The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

“That’s not something we can worry about.” Zijuan sighed and then spoke of Yuanyang, “Miss, Yuanyang has been sent to your estate by my brother.”

Zijuan's brother, Zhao Shun, had been gaining experience outside for several years and had become more methodical in his work. Ever since he received Daiyu's order to find a way to intercept Yuanyang, Zhou Chunsheng had personally led people to inquire about her. Although Yuanyang's brother and sister-in-law were both snobbish, they were still siblings after all, so how could they not care at all?

So they found out about Yuanyang.

As expected, Grandmother Jia was shrewd and experienced. She banished Yuanyang and indeed intended to send her to Black Mountain Manor. However, she also instructed the people who were seeing her off to execute Yuanyang on the way.

A maid who knows too many secrets of the Jia family cannot be kept alive. But it's also inconvenient to take action within the mansion, since Yuanyang is not an ordinary maid; everyone below is watching her.

Yuanyang was extremely surprised after being rescued by Zijuan's brother. She had grown up with Zijuan and of course knew Zijuan's brother.

"Aren't you working in the manor?" Yuanyang came to her senses after asking.

Zijuan's brother has probably already been redeemed and is no longer a servant of the Jia family.

As a result, Yuanyang also figured out a lot of things: no wonder she always felt that Zijuan was different from the past. Now it seems that Miss Lin and Zijuan had already arranged many things.

Yuanyang quickly confessed that she had stolen things from Grandmother Jia's private treasury and given them to Jia Lian and his wife. Therefore, those items were all pawned by Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng.

"Just have someone keep an eye on her. I think she's already been through death once, so she won't really try to kill herself." Daiyu thought to herself, when will she be able to see Yuanyang in person? There are some things that only Yuanyang probably knows. "Don't worry, Miss. My brother sent word that Yuanyang has probably figured things out. She's working quite diligently at the estate now." Zijuan and Yuanyang had always had a lukewarm relationship. In this manor, Yuanyang's closest friends were always Xiren and Ping'er.

Back then, when the young lady was being treated badly, she secretly begged Yuanyang to let her see the old lady, but Yuanyang refused, simply because she knew the young lady had no one to rely on. Not to mention that back then, even though she knew the servants were gossiping about the young lady, Yuanyang, as the old lady's maid, wouldn't say a word.

Now that Xiren has been kicked out, Yuanyang hasn't fared any better.

However, this is all self-inflicted; every cause has its effect.

"Prince Yi sent over a few more pieces of processed leather to make for you before New Year's Eve, so you can wear them." Ziju put aside her other thoughts and went with Xueyan to get the items.

Along with Chunxian and Chunyu, the maids worked quickly, not only making a fox fur cloak for Daiyu, but also planning to make two pairs of sheepskin boots. Just as they were making the boots, one day, a black cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere and bit Daiyu's parrot.

"Sister Zijuan, I've caught the cat!" Chunyu said quickly.

Zijuan looked at the cat and seemed to recognize it. She immediately became dissatisfied and said, "Take this cat and wait while I go and talk to the young lady."

This cat clearly didn't come by accident; some people did it on purpose.

Chapter 49 Using a cat to stir up trouble: a contest between Daiyu and Baochai

Zijuan grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck, intending to go and talk to Daiyu, while Xueyan, who had finished bandaging the parrot's wounds, also looked at the black cat: "Isn't this Old Ye's cat?"

“See? I told you I wasn’t mistaken.” Zijuan also recognized it; the cat belonged to Old Ye’s mother. “They did it on purpose.”

So the two of them brought the cat to Daiyu to report and express their suspicions.

After listening, Daiyu pondered for a while: "It's just a cat. How can you be sure that Old Ye's mother did it on purpose? What if the cat just ran in on its own?"

“That’s impossible. We’ve lived here for so long, and this cat has never come here before. Old Ye’s mother is Ying’er’s godmother. Last time, the young lady had Bao Er’s grandmother punish Ying’er, and they must be holding a grudge,” Xueyan said immediately.

“Officials also need evidence to judge cases. Your words are not enough to prove anything,” Daiyu thought. The two maids were still too inexperienced, and she could take this opportunity to teach them a lesson.

Zijuan was unwilling to give up: "Are we just going to let it go like this?"

Xueyan was also unwilling to give up: "That's right, isn't this cat evidence? Old Ye's mother would never dare to deny it. This is her cat. At the very least, she failed to take good care of it and hurt the girl's parrot, so she is also at fault."

