Red Mansion: Holding Space and Marrying Like the Sea

The third day of the eighth lunar month of that year marked the celebration of Jia Mu's eightieth birthday. Jia Mu was the widow of Duke Rong, and her granddaughter, Yuanchun, was a noble concubine. Such distinguished status naturally attracted the attention of many members of the royal family and nobles. Due to the large number of friends and family who would come to celebrate, it would have been difficult to arrange for all. Therefore, the celebration was postponed from July 28th to August 5th, spanning eight days. Both the Ning and Rong mansions prepared a lavish banquet.

Ningguo Mansion specially hosted a banquet for male guests, while Rongguo Mansion invited female guests separately. At the same time, they also cleaned up several spacious places in the Grand View Garden, such as Zhuijin Pavilion and Jiayin Hall, as resting places.

On July 28th, the Jia Mansion invited royal relatives, princes, princesses, daughters of the county, princesses, kings, wives of the dowagers, etc.; on the 29th, the governor of the capital and his wives were invited; on the 30th, officials of all levels and their wives, as well as relatives, friends and female relatives from near and far were invited; on the first day of August, Jia She's family dinner was held; on the second day, Jia Zheng's family dinner was held; on the third day, it was Jia Zhen's turn; and on the fourth day, there was a family dinner attended by all family members in the Jia Mansion.

The fifth day of the lunar year was the day when Lai Dalin Zhixiao and other housekeepers and stewards of the Jia family jointly paid for a banquet. From the beginning of July, people came to give birthday gifts in an endless stream.

Upon receiving the decree, the Ministry of Rites announced that the Emperor had bestowed upon the Empress a golden and jade ruyi, four lengths of colored satin, four gold and jade rings, and five hundred taels of silver as congratulatory gifts. Yuanchun also ordered the eunuchs to present a golden longevity statue, an agarwood crutch, a string of cananga beads, a box of longevity incense, a pair of gold ingots, four pairs of silver ingots, twelve rolls of colored satin, and four jade cups.

Besides these, all the other princes, nobles, imperial consorts, and civil and military officials, great and small, whoever they came into contact with, all presented gifts. In the main hall, a huge table covered with red felt was placed, and all the exquisite items were laid out on it, inviting Lady Jia to come and inspect them. For the first day or two, Lady Jia would happily come and inspect them, but eventually, she grew bored and stopped examining them. She simply said, "Tell the maids to put them away. I'll look at them another day when I'm bored."

On the 28th, colorful lanterns were hung everywhere in the Rong and Ning mansions, and the sound of melodious stringed instruments could be heard. The only guests Ningguo Mansion had today were Prince Beijing, Prince Nan'an, Prince Yongchang's consort, Prince Leshan, and a few close relatives. At Rong Mansion, the Princess Dowager of Prince Nan'an, the Princess of Prince Beijing, and several close relatives were present.

Jia Mu and the others, all dressed in their finest attire according to their rank, came to greet him. After the meeting, they were first invited into the Jiayin Hall in the Grand View Garden. After having tea and changing clothes, they were then invited out to the Rongqing Hall to kowtow and celebrate his birthday and take their seats.

There were two seats at the top, for the Queen Mother of Nan'an and the Princess of Beijing respectively; and at the bottom were the wives of the princes and dukes.

A little later, Youshi arrived at the table with a playlist. The Nan'an Concubine politely declined, then chose a festive and auspicious play. Then, Princess Beijing followed suit. Everyone again exchanged politeness, and then the order was given to choose any play they wanted to perform.

Soon, after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they changed their clothes and went into the garden to play. At this time, the Nan'an Concubine asked Baoyu with a smile, and Jia Mu replied with a smile: "There are many guests today, and he is entertaining guests outside with his father!"

When the Nan'an Concubine asked about the young ladies, Jia's mother smiled and replied, "Some of these sisters are sick, some are too weak, and some girls are shy when they see strangers, so they are allowed to watch the play in the hall next door with their aunt's sisters."

