Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 4 Enmity
Zhou Rui's wife was taken aback by Li Chen's question, never expecting to be questioned so deeply. Her face immediately turned embarrassed. "Everyone has theirs, these two are for the young lady."

Although his tone was somewhat weaker, his demeanor truly showed that he did not regard Lin Daiyu as the mistress of the mansion.

His back was as straight as a bamboo board.

Lin Daiyu ultimately had no choice but to say indifferently, "I knew it, they wouldn't give me anything that wasn't left over," a self-deprecating remark.

However, it was Li Chen sitting here, and he didn't care about Madam Wang's feelings.

These cunning servants, looking all so arrogant, don't realize that some things, once weighed, can be as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Today, Li Chenke is going to have a serious talk with her.

Picking up a palace flower, I noticed that the brocade petals had all withered from being picked over.

Li Chen narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "What did Auntie instruct? Was she to give me the last one left over from the selection?"

Li Chen's words hit the nail on the head, revealing that Aunt Xue had made prior arrangements, and that it was Zhou Rui's wife who had taken matters into her own hands and disrupted the order of gift-giving.

As a noble family, the Rongguo Mansion is now in decline, and in order to maintain its dignity, it is more concerned about these empty formalities.

In the original novel, Aunt Xue clearly stated that the gifts would be given to the three springs first, then to Lin Daiyu, and finally to Wang Xifeng.

This order is significant.

The three sisters, Chun, were daughters of the Jia family's main branch. Aunt Xue, being a guest herself, naturally had to see them off first. Lin Daiyu, being too young, was also seen off first as a sign of respect for the guest. Wang Xifeng, however, was different; she was a member of the Wang family, and Aunt Xue and Lady Wang were sisters, hence she was placed last.

Zhou Rui's wife was also an old servant of the Rongguo Mansion, so she naturally understood the unspoken meaning in Lin Daiyu's words.

Seeing Jia Baoyu standing awkwardly between the two, Zhou Rui's wife couldn't help but smile and try to smooth things over, saying, "Miss, if you're angry with the Second Master, don't take it out on us servants."

“This palace flower is almost identical in style, so how can it be considered one of the remaining ones?”

Not wanting to cause any further trouble, Jia Baoyu quickly chimed in to comfort her, saying, "Sister Zhou is a muddle-headed person, so don't take it to heart, little sister."

"Am I being petty and stingy? I'm afraid this heartless wretch doesn't respect me at all, and is taking my master's things to curry favor with others!"

Li Chen slammed the palace flower in his hand onto Zhou Rui's head, stood up angrily, and shouted, "You can leave what I gave you today, but tomorrow will you dare to skimp on the things given to the old lady and the madam? What audacity!"

"This matter isn't over yet. I'm going to ask Sister-in-law Lian and Sister Ping'er if it's a common practice among the servants in the manor to treat people differently based on their status!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Rui's face turned pale.

His legs immediately gave way, and he knelt down, blocking the doorway and begging for forgiveness: "Miss Lin, Master Bao is right, I was really confused for a moment. You are the apple of our grandmother's eye, and even if I had the guts of a bear and the courage of a leopard, I wouldn't dare to look down on you. Please understand my two old, unsteady legs. I just went ahead with them to save a few steps, and only came to this room last."

Li Chen picked up the plate from which he had just finished eating his snacks and slammed it to the ground.

Porcelain shards shattered all over the ground, startling Zhou Rui's wife so much that she scrambled back a few steps, her legs surprisingly nimble.

"What utter nonsense! Would you dare to give away the things you gave to the old lady to other people first?!"

Lin Daiyu's action of smashing the plate was so fluid and even somewhat familiar that Jia Baoyu was stunned.

Sweating profusely between the two, Jia Baoyu was so anxious that he couldn't utter a single useful word.

Hearing the commotion, Zijuan and Xueyan, along with Xiren, Qingwen, and a group of other maids, had already gathered over.

Lin Daiyu was usually aloof and rarely got angry, so when she suddenly flew into a rage, all the maids were terrified.

Zijuan was originally a second-class maidservant by Grandmother Jia's side. Later, she was assigned to Lin Daiyu's room to take care of her daily life, so she was naturally more familiar with the affairs of the mansion.

As the saying goes, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog.

Now that those who had made things difficult for Zhou Rui's wife had all knelt down and admitted their mistakes, she was afraid that her own daughter would offend Madam Wang, so she wanted to step forward and dissuade them.

But after taking only one step, Li Chen glared at him and made him pull his foot back.

"I've been too lenient in the past, which has led to you bullying me today!"

As he spoke, Li Chen prepared to go out and find the person in charge to demand an explanation.

Zhou Rui's wife hurriedly grabbed Lin Daiyu's feet, "Miss Lin, I truly know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time, I will never dare to do it again."

