Chapter Fifty-six

  Jia Xun listened to Lai Da's narrative and couldn't help but feel both amused and annoyed. What was amusing was... his own family's 'fake gentleman' second brother and that 'fake kind-hearted' second sister-in-law, unexpectedly suffered a stroke of bad luck; with just one slight fall, they both ended up fainting.

  Hehe... Should I say that Jia Zheng and Wang Shi are really unlucky? Or should I say that my own luck has improved a bit, after this incident, Jia She truly believed me; the heavens today are indeed on my side.

  "Old Master, Old Master; How should the slave go back to the old lady today?" Lai Da called back the distracted Jia Zhen and then carefully asked for his opinion.

  "Cough, cough..." Jia Zhen suppressed the smile in his heart and cleared his throat before saying: "I'm telling you, Lai Da, you're really getting more and more foolish with age; do you still need to come ask me about such things? Of course, I'll tell the truth, hoping that Old Lady will take into consideration that Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law didn't mean to cause trouble and spare them some punishment; don't be too angry."

  Lai Da was taken aback by his own master's words, and hesitated for a moment... Was it his misconception? Or was he being overly cautious? Lai Da always felt that his own master seemed to have some ulterior motive.

  Although the master has already spoken, Lai Da naturally had to comply; at this point, Lai Da bowed to Jia Zheng and said: "Since that's the case, I'll go back and report to Old Madame first, so she won't worry while waiting in Rongxi Hall; as for Second Master and Second Mistress, please trouble yourself, sir, to take care of them a bit more."

  "Alright, you can go now!"

  Jia Zhen smiled and nodded: "Don't let the old lady wait too long, I'll take care of Er Bao and his wife as their older brother; there's no need for you to mention this."

  Jia Zheng and his wife had also woken up at this hour, but they were still dazed from just waking up. Both of their heads were spinning, and neither was fully awake yet.

  However, Jia She and Lai Da's conversation was clearly heard by Jia Zheng and his wife Wang Shi; who let Jia She speak loudly because he was happy in his heart. Coincidentally, where Jia She and Lai Da were standing was right at the door of Jia Zheng and Wang Shi's house, making it difficult for them to pretend they hadn't heard anything.

  "Alright, I'll go and pass on the message to Old Madam first." Lai Da thought it would be better for him to go see Old Madam first and tell her about the situation with Second Master and Second Madam.

  "Go!"

  Jia Zhen hurried to Rongguo Hall early in the morning, wanting to see his own mother who was biased towards him; would she still favor her second son and daughter this time?

  Jia Zheng naturally wanted to go with Madame Wang to apologize to the old lady in person, which might reduce the old lady's anger and not affect himself.

  "Big brother, you really are a good big brother to me!" Jia Zheng said with a dark face and gritted teeth to Jia She. Ever since the last time Jia She had taken advantage of him in the matter of adding dowry for Jia Min, Jia Zheng had been resentful towards Jia She to the point of death.

  Hmph... This time it's a mix of old and new grudges, Jia Zheng's heart is increasingly filled with resentment and jealousy towards Jia She.

  Jia Yuanchun was quite familiar with pretending to be crazy and silly; he directly ignored Jia Zheng's provocation.

  "Second brother!" Jia She said to Jia Zheng with a sigh: "The eldest brother really didn't think of it, and second brother's body is actually so weak; this matter is the eldest brother's negligence. When he returns, the eldest brother will let his elder sister send some good medicine to you and your younger siblings."

  Jia Zhen took shamelessness to the extreme, fearing that Jia Zheng and Wang Shi would not be angry enough; he continued: "Second brother, tell second sister not to worry about wasting money, this is a matter of life and death; if second brother's financial situation is really inconvenient, older brother has several tens of taels of silver that can be taken out; when the time comes, second brother needs it, just speak up and let me know; as an older brother, I will not be stingy."

  Jia Zheng was choked by Jia Yue's few words, his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys... all aching, really making him feel suffocated to death; A severe gasping sound of 'hēi hēi' came out from Jia Zheng's throat, it was clear that Jia Zheng was choked by Jia Yue.

  Wang finally woke up with great difficulty, but after hearing Jia Zhen's nonsense that could kill people, Wang fainted again with a "thud".

  Wang's fainting spell suddenly made Jia Zheng feel envious of his own foolish wife; it would be great to faint... if she fainted, she wouldn't have to face her mother-in-law's wrath. Jia Zheng also wanted to follow Wang and faint together. Unfortunately, Jia Zheng's physical strength was much stronger than Wang's, so even if he wanted to faint, it wasn't his turn.

