Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 355 Where Does the Spring Breeze in the Courtyard Go?

As the hour of You (5-7 PM) passed, the carriages and horses gradually came to a stop. A servant came over from outside and said a few words. Zijuan replied with a couple of sentences, then turned around and nudged the dozing Daiyu.

"Girl, we're here."

Daiyu suddenly woke up and looked up to see Xiangyun resting her head on the shoulder of her maid Cuilu, with a trace of drool still on her lips.

Daiyu groaned softly. The steam from the incense burner in the carriage made her face flushed red. Her throat was slightly dry, so she cleared it before asking, "What time is it?"

Xueyan, standing to the side, took out her pocket watch and said, "Reporting to Miss, it is one quarter past noon."

Daiyu nodded and then asked, "Have we arrived at Anlan Garden? Why is it so quiet?"

Zijuan said, "The servant just said that we have arrived at the side gate of Anlan Garden. Right now, Master Yuan is talking with Physician Zhai from the Inner Palace. We should be able to enter the garden in a little while."

During the Lantern Festival, Anlan Garden held a five-day lantern festival. The Emperor graciously allowed the imperial relatives and nobles to enjoy the festivities with the common people. However, these nobles and nobles naturally did not use the main gate or side gate on the south side like ordinary people.

Chen Siyuan had frequent dealings with Zhai Kui, a senior official in the Imperial Household Department. It was thanks to Chen Siyuan's suggestion that Zhai Kui was able to manage the Wan Ke Lai business. It is said that because he did a good job, the Prince of Yanping has already praised him for his achievements, and it is expected that he will be appointed as the Deputy Minister of the Imperial Household Department within the year.

With such connections, Chen Siyuan naturally didn't need to lead a group of girls to squeeze through the South Gate.

Sure enough, not long after, servants came to urge everyone to get off the carriage. Daiyu wrapped her cloak around herself, woke the sleeping Xiangyun, and then helped her maid down from the carriage.

Upon landing and looking up, one could see that this was the west gate of Anlan Garden, and Chen Siyuan was talking to an official from the inner court in front of the gate.

Baoqin came over at some point, glanced at Zhai Kui, and said, "Brother Yuan is indeed very influential. This man is Zhai Kui, a physician in the Imperial Household Department."

"Zhai Kui?" Daiyu asked.

Baoqin said, "When my brother took over the imperial merchant post, he made many requests to invite this Physician Zhai to a meal. It was on that day that I caught a glimpse of him through the screen. I heard that Physician Zhai is now highly trusted and will soon be promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He might even be transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the future."

Xiangyun replied, "No matter what, he's just a fifth-rank physician."

Baoqin said, both amused and exasperated, "Sister Yun is truly otherworldly. Haven't you heard that a local official is more powerful than a county magistrate? This fifth-rank official with real power is a hundred times better than those empty shells of a marquis's or earl's mansion."

Xiangyun was somewhat bewildered. Thinking of her second and third uncles, she was certain that Zhai Kui was no match for her. However, when she thought of the Xiangcheng Marquis's Mansion, she frowned deeply. She thought to herself, "Isn't the Xiangcheng Marquis's Mansion just an empty shell? Now it has even lost its title."

While pondering, Sister Feng gathered everyone together. Apart from a few young ladies, there were a total of thirteen maids and old women, and eight servants accompanying her.

Feng Jie originally intended to gather everyone together for a stroll, but Ping'er said, "I just looked out from behind the door and saw that it was already packed with people. If our group goes for a stroll, we'll inevitably get blocked by the crowd. Madam, I think it would be better to instruct the servants to keep a close eye on us and then decide when to leave together."

Sister Feng thought about it and agreed. She immediately assigned tasks. At this moment, Chen Siyuan finished his instructions to Zhai Kui and brought a junior official from the Imperial Household Department to invite everyone to enter the garden together.

After having dinner, Daiyu boarded the carriage. Still feeling dizzy, she felt an urgent need to urinate, but she couldn't say anything. She just kept glancing at Chen Siyuan.

Unfortunately, Chen Siyuan was busy talking to the minor official and didn't look over. Just as Daiyu was getting anxious, she saw Chen Siyuan leading people into a scenic spot.

Baoqin loved to travel, and since Anlan Garden had been open to the public since the time of the Supreme Emperor, she pointed to this place and said, "This is Quyuan Fenghe, which is said to be modeled after Quyuan in West Lake. Look, that is the Nine-Arch Bridge. It's a pity that it's only just opened now. If it were summer, with the pond full of lotus flowers, it would be intoxicating to think about."

After a short while, we crossed the Nine-Arch Bridge. Under the bridge was a row of residences, which were originally the Ruyi Residence, where paintings were kept. After the current emperor ascended the throne, he moved the paintings to the Imperial City, and the place was left vacant.

