament, how can the Xue family's money fly away?"