Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 296 Jia Baoyu: How come there is another girl bewitched by Yue Ling?
After a long period of peaceful life, Grandmother Jia almost forgot who Yue Ling was.

In the past, whenever this name was mentioned, it would definitely bring bad luck. As a result, Yue Ling became a taboo name for Lady Jia. Once someone mentioned it in casual conversation, it would inevitably make Lady Jia unhappy.

At the moment, Yue Ling was far away in Jiangnan, and he was rarely mentioned in the room.

After hearing the Zhen family's crying and making such a fuss, Grandmother Jia was a little dazed for a while.

Everyone in the room looked at Grandmother Jia with embarrassment. Grandmother Jia's eyes were dull for a few breaths before she regained her composure. She first instructed Mrs. Wang in the hall, "Help the two ladies up. Guests are welcome. How can they kneel in the hall? If this gets out, people will laugh at our Jia family for not knowing etiquette."

Mrs. Wang and Li Wan walked into the hall together, helped the two ladies of the Zhen family to get up, and escorted them to the seats on the side.

The two wives of the Zhen family cried very hard, probably because something big had happened. Perhaps the statement about confiscating their property and destroying their entire clan was not an exaggeration.

The four words "confiscation of property and extermination of the clan" are even more taboo for Lady Jia, as she can't stand hearing this the most.

All Grandmother Jia wanted was a stable life. The Jia family was already a wealthy and powerful family, and she did not ask her descendants to be capable or to do more, making more mistakes, or doing less, making fewer mistakes.

Just like the Zhen family now, although they are very glorious outside as they are officials, and their fame in Jinling surpasses that of the four major families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue, they are still in prison now.

This further strengthened Lady Jia's current idea that it would be a good thing if the younger generation did not go out to work.

But if we talk about it, although the Zhen family has no title, they are really not inferior to the Jia family. Not to mention that they had welcomed the late emperor to the south many times and were trusted by him, their daughter married into the hereditary Prince of Beijing's Mansion as a concubine, and they also have connections in the palace with the Empress Dowager Sun.

Such a noble family, which seemed like a towering tree to outsiders, how could it end up with its property confiscated and its clan exterminated?
Could it be that Yue Ling could now easily overthrow such a family?
In his eyes, the Jia family is not much different from the Zhen family.

When she thought of this, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but tremble slightly. It was not that she didn't want to mention Yue Ling, but she really had some subconscious fear of this person.

But at this moment, as the person in charge of the palace, she still had to save face, so she insisted and asked, "Madams, don't worry. How could a family like ours end up with the confiscation of property and extermination so easily? The emperor's grace is great and his blessings are long-lasting. The current emperor is even more considerate of the old friendship and will show leniency to those who have made contributions. Why is it necessary to do this?"

Coming from Lady Jia's mouth, these words really make people believe them.

After all, the Jia family had once caused such a disaster, and the old master in the East Palace had even rebelled and led troops to besiege the Prince of Qin's Palace, but in the end he had a good end. Not only was the title of Ningguo Mansion continued, but in his later years, imperial doctors often came out of the palace to see him. It can be said that he enjoyed all the favors.

Although the Zhen family is not as famous as the Jia family in terms of military achievements, they have also made great contributions. Emperor Longyou values ​​old friendships so much, how could he just kill all the Zhen family?

Emperor Longyou was not such an emperor. If he were, even Yue Ling would have found it difficult to reach his current position.

After the two women from the Zhen family thought it through, they slowly stopped sobbing and explained the whole story to Lady Jia in the hall.

In fact, women may not really understand the reasons behind this, and most of them just hear it from others.

Moreover, they will unconsciously turn a blind eye and only talk about things that are beneficial to themselves. This is the nature of women like them in the family.

Jiang wiped the tears from her eyes and choked up, "Old Lady Shi, you don't know that the national treasury has been in serious deficit in recent years. His Majesty has issued an order to replace rice with mulberry, and to have the weaving bureau weave more silk and sell it to the foreigners at a high price."

"This is a good thing. It was well implemented in Hangzhou in the past two years. But now it cannot be implemented in Suzhou because there is a prefect in Suzhou who shirks responsibility and refuses to change the land."

