Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 345 Where the Fragrance Fades and the Old Handkerchief Gone Cold

Baochai and Daiyu lingered for a while, having some tea and snacks before returning home. Nothing else happened that day; winter days are short, and Chen Siyuan, exhausted from a long day, went to bed early.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Perhaps Master Jia She was too busy with yamen affairs to come and see Chen Siyuan, which gave Chen Siyuan a few days of peace.

That day, Chen Siyuan figured the thing the workshop had made should be finished. He was about to go out to pick it up when Yunxiang secretly came over and whispered to him, "Master, Master, yesterday Second Master Lian was slapped out by Aunt Zhang."

"Huh?" Chen Siyuan was taken aback. He had vaguely heard that Zhang Jin was hot-tempered, but he hadn't expected him to be this fiery. He quickly asked, "Do you know why?"

Yunxiang curled her lip in disdain and said, "What else could it be? Second Master has fallen ill again... Yesterday afternoon, Zhang's wet nurse came to visit, and Second Master happened to see her. I don't know why, but he's been holding a grudge ever since. I bet he said some nonsense last night, which enraged Zhang. If the maid hadn't stopped her, Zhang would probably have grabbed something and given Second Master Lian a good beating!"

Chen Siyuan was speechless, thinking to himself that Jia Lian originally wanted to marry a beautiful woman, but who knew he would end up with a shrew. Judging from Zhang Jinge's temperament, she was probably even worse than Sister Feng.

Just then, Hongyu returned with a food box and said upon hearing this, "I just heard that Second Master Lian had a humiliating experience. He tried to go to Second Mistress's room in the front room tonight, but was turned away. He had no choice but to spend the night in the side room with Qiutong."

Chen Siyuan laughed heartily, thinking to himself that this was quite interesting. He figured that someone like Zhang Jinge would never repeat the mistakes of Sister You.

After having breakfast, Chen Siyuan dressed neatly and instructed Yunxiang to inform Qingyu to prepare a carriage. He then left the Grand View Garden first and went straight to Fengjie's courtyard.

That day, Ping'er went to accompany Yuanyang, leaving only the maid Feng'er inside. Feng'er led Chen Siyuan inside, where they saw Wang Xifeng lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), covered with a quilt.

Upon seeing Chen Siyuan, Feng Jie managed to straighten herself up. Perhaps due to the concussion, Feng Jie had a very poor appetite these past few days, and her complexion looked rather haggard.

Chen Siyuan stepped forward to greet her, and after taking a seat, he asked, "How is Second Sister-in-law today?"

The bump on Sister Feng's forehead hadn't gone down yet, and it looked a bit red and swollen. Hearing this, she said with a bitter face, "It's strange. I just bumped into a bump, but I really can't move or sit. I can only stay on the kang and rest quietly. Brother Yuan, I'll have to ask you to take care of things at the workshop."

Chen Siyuan said, "It's my duty. I'm going to the workshop today to take a look. On my way back, I'll go to the Prince Yanping's residence to ask the prince for some leeway."

Sister Feng asked in surprise, "It's been several days, and Brother Yuan still hasn't gone to the Prince's Mansion?"

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "It's never wrong to be polite. With the end of the year approaching, who comes empty-handed? I just happened to have some novel items made. I heard that Princess Shou'an will only be five years old next year, so she should be very pleased with those items."

Sister Feng then smiled and said, "I told you that Brother Yuan is a very thorough person, and I trust you to handle things."

Chen Siyuan nodded and said, "Besides that, please let me know if there is anything else you need, Second Sister-in-law."

Sister Feng scolded, "How would I, a mere woman confined to the inner quarters, know how to manage a workshop? The workshop was able to be set up thanks to Brother Yuan's advice and planning. Yu'er and I have always been close, so it is only natural for Brother Yuan to take charge of things on my behalf."

Chen Siyuan laughed heartily, lingered for a moment, and then took his leave.

After he left, Sister Feng accompanied Yuanyang back home. The two, mistress and servant, spoke of Yuanyang's mother and both sighed deeply.

Ping'er said, "The Second Miss has given permission for Jin Wenxiang to go south to attend to the sick. But Jin Wenxiang is afraid of losing his comprador job and refuses to go himself. He sent his wife south instead, and she set off early this morning."

Sister Feng squinted and sneered, "Even when Mother is seriously ill, she refuses to leave, which shows how lucrative the purchasing agent's house is. It's only because I'm sick now that I'm here, otherwise I would have already made my move on the purchasing agent's house." She paused, then asked, "How is things on Madam's side?"

Ping'er said, "Every day, only a few maids go to persuade us, but without Miss Xia, Madam doesn't have any good ideas right now. In addition, Second Miss has taken over the job of managing the household steadily, and now that the end of the year is approaching, I think Madam doesn't want to make any trouble recently."

