Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Grandmother Jia's face darkened.

Mrs. Wang's face was full of sneer.

Li Wan's face turned red from being scolded.

Mrs. Xing and the other girls said nothing.

Lin Daiyu sneered in her heart, and her face showed a hint of sarcasm, and she said, "Why, just because I don't want to eat meat in mourning, my aunt wants to turn against my eldest sister-in-law?

"Good grandmother, quickly help them! I promise not to deduct the meat from my allotment and give it to outsiders. I will leave it all for Lang Ge'er to eat. Is that okay?

"Or I will go to the Palace Supervisor tomorrow to ask for money from my Lin family. No, I will go right now. First, I will ask for 500 taels of silver to reward the kitchen so that they can cook for me and Lang'er!

"One needs to be vegetarian and light, and good for my health; the other needs to be rich in fish and meat, so that the children can grow up and have good minds. If you do both well, I will give you so much next year, my aunt said, is this feasible?

"If auntie is still worried about Lan Ge'er, then I have no choice but to move out!"

As soon as she opened her mouth, Tanchun took the lead, followed by Ying and Xi, and everyone joined in the fun. Jia's mother, Mrs. Xing, and Li Wan also relaxed their expressions. Only Mrs. Wang looked at Lin Daiyu indifferently without saying a word.

But when Lin Daiyu suddenly turned the subject to the Palace Supervisor, the Lin family's money, the five hundred taels, the reward next year, and moving out, she was clearly reminding Mrs. Wang that she, Lin Daiyu, had plenty of money, and all the money she spent on food and drink was the Lin family's property managed by the Palace Supervisor in accordance with the imperial order. If Mrs. Wang wanted to control her, she could just leave!

The Duke's Mansion couldn't even accommodate a legitimate niece. Seeing that her parents had both passed away, they bullied an orphan girl to the point that she had to start her own business.

If things really got to that point, who would care about meat or not? Just for the sake of the Jia family's reputation, Grandmother Jia and Jia Zheng would divorce Wang!

The room gradually became silent.

Mrs. Wang's face looked as ugly as if the carriage had just run over her, angry and painful!

At this moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps outside, followed by a series of greetings, "Master Bao, are you back?" "Master, run slower!"

Jia Baoyu's excited questions were also interspersed in the middle: "Has Sister Lin come back? How long has she been here? Is she safe?"

Hearing that her precious son was only thinking about this "Sister Lin", Mrs. Wang's face turned pale again and her hands in her sleeves clenched into fists.

Lin Daiyu had been looking at her with a slight smile. When she heard the noise outside and looked at her expression, she suddenly curled her lips and stood up straight:

"My dear, I am so tired that I can't stand it any longer. I want to go back to my room to rest."

As soon as the words came to an end, a young man in a silver-white brocade robe and a silver crown on his head rushed in. He looked at Lin Daiyu with surprise and joy, and strode over to bow:

"My sister is back!"

This outfit is quite decent.

Lin Daiyu, considering the plain dress, squatted down and returned the greeting: "Second brother, how are you?"

This young man is the phoenix egg of the Jia family, the apple of Lady Jia's eye, and Mrs. Wang's only support: Jia Baoyu.

At that moment, Jia Baoyu stared at Daiyu closely, and after a moment, a sad expression appeared on his face. He bowed again and said, "My uncle has passed away and has gone to reunite with my aunt. I hope my sister will be more mournful and not grieve too much, which will only make my uncle and aunt uneasy."

Of all the family members, this idiot is the most polite and considerate...

Lin Daiyu's heart was filled with tenderness, and she felt a haze over the past. She blinked her eyes to wake herself up, and answered politely again:

"Yes. Thank you, second brother. I will remember what you said."

This attitude, although considerate, maintains a great distance.

Jia Baoyu was puzzled. After thinking for a while, he remembered what he heard when he entered the room. He hurriedly greeted Lady Jia, Lady Xing, and Lady Wang, and asked how everyone was. Then he smiled at Lady Jia and said,

"Grandfather, my sister has just returned from a long journey and must be very tired. Shall I take her back to her room first?"

Mrs. Wang's eyes flashed with a sneer, and she spoke again before Lady Jia: "Your sister Lin will stay at home to observe mourning, and will move to Lixiang Courtyard from now on. As a brother, you should go and see her off. Once she closes the gate of her courtyard, it will be three years before you see her again..."

Before he finished speaking, Jia Baoyu's face had flushed with anxiety. Just as he was about to open his mouth to rage, someone outside reported loudly:

"The palace has issued an order for Miss Lin and the women in the mansion. Please ask the old lady, the wives, and the girls to come out to the main courtyard to receive the order!"

Everyone was stunned, even Mrs. Wang was stunned!

The so-called management of Lin Daiyu's business, in fact, is not just swallowing up her family wealth? How come this palace eunuch actually went to the palace to make trouble for her?

Only Mrs. Xing couldn't help but look at Lin Daiyu with a smile: "This expert that Miss Lin met is really very powerful!"

Grandmother Jia gave her a cold look, which frightened Mrs. Xing so much that she stepped back half a step and lowered her head. Then she ordered everyone, "Prepare the incense table, and go and change your clothes quickly."

At this point, Jia Baoyu was no longer willing and had no choice but to stand in the yard outside the door and wait.

Zijuan and Xueyan accompanied Lin Daiyu to the green gauze cabinet. Zijuan was busy looking for two nice clothes for Daiyu. But Lin Daiyu shook her head to stop her:

"I am the one who should observe mourning, and this is all I need."

Zijuan and Xueyan looked at her wearing a pure white cloth skirt over her mourning clothes and had no choice but to give up.

"Miss, what do you think the palace will tell you? Is it to grant posthumous honors to our master?" Zijuan was worried, but also hoped that Daiyu would get good news.

Lin Daiyu was worried, but refused to show it. She just shook her head and said, "My father posthumously conferred the title of Marquis on me and gave me the excellent posthumous title of 'Wen'an'. There won't be any more."

It should be the plan for yourself for the next three years, right?

At one moment, everyone changed into formal attire and set up the incense table. Then, under the guidance of Jia Lian, a female official came in gracefully to announce the imperial decree. The eunuch who followed her was holding a wooden box in his hands.

When Grandmother Jia looked at the female official, she was stunned.

Mrs. Wang was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Isn't this Baoqin..."

There are four young ladies in the Jia family, Yuan, Ying, Tan and Xi, and their corresponding four personal maids are Baoqin, Siqi, Shishu and Ruhua.

This Baoqin was none other than the maidservant who came with the dowry of Jia Yuanchun, who had just been promoted to the title of Consort Xian De. She came to convey an imperial decree, and it was actually Jia Yuanchun's decree that she was conveying.

How could this be a bad thing?

Mrs. Wang calmed down and even had the leisure to help Lady Jia and whispered, "Don't worry, everything is fine."

Lady Jia pulled her arm out of her hand expressionlessly.

Mrs. Wang was very disappointed.

When Lin Daiyu heard the name, her heart skipped a beat. She looked up and happened to see the female official looking at her with a complicated look, which contained not only scrutiny but also awe.

"The Virtuous Consort has given the order. Lin's daughter Daiyu and all the ladies of the Jia family, please kneel and listen!"