Chapter 60 Lin Daiyu's First Visit to the Marquis of Zhongyong's Mansion: "Master, please accept..."

"We've walked quite a distance today. Go back and soak your feet before you sleep. Elevate your feet while you sleep so they don't swell up the next day." Mu Chuan helped Lin Daiyu out of the carriage. "Have the maid carry the lantern for you."

"I like it, I want to hold it myself." Lin Daiyu yawned. "What time is it?"

"It's almost midnight," Yuanyang replied hastily.

She had been waiting here since just after 7 PM, and it took a full hour for Miss Lin to return.

“That’s really late.” Lin Daiyu stopped. “Third Brother, you should go back early. You still have to teach Baoyu tomorrow.”

"I'll leave once you're in the sedan chair," Mu Chuan replied.

Lin Daiyu smiled at him. The maid had already lifted the curtain and was waiting. She sat down in the sedan chair, still holding the lantern that Mu Chuan had given her.

Seeing her sedan chair enter the second gate, Mu Chuan first went to the carriage to look at the lantern that Lin Daiyu had given him before mounting his horse and calling out, "Back to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence."

Yuanyang followed beside the sedan chair, still thinking about the lanterns she had just seen.

The lantern is octagonal in shape, with red tassels hanging from the bottom. The whole thing is a pale white in varying shades. At first glance, it seems to have no decorations, but upon closer inspection, there seem to be some patterns.

Yuanyang asked tentatively, "Why did you send a white palace lantern?"

Although Xueyan had been following them all night, she wasn't too tired to be honest. After all, she had Uncle Zhongyong with her, so she didn't have to worry about anything. Later, she even found a tea and snack shop to rest.

She smiled and said, "You can see what it is when the young lady comes out in a little while."

That's what she said, but she didn't keep you in suspense: "The frame and handles are made of ivory, and the veil is made of extremely thin, luminous mother-of-pearl. Inside, colorful conch shells are polished and decorated with flowers, birds, fish, insects, and so on. Originally, luminous pearls were used for lighting inside, but Earl Zhongyong didn't like luminous pearls, so we didn't take those. The girl also felt that luminous pearls weren't bright enough, and that it would look better to light candles inside."

This time, Yuanyang pretended to be calm: "Lighting candles inevitably causes some soot."

"The shopkeeper said they would clean it for you if you sent it in," Xueyan said with a laugh. "Perhaps it was too lively, and the shopkeeper lost his mind. He didn't recognize Zhongyongbo at first and even said that he didn't have enough silver notes on him."

Yuanyang knew she couldn't let the little maid know she was ignorant, so she laughed along with her: "Who in the capital doesn't know the Earl of Zhongyong?"

Even if they spoke softly, Lin Daiyu, sitting in the sedan chair next to them, could hear everything clearly.

Moved, Lin Daiyu blushed slightly. Did everyone in the capital know the Earl of Zhongyong? Did that mean that after just one night, everyone would know her too?

Third Brother, he's called Third Brother... but he's not honest at all.

The sedan chair arrived at Xiaoxiang Pavilion quickly. Zijuan, who had been worried all night, rushed out to help her: "Why are you back so late, Miss?"

She didn't care at first, but now that her third brother always goes along with her, Lin Daiyu has developed a rebellious streak and can't stand hearing such things. Besides, no matter where you are, it shouldn't be the maid who manages the master.

For example, when she went out with her third brother, the maids, servants, and housekeepers he brought were practically non-existent, except when he needed them.

Besides, her surname is Lin, and she's in charge of the Lin family now.

Do I need to ask your permission to go in and out?

Zijuan froze, and dared not say anything more.

Yuanyang pretended not to see anything, gave a few instructions to take good care of the girl, and then prepared to take her leave.

Lin Daiyu stopped her: "I've already spoken to the Earl of Zhongyong. Tomorrow morning, I'll accompany Baoyu to the Earl of Zhongyong's residence."

This statement sounds somewhat rebellious against the Heavenly Gang.

Yuanyang suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and replied, "I'll go to the Yihong Courtyard to let them know when I get back."

She was really tired today. Before she could even comb her hair, Lin Daiyu yawned several times and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Yuanyang first went to Yihong Courtyard to talk to Xiren before returning to Grandmother Jia's room.

