Edge of the Red Chamber

After school, Daiyu and Zhang Feng'e still went to the Bijing Hall.

Lu Huixian was about to set up a meal here, when she saw two people coming in, she said with a smile: "I guess it's time for you to finish school, so sit down quickly, and the meal will be set up now."

As soon as the two of them sat down, a little servant girl came in with water to wash their hands. Daiyu asked, "What does the old lady say today?"

Yesterday, an imperial decree came from Beijing, and Lin Hai was transferred to Beijing, and transferred to the post of the Prince's junior teacher as the head of the Imperial Academy.The whole Lin family was about to move to the capital, so the old lady wanted to go back to Gusu. Lin Hai and Lin Jue tried to persuade her, but the old lady refused.

"I went over to persuade you when I got up early. Although the old lady didn't agree, she didn't say anything." Lu Huixian also sat down, and was mediated by Xiangluo Danruo, and then said: "My sister will go and persuade you later. , the old lady will naturally respond."

Except for Daiyu, everyone in the family understood what the old lady was thinking.I'm afraid I'm thinking that I'm getting old and dying outside.

But Zhang Feng'e had another thought in her heart. She was the grandniece of the old lady and had little relationship with the Lin family.When she came that day, she was talking about serving the old lady.Naturally, wherever the old lady goes, she will go there.I'm afraid that the old lady is unwilling to go to the capital because of her.After all, I will be fourteen next year, so I still have to go home.Her grandparents are still alive, and her parents are also there, so there is absolutely no reason for her to leave the court in someone else's house.Thinking of this, the idea of ​​going home came into being.

After eating and gossiping for a while, the two of them went back separately.

Zhang Feng'e returned to Meiyuan and went to see the old lady first.I talked with the old lady for a while, and I wanted to say it several times, but I didn't say it.

In the past six months, not to mention the old lady who treated her very well with a cold face and a warm heart, even Lu Huixian and Lin Daiyu couldn't say no to anyone.At this moment, the Lin family was going to the capital, and the old lady was going back to Gusu, so she begged to go, which was really chilling.

The old lady didn't seem to see it, and after talking for a while, she got tired.Zhang Feng'e had no choice but to go with her mind full.

In the end, the old lady complied.

It is set to go on the twelfth day of the first month.

Lu Huixian had already prepared all the earthen ceremonies and gifts for going to Beijing, but they were all kinds of Su embroidery items, kang screens, chair frames, handkerchiefs, fan covers, etc. What I gave to my brother was nothing more than high-quality pens, inks, papers and inkstones. Jia Lan prepared another one. Gold collars, longevity locks, etc., and rulers, all have examples to follow.

One day when I arrived in Kyoto, when I abandoned the boat and landed, I saw Jia Lian leading the servants and servants, sedan chairs and vehicles to serve, while everyone in the old house of Lin's mansion fell behind.

"Uncle, you've worked hard all the way." As soon as Jia Lian saw Lin Hai, he hurriedly came to pay a visit, and met Lin Juan and Lin Yan again.

"How is the old lady? How are your lords and wives?" Lin Haixu gave a helping hand, and then asked about the people in the Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Lian said: "Everything is fine at home, but my ancestors miss Brother Lin and Sister Lin. Since I received my uncle's letter, I have been looking forward to it every day. I expect that my uncle will arrive in a few days, and he urges me to come and watch every day." Forget it, and said: "Uncle and cousin are also exhausted, why don't you get on the sedan chair first, the old ladies and sisters still have nephews."

Jia Lian didn't know whether Mrs. Zheng went to Beijing with Lin Hai's family. This was also an inquiry, and it also showed his courtesy.

Lin Hai said: "That's all for now. The old man is getting old, and the road is full of boats and cars. He is not feeling well these few days. We will live in Beijing for a long time in the future, and we have plenty of time." After that, he said : "The family hasn't settled down yet, you can accuse me in front of the old lady, and tomorrow I will take their brothers and sisters to kowtow to the old lady."

Hearing what Lin Hai meant, he wanted to go home. Jia Lian hurriedly said, "Uncle hasn't been back to Beijing for more than ten years, and the house must be cleaned up. The old lady is not comfortable, so she must ask the doctor to take medicine, and she needs tea and water. , I’m afraid it’s inconvenient. Besides, the family has made preparations, and my nephew has sent someone back just now, so I’m afraid the ancestors are waiting for you.”

If it was just his own family, Lin Hai would refuse to come because of this, but Mrs. Zheng was also with him.Mrs. Zheng is proud and arrogant, and only a junior came to pick her up, so she definitely refused to go to Rongguo Mansion.

