Daiyu's wife in the Red Chamber

With the marriage of Xing Xiuyan and Xue Biao finalized, Yingchun has already completed the ceremonies of asking names and accepting auspices, but it is not as lively as Daiyu. Because Yingchun and Zhou Bo are not young, Sister Feng has arranged for Yingchun's dowry for six or seven years. At the same time, the two families planned to hire in March and get married in April, so as to avoid the poison of May and the heat of June. They didn't want the old concubine who was in trouble in the palace to die suddenly.

The imperial court quickly issued a decree, promulgated to all officials and people all over the world, not to mention the decree of each family, and others must enter the imperial court and follow the rank system, and there is no banquet music for one year in the noble family, and three months for the common people. marriage.

It used to be that the daughters of several families sent Daiyu a message, please go to enjoy the spring, but they are not allowed to do so.

Daiyu is the honor of the county lord, different from other sisters, she should go to the court every day to worship like Jia Mu, Mrs. Xing Wang, You Xu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but she is an unmarried daughter, and she was canonized because of her father's shadow. It's not like the princesses, princesses, princesses and county masters of the court are all canonized before marriage, and they will leave the cabinet soon, so the empress sent someone early to tell Daiyu not to go.

Others don't care, Du Lian and Feng are very upset, they expected to have a bad future, they thought about sending Yingchun out earlier, the date was all set, who would have thought that during this national funeral, the wedding day would have to be postponed by one year.

Mrs. Xing went to court every day, so she didn't have time to pay attention to these things. When the Baoning Hou Mansion invited the official media to inform, it was Sister Feng who received them.

During this period of time, the Jia family was very busy, and it was not in good shape inside and out. Daiyu read the manuscript and knew the inside story, so she didn't talk too much. Go out and wait for your parents to come and pick them up. Those who don’t want to go are put in the garden to order. Jiamu left a civil servant to do her own thing, and pointed out a lotus root official who pretended to be a young boy to Daiyu. Baoyu Xiangyun Baochai Baoqin Tanchun has them, even Mrs. You also begged an old official to go back. Among the sisters, Yingchun and Xichun were the only ones, and Xing Xiuyan was not.

Even though she knew that the lives of these girls were suffering, Daiyu recalled that in the manuscript it was written that Ouguan first fought with Aunt Zhao together with Fangguan and others, and then burned paper in the garden. Because of the crime, I didn't want her from the bottom of my heart, but said with a smile: "There are a lot of maids and maids around me, why do I need to add more people? It's better to give it to others."

Since she didn't want it, Jia Mu said, "Then let the second girl do her bidding."

Yingchun pursed her lips and smiled, and said: "The girls in Siqixiuju next to me are all very naughty, how can I have another naughty girl like this? They come from singing, and they can't do needlework. They are young, and they will start next year I can't stay here, I can't bear to part again when I have affection, so it's better to save this time." She also refused.

Baoyu hurriedly laughed and said, "Sister Lin has no shortage of people. The second sister will leave the cabinet next year. My ancestor, good ancestor, give me the lotus root official. I don't think there are too many people, and I can still be with Fangguan."

Jia Mu said: "There are twice as many people there than in other places, and you still ask me for it. Fortunately, you can open your mouth."

Baoyu has always loved these girls, besides, these opera singers are far away from home, and their lives are extremely miserable. I still remember seeing Lingguan and Jia Qiang that year. As for Jia Mu, she couldn't hold back him, so Jia Mu had no choice but to agree, and ordered Ouguan and Fangguan to pack up their things and go to Yihong Courtyard to work as errands.

Thinking of Lingguan, Baoyu couldn't help asking Fangguan and Ouguan, saying, "Didn't Lingguan stay in the garden, presumably he went back with his parents and family? There are twelve of you, and there are eight of you left, so it can be seen that there are only four." one willing to go."

Fang Guan spoke quickly, and said: "We don't know our parents in our hometown for a long time, and the senior officer is the same. Where can parents and relatives come to pick them up?"

Baoyu was stunned when he heard the words, and asked: "I want to come here too. When you came here to sing opera, you were only ten years older, and the younger one was only eight or nine years old. How do you remember your parents in your hometown? Just remember, they are so far away, and it is difficult to communicate. They may not be willing to come and take you back, and they may sell you after taking you back, which is pitiful. The senior officials don't know their parents in their hometown, so why did they go out again and refuse to stay? If they stayed, they would certainly not Made her suffer."

