The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

“Aunt, you don’t know him. Even the smallest things he does become common knowledge.” Daiyu blushed as she explained for Xiao Tingjun, but deep down she felt very sweet.

Jiang asked Daiyu how she was feeling lately, and inquired about Daiyu's diet and sleep from Zijuan, Xueyan and others. Afterwards, they couldn't help but say, "It's clear that the one in the Princess's belly is a clever one, knowing how to care for her mother. When I was pregnant with Lanruo, even though it was clearly a little girl, she was really making me vomit so much that I felt dizzy. At that time, your uncle said that he was afraid she would give birth to a boy again."

Having already had two sons, the couple wanted a daughter.

Hearing her mother say this about her, Qiao Lanruo quickly chimed in, "What is it? Mother just thinks I'm not quiet enough. I've made up my mind. This time, I'll learn embroidery properly from Miss Xueyan and cultivate my quietness."

The next day, Zhuang and Liu, her sisters-in-law, came over, and then even the Princess herself came. Not to mention the Princess's daughter-in-law, Xu, who always got along well with Daiyu, and also came over every now and then.

Even Zuo Jiangqiu, who was waiting to be married at home, came to keep Daiyu company several times. It seems that there were people coming to the Prince Yi's mansion almost every day.

Yingchun was widowed, and her status was considered unlucky, so it wasn't appropriate for her to visit. However, she still made a few small clothes for the children and sent them over.

The bustling scene at Prince Yi's residence attracted gossip from some people in the palace who spoke to the emperor. However, they were dismissed with the simple statement that all the visitors were relatives. For a time, even those who were envious dared not say anything more.

Just as Daiyu was resting peacefully during her pregnancy, Li Wan gave her some very useful information: Baochai was involved in the incident where Daiyu and her friends were frightened at the horse farm.

Speaking of the horse farm incident, the eldest princess went to investigate, but the investigation turned out to be more like an accident.

Daiyu looked at Li Wan's letter and began to think.

Chapter 157 Overconfidence Reveals His True Colors

It was purely by chance that Li Wan learned that Baochai was also involved in the horse farm incident.

Now, the person in charge of the Rongguo Mansion is Bao Er's wife. After she got hold of Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng's weaknesses, she immediately sent someone to Ping'an Prefecture. Through a series of threats and inducements, she managed to make the couple half-believing and half-doubting her.

Moreover, Baochai was well aware of Jia She's lust for beauty and Xing Furen's love of money. On the one hand, she befriended Jia She's concubine Yan Hong, and on the other hand, she would occasionally give small favors to Xing Furen, which made the couple praise her, their niece-in-law, for the time being.

Now, Jia Huan has also secured an official position in the Imperial Household Department thanks to his good relationship with Baochai and the Princess Consort of Rui County. Even Aunt Zhao admires Baochai very much.

Grandmother Jia was getting old and her mind was not as sharp as before. Baochai forbade the maids from reporting any news to Grandmother Jia. Amber and the others dared not disobey Baochai. As a result, Baochai made almost all the decisions in the Rongguo Mansion.

As a result, Baochai couldn't help but feel a little smug.

It happened to be the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, Qiao Jie'er's birthday. Baochai wanted to show how much she, as her aunt, loved her niece, so she specially ordered the kitchen to prepare a feast and send it to Qiao Jie'er's room. She also invited Li Wan, Xi Chun, and others to join in the festivities.

Although she harbored resentment towards Baochai, Qiaojie was a pitiful girl whose parents were no longer in the household.

Li Wan and Xi Chun both went, of course. Li Wan had made a pair of shoes a few days ago as a gift. Xi Chun gave Qiao Jie an inkstone.

Baochai was very generous and gave her a white jade pendant with a relief carving, shaped like a Dharma wheel, divided into an inner and outer ring. The outer ring was carved with cloud patterns, and the inner ring with orchid flowers.

The little girl's birthday party was just a bunch of playing around, having a meal, and then it was over.

When Baochai returned to the courtyard in a good mood, she heard a burst of laughter, accompanied by the sound of a child calling for its mother.

Mother, Mother.

The sound came from Xuancao Hall, which was the place where Baochai gave Ying'er to live after she was promoted to Baoyu's concubine.

