Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 376: Anger at Jia Baoyu
After parting with Lin Daiyu, the women in Rongguo Mansion seemed to be missing a backbone.

Everyone stood in front of the corridor looking at each other, not knowing where to go for a moment.

The girls from the small opera troupe followed the carriage back to An Jinghou Mansion first, and now only these people were left in the room.

All the girls couldn't help but look at Xue Baochai and Qin Keqing, hoping that they could come up with some advice.

The two looked at each other, then looked into the room, and began to think secretly.

Qin Keqing looked around and thought to herself, "This is Rongguo Mansion. The scenery is quite exquisite. It is better than Anjinghou Mansion, but not much better."

"There are quite a few servants surrounding her, but none of them look friendly. The second wife is the same. She looks like a Buddha, but judging from the fact that she called Miss Lin in, she is not someone she can get along with."

"With all the intrigue going on in Rongguo Mansion, Ningguo Mansion's reputation is even worse than Rongguo Mansion's."

Thinking about her marriage to the Ningguo Mansion and her plan to become the eldest lady, Qin Keqing has never regretted it at all and is even very grateful to be saved by Yue Ling.

Since entering the Rongguo Mansion, Qin Keqing has secretly compared everything here with the Anjing Marquis Mansion.

As a result, except for the imperially built mansion which looked good, the rest could be described as all show and no substance.

But this scenery was also passed down from ancestors and has nothing to do with the current head of the family. After all, he has only inherited the glory of his ancestors and is still a playboy at heart.

Thinking of this, Qin Keqing became even more disdainful of this place and looked away.

"Although there are fierce intrigues in the mansion, everyone is just vying for the master's favor. No one will really make things difficult for anyone else. Everyone relies on their own abilities. On a normal day, they are still sisters from the same family."

"And here..."

Qin Keqing thought about the black oil gate of the East Courtyard that she had just passed and shook her head slightly.

Beside him, Xue Baochai frowned, suspicious, "Why are we separated as soon as we came into the inner curtain? Is there something that even we can't hear?"

"The eldest daughter of the Jia family was given the title of Consort Xian De, which is very puzzling news. Rumor has it that your Majesty and the Queen have a very good relationship and have a prince, so why would you add concubines and expand the inner palace? This is also very unusual."

"Even if she is promoted to a concubine, I don't think the eldest daughter of the Jia family can gain a foothold in the harem, and can get any power under the Queen. Not to mention that the national treasury is in deficit now, and the Jia family is so extravagant and extravagant, which will be unacceptable to Emperor Longyou. I really don't understand what the heads of the Jia family are thinking."

Looking up again, through the window lattice, Xue Baochai looked at Lin Daiyu who was slowly sitting down inside. She was surprised and said, "Second Madam is not trying to win over Sister Lin and get the Marquis to invest in the Jia family so that the eldest girl can eventually compete with the Queen in the palace, right?"

"That's too naive. No one in the Jia family has entered the government, so are all officialdom affairs handled so carelessly?"

After pondering for a while, Xue Baochai felt that this was indeed not a place to stay for long. There could be many interpretations and many signals for Mrs. Wang's action. The key still depended on what the Anjing Marquis would do and how Sister Lin would respond.

Looking down at the maids, Xue Baochai finally said, "Who knows how long the conversation in the room will last. We can't just wait here."

"The sisters of the Jia family are in the back room, not far away. I've been here before. Shall I take you over to sit with them?"

After that, Xue Baochai named them again, "Zijuan, Qingwen, you were once members of the Rongguo Mansion. It's not easy for us to move around freely, but you can go and see your old acquaintances. It will be difficult to see them again in the future."

Zijuan, Qingwen bowed her head and nodded, and replied, "Yes."

Looking at Ying'er in front of the two of them, who also had an eager expression, Xue Baochai immediately guessed what she was thinking.

This girl must have found it boring to stay in the room. Now that Xue Baochai is accompanied by Xiangling and others, she also wants to go for a walk in the yard to find out how the maids in the mansion are doing.

Xue Baochai held her forehead and said, "You two should take Ying'er with you. If anything happens, ask her to pass on the message."

Ying'er smiled happily, stepped back, and took Zijuan and Qingwen's hands on her left and right, "Miss, shall we go first?"

After saying goodbye again, the three of them quickly disappeared into the corridor.

……

Behind Rongqing Hall and in front of the back garden, there is a very small courtyard.

In the old days, this place was only used as a warehouse. Later, two practicing masters came in. They had profound knowledge of Buddhism and outstanding looks, and were very much liked by Lady Jia, so they were settled here.

Grandmother Jia loves to be lively during the day, but she still wants silence when she rests at night.

The small courtyard is adjacent to the back garden, where fewer people come and go. The quiet place is just right for the two practitioners to serve as a Buddhist nunnery.

However, the Buddhist temple is not quiet today.

