Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 146 From the Palace

Grandmother Jia frowned as she looked at the list Wang Xifeng brought, her face full of disgust: "It's just some dirty things of stealing money and murdering people. You should throw it at your uncle's face, why are you using it to anger me?"

Wang Xifeng held up the list with tears in her eyes and read: "On the seventh day of the fourth month of the Yichou year, I offered incense to the Miaofa Temple and asked the old lady to see Lin."

Grandmother Jia was shocked and said, "What did you say?!"

"It's the seventh day of the fourth month, not a festival, so what kind of incense did you offer at Miaofa Temple? It was the year of Yichou, I remember it clearly, wasn't it that year that Aunt Xianmin married Lin Ruhai?

“I don’t know what my uncle and aunt want to do. Why do they want Madam Min to marry Lin Ruhai?

"If it was for the friendship between Lin Ruhai and the current emperor, when the current emperor was still the crown prince, with seven or eight brothers around him, it was still unclear whether he could ascend the throne.

“Moreover, I heard from Sister Lin that after Lin Ruhai passed the exam, the Supreme Emperor granted him the title of Imperial Academy Attendant and Imperial Court Attendant, and that’s when he met the Crown Prince again.

"At that time, even Li Shouzhong in the Imperial College didn't know the identity of the crown prince. Who else knew? Or was there someone who deliberately pushed Master Lin, who was from Gusu, to be by your side..."

The more Wang Xifeng spoke, the more frightened she seemed. She trembled and cried, and curled up into a small ball while kneeling on the ground.

Grandmother Jia sat there in a daze, her mind in a mess. Even Yuanyang could hear her breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Old lady, granddaughter-in-law...please leave!" Wang Xifeng cried desperately, "The Wang family must have done something incredible!

"Now that my aunt is gone, if I am gone too, you can kick out the Wang family's concubines and get rid of our family!

"But if we keep dragging it out like this, what if the truth comes out one day? As a daughter of the Wang family, I will be a burden to our entire family!"

Grandmother Jia was stunned for a moment, then she shouted, "Nonsense! A married woman should not be punished! You are a member of my Jia family! Don't say such nonsense again!"

Wang Xifeng climbed into Grandmother Jia's arms using her hands and feet, hugged her waist and sobbed, "Why am I so miserable! What evil has befallen them to make them do this?"

Grandmother Jia said nothing, just held Feng Jie in her arms with a gloomy face.

Lin House.

Lai Wang was not a tough guy. But Jiang Yong was not willing to let him confess so early. He kept him busy all night, and only stopped when he saw the light in the east.

Jiang Yong looked at the confession in his hand, shook his head and exclaimed: "You noble servants of the aristocratic families are really wishful thinking!"

He shook the paper at Ni Er again and said mockingly, "The servants of the Wang family regard the title of the Jia family as something in their pockets.

"You actually want to use the Jia family to swallow up the Lin family! To be honest, if it weren't for our girl's intelligence, you would have succeeded.

"But you are too ambitious, you actually want to use the Lin family to get in touch with His Majesty!

"Come, listen to this part: marry Miss Lin to Baoyu, and use her name to inquire about the emperor's intentions from Mr. Tao!

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you guys are treating the Supreme Lord and His Majesty as--what?"

Jiang Yong abruptly cut off the word "idiot" that he was about to blurt out, and waved his hand: "Send this man back to the Jia family, and drop him off at their back door, and watch their people carry him in."

He took the paper and went to see Daiyu.

Ni Er hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and asked Jiang Yong quietly, "I want to meet the young lady and talk to her about the Third Young Lady's courtyard. Is that ok?"

Jiang Yong was stunned: "Is there something wrong with the third lady?"

Ni Er scratched the back of his head and said in annoyance, "I don't know if it's inappropriate or not. I ran into Jia Yun and asked him yesterday. He said it was okay, but asked me to tell the girl."

"Second Master Jia?!" Jiang Yong immediately showed a playful expression, "Good boy! He is still standing tall even though he is down! A branch of the outer four roads has become a 'master'!"

Ni Er smiled and said, "As neighbors for so many years, he has always been very respectable. I think that there are few people in the Jia family who have his courage and integrity!"

Jiang Yong nodded in admiration: "That's fine!"

The two went to the inner courtyard together.

It was the first time for Ni Er to enter the second gate. He felt that everything was beautiful and dazzling. Then he remembered his wife's advice, "Don't look around randomly." He lowered his head and concentrated on walking.

Daiyu had just stood up when she heard that the two of them had arrived together. After thinking it over, she decided to walk around the yard and let the two of them take turns to come and report.

Jiang Yong only had a piece of paper, plus some "alarmist" words, which were actually all the things in the confession handed over by Wang Xifeng.

Daiyu waved her hand and asked, "Anything fresh?"

Jiang Yong touched his nose and said, "No more. But I heard from Miss Xueyan that when she first came back to Beijing, Lai Wang looked down on others. So I taught him a lesson."

"As a human being, you shouldn't waste your precious time on junk." Daiyu glanced at him and asked, "Did you send it back?"

"Yes. It should have been thrown out of the back door of the Jia Mansion by now." Jiang Yong then "obediently" took his leave.

Daiyu called Ni Er over and took a look at him. Seeing that he just lowered his head obediently, she was satisfied and said with a smile, "I heard that Yun Ge praised you for your righteousness."

Ni Er was flattered: "That's because the girl and the man think highly of me."

"What's the matter? Do you have to tell me?"

Ni Er lowered his head cautiously, not daring to look at Daiyu's face: "The other day when the Third Miss moved over, I heard that she brought the Third Master with her, so I didn't go.

"Later I heard that the Third Master had left. None of the Third Miss's original maids followed him. There was only a newly bought little maid of about ten years old. What could she do?

"I hurried over there, thinking that since it was my first day here, I must not let anyone bump into me. But I didn't expect to bump into someone."

Daiyu said "oh" and stopped walking: "Who did you run into?"

"It was a young girl. When I went there, she was walking out. I hid aside and when I saw her leaving the alley, I asked someone to follow her.

"They said they walked half a street before getting on a carriage. The carriage rested overnight under the palace wall, and the next day the girl entered the palace among the people delivering vegetables."

Daiyu narrowed her eyes: "In the palace?"

"Yes. I asked someone to follow the girl, and I went to see the third girl's yard. But I heard the third girl crying loudly inside. I was startled and couldn't help knocking on the door.

“At first the Third Miss refused to let me in, but I got anxious and told her that I was Ni Er, working at the Lin Mansion, and she finally opened the door.

"I saw that she was in good shape, so I felt relieved. He said he was passing by on his way home and wanted to come and greet her, but he heard the girl crying, so he asked who had offended her.

"The third girl hid behind the door and said no. She said that some of her sisters had sent people to visit her and she was so moved that she cried. I took my leave and told the girl to call me if she had anything to do.

"The third lady probably didn't expect that in such a dark day, I could still see that she was holding a dark purse in her hand."

Ni Er said, "I ran into Master Yun Er yesterday and told him about it. He said I should report it to the young lady."

Daiyu smiled, and seemed to feel more relaxed. She nodded and said, "You did a great job. Go back and take good care of Yun'er. Let him rest assured that everything will be fine."

Ni Er took the reward money given by Zijuan, happily went to the gate of the courtyard to find Jiang Yong, and the two of them left.

Zijuan looked at Daiyu and laughed, "Does the girl seem very happy?"

"Well! It seems that Miaogu and I were right. The queen is not a fool. Didn't she find a way to get the third girl out of Jia's mud pit?"

Lin Daiyu smiled brightly and her steps became lighter.