The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

When Daiyu returned to Delin Palace, Granny Xu came up to report that the eunuch who had struck the young eunuch and the young eunuch who had been beaten were locked in two separate rooms: "We have already wiped the blood off the young eunuch."

Daiyu nodded and went to see the little eunuch who had been kicked.

As soon as Daiyu entered, the young eunuch quickly kowtowed.

"What's your name?" Daiyu asked. He was so thin he looked like a monkey, with almost nothing but his large eyes on his face, but he was still quite handsome. He didn't look very old.

"Your Highness, this servant's name is Xiquan." The little eunuch's voice carried a hint of fear.

Greyhound? That's the name of a dog, isn't it? Although Daiyu didn't keep dogs, she knew that there was a kind of dog that ran very fast called a greyhound.

"How old are you this year?" Daiyu asked again.

"This servant is thirteen years old." The greyhound had never seen the Crown Princess before. This was the first time. It was only when the nanny who had just given him the handkerchief told him that he should answer the Crown Princess's questions honestly.

"Do they often beat you? How many people work in the cat and dog room like you?" Daiyu knew that many of the eunuchs in the cat and dog room were convicts from the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for serving laborers).

"Your Highness, there are ten people in the Cat and Dog Household who work like servants, supervised by three senior eunuchs. Steward Sang has a bad temper and often scolds and beats people." Xi Quan thought that he didn't know what the Crown Princess was planning, but the situation couldn't be any worse, so he simply said everything. "Eunuch Chen and Eunuch Qin also like to beat people, and they often discipline the servants like dogs."

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeve, which was covered with marks left by whipping.

When Xueyan, who was standing beside Daiyu, saw this, she couldn't help but gasp. She thought to herself, "No wonder Chunyu heard that the senior eunuchs in the cat and dog quarters are all eccentric and often beat and scold the junior eunuchs under them."

"Moreover, they don't even feed the servants properly. I was so hungry today that I stole some dried meat strips meant for the dogs." The greyhound truthfully reported the reason for being kicked today.

No wonder he's so thin, Daiyu thought to herself, a thought already forming in her mind.

There's no need to ask those chief eunuchs anymore. Daiyu only asked Xiquan if he dared to come forward and testify if I were to investigate.

The greyhound immediately kowtowed repeatedly. He was living a life worse than a dog, not getting enough to eat and being beaten every day, just like when he was in the laundry department. Since the Crown Princess was willing to take care of him, it was a great thing.

"I'm not afraid. If I stay in the cat and dog room, I'm afraid I'll be beaten to death," the greyhound said confidently.

Daiyu immediately instructed Xueyan to send a message to Zhao Bingxin, instructing him to continue surrounding the cat and dog house and not allow anyone to leave, while she herself took the greyhound and headed to the Empress's palace.

After hearing this, the Empress immediately summoned the other eunuchs from the cat and dog room. Seeing that they all had marks on their bodies from being beaten, she immediately ordered, "Now that we have both witnesses and evidence, let's proceed according to the palace rules."

According to palace regulations, this would mean that Eunuch Sang would be dismissed from his post, given fifty strokes of the cane, and thrown into the Department of Penal Justice to do hard labor. The other senior eunuchs would also be given forty strokes of the cane and thrown into the Department of Penal Justice to do hard labor.

"Only Granny Xu, although she did not beat anyone, she also failed to report the incident and sent the body directly to the laundry department," the Empress coldly ordered.

Daiyu immediately advised the Empress: "Your Majesty, I believe that a lenient punishment is insufficient to subdue the wicked servant. Therefore, this time, let all the officials of the Imperial Household Department witness the caning. What does Your Majesty think?"

The Empress's eyes revealed joy: The Crown Princess looks gentle and weak, but her will is very firm. Now that she has such thoughts, it is clear that she is not only dedicated, but also has a great sense of the big picture.

"Yu'er's idea is good, but I still need to consult His Majesty." Although it is the management of the people in the harem, if it is just like in the past, directly punishing them with caning, because of the palace rules, there is no need to consult the emperor. But if everyone is to be allowed to witness the punishment, then it is different.

When the Empress told the Emperor about Daiyu's decisiveness and suggested that everyone go to witness the execution, the Emperor immediately praised her with satisfaction: "It seems that the Crown Princess is even bolder than I thought. I remember when I first met her, she seemed like a girl who could be blown away by the wind. At that time, when the Third Prince wanted to choose her as his wife, I was a little worried."

The Empress recalled that she had her own reasons for initially choosing Daiyu, and now it seemed that she had made a good choice.

"Since this was proposed by the Crown Princess, then let her carry it out. We can't have everyone watching the execution, leaving no one to do the work." The Emperor smiled, clearly having gained a lot from this test of the Crown Princess.

"This little matter is naturally no problem for her. This child can write and calculate. In my opinion, Your Majesty has chosen a virtuous wife for the Crown Prince," the Empress said with a smile.

Sure enough, after the Empress told Daiyu that she would be in charge of both the execution and the observation of the punishment, Daiyu divided the caning into three different time periods. In this way, the crowd was divided into three groups to watch this thrilling punishment in turn.

