The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

That time, Daiyu was quite ill, and Zijuan had no choice but to ask the old lady for help. Later, Yuanyang brought a top-quality ginseng and specifically told Zijuan that the old lady only shared it with Miss Lin, sparing her own share.

Zijuan remembered, how could Daiyu forget?

"I'm afraid the old lady is hoping to use these two things to rekindle my feelings for the Jia family and for the old lady herself." Daiyu couldn't help but smile bitterly. Even now, the old lady is still thinking about the Jia family, afraid that she will not take care of them in the future.

But all of this was in vain. Not only did it fail to soften Daiyu's heart, it also made Daiyu realize even more clearly that in the heart of her maternal grandmother, Grandmother Jia, she was ultimately surnamed Lin.

Although she already knew this, Grandmother Jia insisted on reminding her.

Since she's like this, then I don't need to worry about her being too old to handle setbacks.

"Go down first. In a couple of days, send something to the Jia family for me." Daiyu closed the box and told Zijuan to put it in the storeroom.

Seeing that the Crown Princess was not too upset, Zijuan was relieved and quickly took the things away.

Five days later, Daiyu arranged for Zijuan to take a stack of letters to the Rongguo Mansion.

When Grandmother Jia learned that Zijuan had come to visit, she had a vague feeling that something was amiss.

However, when Zijuan delivered the stack of letters, Grandmother Jia was stunned. Her hands trembled as she took the letters, glanced at the top one, and then asked Zijuan, still unwilling to give up, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess, didn't you have anything to say to me?"

Zijuan didn't know what the letters were; they all looked old, and the envelopes were blank. However, Zijuan was certain that Grandmother Jia knew what the letters were.

"The Crown Princess only instructed that these be given to the Old Madam, and not a single other word." Zijuan couldn't stand that Grandmother Jia was still trying to play the emotional card, so she was very cold to Grandmother Jia at this moment, and was unwilling to even sit down. "The Crown Princess has given other instructions, so she will take her leave first, Old Madam."

After saying this, without waiting for any further questions from Grandmother Jia, Zijuan curtsied to Grandmother Jia and then turned and left.

Grandmother Jia stared at the stack of letters for a long time, then finally let out a long sigh.

These letters are a clear rejection from the Crown Princess.

This is a letter that Grandmother Jia wrote to Lin Ruhai.

When Jia Min passed away, Grandmother Jia worried that Lin Ruhai would become estranged from the Rongguo Mansion. After all, her daughter was gone, and given Lin Ruhai's official position and character, if he were to remarry, many official families would probably be willing to marry their daughters to him.

At that time, her granddaughter was still young, so Grandmother Jia came up with the idea of ​​taking her in to raise her. Firstly, she could maintain her relationship with Lin Ruhai through her granddaughter. Secondly, if her granddaughter was so young and had a stepmother, and the stepmother treated her very well, she might not even remember the Rongguo Mansion.

But after sending the letter, he quickly received a reply from Lin Ruhai, who naturally couldn't bear to part with his daughter and was unwilling to agree.

So Grandmother Jia then sent a second, third, and fourth letter, making many promises in her heart that she would teach him well and that his cousins ​​would accompany him. Finally, she managed to persuade Lin Ruhai to agree.

Later, when Lin Ruhai fell seriously ill and brought Daiyu home, Grandmother Jia instructed Jia Lian to accompany Daiyu back directly, and also asked Jia Lian to deliver two letters.

One letter was written in the tone of Grandmother Jia, subtly suggesting that she wanted to arrange a marriage between the two children, but since they were still young, she would arrange their engagement when they were older.

The other letter was written by Jia Zheng at the behest of Grandmother Jia. Jia Zheng was Bao Yu's father, and with Jia Zheng's consent, Lin Ru Hai would feel that the marriage was more reliable.

At that time, Grandmother Jia was still unsure about Lin Ruhai's condition. Sending Jia Lian was to act according to the circumstances.

Unexpectedly, things went very smoothly in the end. Although the Lin family members were not from the same branch, they were not truly without any relatives. However, due to the power of the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Lian ultimately succeeded in acquiring the Lin family's assets.

Grandmother Jia originally thought that even if Daiyu knew some things, she wouldn't know everything.

