Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 381 We are all good sisters (who like the Marquis), right?
There are four sisters in the Rong and Ning mansions of the Jia family, Yuanchun, Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun.

Jia Yuanchun is the eldest daughter of the second wife. She has been taught by her grandmother since she was young, and later entered the palace as a maid. Now she has been awarded the title of Consort Xian De and has become the mainstay of the Jia family.

Yingchun was born to Jia She, the eldest son of the Jia family, and his concubine. Because she had no mother to discipline her, she was taken care of by Lady Jia at first. Later, she was moved to Lady Wang's courtyard to live with her sisters.

As the saying goes, there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.

Yingchun's nickname is "Second Wood". She is the second child in the family. She is dull, incompetent, cowardly and timid, and is quite inconspicuous in the room.

Tanchun was born to Aunt Zhao, the concubine of Jia Zheng, and is a sibling of Jia Huan. Unlike Jia Huan, she was raised by Lady Wang since she was young and received the same education as Jia Yuanchun, which made her capable and shrewd, which is very different from the timid Jia Huan.

Xichun is the most special one, she is the daughter of Jia Jing of Ningguo Mansion. After Jia Jing passed the imperial examination and became an official, he abandoned his official position and family, and resolutely went to the Taoist temple outside the city to seek immortality.

In the end, nothing was accomplished, but a child was born, and that child was Xichun.

The Ningguo Mansion was in a mess, and there was no suitable person to raise Xichun, so she was left in the Rongguo Mansion for discipline.

Although he was raised in the Rongguo Mansion, he had no parents to look after him and his brother Jia Zhen never cared about him, so he gradually developed an extremely withdrawn and cold personality.

The four sisters have very different personalities, but what they have in common is that they are all proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting and have outstanding looks.

At this moment, the three sisters Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun were all sitting around the table. Shi Xiangyun from the Shi family was no exception and sat in the middle of the three.

Early in the morning, the girls were informed that they were under house arrest and were not allowed to go in and out at will, so they had to stay in their rooms obediently. If there was any situation, they had to send their wet nurse or personal maid out.

The Jia family has been building a lot of projects lately, and it is common for the girls in the family to be confined to their homes to avoid suspicion.

As the weather gets warmer, the girls' clothes become thinner and thinner, and they can't move around freely.

Therefore, the girls in the room did not think there was anything unusual on this day, and they were still busy with their own work as usual.

Yingchun was weaving her needlework, Tanchun and Xiangyun were playing chess at the table, and Xichun was drawing a picture across the table. The room was quiet and there was not much noise.

After the chess pieces were placed on the board, the situation was still not going smoothly. Shi Xiangyun sighed and said, "I don't know how long it will take to repair this garden. It's too boring to keep people in the room all day long."

Tanchun also dropped a seed lightly, pursed her lips, and said with a smile: "What else do you want to have fun? We are not men. If we leave this door, we can't leave the mansion, so there is no fun."

Shi Xiangyun blinked and asked, "How about waiting a few days, and I'll teach you how to dress up as a man and sneak out to play?"

Tanchun rolled her eyes and said, "When you were at Shi's house, you said you were going to Rongguo's house and just slipped out to play. When you were at Rongguo's house, you said you were going back to Shi's house and slipped out to play. You have two places to go, what excuse can I make?"

Shi Xiangyun nodded slightly and said, "That's right. It's better to be born a man. You can go out whenever you want."

The maid behind Tanchun, Shishu, smiled and said, "Miss Yun, what you said is true. There are many men who are born as men and don't want to go out. They stay at home all day and like to play with girls."

Shi Xiangyun and Tanchun both covered their mouths and smiled.

Tanchun said with a hint of resentment, "You are the one who talks too much. If this gets out, I'll see how Madam punishes you. I can't help you."

The secretary stuck out his tongue and went back to pour tea.

Shi Xiangyun continued, "What the secretary said is right. I haven't seen my second brother come here today. Could it be that he has also been confined?"

All the girls at the table looked up, feeling something was a little strange.

