Chapter 22: The Mansion Welcomes a New Addition, Evoking Sympathy and Pity

  Xueyan had been living in Suzhou Prefecture for some time, and she lived with Chunlei. They were both first- or second-class maids, and they were about the same age, so naturally they had a lot to talk about. Xueyan was also someone who spoke her mind, and Chunlei talked a lot and wasn't afraid of anything, so their personalities complemented each other. As soon as she heard Chunlei mention the Lantern Festival, she asked with a curious itch in her heart: "Chunlei, are you teasing us? Could it be that Young Master really is going to let you go see the lanterns?"

  Spring Bud hadn't replied yet, when Xiang Xian smiled and said to Dai Yu: "Miss, can you see? This is Snow Goose's sister getting excited, she also wants to go watch the lanterns!"

  "Sister Xiangyun has really hit the nail on my heart, I've grown up so big and have never seen lanterns outside before, only seeing some flower lanterns in our Jia Mansion's garden."

  Xueyan spoke without paying attention, but was glanced at by Zijuan with her eyes, and secretly thought, this girl still can't tell who her master is? Having left the Jia Mansion for so long, she still doesn't have any memory.

  Xiangyun was very careful here, afraid that Daiyu would suffer injustice and betray the old lady's entrustment. After Yanqiao, Biting and other senior maids came to serve the young lady, Xiangyun dared not add "we" before the Jia family, fearing that it would provoke jealousy. In fact, Xiangyun had always regarded herself as a servant of the Jia family, and thought that the young lady would eventually return to Beijing, if she could marry the second master, it would be the best thing ever.

  Zi Juan's glance did not catch Xue Yan's attention, but was clearly seen by Yan Rong, Xiang Xuan and Bi Die. The three of them looked at each other and pursed their lips without speaking.

  Xueyan was just anxious and wanted to ask the outcome, urging Chun Lai to speak.

  "In the capital, I don't know how they celebrate the Lantern Festival, but in our Suzhou, it's a big deal. All the famous families donate money to the government to organize the lantern festival on Guanqian Street. On the 15th day of the first month, all the merchants in Suzhou come out to sell their goods: sauce duck, sauce meat, sauce tendon, glutinous rice balls, sesame sugar, yellow pine cake... and also, bean paste dumplings, pearl balls, pulled silk small dumplings, honey juice tofu, pine nut sugar, rose petal melon seeds, shrimp sauce oil, date paste sesame cakes, lard year cake... In short, it's all delicious! Oh my, I can't say any more, or my mouth will start watering!"

  Xueyan and Chunxian were already stunned, their silly expressions amused everyone in the house.

  Chun Lui also laughed and said, "Not only is there food to eat, but also dragon and lion dances to watch. The wealthy families in Suzhou City have rented elegant rooms on the upper floors of wine houses on both sides of Guanqian Street. Each family brings their young masters and misses to watch the lanterns. Last year when watching the lanterns, many young men ran to our house's upper floor saying they wanted to pay respects to the young master, all claiming to admire the young master's talent and wanting to ask for his calligraphy and paintings."

  Daiyu was delighted to hear this, and when others praised Zhiyuan, it was as if they were praising her. She longed to hear Chunlei's lively words, but thinking of her father's recent passing, her joy diminished somewhat.

  Zi Juan looked clearly, wanting to comfort Dai Yu but not good at opening her mouth. Chun Lian said it was just getting interesting, and there was also Xiang Xuan by the young master's side in the house. Wouldn't interrupting Chun Lian's words be impolite?

  Just as Daiyu was in a dilemma, the old woman who guarded the courtyard came in to report: The young master has returned, please ask the young lady to go to the Yunxiao Pavilion to talk. Everyone suddenly didn't understand, but listening to the old woman's tone seemed very urgent, so Lin Daiyu hastily took Xiangyun and Zijuan to the Yunxiao Pavilion.

  Daiyu came all the way, except for a few old women watching the candles, there was no one else. Although she had followed Zijuan, Xiangyun and four old women by her side, looking at the distant tree shadows, it was still a bit scary. Daiyu couldn't help but shiver, tightening the large cloak on her body.

