Chapter 45: The Wang Sisters Each Have Their Own Thoughts (Seeking Bookmarks)

  Although Lady Jia and others were surprised by Lin Zhiyuan's generosity, it was after all a family matter of the Lin household. To be honest, Lady Jia also had some personal motives in mind. If Lin Zhiyuan could really settle down in Beijing, then when Daiyu got married, wouldn't it look good on her face? In the end, Lady Jia truly loved Daiyu with all her heart and wanted her own Baoyu to marry her granddaughter, but the second branch of the family was being obstructive, insisting on finding that niece from the imperial merchant's household to cause trouble.

  Now Lin's son is going to Beijing for the imperial examination, if he can get a good ranking, Daiyu will also have something to rely on, and in the future when she enters the mansion, her waist will be straighter.

  As soon as she thought of this, Lady Jia couldn't help but laugh and say: "Even so, you can take your time. I've met Mrs. Chen before, she's a good person, don't rush her, after all, our family has a place too." She also said to Jia Zheng: "Tomorrow when you go to court, ask around and see who the chief examiner is this year? Also make early preparations for Lin Er."

  Jia Zheng smiled and replied, "My son also thinks so, but the current emperor has not yet given any clear indication. Now everyone is just guessing, I'm afraid only the officials of the Hanlin Academy, such as Lord Tong, Lord Liu, and Lord Qiao, are suitable for this position."

  Lady Wang thought for a moment and said: "Our family is somewhat familiar with Lord Jiao, let's go visit him first!"

  Zhiyuan naturally didn't want to borrow the prestige of the Jia Mansion, as a later generation person, he knew that the emperor wasn't too pleased with the Ning and Rong two mansions. If he got entangled with them too much, who knows, he might be labeled as part of the loyal and obedient king's party, it was better to keep a distance.

  Lin Zhīyuǎn politely declined, saying: "I appreciate the kind intentions of Old Lady and Second Uncle, but when I left, my teacher repeatedly instructed me to focus on studying at home and not to specially pay respects to those exam officials. He said that 'His Majesty is most averse to others guessing his will.'"

  Lin Zhiyuan's words left the two masters of the Jia mansion speechless. They wanted to pull Lin Zhiyuan, but also had the intention of him repaying their kindness in the future. This does not mean that the Jia family would offend the emperor for this reason. Jia Zheng is a dull person, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed in the position of a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Works for so many years. As soon as he heard Lin Zhiyuan's words, he lost his mind and could only look at his mother.

  "Ah, you see, it's all because of my foolishness as an old woman," said Lady Jia calmly. "What Mr. Lin says is right - it's better to rely on oneself than others. If you have real talent, why worry that the Emperor won't appreciate you?" Lady Jia then ordered Xiangyun to bring over the objects on the antique shelf. "Mr. Lin, this inkstone was a treasured item of our family's former Duke, said to be a precious relic from a previous dynasty. Even I didn't dare give it to Bao Yu, fearing he would misuse it. Now that you have it, I guarantee you'll top the imperial exams next year!"

  Zhiyuan smiled and took it over.

  Jia Zheng couldn't help but like Lin's son more and more, while his own precious Bao Yu looked lifeless. With Old Lady Jia saying so, he scolded Bao Yu in a bad temper: "You're not worthy of using such a good inkstone! If you had half the talent of your cousin Lin, I'd burn incense to celebrate!"

  Jia Baoyu was originally afraid of his father, and seeing his father say this to him, he became even more frightened. Grandmother Jia hugged her precious grandson tightly and said in a huff: "What are you trying to show off again? Baoyu's courage is already scared away by you, alright, alright, it's nothing, let's disperse! I'll also go talk to Lin Daiyu about some intimate matters, you all help Lin Zhinang move things!"

  Many women did not dare to move, but looked at Jia She and Jia Zheng.