"People say that he has private interests with the big silk producers and is afraid that the price of raw silk will fall if the fields are changed. But this is the national law after all, so there is no reason for my second master not to enforce it."

"Later, I heard that the prefect died in prison. But what happened in prison, how can we, who work for the palace, handle it? Even if he is guilty, it cannot be blamed on us. No matter what we do, we are all doing it for the emperor in the palace."

"But now, Marquis Anjing has taken all the people involved in this case to the prison for trial, and no one is allowed to visit them."

"In the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang province, except for Prime Minister Zhao in the government office, all the high-ranking officials from all parties have gathered in the prison. No one can do anything to Marquis Anjing."

"Hasn't this Marquis Anjing helped the Jia family several times before? He is also with the old lady's granddaughter. How can he be such a cold-hearted person? My old lady has been seriously ill because of this matter. She vomited blood three times. There is no other way, so we have come to the capital again to ask you for advice."

"Old Madam, our two families have been friends for generations. You, you can't just stand by and watch us die, right? Many of the twelve branches of the Jia family in our hometown have been taken care of by the Second Master. If this pillar falls, all of us will suffer."

The more Jiang spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. She fell into Hu's arms again and started sobbing.

After hearing these words, everyone's expression changed, and no one felt relaxed.

Yue Ling did have some friendship with the Jia family, but Hu also pointed out that the friendship was only based on the life-and-death friendship with the two old masters and his closeness to Lin Daiyu.

But both old masters are now dead, and even when they were alive, they had caused a big chaos.

And Lin Daiyu had never stayed in the mansion for a single night. Although she was Lady Jia's granddaughter, she was not close to him at all, let alone being able to establish a close relationship with Yue Ling.

Grandmother Jia's impression of Yue Ling was not good in the first place, which determined that the Jia family had a distant attitude towards Yue Ling. It was simply a fantasy to ask someone to give her leniency in an official matter.

Everyone looked a little embarrassed. Wang Xifeng observed their expressions and looked around. She felt a little sad. "The Jia family is very powerful outside. The two old masters' old subordinates are all over the nine borders. There are also relatives like An Jinghou and Lin Yushi. Even if they are weaker than before, they are not too weak. But now it seems that this is not the case at all. Could it be that the relationship between the Jia family and An Jinghou is not good?"

"When it comes to the matter of Marquis Anjing, the old lady's face has never relaxed. It seems that there is something else going on. The Jia family relies entirely on the influence of their ancestors, and these descendants are all useless."

Wang Xifeng secretly sighed and shook her head slightly, staring at the changes in the scene as if she was watching a show.

Such important matters outside were not something that women could discuss. Mrs. Wang and the others all kept silent and looked at Lady Jia's expression.

Now, all matters big and small in the Rongguo Mansion are shouldered by Grandmother Jia, and no one can interfere.

Now that the Zhen family has come to the door, it is difficult for the Jia family, as old friends, to refuse. But they also want to involve Yue Ling, a name that makes the Rongguo Mansion feel nervous at the mere mention of it. This puts them in a dilemma.

Grandmother Jia also thought deeply for a long time, and finally said slowly: "I also know what you said, but this involves prison, which is not a trivial matter."

"As an old woman, I always teach them to do as much as they can and not to be greedy, which would put them in trouble and disturb the peace of the family. The old lady in your family should also remind the younger generation from time to time."

"As for Yue Ling, we can also go and ask for his help, but I'm not sure whether it will work out. After all, his last name is Yue, not Jia. If he really married Yu'er, they might be closer, but now they are just distant relatives."

Hearing that Lady Jia had given in, Mrs. Hu hurriedly took advantage of the situation and said, "Since it's hard to talk to Marquis Anjing, can we find Lord Lin, the Imperial Censor of the Lianghuai Salt Inspection? Imperial Censor Lin is well-known in the local area, and his words must carry some weight. Besides, Lord Lin is the son-in-law of the Jia family, so he can be closer to them."

"Besides, there is also the Second Master of the Shi family. Didn't he also work with Marquis Anjing in Cangzhou?"