  The purple quail thought the girl was cold, so she quickly wrapped the white fox scarf around Daiyu.

  Xiangyun, being somewhat older, had already seen through the situation and said to Daiyu: "Miss, don't be afraid. Our courtyard is surrounded by forty servants divided into two groups for patrol, not a single rogue can get in. Now it's quiet and cold, soon each household will insert their doors, and the night-watch women will check thoroughly throughout the night. Miss, please rest assured."

  Daiyu was surprised: "When Luo Guan gave me the list, I thought there wasn't anyone on night patrol? Could it be that I remembered wrong?"

  "The young lady is not mistaken, these forty people are not listed on our household staff roster, but are solely at the disposal of Young Master, protecting the safety of Young Master and the young lady. According to Liu An, they are top-notch experts who can take on ten opponents single-handedly."

  Daiyu was even more curious about her brother, wondering what other secrets he had that she didn't know. As the champion of Suzhou, Dizhi excelled in both virtue and talent, with close ties to the powerful and wealthy, and was skilled in painting. Now, Daiyu heard that he also had his own personal guard. Following her brother Dizhi, Daiyu felt as though she had entered a magical world, one that she had never experienced before...

  This Yunxiao Hall is where Zhiyuan lives, and it's also the main house of the Lin family mansion, where the head of the Lin family has lived for generations. The Lin family values learning and governance, and every generation of the head of the household has spent their most important years here. After Daiyu and Zhiyuan's grandfather passed away, this place was left empty until Zhiyuan moved into Yunxiao Hall.

  As soon as you enter the gate, it is a five-room main house, with wing rooms and ear houses on both sides, connected to the mountains, majestic and magnificent. There are also corridors connecting to each other, and the courtyard has a winding path, accompanied by mountain rocks. Looking up, there is a large plaque of nine golden dragons on a blue background, inscribed with the words "Cloud Mansion" in gold letters as big as a bowl. On both sides, a couplet hangs, which is the Lin family's motto:

  Dead trees meet spring and sprout again

  A man is never young twice.

  The gatekeeper's wife saw the girl lift up the door curtain early, and Daiyu walked into the main room to see her brother sitting in a taishi chair with an extremely bad expression. Daiyu's heart skipped a beat, could something big have really happened? She hastily went forward to ask: "Brother, is there something big that has happened at home?"

  Zhiyuan saw his sister come in, sighed bitterly, and let Daiyu sit down. "Sister, today's matter is difficult for brother to mention, it's really an unfortunate event for our family."

  "What politeness is needed between brothers and sisters? If Daiyu can help with anything, brother just needs to speak up." After that, Daiyu ordered Zi Juan and others to stand guard outside the door.

  Zhiyuan saw the people in the house disperse, and then called out the name of Daiyu's maid, Muyu. As soon as her voice fell, Daiyu saw Muyu carrying a three or four-year-old boy, with a five or six-year-old girl following behind her, walking out of the inner room.

  Mu Tuyi felt relieved as soon as she saw Daiyu Zhiyuan, and bowed to pay her respects, but it was inconvenient for her to hold the child in her arms.

  Daiyu stared at the two children and didn't know what had happened. She turned her head and asked: "Brother, who are they?"

  Zhiyuan took over the three or four-year-old boy, and with a bitter smile said to Daiyu: "This is a long story, these two children are the eldest son and daughter of my younger uncle's family."

  Daiyu nodded and walked forward, gently touching the little boy's round face. The child's forehead was wrapped in white gauze, with faint bloodstains visible underneath. Just as Daiyu was about to touch him, the little scamp suddenly turned his head away, causing Daiyu to laugh: "Oh, still a stubborn one, eh!" She then looked at the little girl again, who was thin and small. Upon closer inspection, Daiyu saw that her face still had red marks on it, as if she had been beaten with something. The girl's clothes were only made of coarse blue cotton, not even as good as those worn by the lowest-ranking maids in Daiyu's household. Daiyu couldn't believe it - how could this possibly be her brother's cousin?