Grandmother Jia leaned back on the couch, feigning an indifferent expression. When Yuanyang entered, she waited a moment before calmly saying, "Yu'er is back?"

Yuanyang spends day and night with Grandmother Jia, and a few days ago she took inventory of Grandmother Jia's private treasury and the Rongguo Mansion's public treasury, so she can probably guess what Grandmother Jia wants to do.

— Marry Miss Lin to the Marquis of Zhongyong’s mansion.

Taking inventory of the storeroom means it's time to start preparing the dowry.

However, Grandmother Jia disliked the Earl of Zhongyong, and his temper had been rather unstable lately. Yuanyang was unsure whether she wanted her to point it out or to continue to drag things out.

“They’re back. Lord Zhongyong brought them back personally.” Yuanyang said as she blew out two large candles. “Grandmother, it’s time to rest.”

Grandmother Jia hummed in agreement and reached out to Yuanyang, asking her to help her up.

Yuanyang was a loyal servant. After thinking for a moment, she still subtly reminded her, "Lord Zhongyong gave Miss Lin an octagonal palace lantern made of ivory and luminous shell."

The Zhongyong family is very wealthy.

"Small trees, new walls, and outdated paintings—that's what nouveau riche are like. They have to make sure everyone knows they're rich just by giving away a palace lantern. They have no idea what true refinement is."

Grandmother Jia's words were full of sarcasm. She disliked the Earl of Zhongyong, and Zhou Rui's family was secondary; what she disliked most was that he had alienated her originally close granddaughter.

Yuanyang dared not say more, and subconsciously followed Jia Mu's lead, saying, "Miss Lin is worried about Master Bao, so she specially asked the Marquis of Zhongyong to say that he will go with her tomorrow."

Grandmother Jia was immediately pleased again. Although Yu'er had become somewhat estranged from her, she still had Bao Yu. She immediately felt that she had gained the upper hand over the Marquis of Zhongyong.

"Baoyu, Baoyu, how can I not love him? Alright, go to sleep."

The next morning, Lin Daiyu, Jia Baoyu, and Jia Lian met in the front yard.

The first two went to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, while Jia Lian went to reclaim the Rongguo Mansion's property that had been sold off.

The three exchanged glances, and Jia Lian chuckled twice before walking away.

His dislike for Lin Daiyu stemmed from a guilty conscience, akin to the sentiment, "If there's nothing left to reward, it's better to condemn her to death." As for Jia Baoyu, it was a case of old grudges unresolved, with new ones arising.

Especially as the Rongguo Mansion declined day by day, and Jia Baoyu remained like a fool, he found Jia Baoyu even more displeasing.

Lin Daiyu glanced at Jia Baoyu; she was also dissatisfied.

Although his third brother said it wasn't about becoming a disciple, but rather about giving him some pointers, Jia Baoyu really hadn't prepared anything. Not to mention traditional dried meat and cloth, he didn't even have a box of pastries or a bottle of wine.

He wasn't prepared, and neither his maternal grandmother nor his second aunt mentioned it at all.

Lin Daiyu said softly, "Baoyu, you should ride a horse. The Marquis of Zhongyong will teach you riding and archery. What kind of appearance would it be if you went by carriage?"

For some reason, her expression was quite unsettling. Jia Baoyu explained in a low voice, "I'm not quite better yet. Xiren won't let me be exposed to the wind."

Lin Daiyu felt a bit choked up. She even wanted to rush back and ask the eldest daughter of the Xue family: "You at least managed to suffocate me, but listen to what he's saying! You really want to have a good relationship with someone like that?"

"Alright then." Lin Daiyu got into the carriage in front, no longer caring about anything else.

Jia Baoyu was a little embarrassed and didn't say anything. Instead, he beckoned Zijuan over and whispered, "How about the two of us ride in one carriage? You've met the Marquis of Zhongyong several times. Tell me what kind of temper he has."

Xueyan went out last night, and today Zijuan was serving her. She glanced carefully at Lin Daiyu's carriage in front of her, hesitated for a moment before nodding, and even found a plausible excuse: "Master Bao is not feeling well, so it should be us serving him."

Mu Chuan is currently living in the Imperial-built Marquis of Zhongyong's Mansion outside the Donghua Gate. It is not far from the Rongguo Mansion. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the Marquis of Zhongyong's Mansion.

