The Good Concubine of the Qing Dynasty [Red Mansion]

“Then I’ll have to trouble you with this.” Dachun placed the box in Yingyu’s hands, disregarding washing up or changing clothes, climbed onto the bed, lay down, and almost instantly fell asleep.

Yingyu couldn’t help but feel amused and helpless as she tried to move quietly. She opened the box and looked at the papers inside.

The earlier pages were fine, but as she went further back, she could increasingly see the changes in the handwriting. He had become anxious, and the urgency had grown, which explained the differences.

If she only looked at one piece, it wouldn’t be very obvious, but if she flipped through them all at once, it would be hard not to notice.

In other words, if she could spot the differences at a glance, wouldn’t her father notice them as well?

Yingyu looked at her husband’s dark circles under his eyes. “…”

It felt truly unkind to wake him up now.

He probably hadn’t slept at all last night.

At first, he had been working slowly because he had anticipated that there would be plenty of time. Thankfully, the later parts of his writing became somewhat hurried, but it was still clear that his attitude was very earnest. The content was not haphazardly written; it was substantive. Considering this, her father shouldn’t be too angry.

Thinking of this, Yingyu sighed in relief. She also hoped her husband would leave a good impression on her father.

She set the box aside, glanced at the time, and quietly got up to wash up.

She needed to pay respects to her grandmother.

She didn’t plan to deliver the box to her father just yet. He still had to attend court that day, and it wouldn’t make much difference whether she went early or late. She would have to wait for him to return to look at it.

When her husband wakes up and sees those writings, there would still be time. He might want to rewrite the most urgent piece again, as long as it was delivered before her father returned in the afternoon.

It wouldn’t be feasible to rewrite all the pieces that weren’t steady enough in time.

When Dachun woke up feeling refreshed from his nap and was about to get up, he saw the familiar wooden box at the head of the bed. The smile on his face instantly froze. Didn’t he remember that this was supposed to be delivered to his father-in-law? Why was it still here? Had he forgotten?

He quickly glanced at the daylight outside. Fortunately, it was still daytime. Wait, hadn’t he slept for more than a day? Wasn’t this the second day?

Thinking of this, Dachun felt dizzy, clutching his head and questioning his life choices. Yingyu heard the noise and walked into the inner room, looking at him in confusion. “Husband, what’s wrong?”

Dachun raised his head, looking pitiful. “Are we supposed to set off for the Lin family now? Isn’t today a day off?”

Yingyu fell silent and reached out to check his forehead temperature; it was normal. “No, that’s tomorrow. You’ve slept all morning; it’s now noon. You must be hungry. I’ll have someone bring the food over. You can deliver your coursework later; there’s still time.”

Noon?!

That meant there was still time.

Dachun instantly felt rejuvenated. “That’s great!”

Seeing him relax, Yingyu decided to wait until he finished eating before telling him about the issue with his handwriting.

So, when Dachun happily finished his meal and put down his bowl, Yingyu took out his coursework, flipping through the pages for him to see. “Husband, do you notice anything?”

Dachun looked over. “What’s wrong? Where did I write it wrong?”

He began to feel anxious.

Yingyu shook her head. “It’s not that you wrote it wrong. Do you notice anything different about the characters you wrote?”

She quickly flipped through the pages, and Dachun’s smile slowly faded, finally freezing into a look of wanting to cry but having no tears. Yingyu comfortingly patted his hand. “There’s still some time before Father returns from the yamen. How about copying this again?”

She was referring to the last completed piece, which had the most hurried handwriting; the last page was practically about to fly away.

Dachun silently returned to the study and began to copy it out.

When Lin Ruohai returned from the yamen, someone brought a box over. “Master, this is from the eldest son-in-law; he sent someone to deliver it.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Ruohai raised an eyebrow slightly. “Finally finished writing? Take it to the study; I’ll read it slowly later.”

The next day was a day off, and many people came.

Most had invitations, while a few came without being invited. Although Lin Ruohai was no longer the Inspector of Salt, he was the one who had initiated the reforms there, and it hadn’t been long since then. The salt administration reform had just begun, and many people wanted to come and share in the spoils, looking to gather information.

The roads around the Lin residence were temporarily blocked by horse-drawn carriages. It was only thanks to the steward inside that the situation was quickly managed to redirect the flow of traffic.

The guests were divided into two sides: the male guests in the outer courtyard and the female guests in the inner courtyard.

Naturally, Lin Ruohai, along with Chenyu and others, was responsible for receiving the male guests, while the matriarch hosted the female guests along with Yun Shuyao, Yingyu, and others.

Dachun and Yingyu had arrived early to help entertain the guests.

