Chapter 48: Xian Surprises People with a Night Visit to the Western Crosswise Courtyard (Part 2) Seeking Collection

  Qingwen smiled and covered her mouth: "It's only been a few days since I saw you, and you've already changed your surname? And what about our master? I heard from Yuanyang that the person is surnamed Lin. You, don't forget that you're still a member of the Jia household."

  Qiu Yan thought that Zi Juan had some feelings for the young master of Lin's family and intentionally teased her, but unexpectedly Zi Juan didn't get angry at all. She just sighed and said: "What's important about whose maid I am now? Being able to serve my mistress is already a blessing for me. In the future, whether it's following my mistress out or being dismissed from the house, it's all up to our masters."

  These words have really hit the nail on the head.

  She and Baoyu may not have the name of husband and wife, but they already have the reality of husband and wife. Zhiran now only has one mind to serve Baoyu well, in the future can let the second lady lift herself up as a godmother. Serving the master well and getting the master's favor is the most important thing.

  Qingwen let out a long sigh: "I'm not in a good mood today, you know that, Old Lady. I didn't see Mr. Lin either, but I heard from Yuanyang that he's an extremely good person? Is it true?"

  Zi Juan listened to the words of Xi Ren and thought of Lin Zhiyuan, nodding her head, "Not only is he exceptionally talented, but also a man of excellent character, truly a rare find in this world."

  Xiren pursed her lips. In her heart, probably only Baoyu was the best. "How many people have you met? There are few in the world, can our Baoyu not compare?"

  Zijuan was about to say a few flattering words to Baoyu, but when she met Xiren's eyes, the words that had reached her lips retreated. Who is Xiren? She is the red person beside Baoyu. If Zijuan were to flatter Baoyu excessively, wouldn't she provoke Xiren's discontent? Zijuan's eyes rolled, and her words changed tone: "Miss isn't someone who can be ordered around, you'll naturally have a chance to see Master Lin. However, Master is very protective of our Miss, if she suffers even the slightest grievance it won't do. If you meet him, be careful what you say. Our Master is also a generous person, all those serving Miss have received quite some rewards. I originally brought many good things for you, but now I'm busy and haven't had time to sort them out. I'll go see you again when I return from my family's home tomorrow."

  "Are you going home tomorrow? Isn't that Yan Rong serving beside Lin Niang? Can she be trusted?"

  "Xiangyun's voice was low and even, without any emotion. 'What's not trustworthy about this? This is someone the master personally chose. In the past, the master said that Miss had too few attendants, so he assigned seven or eight maids to her. Now they all live in this courtyard. This time when she came back, Miss specifically told Lady Wang not to send anyone over to serve us, saying we have enough people here. Although Master and Miss live here, they also agreed that their daily expenses would not be taken from the Jia household. Master's place is connected to the back street, so it's convenient for going out and making purchases.' Oh, and there's one more thing." Xiangyun instructed Qiuwan: "On our side, Wang Xianger has left."

  Qin'er replied: "That old woman has also reached the age of enjoyment, and it's good for her to go home. It's just that Lin girl's side lacks a helper who is older in years."

  "This is also what I want to say, be careful, don't talk too much like today." Zi Juan looked out the window, there was no one in sight, and continued: "We have a strict nurse here, surname Yan. She's an old lady from the palace, and she's fierce when it comes to handling things. Be careful not to offend her, or she won't show any mercy to the Jia family."

  As soon as she heard that it was someone from the palace, her heart also felt a bit apprehensive. This is natural, ordinary people hearing such things will always feel a little shaken. But she still spoke stubbornly: "No matter how powerful she is, she's not our family's servant, why should she control me?"

  Xiangyun hastily covered Xiren's mouth, "Young lady, please keep your voice down, we have neighbors on the other side who might hear us. Strict Aunt is here to instruct you on behalf of the princess, how dare you provoke her? Even Old Lady would have to show some respect." Xiangyun looked at Xiren with surprise and said, "You're usually so cautious, what's wrong today?"

  Qingwen sighed and said listlessly: "Zijuan, we've been together for five or six years now, haven't we?"

  "No, I entered the mansion as a little maid at the age of ten, you were one year earlier than me, now that you're sixteen, isn't it time to settle down? What's the point of bringing this up?"

  Qingwen put the silk she was holding on the head of the bed and casually lay down on Zijuan's bedding, "You and Lin girl went to Suzhou for so long, of course, you don't know what's going on at home. We have a new Miss Bao here, she is the biological niece of the second madam, she looks elegant and dignified, and she knows how to get along with people. Everyone in our household, from top to bottom, praises her. Miss Bao's family is also a respectable imperial merchant, they are very generous, and the young maids are willing to play with her."

  Zi Juan was packing things, heard Sha Ren's words, and her hands paused for a moment. "What do you tell me these for? What about Bao Niangzi, Jin Niangzi... what belongs to her, I only take care of my own mistress well, her rewards are not rare, I don't want them."

  She didn't know the meaning, and she leaned forward slightly, approaching Xiangyun: "I'm saying you're so silly, can't you understand my intention? That Baoyu is destined to marry our family's second wife, I and you are the best, of course we hope that everyone will be together in the future. If you can follow Lin girl to marry our family, isn't it a good thing compared to those outsiders?"

