Chapter 44: Lin Daiyu Enters Rongguo House for the Second Time (Part 2)

  Lady Wang's words were also satisfactory to Mrs. Jia, who nodded her head in approval. Although the western wing was somewhat older, it was fortunate that the courtyard was large, more than twice as big as the one in Li Xiang's courtyard, and with all the rooms on both sides added together, there must be nearly twenty rooms, which would be enough for Daiyu and her entourage to live in. "All right, after Lin's son comes to pay his respects, you tell Feng Qiu to help move everything over, if anything is lacking just let me know."

  Mrs. Wang hesitated and asked: "Is Lin's stuff also moved over? Now that Bao Yu is older, I'm afraid it's not suitable."

  Mrs. Jia had been waiting for Daiyu to return, and was just about to give her a warm welcome, but the second branch of the family was so tactless that she suddenly looked displeased.

  Mrs. Xing saw it and was secretly delighted, but her face remained expressionless.

  Before Madame Wang could speak, Daiyu hastily said: "What the second aunt said is right. Now that I and my brother are grown up, it's not convenient for us to live together. The West Wing is also known to me, it seems like a big place, I can move there to take care of my cousins, please grandmother agree." After finishing speaking, she pulled Madame Wang's sleeve again, her bright eyes looking at the old lady.

  Madam Wang sighed, then thought of the two young children in the Lin family who needed Daiyu to take care of them, and naturally couldn't stay in the warm silk storage room all the time. She had no choice but to compromise, "Alright, you can move to the west wing to live, just come here every day to play with your sisters, don't let Grandmother worry!"

  Old Lady Jia's words had barely fallen when someone shouted loudly

  This man was none other than Jia Mu's grandson, Baoyu.

  Baoyu couldn't take his eyes off Daiyu from the moment she walked in, and he felt that Lin's sister was even more charming than before. When he came back to himself, he heard the old ancestor say something about sending Lin's sister to live in the west wing, which was right next to the bustling street outside, filled with the noise of people coming and going, and a strong smell of the marketplace. How could Lin's sister possibly stand it?

  Baoyu shouted loudly: "Ancestors, don't let Lin Daiyu leave. We live nearby and accompany the ancestors, isn't that good? If we move out again, it will disturb the ancestors' peace!"

  Mrs. Wang heard Bao Yu's words and was so angry that she wanted to go up and slap this kid, but in the end, she couldn't bear it, and could only vent her anger on Dai Yu.

  Lady Wang was already not very willing, and after hearing Baoyu's words, she began to waver herself.

  Just then, a little servant girl outside shouted: "The two old masters and Young Master Lin have arrived."

  The numerous female relatives inside the house heard Jia She and Jia Zheng enter, and they hastily stood up to welcome them.

  Madam Wang was curious - these two sons had just come to pay their respects in the morning, why were they coming again at this hour?

  Yingbo personally lifted the Xiangfei curtain and welcomed in the two old masters. Behind them followed a young man with a face like jade, eyes like flowing stars, dragon-like majesty and phoenix-like elegance, natural and unrestrained. Yingbo felt that this one glance almost shook off half of her soul, her heart pounding violently. She was so busy gazing at the handsome man that she naturally overlooked Jia Zhen's lecherous gaze.

  Jia She and Jia Zheng, two brothers, came forward to pay their respects to Grandmother Jia.

  Jia Zheng had always loved talent, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of securing a position as Jinling Magistrate for Jia Yucun. He had thought that Lin's son was just an ordinary juren, and Wang Furen hadn't told him about his being the top scholar from Suzhou. Today, when Lin Zhiyuan came to pay his respects, he was in the middle of discussing official business with several colleagues, but as soon as he saw this young man, he knew he wasn't an ordinary person - his appearance was secondary, what was remarkable was his elegant demeanor. Jia Zheng immediately felt a love for talent, and after asking him a few questions, Lin Zhiyuan answered fluently, and when he heard that he was the top scholar from Suzhou in the previous year, he was even more delighted, so he personally accompanied Jia She to take Lin Zhiyuan to pay his respects to Grandmother Jia.

  Jia She didn't say much in this house either. He knew that his mother favored his younger brother Jia Zheng, and although he had inherited the title, all the major and minor matters of the household were controlled by the second wife's family. After paying respects to Lady Jia, he sat down on one side to drink tea. Mrs. Xing followed him with a humble attitude, waiting on him carefully.

  Jia Zheng brought Lin Zhiyuan to his side and said to Jia Mu, "Mother, this is the child from your sister's family. At such a young age, he has already passed the imperial examination as a jinshi, which is truly rare." After finishing speaking, he glanced at Baoyu with some intention.

  Jia Baoyu stood stiffly to one side as soon as his father entered the room, and upon seeing Jia Zheng's gaze, cold sweat suddenly broke out on him.

  Mrs. Jia carefully sized up Lin Zhi-yuan, and although she was unwilling to admit it, she had to say that this young man from the Lin family was indeed more dashing than her own precious Jade, with a much more masculine air about him. In contrast, Jade, despite his lively spirit, still had a bit of a childish temperament.

  Lin Zhiyuan bowed and said: "Lin Zhiyuan pays his respects to the elderly lady."

  "Good child, don't be polite, just treat this place as your own home. I'm an old woman, and I must also thank you for taking care of our Di Yu!"

  Lin Zhiyuan replied, "It's only right for me to take care of my sister, I don't dare accept the old lady's praise. Before Second Uncle left, he entrusted my sister to me, so naturally I will protect her for all eternity."

