The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

Therefore, since the young lady has made a plan, Zijuan doesn't need to worry too much. She just needs to do as the young lady instructs.

"Since they took this to pawn, they probably took other things too. You should have your brother go to all the pawnshops in the city to take a look." Daiyu got up, went to the bookshelf, found a book, opened it, and took out a silver note.

This was something my father left me as a last resort, in case I was ever bullied in the mansion. Having some money would always be of some use.

I never imagined it would come to this.

"Have your brother take these silver notes. If he finds them, he can buy them." Daiyu now manages the estate through Zijuan's brother, and after several years of dealing with him, she has developed a deep trust in him.

Zijuan didn't accept it: "Miss, don't give me the silver note yet. Let my brother inquire first. Tell me what the other treasures are and what they look like. Then I can tell my brother to look for them and find out how much they cost."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu agreed, realizing that words alone might not be enough to explain it clearly. So, Daiyu picked up her brush and began to paint, capturing the essence of these jade carvings.

There are jade pendants inlaid with gemstones, featuring sheep holding lingzhi mushrooms, as well as jade pen holders with reclining sheep and jade brocade sheep-shaped garment ornaments. They vary in size and shape, and it took Daiyu quite a while to draw them.

Zijuan found an opportunity, under the pretext of going home to visit her parents, and entrusted the matter that Daiyu had asked her to her brother.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she returned to Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Yuanyang came to find her in person again.

Grandmother Jia had something to ask her.

Thinking about Grandmother Jia's true colors over the years, Zijuan felt extremely disgusted, but on the surface she had to be very respectful.

"What was the matter with Aunt Xue's visit that day?" Grandmother Jia asked directly.

Upon hearing this, Zijuan had an idea.

Chapter 12 Hui Zijuan's words sow the seeds of grudges

When Zijuan heard Grandmother Jia ask about Aunt Xue's visit to Xiaoxiang Pavilion, she knew that Aunt Xue would definitely not tell Grandmother Jia the truth.

After all, there are some things that Aunt Xue probably can't bring herself to say.

Zijuan suddenly had an idea. She had long seen through that the relationship between Grandmother Jia and Aunt Xue was merely a facade, and that they were both scheming against each other. Since that was the case, she thought that if she told Grandmother Jia some things, it might have an unexpected effect.

Then Zijuan spoke up: "The concubine came to ask for your help, Miss, to save Miss Bao's brother, but as you know, the old lady, the palace maids are very strict these days, how dare you agree?"

Although Aunt Xue didn't elaborate, Grandmother Jia knew that Aunt Xue had been rejected by Daiyu. It was precisely because Aunt Xue had been rejected that Grandmother Jia was somewhat worried, fearing that Daiyu would be harder to fool now. That's why she summoned Zijuan to find out what they had discussed.

"When the concubine arrived that day, Granny Gu asked me what kind of relative she was. I didn't dare to lie, so I told her the truth and said that she was the younger sister of the young lady's second maternal aunt." Zijuan made up a few words and pushed everything onto the nanny. Anyway, Grandmother Jia didn't dare to ask the nannies for verification. "Granny Gu immediately asked if it was the Xue family who had killed someone."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia's expression changed: Indeed, the Xue family's reputation was truly terrible.

"At that time, the young lady could only tell the concubine that women should not interfere in politics, which was a rule of the court, and she dared not do anything reckless." Zijuan told the story half truthfully and half falsely.

"Later, after the concubine left, Granny Gu and Granny Xu immediately told the young lady that she should avoid contact with such inappropriate families in the future, so as not to bring criticism to the Third Prince." Zijuan deliberately said, "At that time, the young lady was extremely aggrieved, but she could not say anything. After all, they were the nannies in the Empress's palace. If she really offended them, the young lady's life would not be easy in the future."

These words made perfect sense. Upon hearing that Daiyu did not want to help Aunt Xue herself, but was only restrained by the palace maids, Grandmother Jia felt much more at ease.

But then Zijuan brought up another matter.

"Grandma, there are a few things I'd like to say, but I'm not sure if I should," Zijuan said cautiously.

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia became interested: "You are the most reliable maid. Just say whatever you want to say."