"No, Zhige'er, you can't call her Mother." Ying'er panicked. Although she often helped take care of the child, Ying'er knew very well that Baochai valued Zhige'er very much.

Zhige'er is the son that Qiuwen gave birth to for Baoyu, and he is now over a year old.

Baoyu, however, didn't care at all: "What's wrong with calling out once? He's at the age where he's learning to talk." After saying that, he squatted down and picked up Zhige'er, teasing him, "Call out again, call me Mother."

Zhige'er is still too young. He's attached to whoever takes care of him. Right now, Baoyu is holding him, and he's giggling. After he finishes laughing, he calls out "Mother" twice.

Baoyu then held Zhige'er in his arms and taught him to call him "Daddy": "Quickly, call me Daddy, Daddy, I am Daddy, and this is Mommy."

Zhige'er was at the age where he was learning to speak, and Baoyu often teased him, so he indeed learned to call him "father" first and then "mother".

Baochai grew increasingly angry as she listened outside the moon gate, and stormed inside.

When Ying'er saw Baochai enter, she was so frightened that she quickly knelt down and hurriedly greeted her.

"Isn't this Second Mistress? What brings you to our little courtyard at this hour?" Baoyu snorted. He knew that Baochai was having a grand birthday celebration for Qiaojie today. Baoyu had seen through Baochai's ways of winning people over.

Baochai, who was originally very angry, stopped being angry after hearing Baoyu's words: Baoyu nowadays likes to provoke me the most. It's really meaningless. A grown man, he doesn't dare to oppose the family, but takes his anger out on his wife.

Thinking of this, Baochai changed her expression and smiled sweetly: "Look at the question you ask, Second Master. I know you don't like me. You want to see your Lin sister, but alas, now that she's a Princess Consort, you can't see her easily anymore. Not only that, I heard that the Princess Consort is pregnant. Prince Yi is as slender as a pine tree and as jade as a pile of stones, and the Princess Consort is as beautiful as an orchid in a secluded valley. I imagine that their child, whether a boy or a girl, will surely be an outstanding person."

When Baoyu heard the news that Daiyu was pregnant, he was stunned for a moment and couldn't speak for a long time.

"However, if Second Master cares about your Lin sister, he should find a way to pass on a message to her. Pregnancy is not easy for a woman; it's like passing through the gates of hell. If she's not careful, both mother and child could be in danger, and that would be terrible." Baochai said these chilling words with a smile.

Baoyu was startled and immediately glared at Baochai: "What are you going to do?"

"Why are you in such a hurry, Second Master? What could I, a mere young mistress of the Rongguo Mansion, possibly do to a princess consort like her? But, this Prince Yi is a prince, and since ancient times, princes have been vying for power. Can a princess consort avoid such a situation? So, I'm afraid many people in the harem and the court are eyeing your Lin sister's belly." Seeing Baoyu's anxiety, Baochai laughed even more heartily. What a romantic soul he really is, what a pity.

Baoyu paused for a moment, then seemed to realize something: "You're getting so close to Princess Rui, do you know something?"

Sure enough, when it came to his Lin Daiyu, he became quite clever.

"Second Master, you think too highly of me. You've already said that I'm just trying to curry favor with Princess Rui. How could I possibly know anything about Princess Rui?" Baochai naturally wanted to distance herself from the situation.

After saying this, without paying attention to Baoyu's expression, Baochai called to the wet nurse: "You carried the boy away without any sense of proportion. I didn't see your second master having any worries."

Although Wen Mama, Zhige'er's wet nurse, had been in the mansion for less than two years, she had already experienced the power of Bao Er's wife. Hearing this, she dared not delay and quickly took the child from Baoyu's arms, following behind Baochai as they walked out.

Unexpectedly, Baochai suddenly stopped, and Mama Wen quickly stopped as well.

Baochai suddenly turned around and said to Baoyu, "You'd better think of something and tell your Lin sister not to go to the horse farm or anything like that. If something happens again, wouldn't it be a loss?"

"Horse farm? What horse farm?" Baoyu had no idea that Daiyu had been frightened at the horse farm.

"Oh, so Second Master still doesn't care about your Lin sister." Baochai smiled again. "Back then at the horse farm, your Lin sister's horse suddenly went mad. It was just that your Lin sister was lucky; what was supposed to be her horse was ridden by the little princess. But your Lin sister can't be so lucky every time, can she?"