But now, looking at these letters, Grandmother Jia finally understood: all these years, Daiyu had known everything. At first, she simply chose to believe her maternal grandmother, nothing more.

Grandmother Jia finally understood that from the moment Daiyu was betrothed to the Third Prince—no, from the moment the Eldest Princess came to visit Daiyu at the Rongguo Mansion—the scheming she displayed showed that she no longer regarded the Jia Mansion as her home.

Therefore, the two items she sent were originally intended to leverage her gratitude for raising Daiyu, hoping that Daiyu would take care of the Jia family in the future. But in Daiyu's eyes, it was utterly absurd and laughable. By having Zijuan deliver these letters, Daiyu was not only rejecting Grandmother Jia, but also telling her that if anyone in the Jia family caused trouble, she would show no mercy.

Yes, now that Lin Ruhai has been posthumously granted the title of Marquis of Zhuoqin by the Emperor, the Crown Princess can be said to have no connection whatsoever with the Jia family.

Just as Grandmother Jia was worrying, news came from outside that Master Bao and his wife had arrived.

Grandmother Jia was curious. This couple had always been at odds, especially Baoyu, who wasn't even willing to pretend to be polite. Now that they were together, she was afraid it wouldn't be anything good.

Unexpectedly, not only the couple, but Baoyu also brought Zhige'er in with him.

What's going on here? Grandmother Jia is exhausted.

Chapter 229 Baochai and Ying'er Fight for Custody

After entering the house, Baoyu put Zhige'er down and said, "Zhige'er, go, go tell your great-grandmother that you should stay with your father and mother."

Looking at her great-grandson, Grandmother Jia roughly understood what was going on. She reached out and picked up Zhige'er, who had come to her. She was too old to carry him, so Amber quickly came to help and carried the child to Grandmother Jia's lap.

"Grandma, Ying'er has always taken good care of Zhi-ge'er. I won't allow anyone else to take care of him now." Bao-yu was very dissatisfied with Bao-chai's suggestion to put the boy in her care. At first, Bao-chai was busy managing the household and socializing, and had not taken the time to take care of the child. Now that Ying'er had given birth to a daughter, Bao-chai was using the excuse that Ying'er also had a child and it was inconvenient to take Zhi-ge'er away.

Ying'er was very sad and cried in front of Baoyu: "Second Master, I know that I am of low birth and am not worthy to be Zhi'er's mother. I don't want Zhi'er to recognize me as his mother. He is of noble status and is Second Master's eldest son. But now Second Mistress has to manage the household and there are many things to do. Madam Xue also has to worry about Second Mistress. So, I just want to take care of Zhi'er. I will do my best to take care of his eating, drinking and toileting needs."

These words, coupled with Ying'er's tears, immediately softened Baoyu's heart. At the same time, he was very dissatisfied with Baochai, so he angrily went to argue with her.

But when it comes to reason, ten Baoyus are not as good as one Baochai.

“Second Master, what you’re saying is truly laughable. I am your lawfully wedded wife, so all your sons are my sons. Don’t Third Sister and Huan’er call you Madam and Mother? How come you’re ignoring all the ancestral rules?” Baochai didn’t want to say anything more to Baoyu. “Besides, Zhi’er is not young anymore and should be going to school. Now that he finally has the opportunity to study with the Song family’s sons, Second Master, you’re stopping him. Our family school has been closed for a long time. Second Master, do you mean your son doesn’t want to study?”

His words left Baoyu completely speechless.

But Baoyu was still not giving up, so he took Zhige'er to the old lady and said: "Now that you are not in good health, you will definitely support Zhige'er going to school."

Baochai was quite confident when she arrived in front of Grandmother Jia. The reason was simple: Baochai knew very well that with the current situation in the mansion, Grandmother Jia must also hope that her great-grandson would be successful in the future.

Therefore, Baochai calmly spoke up: "Grandma, this is what happened. Some time ago, Princess Rui brought up the matter of the children's schooling and mentioned the Song family's school. Now our family school is gone, and Zhige'er is of school age. So, I shamelessly asked the Princess for help and finally got a chance for Zhige'er to go to school."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia realized it was a serious matter, so she teased Zhige'er, "Do you want to go play with the older boys?"

