The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 173 Lin Daiyu Enters Rongguo Mansion

Just as Tu Chengyu returned to the palace, Lin Daiyu also arrived at the Jia family mansion.

Compared to Tu Chengyu, who had to enter the palace early in the morning, the two of them were a bit slower, and it wasn't until after dawn that they entered the city with the help of the Jia family.

The timeframe is roughly equivalent to when Tu Chengyu first met the Emperor Emeritus.

It could be because of Tu Chengyu, or for other reasons.

In this world, Lin Daiyu received more attention when she entered the Jia family mansion.

The first change was that the people sent to greet them outside the city were no longer just a few maids and servants to get by.

This time, the two Jia families sent Jia Rong, a junior head of the household, along with Lin Zhixiao, the head steward of the Jia family, to greet them.

Afterwards, they arrived at the Jia Mansion. Although they also entered through the southwest gate, when they turned the corner to change the sedan chair bearers in the front courtyard of the Jia Mansion,

Standing here, leading her maids and servants, was none other than Wang Xifeng.

If Tu Chengyu were to witness this scene, he would surely be quite surprised.

Because in Tu Chengyu's previous life's memories, Wang Xifeng didn't appear until the very end.

Many people also use this passage to prove that the Jia family did not welcome Lin Daiyu as much as it seemed on the surface, at least not that Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng valued her.

But now everything has changed. The late-arriving Wang Xifeng will never appear again; in her place will be the smiling Lian Ersaozi.

Lin Daiyu entered through the side door, and when the sedan chair stopped, she saw Wang Xifeng.

However, Lin Daiyu did not know Wang Xifeng yet. Judging from her clothes, manners, and behavior, she was definitely not a servant in the mansion.

So she prepared to alight from the sedan chair to pay her respects. Upon seeing this, Wang Xifeng quickly stepped forward and stopped Lin Daiyu, saying:
"Sister, you mustn't do that. The front yard is full of lowly servants. It's not too late to greet them when we get to the back yard."

When you come to someone else's territory, Lin Daiyu naturally has to abide by their rules.

She didn't get out of the sedan chair, but just looked at Wang Xifeng through the gap in the curtains.

At this moment, she didn't know how to address Wang Xifeng, so she didn't know how to answer for a moment.

As one of those accompanying Lin Daiyu to the capital, Jia Lian was naturally present. Upon seeing the situation, he quickly said:
"This is your second sister-in-law, Lian."

Only then did Lin Daiyu realize that the person in front of her was Jia Lian's wife, and her second aunt's niece.

Knowing who it was, she whispered, "Greetings, Second Sister-in-law. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Seeing Lin Daiyu's politeness, Wang Xifeng laughed and said:

“We’re all family, sister, why are you being so polite?”

After saying that, she continued, "The old lady got up early this morning to wait when she heard that my sister was coming, and she must be getting impatient by now. It's more important to see the old lady now."

After saying that, she waved her hand, signaling the servants waiting in the inner courtyard to come up and lift the sedan chair again.

Then, led by Jia Lian and his wife and Jia Rong, and surrounded by a group of maids and servants, the sedan chair was carried to a hanging flower gate in the middle courtyard.

Upon arriving here, the sedan chair was lowered once more, and the servants who carried it left cleanly and efficiently, leaving only some maids and old women to guard the area.

Upon seeing this, Lin Daiyu knew they had arrived at their destination, and she got off the sedan chair.

After she came down, Wang Xifeng went up to her affectionately and took Lin Daiyu's hand in hers.

"Sister, come with me."

Although Lin Daiyu was very uncomfortable with being held by a stranger's hand, she did not think of trying to break free.

And so Wang Xifeng led Lin Daiyu through the hanging flower gate, past the connecting corridor, through the hall, and into the main courtyard of the backyard.

What came into Lin Daiyu's view were five main rooms, surrounded by carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and side rooms on both sides.

At this moment, several pretty maids dressed in red and green stood under the eaves of the main house. When they saw Wang Xifeng entering with a young girl, they knew that Lin Daiyu had arrived.

Several of them rushed up to greet her, saying happily as they walked, "The old lady was just talking about it, and here we are!"

Besides the greeters, three or four maids rushed forward to lift the curtain of the main room and called out inside:
"Miss Lin has arrived."

Wang Xifeng pulled Lin Daiyu and went straight into the main room. As soon as they entered, they saw two maids supporting an old lady with silver hair walking over.

Lin Daiyu knew without a doubt that the person in front of her was her maternal grandmother.

