Chapter 22 Returning to the Jia Family.
The carriage is about to enter Ningrong Street. This time, no one has returned first, so the Jia family is probably unaware of the situation. It will likely be inconvenient for Miss Lin to return to the mansion.
Chu Heng did not make arrangements rashly, but asked, "Miss Lin, should we inform your residence first?"
Daiyu said, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."
Chu Heng then summoned Zhao Qing and instructed him to inform the Jia family gatekeeper that Miss Lin was returning to the mansion, and to tell the relevant people to arrange everything to welcome Miss Lin back.
It had been half a month since Zhao Qing last accompanied the prince to the Jia family. The gatekeeper of the Jia family still remembered him. After all, he was someone who served the prince. Therefore, no one dared to be frivolous when they saw him. After hearing his words, they bowed and responded. The manager then instructed someone to go in and report to their masters.
As the carriage slowly entered Ningrong Street, the Jia family had already received the news. Wang Xifeng hurriedly ordered people to arrange a sedan chair and a group of old women. Hearing that Prince Duan was coming again, Jia She and his son Jia Lian were both at home, so they naturally dared not not come out to greet him. Jia Zheng, who had just returned to the capital, ordered someone to call Jia Zhen and Baoyu, but the old lady sent someone over, saying that Baoyu was not allowed to go out. At this moment, Jia Zheng was in a hurry, so he could not say much and had to agree first.
Following Daiyu's arrangement, the carriage entered the Rongguo Duke's Mansion again through the West Corner Gate. All the idlers were dismissed, except for the old women who guarded the sedan chair, panting heavily as they waited for Miss Lin, who had obviously just run over.
Daiyu bowed and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."
Seeing that Daiyu was about to get off the carriage, Chu Heng hurriedly whispered, "Miss Lin, there is one more thing. There may be other things in the future, especially with the Empress Dowager. I secretly sent someone to deliver a message to you, but I was afraid that it would be leaked and people would say that we were having an affair. It would be better to be open and aboveboard. What do you think?"
Daiyu thought for a moment and asked, "How does Your Highness intend to do this openly and aboveboard?"
“Under the guise of delivering something, I will send Zhao Qing over to secretly pass on a message to you,” Chu Heng said.
Zhao Qing was a confidant of Prince Duan. Daiyu nodded and said, "As Your Highness says."
Seeing that Daiyu's expression had softened, Chu Heng brought up the old topic again: "Miss Lin, if you have anything to say... anything to say, please send someone to the Prince's Mansion. But I wonder if you would be so kind as to do so?"
Having learned his lesson, he dared not be presumptuous and asked questions with caution and care.
After a moment's thought, Daiyu realized that she wouldn't ask Prince Duan for help with her own affairs, but if it involved the palace and the Empress Dowager, which touched on their alliance, she couldn't avoid Prince Duan.
Daiyu nodded and said, "When I'm inside, I often need to buy hair oil and powder from outside. My maids always send their sons out. If I need to inform the Prince, I ask them to send a letter to the Prince's residence."
When Daiyu gets married next year, she will definitely have a lot of people accompanying her, and her personal maids and nannies must go with her.
Apart from Xueyan, all the servants around Daiyu were born into the Jia family. If they were to marry into another family, their families would hesitate about whether to go with them or not when choosing their maids. But now that Daiyu was going to marry into the royal family, people wanted to move up in status, so they couldn't wait to go with Daiyu.
Zijuan, Chunxian, and the governess all conveyed this message to Daiyu, saying that their entire family was willing to follow the young lady.
Daiyu had already secretly made a shortlist in her mind. These people would be in the same boat as her from now on, and she could trust them to handle such matters.
But... "We're all in the same boat"—this phrase sounded familiar. Daiyu paused, remembering what Prince Duan had said before, which made her feel a bit annoyed.
Royal nobles, used to being high and mighty, are indeed not people you can confide in.
One minute they're saying nice things and doing things to protect others, the next they're disregarding others' situations and wanting to do things for their own good, all while making grand pronouncements. Little do they know that they're ignoring other people's hard work, and that a single word or action can shatter someone into pieces and lead to their utter ruin.
"I'll be spending a lot of time with Prince Duan in the future," Daiyu secretly reminded herself, reminding herself to remember this lesson.
Chu Heng nodded: "I understand."
Daiyu listened to the commotion outside and, seeing that no members of the Jia family had arrived yet, she considered for a moment and said, “Your Highness, you have always disliked seeing outsiders, so I suppose my maternal grandparents’ family is not to your liking. Perhaps we should part ways here and you should return to your residence as soon as possible.”
Chu Heng looked at Daiyu expectantly: "Okay, slow down."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Daiyu thanked him again, then turned and helped Zhao Qing out of the carriage.
When Jia She and the others arrived, Daiyu's sedan chair had already disappeared. Chu Heng reluctantly lowered the curtain and instructed Zhao Qing to return to the mansion.
Zhao Qing glanced at the Jia family and reminded them, "Your Highness, the masters and young masters of the Jia family have come to pay their respects."
"Mm," Chu Heng responded.
Daiyu's meaning was clear: she didn't want to implicate her maternal grandparents' family, but getting Prince Duan to be on good terms with the Jia family through a marriage was also not in her plans.
Chu Heng naturally complied with her wishes.
This aligns with Chu Heng's consistent principles. He has always avoided going out of his residence and rarely meets outsiders, partly due to his own temperament, but also because he doesn't want people to think he's an easy person to befriend.