Baoyu admired Ling Guan very much, not because she looked like Daiyu, but because she was so proud and arrogant. He is also infatuated with Jia Qiang.

Fangguan laughed and said, "What is she doing here? It's better to go out. Kuang Erye doesn't know, Lingguan has already left."

Baoyu became more and more puzzled when she heard this, and said, "I'm just dismissed today. Why did the senior officer go early? On Sister Bao's birthday, she was still singing operas." Because she looks like Daiyu, many things happened.

Ouguan's eyes turned red, as if his heart was touched, and he said: "There has always been only one role in our theater troupe, and only when there is no one can a new one be made up. Uncle Qian treated the senior officer very well. Lingguan sang a song, but Lingguan didn't sing, which caused Uncle Qiang to let the sparrow, which was eight coins a year, fly away. Not long after that incident, Lingguan stopped singing in our troupe, and Uncle Qiang took her outside. First, the medicine officer made up for Xiao Dan, but after the medicine officer disappeared, the Rui officer came in, now Rui Guan is with Miss Bao."

Today's twelve little opera singers are no longer the twelve who just entered the Rongguo Mansion, some left and some died, and the rest will make up.

Fang Guan then explained: "Second Lord doesn't know something. Ou Guan used to be good with Yao Guan, and when Yao Guan is gone, he and Rui Guan are on good terms. No one else knows about Ling Guan, but these sisters in our troupe know everything about it. Chu."

Baoyu hurriedly said: "Sure enough, Lingguan has gone with Qiang'er? I have never heard of Qiang'er getting married."

Fangguan sneered, and said: "Which famous brand are we, worthy of Uncle Qiang's official marriage? However, Uncle Qiang is willing, because he loves senior officials very much in his heart, but Uncle Zhen in the East Mansion is unwilling. Because of this, I don't know. After arguing so many times, the senior officer is unwilling to give in, and just lives in the yard that Uncle Qian bought for her."

After hearing this, Baoyu sighed: "How many idiotic children have been harmed by the orders of the parents and the words of the matchmakers? This view of family status is also like the Milky Way drawn by the golden hairpin of the Queen Mother, separating countless lovers in the world of mortals."

Fangguan and Ouguan were taken aback, and they thought it made sense after careful consideration. It's a pity that Jia Zhen is not Baoyu, and she refuses to marry Jia Qiang and Lingguan.

Baoyu kept this matter in his heart, he didn't care about economic affairs, he only thought about the lovers Jia Qiang and Lingguan. After giving instructions, he intends to wait for the national funeral to be over, Jia Zhen and others to send the spirit back, and go to Jia Zhen to make peace for them.

Baoyu believed that everyone valued him, thinking that he would be able to persuade Jia Zhen to change her mind.

Not wanting Mingyan to inquire and come back, taking advantage of Baoyu's sight of no one, he whispered: "Uncle Zhen ordered Brother Qiang to follow on saddle. The senior official has been ill for a long time, and he has no money for medicine."

Baoyu was taken aback, and asked, "Didn't you mean to live in the house that Brother Qiang bought for her? Brother Qiang is careful and has money in his hands. How many people should take care of her? Why can't she get sick? No money to buy medicine?" The more Baoyu thought about it, the more worried she became, her tone became a little anxious, and she wished she had a pair of wings under her ribs to fly out to see the senior officials.

Mingyan sighed a few times, and said: "My second master, don't you know that Lingguan has always been weak and sick? Everyone below knows. Lingguan was born delicate and originally from Gusu. The fifth day is actually commonplace. Brother Qiang treats her really well, but it is a pity that Uncle Zhen does not agree with Brother Qiang to marry her, and she refuses to be a concubine. They brought back all the elder brothers and sons who were kept by the Lingguan, and called all the girls and women back, so she was the only one left? Those women are also bad, it would be better to rob the Lingguan before leaving Things, the senior official was angry and angry, and became more and more ill. When I went, she was dying, coughing badly, blood was all over the pillow, and no one even gave her saliva."

Baoyu was startled, and hurriedly said: "She is so ill, have you hired a doctor for her? I collected some things and hid them in the study a while ago, and you took them to call a doctor. At least she was cured."

Mingyan said: "I have ordered someone to invite a doctor for her, prescribed medicine, and brought her some tea before leaving. But the doctor couldn't say no after seeing it. I asked the senior officer to prepare for the funeral. Now the swastika She was with her, and the medicine was made by Xi'er and fed to her. It's really horrible, she's become so thin as a bone." She shook her head and sighed, revealing her unbearable expression.