Upon seeing this, Lin Daiyu prepared to step forward to pay her respects, but was pulled into the arms of the old lady who had already come to greet her.

Then the old lady said a few words about her beloved daughter, and then hugged Lin Daiyu and cried.

The old lady's crying reminded Lin Daiyu of her own mother, and she began to cry as well.

Seeing the grandfather and grandson so heartbroken, those around them couldn't help but cover their faces and weep.

However, since today was a day for family to reunite, a happy occasion, people around them came forward to comfort them before they could cry for long.

After being persuaded, Lin Daiyu stepped forward to pay her respects to Grandmother Jia.

Next, Grandmother Jia introduced everyone in the room to Lin Daiyu one by one.

There was Madam Xing, the eldest maternal uncle's wife; Madam Wang, the second maternal uncle's wife; and Li Wan, the eldest sister-in-law of Zhu.

Then there are Jia Yuanchun, Jia Yingchun, and Jia Xichun.

Besides these women, there was also a cousin named Jia Baoyu with a large face in the room.

With the introduction of Grandmother Jia, Lin Daiyu greeted each of these people.

Among these people, Lin Daiyu paid special attention to two people.

One of them is Jia Yuanchun, the eldest cousin, who looks cold and aloof, and doesn't like to talk or smile.

When I greeted them earlier, I only managed a forced smile, and then stood quietly to the side without saying a word, as if I didn't want to interact with anyone.

The other one was her cousin with a big face. It wasn't that he left a special impression on Lin Daiyu, but she suddenly remembered that Tu Chengyu had mentioned this cousin to her.

Lin Daiyu remembered that once, while chatting on a boat, Tu Chengyu mentioned that her maternal grandmother's cousin had a very unique hobby.

When welcoming someone, he liked to throw his jade pendant to the ground. The harder he threw it, the more welcoming he was to that person.

Lin Daiyu certainly didn't believe this claim.

Did she know that Jia Baoyu's jade pendant was something he was born with and that everyone valued it highly? How could he just casually smash it to welcome someone?

Although she knew Tu Chengyu was talking nonsense, when Lin Daiyu saw Jia Baoyu, she couldn't help but take a few more glances at Jia Baoyu's jade pendant.

Jia Baoyu was very curious about Lin Daiyu, but since Lin Daiyu had just arrived and the adults in the mansion had not yet asked her any questions, he held back and did not speak.

However, when he saw Lin Daiyu's gaze repeatedly drifting towards the jade pendant on his chest, he could no longer restrain himself.

He spoke before his elders could even ask a question.

However, this time he didn't say that he had seen this younger sister before, but instead asked directly, "Sister Lin, do you also have jade?"

Lin Daiyu was baffled by the question, and the others were also confused as to why Baoyu would ask such a question.

Lin Daiyu thought he was going to show off his jade pendant to her, so she politely replied:

"I don't have that. I suppose that jade is a rare item, how could everyone have it?"

If it were an ordinary person, they would be happy to hear someone praise their work.

However, Jia Baoyu was no ordinary person. When he heard Lin Daiyu's words, he was not happy at all. Instead, he became delirious.

He ripped off the jade pendant hanging around his neck, raised his hand, and slammed it violently to the ground.

At the same time, he shouted, "What kind of rare thing is this? It doesn't even discriminate between people of different social statuses, and it even claims to be spiritual. I don't want this worthless thing anymore."

His smashing of the object startled everyone in the room, even Jia Yuanchun, who was usually cold and indifferent, became flustered.

Some people who were nearby quickly bent down to pick up the precious jade that had fallen to the ground, wanting to see if it was broken.

Grandmother Jia then hugged Jia Baoyu tightly and said with heartache, "You naughty child, it's easy for you to hit or scold people when you're angry, but why do you have to break your manhood?"

With tears streaming down his face, Jia Baoyu said, "None of my sisters and cousins ​​in the family have this. I said it was boring. Now that such a fairy-like younger sister has come, I still don't have this. It's clear that this isn't a good thing."

His outburst of anger forced everyone in the Jia family to temporarily set aside Lin Daiyu and gather around to coax him.

If Tu Chengyu hadn't mentioned this to Lin Daiyu beforehand, Lin Daiyu might have felt very wronged if she had suddenly encountered it.

But now, when he recalls Tu Chengyu's words, especially remembering Tu Chengyu's lifelike demonstration that day, he feels a surge of emotion.

It was remarkably similar to what had just happened, and even some of the words spoken were almost identical.

Thinking of this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but want to laugh.

However, she knew very well that this was not the time to laugh, so she could only cover her face with a handkerchief to hide her smile.

