The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

Not to mention how busy Baochai was, Lin Daiyu hesitated and repeated after receiving Baochai's letter.Although she had the idea of ​​visiting the mountains and rivers in the past, but now that her mother has just passed away, and her father is so sad that she can't sleep at night, how can she be willing to abandon Lin Ruhai to live alone in this place where she lost her relatives, and she only wants to be with her father? through this period of time.Immediately, I was about to draw a pen and ink to decline Baochai's invitation.Unexpectedly, as soon as he started to write, he was stopped by Shi Ming, the big maid outside the master's study.

"Miss, the master has something to tell the girl, please go to the study!" Na Shiming said respectfully.

"Daddy looking for me?" Daiyu turned her head to the side and thought for a while, then got up and said. "Go back first, and tell Dad by the way, I'll be there right away."

"Your servant will leave." Shi Ming bowed and went out.

Daiyu cleaned up the desk in this room, and then walked into Lin Ruhai's study with graceful steps, like a puff of light smoke curling up, or like a weak willow supporting the wind, with a light body and a natural charm.

Lin Ruhai looked at his daughter who had grown so beautifully, and couldn't help but think of his beautiful wife who had passed away, and his face was sad again.

"Father..." Daiyu stood in front of Lin Ruhai with her sleeves rolled up, wanting to speak.A pair of sad and weeping eyes flickered, looking at Lin Ruhai worriedly.

"Father is fine." Lin Ruhai waved his hand, pondered for a moment, and said to Lin Daiyu, "Today, your Uncle Xue sent me a letter, saying that he wanted to take you to Jinling to stay for a few days. Daddy has already agreed Get off, go back and pack up your dowry and clothes, take a few common maids and women, and go with the servants of the Xue family who came to pick you up!"

"Daddy?" Lin Daiyu couldn't help but turn pale with shock. "Daddy, don't drive me away. I want to stay with Daddy and take care of Daddy."

"Daddy is busy with government affairs here, and he really doesn't have the energy to take care of you. Besides, Uncle Xue and your sister Bao are so enthusiastic, and being a father is really irresistible. You lost your mother when you were young, and you are depressed. It happens to be with your sisters, so it's easy to resolve it." Get rid of the sorrow in your heart." Lin Ruhai caressed Lin Daiyu's fair neck affectionately, thinking about her uncertain political future, she also felt depressed for a while.

"When I was a father, I got married to your mother when I was a teenager. They have always been harmonious, and they raised their eyebrows. I thought this life would be like this, but it's a pity that the sky doesn't follow people's wishes... As a father, it will be a hundred years. After your mother passed away, there will be no more... The intention is to continue the family. I am only worried that you are still young, weak and sick. You have no mother to raise you, and no sisters and brothers to support you. I am afraid that in the future... now it happens to be on good terms with the Xue family for my father, and your precious sister treats you sincerely. This is a troubled time. It happened to be able to take care of my father. But after all, he is a person with a different surname... Now my father has an idea, that is, to adopt a young, promising, kind-hearted man who can stand up to the family from our Lin family. Even if it is... Your future can be counted on."

"Father!" Lin Daiyu couldn't help feeling flustered when she heard Lin Ruhai's explanations were all for her own sake, and she had a vague intention of arranging future affairs. "What did Daddy say? Naturally, Daddy can live a long life. My daughter won't go anywhere. She will definitely stay with Daddy."

"As a father, I have already promised Brother Xue." Lin Ruhai sighed softly, and patted Daiyu's shoulder reluctantly.Now that he is in deep danger, he really has no time to take care of himself, otherwise, how could he have the heart to send his only young girl away!

"The people from Xue's family have already been arranged in the outer courtyard. We just wait for you to clean up and leave immediately." Lin Ruhai came to a conclusion involuntarily. "Go back and get ready!"

After hearing this, Daiyu had to leave in tears. After tidying up, at around midnight the next day, she boarded a boat with her nanny, four maids and all the members of Xue's family.

After traveling all the way for a few days, I abandoned the boat and went ashore.The servants of Xue's mansion, who had been guarding for a few days, came up with sedan chairs and vehicles pulling luggage, with a respectful and enthusiastic attitude.Daiyu lowered her head and got into the small sedan chair, and all the women hurriedly gathered around the sedan chair and set off.On the way, Daiyu half lifted the curtain and looked out through the screen window, and felt that the bustling and bustling place was not much worse than Yangzhou.The old lady who was walking next to her came up to her and said softly: "Girl, this is Sanli Street. There are not so many people on weekdays. It was only when the monthly market was held today that it was so lively. Go straight along Sanli Street , is the famous Ten Mile Pavilion..."

