Chapter 50: Baochai's Unwavering Devotion (Third Watch)

  Rong Ze didn't notice the subtle changes in his two sisters, and he climbed onto the chair that Xue Qi had just sat on. "Sister, sister, when are we going home?"

  "Is it not good here?" Daiyu asked curiously.

  Rong Ze pouted, shaking his head unhappily: "You can't even fly a kite here, Rong Ze wants to go out and play, but Mu Rui sister won't let him."

  Daiyu naturally understood the concerns of Muyun and others. Yesterday, this courtyard was bustling with people coming and going, everyone was afraid of hurting these two children, how could they let them go out? Now that they live in the back of the Jia Mansion, although it's more convenient to come and go, but after all, it restricts the children and there is no place for them to play. Moreover, the servants in the Jia Mansion are what kind of people, Daiyu has long been aware of, she doesn't dare let the two little ones suffer a bit of grievance.

  At this time, Daiyu also had a kind of uncertainty about her own behavior when she returned to Rongguo Mansion again.

  "Rong Ze, what are you doing with your two sisters?" The voice of Zhi Yuan came from outside the door. The three turned their heads to look, and saw Lin Daiyu's handsome brother walking in with a swagger. Daiyu looked at her brother's face and saw that he was in a good mood, dressed neatly, not in his usual old clothes, and knew that he had something important to do today.

  "Brother, are you going out?" Daiyu asked curiously.

  Zhiyuan smiled and nodded, "Yesterday I sent a visiting card to Lord Tong, he knew I was a descendant of the Lin family and also a student of Mr. Shen, so he asked me to come today."

  Daiyu was delighted when she heard this, "This is a great thing, if we can get Tong's appreciation, brother will also have more confidence during the test. But have you prepared a gift? I have a Mi Fu's 'Shu Su Tie' here, take it to give to Tong, it's our little thought."

  This "Shu Su Tie" was one of Lin Ruhai's early masterpieces, which he later gave to his beloved daughter as a dowry for her future marriage. Daiyu had always treasured it and brought it with her on this trip to the capital. She knew its value all too well, making it the perfect gift for those refined scholars and gentlemen. With Dafu struggling to gain traction in the unfamiliar city, relying solely on his talent would hardly be enough to win over Lord Tong's favor. Although it pained her, Daiyu was willing to part with it for the sake of her brother's future prospects.

  Zhiyuan was delighted to see his sister and there was no trace of reluctance on her face. In her heart, she was also happy. The "Shu Su Tie" was called the "first beauty post", its artistic connotation is not hard to imagine. Daiyu could bear to take it out, it can be said that it is a kind of recognition for herself, Zhiyuan felt that his efforts in these days were not in vain. However, he had understood her intention and couldn't accept the gift, "This isn't necessary, I have already prepared a 'Fu Rong Jin Ji Tu', although it's not a genuine work by Huizong, but after all, it has his poem and postscript, it can be considered as something good. The first time I pay respects to Lord Tong, if I send too valuable a gift, it will inevitably have the suspicion of bribery."

  Daiyu thought it was the same reason, now that Lord Tong is in power, if her brother were to get a good position in the future but be impeached by others, it would not be worth it. Giving this "Peony and Golden Chicken" painting would be great, even though it's a high-quality imitation from the Painting Academy with Huizong's poem on it. Even if there are officials who impeach him in the future, her brother can just say that he gave away an inexpensive fake.

  The more Daiyu thought about this idea, the better she felt, and the more she admired Zhiyuan's way of handling things, which was meticulous and thoughtful.

  Two siblings were talking, and on the other side, Yan Rong had already set up breakfast and invited Young Master and Miss to come over. Daiyu held Xueqi's hand, Zhiyuan pulled along Rongze, and the four of them happily went to the Flower Hall.

  Xiang Xian, Mu Rui, and Yan Rong stood on either side of the round table, arranging dishes in order. It seemed that Jia's household intentionally wanted to showcase the culinary skills of their kitchen staff, as this breakfast was exceptionally sumptuous. There were donkey rolls, sugar-coated pastries, fried dough rings, deep-fried cakes, burdock root pancakes, radish pancakes, chicken oil rolls, lotus seed paste and osmanthus cake, and just for porridge alone, there were four varieties: swallow's nest congee, duck meat congee, red rice congee, and green rice congee.

  Daiyu only picked and ate half of the lotus seed paste cake, and drank more than half a bowl of green rice porridge. Despite this, Zhiyuan still said she didn't eat enough. On the other hand, Rongze was eating with relish, clamoring to taste everything on the table one by one, making everyone burst out laughing.

  Xiao Yāo róng Xiāng Shān quickly walked in and replied in a low voice: "Master, young lady, there's a mother outside who says she's from the Xue family to deliver something."

  Xue family?

  Daiyu hastily asked: "Is it a relative of the second mistress's family?"

  "It's like this, I was sent from the Li Xiang Yuan and am acting on the orders of their young mistress to deliver some food for you and Master. I'm waiting outside right now."

  Daiyu called Xiangshan to lead the mother in, and soon a young woman in her thirties came in, carrying an intricately carved food box. As soon as she saw Daiyu and Zhiyuan, she quickly knelt down to pay her respects, and Yurong hurriedly stepped forward to help her up.

  The young wife smiled and said: "Greetings to Master Lin and Miss Lin! Our mistress and daughter said that Master Lin and Miss Lin have just arrived in the capital, so they must not be used to the food here. Early this morning, she had our little servant go to the Rich Brocade Building on North Street to buy the best Suzhou pastries, saying it was a small token of our family's intentions for you to try. Oh, and our daughter also asked me to ask Miss Lin if the swallow's nest sent over yesterday tasted good? It wasn't something bought from an ordinary shop, but rather something we kept for ourselves, so please just eat it, and after a while, we'll send some more!"

