save the bachelors

Chapter 4702 [Lin Daiyu]

Xiang Nan then met his mother, Mrs. Wang, and then took off his going-out clothes and changed into new clothes for home.

The nobles all follow rules. They have many sets of clothes: some for going out, some for wearing at home, some for meeting guests, some for visiting relatives, some for worshipping, some for offering sacrifices... there are so many different types.

The saying “It takes three generations of officialdom before one can have clothes to wear and food to eat” is exactly this truth.

Following Xiang Nan, he returned to his grandmother, Shi Taijun, and paid homage again, "Grandma!"

"Why have you taken off your clothes before seeing any guests? Why don't you go to see your sister?" said Jia's grandmother with a smile.

Xiang Nan had already noticed Lin Daiyu in front of Lady Jia, so he stood up and faced Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu also hurriedly left her seat and came closer to Xiang Nan.

Xiang Nan bowed deeply, and Lin Daiyu bowed in return.

Xiang Nan took a look at her and saw that she had two curved eyebrows that seemed to be frowning but not frowning, and a pair of eyes that seemed to be crying but not crying. Her expression showed sorrow in her cheeks, and she was sick all over. There were tears in her eyes, and she was panting slightly. When she was quiet, she was like a beautiful flower reflecting on the water, and when she moved, she was like a weak willow swaying in the wind. Her heart was more intelligent than Bi Gan, and her illness was three times worse than Xi Shi's.

"I've seen this sister before." Xiang Nan felt a sense of familiarity.

"You're talking nonsense again. How could you have seen her?" Grandmother Jia laughed.

This was the first time that Lin Daiyu came to the capital from Yangzhou. How could she have met him before?

"Although I have never met him, he looks familiar to me, so I think we are old acquaintances. It's not a bad idea to just treat today as a reunion after a long separation." Xiang Nan explained.

"Better, better. If so, they will be more harmonious." Upon hearing this, Jia Mu smiled and took Xiang Nan and Lin Daiyu's hands, saying with a happy smile.

"Has your sister ever been to school?" Xiang Nan asked again with concern.

"I have never read it. I only went to school for one year and can recognize a few words." Lin Daiyu said modestly.

"What is your honorable name, sister?" Xiang Nan asked with a smile.

Lin Daiyu then said her name and traced it on the palm of her hand with her slender fingers.

"My sister's courtesy name is..." Xiang Nan asked again.

In ancient times, it was taboo to call people by their given names, so people often used nicknames or courtesy names. For example, Liu Bei's courtesy name was Xuande, Guan Yu's courtesy name was Yunchang, Zhang Fei's courtesy name was Yide, Zhao Yun's courtesy name was Zilong...

"No words." Lin Daiyu shook her head.

A courtesy name is usually given to a person after he or she reaches adulthood by elders, respecters or close relatives, and must be related to the person's real name.

"I'll give my sister a wonderful word, and it's none other than 'Pinpin'." Xiang Nan said with a smile.

"Where does this word come from?" asked a girl with thin shoulders and waist, tall figure, oval face, beautiful eyes and thin eyebrows, a lively look, and a brilliant literary talent that made people forget the world. It was Tanchun.

"It is said in the General Examination of Ancient and Modern Figures: 'In the West there is a stone called Dai, which can be used as ink for drawing eyebrows.' Besides, since Sister Lin's eyebrows are furrowed, it is wonderful to use these two words!" Xiang Nan said with a smile.

"I'm afraid it's another fabrication by you." Tanchun said with a smile.

"Except for the Four Books, there are too many fabricated things. Am I the only one who fabricated them?" Xiang Nan said with a smile, "Sister, do you have a jade?"

"I don't have that. My brother's jade is a rare item, not everyone can have it." Lin Daiyu shook her head and said.

"It's okay, I'll give one to my sister." Xiang Nan said, taking out a crystal clear, dazzling and extremely beautiful crystal and handed it to Lin Daiyu.

When everyone saw it, they were surprised.

