Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 302 The Story of Tangyin
As soon as Baoqin finished speaking, Tanchun got up to greet her, smiling and saying, "Sister, I sent you an invitation as soon as you arrived, but I didn't see you for a long time. I thought you weren't coming today."

Yingchun added, "The old lady praised Sister Qin's good character. Wouldn't this society be less vibrant without Sister Qin?"

The ladies chatted and laughed as they welcomed Baoqin inside. Only Baochai, though smiling, felt somewhat awkward inside.

They then discussed and established the rules, and gave each person a name. Chen Siyuan sat to the side watching with a smile, but Li Wan, who had been holding back for a while, could no longer resist and kept glancing at Chen Siyuan.

Others might not have noticed, but it couldn't be hidden from Sister Bao and Sister Lin. Chen Siyuan broke out in a cold sweat, but it was the wrong time to say anything to Li Wan.

He initially planned to join in the fun, but now he realized that this wasn't fun at all; it was clearly a battlefield.

Chen Siyuan was beginning to have second thoughts when Tan Chun asked in surprise, "Where is Brother Bao?"

Baoqin, who had just arrived, said, "Just now, when Madam Xia came, she called Bao Erge away."

The three sisters and cousins ​​of Baoyu naturally wanted to bring him along for the fun, but Baochai and Daiyu didn't think so. The former looked down on Baoyu for only knowing romance and not having any ambition, while the latter saw through Baoyu's true nature and treated him as just an ordinary cousin.

Then Xing Xiuyan and Xiangling joined in the fun. Seeing that things were not going well, Chen Siyuan simply stood up and said, "You all keep having fun, I'd better go back to my studies."

Xichun was extremely reluctant to part with him and exclaimed, "Without Brother Yuan, it feels like something is missing from the liveliness."

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "Since the poetry club meeting was scheduled for today, I won't join in."

Chen Siyuan's poetry skills were mostly average, relying entirely on his memories from his previous life. In terms of true ability, he was probably even inferior to Li Wan and Yingchun, so naturally he dared not show any weakness. Besides, even if he didn't compose a poem later, how would Chen Siyuan put himself if he were asked to comment on the poems of Baochai and Lin Daiyu to see who was better?
If he flatters one person, he will offend another; Chen Siyuan might as well stay out of trouble.

He said this with a smile, but others thought differently, saying that his poetry skills were too high and he didn't want to participate in such a childish poetry club.

Some people thought that if Chen Siyuan's poetry was too good, wouldn't he overshadow everyone else?
Chen Siyuan added, "I'll join in when there are other fun activities to do in the future."

Except for Xiao Xichun, who was a little reluctant to part, the rest of them smiled and got up to see Chen Siyuan off. As Chen Siyuan was about to leave, he exchanged a glance with Xiangling, whose heart was filled with emotion and her face turned red.

After Chen Siyuan left, Daiyu said, "Although he's gone, there are still quite a few people." She glanced at Xiangling and said, "My female apprentice has been studying with me for a long time, and now she can also write poetry and prose."

Everyone knows that Xiangling often goes to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to learn poetry. Previously, they thought Xiangling was just joining in for fun, but now they didn't expect that Xiangling could actually write poetry!

Everyone praised her, and Xiangling covered her mouth and smiled, feeling grateful. If she hadn't ended up with Chen Siyuan, how could her wish have come true?

It was, after all, an elegant affair. Even though Baochai was unhappy with Baoqin, she managed to suppress her emotions and joined in the lively activity with a smile.

After chatting for a while, Tan Chun, because Li Wan had contributed money, recommended her to take charge of the poetry club. Li Wan, now with something to look forward to, was no longer the listless person she once was. Hearing Tan Chun's words, she smiled and said, "Since Tan Chun has recommended me, although I'm not very good at writing poetry, I'm a few years older, so I'll take charge of the club. However, we'll need two vice-club members to help out. Since Tan Chun was the one who first organized the club, I think the first vice-club member should be Tan Chun."

The women all agreed, and Tan Chun readily accepted, adding, "Since I am the vice-chairperson, I will be the host this time." After everyone agreed, she asked, "But I wonder who is the candidate for the other vice-chairperson? Could it be Sister Bao or Sister Lin?"

