Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Becoming a Pen Pal with Daiyu
After Wu Tianyue returned home from Rongguo Mansion, he first went to the main courtyard and told Princess Zhongshun everything he had seen and heard in the Jia Mansion.
When Princess Zhongshun asked someone to inquire about Jia Min and Daiyu, she subconsciously thought that no matter how poor Daiyu's life was, she would not be without a place to live. Later, when she heard that Grandmother Jia doted on Daiyu very much, she no longer thought about where Daiyu would live.
Hearing this, she was shocked and angry. She didn't know why Lady Jia was trying to bring Baoyu and Daiyu together. She just felt that the Jia family was too neglectful. After thinking about it, she ordered someone to send the supplements she got when she paid her respects to the palace today to the Jia Mansion for Daiyu.
When everyone in the Jia family saw that their cousin had just left the palace for one day, the princess had already sent someone to deliver the imperial gift, which was just a bowl of tonic. It seemed that she loved and valued Daiyu very much. So they restrained their thoughts on the surface and dared not neglect her in the slightest.
As for Wu Tianyue, after replying and returning to his own courtyard, he became more and more unhappy. When he heard that Princess Zhongshun was going to send someone to the Jia Mansion, he hurriedly asked Lan Ye to go with her and tell Daiyu not to make a sachet for Baoyu.
Although Lan Ye was speechless, seeing how serious he was, she didn't want to let anyone spread such private information, so she had to go in person.
Seeing Lan Ye coming in person, Daiyu thought it was something important. After hearing this, the uneasiness and boredom of yesterday dissipated, and she felt like teasing Wu Tianyue again. She smiled and hummed, "He cares whether I do it or not."
Lan Ye went back and told the truth. Wu Tianyue was furious and wrote another letter and asked someone to deliver it, but Daiyu had read it and did not reply.
Wu Tianyue hadn't received any news for a long time and couldn't fall asleep until midnight. He wanted to get up and practice martial arts, but he hadn't finished copying the book yet, so he ordered people to light the lamp and continued copying the book.
Everyone was used to seeing him provoking Daiyu and then getting angry at themselves. When they saw him making a fuss in the middle of the night, no one tried to persuade him because he would calm down soon enough anyway.
As expected, just one day later, Wu Tianyue found an excuse to go to the Jia family, and after that he visited them every few days. The attitude of the people in the Jia family changed from being cautious to being accustomed to his visits, but there was still no progress on the matter of the sachet.
In fact, since Daiyu knew that he was dissatisfied, she had found an excuse to fool Baoyu and did not make a sachet for him, but she did not tell Wu Tianyue either, and watched him rack his brains every day to stop her.
This situation lasted until late autumn, and Wu Tianyue still didn't know about it. He was still trying to find ways to go to the Jia Mansion every day to stop Daiyu from doing needlework.
However, not long after, the villa for Jia's visit was completed. Everyone in the Jia family was busy until the end of October. Everything was ready in the villa. Jia Zheng chose a date and the emperor approved the date, and on that day, Yuanchun would visit her parents on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
After receiving the imperial decree, the Jia family became even busier and had a bad year. Wu Tianyue could not come to their house, so he had to study and practice martial arts in the mansion every day, or go out for gatherings with the prince and others.
One day, Wu Tianyue had another quarrel with the second prince. He was very upset. He had no one to talk to and could not go to the Jia Mansion to find Daiyu. He was so angry that he picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Daiyu.
Daiyu stayed at home all day, and because she met Wu Tianyue, her mentality when interacting with Baoyu was different from before. She always felt that many things and emotions were difficult to express, so she felt a little depressed when Wu Tianyue didn't come.
Seeing him handing her the letter, she felt happy and wrote a reply. The two of them often wrote letters and chatted with each other, which not only passed the time but also deepened their feelings.
On this day, Wu Tianyue received a letter from Daiyu. It was a reply letter from him asking Daiyu to revise a poem he had written at a banquet a few days ago, which he was not satisfied with.
After reading the letter carefully, he suddenly became enlightened and wrote two more poems. Suddenly, he remembered that when he just returned to Beijing, Princess Zhongshun talked to Daiyu about how she loved poetry when she was young.
