Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

When she returned to the Lin residence, she was greeted by the servants as soon as she entered the door, greeting them warmly. They were afraid that she would be cold or dizzy, so they carefully and quickly sent Daiyu back to the upper room.

Daiyu couldn't help but laugh: "It's just a day off, why are you all so happy?"

Xiaohong and Xueyan came back earlier than them, and let Zijuan and Qingwen tidy themselves up at the moment, while they came up to take off their clothes, wash their hands, and serve Daiyu tea and water.

Xiao Hong smiled and said, "Which family isn't the busiest during the first month of the year? For servants, if they can get together with their family on New Year's Eve or the first day of the year, it's considered a good start to the year. Now that they can have a whole day off, how can they not be happy?"

"It seems that I will go to Rong Mansion to accompany my grandmother on the first day of every year in the future. This will be better for everyone!" Daiyu smiled brightly, tidied herself up and lay on the couch to relax.

Xueyan came up to her and massaged her legs: "Sister Zijuan said that you walked around the whole garden today. Do your legs hurt?"

"Not bad." Daiyu saw Aunt Meng come in, sat up, and greeted with a smile, "Aunt, how are you today? I have been walking around for several hours and I don't feel any pain in my legs or waist. I was just about to come back to thank you!"

Aunt Meng looked at her spirits, came over and took her pulse, and nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, the initial results are showing."

He sat down at the table, wrote a list, and handed it to Xiaohong: "For the Liu family, cook according to this for the next seven days."

Xiaohong went with a smile.

Aunt Meng then turned around and looked at Daiyu and replied with a smile: "I am so proud today. These two girls have served me so well. It's almost the same as they usually serve you.

"My two senior sisters heard that I hadn't officially accepted a disciple yet, and they almost used our ancestral medicine hall to trick them away!"

Lin Daiyu smiled and stretched out her hand to pinch Xueyan's face. "Oh my, I'm wasting your talent! What's the matter? Do you want to redeem yourself and become your aunt's personal disciple?"

"No!" Xueyan looked up, her face clear and money-grubbing, "I was the first to serve the young lady. When the young lady found a good place to go and arranged a way out for us, I must be the first one to do it. I am so disappointed if I leave now!"

Aunt Meng and Lin Daiyu couldn't help laughing.

Xiaohong just came in after delivering the message, and Aunt Meng asked her again. Xiaohong smiled and said, "I am the only one in my family. My parents will definitely let me marry a son-in-law to continue their family line.

"Aunt is extremely talented. Today, the Wang family's ancestor said that she is the most capable among her disciples. How can she not be worthy of a dedicated disciple to serve her? I would like to think so, but unfortunately, she is not worthy!"

As they were talking, the little maid at the door opened the curtain, and Qingwen and Zijuan walked in hand in hand, talking and laughing.

Daiyu then told Zijuan, "I remember there is a bronze running horse paperweight and a Lintao green inkstone with a flying figure carved on it in the storehouse. Go find them."

Zijuan asked with a smile: "Miss, are you going to give it to Lang'er? He wants a horse, so you really want to give him a horse?"

"Yes. His mother is a boring person. It's so hard for him to say something he likes in front of everyone. How can I let my child down?" Daiyu nodded with a smile.

Aunt Meng curled her lips and said, "Giving a paperweight and inkstone to a six or seven-year-old child is really a trick to force the child to study! It's so annoying!"

Everyone chuckled.

Lin Daiyu also laughed and said, "That inkstone is not for Brother Lang. There is a fellow villager of mine living in the nunnery of Rong Mansion. She is a nun who practices Buddhism with her hair uncut. Both her parents died a long time ago, just like me.

"She loves these ancient and elegant objects. This inkstone is from the pre-Tang Dynasty, and there are only about a hundred of them handed down from generation to generation. I'll give her one to make her happy."

Zijuan was stunned.

The girl went to see Miaoyu, but she didn't know about this.

Zijuan could not help but feel annoyed: it would have been unnecessary for her and Qingwen to go out to get the news. It would have been better for her to stay with the girl. At least the girl would not have to waste her energy explaining this matter again.

While making up his mind not to let Lin Daiyu be alone in the future, he quickly went to look for something.

Here, Qingwen saw Lin Daiyu and Aunt Meng chatting and laughing, and Xueyan massaging her legs, so she pulled Xiaohong to the outer room to talk in private.

But Lin Daiyu saw it and called out to her, "Private conversations are not allowed here. Come on, tell me what it is!"

"When did young lady start to like listening to these gossips about other people's affairs? They are just trivial matters in the Rong Mansion. I was just chatting with Xiaohong to kill time..." Qingwen evaded.

Lin Daiyu raised her eyebrows with a straight face: "Huh!?"

Qingwen had no choice but to go back into the inner room and report the truth:

"I heard that Master Bao has been studying very hard these days. Since his family didn't need him for New Year's celebrations, he had been studying until yesterday. When he was called for the ancestral worship in the afternoon, he put down his book, changed his clothes and went to the East Palace.

"Isn't it forbidden to use writing brushes or needlework in the first month of the year? Musk Moon wanted him to have a good rest, so she took away all his books.

"Today he had nothing to see, so he sat facing the wall and meditated for the whole day, without even having lunch. Everyone in the yard was almost scared out of their wits, and they didn't dare tell his wife or the old lady.

"I heard about it from the grandmother in Daoxiang Village, and I couldn't help but secretly went to take a look. I didn't want to be discovered by the Second Master, so I quickly retreated. He caught up with me, pulled me to a place where no one was around, and asked me about my girl's situation..."

Several people's eyes suddenly turned to her like sharp arrows, and Xueyan's eyes widened with a look that looked like she wanted to kill someone!

Qingwen felt helpless and angry. She first glared at Xueyan with her hands on her hips before she said to Daiyu carefully:

"Who am I? Second Master has always known my temper. How can he have the confidence to embarrass me? I won't tell you! Not only will I not tell him anything, I will also tell him: The girl is very good, it's not Second Master's turn to worry about her!

“I also said: Tell him not to mess around, otherwise people will say our girl is the root of trouble, and that beauty is the root of trouble. It’s simply an extra scapegoat!

"If he wants to make trouble, please change the time and place. He has to get close to our girl. If the girl doesn't go today, will he stop meditating facing the wall?

"The Second Master lowered his head for a long time after being scolded by me, then smiled and said: You are right. He also bowed to me before leaving."

After saying this, Qingwen dared not even breathe a single breath, and looked at Daiyu anxiously.

Daiyu had a wooden face and remained silent.

Aunt Meng couldn't help it. Just as she was about to speak, Zijuan came back, holding two boxes and smiling: "Girl, look, are these these two?"

Aunt Meng closed her mouth again.

Daiyu looked at the two boxes that Zijuan handed to her with the lids opened, nodded, and said calmly, "That's right. It's time to go to bed, you all go down."

Everyone had to file out.

Zijuan was the last one to arrive. After they had gone out and closed the door, she quietly told Daiyu: "The third lady's maid Cui Mo stopped me in the garden and asked me to tell the lady:

"The third young lady doesn't want to go out with the old lady for social events, and wants to come earlier. Please tell the old lady when you have a chance!"

Lin Daiyu was full of impatience. After hearing this, she snorted coldly: "She can do whatever she wants. Who does she think she is!?"