  Jia She had a gambling session on the other side of Ningguo House and was getting impatient, but as soon as he heard Old Lady Jia's words, he darted out like a monkey. Mrs. Xing saw her husband run off and bowed slightly before returning to her own courtyard. Jia Zheng took Lin Zhirong with him to the front yard without saying anything, while Wang Er handed over the task of moving house to Wang Xifeng and went to Li Xiangyuan's place to vent his anger at Aunt Xue.

  Ying Chun, Tan Chun, Xi Chun and Bao Yu accompanied Madame Wang, listening to Daiyu recount the various events that had occurred over the past few days, and they couldn't help but feel another wave of sorrow and shed tears.

  Mrs. Wang arrived at the Li Xiang courtyard, where Aunt Xue was discussing the Lin family's affairs with her daughter Xue Baochai. Seeing Mrs. Wang's barely concealed anger, she understood and nodded inwardly. Xue Baochai, being perceptive, quickly poured tea for her aunt from the table, "Aunt, please have some tea!"

  Mrs. Wang held a teacup in one hand and grasped Baochai's hand with the other, sighing: "Look at our precious daughter, whoever marries her will be blessed!"

  Xue Baochai pretended to be shy and said: "Aunt is just joking with me."

  "Alas, Aunt Wang didn't speak nonsense. I wish we had such good fortune to have you stay with us for a long time. But that hateful person in our family! At their age, they still don't know how to enjoy life, instead they're always quarreling with us. Don't worry, Baoyu, Aunt Wang will think of a way to keep you by my side." The more Lady Wang looked at Baochai, the more she liked her, and in comparison, she grew even more disgusted with Daiyu.

  The Xue family, although one of the four great families of Jinling, ranked last among them. Moreover, these four great families were only second-rate aristocratic families under the imperial city, far inferior to the true royal relatives. Since Baochai arrived in Beijing, everything she saw and experienced was beyond what she could have compared to in Jinling. The Jia family had many children, brothers and sisters, a large household and business, if she really became the young mistress of Rongguo House, it would be much better than entering the palace as a minor palace maid or becoming a reader for a princess.

  Aunt Xue had long since taken a liking to Baoyu, and when the time came for him to become her son-in-law, it would be a beautiful thing! However, with Old Lady Jia standing in the way, it was ultimately an obstacle. She feared that she would still have to discuss this further with her daughter. Aunt Xue asked Madame Wang: "Just now when we didn't go, did Old Lady say anything?"

  Madam Wang disdainfully curled her lip, "What can she say? You are our family's relative, not the Lin family's relative. A few young children, must everyone go to welcome them? I had no choice but to go, otherwise who would be willing to bother with them?"

  Xue Baochai had been at the Jia mansion for several days, and got along well with her sisters. They often talked about Lin Daiyu, all praising her. Xue couldn't help but feel a little uneasy in her heart. Today, her mother specifically instructed her not to go to the front courtyard, so she didn't get to see what kind of person Lin Daiyu was. Baochai asked with a hint of provocation: "Aunt, I heard that several people from the Lin family have arrived?"

  "Isn't it? Adding up, there are four of them! I've never seen anyone so lacking in tact. Although Lin's daughter is the old lady's granddaughter, what kind of relatives are those two younger ones? The old lady even said that all expenses would be taken care of by our household. Now they're living in the west wing, Baoyu, tell your brother to keep his distance from them, lest he corrupts Xiren." Lady Wang regarded Xiren as a treasure, and today she saw Lin Zhiyuan and knew he wasn't someone easy to deal with, unlike that fox-like Lin girl. If they were to drag down Bao Yu and Xiren, wouldn't it be like inviting wolves into the house?

  Xue Aunt immediately asked upon hearing Wang's words: "What? Is there someone else in the Lin family who is not decent?"

  Madam Wang snorted, "It's that Cheng Yaojin from their family, the only son of a concubine. He came to Beijing for the imperial examination, but I think he's just a good-for-nothing who doesn't have any real learning. On the other hand, our master, as soon as he heard that he was the top scholar from Suzhou, personally escorted him to see the old lady!"