Mu Chuan had notified everyone in advance who was coming today.

Everyone in the Zhongyong Earl's mansion wanted to see what the celestial beauty that Mama Shen had described looked like.

Of course, some people righteously declared, "I don't care whether Miss Lin is beautiful or not; that's the general's business. I just want to thank this fairy who helped me improve my archery skills."

So when Mu Chuan came out after receiving the report from the gatekeeper, there were seventeen people sweeping the "small" front yard of his Zhongyong Earl's Mansion.

Mu Chuan glared at them one by one.

When they arrived at the front warm pavilion—actually, the old woman in the front yard hesitated. Logically, she should have directly welcomed Miss Lin to the main hall, but wouldn't that be too obvious?

Sigh... Forced by the general's imposing presence, the old woman led the two to the warm pavilion in the side room, served Lin Daiyu's favorite tea and snacks, and said with a smile, "Miss, don't be in a hurry, the general will be here soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Chuan strode over and said with a smile, "You're here? Come on, let me show you the study first. Old Tang, you've been here before."

Mu Chuan then pointed to Jia Baoyu and said, “This is the captain of the guards in my manor. I thought about it carefully yesterday. My skill level is too high, so it would be unsuitable for me to teach you. He is very good at training guards. Let him teach you the basics first. You should learn from him carefully.”

After Mu Chuan finished speaking, he left with Lin Daiyu. Even if Jia Baoyu was completely ignorant of household affairs, he felt humiliated. How could he let a mere head guard teach him? He didn't even know who the guards were in his Rongguo Mansion!

Tang Songbai looked Jia Baoyu up and down, and said with a forced smile, "Young Master Jia, don't look down on me just because I'm a guard in the General's Mansion. I'm also a fifth-rank commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I can teach you... well, you won't be ashamed."

Having grown up surrounded by girls since childhood, and being the phoenix egg of the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Baoyu had never experienced such an unkind way of speaking before, especially since he was a burly, rough man. He immediately blushed and stammered, not knowing what to say.

Li Gui spoke first, saying, "My lord, you've gone to a lot of trouble. Our young master has just recovered from a serious illness. If there's anything he's lacking, please forgive him."

"Understood." Tang Songbai turned and led the way. "Let's go to the training ground."

Mu Chuan led Lin Daiyu to the east courtyard. At the front of the courtyard was a large stage, and further in was the outer study. Then there was a door leading to a large garden that spanned the east, main, and west courtyards. The garden also contained an inner study and other facilities.

Mu Chuan arranged for the writing area to be in the outer study, which was a row of three side rooms. He was afraid that going any further in would frighten the girl.

"How is that?" Mu Chuan asked with a smile.

Lin Daiyu nodded: "The environment is quiet and the sun is shining brightly, it's very nice. There's also the fragrance of books and ink, it's very pleasant. Zijuan, where's the thing I asked you to bring?"

Zijuan placed a large stack of written papers on the table, and Lin Daiyu said, "Alright, you can go outside and serve."

After Zijuan and the two old women from Rongguo Mansion left, Mu Chuan took the opportunity to kick them again: "I've seen this maid a few times, and I always feel something's not right with her. It's like she always wants to follow me, as if she wants to find out something. She won't leave unless I tell her."

Lin Daiyu glanced at him: "Do you really have to spell it out like that?"

"I can't very well play dumb in front of you."

Lin Daiyu scoffed, "You're pretending to be stupid in front of me... but it's a very big one."

"No matter what you say, you still have to learn to read today."

"No rush," Mu Chuan said with a smile, "We haven't even offered you your tuition fee yet."

There are three rooms in total. The two of them are currently in the one on the south side. Mu Chuan walked through the main room to the one on the north side and brought over something: "This is the tuition fee I prepared for my master."

He was carrying a Jinhua ham in his left hand and a cloth bundle in his right, which Lin Daiyu guessed was probably something like silk.

"How can you handle things like that? You've got oil on them."

"There's another layer wrapped around it." Mu Chuan placed the things on the table, then had Lin Daiyu stand up straight, straightened her clothes, and bowed properly, "Master, please accept my bow."

When he straightened up again, he noticed that Lin Daiyu's face was red, as beautiful as Lin Daiyu's.

Mu Chuan suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "Take a look at this fabric and see if you like it. If you don't like it, I'll go and get another one."