"Then she just needs to admit her mistake. We can't hold a grudge against a cat, can we? Wouldn't it be beneath our dignity if word got out?" Daiyu thought. She was afraid that Old Ye's mother and the others were planning this. If she really called her over, it would be exactly what they wanted.

"What should we do?" Zijuan and Xueyan were both worried. They didn't want to let Old Ye's mother off the hook, because Old Ye's mother was backed by Bao Er's grandmother. But they couldn't think of a good idea for the time being.

"Go and fetch the imperial physician, quickly. Spread the word that I was frightened by the black cat." Daiyu already had an idea—if it really was them, they would definitely react after receiving the news. "At the same time, Zijuan, Xueyan, Chunyu, and Chunxian, find a way to monitor them. Oh, and invite Granny Wang over."

"That's right. Granny Wang doesn't usually handle things, so no one in the garden pays much attention to her." Xueyan immediately understood. As the young lady's wet nurse, Granny Wang had never interacted with the other old women and maids in the garden, and they didn't care much about her. It was probably easy for Granny Wang to find out what was going on.

"As for me, I have nothing to do these days and don't need to go out. I want to see if Madam Bao will come to visit me." Daiyu's strategy of waiting for the rabbit to come to the tree stump and then taking it by surprise quickly yielded results.

Upon hearing that Daiyu was ill and had been frightened by the black cat, Baochai pondered for a while and, instead of bringing Ying'er, brought Wenxing to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to visit her.

Seeing Daiyu's flushed face, Baochai realized she was indeed frightened. But Daiyu remained silent, which made Baochai uneasy: Logically, given Lin Daiyu's temperament, surely she wouldn't suffer in silence without making a scene?

Just as Baochai was having doubts, Grandmother Jia also heard about Daiyu being frightened by the cat. She immediately went to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to visit her, and upon returning, she summoned Baochai and Lady Wang: "Baochai, now that you are in charge of the household, go and investigate this cat matter. It actually frightened the Princess. If this gets out, Her Majesty the Empress will investigate, and that will be troublesome."

"It's just a cat, Your Highness is far too timid." Lady Wang disapproved of Daiyu's frivolous manner and immediately remarked.

"Shut up! How dare you speak so casually about the Princess Consort?" Grandmother Jia glared at Madam Wang, then looked at Baochai with an air of composure. "Baochai, Yu'er doesn't want to make a fuss now, but there's a palace banquet in a few days, and Yu'er has to attend. If things don't improve by then, things will blow up."

Seeing that Baochai remained silent, Grandmother Jia simply said, "No matter who keeps the cat, dismiss her from her post immediately. This cat cannot be kept."

Dismissal? Baochai never expected Grandmother Jia to say that, and hurriedly tried to salvage the situation: "Well, a cat is just an animal, why should you get angry with that thing, Grandmother? I'm afraid the person who keeps the cat was just negligent for a moment..."

"Really? A momentary oversight? Last time, someone stole Baoyu's glass embroidered ball lantern and caused trouble at Xiaoxiang Pavilion. It's just that Yu'er is kind-hearted and considers the family bond; otherwise, your girl would have been kicked out." Although Grandmother Jia didn't like Xiren, she was still someone she had given to Baoyu. Baochai and her mother-in-law had kicked her out without saying a word. And then there was Ying'er causing trouble at Xiaoxiang Pavilion last time. All these incidents made Grandmother Jia very dissatisfied with Baochai, who was now helping Lady Wang manage the household.

"What? Do you know who keeps the cat?" Grandmother Jia asked deliberately, because she had already inquired and found out that only Old Ye's mother kept the cat. This Old Ye's mother had also taken Ying'er as her goddaughter and was already in cahoots with the Xue family.

Under Grandmother Jia's shrewd gaze, Baochai did not deny it. She quickly realized that Grandmother Jia was about to use this opportunity to make trouble.

“Yes, the cat should belong to Old Ye Ma. Old Ye Ma is the mother of Baoyu’s servant Mingyan.” Baochai deliberately brought up Baoyu, hoping that when Grandmother Jia punished him, she would take it into consideration—if Baoyu found out and came to plead for Old Ye Ma, Grandmother Jia might soften her heart.

Unexpectedly, Grandmother Jia immediately said indifferently, "Oh, who do we have here? Isn't she Ying'er's godmother from your room? I remember that year, when we let Sanya manage the household, Bao'er somehow got involved. It's embarrassing to say, we had to let a relative help manage the household."

Grandmother Jia deliberately said this in front of Lady Wang and Baochai to provoke the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law: it was Lady Wang who deliberately sent Baochai in the first place.

