Daiyu's wife in the Red Chamber

In the twinkling of an eye, it was the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Miaozhen and Wei Ruolan took a lot of thought and invited the official Zheng matchmaker with the best reputation, the best personality and the most ability in the capital, to bring the geese and other gifts to the Rongguo Mansion, and Chen in the hall.

Because of the imperial decree, this matter has already been decided, just waiting for the ceremony.

Looking at the two lively geese, the eight silks and satins as bright as the clouds, the eight sets of jewellery, the ten-grade fruit box, sheep wine and other things, which almost filled the hall, and then listened to Zheng's official media. Complimenting that there is nothing in the sky and nothing on the earth, the smile on Jia Mu's face is almost comparable to that of silk, but she pretends to refuse.

Zheng Guanmei is a top player in this field, and he understands this very well. When someone from a woman's family proposes a marriage, even if she is very happy in her heart, she has to decline two or three times in words. courtship.

This time, Mother Jia didn't refuse, and agreed after a moment of restraint.

At that time, Daiyu didn't need to come out, she just hid in her room, but Baochai and others refused to let her go, they all gathered outside, gathered around the round table to eat fruits from the eight treasure box, while eating, congratulated Daiyu .Except for Xichun who was young and not very knowledgeable, the rest of the people were either envious or jealous, but Du Xiangyun ate the fruit with his head bowed, without saying a word.

Daiyu held her face and said: "You are not good people, sooner or later I will laugh at you."

Xichun was teasing the parrots, and it was the parrots who were the matchmaker in Tiewangshan. Because of the cold winter months and the snow and ice outside, they went to Daiyu early and enjoyed it very much in the house. I cut my hair to be my sister-in-law, and told Sister Lin not to wait until that day, but the second sister, the third sister and the others, Sister Lin will make a good joke tomorrow."

Hearing this, Yingchun said in a deep voice: "Nonsense, you are so young, where do you get these thoughts." She lives in the same room with Tanchun and Xichun as children, and they also go to school together, and their relationship is far beyond comparison. Usually also quite take care of this little sister.

Xichun smiled and said, "Where am I talking nonsense, I just want to be clean and innocent."

Daiyu didn't refute like Yingchun, but smiled and said: "Fourth sister, you are young, and you have never been out of the house except to go to Yuxu Temple with your grandmother in May to have a peace ceremony. Do you know that those nunneries outside are all What do you do for a living? Talking about it will dirty your ears, but once you know it, you won't think about being a nun anymore."

Xichun was stunned, and said puzzledly: "What can I do to make a living? It's just chanting Buddhist scriptures and making alms. Don't Shuiyue Nunnery often do these things? Or go to various big families to ask for incense and money."

Baochai interjected, "I don't know if it's the fourth girl."

After hearing this, Xichun said dissatisfiedly: "I don't understand, so sister Bao will understand? But, if you understand, you don't need to show off your extensive knowledge in front of me, I don't like to hear it." As he spoke, he ignored Tanchun and the others and frowned Wanting to speak, I went to Daiyu's study to enjoy Daiyu's recent calligraphy and painting works.

Tanchun smiled and said to Baochai, "Sister, don't worry about the fourth younger sister, she is such an eccentric person. When we were in school, my second elder sister and I were older, but we learned a lot, but she was younger and only cared about her stubbornness. , didn't remember anything."

Daiyu frowned and said, "Since we know that Fourth Younger Sister is young and ignorant, we should teach her well, instead of just calling her weird."

Since waking up from that dream, Daiyu has been thinking about the verdict of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling and the Dream Song of the Red Chamber, and indeed both of them are unlucky beauties. Fortunately, things have changed now, although I don’t know if they are still unlucky.Therefore, she already had a good relationship with Xichun because of the painting, but after reading the verdict of Xichun and the "Xu Hua Wu", she felt even more pity in her heart.

How not to feel pity?Thinking about Sanchun going to school together since childhood, Xichun is the youngest, four or five years younger than Yingchun, taught by the same teacher, how can she learn anything important?After not going to school, I followed Li Wan. Even after I entered the mansion for the first time, I only read a few books and did a few times of sewing. Li Wan never taught me anything else. The mistresses of the Rongguo Mansion didn't put their minds to it either, no wonder their indifference was different from others.

Today, Yingchun is taken care of by his aunt and elder sister-in-law, and Tanchun has won the favor of Mrs. Wang. Although it may not be as satisfactory, compared with it, Xichun is still the same as before, and he lives alone in Nuanxiangwu, and has no one to teach him. she is gone.

