Chapter 70 Raising a Dowry? Let's stall for time. "If it weren't for Third Brother, no one could..."

Lin Daiyu became a little impatient after trying out the scenes for two days.

The Rongguo Mansion couldn't invite even the best opera troupes. In particular, the Rongguo Mansion had offended Prince Zhongshun, whose influence was crucial in promoting the best actors in the capital.

Some who aspired to follow in the footsteps of Prince Zhongshun and advance their careers also wanted to distance themselves from the Rongguo Mansion.

They wouldn't even consider the Rongguo Mansion, which was of slightly lower quality.

Since the opera was performed for women, the reputation of the opera troupe was especially important, and there were only a few troupes to choose from, basically the ones that people were used to hearing about.

Lin Daiyu said casually, "Let's go with Changxi Garden, which we saw yesterday. Changxi sounds like 'opera,' so it must have something special to call itself that. Besides, the name sounds auspicious, so let's go with it."

Grandmother Jia smiled and instructed Wang Xifeng, "Did you hear that? Hurry up and make the decision."

Wang Xifeng agreed. Regardless of what she was really thinking, at least on the surface she and Lin Daiyu were on good terms. She then said, "There's only an opera troupe. I'm afraid that's not good enough for you, little sister. Does Grandmother have any other ideas?"

"What ideas could I possibly have?" Grandmother Jia replied with a smile. "The dishes have been prepared—Yu'er, is there anything else you'd like?"

Over there, everyone was having a good time. Shi Xiangyun pouted and rolled her eyes. These past few days, her Baochai sister hadn't paid much attention to her, but Shi Xiangyun didn't feel any distance. On the contrary, she admired her Baochai sister even more. Not gossiping about others was such a noble virtue, and she couldn't help it at all.

Shi Xiangyun then nudged Tan Chun again: "You've outshone all of you relatives."

Tan Chun hates nothing more than those who sow discord everywhere, just like Aunt Zhao.

“I’ve outdone you too.” Tan Chun smiled and glanced at Shi Xiangyun, then asked her, “I live in Qiushuangzhai, Second Sister lives in Zilingzhou, Third Sister lives in Ouxiangxie, where do you live?”

Shi Xiangyun was speechless for a moment.

Lin Daiyu thought about it seriously for a moment and then said, "Grandmother, I like Qingwen. Why don't we ask her to come to my room to serve me?"

The room was quiet for a moment.

In the past, Lin Daiyu thought she would ask her maternal grandmother in private. After all, if she asked her grandmother in public, even if her grandmother was unwilling, she would most likely agree to save face.

However, all she could think about now was Qingwen; she couldn't really call her third brother, could she? That would truly be coercion.

Besides, Third Brother also said, if you are considerate and make concessions, what about them?

So after Lin Daiyu finished asking her question, she looked at Grandmother Jia with a smile and called out again, "Grandmother~"

If you speak to your third brother in this tone, he'll agree to anything.

Lin Daiyu was slightly distracted, and after a moment's hesitation, Grandmother Jia nodded in agreement.

"She's just a maid, nothing to worry about. Just have your sister Feng take care of it."

Two tasks have already been assigned to Wang Xifeng. Lin Daiyu smiled at her and said, "Thank you, Sister Feng."

Wang Xifeng didn't care about that. She simply gave an order for her subordinates to do it: "Can't you just thank me verbally?"

Lin Daiyu was happy, but Lady Wang was not so happy. Besides, last time, Grandmother Jia had slapped her because of this brat.

Furthermore, it's clearly impossible to send her to be someone's concubine, and her dowry has to come from her own savings—why should she do that!

"Now that you have an extra maid in your room, and she's a head maid, who should you move out? Baoyu's room is short one person, who should we add?"

Grandmother Jia's face darkened: "What? If I take a fancy to a maid, are you going to lecture me on rules? Who do you want to kick out of my room?"

Madam Wang quickly stood up: "Grandma, I... I was just asking."

"What's there to ask? If you're talking about the maids in Baoyu's room—especially that Xiren, who was originally registered under my name but is now registered under yours, she was never Baoyu's maid."

Seeing that even Xiren had been brought up, Wang Xifeng laughed it off, saying, "Madam, Brother Bao does have a lot of maids in his room. Last time I asked for that Xiao Hong, but Brother Bao didn't even know who she was. Don't you think so, Brother Bao?"

Jia Baoyu nodded: "Lin Daiyu can have whomever she wants." That's his good point. He really doesn't understand subtle cues, or rather, he doesn't need to.

