The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

Hearing Jia Zheng's words, Lady Wang felt uncomfortable. Thinking of Aunt Xue, her own sister, and her only son, Xue Pan, she couldn't help but say, "Why must you say such things, sir? If those people hadn't offended Pan'er, he wouldn't have acted so impulsively. Brother, really..."

Before she could finish speaking, Jia Zheng interrupted her, "Ignorant woman! Shut up! How dare you talk about a murderer? I'm telling you right now, I will not help him, nor can I help him. He broke the law, do you expect my whole family to be buried with him? Not only that, but when you go to the palace, you are not allowed to utter a single word to the Empress, or she will be implicated!"

Lady Wang was stunned by Jia Zheng's loud rebuke. After many years of marriage, this was the first time she had seen her husband like this, and she dared not speak again.

However, Aunt Zhao had already overheard Jia Zheng and Madam Wang's conversation outside. Seeing Jia Zheng's outburst at Madam Wang, she was in a good mood and quickly brought over tea, saying things to calm Jia Zheng down: "Master, anger is bad for your health. Don't blame Madam so much; I'm afraid she's been fooled. Madam dotes on Baoyu so much, but back then, that Xue family's eldest son went to the clan school, and Baoyu was bullied there. They kept all these things from Madam."

Upon hearing that there was a reason behind it, Jia Zheng hurriedly asked what had happened, but Lady Wang quickly changed the subject.

"I didn't ask you!" Jia Zheng took the tea that Aunt Zhao brought and let Aunt Zhao continue.

"That Master Xue spends a lot of money at the school, and he even treats those distant relatives there like prostitutes for his amusement. It is said that when Baoyu caught them, they beat him up." Aunt Zhao only knew half of the story, and only heard it from Jia Huan. She brought it up in front of Jia Zheng, of course, to make Jia Zheng dislike Lady Wang even more.

Upon hearing about this past event, Jia Zheng's face darkened even more. He glared at Lady Wang as if he wanted to devour her, spitting out two words through gritted teeth: "You didn't know about these things? Are you dead?"

Lady Wang felt wronged. She really didn't know. After all, Baoyu kept it a secret, and so did Li Gui, Mingyan, and the others. It was true that Xue Pan went to the clan school, but what he did there was unknown to her. As a woman of the inner quarters, she didn't concern herself with school affairs. How could she know if Baoyu didn't tell her?

"Well, well, your good relatives!" Jia Zheng glared, his beard bristling. He truly loathed the Xue family, who were notorious for their murders, arson, drinking, gambling, and whoring. "What a pity! If I had known earlier, I would never have agreed to let Baoyu marry their daughter. Who was it that praised their family so highly back then? And who was it that went to the palace and said those things to the Empress? Do you think I didn't know?"

The more he talked about it, the more resentful he became. He had originally thought that Baoyu would marry Daiyu, but when the Empress sent word that she would marry Baochai instead, he was very unhappy. However, thinking that the Empress was working hard for the family's future in the palace, and after hearing what Grandmother Jia said, he reluctantly agreed.

If he had known earlier that Xue Pan had killed someone, he would never have agreed to Bao Yu marrying Bao Chai.

Thinking about the clan school again made him really angry, so Jia Zheng just threw the teacup in his hand.

Lady Wang, who had her head down, did not expect her husband to resort to violence. She did not dodge at all, and the teacup that was still in it smashed on her forehead with a bang. Blood mixed with tea and tea leaves, and Jia Zheng and Aunt Zhao were all frightened.

Yu Chuan, who had been listening to the commotion outside, mustered her courage and came in. When she saw that Madam Wang's face was covered in blood, she cried out in alarm and quickly called for a maid. She knelt down and begged Jia Zheng for forgiveness: "Master, even if Madam is wrong in a thousand ways, she should not be treated like this. Please calm down and let me treat Madam's wounds quickly."

Jia Zheng finally came to his senses and was momentarily embarrassed. He snorted and walked away, ignoring Lady Wang.

Aunt Zhao was overjoyed at the sight and quickly followed Jia Zheng out.

This was the first time in her life that Madam Wang had been so disheveled. She was completely dumbfounded and let Yu Chuan and the other maids tidy her up. Finally, when no one was in the room, she couldn't hold back her tears.

The servants in the Jia household were not good at keeping secrets, and the news of Lady Wang being beaten spread almost everywhere the next day.