Sister Feng responded with a sound of agreement, then felt dizzy again. Ping'er was startled and quickly helped Sister Feng lie down again.

Ping'er, fearing that Feng Jie would be upset, changed the subject and said, "In my opinion, that Aunt Zhang is a good person, unlike Qiu Tong and her ilk who are bewitching and seductive."

Sister Feng frowned and said, "A concubine who doesn't compete for favor is more virtuous and gentle than me, the principal wife... Never mind, let's wait and see."

Ping'er laughed and teased, "Grandma is just being paranoid. If a vixen really came, I'm afraid Grandma would get upset again."

Sister Feng thought about it and realized it made sense. She was feeling quite dizzy at the moment, so she hummed and stopped talking about anything else.

After bidding farewell to Sister Feng, Chen Siyuan boarded his carriage and headed towards the workshops outside the city. On the way, he heard that there were people hawking the official gazette, so Chen Siyuan sent his servant Qingyu to buy a copy.

As the year draws to a close, all government offices must be sealed off, resulting in very few announcements in the official gazette. Most of the announcements are about personnel changes, with two particularly striking ones: Jia Yucun's appointment as Grand Marshal and Prince Teng's ascension to rule over nine provinces.

After reading this, Chen Siyuan couldn't help but think to himself, "It seems that Jia Yucun has had the last laugh in this game." Wang Ziteng had always coveted the position of Grand Marshal of the Ministry of War. After returning to the capital, he stirred up trouble and spent countless sums of money to persuade the court and the public to support him in becoming Grand Marshal.

Unexpectedly, he made a fatal mistake. Had he obediently followed orders, the matter would have been fine. Instead, he chose to cause trouble, immediately further alienating the already biased emperor. As a result, Jia Yucun was appointed Grand Marshal.

Jia Yucun's official rank remained unchanged, yet he rose rapidly from a high-ranking regional official to a key minister in the cabinet. As long as he didn't make any mistakes, he would surely be able to enter the cabinet and become prime minister in due time.

After a moment's thought, Chen Siyuan hurriedly instructed his servant to return to the new residence and told Sister You to prepare generous gifts so that he could visit on a chosen day to offer his congratulations.

On this sunny day, the round trip to the workshop outside the city took only half a day. Around noon, Chen Siyuan arrived at the Prince of Yanping's residence by carriage.

Because he came frequently, the gatekeepers and guards of the Prince's mansion were very familiar with him. After a few words of conversation, they led him to the waiting hall. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the eunuch Ding Daolong came in with a smile.

"Why is Chen Xiaolian here today?"

Chen Siyuan stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Greetings, Eunuch Ding. I have something to ask Your Highness today... Also, my workshop has made a new item that may please Princess Shou'an, so I have come to present it to you."

Upon hearing this, Ding Daolong smiled and pointed at Chen Siyuan, saying, "That's right, Xiaolian. Who in the world doesn't know that my prince dotes on Princess Shou'an the most? If I may be so bold, even if Xiaolian were to send ten thousand taels of gold, it wouldn't be enough to make the little princess happy."

Chen Siyuan cupped his hands and smiled, "Eunuch Ding's words are reasonable... but I wonder if His Highness is in the manor?"

Ding Daolong laughed and said, "It's quite a coincidence. The Prince is staying home today after court sessions and is currently ice skating with the young princess."

Ding Daolong immediately sent someone to inform the garden behind the palace. It took almost half an hour for the messenger to reply. So Ding Daolong led Chen Siyuan through several palace gates to the garden of the Prince's mansion behind the palace.

Upon entering the garden, Chen Siyuan glanced around and saw that the entire garden was covered in snow, with a jade ribbon winding around it. That was originally a stream that led into the Prince's garden, and it was likely that Prince Yanping had ordered the snow to be swept away so that he and Princess Shou'an could play on it.

After walking for a while, they saw a shed built on the ice, and a little pink dumpling-like creature was running around on the ice, giggling happily. Eunuchs and maids chased after it, and the little dumpling fell down with a thud, but it didn't seem bothered at all. It quickly got up and ran around happily again.

Ding Daolong went first, followed closely by Chen Siyuan, and then a young eunuch carrying some items.

Upon arriving at the shed, Ding Daolong announced his arrival, and inside, the Prince of Yanping said listlessly, "Let him in."

Chen Siyuan quickly stepped inside, greeted the prince, and said, "Your Highness, I have come to present a toy to the young princess, called a tricycle."

Before King Yanping could reply, perhaps having heard the commotion, a little girl with a sweet, childlike voice came running over and asked, "Father, Father, has someone come to deliver New Year's gifts to me?"