Lin Daiyu was so shy that she couldn't speak, her voice only lingering in her throat, but in order to overcome her shyness, her hands moved quite quickly.

Inside the bundle was a piece of light green satin, with more floating threads than ordinary satin, and a stronger luster.

"For you to make clothes for spring."

“It’s fine, I like it, this is it.” After saying that, Lin Daiyu quickly wrapped the bundle up again, then cleared her throat, “I’ll teach you to write, let’s take a look at your copy of the Three Character Classic first.”

“The Thousand Character Classic, that’s what I copied.”

"You mean the Thousand Character Classic?"

Fine, you're good-looking, so whatever you say is right.

The two sat down on either side of the large desk prepared by Mu Chuan, and Lin Daiyu pointed out the things to him.

"The first line is 'Heaven and Earth are dark and yellow.' Look at the character 'Heaven.' The end of the stroke is hooked. Do you know why?"

"Because I made the strokes hooked when I wrote it?"

Lin Daiyu was amused by him, but after laughing twice, she straightened her face and said, "Be serious. Because when you wrote this stroke, you thought about the next stroke being a downward stroke, so you added an upward hook stroke."

Mu Chuan nodded, and Lin Daiyu continued, "Perhaps it's okay to write cursive or running script, but you're still building your foundation, so you can't write like that. Each stroke must be treated as the last, and there can be no connection between them."

Mu Chuan felt that what she said made a lot of sense, and her serious and earnest expression was very convincing.

"The proportions of the radicals in the character '地' are wrong. The horizontal stroke in '玄' is too high and not low enough, making the whole character look slanted. Finally, the character '黄' also has a problem with proportions; the top part is too big, so the bottom part is overwhelmed."

Although Lin Daiyu had raised dozens of questions, she did not intend to answer them all today. Her third brother was a general, and what if he couldn't handle it?

So Lin Daiyu only mentioned the first four words of her problem before stopping.

"But there's no doubt that you can write. You've mastered the art of lifting the brush, pausing the strokes, and creating peaks. Now it's time for you to practice diligently. Our task today is to write '天地玄黄' (heaven, earth, black, yellow) a few times, then practice a few commonly used strokes, and finally write a few basic characters with straight horizontal and vertical lines."

Mu Chuan hummed in agreement, took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, poured some water into the inkstone, and began grinding the ink.

Lin Daiyu chuckled, "The things are well prepared."

That's right, as the saying goes: poor students have a lot of stationery.

"The paper is top-quality Chengxintang Xuan paper, and the ink even has a gold seal on it. And the water?"

"The water of Yuquan Mountain".

Lin Daiyu sighed deliberately, "There's no need to prepare these things."

Mu Chuan was strong and had good control. He was a master at grinding ink. Before long, everything was ready. He dipped his brush in ink, thinking that he couldn't take the bait, and wrote a fairly decent character "天" (sky).

Lin Daiyu praised him, saying, "Not bad, as long as you can remember this, it's easy to correct."

It's just that writing about the ground is a bit problematic.

"We've gone too far in correcting this; the radicals are written a bit too small this time."

In the outer study, Mu Chuan was very happy practicing calligraphy, while Jia Baoyu was not happy at all practicing martial arts.

At first, Tang Songbai only had him do three actions: walking, squatting, and standing. After Jia Baoyu did them a few times, Tang Songbai smiled and said, "You walk the square steps quite well, and your posture is also good."

Then he was only told to stand up and squat: "The general said you can only hold the horse stance for a few breaths. It would be pointless to just tell you to hold the horse stance directly. Let's start with standing up and squatting. Once you've mastered that, then you can practice the horse stance."

Jia Baoyu felt humiliated, and he gave a wink to the four servants who had followed him.

Mingyan was easily angered and arrogant, but Tang Songbai had said that he was a fifth-rank Jinyiwei commander, and besides, they were in someone else's house, so Mingyan couldn't get angry. In the end, Li Gui stepped forward and said, "Sir, our young master has just recovered from a serious illness, please be considerate."

Tang Songbai hummed in agreement: "Then let's take a break." After saying that, he walked to the side, picked up a large sword, and started practicing.

When Jia Baoyu returned to his four servants, Mingyan immediately urged, "Second Master, why don't you pretend to be sick—no, you are already sick, just pretend to be sick enough."