While listening to the woman's croaking, Daiyu felt that the uneasiness of being away from her family gradually disappeared.On the contrary, there is a feeling of solidity.The sedan chair gradually moved eastward, and the people became less and less crowded.When we arrived at Renyi Street, there were no idlers.The woman smiled flatteringly again: "This street belongs to our Xue family, and it wasn't called that at first. But later, the Holy Grace bestowed upon our family the title of Marquis of Faithful and Faithful, and personally raised a piece of 'Merchant of Benevolence and Righteousness'." Plaque... just for fun, the name has been changed to Renyi Street."

Although the words were spoken modestly, they couldn't stand the smugness in the tone.It is not the first time that the old woman has shown off this.

The people and horses walked for a while until they reached the street, and suddenly saw an unusually grand and luxurious house standing there, with two white jade lions squatting on the left and right of the door, looking hideous, and three animal heads standing in front of the gate stood two rows of azure-colored lions. The women, who wore brown Wanfu silk waistcoats over their flowery jackets, stood with bare hands and did not hear a word.On the steps stood a few luxuriously dressed men and women, who looked like housekeepers outside and stewards of the inner courtyard.In the middle, the vermilion door is open, and a rockery and flowing water are in front of it.From the curtain of flowing water in the crevices of the rocks, you can vaguely see the majestic square inside, a few willows in full bloom, and various flowers in clusters...

The sedan chair landed on the ground, and the stewards and nuns on the steps walked steadily to the front of the sedan chair. A very decent woman bent down to open the curtain for Daiyu, and another woman quickly came up from the side door to help Daiyu get up. stand still.The middle-aged man who looked like a housekeeper smiled and said: "Young Xue Gui is the chief housekeeper of the Xue family's outer mansion, and he has met the Lin family girl."

All the stewards and mothers-in-law in the back shouted in unison: "I have seen the Lin family girl."

Lin Daiyu blushed in panic.This is a great measure of decency, firstly because of Master Lin's relationship, secondly because of Baochai's intention.When people come, make a face for Daiyu first, so that in the future, after staying here, there will be no villain who dares to gossip behind his back.

Daiyu pondered slightly, smiled gracefully, and said softly: "Get up!"

He smiled at Xue Gui again and said, "It's hard work for Uncle Gui."

Xue Gui dared not even say so, and ordered his mother-in-law to bring Daiyu into the inner courtyard.After entering the Hanging Flower Gate, along the verandah and straight into the courtyard of the main building, I saw a beautiful girl of twelve or thirteen years old standing on the steps.The face is like a silver plate, the eyes are like water apricot, the lips are not smudged but red, the eyebrows are not painted but emerald, which is another kind of charming and romantic compared to Daiyu.There is a kindness between the eyebrows that makes people feel heart-warming.After the girl saw Daiyu's figure, she went down the steps in three steps and two steps, walked up to Daiyu, held Daiyu's hands together in her palms, and called out kindly: "But sister Lin, My sister has been waiting here for a long time."

"You are... sister of the Xue family... sister of the Xue family." Lin Daiyu called out emotionally, and the tears rolled down uncontrollably.He held Xue Baochai's shoulder and wept bitterly.

Xue Baochai's eyes turned red in an instant, and she raised her hands to wrap up Lin Daiyu's cloak considerately, and said softly, "Hurry up and get in the house! The wind outside is hard, my sister won't be able to bear it."

Lin Daiyu nodded with tears in her eyes, followed Xue Baochai up the steps, and entered the main hall gracefully.A long time ago, Mrs. Xue came forward with affection, looked at Daiyu, and said with a smile: "I thought our Baochai was the best, but I didn't know what it was until I met Miss Lin today." The people among the immortals."

Lin Daiyu blushed, bowed softly, and said softly, "I met Aunt Xue."

"Hey!" Mrs. Xue nodded with joy, and pulled Lin Daiyu to sit down.A little girl next to her immediately served a bowl of bird's nest quickly.Baochai held it in front of Lin Daiyu, and said with concern: "It's cold and the wind is hard, hurry up and eat some hot soup to relieve the cold. Knowing that you are not in good health, I specially made a bowl of bird's nest for you."

"Thank you, sister." Lin Daiyu looked down at the bird's nest porridge in front of her, and sniffed.