Such a time plan was ingenious. It ensured that the staff of the Imperial Household Department would not be distracted from their original work duties and business due to watching the caning, while at the same time allowing them to witness this chillingly cruel punishment firsthand, thus having a strong enough deterrent effect on those who violated the rules.

After this incident, no one in the palace dared to underestimate the Crown Princess anymore.

Moreover, the atmosphere within the Imperial Household Department and the inner palace immediately became more upright. Many of the eunuchs and nannies in charge, along with the junior eunuchs and palace maids working below them, all became dutiful and obedient.

In this way, Daiyu was able to handle both the year-end palace banquet and the post-New Year staff reduction with ease.

We had a good New Year.

But not everyone can have a good New Year.

Chapter 217 Baochai Suffers Mistreatment, Ying'er Gets Pregnant

Ever since Lady Wang learned from Ying'er that the "gold" in the "golden and jade marriage" was actually a lie, she has been even more critical of Baochai.

In front of the maids and servants, Lady Wang even brought up the matter of Baochai getting an official position for Jia Huan, saying, "You've known him for a long time, yet you still managed to get him an official position. You don't help your own decent husband, but you help someone else."

Baochai wanted to retort, "Your son doesn't want to be an official, what can I do? Besides, Jia Huan is none other than Baoyu's brother."

However, Baochai could not say these things. Firstly, she knew that Lady Wang hated Aunt Zhao and her son. Secondly, she was also very upset that Jia Huan had taken her money without doing anything.

"Look at him, what can he do? He still lost his official position. What a disgrace!" Madam Wang added deliberately.

Just thinking about this made Baochai's liver ache with anger. Her mother had suffered a stroke because of this, and now she didn't recognize anyone. Baochai had to go and check on her from time to time.

The gold in the "golden and jade marriage" was fake, but Baochai's fever from her birth was real, and she fell seriously ill in a fit of anger.

When Baochai fell ill, Lady Wang immediately put on a kind expression: "Since you are so ill, you should rest well. Don't worry about anything these days. I will take care of everything."

This meant that she was about to take back power. Baochai hurriedly struggled to get up: "Daughter-in-law is fine. She just had a fever for a while, but she felt much better after taking the Cold Fragrance Pill."

To everyone's surprise, Madam Wang gave a cold laugh: "This Cold Fragrance Pill, is it really a miraculous medicine? It's quite strange, isn't it? Back then, it was right when you failed the imperial examination, that's when the rumors started that you had a Golden Necklace and this Cold Fragrance Pill. It's really made out to be incredibly miraculous."

Baochai's expression immediately hardened. She immediately thought of Ying'er. It must be Ying'er, the maid she brought with her. Wenxing would never dare to say such things.

I never imagined that the girl I trusted most would be the one most likely to betray me.

But this is not the time to feel disheartened. Baochai needs to think about how to make things clear.

“Mother, this matter is probably just a misunderstanding…” Baochai began cautiously, but before she could say anything, she was interrupted by Madam Wang.

"Misunderstanding? I only regret that I didn't see your true colors sooner! My dear sister, and you, my so-called good niece, I never imagined that you would join forces to deceive your own aunt!" At this point, a cold, icy sneer instantly appeared on Madam Wang's face.

Her lifeless eyes had become unusually sharp, as if they could pierce through one's soul. And the smile on her slightly upturned lips was even more chilling, sending shivers down one's spine and making one feel a chilling aura.

Baochai realized that she hadn't really looked at her mother-in-law closely in a long time. It seemed that she had been confined in the Buddhist hall for too long, and the woman looked older than her actual age. Her face was very swollen, and she exuded a rotten aura.

Thinking back on it carefully, it all started because Auntie spoke ill of Lin Daiyu to her mother, saying that she was afraid the old lady would marry Lin Daiyu to Baoyu, saying that she was too temperamental and in poor health to be a good match.

Otherwise, neither she nor her mother would have resorted to such methods. Now, seeing how well Lin Daiyu is doing while she herself is dissatisfied in every way, her aunt is starting to regret her actions.

Suddenly, Baochai realized: just because she doesn't manage the household now doesn't mean she can't manage it forever. Since her mother-in-law wants to do it herself, then let her do it herself.

So Baochai changed her tone: "Since Mother cherishes you, then your daughter-in-law will be lazy and leave the household chores to Mother."

Baochai's sudden change in attitude surprised Lady Wang, who couldn't help but wonder if Baochai was up to something again.

However, she didn't care. After all, she was Baochai's mother-in-law, and filial piety was a constraint on Baochai. Just like all these years, she hated Grandmother Jia so much, but she couldn't do anything about it.

So Lady Wang gave a few words of advice to Baochai, telling her to take good care of herself while she and Ying'er busied themselves with the many things to do for the New Year.

These days, they no longer celebrate the New Year with Jia Zhen's side. There are only a few people here, and Madam Wang's idea is to keep everything simple and save money wherever possible.

