The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

After her initial shock, Consort Xu's first instinct was to protect her son, so she quickly said, "You silly child, how could you be so foolish? How could you keep such a big thing from everyone?"

Consort Xu's words reassured Ge Xijia somewhat—since Consort Xu said so, it was clear that the two guards had not revealed who had ordered them to do the work.

By taking full responsibility, he can better protect Xiao Tingfeng.

"Yes, my daughter-in-law is confused." She didn't intend to argue, because there was no way to argue.

However, upon hearing Consort Wu's sorrowful and distressed voice, she said, "So, you deliberately wanted to upset Lan'er, didn't you?"

Ge Xijia dared not look up, otherwise she would see the hatred in Consort Wu's eyes. She was determined to protect her husband. As long as Xiao Tingfeng was safe, then the Prince Li's mansion would not really be in trouble.

"Yes, it's all my fault for being jealous. I saw my second sister-in-law getting pregnant and sending imperial physicians and accepting gifts, so I got scared. I've been married for so long and there's still no sign of pregnancy. I was confused for a moment, so I resorted to this drastic measure. As for what happened that day, I deliberately created the encounter and pretended to be frightened." Ge Xijia used this reason, a reason that was half true and half false.

This reason sounds plausible, but of the four people in charge, only one truly believed it: Consort Xu. The other three each had their own thoughts.

Consort Xu quickly rose and knelt three steps in front of Ge Xijia and Xiao Tingfeng, saying to the Emperor and Empress: "Your Majesty, I am guilty. As a mother, I know nothing and have failed to properly educate my daughter-in-law. I beg forgiveness from Your Majesty, the Empress, and the Noble Consort."

After she finished speaking, she kowtowed deeply. The emperor looked at Consort Xu's face and sighed inwardly. He stared at the fourth prince and saw that he had no reaction at all. He felt even more heartbroken. This could not have been done by the fourth prince's wife alone. Now that something had happened, he, as a man, had no sense of responsibility at all. He was even worse than the second prince.

Consort Wu also knelt down: "Your Majesty, I beg you to do justice for Lan'er and the child."

She didn't mention her son, only her daughter-in-law and children, because her son had made a mistake, but her daughter-in-law and children were innocent.

Looking at the four kneeling people, the emperor felt both tired and annoyed. For some reason, the image of the Empress and Gao Xin playing roulette at the Prince Yi's residence flashed through his mind.

Back when I wasn't the emperor yet, but just a prince, my second and fourth sons were still young, and the family had such heartwarming moments.

But what about now? It seems that his sons only care about the throne and have no affection for their fathers anymore.

Thinking of this, the emperor's heart turned cold. He looked at the empress and asked, "Empress, what do you think should be done about the Princess Consort of Li?"

While Ge Xijia took all the blame, the Empress was considering it. When she heard the Emperor ask, she stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the fourth prince's wife is still young. I think it would be better to punish her by making her stay at home to reflect on her mistakes. Let her pray for Lan'er and the child in the small Buddhist hall in the Prince's mansion, and copy the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra. After copying it, send it to Lan'er to be offered to the Buddha."

The punishment didn't sound severe, and Consort Wu immediately wanted to object. However, the Emperor had already spoken: "The Empress's arrangement is excellent. Let's do it this way. Three months of confinement."

Consort Wu was very angry, feeling that she had been foolish just now. However, the Empress's next words surprised Consort Wu.

"Furthermore, I have a request," the Empress said earnestly, bowing her head. "The Princess Consort of Rui County had a difficult childbirth, and the baby is premature and very weak. According to the rites for nobles in this dynasty, Your Majesty should bestow a name and title upon the child. I am afraid Your Majesty might forget in your busy schedule, so I am bringing it up here first."

Consort Wu was stunned: she had only been thinking about making trouble for the fourth prince, and at the same time, she was disgusted that the second prince's wife had given birth to a daughter, completely forgetting about this matter. Moreover, because the second prince had made a mistake, the emperor was displeased with the Prince Rui's residence, and Consort Wu did not dare to request a title for her child at all.

The Empress actually said it in front of everyone, and Consort Wu and Consort Xu couldn't help but admire her: As expected of the Empress, she is much more decisive than them.

The emperor was very pleased with the empress's words: "The empress is always fair, so let's do it this way. I will name the child later."

Upon hearing this, Consort Wu quickly kowtowed to thank His Majesty and the Empress on behalf of the Second Prince and his wife.