Zhige'er's chubby little face was full of questions: "Where are the handsome boys?"

“If you go to school, you’ll have older brothers to play with.” Grandmother Jia held her great-grandson’s chubby little hand, thinking to herself, “The Crown Princess has made it so clear that she will no longer concern herself with anything at the Rongguo Mansion and will not help them, so they can only rely on themselves. Therefore, it’s a good thing that Zhi’er can go to school.”

Upon hearing this, Baoyu quickly interjected, "Grandma, Zhi'er is still so young, and the Song family isn't necessarily a good place..."

Before Baoyu could finish speaking, Grandmother Jia sighed and said earnestly, "Baoyu, you should grow up now. The child is already so big."

This was the first time Baoyu had seen Grandmother Jia so sorrowful, and he was speechless for a moment.

“Baoyu, our household is not what it used to be, you should know that. Your title has been stripped, and your father is only a Hanlin Lecturer. How will your family survive in the future?” Grandmother Jia looked at her grandson, whom she had doted on all her life, with great worry. “Look at Lan’er, he is doing very well at Yuntao Academy and is on good terms with the Sixth Prince. His future is probably limitless. I think Zhi’er will also be very promising.”

Grandmother Jia thought that Baochai was literate and had heard that she was quite good at writing poetry in the past. Compared to Ying'er, she was more suitable to teach children.

"But, but, the child is still too young. If Zhi'er goes now, I'm afraid he'll be bullied." Bao Yu lowered his head, recalling the clan school days. Back then, there were also children from collateral branches of the clan who came to study, but some of them were bullied. Bao Yu didn't care then, but now that he thought about it, he naturally worried about Zhi'er.

"To be honest, Zhi-ge'er is indeed not very big, but he is no longer a young master of the Duke's mansion. Children outside who are younger than him are already very sensible." Grandmother Jia sighed. If it weren't for the current situation, she wouldn't be willing to part with him. Zhi-ge'er looks exactly like Bao-yu when he was a child.

Baoyu was still reluctant to part with her, but when he met Grandmother Jia's eyes, he could no longer utter a single word.

Baochai sneered inwardly, but her face remained calm as always: "Since the old lady also thinks it is feasible, then I, your granddaughter-in-law, will give a reply to the Princess so that we can arrange the manpower. After all, we are going to send the boy to school, so we should prepare the necessary writing materials, ink, paper, and the teacher's tuition in advance."

Grandmother Jia nodded, and Baochai went down first. Baoyu looked at his son, then at Grandmother Jia, his feelings a mix of emotions.

After the New Year, Zhige went to study at the Song family's private school. Baoyu was very worried and couldn't sit still all day.

Unexpectedly, Zhige'er was very happy to come back, because she found a playmate at school.

Baochai was quite pleased with herself. Now she would instruct the kitchen to prepare delicious food for the child every day, and she would wait for the child to come home every day to ask him what he had learned and what he had played at school.

She gradually began to appear as a loving mother and filial son, and Baoyu, seeing this, could no longer say anything.

It's still cold outside, so Baochai has made very careful preparations. Hand warmers and hand warmers are essential, and she has also instructed the maids and servants to be extra careful on the way, making sure the sedan chair is warm and cozy so the children don't get cold.

But to everyone's surprise, this year's cold snap came so suddenly that it even snowed. Snow at the end of March is something that hasn't happened in ten years.

When Zhige came back, she said that one of the children in the Song family was sick. Baochai quickly sent a doctor to take a look at Zhige. However, Zhige was fine at the time, but the next morning, she developed a high fever.

The doctor quickly administered medicine, initially thinking it was just a common ailment. However, the child's high fever persisted until the next day, causing Baochai to panic. She immediately went to consult with Grandmother Jia to see if she could request an imperial physician to examine the child in Grandmother Jia's name.

Grandmother Jia doted on her great-grandson, so she quickly sent someone over. But when the person returned, he told Grandmother Jia and Baochai, "The little princess in the palace is also sick. I heard that her condition is not good, and all the imperial physicians have been summoned to Delin Palace."

Chapter 230 Daiyu is worried because her daughter is sick

From the time Yueyue started having a fever until now, only five days have passed. The child has gone from a lively little princess to a little girl who fainted and lost consciousness due to a high fever.