Since there was nothing important to do at home today, Wu Tianyue took a few poems to find Princess Zhongshun, wanting to write poems for fun with his mother. However, Princess Zhongshun was busy and had not written poems for many years, so she thought he was being naughty and let him go out and play by himself.
Wu Tianyue felt like he was being poured cold water on. No matter how much he clung to her, he was driven away by Princess Zhongshun. He had no other choice but to ask for help from Daiyu when he wrote back to her.
Daiyu was sitting around the fire with her sisters when she received the letter. She thought it was just some ordinary rambling, and while she was amused at Wu Tianyue, a grown man gossiping all day, she casually opened it and saw that it was about this matter. She felt a headache coming on. He couldn't do anything, so how could she persuade him? Moreover, the Jia family was so busy that it was impossible for her to go out.
Baochai happened to be nearby. Seeing her frown grow after reading the letter, she said with a smile, "What's the matter? Can a letter really stump you?"
Daiyu used to spend all her time in the backyard of the Jia Mansion. She felt that she was an orphan, and was careful in her actions and words, for fear that others would look down on her. But since Baochai came, everyone praised Baochai, and she thought she was petty, so she was very resentful and afraid of Baochai.
But now, after being spoiled by his father at home for a year, and staying with Wu Tianyue all day long, and Princess Zhongshun also often taking care of him, he didn't care so much about the opinions of the people in the Jia family, and he was not as resistant to Baochai as before. When he heard her ask, he carefully told her the contents of the letter.
Baochai, who was a few years older than she and had a more thoughtful nature, smiled and suggested, "Why are you so confused? Don't you have the poem you got from the princess? Why not write one in imitation of it, perhaps describing the same subject, or using a similar rhyme scheme? Then write to the palace, saying that I miss mother and have written a poem and ask the princess for her comments and revisions. If the princess is interested, she will reply."
"Sister is really smart." Daiyu's eyes lit up when she heard this. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this method was feasible. No wonder Baochai was so popular as soon as she came. Thinking of this, her prejudice against Baochai was much lessened.
Since she received the handkerchief with poems written by her mother, Daiyu had read those poems countless times. Without even looking through them, she picked up her pen and wrote one in imitation of her mother's and had someone send it to the prince's palace.
Princess Zhongshun was a little surprised when she received the letter. After reading it carefully, she was deeply moved by Daiyu's longing for her mother. She couldn't help but think of her youth and was filled with emotion. She took out a piece of paper and wrote some comments, and asked someone to give it to Daiyu.
Although she was not very good at this, the spirit of the talented woman of her time could still be seen between the lines, and Daiyu felt that she benefited a lot from reading it.
After a while, Daiyu no longer wrote letters to encourage her elders to do what they liked, and Princess Zhongshun no longer thought about guiding the younger generation.
The two gradually regarded each other as confidants, and they talked about everything from poetry to life. Their feelings grew deeper and deeper, and they even developed a bit of a mother-daughter relationship.
Wu Tianyue was unaware of all this. Seeing the two of them having fun, he felt a little jealous that he was excluded. However, he had been accompanying the prince on social events all day during the New Year holidays and was too unhappy to question them, so he had to come back every evening to write letters to complain.
Daiyu and her friend ignored him and even talked about his embarrassing moments when they corresponded with each other.
The Lantern Festival came in a blink of an eye. Daiyu and the people in the Jia family got up early to wait. Wu Tianyue was not idle either. He followed the prince into the palace on the first day, worshiping Buddha and paying respects, and spent the whole day busy.
At noon on the 15th, when Wu Tianyue heard that Jia Yuanchun was still in the palace, he knew that the emperor had probably forgotten. The people in the palace also knew that the emperor was angry with Concubine Jia because of the retired emperor, so they did not dare to remind him. The retired emperor sent people just to warn the emperor, and his goal had been achieved, so he would not intervene for the sake of a concubine.
Wu Tianyue had not wanted to meddle in other people's affairs, but when he thought about how long Daiyu and the others would have to wait if she didn't go, he deliberately acted like a spoiled child and begged for mercy from the emperor: "Uncle Emperor, I heard that a concubine is coming home to visit her parents today. Can I leave the palace early to see what's going on?"
"What's so exciting about a concubine visiting her parents? I'm afraid you want to go out and have fun." The emperor smiled and said, "Just stay in the palace with me."
