The Good Concubine of the Qing Dynasty [Red Mansion]

Upon seeing the stranger, the three Lin sisters exchanged glances. Lin Daiyu asked, “Who is this sister?”

“This is Sister Xiluan from Sister Lian’s family. She happened to be visiting the Jia family. She is also fond of chrysanthemums, so when she heard we were coming, she decided to join us for the chrysanthemum viewing.”

Yingchun was too shy to respond, so it was Tanchun who answered.

Wang Xiluan smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, “Sisters, I apologize for the sudden intrusion. I heard from Tanchun and the others that the Lin sisters are known for being very kind. When I learned that your chrysanthemums are also renowned for their beauty, I couldn’t resist my fondness and have troubled you by coming uninvited.”

She presented her gift properly and bowed in apology. As the saying goes, one cannot be angry at someone with a friendly face. After such an apology, the Lin sisters had no reason to be too critical of her.

Although… the way she phrased it seemed as if if they minded, they wouldn’t be considered kind.

There wasn’t anything particularly inappropriate happening here anyway. As for other matters, there was plenty of time in the future to figure out her true intentions.

The Lin sisters had their suspicions. Usually, when someone shows up unannounced like this, they have a motive. They had seen people come specifically to inquire about a family’s sons before. But given the Lin family’s current situation, all the eligible men had already left.

So, could she really be here just to admire chrysanthemums?

It wasn’t entirely impossible, after all, the Wang family was related to the Jia family by marriage, but not to the Lin family.

When the Lin family hosted a banquet previously, they hadn’t even sent an invitation to the Wang family.

If the Wang family hadn’t informed them in advance, they indeed wouldn’t have been invited over.

However, if relatives wanted to visit to admire the chrysanthemums and hinted at it, naturally, they would have been sent an invitation. Could it be that the relationship between the Wang and Lin families had actually soured?

Today, the Lin sisters had arranged activities around chrysanthemum viewing, followed by poetry, painting, or some needlework. All the planned themes were related to chrysanthemums.

With an extra person now, the plan remained unchanged. Regardless of Wang Xiluan’s true intentions, so far, she hadn’t shown herself to be unreasonable or difficult to communicate with.

Wang Xiluan’s visit this time was a spontaneous decision.

She wanted to meet the Lin sisters, the two renowned beauties of their family. If nothing unexpected happened, they would be attending the imperial selection together. She had heard her cousin praise these two, which made her feel a bit competitive.

After all, she was the cousin’s sister, but had never been praised in the same way.

Today, after meeting them, the Lin sisters left Wang Xiluan feeling a bit surprised.

The elder sister was noticeably shorter than the younger one, and their looks hadn’t quite reached the level of true beauty.

Their demeanor was indeed pleasant, but nothing extraordinary.

However, the youngest, Daiyu, had the potential to become a famous beauty when she grew up. But she was still too young, and by the time she matured, Wang Xiluan figured she herself might already have children.

They wouldn’t become rivals.

Another reason for Wang Xiluan’s visit was to observe what kind of family the Lin family was. She had overheard a conversation between her parents and learned that her father had once considered marrying her off to the eldest son of the Lin family.

Although he was born of a concubine, he was treated no differently than a legitimate son. Most importantly, as the only son, even though he wasn’t born of the first wife, he essentially held the same status.

Wang Xiluan knew that her father had not yet given up on the idea.

If she wasn’t selected, the eldest son of the Lin family might become her betrothed, which naturally piqued her curiosity.

What kind of family was the Lin family?

From what she saw today, they were not as wealthy as the Wang family, and she couldn’t figure out what her father saw in them.

While the three Lin sisters hosted their friends at home to liven things up, Yun Shuyao didn’t always join in the festivities. When the Jia sisters were first invited over, Yun Shuyao came to take a look at the three Jia sisters.

She didn’t know who the twelve beauties of “Dream of the Red Chamber” were, but she was certain that these three sisters were among them.

However, they were still too young, and while she could discern some personality traits, not much else was clear. Her interest quickly waned. When she heard there was an extra guest today, she thought it might be Shi Xiangyun.

But it wasn’t. It was Wang Xifeng’s cousin, Wang Xiluan.

The daughter of Wang Ziteng.

She knew of Wang Ziteng—the head of the Wang family.

However, the name Wang Xiluan didn’t ring any bells for Yun Shuyao. She used the excuse of delivering snacks to take a look at her.

Wang Xiluan seemed slightly younger than Yingyu and Luoyu, with a delicate face and a temperament somewhat similar to Wang Xifeng’s, though not as outwardly bold.

As for her scrutinizing the two sisters… was that her real reason for coming?

Yun Shuyao took a closer look. Yingyu and Luoyu had been carefully prepared by the grandmother for their public appearances. Though they had met many people, their beauty hadn’t gained widespread fame because they were purposefully styled to appear less striking.

Their hairstyles, outfits, and even makeup were adjusted in such a way that what was originally a nine or ten out of ten in beauty was toned down to a seven or eight. This made them seem not much different from other women, whose six or seven out of ten beauty was enhanced by makeup to reach a similar level.

Yun Shuyao lightly shook her head.

Wang Xiluan was likely well-pampered at home and not very good at concealing her true self.

When interacting with the Lin sisters, she behaved decently enough. Though the Lin sisters were born of concubines, they were raised as if they were legitimate daughters under the guidance of the elders.

