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

Chapter 162 Shattered Dreams of Yesteryear
The letter was sent to the palace by a eunuch. Daiyu and the others sat with Grandmother Jia for a while before returning to the garden to wait.

I thought I would have to wait at least half a day, but an hour later a maid came to tell me that the letter had been returned.

Xiangyun hurriedly asked, "Did the eunuch who brought the message say anything else?"

The maids were unaware of this matter, so they hurriedly went to Grandmother Jia's courtyard again. After asking around, they learned that the eunuch who delivered the letter had not received any other information and had simply taken the letter back.

"..."

Inside Grandmother Jia's room, everyone from Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang to the maids and servants standing in the corridor were trembling with fear.

The girls are pampered and have developed a willful temperament. Now that the emperor has returned the letter unopened, isn't that a way of telling them what to do?
Madam Xing said worriedly, "What should we do? If you ask me, we shouldn't let Baoyu run wild anymore. We women in the mansion have lost the dignity we used to have as mistresses. Why does he want money and want to come back to visit?"

As the conversation progressed, he couldn't help but complain.

In the past, when Baoyu was favored by Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, he would never have dared to say such a thing.

At this moment, neither Grandmother Jia nor Lady Wang had anything to say.

They had been worried about Baoyu's life outside the city, but now the emperor's thunderous power made them tremble with fear and regret that they had been too lenient with Baoyu.

As the daughter-in-law, Li Wan stood there without saying a word. After a long while, Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true. If the young ladies go to the palace to plead for them, it might just be over."

Xiangyun asked in surprise, "His Majesty the Emperor shouldn't be such a petty person. Even if he didn't agree, he should have sent a message back. Why hasn't there been any news?"

Daiyu thought for a moment, then suddenly got up and picked up the opened letter. When she took it out and looked at it, she clearly saw several more vermilion imperial brushstrokes at the back!
"Ah! What did my brother the emperor write?!"

Xiangyun also noticed the red writing and quickly got up to look at it. Li Wan, Tanchun, and the others also gathered around and saw that the imperial handwriting on the letter contained five characters:
I understand.

Daiyu smiled, her lips pursed. Suddenly, she felt relieved, though she couldn't quite tell whether it was because she was happy to see Baoyu or because Chu Yan had allowed her to see him.

"When the emperor was reviewing memorials, he saw a eunuch delivering a letter. After reading it, he casually gave it his approval."

Xiangyun guessed.

Daiyu gave the letter to Grandmother Jia and said with a smile, "Grandmother, send this letter with the imperial annotations to Second Brother Lian and tell him to bring Baoyu back to the city tomorrow so that he can pay his respects to Grandmother and Madam outside the Second Gate."

Grandmother Jia was also pleased and hurriedly told her, "It is our family's good fortune that the Emperor has bestowed such grace upon us. Remember to express your gratitude another day, and never become arrogant because of this favor."

They all agreed, and the news that the emperor had decreed that Second Master Bao could return to his residence for a visit spread throughout the two mansions. For a time, everyone was busy welcoming the imperial entourage while discussing the matter.

barracks.

Upon hearing the news, Jia Baoyu wept with joy, almost delirious. Everyone stared at him in surprise, wondering if the Jia family was about to be pardoned. They no longer dared to treat Jia Baoyu the same way they had before.

Seeing this, Jia Huan couldn't help but feel jealous. He ran to his father and said, "When Second Brother goes back and sees his sisters at home, who knows how many troubles he'll cause. Besides, Second Brother keeps calling her Sister Lin. What if the Emperor blames him..."

Jia Zheng was alarmed upon hearing this and wanted to summon Baoyu to give him a scolding, but then he thought that Baoyu's temperament was hard to change.

After pondering for a long time, Jia Zheng went to Jia Lian's tent to discuss the matter with him.

Jia Lian agreed.

The next day, Baoyu asked him to find a bathhouse so he could wash himself properly and change his clothes.

Remembering Jia Zheng's words from the previous day, Jia Lian pretended to agree while going out to attend the morning meeting of the stewards. When he returned, he hurriedly called to Bao Yu, "Hurry up and come into the city with me, don't delay!"

"Second brother, the bathhouse..."

"Never mind that, let it be. You've always presented yourself like this before!"

Jia Lian led him onto a donkey and hurried into the city.

Upon entering the city gate and seeing the bustling scene on the street, Jia Baoyu felt as if he had been transported to another world. After walking for a while, he saw Ningrong Street and trembled all over. When he entered the street, he saw that both sides of the street were covered with curtains, and they could only walk outside the curtains. After walking for a while, they finally saw the familiar, open West Corner Gate.

"Lin Daiyu!! Grandma!!"

Jia Baoyu fell off the donkey and knelt in front of the door, wailing loudly. Several eunuchs came out upon hearing the commotion. Seeing a disheveled boy kneeling and howling, they shouted, "Where did this beggar come from? Get out! Get out! This is the royal palace. How can you be allowed to wail here?! Get out!"

Royal Palace!

Jia Baoyu was struck dumb, as if by lightning.

Jia Lian quickly dismounted from the donkey, handed over a handful of loose silver, and explained the reason.