Baoyu was stunned. Even after Baochai left, he hadn't come to his senses.

Ying'er, seemingly unintentionally, whispered to Baoyu, "I once heard Wenxing say that Second Mistress was talking about the horse farm at Prince Rui's mansion."

Baoyu was furious when he heard this, and that very day he went to question Baochai: "It was you, it was you who suggested that Princess Rui plot against Lin Daiyu, wasn't it?"

"Second Master, who have you been listening to? I can't bear the charge of plotting against the Crown Princess." Baochai naturally wouldn't admit it. "Besides, Second Master, I am the young mistress of the Rongguo Mansion. If I am guilty, the Rongguo Mansion will be implicated. Don't talk nonsense."

"You—!" Baoyu was so angry that he pointed at Baochai, unable to utter a single word.

Since deciding to seek refuge with Prince Yi's mansion, Li Wan has put in some effort, so she has always been able to find out something about what's going on in Baochai's courtyard.

So Li Wan sent the information to Daiyu.

Baochai's hatred for me is so strong, it seems I really need to be careful.

Just as Daiyu was pondering how to retaliate against Baochai, Zijuan came in: "Her Majesty the Empress has sent word."

The message that the Empress gave to Daiyu, however, inspired her.

Chapter 158 Princess Consort's Revenge: Daiyu's Scheme

The Empress discovered that Consort Guo was planning to have a miscarriage—the discovery was quite accidental, as Consort Guo's clothes had a faint musky scent.

The Empress was cautious and secretly investigated every link in the Imperial Hospital and the Department of Grain Storage. Interestingly, the Imperial Physician Jiang, who took Guo Chongyi's pulse, should have known about this matter.

He must have been working for Consort Guo; otherwise, if something really happened to him, it's not just that he would lose his position as imperial physician, but it's hard to say whether he would be implicated and lose his head.

Connecting this to the old stories about Consort Guo's family that Daiyu had sent her, the Empress quickly concluded that Consort Guo was probably planning to use her miscarriage to frame the Imperial Household Department, thereby finding a way to get His Majesty to punish the head of the Imperial Household Department, Zhang Guangsheng, who was Zhang Youshan's son and Zhang Youliang's nephew.

“Consort Chongyi is too foolish. To put it bluntly, even if the fetus was lost and the Imperial Household Department is guilty, there are so many people in the Imperial Household Department. As the head steward, it would be too easy for Lord Zhang to find a scapegoat.” Daiyu sighed to Xiao Tingjun who had returned. “Besides, even if Consort Chongyi had a way to pin the blame on Lord Zhang, she couldn’t implicate the Zhang family. The real murderers who killed her father and brothers are still at large.”

Xiao Tingjun nodded: "That's right. I'm afraid Consort Chongyi has lost more than she gained this time. She probably thought that there was no hope in directly filing a complaint, since officials would protect each other. But her current method is really not very safe."

"The Empress Dowager intends to stop Consort Chongyi." The Empress sent someone to deliver a message to Daiyu and her husband, wanting to gauge their attitude.

"But I'm afraid Consort Guo will be unwilling to accept this. The Empress Dowager is naturally acting out of good intentions," Xiao Tingjun thought, "but it's probably because Consort Guo is eager for revenge."

If the Empress were to intervene, Consort Guo might be grateful, since her method would be self-destructive, and it was uncertain whether it would actually harm the enemy. However, it was also possible that Consort Guo would be dissatisfied with the Empress, perhaps feeling that the Empress was only concerned with maintaining her position as the head of the harem and didn't want to be implicated in any potential trouble.

Daiyu pondered for a moment: "Do you think that if there were a better way, Consort Chongyi would believe the Empress Dowager?"

Xiao Tingjun was very curious: "Does Yu'er have some other way?"

"Consort Chongyi's ultimate goal is revenge. The target of her revenge is the Zhang family. If the old story were to repeat itself, and the case of seizing fertile land and forcing commoners to their deaths were to reach the Emperor's ears, then Consort Chongyi wouldn't need to risk her life, would she?" Daiyu did indeed have such an idea, but to actually implement it, she needed to plan it carefully, because this matter involved a series of interconnected people and events that needed to be thoroughly understood.

This is certainly a good idea, but Xiao Tingjun pondered, "Yu'er's method is certainly very good, but I'm afraid it won't be easy to implement."