At this moment, Chen Siyuan turned around, and the clerk, having received his reward, happily left. Chen Siyuan approached Sister Feng, nodded slightly to everyone, and said, "Everything is settled. This place is cleared out for us to rest. Second Sister-in-law, why don't you take everyone to change your clothes first?"

Sister Feng laughed and said, "Brother Yuan is so thoughtful." She then glanced at Daiyu before recounting their respective strolls.

Upon hearing this, Chen Siyuan couldn't help but glance at Daiyu, who immediately turned her head away in embarrassment.

"Then I'll take everyone to change first. We'll split up and wander around later, then meet back here at the end of the 7 PM and return to the mansion together."

Chen Siyuan nodded in agreement, and Sister Feng led the people into Ruyi Residence first.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Daiyu shyly emerged from inside, accompanied by Zijuan, Xueyan, and two maids. Chen Siyuan instructed his servant Qingyu to stay and look after her, while he himself took a bodyguard with him.

During the Lantern Festival, not only at Anlan Garden where the lantern festival is held, but also throughout the capital, the Beijing Garrison patrols. Those who commit crimes are naturally terrified, and the extra manpower they bring is to guard against petty thieves.

Soon, Daiyu approached. Chen Siyuan took a quick look and noticed that Daiyu was wearing a silver fox fur coat. He immediately said, "Why aren't you wearing the fox fur coat I gave you before the New Year?"

Daiyu retorted, "Fox fur is indeed very nice, but I am still an unmarried young lady, not a member of the royal family. How can I wear fox fur and parade around in public?"

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "Alright, then let my sister wear it in two years."

With a gesture of invitation, Daiyu followed Chen Siyuan toward the lantern festival. As they passed the bamboo grove ahead, Chen Siyuan glanced at Daiyu and saw her hands tucked into her sleeves. He then pulled out a hand warmer from his sleeve and handed it to her, saying, "Here, sister, take this to warm your hands."

Daiyu took it and said, "Where am I going to freeze to death? Why did you have to go to the trouble of taking this?"

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "It's windy today, better safe than sorry."

After crossing another plank bridge, the lantern festival was just ahead. Stalls were set up in the houses on both sides, and eunuchs dressed as merchants were calling out their wares. Upon noticing Chen Siyuan and his party, one of the eunuchs said, "Young master and young lady, would you like to choose a lantern? It's only three taels of silver as a minimum, and the style is novel. I guarantee you'll like it."

Chen Siyuan glanced at Daiyu and, seeing that the young lady was eager to try, tugged at Daiyu's sleeve and stepped forward, picking up a rabbit lantern and saying, "Sister, what do you think of this?"

Daiyu shook her head, but pointed to a lion lantern and said, "I think this one is better."

Chen Siyuan then reached out and took down the lion lantern, handing it to Daiyu. Daiyu picked up the lantern handle and looked down at it with delight. Chen Siyuan smiled and then said to Zijuan, Xueyan, and the others behind him, "If any of you see anything you like, just come and take it. I'll pay for it all at once."

Zijuan and Xueyan were overjoyed. They huddled together and chattered amongst themselves before each choosing a lotus lantern.

During the Lantern Festival, although lanterns were displayed throughout Anlan Garden, they were concentrated in several places, including Lianxi Lechu and Shuimu Mingse. The area was teeming with visitors, and palace lanterns were hung from the eaves of palaces and trees. There were also palace lanterns made by the imperial court that stretched across the streets. For a time, lanterns were everywhere, dazzling the eyes.

Daiyu carried the lion lantern and followed Chen Siyuan forward. In the blink of an eye, they were surrounded by a bustling crowd of people, and Daiyu felt secretly annoyed. Just now, when it was quiet, she felt shy and didn't know how to say anything to Chen Siyuan; now that there were so many people, she felt even more awkward talking to him.

In that case, wouldn't we just be able to wander around aimlessly?

Just as he was pondering this, Chen Siyuan pointed and said, "Little sister, look quickly, that revolving lantern looks familiar."

Before Daiyu could recover, Chen Siyuan pulled her sleeve and brought her closer. Daiyu looked up and examined the painting, and saw that it depicted the Romance of the Western Chamber.

Beneath a row of revolving lanterns, an old eunuch held up a copper pot, the syrup dancing on the copper plate, instantly transforming into a dragon with distinct scales and claws. Daiyu gazed at the golden sugar dragon and suddenly recalled her childhood in Suzhou, when her father would often buy sugar paintings to cheer her up.

At this moment, the old eunuch started hawking his wares. Chen Siyuan noticed that Daiyu was interested and said, "Why don't you try your luck, sister? You might just win a sugar dragon."

