Chapter 32: The Nameless Guest Wishes for Qin and Jin to Make Amends (Part 1)

  Daiyu couldn't sleep well that night, and early the next morning, she sent Xiangxue to Yunxiangguan to check on things. As expected, Xiangxue returned with a report: "Xianglian said that Master Bao didn't return until late last night and just woke up. The young master who came to visit yesterday was arranged in the guest room. When Master Bao saw me go, he asked me to tell you that you and Cousin Bao and Cousin Lin can go have breakfast on your own, no need to wait for him. I just went to check, and Cousin Bao hasn't woken up yet. Muxi said she'll send Cousin Bao over in a little while."

  The little girl spoke in a crisp and lively tone, without any hesitation or beating around the bush, with a bit of a refreshing and straightforward air. Unfortunately, Daiyu was preoccupied with thoughts of last night's events and didn't pay much attention.

  Until noon, Zhiyuan finally arrived late, with a tired look on his face. Xiaorongze saw his brother and rushed to hug Zhiyuan's leg, and Zhiyuan picked up the little guy in response.

  Daiyu's heart ached for her brother, and she saw Rongzhe clinging tightly to his neck, refusing to let go. They had no choice but to sit down together.

  She personally poured tea and asked: "Brother, what was that person yesterday?"

  Zhiyuan smiled helplessly, "He said he was the son of Second Uncle's good friend and would be taking the imperial examination this year. He heard that there were often talented scholars gathering here to exchange ideas, so he wanted to pay a visit and seek some advice."

  Daiyu was even more astonished when she heard that he was her father's friend: "Among the elders my father associates with, could there really be someone as boorish as this? The master is not at home, so it would be better to come another day. And yet he still clings to his brother until midnight."

  "If only it were really Second Brother's junior, but the strange thing is, Second Brother" Zhiyuan was afraid that mentioning Lin Ruhai would again upset Daiyu, and his words became hesitant.

  "Brother, just tell me what happened to my father?"

  Zhiyuan continued, "The strange thing is that when we were in Yangzhou paying respects to Second Uncle, there was no such family. The person clearly said they lived in Yangzhou. If they were really from Yangzhou, why wouldn't they go pay respects to Second Uncle? I remember Second Uncle's good friends and students very clearly, and this person's father was not among them."

  "Does brother mean this person is a swindler?"

  "It's not necessarily the case. I saw that person, although a bit shabby, still has some knowledge. I was also afraid of what my sister said, that he came to our house to deceive us, so last night I specifically asked him some difficult questions, and unexpectedly, he answered quite well. If he really is a swindler, then the effort he put in is not small."

  Daiyu was afraid that Zhiyan would be deceived, and also worried that her brother would get tired, so she advised: "Brother, it's better to send those people away early, or we can leave for the capital early. Once we arrive in the capital, no one will bother you again."

  "My sister said so, and I've also thought about it. Going to Beijing is a must."

  Daiyu and Zhiyuan were talking, while Xiangyun and others were sitting in the outer room teaching Jiaohong, the voices of the young master and lady could be heard here, plus those two people didn't think about avoiding the maids, so Xiangyun actually heard it very clearly. When Zhiyuan said the words "entering the capital", Xiangyun's ears almost perked up, the needle in her hand almost pierced her finger, which made Xueqi look at Xiangyun curiously.

  Zi Juan couldn't help but overhear the conversation between the two people inside the house, which was exactly what she had been thinking about.

  Zhiyuan continued, "Mr. Shen also told me to enter the capital early and meet with the chief examiner, which would leave a good impression. Although the personnel for the exam have not been finalized yet, I guessed with my master that it's probably going to be the current emperor's teacher, Grand Secretary Tong of the Hanlin Academy."

  Daiyu heard that the man's surname was Tong and he was a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, so she remembered that there seemed to be an official with the surname Tong mentioned on the plaque in their family ancestral temple, and asked Zhiyuan about it.

  "The current Lord Tong is the great-grandson of the person my sister mentioned, and his ancestors were also on good terms with our family, but over the generations they haven't been in close contact, so their relationship has become somewhat distant."

  Daiyu was delighted in her heart. It seemed that her brother might really have a chance to enter the eyes of Mr. Tong after all.

  "Then, brother, when are we going to Beijing? It's better to hurry up."

  Rong Ze saw his brother and sister only caring about their own conversation, got angry and pouted his small mouth. Zhi Yuan saw this and instead of asking about Dai Yu's problem, asked Rong Ze: "Rong Ze, tell your brother and sister, do you want to go to the capital?"

  Rong Ze was only three or four years old, and didn't know what the capital city was like. Seeing his brother reason with him already made him very happy, so he tilted his little head and asked: "Is the capital city delicious?"

  As soon as the words fell, Daiyu was stunned at first, and then laughed loudly with a "haha" by Rongzhe's words.

  Daiyu patted Rongzhe's forehead and scolded with a smile: "You little thing only knows how to eat! In the capital, whatever Rongzhe wants to eat, there is!"

  "Well, brothers and sisters are going, Rong Ze is also going!" The little guy raised a sunflower-like smile and smiled brightly at Daiyu and Zhida.

  Waijian's purple quail heard Rongze Young Master's words, and the big stone in her heart was finally put down by half. She knew that Zhiyuan Young Master had not explicitly answered, but leaving Suzhou and heading north to Beijing might be on the agenda soon.

  After lunch, Zhiyuan left on his own and didn't need to be mentioned again.

  Daiyu was lying on her couch reading a book, while the two younger ones were taking a nap in the warm silk quilt. Xueyan quietly walked in.