The Zhou sisters were legitimate daughters, but the Wu sisters were not.

The Wu sisters were concubine-born and raised by their mother, a concubine, which is often why they faced criticism—mainly for their demeanor, vision, and capabilities.

For example, when they first met Wang Xiluan, the Zhou sisters were composed, confident, and poised. In contrast, the Wu sisters became more reserved and silent than usual after encountering Wang Xiluan.

The reason for their reaction wasn’t that Wang Xiluan was overly domineering, but rather because of her appearance.

Her attire resembled the style favored by Concubine Mei, with the ornaments she wore clearly being high-end, not only expensive but also rare, likely not easily bought with money.

As for Lin Xiao and Lin Zheng, who were accompanying them, their fathers were scholars, not officials. Aside from a polite smile, Wang Xiluan didn’t initiate any conversation with them.

Tanchun quietly apologized to Lin Daiyu.

By age, it should have been Yingchun who spoke up, but Tanchun knew her personality well—she wouldn’t be able to do it, so Tanchun took the lead herself.

Daiyu shook her head, indicating she didn’t mind.

She understood that the sisters had no say in the matter, so she wouldn’t blame them.

Hearing Daiyu’s understanding, Tanchun’s eyes welled up with warmth, but she blinked it away, keeping her emotions in check.

Actually, today Baoyu had also wanted to come along. He complained several times at home, saying that Little Sister Daiyu always forgot about him and never invited him over.

But Tanchun didn’t dare to mention it.

There’s a distinction between men and women, and now that Baoyu was seven, he needed to start being mindful of these boundaries. Moreover, this was a gathering of girls, so naturally, they wouldn’t invite a boy.

However, Baoyu had grown used to roaming freely in the inner quarters, and he didn’t understand the concept of such boundaries. Where in the Jia household was he not allowed to go?

He never worried about the distinction between men and women.

But outside the Jia family, things were different, and no one would indulge him.

If the Lin family were to invite him, it would likely be through Cousin Chenyu, and he wouldn’t be allowed into the inner quarters.

Fortunately, today Baoyu had homework assigned by his father, and he hadn’t finished it. Thankfully, Baoyu still feared some people. Otherwise, they would have worried that he might come uninvited and cause a scene. The old lady was always indulging him, and that would have been truly embarrassing.

However, once Jia Baoyu set his mind on something, it was hard to change it.

As soon as Jia Zheng relaxed his strict supervision, Baoyu eagerly snuck out and went to the Lin residence. At the gate, he said to the doorman, “I’m here to play with Little Sister Daiyu. Let me in.”

Doorman: ???

If it weren’t for the fact that this young master was clearly well-dressed and their third young lady was still very young, his request could easily lead to misunderstandings.

After learning his identity, the doorman invited him into the flower hall and went to report to Old Lady Lin.

Old Lady Lin didn’t meet him, nor did she let Daiyu know that Baoyu had come. She had him politely “sent” back. She felt she hadn’t reminded Jia Zheng enough about keeping Baoyu in check, which allowed him so much free time. It seemed she needed to reinforce her efforts.

Jia Baoyu was thus “escorted” back to Rongguo Mansion, and Jia Zheng naturally found out. He felt utterly humiliated by his son!

Jia Zheng’s face turned bright red with anger. Grabbing a ruler, he furiously decided to teach Baoyu a proper lesson—he couldn’t allow him to keep going out and making a fool of himself!

Seeing the master’s rage, a quick-witted servant had already run off to inform others. The second lady arrived first, nearly grinding her teeth in frustration. Once again, it was because of the Lin family. Could the Lin family be a curse for her precious Baoyu?

As soon as she saw Baoyu lying on the bench, crying and wailing, with Jia Zheng towering over him, ruler in hand, she rushed forward and shielded him with her own body.

Jia Zheng had no choice but to stop. “Move aside! I need to properly discipline this unfilial son!”

“I told him to focus on his studies, but the moment I eased up a bit, he sneaked out. And what about the servants around him? Is this how they attend to their young master? Come, all of them need to be punished too!”

Second Madam Wang didn’t object to punishing the servants—she agreed that it was dangerous for Baoyu to sneak out. However, she couldn’t accept punishing her son. Blocking Jia Zheng from continuing, she tearfully cried over her eldest son, “You are so strict with him! Have you forgotten how we lost our dear Zhu’er? I’ve only given birth to these two, and now you want to drive us mother and son to our deaths!”

Hearing her mention Jia Zhu, Li Wan, who had hurried over with Jia Lan in her arms, also became teary-eyed, and her tears began to fall one by one.

When Grandmother Jia got word of the situation, she rushed over in a panic. Seeing the chaos, she struck Jia Zheng with her cane, exclaiming, “I knew you’ve always had something against this old woman! One of these days, I’ll take my precious grandson back to Jinling and fulfill your wish!”

How could Jia Zheng bear such words?

He quickly threw down the ruler and knelt. “I would never mean that!” he said.

The Jia household was in complete uproar.

Hearing that Jia Baoyu had been beaten, Old Lady Lin finally smiled with satisfaction. If Baoyu dared to do it again, he would be beaten once more.

She was determined that the entanglement between them could not be severed!

It wasn’t just the Jia family who were displeased with this incident; elsewhere, Jiang Huan was also furious.

She had gone to great lengths to bring the Lin family to the capital, but after their initial meeting, there had been no further progress.

The Old Lady of the Lin family was proving to be a major obstacle!