Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 168 My Favorite Little Girl

The streets are decorated with lights and bustling with people.

There was no need for Lin Daiyu and the other two to arrange shifts for Yanjia Palace early in the morning, so the time set for them to enter the palace was noon.

Zijuan and Xueyan accompanied the three people in a carriage to the gate of Taiji Palace.

Xueyan rarely went out, and when she did, she would open the curtain of the carriage window a little and look out, muttering:

"Originally, the three major festivals were the Winter Solstice, the New Year's Day, and the Emperor's Birthday. But now the Emperor's Birthday falls before Your Majesty.

"The people on this street are only concerned with the excitement. I guess they can't tell which one is the emperor's birthday, this month's or next month's!"

Zijuan hurriedly stopped Xueyan: "Stop talking!"

Xueyan stuck out her tongue at her and then shut up obediently.

Daiyu smiled, looked at the nervous Miaoyu, and gently held her hand.

Unexpectedly, Miaoyu looked at her in surprise and immediately pushed her away!

Daiyu couldn't help but rolled her eyes at her.

Tanchun watched the whole thing from beginning to end and smiled.

Today, only Daiyu was wearing a crimson top embroidered with golden lotus flowers, and a light gold brocade pleated skirt.

Miaoyu was naturally wearing her own monk's robe. Although the material was very fine, it was plain and simple in style.

As for Tanchun, she just picked out the newest one from her old clothes and that was it. She had two jade hairpins in her hair, but no other decorations, no earrings on her ears, no necklace on her neck, no belt around her waist.

Daiyu looked at her outfit, which was clean, fresh, simple, elegant and plain, very pleasing to the eye: "This is great! I want to wear it like this, it's cool!"

Tanchun covered her mouth and smiled.

When we arrived in front of the Taiji Palace, we got off the carriage and walked in. A eunuch was already waiting for us and asked with a smile, "Are you Miss Lin?"

Daiyu nodded with a smile: "That's right."

"Please come this way. The Queen Mother is impatient to wait for people, so she has arranged a carriage for you three."

This was the third time Daiyu had enjoyed this carriage treatment and she had gotten used to it.

Tanchun pulled her in surprise, leaned over and whispered, "We walked in last time! We walked for more than a quarter of an hour, and my feet are sore!"

Daiyu said "oh" and didn't say anything else. Tanchun had no choice but to shut up.

Looking at Miaoyu again, she was leaning against the car window, staring at the red walls and green tiles and the palaces passing by.

"…She looks like she wants to set fire to the whole place if she has a disagreement with someone!" Daiyu quietly described Miaoyu's current appearance to Tanchun.

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

Miaoyu was startled and quickly calmed down and forced a smile.

Because it was the birthday of the Supreme Lord, all tributes and gifts were sent to the Taiji Palace. Especially after the Ganlu Gate, red silk was hung everywhere and the characters of happiness and longevity were pasted everywhere. The palace people came and went, all with brisk steps and full of smiles.

The eunuch did not dare to drive the carriage in at this time. He only asked the three people to get off the carriage at Ganlu Gate, handed the carriage to the gatekeeper to drive away, and led them in on foot.

Seeing that he wanted to explain more, Daiyu smiled and waved her hand, indicating that he should keep quiet. The four of them walked quietly.

When we arrived in front of the Yanjia Hall, we saw a constant stream of people, and it was even more lively than the Ganlu Hall.

The eunuch took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed a palace maid who was guarding the gate and turned a blind eye. He squeezed her arm so hard that it felt like it was about to break!

The little maid's face almost turned blue, and she asked with tears in her eyes, "What do you want, eunuch?"

"These are the Miss Lin, the Third Miss Jia, and Master Miaofa, whom the Empress Dowager is waiting to see. Since you can't see them, I will introduce them to you.

"Go in now and tell Aunt Cheng Qian that Miss Lin is here. Go quickly, I'll wait here."

The eunuch had a sweet smile, but there was a murderous intent hidden in his eyes.

