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

Chapter 96: Er Mutou, Miaoyu
With the assistance of the maids, Wang Xifeng searched every room in the Rongguo Mansion, starting with the wives, then the grandmothers and concubines.

The first person to be searched was Lady Jia.

Xue Baoqin also came along. The maids knew that the old lady was the backbone of the girls, so they did not dare to be too presumptuous. They just took a quick inventory and wrote down the various properties in Lady Jia's courtyard before leaving.

When they got to the other ladies and grandmothers, the maids dared not be negligent anymore. They had to look through every item and ask the maids whether everything was complete before they would give up.

In the Grand View Garden, Li Wan led people to search the girls in the garden. Because the girls were of noble status, they only had their belongings roughly counted and were not searched through all the boxes and cabinets.

Yingchun had just seen off her eldest sister-in-law when a maid suddenly announced that her mother had arrived. She hurried out to greet her, brought her mother into the inner room, and served her tea.

Madam Xing asked her, "Did the eldest lady come just now?"

Yingchun quickly replied, "My eldest sister-in-law just brought someone to check the house and recorded the property in the account. She has now left."

Mrs. Xing looked at her and said, "You are so old now. There is chaos in the palace, and you are lucky enough to enter the palace. You are half a concubine, but you still have the status of a young lady. Even Bao Yatou, the housekeeper, will come to question you.

You are so useless and don't know how to care for the family. Your father is still away, which is fine, but just now the house was rummaged through by that woman, even a handkerchief on the bedside was taken out and marked, and you don't know how to speak up for the family! "

Yingchun lowered her head and fiddled with the corner of her clothes. After a long pause, she replied, "The search and seizure is an imperial decree. Moreover, it was decided by everyone in Sister Lin's room. Even if I speak up, what can I do to change it?"

Madam Xing asked, "Have you spoken yet?!"

Yingchun did not answer.

Mrs. Xing was very disappointed. "You are like this all the time. You hide away no matter what happens. Now Miss Bao asked you to manage the household, but you are silent again. I, your mother, am eating the same food as the servants. I am embarrassed. Do you think you will be happy?"

Siqi, who was standing by, could no longer bear to listen and said with a smile, "Madam, you also know that the confiscation of property is an imperial decree. It is an imperial decree for everyone, regardless of their status."

"Nonsense!" Madam Xing glared at her. "Have you corrupted my young lady? The imperial edict says there's no distinction between the noble and the humble, but you've entered the palace, so you should be treated with dignity. As your mother, how can I be treated like a servant girl?"

She turned to Yingchun and said, "Miss Lin asked for a few clothes for Baoyu, and the Emperor didn't blame her. If you ask for permission to let your mother continue to have the same food and clothing as before, will they refuse? Even if they reduce their allowance by half, it will still be better than what they have now."

Xiu Ju said, "Neither did the Second Madam and Aunt Xue."

Madam Xing sneered, "She also has a daughter who has just entered the palace? Aunt Xue only has one daughter, Miss Bao. Now she's in charge of the garden. Even if she secretly provides her with food and clothing, how could anyone know?"

Seeing the maid about to start an argument with the mistress, Yingchun quickly said, "I can just give half of my daily food and clothing expenses to my mother. Why bother with this?"

Mrs. Xing's face looked better.

"Girl, this is unacceptable!"

Siqi objected to this, saying, "The young lady's privileges were bestowed upon her by the Emperor upon her entrance into the palace. How can we now give them to someone else?"

Madam Xing's face turned ugly, and she was about to scold her, but Siqi stepped forward and looked her straight in the eye: "Madam, since you said that the young lady is half a concubine after entering the palace, how dare you put on airs in front of the young lady and ask her to serve you tea?!"

Xiu Ju reacted and said quickly, "That's right. According to the rules when the imperial concubine came back to visit her parents, it should have been the madam who came in to pay her respects and kowtow to the young lady. But now the young lady is standing, and you are sitting down!"

Each of them said something, which made Mrs. Xing feel like there was a sharp thorn under her butt. She dared not sit still anymore. She quickly stood up and asked Yingchun to sit down.

It was difficult to scold the two shrewd maids, for fear that they would say something even more unpleasant, and would not stop until she had to kneel down to Yingchun on the spot. Then she would have to kneel even if she didn't want to!

Yin spoke cautiously, his tone softening as he asked Yingchun, "When you and Miss Yun entered the palace...did the emperor promise to make you concubines?"

Yingchun was the first to hear her stepmother speak to her like this, and she couldn't help but feel happy. She pursed her lips, and after a while, with a red face, she pointed to her lips and whispered:

"He kissed us..."

Mrs. Xing was shocked. Siqi and Xiu Ju also heard about this for the first time and were also surprised. The girl had kept it a secret so well!

"Since that's the case, then this matter is probably settled." Mrs. Xing's expression eased greatly.

If it were another man who kissed the girl before she got married, outsiders would curse the adulterer to death.

But it was the emperor who personally welcomed the spring, how could it be the same?
After sitting for a while, Mrs. Xing left.

Siqi smiled and said, "She ignored you before, and now she's acting like a legitimate mother. How can I let her be happy? You should be like this. If any of the maids in the house dare to lie to you again, then you should show off your status as a concubine and make sure they don't dare to lie to you anymore."

Yingchun didn't say anything, but she was happy in her heart.

It seemed as if all her previous worries disappeared after she became the emperor's concubine.

After an unknown amount of time, a maid returned to Zilingzhou from outside and said with a smile, "Aunt Zhao is making a fuss."

Xiu Ju asked, "What is she making a fuss about?"

"It was about the search and seizure. Hundreds of taels of silver were found in her house, and Lin Zhixiao's wife didn't take it, but only put it in the account book. But she started making a scene and wanted to kill herself. It was really ugly.

