Chapter 34: Winter Conversation Topics.
Chu Heng smiled and said, "The chefs in Yangzhou and Suzhou can cook both red and white dishes. Miss Lin, try their cooking. If you can still eat it, then keep them to serve you. If not, I will send someone to the south to find a few more."
Daiyu was filled with gratitude and emotion, and a tear fell in the blink of an eye: "Your Highness has gone to so much trouble, I really don't know what to do..."
Remembering his words, she swallowed her thanks. It wasn't that she was reluctant to part with the cooks, but she couldn't bear to refuse Chu Heng's kindness.
“Your Highness must lack nothing…” Daiyu’s words were tinged with bitterness. She genuinely wanted to thank Chu Heng, but she didn’t know how.
Seeing that she was truly in a dilemma, Chu Heng frowned slightly, even more anxious than Daiyu herself. He quickly thought for a moment and said, "The purse that Miss Lin embroidered last time was very nice. I liked it very much. Please embroider another purse for me, Miss Lin!"
What about the wallet from last time?
Daiyu paused, then realized that he was referring to her return gift during the betrothal ceremony. Chu Heng's gift box was carefully selected, but her purse was something she had done for fun last month when she had nothing else to do. She only took it out that day to make do with it.
In terms of mutual respect, I am far inferior to Chu Heng.
After reflecting for a moment, Daiyu quickly said, "My needlework is very simple. I hope Your Highness won't mind."
Chu Heng realized after speaking that his words might have been somewhat presumptuous; a young lady's needlework shouldn't be given away casually. Fortunately, Daiyu didn't mind his offense...
Perhaps he was considered one of Daiyu's own people?
The latter guess was obviously unlikely, but Chu Heng was still happy about it for a while.
"Miss Lin is too modest. I've never seen anything better than this," Chu Heng said with a smile.
Daiyu glanced at the dark pattern on Chu Heng's cuffs. His clothes were made of the finest fabrics and the workmanship was exquisite. Although she was not bad herself, she could not compare to someone who specialized in this.
Despite knowing that Chu Heng was exaggerating, his eyes and tone were very serious, and it has to be said that Daiyu was pleased.
Daiyu smiled and said, "Since Your Highness says so, I will make a fool of myself again."
Grandmother Jia, sitting at the head of the table, was already numb. There were no other masters of the Jia family in the room, and she had been ignored by the engaged couple. It wasn't until the final farewell that Chu Heng said goodbye to her.
As usual, Daiyu saw Chuheng off at the door. This time, they only went as far as the corridor before Chuheng said in a low voice, "Miss Lin, please stop. It's getting cold. If you need anything, we should contact each other by letter."
Daiyu nodded and smiled, "Your Highness, please take care."
After watching Chu Heng leave Grandmother Jia's courtyard, Daiyu turned back. Grandmother Jia was already reclining on the couch, with Yuanyang massaging her forehead.
Upon seeing Daiyu return, Grandmother Jia merely raised her eyelids and said weakly, "Don't linger here. Go back and pack up the things the Prince sent. Also, tell Feng'er to instruct the people in the main kitchen to set aside a few special stoves for them."
Yuanyang gently reminded her, "Grandma, Second Madam is still not well."
“Oh, yes, I forgot, then let’s call him…” Grandmother Jia paused, unable to come up with a suitable name for a moment.
Yuanyang then said, "Grandma, I'll go and tell her."
Grandmother Jia had no choice but to say, "Alright, go ahead."
Yuanyang then came out with Daiyu. Several old women led the kitchen staff over to kowtow to Daiyu before Yuanyang led them to be settled.
Daiyu instructed the old woman in her room to carry the several boxes of southern local specialties that Chu Heng had sent to her side of the corridor. Inside the room, she looked at each item in the booklet one by one and had someone bring them inside to examine them slowly.
Young ladies rarely go out, and Daiyu was young when she was in the south. Apart from her parents' learning, she had forgotten most of what else she knew. All the items Chu Heng sent her were novel to her.
She liked the small and exquisite items the most, and some that were not very exquisite but had never been seen before could also please her. On the contrary, she put the exquisite porcelain and Suzhou embroidery aside.
Daiyu ate dinner alone in her room. All the dishes on the table were prepared by chefs from Suzhou, as were the desserts. Although the Jia family's ancestral home was Jinling, and their tastes were more southern, they were still different from those in Suzhou.
When Daiyu tasted the flavors of her hometown, she felt a sense of unfamiliarity and was overwhelmed with emotions, tears welling up in her eyes again.
Seeing this, Zijuan deliberately smiled and asked, "What do these Suzhou pastries taste like? Would you like me to try one?"
Daiyu burst into laughter through her tears: "Look how greedy you are, you should all have some."
The maids thanked the young lady, smiled, and each picked up a piece of pastry to eat. As soon as they swallowed it, they all praised it highly.
Daiyu laughed along with them, and after a moment she said, "Zijuan, look at our money. I told Yuanyang today that we will pay the cooks' monthly allowance separately."
Zijuan laughed and said, "No need to look. At the beginning of the month, Eunuch Zhao came to deliver things to the young lady on behalf of the prince. Among them were two small boxes containing silver ingots, broken silver, and even copper coins. I don't know why the prince thought of sending the young lady these gold and silver items."
When Daiyu received the letter, she was also quite surprised. At that time, she and Chu Heng were discussing the emperor's appointment of officials, so she casually asked about it in the letter.
Daiyu smiled and said, "The prince doesn't need money, so how could he have thought of this? It was Eunuch Zhao who came to the mansion a few times and reminded the prince that he thought of this."
