The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

"The palace banquet on the second day of the Lunar New Year was scheduled for the eighth day, as Yu'er told me. I'm afraid that by now, the fifth prince and his brothers must have all received their invitations." At the Empress's residence, Consort Lu, the birth mother of the sixth prince, was talking with the Empress. Upon hearing this, Consort Lu nodded hurriedly.

"Indeed, yesterday Yu'er received the invitation and even showed it to me, praising his third brother and sister-in-law for their refined tastes." Consort Lu came from a humble background and was never particularly noticeable in the palace. She usually only visited the Empress. She rarely visited the other two imperial concubines, and always avoided giving anyone cause for gossip regarding etiquette.

Upon hearing Consort Lu's words, the Emperor expressed interest in the invitation and sent for the Sixth Prince to come as well. A short while later, the Sixth Prince, Xiao Tingyu, arrived with the invitation.

The emperor took a look and found it interesting. It was a pull-out design; once pulled out, the cute little dog went from lying down to standing up, as if it were bowing to someone.

The new year is the Year of the Dog, no wonder they chose a puppy.

Not only was the design unique, but the delicate calligraphy adorning the hairpin was also pleasing to the eye. The emperor knew his son's handwriting and assumed it was his daughter-in-law's. Thinking of the loving relationship between the young couple after their marriage, the emperor's mood improved somewhat.

When the emperor received the report and learned the scale of the banquet at Prince Yi's residence, he was overjoyed—Prince Yi's residence had not invited many guests.

The guests of Prince Yi's Mansion included the eldest princess's family, Xiao Tingjun's maternal uncle's family, and his maternal uncle's family, as well as the Rongguo Mansion, and the families of Yingchun and Xiangyun.

However, not many people came from the Rongguo Mansion. Grandmother Jia was too old, Lady Wang was not willing to come and see Daiyu's happiness, and the Ningguo Mansion was also hosting a banquet today. So only Baoyu, Baochai, Tanchun, and Xichun came.

Baochai could understand the appearance of Yingchun and her husband, and Xiangyun and her husband, but she was greatly surprised when she saw Baoqin and Xing Xiuyan.

The Prince Yi's mansion has only about twenty guests today.

Prince Yi and his wife were very approachable, but anyone could see at a glance that they were deeply in love. This undoubtedly spurred Baoyu and Baochai into a fight.

Baoyu felt bitter inside, but he was still happy for Daiyu, since he was powerless to resist the old lady and the madam from the beginning.

Baochai was filled with jealousy: she believed that her talent and appearance were in no way inferior to Daiyu's, but why was it that Daiyu could always win the favor of both Baoyu and Prince Yi so easily?

What displeased her even more was Baoqin's presence there.

For the first time, Baochai couldn't help but smile as she looked at Baoqin, saying, "I was wondering why you were so confident, sister. It turns out you've already sided with the new lady."

Upon hearing this, the other sisters all looked at Baochai—everyone knew that Baoqin and her brother had moved out. It seemed that Baochai was about to vent her resentment.

Baoqin smiled faintly: "Sister, what you're saying is so meaningless. Joining forces with a newcomer? Who's the newcomer? Today, we're all sisters here, and we've all known each other for a long time. Sister, you shouldn't judge others by your own petty standards. Otherwise, if things get out of hand, I don't think I'll be the one who ends up looking bad."

Baochai was embarrassed, but Tanchun had already grabbed her arm and said with a smile, "We are all sisters, and today the Princess Consort invited us to be guests. Let's have a happy chat."

At this moment, Daiyu led Gao Xin over, and the young princess saw Xichun at a glance and came over to talk to Xichun.

Daiyu keenly sensed that the atmosphere was a bit strange, but she didn't care. Inside the pavilion in the middle of the lake, there were backgammon, Go and other games for everyone to play, and outside the pavilion, there were also facilities for pitch-pot, fishing and other games.

Xiangyun is now married to Wei Ruolan, and the couple is very loving. However, her mother-in-law is not easy to get along with. Today, she is unusually lively and happily suggests playing pitch-pot. Tanchun and Baoqin also expressed their interest. Qiao Lanruo, Xiao Tingjun's cousin, also likes excitement and joined the pitch-pot team.

On the other side, Yingchun and Xing Xiuyan had already started playing chess, while the eldest princess's second daughter-in-law, Xu, was talking about child-rearing with Zhuang, the wife of Xiao Tingjun's eldest cousin. As a result, Baochai was left alone, all by herself.

Just then, news came from outside that Prince Rui and his wife had arrived, followed shortly by Prince Li and his wife. Everyone quickly got up.

Song Huilan glanced at the female guests and felt a little smug about Daiyu: Look at how the third brother and his wife are hosting this dinner, it's quite shabby, there are few people and not many important ones.

