Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Daiyu's Comfort
On Baoyu's birthday, Wu Tianyue got up as usual to practice martial arts, and then wrote an essay based on the previous imperial examination topic and went to discuss it with the teacher designated by the emperor.
When they were retreating from the master's yard, Lan Ye stepped forward and said that Jin Ling was ready, and Wu Tianyue was about to change clothes and take her to Rongguo Mansion.
When he arrived at the gate of the Grand View Garden, Baoyu was already waiting there. Seeing him approach, he hurried forward and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Today is your birthday. Just send someone out. Why come in person?" Wu Tianyue helped Baoyu up and asked, "Where is the birthday wine?"
Although Baoyu couldn't get close to Wu Tianyue because of the matter between Wu Tianyue and Daiyu, feelings cannot be forced. Wu Tianyue himself is not a bad person and he is the prince, so even if Baoyu doesn't like him, he can't show it.
Moreover, Jia's mother had specifically told Baoyu a few days ago that Princess Zhongshun had sent someone to consult with her and would ask for an imperial decree to grant a marriage between Wu Tianyue and Daiyu in a few days. She wanted Baoyu to move out, but Baoyu fell ill after that day, so she had to ask Xiren to keep an eye on Baoyu and not let him wander around the garden. If he accidentally offended Daiyu, he might be blamed.
When Baoyu learned this, he understood Lady Jia's good intentions, so he didn't show any disappointment. Instead, he stood up with a smile and replied enthusiastically, "There are three small open halls in the Red Fragrance Garden inside the peony pen in the garden. The peonies outside the halls are just blooming, very elegant. Since there aren't many people here today, we've put them there."
Wu Tianyue nodded when he heard this and went into the garden with him.
When they arrived at the hall, all the girls in the Jia Mansion had already arrived. Youshi and Aunt Xue, who stayed behind to look after the mansion, were also invited over and were sitting and chatting with their sisters.
When everyone saw him coming, they stopped talking and stepped forward to greet him.
Although Wu Tianyue was not arrogant, he was in a bad mood recently, so he didn't say anything. He just asked everyone to stand up and sit down in order.
The sisters just sat down and saw that Youshi and Aunt Xue were silent. They thought of what happened some days ago when Jia Lian and Xue Pan were arrested. These days, Jia Lian came back and made a fuss, saying that it was Fengjie who harmed him and wanted to divorce his wife. It was Youshi who heard about it and rushed over to stop him. Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang sent a letter back and scolded him, and then he stopped. But it was said that he still did not return home.
Although everyone knew that it had nothing to do with Wu Tianyue, he was the one who came to arrest the person. Xue Pan had just been exiled, and Aunt Xue was here, so it was not convenient to talk to Wu Tianyue without her, so the atmosphere was a little awkward for a while.
Aunt Xue also knew that Wu Tianyue was not to blame for this, but her son was still suffering. Wu Tianyue had not even sent anyone to ask about it in those days, so her face was very bad, but she could not say anything because of Wu Tianyue's status as the prince.
Seeing that she was unhappy, Youshi was afraid of angering Wu Tianyue, so she said with a smile: "We are all young people here. My aunt and I don't fit in with your group. We feel very uncomfortable here. Why don't we go lie down in the hall?"
Wu Tianyue didn't care about everyone's reaction just now. After greeting the sisters, he found a seat next to Daiyu. He didn't react much after hearing this, but the others insisted on persuading the two of them.
Baochai had been involved in the family business for some time and knew that business was not easy. A merchant without a strong backing could not achieve anything. Moreover, her brother's exile was well deserved. Besides, he had someone under his uncle's care, and he had money with him, so he would suffer at most. So he did not want to offend Wu Tianyue. Smiling, she said to the others, "Mother doesn't drink much, so she'll be more at ease in the hall. Besides, there won't be anyone in front, so they can keep an eye on things."
Aunt Xue, who was listening to this, felt that her daughter had changed. Ever since she took charge of the seed purchasing business, she had become restless. First, she was trying to compete for power with the men in the family, and now she wanted to drive her away in order to please the people who harmed her brother. She couldn't help but feel annoyed and angry, but she was increasingly unable to control her these days. If she started a quarrel here, it would simply make people laugh at her, so she didn't say anything, but got up and walked out.
Tanchun was startled by her sudden action, then stood up with a smile: "Aunt, since you feel bored here, we will respectfully obey your order."
Youshi hurriedly followed Aunt Xue, and Li Wan also stood up. Together with Tanchun, they sent the two of them to the meeting room in front, and asked the maids to take good care of them before returning.
Baochai felt very uncomfortable seeing her mother lose face like this, but years of disguise made her unaccustomed to showing emotions in front of others. She was stunned for a moment and then put on a smile.
Everyone was stunned by this series of events and didn't know what to say. The room was silent for a moment and the atmosphere was very stagnant.
Although Baoyu had been annoyed by Baochai's quarrel with Xue Ke over money these days, he had grown up together, and seeing her like this, he felt a little distressed. Just as he was about to speak up to try and persuade her, he heard someone outside say, "Miss Ping'er is here."
It turned out that today was not only Baoyu's birthday, but also the birthday of Fengjie's maid Ping'er, Baochai's cousin Xue Baoqin, and Xing Xiuyun, Mrs. Xing's niece. Although Jia Lian and Fengjie had a big fight, Fengjie was a strong-willed person and did not want others to know her embarrassment, so she sent Ping'er over early to congratulate Baoyu on his birthday.