Baochai quickly led her maid to see what was going on. Although Baoyu was not satisfied with his marriage, he was still worried about his mother, so he came over as well.

Madam Xing also rushed over, but she was there to watch the show and, incidentally, to make a few sarcastic remarks.

Little did they know that Baochai was quite shrewd. She immediately took charge and told the maid, "Stop the First Madam and tell her that she is ill and refuses to see anyone."

Baochai was well aware of Madam Xing's true colors.

Lady Wang had initially disliked Baochai somewhat because of Xue Pan, but seeing Baochai defend her so much, she was immediately moved. She pulled Baochai aside and said, "My child, you are the most sensible one. For your brother's sake, your father and I haven't had a single argument in decades, but he treats me like this now. Go back and tell your mother, I can't do anything about it."

Upon hearing this, Baochai's heart turned completely cold.

She also deeply resented her brother. It was all his fault for causing all this trouble. If it weren't for him, she would have been chosen as a companion to the princess in the first place.

A brother like that is better off without!

Having figured it out, Baochai felt relieved and comforted Madam Wang instead: "Madam, please stop talking about these things. Take good care of yourself. The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and you need to go to the palace to pay your respects to the Empress. If the Empress sees you like this, wouldn't she be sad and heartbroken?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Wang felt even more that Baochai was sensible: "It's clear that I'm blessed to have such a good daughter-in-law."

Upon hearing this, Baoyu immediately turned and left.

Lady Wang pulled Baochai aside and said, "Don't mind him. He's been like this since he was a child. He'll get better in time."

Baochai naturally had to show her magnanimity, which made Lady Wang like her even more.

This Mid-Autumn Festival, Grandmother Jia dressed up in her finest attire to go to the palace to offer her congratulations to the Empress. There were some things she wanted to ask in person.

Daiyu was also going to enter the palace.

Chapter 23 Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, Daiyu Enters the Palace Again

Daiyu was able to enter the palace only because of a single sentence from Consort Xu.

Consort Xu was not helping Daiyu, but rather her son and future daughter-in-law.

A few days ago, the Second Prince Xiao Tingkai got married and married Song Huilan, the granddaughter of the Minister of Revenue.

Before Xiao Tingkai's wedding, the emperor did something that surprised almost everyone in the court and the concubines in the harem: he conferred the title of Prince Rui on the second prince Xiao Tingkai, the title of Prince Yi on the third prince Xiao Tingjun, and the title of Prince Li on the fourth prince Xiao Tingfeng.

In addition, the Ministry of Works was tasked with selecting sites to build princely residences for the three princes. However, the so-called construction of princely residences did not involve selecting new sites and building entirely new ones. Instead, the old residences of several corrupt officials and relatives of the imperial family were taken out, and the Ministry of Works, together with the Ministry of Revenue, was tasked with calculating the costs.

In doing so, not a single word was mentioned about establishing a crown prince. This move came suddenly and caught the court officials off guard.

Thinking about the late emperor's crown prince, no court officials rushed to petition for the establishment of a new crown prince.

The concubines in the harem naturally had their own ideas.

The Prince's Mansion has not yet been fully renovated, so the princes can only live in the Zichen Garden after they get married.

So, Xiao Tingkai and Song Huilan, now married, temporarily lived in the 'Banana Breeze' courtyard in Zichen Garden. Although the courtyard was small, the newlyweds were inseparable and very sweet.

As a result, Song Huilan naturally had to pay her respects to the Empress and Consort Wu in the palace every day. Consort Xu saw that although the Second Prince's wife was not the most beautiful, she was dignified and proper in her actions and speech. She was somewhat envious of her.

The second prince is fortunate to marry a virtuous wife.

As Consort Xu pondered, she thought of her future daughter-in-law. She had seen the Ge family's daughter attend banquets in the palace in previous years. She was more beautiful than the eldest prince's wife and had a lively personality. However, she was still young and the youngest daughter of the Ge family. She wondered if she could be as good as the second prince's wife if she were to become a prince's wife.

With that in mind, Consort Xu decided to bring the young lady to the palace during the Mid-Autumn Festival. So she whispered in the emperor's ear: "Your Majesty, the marriage was originally intended to bring good fortune to both families. In particular, since Lord Ge is Your Majesty's teacher, I hope that the young couple will have a harmonious relationship. Therefore, I thought that the two children should be given some opportunities to spend time together. It would be perfect to bring the Ge family's daughter to the palace for a visit during the Mid-Autumn Festival."

