The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 412 The Queen's Plan

The black plaque with gold ink on the lintel in the middle that read "Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery" has been replaced with a plaque with gold letters on it that reads "Mansion of the Duke of Lu".

On both sides of the stone lions at the gate stood a row of armored imperial guards, and the surrounding streets were also filled with imperial guards armed with guns and swords at every three steps.

The doors from the middle gate to the main hall were all open, and looking deeper, all the way outside the main hall was filled with eunuchs and palace maids, some holding long banners, and some holding strings of palace lanterns. The ceremonial gate was even more crowded with ceremonial guards, and the luxurious phoenix sedan was awe-inspiring in the sunlight!
Today is February 12th, the Flower Goddess Festival, and Lin Daiyu’s fifteenth birthday.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, it was required that noble women perform the ceremony of getting married after being promised and before getting married. It was usually held at the age of 15. If they had not yet been promised, they would also perform the ceremony at the age of 20. They would braid their hair to the top of their heads and insert a hairpin to show that they had reached adulthood and had a husband.

During the Dashun Dynasty, if a woman was fifteen years old, she could have the Jigui ceremony even if she was not engaged.

Because of the emperor's decree, noble families still have to observe a half-year mourning period, and Lin Daiyu originally planned to invite Jia Mu and others to come and sit down and eat a bowl of longevity noodles. But then a decree came from the palace that the queen would come to attend Lin Daiyu's coming-of-age ceremony in a private capacity.

If Li Hu were here, he would definitely jump up and down and curse. He hated this kind of thing the most. It was ambiguous. Let's not hold the coming-of-age ceremony. Now that the queen was here, let's hold it. She would attend in a private capacity, which meant that the binding force of the imperial edict was still there.

This did not bother Lin Daiyu, as the emperor's decree was that no noble family could have banquets or music for a year. So she did not hold a banquet or perform music, but invited Jia's mother and others to accompany the queen to eat a bowl of longevity noodles.

After Jia Min passed away, all the Lin family members were in Suzhou, and the old Li family could not be relied upon, so it was only Jia's grandmother who came to give Lin Daiyu a hairpin.

The main hall was decorated with dazzling lights and there was a couch in the front. The queen, dressed in casual clothes, was sitting there, smiling as she looked at Lin Daiyu, who was kneeling on a new bright red felt carpet in the hall.

At this time, Lin Daiyu was wearing a plain skirt with no decorations on her body, only an ordinary thin cloth belt around her waist.

Grandmother Jia took the wooden comb from Xueyan's hand and gently combed Lin Daiyu's hair from front to back.

The ladies in Kunning Palace chanted: "On this auspicious day of the month, I will put on my first clothes. I will abandon my childish ambitions and cultivate my virtues. I wish you a long and healthy life and great happiness."

Zijuan came over holding a lacquered tray with a hairpin and a robe on it.

The female official: "One plus!"

Grandmother Jia braided Lin Daiyu's hair on top of her head, put on a scarf and a hairpin, then walked and stood in front of Lin Daiyu.

The female official said: "Bow! Serve your parents with filial piety, and be kind to your parents."

Lin Daiyu bowed deeply to Lady Jia.

The female official: "Two plus!"

Qingwen came over holding a lacquered tray with hairpins and a long gown on it. Lin Daiyu retreated into the back hall and changed into a dignified long gown. Then, Grandmother Jia replaced her scarf and hairpin with a hairpin.

The female official chanted: "In this auspicious month and on this lucky day, I will dress you properly, respect your dignity, and be virtuous. May you live a long life and receive eternal blessings."

Grandmother Jia walked up to Lin Daiyu again.

The female official said: "Second bow! Gentle, upright, obedient, respectful, frugal and polite."

Lin Daiyu bowed deeply to Lady Jia.

The female official: "Three plus!"

Xueyan, Zijuan, and Qingwen each came over holding a lacquered tray, on which were placed gowns with wide-sleeved long skirts, pendants, ornaments, and hairpins and crowns.

Lin Daiyu retreated to the back hall, changed into a graceful, dignified and elegant dress with wide sleeves, and put on a pendant and other accessories.

Lin Daiyu, wearing a wide-sleeved dress, caught the eyes of the Queen, Lady Jia and others. She looked dignified, graceful and elegant.

The queen looked at Lin Daiyu and smiled, then nodded to the personal maid beside her.

The palace maid understood and picked up the lacquered tray that had been covered with yellow silk and walked to Lady Jia's side.

Grandmother Jia was slightly stunned and looked at the Queen.