  Jia Yu's mood was exceptionally good, and he gazed up at the sky... why was it so blue? Jia Yu felt that these recent days were simply his lucky days. Seeing Jia Zheng eating alone, if not for the wrong time and place, Jia Yu really wanted to let out a few wolf-like howls.

  It's just a pity that Rong Xi Tang is too busy to leave at the moment, and there's no way to see it, which is really a pity. However, Jia Xue believes that Jia Min will not disappoint herself, she will definitely make sure to trample on the fallen dog thoroughly.

  After all, compared to Jia Min, Jia Zheng and Wang Shi are really not on the same level; as long as Jia Min is around, Old Lady Jia's heart will always be biased and have nothing to say.

  To put it simply, if Jia Yu and Mrs. Xing are compared to Jia Zheng and Wang Shi individually, then Jia Zheng and Wang Shi are absolutely superior. However, once Jia Min is compared with Jia Zheng and Wang Shi, there is no doubt that the couple will lose, and Jia Min will naturally win!

  Rongxi Hall!

  Mrs. Jia was speaking softly and persuading Jia Min, who had just barely stopped crying; Lai Da arrived.

  "Old Madam!" Lai Da stood respectfully in front of Old Madam Jia with his head bowed.

  Mrs. Jia's expression was faint at this moment, making it impossible for people to guess what she was thinking in her heart.

  "Lai Da, why are you the only one here? Where's Er Ge and his wife? Are they taking me for a fool, thinking I'm just a decoration?"

  At first, Mrs. Jia's expression was still calm, but as the conversation went on, her anger grew, and with a loud "crash", a fine Qinghua teacup became a casualty, brushing past Lai Da's ear.

  Lai burst into tears, his face contorted in grief. At this moment, he couldn't even care about the searing pain on his cheek; He hastily knelt down with a 'thud': "Old lady, please calm down, when I passed by the second master's house just now; The second master's side was already in chaos, according to what the maids and servants said; When the second master and the second mistress were about to leave, they accidentally bumped their heads on the couch; Both the second master and the second mistress fainted."

  Lai Da was worried that Mrs. Jia would vent her anger on him, so he hastily told her everything he knew in a coherent order; Lai Da was afraid that Mrs. Jia wouldn't believe him, so he added another sentence at the end.

  "Old lady, if you don't believe what I'm saying, you can have someone go and invite the master to come over; he's still over there taking care of the second master."

  Lai's words stunned Mrs. Jia, and even Jia Min, who was in a bad mood, was also taken aback.

  Mrs. Jia slightly furrowed her brow, and with a look of incredulity asked: "Lai Da, are you really certain it's the Old Master who is taking care of the Second Master?"

  "This is the truth, all the servants in the mansion can testify; even if I, a humble servant, were to borrow courage from heaven, I wouldn't dare deceive you, Old Madam!" Lai Da said with an oath.

  Jia Min had always gotten along well with Jia Zhen and his sister, and at this moment she couldn't help but let out a soft sigh as she said: "Auntie, although big brother is a bit unconventional in his daily life; however, towards us younger siblings he has always been quite good, especially to me, his little sister."

  Upon hearing her own precious daughter constantly speaking well of Jia Yuanchun, Old Lady Jia chimed in: "Hmmm...my child, this older brother of yours is indeed a very good one; you siblings being able to get along harmoniously makes your mother feel at ease too; even when we pass on, there will be someone with a good reputation for your father to meet."

  Jia Min heard what Old Lady Jia said and couldn't help but say with a hint of resentment, "Madam, it's just a pity that not everyone in this household treats their daughter like a sister."

  "Min'er, what do you mean..." Old Lady Jia hesitated a little.

  Originally, Old Lady Jia had indeed intended to make peace with her daughter-in-law, and if there was anyone in the Rongguo Mansion who understood Old Lady Jia best, it would have to be Jia Min.

  Jia Min's slightly red and swollen eyes flashed with a cold light, she rolled her lips and said bluntly: "Although the lady says that this is an unexpected encounter, I really don't believe it; Is there really such a coincidence in this world? Why did you faint at this time? Why did you faint just when my husband and I were passing by?"

  "And isn't it so coincidental? Two people fainting together at the same time? Do you think this is just a coincidence, madam?" Jia Min said bluntly.

  "Hmph... Wang, you're really asking for it! Since you won't give me any face, don't think you'll have an easy time either!" Jia Min thought to herself, seething with anger, and she couldn't help but want to grab Wang right then and there and take a few bites out of her.