Daiyu's wife in the Red Chamber

The last time a maid came to report that someone was visiting, Daiyu sat in the sedan chair and thought about it all the way, but when she arrived at the gate of the courtyard where she lived, she couldn't guess who it was, Wei Ruolan helped her down with her own hands, and put the umbrella back She tilted her head, saw her face of deep thought, saw her face of hard thought, smiled and said: "How many people do you know? You came to see us directly, and didn't post a post. I guess it's because your status is not as good as ours but you know ours." , lived in this posthouse for two days, and we didn't meet the family members of officials and eunuchs, and we didn't say anything about them."

Daiyu couldn't help smiling, and replied: "When we pass here, apart from showing our identities to the posthouse, the officials and eunuchs in the past didn't know who we were, and we didn't hear that anyone we knew lived here, so naturally we didn't communicate. It has been raining for most of the day and night, and it hasn't stopped today, I think it was a previous stay, so how can I not speculate out of curiosity?"

A long time ago, Xueyan was waiting inside the door with an umbrella. Hearing what they said, he stepped forward and said, "Master, grandma, there are six people here, Mrs. Fu Quanfu's wife and daughter-in-law. Sister Zihao invites you." They sat in the living room and had tea."

Wei Ruolan asked: "Who is Fu Quan?"

Xueyan hadn't answered yet, but Daiyu felt familiar, so she thought about it for a long time before she said: "Father's old classmate was not in the same year. He was helped by his father in previous years, but he didn't have any contact with him after his death. Somehow, he came here in person today. Goodbye."

Hearing this, Wei Ruolan knew what kind of person he was, she was unhappy, and said to his wife in a low voice: "Since it's such a family, and the person who came to visit is a female family member, I should avoid it, you go in and dismiss her." They don't have to worry about these people and these things." He said and sent Daiyu to the bottom of the steps, watched her go to the corridor, and then pulled away to check the luggage to see if anything was wet.

Wei Ruolan disappeared, Dai Yufang signaled the little girl in front of the door to open up the newly hung curtain, and walked in with Zijuan's hand, and she saw six people, young and old, women and relatives sitting on the guest seats in the hall.

Seeing Daiyu coming in, the six of them stood up at the same time and went forward to salute.

Daiyu said: "When you are traveling, don't be too polite." After returning to the ceremony of the younger generation, he invited people to sit down and asked people to watch tea. When he looked carefully, he found that there was a woman in her fifties in front of her. , three older or younger daughters-in-law, and two young ladies of fourteen, five or sixteen years old, all of them were richly decorated, and they were only a step behind the people of Jia's mansion.

When Daiyu looked at them, they also looked at Daiyu secretly, and couldn't help gasping.

Especially Fu Quan's wife, Bai Shi, couldn't believe her eyes. The delicate girl who used to be undersized and deficient has turned out to be like this. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a fairy.

Fu Quan's two daughters stared at Daiyu's few but very rare exquisite hairpins with dead eyes.

Daiyu noticed something, and felt a little bit of displeasure in her heart, because she was an outsider, she couldn't show it on her face, and said with a smile: "I knew that my wife would also stay here temporarily, thinking of the relationship between my father and Mr. Fu in the past. For the love of classmates, we should be juniors to visit Madam, we dare not bother Madam to come in person, it will ruin us."

Mrs. Fu hurriedly laughed and said: "We are humble and weak, how can we live up to the words of the county lord? We have been resting here for three or four days, and we have never come to greet the county lord. The county lord does not blame us. We're content."

Daiyu said: "It's raining and windy, how can you blame you for such a trivial matter? It's actually stingy."

Haven't seen each other for many years, they didn't explain why they came, and Daiyu didn't ask any questions, they treated each other according to the usual greetings, obviously Mrs. Fu was not a calm person, and she seemed to have something to ask for, so she quickly praised: "How many times?" I haven't seen you for a year, but the county master has become more and more dignified. I think back then, when the county master lived in Yangzhou with Mr. Lin, our master was also an official in Yangzhou, and our two families had frequent contacts."

Daiyu nodded and said: "That's right, the last time I saw my wife was when my late mother was going to the funeral, so it's been nine years." Thinking of her mother's voice and smile, Daiyu's face showed a trace of nostalgia.

Mrs. Fu hurriedly said: "It's my fault for arousing the sadness of the county magistrate. It's time to hit, it's time to hit." She pretended to slap her mouth.