Even if Baoyu didn't come in person to recite poems and play with his sisters on weekdays, he would send Xiren and others to bring some snacks and other small things.

Not to mention, I haven't been here for several days, and there has been no movement today.

"Could it be that we talked too much about the Marquis last time and he got sulky and stopped coming?"

Tanchun made a tentative guess.

Shi Xiangyun pouted, "He has the personality of remembering food but not beatings, how can he remember these things?"

Then he said to the tall and strong Siqi behind him, "Sister Siqi, can you go out and ask around?"

Siqi is Yingchun's maid. Her personality completely complements Yingchun's. She is tall and strong, does things decisively and efficiently, and has the demeanor of a chivalrous woman. She has always had a good relationship with Xiangyun.

She was the only one who was not easy to mess with. If other maids went out to inquire, she would definitely ask the nanny to send them back.

She agreed without thinking. When Siqi was about to open the door, she heard many people walking in the corridor outside.

"This is it. I'll knock on the door to see if anyone is inside."

The door knocked three times, attracting the attention of the girls in the room.

Siqi opened the door and saw a group of girls standing outside. Except for a few who looked familiar, the others were all strangers.

Siqi knew the female master standing in the front, so she bowed to her and said, "Master Miaoyu, why are you here today? Who are they?"

"They are girls from the Anjing Marquis's mansion. We became acquainted with them when we were in Suzhou. The Anjing Marquis came to Beijing today, and Miss Lin was invited to the mansion by the Second Wife. They had nowhere to sit, so they came to find you."

"Marquis Anjing has entered the capital?"

Several women in the room screamed in surprise, and none of them turned their heads and stared with wide eyes.

Shi Xiangyun dropped the chessboard and rushed out in a hurry, "Sister Keqing? Sister Bao? Did the Marquis really come to the capital? Where are Zijuan and Xueyan?"

The two of them stood on the left and right, with Shi Xiangyun holding their arms in the middle, and led them into the door together. They were served tea eagerly and then seated separately.

"Xueyan is still waiting for Sister Lin outside the courtyard gate. Zijuan and Qingwen must have gone to see their sisters who were at Jia's house before."

Xue Baochai took the tea with both hands and responded to Shi Xiangyun's words truthfully.

Shi Xiangyun held on to Xue Baochai's arm and pulled her up, and came to the chessboard. She said to Tanchun proudly, "I can't beat you. Now that Sister Bao is here, she will definitely help me beat you."

Tanchun blinked and was also somewhat tempted.

She already knew that the last time Xue Baochai came, she had been following Marquis Anjing from south to north, handling trivial matters. Tanchun really wanted to see if Xue Baochai was really stronger than herself.

Before they knew it, the room was filled with an atmosphere of female competition.

Xue Baochai was forced to come to the chessboard.

Miaoyu, who was watching from the side, was even more confused. She asked Qin Keqing, "Why are they just entering the room and have not even said a few words, but they are already competing?"

The oldest Qin Keqing understood the girls' psychology very well. She curled her lips and said, "Master Miaoyu, you don't see clearly. It's because of your karma that you are blinded. Buddhism is too profound. You should give up this path and follow me."

Miaoyu: "..."

……

Of course, Xue Baochai, who is good at observing people's hearts, also noticed the slight hostility shown by Tanchun.

When she came to Rongguo Mansion before, she only had a good chat with the carefree Shi Xiangyun. The other girls were all talking about Yue Ling, but they also got along very well.

As for Tanchun's thoughts, Xue Baochai initially thought that it was just a young lady in the boudoir admiring a hero of the time.

But before she entered the house today, Xue Baochai's mind had been diverted by Qin Keqing. Thinking carefully about Tanchun's eagerness to try, it seemed as if she was really competing with her for the position by Yue Ling's side.

Thinking of this, Xue Baochai naturally became serious.

She can give in on other things, but she won't hide her weakness on this matter.