"Although Your Highness didn't expect it, he prepared all of this as soon as Eunuch Zhao mentioned it, which shows that he cares about you, Miss," Zijuan said with a smile.
Daiyu blushed and gently scolded, "You're talking nonsense again."
The girls all laughed.
Daiyu then thought of the cooks from today. In fact, Chu Heng had already arranged their monthly stipends, expenses for temporarily staying at the Jia family's residence, and even the money for purchasing ingredients and dishes. All they needed to do was occupy a place in the Jia family's residence.
The monthly allowance proposed by Daiyu was a reward from her, her mistress. After all, it was something that was consumed, and Daiyu was not short of money, so she didn't mind giving them a higher salary and making them feel at ease.
Chu Heng was indeed very attentive.
Daiyu let out a soft sigh. He wanted to live a good life together in the future, which made her seem indifferent.
There's not much Daiyu can do right now; she can only keep it in her heart and repay Chu Heng later.
The next day, Daiyu continued packing. Because she was meticulous, she would carefully examine and play with any items she liked. This time, it took her five or six days to pack everything properly.
Afterwards, Daiyu gave two pairs of porcelain vases and a Suzhou embroidery screen to Grandmother Jia, and kept the rest for herself to enjoy at her leisure.
In the cold winter, when everyone is staying indoors and rarely going out, this has become a topic of conversation.
The first one is Aunt Zhao. She has been grumbling to the maids, servants, and other women about how Lin is stingy and not as good as Bao. Last time Bao's brother came back, he brought her some gifts, which were given to everyone in the family. Lin only knows how to please the old lady! No wonder she is on good terms with Second Madam Lian; they are both cunning people!
When these words reached the ears of Jia She and Madam Xing, they wholeheartedly agreed, believing that Lin Yatou was truly ungrateful to her elders.
After all, they had been eyeing Daiyu's good things even longer than Aunt Zhao.
These words reached Jia She's courtyard in the east and became common knowledge throughout the Jia family. The lingering influence of Prince Duan meant that no matter how dissatisfied they were, they dared not do anything to Daiyu. They could only grumble behind her back to vent their anger.
—The servants of the Jia family were used to gossiping about their masters behind their backs, and Jia She and others felt that a few words were nothing, after all, they did not have the malicious intent of Wang Shi.
Even though Daiyu and her servants never left the house, these unpleasant words still reached their ears.
Xueyan retorted angrily, "Last time, when you received the Emperor and Empress Dowager's reward and delivered it to each and every household, why didn't they say a few good words about you? Does this mean that every time the Prince sends you something, you have to deliver it to them one by one? After you marry into the Prince's mansion, they're hoping you'll bring them the Prince's entire treasury!"
Zijuan sneered, "That's not what they think at all. Seeing how well the young lady is doing, they wish they could tear a piece of flesh off her! A bunch of heartless bastards, they get the young lady's favor and then try to harm her, they're all ingrates!"
The person being referred to in those words was too obvious; it was clear at a glance that they were talking about Lady Wang. One moment Daiyu was being kind and filial to her aunt, and the next moment Lady Wang was plotting to harm Daiyu. If it weren't for the sisters' foolishness and the blessing of heaven, Lady Wang's evil scheme would have succeeded, and Daiyu's fate would probably have been a hundred times more tragic than Lady Wang's.
The maids looked at the young lady's expression, but seeing that she, who was usually very strict with her servants, remained silent, it seemed that this time the young lady would not let it go so easily.
After a while, Daiyu stood up, straightened her clothes, and said expressionlessly, "Zijuan, come with me to the main room to see the old lady."
"Yes," Zijuan replied hastily, then instructed the people inside, "Keep a close eye on the charcoal fire."
Because she was living under someone else's roof, Daiyu always adhered to the principle of "the less trouble, the better," and no matter how wronged she was, she never thought of complaining to anyone.
Naturally, with her parents gone, she had no one left to sue.
Even though she is now the Princess Consort of Duan, whom the Emperor has betrothed to, and everyone sees that the Empress Dowager likes her and the Prince of Duan values her, Daiyu has never been arrogant or deliberately sought revenge against those who had provoked her in the past. She has always only acted in self-defense.
At least the Jia family gave her a place to stay. Daiyu was a sentimental person and always thought that it would be best to live in peace. She knew exactly what kind of people the Jia family were. Making a big fuss over such a small matter would only add to her troubles and wasn't worth it.
However, who could have imagined that just because Daiyu was too good-natured, they felt that she was easy to bully? Could their whispers possibly reach Prince Duan's ears?
There had been many such gossips in the past, but Miss Lin had never paid any attention to them.
While Grandmother Jia was talking to the maids and servants in the room, Daiyu entered, curtsied, and said, "Grandmother, I think your mansion can no longer accommodate me. I still have some money, so I might as well buy a house outside so I can be alone and have some peace and quiet. From now on, I will never enter the gates of the Duke's mansion again."
Grandmother Jia was startled, and the old women and maids in the room were first surprised, and then they were all frightened.
"What's wrong?" Grandmother Jia sat up abruptly, speaking rapidly, "Has someone bullied you? Lin girl, tell your grandmother, and your grandmother will stand up for you!"
Daiyu kept a straight face and said only, "Please allow me, Grandmother, to go and find a place to stay myself."
Grandmother Jia knew that it was almost impossible to rely on Daiyu to befriend Prince Duan and have him help the Jia family, but that did not mean that having a prince as a granddaughter's husband would bring no benefits whatsoever.
Even if there's no benefit, we can't afford to antagonize Prince Duan, can we?
Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of Daiyu, Grandmother Jia became even more anxious. She pointed at Zijuan and said, "Tell me! Who told your young lady to be so bad!"
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