The Fate of the Red Chamber

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, Concubine Jia returned to Jia's mansion gracefully. All the rituals followed the empress's example, occasionally lowered by half a level, which caused a commotion and deep thought in the capital again.

Who doesn't know that Concubine Jia was just an inconspicuous maid in the palace back then, and for some reason, when the new emperor succeeded to the throne, the Empress Dowager additionally named Concubine Jia a virtuous concubine.At that time, Concubine Jia was older than the emperor, so it was really impossible to be favored by the emperor. The emperor has treated Concubine Jia fairly well, but it is definitely not as good as concubine Wu and Guiren Zhou. A beautiful upstart.

Originally, they thought that the Jia family was gradually declining, and the relationship with the Lin family seemed to be not very good, so everyone didn't take it seriously.Concubine Jia's relatives reminded everyone that there is still a noble concubine in Jia's family, revival may be just around the corner, and some things should not be overdone.

During the Lantern Festival, there is a custom of admiring lanterns and eating Lantern Festival everywhere. Without exception, this custom will be doubled in the capital.

In the Lin Mansion, lanterns of different shapes were hung everywhere, and many maids and servants gathered around to guess lantern riddles. Whoever guessed it quickly went to report to Daiyu and Mohan, and got a generous reward.Daiyu and Mohan looked at the fun, and made the Lantern Festival with the maids themselves.Unexpectedly, after eating a few Lantern Festivals, the servants from the outer courtyard hurried over and said that they had something important to report to their master.

"Call him in." Mo Han looked at Daiyu, saw Daiyu nodding, and then called out with a little anger.

The servant seldom came to serve inside, but because Daiyu gave everyone a holiday during the Lantern Festival and he couldn't find a sister for a while, he boldly barged in, fortunately he was a well-behaved person.Not daring to raise his head, he knelt on the ground and replied loudly: "My lord, princess, someone from the Jia family has come to deliver a message, it seems that the virtuous concubine wants to see the princess, and she is waiting outside the courtyard."

Mo Han and Dai Yu looked at each other, what's the matter with this Jia family and Concubine Jia, after finally going home, not to mention reunion with relatives, what to ask them to do, it's not bothersome at such a late hour.

It was rare for Daiyu to have a relaxing day with her elder brother, and she was somewhat dissatisfied with the saboteurs, but it was not good to refute Concubine Jia's face, so she ordered displeasedly: "Bring the people from Jia's family in."

Mother Jia was afraid of bad things, so she sent Lai everyone, who was in front of her, to come over. Although everyone was anxious, she still saluted respectfully, and then said with a smile: "My mother mentioned that she was close to my aunt back then, and I thought of my aunt. I went there at a young age, and my heart is sad. Knowing that the princess is in the capital, I have been talking about it all the time, lamenting that I never had a chance to talk about the sisterhood before, so I invited the princess to go to have a talk, in response to the meaning of today's Lantern Festival reunion."

Sisterhood, people who have never even met face to face have anything to say, even reunion is reunion at home, there is no reason to reunite with outsiders, this Concubine Jia is really looking for trouble.However, everyone knew in their hearts that Concubine Jia had something to say to Daiyu, if she couldn't say it, it would not only be for Concubine Jia's face, but also for the face of the Empress Dowager, and it would be rude for others to say it.Moreover, although Concubine Jia came to invite her as a cousin, but she is a noble concubine, so if she really wanted to summon a princess from the Lin family, she really couldn't shirk it.I'm going, maybe there's something waiting for me.

After thinking about the matter, Daiyu stopped Mo Han's words of refusal with her eyes, and lightly agreed, and sent Lai everyone back to report the letter first.After all, Concubine Jia is a first-rank concubine, Mo Han and Dai Yu are lower than her in terms of rank, so Wen Zhao can only go there.Even if the elder brother refused firmly, the empress dowager would have more authority to deal with the Lin family if they made a fuss, and everyone knew that she was already in good health on the ninth day of the ninth day of the lunar new year, and she could not be excused by being weak.The Jia family also expected to come here, and the Lin family was notified in advance that they might be pushed for a reason, but it was too late at this time.