Hu's words inspired Grandmother Jia. Lin Ruhai was a law-abiding person with great courtesy. He would often send letters to his family in the capital to inquire about their well-being. Grandmother Jia was quite fond of this son-in-law who had won the third place in the imperial examination.

As the pillar of the Jia family outside, it couldn't be more appropriate.

He could be told about this matter, and as both were trusted ministers of Emperor Longyou, Lin Ruhai and Yue Ling had a close relationship. Perhaps he would become the son-in-law of the Lin family in the future, so throwing the problem away this time was a good idea.

Jia's mother pretended to be embarrassed, and after thinking deeply for a while, she slowly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's fine. I, an old woman, will also go out to help this time. Don't tell your old lady that I don't remember your kindness."

"Today I will write a letter and send a fast ship south to deliver it. Whether it succeeds or not, just don't blame me."

Hu and Jiang's faces turned happy, and they bowed to Grandmother Jia again and again, "The old Lord has a kind heart, how could he have any complaints? If we said anything bad about him in our hearts, we would be heartless."

Grandmother Jia smiled and shook her head, then sent someone to call Jia Lian to Rongqing Hall.

Jia Lian has a handsome figure and regular facial features. As a direct descendant of the Jia family, his appearance is quite outstanding.

After Grandmother Jia treated the eldest wife harshly, she also wanted to educate this grandson well. She allowed him to live in the main courtyard and even opened up a courtyard early on as his wedding room.

Now that Wang Xifeng is in the hall, Grandmother Jia wants to give him a chance to show up, and let the two people who are about to get engaged see each other again.

Jia Lian was wearing a royal blue satin gown today, and dark blue brocade trousers embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns. He had a white jade plate on his waist and a pair of deerskin boots on his feet. He looked clean and capable.

As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he attracted the attention of the women, including Wang Xifeng who was sitting behind him.

He enjoyed the gaze very much and politely bowed to everyone in the hall. Finally, his eyes fell on the girl who was going to marry him.

Originally, it was against the rules to meet before marriage, but since the two families were close, there was not so much taboo.

She wore a precious hairpin on her head, bright clothes, and was gentle and beautiful. She never spoke a word, but her pair of bright eyes really showed the demeanor of a Jiangnan girl, which made Jia Lian, who loved appearances, extremely happy.

I heard that the eldest daughter of the Wang family was very fierce and no one in the mansion dared to quarrel with her. Even the masters in the mansion could not do anything to her. Now it seems that she is not as vicious as the rumors said, which dispelled Jia Lian's worries.

At first, he had heard that it was Mrs. Wang who wanted to preside over her marriage to Jia Baoyu, but Grandmother Jia refused on the grounds that a younger brother should not marry before his older brother.

No matter how you look at it, you don't want the Wang family's daughter-in-law to occupy the entire second room.

Jia Lian didn't care about the gossip in the inner room. It was a good thing to give him such a beautiful daughter-in-law.

Of course, it would be better if she was not as jealous as the first wife, and then she could take in a few concubines. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Not to mention, the maid standing behind her is very pretty.

Jia Lian curled the corners of his mouth, bowed to Wang Xifeng, then turned to the main hall and stood up straight.

This scrutinizing look also glanced at Ping'er, which made Wang Xifeng see it all. She was really disgusted, but now she had practiced the art of not showing her emotions, so she still had a smile on her face.

But in her heart, she had already cursed this playboy a thousand times. "This kind of bastard, who hasn't even gotten married yet, is already greedy for more. Is he worthy of me?"

Jia Lian, of course, had no idea what Wang Xifeng was thinking, so he raised his hands and asked, "What is it that the old ancestor has summoned your grandson to come here for?"

Grandmother Jia is also a close relative of the previous generation. Although she doesn't like Jia She, she still loves Jia Lian.

After nodding slightly, Grandmother Jia said, "These two ladies of the Zhen family have something to ask of us. I have written a letter and you should give it to your uncle Lin. Don't delay. The sooner the better."

However, this kind of errands was not a big deal, so Jia Lian agreed without hesitation.

"I will go back and pack my luggage in a moment. Once the speedboat is ready, I will head south immediately. The two ladies can rest assured that they will not miss their business."

Mrs. Hu praised him repeatedly: "Well done, you are indeed a descendant of the Jia family, you are efficient in doing things. It would be great if Marquis Anjing could also recognize his relatives in this way."

