Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 120 Don’t Be Safe for the Venerable

Baoqin hugged Jia Yuanchun and whispered: "Don't be anxious, Madam! Think about it carefully!

"I just went to the Lin Mansion for a banquet and just returned home when Dongfu suddenly resigned from his position. His wife was seriously ill and then an 'accident' happened!

"This is all very strange! But the old lady didn't mention it, the second master didn't mention it, and even the second master Bao didn't mention it! Normally, if there was something wrong with the lady, the Wang family should have passed the message to the queen, but even they didn't respond!

"Also! Madam is the mother of the Empress. When she passed away, it was like the sky had fallen. Your Majesty should have come to comfort the Empress. However, Your Majesty did not come. He and the Empress gave her a few pieces of plain silk and some silver jewelry, that's all!

"My lady, something big must have happened at home!

"You have been so sad these past few days, and His Majesty and the Queen have not hinted at any punishment, so I have kept silent.

"Now that you are better, you should sort out these things one by one! Otherwise, we are in the dark in the palace, and we might make a mistake at any time, which would lead to our eternal damnation, wouldn't it?"

Yuanchun listened blankly, and her eyes gradually became clear. After a moment of contemplation, she ordered Baoqin, "Go to the Queen and test her. Tell her that I want to ask my brothers and sisters to come in and ask about the details of my mother's death. See what the Queen says."

Baoqin nodded repeatedly: "This is a good idea! If we call him in, we will definitely know the truth. If the Queen doesn't allow it, then we can take this opportunity to ask her directly why!"

Take the order and leave.

Soon, he returned happily and reported to Yuanchun: "The Empress has agreed! She said that the Empress can summon the women of the Jia family and my brother to the palace to see me!"

Yuanchun felt slightly relieved and immediately sent a message to see Tanchun and Baoyu.

When the Jia family heard the news, they were in trouble.

Baoyu was there in person and saw everything from beginning to end. He even acquiesced to Wang's death.

But Tanchun is different.

Up to now, the whole family had been playing dumb as to whether Tanchun knew about it. No one dared to ask, no one dared to mention it.

Because the first evil thing Wang did was to exploit and murder Aunt Zhao.

Even if Tanchun wanted to escape from Zhao's control and burden, she would remember that Aunt Zhao was her biological mother.

The hatred of killing one's mother is irreconcilable.

No one knows how she will behave in front of Yuanchun when she enters the palace.

Grandmother Jia wanted to stop Tanchun from going, and only let Baoyu go in to explain the family's difficulties to his sister, and then let the matter be muddled. After all, the queen's surname was also Jia, and she was her own granddaughter who was raised by herself.

But Yuanchun's intention was clear: Tanchun and Baoyu. She wanted to see Tanchun first, and Baoyu second.

In desperation, Jia's mother told Mrs. Xing: "His brother and sister are young and don't know the rules, so you should take them with you."

Mrs. Xing was terrified when she thought about telling her daughter how her mother killed someone. She smiled and asked, "I am not very well behaved either. Otherwise, will you spare the old lady's trouble?"

"You don't know how to behave? Then take off this imperial edict! I'm so old, and you have the nerve to make me suffer this!" Grandmother Jia scolded her and forced Mrs. Xing to go.

He then whispered to her, "Baoyu is a fool, try to make him talk less. Talk to the queen and briefly tell her about Wang's evil deeds. We can't break away from the Wang family for a while, so some things need to be done slowly!"

Mrs. Xing had no choice but to agree.

Grandmother Jia called Tanchun over again and told her, "Your elder sister is sad, so you should try to comfort her. Our family is in a precarious situation right now, and we are relying on your elder sister to stay in the palace, and the emperor to give us some face.

"We can't let her collapse in grief. If she's gone, there will be no one to speak well of our family in front of His Majesty. I won't live for many days. What will you brothers and sisters do in the future?"

Tanchun did not refute a word, but only nodded respectfully.

Seeing that she didn't respond, Jia's mother had no choice but to stop there and waved her hand to let her go.

Mrs. Xing then brought his brother and sister into the palace.

It was the first time for Baoyu and Tanchun to enter the palace. They found that although Fengzao Palace, where the eldest sister lived, had a grand and solemn name, it was in the farthest corner of Daming Palace. The palace was not big, there were not many servants, and even very few people came and went.

Baoyu couldn't help but feel sad. Then he understood what his elder sister meant when she said "you can't go to a place where you can't see anyone" when she came home to visit her parents.

Tanchun also felt uncomfortable. When she thought about the time when she and Lin Daiyu occasionally talked about Yuanchun, and Daiyu sighed and said, "She is the most pitiful one," her nose felt sore.

Mrs. Xing had come twice before, so she was relatively calm. Seeing the two children's faces were filled with fear, she could not help but whisper a warning:

"There are many people and palaces in the palace, so it's naturally not very big. This place was requested by the queen herself. The queen is fine, so you two are not allowed to hang photos!"

The two of them quickly put away their sad expressions.

Baoqin led the three people in with a smile, and performed the state ceremony to the virtuous concubine sitting on the couch. Jia Yuanchun stood up and wanted to perform the family ceremony to Mrs. Xing, but Mrs. Xing was so scared that she held her back and said she didn't dare.

Jia Yuanchun shed tears and said, "I heard that my mother's funeral was handled by my aunt, and it was very successful. As her children, we should thank her for her hard work."

Baoyu stood up hurriedly: "I'll do it for my elder sister - thank you very much, Auntie!" He lifted his robe and knelt down.

Madam Xing hurriedly pulled him up and said, "No, no, no! How can you kneel down for me on behalf of the queen? You already thanked me the other day, I remember it all, there's no need!"

"I also want to thank my aunt for bringing his brother and sister to the palace. I was worried that they would not know the way." Yuanchun smiled and told Baoqin, "Have someone serve tea and fruit.

"You should accompany the Madam to the side hall to have a good rest. I'm sure you haven't had a good rest at home these days!"

Baoqin agreed, came up with a smile, held Madam Xing's arm with her own hands, half dragged and half pulled her to the side hall.

Naturally, Mrs. Xing didn't want to beat around the bush with Yuanchun, so she reluctantly followed Baoqin and went to sit down to eat tea and take a nap.

Yuanchun saw that there was no one else around, so she waved to Baoyu and Tanchun, "You two, follow me."

As he said this, he was about to take them to the depths of the bedroom to talk.

Tanchun stood up and shook her head, saying, "I won't go. Madam, please talk to my second brother. I will go and accompany my eldest mother."

Yuanchun was stunned.

Baoyu subconsciously grabbed Tanchun and said, "Third sister, you should come with me!"

Tanchun pulled his hand away forcefully, her expression indifferent: "Second brother, it's time for you to grow up. You are the only one among our brothers and sisters who has experienced this personally.

"The queen asked you and me to come here just to know the whole story. Now that you know it, just tell her. Why do you have to drag me along?"

Baoyu stammered for a long while before saying, "I don't know how to say it..."

"You don't know? Haha. Then let's start from what you saw the first step you took into Qingqiu Courtyard."

Tanchun looked at him coldly, "Don't be shy about mentioning the deceased. Otherwise, if the queen makes a mistake in judgment, and the Jia family has no place to bury their bodies, you will be responsible."