"As for the fourth prince, it is said that husband and wife are one. Although you were unaware of this matter, you acted carelessly and without consideration. I am thinking..." Before the emperor could finish speaking, Consort Xu quickly interrupted.

"Your Majesty, Feng'er is a simple-minded child, and he is usually a bit reckless. Please forgive him this time."

That's a really poor way to put it.

The Emperor said in a deep voice, "A doting mother spoils her son. Don't worry about it. I know what I'm doing." After saying that, he looked at Xiao Tingfeng and said, "You've been in the Ministry of Works for so long, and I think you're no match for your third brother. Next year, when the Yellow River is in full bloom, go back and do some research. See if you have any ideas and write a proposal for me."

The emperor's intention was to temper the fourth prince's temperament, to make him stop focusing on petty tricks and start doing his job properly.

Upon hearing that he hadn't been punished much, Xiao Tingfeng quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude.

The Emperor glanced at Consort Wu, who was still kneeling, and immediately bestowed several gifts upon Princess Rui. Unexpectedly, Consort Xu, who was still kneeling, suddenly spoke up again.

"Your Majesty, I also have a request."

Chapter 94 Consort Shu's Visit to Ning Mansion Leads to Trouble

When the Emperor heard Consort Shu make her unreasonable request, he became somewhat impatient and simply said one word: "Speak."

"Your Majesty and the Empress are tolerant, but the Fourth Prince's wife's temperament needs to be tempered. She may not be clear enough about many rules. My palace maid Chunmei, who is always the most sensible and reasonable, should be sent to the Fourth Prince's residence to help the young couple. It would be good." Consort Shu had long thought about sending people to her son's residence, and Chunmei was the one she trusted most.

Ge Xijia was naturally unhappy to hear this, but at this moment she had no right to speak.

The Emperor had some recollection of Consort Xu's head maid. After glancing at Ge Xijia kneeling before him, the Emperor nodded: "Let's do it that way."

After saying this, the emperor turned to leave, calling out to Xiao Tingfeng, "Come with me."

Ge Xijia was furious. She went back to the palace and threw a tantrum. When Xiao Tingfeng came home, the couple even started arguing.

"What does your mother mean? I just took all the blame myself, and she's blatantly trying to stuff people into our household. What kind of mother is she?" Ge Xijia knew who Chunmei was back then. Although the girl was older than Xiao Tingfeng, she was beautiful. Now she said she was coming to help in the household, which clearly showed that Consort Xu had ill intentions.

"You still say that if it weren't for your idea, how could things have turned out like this? Didn't you always say that listening to you would be the right thing to do?" Xiao Tingfeng was also furious because the emperor not only gave him a private lecture, but also criticized him for his poor performance. His work in the Ministry of Works this year and the Ministry of Revenue last year were all brought up.

"You're so smart, then why did you agree to my idea back then and even actively carry it out? Now that something's happened, it's all my fault. I think you just wanted to take Chunmei into your household because she's pretty," Ge Xijia shouted angrily.

"What nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever think about these things? You're being completely unreasonable." Xiao Tingfeng glared at him, then turned and stormed out.

As Ge Xijia watched Xiao Tingfeng's retreating figure, she casually picked up a yellow-glazed covered bowl with floral patterns from the table and threw it at him. Of course, it wouldn't hit Xiao Tingfeng, but the covered bowl shattered on the ground with a crisp, clear sound.

Xiao Tingfeng froze, turned around to look at his wife, and then walked away without looking back, letting out a cold snort before he left.

Ge Xijia's wet nurse, Granny Liang, quickly came up to persuade her young lady: "Your Highness, please calm down. Things are already like this. If you continue to quarrel with the Prince, wouldn't that give the newcomer an opportunity to take advantage of you?"

Ge Xijia understood the reasoning, but she still felt wronged and couldn't help but cry. She had never felt so frustrated in her life.

“Your Highness, you really need to work on your temper. Look at Princess Yi, she’s always so composed, and she even asked the Empress for people.” Granny Liang began to reason with her young lady.

Meanwhile, Daiyu, the sensible Princess Consort of Yi County whom Granny Liang had mentioned, naturally already knew everything that had happened in the palace. While peeling hazelnuts, she said to Xiao Tingjun, "Mother is truly amazing. I'm afraid that Consort Wu and my second sister-in-law will be grateful to Mother right now."

That's right. They helped that child get a title, at the very least a county princess.

"Mother and Father were young and married, and they went through many difficult times together. Naturally, they are beyond what you and I can do." What Xiao Tingjun was mainly talking about was not his mother, but something he had to tell Daiyu. "I heard from Father that the Ministry of Justice is likely to be greatly affected. Although Second Brother took the initiative to remove Ningguo Mansion from the list this time, I think they will be affected to some extent."

