Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 79 I've Worked So Hard [Seeking First Subscription]

"Sister Feng, I'm coming in!"

Li Chen lifted the felt curtain and went straight into the room, then sat down next to Wang Xifeng on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Wang Xifeng was squeezed so much that she had to take off her embroidered shoes, cross her legs and move a little further into the kang (heated brick bed), and said with a laugh, "What are you doing here again, my little ancestor? When I see you now, I'm like a mouse seeing a cat."

The pretty woman opposite Li Chen covered her mouth and chuckled. When she saw Li Chen come in, she quickly stood up and curtsied, saying, "Greetings to Aunt Lin."

The woman wore a light purple jacket embroidered with gold butterflies and flowers, and a moon-white silk skirt embroidered with plum blossoms. Her figure was graceful and elegant.

Her eyebrows resembled distant mountains shrouded in mist, and her eyes were like autumn waters rippling across the surface.

Cao Xueqin's writing combines the beauty of both Daiyu and Baochai; her appearance is no less than Lin Daiyu's, and her figure is comparable to Xue Baochai's.

"The most beautiful woman in Dream of the Red Chamber? I think Lin Daiyu only loses out in terms of her figure. Wait a few years..."

Li Chen examined himself again and suddenly felt that his hope was somewhat slim.

Putting aside his thoughts, Li Chen tugged at Wang Xifeng's sleeve and asked, "Sister Feng, tell me the truth, where did Sister Yun go?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's what it was about! The Shi family sent someone to take her back this morning, but they probably won't arrive for a few days."

She glanced at Li Chen as she spoke, "Isn't it because you bullied me so badly?"

Li Chen frowned: "Is this what you call bullying?"

Suddenly, he reached out and scratched Wang Xifeng's armpit, "Then I'll bully Sister Feng too!"

"Eh!"

Wang Xifeng hurriedly dodged, then pretended to be serious and said, "My nephew's wife is still here; it would be a laughing stock."

Qin Keqing pursed her lips and stood up. "Auntie and Auntie, please continue your conversation. I'll head back now."

"Don't hide anything from others, and don't wrong yourself."

Wang Xifeng, still feeling uneasy, gave the instructions again.

Qin Keqing nodded, "Thank you, Auntie, Keqing understands."

Before leaving, he glanced at Li Chen one last time.

After she left, Wang Xifeng couldn't help but sigh, "Every family has its own troubles. I'm afraid my nephew's wife has encountered some difficulties. She's such a beautiful person."

Li Chen accepted the Biluochun tea offered by Ping'er and said slowly, "Sister Feng, you still have the leisure to pity others? You're the one who has to recite your own scriptures."

Wang Xifeng was taken aback upon hearing this, "Lin girl, what do you mean by this?"

Li Chen smiled and said, "Sister Feng, why are you still angry? What I meant was, is Baoyu's celebration banquet ready?"

"This……"

Wang Xifeng felt a headache coming on and tentatively asked, "Do you really think Baoyu can pass the imperial examination? That day, he couldn't even win an argument with the young man from the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion."

'Is Lin Daiyu someone anyone can easily outwit?'

Li Chen twitched his lips and said, "Sister Feng, why do you always think of things so simply? What kind of family are we? It's one thing for a collateral branch to fail the exam, but for our own son to not even pass the county exam? Wouldn't that make us a laughingstock?"

"If we really don't pass, from the old lady to the master and mistress, who will be happy? Then your life as the housekeeper will be difficult. The celebration banquet will only cost a little money."

Wang Xifeng gave a wry smile, "After your explanation, it really makes sense. Being so stubborn has led to this dilemma, and I can't continue reciting this sutra."

Then, her body went limp, and she leaned against the soft pillows.

Suddenly, her gaze shifted to Lin Daiyu, who seemed reluctant to leave. Her eyes lit up, and she moved closer, pulling one of Li Chen's arms into her embrace.

"Good sister, are you here today to give your older sister some advice?"

As a soft, warm touch came over him, Li Chen coughed lightly before saying, "Sister Feng, you can't even bear to set out a fruit platter, and you talk like this?"

