Dream of the Red Chamber: My Daiyu Has Been Reborn

Yuanyang had already brought over the medicine for her injuries.

Looking at Jia Baoyu's swollen lips, Grandmother Jia wiped away her tears with a heavy heart, took the medicine from him, and applied it to his mouth with a handkerchief.

Jia Baoyu gasped in pain, still unable to forget the beautiful figure he had seen at the Princess's residence. He looked at Grandmother Jia with a pitiful expression: "Grandmother, shall we bring Lin Daiyu to live with us? That scoundrel Gu Er is so cruel, Lin Daiyu must have been coerced, and who knows what kind of grievances she has suffered."

Grandmother Jia's face immediately fell: "You've been beaten like this, and you're still thinking about that wretched child. I might as well pretend I never had such a granddaughter. If it weren't for her, none of this trouble would have happened!"

Madam Wang's face turned even uglier. Even before Jia Min got married, her relationship with Jia Min was strained, and now, because of Jia Min's daughter, her son had suffered like this.

Although she hadn't met the other woman yet, she was already certain that Miss Lin must have a seductive face. Otherwise, how could her precious jade have been bewitched after just one meeting? It must be that the other woman was deliberately trying to seduce him.

Madam Xing sat expressionlessly in her chair, saying nothing and trying to minimize her presence. But a closer look would reveal a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes.

Lady Wang, relying on her brother, the military governor of the capital, and her precious son Jia Baoyu, had always looked down on her. Now, seeing the second branch of the family suffer a setback, she felt a sense of satisfaction.

And then there's Wang Xifeng. Even if Jia Lian wasn't her biological son, as Jia She's second wife, she was nominally Wang Xifeng's mother-in-law. Yet, the other woman was completely obedient to the second branch of the family and cared for them more than she did. How could Wang Xifeng not be angry? She just didn't dare show it on ordinary days.

Wang Xifeng's knees ached from kneeling, and seeing everyone circling around the auspicious omen while no one paid attention to her, she felt even more resentful. Especially Jia Baoyu; the whole thing started because of him, yet he didn't say a word in her defense. He was a spineless coward; all the kindness she had shown him was for nothing.

Wang Xifeng recalled the words of Master Gu before he left. Originally, she had wanted to remind the household to make preparations in advance. But now she didn't want to say anything, so that the family could see what kind of trouble this Master Bao had gotten into.

……

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

Emperor Yongxi, Li Chengzhao, looked at his nephew sitting on the brocade stool, chattering incessantly. He pressed his temples in exasperation and then laughed out of exasperation.

"You've already assaulted someone, and you still have the nerve to come before me and complain?"

Gu Jinhong, however, was quite self-righteous: "Uncle, that scoundrel came to my mother's residence and harassed the maids. If we let him off lightly, people will think my mother is easy to bully."

After listening to his words, Emperor Yongxi pondered for a moment and said, "The Jia family is indeed behaving somewhat improperly. However, one wrong move can have far-reaching consequences, so now is not the time to take action against them."

Gu Jinhong understood Emperor Yongxi's meaning. Although the retired emperor had stepped down from the throne, Emperor Yongxi had only been on the throne for five years, and many people were still loyal to him. Even Emperor Yongxi couldn't go too far with these old retainers like the Four Princes and Eight Dukes.

Gu Jinhong carefully considered his words before speaking, "But simply letting things run rampant isn't a solution. Uncle, why don't you take this opportunity to give them a little warning, so that others can see that the glory of our ancestors is not a reason for them to be so arrogant now?"

Emperor Yongxi looked at him with a half-smile and snorted, "I think the warning is just a pretense; you really want to avenge your fiancée."

Gu Jinhong chuckled: "Of course, that's a thought we had too. After all, Lord Lin has worked so hard for the court in Yangzhou, and yet his daughter is treated so disrespectfully by the Rongguo Mansion upon her arrival in the capital. If word gets back to Yangzhou, what will Lord Lin think?"