Li Wan smiled and said, "Neither of them. I think Feng'er is the most suitable."

Baochai, understanding the implied meaning, immediately laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, not only did you pay for it yourself, are you also trying to take advantage of Fengjie?"

Daiyu also laughed and said, "Speaking of which, Sister Feng's latex business is really thriving now. Who knows, she might get an order from the Ministry of War in a few days."

Baochai immediately said, "If you want to talk about it, Lin is really lucky. No matter how hard Feng works, she'll be half as successful as Lin."

Daiyu playfully protested, and only stopped after teasing Baochai for a while.

Both vice-chairpersons have been chosen. After teasing Baochai, Daiyu said, "Since we're going to start a poetry club, and we're all poets now, let's change the titles of these sisters and uncles to make it more elegant."

So Li Wan adopted the pen name Daoxiang Laonong, Baochai was named Hengwu Jun, Lin Daiyu was named Xiaoxiang Feizi, the third sister Tanchun was named Qiushuang Jushi, the second sister was named Lingzhou, and the young Xichun was named Ouxie.

Since Baoyu was not around, and no one reminded Tanchun, her title was simply Qiushuang Jushi (秋爽居士), not Jiaoxia Ke (蕉下客).

Then Xue Baoqin arrived, and after much thought, she gave herself the name Meiying Shanren (Plum Shadow Hermit). Xiangling couldn't think of a name for a while, and Daiyu gave her the name Lingxiang Jushi (Lingxiang Hermit), but Xiangling felt it was inappropriate. After much thought, she called herself Qingtang Yinshi (Pure Hall Poet).

They then established rules to hold gatherings once or twice a month, rain or shine, and also set up a system of rewards and punishments.

Once everything was in place, Li Wan said, "Since Tan is so eager to host, let's get started. But since the poetry club has already started, how can we not inform the vice-column?"

Tan Chun immediately covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "Sister-in-law wants to go and beg for money, but I'm afraid of Sister Feng's mouth... Never mind, I'll stay and make the preparations. Whoever wants to go can go."

Xiao Xichun, however, was not afraid and said, "What is there to be afraid of, Sister Feng? Let's get this straight, and Sister Feng will definitely agree. Sister-in-law, count me in."

Then Baochai said, "Then I'll go too."

With this matter settled, Li Wan led Baochai and Xichun to the front to find Feng Jie.

Sister Feng's children's courtyard.

At this moment, Sister Feng was reclining on the kang (a heated brick bed), wearing a headband, while Ping'er was whispering instructions. After Ping'er finished speaking, Sister Feng said, "Tell Qiao and Feng to keep their hands clean and not to give Madam any leverage. As for the monthly expenses... I'll secretly give them two taels of silver."

Sister Feng was "ill" for a few days, so the household management duties were all left to Ping'er. Ping'er was a kind-hearted person, and even though she had Sister Feng's protection, she couldn't afford to offend the various managers too much. Because there were constant troubles in the Rongguo Mansion these days, and Sister Feng was "ill," Ping'er had no choice but to frequently seek advice from Madam Wang.

As a result, Lady Wang has been preoccupied with various affairs these days and has now developed a sense of aversion and dislike.

Sister Feng was inherently power-hungry, so she wouldn't truly give up her job as a housekeeper. This time, she listened to Chen Siyuan's advice and planned to retreat in order to advance, and have a good fight with Madam Wang.

Upon hearing this, Ping'er asked, "Grandma, are you perhaps going to use your own savings to make up for it?"

Sister Feng sneered, "It's just a matter of ten or twenty taels of silver a month. I don't care about a few taels of silver."

Ping'er finally relaxed her brow. Yes, the latex workshop was on track, and once the Ministry of War placed an order, they were sure to make a fortune. Naturally, Feng Jie wouldn't care about those pittances anymore.

Just then, Feng'er from outside said, "Grandma, Eldest Grandma, Miss Bao, and Fourth Miss have arrived."

Feng Jie and Ping'er, mistress and servant, were both taken aback. Ping'er hurriedly lifted the curtain to greet them, while Feng Jie also struggled to sit up—since she was ill, she naturally had to look like one.

A short while later, Li Wan, Baochai, and Xichun entered the room together, and Fengjie asked with a smile, "Why are you all here?"

