Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

"Brother Bao is also anxious. Sit down quickly. I think Sister Lin may not have finished speaking yet." Xue Baochai hurriedly stood up and pushed Baoyu back to his seat with her own hands.

Grandmother Jia hurriedly pulled Daiyu to look at herself and asked anxiously, "Anything else?"

"Yes. The palace probably has rules for the concubines to visit their parents. Grand Eunuch Tao said that the eldest sister's visit should be to the younger generation. But the exact time is unknown. It's not appropriate for me to ask too much in such an occasion as that of a general."

Daiyu said with a smile.

There was another soft bang from the crowd, followed by all kinds of suppressed whispers of excitement.

Even Baoyu was pleasantly surprised: "I, I can see my elder sister during the Chinese New Year?!"

"Yes!" Grandmother Jia hugged him tightly and smiled from ear to ear. Then her nose felt sore and she wiped her tears with a handkerchief. "I haven't seen Yuan'er for more than ten years!"

As she spoke, she became sad again, hugged Baoyu and sobbed, "Min'er, whom I loved the most, passed away early; Yuan'er, whom I raised, entered the palace, and it is as difficult as ascending to heaven to see him once..."

Baoyu pouted and wiped her tears, whispering, "And Sister Lin."

"That's right! And you! You girl, I don't know where you get such a stubborn temper from! The elders have spoken, but you don't listen to a word! How long can I live? I can't even let you stay with me for a few more days!" Grandmother Jia cried and suddenly got angry at Daiyu.

Daiyu stood up with her head down, saying nothing and just listening.

Seeing her being scolded, Baoyu couldn't bear it anymore, so he hugged Grandmother Jia and whispered, "Sister, you are weak, please speak slowly..."

"What's the use of my speed? She won't listen to me!" Grandmother Jia cried and beat her chest, "I raised her up in vain! She went home once and met her father. When she came back, she didn't listen to anything I said!"

The room was completely silent.

But Daiyu slowly raised her head.

“To answer my grandmother’s question, my late father taught me many things, one of which was to know right from wrong and to be grateful and righteous.

"Grandmother is the elder, and you are criticizing my father. As a younger generation, I should not say anything. But even without my father's teaching, I know that between loyalty and filial piety, loyalty comes first; between the emperor and his parents, the emperor comes first.

"Since my father's funeral, the palace has noticed and intervened. What I should and can listen to must be what the palace hears first.

"My elder sister has been made a concubine, and the family is filled with joy. If I live outside, how can I observe mourning? What kind of mourning can I observe? I have always understood the principle that if one person is unhappy, everyone else will be unhappy.

"But what if I just stop observing mourning? How can I save my reputation in the palace?

"Grandma, I have been like this since I was a child. I am willing to respect everyone as long as they are willing to respect me."

Daiyu took two steps back, stepped onto the flat ground, and bowed politely, then placed her hands on the ground, resting her forehead on the back of her hands, and said:

"Eunuch Tao said that I was too thin, so he wanted to send an aunt who specializes in taking care of my health when Concubine Jia returns home to visit her parents. Please let me know, Grandmother."

After saying this, he stood up, knelt again, and was about to leave.

But her previous words had already made Lady Jia and Lady Wang change their expressions. After hearing this, Lady Jia couldn't help but stare at her and ask:

"Is this what the Grand Eunuch Tao meant, or what the Emperor in the palace meant?"

Daiyu was stunned.

She hadn't had time to think about this carefully.

"I do not know."

Grandmother Jia and Mrs. Wang looked at each other worriedly.

"But what does it matter?" Daiyu's indifferent eyes swept across their faces. "After all, it's a good thing for the queen, that's all. I really can't hold on any longer, I'm exhausted. I'll have to take medicine when I get home. Ladies and gentlemen, I won't accompany you anymore."

After saying this, he didn't stop anymore, and walked out with his back straight amid everyone's repeated requests to stay.

Baoyu let go of Grandmother Jia in panic and chased after her: "Sister! Sister Lin!"

"Second brother, please stay. You and I are one year older, so we must behave more according to the rules. Don't let your aunt worry and get angry about you anymore, go back quickly!" Lin Daiyu's cold voice came from the door.

The room fell silent again.

"Sister, do I really have to wait three years before I can be released from the Lixiang Courtyard?" Baoyu asked sadly.

Daiyu hummed, then said, "Goodbye." Then she left.

After a long time, Grandmother Jia lowered her head and waved her hand. Everyone understood, stood up silently, and retreated quietly. Only Mrs. Wang sat there without moving at Yuanyang's signal.

Yuanyang herself had already sent someone out to invite Jia Zheng over.

When Jia Zheng arrived, Mrs. Wang whispered to him what Daiyu had just said. Then Jia's mother raised her head wearily and looked at Jia Zheng: "What do you think?"

"Miss Lin is only twelve years old this year... When that man surnamed Tao saw her last year, she was just over ten years old. It's impossible that she is..." Jia Zheng shook his head repeatedly in disbelief.

Grandmother Jia sighed softly and shook her head: "That's not what I meant."

He paused, lowered his voice, and said, "There must be something fishy about the salt business in Jiangnan. Before Ru Hai died, he might not have told Lin Yatou about it—Lin Yatou couldn't understand it either—but he might have given her something, and then passed it on to the higher-ups through Tao.

"I have been keeping an eye on that place for the past year. Suddenly, a new salt inspector was appointed at the beginning of this spring. He was ruthless and brutal, and even directly killed two salt merchants! It is hard to say whether it was not because the higher-ups integrated the information they received and specially appointed another iron-blooded person to go there.

"In this way, Lin girl, who may know something about the inside story, will definitely be closely watched by the palace. This aunt must be here to do this.

"After all, it would be too conspicuous to send someone here after the queen has finished her visit to her parents."

Jia Zheng listened, nodded silently, and said hesitantly: "No wonder Lin girl insisted on closing the courtyard and observing mourning. I guess the palace supervisor had instructed her before. But she couldn't say it clearly."

Grandmother Jia was a little sad, frowning and thinking: "Yes! I have always wronged her, and I was mean to her in front of so many people today..."

"It's not the old lady's fault." Mrs. Wang rarely spoke up to help Grandmother Jia smooth things over. "It was Baoyu who missed his sister and spoke without caution, which made the old lady sad."

Jia Zheng glanced at her coldly and snorted, "You stay at home all day long and talk about studying, but you haven't learned any principles or rules. I don't know what kind of fool you are!"

"Baoyu has indeed read a lot of books this year! If you don't believe it, you can go and test it! You scold our child for no reason! Officials are unwilling to observe the details and uphold justice when it comes to their sons!" Grandmother Jia hurriedly defended Baoyu.

Mrs. Wang said hurriedly, "What the old lady said is absolutely right!"

"What's the point of him reading those books? After a year of hard study, he didn't even memorize all the Four Books! What will he use to take the exam when he's about to take the test?" Jia Zheng couldn't help but argue.

The three people's topic deviated from this point, and they argued for a cup of tea before Jia Mu finally reacted and sighed, "Forget it. We can't guess what happened to Miss Lin. When Miss Yuan comes back, we can ask her in detail."

"Yes." Jia Zheng and his wife nodded in agreement.

"What about Miss Lin..." Mrs. Wang asked hurriedly.

Grandmother Jia thought about it for a long time, then waved her hand helplessly: "As usual."