When they first arrived, they saw Lin Ruhai. Yingyu’s joy at seeing her father was evident, but Dachun’s feelings were complex; he felt both guilty and nervous. Upon seeing his father-in-law, his body stiffened for a moment.

Had his father-in-law seen his assignments?

Would he think Dachun was being perfunctory?

He really wasn’t!

He didn’t know if he was overthinking it, but when his father-in-law looked at him, the smile on Lin Ruhai’s face seemed to change in some way.

Dachun: “……”

To make up for it, Dachun worked very hard to entertain the guests, to the point that his voice became hoarse.

Chenyu: “…”

There really was no need to go that far.

Dachun and Yingyu had arrived early to help, but the Fourth Prince and Luoyu arrived later. The Fourth Prince’s status was different, after all.

Neither the Fourth Prince nor Lin Ruhai showed any signs of having an unusually close relationship.

If the Fourth Prince had come earlier to help host guests, it would have drawn too much attention.

The Jia family also arrived relatively early, just slightly later than The Old Lady’s grand-nephew Xie Zimo and his wife.

Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng were eager to strengthen ties between the two families and frequently volunteered to help, but unfortunately, they had never succeeded.

Previously, things were still manageable, but after two significant losses, Wang Xifeng was even more determined to restore their relationship with the Lin family. Once that was done, the exchange of gifts wouldn’t be as financially draining.

Knowing that they could come to the Lin family today, Tanchun and Baoyu were all very excited.

To avoid making the Lin family unhappy because of Baoyu, Wang Xifeng repeatedly urged Jia Lian to keep a close watch on him and not let him enter the inner courtyard.

It was one thing when it was just their own relatives, but now the inner courtyard also had many other young ladies from different families.

Baoyu was already nine years old this year.

Jia Lian solemnly agreed, while Baoyu could only watch as Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun entered the inner courtyard, feeling wronged. “What kind of world is this? I want to meet Sister Lin too; why is everyone stopping me?”

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian couldn’t help but frown.

Baoyu’s longing for Sister Lin was unexpected.

How long had it been since they last met and spoke?

From time to time, he would still hear Baoyu mumbling about her, and if he got a few years older, one couldn’t help but suspect if he had some thoughts in mind.

If that were really the case, Jia Lian felt a stir in his heart.

But then he looked around at so many officials and literati in the Lin residence and fell silent again.

His uncle was already a third-rank official, and he was still young among his peers. He would likely be promoted further before his retirement. Would he be able to take a liking to Baoyu?

Jia Lian thought about the futures of his two cousins: one was the legitimate daughter of a third-rank official, and the other was a prince. Baoyu was indeed the son of a duke, but his father’s official rank was only sixth.

The only noteworthy thing was that they were legitimate cousins, and although the Lin family didn’t mention it, looking at Sister Lin’s condition, she might have some congenital deficiencies. If it were serious, it might not be entirely impossible…

Baoyu looked over in confusion, “Second Brother, what’s wrong?”

Why did he suddenly stop talking?

Jia Lian came back to his senses and forced a smile, “It’s nothing, Baoyu. Uncle values rules; there are many guests today, so let’s not do anything else. Can you promise your second brother that?”

Forget it, forget it. Why think so much? He has no say in this matter, and even the madam might not have the final say. He just needs to focus on doing his own job well.

In the inner courtyard, this was Yun Shuyao’s first time stepping into the spotlight in the capital as a noblewoman

She had received guests before, but at that time, she was only known as a concubine of the Lin family.

Unless the old lady is not present, she typically hosts guests who are of equal status. But now, things are different.

When she was in Yangzhou, she also attended banquets held by others. Because of the emperor’s decree and her achievements, even if some legitimate wives disapproved of her stealing the spotlight, they didn’t dare openly express their dissent.

Honestly, that feeling of being disapproved of yet having others smile at you is quite nice.

They didn’t have any personal grievances; it was just dissatisfaction arising from their respective statuses.

The idea that wives and concubines can be like sisters is merely a man’s one-sided wish; in reality, most wives and concubines are rivals.

Although they are all oppressed in this era, they are still divided into ranks of superiority and inferiority, and, in a sense, they have become competitors.

They compete for a man’s affection, for offspring, and for the resources that come with having children.

True sisterhood among them is exceedingly rare.

Zhao Yin was also in the capital, and as a close friend of Jia Min, their bond had always been strong. After Jia Min passed away, she even received a copy of her dowry list, which shows how deep their relationship was.

When she received the invitation from the Lin family and saw that Yun Shuyao was hosting her, she smiled, but the feelings in her heart were hard for her to decipher.