"This old woman, Ye, seems so honest and simple, but it turns out she's so ill-mannered." Grandmother Jia paused deliberately, looking at Baochai. "I heard you were the one who put her in charge of the garden's flowers and plants, saying she was very capable. But I've seen that over the years, the garden hasn't brought in much money, which shows she's not doing a good job. What's the point of keeping such an ill-mannered and incompetent servant? Get her out of here!"

Hearing Grandmother Jia's constant criticism, Baochai dared not object. It was Lady Wang who was displeased: "Grandmother, isn't it a bit too harsh to kick someone out over such a small matter? If the Princess Consort is so timid, she might as well not live in the garden at all..."

"What? Are you going to defy the imperial decree? There is an imperial edict to allow the Princess Consort to live in the garden." Grandmother Jia glared at Madam Wang, who then remembered that when the Emperor bestowed the marriage, he directly ordered that the girl live in the garden.

Lady Wang dared not speak further, especially since Old Ye was merely an insignificant servant in Lady Wang's eyes. Baochai was quite depressed; she finally understood what it meant to lose both her wife and her army.

Baochai had no choice but to punish the family according to Grandmother Jia's methods, which in turn offended Mingyan's family.

Inside Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Chunyu, still dazed after receiving the news, thought, "The old lady really has guts."

Xueyan was somewhat puzzled: "Why does it seem like the old lady is doing this on purpose?"

"Of course it was intentional. The old lady probably has some issues with Bao Er's wife managing the household, so she's taking this opportunity to teach her a lesson. The old lady definitely remembers what happened when Ying'er caused trouble last time." Zijuan had figured it out, and she couldn't help but look at Daiyu, "Miss, have you guessed it all?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "Let me tell you, sometimes you don't have to do everything yourself. If you can grasp the core of the problem, it will be easier to handle."

As usual, Daiyu attended the New Year's Eve banquet at the palace.

This time, Daiyu met Xiao Tingjun's second maternal uncle, Qiao Yushan, the commander of the Xiliu Camp who had returned from the Shaanxi-Gansu military camp, and his wife, Peng, Xiao Tingjun's second maternal aunt.

Madam Peng pulled Daiyu aside and said, "I'll invite you to my house to play another day."

So, in the first month of the lunar calendar, Daiyu visited the Qiao family for the first time.

Chapter 50 The Qiao Family's Distinctive Character

Xiao Tingjun once personally introduced his two maternal uncles to Daiyu. His eldest maternal uncle was Qiao Yuji, who is now the Vice Minister of War, and his eldest maternal aunt was Madam Jiang, who is now the sister of Minister Jiang, a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy.

My maternal uncle's family has two older cousins ​​and one younger cousin. Both older cousins ​​are already married. The older cousin is currently a ninth-rank military officer, stationed in a military camp outside the capital. The younger cousin is still studying, preparing for next year's imperial examination.

My eldest cousin's wife was the daughter of Zhuang, a high-ranking official, and my second cousin's wife was the daughter of Liu, a military commander.

My cousin is about the same age as Tan Chun, and she is already engaged to the son of Lord Zhong, the valiant guard of the Firearms Battalion.

Xiao Tingjun's second maternal uncle, Qiao Yushan, passed the imperial examination and became a military officer in the Xiliu Camp of Hu Changshan, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.

My second maternal uncle's wife, surnamed Peng, was the daughter of the governor of Gansu.

My second maternal uncle has a son and a daughter. My older cousin is married to the son of the prefect of Chengdu, and my younger cousin is studying at Qingcheng Academy in Sichuan.

Qiao Yushan brought his wife, Peng, with him when he went to Beijing to report on his work. He mainly wanted his wife to meet Daiyu, his future niece-in-law.

It was Daiyu's first time visiting, and she couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

When she arrived at the second gate, she was surprised to see so many people welcoming her. Daiyu was flattered and thought back to the first time she visited her maternal grandmother's house. No one from the family came to greet her; only maids and servants escorted her to her grandmother's main room.

Zhuang Shi had already come up with a smile, and took Daiyu's hand, saying, "I suppose you don't recognize us, so I'll shamelessly introduce you, Yu'er. I am Prince Yi's eldest cousin's wife, this is his second cousin's wife, and this is my cousin."

To everyone's surprise, both her cousins-in-law and cousins ​​came to greet her, and Daiyu quickly greeted them all.

“We actually saw Yu’er from afar at the palace banquet last time, but the palace isn’t a place for conversation. Back then, she seemed like a fairy like Chang’e. Today, the fairy has landed in our house.” Second cousin-in-law Liu was straightforward.

"Second sister-in-law, don't frighten Sister Lin." Cousin Qiao Lanruo came up and affectionately took Daiyu's arm. "Let's go inside and talk."