These words were truly tactful, and the emperor, upon hearing them, felt that Consort Xu was sensible. He immediately agreed and showered her with affection. Afterwards, he bestowed upon her a series of gifts—cloths, jewelry, food, and other necessities—which were quite eye-catching.

The next day, the emperor handed the matter over to the empress, since the third son should also get to know the Lin family girl.

So the Empress sent someone to the Rongguo Mansion to deliver a message. After receiving the news, Grandmother Jia thought about it and decided to go to the palace herself, firstly to find out about Yuan Chun's situation, and secondly to see how the masters in the palace treated Daiyu.

Zijuan panicked upon receiving the news. She frantically searched through her belongings, looking for many sets of clothes, and opened the box containing her headdresses and jewelry, making a thorough selection.

Not only was he flustered, but he also dragged Xueyan into the frantic work.

Daiyu looked at the two of them and couldn't help but laugh: "It's not like it's your first time in the palace, why bother?"

"How can that be the same? The previous two times were to pay respects to Her Majesty the Empress. This time..." Zijuan only said half of her sentence, but everyone understood the other half: This time she was going to see the Third Prince, so they had to make sure the young lady looked even more outstanding.

“I understand your feelings.” Daiyu told Zijuan and Xueyan not to bother, “Find out that white jacket with a light red collar and red rose print, and pair it with a white round-necked inner garment. For the skirt, choose that bright red pleated skirt with scattered flowers. It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival, so it should be festive without being too outrageous.”

Xueyan hurriedly took out the set, but after looking at it, she felt it wasn't luxurious enough, and Zijuan also felt it was a bit too simple.

Daiyu immediately guessed what they were thinking and decided to teach them a lesson: "You guys are thinking too simply. The Second Prince's wife has only been married for a short time, and Miss Ge is even younger. Why should I try to steal the limelight? Don't you think so?"

Upon hearing this, Zijuan and Xueyan both understood a little; it turned out that the young lady wanted to keep a low profile.

"But...but..." Zijuan hesitated twice before finally managing to say something. What she really wanted to say was, what if the Third Prince felt that the young lady wasn't taking it seriously?

"You two silly girls, just listen to me, you won't go wrong." What Daiyu really wanted to say was that if the Third Prince really wanted to show off, then she shouldn't be the Princess Consort. But then she thought that she shouldn't rush to tell Zijuan and Xueyan about the princes' rivalry, so as not to worry the two girls.

We can talk about it slowly after we leave Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

"Zijuan, you really should do my hair properly then." Daiyu said, successfully diverting the two maids' attention by talking about hairdressing. "Do my hair in a lily-shaped bun, and bring out that set of blued pearl phoenix hairpins, and add some fresh chrysanthemums, and that will be perfect."

Zijuan readily agreed and even suggested that Daiyu wear the two white jade bracelets with landscape patterns: "They were bestowed by the Empress, and she will be pleased to see them if you wear them."

Because it would take some time to style the lily-shaped bun, Zijuan woke Daiyu up early on Mid-Autumn Festival, and Xueyan had also instructed the kitchen to bring hot water.

Zijuan began to comb her hair, dividing it into two sections, then further subdividing each section, and weaving and twisting it multiple times until it finally took shape.

After combing her hair, Zijuan showed Daiyu the mirror, and then took out the set of sapphire pearl phoenix hairpins. She put the silver phoenix hairpin with the chicken heart ingot pendant into her left temple. The pendant of this silver phoenix hairpin was divided into two parts, one held by the phoenix beak and the other hanging down from the wing. The tail feathers were made of silver wire in a very delicate way to make them look fluffy.

Then she inserted the cloisonné enamel and jewel-encrusted phoenix hairpin into her right temple. Most of the hairpin was submerged in her hair bun, with its tail feathers gracefully curled up and the eyes of the feathers made of pearls and rubies.

Xueyan watched from the side and exclaimed in admiration, "Sister Zijuan's hands are so skillful!"

Just then, the small kitchen delivered porridge and snacks. Xueyan hurriedly said that she had consulted with Granny Gu: "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Granny Gu said that Her Majesty the Empress must be very busy. There are many people coming to the palace, and after all the greetings and conversations, she is afraid that you will go hungry."

