After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 134 Daiyu and Baochai Share Their Sisterhood Words

After the rewards were given, Li Wan was called into the room by her mistress.

She watched the lady closely. After she entered the room, she sat down with a dark expression and did not ask her what was wrong. After the maid came to pour tea, the lady picked up the teacup and drank the tea without even glancing at her.

Seeing this, Li Wan felt uneasy, knowing that her mistress wanted to question her about something, so she became even more careful.

Li Wan stood there for a while before hearing her wife speak: "Tell me the truth, did Ping'er receive the Emperor's favor in the palace?!"

Li Wan subconsciously looked up and exchanged a glance with her mistress. Seeing that her eyes were fixed on her, she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Mrs."

Li Wan said with a smile, "After I entered the palace, I only stayed at my eldest sister's place and never went to Linjing Hall. I don't know how Ping'er entered the palace. If Madam wants to know, she will probably have to ask Bao-guniang and Feng-ya."

Madam Wang didn't quite believe her. She stared at her daughter-in-law with suspicion for a while before frowning and saying, "Ping'er was perfectly fine, so why did she suddenly go to the palace? The emperor even gave her a reward... Did you really not know a thing?"

Li Wan lowered her head and said, "Madam, I really don't know anything. After we entered the palace, I went to Changchun Palace, and they went to Linjing Hall. Miss Bao and Miss Qin also live in Linjing Hall. Why don't we call Feng'er over? Ping'er's entry into the palace must have been her idea."

"Humph!"

Madam Wang sneered, "Ever since the trouble at home, you've all made your own plans, and I can't control that anymore. If you want to go to the palace, just go. There's no need to hide anything. Once you enter the Yeting Palace, you'll all be the emperor's concubines. You're young and still have your looks. Who knows, you might just become as favored by the emperor as Consort Qin of the East Palace!"

"Mrs!"

Li Wan hurriedly knelt down: "I never dared to have any thoughts of climbing the social ladder. I only entered the palace because Lan'er was there. After entering the palace, I never dared to show my face in front of the emperor. Since my husband died, I..."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but shed tears.

When Lady Wang heard her mention Jia Zhu, she also shed tears. But after looking at Li Wan, she asked, "Since you haven't been favored by the emperor, what's on your lips?"

Li Wan hurriedly reached out and wiped her face, revealing a trace of rouge on the back of her hand. She couldn't help but blush, and subconsciously thought of the scene that night when Chu Yan held her in his arms and kissed her until her lips were slightly swollen. Now, in front of Madam, she felt a strange and strong feeling in her heart.

She dared not approach the emperor, yet the emperor appeared before her.

“Madam…” Li Wan explained shyly, “I entered the palace as a maid. Ordinary maids are required to wear makeup, so I applied some rouge.”

That explanation is barely acceptable.

However, when Madam Wang looked at her bright red lips, she felt that she was more beautiful than Su Yun, Ying'er and others. Her daughter-in-law was a widow, yet she wore such bright rouge. She was not used to it!
Lady Wang said to her, "Since Lan'er is being taken care of by your younger sister in the palace, you don't need to keep going to the palace. It won't sound good if word gets out."

"...Yes, madam."

Li Wan slowly stood up, stood to the side with her hands at her sides, and was only able to leave after a while.

Back in Daoxiang Village, Suyun said, "If Grandma were to be made a concubine, she wouldn't have to suffer this humiliation anymore!"

Li Wan said, "Don't talk nonsense. If I don't become a concubine, how can I face anyone to live? The imperial concubine in the palace is the daughter of the madam. Lan'er was able to get rid of corvée labor entirely because of the imperial concubine's help."

Su Yun finally fell silent, but it was a pity that her grandmother did not serve the emperor that night.

……

Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

"Why is Miss Bao here?"

Zijuan, who was enjoying the cool air under the eaves, saw Baochai enter and quickly got up to greet her. She then wanted to go inside to tell the young lady.

Baochai smiled and said, "Don't disturb your young lady, I'll go in and visit her."

As he entered the room, he saw Daiyu sitting under the moon window of the study in Xiaoxiang Pavilion, reading a book. The weather was getting warmer, but she was still wearing a long, moon-white coat, looking delicate and frail.

Daiyu looked up and saw her. Just as she was about to stand up, she suddenly heard a voice from outside: "Xueyan, quickly lift the curtain, the young lady is here!"

Daiyu stopped in her tracks, and Baochai looked in the direction of the sound. She saw a birdcage hanging on a hook outside the moon window, and the parrot that Daiyu kept inside was repeating the same sentence over and over. Then it said, "A crane's shadow crosses the cold pond, a cold moon buries the flower's soul!"

The parrot recited the poem, and Baochai guessed that Daiyu had taught it to it. She laughed and said, "Good sister, your parrot is amazing. It does things even better than us. It must be a celestial bird that has descended to earth and been reincarnated to be with you."

Daiyu's delicate eyebrows relaxed, and she laughed, "This isn't a poem I wrote. I don't know when it learned it, but it always recites a line when people are lost in thought, just to scare them!"