The Lin family was getting better and better; it was just a pity that Sister Min didn’t have the fortune to see this day.

After the initial pleasantries, Zhao Yin brought up Daiyu: “I wonder where Daiyu is?”

Yun Shuyou replied, “Qing Ning, please take Madam Zhao to Miss San.”

“Yes, Madam Zhao, please follow me.”

Lin Daiyu was currently entertaining young ladies around her age when she saw Zhao Yin and smiled, “Aunt Zhao.”

The relationship between the two families was quite good. Zhao Yin would often tell Daiyu many stories about her mother, their past interactions, the poems they had composed together, and some of their shared preferences. Daiyu listened attentively each time.

These were things she should have inquired about with her grandmother, but unfortunately, the relationship between their two families…

Coming back to her senses, Zhao Yin looked Daiyu up and down and praised, “Dai Yu, you are becoming more outstanding.”

In the future, who knows which young man will benefit from her.

Noticing an opportunity and seeing that no one was around, Zhao Yin lowered her voice and asked, “Does Aunt Yun bully you?”

Now that her status was different, Zhao Yin wondered if Aunt Yun would still act the same way as before.

Speaking of this, Lin Daiyu felt a bit complicated: “No, don’t worry, no one bullied me.”

Aunt Yun hadn’t lost her original humility.

Zhao Yin felt relieved: “That’s good. But don’t trust her too much. Stick close to your grandmother; she won’t harm you. I won’t disturb you any longer; you can go back to your duties.”

In just a few moments of conversation, some young maidservants peeked in.

The banquet went very smoothly.

No one caused any trouble.

Even those who were dissatisfied with Lin Ruhai would not immediately jump out at this time, fearing it would draw the emperor’s attention.

In the inner courtyard, there were maidservants from the Lin residence everywhere; some people couldn’t completely escape the family’s sight, let alone others.

There were many people, and Yun Shuyao regretted that she couldn’t spend too long with her daughter. Nevertheless, she was satisfied to seize the opportunity to have a few private conversations and set a time for their next outing: “Buddha’s birthday is coming soon. Ask the Main Wife if we can go out to pay our respects. If so, send me a message.”

Although today wasn’t the best time for a proper conversation, there would be other opportunities.

Luoyu thought the same, smiling brightly: “The Fourth Master believes in Buddhism, so it should be fine.”

As guests began to leave one by one, after sending off the last guest, Lin Ruhai called his eldest son-in-law: “Dachun, come with me for a moment.”

After a busy day, Dachun, who had almost forgotten his anxious concerns, suddenly remembered his coursework and forced a smile: “Sure.”

In the carriage back to the Jia residence, Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng shared one carriage, while Baoyu sat with the three sisters.

Jia Lian felt a bit tired today, focusing on Baoyu to ensure he didn’t say anything inappropriate to others, which was quite draining.

For a moment, he didn’t want to speak.

Wang Xifeng also didn’t feel like talking.

Today, she had seen enough of that Concubine Yun’s power; she was a noblewoman who had been personally conferred by the emperor for her contributions, and even Old Madam Lin had not garnered as much attention as her today.

Moreover, she was a fourth-rank noblewoman, while she herself was still just a commoner; she couldn’t receive any titles in an honorary position.

Wang Xifeng had had enough of being undermined and had no energy left to speak.

It was only when they were almost back at the Jia residence that Wang Xifeng adjusted her mood and asked, “Did Baoyu cause you any trouble today?”

Jia Lian shook his head: “He wanted to go to the inner courtyard but was stopped.”

Baoyu didn’t care much for the conversations among the men in the outer courtyard, but the rules in the Lin residence were strict, and Jia Lian had always been nearby, so he hadn’t had the opportunity: “He might complain about me. I’ll send him some gifts later.” Baoyu wasn’t one to hold grudges.

Wang Xifeng couldn’t help but frown. “Baoyu really… Never mind. Have you heard if the Lin family has any intentions of marrying anyone?”

She had seen quite a few ladies in the inner courtyard bringing their daughters or nieces to talk to Concubine Yun, and the conversation revolved around Chenyu.

Her cousin hadn’t even been engaged yet.

Her cousin had sent someone to ask her to inquire about it, which made Wang Xifeng a bit irritated. This should be something arranged by their parents and matchmakers, yet her second uncle and second aunt hadn’t given her any news.

Jia Lian shook his head. “I didn’t pay attention. What’s the matter?”

Wang Xifeng replied with a bitter tone, “The Lin family is probably looking to arrange another noble marriage.”

Jia Lian thought of his earlier speculation. “What do you think about Baoyu and Daiyu?”

Wang Xifeng: ?