lcionline Chapter 20 Grandmother Jia
Chapter 20 Grandmother Jia
Before long, Madam Wang arrived at Rongqing Hall.
After exchanging greetings, Grandmother Jia remained calm and composed, and even had Yuanyang serve each of them a cup of tea.
Madam Wang thought to herself: The old lady is really composed!
She took two symbolic sips before speaking, "Grandma, something happened to Baoyu today, and it wasn't very respectable. There are many people in the manor who gossip, and I was afraid that if word got out, it would cause controversy, so I had his courtyard sealed off. Now that the matter has been resolved, I've come to report back to you, Grandma."
Grandmother Jia nodded: "How is Baoyu?"
“Baoyu is recovering well and looks much more energetic. He was already asleep when I came back.”
Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia finally felt relieved: "It's good that he's alright. Did you go over there today because something happened to the maids and servants in his courtyard?"
"Reporting to the old lady, Xiren, who serves Baoyu, is not a maid born into our family. As she gets older, her family intends to redeem her, so she has a crooked idea. She conspired with Bihen, Sheyue, and Qiuwen, who serve Baoyu, and the four of them stole valuable things from Baoyu's side, intending to take them out of the mansion to sell.
Fortunately, a young girl noticed something was wrong and secretly informed me. Only then did I lead a team to thoroughly search their residence. To prevent anyone from framing them, I also had them keep watch over the search. As a result, we found stolen goods in their room, and they confessed to it without hesitation.
"How could such a thing happen!" Grandmother Jia slammed her hand on the table in anger, then realized something was amiss: "Xiren has always been reliable. I watched her grow up. How could she do this?"
Yuanyang, standing to the side, was also secretly surprised. She absolutely did not believe that Xiren could commit theft, but she had no right to speak now and could only listen quietly to what Madam Wang had to say.
"This is a case of knowing a person's face but not their heart! I was always completely at ease knowing that she could serve Baoyu. To be honest, I was even willing to give her to Baoyu as a concubine, even if it might sound ridiculous to the old lady. Who knew I had misjudged her? If I hadn't caught her red-handed today, I wouldn't have believed that she was this kind of person."
Enraged, he gave her several lashes. If her family came to ransom her, they could take her away; if not, she would be sent to the estate to be married off. The other three would be treated the same way.
Madam Wang fabricated a story, downplaying the seriousness of the matter and exaggerating the potentially fatal fifty lashes into just a few.
Grandmother Jia sighed. As the saying goes, people are all shrewd and discerning. The people around Baoyu were all handpicked by her. How could she not know their character?
She knew that Madam Wang hadn't told the truth about what happened today. If it were anything else, she would never have asked so many questions, but since it concerned Baoyu, she couldn't let things just pass by in a muddled way.
"Second son's wife, I want to hear the truth!" Grandmother Jia said in a deep voice.
Madam Wang remained silent for a moment.
The old lady always favored the second branch of the family. Even though they did not inherit the title of Rongguo Mansion, she still allowed them to live in Rongxi Hall.
Meanwhile, the old lady of the second wife always regarded Baoyu as her lifeblood, protecting him like a precious jewel from childhood to adulthood.
Putting everything else aside, at least on the issue of Baoyu, they were on the same side.
And she couldn't hide it from the old lady either.
Even if she didn't say anything, the old lady could always pry open the mouths of Li Mama and the others to find out the truth.
Madam Wang sighed softly, her gaze falling on Yuanyang. Yuanyang's scalp tingled instantly, knowing that what was about to happen was not something she should hear.
Even if she was worried about Xiren, Sheyue and the others, it was no use. After all, no matter how much face she had, she was still just a servant.
Looking up at the old lady, who didn't object, Yuanyang immediately left.
Madam Wang no longer concealed anything and told the old lady the whole story.
Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia's face darkened just like Lady Wang's had before, and she slammed the teacup beside her onto the ground.
How could Grandmother Jia, who was already quite old, not know the harm of getting involved with women too early?
That's why she was so angry.
These were all people she personally selected!
Their actions are tantamount to slapping her hard across the face.
"Besides those few, were the others investigated?"
Madam Wang nodded: "The old lady is worried. I've checked everyone in the courtyard, and it's just the four of them."
Grandmother Jia nodded, her face still grim: "You did a good job. Just as you said before, tell everyone that they were stealing money in secret, and send them far away, forbidding them from seeing Baoyu again."
"Yes."
Grandmother Jia had no intention of keeping her, and Lady Wang also didn't want to stay any longer, so she took her leave and returned to Rongxi Hall.
Inside Rongxi Hall, Jia Zheng sat upright on the kang (a heated brick bed). He had obviously heard about the trouble that had happened to Baoyu, but he couldn't bring himself to go and see for himself, so he just waited for Lady Wang here.
Lady Wang breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her husband was worried about their son but didn't want to say it. So she told Jia Zheng the story she had made up earlier about the theft.
Jia Zheng was speechless.
As a father, he naturally wouldn't bother to know the character of the maidservants around his son. Now, hearing what Madam Wang said, he didn't suspect anything and believed it directly.
Moreover, since Madam Wang has already dealt with the situation, it is inconvenient for him to speak further.
"What a tragedy! Things are never-ending around him."
Madam Wang felt somewhat guilty upon hearing this.
You don't know the truth of this matter, otherwise you wouldn't just have sighed like that, you would probably have wanted to beat Baoyu to death.
“Master, after you reprimanded Baoyu yesterday, I have thought about it carefully. Baoyu is, after all, a boy, and he is gradually growing up. It is somewhat inconvenient for him to live with the other girls in the Grand View Garden.”
Moreover, I've been watching closely, and ever since he moved into the Grand View Garden, he's only been playing with the sisters every day. In addition, his husband has gone back to his hometown to visit relatives and hasn't returned yet. He went to study at home, where there are a few students with bad character. It's inevitable that Baoyu's temperament will be affected.
Therefore, I think you should find a tutor for Baoyu to study at home, so that you can supervise him more and encourage him to improve.
Jia Zheng was surprised that his wife, who always doted on Baoyu, would say such a thing. He smiled with some relief and said, "I told you before that boys are not like girls. We must teach them well and discipline them strictly. Otherwise, they will cause trouble in the future and bring shame to our ancestors. It will be heartbreaking for you and me."
Jia Zheng disapproved of how much Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang doted on Baoyu. He dared not say much in front of Grandmother Jia, but he secretly complained to Lady Wang that Baoyu was being spoiled too much. However, Lady Wang always let it go in one ear and out the other and never took his words seriously.
Time has passed, and now Lady Wang is finally reaping the bitter fruit. Hearing Jia Zheng bring up the old matter again, she is filled with bitterness, but can only smile bitterly and agree.