Baochai asked in surprise, "This isn't a poem you wrote? I think the line 'The cold moon buries the flower's soul' sounds just like the poems you usually write."

Daiyu was stunned, and after a while she said, "It was a poem written by the emperor, which he read to Yun'er, and then she read it to me."

Baochai was even more surprised and laughed, "So it was a poem written by the Emperor. It is indeed different from others."

As she spoke, she took Daiyu's hand and asked her to sit down, then asked her with a smile, "It's already summer, why are you still wearing so many clothes? Aren't you hot? I just came from the old lady's place and I'm already sweating."

Daiyu looked at her and smiled, "I can't compare to your naturally strong physique. The bamboo outside provides shade, but it's a bit chilly inside."

Baochai looked out and saw a bamboo grove outside the moon-shaped window. Daiyu usually read and wrote in this room, which was quite poetic and picturesque, making people envious of her.

Baochai sat down, and Zijuan came to serve tea before leaving again.

"Are you feeling any better? The Emperor has recently sent several imperial physicians to you," Baochai asked.

Daiyu said, "As always, my illness is incurable. I've never been well for more than a few days in the past."

Baochai nodded and said, "The ancients said, 'Those who eat grains live.' You usually eat ginseng and bird's nest to nourish yourself, but it doesn't seem to replenish your energy and blood, which is not a good thing."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu immediately suspected that she had ate too much money.

She was frail and started taking medicine as soon as she could eat. Every day she took ginseng nourishing pills, top-quality bird's nest porridge, and prescriptions from the imperial physician. Just these things alone cost her one or two hundred taels of silver every month.

The household is not like it used to be; every expense must be recorded and reported to the emperor. Perhaps the emperor saw that Baochai was spending too much during her visit to the palace and asked Baochai to give her some pointers.

Thinking of this, Daiyu smiled and said, "I have been eating bird's nest and ginseng for several years, but my illness has not improved. In my opinion, it would be better to stop and just take the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician sent by the emperor."

Baochai smiled and pinched her cheek, but Daiyu dodged away, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Baochai smiled and said, "What you said makes some sense, but you are ultimately underestimating His Majesty."

Daiyu looked at her.

Baochai said, "I've come back to secretly convey to you an imperial decree from the Emperor."

Daiyu stood up to receive the imperial decree, but Baochai pulled her down to sit and said with a smile, "His Majesty only said one thing: that you should not spend money on others anymore. If you still want to give money to Baoyu, you must go to the palace to ask for his permission."

Daiyu listened in silence.

Baochai's voice softened as she said, "Now everyone in the manor is at the mercy of the Emperor. If you weren't allowed to manage the household by the Emperor, it would be fine, but now that word has spread that the Emperor has punished you, the maids and servants will probably start gossiping behind your backs." Daiyu looked up at her, and Baochai smiled and continued, "I was thinking that this isn't a big deal, so I'll just tell you. There's no need for the whole manor to know. Don't worry, I've already told Sister Qin that she won't tell anyone."

Moved, Daiyu took Baochai's hand and sighed, "Sister Bao, you are always very kind to others, but I am a very suspicious person. I thought you had many friends and were hiding something."

Daiyu used to observe Baochai with a cold eye, but she saw that Baochai was meticulous in her actions, kind to people, and had good relationships with the maids, young wives, and old women in each room.

She knew things others didn't; she recognized maids others couldn't; she paid the most attention to what people wore and wore, even if others didn't.

Daiyu couldn't find fault with Baochai, yet suspicions began to grow in her heart:
Why would a young woman like her associate with so many maids and old women?
Why would a young woman spread rumors about a "perfect match"?
Baochai laughed and said, "You look at me like that, which really makes me feel ashamed. It shows that I am not a good person either. I used to be suspicious, which made Lin Daiyu look down on me in her heart."

Daiyu hurriedly said, "I haven't finished speaking yet: you are thinking of me like this today, which shows that I was wrong in the past!"

Baochai took her hand and sighed, saying, "Things are different now than before. I'm not afraid to tell you... my mother wants me to marry Baoyu."

Daiyu wasn't annoyed at all; instead, she laughed, cupped her face in her hands, and said in a sweet, soft voice, "Sister Bao, aren't you ashamed to say such a thing?"

She looked so charming and adorable; where was her usual tearful self?
Baochai smiled and said, “My mother used to tell you, ‘The golden lock was given to you by a monk. You can only marry someone with jade in the future.’ I always felt uneasy after hearing that, so I kept my distance from Baoyu. Later, I gradually accepted my fate and became closer to him again.”

Daiyu frowned and thought for a while. No wonder, Baochai first became close to Baoyu, then distanced herself, and then became close to him again. So that's how it is.

"A monk?" Daiyu suddenly remembered and hurriedly asked, "What kind of monk does he look like?"

"He's a bald-headed monk."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu looked quite surprised and said, "When I was little, I also met a bald-headed monk, and the emperor even mentioned him!"

Baochai and Daiyu looked at each other in bewilderment.