Sitting across from the chessboard, Xue Baochai took a quick look and said with a smile, "Since sister Yun is asking me to do so, how about I play a game with the third sister?"

Tanchun nodded and agreed, "That's perfect. I'm tired of playing with her. It's a good thing that Baojie can take over this unfinished game."

What Tanchun said was of course true. Shi Xiangyun's chess skills were limited and she had already been forced into a desperate situation. That was why Shi Xiangyun said that playing chess was boring.

Even if the situation was reversed at this moment and Tanchun was holding Shi Xiangyun's black chess piece, she had no confidence in turning the situation around.

The situation heated up again and again, and the girls gathered around the chessboard to watch the game.

Xue Baochai rolled up her sleeves, took out a chess piece from the chess box, and tapped it lightly on the chessboard.

The crisp sound instantly touched the hearts of the girls.

The four sisters of the Jia family were respectively good at playing the musical instrument, chess, calligraphy and painting, and the second sister, Yingchun, was fond of chess. The other girls surrounded her and asked her to come to the front and explain the game to those who were not proficient in it.

"Miss Bao's move is to abandon Sister Yun's previous dead piece and start a new situation. It's like burning your boats and fighting a desperate battle, putting your life at risk for the future."

Of course Tanchun could also see it, and was very surprised that Xue Baochai would so decisively abandon the pieces in the current situation and open up another battlefield.

But to be on the safe side, she still followed the routine and captured the chess pieces that had been circled in advance.

Both sides made moves very quickly, and after a few moves, Tanchun still firmly held the initiative on the situation.

But the psychological effect still warned her that Xue Baochai was not Shi Xiangyun, and there must be something going on.

As expected, with Xue Baochai's godly cover, they officially launched a charge against her.

Looking back suddenly, Tanchun, who had taken advantage of the situation, found that the situation was not as advantageous as she had imagined.

Instead, Xue Baochai's ambush created a way out for them, and the situation became stalemate again.

In fact, the situation had already been reversed at this moment. Tanchun couldn't help but sweat and spent a longer time thinking.

Obviously there was nothing wrong, but in the blink of an eye, peace quietly tilted.

Yingchun looked up and saw a little sweat on Tanchun's forehead. She knew that the game of chess could not last long and sighed regretfully.

The two sides fought for more than ten moves, and Tanchun had no more moves left, so she surrendered.

"Huh, I still can't outsmart Sister Bao. I give up."

Xue Baochai gently fanned herself with her round fan and breathed a sigh of relief, "Third sister is very good at chess. I'd like to play with her more often if we have the chance."

Although Tanchun was unwilling to accept the defeat, she could still afford to lose. She had her own character and smiled and retorted, "It was Sister Bao who took over Sister Yun's unfinished game, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to play for so long."

"It's no exaggeration to say that Sister Bao is much better than me. From a big picture perspective, I'm still very immature."

"No wonder the Marquis kept my sister by his side to work. She is thoughtful and thoughtful. She must be a capable assistant..."

Although the last sentence was spoken in a whisper and was very small, the people in the room were watching the chess game in silence and the women held their breath. Before that, only the sound of the pieces falling could be heard.

Therefore, this moan was heard by everyone.

The subject changed so quickly that Xue Baochai's face quickly turned red, and she didn't even know how to refute.

If Qin Keqing had said this, she could have raised her hand and hammered a few times to vent her anger. But in front of Tanchun, it was even more unintentional, and she could never do such a frivolous action, otherwise it would make people think too much.

Thinking of this, Xue Baochai couldn't help but look at Qin Keqing with a face full of resentment. It was all her fault, as she was the one who made her always suspicious.

Qin Keqing came between the two with a smile and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Oh, it's just a game of chess, how can it hurt the harmony between the sisters?"

"Sister Lin is discussing something important with the lady in the mansion, so she probably won't be back for a while. We don't have anything to do, so if Third Miss is willing, you can ask for more advice for a while."

Tanchun shook her head repeatedly and said, "How can I do that? You are all guests, and you need to chat more. We don't have many opportunities to sit together as sisters, so why don't you talk about what happened to the Marquis recently?"

