Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

“Isn’t this difficult to handle?

"I heard that Qingwen was originally bought by Lai Mama as a gift to the old lady. I think the deed is still with you. I will buy her for you.

"In this way, Qingwen and Xueyan are mine. Zijuan, Xiaohong and Chunxian are exactly three, just like the sisters."

Lin Daiyu was counting on her fingers seriously. Yuanyang looked at her and chuckled. Seeing that she was in a daze, he quickly explained with a smile:

"That's what I was saying. You are indeed grandparents and grandchildren, connected by blood. What the young lady said is exactly the same as the old lady's idea."

As she spoke, Yuanyang took out a small box from her bosom and opened it, revealing Qingwen's indenture.

"The old lady said that Qingwen is now given to you. From now on, she is yours, and you should treat her as you wish, regardless of Master Bao or anyone else. If she doesn't obey, you can sell her off without even informing the old lady."

Daiyu laughed and shook her head when she heard these words, but Qingwen was already staring blankly, and couldn't help asking: "Why, now I am not even considered a maid of the Jia family, but a maid of the Lin family?!"

Xueyan smiled and pulled her hand: "Sister Qingwen will be the same as me from now on!"

Lin Daiyu smiled and gave Xueyan a glare before saying to Qingwen, "Grandmother is afraid that others will see that I have more maids than my sisters and say something. Besides, she has to treat my sisters equally in front of them.

"Of course, if you don't want to come and just want to follow Master Bao, then I won't force you."

Qingwen's heart paused, but she knew she couldn't hesitate at this moment, so she bowed her head respectfully and said, "Look at what the young lady said! I am a servant, and everything is arranged by the master. Besides, the young lady has always been kind to me and treated me very well. She asked me to come now because she thinks highly of me. How could I not be willing?"

Then she knelt down and kowtowed: "I, your servant Qingwen, kowtow to you, young lady. From now on, I am yours. If you tell me to go east, I will never go west. If you tell me to scold Baoyu, I will never hit Xiren!"

This one sentence made the mandarin ducks laugh.

Zijuan, who had just walked in and was listening quietly by the door, felt a little uncomfortable. At this moment, she silently stepped forward and helped Qingwen up.

Lin Daiyu glanced at her without saying anything. She turned her gaze to Xiaohong and asked with a smile, "What did your mother say?"

As for Qingwen’s affairs, the old lady naturally has the final say, so just ask her.

However, Xiaohong is the daughter of Lin Zhixiao, the steward of Rongguo Mansion. She is a child of good family background and it is unknown what kind of future awaits her.

If she wanted to stay wholeheartedly, it was not something that could be solved by just the master's order. She could not be unwilling, and the housekeeper and his wife could not be resentful.

So Lin Daiyu asked her mother directly what she meant.

Lin Xiaohong still lowered her head, but she also knelt down on both knees, kowtowed to the ground, and said: "My parents said that they did not do a good job in bringing the young lady back. The young lady has entered the mansion, but the Lixiang Courtyard that they should clean is still dirty and messy. This is a serious crime of dereliction of duty and they should be punished with a stick.

"Not only did the young lady not punish them, she even invited me to serve her. This is the young lady's generosity and the honor she bestowed on our family. We are all grateful to her!

"As for me, I have been confined at home for the past twelve or thirteen years. I am a fool and have never seen anything in the world.

"If I can follow the girl and serve her, I can read a few books and learn a few words in the future, and visit Suzhou and Yangzhou..."

"Bah! You are just daydreaming! Our daughter is going back to her hometown to visit her relatives, and she will bring her maid with her. You, the Jia family, should stay and look after the house obediently!"

As Qingwen spoke, she leaned against Lin Daiyu, hugged her shoulders, and said coquettishly, "My dear girl, next time you go on such a long journey, take me with you. I am brave and I am not afraid of anything!"

Lin Daiyu looked at Xiaohong who was kneeling on the ground in a daze, and she laughed with her handkerchief covering her mouth. She shook her head and ordered them, "Forget it, forget it. Get up!"

Yuanyang looked at the instantly harmonious atmosphere in the room, her eyes flashed, and she stood up with a smile: "Since the transaction is clear, I will not disturb the girl and will go back."

"No, no!" Lin Daiyu hurriedly stood up and pulled her away, and told Zijuan, "Go and arrange for this naughty monkey and Xiaohong to stay, have dinner and change clothes, I have to go and burn incense for my father later."

Zijuan understood and asked three people to clean up the mess on the table, then they all went out and closed the door.

Qingwen stood outside the door and curled her lips: "What kind of private conversation are you talking about? We can't even listen to a word of it."

Zijuan glared at her and whispered in her ear, "Do you want to hear the private conversation about how the Jia family plans to deal with your property?!"

Qingwen was so frightened that she waved her hands around: "I won't listen! I won't listen even if you hold me down! I still want to live two more years!"

Xiaohong smiled gently.

Qingwen turned back to look at her suddenly and snorted, "You little foxy girl, it's only your first day here and you're already so sharp-tongued, trying to curry favor with the young lady!

"I'm telling you, Zijuan is the leader in this courtyard, and I'm the second! The third is Xueyan, and then it's your turn!

"Don't act like you know nothing and are incapable of anything. I won't indulge you!"

Zijuan hurriedly pulled her up.

Qingwen pulled her hand back and glared at Zijuan, saying, "So? You and Chunxian need to look up to her parents, but I don't! I'm from the Lin family, not your Jia family. From now on, I'm not under the control of Aunt Lin!"

Zijuan was so angry that she rubbed her forehead and felt a headache.

Xueyan, who was standing next to her, took Xiaohong's arm with some sympathy, but was pulled to her side by the sharp-eyed Qingwen.

Xiaohong was not annoyed at all. She looked at Qingwen with a smile and said, "Sister is good at sewing and is very skillful. I am well-known at home and can get around easily. We have different jobs, so what is there to argue about? As long as the girl is well, you and I will have the same good future, right?"

Zijuan and Xueyan nodded secretly after hearing this.

Even Qingwen was stunned for a moment, then her anger turned into joy: "You are right! That's it!"

In the room, Lin Daiyu and Yuanyang listened quietly to Xiaohong outside calming down Qingwen's unreasonable behavior with just a few words, and they couldn't help but smile at each other.

"Miss, why did you think of asking Qingwen to come and serve you?" Yuanyang helped Lin Daiyu into the bedroom, took a pillow and placed it behind her, let her lean back on the bed to rest, and asked her softly.

Lin Daiyu held her hand and whispered, "Qingwen has a quick temper. She has offended many people in the mansion, not to mention in that room. Besides, she will never be in the Madam's eyes even in a hundred years."

"But the more she behaves like that, the more Second Brother likes her and the more he wants to protect her. Although it's nothing now, she will definitely suffer a great loss in the future.

"I felt sorry for her because she was an orphan like me, so I decided to come here, firstly for her life, and secondly for my second brother's reputation.

"I have received the love of the old lady, and I have no way to repay her. My second brother is the apple of her eye, so I will do as much as I can."

"Nothing to repay you?" Yuanyang's face changed and he blurted out.

Lin Daiyu looked into her eyes calmly and nodded gently: "I am a girl, so I have nothing to repay you for!"

In other words, the girl from the Lin family never thought of marrying into the Jia family? !