Chapter 8: The Haomen's Grudges and Righteousness

  Zhiyuan knew that the old lady's poor health was just an excuse for Jia Rong now. "What are you talking about, brother? I've long heard that the Jia family values filial piety above all else, and even the Emperor attaches great importance to it. I understand your eagerness, but we can't let our personal matters delay important business." Zhiyuan had a servant bring over a wooden box: "This is a small token of goodwill from my sister and me for you, brother; please accept it."

  Jia Lian pretended to decline, politely saying that it was a family matter and how could he accept his sister's gift. Zhiyuan said: "It's not something valuable, I know brother looks down on these mundane things, but since second uncle came all the way from Beijing, if we didn't bring some local specialties back, I'm afraid second aunt would think we don't understand human relationships and etiquette. Moreover, those things a few days ago were what second uncle gave to grandma as a gift, today's are specially kept for you, so brother must absolutely accept these things."

  After Zhiyuan left, Jia Xun was overjoyed and quickly closed the door. With no one around, he happily opened the box and found a stack of silver notes inside. The denominations were not large, only 100 taels each, but when he counted them carefully, there were actually twenty bills.

  Jia Lian secretly calculated in his heart that the two million taels of silver given by Lin's old master to Old Madame were all one-thousand-tael silver notes. He had already privately deducted three thousand taels, and when the time came, he would only say that Lin's old master gave one million seven hundred thousand taels. Adding this to what Young Master Lin gave him now, he made a profit of five thousand taels of white silver on this trip to Yangzhou, which was the most profitable deal under heaven.

  No need to mention Jia Lian's calculations in his heart, let's just say that the people who came to offer condolences were mostly old friends and acquaintances of Lin Ruhai. Originally, everyone saw that only this young brother and sister were in charge of the household, so they were a bit worried. However, when they saw the son of the Marquis of Dongping sitting here, although they still had some doubts in their hearts, they soon understood. The Marquis of Dongping and Lin Ruhai were fellow disciples and brothers, and they both studied at Jing'an Academy in Suzhou when they were young, so it was natural for him to come and help. Moreover, now that everyone has heard that the eldest son of the Lin family and the son of the marquis have a good relationship, people's hearts are even more afraid to underestimate Lin Zhiyuan.

  The ladies in the back hall also had to comfort Lin's family for a few words. Daiyu hadn't seen these madams for several years and didn't quite recognize them, thanks to Bai Yiniang and Qian Yiniang who were pointing out beside.

  It was easy to get some rest, and Daiyu and the two aunts were able to take a break, but then Xiangtian, the maid beside Baiyu, walked in: "Miss, Aunts, the wife of the Magistrate has arrived."

  Daiyu hastily stood up, smoothed out the white pom-poms on her temples and ordered: "Quickly invite them in."

  The wife of the governor, surnamed Jiang, was in her early twenties and was the second wife of Mr. Jiang. She was a straightforward person and had been coming to help every day for some time. Daiyu felt very grateful to her. "Madam, you've worked hard."

  Madam Chiang hastily grasped Daiyu's hand and sat down in the chair: "This child, looking at you these past two days, you've become even thinner and weaker. I just brought some of the best blood swallows from home, have someone make them for you to eat, and also send some to your brother. When I came in just now, I happened to see Zhiyuan, alas, he's so busy that he can't even wipe away his sweat. The servants told me that last night when you were keeping watch, you coughed again?"

  Daiyu's face was extremely pale, and her originally weak body now looked as if it might collapse at any moment.

  "Think about it, then said: "You listen to my advice, this guard filial piety is big, but hurt the body, your father's spirit in heaven also do not want to see, why not let your brother take care of everything, you take good care of your body, and then in front of your father's spirit to fulfill your filial duty is not too late, as long as the intention is sincere."