Daiyu frowned slightly, and ordered someone to stop her, her eyebrows were naturally frowning, like light smoke, but the Fu family didn't notice it, and they didn't think that Daiyu knew many things at a young age.

After being stopped by Zi Hao, Mrs. Fu let go of her hand and said with a smile: "We originally wanted to visit the county magistrate often, but who knows that the south and the north are separated by thousands of miles, and letters are difficult to communicate. Echo, as long as the county master didn't receive it, he gradually put it down, and so many years have passed without knowing it. Today, the old mother next to me saw Wang Momo in the posthouse, and felt kind, and remembered to tell her when she came back. Me, I hurried over to pay my respects to the county lord, don't think we are reckless and rude."

When Daiyu heard this, she felt disapproving. Mrs. Fu said that she had sent letters several times, but she knew that she hadn't sent them once. She just lied under the pretext of inconvenient communication, so that she could say the following.

The reason why he is so certain is that in the past few years, Master Xu has been in the same year as Fu Quanyi's father, who is an official in Fu Quanyi's family. The mother-in-law who ordered the gift told herself to write to him when encountering difficulties.His father's protégé Zhao Feng Zihu also worked there. Every year, he entrusted Mr. Xu to carry things with him, even if it was some silk books and stuff, and sent them to the capital from thousands of miles away. Return the gift.

Naturally, she would not say what she thought of, so Daiyu looked at Madam Fu and said, "We don't know that Madam is here, so how can we think Madam came to see her?"

Mrs. Fu showed joy, and said: "Speaking of which, our eldest brother is still Uncle Ling's disciple, and he is also a family."

Daiyu was startled, and asked, "I don't know who it is?"

She and Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng's two direct uncles have never been familiar with each other, and it can even be said that they are strangers than outsiders. Every year, they don't sit at the same table during the banquet, and they have no words to talk to each other, let alone normal. I met them once, and never said a word, but that year when Jia She was ill, I went to visit them once and said a few words, but never again.

Mrs. Fu laughed and said, "My eldest son's name is Fu Shi. He is over [-] years old this year. He is highly valued by Mr. Zheng. If Mr. Zheng didn't look at him differently these years, how could he have the position of general judge today."

Daiyu was very surprised, Xin Dao turned out to be such a character.She didn't know who Fu Shi was, but after reading the manuscript of Dream of Red Mansions, she naturally knew that he was one of them. It was because he had a sister named Fu Qiufang, who was over 23 years old a few years ago. The girl is married to a rich and noble family, so she has never been allowed to marry her, but his family is outrageous, and people think he is poor. I don't know if he has achieved his goal now. The two daughters brought by Mrs. Fu today are obviously not Fu Qiufang.

Thinking about the few strokes in the manuscript, Daiyu never expected that Fu Shi was Fu Quan's eldest son, who somehow became Jia Zheng's protégé.In the past few years, Fu Shi took pride in the influence of Jia's family, and was an official judge. I don't know where Fu Quan is now.

Daiyu suddenly thought of something wrong, if Fu Shi is the son of Fu Quan, his parents are still alive, so how can he be the elder brother who decides the marriage of the younger sister?Unless Fu Quan and his wife trusted the eldest son, thinking that he could rely on the power of the Jia family to win a rich and noble family as his in-laws.Daiyu remembered that Baoqin's mother was still alive, so she didn't find it strange that her eldest brother was in charge of going to Beijing to get married.

After thinking about it, Daiyu concealed her doubts and said, "So, I've never heard of it."

Mrs. Fu laughed when she heard the words, and felt very regretful in her heart, she slapped her own mouth when she mentioned her son at this time, after all, her son has sent people to give gifts to Jia's family over the years, but he did not give gifts to Daiyu.

Seeing that Daiyu didn't realize it, Mrs. Fu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then smiled again: "This time our master returned to Beijing, it is all thanks to the political master to deal with it, and Mr. Wang will protect the capital. I don't know what is missing. Even if our master It's a flat tune, and you can get a third-rank official position even if you return to Beijing. I heard that Chen Lin, the second uncle of the county lord and General Wei, is now the servant of the official department? Chen Qi, Mr. Chen is still in charge of the affairs of the household department? I don't know if I can get the county lord For mercy, please ask General Wei to revise a letter and find a job for our master in the household department."

