Chapter 1 First Visit to Rongguo Mansion
"Do you also have jade?"
"Fish?" The little girl frowned slightly, then smiled.
Sure enough, this topic came up. Fortunately, Granny Yuan had already told her about it beforehand.
This is something you absolutely cannot agree to. Whether it's true or not, this fool will take it seriously.
It's fine if he takes it seriously, but if his aunt holds a grudge, then he'll be the one who's been wronged!
"Second cousin, do you want to eat fish? My nanny can make braised fish, boiled fish, and steamed fish, but my favorite is fish noodles and fish balls because you don't have to spit out bones."
The little girl counted on her fingers very carefully, as if reciting a familiar story.
The woman standing next to the little girl smiled slightly.
The people present looked at each other in bewilderment, especially Baoyu, who was stunned.
That's not how it is. This little sister keeps talking about food!
He was asking about jade, something so pure and refined, and what does that have to do with braised or steamed dishes that are full of filth and fumes?
“I don’t like eating fish,” Baoyu said curtly, his face turning cold.
"That's such a pity! My Granny Yuan can cook a whole fish feast!" the little girl boasted proudly.
“Daiyu, since you’ll be living in our household from now on, we’ll definitely have to try this whole fish feast when we have the chance,” the old lady said hurriedly.
Daiyu's smile was as beautiful as a painting, and Baoyu was once again mesmerized.
What a tragic fate! Saving this little girl's life is a long and arduous task!
Although the woman standing to the side, Yuan Hongqu, had a smile on her face, she was filled with mixed feelings.
One of the most famous scenes in Dream of the Red Chamber is when Lin Daiyu first enters the Rongguo Mansion and thinks to herself, "I've finally seen someone alive today!"
Although I reminded Daiyu, that clever girl managed to gloss over the scene with a joke, and the current scene is quite different from the original work, it's still very enjoyable!
Yuan Hongqu suppressed her excitement and kept a close eye on the room. As Daiyu's governess, she had been entrusted with an important task by Lin Ruhai when she came from Yangzhou.
Now, she not only has to take care of Daiyu's meals, but also all the daily chores are entrusted to her.
Lin Ruhai decided not to let Granny Wang, who was originally in charge of these matters, come to the capital because he thought she was too old and might not be able to withstand the long journey.
In the original story, the one who came along was this Granny Wang!
Yuan Hongqu actually benefited.
As in the original novel, Daiyu was placed in the Green Gauze Cabinet. However, because of Yuan Hongqu, Daiyu brought more than just herself and Xueyan with her this time.
Inside, there were more than twenty maids, nannies, and old women serving Daiyu, while outside, there were twenty or thirty servants, guards, sedan chair bearers, and coachmen from the Lin family mansion!
Those outside, except for two servants left to run errands, escorted Daiyu into the Rongguo Mansion and then went to the Lin family's residence in the capital.
Although Lin Ruhai was an official in Yangzhou, with the Lin family's background and the prestige of his ancestors, how could he not have a place to stay in the capital?
When Yuan Hongqu was reading the book, she was very skeptical. Even a merchant family like the Xue family had a house in the capital, let alone the Lin family?
The Lin family had been marquises for four generations, and even though Lin Ruhai passed the imperial examination himself, he was still a third-ranked scholar.
Nowadays, Lin Ruhai is a Grand Master of the Imperial Academy and a Salt Commissioner. It's perfectly normal for someone like him to own a house in the capital!
With her questions in mind, Yuan Hongqu directly asked the person in charge—Lord Lin Ruhai.
Lin Ruhai stated frankly that he did own property in the capital, but he had been serving in other posts for many years, and those houses had been uninhabited for years and were probably in a state of disrepair.
So what if it's dilapidated? It's still the Lin family's. If our girls feel uncomfortable staying in someone else's house, they can just go back to their own. We don't need to worry about anyone's attitude!
Yuan Hongqu immediately revealed her innermost thoughts.
Lin Ruhai stared at her for a while, making Yuan Hongqu feel uneasy, before she finally nodded and ordered someone to go and repair the house.
Although they went ahead to the capital to repair the house, the mansion was too large and could not be repaired in a short time, so Daiyu would have to stay at the Rongguo Mansion for a while longer.
Now that Yuan Hongqu has taken over Wang Mama's place and is serving her on the bed inside the gauze curtain, she feels uncomfortable no matter what.
In addition to her regular diet, Daiyu also needed to eat some medicinal meals.
The Rongguo Mansion has strict rules; they probably wouldn't allow her to prepare medicinal meals for Daiyu in this small, secluded room.
Furthermore, even with her daily diet, Daiyu's spleen and stomach were extremely weak, and her throat was as thin as a French fry. Fortunately, it wasn't congenital, and after her treatment, her condition has greatly improved.
Yuan Hongqu noticed that at noon when she ate at the old lady's place, Daiyu only drank the soup and broth, and probably couldn't swallow anything else.
Therefore, when the two were alone, Yuan Hongqu quickly brought Daiyu some hibiscus yam cake to fill her stomach.
This hibiscus yam cake is made with rice flour, Huaifu yam flour, and sugar, and is shaped like a hibiscus flower. It is soft and fluffy, not oily or greasy, and is very filling when eaten with milk.
This is Daiyu's favorite snack, and the little girl can eat four pieces in one go.
I must be really hungry today, I've already eaten six pieces and I'm still not stopping.
Yuan Hongqu quickly stopped her and reached out to bring over a plate.
"We're about to rest, but the young lady has eaten too much and it's hard to digest. She'll have a stomachache from all the food."
"Granny, I'm not happy. I want something sweet," Daiyu said, tilting her head up in a serious tone.
"You taught me that when I'm unhappy, eating something sweet will cheer me up. I've cried several times today, and I need to eat more sweets to make up for it."
She said it with a straight face.
Yuan Hongqu was both annoyed and amused: This child is really sharp-tongued, using her own words to shut herself up!
"Granny, please let me have two more pieces," Lin Daiyu, a petite and exquisitely beautiful girl who looked like a fairy, was pleading with him. Who could resist that?
Yuan Hongqu waved her hand:
"Come on, children get hungry quickly, so eat it all. There's some sweet soup we made here, you can drink some to soothe your throat later."
"Thank you, Granny Yuan." Little Daiyu's eyes shone brightly as she picked up the yam cake with one hand and lifted the lid of the stewing pot with the other.
"Granny, you've predicted it again. Pear, apple, and hawthorn juice, that's exactly what I wanted to drink."
Yuan Hongqu poured the syrup into a small bowl and handed it to Daiyu. Daiyu took the bowl and quickly drank a sip. It was sweet and slightly sour, and very refreshing.
"Granny, that second cousin is so strange." Daiyu, having finished eating and drinking, wanted to talk to Granny Yuan.
“Miss, please be careful what you say. This is not our home,” Yuan Hongqu quickly reminded her.
This is still the Green Gauze Cabinet where the old lady lives. This place is a house within a house, and there isn't even a proper wall. The walls are just partitions. Be careful, because walls have ears.
Daiyu pouted, and just then, Baoyu's head maid, Xiren, came over.
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