As Shou'an, draped in a plain white fox fur coat, rushed over, the lazy-looking Prince Yanping instantly stood up, reached out and scooped Shou'an into his arms, and said with a smile, "Shou'an, are you cold? Would you like some hot tea?"

Shou'an shook his head and said, "No, I want to see the New Year's gifts."

Yanping Wang glanced at Chen Siyuan and said, "They're using crooked methods and even have designs on Shou'an... Never mind, bring the goods over."

Chen Siyuan bowed in agreement, and Ding Daolong waved his hand, at which point the young eunuch brought up the tricycle.

King Yanping had never seen such an object before, and Shou'an struggled to land on the ground, then came over and fiddled with it here and there, touching it haphazardly.

Without needing any instructions from Prince Yanping, Chen Siyuan bent down and gently explained to Princess Shou'an how to ride the tricycle. The tricycle wasn't fast and was very easy to learn. Shou'an only tried it once before riding quickly across the ice, and then, without any instruction, she even performed a graceful drift. In an instant, the ice was filled with the little princess's continuous giggles.

King Yanping was overjoyed, and even found Chen Siyuan more pleasing to the eye. He pointed and said, "This bicycle is quite nice."

Chen Siyuan replied, "A three-wheeled one is more stable for now. When the princess is a bit older, I'll send her a two-wheeled one, which I guarantee will be even more interesting than the three-wheeled one."

King Yanping laughed and said, "Why are you being so solicitous for no reason... Speak, what brings you here to see me?"

Chen Siyuan said, "A few days ago, my workshop accidentally accepted an order from Wan Kelai, because that Manager Yao betrayed us and pushed aside the orders from the Beijing Garrison... I wonder if Your Highness could grant us some more time?"

Prince Yanping glanced sideways, flicked his cloak, and said, "Just because of this matter?"

Although Chen Siyuan is only a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) now, he has deep ties with Prince Yanping and the Imperial Household Department. There is no need to seek out Prince Yanping for such a trivial matter; he can handle it by making a trip to the Imperial Household Department himself.

"Please forgive my rudeness." After saying this, Chen Siyuan leaned forward and whispered, "I have already used the things Your Highness bestowed on me last time. Perhaps in three to five months, or perhaps in a year and a half, they will be of some use."

Upon hearing this, I was certain that King Yanping would praise me, or at the very least offer some encouragement. But to my surprise, King Yanping sighed and said, "Last time I was too hasty. Dealing with those scoundrels from the Jia family, why did I need to exert myself so much?"

"what?"

Seeing Chen Siyuan's confusion, the Prince of Yanping couldn't help but say smugly, "My brother has always held a grudge against the Jia family. A few days ago, I sent someone to sow discord between them. Tsk, it's always more interesting to watch dogs fight each other."

Is this referring to the Prince Zhongshun?
Chen Siyuan thought to himself, "The Jia family is truly courting death! They've offended the Prince Zhongshun, a descendant of the deposed crown prince, and the current emperor. Even the Prince Yanping was quite annoyed with the Jia family before. All things considered, apart from having some influence in the military, the Jia family is now completely disliked by the entire court."

Should we let Prince Zhongshun and the Jia family fight like dogs? Chen Siyuan scratched his head inwardly again. He couldn't let Prince Zhongshun completely destroy the Jia family, otherwise what would happen to Madam Xing, Li Wan, and Madam You?
Suddenly, King Yanping shouted, "Useless servants, keep a close watch on him! If you drop Shou'an again, you'll all lose your heads!"

On the ice, a group of eunuchs knelt and begged for mercy, then got up and chased after Princess Shou'an, who was pushing the carriage and running wildly.

Prince Yanping breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I was planning to summon you to the Prince's residence in a few days before we discussed this further, but since you're here, I'll speak of it now. The Dowager Empress is seriously ill, and even the Emperor is not in good health. My elder brother intends to hold a special imperial examination to pray for the Dowager Empress and the Emperor's well-being."

Chen Siyuan asked in astonishment, "The imperial examinations will be held in March?"

King Yanping shook his head and said, "How can we possibly have time? I'm afraid we'll have to wait until next year."

Chen Siyuan's heart tightened, and he became even more anxious. Originally, he was supposed to take the exam in two years, but now it was a year earlier. He had to work even harder. He knew that this time there was no more reliance on others; no matter how reckless the Prince of Yanping was, he wouldn't dare to cheat for him in the imperial examination.

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

By late afternoon, Chen Si had left the Prince's Mansion and headed to his new home.

As luck would have it, on this day, Third Sister You went out to do accounting and shopping, and Second Sister You went to Ningguo Mansion to visit Madam You, leaving only Qingwen, the one in charge, in the new house.

Having not visited for five days, Qingwen was overjoyed to see Chen Siyuan. She greeted him warmly and then tugged at his arm, chattering on and on.