"Let go! I told you, this isn't over until we get an explanation!"

Lin Daiyu was already living in Grandmother Jia's courtyard, and such a commotion had already reached Rongqing Hall.

Yuanyang, the head maidservant of Grandmother Jia, pushed aside the group of maids and nannies who were blocking the doorway to watch the commotion, went into the inner room, greeted Lin Daiyu, and then said, "Miss Lin, Grandmother wants you to go to the main hall."

Li Chen achieved his goal: to disturb Grandmother Jia, who preferred pleasure and disliked dealing with trivial matters.

Once she finds out, things can no longer be left to end so hastily.

Seeing that Yuanyang had arrived, Zhou Rui's wife dared not stop Lin Daiyu any longer. She stood up dejectedly, her head hanging low, having lost her initial spirit.

Yuanyang frowned and glanced at her, then whispered, "The Ancestor has also called for you."

Zhou Rui's wife stared wide-eyed at Yuanyang in disbelief.

However, she was soon dragged and pulled to Rongqing Hall by two strong women who rushed in.

……

After Li Chen entered Rongqing Hall, he waited for a while, and then Madam Wang, Aunt Xue, and Wang Xifeng, who were involved in the matter of sending palace flowers, were all summoned to the front of the hall.

Li Chen was summoned by Grandmother Jia to sit down next to her in the grand master's chair, while the others had to sit in the sandalwood chairs arranged in two rows in the hall.

Even Jia Baoyu sat on the left, opposite the women, and not next to Grandmother Jia.

Lin Daiyu's mother, Jia Min, was once the apple of the Rongguo Mansion's eye. As the eldest daughter born to Grandmother Jia, she was naturally very loved.

As Jia Min's orphaned daughter, Lin Daiyu naturally received this affection.

Even though Grandmother Jia was unwilling to deal with the trivial matters of the mansion, she was now holding back and stood up for Lin Daiyu.

In particular, it was she who personally invited Lin Daiyu to come to the capital.

With a face ashen as water, Grandmother Jia stared at Zhou Rui's wife, who was kowtowing incessantly below, then glanced at Lady Wang and the others, and said in a deep voice, "I, this old hag, am still alive, and you heartless creatures dare to break the rules?! Today you ride on your master's head, tomorrow will this Rongqing Hall have to be vacated for you?"

The three women sitting below all had very unpleasant expressions on their faces.

All three were from the same family, and Grandmother Jia's words were already harsh enough. Wang Xifeng quickly stood up and said, "Grandmother, please calm down. It's just that I've been too busy with trivial matters lately, and I haven't been able to take care of these sisters. Zhou Rui's wife doesn't come here often either, which is why the rules have been disrupted. I will definitely be more careful in the future."

Aunt Xue also stood up and echoed, "What Feng-ge'er said is right. It was my oversight. I used Zhou Rui's wife for convenience. I should have explained things more clearly."

"Miss Lin, your aunt apologizes to you."

Li Chen was wearing a moon-white cross-collar ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with slightly wide sleeves that made movement difficult. Her affected and pretentious curtsy only made Li Chen feel even stranger.

But this play must continue.

"It wasn't Aunt's fault."

"Yes, the concubine is a guest. She was just trying to give the young ladies some flowers from the palace. It was a kind gesture, but there is this wicked girl who deceives and obstructs things."

Grandmother Jia didn't care about Li Chen's stiff movements, assuming he was just nervous, and continued to support him, saying, "There's nothing more to discuss. Second son's wife, why don't you come up with a plan?"

When Madam Wang looked up, her features, which were as calm and still as a Buddha's face, finally showed a hint of expression.

Like Aunt Xue, Madam Wang apologized first, "It's because your aunt has been negligent in disciplining you, Yu'er, please don't take it to heart."

Then he turned around and looked at Zhou Rui's wife, who was lying on the ground. "After all, you are an old servant of the manor. I'm waiving your monthly salary for three months. Go and collect your twenty strokes of the cane yourself. From now on, be careful when you work in the courtyard."

This punishment, seemingly fair, is actually a case of lenient treatment over harsher measures.

Three months' wages are nothing but a drop in the ocean for such a respectable lackey.

Twenty strokes of the cane—the old woman administering the punishment knew her limits; he'd only need to lie in bed for a few days.

This ambiguous punishment was not the kind of authority Li Chen wanted to establish. So he shook Grandmother Jia's arm and whispered, mimicking Lin Daiyu's tone, "Grandmother, I didn't originally care about the two girls. But today, they dared to disrupt the order to please Sister-in-law Lian. Tomorrow, who knows, they might dare to disrupt even bigger rules in the mansion to please someone else. And then..."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia's face darkened completely.

She could disregard the petty squabbles among young girls, but she absolutely could not tolerate anyone undermining the dignity of the Jia family.