After returning to the house, they changed into the court clothes of the princess and king, and the two got into the carriage hand in hand.

The gate of Jia's house was brightly lit and festooned.When it was reported that Prince Chengen and Princess Hanxiang had arrived, Jia Lian's masters of Sister Feng's generation took them out and welcomed them to Jiamu's main courtyard where Yuanchun was.Ordinarily, people like Mrs. Jia Amnesty and Mrs. Jia Zheng would have to come to greet her, but today the concubine's daughter came back, so it's understandable that she became arrogated.

At that time, Yuan Chun was announcing to see Jia Baoyu.Baoyu has been dispirited ever since she came back from Lin's residence that day, unable to raise her spirits in everything. Today, when she sees her eldest sister whom she hasn't seen for many years, she only has a faint smile on her face, which makes Yuanchun feel very sad.Secretly, it seems that the old lady's idea is right, not to mention that Baoyu has to follow this matter.

The little eunuch came in to report that Lord Lin had arrived, but Yuan Chun didn't invite him in right away, but continued to ask about Baoyu's studies.

"I heard from the master that all the inscriptions and poems in the garden were inscribed by you, and it has indeed benefited a lot." Yuan Chun asked after a pause while holding the teacup.

But when Baoyu heard that it was Daiyu, his heart became confused, and he couldn't answer Yuanchun's words well, so he answered a few words in random.Seeing this, Yuan Chun knew that Baoyu couldn't listen to a word at this time, so he sighed, raised his hand and said, "Hurry up and ask the prince and princess to come in."

Mo Han was on the left, Daiyu was half a step behind, and was on the right of Mo Han, walking in as usual.With Mohan's rank, there is no need to bow down to Yuanchun, but Daiyu is a girl in a boudoir and has rank, so it is just a common salute.Yuan Chun knew that this was the rule, so he had nothing to say.

In the eyes of Mrs. Wang, it is as cold as frost. Why, she is the biological mother of the imperial concubine and she has to kneel and worship. Rubbing them, how can I swallow this breath.It's just that on such an occasion, with people from the palace in front of her, Mrs. Wang was not so dizzy that she didn't speak a word, and just stared at the two of them with extremely cold eyes.

"Raise your head and let Ben Gong take a look." Yuan Chun's tone was quite kind.Letting them wait for a while just now is enough to get off the horse, and there is still business to do today, so we can't make it too rigid.

As expected, the two raised their heads, Mo Han glanced at Yuan Chun hastily, but Dai Yu didn't look at Yuan Chun directly, her gaze was level on the ground in front of her, she was so calm that she let Yuan Chun look at her.

Originally, when Yuan Chun heard that Aunt Lin's family had adopted a son, he thought he was an unworldly kid. Later, he heard the emperor praised Mo Han for being handsome and elegant, but he didn't believe it. Today, he was shocked when he saw it.This Lin Mohan, to be honest, is a bit stronger than his younger brother. Although he is not as delicate and fair as Baoyu, he has a masculine heroism and arrogance. Such a person is not easy to deal with at first glance.

Lin Daiyu's figure is like a weak willow Fufeng, her face is more delicate than that of a lotus, her temples are lightly caged with cicada wings, her eyebrows are lightly brushing the spring mountains, she is coquettish and silent, she is coquettish and coquettish.Even the court clothes on her body didn't weaken her unique orchid-like air, on the contrary, it added three points of nobility and grace, which is really suitable for light makeup and heavy application.

The two stood side by side, one flamboyant and the other elegant, the other passionate and the other tactful, really like delicate flowers and nephrite against a towering turquoise, if it wasn't for the Lin family, Yuan Chun really wanted to applaud.There is such a person in the Lin family, how can we not make people yearn for it? Not everyone can learn the demeanor of a famous family.

"It's really good. Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin are well-bred." Yuan Chun praised lightly, and the surprise before the moment had turned into calmness at the moment.

"Niang Niang is ridiculous." At a glance, Mo Han knew that this Yuan Chun was not a simple character, he was more than a hundred times stronger than her stupid mother, but it was a pity that he had too many eyes and suffered from it.