Seeing Wu Tianyue's shoulders droop and a deep sigh, he looked quite amused. He teased him for a while, then thought that Lin Ruhai was training troops for him, and since his only daughter lived in Rongguo Mansion, it wouldn't hurt to show some grace. So he turned to the Queen and asked, "Who is visiting her parents today? Why hasn't she come to ask for permission?"
The Empress was the biological mother of the Second Prince, Wu Wuyu. The Second Prince was highly regarded by the Grand Emperor, so he always considered Yuanchun one of his own. When asked by the Emperor, she smiled and replied, "It's Consort Jia from the Rongguo Mansion. She hasn't yet paid homage to the Buddha and accepted the banquet."
"Since it's a grace, let her go earlier."
After hearing this, the palace maid hurried to convey the order. Soon, Jia Yuanchun was brought in. She thanked the emperor and left to visit her parents.
Wu Tianyue was not allowed to go out, so he stayed in the palace to watch the lanterns and have fun. He left the palace only after having dinner with the retired emperor the next day.
Guessing that the Jia family would have to pack up their furnishings and belongings after the visit, it would be inconvenient to go look for Daiyu, so he returned home.
A few days after the Lantern Festival, when Wu Tianyue was thinking about finding a reason to go to the Jia Mansion, he heard that the emperor had given him a dish of white phoenix stewed with ginseng and wolfberry. He hurriedly asked someone to pack it up and take it to the Jia Mansion.
When they arrived at the Jia Mansion, the doorman was used to it because he came here often and Princess Zhongshun had close contacts with the Rongguo Mansion in recent years, so he hurriedly led him in.
Everyone in the Jia family was chatting with Grandmother Jia. When they saw him coming, Baochai looked at Daiyu with a smile and asked, "What else have you sent?"
Wu Tianyue had not yet grasped the idea of love and romance, but he felt that Daiyu was different. He did not notice Baochai's teasing at this moment, and replied with a smile, "The Emperor gave me a bowl of soup to nourish the blood and invigorate the Qi, which is just right for Sister Lin. My mother told me to bring it to you."
"Please take care of it, Princess." Grandmother Jia thanked her and ordered someone to heat it up and bring it to Daiyu.
Daiyu personally served a bowl to Lady Jia, then picked up the bowl and drank it in small sips.
Wu Tianyue saw that she had an appetite and thought she liked it, so he secretly noted it and asked everyone, "I heard a lot of noise in the room just now. What are you discussing?"
"You've come at the right time." Wu Tianyue was a man of few words, and Sister Feng was already familiar with him. She joked, "We were just discussing Miss Bao's birthday on the 21st. Since you're a wealthy man, I wonder what you'd like to give her?"
"Sister Bao is wealthy and probably has everything she needs." Wu Tianyue thought for a moment and replied, "I have an authentic copy of Lu Ji's calligraphy from the Western Jin Dynasty. It was written with a blunt brush and dry ink, and the handwriting is simple and unadorned, which suits her perfectly."
When Fengjie heard this, although she didn't know what was so precious about it, she saw that Tanchun's eyes lit up, and she smiled and teased him, "It seems that coming here all day was not in vain. You know Miss Bao so well."
Daiyu paused in her soup drinking after hearing this. She turned around and saw Wu Tianyue still grinning foolishly. Somehow, she felt uncomfortable, put down the bowl and lowered her head to stroke her belt.
Over there, Fengjie was still teasing the two of them. She smiled and pushed Baochai, saying, "If I hadn't asked, I don't know if he would have given me such a valuable gift. Why doesn't he thank me?"
Wu Tianyue smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, don't make up stories about me. I would have given it to you even if you didn't tell me."
"Oh." Sister Feng laughed, "I'm redundant."
Everyone in the room laughed. Grandmother Jia said to her, "You are so unruly and shameful in front of the prince."
"You are too kind, old lady. This is just my true nature."
Sister Feng laughed and said, "Did you hear that, old lady? Don't ever call me a scoundrel or a poor wretch again."
This made everyone laugh again.
After some chatting and laughing, Lady Jia wanted to take a nap, so everyone dispersed.
Wu Tianyue also stood up and prepared to go back home, but suddenly he saw that Daiyu was not very happy, so he followed her back to the house.
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