Chapter 82 Chapter 82 After the House Raid
On the morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Daiyu had not yet risen when she heard a commotion outside. She called out to Zijuan, "What's going on? Who's here?"
When Zijuan heard she had woken up, she hurried in and said, "Some of the gardeners are making a fuss, saying that the house has been ransacked."
"Searching the property?" Daiyu's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly remembered what Wu Tianyue had said last night. But she couldn't believe it, so she said calmly, "Go and see what's going on."
"yes."
Zijuan took the order and left. She returned shortly afterwards, saying, "Young lady, there are indeed soldiers outside, but they're only guarding the gate outside the alley. The Crown Prince and Third Master Huan are guarding the garden gate with their men. They told you not to worry, as the soldiers won't be coming in. Food and supplies will be delivered for the next few days. If you need anything else, send someone to him or Third Master Huan, and they'll take care of it. But... you can't leave the house for the time being."
After saying this, he handed Daiyu a thick booklet in his hand and said, "This is what the prince asked me to give you. He said that today is a mess and it's not a good time to go out. If you decide to go to the palace after reading this, he will bring someone to pick you up tomorrow."
Daiyu didn't say anything, her eyes fell on the booklet, her fingertips trembled slightly, she always felt that this thing would break her previous cognition.
After a long moment of deep thought, he was about to reach out and take the booklet to look through it when he heard Xiangyun's voice from outside: "Is Sister Lin up yet?"
Daiyu hurriedly stuffed the booklet onto the bed, lowered the curtains to cover it, and as she stood up and walked out of the inner room, she replied, "I'm up."
When the sisters who lived in the outer garden saw her coming out, they hurried forward and asked, "Sister, do you know what happened? I heard there was a commotion outside earlier, so I sent someone to check, but the prince stopped them at the door."
As they were talking, Xiren, who was beside Baoyu, and Suyun, who was beside Li Wan, also came.
Seeing everyone's panic, Daiyu hurried to comfort them, saying, "I don't know what's going on, but I just asked Zijuan to ask. Although she hasn't revealed anything, she's sure no one will come into the garden, and someone will deliver food, clothing, and other necessities for the next few days."
Then he turned to Tanchun, "You're the only one holding up this garden now. If you cause chaos, who knows, some people might take advantage of the situation and do something. And since most of the people in the garden are women..."
After hearing this, Tanchun glanced at Suyun and Xiren beside her. She was about to refuse, but then she remembered the scene when Li Wan claimed to be sick and excused herself when they went to Daoxiang Village, and Xiren's usual easy-going nature. She nodded and said, "I know. Thank you for your advice, sister."
After saying this, he knew that he could not get any more out of him, and the sooner he disciplined the servants in the garden, the better, so he hurriedly got up and said goodbye.
Xichun has become increasingly cold-tempered in recent years. She came here only because Yingchun and others asked her to come with them. Xiangyun was a relative, so it was not appropriate to keep her for long. Yingchun followed the crowd, and when she saw the two of them were going to go with Tanchun, she also stood up.
After the masters had left, Suyun and Xiren also hurried to take their leave.
Xiaoxiang Pavilion fell silent for a moment. Daiyu sat there for a moment, then said to Zijuan, "Give me that book."
Zijuan hurried into the inner room and brought it to her. Seeing that she was looking through the book with a frown, she didn't want to disturb her, so she went into the room to make the bed and fold the quilt.
After everything was packed up, Zijuan looked at Daiyu sitting in the chair without saying a word, her face becoming paler and paler, her fingers tightly gripping the booklet, her fingertips turning white. She was very worried: "Miss, it's almost noon, you should have some food."
Daiyu heard her voice, closed the book, and murmured, "I should have figured it out earlier."
After saying that, she remembered that Wu Tianyue was hesitant to speak yesterday. He probably participated in this matter. He didn't come to see her today because he was afraid that she would blame him. So she asked Zijuan to call Wu Tianyue in and tell him that there was nothing wrong with what he did.
But just as he opened his mouth, he thought of how worried and scared his grandmother must be out there, and he couldn't help feeling guilty.
After half a day, he finally asked, "How's the garden?"
"After the Third Miss returned, she arrested the troublemakers. Third Master Huan also came with a few servants to help support the situation. The others watched and, although they were a little distracted, they also calmed down."
Daiyu nodded after hearing this and said, "Take your men over to take a look. If you need any help, just let me know."
After saying that, he lowered his head and looked through the booklet again.
Seeing that she didn't want to talk anymore, Zijuan didn't want to persuade her anymore, so she could only withdraw and asked Luchen and others to persuade her before going to Qiu Shuangzhai.
Wu Tianyue didn't know what happened in the garden, but based on his understanding of Daiyu, he knew that there would be no chaos in the garden with her around.
It was just because he understood Daiyu well, and knew that although she always said on the surface that it was better to be apart than to be together, in fact, she valued feelings the most in her heart. So this time, when he designed the house of her grandparents to be ransacked, she must be very painful and tormented. So until that evening, Wu Tianyue didn't feel comfortable sending anyone to ask her if she wanted to meet.
