Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 391: Stones Fallen and Flowers Withered, Finding a Good Helper

The three porches behind Rongxi Hall,
Yingchun, Xichun, together with the two maids Siqi and Ruhua beside them, all packed their luggage with numb expressions. They didn't say a word to each other, not even exchanging glances.

In this era, women are often helpless.

Even though they are regarded as wealthy daughters of prominent families, they have no control over their own destiny.

Yingchun and Xichun were both submissive and didn't argue about anything. Perhaps they had seen through their fate.

I can't say I have too much expectations for the Anjing Marquis Mansion that I'm about to visit.

It’s just that the sisters are still together and haven’t separated. For them, this is not a bad thing. Without the constraints of their elders, they can feel more relaxed.

Tanchun wiped her tears and folded her clothes while sobbing.

Seeing her young lady crying so hard, the maid couldn't help but comfort her, "Didn't the young lady want to go out for a while? Now that she can leave the house, she can go out for a walk more often, isn't that a blessing?"

Gently wiping away the tears with the back of her hand, Tanchun choked up and said, "The mansion is in such a mess. The eldest and second masters seem to have changed their personalities and have a falling out in the hall. What good can we expect from now on?"

"Even if I go to Anjing Marquis's Mansion, I will have to come back sooner or later. In the end, this is still my home. I'm crying because when I come back in the future, this mansion will be in a mess."

The secretary pursed her lips, not knowing how to comfort her. After a long while, she managed to utter a few words, "But if you stay here, you won't be able to accomplish anything, and it will be easy to get yourself into trouble. If it wasn't for Master Bao who suffered today, then it would be you, young lady."

"There's nothing wrong with hiding away. Besides, isn't the young lady concerned about Marquis Anjing's affairs? Marquis Anjing was promoted to the first-class duke and was also granted a new residence, the Prince of Qin's Mansion."

"This is a genuine royal residence. The Rongguo Mansion is just a mansion built by imperial order. We might be able to take advantage of this and live in it."

Tanchun curled her lips and said, "If it's really that good, how can I go back to the mansion to live in the future?"

After stuffing the clothes into the package, Tanchun went back to sorting out the books, calligraphy and paintings, as well as some small and exquisite handicrafts on her bookcase.

She prefers these and wants to take them all with her when she goes out, which also reminds herself to be nostalgic and keep her original heart at all times.

When the secretary saw that Tanchun was going to take these small bamboo baskets, small bamboo baskets, walnut carved balls, broken bronze ornaments, etc., all the things that others would regard as garbage except her, to the Anjing Marquis' Mansion, she hurried forward to stop her.

With a bitter smile, the secretary consoled her, "Miss, although we were ostracized in the mansion, we can still carry the mansion's reputation when we go out. After all, we come from the Duke's Mansion, so how can we bring these things with us and let others laugh at us?"

"I have collected these scrolls for you, you only need to take these."

Tanchun looked up and felt a little conflicted. What the secretary said actually made some sense.

After all, you are staying at someone else's house for a while, so how can you really treat it as your own home?

But when she looked down and saw a small clay jar at the innermost part of the bookshelf, Tanchun burst into laughter and said, "I was almost led astray by a little girl like you."

The secretary scratched her head, not understanding what Tanchun was referring to.

Bending over to take out the small jar, Tanchun blew away the dust on it, reminiscing about the past, and said, "Here, this small earthen jar was a gift from Sister Lin when we first met."

"At that time, Sister Lin also said that the gift was suggested by the Marquis. Although I don't know why the Marquis understands my preferences, I am sure that the Marquis is not as worldly as you said."

Feeling that his young lady seemed to be infatuated with him again, Shishu shook his head helplessly.

It was obviously just a small broken earthen jar, but it became the reason for her to think about Yue Ling. Shishu couldn't understand it anyway, because it was not a gold hairpin or jade bracelet.

"It's good this way. I hope she can be happier and stop crying."

The secretary was thinking secretly that Yingchun and Xichun had already packed up and were coming to find Tanchun.

"Third sister, are you ready? Once you go out, you don't know when you will be back, so you'd better prepare a few extra sets of clothes."

Yingchun comforted her and reminded her in a dull voice. She had never been to another mansion before, and she couldn't help but sigh softly, "After leaving the mansion, I don't know if we can get the monthly allowance of two taels of silver. If we have any expenses, we have to use the little savings we had before."

"Third sister, you like to buy rare things the most, but remember to bring the silver with you."

After putting away the small earthen jar, Tanchun nodded slightly, her eyes darkened, and she leaned into Yingchun's arms and began to sob again.

"Today is so scary, I don't know how bad this mansion will be in the future. I thought that if my elder sister became a concubine in the palace, our lives would be better. But... now..."

Tanchun wanted to say that her family had emptied out their savings to build a villa for her mother to visit, so she put in a lot of effort to save face.