Zijuan then slowly began to recount what happened back then: "At this time two years ago, the concubine told our young lady that she wanted to ask the old lady to act as matchmaker and marry Miss Lin to Master Bao."

What? Such a thing actually happened? Grandmother Jia had no idea about this at all. She always knew that the Xue family mother and daughter were deep and cunning. Upon hearing this, she hurriedly asked Zijuan, "Really? What did she say? Tell me the truth."

Zijuan quickly recounted what happened the year before last: "At first, the aunt said that she doted on our young lady, so the young lady said she wanted to recognize the aunt as her godmother. But Bao said she couldn't, and jokingly said that she would marry the young lady to her brother."

She paused deliberately at this point, and sure enough, Grandmother Jia snorted.

"Who knew that Aunt Xue would bring it up, saying something like, 'Your brother Bao is so loved by the old lady, and he's so handsome. If we were to talk about outsiders, no one would be satisfied. Why not just betroth your sister Lin to him? Wouldn't that be perfect?' Aunt Xue said she would come and talk to the old lady herself to act as matchmaker." Zijuan said these were all Aunt Xue's exact words.

After hearing this, Grandmother Jia sighed belatedly: No wonder when the old concubine in the palace passed away, Grandmother Jia and others went in to kneel at her tomb, and Aunt Xue even moved to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to take care of Yu'er. It's clear that Yu'er, that silly girl, was deceived.

The Xue family mother and daughter were indeed scheming step by step. First, they coaxed Xiangyun into calling Baochai "elder sister" repeatedly, and later they deceived Yu'er.

Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but remind Zijuan: "Your daughter is honest, so you must remind her at all times that the Xue family and the Lin family are not proper relatives. If the Xue family comes again in the future, don't let her be fooled."

As expected, Grandmother Jia and Aunt Xue were just scheming against each other.

Zijuan was secretly pleased and quickly bowed, saying, "Yes, I will follow the old lady's instructions."

Seeing that Grandmother Jia had no further instructions, Zijuan withdrew. However, she encountered Wang Xifeng, who was rushing in, at the door. What surprised Zijuan even more was that after walking a short distance, she saw Madam Wang, who was also hurrying towards Grandmother Jia's room with her maid.

Just now, I noticed that Wang Xifeng's expression was not quite right, and now that Madam Wang has gone to Grandmother Jia's room, something must have happened.

While pondering this, Zijuan returned to Xiaoxiang Pavilion. She first told Daiyu about Grandmother Jia's questioning, and then told Daiyu, "I saw that Second Mistress Lian and Second Madam were rushing to the old lady's place. I wonder what happened."

Daiyu pondered for a moment and told Zijuan not to worry: "They should let us know. They wouldn't dare to hide it now. We don't know about their family affairs and we don't need to care."

Unexpectedly, less than a quarter of an hour later, Xueyan came in and brought up the matter: "Miss, I heard from the maidservant next to Fourth Miss that someone from the Zhen family came here to ask for something."

These words were so vague that Daiyu realized the Zhen family had already been raided and their property confiscated. Why were people still coming? She patiently asked Xueyan, "Your words are so incoherent. Explain yourself clearly. What did the maidservant beside Fourth Miss say?"

Xueyan is getting older now. She had studied with Daiyu before, so she is quite clever. However, in recent years, Zijuan has been the head maid, so she doesn't stand out as much.

Upon hearing Daiyu's question, Xueyan quickly recounted what she had heard: "It seems that when the Zhen family confiscated their property last year, they sent some things to this mansion, which were accepted by the Second Madam. Now that the Zhen family has come to the capital, they are naturally here to reclaim their belongings."

The Zhen family's property was confiscated, yet they still sent gifts? I heard the Zhen family committed serious crimes, with many gentlemen imprisoned or exiled. How come they're now in the capital?

After pondering for a moment, Daiyu asked Zijuan to invite two old women over: the Zhen family's affairs are related to the court, so it would be better to listen to what the two old women have to say.

When Granny Gu and Granny Xu heard that the Zhen family had come to the capital and had even sent gifts to the Jia family, they both felt that the relationship was quite close.

