Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Lin Daiyu discovered that once she faced the reality, she realized that her grandmother was so shrewd that she could not even catch up with her.

In a few words, Grandmother Jia decided to give her a housekeeper, a cook, and two servants: "Zijuan has been with you since she was a child, so she will go with you. Her parents are honest and will be a good housekeeper for you. The one in your kitchen has been very good at taking care of your stomach in the past two years, so she will go with you too.

"Now it seems that Xiaohong actually serves you very well. In that case, her mother has a second aunt's sister who is free, so why not let her go with you? Well, plus Lai's sister asked for a job for her sister yesterday, so why not give it a try?"

"Okay." Lin Daiyu knew she couldn't refuse, so she agreed. No matter who he was, as long as he entered the Lin residence, she would be able to manipulate him. What was there to be afraid of? She just had to let Jia know that she was not easy to fool.

Seeing her obedience, Jia's mother became happy again and asked everyone to leave. But she was unwilling to let Lin Daiyu go, so they had lunch together. Then she called Wang Xifeng and asked the two of them to discuss the banquet in her room.

Sitting down in the outer room, Lin Daiyu said calmly, "Sister Feng, do you know that the second aunt of Lin Zhixiao's family is an insatiable gambler and greedy for money?"

Wang Xifeng's eyebrows almost flew up: "I don't know! But how do you know?"

"I know all the relatives and friends of my maids." Lin Daiyu raised her lips slightly. "Qingwen has a cousin in this family who is in charge of the housework. Zijuan's parents are sick and she has six brothers. She is the eldest sister. The other five have nothing but strength.

"Xiaohong's family seems to have many people, but in fact, there is only one uncle and one aunt. The others are all working in the old house in Jinling. Xiaohong's uncle injured his leg in his early years, and her aunt died early. Now she is a bachelor who just eats and drinks at home and waits for death.

"Her aunt was greedy for money and loved gambling. She almost sold her cousin to raise money for gambling. Her parents used the name of Second Brother Lian to ask Jingzhao Prefecture to get her back. Her uncle's cousin relied on her mother to make trouble outside. Lai Shangrong saw them once and hung them up and beat them..."

When Lin Daiyu said this, she frowned and covered her mouth with her hands to cough.

Qingwen, who was standing by, looked at Xiaohong with eyes wide open, and couldn't help but whispered, "Really?!"

Xiaohong lowered her head and wiped her eyes: "Yeah."

Ping'er, who was following Wang Xifeng, also looked at Xiaohong in surprise: How could she tell her master all the secrets of her relatives so easily? !

"This is outrageous! I didn't even know this! A family of troublemakers like this wants to run rampant in your house? I'll give him a beating!"

Wang Xifeng was immediately annoyed, pointing at Ping'er and asking, "Also, Lin Zhixiao actually used your master's name to make a fuss in Jingzhao Prefecture! Do you know about this kind of nonsense? How could you hide it from me?!"

"To answer grandma, although I have heard of this matter vaguely, it is not as real as what Miss Lin knows. I thought I just asked the bailiffs of Jingzhao Prefecture to do it, but I didn't expect that it would even alarm the master who holds the seal..."

Ping Erh made a few remarks to defend herself, but when she saw Wang Xifeng's stern look, she quickly stopped talking and bowed her head to admit her fault, "I know I am wrong. Please punish me, Madam."

Wang Xifeng then turned to Daiyu, patted her hands, and smiled to comfort her: "Who do you want to take away? Today the old lady is just talking about it. Later you have to ask whether the other person is willing. Let's discuss this later. Now let's talk about the banquet first..."

The two of them agreed to hold a banquet the day after tomorrow, which would only be for the women of the two houses. As for the men, Daiyu would pay, and Jia Lian would just treat the men of the two houses to a meal outside.

After the two finished their discussion, Jia's mother saw that Daiyu was tired, so she let her take a rest in her room.

Wang Xifeng went out for a while, and when she came back, she quietly met with Jia's mother alone, and reported to her in a low voice what Daiyu had said, and then told her what she had found out:

"I heard that Lin Zhixiao has stopped speaking for the Lai family for more than a year. In the past, people in the house saw the two of them trying to trip each other up. It seems that the Lai family has found something wrong.

"I just interrogated Lin Zhixiao's wife. She told me while crying that now every three months, she and her old man have to go to the Lai family to report everything they have done for the master, the mistress, and Master Lian, no matter how big or small..."

Grandmother Jia's face suddenly changed!

"The granddaughter-in-law knows that the Lai family is the one that the old ancestor trusts the most. But what was good then may not be good now; the grandmother is honest, but it does not mean that the grandson and great-grandson will be loyal. What doesn't the old lady know? This slave will deceive the master!"

Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth and knelt down quickly, "I am young and arrogant. If I said something wrong, please teach me a lesson, old ancestor!"

Grandmother Jia pondered for a long time, raised her hand and asked her to stand up: "The Lai family is not only the old Duke's wet nurse... We can't do anything about it now, we can only take it step by step.

"However, since the Lin family has become his family's slaves, there is no need for them to work for us under the name of housekeeper!"

There was a coldness in his eyes.

Wang Xifeng thought for a moment, her eyes lit up, and she smiled quietly: "Actually, there is no need to punish him with drums and gongs. I have an idea, let the old ancestor listen to it..."

When Lin Daiyu woke up, Wang Xifeng smiled and discussed with her: "I checked, everything is as you said. How about this, your house is also in need of a housekeeper, why don't you let Lin Zhixiao and his family go with you? This will save Xiaohong from being separated from her parents.

"With the Zijuan family and the Liu family in the kitchen, that's enough. As for the other servants, if you have your eyes on any, just tell me and I'll pick them for you."

"If that's the case, there's a gatekeeper in my yard whom I would also like to take away." Lin Daiyu took the opportunity to give the gatekeeper who had scolded Baoyu a way out.

Wang Xifeng agreed readily.

After the matter was settled, Lin Daiyu looked at Xiaohong, who was full of gratitude.

Just like that, after the cleaning, the hustle and bustle, and the banquet, Jia's grandmother led the female family members for another banquet. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Daiyu moved into the old Lin family house in Qudeng Hutong, only seven or eight streets away from the imperial city.

In the middle of the inverted eight-character screen wall is the Guangliang Gate, which can only be used by officials of high rank. A plaque has been built above the black lacquer gate, with two simple words: Lin Mansion.

Daiyu got off the sedan chair and stood at the door. She looked up at the two characters. The more she looked, the more familiar they looked. They were written in a way that sounded like flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, painted with iron and silver hooks.

"Is this the calligraphy of His Majesty?" Aunt Meng asked softly beside her.

Lin Daiyu was stunned.

Isn’t it?!

The charm is similar to the words on my own seal, and they are exactly the same!

Daiyu was a little uneasy and tilted her head and said, "Is it okay to leave it like this?"

"No one will come to steal, will they?" Aunt Meng muttered, waved her hand and ordered someone to open the door, then led the way and walked towards the house.

Daiyu watched the two doors slowly open. A passage led to an unknown depth. Lin Zhixiao and his wife came out with smiles on their faces. They bowed and invited her in. "...Everything has been cleaned and arranged. Please go home, young lady!"

Take a deep breath and exhale forcefully.

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Okay, let's go home."