  Daiyu heard the lady mention her father and couldn't help but shed tears again. Zi Juan, Xue Yan and others also tried to comfort her. However, Daiyu refused: "I know the lady is thinking of me, but it's my duty to mourn for my father, how can I let my brother bear all the burden? My brother is busy running around, although I may not be able to help much, but being by his side is still something I can do. Father... before he passed away, he told us to support each other as siblings, and now I should even more follow his teachings."

  Daiyu coughed for a while, and her eyes were still slightly red: "I was originally someone with no older brother above me and no younger brother below me. Now I can be considered to have an elder brother who protects me, and I should think more about my brother."

  Madam Chiang felt a pang in her heart upon hearing this. She was originally the young lady of a wealthy family, but after her parents' early death, she followed her uncle's household to make a living. Her aunt, in order to curry favor with the newly appointed Magistrate, actually married her off as a concubine, and instead found a young scholar to be the husband for her own biological daughter.

  Fortunately, her husband was fond of her and followed her in everything. However, Mrs. Jiang often thought that if she had an elder brother to protect her, would her fate be different?

  By the time it was late, all the people had dispersed. Daiyu ordered a small maid to stew the blood swallow sent by Jiang Furen and instructed Chunxiang to deliver it to Zhiyuan: "When you see your brother, tell him that the food in the kitchen is ready, please ask the young master to have dinner in the flower hall. Also, carefully instruct the young master that if there is anything important, he must take good care of his body."

  Spring thread responded to the sound and left. Zijuan looked at the food box sent by the old woman, inside which were six small dishes: braised bamboo shoots, tofu with garlic sauce, three-strand abalone mushrooms, vegetarian duck in soy sauce, eggplant with garlic, and scallion-flavored lotus root slices, all neatly arranged on a Qinghua-style plate. Zijuan took out the soup from the food box: "Miss, this is swallow's nest stewed with snow pear, made by the kitchen. The young master said you should have it every day, as it has the effect of stopping cough and nourishing the lungs."

  Daiyu looked at the table full of dishes, although they were vegetarian, but also quite colorful and fragrant. However, she had no appetite at all. Xueyan saw her mistress and also persuaded her on the side: "Miss, please eat a little bit, if you go on like this, how can your body hold up? Even young master would feel distressed if he saw you."

  Before long, Chun Xian returned: "Miss, Young Master has arrived outside the door."

  Daiyu listened and personally went to the door to welcome him. When she saw Zhiyuan, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward. Daiyu saw an old nanny following behind Zhiyuan, holding a food box in her hand, which seemed to be the same as the one in her room.

  Zhiyuan saw that Daiyu had not touched her food in the hall, and sighed: "I guessed that my sister hadn't eaten yet. Here, I've brought a food box, don't mind having a meal with me, a rough person?" Zhiyuan finished his business in the front yard, sent off his good friend Shen Xiu Jie, and saw Daiyu's maid come to find him to deliver swallow's nest. He asked, and the little maid said that the young lady was melancholy all day, only drinking half a bowl of rice porridge in the morning, and not eating anything at noon. Zhiyuan knew that Daiyu probably wouldn't want to eat dinner either, so he called Lao Tai Tai to bring a food box and followed her to the back house.

  "Brother is here, little sister welcomes but hasn't had time to recover. Zijuan, quickly prepare the bowls and chopsticks." Daiyu invited Zhihuan to sit down, put out the dishes, dismissed the maidservants, and only called on Zijuan and Xueyan to attend to her needs.

  Zhiyuan smiled and said, "I originally had someone bring some bird's nest from Suzhou, but after all, it's not as good as what Mrs. Jiang sent. Sister, you eat these first, and when we return to Suzhou in a few days, brother will find someone to take good care of your body."

  Daiyu put down the cup in her hand and hastily asked: "Brother, when are we leaving? What about Yangzhou?"

  "Don't worry about these things, sister. I've already made arrangements. The Yushi Mansion is an official residence, and it's said that the new Yushi has arrived in Yangzhou and is currently resting at the post station. It's estimated that he'll come to take office soon. Our family needs to pack up quickly, so we won't be caught off guard when the new Yushi comes looking for us."