Before Li Wan could speak, Xi Chun leaned over and asked with a smile, "Is Sister Feng feeling any better?"

Sister Feng said, "I need to take care of my illness; I'm afraid it won't get better anytime soon."

Xi Chun, being young, couldn't understand the hidden meaning and immediately showed concern. Li Wan and Baochai, however, weren't fools. Seeing that Wang Xifeng looked perfectly healthy, though her face was deliberately powdered, she didn't seem ill at all.
Baochai was happy to see Fengjie and Lady Wang fighting, and she herself was too lazy to get involved. Li Wan secretly resented Lady Wang's harsh treatment. Although Fengjie had always been wary of her, she had no intention of managing the household and did not expect Jia Lan to inherit the Rongguo Mansion's business, so she would not make an enemy of Fengjie.

Since it was Xichun who had spoken, Li Wan stepped forward and said, "If I were to say, you should rest more. With such a large family business and so many things to manage, even the best body would get sick from exhaustion."

Feng Jie felt a little strange, but then realized that this was Li Wan's good intention. She quickly said, "Ping'er really can't manage today, and I was thinking of trying to hold on for a few more days. Since you say so, sister-in-law, then I will take a good rest."

The two exchanged a glance, their unspoken understanding unspoken.

Previously, Sister Feng was wary of Li Wan because of Madam Wang, fearing that the job of managing the household would fall into Li Wan's hands. Now, thinking about it carefully, it was just Madam Wang's instigation.

What's this about widows not being allowed to show their faces in public? Aunt Xue is a widow too, yet the Xue family's main branch's business is still under her control. Besides, Sister Feng used to manage the inner quarters and didn't need to go outside, so why would she need to show her face in public?
Li Wan readily agreed, saying, "That's good. We came here to see that the maidservant had spontaneously started a literary society. Since it's only just begun, we're a bit flustered, so we'd like you to be our supervisor."

Sister Feng laughed and said, "I don't know how to make anything 'wet' or 'dry,' do you want me to go eat something?"

Xichun said, "Although Sister Feng is not good at acting, she doesn't need you to act. Just keep an eye on those among us who are lazy and complacent, and punish them accordingly."

Sister Feng immediately laughed and said, "Don't try to fool me. I guessed it! You're not inviting me to be the supervisor of the society! You're clearly making me a money-making copper merchant. What kind of society are you running? You must be taking turns being the host. Your monthly wages aren't enough, so you've come up with this way to detain me so you can ask me for money. Is this the idea?"

Everyone laughed at her words. Li Wan laughed and said, "Zhenzhen, you have a heart of crystal and a heart of glass."

Sister Feng laughed and said, "You're supposed to be the eldest sister-in-law! You were originally entrusted with the girls' education, teaching them manners and needlework. If they weren't good, you had to advise them. Now that they've started a poetry club, how much money do they need? You're just going to ignore it? You're called the old lady or madam, you're a former noblewoman. You get ten taels of silver a month, twice as much as we do."

The old lady and the lady of the house said that you, a widow and unemployed, were pitiful and didn't have enough to live on. Since you have a son, they gave you another ten taels, making you equal to the old lady and the lady of the house. They also gave you a garden plot, and everyone can collect rent. At the end of the year, when the annual allowance is distributed, you will receive the highest share again.

You and your wives, masters, and servants—there are less than ten of you in total, and your food and clothing are still provided by the government. All told, it adds up to four or five hundred taels of silver a year. Now you're going to take out one or two hundred taels of silver each year to entertain them? How many years can that be?
They've all married, do you expect them to compensate you? Now you're afraid to spend money, so you've instigated them to cause trouble for me. I'd be happy to go hungry, and I wouldn't even know!

Li Wan turned to Baochai and said, "Listen to this. I said one sentence and he went crazy, spouting two cartloads of nonsense about how a scoundrel, a peasant, a vulgar man, is good at calculating and splitting the bill."

Before Li Wan could continue, Xi Chun said, "Sister Feng is wrong this time. Sister-in-law has taken her personal savings, and Brother Yuan has also given her quite a lot. It should be enough for us this morning. We just wanted Sister Feng to join in the fun, so we came to invite her... But Sister Feng doesn't appreciate our kindness."