  Daiyu looked at Zhiyuan with a puzzled expression, and Zhiyuan asked Daiyu to sit down. He also asked Muer to lead the girl to the guest seat, while he himself sat down next to Daiyu, holding Xiaodou: "Now that I'm close to my sister, I don't mind telling her. My mother, oh, your aunt, was surnamed Ding and came from a family of scholars with vast lands, considered a prominent household in Suzhou. My paternal grandmother remarried into the Lin family when they already had an eldest son; soon after, she gave birth to my mother and uncle. My uncle was frail and often ill, focusing solely on taking the imperial examination, which made his body even weaker. He passed away four years ago. To be honest, my mother's passing is also closely related to my uncle's early death."

  Zhiyuan's voice paused, and he gently patted Xiaodou's head. This child didn't dodge. "These two children are the orphans of my uncle. Their mother's family was a business family. As soon as they saw that my uncle had passed away, they took their mother back to remarry. My eldest uncle wasn't close with my mother and younger uncle, nor did he stop those scoundrels. I wanted to intervene, but after all, I'm an outsider. Mother fell seriously ill because of this."

  Daiyu understood, and asked: "What's going on now?"

  "Hey, after my mother passed away, I often went to the Ding family to see these two kids. My big uncle saw that I had a good reputation and didn't want to make things difficult for me, but my big aunt was...". Zhiyuan's eyes flashed with disgust when he mentioned his big aunt, "My big aunt only has one son, who was born when she was 40 years old, and has been spoiled since childhood. She would scold or beat the other kids in the family, let alone the poor kid from my little uncle's family who had no one to take care of him. I just went to the Ding family and someone told me that my big aunt actually hit this kid on the head and broke it."

  "What?" Daiyu couldn't help but exclaim, on New Year's Eve, her younger uncle's only son had his head cracked open...

  Zhiyuan sighed with a bitter smile, "I also have no choice now, so I brought the two children back. The younger one is called Rongze and the girl is called Xueqi."

  Daiyu listened and went to look at the girl sitting next to Muer, her small face was only as big as her own palm, which made her big eyes even more prominent, she was really a pitiful child. Daiyu beckoned with her hand, this girl looked at Zhiyuan, saw her brother nod, and then timidly slipped to Daiyu's side. Daiyu hugged the girl, almost couldn't feel any flesh, her clothes were also old, couldn't block out the wind at all, the red marks on her face were exceptionally obvious.

  Daiyu also realized during this period that her brother valued relationships and would not let the two children continue to suffer there. "Brother, did your eldest uncle's family really allow you to bring out the two children just like that?"

  Zhiyuan said, "When I went to see the two children before, my eldest uncle's family always made excuses to shirk responsibility. Either they were sick or asleep, and I couldn't force my way into their backyard. Later, I thought of a solution and spent some money to have someone keep an eye on the siblings. Sure enough, something happened this morning. My eldest uncle's eldest son and Rongze fought over a fruit plate, accidentally knocking it against the table leg. My aunt was so angry that she hit Rongze with a teacup. When I arrived, they still didn't admit to it."

  "Brother, let the little cousins live with us, our family only has two people, having more people will make it lively." Daiyu heard about the two children and felt pity for them, looking at Zhiyuan with longing.

  Zhiyuan nodded: "I had this idea too, and I wanted to talk to you about it. From now on, Rongze and his siblings will follow us. I've already signed a contract with my uncle's family, and except for the books in the study that I'll leave for Rongze, everything else is abandoned. From now on, the Ding family has nothing to do with Rongze and his siblings, and I'll take care of them all."

  Daiyu nodded silently, it's good this way, just hoping that the two children won't blame their brother in the future.

  "In fact, even if we wanted to leave something for the two children, there's nothing left. My younger uncle has passed away, and Rong Ze's maternal family took back all the dowry from the beginning. My mother and younger uncle were born out of a levirate marriage, so naturally they didn't get much." Zhi Yuan said tactfully.

  Daiyu understood in her heart that it was not that she didn't want to struggle, but rather that struggling was of no use. Now, if the two children could just keep their lives, that would be good enough...

  However, wealthy families, for the sake of money, will give rise to even more accumulated resentment...

  PS: Unconsciously, it has already reached more than 20 chapters, but Jinghe is still wandering around the old place. When will Jinghe become a writing master? Hope today's click rate can be higher ~~