  Daiyu heard this and felt anxious in her heart: "Can't the new official even let us stay to observe the seventh day mourning for Father before driving us out?"

  "Nowadays, there are only the two of us left in this mansion. I'll tell you something, sister, but don't worry about it too much. I've found out that the new official, surnamed Huang, was a fellow graduate with Second Uncle, and they had some grudges against each other back then. This time, it seems he won't be helping us out of kindness; instead, he's more likely to be someone who kicks us when we're down."

  Daiyu got up and paced back and forth, then suddenly turned around and asked Zhiyuan with a puzzled expression: "Although Daiyu doesn't understand officialdom, she is also clear that her father has the emperor's favor, so why would His Majesty call someone like him to take over her father's position?"

  Zhiyuan waved his hand, and Zi Juan Xueyan quickly went to the outer hall of the flower hall. "Sister, haven't you heard an old saying, 'one day as a king, one day as a minister'? It's true that Second Uncle has been favored by the previous emperor and held the position of Jiangnan Salt Inspector for decades. However, the current emperor does not trust Second Uncle. If he hadn't resigned voluntarily, the emperor would have found an excuse to punish him, and our family wouldn't be in its current state. As your sister, I want you to understand Second Uncle's good intentions. At that time, Second Uncle's body was already very weak, so he wrote a sincere letter of resignation. The emperor might still have had thoughts of dealing with Second Uncle, but after reading the letter, he gave up. Anyway, the Jiangnan officialdom is now in the emperor's hands."

  The officialdom is treacherous, and Zhiyuan only said half of it. Even if he told Daiyu the rest, it would be useless. In fact, the emperor wanted to take this opportunity to plant his own trusted subordinates, but did not expect to be pressed hard by Zhongshun Wang's family. The Empress Dowager in the palace is the mother of Zhongshun Wang, and the new imperial historian is the cousin of Zhongshun Wang. When the previous emperor ascended to the throne, Zhongshun Wang was dissatisfied and repeatedly opposed him. The previous emperor endured it for the sake of his reputation, leaving the Empress Dowager in the palace as a hostage.

  The emperor's mother was originally a descendant of a famous family, and her grandfather had served as the Minister of Revenue. After entering the palace, she rose from being a concubine to a consort, then from a consort to a noble lady, and finally became the Empress Dowager Hui, deeply loved by the emperor. The empress was childless, and everyone in the palace favored the second imperial son born to Empress Hui, who would become the previous emperor. However, at this time, a woman named Huang suddenly appeared, from a poor merchant family background, yet she received the emperor's favor and entered the palace, quickly rising through the ranks to become a beauty, and within over a decade, reached the position of Noble Consort Xian.

  There were also ministers in the court who disagreed with this, saying that since she was from a poor and humble background, how could she be worthy of being called "virtuous"? However, the emperors all ignored them.

  Xianfei gave birth to six princes, including Zhongshun King. Later, he married the eldest daughter of General Zhaode and gradually gained momentum in seizing the throne.

  I thought the position was about to be obtained, but unexpectedly the emperor abdicated, the second prince ascended the throne, Zhongshun King refused to surrender, once made a big noise in the Taishang Emperor's palace, and then Xianfei and Zhongshun King were abandoned by the Taishang Emperor, until his death he never saw them again.

  When Xianfei was in favor, she had supported the Huang family. The Huang family also had many vicious and poisonous people who had been serving the King of Zhongshun for many years. When the current emperor ascended to the throne, the King of Zhongshun's power was already great, and with the support of General Zhao De, the emperor did not dare to confront him head-on, so he agreed to let Huang Zongxing take over as the Salt Control Censor. This move was also a helpless one, and from then on, the salt tax in Jiangnan became something under the control of the King of Zhongshun.

  These things, Zhiyuan would not tell Daiyu, he still hoped that this little girl could live a happy life, the dangers of officialdom, men would take care of it.

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