The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion
Ch. 503 - Supreme Emperor Shi's Two Banquets at the Grand View Garden [Part 2]

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After sending Jia Baoyu out, Wang Xifeng didn't rush to speak. Instead, she quietly walked to the door. Although Jia Lian seemed to no longer be jealous and sour at the moment, a man and woman were alone in a room and still wanted to speak about some taboos.

So it wasn't until it was confirmed that the maid and nannies outside could glimpse her figure through the curtain that Wang Xifeng turned around and sneered, "What kind of magic did Lord Sun use to captivate our Master's mind? Letting him completely abandon all the fragrant and smelly things around him for you!"

It was autumn noon, and the sunlight flowed through the gaps in the curtains with a gentle breeze, rippling and spreading down. It coated her delicate features with a faint warm color. Therefore, although Wang Xifeng frowned and looked pretty with a sinister expression, she did not appear cold at all but instead revealed a unique charm.

Sun Shaozong spread his hands and said innocently, "You have wronged me, Sister-in-Law. Since we had a misunderstanding, we have never fought head-on. Even if I have magic, I can't decline Second Brother Lian's enthusiasm yesterday. I even thought that you remembered the family relationship we had and said a few good words on my behalf."

Upon hearing him mention *'past relations,'* Wang Xifeng immediately remembered what had happened during the big fuss. She wouldn’t want to remember it at all, but the more she tried to forget, the more she couldn't resist thinking about it.

Therefore, upon hearing these words of *"past relations,"* her mind was filled with various embarrassing situations, even more enchanting than what Sun Shaozong had personally experienced.

So on Wang Xifeng's golden cheeks, two more rosy clouds immediately flew up, staring with her triangular eyes and spitting fiercely, "Who has any past affection for you?! If you dare to spray feces all over your mouth, be careful, and I'll tear up your stinky mouth!"

The intense reaction was beyond Sun Shaozong's expectations.

He was taken aback for a moment before distinguishing, "What's so exciting about it, Second Sister-in-Law? I mean the bond of getting together to do business."

He took out two silver bills from his sleeve, shook them open, and shook them at Wang Xifeng. With an innocent expression on his face, he said, "Is this white silver not worth it?"

Seeing that the bill was marked with the words *"20,000 taels of silver"*, Wang Xifeng's embarrassment on her face suddenly disappeared into silence.

Since the audit last autumn, she has lost most of her income in the past year, and she has to work hard to maintain the demeanor of being the head of the household. The ups and downs were not understandable to outsiders.

Therefore, in Wang Xifeng's eyes, these 20,000 taels of silver were like a long drought of rain. Without any hesitation, she instinctively took two steps forward and extended five fingers like green onions, ready to hold the silver in his hand.

Sun Shaozong quickly withdrew his hand and said sternly, "According to the rules of buyers and sellers, this silver should not have been given. It's just that I understand your difficulties and asked my brother to advance 20,000 taels. Even if you don't remember this relationship, at least you should pay attention to my hard work."

Although he didn't mention Ping'er in a word, the meaning inside was clear and straightforward.

Wang Xifeng's delicate body stiffened, and a hint of anger flashed on the lotus powder, followed by a hint of hesitation and reluctance.

As Sun Shaozong gazed at her pair of red phoenix eyes, fixed on the silver, he felt confident in his chances of winning. Suddenly, Wang Xifeng chuckled and covered her mouth, saying, "I never thought that Ping'er had caught the eye of Erlang. At least we are a master-servant, so I'll help her."

Sun Shaozong was overjoyed and quickly bowed to the end, saying, "Thank you very much..."

"Wait a minute!"

Unexpectedly, Wang Xifeng shook her head and said, "Although I am willing to let go of her, I really can't do without her by my side. Erlang, please allow me some time. When I find someone who can replace Ping'er, it won't be too late for you two to stay together for a long time."

As she spoke, she gave a blessing, "I'm afraid our Old Lady should have enough rest. I need to quickly go and support them."

Watching her turn around and walk out of Xiaocui Hall, Sun Shaozong lowered his head and looked at the silver note in his hand. He couldn't help but regret that he had acted too hastily, revealing Ping’er’s importance to him.

Now that Wang Xifeng was leaving with a calm heart, it was not that she wanted to give up these 20,000 taels of silver, but that she has consciously grasped Sun Shaozong's shortcomings and no longer needed to bargain with him for these two silver note.

If Sun Shaozong guessed correctly, before leaving Rongguo Mansion, Wang Xifeng would arrange for Ping'er to come and demand these two silver note from him.

If any further conditions were proposed at that time, it would put Ping’er in a difficult position.

***Sigh~***

*Wrong, really wrong!*

It was too late to regret now, but fortunately, there was still Jia Lian to rely on. In the future, he could find opportunities to insinuate him, and see what his intentions were for getting close to him. Then, wait for an opportunity to win over Ping’er.

After comforting himself for a while, Sun Shaozong also followed the curtain into the courtyard, only to see a tall and robust woman whispering something to Jia Baoyu.

"Siqi?"

Sun Shaozong was puzzled and said, "Why are you here when you're not waiting by my Sister-in-law's side?"

Siqi quickly stepped forward to report, "Originally, my Madam wanted to return to the Sun Mansion with Second Master this afternoon, but unexpectedly, the Old Eldest Master suddenly twisted his foot..."

***Tch!***

Focusing on avoiding this place of right and wrong, the impact of this matter was overlooked.