Mrs. Fu felt that both parties had to beg, one was the imperial concubine's direct father, and there were many high-ranking in-laws, and the other was the imperial county head. I heard that the couple had won the favor of the empress, and both sides begged for it. , Maybe I can find a better official position.Thinking of this, Mrs. Fu regretted the actions she made in the past few years because she felt that Daiyu only had the title of county magistrate and had no influence from her natal family.

At that time, my husband and I thought that Lin Ruhai passed away, and the whole Lin family was gone. Even though Daiyu still had a title, she lost her belongings, and only the dowry was left in the household department, and there was a risk of being tampered with by the household department officials, so they kept away from Daiyu. Jade, close to Jia's house.

Lin Daiyu has come to a dead end, who would have thought that she turned over now and married Emperor Changtai's confidant guard, looking dignified and dignified.

Daiyu smiled lightly and said softly: "Madam's invitation should not be declined, but the matter is so important that I dare not agree to it. Madam, let me explain in detail, let alone that I am a woman who can't influence the appointment of the court, even my wife does not." If this ability exists, it will not be sent to Pingan Prefecture to suppress bandits. What is the boundary of Pingan Prefecture? Presumably my wife has heard that it is the most difficult place where bandits and bandits are rampant. It has only been a month since I left the cabinet. I went to my uncle's house, and I didn't have time to get in touch again. If I open my mouth at this time, wouldn't my husband dislike me? My uncle received the letter and found out the reason, wouldn't he say that I am frivolous? Besides, Mr. Fu has excellent talents. The next time you go to Beijing must be Zuoqian, why do you need others to help? Those who know Mr. Fu's abilities are nothing, and those who know may say that Mr. Fu is wrong."

Her words are extremely tactful, the first words and sentences are all helpless, and the latter words are all praises of Fu Quanzhi's ability, even if Mrs. Fu failed to achieve her goal, she felt very useful in her heart, so she said: "I'm just talking for nothing, In fact, we have secured capital from Mr. Wang, and we just want to ask Mr. Chen just in case, fearing that the master will lose a good job in the capital."

Daiyu said with a smile: "The two uncles of the Chen family have never been as capable as Mr. Wang and my uncle. I am afraid that if they agree, there is no good way to arrange Mr. Fu's position. If they are above the third rank, they have to be checked by today's sages."

Mrs. Fu even claimed to be, her mouth was full of praises.

Seeing their conversation stop for a while, Miss Fu, who was the youngest and most beautiful, said with a smile: "The county lord, who looks like a fairy, is very suitable for such delicate and transparent green jadeite jewelry. Where we live, 1000 taels of silver Can't even buy it."

Daiyu didn't say a word, but Madam Fu scolded her mercilessly, and apologized to Daiyu with a smile: "The little girl at home is not sensible, and she followed her aunt, and now she speaks inappropriately, which makes the county master laugh. However, she said that the county lord looks like a fairy is true, I have never seen such a beautiful person like the county lord!"

Daiyu smiled slightly, and said: "How can they be called immortals? Mrs. Fu and Ms. Fu are too famous." It's strange that the two Ms. Fu and Mrs. Fu have no similarities, and they are probably not the mother and daughter of the direct relatives.

Miss Fu didn't dare to say a word, and the other one didn't dare to speak when she saw this.

Sending Madam Fu and others away, Daiyu ordered someone to find Wei Ruolan and come back. The husband and wife sat opposite each other, talking about Madam Fu's reason for coming, they couldn't help but sneered, and complained to Wei Ruolan: "I don't like such a person the most. I haven't seen her in nine years, and my father was nowhere to be seen when he went to the funeral. Now that I see her, I want to go through our uncle's way to apply for a job. Fortunately, she can open her mouth. It's not disgusting."

Wei Ruolan comforted: "Many people in the world are like this. They either follow the trend, or follow the trend. The so-called world is cold. Such a person can be far away, so don't take it to heart. I didn't expect his son to be a manuscript The Fu Shi mentioned in the book."

After finishing speaking, he asked Daiyu why she was not happy about the matter, and after thinking about it, it did not seem to be because of the Fu family's behavior of avoiding Lin Ruhai after the death of Immortal Lin Ruhai.