It's not just because there's construction going on in the back garden just across the wall, there's always the sound of axes and hammers hitting the ground.

At this moment, there was a young man outside the door clapping the copper ring.

"Master Miaoyu, Master Miaoyu, I have some Buddhist scriptures that I would like you to help me solve."

Seeing Baoyu knocking on the door and calling out, Xiren, who was following behind him, must have been in agony.

Previously, Qingwen was blamed for not stopping Baoyu and was driven out of the mansion, not knowing whether she was dead or alive.

This time, it seemed as if the story had repeated itself, and she was unable to stop Baoyu from coming to the Buddhist temple and disturbing the master's meditation.

If anything went wrong, she would definitely not feel relieved.

Seeing that there was no movement in the Buddhist temple, and that it looked as if they were not ready to accept Baoyu, Xiren could not help but persuade him, "Second Master, let's go back. Perhaps the master has gone to bed. Even if there are some things you don't understand in the Buddhist scriptures, you can ask them another day. After all, these are not the Four Books and Five Classics, and the master never asked you to read them."

Baoyu not only did not appreciate Xiren's hidden good intentions, but also lectured her: "You are too vulgar. The Four Books and Five Classics are read by some pedantic scholars. These scriptures contain the great principles of the world."

"Besides, how can Master Miaoyu rest when it's so noisy outside? Those damned craftsmen must have covered up my voice so that the people inside couldn't hear it."

As he spoke, Baoyu exerted a little more strength and knocked on the door even more vigorously.

Xiren was speechless for a while.

Could it be that Baoyu’s preference is in the scriptures?

Before the female teachers came to the mansion, Baoyu was never seen reading scriptures without putting down his book, and whenever Mrs. Wang wanted to punish him, she would make him copy scriptures.

At that time, the scriptures made him so miserable that he often wanted to tear them up and be done with it. How could he comprehend the Dharma?

I had only one thought in my mind when I was cramming for the exam, and that was because Master Miaoyu in the room was a girl with extremely outstanding looks.

Ever since she came to the mansion, she has outshined all the other girls in the mansion.

Furthermore, her sea-blue robe gave her a more otherworldly and independent temperament than the ordinary girls in skirts and hairpins. She immediately captured Baoyu's heart and he began to yearn for Buddhism.

Is this a yearning for Buddhism? This is simply Sima Zhao's intention.

Because Miaoyu's teacher was living under someone else's roof, she sometimes had to pay attention to Baoyu and give some face to Lady Jia and Lady Wang. As a result, Baoyu became more and more demanding and came to visit her every now and then, even more frequently than his sisters. Seeing that Baoyu was getting more and more ignorant and making trouble, Xiren couldn't stand it anymore and still advised: "Second Master, maybe he just doesn't want to see you today, so don't bother him anymore. Otherwise, I will go to the lady to complain about you."

Bringing up Mrs. Wang still didn't scare Baoyu.

Baoyu curled his lips and said, "The sisters are so boring. They always talk about Yue Ling, that crude warrior. It's simply unbearable to listen to. How can it be as enjoyable as talking about Buddhism with a beautiful master?"

"I think the sisters will also become dead fish eyes, just like Sister Lin and Sister Bao."

"The beautiful master's appearance is not inferior to those two. I think she is even better. Beside Yue Ling, a rough man, even the fairy flowers and grass will wilt sooner or later."

"I really want to see Sister Lin and Sister Bao come to the mansion again and compete with the beautiful master face to face."

"Oh, right, the beautiful master's sister, the eldest wife's niece, is also very beautiful. She doesn't care about food, clothing, and other mundane things, which shows that she has a noble character. It's a good opportunity to compare the two."

Even bringing up Mrs. Wang couldn't subdue Baoyu. Xiren had really run out of tricks.

After sighing a few times, a rough maid happened to come and stood in front of Xiren.

Xiren recognized at a glance that it was from Lady Wang's courtyard, and her face became nervous. She took the initiative to ask, "But the Madam has something to tell you."

The maid nodded, then looked at Baoyu who seemed to be crazy, and said, "Madam just said that the ship of Marquis Anjing arrived in the capital this morning, and Miss Lin, Miss Xue and others are talking to Madam in the main courtyard. Sister, please take good care of Master Bao, let him sit in his room or sit somewhere else, and don't disturb the sisters again."

I still remember the last time Baoyu was severely punished for causing trouble in the inner house.

After being beaten and confined to bed for three months, Xiren couldn't help but get nervous after being warned again. "What? Marquis Anjing has arrived in the capital?"

at the same time,

Inside the Buddhist temple,
The old nun sat leaning on a rattan chair to recuperate, while Miaoyu served her by her side, pouring tea and fanning her. Neither of them chanted in the Zen hall, but rested in the courtyard.

The old nun opened her eyes slightly, frowned and said, "I feel that you are better at serving people than before, and you are much less arrogant."

