No matter how much Shen Ajiao didn't want to go to the capital, she still boarded the official boat arranged by Lin Ruhai.
"Why!"
Looking at the dozens of official ships escorting tax silver ahead and behind, Shen Ajiao let out her 108th sigh.
This amused Lin Daiyu, who couldn't stop laughing. "Look at Madam, she can't sit still anymore. Who knows what she'll be fiddling with in a moment."
"Miss, you must keep a close eye on Madam. Yesterday afternoon, Madam said she wanted to go fishing, but her fishhook got caught on the tax silver boat at the back. Everyone on board was so scared that they all brandished their weapons! Oh dear, my heart almost jumped out of my chest! Luckily, it was a false alarm." Lin Mama stepped forward and helped Daiyu put on her cloak.
Since the master dealt with Granny Wang and Doctor Wang last time, he hired another doctor and prescribed a medicine. The young lady is now much healthier after taking it. She has only coughed a few times during the nearly two months she was on the ship. Thank goodness! After we get off the ship, she will definitely offer a few more incense sticks to the old lady to comfort her.
"I can't control her, she's very capable," Daiyu said with a smile, covering her face with her handkerchief. "It's so lonely on this boat. When I open my eyes in the morning, all I see is water, and when I dream about water at night, I don't even want to be on a boat. Why make things difficult for you, Madam?"
As she spoke, she twirled the green quartz bracelet on her wrist. "Look, my wife had me make this last night. Although it's wrapped with gold thread, it's even more elegant now. I'd like to ask my wife to make me an even prettier one."
"What kind of bracelet should we make? Take out all those halo bracelets, let's make a lot of them, even if we can't wear them all, they'll still look nice." After spending these two months with Daiyu, Shen Ajiao's speech had picked up a bit of that flavor, and she was so happy that she would often pull Lin Daiyu aside to talk.
Seeing that the young lady and the new wife got along very well, Lin Mama naturally didn't disturb them. She thought that although the new wife was not good at manners, she was an upright person and often imitated the young lady's words to make her happy. She was really a good person.
...
Rongguo Mansion, Jia Family Rongqing Hall
"The old lady was overjoyed."
Grandmother Jia was playing with a thrush under the eaves, watching the young maids frolic, feeling quite content, when she saw Wang Xifeng, the wife of Jia Lian, the son of Jia She, walk in with a letter in her hand, smiling.
"Greetings to the old lady. She seems to be in a good mood today; is there some joyous occasion?"
"You little rascal, when you get old, you should naturally be happy every day." Saying this, she reached out and called Wang Xifeng over. Wang Xifeng did not refuse and took the opportunity to take Jia Mu's arm. "The old lady is so wise. We still have a lot to learn from her."
Grandmother Jia was in high spirits and beaming with joy after being flattered by Wang Xifeng. Only then did she remember that Wang Xifeng had mentioned some happy news, so she asked, "What happy news did you just say?"
"Oh dear, look at me, so young, yet my memory is worse than an old lady's. I deserve a beating!" she said playfully, slapping herself twice. Grandmother Jia stopped her, "Whose letter is it? Is someone else coming to visit?"
Wang Xifeng smiled without saying a word. Their families were all large and powerful, with at least three hundred to five hundred relatives by blood. Countless people came to visit every day, which annoyed Grandmother Jia. Generally, she would leave anything that wasn't important to her subordinates.
"Haha, the old lady is so wise! A letter has arrived from Yangzhou!" Wang Xifeng praised Grandmother Jia for a while before handing the letter to her.
Upon hearing that the letter was from Yangzhou, Grandmother Jia quickly sat down, opened it, and read it. After finishing, she pressed the letter to her chest and sighed, "Amitabha! Your Aunt Lin's younger sister is coming to our house!"
"What sister?"
A young gentleman came running in from outside. He wore a crown inlaid with jewels and amethyst, a gold headband with two dragons chasing a pearl tied around his eyebrows, a bright red robe with two colors of gold butterflies and flowers, and light blue satin boots with pink soles.
Upon seeing the visitor, Grandmother Jia quickly put down the letter in her hand and called out affectionately, "Good child, come here quickly."
"Ancestor? What sister?"
"Brother Bao, why are you out of school so early?" Wang Xifeng asked, seeing that it was Baoyu. She noticed it was still early and wondered why he was back instead of going to school.
Baoyu nestled in Grandmother Jia's arms, laughing and joking. "I came back because I was bored. Grandmother hasn't said which sister she is yet."
Wang Xifeng lowered her head and smiled without saying a word. Grandmother Jia was somewhat displeased, "Why aren't you in school? Who have you been playing with this time?"
Baoyu said coquettishly, "But Grandmother, please tell me about the young master of the Chen family, who commands the troops of the Five Cities."
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you, she's your Aunt Lin's younger sister."
Baoyu tilted his head back and asked, "Are you going to stay at our house?"
"Of course, your Aunt Lin passed away a few years ago, leaving behind your poor little sister. Now that she's come to the capital, she'll naturally be staying at our house. You mustn't bully her. If I find out, I'll definitely not let you off the hook!" Grandmother Jia said kindly.
"Good, another little sister has come to our house." Seeing how happy Baoyu was, Grandmother Jia let him be. She glanced at the happily skipping Baoyu and said to Wang Xifeng, "Go and find out if anything has happened at the school recently."
Wang Xifeng immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, Grandmother. Brother Bao is a man of good character. The Chen family of the Five Cities Garrison has dealings with our family. I have met that young master Chen, and he is a good person."
But they never mentioned the school.
Grandmother Jia listened without saying anything more, nodded, and thought to herself that it would be better to find a private tutor for Baoyu to teach him at home, so that he wouldn't be corrupted by the chaotic atmosphere of the school.
"Go tell your good aunt that your Lin sister is coming, and ask her to make the arrangements. Just remember to let me know."
Wang Xifeng patted her chest to assure the old lady that she would complete the task given to her. After talking for a while, she got up and went to the second wife, Madam Wang's, residence.
She was originally the niece of Lady Wang, the second wife of the Jia family. In the few years since she married into the Jia family, she was naturally closest to Lady Wang. Her stepmother-in-law came from a humble background and was shallow, so she didn't like to pay attention to her.
This household was originally managed by her aunt. Since she married into the family, her aunt had entrusted the management of the household to her. So when she encountered such a situation, she would first go to her aunt to ask for a solution.
However, she heard that Lin Daiyu's stepmother had also come along. It would be easy to arrange things for Lin Daiyu alone, but the difficulty lay with this stepmother. No matter what she did, she couldn't handle the matter well. She couldn't step forward, or she would end up pleasing neither side, and the family would be in trouble.
The second wife, Lady Wang, was Jia Baoyu's mother and Wang Xifeng's aunt. As soon as she heard Wang Xifeng say that a letter had come from her uncle Lin's family in Yangzhou, she began to strike the wooden fish. Upon seeing this, Wang Xifeng stopped making a sound.
Half a day later, after Madam Wang finished chanting the day's prayers, she stood up with a smile and said, "You can arrange it as you see fit."
He added, "No one in the entire household has ever complained about how you handle things."
Seeing that Madam Wang had gotten up, Wang Xifeng didn't even ask who had come before handing the matter over to her. She stood up and smiled, "My aunt thinks highly of me, so naturally I'll handle this matter perfectly, but..."
Madam Wang asked, "Is there some difficulty?"
“Aunt, as you know, I’m young and easily hurt, so there are some things I need your help with.”
It wasn't just Lin Daiyu who came from the Lin family; there was also a lady from a generation older than her. Even if her aunt was worshipping Buddha, she should have shown up.
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