This crystal stone is no worse than Xiang Nan's precious jade. Of course, after all, this is also the gem that Nuwa made to mend the sky, and it is the "Ice Soul". It is also the gem that Bu Jingyun took from the Xia Wang Mansion in "Wind and Cloud" to protect Kong Ci's body from decay.

It is the most beautiful of the four magical stones, but its function is also the weakest. The stone is just cool in nature and if you wear it on your body in summer, you will not sweat.

"Brother Bao, where did this come from?" asked a short, cute girl.

"It fell from the sky and landed in my hands." Xiang Nan explained with a smile, "It just so happened that this fairy-like sister came to my house, so it can be seen that this precious jade came for her."

When everyone heard this, they were naturally amazed.

Lin Daiyu was a little embarrassed and wanted to refuse, but Xiang Nan was one step ahead of her and stuffed it into her hand first. Lin Daiyu had no choice but to accept it.

……

At this time, the wet nurse came to ask about Daiyu's room.

"Move Baoyu out now and put him in the warm room with me in the suite, and temporarily put Miss Lin in the green gauze cabinet." Grandmother Jia thought for a while and said, "Wait until the end of winter, and then clean up the house for them in the spring and make new arrangements for them."

The so-called green gauze cabinet is a partition, which is used to separate the inner room. Because Jia Baoyu was favored by his grandmother, he lived next to her room.

"Good ancestor, I'm fine on the bed outside the green gauze cabinet. Why do you have to come out and disturb us?" Xiang Nan said with a smile.

"Well, then Daiyu will live with me in the warm suite." Grandmother Jia nodded.

Now they are all settled.

Xiang Nan returned to his room and took out a copy of "The Doctrine of the Mean" to read.

This surprised the maids who served him, including Xiren, Qingwen, Sheyue, Bihen, etc.

Because Jia Baoyu never liked reading, especially the imperial examination books like the Four Books and Five Classics. But now he took the initiative to read one, which was really beyond their expectations.

"When did the Second Master change his temper? He even started reading the Four Books?" Qingwen couldn't help laughing.

Sheyue and Bihen also found it strange and couldn't help but smile, "Maybe he heard that the master would ask him about his homework tomorrow, so he was cramming at the last minute."

"Shh, stop talking nonsense. Second Master, don't you know that reading is a bad thing?" Xiren waved her hands quickly.

She hoped that Xiang Nan could study hard and make progress. After all, books are the golden house and books are the thousand bushels of millet. If a man wants to fulfill his life's ambition, he should study the Six Classics diligently in front of the window.

When everyone heard this, they all smiled and nodded.

……

Xiang Nan seemed to be reading "The Doctrine of the Mean", but in fact he was thinking about something silently.

The world in which "Dream of the Red Chamber" takes place is not exactly the same as real history.

In real history, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing army entered the pass and established their rule in the Central Plains. Emperor Chongzhen was hanged on Coal Hill, becoming the king of a fallen country. Emperor Hongguang Zhu Yousong proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, and wanted to live in peace in a corner, but was eventually defeated by the Qing army, and the beautiful mountains and rivers were destroyed.

But in the world of "Dream of Red Mansions", after Emperor Hongguang ascended the throne, he worked hard to govern the country, prepared his troops, and finally led his army to defeat the Qing army, recaptured the beautiful territory within the Great Wall, and saved the Ming Dynasty.

Jia Baoyu's great-grandfathers Jia Yuan and Jia Yan fought bravely and made many military achievements in the war to recover the lost territory and drive out foreign invaders. Therefore, they were both named Duke of Rong and Duke of Ning, and the Jia family had the prominent status of the two dukes in the same family.

Now it has been passed down to Jia Baoyu's generation, which is already the fourth generation. As the saying goes, the grace of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations. Now the fifth generation of the Jia family has appeared, namely Jia Rong, Jia Lan, Jia Qiang, Jia Qin, Jia Yun, etc.

As a result, the fortunes of the Jia family gradually declined, and there were signs that their expenses were not enough to cover their income and they were living beyond their means.