Everyone in Jia's house thought that Mo Han would take advantage of Yuan Chun's talk and turn to compliment the girl and young master of Jia's family, but they didn't expect that he was not polite at all, and accepted all good things you said.I almost lost my eyeballs in shock, it was so arrogant.

Yuan Chun didn't move, took a sip of tea gracefully, and then smiled slightly: "Give me a seat. Sister Lin and her aunt from back then really look exactly the same, and I'm very close to her when I saw her. Everyone likes Lin My younger sister has poems and books in her belly that are astonishingly beautiful, why not compose a poem this time, so that everyone can open their eyes."

In fact, Daiyu does not look exactly like Jia Min, at most she only has a five-point resemblance. Jia Min has the dignity and beauty of a young lady in her body. More similar.But what Yuan Chun said was also meant to win over, no one would break it.

When Daiyu heard that she was going to compose poems, she finally frowned, and said in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty, I'm overwhelmed. Everyone here doesn't know that Miss Xue is a real talented woman. The elder sister, the third younger sister, the fourth younger sister and the second cousin are all extremely talented, Hanxiang dare not make a fool of himself."

"Oh, after the banquet, all the sisters and Bao Yulin's cousin wrote a poem, and I personally commented on it." Yuan Chun did not refute Daiyu's words, and suddenly leaned forward, very curious. He asked: "I heard from the old lady that Sister Lin and Baoyu were the best friends when they lived in the mansion. I wonder if there is such a thing?"

"My cousin has always been very kind to my sister, and my sister also treats my cousin as her own brother." The fact that Jia's mother proposed marriage is still vivid in my mind. Yuan Chun's words made Daiyu wake up in a hazy way, and she answered with a [-]% spirit. Dare to slack off in the slightest.

Baoyu stood behind Mrs. Wang and the others, and had been staring at Daiyu quietly, but he didn't make a fuss about these words, and a bitter smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Yuan Chun couldn't figure out what Daiyu meant, because Daiyu had met very few outsiders, and among them Baoyu was the best, so there was no reason not to be indifferent, let alone the bond they had with each other since they were young.And look at this, Baoyu must be special to Daiyu after all, it is impossible for Daiyu not to care at all.It's just that whether it's Daiyu's words or her expression, it seems that she really has no intention of Baoyu, but this matter is imperative, for the sake of Jia's family, there is no way out.

"Sister Lin has both ability and political integrity, Baoyu is a young girl, and you two are cousins ​​of childhood sweethearts. It is a happy marriage made in heaven. Since this is the case, I might as well make the icing on the cake and give you a marriage. After sister Lin and Ji, we will hold a big wedding How about the wedding ceremony. How does the old lady feel?" Yuan Chun gently stroked the glazed white jade armor on his fingertips, as if he was gossiping.

No matter how inadvertently Yuan Chun said it, the shock she caused was definitely huge, and the faces of the brothers and sisters of the Jia family, the Xue family, and the Lin family all changed.

The first one is that Mrs. Wang's face was ashen, her lips trembling and she couldn't speak.Daughter, don't you care about being a mother at all? Don't you treat the old lady more dearly than you treat your own mother?Mrs. Wang wanted to refute, but unfortunately she was too angry to speak for a while.

The anger in my heart surged up, blocking Daiyu's chest, giving a marriage, giving a marriage to Baoyu and herself?Jia family, you want to control yourself like this, control your brother and control the Lin family, old lady, your heart is too cruel, but you treat me as your granddaughter in the slightest.You only have your glory and wealth in your heart, for which you can sell anything.It's just that I, Lin Daiyun, would rather die for jade than for everything.

Mo Han only glanced at Daiyu from the corner of his eye. Fortunately, the younger sister is no longer the weak and helpless younger sister Lin. This time, she will be able to fully see the so-called affection Jia Mu has for her.