  This is both dim sum and bird's nest, but it has confused Daiyu. She herself had no dealings with the Xue family, just for the sake of the second lady's face, the Xue family didn't have to be so diligent. Moreover, Daiyu was clear in her heart, and Wang Furen couldn't help but feel pleased with herself.

  Xiang Xian, who was standing on one side, suddenly seemed to remember something after hearing the woman's words and hastily said: "Ah, I almost forgot." She smiled at Daiyu and Zhiyuan, "Yesterday, the courtyard was in a mess. Liu An said that there was a little maid peeking around our courtyard door, saying she had been sent by Bao Niang to deliver swallow nest. Liu An was confused, but the little maid ran away. Afterwards, I received the swallow nest from her. Since Master and Miss were tired, I didn't have time to report it."

  Daiyu nodded, indicating that she understood the matter. "Since it's like this, then please ask Mother to greet you girls on my behalf and thank her for thinking of me." She also instructed Yuyan to give a few pieces of money to the young woman, who left happily after receiving the reward.

  "Sister, do you know why the girl from the Xue family came to our place to pay her respects?" Zhiyuan suddenly asked, who had been eating quietly beside them.

  Lin Daiyu did not answer Zhiyan's question at first, but instead called Xiangyun and others to take Snowy and her brother to play in the house. After everyone left, she said: "My sister is foolish, these are just guesses, I don't know if they are right or wrong. Yesterday, I heard my second sister and third sister say that this Miss Ke of the Xue family is a beauty with a national color and heavenly fragrance, from a wealthy family, because she is a reserve candidate, so she came to Beijing early on purpose. Lin Daiyu thought, there are not many noble people in the palace who are not rich and powerful, which family is not a master of wealth and power, I'm afraid that the Xue family can't be counted as anything, so maybe getting along with our family is also for the future to have more ways."

  Actually, after the servant from the Xue family arrived, Daiyu understood a bit more, and with the flattering tone of that little wife, she was certain that the Xue family was taking this route for her brother.

  Brother Zhiyuan is a scholar of Suzhou, and it's likely that the news has already spread throughout the Jia Mansion. He looks dignified and talented, and Daiyu believes that any girl who sees him would be smitten. It's not just Daiyu praising her own brother - yesterday at Grandmother Jia's place, both Tan Chun and Xi Chun couldn't help but steal glances at Zhiyuan, and even the normally stoic Erjie (Second Sister) Ying Chun couldn't help but blush. All of this Daiyu has witnessed with her own eyes.

  Although the Xue family is a royal merchant, Daiyu comes from a scholarly family and naturally understands the humble status of merchants. The fact that their daughter is so diligent has its own subtleties that require careful consideration.

  Zai shuo Zhiyuan ting le Daiyu suo yan, weiwei han shou: "Sui bu da jing zhun, dan ye neng jiang ge da gai. Mei mei hai xiao, duo duo de he Yan niang niang xue zhe, zi ran you ni de yong chu."

  After breakfast, Zhiyuan took Heng and a young servant to Tong's mansion, Rongze and Xueqi stayed in the house playing with Murong, while Daiyu only brought Yanrong, Xiangyun and Chunru to pay respects to Grandmother Jia.

  After leaving the Western Mansion, along the small path in the mansion, I also saw many pavilions and waterside pavilions. After walking for about half an incense stick's time, I finally saw the back building of Grandmother Jia's residence. Daiyu was indeed a bit frail, and after this short while, sweat beads appeared on her forehead.

  "Miss, aren't you tired? Let's take a rest?" Yan Rong pitied Dai Yu and led her to a stone bench, placing the handkerchief on it before asking Dai Yu to sit down. "Miss, our West Wing is quite far from here, every day we come to pay respects, we have to walk a long way. Why not let the servants carry you, that way you can conserve your energy."

  "We've already caused enough trouble by moving into the Lin's house, and if people start gossiping about us, it'll be even worse. I don't have anything to do with it, I just walk a few more steps every day, and after some time, I get used to it." Daiyu rubbed her sore legs and was about to stand up when she saw Ping'er coming over and called out to her: "Ping'er, where are you going?"

  Ping'er was carrying a small wooden chest made of red sandalwood, when she suddenly saw Daiyu sitting on the stone bench. She quickly walked several steps closer and said, "So it's Miss Lin! Our lady is at Old Madame's place, saying that some relatives have come to our house, and she told me to go back and fetch a gift for them to meet."

  Daiyu saw that the box was not an ordinary object, although it was not made of purple sandalwood or yellow rosewood, but it was an old piece of work, with delicate and exquisite carvings. It must be something extraordinary inside. Feng's temperament had been understood by Daiyu after being in contact for so long, she could bear to take out these things, it can be seen that the person who came to the mansion to pay respects was not an ordinary person.

  "Ping'er, do you know who has come to our house?"

  Ping'er listened to Daiyu's question and looked around cautiously, seeing that there were only Lin family servants nearby, before speaking in a relieved tone: "Since Miss asked, I'll give you a heads up. The visiting family is surnamed Zheng. Old Lady Zheng is our master's younger sister from a concubine. It's said she wasn't favored at home and was married off to Yizhou far away. There hasn't been any contact over the years. But recently, their eldest daughter was betrothed as a concubine to the Third Prince, so now they've come to Beijing to deliver the bride and are paying respects."

  PS: Third update~~~ Hope it's not too late! Thanks to Shallow Smile Barly, huangluyilon, Rainy Silky, You Shan, yun8201, and Unresponsive Ticket for the votes, Chieh-g's red envelope reward made Jinghe's hands tremble with excitement. For everyone's encouragement, Jinghe will work hard on writing!!! Today received many urgent update tickets, ^_^