When Baoyu and others learned that it was also Ping'er's birthday, they pulled her to pool money to prepare the banquet and have fun. After Ping'er went out to report to Sister Feng, she thanked those who came to celebrate her birthday and gave her gifts, and then hurried back into the garden.
When Ping'er followed the maid who had come to urge her in, she saw Wu Tianyue sitting next to Daiyu, with his hands on the chair she was sitting on, as if hugging her. The others were sitting upright, neither chatting nor drinking. She guessed that everyone was uncomfortable because of what had happened in the past few days, and felt a little amused. The prince was just following orders and had no choice, so she stepped forward to greet him with a smile and said a few words to ease the atmosphere.
Someone broke the deadlock. The room was full of teenage boys and girls, and the atmosphere quickly became lively. They pulled Ping'er and the other three to let the birthday boy sit up.
Ping'er and the others just tried to make excuses and refused to leave. As they were still arguing, Tanchun and Li Wan returned. Ping'er saw them and said with a smile, "Everyone is here. Where did you go to have fun?"
After hearing what Tanchun and the other two had said, he smiled and said, "Since you've invited my aunt here, I should go and pay my respects to her."
After saying this, he went out to the conference room to talk with Aunt Xue and Youshi, and then returned to Hongxiang Garden.
Everyone had taken their seats. Ping'er noticed that Baoqin and Xiuyan were sitting at the top, while Baoyu sat facing east, leaving himself a seat facing west. She said with a smile, "The prince is the guest, so why are we sitting up there?"
"You are the protagonists today, why is he sitting up there?" No one else said anything. Daiyu smiled and helped Ping'er sit down. "Sister, just sit down."
Ping'er saw that Wu Tianyue was only looking at Daiyu with a doting smile, showing no displeasure. Thinking of what she had just witnessed, she followed Daiyu's movements and sat down. "Then I will overstep my bounds once today."
As they were speaking, two maidens came in and wanted to play some songs to celebrate Aunt Xue's birthday. Everyone was impatient to listen to these words, so they picked up all the food and ordered someone to take it to Aunt Xue along with the two maidens to entertain her.
After a few people left, Baoyu smiled and said that the private room was boring and it would be better to play some games.
Everyone agreed, so they gathered together and played a round of games, then they dispersed, had some snacks, and went their separate ways to have fun.
Tanchun was playing chess with Baoqin, Xiuyan was watching the game, Baochai seemed to have something to do and went home. Daiyu saw that Wu Tianyue was in a bad mood today, so she pulled him away from the crowd to talk.
When Baoyu saw what the two were doing, he felt very disappointed, but he didn't dare to follow them. He just took a look and went back to sit next to his sisters.
Daiyu pulled Wu Tianyue to a secluded spot under a blossoming tree and asked with a frown, "What's wrong with you today? You seem so gloomy."
"How could I be unhappy?" Wu Tianyue continued smiling. "I'm so happy to see you today."
"You're still pretending in front of me?" Daiyu snorted, pointing at his eyes. "You're smiling on your face, why can't I see it here?"
Wu Tianyue was startled and put away his smile. The high spirits of the past few months and the depression he had felt these days when he knew that his relatives were worse off than he had imagined came to his mind, and he felt exhausted.
"You weren't like this before." Daiyu saw that he had fallen silent, not at all like the proud and confident young master he used to be. She reached out and touched his eyebrows with a distressed look, "It's okay to be unhappy in front of me, but don't pretend to be happy because you're afraid of making me feel uncomfortable."
After hearing her words, Wu Tianyue lowered his head and smiled, put his arms around Daiyu's waist, buried his head in her neck, and smelled the faint fragrance on her body. He felt that nothing else mattered, as long as she was there.
Daiyu let Wu Tianyue hold her in his arms, gently stroking his hair with her hands, silently comforting him.
"Yu'er, if I can't take you out in the future and let you walk around in the backyard, will you blame me?" Wu Tianyue suddenly said.
Daiyu couldn't help laughing when she heard this: "Do you really want to take me away?"
Wu Tianyue straightened up and looked down at her: "You shouldn't be trapped here."
"All women in the world are like this. I'm much better than them," Daiyu said with a smile. "Besides, the prince and the queen are here. How can we abandon them and go away?"
They have their own lives. You are free and should not be bound by my family. Wu Tianyue refuted Daiyu in his heart, but seeing her clear and lively eyes, he did not want her to know his rebellious thoughts. Fearing that she would feel pressured, he just smiled and said, "Then Yu'er will work hard for a few years. When the time is right, I will take you to visit the beautiful scenery of the world."
Daiyu smiled sweetly: "Okay, I'll wait for you."
Just as he finished speaking, Baochai's voice came from the side: "Do you two really think there is no one in this garden?"
They turned around and saw Baochai approaching. Daiyu quickly stepped out of Wu Tianyue's arms and smiled, holding her arm. "Why are you here, sister?"
"I can't come?" Baochai tapped Daiyu's forehead. "Can't you guys be more restrained?"
Without waiting for her to answer, he continued, "Dinner is set up in the front hall, but you two are not here. Fortunately, I'm back. Otherwise, if someone catches you, I'll see how you'll explain it."
Daiyu naturally went up to her and thanked her coquettishly, and the three of them walked forward while talking.
Soon we got to the front and everyone was there, sitting down to eat in order.
Wu Tianyue had already decided in his heart to pursue a career as a civil servant. When the prince ascended the throne, he would ask to be sent out to travel around the country with Daiyu. However, he did not know that while he had accepted his fate, those who had forced him began to waver.
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