Xiao Xichun's words surprised Fengjie greatly. Li Wan was usually extremely stingy, so why was she being so generous this time? Remembering how Lady Wang had muttered several times that the Diamond Sutra was worth at least fifty or seventy thousand taels of silver, Fengjie immediately understood:

Yes, if it were me, I wouldn't be able to openly admit how much money I received; I would have to be careful to conceal it. Thinking about it that way, Li Wan is now a wealthy woman, so wouldn't she have to hand over some money?

Upon further reflection, Li Wan, being a cautious person, was afraid of drawing attention by taking out money, which is why she dragged me along as a foil.

Sister Feng covered her mouth and laughed so hard she almost fell over, muttering annoyance as she thought to herself: Li Wan is not short of money now... she might have ten or twenty thousand taels of silver on hand, enough to support her and her daughter. In addition, she has always been disliked by Lady Wang, so she might not only not help Lady Wang fight for the Rongguo Mansion's property, but might even speak up for her.

Li Wan has always been respected by the old lady. Sometimes, one word from her is more powerful than a hundred words from me. Since she is willing to befriend her, I should naturally agree.

So Sister Feng curtsied on the kang (heated brick bed) and said, "I misspoke, please forgive my offense, sister-in-law."

Li Wan laughed and scolded, "Stop talking nonsense. I'll just ask you one question: are you in charge of this society or not?"

Sister Feng hurriedly said, "If I don't join the club and spend a few coins, won't I become a rebel in the Grand View Garden? Do you still want to eat here? I'll take office today, dismount and accept the seal, and leave you fifty taels of silver to slowly serve as the club's host. In the next few days, I won't write poems or essays; I'll just be an ordinary person. Whether I'm an 'inspector' or not, once I have the money, you'll still kick me out!"

Upon hearing this, everyone inside burst into laughter.

Sister Feng was a straightforward person, and sure enough, she instructed Ping'er to fetch fifty taels of silver. Because she had been 'ill' recently, she said that she would not go to Qiushuangzhai for the time being, but would wait until everyone had finished their poetry critiques before coming to Sister Feng's courtyard together.

Li Wan, Baochai, and Xichun returned home after their fun had ended, and in the afternoon, a poetry club was indeed set up at Qiushuangzhai. Because there was a crabapple tree in Qiushuangzhai, and the group had already composed poems about crabapple trees, they naturally named the club "Crabapple Club."

After a day of playing and laughing, Xiangling finally returned home in the evening with her little face flushed from drinking.

Ever since Xiangling found her mother, Zhen Fengshi, her personality has gradually become more cheerful, and she smiles more often. However, she is still usually cautious in her speech. This time, perhaps she really got what she wanted, because as soon as she returned, she went to find Chen Siyuan and chattered on and on.

After a while, he said, "When we were halfway through the journey, Master Bao arrived excitedly. Upon hearing about the club's affairs, he became so anxious that he scratched his head and cheeks. After asking around, he first said that the Third Miss's name was not good, so he changed it to 'The Guest Under the Banana Tree.' Then Miss Lin teased him, saying that the Third Miss's name sounded like 'Deer Meat.'"

Following Bao Er Ye's lead, he also called himself the "Young Master Qi Xian" and wrote two poems for fun, but unfortunately, his sister-in-law rated them as the worst.

After a while, she said again, "I was just joining in for fun, and the poem I came up with is better than anyone else's. Miss Bao, Miss Lin, and the new Miss Qin all wrote good poems, and even my sister-in-law couldn't tell the difference. She had to go to the front to ask Second Madam for her opinion."

After listening to the list, the second mistress said that Miss Lin's name was the most pleasing to the ear, and thus decided that Miss Lin would be the first choice.

Chen Siyuan smiled as he took Xiangling's soft hand, clearly happy for her. If it weren't for him, it would be hard to say what the girl's future would be like. Fortunately, he had managed to bring Xiangling to his side by chance as soon as he entered the manor, and now Xiangling's fate was no longer related to the original story.

In addition, the section on the Begonia Society has naturally changed as well.