Daiyu thought for a moment, and said: "I don't remember many things when I was a child, but I often hear my mother talking about the Fu family. Although my family is from Gusu, my parents grew up and got married in the capital. Because my grandfather was also an official in the capital, and won the title of the late Emperor Longen, he inherited the title for one more generation, but I was not born in the capital. My father entered school when he was young. Zhongxiucai, but each takes the examination in the original place, together with the township examination. Although the Fu family is well-off, they are not rich, but Mr. Fu is extremely talented. His father often said that he is higher than himself. The strange thing is that he passed the examination two subjects later than his father. Scholars."

Wei Ruolan interjected: "It's quite normal, many well-educated people in the world can't pass the exams, and it can't be said that they don't have talent. Besides, my father-in-law is flamboyant and talented. He must be self-effacing."

After hearing these words, Daiyu smiled, her eyes became more tender, and she continued: "Mr. Fu was not appointed by the court for more than a year after he became a scholar in high school. He was an official in the Ministry, Master Fu approached his father, and his father gently found a post of county magistrate for him."

Wei Ruolan suddenly realized, and said: "It's strange that you hate him so cruelly. His father-in-law treated him like this, but he disappeared without a trace after his father-in-law passed away. It can be seen that his heart is cruel and his affection is thin."

Daiyu shook her head and said, "If it's just because of this, I wouldn't hate their family. When my mother went to the funeral, cars and sedan chairs were busy, and the water was blocked. When my father went to the funeral, the number of people who came to express condolences was less than two or three out of ten. What can I do? As you said, most people in the world are like this. What I hate is that after his success, he rescinded the marriage that the eldest son had originally arranged, and married another daughter from a wealthy family. Of course, compared to their family It can be said to be rich, but in our eyes it is just a family of upstarts. If Mr. Fu Quan Fu hadn't been confused when he passed the Jinshi examination, and his appearance was very ordinary, he might have divorced his wife. Only now I know that I have retired. The son of Fu's eldest son who is married to another is actually Fu Shi, and Wei Dao wants to rely on his sister to marry a rich and noble family."

Wei Ruolan wondered: "There is such a thing? You really are ungrateful, don't make friends."

Daiyu sighed: "I also listened to my mother and father talking about it when I was young. I vaguely remember that their family has a cruel temperament. I wanted to withdraw from the marriage, but I was afraid that I would get a bad reputation after retiring, so I designed the poor family's young lady I made a mistake, and because of this, I ended up being innocent. Although my father was around, the Fu family was very attached to them, but my father treated them mediocrely. If it wasn't for the fear of the villain, he would have been far away from them. Therefore, my father passed away Afterwards, I didn’t feel any better when I didn’t see their family, and I breathed a sigh of relief. As for those who had been friends with my father before his death, those who stayed away after my father’s death gave me chills in my teeth.”

Wei Ruolan took her hand and said with a smile: "It can be regarded as seeing through the warmth and coldness of human relationships. Don't take it to heart. Let's keep in touch with the people you have been with after the death of your father-in-law."

Daiyu nodded with a smile. A few days before her father passed away, she distributed letters and gifts to various friends. Nearby, it was a gift for the Double Ninth Festival, and far away, it was an annual gift. She had no choice but to send family members here too, and Daiyu gave more generous gifts later on, as for those who had no news, she had no contact with them.

The Fu family is not worthy of her heart, whether she hates or hates it.

After a rain break in the afternoon, the heat dissipated a bit, and the couple's brows relaxed.

Unexpectedly, there were two more heavy rains in the next few days, and the official road became more and more difficult. They had to stay in the post house, planning to wait for the rain to stop and the road to dry before going on the road. There was nothing they could do about the delay.It's the same with Mrs. Fu and Chen Rui's family. It's all right for Chen Rui. Daiyu likes to be with her, but Mrs. Fu admires power and often comes to talk to Daiyu, and Daiyu is very annoyed.

It rained a little again that day, and the road that was not yet dry was soaked again. Daiyu felt that her trip was being delayed, and she was impatient when she heard that Mrs. Fu brought her two daughters over again. Wei Ruolan couldn't avoid it, so she went in inside.

Madam Fu didn't realize it, she just sat down and said with a smile: "Why isn't General Wei at home? I haven't seen him for several times."

Daiyu said indifferently: "My husband has his own affairs to take care of. I don't know what's important for Madam to come here today?"

When Mrs. Fu spoke, Daiyu was dumbfounded.