Chapter 38: The Du Family's Daughter Enters the Palace (Part 2) Seeking Collection

  Dongping Hou brought his son, Lin Zhiyuan, back to the flower hall in the inner mansion. The Seventh Princess's heart was at ease as soon as she saw her husband and hastily ordered a maid to serve tea.

  The Marquis of Dongping waved his hand, and the maidservants immediately retreated. He then said to Nurse Shen: "Please trouble yourself to keep watch at the door, don't let anyone come in."

  Yan's wife knew the severity of the situation and hastily turned around to guard the door. Only three members of the Shen family, plus Lin Zhiyuan, were left inside the house.

  "The Seventh Princess asked: 'Duke, what's going on? Why did the Emperor suddenly issue such an imperial decree?'"

  Dongping Hou said helplessly, "This matter came suddenly, not to mention us, I'm afraid that even in the capital, there are few people who have received this news. Otherwise, Big Sister would have sent someone to inform us long ago." Dongping Hou and the Empress Dowager were future in-laws, and the rise and fall of their families were closely related. He was certain that the Empress Dowager was also unaware of this matter.

  The Seventh Princess thought of her elder brother, who was sitting on the throne, and couldn't figure out his true intentions. "The late emperor once said that Third Brother is a man with meticulous thoughts, and it's hard for others to guess. This time, he has made such a move, and the people of the Du Mansion are probably also confused!"

  Dongping Hou shook his head and said, "Don't I know Du Xue? Although he has been living in Jiangnan for a long time, his mind has never left the imperial court. This is the best opportunity for him to return to the imperial court." Dongping Hou looked at Zhiyuan who had been silent all along and said, "You tell your aunt about this reason."

  Zhiyuan smiled slightly and said, "Actually, this is also a guess of the junior. The current emperor's most dreaded person is probably that loyal and obedient king. I thought that with my second uncle passing away, Jiangnan would be able to vacate a fat official position, but unexpectedly it was snatched by the Huang family first. How could the emperor not be angry? He is also a junior, so naturally he cannot refute the face of the Empress Dowager, so he can only choose another path."

  The Seventh Princess nodded thoughtfully: "Du Xue's father was once the Governor of Liangjiang, and Du Furen's brother is now the Minister of Rites. If the Emperor really reappoints Du Xue and forms a marriage alliance with the imperial family, it would indeed tie Du Xue tightly to the Emperor."

  Zhiyuan said, "That's right. In my opinion, Uncle Du is a shrewd and capable person. The current Governor of the Two Rivers is an old man who has served under the previous emperor, and he must have seen the example of my second uncle and secretly submitted his resignation to the Emperor. Now this position is just suitable for Uncle Du!"

  The Seventh Princess did not expect that among these various calculations, a seventeen-year-old child like Jin Yu could see through everything. Her heart became increasingly uneasy. Perhaps Jin Yu was born to be an official, but would her own daughter be happy following him? The old palace maid in the palace often said that those who can see through other people's calculations are also good at plotting themselves. Not to mention whether Jin Yu would treat Yan Ran well or not, with his intelligence, if he were to get entangled in court politics in the future, wouldn't her father be a good example?

  The Marquis of Dongping saw his beloved wife not speaking, thinking she was frightened, so he said: "Alright, let's not discuss these things anymore. Our family won't be involved anyway, just stay in Jiangnan and that's it. Du Ye sent me a letter saying he wants to go to the capital with Jinyu, I think it's good too, there will be someone to take care of her on the way. It's just that this time is shortened, Jinyu"

  Dongping Hou said to Zhiyuan, "You should also return home immediately and pack your luggage with your sister. It's likely that you will leave for the capital in a few days. The things I asked you to bring can be sent on the day of departure. You should also bid farewell to your teacher and see if he has any further instructions. By the way, where will you stay in the capital?"

  "Our family doesn't have another house in the capital, so we'll have to rent a slightly larger one first. If not, I'm afraid even the servants in our household won't have enough space. My sister and I discussed it, and when we arrive in the capital, we'll go visit Rongguo House. If Old Madame keeps us there, we can't very well decline politely."

  Dongping Hou furrowed his brow and said, "Although you should go visit the old lady as a junior, but Rongning Second House is after all one family, and Ningguo House is also an accomplice of Zhongshun King. I'm afraid that if you move into Jia House, it will affect your imperial examination results. Our house has an old mansion in the capital, which has been empty for years. You don't need to rent a house anymore. I'll send someone to clean up today and you can just take your sister there to live. It's better that way, so when you go to pay respects to Jia House, you won't lose face."

  The Seventh Princess also nodded in agreement: "I think so too. Jinyu, you'd better have less to do with the people from the Rongguo House."

  Zhiyuan smiled and thanked him: "In that case, I will have to trouble you, Houye, and the princess. At the beginning of the year, I had my steward go to the capital to look at houses, and if he found a suitable one, he would buy it early, so that our Lin family would have a place to stay in the imperial capital. You don't know, Houye, but there is a relative in the Rongguo Mansion surnamed Xue, who is from a merchant family with ties to the emperor, and they have a daughter who is very much favored by Lady Wang of the Jia Mansion. This time, when my sister and I go to the capital, I'm afraid that Lady Wang will also be eager to bring them into the capital, and it would not look good for us to all live in the Jia Mansion at the same time. So, buying a house is something that cannot be delayed."

