Chapter Eleven: The New Imperial Censor Makes a Triumphant Entry into the Mansion

  Three days later, Lin Ruhai's seventh day of mourning came to an end. The entire Lin family was busy with preparations, from the officials at the gate lifting boxes to those preparing carriages and horses, everyone was bustling about.

  Daiyu kept watch for half the night, but she really couldn't hold on any longer and was sent back to her room by her brother to rest. Early in the morning, she heard the sound of the little maids chattering away in the courtyard.

  Daiyu looked up at the sky and saw that it was already quite bright. "Zijuan, what time is it now?"

  "Go back to sleep, miss. It's now three o'clock in the morning, and the young master just came over a moment ago, saying not to wake you up yet, telling you to sleep for a while longer, as there is still some time before departure!"

  Behind Zi Juan stood a little maid with warm water and a clean towel, Xue Yan held a silver-white winter coat in her hand, and Chun Xian held a makeup box.

  Purple Cuckoo supported Daiyu to get up, and several people helped the girl start dressing and grooming.

  Daiyu asked: "What time did brother go to bed last night?"

  "Miss, our young master didn't sleep all night and kept watch in front of the old master's coffin. I heard that he started getting busy early this morning and is now preparing his carriage with the son of the Duke of Dongping in the front courtyard."

  The purple quail thought it strange that Chun had a quick mouth, but it wasn't good to say so in front of the young lady, so he said: "Although the young master didn't sleep all night, when he came this morning, he told us to tell you not to worry, everything has been taken care of."

  Daiyu's heart warmed up upon hearing this, thinking that her brother had stayed awake all night and still came to see her. Since their mother passed away, although their father was very loving towards her, he was busy with official duties and couldn't be around every day, otherwise he wouldn't have sent her to live in the capital with her grandparents.

  Today I will set out to return to my hometown, Daiyu has never been to Suzhou before. In the past, when her father returned to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors, he brought very few people with him, and she knew nothing about her old home. The road ahead is long and uncertain, and it's unknown what the future holds...

  Daiyu finished her toilette, dressed in a simple white outfit. The upper part of her dress was made of cloud-patterned silk, while the lower part was lined with soft silver gauze and adorned with a hundred pleats. On her head, she wore only one small white flower made of velvet, without any other ornaments.

  Zi Juan followed behind the girl, holding a dark purple cloak in her hand. Xue Yan and Chun Xian each held two small boxes in their arms, containing some valuable items that were not convenient to put in the trunk.

  Daiyu hastily took a sip of water and saw Zhiyuan coming from outside. She quickly stood up to greet him: "Brother."

  Daiyu saw that Zhiyan's forehead was already beaded with sweat, his face looked tired, and she hastily ordered the little maid: "Quickly go and pour water for Young Master."

  "Never mind, sister. Everything is almost ready in the courtyard, and the carriage is waiting outside the gate. I've already had some of our belongings loaded onto it, and I was just about to send the servants to your room to move things. The two aunts are all set, and I'll take you to the warm pavilion in the front courtyard so you can keep them company. It's going to get a bit chaotic around here soon, but don't worry, brother will take care of everything."

  Daiyu put on her veil and turned back to take a look at the house, the home she had lived in for seven or eight years, and was finally going to leave, feeling somewhat reluctant to part with it.

  Zhiyuan comforted Daiyu, "Sister, don't be sad. Although this place is nice, it's not our own home after all. When we return to our old house in Suzhou, you can arrange your room however you like. If you even want to dig a pond and plant lotus flowers, I'll be happy to help."

  Daiyu was amused by Zhiyuan's teasing tone and her sadness reduced a little.

  On the side, Zi Juan secretly thought that it was said that her own family's Bao Er Ye was a loving and caring person towards girls, but unexpectedly, this young master of the Lin family was also a considerate person.

  Zhiyuan personally escorted Daiyu to the warm pavilion in the front yard, repeatedly instructing and reminding the two matrons to take good care of Daiyu, and saying that he would come himself to escort them out later. The two matrons looked a bit tired, after all they were older people, and if they didn't rest well for one night, dark circles would appear under their eyes.

  Daiyu asked, "Are the two aunts not feeling well-rested? Why don't you go lie down in the warm pavilion for a while? I reckon brother will still need some time to get everything ready."

  Although Daiyu said so, the young master and mistress were still busy, and the two aunts dared not to steal leisure time, so they had to wait until they got on the boat before resting.

  "Never mind, never mind," said Aunt Qian with a smile. "We just finished packing last night, and the young maids were busy until midnight, but it's not a big deal. Just take care of your body, miss."

  A few people were chatting, Daiyu responded with her mouth, but in her heart, she was thinking about her brother. Sitting in the warm pavilion, she vaguely looked out the window at the women carrying boxes and hurrying by. Before long, the warm pavilion was cleaned up spotlessly, leaving only some old-fashioned, cumbersome furniture that couldn't be taken away. By the time of the snake hour, the sun had already risen high, but Daiyu still didn't see her brother come over, so she became a bit anxious in her heart. Could it be that something had happened again in the front courtyard? She wanted to call a little maid to go and ask, but at this moment, the front was extremely chaotic, and it wasn't good to stir up any more trouble. Just as Daiyu was getting anxious here, she saw a little maid from White Aunt's courtyard run in: "Miss, aunt, young master has arrived."

  Daiyu and the two aunts hurried to welcome him. When they saw Zhiyan, he had already changed into a white robe with a crane and deer pattern, wearing a silver belt with clustered pearls, and a piece of white jade at his waist.

  Daiyu went forward, took a closer look at Daiyu, and personally put on her sister's gauze hat, tied up her cloak, and the group walked out of the warm pavilion, heading straight for the front gate.