  "Miss, Bai Yiniang and Qian Yiniang have arrived."

  Daiyu felt suspicious, the two aunts had been in Suzhou every day since they came to Ci Yun Tang for their father's vegetarian diet and Buddhist chanting, rarely taking half a step out of their residence. Even on New Year's Eve, it was just the two of them and a few servants celebrating at Ci Yun Tang, so why did they come together today?

  "Please ask the two aunts to sit in the flower hall for a moment, and then call Yan Rong to attend to them."

  The snow goose responded and left, Daiyu sat in front of the window to reapply her makeup, Zi Juan took a golden needle and a delicate leaf-like hairpin with pearls and put it on the girl's temple.

  "Zi Juan, why did the two aunts suddenly come looking for me?"

  Zi Juan was taken aback by Dai Yu's question, thinking that the two aunts must have come to pay their respects. But after careful consideration, she rejected her own idea. This wasn't early morning, and it had already passed noon, which wasn't the time for paying respects. Moreover, the two aunts were very aware of their place as Lin Laoye's concubines, quietly staying in the Buddhist hall, rarely asking about household matters, and only visiting the young lady once every seven days, with few opportunities to meet otherwise. Now that she thought about it, this matter was indeed strange.

  "Miss, Ziqing is dull-witted and can't guess why the two aunts have come. Perhaps they just came to pay their respects."

  Daiyu sat in silence, lost in thought, her mind preoccupied with unknown thoughts.

  Leading Zijuan into the flower hall, two aunts were tasting tea. Seeing Daiyu, they both hurried forward to support her.

  The white aunt carefully measured Daiyu, smiled and said: "In a few days, the young lady's body has improved greatly, looking at her face color is ruddy, breathing is also stable."

  Qian Yiniang was a bit tongue-tied, and not as close to Baoyu as Baochai and Daiyu were, but she just followed along. The three of them sat on the intricately carved red sandalwood chairs beside the bed.

  Daiyu noticed that the two aunts' eyes were wandering, and occasionally when they met hers, they would quickly look away. She smiled knowingly in her heart, and changed the subject to chat casually: "The swallow's nest I had Chunlei send over to you two aunts yesterday, how was it? After you finish using it up, I'll have someone send more over."

  "Alright, alright, but swallow's nest is a precious thing, Miss. You'd better keep it for yourself and eat it every day, it's good for your health." Bai Yiniang and Qian Yiniang exchanged a glance, "Actually, we came to see you today because there's something we want to talk about."

  It's really like that. Daiyu had guessed that these two people wouldn't come to her Visiting Plum Pavilion for no reason. Although she and her brother had never treated the two aunts unfairly, their status was already established there, and they could no longer help with household chores as they did in Yangzhou.

  Daiyu had also asked the two aunts in a roundabout way if they would be willing to remarry into a good family, but both of them said that they were old and had no relatives left, so they just wanted to follow Young Master and Miss, and serve Old Master and Madame for the rest of their lives. Today, Daiyu also talked to her brother about moving to Beijing, and the two aunts are also a troublesome matter, if we go together, in the future, the newly bought house will definitely be run by Brother and his future wife, and the two aunts are not really widows, their status is indeed awkward. If they don't let them follow, they are afraid that the two aunts will feel cold-hearted.

  Daiyu became more and more worried as she thought about it, for a while she didn't respond to White Aunt's topic.

  The white aunt saw Daiyu's face reveal a difficult expression, and thought that the young lady had already known what she was going to say, so she hastily said: "Young lady, please be at ease, I and Qian Aunt will never do anything that would wrong you. You must believe us!" As she spoke, tears began to flow down her face.

  "What's wrong with you two aunts? Didn't you have something to say? Why are you crying?"

  Daiyu was taken aback by the two aunts' tears streaming down their faces and their frightened expressions.

  "Please, Miss, you must believe us. My sister Bai and I are of one mind in keeping our widowhood for Master Lin. We would never do anything to betray the Lin family."

  Daiyu's heart skipped a beat, and she knew that these two matrons must have some secret to discuss, so she hastily waved her hand and dismissed all the maids and servants from the room.

  "If you two aunts have something to say, please speak slowly. Daiyu knows your character and is sure that you will not harm her. If there's anything hidden, just tell Daiyu and I and my brother will take care of it for the aunts."

  The white aunt wiped away the tears from her eyes and sobbed: "I suppose you've already heard, yesterday a young scholar came to our house looking for the young master?"

  The white aunt saw Daiyu nodding, and then said: "I and Qian Aunt are quietly guarding the festival at home for the old master, and we don't care about any big or small things in the family. We don't even allow the maidservants by our side to move around freely. Qian Aunt and I know that the young master and miss are kind-hearted, so we are even more unwilling to trouble the two young masters. However, yesterday afternoon, Luo Dama sent someone to say that there were two women outside who came to pay their respects to me and Qian Aunt, which made us suspicious. Miss knows that I followed the lady from Beijing, and Qian Sister's family has long since had no relatives, so how could there be two people coming to pay their respects to us for no reason? I and Qian Aunt were afraid of causing trouble for the miss and young master, so we wanted to send someone to drive those two women away, but didn't expect..."

  PS: Just by looking at the title, I know someone has started to make a move on Daiyu. Who is it? The answer will be revealed tomorrow! This time it's for real, the beautiful editor of Cola gave me a small push on next week's cover!!! o(n_no Ha ha ~ Hope my click-through rate soars up!!! Xinghe really likes the current cover, which was made by Jidian, but I don't know who this hero is~~~ I want to thank this unknown person and kind-hearted Cola very much!!! Please everyone support me!!!