Jia Lian was totally confused. Why did he mention Yue Ling for no reason?
When he thought of Yue Ling, his anus couldn't help but tighten, and two dark-skinned men in the dungeon of Prince Qin's Mansion seemed to appear before his eyes.

Jia Lian knew that Yue Ling was Lady Jia's Achilles' heel, so he looked over at him secretly. However, Lady Jia's expression remained unchanged and she was still friendly, which made Jia Lian a little unsure what was going on.

Just as Jia Lian was making groundless guesses, Grandmother Jia said, "Well, there is nothing for you to do here. Go and get ready. When you meet your uncle, don't forget to bring some gifts. Don't be impolite."

Jia Lian agreed repeatedly and then left the hall. Before leaving, he did not forget to glance at Wang Xifeng and smiled meaningfully. He thought he was very handsome and Wang Xifeng must have been fascinated by his demeanor.

But Wang Xifeng lost her appetite and vomited out the tea she had drunk. She spat in her heart and said, "You scoundrel, just smile for now. If you knew you were going to ask Yue Ling to do something for you, I wonder if you would still be able to smile."

Ping Erh trembled slightly behind her and whispered to Wang Xifeng, "Miss, why do I feel that what this Second Master Lian said is a little different from what our Third Master and Second Madam said?"

Wang Xifeng curled her lips and said, "Even Wang Po has to brag about herself when she sells melons. Just listen to what they say."

Ping Er was startled. She had never expected that Wang Xifeng knew exactly what was going on. However, as a maidservant who came with the dowry, if she were to marry into the Jia Mansion and recognize such a man as her master, she would probably have a hard time leading a happy life. She could not help but ask again, "Does the girl still agree to this marriage?"

Wang Xifeng took a sip of tea with a calm expression and said, "They just need to listen to what I say."

……

In Lady Wang's courtyard, in the three-room wing facing the front, Sanchun's room was also bustling with activity at this moment.

There was nothing interesting in the room originally, but recently the eldest wife brought a niece home. She was very pretty, and she could read and write, and could compose poetry.

This made Sanchun like it even more.

Originally, they all disliked the first wife because she was not as considerate as the second wife in her dealings with people, and she didn't care about the younger generations like them at all.

What's more, Yingchun was the illegitimate daughter of the eldest wife, but the first wife, as her mother, never cared about her, as if Yingchun didn't exist.

This made Sanchun's impression of him even worse.

At first they thought that the new girl had the same temperament as the first wife and was a snob, but after getting to know her for a while, they found that it was not the case at all.

She doesn't have the slightest air of a wealthy person, but is kind and peaceful, content with poverty and following the right principles. Even though she doesn't come from an outstanding family background and doesn't have much money, she always has her own standards in her heart and never tries to please others deliberately.

Sanchun liked people with this kind of temperament the most, who were indifferent and elegant, so she always invited her to be a guest.

Later, she learned from her that the eldest lady not only did not take care of her niece, but also withheld the monthly salary given by Lady Jia. They became even more united in their hatred of the enemy and invited her to visit more frequently.

This inevitably led to the news being heard by the devil in the room, Jia Baoyu.

Today, half a year has passed since Jia Baoyu recovered from the beating he received last time. He was originally bored in the garden, but when he heard that a new sister was coming, how could he miss him to join in the fun.

He went there uninvited and rushed all the way to Tanchun's room, where he saw the three sisters sitting around a girl, listening to her talking about family matters and the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River.

And the unfamiliar girl among them was indeed as the servants of the Jia family had said, with an outstanding appearance, and more like a lady from the Jia family.

This made Jia Baoyu extremely happy, and he hurried inside to join in the fun.

When Tanchun's maidservant Shishu saw Baoyu rushing in, she hurriedly stopped him and said, "Second Master Bao, Second Master Bao, please don't rush in. There are guests here today. It's not good to rush in like this. Have you forgotten what lesson you learned last time?"

Baoyu frowned and said, "You little girl, you are always disturbing other people's fun. This is a different time, and we are not in the hall now. Will Third Sister hold me accountable?"

