Red Chamber 4

"The servants in the second mistress's courtyard acted recklessly, nearly causing her to miscarry. The Old Lady of the Jia Mansion made the decision to expel them all from the Rongguo Mansion."

The outcome could not possibly have been as simple as just being expelled from the Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Daishan was not a soft-hearted man.

After all, they had attempted to harm his eldest grandson, his eldest daughter-in-law, and his young grandson.

Because Wang was carrying the descendants of the Jia family, he could not have her killed.

But how could Jia Daishan possibly let those servants who plotted against his family go?

The facts were indeed as such; all of Wang's confidants were dealt with by Jia Daishan's men, and their bodies were sent back to the Wang Family.

The Wang Family not only dared not stand up for Wang, but they also surrendered a significant portion of their assets to the Jia Family as an apology.

Jia Hu, nourished by the spiritual energy channeled to him by Liu Zhong, quickly broke his fever and soon recovered his health.

As soon as he was well, he came to the Liu Mansion to find Liu Zhong, speaking of how he had represented Zhang to see off the Zhang Family.

Father Zhang had been the tutor to the Crown Prince, and when the Crown Prince rebelled, Father Zhang was implicated.

Fortunately, several years prior, the Crown Prince had stopped listening to Father Zhang's advice and had distanced himself from him.

When Father Zhang heard the news of the rebellion this time, he was overcome with rage and grief; after vomiting blood, he never rose from his bed again.

The Emperor did not take action against the Zhang Family after learning of this, but the Zhang family members dared not remain in the capital. They submitted their resignations one after another and returned to their ancestral home with Father Zhang's coffin.

Because Zhang had suffered greatly during childbirth and could not get up, she could only let her husband and son go in her stead to bid farewell to her kin.

Jia Hu had a very good relationship with his uncles and cousins, and he was deeply saddened by the thought that they might never meet again after this parting.

For several days in a row, Jia Hu remained listless.

It was only when he came to the Liu Mansion to see his little friend that he regained some of his spirit.

Liu Zhong comforted his friend and brought out a toy to distract Jia Hu.

The toy was Checkers, which Liu Zhong had had made to pass the time.

Playing Checkers with just two people wasn't very interesting, so Liu Zhong pulled in Jiqiu and Jia Hu's personal maid, and the four of them played Checkers together.

Children's attention is easily diverted, and before long, Jia Hu had forgotten the sadness of parting from his relatives.

He spent the day at the Liu Mansion, and when he left, he took the Checkers set that Liu Zhong had given him.

Liu Zhong turned around and went to find Father Liu, pulling both Father Liu and Mother Liu into a game of Checkers.

The outcome was naturally a win for Liu Zhong, but Father Liu refused to accept it, calling for another round.

Liu Zhong smiled and said, "Father, don't be in such a hurry to start the next round. Just tell me, is this game fun? Do you think many people would like it?"

Father Liu: "It's fun, surely many people would like it."

Mother Liu chimed in: "These Checkers are a great way for the ladies and young misses of various households to pass the time; they are more interesting than Yezi Cards."

Liu Zhong: "Then if we sell these Checkers, will people buy them?"

Although Father Liu was not brilliant, he was not stupid, and he immediately understood what Liu Zhong meant.

He stopped thinking about the game and stood up immediately: "I will go make the arrangements right now."

Life in the Liu family was not poor, but it was not wealthy either.

The output from their shops and farms was enough for the family of three to live on for a year, but when it came to social obligations and gift-giving, they were somewhat lacking.

Every year-end, Mother Liu would rack her brains over the New Year gifts.

Now that there was a way to make money, Father Liu naturally would not let it slip by.

Before long, the shops under the Liu family name began selling Checkers.

Following Liu Zhong's suggestion, Father Liu produced three grades of Checkers.

The highest-grade Checkers were made of various types of jade, with a board also made of jade; they were sold at an extremely high price of one thousand taels of silver per set.

The mid-grade Checkers were made of precious wood inlaid with fine jade fragments and gold thread, costing one hundred taels of silver per set.

The low-grade Checkers and boards were made of the most common wood and painted, costing only one hundred copper coins to purchase.

Among these, the highest-grade Checkers were surprisingly the best sellers.

There were quite a few wealthy people in the capital.

Later, as Checkers spread through the noble circles, they reached the circles of commoners.

Only then did the sales volume of the low-grade Checkers begin to rise.

The Liu family made quite a profit from this wave, with at least one hundred thousand taels of silver in revenue.

But that was the extent of it.

Checkers did not require much technical skill, and before long, other merchants began selling them as well.

The business at the Liu family's shops began to plummet.

Father Liu and Mother Liu were quite calm about it; they felt no resentment or anger, as they had already earned more than enough money.

One hundred thousand taels of silver was the combined total of the property they had received when the family estate was divided.

Their family assets increased several times over in one fell swoop.

The two of them took out the money to purchase two shops and also acquired a manor.

The manor was a bit far from the capital, but its area was three times that of their previous one, and its output was quite substantial.

After this, Mother Liu no longer had to worry about the annual gifts every year.

Life passed peacefully and smoothly, and before long, Mother Liu became pregnant.

She gave birth to a younger brother for Liu Zhong, and Father Liu named the little boy Liu Chun, with the courtesy name Xianglian.

Liu Zhong: "..."

His own brother was actually that cold-faced gentleman Liu Xianglian from Dream of the Red Chamber?

Liu Zhong sympathetically poked his brother's soft, tender little cheek with his finger, watching as drool flowed involuntarily from the corner of his mouth.

Liu Zhong: "Don't worry, little brother, big brother will definitely protect you well, so you won't be tricked into marriage, be latched onto by others, and end up becoming a monk."

Back when he read Dream of the Red Chamber, Liu Zhong had always felt that Liu Xianglian was a total sucker.

You Sanjie had been involved with both Jia Zhen and his son, so how could she be considered a chaste and virtuous woman?

It was nothing more than a "madam turning over a new leaf."

How had Liu Xianglian wronged her?

The Ningguo Mansion was indeed so filthy that only the stone lions were clean—Xichun grew up in the Rongguo Mansion from a young age, so she didn't count as a member of the Ningguo Mansion.

If she felt ashamed and wanted to commit suicide, she could have found any place to do it, yet she specifically chose to die right in front of Liu Xianglian, provoking him into becoming a monk.

Liu Zhong could not bring himself to like either of the You sisters.

Although their endings were pitiful, it was all of their own making.

You Erjie married Jia Lian, yet she hoped for Wang Xifeng to die early so she could take her place.

Once Wang Xifeng knew You Erjie's intentions, how could she not finish her off?

When the two sisters could not endure hardship and set their hearts on wealth, coveting things that did not belong to them, their fates were already sealed.

Knowing that his younger brother was Liu Xianglian, Liu Zhong began to pay close attention to his parents' health.

The book stated that Liu Xianglian's parents died early, and he was raised entirely by old servants of the household.

Liu Zhong wanted to protect the lives of Father Liu and Mother Liu, letting them discipline Liu Xianglian to prevent him from growing into the dissolute playboy from the book who could not study and spent his time chasing women.

Although in modern times, those who perform in operas can be called artists and hold an elegant profession.

But in ancient times, actors were considered the lowest of the low and were looked down upon by others.

In the eyes of the nobility, the Liu Xianglian in the story taking the stage to perform was a sign of self-degradation.

It was no wonder Xue Pan teased Liu Xianglian, and no wonder that when Liu Xianglian grew up, only a You Sanjie was willing to marry him.

How could any other noble family marry their daughter to a guy who had achieved nothing and was willing to degrade himself?