After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 161 Daiyu Watches the Swallows, Qingwen Asks About Love

Daiyu returned to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Inside the museum, the bamboo is still lush and green, with bamboo shadows scattered on the ground, moss patches of varying thickness, and a babbling brook flowing beneath the bamboo.

Strangely enough, the first time she entered the palace, she stayed for about seven or eight days, and this time she also stayed for seven or eight days.

But now that she's back at Xiaoxiang Pavilion, she suddenly feels uneasy, though she can't quite put her finger on it. She guesses it's because the Emperor is forcing her to stay at Daming Palace, and it will be difficult for her to come back to stay there again.

She also found herself increasingly unable to find the familiar places where she used to play with Baoyu.

As she walked along the winding corridor, a parrot under the corridor saw her return and suddenly swooped down with a squawk, startling Daiyu. She scolded it, "You damned thing, you've slapped me all over with dust again!"

The parrot then began chanting, "Xueyan, the young lady is back! Quickly lift the curtain!" This made Zijuan and Xueyan laugh, saying:

"I don't know where this bird learned to scare people. It's scared us several times. We haven't been back for days, and it's been waiting for the girl to come back!"

Daiyu laughed and patted the doorknob, saying, "We've been gone for a few days. Has Mother given you any food or water?"

Zijuan glanced at it and laughed, "There's more, it didn't finish eating."

Daiyu nodded and instructed them, "Go and tidy up the room. I'll go check if the swallow eggs have hatched yet. I wonder if Yuchuan has been watching them for me."

As she was about to go to the two back rooms in the backyard to check on the swallows' nest, Yu Chuan happened to return. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss, I've remembered to keep the curtains down these past few days so as not to disturb the swallows from coming back to incubate their eggs."

Daiyu stopped and smiled, "I'd appreciate it if you could take care of them for me these next few days."

Yu Chuan didn't reply for a while. Seeing that Zi Juan and Xue Yan went to tidy up the house, she hurriedly went to help.

Daiyu was perceptive but didn't say much. She went to the backyard to look at the swallow's nest and stood there for a while. Sure enough, she saw swallows returning from foraging for food and feeding the insects in their beaks to the newly hatched chicks.

Seeing this scene, she was reminded of her lost mother and the unknown fate of her father. Overwhelmed with grief, she couldn't help but burst into tears again.

Just then, the pear tree in the backyard had just borne many green fruits, but due to the wind and rain a few days ago, many fruits had fallen to the ground, adding to the desolate scene.

After cleaning the house, Zijuan was about to call her from the window when she saw the girl standing there, weeping as she looked at the swallows in their nest. The girl was dressed in a moon-white dress with orchid embroidery on a cross-collar. Her figure was light and graceful, like a tender willow in spring, swaying and fluttering in the wind. Zijuan was stunned for a moment and thought to herself, if the emperor had not been gentle with her when he favored her, how could the girl's delicate body have withstood it?

After a long pause, he called out, "Miss, the house is cleaned up, come back and rest!"

Daiyu came to her senses, wiped the tear stains from her cheeks with a handkerchief, and went back inside to rest.

In the evening, Daiyu still went to pay her respects to Grandmother Jia, because the emperor would be coming in a few days. If he suddenly decided to make her a concubine, it would be difficult for her to kowtow and pay her respects to her grandmother again.

After paying her respects, Daiyu returned to her study to read and practice calligraphy for a while.

After some time, as night was about to fall, Zijuan saw someone come in and said with a smile, "Why are you here?"

The person who came was Qingwen. It was getting dark, so it was hard to see the expression on her face. She asked, "Is your young lady back?"

"You're back. You're resting inside. Is there anything wrong? Is this...Master Bao?"

Zijuan lowered her voice and looked at her with concern, afraid that she would learn about Master Bao's affairs from Qingwen.

Now that the girl has entered the palace, Zijuan can see that the emperor is determined to take her as a concubine. If Bao Erye continues to pester her, he will only harm the girl and himself!

Qingwen understood and pulled her outside, but didn't let go of her hand after they went outside. Zijuan laughed and said, "Why are you holding my hand like that?"

