The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 54 Rongguo Mansion 2
This was Li Hu's first time to visit Rongxi Hall. There were five large main rooms in the front, and side rooms with deer-roofed ears on both sides, which were connected in all directions and looked majestic and magnificent.

Entering the main hall, looking up, the first thing you see is a large plaque with nine red gold dragons on a green background. On the plaque are three huge characters, "Rong Xi Tang", followed by a line of small characters: "On a certain date in a certain year, this book was bestowed upon Rong Guogong Jia Yuan", and "Treasure of Wanji Chenhan".

On the large red sandalwood carved dragon table, there is a three-foot-high green bronze tripod, and a large black dragon painting is hung on it. This is a symbol of aristocratic status. When Li Hu is promoted to a hereditary title, he can hang this painting at home. On both sides are a golden dragon and glass.

There were sixteen nanmu armchairs in two rows on the floor, and a pair of antithetical couplets, made of ebony plates with inlaid silver characters, which read: The pearls on the seats shine like the sun and the moon, The brocade in front of the hall glows like mist and clouds.

The next line of small characters reads: "Handwritten by my fellow townsman, my younger brother, Xun, the successor to the Prince of Dong'an, Mu Shi."

This was the Jia family at its peak, with two dukes in one family. What glory and power they had. But it was a pity that they reached their peak as soon as they debuted.

It seems that the Dong'an County Prince's Mansion has little dealings with the Jia family, which is just like the saying goes, human relationships are as thin as paper, and the affairs of the world are like a new chess game in each go.

Seeing Li Hu in a daze, Jia Lian hurriedly greeted him with a smile: "This is the place for entertaining foreign guests. Brother Li is a family member. Please come to the inner hall."

When Li Hu walked into the inner gate, he saw Jia Zhen coming to greet him with a smile on his face.

Li Hu clasped his hands together: "Uncle Zhen."

Jia Zhen walked up to Li Hu, bowed, and said, "When are you free after the New Year? I'll treat you to a New Year's dinner."

Li Hu still owed him a favor, so he couldn't refuse. After thinking for a while, he said, "Let's wait until after the fifth day. I'm free on the sixth and seventh days."

Jia Zhen: "Then the sixth day."

Jia Lian immediately responded: "Then let's celebrate on the seventh day."

Li Hu was slightly stunned, then nodded. He was bored at home, and here not only could he watch plays and drink wine, but he could also invite Lin Daiyu to come over and chat with the three sisters to relieve his boredom.

Jia Zhen and Jia Lian smiled at each other, then walked in with Li Hu.

In Rongqing Hall on the other side, there was crying and shouting.

Just like in the original novel, as soon as Lady Jia saw Lin Daiyu, she hugged her in her arms and cried, calling her her darling. Lin Daiyu also cried uncontrollably.

The others cried with her for a while before stepping forward to persuade her.

Grandmother Jia wiped her tears, and then thought of the others, pointing to them one by one and saying to Lin Daiyu: "This is your eldest aunt; this is your second aunt; this is your eldest sister-in-law Zhen from the East Palace; this is your eldest brother Zhu's wife, the eldest sister-in-law Zhu; this is your second brother Lian's wife, the second sister-in-law Lian."

Lin Daiyu greeted them one by one.

As they were talking, the three sisters of the Jia family arrived. Wang Xifeng stepped forward and introduced the three sisters to Lin Daiyu. Lin Daiyu was very happy to see the three sisters in front of her, who were dressed the same, had beautiful looks, and were lively and energetic. After they recognized each other, everyone sat down.

The maids brought tea.

Taking the tea handed to her by Parrot, Lin Daiyu smiled at her.

Seeing this, Jia's mother took a sip of tea and said, "Among all my children, your mother is the one I love the most. Once she left me, I never got to see her again."

As he spoke, he gently stroked Lin Daiyu's face and said, "Now that I see you, how can I not be sad!" After that, tears fell from his eyes.

After hearing what Grandmother Jia said, Lin Daiyu also started crying.

The grandparents and grandchildren hugged each other and cried for a long time.

Thinking about Jia She's words, Mrs. Xing came over and advised, "Old lady, your granddaughter has been brought here. It's so hard to meet her, so just be happy."

Mrs. Wang also came over: "Yes."

Grandmother Jia wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. Seeing that Lin Daiyu was crying so hard that her face was red and her head was swollen, she was panting slightly and looked very timid. She regretted mentioning Jia Min in her heart. While wiping her tears, she said, "How is your condition? Are you still taking ginseng nourishing pills? Tomorrow I will ask an imperial physician to come and see you. Wouldn't it be good if you were cured? You have a problem every spring and autumn, and you are neither old nor young. What's going on? It's not a normal situation."

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu stood up, knelt down and bowed to Grandmother Jia, saying softly, "Thank you for your concern, Grandmother. The imperial doctors came here yesterday and wrote a new prescription."

"Sit down, sit down."

Grandmother Jia pulled Lin Daiyu to sit down and asked, "What did the imperial physician say?"

Lin Daiyu: "Grandmother, take good care of yourself and rest well, it will be cured."