As for Jia Yuanchun, as a little noble concubine, she could have regarded herself as a queen. She knew that Daiyu was the princess, but deliberately put aside this important status, and only regarded Daiyu as the cousin of the Jia family.Who doesn't know, only the emperor and the empress can give a marriage to a princess, what is Jia Yuanchun, this is a serious crime of usurpation.It's true that the Lin family are all vegetarians, so they were shocked by her few words.Mo Han's gentle face suddenly became extremely cold and gloomy, just like the depression before the storm.

"The virtuous concubine, Shemei is the princess who was appointed by the emperor himself, and only the emperor can order a marriage if it is necessary. Forgive me for not agreeing to this marriage." The tone is as usual, but it is as firm as gold and stone.

Yuan Chun's mind was a little tense, he didn't expect that the Lin family would dare to refuse the marriage, even without euphemisms, instead secretly condemning himself for not following his duty.However, since the words have been uttered, she is a noble concubine after all, and there is no reason to take it back, not to mention that it is a good thing that will benefit the Jia family without any harm.

"Cousin Lin, that's not what you said. Cousin and Baoyu have a small friendship, and this is a great thing to do. The old lady loves Sister Lin so much, and she will never let her suffer any grievances. The old man and his wife are sister Lin's uncle and aunt, and they treat her like their own daughter. Baoyu also knows how to love and love. It is not easy for my cousin to support the Lin family's family alone in the capital at such a young age. Jia Although the family is not a high-ranking family, after all, it occupies two of the eight princes, and has established itself in the capital for decades, so there is always something to talk about. I think it's better for my cousin to think clearly."

"Thank you, the concubine, for being considerate of our Lin family. But Xiao Wang still said the same thing. It is not up to the empress to decide to marry the princess. People who know it say that the empress cares about her younger brother beyond the rules. People who don't know think that the empress does not have a saint in her eyes." Well." Today's matter can never be good, but it is related to my sister's lifelong happiness, and I can't care so much, even if I lose the entire Lin family to keep my sister, I will not hesitate.

This is a bit serious. Yuan Chun didn't know that her actions would easily attract criticism. What she thought was that as long as the Lin family agreed to this marriage, and then she would blow the pillow wind in front of the emperor, the emperor would not give her this. Save face, and when the time comes, the imperial decree will be issued, and the rules will be followed, and no one else will be able to speak.

She made preparations for the Lin family's rejection, but what she didn't expect was that Lin Mohan refused so simply that he even threatened her.The Lin family didn't take her as a noble concubine too seriously, and if they didn't show them some color, they wouldn't be able to use it for their own family in the future.

With a jump in his eyes, Yuan Chun stood up slowly, looked directly at Mo Han and said coldly: "Cousin Lin, you are just a county king in name only. You are a smart person, but you still don't understand the gains and losses here. I advise you to be more sensible." Good!"

"Xiao Wang has always been a foolish person, don't bother me, you worry about it." Don't look at Mo Han smiling slightly, his heart has already been turning a thousand times, thinking about how to end today's matter.With Jia Yuanchun's temper, even if he endured it for a while, he would definitely beat him up when he returned to the palace, and he would be passive at that time.If you turn passive into active, there is a queen dowager watching over you, it is very dangerous.

In the main hall, Yuan Chun and Mo Han confronted each other, and the rest of the people held their breath in fright.Jia's mother was dumbfounded, Mo Han is really tough, he doesn't even look down on the imperial concubine, isn't he afraid of the empress dowager punishing him?

But Mrs. Wang was startled and angry, her daughter ignored her intentions, and just obeyed the old lady's words, and wanted to give Daiyu to Baoyu, even if she didn't have her as a mother in her eyes?But the Lin family is even more hateful, their noble concubines and daughters have made an order, yet they dare to disobey the order, they are really wild boys and girls without a tutor.

For Baoyu, apart from being shocked or shocked, such a scene was something he had never imagined.

There is only one Xue Baochai, whose mind is the most confused.When she first heard that Lin Daiyu was married, she was just a little jealous.And Lin Mohan's actions brought her new feelings every minute. She was happy that he had such courage, worried that Yuan Chun would not let him go, and resentful that he did all this just for Lin Daiyu. The joy is that I finally saw the right person.This kind of man is worthy of her, Xue Baochai, and is her Qingyun Road.