Li Gui had a different opinion. He was older, had long been married and had children, and was steady in nature. He also knew about officialdom and economics. He advised, "Second Master, if you can persevere, you should persevere a little longer."

Jia Baoyu remained silent, looking dejected.

At this time, Jia Lian had already arrived at the Imperial Household Department.

Although the case was decided by Wanping County, Jia Lian knew that the county government couldn't keep anything from the Rongguo Mansion, so he never intended to go to Wanping County.

To be precise, matters related to the Duke's Mansion were under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Clan Court and the Ministry of Rites. The Imperial Household Department, on the other hand, was in charge of the imperial family and relatives. However, the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department were all extremely powerful, and a single word from them could make a difference.

At the most crucial time, they frequently came to the Rongguo Mansion to freeload, and Jia Lian thought that they should at least show some respect to them.

He waited for half an hour, but Eunuch Xia, who had come to beg for alms, was nowhere to be seen, nor was Eunuch Zhang, and Eunuch Liu was nowhere to be found. Finally, as noon approached, a young eunuch couldn't bear to watch any longer—

Perhaps it's not that I can't stand it, but that I feel he's taking up too much space.

The young eunuch pulled Jia Lian aside and told him the truth: "Why don't you take this back?"

Jia Lian had been waiting all morning and was already a bit dizzy. He subconsciously retorted, "These are indeed Rongguo Mansion's things. It was said when the case was closed that the crime was reselling noble property."

The young eunuch sneered, "Reselling noble property? How did you resell that noble property? If we investigate further, won't we punish someone in your household for negligence? That's enough. Why are you so eager to seek punishment? What if there are imperial gifts among them? Do you even want your head?"

Jia Lian's head was about to explode. When he returned to the Rongguo Mansion, the same phrase kept popping into his head: "eagerly seeking a charge."

He didn't care about anything else and rushed straight to Grandmother Jia's room.

As soon as he entered, he saw a familiar face.

"Second Master?"

That's right, Jia Zheng has returned.

Early in the morning, he went to the Ministry of Justice to sign the document before returning to the Rongguo Mansion. Before he could even change his clothes, he was summoned to Grandmother Jia's room.

When Grandmother Jia saw her son, who had lost a lot of weight, her eyes reddened.

"It's all because of you, you wicked woman, that you've gotten yourself into this state!"

Jia Zheng was still somewhat confused. He only knew that a servant had committed a crime and had been implicated, but the fact that he was urgently summoned back to the capital meant that it must be a serious matter.

"Mother, what is the reason?"

Jia Lian then recounted the humiliation he had suffered at the Imperial Household Department: "The eunuch there said that if I want to be punished again, I should keep asking for more."

Jia She, standing beside him, added fuel to the fire with a cold laugh: "The second branch of the family has raised some good servants."

Grandmother Jia was so angry she felt dizzy: "How is asking for something from my Rongguo Mansion considered asking for a crime?!"

"Why don't we let the Second Master ask for it?" Jia She offered this suggestion with ill intentions, and then sarcastically repeated the name of the Second Master, "How can we, the Second Master's servants, presume to do things our own way?"

"Stop making trouble! This is your own brother, what's with all this talk about 'Second Master'!" Grandmother Jia threw a teacup at him, and Jia She chuckled twice, "I won't say anything more, I'll just listen."

As he spoke, he glared at Jia Lian, warning him not to speak either.

Jia Lian's most annoying Jia Baoyu was the second son's son.

Over the years, he had toiled tirelessly for the Rongguo Mansion, working himself to the bone, yet he hadn't gained much benefit. Moreover, Grandmother Jia neither felt he had made any contributions nor endured any hardship; she only ever said that Baoyu was filial, while Lian'er was just a troublemaker. Jia Lian simply stood aside and listened to Grandmother Jia's words.

At first, Grandmother Jia could speak reasonably, but after a few sentences, she would say things like, "The loyal and brave uncle is like a dog catching a mouse," and after a few more sentences, she would say, "The loyal and brave uncle has no good intentions." In the end, she would just curse him and say that the loyal and brave uncle was bad.

After venting her anger, Grandmother Jia felt a little better. Looking at her disheveled son, she felt sorry for him again and said, "Go back and wash up quickly. Tell them to make you some ginseng soup. Get some rest. We'll take care of everything."