Qingwen then came to her senses, let go of her, and asked, "Miss Lin, are you going to Yihong Courtyard tomorrow? To welcome the Emperor's arrival, the Second Miss asked us to clean up Yihong Courtyard and put away all of Baoyu's things."

Zijuan was taken aback and said, "Miss didn't say anything." After thinking for a while, she added, "Miss didn't mention Master Bao after she came back."

Qingwen suddenly became anxious and asked, "Why didn't you mention it? She wasn't—"

The words stopped abruptly.

She had seen Lin Daiyu lingering in the Grand View Garden, her mind elsewhere and lost in her infatuation, so she assumed that when she returned this time, she would still go to the Grand View Garden to reminisce about Master Bao, just like before.

Qingwen learned the concept of love from her.

Zijuan sighed, "Don't mention Second Master anymore. What good will it do? It will only cause more trouble. Two months have passed. Miss has entered the inner palace and will live in the Emperor's Daming Palace like the other concubines... If Miss is favored, Second Master Bao may be pardoned sooner."

Qingwen stared at her intently, her mind filled with many thoughts.

Zijuan added, "Besides, Master Bao spent over a thousand taels, all of which you obtained from the Emperor. As the saying goes, 'He who takes a bribe is bound to be grateful.' You had to say many nice things to get this money."

Qingwen sneered, "That emperor seized our family's vast wealth and then claimed the silver was a reward. Is there any truth to that?"

Zijuan laughed and said, "The greatest truth is that the victor is king and the loser is villain."

Qingwen was speechless.

Zijuan advised her, "You should change your temper. If you curse like that in front of the emperor one day, how many heads would you have to chop off?"

Qingwen touched her neck and stubbornly said, "If it's cut off, it's cut off. Anyway, I'll be leaving this garden eventually!"

"Say less! It's getting late, and you didn't bring a lantern. How are you going to get home? I'll take you," Zijuan said.

Qingwen glanced at the sky and hurriedly walked out: "I just came to say a few words. I'm leaving now. Remember to tell your young lady that if she doesn't come back tomorrow, we'll clean up Yihong Courtyard!" Zijuan saw her off and locked the door. After returning to her room, she told her young lady what had just happened.

Upon hearing this, Daiyu was stunned for a moment before saying softly, "Seeing it will only make me sad. Baoyu's things in Yihong Courtyard will eventually have to be cleared out. You should tell them to put them away for now... perhaps they will need them when they come back."

Zijuan knew that even the girl herself didn't believe these words.

Unexpectedly, the following afternoon, Jia Lian rushed back and brought a message through the second gate:
Baoyu insisted on going back to the mansion to see the old lady, the madam, and Lin Daiyu!

……

Military camp outside the city.

"You wretched creature, what are you going to do now?!"

Jia Zheng shouted sternly, his voice filled with disappointment. The disheveled man kneeling before him, listening to his reprimand, was none other than Jia Baoyu.

Jia Huan watched with schadenfreude, adding fuel to the fire by saying, "Second Brother learned from someone that the Emperor is going to our house..."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Jia Zheng scolded him again.

Jia Huan slapped himself and quickly changed his words: "When the Emperor was going to visit the Duke's Mansion, Second Brother was stunned. He grabbed Steward Song's hand and wouldn't let go. It took him three hundred coins to learn from him that the Emperor would visit the Duke's Mansion in three days. He also heard that yesterday, more than ten sedan chairs returned to the mansion from the palace. How grand!"

Upon hearing this, the second brother seemed to go into a daze again, repeatedly muttering phrases like "Sister Lin," "Sister Bao," and "entering the palace as a concubine," saying he wanted to go back and see Sister Lin one last time!

Jia Lian, Jia She, Jia Qiang, and the others who were watching from the side were not surprised at all when they saw Jia Huan slap them.

Only Jia Yun watched coldly, thinking of the former masters and young masters of the Jia family, who were now bowing and scraping, acting like servants. Just now, Jia Huan slapped him, which was exactly how the servants in the mansion used to say the wrong thing.
This military camp was like a furnace, grinding away their former temperament and spirit.