  She's indeed formidable, and this time she's here to probe Xiangyun's intentions. If Lin Daiyu doesn't want to marry Baoyu, then everything will be fine. But if Xiangyun has ulterior motives and encourages Lin Daiyu to spend more time with Baoyu, then she'll have to carefully consider her next move and make a good plan. Although Lin Daiyu is beautiful, she's hot-tempered and loves to pick fights over trivial matters, always quarreling with the second master. If she becomes the mistress in the future, will she treat Xiangyun kindly? Xiangyun doesn't think so. After weighing her options carefully, she firmly decides to support Baoyu.

  The young lady is gentle and generous, she will definitely be a good grandmother in the future. As long as she behaves herself and does her part, why worry that good days won't come? Having another son, in the future he can also become a noble official's wife.

  As for Xiangyun, Qiuwan didn't particularly like her. They were similar types of people, both being the kind who did more than they said. In the past, Qiuwan had looked down on Xiangyun, thinking she was just a house-born servant girl who had an advantage because of her birth. When serving Old Madame, Xiangyun was only a third-rate tea-serving maid, while Qiuwan was already a top-notch second-rate servant. Later, when the young lady from the Shi family came, Qiuwan was transferred to serve her and became a first-rate maid in one leap. By the time Qiuwan arrived at Baoyu's side, Xiangyun was still only a second-rate servant. If it weren't for Lin Daiyu, who knows how long she would have had to struggle?

  Looking back at Ziqing, every word that hit her heart was like a knife. The second lady didn't like the young lady? Want to find your own niece to be close relatives? But what about Lin girl? What will happen to herself in the future?

  Zi Juan looked a bit distracted, Zai Yan saw it in her eyes, a flash of cold light, and gritted her teeth. No wonder Baoyu asked her to take a look, this Zi Juan indeed had some improper thoughts about Bao Yu, fortunately she always treated Zi Juan as an honest one

  Qingwen shook her handkerchief and said, "It's getting late, and the lantern-carrying women are waiting for me outside. I'll leave first. Don't forget to come tomorrow, we're all waiting for you."

  He said and left without even turning his head back, but he didn't forget that piece of good Suzhou embroidery in his hand.

  In the courtyard, under the pomegranate tree, sat two old women, both of whom were night watchmen in Grandmother Jia's courtyard. Knowing that Bao Yu was going to find Bao Chai, he instructed two servants to follow him. Bao Yu himself chatted in the side room, but the two old women were miserable. Originally, the courtyard should have been locked up early, but since Bao Yu hadn't left, everyone couldn't sleep either. Bi Tiao saw that the two old women were working hard and personally brought them two bowls of water to quench their thirst. The two women hurriedly thanked her. The three people sat on the stone bench under the tree chatting about family matters. This Bi Tiao was a person who knew how to treat others, so she ordered Xiang Hui to bring out some pastries from Suzhou for the two old women to eat. With their mouths full of food, the two old women were delighted and naturally didn't care about guarding the door anymore. Before long, Bi Tiao and Xiang Hui had thoroughly understood the eight generations of ancestors in the Jia family.

  So when Zhai Ren came out of the wing room, she saw this scene: the old woman of Jia's family and Lin's maid were chatting like a family, talking endlessly. If Zhai Ren hadn't arrived nearby, it was feared that those two old women would not be willing to stop their mouths.

  Qingwen secretly measured Bi Hua and Xiang Yu, envying them in her heart. One was charming and moving, the other delicate and lovely, both were rare beauties of Jiangnan. Qingwen herself had only average looks, naturally she couldn't compare with Bi Hua and the others, but she was good at guessing people's hearts, otherwise Jia Baoyu and Wang Furen wouldn't have trusted her so much.

  Bi Die is a character, personally selected by Lin Zhiyuan. Apart from being skilled in culinary arts, she's also an exceptionally astute person. As soon as she saw Shaoren, she didn't like those seemingly dull but actually cunning eyes, though she didn't say anything out loud. She came forward and greeted: "So this is Sister Shaoren, I've long heard of your great name, and today I see that you're indeed a rare and exceptional person."

  "Who is this sister?" Zhen'er naturally didn't know who the girl in front of her was, but judging from her clothes and appearance, she should be a maid from the Lin family.

  Bixie smiled and said: "Sister Shaoren doesn't recognize me, I am Lin's personal maid, called Bixie. This is little Xianghui. We are new here and will have to visit Sister Shaoren in the future."

  "It's actually Bi Hua, just call me Zhai Ren. We're very close with Lin, and it's a blessing that we can still live together now. If you have time, Bi Hua, come visit us at our courtyard, everyone will get to know each other."

  Bi Die and Zai Yan looked like they had finally met, hand in hand, as they arrived at the corner gate. The old woman led the way ahead, and Bi Die carefully instructed: "Mothers, be careful on the road, and safely send Miss Zai Yan back. It's dark outside, don't let anything go wrong."

  PS: Today's first update, the original work of Qiangren is considered by many scholars to be cunning and ruthless. The girls in Yihongyuan who died or were expelled from the house all had a complex connection with her, so Jingyu also hopes to highlight the "evil" side of this person.

  Thank you Chieh-g, shallow fall smile, CX jade, biooil2 for the first reward, Jinghe is really very grateful, thank you for your support. The second update will be sent soon~~~

  I'll ask again in a low voice, is there still any ticket for urging updates?