Tanchun just opened his mouth to say a word, and saw Jia Mu ordering people to bring silk, satin, jewelry, fruit and so on.

It was probably the first time to see such etiquette, and the sisters thought it was rare, even Xichun ran out of the study, and urged Daiyu to open it, the fruit box was fine, and the silk and satin were nothing special, they were all tributes, unique The head inlaid with red and green gemstones caused one after another exclamation.

Xichun took the lead and said, "Sister Lin, come and see, isn't the gemstone on your head very similar to the gemstone on your bracelet?"

Everyone looked at Daiyu's wrist.

People in the world pay attention to gold and not jade in winter. I saw Daiyu wearing a pair of gold bracelets inlaid with silk on her wrist. There is nothing special about the gold. Three gemstones surround a big gemstone in the middle, and the pattern is quite simple and elegant.

Known as Baochai, she has never seen such a combination of red and blue gemstones, not even Jia Mu. At that time, Daiyu came out from the palace wearing this pair of golden bracelets, which caused a lot of excitement. sensation.

Compared with the double golden bracelets inlaid with treasures, the red and green gemstones on the head and face in front of the eyes are more vivid, pure and bright.

Daiyu's cheeks were slightly red, she closed the jewelry box with her own hands, and said nonchalantly, "My bangle was given by my mother, maybe it's a new and rare gem." In fact, she knew that Wei Ruolan had worked hard to find it. I don't know how much work it took to make such mandarin duck gemstones into jewelry and use them for marriage proposals.

The pair of golden bracelets given to her by the queen, as well as the two hairpins and two rings inlaid with the same precious stones, were not available when she was young. It was the Chang Taidi who ordered countless craftsmen to rush to work at the same time to make them.

Baochai asked, "What kind of gem is this? Tomorrow, I will ask my brother to take the trouble to find it."

Xichun twitched her lips, and said, "Sister Bao, do you think this is an ordinary gemstone? It's called a mandarin duck gemstone. I heard from Nanny Liu that I couldn't find one among the 1 yuan gemstones, not even in the palace. It was the empress who asked others. Yes, I made jewelry for Sister Lin after enjoying it, it’s really unique.”

Baochai laughed and said, "So that's the case, so we are not lucky enough to meet each other."

As he said that, he pushed Daiyu and joked: "It's really a good idea. Wei sent it with mandarin duck gemstones as jewelry. It not only shows wealth, but also coincides with the word mandarin duck. It can be called a fresh and interesting article."

Tanchun and the others said yes in unison.

Coincidentally, Baoyu sent the guests away, came over and overheard, and said with a smile: "Wei Ruolan puts a lot of thought into it. Just such a piece of jewelry makes Sister Bao feel fresh? I didn't recognize the gemstone. I saw Wei Ruolan the other day. It’s the first time I’ve seen it after wiping my forehead, and there’s a gem like this inlaid on it, and it looks like it’s from the same gem as the one on the jewelry.”

Baoyu was happy and sighed in his heart. Wei Ruolan was indeed a good man, but he thought that Wei Ruolan was more attentive to Daiyu than himself. kindness.

Daiyu was afraid that others would make fun of it, so before they could speak, she asked, "You're not outside to entertain guests, what are you doing here?"

Baoyu laughed quickly and said, "They've already left, so I'll come over to have a look. Besides, tell my sister that the old lady has already complied with the Wei family's request, and has set a date on the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month to ask for their names."

When Daiyu was stunned, Baochai asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

But Baoyu laughed and said, "Sister Lin is so nice, the Wei family is naturally impatient."

After finishing speaking, everyone couldn't help asking him, saying: "What does Mr. Wei look like? Everyone praises it. We asked Sister Lin, after all, she met her in the old lady's room. If she didn't want to, she wouldn't say a word. explain."

Baoyu thought for a while and said, "It has nothing to do with you. Why do you ask these questions? Is Wei Ruolan okay? Sister Lin only needs to know. There were so many disturbances last month that we vacated a few clubs, but today is another Good day for my sister, how do you think it will be changed to Chubaqi Society? I have already saved a lot of poems, and I am waiting for you."

Xichun stretched out her hand to paint her face, and said, "Second brother, every time you press the tail, why are you so excited? The poems you have saved may not be useful, and even if they are useful, it is still difficult for you to win the first prize. "

Baoyu laughed and said, "I knew fourth sister that you laughed at me. My daughter is smarter than a man like me. I am willing to bow down."