"Thank you. When you get here, you will be the same as your own family. You don't have so many etiquettes." Xue Baochai said, and sat down beside Lin Daiyu, and said: "Knowing that you are coming, I will start asking them to clean up the house for you. Because I always thought that our sisters were too far apart in the past, so we really didn’t enjoy ourselves. So I didn’t arrange a separate yard for you, you lived in my Wutong Garden, the wing closest to me, let’s have a good talk.”

"But it's up to my sister to decide." Lin Daiyu nodded in response.

Mrs. Xue smiled very relieved when she saw the affectionate look of the two.Looking up at the sky outside, he said, "It's still early, Baochai, take Daiyu back to the courtyard to have a rest. It's better to come out for dinner in the evening."

Saying that, he said to Daiyu: "Your Uncle Xue went to work outside, and your brother Pan went out early in the morning, and I don't know when he will be back. But they are all men outside, so naturally it's not good. Always keep in the curtain? You'll see them at dinner time."

While talking, I saw the dark blue curtain at the door shaking for a while, Xue Pan rushed in wearing a bright red robe with peonies embroidered on it, and said loudly: "Sister, come out quickly, I brought you a Good stuff—"

His eyes fell upon Lin Daiyu who was sitting on the chair, and he was stunned for a moment.

"Brother!" Baochai got up quickly, walked up to Xue Pan and introduced, "This is the younger sister of the Lin family from Yangzhou Prefecture."

After speaking, he looked at Lin Daiyu with an embarrassed face.Feeling apprehensive, I don't know what to say.Even Mrs. Xue, who has always doted on Xue Pan, has an ugly face.

"Ouch!" Xue Pan yelled strangely, broke free from Xue Baochai's hand, turned around and flung the curtain and walked out.

Seeing this, Lin Daiyu became more and more embarrassed. "Sister Xue, but what did I do wrong?"

"You don't need to pay attention to him, he has always had such a temper. He is very hot-tempered, and when he thinks of it, he will come out. Outsiders can't see it clearly, so they think he is used to being difficult for others." Mrs. Xue gently persuaded: "I think so. Then he thought of something he hadn't done, so he hurried out."

"It should be like this." Lin Daiyu nodded and replied shyly.It's just that a trace of uneasiness appeared involuntarily between his brows.

Seeing it, Xue Baochai quickly took Lin Daiyu's hand and said with a smile, "Don't worry, my brother looks like a dandy and domineering, but in fact he is the most kind and enthusiastic person. You will know after getting along for a long time."

After finishing speaking, he immediately felt the grammatical error in the words, and quickly added: "That's what the men outside say."

Lin Daiyu nodded embarrassingly, and pursed her lips uncomfortably.

But after a while, there was only the sound of hurried footsteps outside, and it was Xue Pan who had gone back to the yard and changed into a set of plain clothes and came back with a smile.He explained in his mouth: "I wore a light blue robe when I went out in the morning, but I changed it temporarily when it was dirty while eating outside. It's not intentional to offend Sister Lin, just don't take it to heart."

The actual situation is that he went to the underground palace again, just in time for Mr. Shi to make a coat and forced Xue Pan to change into it.It's a pity that Xue Pan is not tough, he changed obediently without even daring to say anything.

When Lin Daiyu heard this, she quickly looked at everyone in the room, only to find that the clothes on both Madam Xue and Baochai were dark and elegant.She thought it was just the Xue family's habit, after all, she also dressed like this.But now it seems that the Xue family must have taken care of his mood before changing it on purpose.I also thought that when I first got off the shore, in order to avoid taboos, I specially took off my filial piety and changed into plain but not frivolous clothes. Thinking of the Xue family's intentions, I suddenly felt extremely meticulous and considerate, and felt more and more close .

Immediately said with a red circle: "I didn't expect my aunt's family to be so considerate, but Daiyu doesn't know what to do."

"Your mother is a girl from Jingzhong Rongguo Mansion, and my elder sister is the daughter-in-law of Jingzhong Rongguo Mansion. In this way, you are also relatives. Besides, our family took the initiative to invite you to come and walk around. It's okay to bother about the details." Common sense." Mrs. Xue said eagerly.She is the most shrewd person, and she always likes to communicate in public.Even if it is a show of kindness and friendship, it must be placed in the open, so that people can truly and clearly receive the friendship, so that they feel that their efforts are not in vain.