Miaoyu also interrupted at this moment and said, "Yes, I wonder why the Marquis didn't come to the mansion?"

Qin Keqing narrowed her eyes, looked around the place, crossed her arms, and said jokingly, "Oh? You are all so concerned about my master's schedule?"

"Speaking of which, this is the inner chamber of the Rongguo Mansion. Is it in accordance with the rules of the mansion to discuss things outside like this?"

"This……"

All the girls in the Jia family couldn't help but lower their heads, feeling a little ashamed by Qin Keqing's questioning.

They are all unmarried girls, and it is certainly not in accordance with the rules for them to try so hard to find out about a man outside.

What's more, there was a female master practicing in the room.

Xue Baochai held her forehead helplessly, and saw Qin Keqing taking control of the situation and starting to act like a demon.

Her ability to control the situation was much stronger than his own ability to control the chess game, and he couldn't help but secretly sympathize with the maids from the Jia family in the room.

"Xiangling, go and see if Sister Lin is okay. If she is, tell Sister Lin and Xueyan to come here to look for us."

"Yes."

Xiangling first avoided the embarrassing situation and went out.

I caught up with Qingwen, Ying'er and Zijuan who were returning.

As soon as they entered the room, the familiar awkward atmosphere spread. Only Qin Keqing stood in the center of the place, looking down on the crowd, while the rest of the girls all hung their heads in silence, with pink cheeks.

"Hey, I was just joking. We are all good sisters. There is no need to hide the master's affairs. We are not strangers."

Qin Keqing smiled so sweetly that everyone present felt a little frightened.

Xiangyun hurriedly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Sister Keqing is right. We are all good sisters. So, let's talk about it."

Someone answered the question, and the girls looked up again.

When Qin Keqing turned around, she happened to see Qingwen and others coming in, so she pulled Qingwen to the center of the venue.

"Don't worry, don't worry. We need to first figure out what a good sister is."

"Take Qingwen for example. When she first arrived, she was not our sister. It was not until she admitted that she was the one who liked the Marquis just like us that we became sisters."

"Right, Qingwen?"

Qingwen couldn't respond to Qin Keqing's glances. She didn't even have the anger she saw in Baoyu on her face and was immediately filled with shame.

Being surrounded by people and being held by the back of the neck by Qin Keqing, Qingwen had no way to avoid it and could only moan, "Yeah, that's right."

Then he covered his face with his hands in shame.

This ambiguous feeling quickly spread throughout the room.

Qin Keqing struck while the iron was hot and asked, "How about it, are you still good sisters?"

The girls in the Jia family turned their heads away in shame, but Tanchun kept her composure and said, "We have the same thoughts as Sister Yun. She was the one who always mentioned the Marquis' affairs in her room."

Qin Keqing asked again, "What about you, Second Miss?"

Yingchun was the most timid and fearful person. She avoided the question and said, "Same as my third sister."

"What about you, Fourth Miss?"

Xichun was a solitary person who never acted on her own. She followed up by saying, "It's the same as my third sister."

Qin Keqing nodded slightly, and finally turned around and smiled at Shi Xiangyun, "Sister Yun, then tell me, do you like the master?"

Shi Xiangyun raised her head in shame and anger, closed her eyes and went crazy, "Oh, Sister Keqing, you are the worst, please don't torture us, okay?!"

"I'm telling you the truth. All the girls in this room care about the Marquis. Whether it's me, or the second sister, the third sister, the fourth sister, or these little girls, or even Master Miaoyu, we talk about the Marquis the most all day long. Let's get down to business!"

After the commotion, Shi Xiangyun opened her eyes again and suddenly found that the room was completely quiet.

Thinking that he had done something out of line, he turned around following the gaze of the crowd and saw Jia Baoyu standing outside the door, his face as pale as paper, as if he had lost his soul.

After a while, Jia Baoyu spoke weakly, "You...what did you just say?"

(End of this chapter)