Looking at her daughter's pale face, Daiyu almost burst into tears. She remembered her younger brother years ago, who also had a persistent high fever.

The people in the Imperial Hospital were also very nervous: the young princess was deeply favored by the emperor, and if something really happened to her, they would not be able to bear the consequences, and they might even lose their heads.

In fact, they even advised the Crown Princess not to come, because they were unsure whether the disease was contagious to others—this disease was different from ordinary illnesses, and even the most experienced physicians in the Imperial Hospital had never seen it before.

The little princess showed no other symptoms, but her high fever persisted. We had already tried common methods, such as wiping her forehead, neck, armpits, and groin with warm water, but none of them worked.

Even the Empress couldn't bear to see the Crown Princess shed tears and couldn't stop her for a while. The Crown Prince tried to persuade her, but seeing that his wife was determined, he let Daiyu have her way.

Although Daiyu felt sorry for her daughter, she was very clear-headed. She instructed Zijuan to divide the servants in Delin Palace into three groups, taking turns to eat and sleep, to ensure that some of them were awake and ready to answer her orders at any time.

Following the advice of the imperial physician, the empress ordered the eunuchs to burn mugwort and atractylodes, placing them in incense burners. Not only were these needed on the ground, but people were also instructed to climb ladders to every corner of the palace to ensure the entire palace was fumigated, thus preventing the spread of disease.

This work has to be repeated every day until the little princess recovers.

But seeing that the princess had not woken up for a long time, the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital and the palace maids and eunuchs serving in Delin Palace were all very worried.

The female physician, Meng, couldn't help but ask the imperial physician, "When I was in the countryside, I heard from the elders that you can wipe your body with strong liquor to reduce fever. I wonder if we can try it?"

Physician He consulted with another renowned pediatrician, Physician Su. Physician He felt that, "Although wiping the body with strong liquor can reduce fever, the young princess is still too young, and such a drastic method is not advisable. We will administer the medicine to the princess through a straw..."

After some thought, Imperial Physician Su decided to ask the Crown Princess: "I once read the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing's 'Epidemic Pandemic,' which mentioned using alcohol to reduce fever. Although the young princess is still young, I think we should dare to give it a try..."

Before he could finish speaking, Daiyu interrupted him. Seeing the child's condition, Daiyu felt extremely distressed and immediately said, "Imperial Physician Su, then give it a try. I will take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

Then he asked, "How strong do you want the liquor?"

"Ordinary wine, as long as it's not fruit wine, will be fine," Physician Su quickly said upon seeing the Crown Princess's decisiveness.

Without Daiyu's instruction, Zijuan had already brought over several jars of wine from Delin Palace. She also quickly brought over clean cotton cloth.

Meng quickly stepped forward and, together with Zijuan and the others, cut the cotton cloth, then placed it in a copper basin filled with boiling water, scalded it several times before taking it out and wringing it dry.

Daiyu took the small cotton towel that had been soaked in wine and wrung out, and following the instructions of Physician Su, she gently wiped Yueyue's armpits, groin, and other areas. After a while, she repeated the wiping.

After wiping her face five times, Daiyu noticed that her daughter seemed to open her mouth. Afraid that she was seeing things, she quickly asked Xueyan to keep an eye on her.

Physician He had excellent eyesight and immediately said, "Your Majesty, please feed the medicine to me quickly."

Medicine was constantly simmering on a stove, just in case it could be fed to the young princess. Meanwhile, another stove continuously simmered ginseng soup and rice porridge, prepared for the Crown Princess.

This time, the young princess actually swallowed the medicine. Although it was only a small sip, it gave Daiyu and the others hope. Physician He quickly instructed the palace maids to continue brewing the medicine, and the other physicians also adjusted the prescription.

Xiao Tingjun finished his business and came in that evening.

"Why are you here? No, get out of here..." Daiyu knew very well that if the disease was contagious, then Crown Prince Xiao Tingjun absolutely could not come in.

Xiao Tingjun held his wife's hand: "Don't worry, Father Emperor agreed to my coming. I believe that our daughter will surely be blessed with good fortune."

Daiyu nodded and didn't say anything more: Actually, five days have passed, so maybe it's not contagious anymore.

On the night of the seventh day, the young princess finally woke up.