As a result, the Jia family spent the New Year in a rather desolate manner.

Although Grandmother Jia was already in poor health, looking at the family that still couldn't unite, she sighed deeply: This family would probably fall apart sooner or later. Yuan Chun was no good in the palace, and the Crown Princess had long since lost touch with her family. Princess Qingjia was a good one, but unfortunately, she was married so far away that she had the will but not the power.

Looking at the men in the family, she couldn't count on any of them.

Suddenly, Grandmother Jia thought of Jia Lan and quickly asked him a question.

"Lan-ge'er, come here." Grandmother Jia took Jia Lan's hand and said earnestly, "Good child, I heard that you write well. Now this family can only rely on you."

Jia Lan kept his head down and said nothing. Although he hadn't been valued over the years, he had to admit that the old lady had still taken care of him and his mother. So he thought that if the old lady was still alive when he became successful, he would fulfill his filial duty. But he couldn't do that for others.

As Lady Wang watched from below, she couldn't help but think of her young son, Jia Zhu, and was overwhelmed with emotion.

Grandmother Jia looked at Baoyu, then at Jia Lan, who was not very talkative. She wanted to say something, but swallowed it back: If Jia Lan were to take care of his uncle in the future, I'm afraid that the adults' favoritism over the years has already chilled Lan'er's heart. If I were to say it, I'm afraid it would only add to the conflict between the uncle and nephew.

The reunion dinner was rather quiet, with Baochai even using illness as an excuse not to come.

But Baochai could not have predicted that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, a bombshell announcement would leave her completely stunned: Ying'er was pregnant.

The good news came from Xuancao Hall, where Ying'er lived. Baochai felt a chill run through her body: Ying'er's pregnancy was a slap in the face to her.

Sure enough, Madam Wang, upon receiving the news, came in person and presented Ying'er with several treasures from her private treasury. She also said meaningfully, "Ying'er, from today onwards, take good care of yourself. I will personally assign a nanny and two maids to serve you. You must give birth to the child safely and ensure that nothing like what happened to Qiuwen does again."

These words were clearly meant to mock Baochai, but Baochai pretended not to hear them.

"I think Baochai's illness has improved, so she should come out and help with chores." Madam Wang said to Baochai with only a cold, indifferent sentence.

But Baochai didn't care. As long as she firmly held onto the power of managing the household and slowly plotted other things, that was the real goal.

She doesn't need anything else.

However, she did not expect the rumors to escalate.

Chapter 218 Rumors Backfire: Lady Wang Enters the Palace

Rumors are rampant in the Rongguo Mansion these days.

"Ying'er is pregnant, so it's clear that the problem isn't with Master Bao."

"Isn't that obvious? Qiuwen gave birth to a son for Master Bao back then. If Master Bao had problems, where would that child have come from?"

"That's right, that's right. That child looks so much like Master Bao. You can tell at a glance that he's Master Bao's son."

"Could it be that Bao Er's wife is unable to have children? She seems to be in very good health."

"Of course you can't tell just by looking. Think about it, doesn't Bao Er's grandmother have some kind of fever and need to take Cold Fragrance Pills or something?"

"That's right. I heard that medicine is very precious. It's said that it requires twelve ounces of white peony stamens that bloom in spring and twelve ounces of white lotus stamens that bloom in summer. It's incredible."

"That's right. They also said that they needed to dry the stamens of these four flowers on the Spring Equinox of the following year, mix them with the powdered medicine, and grind them together. They also needed twelve qian of rainwater from the day of Rain Water and twelve qian of dew from the day of White Dew... Tell me, what a coincidence that there is in the world, yet Bao Er's family was able to gather all of them at once."

"So, maybe it's because she took that Cold Fragrance Pill that she can't get pregnant."

"Don't talk nonsense. Be careful that it gets to Bao Er's grandmother's ears. You'll be in big trouble then."

"What's there to be afraid of? Isn't Madam unhappy too? Now that Second Madam can't get pregnant, Second Master Bao will have no legitimate son."

........

As a result, the news that Baochai was unable to have children spread throughout the Rongguo Mansion.

Baochai finally understood the bitterness of the backlash from rumors—the rumors that Miss Lin was petty, arrogant, and physically weak were all their deliberate schemes. Later, they even used the concubine of Prince Rui to spread rumors that the Crown Princess had an exceptionally strong destiny.

Although it was never verified, as time went on, Baochai experienced all the bitterness herself, and she still had unspeakable suffering.

Now, within the Rongguo Mansion, Ying'er has betrayed her, Lady Wang dislikes her, Baoyu doesn't love her, and Baochai is practically a lonely widow.

Baochai secretly shed tears, pondering what to do. She couldn't just sit and wait for her fate. Now, the only people she could rely on, the only people who could come up with ideas for her, were the concubine of Prince Rui, and besides, she could only count on her uncle.

After thinking for a moment, Baochai picked up her pen and wrote a letter to her uncle.

At this time, after much deliberation, Lady Wang went to the palace to see the Empress on the first day of the month.