"Okay," Daiyu replied with a smile. She stepped forward and flicked her wrist, spinning it around a few times, but only landed on a large rooster.

Daiyu frowned slightly, looking somewhat disappointed. Chen Siyuan coughed lightly, quietly approached the old eunuch, and secretly handed him a gold melon seed. Seeing that the old eunuch understood, he said to Daiyu, "One tael of silver is turned over three times. This is only the first time. Who knows, you might win big next time."

Daiyu frowned and said, "I have never had good luck since I was a child. When I was in Suzhou, I tried to buy sugar paintings, but my father always had to spend extra money to buy them. I never won one."

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "The concept of luck is vague and unpredictable. Maybe my sister's luck has already turned around by now?"

Daiyu smiled but did not answer, only raising her hand to dial again. The old eunuch, having received the golden melon seed, secretly reached under the table and saw the pointer spin around a few times before finally stopping on the dragon.

Behind her, Zijuan and Xueyan clasped their hands in praise: "You've won! You've won! Good luck, young lady! You've won the dragon on your second try!"

Daiyu looked surprised and looked up at Chen Siyuan. Before she could say anything, the old eunuch chuckled and said, "This young lady is very lucky. Since we set up this stall, you are the first person to be able to turn the dragon into a dragon with only one tael of silver."

Having said that, the old eunuch took a spoonful of syrup, and then, with swift strokes of his brush, drew a large dragon in a short time. He pried it open with a thin blade, chuckled, and handed it over, saying, "Miss, take this." "Mm." Daiyu excitedly took it, held it in her hand, and examined it for a long time before smiling and going to stroll with Chen Siyuan to the next place.

The two walked side by side, taking in the sights along the way. Daiyu was reluctant to part with the sugar painting in her hand, so she only took a small lick to taste it before stopping.

After the surroundings quieted down a bit, she asked, "Did you just give up the silver coins or the gold seeds?"

Chen Siyuan asked, "Did my sister see it?"

Daiyu laughed and said, "I'm not blind. You went to that old eunuch to make your move. Even if you turned your back on him, anyone who isn't stupid would know that you must have used some tricks."

"As the saying goes, money can move mountains. Even the Buddha said to be free from worldly strife, yet temples everywhere still fight over incense and lamp oil."

Daiyu said, "Luck bought through trickery doesn't count."

Chen Siyuan stopped and said seriously, "Sister, you've thought this through. Who says that luck bought isn't luck? The fact that others can't buy it only means that they don't have as much money as we do."

Daiyu was puzzled and said, "What if someone else also spent money?"

Chen Siyuan put his hands behind his back, looking completely at ease, and said, "Then I'll use more money, and then we'll see who has more money."

Daiyu covered her mouth and giggled, "Money really can move mountains."

Amidst the laughter and chatter, they saw a large crowd gathered ahead, with colorful lanterns being hung up and lowered on poles.

Daiyu then said, "It looks like they're solving riddles."

Chen Siyuan frowned slightly and said, "Sister, would you like to go and see what's going on?"

Daiyu said, "Just watch from a distance. Don't go over and push and shove, lest something bad happen."

After a moment's thought, Chen Siyuan said, "In that case, how about I give you a riddle and you guess it, little sister?"

"Okay."

Chen Siyuan cleared his throat and said, "The tree opens its eyes, the boy sleeps under the eaves, lacking a bit of conscience, the sun sets beside the withered rabbit—guess four characters."

Daiyu frowned and repeated it, then glared at Chen Siyuan.

Chen Siyuan raised his hand and coughed lightly, saying, "This riddle might be useful in the future. If you guess it, you don't need to say it." As he spoke, he raised his hand and handed it over, saying, "Just write it down."

With a face that could be both angry and happy, Daiyu took Chen Siyuan's large hand and wrote four words: "It's a pity we didn't meet sooner."

Seeing that Daiyu had indeed guessed correctly, Chen Siyuan couldn't help but smile.

Daiyu rolled her eyes and said, "It's only polite to reciprocate, so I'll give you a riddle too. Listen carefully: 'Wood and eye cross over heart, ancient people wrote in reverse, little monk with bald head, miserable without tears'—guess four characters."

Chen Siyuan pondered for a moment, then reached out to grab Daiyu's soft hand. But Daiyu blushed and walked away with her head down, saying only, "The answer to this riddle is too obvious. You've already guessed it, so there's no need to tell me."

Is Lin Daiyu shy? Chen Siyuan smiled and hurriedly chased after Daiyu.

Although Anlan Garden is vast, the area for holding the lantern festival is not large, roughly the size of Grand View Garden. Chen Siyuan was afraid that Daiyu would become too shy and ignore him, so he kept quiet about the answer to the riddle from earlier.

He simply strolled along, stopping and starting, accompanying Daiyu as she wandered around.