  At this time, Shen Xiu stood still on one side and said: "Father and mother don't have to worry about Zhiyuan, what kind of person Zhiyuan is, I am the clearest. If Jiafu found Zhiyuan, wouldn't he make a big fuss?"

  Zhiyuan pretended to be displeased and said: "Young Master, I'm not as despicable as you think, am I?"

  Everyone was chatting and laughing when they heard Yan Niangniang shouting loudly from the outer room: "Your Lordship, Your Highness, the young ladies have returned."

  Before she had finished speaking, Yanran and the others entered the flower hall together. Suddenly seeing her father and Zhiyuan there, she was startled and hastily bowed to greet them.

  Daiyu had never seen the Marquis of Dongping before and thought he was very majestic. She took a glance at him and quickly lowered her head.

  In the flower hall, four girls stood for a moment, each one delicate and charming, like a blooming rose.

  The Marquis of Dongping saw that apart from his own daughter, there was also a strange little girl, and he knew it was Jinyu's sister. He didn't take a closer look, but only instructed his wife with a few words before leaving with his son and Jinyu.

  Jing Qi saw her father leave the flower hall, then smiled and went forward to hold her mother's arm, "Mother, look at our poems, Lin sister wrote a good one, none of us can compare." As she said that, she handed the poem draft in her hand to Seventh Princess.

  The Seventh Princess didn't have the mood to look at these, but it wasn't good to hurt Daiyu's heart either, so she took them over to take a look. As soon as she read this one, she felt a bright light in front of her eyes - truly a rare and excellent poem.

  Sunlight filters through the window, wind blows against the door.

  The silken handkerchief is stained with spring's regret.

  The corridor is quiet and deserted, with four walls shutting out the silence.

  Parrot facing red peony.

  She then went on to read the second piece, which was also written by Daiyu.

  One evening, light thunder falls in ten thousand threads.

  The sun shines on the green tiles with varying heights.

  Peonies with emotions hold spring tears

  Weak rose lying on dawn branch.

  The Seventh Princess secretly praised in her heart that Daiyu's talent was indeed as Shufen said, and after flipping through the three daughters' poetry drafts, they were still inferior to Daiyu.

  She smiled and said to several girls, "Now you've seen it, right? Usually they're always arguing about wanting to be a poet, opening a poetry club, but now that they've seen Lin's poem, they can't claim to be great anymore."

  Seventh Sister said to Daiyu, "The poem is extremely good, only that Miss Lin you are still young, write more happy and lively ones, it's better for your body and mood, the illness will naturally disappear."

  Daiyu smiled and agreed.

  After everyone finished their lunch, someone came back and forth, saying that Young Master Lin from the Lin family wanted to take Miss Lin back home.

  Jing Qi pouted and said, "It's only been a short while since we arrived, and Brother Zhiyuan is already in a hurry to send Lin sister back? I wanted her to stay for a few more nights! Brother Zhiyuan is so stingy."

  Yanran, now a bit older, unlike the young Xianggui who only cared about her own feelings, stepped forward and held Daiyu's hand, saying: "Sister, this time you go to Beijing, also want to take good care of your body, don't think about those sad things. We sisters' chances to go out are not many, afraid that when you leave, I won't be able to see you off in person. I had someone make a set of clothes, which can be worn on the next year's spring morning, it's also a little thought from me as your sister. Also, there are some small things, popular trinkets from the palace or Jiangnan this year, sent to those sisters or maids of yours in Beijing."

  Daiyu listened to this, and hastily used her handkerchief to wipe away the tears in her eyes, forcing a smile as she said: "Thank you, Yanran sister. When I arrive in the capital, I'll have someone send word back. If brother is successful in his studies, my brother and I will return to our hometown to pay respects to our ancestors, and at that time we can see each other again."

  Daiyu had rarely received support from her sisters since childhood. Even in her grandmother's house, Ying Chun was dull and couldn't even protect herself, let alone others, and was restricted by the rules of the inner chamber everywhere; Tan Chun was a kind-hearted and straightforward person, but due to her birth and Second Aunt's influence, she couldn't often interact with Daiyu; Fourth Sister Xueyun was still young, and Daiyu found that this girl had a cold temperament, which seemed to be a bit self-centered.

  So when she came and went with the sisters of the Dongping Hou family, Daiyu began to feel warm in her heart. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the three sisters of the Shen family were good, especially Yanran sister.

  Daiyu returned home, and Luo's housekeeper was waiting at the gate to greet them. Seeing Master Bao's horse, he hurried forward to lead it, saying: "Master Bao and Miss have finally returned! The Du family sent someone with an invitation this morning; it seems there is some urgent matter!"

  Zhiyuan dismounted and said, "Nothing, I already know. Du's family also went to the East Ping Hou Mansion just now. Let's go in first."

  PS: Thank you to the female Wu for her reward, can today's click rate exceed 10,000? I'm really looking forward to it! Today is Friday, and Xinghe's "Hong Lou Ye Hua" will also be recommended on the cover soon. I don't know what next week will look like~~~ Hope the results will be even better! Tomorrow, Xinghe will update twice! Everyone support me~~~ Collect me! Recommend me!