"Ningguo Mansion," Daiyu thought for a while, "As long as Fourth Sister is alright, I'm not worried. Everyone else deserves what they got."

Seeing that Daiyu didn't intend to interfere, Xiao Tingjun felt relieved.

"Moreover, I think that the Chen family girl from Ningguo Mansion is completely different from my second brother's. My second brother's daughter was unwilling and forced into it, yet she still had the courage to commit suicide. But the one from Ningguo Mansion seems to be quite scheming." Daiyu had learned quite a bit from Xichun.

Just as Xiao Tingjun had predicted, the case involving Prince Rui and the Ministry of Justice related to the Duke of Qi's mansion was soon resolved.

Prince Rui was punished by being confined to his home, forbidden from participating in any court affairs, and his salary was also docked for one year. Zhao Cunrui, the Minister of Justice, was dismissed from his post, the Vice Minister of Justice was demoted three ranks, and many other officials in the Ministry of Justice were also dismissed.

However, at the same time, the emperor bestowed the name Qiongnan upon the daughter of Prince Rui, which comes from the poem "Red cream willingly lets the jade bud break, exploring whether the southern branches have bloomed all over," a name with a beautiful meaning. He was also granted the title of Princess of Danyang County.

This left many officials who thought Prince Rui was doomed uncertain again – did the Emperor mean that he would still give the Second Prince an important position?

At this time, a special guest arrived at the Prince Yi's residence—Madam You.

This time, apart from the punishment of the Ministry of Justice officials, the Ningguo Mansion was the most affected – the Emperor announced in court that the Ningguo Mansion's bestowed residence would be taken back, the Duke's Mansion plaque would be removed, and the hereditary title would be abolished.

However, Jia Zhen retained his position as a third-class general of great bravery, while Jia Rong was stripped of his position as acting cavalry captain and became a commoner.

The imperial decree came too suddenly, catching Jia Zhen off guard. After thinking for half a day, he decided to go out together with You Shi. Jia Zhen went to Rongguo Mansion to ask Grandmother Jia for help and to find a way to enter the palace to ask the Empress for help. You Shi went to Prince Yi's Mansion to ask Daiyu for help.

Zijuan came out to greet them first: "Please wait a moment, Madam Zhen. Our Princess Consort has just returned from the Empress's place and will come out after changing her clothes."

A young maidservant carried a pear wood tray with a teacup incised with a pale yellow glaze and intertwined floral pattern on it. Zijuan personally served the tea to Madam You.

Madam You bowed slightly to accept the gift, and first praised, "Miss Zijuan has become more and more outstanding. She has truly blossomed into a beautiful young lady. If she were outside, people might not even recognize her. She is more captivating than the daughters of ordinary families."

Zijuan just smiled and didn't say anything more.

It's easy to guess why Lady You came here.

Before long, Daiyu came out dressed in casual clothes. Her high bun was adorned with only a hairpin in the shape of a crabapple blossom, yet she was elegant and beautiful. You Shi couldn't help but sigh – she knew that Lin Daiyu was very beautiful in the past, but now that the Prince's Mansion was so auspicious, it made Lin Daiyu appear even more outstanding.

After bowing, Lady You was pondering how to begin when Daiyu spoke first: "Sister-in-law, you must have come today for matters concerning the household."

Lady You nodded quickly, but Daiyu interrupted her before she could speak.

“Sister-in-law, His Majesty has already issued the decree. Not to mention me, even our Prince can’t speak up. Besides, Brother Zhen is keeping the Chen family’s daughter in his mansion. Just because this hasn’t been discovered today doesn’t mean it won’t be discovered in the future. If you want to think about the family, go back and tell Brother Zhen that she can’t be kept, otherwise there will be endless trouble.”

Lady You's expression was very unnatural. She had expected that Daiyu would most likely not help, but she had not expected Daiyu to be so direct.

"There's one more thing, and I'll be frank with you because we're family: if Brother Zhen wants to make a comeback, he has to put in real effort. Taking shortcuts won't work."

Just as Lady You was about to speak, a messenger from the Princess's residence announced: "Your Highness, the Princess's nanny has arrived."

"Sister-in-law, please forgive me for not being a good host." Daiyu stood up, and before leaving, she added, "Sister-in-law, please tell Brother Zhen not to make things difficult for Fourth Sister, otherwise no one will be able to help with this matter."