As they strolled around casually, Daiyu gradually shed her initial restraint and became more talkative. When they came to a waterside pavilion, Chen Siyuan saw lotus lanterns for sale on the shore, which were meant to be placed in the water. He then pulled Daiyu over to buy some.

As soon as they approached, they heard a commotion coming from the waterside pavilion. Looking up, Daiyu exclaimed in surprise, "That sounds like Sister Feng! And what's Brother Lian doing here too?"

Chen Siyuan stared intently, and by the light of the lanterns hanging on both sides of the waterside pavilion, he saw that Jia Lian looked embarrassed, with Zhang Jinge beside him.

Chen Siyuan was immediately amused, thinking to himself that Jia Lian was quite unabashed, as if he had forgotten his old love after finding a new one.

Just as she was hesitating whether to avoid it, Ping'er, who was standing next to Feng Jie, glanced over and immediately waved and said, "Master Yuan, Miss Lin!"

Chen Siyuan and Daiyu exchanged a glance. Daiyu playfully stuck out her tongue and said, "I'm afraid we can't avoid it."

Chen Siyuan smiled and comforted her, "Second sister-in-law has always been considerate of Second Brother Lian in public. We can go over and smooth things over."

The two reluctantly went up to the waterside pavilion. When Jia Lian saw them, he seemed to see a savior and stepped forward to warmly grab Chen Siyuan's hand, saying, "I was just looking around when I found Brother Yuan nearby."

Knowing his own status, Zhang Jingge immediately curtsied to the two. Chen Siyuan glanced around and saw that besides Ping'er, Xiao Xichun was also with Feng Jie. As for Baoqin and Xiangyun, they had probably gone off to wander off somewhere else.

Chen Siyuan coughed and said, "Second Brother Lian, what brings you to the Lantern Festival?"

Jia Lian chuckled awkwardly, "I was originally going to come with you this morning, but we were delayed because some distinguished guests came to visit. In the evening, I thought that the old lady was worried about me, so I came here to look for you."

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng said sarcastically, "Oh, then I'll have to accept Second Master's favor. I'll find an old woman to inquire and see which distinguished guest has come to visit today."

What distinguished guest could there be? Jia Lian was merely making up a lie to save face.

Fearing that Sister Feng would immediately break off their relationship, Jia Lian coughed and said, "I haven't explored that area yet. Let me show Brother Jin around first, and we can get together later."

"Alright, Second Brother, don't forget to go to Ruyi Residence near the West Gate at 7 PM, and we'll go back to the mansion together."

"We'll talk about it later." Jia Lian gave a perfunctory bow, grabbed Zhang Jinge, and left.

Feng Jie watched Jia Lian leave with cold eyes, her teeth clenched in hatred. She had no interest in strolling through the lantern festival. She only gave a heavy snort before saying to Chen Siyuan, "Brother Yuan, I'm a little cold right now and plan to go back and rest. I'll trouble you to take Xichun around."

Chen Siyuan agreed, and Fengjie led Ping'er to chase after Jia Lian.

Once everyone was gone, Xichun exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Feng looks pale. Brother Lian is in for a world of trouble."

Chen Siyuan laughed and rubbed Xichun's Guanyin-shaped pouch, saying, "Children shouldn't concern themselves with adult matters."

Xichun playfully dodged away, pouting, "Brother Yuan, please don't mess up my hair anymore. I'm a grown woman now."

Daiyu then teased from the side, "I think he's a precocious little devil."

After the two girls had played around for a while, Chen Siyuan said, "After we pass the waterside pavilion, there's another lantern festival ahead. Let's stroll around there and then head back."

Xichun said, "I just saw Sister Yun and Sister Qin heading in that direction. Let's go and see what's going on. I heard there's a lantern on Mount Ao."

With Xichun added to the mix, Daiyu could no longer walk side by side with Chen Siyuan, so he walked ahead by himself, while the two girls followed behind, side by side.

Turning past the waterside pavilion, a huge lantern, resembling an Aoshan Mountain, was indeed seen standing in front. A shed was also erected on the artificial hill, where shirtless men were swinging their arms to perform iron sparks.

Xi Chun watched with envy, clapping her hands and jumping up and down, urging others to go forward and take a look. But the three of them had only gone a short distance when Xiao Luo came running in a panic. Seeing Chen Siyuan and the others, she hurriedly ran over and said, "Uncle Yuan, something bad has happened! Miss Yun is arguing with someone, and it's getting really heated right now!"

"Xiangyun got into an argument?" Chen Siyuan hurriedly asked, "Explain yourself, who did Xiangyun argue with?"

Xiao Luo said, "It's...it's the whole family from the Marquis of Xiangcheng!"

(End of this chapter)