Lin Daiyu personally experienced the Xue family's thoughtfulness and meticulousness, so I don't need to elaborate on what moved me.She is an honest person with no scheming in mind, and she had good letters with Baochai in the past, and she thought she was good with all her heart.Now that we have met each other, I feel that Baochai has lived up to my trust, and I feel more and more affectionate and moved.

Immediately took Xue Baochai's hand and said with a moving face: "I haven't met before, but I have written letters with my sister. I only think that my sister is talented and full of poetry and books. She can chat with me. Now it seems that my sister really loves me." What! In the future, if my sister feels sorry for her at all, she will call—”

Baochai chuckled twice, stretched out her hand and patted Daiyu's back, and said with a smile, "I don't need to go into details about the relationship between my sister and me, but why do I curse and swear like this! It sounds weird."

"I listened to my sister." Lin Daiyu didn't finish her confession, but her heart twisted, she just vowed to herself that she would definitely be worthy of Baochai's affection, otherwise she would be a sister.

When he came back to his senses, he gave Xue Panfu another blessing, and thanked him softly: "Thank you Brother Xue for your compassion."

"It's nothing, nothing." Xue Pan kept silent, and had already looked at Lin Daiyu several times calmly.Seeing that she was indeed as gorgeous as described in the book, she immediately squinted her eyes in satisfaction.Now seeing that beauty calling him brother with a face of trust and gratitude, I feel even more delighted.Repeatedly said: "It should be, it should be."

Xue Baochai looked amused, and couldn't help but secretly covered her mouth and laughed.Seeing that Lin Daiyu's face was flushed by Xue Pan's fuss, she hurriedly said, "Didn't my brother say that he brought me something good? Why didn't I see you bring it?"

"Ah!" Xue Pan patted his forehead with his hand suddenly, and replied, "Let me put it in the room while changing clothes...I'll take it for you later."

As he said that, he couldn't help showing off: "You have never seen this thing before, I just sent someone to tinker with it."

Baochai's itching became more and more unbearable, and he kept urging: "My good brother, show it to me now!"

Being urged by Baochai, and with Sister Lin tilting her head and looking at him curiously, Xue Pan nodded happily, then turned around and said, "Go to my small courtyard to find Hongxiu, and ask her to take me away." Bring here the two large boxes that are on the table in the inner room."

"Yes!" The servant girl bowed and quickly opened the curtain to go out.

Baochai asked again and again: "As a brother, it's not good to just prepare a gift for me. Sister Lin came here today, did you prepare a gift for Sister Lin?"

Xue Pan was taken aback, he really forgot about Lin Daiyu when he was doing this.However, he was quick-witted and used to please women, so he immediately responded with a smile: "How could I have forgotten, I have already prepared something, and I will give it to Sister Lin when she arrives!"

After finishing speaking, he ordered a little girl: "Go to my yard again to find Hongxiu, and tell her to bring the little things I asked her to put away. There is a big box! Don't let She sends it by herself, and asks her to find two women to carry it over."

The little girl agreed, and hurried out too.

Looking at the intimate interaction between the Xue Pan brother and sister, Daiyu's eyes flashed with envy.She has been alone since she was a child, without any brothers and sisters, now seeing Xue Pan and Baochai being so harmonious and friendly, the more tortured and drunk, and the more lonely, Mrs. Xue watched from the sidelines, and took Daiyu's hand with a smile, Said: "Now that you come to our house, you only regard your elder sister Bao as your own elder sister, and your elder brother Xue as your own elder brother."

Hearing this, Baochai turned around and smiled at Lin Daiyu: "Exactly. If there is any inconvenience in the future, just tell me and your brother Pan. If you are embarrassed, you will be cheating on us. "

Lin Daiyu hurriedly got up and bowed her body, thanking her, "Thank you, sister."

"Then I will seriously recognize you as a girl." Xue Baochai immediately interjected, stepped forward and put his arms around Lin Daiyu's thin shoulders, and said: "I have only had such a brother who looks like a devil in the world since I was a child, and what I envy most is that the sisters next to me are all friends. There is a Bingxue smart younger sister, but now I think that my wish has come true! Such a fairy-like younger sister is something no one else can ask for!"

While talking and laughing, the curtain at the door shook for a while, but it was Hong Xiu who walked in cautiously with a tray in hand.Everyone's eyes were fixed on the tray in unison.When she saw the objects on the tray clearly, she couldn't help saying "ah" in amazement, and Baochai couldn't help but said: "How did you make such a delicate and magical thing?