Having regained some face from Jia Baoyu, Grandmother Jia said to Wang Xifeng, "Remember this, next time when we add more people, your Lin sister's room will be one person short."

After finishing this discussion, Grandmother Jia was about to say something intimate to comfort Lin Daiyu when a servant from the second gate arrived: "Reporting to Grandmother, two servants have come from outside, saying they are old friends of Master Lin and have come to deliver some things to Miss Lin."

The old woman delivered the invitation, and Grandmother Jia handed it to Yuanyang, who took it and first looked at the signature at the bottom: "Lord Shi, Left Vice Minister of the Court of State Affairs".

Although the Rongguo Mansion had been detached from the political center for many years, Grandmother Jia still possessed basic common sense.

Although Zuo Tongzheng was only a fourth-rank official, the Tongzheng Division was an office that could not be measured by rank.

They were in charge of receiving and sending memorials. Although secret memorials were not in their hands, even ordinary memorials would have completely different effects if they were delayed by a day or sent a day earlier.

Furthermore, the emperor cannot handle all the affairs of the court. Most matters are decided by the Grand Secretaries based on precedent. Once a memorial is sent to a Grand Secretary who has a grudge against the official, the matter cannot be resolved.

If this happens two or three times, you won't get an A grade in the year-end evaluation, and then there will be no hope of promotion.

After a moment's thought, Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Since it's a gift for you, go and see it. Yuanyang, take some of the exquisite silver ingots you had made last time to your Miss Lin."

Lin Daiyu met the old women from Master Shi's household in the small hall in the front courtyard. She exchanged a few words, thanked Master Shi for his concern, and accepted the gifts they brought.

Kites, lotus root starch, and Deng Dechun's snacks.

Lin Daiyu found Deng Dechun's pastries particularly amusing; in short, her third brother had made the money again.

After Lin Daiyu left, the gathering at Grandmother Jia's place naturally dispersed. Wang Xifeng went to run errands, and the young ladies left in twos and threes. Yuanyang helped Grandmother Jia into the inner room to rest.

Judging from her face, Yuanyang knew she was unhappy.

Taking care of the old lady is becoming increasingly difficult these days. Yuanyang said with a smile, "Our Miss Lin is a fine girl, one in a hundred. It's all thanks to the old lady for raising her so well. Besides, her status is extraordinary. I suppose that's what the Marquis of Zhongyong saw in her, which is why he managed to climb up to her."

"Isn't it him who clung to me so desperately?" Grandmother Jia said irritably. "I heard his grandfather died and his second uncle lost a leg, yet he can act so nonchalantly... I'm really worried about Yu'er. He definitely has ulterior motives. Could he be here to take revenge?"

“Even if there is a response, the extent of the response will be limited.” Yuanyang followed Jia Mu’s point and said, “Our son-in-law Lin is a third-place scholar in the imperial examinations, and he has many colleagues in the officialdom. Today, some old friends have come to visit, and Miss Lin has the old lady as her backer. How can the Marquis of Zhongyong respond? And how dare he respond?”

Grandmother Jia was a little happier: "When she came to the capital, she was always sick because of the change in environment. I turned down many guests for her. She won't misunderstand, will she? Besides, when Min'er was still alive, she wrote a letter saying that a monk wouldn't let her see any outside guests. I was just doing it for her own good."

"Miss Lin is the most sensible girl." Yuanyang offered this insincere words of comfort. She dared not deceive Miss Lin now, so what could she do? She could only deceive the old lady.

"Sigh..." Grandmother Jia sighed, "I'm sure she hasn't told you yet what I asked you to do with Zijuan?"

Yuanyang nodded, indicating that she definitely hadn't said anything, otherwise Miss Lin wouldn't have acted this way.

“I instructed Zijuan to wait for an opportunity to say that it was not true that the Earl of Zhongyong had ulterior motives and ill intentions. This is intentional.”

Grandmother Jia nodded: "I trust you to handle things."

Grandmother Jia didn't want them to live well, and besides, why should the Marquis of Zhongyong live well? But she couldn't do anything for the Marquis of Zhongyong; they didn't hire any servants in the capital, so she couldn't get a foothold in him. She could only try to help Yu'er.

This cannot be said to mean that she did not want them to live well. Jia Mu found another reason for herself: marriage is just a matter of who is superior to whom.

She will definitely pass on her decades of experience to Yu'er so that she won't be taken advantage of and suffer grievances every day when she goes to the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion.

"Why should I care if she suffers any injustice?" Madam Wang said angrily to Aunt Xue, clutching her handkerchief tightly in her hand.