Baochai couldn't help smiling, and said: "Brother Bao, you should read a few more books, so that you don't lose face every time. It's a pity that you didn't join the club last month. If you do, I don't know what to do. "

Baoyu pretended not to hear her, ignored her, and asked Xichun, "The old lady asked you to draw a painting, did you succeed? Yesterday I heard the old lady mention that my sister Qin and I were in Changcui nunnery. It’s even more beautiful than Qiu Shizhou’s paintings, but unfortunately I’m the person in the paintings, and I’ve never seen how pleasing it is, so I’m just waiting for your paintings to come out to enjoy.”

Xichun shook her head and said: "It's cold in winter, not to mention the trembling hands, even the paint is very stagnant. Ask me when the weather is warmer."

Baoyu couldn't bear to force her sister, so she nodded her head and said: "It should be so, sister don't freeze. If your room is not warm enough, send to Xiren to tell, I have a lot of silver frost charcoal, give it to my sister some."

Other words are fine, but Xichun can't listen to these words, instead of expressing joy, he sneered and said, "How dare I take your things? You don't need a piece of charcoal in your room, just a piece of thread. Everyone in the house remembers it, and will pass it on in a few words, I am afraid that everyone will think that I am dissatisfied with the charcoal distributed in the mansion, so I will ask you for it."

Although Baoyu is not well-versed in the world, he is not ignorant, so he had to say: "How did it get to this point? I mean, my brother's firepower is strong, and I can't use up so much charcoal. I specially gave some to my sister."

Baochai made a relief and said, "What kind of brother and sister are you talking about in front of me? Stop talking and listen carefully to the old lady."

Xichun snorted and stopped talking.

Sister Feng is not in charge of the house now, and all the affairs of the Rongguo Mansion are handled by Li Wan. According to common sense, she is a widow and grandma, and she should not be a housekeeper. Li Wan was very embarrassed by the predicament of being overstretched, so he could only make do with frugality.Therefore, except for Jiamu and Mrs. Wang, Baoyu Baochai and Daiyu, the amount of silver frost charcoal in each house was greatly reduced, and it was only used by the master alone, and the maids used middle and low-grade charcoal.

Xichun lives in Ouxiangxie, where the surrounding air is heavy, and she spends more to practice Danqing, and she is too lazy to send someone to Ningguo Mansion to get it, so she often lives in Daiyu's room recently.

Baoyu was bored and didn't get angry. He talked and laughed with his sisters, and didn't go there until Jiamu passed the meal.

After the meal, we had tea and chatted again. Hearing that it was snowing outside, Mother Jia was worried that the wind and snow would make it difficult to leave, so she hurriedly drove their sisters into the garden. Baochai, Baoyu, Xiangyun, Yingchun, Tan Chun entered the garden and went back to their rooms.

When Baoyu returned to Yihong Courtyard, he refused to take the tea from Qingwen, and directly ordered Xiren to send his mother-in-law to give Xichun two baskets of high-quality silver frost charcoal. Not good, there is no savings everywhere, the grandma told you to be frugal, and there is only enough for us in our room."

Baoyu stared and said: "If it's not enough, I'll go to my sister-in-law. If it's short, I can't short it. What are you talking about? The fourth sister is young, and the lotus root champagne is surrounded by water. How can she be frozen?"

The attacker had no choice but to obey, saying: "It's late today, and I can't see the way clearly, so I can send it tomorrow."

Qingwen picked out candles with her hairpin and sneered.

Cui Hui suddenly came in and said: "Second Master Bao, what are you talking about? Before it's too late, go to our place to persuade our girl. What happened today, our girl is depressed, sister Xiren Go too, our girl and you are the best, I have been serving the girl for so many years and I am not as good as you."

After hearing this, Baoyu and Xiren hurried out.

The rest Qingwen put the hairpin on her head, touched Cuilu's body, and said: "Poor thing, you come out without wearing thick clothes in the cold weather, look at the master in our room, big and small." I’m wearing all the clothes I’ve worn, and I can’t fit them in the chest. The old lady gave me a squirrel jacket a while ago. I don’t think it’s plain, so you wear it, so you don’t have to go back to the wind and snow. According to me, it’s you The girl can't bear it on her own face, what's the point? Is it worth asking Baoyu to go there?"

Putting on her coat, Cui Ling stood by the smoker's cage to warm her hands, and said, "It's always been said that you have sharp teeth and a sharp mouth, which is really good. I have nothing to do with our girl. I tried to persuade you several times to no avail, so I had to Come to trouble Second Master Bao."

Musk Moon was doing needlework under the lamp, and smiled when she heard this, but remained silent.