Upon entering, Daiyu naturally had to pay her respects to her two future aunts.

After inviting Daiyu to sit down, Madam Jiang, Daiyu's eldest aunt, said, "I had been wanting to invite you to our home for a while, but last year your eldest cousin's wife had a baby, and things were all over the place, so the house was in a mess. Now that your second uncle and aunt are back, let's get the whole family together."

After saying that, he quickly added, "Although Prince Yi is a prince, it is presumptuous of us to say it like this, but given our relationship, even His Majesty did not say it was not allowed."

Outside, there's a clear distinction between ruler and subject, but behind closed doors, we're still family.

Daiyu liked their straightforward nature: "Aunt is right. You are an elder, how can you presume to speak your mind?"

My second maternal aunt, née Peng, whose father was the governor of Gansu, spent most of her time with her husband in Xiliu Camp. She had the forthrightness of a girl from the Northwest: "Yu'er is indeed from Jiangnan. She's as beautiful as water. We can't find anyone as pretty as her back home. When I was a child, I studied with my teacher, and many of the poems described the water towns of Jiangnan. But back home, there's always yellow sand everywhere, and even the river water is yellow. So I really can't imagine what Jiangnan is like."

"Second Aunt, if there's a chance in the future, shall we go to Jiangnan together? I've never seen it before. Everyone says that white walls and green tiles, small bridges and flowing water, and misty rain make it sound like a fairyland." Qiao Lanruo also longed for Jiangnan and wanted to see what a water town looked like.

“Great! If we have the chance in the future, let’s all go. Then, Yu’er can tell us which places are fun.” Madam Peng smiled.

The two maternal aunts were quite different. The elder aunt, Jiang, was calm and composed, with the air of a matriarch. The younger aunt, Peng, was more cheerful and easygoing.

One is skilled in literature, the other in martial arts; they complement each other perfectly.

Lanruo asked Daiyu about the scenery in Yangzhou, and then asked Daiyu about the places she passed through on her boat trip from Yangzhou to the capital, and what her impressions were. Daiyu slowly recounted the story from memory, and not only Lanruo, but also her two aunts and two cousins ​​listened with rapt attention.

After listening, Madam Peng couldn't help but sigh: "I heard that Yu'er is proficient in poetry and literature, but I didn't quite believe it at first. Now, listening to Yu'er talk about landscapes, it confirms the saying that there is poetry in painting and painting in poetry. I have the most trouble with writing poetry and painting, but I admire others who can write poetry and paint the most."

“But my second aunt is amazing. She can shoot and ride a horse. That’s enough to make many women envious.” Second cousin Liu sincerely envied her second aunt. “When I was little, I also wanted to learn how to shoot. I was extremely envious when I saw my brother practicing with the red-tasseled spear. But no matter how much I begged my father, he would not agree.”

It turns out that my second aunt was a female general, which made Daiyu even more impressed.

A maidservant announced that Prince Yi had arrived, had already met with his uncles, and was now coming to pay his respects to his aunt. Madam Jiang instructed the maidservant to invite him in.

As soon as Xiao Tingjun entered, Madam Jiang teased, "What? Are you afraid we'll make things difficult for Yu'er? That's why you came in such a hurry."

Following family etiquette, Xiao Tingjun greeted his two aunts and cousins, exempting them from the formalities of bowing to him as a prince. He then nodded and smiled at Daiyu.

“I know that my aunts definitely like Yu’er very much and will never make things difficult for her.” Xiao Tingjun’s words made Daiyu blush.

Daiyu soon noticed that Xiao Tingjun was quite different at his uncle's house compared to when he was in the palace: Xiao Tingjun was much more relaxed at his uncle's house.

Xiao Tingjun only exchanged a few words with her, delivered the things the Empress had asked him to bring, and then went out to talk to his uncles.

When Daiyu saw that the Empress had given a lot of things to the Qiao family, she couldn't help but think: No wonder the Princess praised the Empress for being good at interpersonal relationships. Xiao Tingjun is the Empress's adopted son, and the Empress is very generous to Xiao Tingjun's maternal uncle's family.

Moreover, judging from the conversation between Jiang and others with Xiao Tingjun, the Empress and the Qiao family get along well.

Lunch was served in Nuanxiangwu. Because of Daiyu's visit, the cook had specially prepared two Yangzhou dishes. Daiyu was constantly moved: she thought that her maternal grandmother's house should have been very close, but when she, a young girl, came, not only were there no dishes prepared, but even the lodgings were not made.

This comparison clearly demonstrates the Qiao family's thoughtfulness.