Jia She just injured his leg and foot. Even if the injury was not very serious, Jia Yingchun, as a daughter, has no reason to just pat her buttocks and leave.

In this way, he really has to spend the night in the Grand View Garden.

Since he was not in a hurry to leave, Sun Shaozong simply collapsed and accompanied Old Lady Jia to enjoy the autumn scenery of the lake in the garden.

The crowd first bustled out of the Qiushuang Pavilion and walked to the dock called Xingyezhu. They saw two Tang wood-painted boats already waiting on the shore, with four Suzhou drivers standing at the bow and stern of the boats, all dressed in tight and short clothes, barefoot, showing a charming appearance.

Sure enough, the most beautiful scenery in this Grand View Garden was the group of women imprisoned inside.

Old Lady Jia, Old Madam Wang, Aunt Xue, Grandma Liu, and other elderly people all joined the first painted boat, with Li Wan and Wang Xifeng as daughters-in-law closely following and serving them.

After others boarded the ship, they sat in the cabin, except for Wang Xifeng, who showed off her strength and stood at the bow of the boat, clamoring to support the boat with the boatman.

Old Lady Jia hurriedly said in the cabin, "This is not the time to be naughty. Although our pond is not as deep as a big river, it is still about ten feet deep!"

Feng’er refused to give up and said, "Don't worry, just rest assured." She pushed the pole hard towards the shore and saw the painted boat slowly sailing into the pool with layers of waves.

As Sun Shaozong watched her swaying along with the boat, a pair of ripe waves that were even more turbulent than the water, he quickly stared at her fiercely, thinking it was to make up for the debt he had just suffered.

Unfortunately, Wang Xifeng quickly gave up her plan to support the boat and sat back in the cabin honestly.

Sun Shaozong could only reluctantly withdraw his gaze and follow Jia Baoyu onto the boat behind him.

As all the young girls on this ship had not yet been married, Sun Shaozong didn't want to be like Baoyu, shamelessly squeezing in and taking advantage of it. Therefore, he sat upright in the clean spot at the stern of the ship, pretending to be a moral gentleman.

It was now the end of August, and most of the lotus leaves in the pond had already withered. With a dazzling array of ruins, the scenery on the shore, no matter how beautiful, lacked a third of its artistic conception.

Jia Baoyu couldn't help but complain, "These broken lotus leaves are hateful. Why don't people pull them out?"

Xue Baochai smiled and replied, "Since we moved into this garden, where did the sisters let this pond be idle for a day? Strolling around every day, is there still time for someone to tidy up here?"

Lin Daiyu sneered as she was still angry with Jia Baoyu, "I don't like Li Yishan's poetry the most. I only like his line *'leave the lotus to listen to the sound of rain,'* but some ordinary people insist on pulling it out."

Jia Baoyu saw that it was her words, and his bones were already two taels lighter. He quickly nodded and said, "Indeed, it's a good sentence. We'll keep it from now on!"

Unexpectedly, Lin Daiyu felt even more disinterested when she saw him being submissive, so she turned her head and stopped looking at him. She also saw Sun Shaozong sitting at the stern of the ship, and curiously asked, "I heard that the Crown Princess once sang a poem about the lotus, preparing for the magnificent summer scenery of the Crown Prince's Residence, but I don't know in Second Brother Sun's opinion, the scenery of the Crown Prince's Residence is better, or is this..."

Before she could finish asking, Xue Baochai hurriedly pushed her and then smiled and said, "Before the Crown Princess got married, she was a talented woman in the Capital. Regardless of the scenery, this talent alone is beyond our sisters *'reach.’*"

This Xue family girl was really cautious and refused to fall into the trap at all.

Sun Shaozong also smiled and said, "The Crown Princess has both virtue and talent. Not to mention you ladies, but even the several important officials in charge of investigating the case have great respect for the Crown Princess."

With respect in his mouth, but what came to his mind was the black and purple combination of things in the wardrobe, laced and charming, which truly complemented each other.

Upon hearing them mention the Crown Princess, Jia Baoyu couldn't help but show off, saying, "The Crown Princess' maiden name is Sun. She once shared the same literary and martial arts skills as the sister of the Wei family and was also known as the Twin Gentlemen of the Capital. I remember when the Crown Princess got married, all the scholars in the Capital sighed and choked..."

During the conversation, two cruise ships had already docked on the shore. When Sun Shaozong looked up, he saw that the Hengwu Garden, which was not far ahead and was hidden by a huge stone.

***Tch!***

It seemed that the Old Lady had not made up her mind whether to choose Lin Daiyu or Xue Baochai as her Granddaughter-in-law, so she went to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion and visited Hengwu Garden, so as not to favor one over the other.

It wasn't until the Old Lady climbed the hillside with everyone around her that the painted boat behind could just lean against the shore. Without waiting for the boatman to set up a springboard, Sun Shaozong jumped out of the boat and pulled the rope to secure the boat.

As soon as he raised his waist, he saw a servant running over like a flying servant. He bowed uncontrollably and said, "I dare to ask, is my Second Madam here?"

Jia Baoyu happened to jump down with him and couldn't help but wonder, "Why are you looking for Second Sister-in-law? Has something happened in the front yard?"

"That’s not it, Uncle Bao."

The servant hurriedly said, "It's not a matter of our mansion, it's someone from the town government who sent someone to report the funeral. It's their family's Old Lord who has passed away!"