Thinking of Lin Ruhai, Emperor Yongxi sighed sadly: "He has really suffered..." There are secret guards he sent to Yangzhou to protect Lin Ruhai. Lin Ruhai's current situation is not good, but the forces he can mobilize are limited. For the time being, Lin Ruhai can only rely on himself to get through it.

"Alright. It really is time to give them a talking-to."

……

Jia Zheng was restless in Rongxi Hall and hadn't left the house all day, as he simply didn't have the face to face his colleagues.

Ever since the rumors started yesterday, he knew this matter would be difficult to resolve peacefully. Hearing that Wang Xifeng went to the princess's residence early this morning to fetch the person, he still held a sliver of hope, hoping to quell the storm. Who would have thought that that wretched child would dare to cause trouble at the princess's residence, not only failing to fetch the person but also offending the eldest princess.

When Jia Zheng first heard the news, he wanted to rush to Rongqing Hall and give that wretched child a good beating. But then he remembered that Grandmother Jia was there, and even if he went, she would stop him, so he temporarily abandoned the idea. He planned to wait until everyone had left before calling that wretched child over to vent his anger.

"Master! Master!"

Hearing the shouts outside, Jia Zheng felt a sense of foreboding: "What happened? Why are you in such a panic?"

Qin Xian hurried forward, panting heavily: "Someone from the palace...someone from the palace has arrived! It's Eunuch Dai, with an imperial decree, and they're already outside the gate!"

Jia Zheng's heart sank. Dai Quan, the Grand Chancellor, had actually come in person. Considering what had happened that morning, he feared the other party's intentions were not good.

"Quickly! Open the middle door and prepare the incense table!"

The main gate of Rongguo Mansion swung open, and a eunuch dressed in a python robe slowly entered the mansion, holding a bright yellow imperial edict. Jia She and Jia Zheng led all the men of the mansion to kneel and receive the edict.

Dai Quan, with a solemn expression, unfolded the imperial edict.

The imperial edict was extremely harsh, severely reprimanding Jia Zheng for failing to manage his household properly and allowing his son to cause trouble outside. He was ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors and suspended from his post in place of a prison official.

Jia Zheng knelt on the ground, cold sweat pouring down his back: "Your subject receives the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude!"

Dai Quan handed the imperial edict to him: "Lord Jia, His Majesty also has an oral instruction. His Majesty said: 'When the old Duke was alive, he was such a heroic figure. Today, out of respect for the old Duke, I will punish him leniently. I hope you will all behave yourselves.'"

After Dai Quan left, Jia Zheng stood there dumbfounded, holding the imperial edict. The Rongguo Mansion had utterly lost face.

Jia She dusted off his knees, glanced at Jia Zheng, and turned to leave. The matter was caused by the second branch of the family; since it didn't involve him, he couldn't be bothered with it.

Inside Rongqing Hall, a room full of beautiful women were fussing over Jia Baoyu when they suddenly heard a commotion outside.

Lai Dajia stumbled in, shouting, "Grandma, something terrible has happened! An imperial edict has arrived from the palace, and the Second Master has been reprimanded!"

Grandmother Jia's hand trembled, and the Buddhist prayer beads fell to the ground: "How could it be so serious?"

Lady Wang stood up abruptly, about to ask more questions, when Jia Zheng, holding an imperial edict, walked in with a livid face.

Grandmother Jia's heart skipped a beat as she looked at the bright yellow hue in his hand: "Zheng'er..."

Jia Zheng held the imperial edict high and knelt on the ground: "Your son is incompetent and has failed our ancestors. Your Majesty has issued an edict reprimanding your son for failing to manage the household properly, ordering him to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors, and suspending him from his post pending investigation."

Grandmother Jia felt dizzy and the world was spinning. Yuanyang cried out in surprise and quickly helped her up.

Jia Baoyu was terrified. Even if he was completely ignorant of the ways of the world, he knew the weight of the imperial edict.

Wang Xifeng felt a strange sense of pleasure rising in her heart as she watched this scene.