She slammed her pearwood phoenix-head cane down hard and scolded, "Second son's wife! Do you think this is childish play, and that being punished with three cups of wine is enough?!"

Madam Wang felt a chill run down her spine, knowing that her mother was truly angry and that she could no longer protect her.

Madam Wang glanced at Lin Daiyu furtively, her heart filled with resentment, but on the surface she could only obediently reply, "Grandmother is right, it was my oversight."

Taking a deep breath, Madam Wang's face was full of coldness as she spoke indifferently, "Since you have no regard for hierarchy, you are no longer fit to do the delicate tasks in this manor. Your husband is currently collecting rent on the estate, so you should go there as well. You no longer need to concern yourself with the affairs of the manor."

As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was shocked.

Zhou Rui's wife suddenly looked up, her face instantly turning ashen, as if her soul had been ripped out.

This is not a punishment; it uproots her decades of dignity and future prospects, nothing more than exile to a thousand miles away!

Based on her seniority, if Madam Wang were to take charge of the household in the future, the position currently held by Granny Lai would belong to Zhou Rui's wife.

By leveraging the prestige of the Rongguo Mansion, she could have built her own back garden, and her son could have been freed from his lowly status and become an official. This bright future was completely ruined by her cleverness in trying to please the Wang family.

"Madam! Madam, please have mercy! This servant knows she was wrong, please forgive me for the years of hard work I have done in serving you..."

Zhou Rui's wife immediately burst into tears and kowtowed repeatedly.

Wang Xifeng's eyelids twitched violently, and she quickly signaled to two strong women to step forward and drag the wailing Zhou Rui's wife out without saying a word.

The desperate cries faded into the distance.

The servants in the mansion were all silent with fear, their heads bowed.

Only now did they truly realize that the seemingly delicate Miss Lin sitting there was actually quite formidable.

After Zhou Rui's wife was dragged away, Grandmother Jia finally calmed down and patted Li Chen's hand, saying, "Yu'er, are you still feeling wronged?"

Li Chen was finally satisfied. He stood up gracefully and bowed to Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, and Aunt Xue. His voice was clear and his expression was calm. "It was my fault for troubling Grandmother, Aunt, and Uncle with such a small matter. But I was thinking that 'a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole.' If I had indulged this villain today, it would have caused great trouble in the future. Now that things are clear and the rules are set, Yu'er feels only gratitude and no longer has any grievances."

His words were neither humble nor arrogant, fulfilling both etiquette and authority, leaving Madam Wang and the others with no choice but to applaud.

Grandmother Jia nodded repeatedly, a hint of affection in her eyes. This unpretentious nature vaguely resembled that of her eldest daughter, Jia Min.

"Baoyu, how can you be so dull-witted? Don't you even realize you're protecting your sister in front of the servants?"

After sorting out the truth, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but scold Jia Baoyu.

Jia Baoyu finally came to his senses, glanced at Lin Daiyu above him, and for some reason felt a little afraid. He shrank his neck weakly and said, "Yes, Grandmother is right. I will remember it in the future."

Grandmother Jia smiled and nodded, "Good, you're all good children. Go back and play. This old woman needs to rest too."

……

"I didn't realize Sister Zhou had such ulterior motives. It's true what they say, you can know a person's face but not their heart. I've been too naive to have caused Lin Meimei such distress. I'm truly ashamed that I can't be on her side. Where are you going now, Meimei? Shall we go back to your room and solve the nine-linked rings?"

Once outside, Jia Baoyu sincerely apologized to Li Chen and warmly invited him to continue as a guest in the room.

However, Lady Wang, who was standing behind Baoyu, had turned as black as charcoal.

"Baoyu, come to my room, I have something to ask you."

Madam Wang coldly uttered a sentence, nodded to Li Chen, and quickly walked through the corridor and left.

Even though Jia Baoyu was reluctant to part with Lin Daiyu, he dared not disobey his mother's wishes.

"After all this trouble, Sister Lin must be tired. Why don't you go back and rest first, and we can meet again another day?"

After saying that, Baoyu chased after him.

Li Chen couldn't help but sneer.

Jia Baoyu's sense of responsibility today is a microcosm of Lin Daiyu's tragic end. Now that his soul has taken over this body, how could he allow the tragedy to repeat itself?
With a soft hum, Li Chen turned and walked back to his room.

Wang Xifeng, who was standing at the foot of the hanging flower gate and saw this scene from afar, couldn't help but complain in her heart.

"How did Lin girl change her temperament so much? She's so fierce. She won't even give Madam a way out and insists on making an enemy of her. I'm afraid I'll have to avoid her in this mansion from now on, otherwise how can things ever be peaceful?"

Now that Wang Xifeng is in charge of the household, it is the result of mediation between Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, so they are weighing the pros and cons even more carefully...

(End of this chapter)