Miaoyu's fingertips trembled slightly as she poured tea, causing the spout of the pot to not be aimed at the teacup. The tea spilled all over the table and fell sparsely on the bluestone floor.

This was all the water collected from last year, brought from Panxiang Temple. There wasn't much left, and Miaoyu felt really distressed.

The old nun was even more displeased. "I just said a few words and you got so flustered. How can you be a spiritual practitioner?"

Miaoyu smiled awkwardly and said with pain: "Yes, Master is right. I am with you every day, so I can take care of you more easily."

There were noisy knocks at the door. The old nun shook her whisk, pointed outside and said, "Listen to that idiot. The sons of high-ranking officials all look like dandies. If you really have nowhere else to go, the two mistresses of the Jia family have been very tolerant of us. You are still willing to stay here. I, the master, would rather stay in the mountains and live in poverty."

Miaoyu shook her head in embarrassment, "Master's illness, we can't stay in poverty any longer, we need help, and we can't lack medicine and nourishment."

Hearing this, the old nun fell silent.

Miaoyu's filial piety is real, and she knows it in her heart.

But the old nun felt that it was quite contradictory to watch her being neither a monk nor a laywoman every day.

Her heart warmed, and the old nun's tone softened. "What should we do? If we still ignore him today, he will come again tomorrow."

Miaoyu was also not tired of it. She came here to practice meditation, to help the Jia family with sacrifices, or to preach with Lady Wang and Lady Jia, but she did not come here to make trouble with Jia Baoyu, a playboy.

In other words, Jia Baoyu still knew his limits and didn't do anything inappropriate, otherwise Miaoyu would not have been able to stay there.

"Let's ignore him today. I'll talk to the Second Wife tomorrow."

The old nun shook her head and said, "The Second Wife is his mother, why would she restrict him for you? If this method really worked, the Jia family would not be in the state it is today."

Miaoyu looked up in confusion, "Why do you look like that?"

The old nun said, "There are many men in the mansion who are suitable for marriage, but no one has come to propose marriage, nor has anyone taken a concubine. This is normal for ordinary families, but the Jia family has two men, and it is obvious that they have lost their power and no one is willing to marry. And you have a beautiful body, in my opinion, the second wife and the old lady have long wanted to send you to a man's courtyard as a concubine."

Miaoyu was startled when she heard this, and her pupils dilated slightly.

He couldn't help but take a few steps back, muttering repeatedly, "What? How could this happen?"

The old nun seemed to be used to it. She shook her head and sighed, "The rich and powerful are all the same."

Miaoyu did not completely agree with this statement.

Suddenly, Miaoyu heard a woman outside shouting, "What? Marquis Anjing has arrived in the capital?"

"Marquis An Jing?!"

Miaoyu looked back suddenly. The old nun was stunned for a moment. The next scene was that Miaoyu was standing in front of the door.

After lowering the bolt and pushing open the door, Miaoyu leaned out and asked anxiously, "Has Marquis Anjing come to the mansion?"

Baoyu, who had raised his hand to knock on the door the moment before but was stopped by Xiren, was overjoyed to see the front door open. The next moment he heard what Miaoyu said, which was like a bucket of ice water hitting him, as if he was in an ice cave.

His body trembled, and he slowly raised his hand to touch the colorful rope around his neck.

Miaoyu raised her hand and shook Xiren's shoulder, asking, "Have you come to the mansion? Why don't you say anything?"

Xiren looked at Baoyu who was in a daze, then looked at Miaoyu, and was speechless...

……

"Zijuan, Qingwen, is there anything good to see in Rongguo Mansion? Last time I came here with the young lady, I didn't walk around much. Which one is better, Anjinghou Mansion or Rongguo Mansion?"

Zijuan patiently responded, "The garden of Rongguo Mansion is very large, comparable to Canglang Garden, but it doesn't have such a large lake. But now that the ground is broken, we can't go in."

Qingwen also answered: "Of course, I don't need to say which place is better. It must be the Anjing Marquis Mansion. In this mansion, you can't walk around freely. If you appear in a place where you shouldn't be, such as in the garden, you will be questioned and lectured."

"Moreover, everyone in the mansion is a person who knows how to serve people according to their status. People in the West Mansion look down on the East Mansion, and people in the Second House look down on the First House."

"When I was in power, they all praised me. But when I lost power, they treated me like a dead dog, dragging me around without mercy."

"After they threw me out, I cried until I was blind and my head was bleeding, and no one paid any attention to me anymore."

"If it weren't for Miss Lin's kindness, I might have committed suicide at that time."

Ying'er was frightened when she heard this. She blinked several times and said, "It's so dangerous."

As they were chatting, they saw the maids from the Jia Mansion who had just greeted them at the second gate coming over with smiles on their faces...

(End of this chapter)