When Lin Daiyu suppressed her laughter and revealed her face...

The Jia family members, through some unknown means, had managed to appease Jia Baoyu.

However, after Jia Baoyu's antics, the atmosphere of family reunion had almost completely dissipated.

At this moment, Grandmother Jia also realized that she had been so busy coaxing Baoyu that she had neglected Lin Daiyu.

If Lin Daiyu were simply her granddaughter, Grandmother Jia might not have cared so much.

However, Daiyu still has the identity of Princess Su, which she cannot help but care about.

So he said, "Your brother is spoiled by your grandmother and has a bit of a temper, but he's still young, so don't take it to heart."

Lin Daiyu herself hadn't taken the matter to heart, and upon hearing this, she said:

"Why would I hold a grudge over such trivial matters?"

Seeing that Lin Daiyu didn't seem to care, Grandmother Jia was relieved.

Then, following up on the topic, she inquired about Daiyu's situation.

Lin Daiyu also gave a general account of her family's situation.

Then she chatted with the others for a few more minutes, just when Lin Daiyu felt that the conversation was almost over.

Jia Yuanchun, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly spoke:
"Sister Lin, I heard that San Yatou came back with you, but I haven't seen her come home."

Simply looking at this sentence, one might assume that Jia Yuanchun misses Jia Tanchun.

But now, paired with this cold tone, it gives people a very strange feeling.

Lin Daiyu didn't know why she had this strange feeling, but she simply said according to her own thoughts:
"I don't know the reason either. It must be because the palace rules are strict and Tan Chun can't come back for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Jia Yuanchun said, "Sister, you are the Princess Consort of Prince Su, can't you ask Prince Su to release San Yatou?"

San Ya Tou has been away from home for almost half a year, and her family misses her terribly. Doesn't San Ya Tou miss her family at all?

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu finally understood the strange thing. It turned out that her older cousin didn't want to see Tan Chun, but was taking this opportunity to badmouth Tan Chun in front of the family.

What Lin Daiyu couldn't understand was why she would bring this up in front of her. Did she want her to join her in criticizing Tan Chun?
Although she couldn't understand her actions, Lin Daiyu had spent so much time with Tan Chun, so naturally she was on Tan Chun's side.

So she said, "Sister Tan Chun naturally misses her family too. She kept talking to me about wanting to go home all the way here."

However, she is probably not in control of her own destiny now that she is in the palace.

Tan Chun's remark was indeed true, and Lin Daiyu also knew that Tu Chengyu was originally going back to the Jia family last night.

But later, for some reason, she didn't want to come back.

Upon seeing Lin Daiyu's response, Jia Yuanchun fell silent and reverted to her cold demeanor.

The Jia family members seemed unfazed by Jia Yuanchun's behavior and did not hinder them from continuing the previous conversation.

After exchanging a few more casual words, Grandmother Jia instructed Madam Xing and Madam Wang to take Lin Daiyu down to meet her two uncles.

Lin Daiyu followed them out, strolled around for a while, met her two uncles, and then returned to the place they had just been.

When she returned, most of the people at Grandmother Jia's place had already left.

Only Jia Baoyu remained, lingering in front of Grandmother Jia, wanting to talk to Lin Daiyu.

However, after what happened today, Lin Daiyu didn't want to say anything more, so she made an excuse that she was tired from traveling and wanted to rest.

Fortunately, the Jia family knew that Lin Daiyu was coming to the capital and had prepared a small courtyard for her in advance.

The house was cleaned and new bedding was put on, so Lin Daiyu could go and rest immediately.

Now that the room was ready, Lin Daiyu took her leave of Grandmother Jia and, led by a servant, went to her own courtyard.

What Lin Daiyu didn't know was that in another time and space, she didn't receive such good treatment.

After she arrived at the Jia family mansion, not only was her accommodation temporarily prepared, but even the place she lived in was vacated by Jia Baoyu.

Moreover, he still lived with Jia Baoyu in Grandmother Jia's room, and said that he would arrange other accommodations in the spring of the following year.

Although Grandmother Jia's arrangement may have been to allow Lin Daiyu to live in the same room with her, making it easier for the two to develop their relationship.

However, their perfunctory attitude is obvious.

Moreover, Lin Daiyu was, after all, Jia Baoyu's granddaughter. Although she was young, she should still be mindful of the difference between men and women. How could she live under the same roof as Jia Baoyu?

In the end, Grandmother Jia only felt sorry for Lin Daiyu, but she didn't necessarily pay much attention to her.

(End of this chapter)