Lin Hai: "We are a large family of seven or eight people. It may be inconvenient to go there. Besides, although I have not come back, I have left an old servant at home, and everything is ready. In front of the old lady, I will go over and apologize tomorrow. "

Jia Lian knew that he couldn't be persuaded, so he had no choice but to agree, so he called a young servant back to answer, while he helped Lin Yan and Lin Yan mediate, and escorted him all the way back to Lin's mansion.

Lin Hai rested at the inn outside the city. The next day, he went to the palace to thank him and came back. He went to Cui's house first, and then went to Rongguo Mansion the next day.Mother Jia was displeased, but she couldn't say anything. After all, Cui's family was Lin Hai's maternal ancestral home, so she asked about Lin Yu's brothers and sisters.

"It's so easy to get into Beijing, why don't you bring their brothers and sisters here for me to have a look."

Everyone knows the reason. Jia Min passed away only a year ago, and the children naturally had to stay at home.Lin Hai didn't explain, but kept making amends, and Jia's mother gave up after a few reproaches.

There are two aunts on the Xu family's side, so naturally they won't wait for the Lin family to come.When the letter was received earlier, the post had already been delivered to the concierge before the Lin family arrived in the capital.

Lu Huixian was in filial piety, and it was inconvenient to meet guests, so Xu Lang came alone.

The person at the porter directly invited Xu Lang to the study, and it happened that Lin Jue and Lin Yan were also there.Now that we have encountered it, there is no need to deliberately avoid it.

Several people met each other for a while, and just now they sat down as guests and hosts, and the maid served tea.

Lin Yuyin asked, "When did Mr. Liu leave?"

Xu Lang said: "I left on the third day of August," and said: "Sir insists on going, but I can't stay."

Lin Yan smiled and said, "When I came to Chang'an that day, I said that I would only stay for a few months. Sure enough, a month later, it will be a year." After speaking, he remembered the letter from his grandmother last winter.

Every sentence in the letter said that Mr. Liu was good and Baoyu was not, but after thinking about it carefully, it said every sentence that Mr. Liu was not.At that time, I was so angry when I saw him, but when I think about it now, I find it funny.I think when Mr. Liu left, he said that he would only stay for a few months to see the prosperity of Chang'an. After thinking about it later, he had already calculated that he would not stay in Jia's house for a long time.Poor his grandmother was only thinking of asking his third uncle to go to Beijing to teach Baoyu so as to maintain the friendship between the two families. She was afraid that Mr. Liu would stay at home and wanted to send her away, but she didn't know that Mr. Liu might not have the intention to stay.If it wasn't for the old lady who had this idea and sincerely planned for Baoyu's future, maybe she could really keep Mr. Liu.

In the letter, Mr. Liu expressed some praise for Baoyu.

After Mr. Liu left Rongguo that day, he went to the major temples outside the city for two days. Xu Lang received Lin Jue's letter, and the person who went to pick him up personally did not know that Mr. Liu went to Rongguo Mansion first.

At that time, I didn't pay much attention to it. After meeting and talking, I saw that his conversation was good, so I didn't dare to neglect it. When I got home and asked for advice twice, I realized that it was extraordinary.

Hearing the words, he sighed: "I just wish I could see Mr. sooner."

Lin Jue said: "This is also fate. The husband originally wanted to visit famous places in the world. When we met at Hanshan Temple that year, the husband was worried about the expenses. We were worried that there would be no one to teach us because our third uncle was going to end. By chance, this That’s why I invited him to go to the old man’s house.”

Xu Lang smiled and said, "It really is such a coincidence."

Thinking back, it was really only a "coincidence" that made it out. He couldn't help but sighed for a while, and Lin Jue asked again: "I don't know if you have left a message, where are you going?"

Xu Lang said with a smile: "At that time, the weather in Beijing was changing, and the master thought it was cold, so he said he would go to southern Fujian to have a look." When he said this, his face showed worry, "I'm afraid I won't be able to come back after a few years. There is no one around you, sir, so I don't know what to do."

Lin Juan and Lin Yan were also worried, but they didn't dare to show it, so they had to persuade Xu Lang once.Lin Hai also sighed, and said: "Someone in my family will go there later, and I will also inquire about it, as long as I don't teach him to know."

Before Xu Lang went, Cui Mao and his son also came.The next day, Jia Amnesty Jia Zheng came to visit with his nephew, and then made friends with old friends.This disturbance lasted for seven or eight days before it subsided.

Lin Juan and Lin Yan are devoted to studying and have no other intentions. Zhang Feng'e and Lin Daiyu are the same as in Yangzhou. The three went to the old lady's house for a meeting.