  Xue Aunt's heart moved, and she thought to herself, "Why didn't my sister mention this before? She only said he was a useless scholar. But if the young master of the Lin family really passes the exam, and we get close to them, maybe our daughter will have some help in the future." Xue Aunt smiled and said, "Sister, don't be angry, just wait and see. If he gets the emperor's favor and becomes an official, he'll still have to repay your family's kindness in the future. And if he doesn't pass, you won't need to drive him away, it's just that his daily food will be a bit simpler, and they won't dare to overstay their welcome."

  Madam Wang heard Xue's mother's suggestion, although it was not very useful, but her sister's words could comfort herself. She sighed: "This is not necessary, I just wish the Buddha to bless their house to be repaired quickly and move out early, don't linger."

  When Xue Baochai heard Madame Wang say "sticking around and not leaving", a hint of embarrassment flashed across her eyes, but she changed the subject by asking: "So Lin's family has already bought a house in Beijing?"

  "Well, it's said that they've bought the old house of the former Minister of Rites' family and will move in after some renovations." Madam Wang spoke with a tone of half-resentment and half-admiration.

  Xue's mother and daughter didn't know how big the house of the Minister of Rites was, but judging from Madame Wang's expression, they guessed that Lin's newly bought house was about the same size. Otherwise, even the second lady of the Rongguo Mansion, who had always been high above others, wouldn't have looked like this. Aunt Xue then asked tentatively: "We can't avoid meeting people at home, let me say, you take me to see Old Madame now and tell her that I've prepared a gift for Lin's daughter, maybe she'll be happy?"

  Mrs. Wang knew that Lady Jia was in high spirits now, and she feared that if she went over, she would only be out of place among the several granddaughters and Daiyu chatting with her. Mrs. Wang did not wish for her own niece to come up short compared to others, especially when compared to that sly girl from the Lin family! So Mrs. Wang shook her head and said, "Tomorrow then. Today, Lady Jia is probably tired too, you might not be able to see her even if you go. Tomorrow I'll go with you."

  Mrs. Wang again thought of Baoyu in the front yard, fearing that this child would forget his soul when he saw Lin Daiyu, and didn't chat much anymore, found an excuse to leave Lihua Garden.

  Xue Baochai personally escorted Mrs. Wang to the gate, and only returned after seeing her sedan chair disappear around the corner of the courtyard wall. Ying'er saw that her mistress was standing blankly at the gate, and couldn't help but ask: "Miss, the second lady has left, shall we go back?"

  Baochai originally wanted to stand at the door of Lihuangyuan to take a look at the situation across from her, but unfortunately there was a garden between here and Xikouyuan, so naturally she couldn't see anything. Baochai then called out to Ying'er: "You sneak over to Xikouyuan and take a look, what's the current state of the Lin family, how many trunks have they moved, and how many maidservants have arrived at their house. If someone asks you..." Baochai thought for a moment, then smiled and said: "Go to my room and get that package of swallow nests that brother gave me yesterday, if someone sees you just say it's something I'm sending to Lin Daiyu, if no one asks you anything then come back, got it?"

  Ying'er followed Baochai all these years and naturally learned to read facial expressions. She responded with a "yes" and ran back to fetch the swallow's nest.

  Half of the fragrance of incense has been achieved, and the oriole will come. Baochai's heart is anxious, seeing the oriole busy asking: "Have you inquired clearly?"

  Ying'er replied, "I only saw it outside the courtyard gate and couldn't get into the west wing. The Lin family's carriages are not many, about five or six, much less than what we brought when we came! Ying'er felt proud in her heart, thinking that their own family had more prestige, and their wealth surpassed that of the Lin family by a thousand times."

  PS: Today I received the news that Editor-sama has decided to change the budget of this article from 30,000 words to 60,000 words. This means that Suiren still needs to work hard! Updates will be made every day at noon! Recently it's been three thousand words a day!

  Thank you for the rewards from Tingting398, Fallen Trash Pool, Jiwa, Shunshun666 and Chieh-g! ^_^! Jinghe is overjoyed to death~~~~~