The queen smiled and said, "This is a gift from me to little girl Lin."

Gift? Lin girl? She called him so affectionately! If he is being too attentive to you for no reason, he must be a traitor or a thief!

Just as Jia's mother was hesitating whether to lift it, she suddenly caught Lin Daiyu's eye, reached out her hand, and uncovered the yellow silk.

Countless pairs of pupils were dilated. Grandmother Jia was shocked, and Lin Daiyu was also stunned.

Phoenix crown, on the red lacquer tray is a phoenix crown, a phoenix crown decorated with a phoenix. According to the etiquette of the court, only the empress, the imperial concubine, the princess and the princess can use the phoenix, and other women can only use the phoenix.

The queen smiled faintly, stood up, and said as she walked, smiling: "I think Miss Lin is smart and clever, and I really like her. I want to adopt her as my goddaughter." Then she walked and stopped in front of Lin Daiyu.

Adopt a goddaughter!

Lin Daiyu was shocked!

Grandmother Jia was also shocked!

Everyone was shocked and then a commotion broke out.

No wonder she had to attend in a private capacity! Lin Daiyu came back to her senses and looked at the queen.

The queen was looking at her with a kind smile, her eyes full of expectation.

The female official spoke: "Silence!"

The hall soon became quiet.

Everyone looked at Lin Daiyu with envy, even Jia Yingchun.

Xue Baochai clenched her handkerchief tightly in both hands and stared at the phoenix crown.

Queen: "I have discussed this matter with Your Majesty, informed the Imperial Clan Bureau, and sent a private letter to Governor Lin. As soon as Governor Lin's letter arrived, the Imperial Clan Bureau immediately took care of the matter."

Lin Daiyu understood that this matter was a foregone conclusion.

Grandmother Jia also reacted and said quickly, "Yu'er, kowtow to the Queen."

The Queen looked at Lin Daiyu and said, "This most important thing will be done by me."

What else could Lin Daiyu say? She could only answer, "Yes."

The queen smiled, took off Lin Daiyu's hairpin, and put on the phoenix crown!
The female official chanted: "In the right year, in the order of the month, all are clothed, brothers are present, to complete their virtue, Huangdi has no boundaries, receiving the blessing of heaven."

The personal maid had asked the maid from the Li family to bring a chair, and the queen sat down.

The female official said: "Bow three times! Do not be overbearing or arrogant, do not flatter or deceive, the ancient teachings are the rules, you should abide by them, and prepare the wine!"

Lin Daiyu had no choice but to bow down respectfully.

The queen smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

Lin Daiyu picked up the wine jug brought by Xueyan and poured the wine into the copper basin brought by Zijuan.

At the same time, the female officials sang: "The sweet wine is rich, and the recommendation is fragrant. Bow down and accept the sacrifice, and it will determine your good fortune. Receive the blessing of heaven, and live a long life."

As the congratulatory speech came to an end, this simplified version of the coming-of-age ceremony came to an end.

The goal was achieved. The queen ate the longevity noodles, said a few words to Lady Jia and Lin Daiyu, left a gift list and returned to the palace.

After watching the phoenix sedan disappear on the street, everyone returned to Lin Daiyu's main room.

Seeing Lin Daiyu in a daze, Jia's mother sighed silently. The queen had a good plan! It's funny to say that the emperor was hesitant, so he asked the crown prince to draw lots and decided on the title of "Duke of Lu". It's not difficult to guess what the queen was thinking. She took the opportunity to show favor to the Li and Lin families to win the hearts of the people for the prince and buy bones for him at a high price!
And the most important point is that because of this favor, even if the prince does something to let down the Li family in the future, Li Hu will have to tolerate him three times.

Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia said to Lady Xing, Aunt Xue and the other golden hairpins, "Let's go back and let Miss Lin have a good rest."

After seeing off Lady Jia, Lin Daiyu returned to her bedroom, picked up a pen and began to write.

After writing, Lin Daiyu looked at the letter and smiled bitterly. Li Hu would not be able to come back for a while. The Central Plains had just been pacified and people were unstable, especially Henan, which was being bullied by Wang Ziteng. While recuperating from his illness, Li Hu was ordered to lead the Ruishi Battalion to patrol the Central Plains to deter the disloyalty of the locals and wipe out the remnants of the White Lotus Sect!
Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and dozens of provincial capitals in four provinces, I don’t know when I can go home!
Thinking of this, Lin Daiyu sighed, sealed the letter, stood up and walked out.

(End of this chapter)