Because Li Wan contributed money, Tan Chun recommended her to be the head of the club, instead of Li Wan recommending herself as in the original text, which made Tan Chun resentful. Later, although Feng Jie said some strange things, she was immediately annoyed when she heard that Li Wan had also contributed money. Later, because Xiang Ling and Bao Qin were also in the Begonia Club, Li Wan and Tan Chun no longer favored Bao Jie as they did in the original text. They asked Feng Jie to be the judge, and Feng Jie randomly found a reason to decide that Dai Yu's poem would be the first place.

In this way, Daiyu was naturally delighted, but Baochai wouldn't be unhappy either—if Baoqin were chosen as the top student, Baochai would probably be furious. After Xiangling calmed down and went to fetch water for Chen Siyuan with a smile, Chen Siyuan secretly thought to himself. Actually, it wasn't just this Begonia Club; the fates of all the young ladies had probably already changed. What would happen in the future was no longer something he could speculate on based on the original text.

That night, Xiangling was in high spirits and sought out Chen Siyuan for some passionate encounters, the details of which need not be elaborated upon.

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Sansheng Temple.

In the small courtyard, Miaoyu was eating a bowl of rice porridge. However, she frowned as she ate, because although the two old women could cook, it could never compare to the taste of the small kitchen in the Grand View Garden.

Miaoyu, who was always particular about the finest and most exquisite food, found it difficult to swallow at this moment.

The maid Qingfan noticed her mistress's mood and said, "Please bear with it, Miss. Once this period is over, we will find a place to stay and hire a skilled cook."

Miaoyu softly agreed, and said, "You went to look around today too, did you find anything you liked?"

Qingfan shook his head and said, "None of the temples in the inner city plan to sell them. I plan to go to the outer city tomorrow."

These words immediately caused Miaoyu to frown. Her aloofness was partly innate, and partly a deliberate attempt to create an air of mystery, which attracted the attention of high-ranking officials and nobles.

The inner city is where high-ranking officials and nobles gather; how can the outer city compare? Miaoyu then said, "It doesn't matter if it's a nunnery, temple, or Taoist monastery; we can just spend more money to renovate it."

Qingfan then said, "There is such a place, but it's in the east of the city. Why don't you go and take a look yourself tomorrow?"

Miaoyu agreed, then pondered for a moment and asked, "Have you asked the monks and nuns?"

Qingfan said, "Apart from Zhineng'er and Bihen, everyone else is neither here nor there."

The question was naturally asking whether the other nuns would follow the temple after it was moved.

Miaoyu then said, "Then let them be."

Qingfan agreed. Miaoyu forced herself to eat a little more, then told Qingfan to take the food away.

It was already night. Qingfan brought water and helped Miaoyu wash up before laying out bedding for her.

As the second watch of the night approached, Miaoyu put down her book and went to bed early. But no sooner had she fallen asleep than a nun in front of her cried out in alarm, "Fire!"

Miaoyu was half asleep when she heard the sound and immediately woke up. Qingfan quickly got up and draped a robe over her, then hurried to the main courtyard to investigate.

After a while, Qingfan turned back with a frightened expression and said, "Miss, the side hall is on fire, and everyone is in a panic."

Miaoyu scolded, "How did the fire start out of nowhere? The night watchman must have accidentally spilled the lamp oil!" She then wrapped her clothes tightly and led Qingfan toward the main hall to search for it.

Just as he was about to leave, Qingfan frowned and turned to look back. Before he could say anything, Miaoyu urged, "What are you waiting for? Come with me to call for help to put out the fire!"

Qingfan quickly agreed and followed Miaoyu to the main courtyard.

Unexpectedly, no sooner had the two left the courtyard than two dark figures scaled the wall and quietly slipped into the main room of the courtyard.

With Miaoyu's arrival, everyone immediately felt reassured. Without Miaoyu needing to give any instructions, the two old women, along with Qingfan, shouted for help, and with the assistance of Zhineng and Bihen, and the help of the nuns, managed to extinguish the fire in the side hall.

Miaoyu then questioned the nun on night duty, who cried and said, "I don't know why, I was so confused just now that I fell asleep without realizing it."

Miaoyu felt disgusted and thought he was just a careless person. She decided that the next day she would only take Zhineng and Bihen to their new place.

As midnight approached, Miaoyu returned to the side courtyard to settle down. But as soon as she entered, Qingfan saw the wide-open door and immediately exclaimed in surprise.