Only Uncle Bao still suffers from this madness.

Jia Yun thought that it was because Miss Lin and Miss Bao in the mansion gave him money to spend that he still thought he was in the mansion.
"You're so confused!!"

Jia Zheng was both angry and furious. He scolded his son Baoyu, saying, "That steward clearly knew you had money and cared about the affairs of the manor, so he deliberately said those things in front of you. How could you so casually give him another three hundred coins..."

As he spoke, he felt a rush of blood to his head and almost couldn't catch his breath.

Everyone hurriedly tried to persuade him, and Jia Lian gave up his seat for his second uncle. The tent was cramped, with only one chair, and he didn't even offer his seat to his father when he came in.

Nowadays, the entire Jia family relies on his connections to barely make ends meet; otherwise, they would be forced to do heavy manual labor, which would exhaust them within days.

Jia Baoyu knelt there with his head bowed and said, "Father, I will only take one last look. After I see them, I will let go and never see them again. I will not die in peace if I do not see the old lady, the madam, and Lin Daiyu one last time!"

Before Jia Zheng could speak, Jia Baoyu said, "If I can't see Grandmother and Lin Daiyu, there's no point in me living. This military camp is poor and shabby, and I'm exhausted. It would be better to die!"

Jia Huan sneered: "Second Brother, you've said that several times already."

Jia Baoyu's face was somewhat unpleasant. Seeing that his father was about to get angry again, he quickly said, "Sister Lin and Sister Bao just returned from the palace. They must have been wronged by the emperor... no, they must have been favored by the emperor. If I go back and plead for them, Sister Lin might be able to ask the emperor to pardon us again!"

Jia She, Jia Qiang, and Jia Qin showed joy on their faces, and Jia Baoyu added, "Besides, the eldest uncle of the East Mansion is ill, so it would be good if we could get some medicine."

Jia Zheng still refused, so Jia Baoyu simply said, "If I can't see Lin Daiyu, I'll cut off my hair and become a monk!"

Upon seeing this, Jia Lian also said, "When I go into the city later to move the family ancestral hall, I'll let you know on the way."

Jia Zheng had no choice but to give up. He bent down and left the tent, saying in a low voice, "Huan'er, come with me."

Jia Huan hurriedly followed him out.

Not long after, Jia Lian entered the city, returned to the Rongguo Mansion, and sent a message inside.

When the old woman responsible for delivering the message heard that Master Bao was threatening to die, she rushed into the mansion and told everyone she met about it. She then hurriedly went to inform the madam.

In an instant, the news that Baoyu was determined to return from outside the city to visit the old lady and the madam spread throughout the two mansions.

Upon hearing this, Xiangyun hurried over from the East Mansion and went to visit Grandmother Jia first. She found everyone there, with the old lady and madam wiping away tears. Baochai and the others didn't say anything, while Lin Daiyu was in a daze.

Xiangyun then said, "Grandma, don't worry. Second Brother is just going home to visit once. I will plead with His Majesty the Emperor to allow Second Brother to go home to visit!"

Lady Wang hurriedly asked, "Will this work? What if the Emperor blames us..."

Xiangyun laughed and said, "Whether it works or not is another matter. I'll just send a eunuch to the palace to deliver the message. His Majesty the Emperor won't be angry just because I pleaded for him!"

She was charmingly naive and innocent, and she pleaded for mercy without hesitation, much more readily than Lin Daiyu and Tan Chun.

Daiyu sighed inwardly and said, "Add me too, and we'll write a letter to the palace together, begging for mercy so that Baoyu can return to the mansion... But he can't enter the mansion; he can meet with the old lady and madam outside the second gate, across the threshold."

Grandmother Jia nodded and said, "It would be good to be able to see him even once."

So Xiangyun and Daiyu wrote a letter together and had it sent to the palace.

Daiyu knew that Xiangyun had written a letter pleading for her, and she didn't have to pay anything in return. The emperor doted on her, and even if he refused, he wouldn't be angry with her.

She herself was different. She pleaded for mercy... but Chu Yan would probably make her sit on his lap and hold him, humiliating her for a long time before he would stop.

(End of this chapter)