Dream of the Red Chamber: Rising from Refugees to Sweep Across the Land

The women of both the Ning and Rong mansions gathered in Grandmother Jia's room, filling it to capacity.

Aunt Liu also arrived, sitting on a guest chair, chatting and laughing with Grandmother Jia. Although she was just a servant, she represented the Liu family and the Lin family at this moment.

Grandmother Jia smiled and picked up her teacup, saying to Liu Ma, "As people get older, they long for companionship with people of similar age. From now on, you should come and sit here often, firstly to see your daughter, and secondly to keep me company, chat, and play cards, just for fun and excitement."

Aunt Liu quickly bowed slightly: "Thank you for your kindness, Madam. I will definitely come to visit often when I have time, but I'm afraid I might bother you."

As they were chatting and laughing, Wang Xifeng walked in, surrounded by a group of old women and maids.

"Is everything packed up?" Grandmother Jia put down her teacup.

Wang Xifeng nodded to Liu Ma, walked up to Grandmother Jia and said with a smile, "Auntie's original courtyard has always been looked after and cleaned. It's ready to move in right now. The bedding and curtains are all prepared. We're just waiting for Miss Lin, this golden phoenix, to fly in."

Everyone laughed at what he said.

Grandmother Jia smiled and pointed at her, then said to Liu Ma, "Hurry up and tear her mouth apart; she's talking badly about your daughter."

Liu Ma smiled and stood up to reply, "No wonder the Grand Madam favors the Second Mistress; who wouldn't like her?"

Grandmother Jia smiled and nudged Wang Xifeng, saying, "I'm praising you."

A smug smile appeared on Wang Xifeng's face.

Grandmother Jia picked up her teacup, took a sip, and glanced at the jade ruyi on the table.

She understood perfectly what Dai Quan meant.

The emperor bestowed this jade ruyi, a gift from the Jia family, not only to bless Lin Daiyu with peace and good fortune, but also to remind the Jia family that their peace and good fortune reside in Lin Daiyu.

This forced her to rearrange Lin Daiyu's accommodations. She originally planned to have Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu live and eat with her, gradually cultivate their relationship, and eventually arrange a marriage between them to maintain the relationship between the Jia and Lin families.

However, Grandmother Jia was unsure whether the Emperor had come for this matter, so she could only ask Wang Xifeng to clean up the courtyard where Jia Min had lived before her marriage.

"Miss Lin is here! Miss Lin is here..."

The sound of the maids laughing and talking came from outside, and then Lady Lai walked in quickly.

"Madam, Miss Lin has already alighted from her sedan chair outside the hanging flower gate."

Grandmother Jia became somewhat excited: "Quickly, quickly welcome them in!"

Liu Ma couldn't sit still any longer: "Madam, I'll go and greet our young lady."

Grandmother Jia: "She's a junior..."

Liu Ma's eyes reddened: "With the lady gone, the thought of my daughter being all alone makes my heart ache."

Grandmother Jia sighed softly, "Go then."

Aunt Liu wiped her eyes and hurriedly went out.

As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, they saw a group of maids and servants surrounding a young girl dressed in mourning clothes as she walked over.

Looking at the frail figure, Aunt Liu was momentarily dazed. Only when the person got closer did she realize that the heartbreakingly thin person in front of her was indeed her own daughter, and tears immediately streamed down her face: "My dear, how did you become so thin..."

"Aunt Liu!"

Upon seeing her relatives in a foreign land thousands of miles away, Lin Daiyu could no longer hold back the grievances she had been holding in. She burst into tears and threw herself into Liu Ma's arms.

Aunt Liu quickly hugged her tightly and started crying as well.

Hearing the crying outside, Grandmother Jia couldn't sit still any longer. She had run out of tears. What should she do? How could she strengthen the bond between her and her granddaughter if she didn't have a good cry?

Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia disregarded the etiquette of aristocratic families and got up to go out.

Lin Daiyu cried for a while, and as her emotions calmed down, she leaned against Liu Ma's chest, sobbing. Suddenly, a cry rang out: "My child!"

Looking up, Lin Daiyu saw two maids supporting an elderly lady with silver hair coming towards her. Lin Daiyu knew it was her maternal grandmother, so she hurriedly wiped away her tears and stepped forward to greet her. But as soon as she got close, she was tightly embraced by Grandmother Jia, who cried out "My darling!"

Lin Daiyu felt a pang of sorrow and couldn't help but shed tears again.

The Jia family members who followed, whether genuinely saddened or feigning obsequiousness, all lowered their heads and wiped away tears.

Wang Xifeng was very shrewd. When she saw Grandmother Jia raise her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, she knew that the play was almost over and it was time to stop.

She quickly stepped forward, helped Lin Daiyu up from Grandmother Jia's arms, gently wiped away the tears on her face with a handkerchief, and said with a smile, "Grandmother, Miss Lin has been brought here. It's so rare to see her, so cheer up."

Madam Xing and Madam You also came over to comfort her. One told Grandmother Jia not to cry and ruin her health, while the other, considerate of Lin Daiyu's long journey, suggested that she go inside and sit down to rest.

Madam Wang also came over, her gaze falling on Lin Daiyu's face, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes, but she didn't say anything.

Granny Wang was talking to Granny Liu when she looked up and saw this scene, and her heart sank.

Grandmother Jia led Lin Daiyu into the room and pointed out each of the Jia family's women to her. Then she pulled Lin Daiyu to sit on the soft couch, carefully examining her. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes again: "Of all my children, your mother was the one I loved most. Once she left me, I never got to see her again. Now that I've seen you, how can I..."

