Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 17 Pretend to be real
The sound of the curtains rolling up reached his ears, and Li Chen's eyelids trembled slightly as he slowly opened his eyes.

Upon seeing the bed curtains, which were indeed the color of Xiangfei (a type of flower), Li Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

Comfortable!

Li Chen stretched comfortably in the soft quilt, wishing he could stay in bed for another half a day.

Hearing the sound, Xueyan crawled in, knelt by the bed, and asked timidly, "Miss, you're awake?"

The surroundings were filled with the unique, refreshing fragrance of a young lady's quarters, and she had such a well-behaved and adorable maidservant serving her closely. Compared to this, the life in the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion was truly miserable.

Li Chen sat up, put his arm around Xueyan's shoulder, and rubbed against her with satisfaction, like petting a cat.

Xueyan was Lin Daiyu's personal maid who came from Yangzhou. The two had been together since childhood and had a close relationship.

Born in Jiangnan, she naturally possessed the gentle and charming qualities of a Jiangnan woman, especially with her delicate and fair skin, slender figure, and what set her apart from other women was her ample bosom, which was much more noticeable than Lin Daiyu's.

Unfortunately, his mind wasn't influenced by Lin Daiyu, and he always seemed to be full of foolishness.

"Ah...girl, what are you doing?"

Xueyan was startled, but she only put her forearm in front of her body to protect herself, not knowing how to deal with it.

After a long period of intimacy, Li Chen finally sat up contentedly and let out a long sigh of relief. "Hmm, now I feel truly alive again."

Xueyan blushed and muttered softly, "Miss, you seem like a lecherous young master."

Despite her complaints, Xueyan still diligently lifted her bangs and removed the gauze wrapped around Li Chen's head.

"Huh? What's wrong with me?"

Perhaps because he had been so captivated by Xueyan's gentle warmth, Li Chen only felt a slight pain in his forehead at this moment.

Li Chen frowned slightly and sighed.

I just made a name for myself at the Rongguo Mansion, so how come Lin Daiyu is injured on her forehead when I come back? Does anyone really dare to mess with me?

Zijuan brought over a washbasin, wrung out a hot towel and gently wiped his face, explaining, "Last night, it was past four in the morning, and the young lady hadn't returned to bed to rest. She collapsed by the desk with a loud noise, which startled us."

"When we came out, we saw the girl lying there unconscious, her head was red from hitting the table, and then it was bandaged up."

"Fortunately, the girl's breathing is steady, and she's just unconscious; otherwise, we wouldn't know what to do."

Upon hearing this, Li Chen began to ponder.

Why did Lin Daiyu, with her frail health, insist on staying up all night?

Perhaps she felt that as long as she didn't fall asleep, she wouldn't need to switch identities.

Fortunately, heaven had eyes and prevented her evil scheme from succeeding.

I gently touched my forehead; the bump wasn't too bad, and there weren't many marks left after a night.

Li Chen didn't care; he just wanted to eat something good to satisfy his hunger.

"Xueyan, go and fetch the bird's nest porridge, I'm a little hungry."

Xueyan stood there, looking troubled. "Miss, there's no bird's nest porridge today, only longan and lotus seed porridge..."

"Hmm?" Li Chen raised an eyebrow. "Why is it gone?"

"Sister Liu, who works at the stove, said that as the year draws to a close, the household has reduced its food, clothing, and other necessities. They are waiting for the head of the estate to come to the capital next month to deliver the land rent, at which point they will be able to make up for it."

"Sister Liu also said that this was personally ordered by Second Madam Lian, so the food in our room has been reduced as well."

Lin Daiyu's provisions were actually regulated within the Jia family and had to be accounted for through the Jia family's accounts. In the past, it was just that Lin Daiyu couldn't ask for more money, but the money wasn't left over; it was embezzled and divided up by others.

Li Chen understood the situation perfectly.

It's unreasonable for Li Chen to take the blame himself and let others benefit from it.

"fart!"

Li Chen stood up angrily, "Does she think I'm made of clay? She's testing me like this. Get me dressed, I'm going to hear what kind of explanation she has for me!"

The girl's decisive nature returned, and she didn't take her anger out on them or say that they hadn't done things well, so Xueyan breathed a sigh of relief.

She even blinked her starry eyes, secretly thrilled, "The spirited girl is back, and she looks much better than she did a few days ago when she was sickly. It must be because I took good care of her these past few days that she has recovered so well!"

……

Wang Xifeng's Courtyard

On the soft kang (heated brick bed), Wang Xifeng was holding a bowl of red date and barley porridge, chewing it slowly, when suddenly her eyelids started twitching wildly. She couldn't help but frown, thinking it was not a good omen.

"Grandma, what's wrong?"

Ping'er noticed that Wang Xifeng had stopped eating, so she put down her chopsticks and asked her with concern.

Wang Xifeng frowned in thought, then shook her head.

The mansion has been very peaceful lately, and nothing unpleasant has happened. In fact, Grandmother Jia praised her in public just the day before.

But in fact, ever since Lin Daiyu caused a scene at Rongqing Hall, there has been no further trouble in the mansion.

"By the way, Lin girl should stop eating today. She can't possibly come here and cause a scene, can she?"

Thinking of this, Wang Xifeng immediately instructed, "Have Feng'er keep watch under the hanging flower gate for a while. If he sees Lin girl coming this way, he must inform me in advance."

Ping'er comforted her, "Grandma has always been kind to Lin Yatou, unlike Zhou Rui's wife. There shouldn't be any trouble, right?"