One moment she was saying that Luan'er was too clingy, always pestering her for half a day, which prevented her from finishing the embroidery of the kang screen; the next moment she was saying that Madam You had come by the day before yesterday, holding her eldest daughter with great reluctance and her eyes reddening.

After they sat down in the main room, Qingwen diligently served them fragrant tea. Chen Siyuan took a sip and asked with a smile, "You only talked about others, why didn't you mention yourself?"

Qingwen said, "Besides learning to read and doing needlework, I rarely even go out on the street every day. What is there to talk about?"

Chen Siyuan put down his teacup and said, "Are the officials here to see you again?"

Qingwen was startled by the sound and frowned, saying, "It must be Granny Qu gossiping again."

That's true. Just now when she came in, Granny Qu came over and muttered a few words, saying that Duo Guan and Duo Guniang had brought several bags of pastries to visit Qingwen. Qingwen didn't give them a good look, and the two of them, after some shameless persistence, finally found a jade hairpin, which made Qingwen angry all night.

Chen Siyuan then said, "If Granny Qu hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known about this... By the way, why did you let those two into the house?"

Qingwen spat coldly, "Isn't it Second Aunt? She's just pretending to be kind. She insists on being a relative and brought people in. What can I do? Luan'er is still here. I can't very well chase her away with a broom, can I?"

Chen Siyuan frowned and asked, "Did Second Sister do this?" He thought to himself, "Second Sister You has always disliked Qingwen, so it's not surprising that she deliberately tried to disgust her this time."

This woman needs to be disciplined, otherwise she'll really be a troublemaker who climbs onto the roof and tears off the tiles if she's not disciplined for three days.

Qingwen continued, "Third Aunt has already reprimanded them and instructed the gatekeeper that those two shouldn't even think about sneaking in anymore!" She paused, then added, "My brother and sister-in-law aren't doing too well these days either."

Since leaving the Rongguo Mansion, Duo Guan found a job as a kitchen helper in a restaurant. Duo Gu Niang had no skills and was unwilling to do laundry or sewing, so she soon secretly started doing business behind closed doors.

The two were truly a match made in heaven. Despite the official's repeated encounters with them, he paid no attention, only asking Miss Duo for money to buy wine afterward.

Chen Siyuan talked with Qingwen for a long time, but seeing that it was getting dark and the You sisters still hadn't returned, Chen Siyuan got up to return to the Rongguo Mansion.

Qingwen felt reluctant and said, "Master, you're not resting here today?"

Reaching out, Chen Siyuan pinched Qingwen's cheek and said with a smile, "Tomorrow is the Little New Year. After that, I will come to the new house and return to Rongguo Mansion on the fifteenth. There will be plenty of time to spend with you then."

Qingwen was secretly delighted, but said reproachfully, "Hongyu and Wu'er are still waiting. Who expects Master to accompany them?"

Chen Siyuan embraced Qingwen affectionately for a while, and only returned to Rongguo Mansion after tidying herself up.

Having arrived by carriage, Chen Siyuan naturally went ahead to return the carriage first before walking through the side passage and entering the Grand View Garden through the main gate.

This winter is cold, and the consumption of firewood and charcoal at Rongguo Mansion is far greater than last year.

Chen Siyuan had just arrived at Qinfang Pavilion when he saw a cart of firewood being transported to the small kitchen. He was a very approachable person, and seeing that the cart was going uphill, he didn't want to make it move aside, so he moved aside to the side into a patch of withered flowers.

Unfortunately, after avoiding the charcoal cart, my finger was cut by the sharp thorns on the flower branch when I came out.

The wound was small and bleeding profusely. Chen Siyuan put his finger in his mouth and frowned. Unable to search his sleeve with his other hand, he reached into his robe and found an old handkerchief.

Chen Siyuan glanced at it and saw that it was the handkerchief given to him by Daiyu, which he kept close to his body.

Just as he was about to put it back, intending to deal with it after returning to his own courtyard, someone suddenly called out to him.

Chen Siyuan turned his head and saw Daiyu leading Zijuan and Xueyan toward this side.

"Brother Yuan...you got...a scratch?"

Daiyu quickly approached, and Chen Siyuan released his mouth, revealing a cut about an inch long on the side of his little finger.

Daiyu frowned and said, "Quickly wrap it with a handkerchief. Zijuan, go and get some wound medicine." Suddenly, she noticed the handkerchief Chen Siyuan was holding in his other hand and said, "Why don't you use a handkerchief?"

Chen Siyuan said in a low voice, "How can I use a gift from my sister to bandage a wound?"

Daiyu blinked, then took out her own handkerchief and wrapped it around the stain. She frowned and scolded in a low voice, "You're such a fool. The handkerchief got stained, but I'll just give it to you again later. Why make things difficult for yourself over such a small thing?"

(End of this chapter)