  Daiyu took a quick glance, and there were hardly any servants to be seen on the road anymore, probably all scattered away. At the entrance, there were about twenty strong men with long swords at their waists, who treated her brother with great respect. Outside the Yushi Fu, dozens of carriages lined up on the long street, surrounded by onlookers standing under the distant wall, pointing and discussing something. Even those rascals who usually caused trouble didn't dare to come forward when they saw these sword-wielding men.

  Zhiyuan whispered to Daiyu: "These people are the servants of the East Ping Hou's family, and they also hold official positions, so sister doesn't need to worry."

  Lin Daiyu had been hearing her brother and the maid outside mention this young master of Dongping, but she hadn't seen him yet. "Brother, this young master of Dongping helped our family a lot, we should thank him sincerely!"

  "This is natural, everything will be equal when we arrive in Suzhou. The young master has already taken people to the dock to transport luggage, with him there, I'm afraid no one dares to make trouble, sister get on the sedan chair, let's set off now."

  As soon as Zhiyuan's words fell, a team of people came from afar, led by the newly appointed Salt Control Censor Huang Zongxing. Behind him, his attendants carried six or seven small sedan chairs, with officials clearing the way, looking very majestic. As soon as Zhiyuan saw this man, he felt angry in his heart and instructed Daiyu to get into the sedan chair first.

  Daiyu guessed that the newcomer was the one who had forced her brother and sister to move, and she wanted to reason with him together with her brother. However, as a young lady from a respectable family, Daiyu knew that such matters should be handled by the men of the household. With a sense of discontent, she glanced at the arrogant Huang Daren and then turned to get into the sedan chair.

  Huang Zongxing heard that the Lin family was moving house today, so he excitedly brought his first wife, several concubines, legitimate daughter, and illegitimate daughter to the Imperial Censor's residence. This time, he would be staying as the master, unlike last time.

  Huang Zongxing saw Zhiyuan and didn't dismount, leaning forward with a smile: "My virtuous nephew indeed keeps his promise, and has taken care of things so quickly. You see, my family members living in the post house are really being inconvenienced, as soon as they heard that the Imperial Censor's residence had been turned over, they immediately came with me to take a look. This aunt of yours, I've long heard that the Imperial Censor's residence is well-built and has good scenery inside. So, I still need to thank my virtuous nephew for being understanding!"

  Huang Zongxing waved his hand, and the people behind him were about to carry the sedan chair into the mansion. But suddenly, a maid from the Huang household came to report that Madame Huang wanted to meet Miss Lin, and asked her to come forward and talk.

  Daiyu heard it clearly in the sedan chair and couldn't help but get very angry. Although the Lin family has declined now, they still can't be bullied by others like this. That Mrs. Huang is also too impolite, saying that calling someone's young lady out means she will come out? Truly haven't seen such a person!

  Just as Daiyu was about to speak, she heard her brother Zhiyuan let out a cold snort. "Lord Huang, although I, Lin Zhiyuan, may not have read all the books in the world, I've never heard of an unmarried young lady being summoned and dismissed at will. Your Majesty values etiquette above all else; if he knew that his wife was behaving in this manner, surely it would tarnish your reputation as well? Although I am shallow and narrow-minded, I do have a few close friends among the scholars of Jiangnan, and they are quite well-connected. If word of your 'good name' today were to get out, humph! I think your face wouldn't look very good either - even if it reached the ears of the princes in the capital, they might not necessarily approve!"

  Lin Zhiyuan's words made Huang Zongxing furious, but he couldn't show his anger in front of everyone. Huang Zongxing also knew that the emperor didn't like him and had come to Jiangnan solely to embezzle money for the Crown Prince. The emperor might have sent many spies to monitor his every move, waiting for an opportunity to get rid of him and weaken his nephew's power at the same time. So, Huang Zongxing told himself not to lose his temper, this little rabbit threatened him, but one day his nephew would ascend to the throne and then he would deal with him.

  At this point, Huang Zongxing pretended to scold the little maid who had just arrived: "You rascal, how can you say such an impolite thing? It's because of your group of gossipy people that rumors are spread. Take her away and shut her up." After Huang Zongxing finished speaking, he dismounted his horse to talk to Zhifaru, but unexpectedly, Zhifaru turned around, mounted his horse again, and without even looking at Huang Zongxing, led the large group of people to start their journey.

  Daiyu heard her brother's words in the sedan chair, and she couldn't help but laugh to herself. The window of the sedan chair was made of bamboo curtains with large gaps, and it was also pasted with fine gauze. Daiyu could vaguely see the yellow official's embarrassed expression, and she secretly praised her brother in her heart.

  The two groups of people passed each other by, the Lin family's was going to the dock, the Huang family's was entering the courtyard, Lin Zhiyuan walked in the front, his eyes did not glance sideways.

  Daiyu's sedan chair followed closely behind, and she suddenly saw a corner of the window of a large red cotton sedan chair in the team of people on the side, revealing a delicate face. Daiyu took a look at it, that person was staring at her brother sitting on the horse without blinking an eye, but her own brother didn't notice at all. The woman used a handkerchief to half cover her powdered cheek, and suddenly dropped the curtain again. Daiyu took a look at the style of the sedan chair and knew it must be Miss Huang from the Huang Mansion.

  Two small sedan chairs quickly passed by, one in pale blue and the other in bright red, each rushing towards their own destination.

  PS: Seeing the collection increasing every day, I'm so excited that I promise to update every day from now on. Thank you all for your attention and thank you for recommending votes~~ My wish is: To enter the new book recommendation chart~~\(^o^)/~