Daiyu readily agreed and ate a little, but it was too early for her to eat anything.

Grandmother Jia's daughter, Yuanyang, came in person to see if Daiyu had packed her things, since they would be traveling together to the palace.

But everyone's feelings are different.

As Daiyu sat in the carriage, she recalled the scar on her second aunt's forehead that she had just glimpsed. She had naturally heard that her second uncle had hit her second aunt, but actually seeing it and hearing it were two different things.

He closed his eyes and pondered for a while, analyzing the current situation, and before he knew it, he had entered the palace gates.

The head maidservant from the Empress's side was already waiting there. She smiled at Grandmother Jia and the others and said, "Old Madam, please go to Fengzao Palace to see Consort Xiande. Today is a day for everyone to reunite."

This means that there's no need to pay respects to the Empress today.

The head maidservant then stepped forward and bowed to Daiyu: "Her Majesty said that she hasn't seen her for quite some time and asked me to come and greet her here."

It turned out that the Empress had specially arranged for this to pick up Daiyu.

Chapter 24 Xiao Tingjun's Attentive Care for Daiyu

Daiyu accompanied her nanny to the Empress's Phoenix Palace, completely unaware that Consort Wu, Consort Xu, and even Song Huilan, who had just become the Princess Consort, were all there.

After the head maid had said those words to Grandmother Jia, Daiyu tacitly agreed that today each of the palace ladies would be entertaining their own relatives separately.

Upon seeing these people, she realized: although she didn't understand who arranged this, it was probably somewhat intended to compare the three princesses, except that one of them was already the Princess Consort of Rui, while the other two were still in the future.

Having figured things out, Daiyu quietly sat down next to Song Huilan, waiting for Ge Xijia, who was the last to arrive.

After bowing, Daiyu quickly glanced at Princess Rui. Today, the princess, wearing a five-phoenix hairpin with pearls hanging from her hair, looked radiant and seemed to be doing well.

A little while later, the Ge family girl entered the palace alone, which was enough to prove that Daiyu's guess was correct: both the old lady and the madam of the Ge family were qualified to enter the palace to receive the banquet. Since the Ge family girl was alone, it seemed that arrangements could indeed be made.

Today, the Ge family's daughter was clearly dressed up in a grand manner. She wore a rose-red satin half-sleeved top with a front opening, paired with a pink round-necked embroidered peony top, a gold belt around her waist, and a pink embroidered pleated skirt. Her hair was adorned with a kingfisher feather phoenix hairpin. Fortunately, she was born with a bright and beautiful face, so this outfit did not look tacky at all, but rather quite eye-catching.

Consort Xu immediately beamed with joy: Although she had to admit that among the three, the Lin family's daughter was indeed the most beautiful, the Lin family had no power, and the Ge family's daughter's beauty surpassed that of the Princess Consort of Rui County, and her family background was no worse than that of the Song family.

Thinking about it this way, Consort Xu felt as if she had won against Consort Wu.

After some casual conversation, the emperor arrived with his three princes.

After everyone stood up and bowed, the Emperor helped the Empress up and laughed heartily: "Staying in the room is no fun. Why didn't the Empress take everyone to admire the chrysanthemums? The chrysanthemums in Qiuxiang Garden are in full bloom."

Before the Empress could speak, Consort Xu interjected, "Of course, it's only a reunion when we're all together, waiting for His Majesty."

Consort Wu smiled faintly: "It seems Consort Xu is quite satisfied with her future daughter-in-law. The Ge family head is His Majesty's teacher; it seems the Fourth Prince's side is not to be underestimated."

However, His Majesty was asking the Empress just now, so it's a bit too smug of Consort Xu to interrupt so eagerly.

"Oh." The Emperor's gaze swept over the Princess Consort of Rui County, the Lin family's daughter, and the Ge family's daughter. He couldn't help but recall the hesitant expression on the face of the Ge family's teacher when the marriage was bestowed. After a moment's hesitation, he said to the Empress, "Then, Your Majesty, shall we go admire the flowers now?"

The Empress nodded and said, "It has been prepared. The weather is perfect today, with a gentle breeze."

"Then let's all go to Qiuxiang Garden together." The Emperor praised the Empress for her thoughtfulness, and then he and the Empress set off for Qiuxiang Garden together.