Now that the Anjing Marquis's mansion had been offended, it had become an even bigger mess. But someone had to clean up the Jia family's mess, and the one who cleaned it up was the eldest master, Jia She, which made him seem even more unreliable.

Thinking about it carefully, Tanchun felt a sense of powerlessness throughout her limbs.

Even though Yingchun was not good at expressing herself, she could feel Tanchun's emotions by patting the back of her head.

"You reap what you sow. Everything has its destiny. Third sister, please be more open-minded. We cannot influence the general trend. Staying here will only lead to bad consequences."

Xichun was dressed in plain clothes and carried a small bag on her shoulder. She really looked like a female master.

Tanchun rubbed her eyes, then smiled and rubbed her head, "If you put your hair up, you will really look like an ascetic monk."

Xichun lowered her head and replied, "There is a limit to the suffering in the world. I eat more, and others get less. Ascetic monks are all masters of practice."

Yingchun also held Xichun in her arms and said hesitantly, "We sisters are not separated. We will share the joys and sorrows in the future."

The three girls hugged each other, and the maidservant watching on felt much more relieved.

When they walked out of the room and came to the hall, they saw Li Wan, who had had little presence from beginning to end, waiting for them in the courtyard.

Li Wan, who was wearing a half-new royal blue skirt and hairpin and had her hair tied up in the simplest bun, was widowed for many years. She was also shocked by the appearance in the hall just now and her face looked unhappy.

But she seemed to be there to see the three girls off. As the eldest sister-in-law, she still managed to keep a straight face, smiled warmly, and said, "You also saw it in the hall just now. The old ancestor is seriously ill, and the first and second masters are in charge of the family business. You are lucky to have Miss Lin to take care of you, so you can leave the house and avoid the limelight. This is a good thing."

"To be honest, if the Marquis is willing, I would like to send Lang'er to be raised by Marquis Anjing, but he doesn't have that blessing."

As she spoke, Li Wan walked forward, tied up the three of them, smoothed their clothes, pursed her lips, and suppressed her reluctance, "When you are away from home, you three sisters should take care of each other and support each other. You are not the kind of people who cause trouble, which makes me feel much more at ease."

"If there is anything, you can send someone to the mansion to pass on the message. Of course, if there is any good news, don't forget home."

Li Wan burst into laughter and made the three sisters' eyes red again.

After hugging each of them for a while, Li Wan said, "Well, this courtyard will be used for Lang'er to practice horse riding and archery in the future. You should leave now. Don't keep Miss Lin waiting anxiously."

Without waiting for the three girls to say anything more tear-jerking, Li Wan pushed them all out.

After they left, the courtyard, which was once bustling, suddenly became quiet.

Standing under the moon-shaped gate, Li Wan looked around the courtyard again and noticed that the precious flowers that the girls had carefully cared for in the past were now all pulled out by the roots and thrown around the flower beds.

The juice stained the bluestone slabs, colorful like blood.

The bare, charcoal-colored soil in the flower bed was also dug into uneven shapes, looking horrible. Li Wan, who was about to lock the courtyard door, took a broom and dustpan from the back hall, swept the petals and roots into a pile, and buried them in the soil.

"The stone fell into the flower bed, and the flowers suffered. It's really ironic..."

……

After walking out of Rongqing Hall, the girls surrounding Lin Daiyu looked like they had just watched a wonderful drama and were still in a daze.

After taking a deep breath, Qin Keqing felt refreshed.

When Lady Jia put pressure on her, she was a little panicked. Fortunately, Lin Daiyu was there to hold her back, so she did not fall into a disadvantageous position and waited for the good news from the palace.

When she heard that her master was promoted to a higher rank and awarded the Prince of Qin's Mansion as his residence, Qin Keqing happily high-fived her sisters in celebration.

When she saw Lady Jia so angry that she was bleeding, she felt so relieved.

"Precious girl, are you happy now?"

Without outsiders around, Qin Keqing couldn't help teasing Xue Baochai again.

Xue Baochai blinked and asked in confusion, "Why? Anyone would be happy to hear such good news, right?"

Qin Keqing nudged Xue Baochai with her elbow, curled her peach blossom eyes, and said with a half-smile, "That's not what I meant."

"then you?"

As soon as Qin Keqing kept the secret, Xue Baochai's heart immediately sounded alarm bells. She felt that her dog mouth could not spit out ivory, so she quickly raised her hand to cover it.

But Qin Keqing was tall and slender, and much taller than her, so it was not so easy for her to control her.

"Of course I'm talking about the reward for the Prince Qin's mansion. Now, there is no shortage of rooms inside. No matter how many sisters you have, there is always a place for you to stay."

After saying this, Qin Keqing dodged Xue Baochai's pursuit and stepped forward to hold Lin Daiyu's arm.

Xue Baochai stamped her feet in anger, and her cheeks puffed up slightly.