They waited for Ge Xijia to come in, feeling the same way. Both of them couldn't help but feel that only the other was their true rival; Daiyu seemed utterly insignificant. Indeed, her family had no one to rely on; they couldn't even host a proper banquet.

Thinking about it this way, the two of them felt they should try to win Daiyu over, so they became exceptionally approachable to Daiyu's guests.

Song Huilan, in particular, was better at interpersonal relationships than Ge Xijia. In addition, Consort Wu had a good relationship with Consort Xiande, so Song Huilan knew a lot about the Rongguo Mansion.

At this moment, Song Huilan was chatting happily with Baochai, who had been all alone just moments before. In Song Huilan's opinion, this Second Madam Bao was very sensible. Although her brother was a murderer, what did it matter? What her husband wanted was the support of the Rongguo Mansion and Prince Teng.

"It's a pleasure to meet you today. I'll send you an invitation to my home sometime tomorrow." Song Huilan thought that the old lady of the Rongguo Mansion was getting old, but this second mistress of the Bao family had some insight in her speech. It wouldn't be bad to be able to use her in the future.

The smug Song Huilan didn't even notice the frown on the princess's face when she looked at her.

On the contrary, Tan Chun, who happened to see it, was startled and couldn't help but look at Baochai, who was chatting happily with Princess Rui: Sister Bao's heart is a bit too big.

Tan Chun pondered whether she should go back and talk to Bao Chai, but Xiang Yun seemed to see through her thoughts and said from the side, "Third Sister, you should not worry about it. Once a woman is married, she has no choice in what she does."

Sensing the hidden sorrow in Xiangyun's words, Tanchun paused in surprise.

Because of the New Year banquet, the Emperor was even more satisfied with Prince Yi and his wife. So at the Lantern Festival banquet, the Emperor praised Xiao Tingjun in front of everyone, saying that he had done a good job in the Ministry of Works. He then said, "I think you have been in the Ministry of Works for quite a while. Transfer you to the Ministry of Revenue. Let the fourth prince be transferred to the Ministry of Works. As for the second prince, he will go to the Ministry of War."

These words sparked various thoughts among the crowd.

Chapter 70 The Princess is Pregnant, Prince Rui is Proud

The positions of the three princes all changed, but in the eyes of outsiders, Prince Rui was still more useful—moving from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of War was almost equivalent to a promotion.

Consort Xu was very unhappy because the Fourth Prince's transfer from the Ministry of Revenue to the Ministry of Works was, in the eyes of Consort Xu and many others, tantamount to a demotion.

Taking advantage of her favor, she cried and wailed in front of the emperor, but all she got in return was a faint reply from him: "I have my own arrangements for the children; you don't need to worry about it."

Consort Xu quickly summoned Ge Xijia to the palace, where the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had a discussion. Ge Xijia left the palace and returned home, feeling down, and decided to take a detour to buy her favorite pastries. The flower cakes from Jiqing Bakery were a favorite of Ge Xijia's since childhood.

"Your Highness, look." The head maid, Su Fen, was looking at the street scene through the curtains when she suddenly spotted a familiar face—the recently triumphant Prince Rui.

Ge Xijia didn't know what she was supposed to see, so she went over to take a look. Huh, it was actually Prince Rui. What was he doing in this alley? And he only had one attendant with him.

Ge Xijia couldn't help but be curious, so she stopped the carriage and saw Prince Rui walk directly into the blue stone alley.

Ge Xijia was stunned for a while before deciding to send someone to investigate.

However, not long after returning to the Prince's residence, news arrived that Princess Rui was pregnant. Ge Xijia was stunned: Second sister-in-law is pregnant? Father Emperor already favored Second Brother, so this time, wouldn't he be even more biased towards them?

Feeling down, Ge Xijia thought of the alley where Prince Rui had gone and immediately summoned her trusted nanny, giving her a series of instructions.

In less than four days, the investigation yielded results, and Ge Xijia was overjoyed upon hearing them—the alley was called Ping'an Alley, and inside there was a small courtyard that Prince Rui had bought to keep his mistress.

Second brother and sister-in-law are smug now, so let them be smug for now. Just wait until the truth comes out, and then we'll see if you two will turn against each other.

With this in mind, Ge Xijia happily invited Daiyu to go to the Prince Rui's Mansion to congratulate her second sister-in-law.

"Second sister-in-law is so lucky, having a child so soon." Ge Xijia took Daiyu's arm and walked inside affectionately. Song Huilan, upon learning that her two younger siblings had arrived, personally greeted them at the second gate.

"Why are you coming to greet us, sister-in-law? This won't do; the child is more important," Ge Xijia quickly said upon seeing this.