From the beginning to the end, Daiyu didn't say a word, didn't take a second look, because she always believed in her brother, he would definitely protect her, if even her brother couldn't protect her, it would be a big deal to live and die with him.Jia Yuanchun, or the queen mother, is nothing to be afraid of. As long as her brother is by her side, she can face all these bravely and fight side by side with him.

At the moment when the atmosphere was tense, Yuan Chun finally couldn't help it, and said fiercely: "Good Lin Mohan, since you said that this palace has no right to marry Lin Daiyu, then you can just wait for the emperor's imperial decree to bestow marriage. "After speaking, he flicked his sleeves and sat down heavily.

"Thank you for your reminder, imperial concubine. If you have no other orders, Xiao Wang and sister-in-law will leave first. You can't keep this kind of thing from the emperor." Unlike Yuan Chun's annoyance, Mo Han calmed down completely. What he has to worry about right now is How can we win this battle in front of the empress dowager? After all, they are at a complete disadvantage.

After saluting and leaving, Mo Han took Daiyu's hand and left the hall calmly.

He carried Daiyu into the carriage, put it gently on the brocade mat, and then raised the curtain to call Xiaoliuzi and Xia Cheng: "Little Liuzi, you should rush to Princess Ning'an's mansion immediately, and report everything you just did to the princess and the son-in-law. And tell them that I brought my younger sister into the palace to see the Queen Mother. Xia Cheng, your task is to go to Yicheng Palace and inform the prince. Let's go."

After giving all these instructions, Mo Han put down the curtain of the car, poured a cup of tea and fed it to Daiyu's lips: "Sister, let's have some tea, we are still busy today. I am only worried that your body will not be able to take it. If it doesn't work, brother will ask someone to take you back to the mansion first, and it will be fine for brother to go alone for matters in the palace."

Daiyu wanted to reassure Mohan, and the air in Jia's mansion was too dull, she was really thirsty, so she sipped her mouth.While drinking tea, he still didn't forget to look at Mo Han, his long eyelashes flickering, very cute.

"No, I will go wherever my brother goes."

Mo Han felt a pain in his chest, so he ate a cup of tea to cover it up, wrapped Daiyu in his arms with both hands, pulled the fox fur-trimmed cloak around his body, and wrapped them tightly around their bodies.

"Okay, no matter how big the storm is, let's bear it together."

"Brother, shall we go see the queen mother? Doesn't the queen mother dislike us the most? Will she help Concubine Jia?" Daiyu was a little confused, why her brother thought the queen mother would make decisions for them. It is quite possible that the queen mother agreed to concubine Jia's marriage.

Looking at Daiyu's confused but trusting eyes, Mo Han felt a warm itch in his heart, stroked Daiyu's soft black hair, and asked, "Sister, do you think that after Concubine Jia returns to the palace, will she cry to the Queen Mother about this matter?" And exaggerate it severely, bite back and accuse us of disrespecting the emperor?"

"Well, she will definitely be like this. At that time, we would be passive. If the empress dowager believed her first, it would be difficult for us to justify. So brother wants us to take the initiative and catch Concubine Jia by surprise." Daiyu lowered her head and pondered, From time to time, he twisted the handkerchief in his hand.

"Sister is so smart. First, we can't let Concubine Jia grasp the fact that you grew up with Baoyu. You know she can say anything. Second, what we want to sue is not Jia Yuanchun's gift of marriage, It was Jia Yuanchun who presumptuously gave a marriage to a princess. As long as she grasped this point, the queen mother should not be too partial, otherwise she and the emperor would be slapped in the face.

But the Empress Dowager deliberately made things difficult for us, so she might use this opportunity to trip us up.After all, I have no real power, and I don't have much room to speak in front of the queen mother, so I have to rely on the power of the princess and Prince Liu for this matter. "The gentle and deep baritone, in such a deep night, has a more touching charm, soothing Daiyu's worries.