Baoyu hurried to visit.

Mingyan grabbed him and said, "My second master, don't go. If you go, the whole garden will know, and sister Xiren will know. If you don't expose me, the second master will give me a few taels." Yinzi, I'll go find a good doctor for Lingguan, it's unknown if he can be cured."

Baoyu burst into tears and said: "Stupid, what do you know? A young man vomits blood, and his years will not last. Last year I heard from the senior officer that she had vomited blood once, and now she vomited a basin of blood again. How can she save her life? In the world There are many quack doctors, the only hope is to ask the imperial physician, but she is not in the garden, and I am incompetent, how can I invite the imperial physician?"

Mingyan scratched her ears and scratched her cheeks, thought and thought, and suddenly said: "No one else can do it. If you know it, it's a big deal. Second Master, why don't you ask Miss Lin for help. I remember that Miss Lin has the imperial doctor come to see her several times a month, and I also have posts to go to." Please doctor."

Baoyu thought so, and went to ask Daiyu in Jiamu's courtyard.

Aunt Xue wanted to take care of Daiyu before Mother Jia saw her off. She was afraid that Daiyu would be lonely in the courtyard when she was young. Every day I grow flowers and grass, recite poems and compose Fu, so uncomfortable. When I hear what Baoyu is asking for, I can't help but sigh and order someone to ask the old doctor Wang.

Imperial Physician Wang often came to Rongguo's mansion, and Baoyu knew that he was good at medicine, but Old Imperial Physician Wang was the elder of Imperial Physician Wang, and his medical skills were even better. Treat it like a toy."

Daiyu sighed: "How can a person's life be kept on the sidelines?"

According to Wei Ruolan, he does not have all the manuscripts, only [-] chapters, but others have studied various things in the manuscripts. When mentioning Lingguan, they all say that Lingguan is his own shadow, similar in appearance, temperament, and origin Gusu is also sickly, and her relationship with Jia Qiang may not be satisfactory, and her ending also alludes to her own fate in the manuscript.

According to Baoyu now, Lingguan has already left the theater troupe and has the ambition not to be a concubine. Unfortunately, Jia Zhen disagrees. Jia Qiang has the intention but is powerless. She has indeed reached a desperate situation.

Doctor Wang came to check Daiyu's pulse first, and her physique was stronger than before, so she changed the weight of the prescription again.

Daiyu knew that Mrs. Wang was a highly respected and benevolent doctor. She often went to the pharmacy in the capital to treat the people as a doctor when she was resting, so she told the old man about her illness and asked him to go and have a look.

When Daiyu spoke, Baoyu bowed to her more than a dozen times.

Old doctor Wang got a lot of prescriptions from Wei Ruolan, and solved many mysteries in his medical skills. He also got Wei Ruolan's request after Wei Ruolan's engagement to take care of Daiyu. Daiyu's words, said: "Miss and brother, such a noble person can't bear the death of a little opera singer. How can I, an old doctor, be an exception? Second Master Bao is inconvenient to go out, so he sent someone to guide me."

Daiyu and Baoyu thanked them again and again, but instead of asking Mingyan to come forward, they asked Cao Cheng to lead the way.

Cao Cheng often went in and out, and was very familiar with the neighborhood. Daiyu hadn't asked about it before, but he knew where Lingguan lived, so he didn't need to go there, lest people think of Baoyu, which is not good.

Baoyu walked back and forth in the room, and Daiyu said: "Sit well and walk around, it makes me dizzy."

Baoyu sat down upon hearing this, and said eagerly: "My dear sister, with the presence of the old imperial doctor Wang, the senior official will surely be able to recover, right? She is such a smart and beautiful person, and I admire her courage of not being servile. Seeing that she and Brother Qiang finally became a couple, how could they have expected this situation." Can't help but shed tears again.

Daiyu sighed softly, if Wei Ruolan hadn't appeared, she might have the same fate as Ling Guan, every time she thought about the life she should have, she hated this ruthless world very much.

Looking up at Baoyu's tear-stained face, Daiyu said slowly, "This is the result of being unable to fight."

Wei Ruolan has a firm heart and courage, and when faced with Wei's mother's gift of a maid, she can still refuse softly and forcefully, without causing herself to be wronged, but Baoyu can't do it, and Jia Qiang can't do it either.