Miaoyu also sensed something was wrong, so she quickly called two old women over. Zhineng and Bihen, carrying carrying poles and cudgels, cautiously entered the house, only to find it in complete disarray with no one in sight.

Seeing that there were no thieves, Qingfan hurriedly went to the bedroom to search, and soon cried out, "Miss, everything...everything is gone!"

Miaoyu felt dizzy and disoriented, but thanks to Zhineng'er's support, she didn't fall. When she regained her senses, she left Zhineng'er and ran inside. She saw that the two chests were open, and they were already empty.

Miaoyu stared in disbelief, completely at a loss. Only now did she belatedly realize that she had fallen for the villains' diversionary tactic!

The two old women panicked. One of them said, "The thief can't have gone far. Quickly search around. He might be hiding in the nunnery!"

Another said, "That fire must have been set by thieves. They were planning something while the other was not, and they've probably already run far away. I think we should report it to the authorities!"

Unable to reach an agreement, the two sought advice from Miaoyu. However, Miaoyu was utterly despondent and had no ideas whatsoever.
She thought to herself that even if she were to report it to the authorities, it would have to wait until tomorrow. She immediately dismissed everyone, leaving two old women to guard the house. Then she sent Qingfan to search the place thoroughly. This search revealed that not only were the treasures gone, but the remaining thousand taels of silver notes were also nowhere to be found.

Miaoyu was immediately heartbroken. After consulting with Qingfan, she discovered that the group only had a little over a hundred taels of silver left. This amount of money was not enough to buy a nunnery, and it probably wouldn't even last for a few months for their daily expenses.

Miaoyu felt both regretful and fearful, but she was also a stubborn person. She thought to herself that when she walked among the powerful and wealthy in the future, people would offer her large sums of money.

Qingfan observed her expression for a long while before saying, "Miss...why don't you...why don't you go back to the Rongguo Mansion? Have a proper talk with Madam about your troubles, and who knows—"

Before he could finish speaking, Miaoyu glared at him and said, "What do you know?"

Qingfan pouted and said, "Even if it doesn't go well with Madam, we can always ask Master Yuan for help... and Miss Xing too—"

"Shut up!" Miaoyu's face turned ashen. She had felt incredibly awkward after begging Xing Xiuyan last time. Now that she had escaped her confinement, how could she possibly have the face to plead again? Besides, wouldn't that just make her a laughingstock in Xing Xiuyan's eyes?
Miaoyu gritted her teeth and said, "I'll report this to the authorities first thing tomorrow morning, and from now on... from now on..."

Miaoyu didn't say what would happen next, because she herself was now very confused.

After a restless night, the two old women went to report the incident to the authorities early the next morning.

Miaoyu naturally didn't concern herself with such mundane affairs, leaving the two old women and the officials to answer their questions. She hid in the back meditation room, lost in thought, when after a while, Qingfan came looking for her, biting her lower lip.

Miaoyu then asked, "Have the officials left?"

Qingfan shook her head and said, "Miss, Granny Han said... we should prepare some money for tea."

Miaoyu wasn't truly ignorant of social etiquette; she was simply too aloof and disdained to discuss such matters with ordinary people. Upon hearing this, she frowned and asked, "Did you say how much money you want?"

Qingfan bit her lower lip and said, "I'm afraid it will cost twenty taels."

Miaoyu was taken aback. Qingfan continued, "However... Granny Han said that unless someone is found in the government to ask for help, those items are probably not going to be found."

Miaoyu immediately became angry and said, "If they can't find it, how dare the officials ask for money for tea?"

Qingfan said, "Granny Han said that it's easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away... If we don't give him some tea and money, I'm afraid the officials will cause trouble."

Miaoyu was speechless for a while, and could only send Qingfan to deliver twenty taels of silver to the front.

No sooner had Qingfan left than Zhineng came looking for him.

Once inside, he said to Miaoyu, "Abbot, the temple's rice and grain are not enough for three days. My fellow disciples asked me to ask the abbess how to purchase more." He paused, then added, "Also, half of the side hall has burned down, and I'm afraid it will cost money to repair it."

Miaoyu said, "As for the rice and grain, just go and find Qingfan. As for the side hall... let's leave it there for now."