After a while, Baochai laughed and said, "This monk must know some kind of sorcery, and who knows what he's been up to behind the scenes, randomly choosing people's marriages." She then added with a half-serious laugh, "Even if he has chosen marriages, now that the emperor has entered the capital, any fate you and I may have with someone else is useless."

With a single imperial edict, Emperor Chu Yan severed the golden and jade-like bond between her and Bao Yu.

Daiyu thought of her dream of meeting the emperor and became suspicious that he had secretly hired Taoist priests and monks to perform a ritual.
But once he entered the city and became emperor, he wanted to take her as a concubine, so he didn't need to go through the trouble of meeting her in his dreams.

The two were lost in their own thoughts, and the room remained quiet for a while.

Baochai asked her, "Are you still thinking about marrying Baoyu?"

There was no one else in the room, and the two had just gotten into a deep conversation, which is why Baochai asked this question.

Otherwise, the two of them would never have discussed their respective marriages in the past.

Even so, Daiyu blushed and lowered her head without saying a word after hearing this.

Baochai smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not making fun of you. I'm telling you the truth. Although I'm planning to enter the palace to serve the emperor, we still have the girls in the garden, so we're in the same boat."

Daiyu sighed softly.

Baochai said, "You are a sensible person. You know that the emperor wants to take the young ladies as concubines. Even if he issues an edict to release Baoyu and my brother in the future, you will still find it difficult to reunite."

Daiyu felt a pang of sorrow in her heart and couldn't help but shed tears again. She said to her, "Baoyu and I considered each other confidants and originally thought we would stay together for a lifetime, even if it was just simple food and drink..."

Baochai said, "Zhuangzi once said, 'It is better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes than to be mutually dependent in hardship.'" She paused, then grasped her hand tightly, saying, "The more you can't let go of Baoyu, the more the emperor will find fault with you and the less willing he will be to pardon them."

Daiyu remained speechless for a long time.

Just then, Zijuan's voice came from outside: "Miss, news has come back from outside the city."

Daiyu quickly called her in and asked, "Is it Second Brother Lian who's back?!"

Baochai laughed and said, "It's clear that you don't take anything I tell you to heart."

Daiyu said, "Good sister, I remember your kindness, but as Yi'an's poem says, 'It's hard to cut it off, and it's hard to untangle it.' I have no clue what to do now, so let me think about it for a few more days."

As she spoke, Zijuan came in, smiling, and said, "It's not Second Master Lian who's back, it's Young Master Rong who sent someone to ask Madam Zhen of the East Mansion for money."

Baochai looked at Daiyu and smiled, "Without Lin Daiyu in the East Mansion, where would he get the money?"

Zijuan understood what she meant and smiled.

Daiyu ignored their banter and hurriedly asked Zijuan.

"I heard from someone..."

Zijuan hesitated for a moment before saying, "A few days ago, Master Bao gave the silver to that Qi Guan, saying it would be useful. Master Lian and the others couldn't get any information out of him. A few days later, Master Bao burst into tears and said that Qi Guan had betrayed him."

Daiyu was stunned. Had Qi Guan betrayed her?
Zijuan said, "Later we found out that Master Bao wanted to ask someone to leave the military camp, so he gave the silver to Qi Guan, but Qi Guan just disappeared and couldn't be found in the city."

Daiyu couldn't help but feel anxious for him, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Baochai said, "That Qi Guan caused Baoyu to be beaten before. He is an unruly person. Such a person is the least trustworthy. How can we give him money? Fortunately, a few hundred taels of silver is not much. I just hope he will learn from this experience and not trust others so easily in the future."

Zijuan nodded and said, "Second Master Lian must have seen the money disappear too quickly and was too ashamed to come back."

Just then, a maid came to report: "Miss Yun has arrived!"

Daiyu and Baochai waited in the room. After a while, Xiangyun came in and saw that Daiyu had tears on her face. She smiled and said, "Sister Lin, why are you crying again?"

Daiyu simply shook her head and wiped away her tears with her handkerchief.

At this time.

Suddenly, a long sigh came from outside the moon-shaped window, sounding remarkably like her usual sighs. Xiangyun, Baochai, and the others heard it clearly and knew that the parrot had become so accustomed to the sound that it could imitate it so perfectly, so they all laughed.

Unexpectedly, the parrot then recited: "Today I bury flowers, people laugh at my foolishness; who will bury me in the years to come!"

Upon hearing this, Xiangyun immediately exclaimed "Oh dear!" and pointed at Daiyu, saying, "So the Emperor Brother's 'burying flowers' refers to Sister Lin!"

Daiyu blushed and asked Zijuan, "Did you read my poem to someone else?"

Zijuan laughed and said, "Please don't blame me, young lady. This parrot must be able to fly, so it flew to the palace and told the emperor!"

Everyone laughed, and Daiyu had no choice but to say, "I will go to the palace to apologize again in a few days... Sister Yun, will you come with me?"

Xiangyun smiled and agreed.

(End of this chapter)