Despite Li Chen's playful scolding, Wang Xifeng showed no anger. Instead, she smiled and beckoned to Ping'er, "Go, have Sister Liu bring over three dishes and a soup. I'll treat Lin Daiyu to a proper lunch." ...

Inside the examination hall,
Lin Daiyu has already written two essays on the Four Books, and only one examination poem is missing.

The examination poems differed from ordinary Tang poems in their choice of words and sentence structure. They were not primarily for expressing emotions and aspirations, but rather for testing the candidate's mastery of allusions and poetic rules.

To achieve a high score, one must strictly adhere to tonal patterns and parallelism when writing a five-character, eight-rhyme poem. The poem must be elegant and refined, and also include elements of praise and celebration.

As a child, Lin Daiyu was capable of composing poetry at the age of six, but most of her poems were delicate and sentimental verses expressing melancholy, which were quite inappropriate for the imperial examinations, prompting her to think carefully about them.

The most famous poems in the examination are "The grass on the plain grows lush and green, withers and flourishes year after year" and "The music ends, but the person is nowhere to be seen; only the green peaks remain on the river."

If you answer this question well and can formulate similar sentences, in the hands of a county magistrate who likes to show off his refined tastes, you will definitely pass the exam with flying colors.

The county examination starts at dawn and ends at dusk; it's only noon now, so there's still plenty of time.

However, the intense concentration and mental strain caused Lin Daiyu, who was used to eating a lot, to feel hungry.

The examination hall in Wanping County had a kitchen that only served porridge, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables, and there were fixed portions.

It didn't smell very appetizing, and Lin Daiyu found it hard to swallow, and was also afraid of having to use the toilet after eating it.

She was too fastidious to go into the outhouse, so she had to drink water to stave off hunger.

'Let's finish this poem as soon as possible, then go home and have dinner. The way of the king lies in the peace and prosperity of agriculture… a poem praising farming…'

……

Li Chen picked up a piece of braised ham hock and chewed it slowly; it was truly delicious.

"Yes, this dish is really well made in the manor."

Wang Xifeng asked in confusion, "Sister, have you ever eaten food made outside?"

"Of course not."

Li Chen quickly changed the subject, saying, "I know what you want, sister. However, I still maintain the same principle: you need to stabilize the internal situation before looking for ways to increase your income."

"There are hundreds of people in this household, and they're all thinking about skimming off the public funds. Even if my sister earns a mountain of gold outside, can she fill these bottomless pits?"

"The more you earn, the more they take; the less you earn, the less they take. How can they care about my sister's life or death?"

Wang Xifeng smiled bitterly, "Sister, you make it sound so easy. Which of those old people doesn't have connections in the mansion? They're either connected to the Madam or the Old Madam. How could I dare to make any rash moves? They've been in the mansion longer than I have."

"What's this? Didn't Zhou Rui's wife also get kicked out just like that?"

Wang Xifeng was taken aback upon hearing this, "This... I am different from my sister."

Li Chen sneered, "There are some differences. But it still proves that this path is viable."

"Judging from your words, sister, do you already have a plan?"

"It's nothing more than making an example of someone to warn others; we'll start by targeting the fattest one."

Li Chen fiddled with the teacup in his hand and said, "I heard that Granny Lai's grandson, Lai Shangrong, has already donated money to become a student of the Imperial Academy, and our Baoyu is still taking the county exam. Where did this money come from? It's hard to guess."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng's expression hardened. "What does my sister mean?"

Li Chen waved his hand, "If you like being bullied by them all the time, then pretend I didn't say anything today. But you're not much better than your niece-in-law."

Wang Xifeng was immediately devastated, and upon reflection, she realized it was indeed true.

Before she could ask any more questions, she saw Li Chen lying back on the kang (a heated brick bed), stroking his round belly.

"I'm constantly giving advice to this person or comforting that person. I'm so exhausted!"

Deep down, he thought, 'The Jia family needs to be more lively.'

(End of this chapter)