"What if? She doesn't even give Madam any face in Rongqing Hall. Go ahead, go ahead."

"it is good."

Distracted by her troubles, Wang Xifeng lost her appetite, and Ping'er took the opportunity to clear away the dishes. She could anticipate that Lin Daiyu might cause a scene, but if she actually did, how would she handle the situation?
If we drag her to Rongqing Hall for a confrontation then, all our hard work these past few days will have been for nothing.

The curtain swayed gently, and Wang Xifeng thought that Ping'er had returned so quickly. Her expression tightened, and she looked up.

The one who entered was a handsome young man with delicate features.

He was handsome and had a charming demeanor, but Wang Xifeng didn't give him a pleasant look when she saw him.

"So you finally decided to come back?"

Jia Lian grinned and came closer to the edge of the kang (heated brick bed). "What are you saying, my wife? This is my home. Where else could I go if I didn't come back?"

Just as he was about to put his hand around Wang Xifeng's waist, she slapped his hand away.

"Get lost! You've probably groped countless prostitutes in one night. You don't mind the filth, but I do."

Jia Lian smiled sheepishly, not annoyed at all. "Oh, my wife is talking nonsense. Those vulgar women outside are no match for even a fraction of you. I don't even glance at them when I'm out. It's just that I had to go to a friend's banquet. Otherwise, I would definitely stay home with you every day."

As he spoke, he lunged at Wang Xifeng, wanting to indulge in sensual pleasures in broad daylight.

Wang Xifeng turned around to dodge, then slapped him across the shoulder.

"You shameless bastard, you dare compare me to a prostitute? Do you really think I'm some kind of stupid, clueless girl who would listen to a few sweet words? Get out, get out, just looking at you annoys me."

Jia Lian's mind worked even faster, and he realized what Wang Xifeng was worried about.

"What's wrong? Is there some trouble in the manor again? Tell me, and I'll give you an idea."

Just then, Ping'er and Feng'er hurried into the room, both looking anxious.

"Greetings to Second Master and Grandmother."

After bowing, Feng'er hurriedly said, "Grandma, Miss Lin really came this way! Judging from her expression, she's even more gloomy than she was in Rongqing Hall!"

"hiss!"

Wang Xifeng gasped.

Jia Lian, who was standing to the side, hadn't reacted yet and asked in confusion, "Huh? What are you doing this way, cousin?"

Ping'er and Feng'er only glanced at Wang Xifeng and didn't say much.

Wang Xifeng's mind raced, but Jia Lian kept asking her all sorts of questions, which only made her more and more annoyed.

“You… hey, I’ve got it! How about this, you act out a scene with me, and when Lin arrives in a little while, you do this and that…”

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then chuckled and said, "My cousin has been raised by Uncle Lin since she was a child. How could she be so unreasonable? I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill."

Wang Xifeng suddenly pinched Jia Lian, "Just do as I say!"

"Alright, alright, whatever you say, is that alright?"

……

As soon as Li Chen arrived at the gate of Wang Xifeng's courtyard, he saw a group of maids and servants blocking the entrance, leaving him unsure whether to go in or back out.

But once they noticed Li Chen, they made way for him, bowed and greeted him, "Greetings to Miss Lin."

"An." Li Chen said expressionlessly, "What are you all doing blocking this place? Go do what you're supposed to be doing."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Li Chen flicked his sleeves and walked further into the inner room. Only when he was in the center of the courtyard did he realize why these people were not coming in.

Inside the room, Wang Xifeng, with her raspy voice, was arguing fiercely with someone.

"You go out partying every day and never come home at night. Do you know how hard it is for me to manage the household finances? And now you're trying to make a scene in front of me. I'm going to go and ask the master and mistress to judge this!"

“I told you I had important business to discuss, why won’t you listen to reason?”

Li Chen did not pause and walked straight up the stone steps to the eaves, where he saw Ping'er and Feng'er come out to greet him and block his way.

"Miss Lin, what brings you here? The Second Master and Madam are arguing in the room. Can they talk later?"

Li Chen rolled his eyes.

The couple never argues in the morning or at night, but they just happen to start arguing when he comes over. Who knows?

Family matters should be kept private, but nothing is more important than one's own food, clothing, and daily necessities.

I've come to Rongguo Mansion to enjoy a life of luxury!
Is this what you're feeding me? How is it any different from what's served at the Marquis of Zhenyuan's residence?
"Oh? They're arguing? I'll have to go in and try to talk them out."

Then, Li Chen pushed past the two men and went straight into the house.

I must say, this couple has great chemistry when it comes to opera, and their performance is incredibly vivid.

One man stood in front of the door, hands behind his back, shouting angrily; another man lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), weeping bitterly.

"You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. You come home every day just to ask for money. Do you know how I've been robbing Peter to pay Paul to balance this family's accounts? Now look what's happened, I'm caught in the middle and no one likes me."

"Even my younger sister is short of food today, how can I possibly have the face to speak of myself..."

Jia Lian waved his hand to interrupt, "So what if it's shorter! Are we going to abandon the whole family just for her?"

Wang Xifeng had already seen Lin Daiyu's figure behind Jia Lian, and was secretly pleased. "Sister Lin is easily moved to tears. Even if she doesn't shed a few tears to comfort me, she should want to go back after hearing this, right? She can't make things difficult for me anymore."

However, things took a completely unexpected turn.

Li Chen watched coldly, then leisurely walked into the room. He even had Xueyan bring him a chair and sat down with an air of nonchalance. "Second sister-in-law, please continue. I want to hear just how difficult things have become in this mansion."

(End of this chapter)