Dream of the Red Chamber: My Daiyu Has Been Reborn

Rongguo Mansion.

In the main room of Rongqing Hall, an elderly woman with silver hair was leaning against a couch at the head of the table, frequently looking out.

This person was Lin Daiyu's maternal grandmother, the mother of Jia She, the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion, and Jia Zheng, the second son; she was the Old Madam Shi.

Seated to the left were Lady Xing, Jia She's second wife; Lady Wang, Jia Zheng's legal wife; and Li Wan, the widow of Jia Zhu, Jia Zheng's eldest son.

"Didn't we send someone to fetch him? Why hasn't he arrived yet!" Grandmother Jia was slightly displeased that no one had come to deliver the message. "Yuanyang, go and ask what's going on."

"Yes," replied Yuanyang, Jia Mu's head maid, and hurriedly went out to find someone to ask questions.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Madam Xing wanted to say a few words to lighten the mood, but when she looked up and saw Grandmother Jia's expression, she stopped herself from speaking.

She already had little status in the household, and with Grandmother Jia in a bad mood, if she said something wrong and offended Grandmother Jia, wouldn't it be a case of more harm than good?

Having figured everything out, Madam Xing immediately sat down properly, keeping her eyes down and focusing on her inner thoughts.

As for Li Wan, she would never want to invite such dislike. Ever since her husband Jia Zhu died, Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang have disliked her, considering her an "inauspicious person" who brought about the death of the most promising eldest grandson of the Rongguo Mansion.

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Madam Wang had no choice but to step forward and said with a smile, "The old lady is just eager to see her granddaughter."

Grandmother Jia's expression softened somewhat, and she sighed, "Of all my children, I loved Min'er the most. Now she's gone so young, leaving me with only this one daughter. Lin Ruhai is busy with official duties all day long; how can he possibly raise my granddaughter properly? How can I not worry about her?"

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Madam Xing then spoke up: "Please don't worry, old lady. Perhaps there was a delay on the way. If Miss Lin knew how much you care about her, she would surely treat you very well."

Grandmother Jia was delighted by Madam Xing's words, her eyes crinkling into deep wrinkles: "Whether she's filial or not, I don't care about that. As long as she's well and safe, that's enough."

Seeing that the old lady was unusually happy, Madam Xing wanted to say a few more words of flattery.

Just as she was about to speak, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.

The curtain was lifted, and Yuanyang, usually so composed, rushed in. Behind her followed an old woman who had gone to fetch Lin Daiyu.

As soon as the old woman entered the room, she quickly walked to Grandmother Jia's knees and knelt down, her face full of grief.

"Grandma, something terrible has happened! Miss Lin has been taken away by the second young master of the Marquis of Duanping's mansion."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this news, Grandmother Jia suddenly stood up and slammed her hand on the table beside her, making the celadon teacup clang loudly. She almost couldn't catch her breath.

Yuanyang was startled by this and quickly stepped forward to support Grandmother Jia, trying to calm her down. "Grandmother, don't panic. Let's hear what happened first."

Grandmother Jia stared intently at the old woman and said coldly, "Speak quickly! What exactly happened? Were you sent to pick them up? How did they end up being taken away by the Marquis of Duanping's residence?"

"This..." The old woman hesitated to speak for a moment, after all, it was their oversight that they hadn't had time to report it.

But seeing the cold look in Grandmother Jia's eyes, she gritted her teeth and said, "Grandmother, we had already received Miss Lin. But then, the Second Young Master Gu from the Marquis of Duanping's mansion suddenly arrived, saying he was sent by Princess Anning to welcome Miss Lin. And then...and then..."

Madam Xing sat there, troubled, wondering why she couldn't control herself and had to bring it up. Now, her flattery had backfired. Seeing the old woman stammering, she immediately shouted angrily, "What's the result? Speak up now!"

Just then, a burst of laughter came from outside: "I'm late, I haven't welcomed my guests from afar."

When Lady Wang heard the laughter, she immediately sensed something was wrong. Looking at Grandmother Jia's gloomy face, her heart skipped a beat.

Madam Wang was secretly anxious: Why was Feng girl so reckless today? She's usually such a steady person, why didn't she ask about the situation before coming over?

She wanted to send her maid out to stop her, but before she could do so, Wang Xifeng had already rushed in, lifting the curtain with a bang. Her hearty laughter echoed through the room.

"Has Miss Lin arrived? Let me see what kind of beautiful person she is that makes the old matriarch so concerned... Ah..." When Wang Xifeng saw the scene inside Rongqing Hall, the rest of her words got stuck in her throat, and her heart pounded wildly.

Wang Xifeng cursed inwardly: "What's going on? Wasn't he supposed to be picking up the old lady's granddaughter? Why does this scene look like he's interrogating me?!"

Wang Xifeng quickly wiped the smile off her face and awkwardly moved to Madam Wang's side, quietly inquiring about what had happened.

Grandmother Jia glanced at her indifferently, but said nothing. Even so, it still made Wang Xifeng feel uneasy. Since marrying into the Jia family, when had she ever felt like this?

After Wang Xifeng heard Madam Wang recount the events, her phoenix-shaped, triangular eyes seemed to want to glare the old woman to death.

Although she hadn't found out the situation clearly, if this old woman had handled things properly, how could she have lost so much face and displeased the matriarch?

With Yuanyang's help, Grandmother Jia sat back down on the couch, drank some tea, and finally calmed down a bit.

"Go on."

"Yes, yes," the old woman kowtowed several times before continuing, "When the Second Young Master Gu picked up Miss Lin and arrived at the Rongguo Mansion, he found that the main gate was not open, only a side gate was open."

"So he said... so he said... that our household looked down on the daughter of Lord Lin, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai. In a fit of anger, Second Young Master Gu took Miss Lin to the residence of Princess Anning..."

"Fine, fine!" After hearing her words, Grandmother Jia's old face flushed red, and she almost choked on her breath again. "So what if he's the son of the Eldest Princess? How dare he humiliate my Rongguo Duke's Mansion like this?"

Yuanyang was afraid that Grandmother Jia would faint, so she quickly patted her back gently, saying, "Grandmother, your health is important. You must not get angry, as anger will harm your health."

Grandmother Jia waved her hand, brushing Yuanyang's hand aside, and stood up, looking down at the old woman. "Did Miss Lin say anything? Did she not refuse?"

"Miss Lin has agreed. She said she will leave it to Second Young Master Gu to arrange." The old woman lowered her head, not daring to meet Jia Mu's gaze.

"Heh heh, what a fine granddaughter of mine," Grandmother Jia said with a forced smile, which, combined with her wrinkled face, made her look particularly menacing. "A young lady from a respectable family, coming to the gates of the Rongguo Mansion but not coming in, running off with some man outside the family. Does she have a problem with me, her grandmother? Does she have any sense of propriety? Does she have any sense of filial piety?"

Wang Xifeng had been pondering how to deal with the old woman who had made her lose face. Upon hearing her words, she immediately realized the problem with the old woman's statement.

"You shameless, filthy thing, you dare to try and be clever in front of the old lady."

Wang Xifeng strode imposingly to the old woman, pointed at her, and demanded:

"Let me ask you, why didn't anyone report to the Second Young Master Gu beforehand that he went to pick someone up? Did you break your leg or did you have cotton stuffed in your mouth? It seems I've been too lenient with you all. Keeping big shots like you in the manor is just a disaster. I think you should be punished and sold off."