She used to be able to discuss things with Zhou Rui's wife, but now that Zhou Rui's wife is gone, she can only discuss things with her own sisters.

"The old lady is asking us to contribute 80,000 taels of goods and 10,000 taels of cash for her granddaughter's marriage. Where am I supposed to get that kind of money? She even said that if the dowry isn't enough, we'll be looked down upon in her husband's family. What do I care? I'd love for her to—"

Yu Chuan brought in tea, and Madam Wang quickly stopped talking.

To be honest, Aunt Xue didn't quite understand what her sister's scheme was. Logically speaking, if Jin Chuan had jumped into the well and died, she would have given Yu Chuan a sum of money, found her a peaceful place to live, and then found another reason to get rid of her after the matter was over.

But her sister was different; she even had Yu Chuan serving her, whether on purpose or not, no one knew.

Aunt Xue even thought her sister was a bit crazy.

After Yu Chuan left, Aunt Xue quickly brought her thoughts back to the present. Oh right, she was just talking about Lin Ya Tou's dowry, so she definitely won't become Bao Er's wife.

"Well, I think Lin'er likes it too. If it weren't for the fact that our Pan'er is truly unworthy, I wouldn't dare to ask. How could it be the Earl of Zhongyong's turn? Besides, our Bao'er has been with her for many years, and they have a deep sisterly bond. I'll just give her something too. There's no need for a big fuss. Consider it your contribution, how about this—"

Aunt Xue quickly thought about the little property her family had left. With Xue Ke's help in managing the shop these past two years, they had managed to make a profit.

“I’ll accept five thousand taels of silver, plus another ten thousand taels of goods.”

Madam Wang laughed: "How could I possibly accept this?"

"They're all like family," Aunt Xue said sincerely.

"Sigh... If you ask me, I still think Bao is the best. I've always treated her like my own daughter."

When Lin Daiyu returned to Xiaoxiang Pavilion and watched the maid pack her things, she couldn't help but think of her third brother again.

The Mr. Shi who sent someone to deliver the items today must have heard about her from the charity sale.

Then she thought of Lord Ran at the charity sale... He went twice, saying you were sick... Lin Daiyu sighed. If it weren't for her third brother, she was afraid no one in the capital would remember her.

"girl!"

With a thud, Lin Daiyu was startled and looked up to see Qingwen kneeling in front of her.

"What are you doing? Let's talk this out."

Qingwen did get up. In all the days she had been here, she had never seen anyone from Xiaoxiang Pavilion kneeling around like that. But even though she got up, her eyes were red.

"Girl... I will definitely serve you well. Whatever you want to do, I will do it."

Lin Daiyu was both amused and exasperated, and advised, "From now on, you will serve in my room. I've also assigned you two maids. Take them to pack your things first. Originally, I was just lending you out, but now that you're under my care, you'll have more needlework to do. However, you won't need to stand guard at night or serve tea and water. You can just do the needlework."

"I will definitely teach them well," Qingwen declared with unwavering determination.

"Alright, hurry up and pack your things. If you need anything, either ask Zijuan or Xueyan. If neither of them can help, then have Zijuan take you to Ping'er."

Qingwen agreed to everything, but still seemed reluctant to leave: "Miss, shall I go pack my things?"

"Hurry up, it'll be dark soon."

As soon as Qingwen went out with her two maids, Zijuan brought up tea, smiling broadly.

"Qingwen's cooking skills are quite good; we're in luck from now on."

Xueyan glanced at her subconsciously. What she couldn't stand the most was Zijuan's use of "we." It seemed that all the head maids in the Rongguo Mansion liked to say that. When she lived in the old lady's room, she often heard Xiren and Bao Erye say "we."

It's probably to show closeness and to elevate our status, but who can be as close to our master as we are?

Besides, they are us, so who are the others?

Lin Daiyu didn't seem to mind, and simply hummed in agreement.

Zijuan laughed again: "Qingwen is honest, but no matter how much she likes the young lady, she shouldn't act like that. Master Bao treats her well, but acting like this makes it seem like she has suffered a lot of grievances in the Grand View Garden."

Xueyan chuckled, "Isn't it good that Qingwen likes you, Miss? Why does she have to cry and whine like that, as if you absolutely need her? What would that make you?"

Lin Daiyu frowned: "You two go outside and talk, I need to write."

Xueyan went out happily, but Zijuan sighed and looked reluctant.

The brothel is quite lively right now.

Jia Baoyu is prone to delusions, and his thoughts are different from those of ordinary people.

Xiren subtly nudged him, saying, "How could you take Qingwen away? When I was on night duty, Second Master called for Qingwen, and when Musk Moon was on night duty, Second Master still called for Qingwen. How could Second Master be without her?"