The eunuchs recognized him. After taking the money, they looked Jia Baoyu up and down, frowned, and asked, "So dirty, how can you go to see the young ladies in the mansion?"

Jia Lian said in a low voice, "His father wants him to come back dirty."

The eunuch then understood and said with a smile, "Please wait here, I will go in and report."

As he spoke, he entered through the west corner gate and spoke to the old woman at the second gate. The old woman hurriedly went in to report.

In the blink of an eye, everyone knew that Jia Baoyu had returned home!
The Rongguo Mansion suddenly became lively, with maids rushing around to deliver the news to the young ladies, the old lady, and the wives in the East Mansion and Grand View Garden. Lin Hongyu was the first to hear the news and hurriedly returned to Yihong Courtyard to tell them.

"Second Master is back?" Zhui'er asked indifferently, continuing to weave a small trinket in her hands, which she would later hang under the eaves to welcome the Emperor.

Lin Hongyu pulled her up and said with a smile, "After all, she was our former master. What's wrong with going out to see her?"

Zhui'er still refused to go, but when she saw Xiren, Qingwen, Sheyue, Qiuwen Bihen and others coming out of the main room, she changed her mind and went to see what was going on.

Upon arrival, seeing that the ladies had not yet arrived, she and Hongyu hid to the side.

A moment later, someone called out, "The old lady, the madam, and the girls are here!"

Lin Hongyu turned her head and saw that Grandmother Jia and the others, supported by Wang Xifeng and Madam Wang, walked out shakily, tears streaming down their faces, looking extremely emotional.

Miss Lin, Miss Yun, and others were all there, and their arrival immediately made the second gate very lively.

Outside the second gate, however, it was deserted, with only three or five eunuchs standing there, along with Jia Lian, dressed in coarse cloth, and a dirty servant boy.

When Grandmother Jia arrived at the second gate and looked outside, Jia Lian hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.

Grandmother Jia then asked him, "Where is your brother Bao?"

Lady Wang was also suspicious. Why did only Jia Lian return?
"Where is my second brother?"

Standing behind Grandmother Jia, Xiangyun also peeked out towards the second gate, but after looking for a long time, she couldn't see anyone there.

Her clear, melodious voice, tinged with a slight lisp and a lack of distinction between "ai" and "er," reached the ears of the filthy servant, striking him like a thunderbolt, and causing him to burst into tears.

Tan Chun asked, "Has Brother Bao not returned?"

Everyone started talking, and Jia Lian smiled and pointed to the man they had mistaken for a servant, saying, "Isn't this Baoyu?" "Ah?!"

"what?"

"Second Brother Lian, you're not here to trick us, are you?!"

"How could he be Baoyu?"

The ladies, grandmothers, and young women inside the second gate, along with a group of maids and servants who had come to watch the spectacle, were all astonished. They gathered around the second gate and looked out, but after watching for a long time, they still couldn't see any resemblance between the servant boy and Master Bao.

Young Master Bao had a face like a full moon, eyebrows like ink paintings, and a nose like a hanging gall bladder. In the past, he would tie his hair up with a jeweled purple-gold crown, wear a gold headband with two dragons chasing a pearl along his eyebrows, and wear a bright red arrow-sleeved robe with two colors of gold butterflies and flowers. Anyone who saw him would praise him as a fine young master of a duke or marquis!
The servant in front of me was thin, his hair was tangled and dirty, he wore a dirty black coarse cloth shirt and a pair of cloth shoes with exposed toes. A sour smell could be smelled from a distance of ten feet. It was hard to tell how many days he had not bathed. His eyes were vacant and he was crying. His face was filthy.

"Is he Baoyu...?"

Everyone was surprised, comparing the "servant" in front of them with the Bao Er Ye in their memories, but they couldn't match him at all.

This servant looks so pitiful!
"Old lady!!" The servant finally knelt down and kowtowed in front of the second gate, crying.

Upon hearing his voice, everyone recognized him as Jia Baoyu!
Looking at him, Daiyu was stunned for a long time.

Since yesterday, she had been thinking about seeing Baoyu again, but now that she had seen him, she felt a sense of emptiness, as if the dream had come to an end.

After a long while, she finally recognized the person kneeling in front of her as Baoyu.

“My son!!”

Lady Wang cried as she went out of the second gate and embraced Jia Baoyu, but she was overwhelmed by the stench emanating from him. She had always lived a life of luxury, with incense burning everywhere in the Jia mansion, and had never smelled such a pungent odor before.

For a moment, he turned his head and gagged, then hurriedly let go of Jia Baoyu.

The maids and servants watching the spectacle felt both amused and heartbroken.

Supported by Wang Xifeng, Grandmother Jia quickly asked upon seeing this, "Baoyu, how are you doing in the army camp?"

Even she felt ashamed after saying this. Grandmother Jia then asked him, "What happened to all the money your sister Lin gave you? How come you haven't even been able to buy a decent piece of clothing with it?"

"Lin Daiyu... Lin Daiyu!!"