After all, in recent years, Zhang Youliang has stopped seizing other people's fertile land. Now that he's old, he even puts on an act of being charitable and benevolent.

"Do you remember the Xia family I mentioned to you, the one with the osmanthus tree?" Daiyu thought of Xia Jingui. Back then, Xia Jingui had sent her a poem scroll from Songfeng Pavilion through her brother Zijuan.

"I remember, her family runs an osmanthus business. Many families in the capital, and even the palace, used to buy osmanthus from her family." Xiao Tingjun nodded.

"Didn't Second Sister-in-law set up a flower shop last year? Sister Qin told me that Second Sister-in-law's flower shop stole a lot of business from the Xia family." Daiyu recalled Baoqin's words about the Xia family's business being taken away last year, and thought of the news she had recently received: Baochai's family's shop, which was becoming increasingly bleak, has now come back to life because they have climbed up to the relationship with Prince Rui and his wife.

“But Second Sister-in-law’s flower shop only stole business, it didn’t…” Xiao Tingjun said halfway, then realized he was oversimplifying things.

"The Xia family? Would they be willing to cooperate?" Xiao Tingjun thought. It was just that the Xia family probably didn't want to cause a conflict with Prince Rui and his wife over the osmanthus business in the palace.

“If it were just the Prince Rui’s Mansion, I’m afraid the Xia family wouldn’t dare to or wouldn’t bother with it. But if the Xue family is involved, there are many old and new grudges involved.” Daiyu knew very well that Bao Er’s wife hated Xia Jingui to death, and at the same time, Xia Jingui also hated the Xue family to death.

"No matter what, Yu'er, you should not get involved." Xiao Tingjun was only worried about Daiyu. "At the same time, we must not let anything happen to the Empress Dowager."

The empress genuinely helped him, so he also had to consider the empress's feelings.

"Don't worry, there are some things you don't need to do yourself." But it's not that simple. Daiyu needs to find out the situation first. "But you can tell the Empress Dowager that she should pretend she doesn't know anything. As long as the Xia family is willing to cooperate, then without the Empress Dowager saying anything, Consort Chongyi will choose a better method herself."

Guo Chongyi was probably just in a hurry and hadn't thought of a better way. If she had a better option, she certainly wouldn't be willing to harm herself and the child in her womb.

Seeing his wife's confident demeanor, Xiao Tingjun felt relieved: he had already experienced Yu'er's intelligence in its entirety; not to mention anything else, just looking at his father's attitude towards Yu'er was enough to understand it.

"We can't overwork ourselves." After all, using your brain is often more tiring than physical labor, something Xiao Tingjun knows all too well.

Daiyu nodded and immediately called Zijuan in: "Have your brother inquire about the Xue family's, oh, that is, the shops of Bao Er's wife's family, what they still have, and how their business is. Also, inquire about the Xia family, that is, Xia Jingui's family, and how their business is doing now."

After Zijuan agreed and was about to leave, Daiyu remembered Baoqin again: "Also, I'll send an invitation to Sister Qin and ask her to come and say hello."

Brother Baoqin has his own connections, making it easier for him to gather information than Brother Zijuan.

Zijuan took out the invitation written by Daiyu, found Xueyan, and the two went their separate ways. One delivered the invitation to Baoqin, while the other went to find her brother.

Baoqin came to the door with news that initially surprised Daiyu, but soon became less surprising: the Xue family's spice shop now had connections with the palace.

"That's not all. There's something else that I'm afraid even the Princess doesn't know." Baoqin's brother, Xue Ke, knew everything about his aunt's business because he used to manage it for her.

“When the Xia family proposed divorce, she had her eye on the Xue family’s spice shop, but my aunt and cousin were not willing to give a shop to the Xia family. Instead, they gave her ten thousand taels of silver.” Baoqin continued to tell Daiyu, “The Xia family’s daughter is no pushover either. After returning to her parents’ home, she realized that the spice shop was very profitable, so she opened one herself.”

No wonder Bao Er's grandmother would encourage Princess Rui's flower shop to steal the Xia family's business.

"Your Highness, you'd never guess what happened at the beginning of this year," Baoqin recounted to Daiyu in vivid detail.

Chapter 159 The Xue Family's Greed and Long-Term Fishing