"Don't bother me now. I want to arrest my third sister and bring her to justice today."

Now that Grandmother Jia is in charge, Jia Baoyu's status in the mansion has also risen. Now he is the apple of her eye, so the secretary can't say much, so she said submissively: "Then let me go and ask first whether the guest is willing."

Baoyu pushed the secretary aside and said, "She is the niece of the eldest lady, and we are all close relatives. How can she be considered a foreign guest? I am here to have fun today, and no one can stop me from having fun!"

Pushing aside the maid, Baoyu walked straight inside, and came up behind Tanchun in two steps. He pretended to be angry and said, "Third sister, you really did a good thing. You didn't even tell me that such a sister came to the mansion, and let you have fun alone."

"You don't know how boring I have been in my room these days."

Seeing that it was Baoyu who came, Sanchun also had a sisterly relationship with him, so she sent her maid to move a chair with him so that they could chat together.

But Baoyu did not sit down, but sat on the small stool next to Xing Xiuyun.

Xing Xiuyan was a gentle and weak person to begin with. When she bumped into a man in the inner curtain, she was startled. The man sat next to her without any sense of propriety, which made her even more unsure of what was going on.

Tanchun saw the embarrassment on Xing Xiuyan's face and introduced her, "Sister Yan, he is the little devil in the room, Brother Bao, whom I mentioned to you before."

Baoyu didn't like this title, frowned and said: "Third sister, you are really naughty, how can you introduce someone like this, won't you scare your sister away? Besides, how can I be a little devil? I don't think I am more evil than you. Why do women like to make achievements? I have said it many times, they are all traitors and ghosts, who are not worthy of being on the stage."

"Sister, please don't listen to her nonsense."

After looking Xing Xiuyun up and down, Baoyu was very pleased and found that her appearance and demeanor were not inferior to those of Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. He thought that there was finally a woman he could make close friends with.

Before this girl's mind was tainted by filth like Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, Baoyu made up his mind to warn her more and get closer to her.

As he thought about it, he said, "You look very familiar to me, sister. I feel as if I have seen you somewhere before. I will just treat you as an old acquaintance. Just call me Baoyu. May I know your name, sister?"

Tanchun burst out laughing, "You're still calling me sister, sister. Sister Yan is even older than Second Sister."

Baoyu blushed slightly. When he mentioned old acquaintance, he didn't even know the other person's age.

But he had been wearing rouge and powder all day, so he had developed a thick skin. He said with all his strength: "How can you tell that this sister is a few years older than me? I thought she was younger than the third sister."

The implicit suggestion that Tanchun was not as pretty as Xing Xiuyun made Tanchun pout, a little angry.

Baoyu sneered and tried to coax Tanchun, and the matter was temporarily stopped.

In Baoyu's eyes, the atmosphere was just right, but before they started chatting, he heard someone rushing in from outside.

"Something big is happening, something big is happening!"

In the circular corridor of the Jia family, there were not many people who could run so fast, and the maid in the room certainly didn't dare to do so.

Even if they didn't hear the sound, everyone knew who was coming.

Xichun's maid Ruhua first handed the visitor a bowl of fragrant tea, then slowly stroked her back, waiting for her to take a few breaths before speaking.

Sanchun was completely confused. What could happen when everything in the mansion was so peaceful these days?

"What's the big deal? Yun girl, take your time to tell me."

Shi Xiangyun heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I just went to pay my respects to the old ancestor, but I ran into someone from the Zhen family in Jiangnan visiting."

Baoyu frowned and said, "What's the big deal? Didn't he come here not long ago?"

Shi Xiangyun rolled her eyes and said, "Don't interrupt me. Just listen to me. Something big happened to the Zhen family. The second master of the Zhen family was arrested by Marquis Anjing and thrown into prison. He is going to be sentenced!"

The girls were shocked when they heard this. For young ladies like them, imprisonment was too far away and simply a fantasy.

They only knew the evil in it, but had no idea what mistake the Zhen family had made.

But Xing Xiuyan, who was always calm and gentle, suddenly stood up and asked, "Tell me quickly, what news do you know about Marquis Anjing?"

Jia Baoyu looked at Xing Xiuyun in astonishment, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe.

(End of this chapter)