But Jia Baoyu's reaction was completely different from what she had expected.

"You don't know, it's Qingwen's good fortune to be able to serve Lin Daiyu, and it's also my good fortune. The fact that she took my things means she's close to me, otherwise why wouldn't she take other people's maids? The long-faced maid in the old lady's room is quite skilled and hardworking."

Jia Baoyu then looked at Xiren and said, "You often say that Qingwen does nothing and is always lazy. Lin Daiyu was willing to take her away, so she must have meant well for you. You shouldn't always say that Lin Daiyu isn't considerate enough."

Jia Baoyu looked on with emotion, and Xiren was stunned. What was he saying?

"Love brother? Love brother, Bao-jie and I have come to see you. Look what this is!"

Shi Xiangyun placed two stacks of paper on Jia Baoyu's desk. When Jia Baoyu went over to look, he saw that they were two stacks of extremely well-written calligraphy.

"Good sister Yun, thank you so much, sister Bao." Jia Baoyu smiled brightly, "This has truly saved me from my urgent problem."

Shi Xiangyun boasted, "When I heard that the Second Master was coming back, I told Sister Bao that you must not have done your homework. Sister Bao then said that since it's not easy to do other things for him, why don't we each copy two pieces of calligraphy for him? One hundred pieces each, two hundred pieces in total, that should be enough for a year."

Just then, Xiren came over with tea and, seeing this, smiled and said, "I also thank the two young ladies on behalf of our Master Bao." As she spoke, she glanced at Jia Baoyu again, "Master Bao is usually so close to Miss Lin, always thinking of her first when he has something good, but I've never seen Miss Lin help Master Bao practice calligraphy."

Jia Baoyu remained silent, looking dejected. Xue Baochai smiled dignifiedly and said, "Lin'er has been busy these days. The Marquis of Zhongyong takes her out every few days. I heard that she even embroidered a rather large piece of calligraphy for the Marquis of Zhongyong. I'm afraid she doesn't have time for it."

As Xiren poured tea, she said, "Miss Lin seemed so dignified at first, cough..."

She stopped there, and Shi Xiangyun continued, "Sister Lin always says I'm playful, but who can be more playful than her?"

Jia Baoyu finally spoke a fair word: "Actually, she only goes out two or three times a month."

Shi Xiangyun glared at him: "Then why didn't she help you practice calligraphy? I know, you offended Sister Lin. Haha."

Just as Shi Xiangyun was laughing happily, an old woman from Grandmother Jia's room rushed over and said, "Miss Yun, someone from the Shi family has come. They say that Master Shi will be returning to the capital soon, and the old lady wants you to go."

Shi Xiangyun's smile vanished without a trace. She looked at Xue Baochai for help, then at Jia Baoyu, and murmured, "Didn't they say at least three years? I..."

This time it was Jia Baoyu's turn to burst into laughter. Not only did he laugh, he clapped his hands and said, "Serves you right, you didn't do your homework either!"

Xue Baochai found it hard to keep her composure at this scene. Wasn't it said that Jia Baoyu and his several maids were all...? Why was he still acting like a child?

Despite her difficulty in maintaining composure, she still had to smile: "Stop laughing at your little sister Yun, or she'll cry in a minute. And stop glaring at your beloved brother, the old lady is waiting."

Shi Xiangyun left reluctantly, and when she returned that evening, she cried to Xue Baochai, "They said they've received the letter and will be back in ten days at most. There were already people at home, so cleaning the house won't take much time. Anyway... I'll be leaving in twenty days at most, Sister Bao, I can't bear to part with you."

Xue Baochai breathed a sigh of relief and advised her, "Putting everything else aside, you need to practice your needlework. But it's not something that can be done for you, so do as much as you can."

Lin Daiyu's birthday is February 12th, and Grandmother Jia's idea was to have a three-day opera performance, starting on February 11th.

Not only did they put on an opera, but Grandmother Jia also summoned all the prominent women and maids in the household to celebrate Lin Daiyu's birthday.

She wanted to show Lin Daiyu the grandeur and population of the Rongguo Mansion, hoping to give her a sense of belonging. With the Rongguo Mansion as her backing, wouldn't she be incredibly fortunate?

The old women and maids of the Rongguo Mansion were quite happy with Grandmother Jia's idea.

Even worse, some people came up and immediately kowtowed three times and nine times, making the people in front regret it. They only kowtowed once, which was not outstanding at all. How could Miss Lin remember them?

