Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 248: A Princess's Hospitality

As a eunuch beside the queen, he had an extremely superior status in front of the female members of the family and did not give anyone else any face. So Chen Ju started looking for Lin Daiyu in the hall.

"Meet Eunuch Chen."

Lin Daiyu stood up and bowed, her dignified and elegant temperament was revealed.

Chen Ju looked in the direction of the voice, his brows instantly relaxed, and he stepped forward to greet her, "I haven't seen you for three years, so you have changed a lot. It's not our fault that I can't recognize you."

When he approached Lady Jia, Chen Ju nodded, which was considered as giving face to the host.

Lin Daiyu lowered her head slightly, "You are too polite, sir."

Chen Ju looked around and saw that Lin Daiyu's eyes seemed to be filled with tears. His brows furrowed and he asked, "Just now when I came in, I saw a boy going out. Did he run into the hall?"

"It's fine if it's just a boy in this inner chamber, but how can a boy wander around like that?"

Chen Ju raised his voice in a shrill voice and swept the women of the Jia family with his eyes like knives, forcing them all to bow their heads.

"If you are wronged, go to the palace later and the Queen will take care of it for you!"

The word "Palace" was emphasized so heavily that not only did Mrs. Wang look terrified, but even Lady Jia's eyelids trembled.

The title of Rongguo Mansion was inherited, but the actual position was only a fifth-rank official for the current second master Jia Zheng.

Although he was favored on the surface and had been granted the highest official position by patronage, he was far away from the political center and had no real power.

If the Jia family wants to regain its glory and raise its status again, the most hope is to rely on Yuanchun in the palace.

Now that Yuanchun has gone to Kunning Palace to work as a maid, she has some status in the harem and is no longer the most lowly maid.

Moreover, working beside the queen is one of the most prestigious jobs, which greatly increases the number of times one can appear in front of the emperor.

Only by meeting the emperor can one have a chance of advancement in the harem.

Therefore, all the hopes of the Jia family were placed on Jia Yuanchun.

But in the harem, there were many dangers and murders were never bloody. Jia Yuanchun now had a jealous position, so naturally it would not be easy at the beginning.

The Jia family could not help in the first place, but now, because of this small matter, it would involve the palace and even make the Queen dislike it, and it would drag down Jia Yuanchun. How could the women of the Jia family bear it?

It would have been fine if Chen Ju hadn't spoken, but once he opened his mouth he hit the Jia family's soft spot.

Jia Yuanchun was Lady Wang's eldest daughter. She was still dreaming of being a royal relative, so she quickly said, "You are too kind, eunuch. Yu'er is our relative, and they are brothers and sisters. They are familiar with each other, just like children. They just chatted for a while after not seeing each other for a long time."

Mrs. Wang looked at Lin Daiyu almost pleadingly, hoping that she could smooth things over.

Grandmother Jia could no longer sit still and said, "What the father-in-law said is right. It is because we were not disciplined enough that we allowed that little evildoer to come to the hall and offend the women of the other families. We will definitely discipline him strictly in the future to maintain a good family tradition."

Saying "little evildoer" was the harshest insult that Grandmother Jia could utter to Baoyu, and her heart ached. But for the sake of the Jia family, she had to bow her head.

Looking at Lin Daiyu again, Grandmother Jia also pleaded, "Yu'er, you are kind-hearted, you won't bear grudge against your brother. Besides, he has no ill intentions. If he really disturbed you, the lady has just told you about her anger. This is a matter between our family, there is no need to make a fuss in the palace."

The two were very close to each other, and Grandmother Jia begged Lin Daiyu in a low voice, so others could not hear clearly. Only the princesses of the nearby royal palaces could hear a few words, and they could not help but sigh inwardly.

The Jia family is now so weak in reality that even the old lord of the Jia family has to beg for a younger generation.

Everyone must sigh that it is true that a new emperor chooses new ministers, and even those who are favored by the royal family are divided into different levels.

Now that Lin Daiyu can actually get along with the Queen, she becomes the person these female relatives want to flatter, even more than Lady Jia who sits high up.

Lin Daiyu's mind was not malicious, and she came to pay her respects to her grandfather, nor did she come to steal the show or show off. She also did not want to embarrass her elders. She just wanted to teach Jia Baoyu a lesson, so she nodded and said, "Don't worry, grandma, Yu'er knows her limits."

Grandmother Jia said happily: "Okay, that's good."

Chen Ju was no longer interested in watching these women perform, and asked again, "Miss Lin, the Queen wants to see you, please come with us."

"Please wait a moment, sir. I have something else to tell you."

Chen Ju nodded and stood aside, "Okay, then you finish talking and we'll go."

Then Lin Daiyu found another beautiful girl in the hall and whispered to her, "Sister Bao, the maid who just suffered for the lecher has been implicated. If she really ends up with a miserable end, I will feel very sorry for her. Sister Bao should have the same idea as me."

"After I leave, you must save her first. Don't let her commit suicide because of that useless man." Lin Daiyu is a flower lover and she can't bear to see the flowers wither. She also sympathizes with Qingwen.