As soon as Lady Jia finished speaking, Tanchun walked in with a smile and bowed to the Concubine Nan'an to pay her respects.

"It's Miss Tanchun! Hurry up and get up." The Nan'an Concubine smiled and pulled Tanchun up, looking her over carefully. "What a pretty child! No wonder the old lady likes her so much."

"Thank you for the compliment, Madam Princess." Tanchun smiled shyly. "Please come in, Madam Princess. It's so windy outside, I'm afraid you might catch a cold."

The group entered the inner room and sat down as host and guest. Grandmother Jia asked Tanchun to sit next to her and ordered tea and snacks to be served.

"I've often heard people say that the old lady is the best at raising girls. Seeing her today, I can see that it's true." The Nan'an Concubine said to Lady Jia with a smile, "I wonder if she's been betrothed to anyone?"

When Lady Jia heard this, she was moved. She glanced at Tanchun and said with a smile, "Tan-chan is still young. There's no need to rush."

"Alas, when a girl grows up, she has no control over others," said the Nan'an Concubine, looking at Tanchun. "I have a nephew, twenty years old this year, and still unmarried. Although he doesn't come from a wealthy family, he is a man of good character, hardworking and ambitious. I wonder what Tanchun thinks of him?"

Tanchun blushed slightly and lowered her head in silence. Seeing this, Jia's mother smiled and tried to smooth things over, saying, "We appreciate the Dowager Consort's kindness. However, this is a matter of marriage, and it depends on the child's own wishes."

After hearing this, the Nan'an Concubine nodded slightly, indicating that she understood Lady Jia's thoughts, and then smiled and said, "Yes, this matter really can't be rushed. My nephew doesn't really want to get married now, but I think Tan'er is really good, so I couldn't help but mention it. If there is a chance in the future, we can discuss it slowly."

The group chatted for a while longer, their topics revolving around trivial family matters. Tanchun listened quietly, her mind brooding. She knew clearly that Grandmother Jia would never marry her off easily. The Jia family was currently facing numerous difficulties and challenges, and needed to consolidate its position and influence through marriage with other families. However, Tanchun did not want to become a victim of family interests, leaving her fate to be dictated by others. She longed to be able to choose her own future partner and live a happy and fulfilling life.

After a while, after enjoying some tea and snacks, everyone went to walk around the garden for a while. At this time, seeing that it was getting late, Jia's mother thought it was almost time, so she asked people to prepare a banquet and invited everyone to sit down and eat.

The Nan'an Concubine stood up and said goodbye, saying that she was not feeling well. "It would be inappropriate for me not to come today, but I have no choice but to leave now."

After hearing this, Jia Mu and the others knew they couldn't force her to stay, so they escorted her to the garden gate and watched her get on the sedan chair and leave. After everyone drank some tea and strolled around the garden, Jia Mu asked everyone to sit down again.

The Nan'an Concubine once again asked to leave, still because she was not feeling well. "I am really sorry for not coming today. I would feel bad if I didn't come, so please forgive me for leaving first."

Grandmother Jia said quickly: "In that case, then go back and rest early."

After hearing this, Jia Mu and the others felt it was not easy to force her to stay, so they had to send her to the garden gate and watch her get into the sedan chair and leave.

After seeing off the Concubine Nan'an, Grandmother Jia turned to look at Tanchun, a complicated look flashing in her eyes.

Tanchun understood Lady Jia's thoughts and took the initiative to speak: "Grandma, your granddaughter is willing to share the family's worries."

Grandmother Jia sighed, took Tanchun's hand and said, "Tan girl, I'm sorry to have wronged you. But the Jia family is in such a predicament now that only you can help."

Tanchun smiled and comforted Jia's mother: "My granddaughter is not wronged. It is my honor to do my best for the family."

Princess Beijing then sat for a while and said her goodbyes to Lady Jia. Some of the others stayed until the banquet was over, while others left earlier.

After the banquet, Tanchun returned to her room and quietly thought about her future plans. She made up her mind to study harder and improve her talents and abilities so that she could control her own destiny in the future.