He didn't ask, and no message came from Xiaoxiang Pavilion. The servants and guards who followed him saw that his face was getting worse and worse, and they didn't dare to come forward. The atmosphere at the gate of Grand View Garden was even more depressing than inside the garden.
As the sun set, the sound of troops withdrawing was heard outside. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing that Wu Tianyue did not move, they did not dare to step forward to ask.
It was getting late and Jia Huan had already come out of the garden. He remembered that tonight was Wu Tianyue's duty day, and was about to remind him when he saw the personal servant of the Prince of Nan'an coming over.
Everyone hurriedly said, "Prince, Prince of Nan'an..."
Wu Tianyue came back to his senses and looked up. The servant smiled and bowed, "The prince asked me to tell the prince that no female relatives were disturbed. Please rest assured, prince."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Wu Tianyue said with a smile, "Tianyue will come to express his gratitude another day."
"Your Excellency is too polite." The servant replied with a smile, "I will take my leave."
Wu Tianyue nodded, looked back at the garden that was gradually shrouded in darkness, and told Jia Huan to stay here well. If Daiyu had any problems, he should do as she told him. Then he turned around, mounted his horse and headed for the palace, just missing Daiyu who was coming with a lantern.
Daiyu read the book over and over again today. She never believed that the elders of her maternal grandmother's family who raised her would do such a thing. She felt that these people who disregarded the law and killed people deserved the punishment they received, but she felt very sorry that her grandmother had to watch the family decline at such an old age.
"Miss." Zijuan and Luchen came in again to persuade, "You haven't eaten for a day. Even if you feel uncomfortable, you still need to use some. Otherwise, how can we explain to the Queen and the Prince?"
Daiyu felt a pang of sadness at the thought of them. Just as she was about to speak, she was startled by a long whistle. "What's that sound?"
Zijuan had never heard such a strange sound before. Only Luchen had been in the palace and the prince's mansion before, so he explained to the two of them, "Miss, that's the whistle for the troops to retreat."
The house search... was over, and Daiyu suddenly felt that the dust had settled in her heart.
After sitting for a while, looking at the sky gradually getting darker outside the window, he suddenly remembered that Wu Tianyue was still at the garden gate. He was usually carefree, but when encountering things related to him, he was always afraid of getting sad and thinking too much, so he hurriedly got up and walked out, wanting to find him.
Seeing this, Zijuan and others quickly took their cloaks, carried lanterns and followed her.
When the group arrived at the door, Wu Tianyue had already left, and only Jia Huan and a few servants were guarding it.
Daiyu withdrew her gaze from the vaguely visible armor at the gate beside the alley and asked Jia Huan, "Has the young master left?"
"I just entered the palace. The prince is on duty today." Jia Huan replied, "Sister Lin, is there something wrong? No one in the palace is allowed to go out, but I have the palace token. If you want to go out, I will have someone prepare a carriage."
Daiyu shook her head and was about to go back when she saw the door leading to Jia Mu's courtyard in the alley suddenly open from the inside.
Yuanyang stumbled out of the door and saw Daiyu standing at the door. She rushed over and said, "Miss... please save the old lady."
Daiyu was frightened by her words and the shrill voice, and hurried forward to hold her back: "What's wrong, old lady?"
"The old lady couldn't bear the shock and fainted." Yuanyang cried, "The two mansions are surrounded. The women in the mansions can move around, but they can't go out, and we can't call a doctor."
Daiyu hurriedly said to Jia Huan, "Brother Huan, go and get Dr. Li, the imperial physician who often comes to Xiaoxiang Pavilion."
Jia Huan agreed to go, and Daiyu ordered Zijuan to support Yuanyang and quickly go to Jia Mu's courtyard.
When they arrived at Lady Jia's courtyard, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Jia Huan had gone to ask the imperial physician, and they kept holding Daiyu's hand to thank her.
Only Sister Feng was a little worried: "Given our family's current situation...will the imperial physician...come?"
"Don't worry, sister-in-law." Daiyu withdrew her hand and sat down beside Lady Jia's bed, anxiously observing her expression. "Doctor Li is a familiar doctor in Prince Zhongshun's mansion. He often comes to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to check my pulse. He won't refuse such a small matter."
Hearing that it was someone from the palace, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Not long after, Jia Huanguo came in with Doctor Li, and along with them came the sisters from the garden.
Imperial Physician Li examined Lady Jia's pulse and gave her acupuncture before leaving and prescribing a prescription.
After a while, Grandmother Jia slowly opened her eyes.
"Grandma, are you feeling better?" Daiyu hurriedly asked someone to call for Doctor Li who was waiting outside, and then went forward to ask Lady Jia.
Before she could finish her words, Jia Mu grabbed her hand and begged her to save Jia She and others who had been captured.