Not to mention Jia She, even Jia Lian felt uncomfortable after hearing these words. Besides, they were just trying to comfort the Second Master. Were they really just innocent victims?

Jia Zheng rushed back to the capital from Qiongzhou. He was exhausted, especially after listening to Grandmother Jia's outburst. He was not only tired but also had a headache. When he heard Grandmother Jia let him go, he quickly got up, bowed, and apologized as he left.

After leaving Grandmother Jia's room, he ran into Jia Zhen, who had rushed over.

Jia Zhen pulled him aside and led him to a quiet room to talk.

“I said, the marriage between the Earl of Zhongyong and Miss Lin can’t be delayed any longer. Since you’re back and you’re my maternal uncle, it’s a good opportunity to go to the Earl of Zhongyong’s residence to discuss it.”

Jia Zheng was not only tired, but he had also cried with his mother, so his reactions were a bit slow. He heard what Jia Zhen said, but it was uncertain how much of it took to heart.

Seeing his expression, Jia Zhen knew he hadn't heard much, so he added, "Your official position ultimately depends on the Earl of Zhongyong. Think about it carefully and you'll understand."

Jia Zheng replied, "But I've just returned, so even if I were to visit the Marquis of Zhongyong, I would need to wash up first."

“You should rest for a while.” Seeing that his attitude was still good, Jia Zhen smiled and said, “We’ll talk about it in a couple of days. But don’t be like the old lady, who just keeps putting things off. Once you lose your official position, it won’t be so easy to ask for help.”

After seeing Jia Zhen off, Jia Zheng returned to Lady Wang's courtyard in a daze.

Hot water had been prepared for him, and after taking a bath, changing into new clothes, and drinking two bowls of ginseng soup, Jia Zheng recovered a little and went to talk to Madam Wang.

It wasn't that he didn't want to find Aunt Zhao, but he had just returned and needed to give his wife some face.

When Madam Wang saw him, she also launched into a tearful complaint: "I don't know what your niece said to the Earl of Zhongyong, but within a few days the Earl of Zhongyong arrested Zhou Rui's whole family, framed them with some fabricated charges, threw them into prison, and then sentenced them to exile. Master, you must do justice for us!"

Over and over again, the culprit she kept blaming was Lin Daiyu.

Jia Zheng felt a headache coming on again.

He and Madam Wang had disliked each other for many years, and he knew all too well how much she had done since marrying into the family, so he couldn't possibly believe her words.

Having already shown her some respect, Jia Zheng stood up and said, "I'll go to Aunt Zhao's room."

Madam Wang was so angry that she shed two more tears: "I won't let them get away with this!"

Inside the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, Mu Chuan had already practiced nearly ten pages of large characters.

"What do you want to eat for lunch?" he asked, putting down his pen and paper.

Lin Daiyu glanced at him and asked, "Is it too late to prepare if you ask at this hour?"

Mu Chuan laughed and said, "I asked them to prepare some roasted meat, a specialty of Pingnan Town. The tender lambs are roasted until the skin is crispy, and they're so fragrant and juicy. There's also delicious steamed beef tongue. This meat has a different texture than other meats. Why don't you try it?"

"I'm actually quite hungry." Lin Daiyu got up, and Mu Chuan called for hot water to wash her hands. Lin Daiyu then asked casually, "Where's Baoyu?"

Mu Chuan's face darkened: "He went back."

Lin Daiyu took a towel to dry her hands, seemingly not looking at her third brother, but her eyes were fixed on his face out of the corner of her eye.

"The one when you went out the other day?"

Mu Chuan nodded in agreement: "I inquired beforehand, and the servants of Rongguo Mansion said that he had an eccentric personality, was spoiled by the old lady, and was not good at socializing. They were right. He didn't even bother to come and say goodbye before leaving."

Lin Daiyu found it amusing. Her third brother usually spoke with a rich and varied tone, but when he talked about Jia Baoyu, he acted like his third uncle, completely like an elder.

“If he waits for me, I will still ask him to go back first. Teaching Third Brother to practice calligraphy still takes some effort.”

Mu Chuan felt a sense of exhilaration, like he was flying. He managed to suppress a loud laugh: "Come on, I'll personally take you home after we eat!"