Outsiders say that the Empress Dowager dotes on her son, Prince Duan, and the Emperor dotes on his younger brother. Therefore, Chu Heng is a piece of fat meat, and many people want to take advantage of him to make some benefits.
To avoid trouble and keep things quiet, Chu Heng had always kept his distance.
The more Chu Heng thought about it, the more he felt that he and Miss Lin were indeed compatible. Unfortunately, Chu Heng had already offended her badly, to the point where she was even worse off than when they first met.
Chu Heng let out a long, soft sigh.
Having already spotted the Jia family, Chu Heng could no longer hide. So he sat in the carriage, accepted their greetings, and without saying much, instructed Zhao Qing to return to the mansion.
The Jia family was left looking at each other in bewilderment once again.
This was the first time Jia Zheng had ever witnessed Prince Duan's actions like this. He looked at Jia Lian and asked, "Prince Duan... what kind of plan is this?"
Jia Lian gave a wry smile and said, "The last time the Prince brought Miss Lin back, it was the same. When he came to pick up Miss Lin, the Prince came in and sat for a while. The old lady said that Miss Lin said the Prince doesn't like to see outsiders, so we couldn't force him. We just let the Prince do as he pleases. In time, we'll be relatives. As time goes by, we'll get to know each other better, and the Prince will naturally be willing to befriend us."
Jia Zheng frowned, but given the Prince Duan's noble status, he couldn't say much. Despite his displeasure, he had no choice but to nod with a blank face.
Jia She shook his head and said sarcastically, "No wonder the old lady wouldn't let Baoyu come out; she really dotes on her grandson."
It was common knowledge within the Jia family that Grandmother Jia favored the second branch of the family, and everyone knew that Jia She resented this. However, no one had ever openly acknowledged it. Jia She's pointed remark left Jia Zheng speechless, having no grounds for argument. Since it wasn't a family matter, Jia Zhen pretended not to hear. Between his father and his uncle, Jia Lian couldn't bring himself to speak.
The group stood there awkwardly for a while before Jia Lian finally spoke up and asked the gentlemen to go back, which put an end to the awkward situation.
...
Daiyu arrived at Grandmother Jia's main courtyard, paid her respects to all the elders, and greeted her sisters before sitting down to talk.
When everyone saw that Daiyu had returned with the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's gifts, they knew that the trip had gone smoothly. Some were happy for Daiyu, while others were envious and jealous. There's no need to go into details, but Lady Wang almost crushed the handkerchief in her hand.
Daiyu's time at Longhua Temple was not long, but it was enough for Lady Wang to realize how unpopular her precious son was with aristocratic families. She had already lowered her standards for a daughter-in-law from legitimate daughters to illegitimate daughters. However, the matchmaker still looked troubled and indirectly advised her to look at girls from lower social classes, saying that girls from modest families were also very good.
Lady Wang refused to let her son settle for less and kept urging the matchmaker, while Daiyu looked so pleased with herself, which only made her already unhappy mood worse.
Just like when she first married into the Duke's mansion, she was humble and subservient as a daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law, serving her great-grandmother, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law. Jia Min, on the other hand, was a noble young lady, surrounded by maids and nannies, high above everyone else, making others envious.
Now, Jia Min's daughter is nothing more than a sickly, orphaned wild girl, yet she has surpassed her!
How could Madam Wang not be filled with hatred and grit her teeth!
Daiyu only briefly mentioned the matter of worshipping Buddha, without mentioning anything else. Grandmother Jia had no choice but to let her go back and rest.
Everyone withdrew, and Grandmother Jia called Yuanyang over to massage her back. She sighed and complained to the nanny beside her, "Yu'er has always been like this since she was little. She only believes in her own reasoning and is impervious to reason. Even if her mother were here right now, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to do anything to her."
The old woman gently advised, "It's good that Miss Lin still cares about the old lady. She's still young and a young lady, so it's understandable that she doesn't understand some things. When she gets married, being a wife will be difficult, and it will be even more difficult in the palace and the royal residence. There's no need for the old lady to teach her; Miss Lin will be asking the old lady for help."
Daiyu had no maternal family and could only rely on her maternal grandparents' family in the future, which was indeed Grandmother Jia's greatest source of confidence.
Daiyu was unaware that at this moment, some people hated her and others plotted against her; she was filled with lingering fear.
She was too self-righteous; after only ten days of getting to know each other, she made a hasty and decisive decision.
Neither her relationship with Prince Duan nor Prince Duan himself was as wonderful as Daiyu had imagined. She could not relax, and she absolutely could not let her guard down because of Prince Duan's attitude.
This prince, who is so noble and precious, might suddenly become arrogant and do something unbearable under the guise of doing what's best for Daiyu.
It would be better for her and Prince Duan to maintain a professional and respectful relationship. Any attempts to be harmonious or attentive to each other would be illusory and useless.
"Miss, the water is ready." Zijuan came over and said softly, "Miss, you've taken a bath, so please rest quickly. You must be exhausted from today's day."
Although she was physically tired, Daiyu's heart was even more weary. She rubbed her forehead, and when Zijuan reminded her, she felt so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Daiyu then said, "You must wake me up tomorrow morning, so that I don't miss the opportunity to pay my respects to the old lady."
"Yes," Zijuan replied with a smile. The young lady had finally been able to get a good night's sleep recently, and the girls who usually served her were all very happy about it.
As they were talking, Daiyu was already dozing off.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