These words stirred up Jia Baoyu's obsession, and he hurriedly searched for the familiar figure among the many girls. When his eyes fell on Lin Daiyu, who was dressed in a pink satin front-buttoned dress and was as graceful and charming as a fairy, he knelt down and was stunned once again.

Out of consideration for the rules of the palace and fear that the emperor would punish her, Lin Daiyu dared not look at him for long when he looked at her. She covered her face with a round fan and avoided his gaze.

"Lin Daiyu has started avoiding me!!"

Seeing this, Jia Baoyu became even more grief-stricken and heartbroken. He looked at her and said with tears in his eyes, "Good sister, I'll say one more thing to you, just one thing, and then I'll never say it again!"

This is to talk to her alone.

Given Lin Daiyu's current status as a concubine in the palace, it would be taboo for her to see him at the second gate. She was only able to meet him again because of the emperor's favor, so how could she meet him alone again?
Daiyu's expression was complicated, so she said, "If you have something to say... then say it here. I will listen with the old lady and the madam."

Jia Baoyu felt increasingly heartbroken. Jia Lian slapped him on the back of the head and quickly said, "Baoyu, stop talking nonsense!"

Jia Baoyu shut his mouth, noticing that his mother was also avoiding him. Behind the old lady, there were only Sister Yun and Third Sister, but no one else.

He hurriedly asked, "Are Second Sister and Fourth Sister there? Are Sister Bao and Sister Qin alright? Eldest Sister-in-law is nowhere to be seen either, where did they all go?"

Xiangyun looked back and saw that they were all there, but they hadn't squeezed in at the second gate to meet her second brother.

Baochai and Baoqin stood together, with Yingchun and Xichun standing beside them. Li Wan avoided them, Xing Xiuyan didn't leave the garden, and the young ladies from the Wang and Shi families didn't come either.

Xiangyun smiled and said, "Sister Bao, Second Brother wants to see you and ask how you are."

A smile appeared on Baochai's fair and radiant face as she nodded and said, "Tell him I'm doing well, and please give him my regards as well."

The two were separated by only one second gate, yet Xiangyun had to deliver a message, clearly indicating that Baochai did not want to see him again and would not even show her face!

Are Baoqin, Yingchun, Xichun, Li Wan, Ping'er, and the others who are standing there unwilling to see their second brother again?

Xiangyun guessed in her heart, but she didn't blame them for being heartless, because they had all entered the palace as concubines and could no longer meet with men outside as before.

Although Yingchun and Xichun are siblings of Baoyu, they are not blood relatives. Tanchun can go out to see him, but it is best for them not to see each other again.

Perhaps because Xiangyun was watching, Xichun said, "Sister Bao told me that the Emperor wants me to stay in the Daming Palace. I was thinking... since I've already entered the palace to serve the Emperor, it's not appropriate to see Brother Bao anymore. Please ask Sister Yun to give my regards."

When she came to the second gate, she saw Baochai pull Baoqin's hand. Seeing that they had all stopped, Xichun also slowed down and stopped squeezing to the second gate to meet Baoyu.

She was already practically a member of the palace, and she was a relative of Baoyu from several generations away, not his biological brother, so there was no need for her to see him again.

Li Wan also said, "When Baoyu was alive, he was my brother-in-law, and I didn't mind him because he was young. But things are different now, so it's better not to see him."

She never mentioned that she had been favored by the emperor, and the girls who returned from the palace didn't say a word either.

Xiangyun, however, knew about this.

Baoqin also smiled and said, "If you don't go out to see Brother Bao, I shouldn't go out to see him either. I don't usually have much contact with him, so it's fine if we don't meet. Please ask Sister Yun to tell him."

Seeing that none of them were going out, Yingchun felt even more awkward about going out to see him.

Xiangyun then saw that Aunt Xue, Baochai's mother, had also arrived, but she had no intention of going out to see Baoyu and stayed with Baochai and the others.

She couldn't help but think to herself, "It's really impossible to go back to the way things were. From now on, Brother Bao will be a man outside the family, and even I won't be able to see him much anymore, let alone talk about money."

Give him some more silver later and tell Brother Bao to change into a nice set of clothes. If he comes asking for silver again in the future, we won't agree to it. From now on, we'll go our separate ways.

Having made up her mind, Xiangyun relayed Baochai and the others' words to her second brother outside.

"Sister Bao refused to see me even once more..."

Jia Baoyu suffered another blow. When he heard Sister Yun greet him with "Sister Bao, Sister Qin, Second Sister, Fourth Sister, Sister-in-law," he felt even more desolate.

The sisters who used to play together are now so heartless that they won't even see each other!

Madam Xing, however, agreed with Yingchun's decision not to see him, and hurriedly said, "It's not that your sisters don't want to see you, it's that they've all entered the palace and can no longer be like they were when they were little. Look, even Lin Daiyu doesn't see you much anymore."

Daiyu was covering her face with a round fan when she heard this. She didn't know whether to put down the fan or continue covering her face.

Upon seeing this, Jia Baoyu knelt down and wept, repeatedly saying how cruel they were.

Even Madam Wang couldn't stand it anymore and quickly advised him to shut up.

(End of this chapter)