She thought to herself that since the land deed wasn't in her hands, the repairs wouldn't fall to her.

Miaoyu had just finished answering Zhineng's question when another incident occurred. The commotion could be clearly heard even in the courtyard.

A short while later, Qingfan came looking for her with a mournful face, saying, "Miss, something bad has happened! A wealthy man named Lu has come with the land deed and his servants, saying that this land belongs to him and that we must move out completely within three days. In addition, most of the side hall has been burned down, and that wealthy man Lu is also demanding that we pay compensation."

Miaoyu trembled with anger, stood up, and said with a livid face, "I didn't burn down that side hall, so why should I pay for it?"

Qingfan bit her lower lip and remained silent, only looking at Miaoyu. The implication was that since none of the nuns had any money, yet they addressed Miaoyu as the abbess, Miaoyu should compensate them.
Miaoyu wasn't stupid; she quickly understood. With a sigh, she realized she could no longer play the wise one and had no choice but to continue searching ahead with Qingfan.

............................................................

That day, Chen Siyuan appraised the poems of the various young ladies. Although he praised them all, he couldn't help but rank them in his heart. Daiyu's talent was outstanding, making her the first-rate. To Chen Siyuan's surprise, Xue Baochai's talent was no less than Baochai's, and the two were evenly matched.

Surprised, Yunxiang then delivered an invitation.

Chen Siyuan inquired about it, and Yunxiang only said that a servant had delivered it through the back door. Chen Siyuan unfolded it, glanced at it, and immediately put it away—this time it was an invitation from Aunt Xue.

The two hadn't been close for quite some time, and Chen Siyuan was naturally distracted. He spent half a day reading, and at noon, he excused himself to have a banquet with friends, secretly heading to Da Gezi Alley.

Aunt Xue had arrived long ago. The two, having been separated for a short while, were naturally quite affectionate upon their reunion. After their intimacy, Aunt Xue brought up the important matter, saying, "You must find some time to go to the Mei family. Under no circumstances should Qin's marriage be arranged!"

Chen Siyuan asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Aunt Xue rolled her eyes and said, "Why do you ask when you already know the answer? With Hanlin Mei as your backer, won't the job of the imperial merchant fall to the second branch of the family?"

Therefore, women with power are most prone to becoming petty, and Aunt Xue's actions have a strong sense of "preferring to give to friendly nations rather than to domestic slaves".

Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "I am familiar with Mei Chong. He has repeatedly refused the marriage proposal before... If it weren't for Mei Hanlin's ambiguous words, this marriage would probably have been called off long ago." He paused, then asked, "What about the money for the second wife..."

Aunt Xue said, "I only said to leave it on the books, and then settle the accounts with him at the end of the year!"

Aunt Xue didn't say exactly how much silver it was, but judging from her pained expression, it must have been at least twenty or thirty thousand taels. Chen Siyuan comforted her gently, but Aunt Xue, worried that Xue Pan was causing trouble again, hurriedly returned to the old house.

Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Siyuan leisurely returned to the Rongguo Mansion. However, as soon as he entered the Qingtang Thatched Cottage, he saw Zhuan'er pouting and talking to Hongyu.

Upon seeing Chen Siyuan, Zhuan'er immediately felt reassured and stepped forward, saying, "Master Yuan, you must help our young lady this time."

Chen Siyuan asked in surprise, "What happened to my cousin?"

Zhuan'er hesitated several times before finally saying, "Please, Master Yuan, come this way."

The two went inside, and Zhuan'er began to speak. It turned out that in the afternoon, Qingfan came to the door again to ask for help, saying that Miaoyu had no money to spare and asked Xing Xiuyan for assistance.

Unable to refuse, Xing Xiuyan scraped together the money she had and gave Qingfan fifty taels of silver.

Chen Siyuan was completely confused. He thought to himself that even if Miaoyu had cut her losses to survive, she would still have around 20,000 in cash. Why would she come to ask Xing Xiuyan for help again after only a few days?

Just as they were wondering what was going on, Hongyu from outside said, "Miss Cousin has arrived."

Chen Siyuan hurriedly got up to greet her, only to see Xing Xiuyan enter with a frown. She nodded slightly to Chen Siyuan, then looked at Zhuan'er and said, "Shut up! Who let you come?"

(End of this chapter)