Looking at Ge Xijia's smiling face, Daiyu felt that something was not quite right: Ge Xijia, who was usually always at odds with her second sister-in-law, was being so enthusiastic now, there must be some reason.

"There's no need for that. The imperial physicians all said that it's good for the baby if I go out for a walk." Song Huilan's smile was much more genuine. She was really happy at the moment. She had become pregnant smoothly after only a year and a half of marriage, and now her husband was favored by the emperor. Everything was going smoothly. It was wonderful.

"Sister-in-law, you look great. The baby must be healthy." Daiyu congratulated her with a smile. "But you should still be careful these days. Why don't you have the Imperial Hospital send a physician to stay at the Prince's residence? That way, it will be more convenient if you need any dietary restrictions or assistance. Otherwise, it's inconvenient to send someone to fetch him every time."

These words were very thoughtful, and Song Huilan was pleased. In contrast to Ge Xijia's smile that didn't reach her eyes, Song Huilan looked at Daiyu's serious expression and nodded, saying, "Sister Yu'er is so thoughtful. I'll tell the Prince later and ask the Empress Dowager and Consort in the palace."

Ge Xijia didn't think much of Daiyu's naive and genuine concern for Song Huilan. She had already seen through Daiyu's cowardly and timid nature during the banquet at Prince Yi's mansion last time.

"Third sister-in-law is the most meticulous, I've always admired her." As Ge Xijia spoke, she was looking at Song Huilan. She was still in the early stages of pregnancy, and her belly wasn't showing much yet. However, people are in high spirits when they have a happy occasion, and Song Huilan looked particularly radiant today.

Thinking of Prince Rui's mistress, Ge Xijia's eyes unconsciously revealed a hint of schadenfreude. Song Huilan had instructed her maid to go, but she didn't see her, yet it caught Daiyu's eye.

An idea flashed through Daiyu's mind.

"What a coincidence today! My two younger sisters-in-law are here, and my two younger brothers are here too. We'll all have lunch together later." When Song Huilan heard from the maid that Xiao Tingkai had brought the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince back with him, she immediately instructed the maid to tell the kitchen to make sure that lunch was plentiful.

"They naturally came to congratulate my second brother and sister-in-law. Even Father Emperor said that this is a joyous occasion worthy of celebration, but my second sister-in-law declined." Ge Xijia was very jealous of the Emperor's grand favor to the Prince Rui's mansion. It wasn't that she coveted the gifts, but rather that the significance behind them was too great.

"It's nothing big, nothing to celebrate. It's only natural for us women to get married, have children, and raise kids." Song Huilan smiled and invited her two younger siblings to drink tea. "This was sent by our mother a few days ago. I heard it's white tea from Fujian, a tribute from her."

“Speaking of Fujian, I’m reminded of something. My second brother is now in the Ministry of War, so he must know more about it. They say the people on that island are getting restless.” Ge Xijia heard her husband mention it a few days ago, and he was very unhappy at the time because if war really broke out, it would give her second brother a great opportunity to show his skills.

Song Huilan naturally knew this, but she pretended not to know: "I don't know that. These days, my mother has not let me worry about anything. Not to mention outside matters, even the Prince's mansion has been managed by people sent by my mother."

Ge Xijia was not happy when she heard this, but when she thought of the secret, she became happy again. When she heard Daiyu talking to Song Huilan about how drinking white tea and goji berries together could clear the liver and improve eyesight, she praised Daiyu for knowing so much.

Before we knew it, it was lunchtime. The girl came to invite us, and since we were all family, there was no need to be shy. The six of us shared a table, and since it was still chilly in the early spring, we cooked a copper pot. We had lamb rolls, beef rolls, radishes, and cabbage, as well as bird's nest with duck, three-delicacy chicken, stuffed winter melon, and lotus seeds in sugar, a whole table full of dishes.

Prince Rui, Xiao Tingkai, is extremely pleased with himself: he has only been in the Ministry of War for less than two months, and there is already a situation in the southeast. He has now won over the Prince of Nan'an's mansion. The Huo family has been managing the Fujian Navy for many years. If war really needs to break out, the Huo family will definitely take it down in one fell swoop.

What's even better is that his wife is pregnant right now. This child has come at the perfect time. When the southeast wins the battle, he will naturally have a merit in the Ministry of War, and the child will be born. If it is a son, that would be the best, as the title of the emperor's grandson is of extraordinary significance. Even if it is a daughter, she will be born during a time of victory, the first among the emperor's grandsons, and the emperor will surely like her.

Thinking about all this, Prince Rui felt that the position of Crown Prince was not too far away from him.

Xiao Tingjun glanced at his ambitious second brother and pondered silently.

When Daiyu and Xiao Tingjun returned from the Prince Rui's mansion, Daiyu spoke first.