The little palace maid then realized that she had chosen the wrong person with her arrogant nose. She forced a smile, bent her knees vaguely in the direction of Lin Daiyu and the eunuch as a greeting, then turned around and rushed in.

After a moment, Cheng Qian smiled and hurriedly answered the call: "It's agreed to be at 7:00 pm, you are late!"

"Yes. It's all my fault. Please punish me, Queen Mother! We underestimated how busy the streets would be. The carriages couldn't even move. This shows how sincerely the people prayed and how excited they were on the occasion of the Emperor's birthday!"

Daiyu smiled and complimented him.

Cheng Qian laughed and led the three of them in.

Tanchun walked at the end, nodded to the eunuch, and said with a smile: "Thank you, young eunuch!"

The eunuch smiled happily: "You're welcome, Miss San!"

The main hall, which was empty in the past, is now full of people, with three layers of seats inside and outside on both sides.

Cheng Qian took the three of them and quietly entered through the side door, walked around the crowd, and entered the inner hall without making a sound.

After arranging for the three people to sit down and eat smoothies, Cheng Qian smiled quietly and said, "The Queen Mother has long been impatient. I will go out and chase those people to Kunning Palace for a big banquet! You wait a moment..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard someone outside asking loudly, "Hey! Whose girl is that? Why does her back look so pretty? Did the Queen Mother get a treasure and hide it away?!"

Cheng Qian's face changed when she heard this. She gritted her teeth and cursed in a low voice: "Sooner or later, this bitch will knock out all her big teeth. I don't think she can keep being so nagging!"

Daiyu looked at her curiously.

"It's Concubine Xiao!" Cheng Qian said hurriedly and walked out quickly.

The Queen Mother laughed outside and said, "This is truly my new treasure! I didn't intend to show it to you vulgar people!"

"Xiao, you have a pair of thief eyes. You have been sharp all your life, and you still miss something even when you are old! That's all——

"Cheng Qian, call these three out and let everyone see them!"

Daiyu and the others hurriedly stood up, tidied themselves up a little, looked at each other, and found no flaws. Then, under the guidance of Cheng Qian, they calmly went out.

In the main hall, in front of all the ladies inside and outside the palace, Lin Daiyu, Jia Tanchun and Miao respectfully bowed to the empress dowager.

"The Queen Mother is a thousand years old!"

Mrs. Xing, who was sitting in the middle, looked up and her face changed. She leaned forward and whispered to Grandmother Jia, "Look, old lady! It's Sister Lin, the third girl, and the one from Rongcui Temple!"

Grandmother Jia was chatting and laughing with the Concubine Nan'an who was sitting next to her. She was startled when she heard the words and looked up quickly. She couldn't help but shudder in her heart and her face darkened.

The Queen Mother looked at the three of them with such love that she smiled and pulled them up one by one, then looked at Miaoyu:

"Are you Master Miaoyu?"

"Yes."

"It's better to practice with your hair untied. It doesn't make me feel uncomfortable." The Queen Mother said with a smile, and then said to the people below:

"These three girls have good temperaments, good character, and even better handwriting. This year, I used their copies for the sutra offering."

A lady immediately responded, "Oh! I've seen that manuscript before, it's really a good handwriting! It has strength and spirit, a very beautiful Liu style!"

"Which of these three girls does this belong to? Queen Mother, please let me take a look. I must get closer to her in the future!"

The Queen Mother glanced over and laughed, "You are a connoisseur!" She pointed to a woman not far away and said to Daiyu,

"This is the princess consort of Prince Kejin. Her maiden name is Liu. She is quite shameless, saying every day that her family is the descendant of Liu Gongquan.

"In fact, that awful handwriting can make Master Liu angry again! Remember not to be tricked by her into teaching people how to write in the future!"

Everyone laughed softly.

Princess Kejin was so embarrassed that she didn't know whether to stand or sit.

The Queen Mother then pointed at Daiyu, who had already knelt deeply to Princess Kejin, and said with a smile:

"This is the only beloved daughter of the late Wen'an Marquis Lin Ruhai, my most beloved little girl!"