Daiyu didn't know what to say for a moment, her heart aching. But she thought that Grandmother Jia must still be unaware of what they had done. Just as she was about to speak, someone from outside lifted the curtain and came in. "You're talking strangely, old lady! How could a girl like you, a woman from the inner chambers, save an official who had committed a serious crime?"
Everyone in the room turned around and saw that the person coming was none other than Xia Jin, the maidservant of Princess Zhongshun.
Xia Jin smiled as she stepped forward to greet Daiyu. She then explained, "Yesterday was a festival, and the Empress Dowager kept you in the palace overnight. You spent the entire day talking with her today before leaving. After learning about this... you rushed back to the palace to inquire about it, so I had no choice but to come over and see the young lady first."
Daiyu opened her mouth to tell her not to be so polite, but tears fell down and the words were blocked in her mouth.
"I'm late and have caused you trouble." Xia Jin hurried forward and put her arm around Daiyu's shoulders, and calmly pulled her hand out of Grandmother Jia's hand.
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were Daiyu's suppressed sobs and Xia Jin's gentle words of comfort.
If it were in the past, with Xia Jin's gentle tone and friendly attitude, everyone would have come forward to say a few nice words.
But today, her aura was so overwhelming that no one in the room dared to speak easily. Feng Jieer and Tanchun had often met her in the past because of Daiyu, so they were not afraid. However, they were the younger generation, and the elders in the room did not speak, so they did not want to overstep the line. Secondly, they also felt that what Lady Jia said was indeed inappropriate, and they were embarrassed to say anything more.
After being stopped by Xia Jin, Jia Mu felt a little regretful for asking Daiyu such a question in front of everyone. She opened her mouth to explain, but Xia Jin said, "Don't blame me for being nosy, old lady. It's just that you just said that the two masters in your mansion who are officials in the court can only rely on us girls detained in the inner house for their survival, so I wanted to ask you a question."
After hearing this, everyone lowered their heads in shame, but most people still felt that the current situation could only be resolved by Daiyu borrowing the power of the royal palace. The Jia family had raised Daiyu for many years, and she would definitely not refuse. With her help, there was room for improvement.
Xia Jin looked at the expressions of the crowd and sneered in her heart, but she was not polite: "Old Madam, do you know what the crime is that caused the house to be confiscated?"
Everyone in the room who knew something about the situation froze. Although Grandmother Jia didn't know the inside story, she could vaguely guess that she was afraid Xia Jin would reveal something, so she hurriedly said, "Those servants in the mansion rely on their service to me and the Duke to act arrogantly. The masters in the mansion are young and can't easily suppress them. They are also eloquent and eloquent. Those gentlemen may have been deceived by their slanderous words."
Xia Jin scoffed and was about to speak when a little girl next to her stood up and said sarcastically, "I used to think that you, the old lady, didn't know about their activities, but now I know that you are the one who condoned them."
A beautiful woman next to her was startled by her actions and words, and hurriedly pulled her aside: "Fourth girl, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Xichun couldn't break free, so she let her pull, continuing to shout, "In my opinion, this house was well raided. Without all that filth, the house is a little cleaner. It's a pity there's no snow today. If there were another snowfall, it would be cleaner."
Before she could finish her words, Youshi scolded the maids beside her: "The fourth young lady is sick, why are you still standing there watching? Why don't you help her down to rest?"
Daiyu tugged at Xia Jin's sleeve. Xia Jin understood and stood up to stop the maid who was trying to pull Xichun away. She told the people who came with her, "Doctor Li is right here. Send Miss Jia Si to see him quickly. She might have caught a cold."
Seeing the people from the palace taking Xichun away, he smiled and said to Jia Mu and others, "After what happened today, I'm afraid the mansion is short of medicinal materials. Later, let the fourth young lady from the mansion go to the palace with our young lady, so that they can take care of each other."
Lady Jia's face turned pale with anger at Xichun's words, but Xia Jin pretended not to see it and continued, "Where were we just now? ... Oh, old lady..."
"Madam, do you really not know?" Before Xia Jin could finish her words, Daiyu sharply questioned Jia's mother, "Are the farmlands seized by my two uncles and Brother Zhen all in the hands of their servants? Wasn't it my eldest uncle who instructed the Lai family to take on all the lawsuits in Ping'an Prefecture? Wasn't that money deposited into the mansion's accounts? Didn't my cousins buy their official positions? Isn't Shi Daizi's fan in my eldest uncle's storeroom? Is it true that the mansion didn't receive any property from the Zhen family?"
With every question Daiyu asked, Grandmother Jia's face turned paler. In the end, she slumped down on the pillow without uttering a single word in defense.
"Go and invite Doctor Li." Seeing her grandmother, who always doted on her, so sad, Daiyu could not say anything else. She gave an order and was supported by Xia Jin to walk out.
No one in the house dared to stop him, and they could only watch the only hope of saving the Jia family walk out.
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The author has something to say: Thanks to the little angel "v太一晴煕vv" for the nutrient solution~
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