Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Sure enough, three days later, news came that Jia Yuanchun had been selected for the Fengzao Palace. Jia Lian was overjoyed and immediately urged to return to Beijing.

The head of the Lin family thought that Lin Daiyu would insist on keeping the full gift, but Lin Daiyu actually agreed, performed the "second seventh" for Lin Ruhai, and then set off.

They sailed all the way, non-stop day and night, and returned to Kyoto in less than a month.

The day we disembarked was Lin Ruhai’s seventh seventh day.

Lin Daiyu looked coldly at the maids of the Jia family who came to the dock in red and green to greet her joyfully. She felt unhappy and asked Zijuan to report to Jia Lian: "The young lady is in mourning and she dare not ride in such a bright red and green carriage.

"Besides, today is the seventh day after the master's death, and the young lady is in a hurry to find a quiet place to hold the memorial ceremony. Please ask the second master if the family has prepared anything. If not, the young lady can go to the family temple first. If it is prepared, please order a black cloth carriage to enter the mansion directly through the corner gate or the back door."

It was Lai Wang, the chamberlain of the Wang family, who came to pick up Jia Lian. He frowned when he heard this and said, "These days our family is building a separate house for our queen to visit her parents. There are so many things to do, I'm afraid we won't have enough people to do this and that all at once.

"Miss Zijuan is also a family girl, so she should be sympathetic to the difficulties faced by her master. Why don't you go and tell Miss Lin to bear with it for the sake of the old lady and the queen in the palace and go home first!"

Zijuan wanted to argue, but Jia Lian glanced at her, so she had to swallow her words. She bowed her head and said "yes", then turned back.

Here, Jia Lian and Lai Wang smiled at each other, and everyone was happily moving their luggage, pulling the carriages and horses, preparing to return home.

But in a moment, Xueyan, who was beside Daiyu, came over, her face puffed up. She glared at Laiwang first, then raised her voice to Jia Lian:

"Second Master Lian, our young lady said that today is my master Qiqi. You are her cousin. If there is a queen in the palace, it is unreasonable to teach her to be unfilial.

"Besides, the palace knew about our master's funeral from the time of his coffin to his burial. It's possible that the palace has also heard about her arrival in Beijing today.

“When this scene and the words of the steward are reported to the palace, she will be accused of being unfilial. I am afraid that you, Master Lian, the ladies in the palace, and even the entire Rongguo Mansion will be implicated.

"Please think twice. Should we let our girl suffer, or should we ask the steward to bear the grievance and do what should have been done long ago for our girl?"

Xueyan was a maid in the Lin family. She had served Daiyu since she was young. She was younger than Daiyu, very childish, with a crisp voice and a hot temper. She said all these words in one breath and actually silenced the noisy moving scene.

Jia Lian and Lai Wang's expressions gradually changed as she spoke.

Jia Lian couldn't help but glare at Lai Wang, gritting his teeth and cursing in a low voice: "You will only bring trouble to me!"

Lai Wang's face had already turned red with shame and anger, and he forced himself to admit his fault to Jia Lian: "It's all my fault for being rude."

He rolled his eyes, forced a smile towards Xueyan, and said in a soft voice, "I was wrong just now. I didn't explain it clearly because I thought it would be troublesome to explain.

"Of course, the family has already prepared a clean room for Miss Lin, and a simple carriage will come to take her back home soon.

"But the girl is a distinguished guest, the old lady's jewel in the crown. She is mourning for her father and is full of filial piety. Why would she sneak in through the back door? Just like our Second Master, she should go through the corner door..."

Jia Lian kicked him on the leg.

Lai Wang stuttered, his smile becoming uglier: "Young lady is a guest no matter what, and you have the spirit tablet of the late master with you, so the mansion will open the main gate to welcome you."

Only then did Xueyan lower her chin, which had been raised high, and hummed.

Jia Lian stared at her face closely, smiling but with cold eyes: "Cousin Lin is indeed intelligent and filial. The master in the palace has only taught her for seven days, and she has already made such a reasonable and well-founded statement. It really comforts my heart.

"Miss Xue, please go back. Cousin Lin, please be patient and wait for a moment. We are so noisy, I'm afraid we may have to wait a while longer!"

Xueyan responded crisply, turned around and trotted back to the boat.

After hearing her report, Lin Daiyu smiled and gestured to her, "You have done a good job on this mission. Go and pack your luggage. I will reward you when you return home."

The snow goose left happily.

Zijuan blushed and hesitated: "Since everything has been arranged, why did you have to tell me that just now? Do you think that my job is very lucrative and I didn't pay him any tribute? You are actually trying to bully me in front of the Second Master..."

"Come on, stop covering up for them." Lin Daiyu interrupted her rudely, "They must have made no preparations. They just made up a lie to keep me calm and let us wait here foolishly while they went to set up an attack!"

Zijuan's eyes were sore, tears fell, and she knelt down on her knees: "Girl, I'm sorry for wronging you!"

Lin Daiyu sat leisurely under the window in the cabin, looking at the crowded dock through the gap in the curtains, and said nothing more.

Is this unfair?

When she first entered Rongguo Mansion, her mother had passed away only half a year ago. For others, it would be fine, but for Jia Lian, Jia Baoyu and Jia Huan, Jia Min was their real aunt and should be mourned for nine months. But in the end, she wore red and green, without even a trace of sadness.

Now, their father is just a stranger to them. He doesn’t even have to wear mourning clothes, so naturally they have no respect for him.

Although my grandmother loved my mother and myself, she was only immersed in Jia's own joys and sorrows, and I'm afraid she had forgotten these "etiquettes" long ago.

In her previous life, she had suffered too much of this kind of unspeakable grievance. However, she was sheltered by Jia Shi and was loved by her grandmother in her daily life. She really couldn't care less about these things.

But this world is different...

Daiyu looked at an official ship slowly passing by outside, thinking about her worries, a very faint smile appeared on her face, she lowered her eyelids and lowered the window shutter.

She didn't know that at the second-floor window of the official ship, there was a young and majestic man holding a newly acquired telescope and looking at her. He paused for a long time before handing the telescope to the person next to him:

"This batch of telescopes is good. It can see things more clearly than the batch from last year. Tell them to make 200 of them and distribute them to the border troops."

Standing next to him was the pale-faced, beardless palace eunuch, also in plain clothes and a green cap. He bowed and accepted the telescope, then said to the man:

"I originally thought that Ru Hai was worried about his daughter before his death, so he exaggerated his words. Now it seems that Jia Shi is really getting more and more unreasonable."

The man looked out the window at the busy people and vehicles on the dock. He was lost in thought for a while, then turned around and asked, "I heard that Jia Hua, who was recommended in the new newspaper to be the Jiangnan Grain Commissioner, is the teacher of this girl?"

"Ru Hai also mentioned that he only taught the girl for a year, and in order to thank his teacher, he let him go to Beijing to meet Jia Zheng. Who would have thought that he would flatter her and get her such a lucrative position as the prefect of Yingtian."

The Palace Supervisor sneered and was about to say something, but when he saw the man's indifferent expression, he swallowed it back, lowered his head and stopped talking.

"Since this child asked me to take care of her, I will take care of her.

"Go to the opposite side of Fengzao Palace and pass on the imperial decree, asking Jia to control her shameless family!

"By the way, go ask the Queen for a Ruyi and have Jia give it to the child."