Putting everything else aside, they usually find it difficult to find an excuse to curry favor with Miss Lin. With such a good opportunity, they should each rely on their own abilities to stand out.

Those behind saw that only five old women had passed by, yet they had already performed the three kowtows and nine prostrations. With a heavy heart, they even uttered the phrase "celestial maidens descended to earth."

In the end, Yuanyang couldn't stand it anymore and went out to warn them, and only then did they restrain themselves a bit.

After such a lively day, everyone was exhausted when they got back in the evening, not only physically but also mentally.

"This is unbelievable!" Jia Lian complained to Wang Xifeng as soon as he returned. "Master said he wants to raise money for Lin Daiyu's dowry and asked me for money. He said that I accompanied her to Yangzhou back then and I don't know how much I embezzled. He doesn't want all of it, he just wants me to contribute 10,000 taels."

Wang Xifeng also sneered: "Madam is the same. She asked me if I have any good things left, such as my glass kang screen, my gold necklace, or my large phoenix hairpin inlaid with pearls."

"What did you say?" Jia Lian hurriedly asked.

"What else can I say? Lin Daiyu has seen all these things before. They're fine as dowry, but if Madam gives them to Lin Daiyu, what will she think?" Wang Xifeng mocked. "Madam is really bold to ask me to find similar things for her. Where am I supposed to find them? These are all good things that you can't buy even if you have money, not to mention she won't give her a single tael of silver. She's dreaming."

"Tell me... how much dowry does the old lady want to give Lin Daiyu?" Jia Lian sat down next to Wang Xifeng and massaged her shoulders.

Wang Xifeng glanced at him: "Second Master, you can't say things like that."

"Of course." Jia Lian had been in the wrong these past few days. He had secretly promised Wang Xifeng that he would formally take You Erjie as his second wife, so he had been going along with her in everything these days.

Wang Xifeng assumed that Jia Lian was grateful because she had acted decisively in the matter of You Erjie and saved his life. Although the two were not exactly inseparable these past two days, their relationship had improved considerably.

“I heard…you know.” Wang Xifeng pointed to the direction of Jia Mu’s courtyard, implying that this was what Yuanyang said, and continued, “The old lady said that a total of 200,000 taels of goods would be provided, plus 50,000 taels of cash. The old lady would contribute 100,000 taels of goods, the eldest son’s family 20,000 taels, and the second son’s family 80,000 taels. The old lady would contribute 30,000 taels of cash, and the eldest son’s family and the second son’s family would each contribute 10,000 taels.”

"Good heavens!" Jia Lian exclaimed, "So many?"

Wang Xifeng glanced at him and said, "Is that all? Tell me the truth. When you went to Yangzhou, how much did you bring back? How much did you embezzle? I don't know how much wealth the Lin family has, but I know how much the Wang family has and how much the Xue family has. Don't try to lie to me."

“Not much,” Jia Lian said awkwardly. “It’s all that we have, and we’ve spent almost all of it over the years.”

Wang Xifeng sneered: "Yuanyang also said that the old lady wants you to give Lin Daiyu at least a thousand acres of land. Lian Er Ye, you'd better watch yourself."

"A thousand acres of land?" Jia Lian blushed instantly. "Even twenty thousand taels of silver might not be enough to buy it." Besides, the old lady was talking about a farm, which required tenant farmers as well.

Where did he go to find it? Where did he get so much money?

Jia Lian thought for a moment, then whispered in Wang Xifeng's ear, "Why don't we... take out some of the old lady's land deeds?"

"I'm afraid the mandarin ducks won't agree."

Jia Lian said, "Then let's delay it for now. Even if it takes a while, we can ask Yuanyang for help when the time is right, and it will most likely work out."

Wang Xifeng hesitated for a moment before nodding: "Alright. As for the matter of Master and Madam asking for things..."

“Let’s just drag it out. If it gets too bad, we can go and cry to the old lady. We’ve both worked so hard, and besides, the Rongguo Mansion isn’t even ours. There are two generations above us. How can it be our turn to step in?”

The couple discussed their plan and then went to bed.

The next day was February 12th, the Flower Festival, which was also the main day.

Mu Chuan returned from the military camp, and his carriage was piled high with gifts.

Madam Shen hesitated. She looked at the vest and face powder in her hand. Was she delivering the gifts on behalf of the Marquis of Zhongyong's family or the Lin family?

It's so hard to choose!

She couldn't help but glance at her general again and sighed, "General, if you could be made a king and become the most powerful person in the capital, I wouldn't have to be so troubled."

Mu Chuan also sighed, "I'm not good enough, I've really made you suffer."