Lu Huixian is the most restless.

After all, the servants here in Beijing have been suppressed by their masters for a long time, so it is inevitable that they will have different thoughts, and there are those little girls born in the family who have no masters since they were born here. She's out of touch, but she's more spoiled than ordinary young ladies and gentlemen.When Lin Hai's family went to Beijing, there were not many useful ones sent in. Fortunately, they brought quite a few people with them, and a few rough envoys would be enough.Otherwise, it would be unreasonable to see people coming and going in the past few days and making jokes.

Now that I am free, I have to reorganize and reorganize. I have to get rid of the things that should be discarded, and only keep a few usable ones. Except for re-selecting some honest ones or usable ones on the Zhuangzi, I bought some again, and slowly □In this way, there will be no shortage of people, and there will be no one available when you need to employ people.

Lin Hai got Mu Shengen and rested for fifteen days. In this way, seven or eight out of ten were used up. After two days of rest, he went to court every day. Go, go home and read books if you have nothing to do, or give advice to Lin Yan and Lin Yan on homework. Compared with before, it is no less than ten times more relaxed.

When I'm idle, I can't help but always think of Jia Min's appearance in the past, with every frown and smile, haunting my heart every day, and I can't get rid of it.

This day, when the court went down, nothing happened in the two places, so I came out of the palace.

Zhang Youcai saw him coming out from a distance, went up to meet him from a distance, and asked, "Master, are you going back or going for a stroll?"

Lin Hai has been thinking about Jia Min in his heart for the past few days, and he has become more and more lazy about other things.When Zhang Youcai asked, he couldn't help thinking of what Jia Min said that day - "Live well for me", and with a thought, he started to walk forward and said, "Go to Liulichang to have a look."

Zhang Youcai saw that Lin Hai had finally become interested, so he quickly agreed, and sent Xiao Yaoer to his house, and then he followed up with the others to serve him.

After taking a cup of tea, I gradually heard the sound of people simmering in my ears, and after another cup of tea, I saw people of all colors jostling one another. This kind of bustling bustling makes people forget that it is winter when everything is sluggish. season.

Lin Hai's face was a little loose, and suddenly he saw an old man in front of him carrying a bamboo pole tied with straw, with about twenty bunches of candied haws stuck in all directions.For a moment, I remembered that when Lin Jue was first born that year, Jia Min was greedy for this, and asked him to buy it every day, and was laughed at by his colleagues for a long time.

At that time, I only felt embarrassed, but I couldn't bear to refuse my beautiful wife, so I had to change my way to hide it every day, and when I got home, I held it in my hand before going to the inner courtyard.

In fact, it can be made in the kitchen, and it is cleaner than the outside, but he doesn't know what he thought at that time, he didn't think of it, and Jia Min didn't expect that the nanny beside her didn't even have a reminder.

Thinking about it now, but I don't have any feelings.

Seeing the old man walking away, Lin Hai hurriedly yelled, and a little boy chased after him and called the old man to buy a bunch of them back.Seeing his bitter face, Lin Hai thought that he might have made the same recipe when he bought candied haws back then, so he smiled and said, "I'll do it myself."

Zhang Youcai glared at the young man, stepped forward and said, "They are young, naughty and playful, don't be careless about getting dirty, or should I take it for the master?"

Knowing that he mistakenly thought it was for Daiyu, he didn't say anything, just waved his hand and said, "No need." He stretched out his hand and took it in his hand, and looked at it carefully. A bunch of five red fruits hung outside. It was filled with sugar, red and very mouth-watering, and wrapped in a milky white translucent glutinous rice paper, which was no different from before.

Jia Min even coaxed him to eat it once, it was so sour that he couldn't open his eyes, but Jia Min ate it with gusto, I don't know why she loves it so much.

Along the way, people looked here from time to time, but Lin Hai didn't care.When I arrived at Liulichang, I looked up and saw that the stalls outside were not counted. The names of the shops were either Zhai, Xuan, or Tang.This was also what Jia Min said, with a very indifferent look.Just think about it and laugh about it.Randomly turn into the nearest one, the name is Jiyaxuan.

The shopkeeper is white and fat, with a natural smiling face, and he smiles three times when he sees people.Seeing Lin Hai was followed by a few attendants, well dressed, but holding a bunch of candied haws in their hands, they rushed up to greet him, smiled and bowed, but also did not look away, pointed at the candied haws and asked, "Is it for the young lady?"

Lin Hai didn't want him to come up and not ask what to see, but asked this. He was taken aback for a moment, then Fang nodded, and the shopkeeper said, "I like that one at home too, so I have to buy one every day so as not to bother me."