When the third lady tried to persuade her, she threw a tantrum again, saying that Huan'er was suffering outside while Lang'er was enjoying himself in the palace, and urged the third lady to go back to the palace... This angered the third lady to the point of tears.

Tanchun is Aunt Zhao's biological daughter. Everyone knew Aunt Zhao's character and wondered how she could give birth to such a talented and sensible daughter like Tanchun.

"The fourth young lady is here!" a maid came in. Yingchun was waiting for her in the room. When she saw Xichun come in, she smiled and said, "How come you have time to visit me today? Did the maid's search disturb you?"

Xichun felt a little surprised when her second sister said this, as she usually ignored such things.

"Not really. They copied what they wanted. It has nothing to do with me. There's nothing dirty in my house."

Xichun sat down and said, "My sister-in-law came to tell me that I should find an opportunity to go to the palace to thank the emperor. The emperor has specially exempted me from being implicated and allowed me to continue living in the garden."

Yingchun thought for a moment and said, "You should go to the palace to express your gratitude. If you want to go, I'll have someone tell Bao-mei that I'll take you with me next time I go to the palace."

Xichun blushed and shook her head, saying, "The Emperor is very busy with government affairs. How could he have the time to summon me? Sister, next time you come to the palace, just thank me on my behalf."

Yingchun agreed.

Xichun sat for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.

Siqi saw her off and watched Xichun's petite figure gradually disappear into the distance. Suddenly, she thought, if she and the third young lady also entered the palace, the four sisters of the Jia family would all be serving the emperor in the palace. How lively would it be then?
Or they were quite embarrassed, the four sisters were all serving the emperor as concubines in the harem.

Now Yingchun is sure to enter the palace. She has been kissed on the lips by the emperor and is just waiting for him to summon her.

……

On the way back to Nuanxiangwu, the maid Ruhua whispered, "The second lady asked you to come to the palace, why didn't you agree?"

"Why should I agree?" Xichun was young, her voice clear, but her words were cold: "The girls and ladies in the garden are all better looking and talented than me. Why should I go to the palace and find discomfort? Now that the East Palace is gone, I will just live in the garden, just for the cleanliness and convenience."

Seeing her like this, Ruhua didn't know what to say.

Xichun added, "According to the imperial decree, you no longer need to serve me. Just go about your own business."

As she was speaking, she happened to see Miss Xing coming over, so Xichun shut up, avoided her from a distance, and went home without mentioning the matter.

Xing Xiuyan also saw them. She didn't interact much with Xichun, so she didn't go over to greet her. She walked straight east and came to Longcui Temple.

When they entered the nunnery, Miaoyu, dressed in a grey monk's robe, was meditating in the East Zen Hall. All the nuns and maids had disappeared, leaving only her.

Although it is a simple monk's robe, it brings out Miaoyu's exquisite figure. She is plump inside the monk's robe, with a slender waist. Her fair and beautiful face is set off by the plain robe. It can be said that she is born with natural beauty, and even the monk's robe is moving.

"What are you here for?"

Miaoyu opened her eyes, and when she saw it was her, she closed her eyes again and asked lightly.

Xiu Yan smiled and said, "I was worried that you might feel uncomfortable after being searched, so I came to talk to you."

Miaoyu sneered: "Why should I not feel comfortable?"

Xiu Yan knew her eccentric personality, and now seeing her wearing the gray nun's clothes that she never wore before, she guessed what she was thinking.

Yin smiled and said, "The Emperor may not know that there is a person like you in Longcui Temple. If he knew that you are talented and good-looking, he would definitely pardon Longcui Temple and not allow people to defile this quiet place."

After hearing this, although Miaoyu's face remained expressionless, Xiuyan could see that she was in a much better mood.

I couldn't help but smile.

Miaoyu is an extremely noble person. She hates associating with vulgar people the most. She pursues elegance and refinement in her actions and is not like ordinary people.

Now that the emperor had casually said a word and the Rongcui Temple was searched as well, how could Miaoyu feel good?
What she cared about was not the expensive and vulgar things in the nunnery, but the different way the emperor treated her.

In the garden, there were four special people: Xiangyun, Yingchun, Daiyu and Baochai. Even the fourth girl, Xichun, was taken care of. However, Miaoyu was not. The emperor issued an imperial decree and her house was searched along with other girls, ladies and grandmothers.

How could Miaoyu, who considered herself noble and different from ordinary people, not be annoyed?
In other words, the emperor did not know that there was a person like Miaoyu in the Rongcui Temple, so he did not treat her preferentially. Only then could Miaoyu feel relieved.

Xiu Yan smiled and took a seat. "You, it's time to change your temper. If the emperor comes to the garden one day and sees you being so aloof, you'll be the one to take the blame."

Miaoyu laughed and said, "How can the emperor come to my nunnery? Stop talking nonsense and go and pour me a cup of tea."

Although Xiu Yan was a guest, she was equivalent to Miaoyu's half-disciple, so Miaoyu could order her around.

Xiu Yan poured tea and said with a smile, "What if the emperor comes? Do you still have the snow water you collected five years ago? Save it for the emperor to drink."

"There's still some left, but I can't bear to drink it. I've only been in the capital for a few years, and I can't bear to bring many of the things I had at Panxiang Temple with me."

The two chatted and before they knew it, it was dark. None of the maids and servants came to serve them, so Miaoyu went to light the fire and cook by herself.

Fortunately, she had lived in the temple for many years away from home and was no longer a delicate lady and could take care of herself.

Xiu Yan sighed softly, knowing that these maids had a bad relationship with Miaoyu because of her quirks.

Find an opportunity to talk to Bao-gu and the others and ask if they can give two little maids to serve Miao-yu.

(End of this chapter)