  Lady Wang was pleased with Lin Zhiyuan's response, and her eyes scanned the several granddaughters standing on the ground. A certain thought flashed through her mind. She smiled and said: "Your sister said you are still living in the old mansion of the East Ping Hou family? That place is not as convenient as our home here. Your second aunt has already arranged for a residence to be cleaned up, just in the west wing at the back, where you, Daiyu, Tabao, and Tabaoye will live. When you are busy studying, this old lady can also take care of you more conveniently!"

  Jia Zheng looked at Wang Fu with satisfaction, thinking that she had done something right for once. He then turned to Jia Mu and said: "My son also thinks so. In our mansion, only the West Wing is suitable, it's close to the back street, and in the future, when Jin Yu makes friends, it will be convenient. Moreover, the four siblings can live in two wings, which is more spacious. I'll get our people to help move things from the Hou Mansion today, and Jin Yu can tidy up here early and start warming up for the exam."

  Lin Zhiyuan smiled and accepted the kindness of the two masters of the Jia Mansion, but he knew that this time coming to Rongguo Mansion was just for the sake of Daiyu's face. The people in the Jia Mansion were all high-ranking officials, and staying here was not a long-term plan, so he said: "Even so, Zhiyuan and Daiyu will disturb the old lady. However, I have already found a house in Beijing, but the previous owner has not moved out yet, and it will take some time. When the house is ready, I will invite the old lady to visit."

  Daiyu chimed in, "I only found out yesterday that my brother has instructed Xiaotang to buy a house in the capital. However, the original owner had too many belongings and it will take another half month to sort them out. Additionally, repainting and furnishing the place will take another two or three months. It's likely that everything won't be ready until after my brother takes his exams."

  Madam Wang listened to the words of her brother and sister, and her heart itched. She guessed that the money used to buy the house was probably the huge family property left by Lin Ruhai, which originally should have been hers, but now...

  Mrs. Wang asked with feigned curiosity, "I wonder where Zhiyuan bought the house? There are many deceitful things in this capital city, and you're young, don't get cheated! Your second brother-in-law, Xue Pan, is familiar with these government offices, why not let him take a look at the deed and advise you?"

  Lady Wang also hastily said: "It's not like that, why are you in such a hurry to buy a house? Isn't it good to live here? You don't have to worry about the supplies, just focus on studying well. Where did you plan to buy the house?"

  "In Lotus Lane, the home of Mr. Chen, formerly a vice-minister of rites."

  Lin Zhiyuan's words shocked not only Wang Fu and Jia Mu, but also Jia Zheng and Jia She. They knew that Chen Daren's mansion was extremely well-built, with a large area of land, making it a rare and excellent location. The only problem was the price, which was a bit hard to accept. Two years ago, Chen Daren passed away, leaving behind his wife and four sons, three of whom were born to his first wife and were not very capable. After Chen Daren's death, his sons and daughters-in-law quarreled over dividing up the family property, but Chen Daren had no hobbies and spent all his money on building their garden, which was beautifully decorated with pavilions, towers, and flower houses, making it a rare find even in the capital city.

  The four sons of the Chen family also wanted to live in the house, but with many brothers and sisters-in-law, who wouldn't want to be their own master? So they begged Mrs. Chen to sell the old house and divide the money. At first, Mrs. Chen was unwilling, as it was her husband's lifelong hard work, how could she just sell it? But seeing that her children had grown up, and the family's finances were not prosperous, keeping a large house was also useless, so Mrs. Chen steeled herself and found someone from the pawnshop to appraise the house.

  There are also people in Beijing who want to buy it, but as soon as they hear the price, they retreat. 200,000 taels!

  These aristocratic families all have old houses, although they can't compare to the elegance of the Chen family's house, but they are still quite good. Who would spend such a large sum of money buying a mansion for no reason? Rich merchants who wanted it were rejected by Mrs. Chen, who looked down on their mercantile smell and said that she had to sell it to a scholarly family with official titles, and that businesspeople didn't need to come knocking.

  So this matter became awkward, people in the capital all knew that the Chen family wanted to sell their house, but those who wanted to buy either had no money or were rejected, and it couldn't end well.

  So when Old Lady Jia and the others heard that they had bought the Chen family's mansion, they naturally felt surprised. This Lin Zhiyuan was really willing to spend money, twenty thousand taels, which was not a small amount.

  Lady Wang thought of her son-in-law and felt slightly displeased, but still forced a smile as she said to Zhiyuan: "Since you say the Chen family hasn't moved yet, don't rush. Stay here with me and let your second uncle find a good teacher to instruct you for a while. He knows many people in official circles, so it will be easy for him to arrange a meeting with the chief examiner before the exam. Moreover," Lady Wang beckoned, and Baoyu quickly came over to her side, "your younger brother Baoyu is clever and will also take part in the imperial examination next time. You two should encourage each other."

  Jia Baoyu carefully glanced at Zhiyuan with his eyes and saw that the person smiled and responded to Grandma's words, and he also had a secret joy in his heart.

  He had thought that Lin's elder cousin was just a roughneck, but it turned out to be so handsome and elegant, probably even better than Liu Xianglian. Now that Lin's elder cousin and Lin's younger sister have moved into the house, isn't he going to have another playmate?

  P.S.: This chapter has a lot of content, thank you for the rewards from fanshi, likka, Chieh-g, Yu Se Bo Ti, Si Nian, and Shen Hai Zhong KISS! (Didn't miss any, did I?)

  Jinghe continues typing away! First post is up~~~~