Granny Gu immediately said, "Miss, you don't need to worry about this for now. We will find an opportunity to return to the palace and report this to Her Majesty the Empress. The Zhen family is already in such a state that it seems there is no way for them to recover."

But then he added, "Miss Zijuan and Miss Xueyan, please pass on any news about the Zhen family."

“That’s natural,” Zijuan and Xueyan said in unison.

Soon, Daiyu learned why the Zhen family had come to the capital: although the Zhen family's property had been confiscated, the young master and unmarried girl in the mansion had not been punished. Because they had an old house and relatives in the capital, they came to the capital.

The current emperor still leaves room for maneuver in his actions, in order to show his benevolence.

However, the dealings between the Jia family and the Zhen family added another charge against them.

However, the Jia family members were unaware of this and were actually quite pleased, especially upon seeing the generous rewards sent from the palace.

Although many of these were given to Daiyu.

Chapter 13: The Rewarded Couple Plans Their Future

The palace bestowed upon Daiyu a twenty-four-panel sandalwood screen, made of the finest glass, with landscapes, figures, pavilions, flowers, and birds carved into it—it was quite exquisite.

One was a small pocket watch, a tribute from the Maritime Trade Office. A round, flip-top pocket watch hung from a silver chain. Interestingly, when the time was up, it played a piece of Western music.

The most remarkable item is the mermaid silk tent. Legend has it that it was woven by mermaids in the sea, as evidenced by a poem: "Mermaid silk gauze comes from the South Sea, woven in secluded springs, also called dragon gauze. It costs over a hundred gold pieces, and when worn, it will not get wet in water."

This silk curtain is actually woven from shark silk. When hung in the main room during hot weather, it keeps flies and mosquitoes out. It is light, bright, breathable and airy.

Jia She loved these things the most. He couldn't help but sigh when he saw the silk curtain, which was said to be worth seven or eight thousand taels of silver. These three items together were worth at least twenty thousand taels of silver.

Upon hearing this, some people praised it, while others expressed envy.

Only Wang Xifeng and her husband found it increasingly troublesome.

Then I heard that the Emperor had also bestowed a marriage upon the Fourth Prince, betrothing him to the granddaughter of Ge Shizhong, a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion and Minister of Rites.

The Ge family is quite remarkable. Ge Shizhong himself was once the emperor's teacher, and his father also served as the Minister of Justice.

This made Wang Xifeng even more uneasy. That very night, she discussed with Jia Lian that they should hurry up and urge her uncle: "Look how much the palace likes Lin Daiyu. If the princes and the palace find out that we spent Lin Daiyu's money, even her dowry, we'll be in big trouble, if not dead."

Jia Lian, however, felt that things might not be so serious because someone from the Zhen family had gone to the capital: "Maybe it's not that serious yet. The entire Zhen family has gone to the capital."

“The Zhen family is innocent, but look how many people there are? And what kind of people are they?” Wang Xifeng rolled her eyes. “Besides, they didn’t use the girl’s dowry.”

"What if Lin Daiyu doesn't pursue the matter?" Jia Lian still harbored a glimmer of hope.

“Even if Lin Daiyu doesn’t pursue it, do you think the palace or the Third Prince will?” Wang Xifeng glared at Jia Lian. “Besides, you know that the Fourth Prince is engaged to a girl from the Ge family, and the wedding date is four months later than the Third Prince’s.”

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian suddenly understood: "You mean, when the time comes, our household must prepare a generous dowry for Lin Daiyu, otherwise it will look too bad compared to the Ge family's daughter."

Wang Xifeng nodded: "That's not right. Think about it, Uncle Lin was the Salt Commissioner before he died, everyone knows that's a lucrative position. And the matriarchs of the Lin family for generations all came from noble backgrounds, so their dowries were naturally very generous. Just think about how abundant our aunt's dowry was—the shops, estates, gold, jade, and trinkets. If we give Sister Lin a small dowry, I'm afraid the gossip from outsiders will drown our family."

Upon hearing his wife's words, Jia Lian suddenly realized something and slapped his thigh, saying, "According to you, the Lin family must have other assets."

Now it was Wang Xifeng's turn to be completely confused: "What are you talking about? What do you mean the Lin family has other assets?"