Lady You was dismissed without even having a chance to speak.

When Lady You returned, Jia Zhen was furious—and Grandmother Jia, too, refused to help.

He saw Lady You and hurriedly asked how she was doing.

Chapter 95 Grandmother Jia's Anxiety and Daiyu's Warning

Lady You naturally told Jia Zhen about Daiyu's refusal to help, and at the end, she also mentioned Chen's matter.

Jia Zhen snorted, "Do I need her to remind me? I knew long ago that this woman couldn't be kept alive." As he spoke, a ruthless glint flashed in Jia Zhen's eyes.

"It's hateful. Now everyone's kicking me when I'm down. Do you know what the old lady said? She said it was all my fault for being fickle and trying to curry favor with the Second Prince. She even said that as long as we're alive, we can always rebuild. She told me to hurry up and buy a small courtyard, just enough for the whole family to live in."

Jia Zhen became increasingly unwilling as he spoke: "However, I didn't forget to provoke that old woman. I told her that I only supported the Second Prince because the Empress in the palace supported Consort Wu and the Second Prince. Humph, I want to see what that old woman will do."

Lady You knew Jia Zhen's reckless nature very well, so she simply kept quiet. After what happened with Daiyu, she didn't like Grandmother Jia, knowing that when the woman got ruthless, she wouldn't even care about her own granddaughter. But she had to admit that what she said about Jia Zhen did have some merit.

Meanwhile, after learning those words from Jia Zhen, Grandmother Jia was truly worried. Ever since she learned that Yuan Chun took 20,000 taels of silver from the family every year, Grandmother Jia felt that Yuan Chun lacked strategy. She was so dissatisfied with 20,000 taels of silver in the palace, which showed that she had made mistakes in handling affairs.

How could a concubine in the imperial harem support one of the emperor's sons? It's not like he's her own son.

Anxious, Grandmother Jia planned to visit Yuan Chun at the palace on the first day of next month and then talk to her about it. After thinking for a moment, she called Tan Chun over and said, "Your sister-in-law's birthday is coming up soon. Why don't you send an invitation to your sister Lin and invite her back for a visit?"

Now that Tan Chun, Bao Chai, and Li Wan are managing the household together, celebrating Li Wan's birthday is the only excuse that Grandmother Jia can think of—she doesn't even know if Daiyu will be willing to come back.

Tan Chun knew that Grandmother Jia didn't really want to celebrate Li Wan's birthday. With such a big incident happening in the East Mansion, the old lady probably wanted Lin Daiyu's help.

Tan Chun thought for a moment, and although she agreed with the old lady, she called Shi Shu and personally wrote a letter for her to send to Prince Yi's mansion. The letter meant that Daiyu should not come, so as not to make Daiyu feel embarrassed if the old lady spoke up. The East Mansion deserved its punishment, so why let Sister Lin be gossiped about?

Daiyu felt comforted when she received Tanchun's letter; after all, as sisters, at least one of them was sincere, wasn't that right?

"Go back and tell your young lady to rest assured, I know what to do." Daiyu asked Zijuan to send Shishu out. "Oh, by the way, I recently acquired a banana leaf-shaped Duan inkstone. Please take it back to your young lady while you're at it."

Daiyu asked Xueyan to find a few things for her: a piece of moon-white cloud silk, a piece of off-white Hangzhou silk, a round fan, a rectangular cloud and moon Duan inkstone, and two ink sticks with the poem "Broken Bridge and Lingering Snow" as birthday gifts for Li Wan.

When Daiyu arrived, the Rongguo Mansion quickly and solemnly welcomed her, with even Grandmother Jia personally standing inside the second gate.

"Grandma, why do you have to do this? How can I, a junior, accept such a favor?" Everyone naturally bowed to the Princess, and Daiyu quickly stepped forward to personally help Grandma Jia up.

When Grandmother Jia saw Daiyu arrive, she finally felt somewhat relieved: it seemed that Yu'er still valued old friendships; even though she knew the birthday celebration was just an excuse, she still came. A sudden pang of regret struck her; if she had known Daiyu would have such an opportunity, she should have handled things more appropriately back then.

"Princess, please come and sit in my room first." However, Grandmother Jia still wanted to ask about Daiyu and Yuanchun's situation first. After all, Daiyu often went in and out of the palace and had heard that His Majesty and the Empress liked her, so she must know a lot.

Hearing Grandmother Jia ask, Daiyu sighed slightly: "Even if Grandmother doesn't ask, there are some things I feel I should tell Grandmother."