There is only one Wei Ruolan in the world, there is no second one.

Baoyu was stunned, and he couldn't help thinking of himself. Although he didn't care much, it wasn't that he didn't know that everyone in the manor said that marriage between gold and jade was good, and that Baochai was of course the best, but it was a pity that he didn't like it. The wife and empress were very satisfied Fortunately, I have never met a girl like Lingguan, if I did, I'm afraid she would be like Jia Qiang, not daring to disobey.

He bowed his head in thought, and smiled wryly after half a day: "I can't even be my own boss, so how can I be Brother Qiang's boss? I was thinking of saying good things about them in front of Big Brother Zhen, what's the use ?”

The old imperial doctor Wang personally took action, but he failed to save Lingguan's life.

Cao Chengfang came back at noon the next day, went to take a bath and changed his clothes, and told Daiyu and Baoyu who had been waiting for the news of Lingguan's dying words, and said, "Thank you, Master Bao and Miss Lin, for such noble people still miss you. Seeing me as an extremely lowly actor, he doesn't think I'm dirty or unlucky, so I invited an old doctor to treat my illness. However, even if there is a panacea in the world, it can only cure the disease, but not save the life. I'm afraid it won't work All my life, I didn’t know my parents and family. I only knew that I had been living in a theater troupe since I was a child. I hate myself for not leaving sooner, but I am not grateful for meeting him. It is good that he is not in the capital. When I go, I will tell him that I have gone back to my hometown, so that he does not have to worry about me. Tomorrow I will marry a wife who is well-matched. Live a good life. I came clean, and I will leave clean, and I will turn into a handful of fly ash and go with the wind without leaving a trace."

Baoyu broke down in tears and said, "She just left like this? I asked a doctor for her yesterday, but no matter how much medicine I took, it didn't work? My God, my God, where are your eyes? Just look at these clean and white eyes." Is this bad luck for my daughter?"

Daiyu has already stained the scarf with tears.

Cao Cheng said in a low voice: "Miss Lingguan has already been cremated. According to her last wish, all clothes, hairpins and rings will be buried with her. There is only one empty house left in that house."

Baoyu cried until her eyes were red and swollen, and said, "If I hadn't asked about her that day, I'm afraid no one would know if she died and had maggots."

Daiyu couldn't bear to hear any more and turned her head away.

At this moment, I heard someone report that Baochai and others had come, but before the words fell, Baochai, Tanchun, Xiangyun, and Baoqin all came, and Yingchun alone was doing needlework in the east courtyard. As housekeeper, Xing Xiuyan was with her, while Xichun was painting the scenery in the garden. Even so, these few sisters crowded the outside room.

Baochai laughed and said, "What's the matter with you brothers and sisters? Didn't you cry because you were arguing over the fruit?"

As Daiyu gave up her seat, she replied, "Why did you ever cry? It's just that Brother Parrot was naughty. He slapped the dust all over the room and lost his eyes. Baoyu rubbed it harder, and it became red and swollen." The fate of an actor like Lingguan is in his heart, and Jin Chuaner is still like this, let alone Lingguan, so he doesn't intend to tell the truth, so as not to cause trouble.

Baoyu agreed with Daiyu's statement, sobbing and saying: "Exactly, the parrot in Sister Lin's room is very naughty, he slapped the ashes on my head, and the more I rubbed my eyes, the more red and swollen they were, as if I had cried a lot. .”

Daiyu turned to ask: "The garden in the mansion is full of chaos. If you don't take good care of the house, what are you doing here?"

Baochai laughed and said, "It's almost Ching Ming Festival, and it happens to be Sanyatou's birthday, so we calculated that we can't get out of the commune on the second day of junior high school, and start the commune on the third day of junior high school, so we can count it as Sanyatou's birthday. Come and tell my sister."

Before Daiyu could open her mouth, Baoyu said, "What club do you want to open? The mansion is full of noise, so where is your mind?"

Xiangyun agreed, "I'm not in the mood either."

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Xiangyun felt a little uncomfortable, and soon said confidently: "Nowadays in the National Xiao, we celebrate the third sister's birthday lively, what does it look like? Let people know, wouldn't it be You say we have no rules? Besides, we have to sacrifice that day, and the second elder brother and the rest of the brothers who stayed at home have to go to Tiekan Temple to burn paper to worship."

Tanchun smiled and said, "Sister Yun is right, I can't celebrate my birthday, so don't let people talk about it."