When the girls heard them playing and laughing, they covered their mouths and laughed secretly. They were infected by the laughter and became happy again. Some even cheered them on and complained that they were not having fun.

Miaoyu twirled the Buddhist beads and silently chanted "Amitabha", but she was happy to live in such an atmosphere, rather than the one in Rongqing Hall.

Lin Daiyu didn't care about their fight. She was still thinking about Jia She. Jia Zheng had changed so much. He must have learned the news of Yue brother's title in advance.

The eunuchs arrived later, so the news could only have been spread by the eldest sister in the palace.

From this perspective, the eldest sister must have had a hard time in the palace, which forced Jia She and Jia Zheng to do such a ridiculous thing.

"Grandmother must have been so angry that she lost her mind. My elder sister is walking on thin ice in the palace. It seems that her visit to her parents will not be peaceful."

With Qin Keqing holding her arm and hearing their laughter and playfulness, Lin Daiyu could not help but think about it carefully.

"Well, what Sister Ke'er said is a good thing. Although the current Anjing Marquis's Mansion is also a palace granted by the emperor, it only has three courtyards and a small garden with a back house, so everyone has to live in a very tight space."

"But if we go to the Prince of Qin's Mansion, which is as large as the Rong and Ning Mansions, I can send these vixens to other small courtyards and separate them from Brother Yue. Isn't that all right?"

"It would be nice to move to a bigger mansion. At least the garden can't be worse than this one, right?" Xueyan murmured again, "I wonder if there will be elm trees in the garden."

Baozhu poked her head over curiously, "Sister Xueyan likes elm flowers? I don't think they smell very nice."

Xueyan shook her head and said, "No, I like leaves. They are sweet."

Baozhu was stunned when she heard this, and Ruizhu couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Qingwen and Zijuan walked side by side, looked at each other, and then let out a breath.

The two old people from Rongguo Mansion had never expected that this visit to Rongguo Mansion would end with taking the three girls out of the mansion.

"You are quite smart. You didn't listen to the old lady and stayed in the Rongguo Mansion." Zijuan asked softly, also trying to comfort the frightened Qingwen.

Qingwen shook her head and sighed, "Every failure makes one wiser. Even if I'm not as smart as others, I've learned from my failures."

Turning her head to look at the servants of Rongguo Mansion who were also hiding from them with their heads down, Qingwen puffed out her chest and said confidently, "The reason why people look at me differently now is all because of you, Master. How could I be a traitor to my master?"

"Although the old lady was wrong in many ways, she was right in saying that. The first thing a servant should do is to be loyal. I have always believed that."

Zijuan raised her eyebrows. She was really proud of herself for giving her a way out, so she stopped bragging.

Looking further ahead, Lin Daiyu was being held on both sides by Qin Keqing and Xue Baochai respectively. The two were arguing so fiercely that Lin Daiyu could not think quietly.

"Okay, okay, if you want to make trouble, go back and make trouble. After picking up the sisters from the Jia Mansion, we should also go back."

After exiting the corridor, passing the moon-shaped gate and going around the shadow wall, I found someone waiting there.

Mrs. Xing was not a stranger, but there was a girl named Lin Daiyu who was accompanying her, whom she had never seen before.

She was wearing a washed-out yellow dress with some floral patterns on it, which were obviously embroidered by herself to cover up the torn parts.

She has a dignified face and elegant temperament, just like the plum blossoms blooming in the cold winter of December. She is chaste and calm, neither humble nor arrogant.

Lin Daiyu fell in love with this girl at first sight, really at first sight.

In such an extravagant mansion like Rongguo Mansion, to have such a girl who is content with poverty and lives in peace is truly untainted by the mud.

Mrs. Xing smiled apologetically and said politely, "Miss Lin, this is my niece, Xiuyan. She is very close to the girls in the Jia family and is also a master and apprentice of Master Miaoyu. I think now that you are gone, she might be alone..."

Before she finished speaking, Lin Daiyu already understood what she meant.

But Lin Daiyu was not annoying at all, it was more like she was just lacking such a girl.

When she looked into Xing Xiuyan's pure and flawless eyes, Lin Daiyu felt only pure beauty. She couldn't help but smile and agreed, "Since we are sisters and close relatives, why don't we come to my house to drink tea and play the zither together?"

Mrs. Xing was startled when she heard this. She didn't expect this job to be so easy. After a moment, she came to her senses and hurriedly called out, "Yan'er, why don't you thank Miss Lin? With Miss Lin's care, you can live a stable life."

"Xiu Yan, nice to meet Miss Lin."

Lin Daiyu always felt that Mrs. Xing's words were not right, but she still liked Xing Xiuyan, so she took her hand and said, "Sister, there is no need to be so distant, just be like them."

In his heart, he thought: "There is a girl like this who is not tainted by mud. She is just right for me to keep an eye on the increasing number of vixens in the room! She came at the perfect time!"

(End of this chapter)