Daiyu leaned her head on Mo Han's shoulder, held Mo Han's arm, and muttered: "Will the queen mother and the emperor think that our family is forming a party with the princess mansion and the palace for personal gain, and will it hurt grandma and the prince? "

"Sister is not simple, even this has been thought of. Don't worry, nine out of ten people in the capital know about our friendship with the princess mansion. The queen mother knows it well, but she can't do anything to the princess. Prince Liu is now He is in charge of the clan mansion that manages members of the royal family, and matters such as bestowing marriages on princesses are also within his jurisdiction, not to mention that this is not an opportunity for him." Mo Han put his arms around Daiyu's shoulders, adjusted his sitting posture, and let Daiyu Yu leaned more comfortably.He began to hope that this journey would be longer and longer, even if the ends of the earth were willing.

"My brother is also right. What are we afraid of when we are at this point? Although you don't say it on weekdays, I know it in my heart. Our Lin family, grandma, and Prince Liu are all thorns in the empress dowager's eyes. I wish I could get rid of them as soon as possible. One more thing It doesn’t make much difference if one thing is missing, what should come will always come.” As she spoke, Daiyu couldn’t help laughing bitterly, what virtue and ability she had, and what was wrong with her brother, it was worth the empress dowager’s concern.

Mo Han whispered softly in Dai Yu's ear, "Sister, I won't allow anyone to make you suffer."

As soon as the words fell, the guards responded outside, and the palace had arrived.

"Take my token and go back in, saying that the king and the princess are in a hurry to see the empress dowager."

Daiyu saw that the night was already dark, the palace gates were already closed, and the Empress Dowager had probably rested, so she was uneasy: "Brother, will the Empress Dowager see us at this late hour?"

"Fool, do you think that the Queen Mother didn't send anyone to watch over Concubine Jia's visit to her relatives? Presumably, the Queen Mother already knew the beginning and end of the matter, so she might just sit and wait for us." Mo Han burst into a rare laugh. Just count.

After a while, the gate of the palace opened wide, and the leader of the guards invited the two of them in.

The carriage drove for a short distance, and the two got out of the car and changed to a sedan chair. After walking for a cup of tea, they got out of the sedan chair and walked.Eunuch Mo, the chief manager of the Palace of Compassion and Ning, greeted the empress dowager in person. Every time Mo Han entered the palace, he was very generous, especially the people in the empress dowager's palace, so this Eunuch Mo changed his arrogance towards others and became affectionate. He saluted and greeted: "The empress dowager originally wanted to send someone else to come, but this old servant was worried that they would not have a plan in their hearts, and they would offend the prince and princess, so I asked the empress dowager for this errand."

"Eunuch Mo has worked hard. Brother and sister, thanks to Eunuch Mo for taking care of us all the time." As he spoke, a large denomination bank note had already fallen into Eunuch Mo's hands. Eunuch Mo grinned and put it in his sleeve.

"Xiao Wang really feels guilty for coming so late to bother the empress dowager, but the matter is so important that Xiao Wang really dare not delay. Has the empress dowager already rested?" Mo Han deliberately led Eunuch Mo to walk faster, The rest of the eunuchs and maids were ten steps away.

Eunuch Mo has also become a fine person, so he naturally understands Mo Han's intentions. Anyway, it's okay to talk about the important things. Naturally, he doesn't show the slightest hint of the important things, and said with a soft smile: "Not yet. Today's Lantern Festival, the emperor is here The empress dowager stayed with her for most of the night, and there were Concubine Wu and others to join in the fun, which made her very happy. After eating a lot of food, she was just digesting food in the yard.

Hearing the prince and the princess begging for an audience, he seemed extremely happy, so he hurriedly ordered us to announce the prince and the princess in quickly. "

"That's good, that's good." Mo Han responded repeatedly, as if he was very happy.It seems that I guessed correctly, the queen mother had expected all this, and was waiting for me to jump into her trap.It's just that knowing that there are tigers on the mountain, they prefer to go to the mountain. If they don't enter the palace, will the Queen Mother just let them go? It's better to end it as soon as possible.

Daiyu looked up at the sky, it was almost three o'clock, and tonight might be a sleepless night.In such a pitch-black night, the previously bright moon was covered by clouds, and even though there were palace lanterns all the way, it was still desolate and lonely, filled with panic.