“Think about it. When Uncle Lin left, I helped manage things. The total amount of money I received was just that much, and I brought it all back. Among them were the estates and shops that my aunt had given as dowry, all of which were sold for cash. But now that I think about it carefully, I’m afraid the Lin family has more than that much money.” Jia Lian realized something was amiss as he thought about it more carefully.

"You mean, Uncle Lin had a backup plan?" Wang Xifeng pondered for a while after hearing Jia Lian's words and also felt somewhat puzzled.

“Yes, what you just said reminded me. The Lin family ancestors were marquises, and Uncle Lin was the only son of his family. The dowries of the matriarchs of several generations were all left to them. Uncle Lin was also in charge of the salt administration in Jianghuai. They had few people and few expenses. Where did all those things go?” Jia Lian felt more and more uneasy as he thought about it.

"Then, do you think it's possible that Lin Daiyu actually knows something?" After listening to Jia Lian's detailed analysis, Wang Xifeng couldn't help but think of the furnishings in Daiyu's room in Xiaoxiang Pavilion. Each piece was exquisite. In the past, Wang Xifeng thought they were given to Daiyu from Grandmother Jia's private treasury. Now, she thought that perhaps Lin Daiyu brought them from home.

"Lin Daiyu? Do you think Lin Daiyu might know something about the Lin family's assets?" Jia Lian couldn't help but recall what the father and daughter had talked about during the months between when he sent Lin Daiyu home and when her uncle passed away. He didn't know much about it.

Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian stared at each other without saying a word: Even if Lin Daiyu was young at that time, it's perfectly normal for her to know about the Lin family's wealth, given her intelligence.

The couple couldn't help but think about how they had asked Yuanyang to steal the old lady's private treasury to pawn it, and the more they thought about it, the more something seemed off.

"It seems I really need to urge my uncle; we must leave as soon as possible," Wang Xifeng decided.

Wang Xifeng was a fiery and impulsive person. She made her decision and found an opportunity to go back on the third day. This time, it was quite a coincidence.

After months of planning, Wang Ziteng finally secured Jia Lian the position of Assistant Prefect of Ping'an Prefecture.

Upon hearing that they were going to Ping'an Prefecture, Wang Xifeng immediately became unhappy: "Ping'an Prefecture is a harsh and cold place in the northwest, with a chronic water shortage and heavy sandstorms. Lian'er and I are fine, but Qiao'er is so young and has been pampered in the Duke's mansion. How can she endure it?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ziteng realized that his niece was merely using her daughter as an excuse; it was simply that she herself did not want to go to the Northwest.

“What do you know? Ping’an Prefecture is where the old Duke led troops when he was alive. There are many of his old subordinates there. Lian’er has never been an official before. If he goes there, someone will look after him, and he won’t be easily schemed against.” Wang Ziteng immediately put on a serious face and analyzed the pros and cons for Wang Xifeng. “Moreover, with someone’s help, Lian’er will have the opportunity to make achievements. When the results are reported, he can be promoted, right?”

Prince Teng had another thing to say, which he didn't tell his niece: Now that the princes have all grown up, Prince Teng sent Jia Lian to Ping'an Prefecture to try and win over the old guard of the Jia family. In fact, he was already preparing for the next round of struggle among the princes.

When Wang Xifeng heard her uncle say this, she realized that she had been too short-sighted. Fearing that her uncle would be unhappy, she quickly smiled and said, "You are indeed my uncle. How could I possibly know such things? In that case, I would like to thank you on behalf of Lian Er."

However, she quickly added, "Uncle, please don't tell the Jia family about this. I'll go back and make some preparations. When the imperial appointment arrives, they won't be able to do anything about it, even if they're not satisfied."

After everything was settled, Wang Xifeng stayed to have a meal with her aunt before packing up and heading back.

Unexpectedly, just as I reached the door, someone came to visit and hurriedly asked what was going on.

"They came from the household of the Minister of Revenue, to deliver an invitation to Miss Lin."

Chapter 14 Daiyu and her sisters-in-law meet ahead of schedule

Upon hearing that it was the household of the Minister of Revenue, Wang Xifeng became even more determined to leave.