Chapter 71: Husband and Wife United, Daiyu Seeks Advice

Daiyu first mentioned Ge Xijia's unusual behavior to Xiao Tingjun: "In the past, Fourth Sister-in-law always liked to go against Second Sister-in-law, but today she actually took the initiative to invite me to congratulate Second Sister-in-law. I felt something was wrong at the time. Later, seeing the gloating that Fourth Sister-in-law sometimes showed, I felt that she probably knew something."

The so-called knowledge was about Prince Rui, Xiao Tingkai, keeping a mistress. When Xichun told Daiyu that Jia Zhen had a concubine, a girl from the Chen family, the Duke of Qi, Daiyu took note and told Xiao Tingjun about it.

The case of the confiscation of the Qi State Duke's Mansion was a major achievement of Prince Rui, Xiao Tingkai, in the Ministry of Justice. Jia Zhen was also dependent on Xiao Tingkai, so Xiao Tingjun kept a close eye on it and followed the clues to investigate. He didn't know what he was getting into until he started investigating.

His second brother not only took the opportunity to embezzle a large sum of money—antiques, treasures, calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, gold and jade jewelry, etc.—but also took a liking to the legitimate daughter of the Chen family, whose maiden name was Chen Jiayue.

Getting a girl out of the house wouldn't be too difficult for his second brother, but he had to keep it a secret from his princess. After all, his princess came from such a good family, and if the couple had a falling out at this time, it would be easy for outsiders to use it against them.

With Jia Zhen's help, Xiao Tingkai settled Chen Jiayue in a small courtyard in Ping'an Lane.

Upon discovering this, Xiao Tingjun suddenly realized why Jia Zhen was able to take the Chen family's illegitimate daughter as a concubine; they were in cahoots.

Xiao Tingjun turned around and told Daiyu the whole story.

So when Daiyu brought it up, Xiao Tingjun couldn't help but be surprised: "Really? Second brother is so bold? I think fourth brother probably doesn't know about this."

Daiyu thought for a moment: "Since Fourth Brother doesn't know, but Sister-in-law does, I'm afraid she already has an idea to make a fuss about this, but as for how to do it..."

Daiyu paused for a moment after saying this, then said, "I'm afraid it might be related to my second sister-in-law's pregnancy."

Xiao Tingjun and Daiyu exchanged glances, and the couple tacitly considered a possibility: by taking advantage of their sister-in-law's sadness and grief, perhaps they could save the child.

Xiao Tingjun and Daiyu fell silent for a moment: Despite the struggle, how innocent was the child? Should they intervene?

For a long time, neither of them spoke.

Daiyu thought about it carefully: "How about I go to the palace tomorrow and ask the Empress Dowager?"

Xiao Tingjun pondered for a while and thought Daiyu's idea was feasible: "That's possible. After all, Mother has been with Father for so many years. The struggle between Father and his brothers back then was quite intense. Perhaps Mother has more ideas than we do."

"Then it's decided. The kitchen made some spring pastries a couple of days ago, such as peach blossom cakes and cherry jam. Take some to the palace." Daiyu called Zijuan over and gave her some instructions. Thinking of Gao Xin, she asked Zijuan to send some to the Princess's residence as well.

When Daiyu went to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress, she used a three-tiered food box made of huanghuali wood with carved begonia patterns, filled with many pastries and jams.

In the Empress's palace, Consort Lu was also present. Daiyu thought that luckily she had brought a lot of things, so she simply gave one of them to Consort Lu as well.

Looking at the peach blossom cakes shaped like peach blossoms, Consort Lu sighed, "They're even more exquisite than those from the Imperial Kitchen! No wonder the young princess praised them, saying that the things from the Princess Consort of Yi's house are the best."

Daiyu smiled and said, "I was just bored and saw some delicious food in a book, so I tried it out. I thought it tasted good, so I dared to send it to the Empress Dowager and the ladies."

The Empress praised it, saying, "Speaking of which, the rice wine you sent last time was as clear as spring water, and it had a light floral and rice aroma. Not only do I like it, but many of the ladies in the palace also like it."

"If the ladies like it, we can send it over another day. We just happened to have brewed quite a lot last time," Daiyu said, explaining that she had read the recipe in a book, which used glutinous rice and plum blossoms.

Consort Lu chatted with him for a while, then took her leave. It was somewhat of a coincidence that she was able to give birth to the sixth prince in the palace all these years, and she was no longer in the emperor's favor, so she was very good at reading people's expressions.

After Consort Lu left, Daiyu finally told the Empress the purpose of her visit. After Daiyu finished explaining that the Second Prince was keeping a mistress, and that Ge Xijia not only knew about it but probably wanted to use it to her advantage, the Empress fell into deep thought.