Qingwen curled her lips and asked Cuilu with a smile: "The Wei family came to propose marriage today, do you really have a face made of mandarin ducks and gemstones? It's a pity that I'm not here, otherwise I should go and see the rarity."

Cuihui hurriedly said: "Stop talking about mandarin ducks and unicorns. If you want to see them, go to Miss Lin." It was because of these things that Xiangyun felt unattractive. He was afraid that others would laugh at him and make jokes that she was no better than Lin Daiyu. The Wei family disagreed. For this marriage of the historian, he went to ask Lin Daiyu to marry him, and went out of his way to give away the precious mandarin ducks that are rare in the world.

After hearing this, Qingwen sealed her mouth with her hand.

Not to mention how Baoyu and Xiren persuaded Xiangyun, but also said that Xichun in Daiyu's bedroom also talked about it, saying, "I'm not very happy to see sister Yun today. Did you notice?"

Daiyu tucked the corners of the quilt for her, wrapped herself tightly in the red silk quilt, and said, "I never paid attention to it."

In fact, she had noticed Xiangyun a long time ago, and she also knew what Xiangyun was thinking, but she could give in to other things, and she could try to persuade Xiangyun, but this was not the case.Moreover, when Wei Shi discussed marriage, it was the order of his parents and the words of the matchmaker, but today it was Wei Ruolan's intention. If Wei Shi's family failed, Xiangyun should not take his anger out on others, no matter if it was himself or Wei Ruolan .Therefore, Daiyu pretended not to see Xiangyun's sensuality, and was afraid of revealing traces, and Xiangyun felt a great loss of face.

As soon as the topic changed, Daiyu elaborated on the filth in the nunnery outside, and said, "My dear sister, it was you who told me, and you are only one year younger than me, and you are older, so you should know this, don't think that you have come out of this house. Once you enter the empty door, you will be purified."

Xichun couldn't help being dazed, and said: "So, Zhizhi'er also does those things?"

Daiyu thought for a while, and said: "I don't know the details, but I know that there are so many activities in the nunnery, so I went out of the house twice to perform ceremonies for my parents. Temple nunnery. To be honest, it’s not like some monks with unclean six senses in big temples haven’t done this kind of thing.”

Poor embroidered household girl, lying alone next to the ancient Buddha with blue lanterns.

The word "lying alone" almost describes all kinds of things that Xichun experienced after becoming a monk. She must have not obtained the purity she wanted, and she was unwilling to follow the crowd, so she could only lie alone and be looked down upon by others.

Xichun said: "Sister, I'm sleepy, if you have anything to say, I'll talk about it tomorrow."

Get up early the next day and go to Jia Mu's room to say hello.

The two sisters lived in Jiamu's courtyard. Since they came earlier than other sisters, Mrs. Wang and Sister Feng Li Wan had not yet arrived, but Mrs. Xing was in the room and was saying to Jiamu, "Yingchun is three years older than the eldest girl." I am sixteen years old, and I will be sixteen after the new year. If there is no movement, I am afraid it will be laughed at. Therefore, I asked Lian's daughter-in-law to ask her mother to pay attention, and picked a very suitable marriage, and she was willing. The father-in-law recently I have been promoted to the capital inspection of nine provinces, I am afraid that the whole family will leave Beijing, so I want to take advantage of the few days when my mother-in-law is in Beijing to cook."

Jia's mother was silent for a moment, then suddenly thought of Baochai, and said with a smile: "Extremely, it's hard for you to take up the thoughts and demeanor of your aunt. Whose family do you like? Let me know when you come out. Maybe it's an old friend."

Mrs. Xing's heart widened, and a three-point smile appeared on her face, and she said: "The old lady is an old family friend of our family. She is the concubine of the Marquis of Baoning. She is 17 years old this year. She is honest and honest, can read and write. It's also quite neat. Mrs. Baoning Hou didn't want to find a daughter-in-law who loves to play tricks, so she fell in love with Yingchun."

Jia's mother said: "I vaguely remember that Feng girl's sister promised to Baoninghou's son?"

Mrs. Xing hurriedly said: "Exactly, Lian's daughter-in-law's sister promised to be the youngest son of the Marquis of Baoning. It has only passed the engagement, and the marriage date is early. It will take two or three years. The Marquis of Baoning has only three sons, the eldest son and the youngest son." It came out of Mrs. Baoninghou's stomach. Although the remaining one was raised by his aunt, because his aunt died early, he grew up with Mrs. Baoninghou, so he will be able to share some of the family property in the future. Ma'am, even the mother-in-law is very careful, so as not to pick a bad one and create a rift between the sisters-in-law."