Don't want to hurt me?

Lin Daiyu also shed tears.

Wang Xifeng quickly offered a few words of advice, then looked Lin Daiyu up and down and said, "Sister, you seem to have some kind of deficiency. What medicine do you usually take?"

Lin Daiyu wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and replied softly, "I've always been like this. I've been taking medicine since I could eat solid food. I've consulted countless famous doctors and had prescriptions revised and medicines prepared, but nothing has worked. I'm currently taking Ginseng Nourishing Pills..."

"Perfect timing, I just happen to have some pills ready here."

Grandmother Jia took the teacup, took a sip, and said to Wang Xifeng, "Just tell them to prepare an extra portion."

Wang Xifeng quickly bowed and agreed.

After sitting and drinking half a bowl of tea, the three young ladies from the Jia family arrived. With several sisters of similar age to accompany her and chat with her, Lin Daiyu's confusion and unease dissipated considerably.

After the Jia family members finished their introductions, Liu Ma took the wooden box from the old woman behind her and handed it to Lin Daiyu: "This was made by the Second Master himself for you before he left."

Lin Daiyu lifted the lid of the box, her eyes lit up, and a genuine smile appeared on her face.

Everyone was curious about what it was that could make Lin Daiyu, who had just been so sad, laugh so heartily.

Seeing the three sisters, Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun, looking on with curiosity, Lin Daiyu generously handed it to them to look at.

The youngest, Xichun, was at the age where she loved to play the most, and her eyes immediately lit up: "Oh, it's a little windmill and a bamboo dragonfly!" She reached out to take them, but then suddenly remembered that they were made for Lin Daiyu by that bad person, so she withdrew her hand.

Lin Daiyu was startled and quickly closed the box. This was made for her by Liu Feng himself; she couldn't bear to give it to anyone else!

Seeing this, Aunt Liu smiled knowingly.

Suddenly, Grandmother Jia thought of Qingwen, and the more she looked at her, the more she felt that Qingwen's eyebrows and eyes resembled Lin Daiyu's. Remembering that Qingwen was the one Liu Feng had taken away, and seeing Lin Daiyu hurriedly putting away the box, she seemed to understand something.

Lin Daiyu handed the box to Xueyan to put away, then glanced guiltily at everyone. Seeing that no one was looking at her, she breathed a sigh of relief and, taking Liu Ma's hand, asked, "Why didn't Xiangling come?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Daiyu immediately realized that Xiangling was not an ordinary maid, but Liu Feng's concubine, and naturally it was inconvenient for her to visit other households.

As expected, Aunt Liu didn't respond to that question and changed the subject: "Master's books were all aired out by the Second Master before he left, and now they're all displayed in the study. If you'd like to see any particular book, Miss, just send someone to let me know, and I'll bring it to you."

Lin Daiyu smiled and hummed in agreement, then said, "I also brought more than a dozen boxes of books this time, and that Commander Wang has already helped deliver them to my home. If Aunt Liu is free tomorrow, could you please help me air out these books? The ship is very humid, and the books are all damp."

Aunt Liu: "Let Xiangling go dry the leaves. That girl is lazy and sleepy all day long; she's been spoiled rotten."

Lin Daiyu covered her mouth and smiled: "Then let her air them out, flipping through them one by one slowly."

Seeing Lin Daiyu laughing so happily, Grandmother Jia's expression became complicated.

"Master Bao is back!"

A maid's voice sounded outside, and then Jia Baoyu, dressed in a flamboyant bright red robe, strode in.

Lin Daiyu frowned slightly. The room was full of women, and he just barged in like that?

"Greetings to our ancestors!"

Jia Baoyu's bright red robes were truly eye-catching. Grandmother Jia glanced at Lin Daiyu's plain clothes; there was no time to change. She could only say, "Aren't you going to greet your sister yet?"

Jia Baoyu had already spotted Lin Daiyu, so he stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Lin Daiyu curtsied slightly in return, but when she saw the other person staring straight at her, her face darkened, and she quickly retreated behind Liu Ma and Wang Mama.

Jia Baoyu suddenly said, "I've seen this younger sister in my dreams..."

Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately changed their expressions.

Grandmother Jia: "Baoyu, stop talking nonsense!"

But Jia Baoyu, as if bewitched, stepped forward and repeatedly asked Lin Daiyu if she had studied, what her name and courtesy name were. Finally, he smiled and said, "I'll give you a wonderful name, little sister, it'll be..."

Xi Ren, who had just arrived, turned pale with fright and quickly covered Jia Baoyu's mouth, forcibly silencing him before he could utter a word.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tell the master and he'll beat you!"

Wang Xifeng was also startled and quickly pushed Jia Baoyu to sit down next to Grandmother Jia.

Jia Baoyu was taken aback by these words and dared not bring it up again. He chatted with Grandmother Jia for a few more minutes, then turned his gaze to Lin Daiyu, asking, "Does my sister have a jade pendant?"

Lin Daiyu was completely bewildered and shook her head.

"Really not?"

"My cousin's jade is a rare item; how come everyone has one?"

Upon hearing this, Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun instinctively took a few steps back.

Sure enough, Jia Baoyu exploded, tearing off the jade from his gold necklace and smashing it to the ground.

The room erupted into chaos, and Lin Daiyu was so frightened that she froze on the spot.

Xiren seemed to hear the sound of her brother's leg being broken, and murmured, "It's over, brother's leg is gone..."