Upon hearing this, Jia's mother felt relieved and asked a few more questions.

Lin Daiyu answered them one by one.

Only then did Nanny Wang and Xueyan come forward and kowtow to Lady Jia.

Grandmother Jia nodded with a smile.

Lin Daiyu suddenly remembered: "Go and bring the things in."

Nanny Wang: “Yes.” She answered and stepped back.

Xueyan followed him out.

"Oh, how can this be possible? This old man and this child..."

Grandmother Jia shook her head and said to Lin Daiyu, "Your maid is so childish that she can't even take good care of herself, not to mention that you still need to take medicine. How about this? Grandmother will give you two maids. I can rest assured that they will take care of you."

Lin Daiyu was in a dilemma. Although Li Hu had said more than once that she could make the decision, she couldn't just bring someone home without saying hello. But Jia Mu was the elder, and she dared not refuse the elder's gift. Jia Mu understood and sighed slightly: "I didn't think carefully enough and didn't consider you."

Lin Daiyu: “Grandmother”

Grandmother Jia patted her hands and said, "Okay, no more talking." Then she looked at the parrot, "Parrot."

Parrot: “Hey.”

Grandmother Jia: "Bring some fruit."

Parrot: “Yes.”

At this time, Wang Xifeng came over and said with a smile: "Oh, there really is such an iconic figure in the world. Today is the first time I have seen him!" At this point, she glanced at Grandmother Jia and said, "No wonder the old ancestor talks about him every day and never forgets him."

Grandmother Jia said unhappily: "Flatterer."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Wang Xifeng sat down next to Lin Daiyu and continued, "Since you are here, please stay here for two days and accompany the old ancestor."

After hearing this, Grandmother Jia looked at Lin Daiyu with hope.

Lin Daiyu hesitated for a moment and was about to speak.

Mrs. Wang spoke up: "Logically, this is the way it should be, but there is a traitor in the family, and we should be careful not to bring trouble to the good reputation of others."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

Jia's mother's face immediately darkened, and then she glared at Mrs. Wang fiercely.

Lin Daiyu stood there in a daze.

Wang Xifeng opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

Just then, Parrot called the little maid to bring some snacks and fruits.

Wang Xifeng personally held the fruit to Lin Daiyu and said, "Come, sister, have a taste."

Lin Daiyu quickly stood up and said, "I dare not." She took the fruit plate with both hands, put it on the table beside her, and picked up a fruit to present to Lady Jia.

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "She is truly a daughter of a scholarly family. She is well-educated, well-mannered, and filial to her elders. Unlike me, I have only had a few days of schooling and cannot even recognize a single big word." When she said this, she was also stunned and secretly glanced at Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang's fingers rubbed the beads of the rosary vigorously one by one.

Lin Daiyu blinked her eyes several times, thinking: Second Sister-in-law Lian is the niece of Second Madam, could it be that Second Madam is also illiterate? No wonder Baoyu doesn't like to read.

Wang Xifeng regretted her words. She was just joking with herself to make Lady Jia happy, but she forgot to tease Lady Wang. She regretted it too late and was about to change the subject when she heard footsteps outside.

Nanny Wang asked a few maids to carry two boxes and cages in and put them in the room.

Lin Daiyu stood up, walked to the box and opened the lid.

A box was filled with various fine fabrics.

The other box contained a brocade gift box.

Grandmother Jia was startled: "What is this for?"

Lin Daiyu: "The New Year gifts my father sent have been delivered to the accounting office. These are the gifts I give to my grandmother, aunt, sister-in-law and sisters." As she spoke, she opened the first box, revealing a Suzhou embroidery.

Lin Daiyu held it up with both hands and presented it to Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia took the scroll and looked at the double-sided brocade painting "Yaochi Offering Longevity Picture".

Lin Daiyu brought another gift box. Grandmother Jia put down the Suzhou embroidery and opened the lid of the box. It was the pair of glass longevity bracelets.

The gift touched Lady Jia's heart. She put the bracelet on her wrist immediately and asked her maid Yuanyang to put the Suzhou embroidery away properly.

Lin Daiyu then distributed the gifts to Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang, the Sanchun sisters and others.

The gifts were prepared according to the list given by Li Hu, and even Aunt Zhou and Aunt Zhao had some.

Grandmother Jia's expression became serious. These things were very valuable and were considered precious even for the Jia family, especially the jewelry. They were obviously palace jewelry from the Imperial Household Department. They were not the Lin family's things.

Did Li Hu know? Was he willing to do it? If he was dissatisfied with Lin Daiyu because of this, it would be troublesome.

Lin Daiyu seemed to see through Grandmother Jia's thoughts and said softly, "These are all gifts from the Empress and the Crown Princess. I can't wear the brightly colored ones, and it would be a pity to leave them alone. Why not give them to my sisters to wear?"

After a pause, he said, "He agreed."

Only then did Grandmother Jia nod her head in relief and said, "Your grandmother taught you that no matter what time, you must not use your husband's family's money or things to support your parents' family. This is taboo!" As she said this, she glanced at Mrs. Wang.

Lin Daiyu: “Yes.”

(End of this chapter)