Xue Baochai nodded and said, "Okay, sister, go ahead and don't worry. I'll take care of things here."

Lin Daiyu smiled, stood up, greeted the other female relatives, and then followed Chen Ju out.

At this moment, all the women in the families had to stand up and see her off. If there were other people present, they would definitely think that the little girl walking first was a person of some noble rank.

"Go back to the palace!"

The golden-roofed palace sedan wobbled out of the door, and the women of the Jia family all breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the backs of the people leaving the palace, the women from each family couldn't help but whisper to each other.

"The Empress really dotes on Miss Lin. Even the eunuchs in charge of the palace rode in front to lead the way, and she was the only one sitting in the sedan chair."

"This is not pampering, it's more like welcoming a princess into the palace."

"..."

Seeing how Lin Daiyu was treated, everyone couldn't help but be amazed, but they couldn't envy her, so they had to go back to the hall and sit down.

Mrs. Wang led everyone to sit together and breathed a sigh of relief. She then saw Xue Baochai sitting beside her, drinking tea calmly and leisurely, fanning herself with her hands from time to time, looking quite leisurely. She immediately became a little angry.

Mrs. Wang had already suspected that Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu had colluded to embarrass Jia Baoyu. She could not help but curse in her heart: "Lin Daiyu has the queen as her backer, who does your backer have? If she can't be provoked, she can't punish you either."

Madam Wang raised her eyebrows, but after taking a breath, she concealed her feelings and said calmly, "We were just talking about the Xue family. Now the eldest daughter of the Xue family is here, so it's a good opportunity for her to make a decision."

As soon as these words were spoken, the women of each family were separated from the matter that had just occurred with Lin Daiyu.

Today, Fengzihao is the most famous business in the capital, and the goods in its shop are in short supply. Only the members of Fengzihao can guarantee the demand, while other shops have to send servants to queue up with ordinary people.

Being treated like common people already made them feel a little embarrassed, and what was even more infuriating was that sometimes they couldn't even buy it back.

For example, the plum-shaped snowflake candy sold in the capital not long ago is just a piece of candy, but it is so hard to get one that it is comparable to jewelry.

After visiting the Jia family, it would be great to get some benefits for oneself. The female members of the family all turned their eyes to Xue Baochai.

Aunt Xue shuddered when she heard the voice. She felt that her sister was very dissatisfied with Baochai. She felt like she wanted to vent all her anger on Xue Baochai, so she directed the spearhead in the room at her.

After all, she was her own daughter. Aunt Xue coughed and reminded her, "Precious girl, your aunt is talking about increasing the number of Fengzi members. This is not a big deal. Can you give us an explanation?"

Xue Baochai stood up and bowed, then smiled and said, "I have heard about your love for Feng brand before, and I am very grateful for your support. As for the membership, 'a country has its own laws, and a family has its own rules'. There are also rules in doing business."

"If a rule is broken, there will be many new members in the future. Members are scarce. If we give you a backdoor, it will be detrimental to the Xue family's business and also a loss of trust."

After Xue Baochai's speech, the faces of the women in each family were all gloomy.

We are a family of nobles, and we gave your merchant family some face, and you even tried to reason with us in the hall. How could they, who already think highly of themselves, accept this?

Mrs. Wang was secretly delighted. She thought the little girl was ignorant of worldly affairs and stubborn, so she continued to stir up trouble, saying, "It's just a matter of money. We are a noble family with deep friendship. How can we not help with such a small matter? You are in charge of the Xuejiafeng brand now. Isn't everything just a matter of your word?"

Xue Baochai nodded slightly, "It is precisely because I am in charge that I should set an example, so that the rules can be clearly seen and the atmosphere can be clean and upright. All actions are in accordance with the rules of etiquette, and those who work below will naturally follow my example, like the bright moon hanging in the sky, surrounded by stars."

"It is a simple principle that what the superiors do is what the subordinates should follow. However, it is the key to managing a family and the foundation for the prosperity of a family. Some people tend to neglect it."

There were hints of what happened to Baoyu in everything they said, and the faces of the women in the various families became more colorful, as if they were just enjoying the show rather than blaming Xue Baochai.

Not only Lin Daiyu, but even Xue Baochai did not lose to Mrs. Wang in the hall. She even argued with her and criticized her secretly, which was really a big show for everyone to watch.

Mrs. Wang was so angry that her body trembled. She never expected that the Xue family, whom she had invited for help, would turn against her first. The eldest daughter of the Xue family was so disrespectful to her that she even humiliated her in the hall.

But what Xue Baochai said was so correct that Mrs. Wang couldn't open her mouth to refute her. If she did, it would seem as if she was taking it personally.

With no other choice, Mrs. Wang had to use a trick to escape and then turn the topic to the membership issue.

"You are the only family in the house that is a merchant, and we don't understand economics either. You have your own reasons, but you can't ignore human feelings, right?"

"If you don't know how much you have helped your Xue family, you can ask your mother. You can't forget the old friendship just because the Xue family is prosperous today."

(End of this chapter)