Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 341 Clear Reputation
Li Weijian felt strange, but said, "I can't comment on this matter... As the saying goes, 'One knows whether the water is hot or cold only after drinking it'."

Jia Lian thought that Li Weijian understood his difficulties, and thought that Li Weijian had collected many beautiful women in recent years. He treated them as close friends and frequently raised his glasses to invite them.

After drinking half a pot of wine, Li Weijian refused to drink any more. He smiled and said, "Please forgive me, second brother. I have not been feeling well these days. I have troubled the imperial physician to prescribe medicine for me. I must avoid drinking."

Jia Lian was immediately surprised and asked, "Brother Jian, why didn't you tell me earlier? We are all family, who can force you to drink?"

Li Weijian just smiled and said, "It's okay, drinking a small amount won't cause any harm."

At this moment, Old Lady You on the other side winked at Jia Lian, and You Erjie said pretentiously, "Second Master, I am a little upset now, so I will not accompany you. Please, mother, accompany me down."

Old Lady You said a few words of scolding and quickly helped You Erjie to leave.

Since Li Weijian refused to drink any more, Jia Lian did not force him to do so. He only asked the maid to serve tea and poured it for Li Weijian himself. He poured himself another cup of wine, raised his head and drank it all, saying, "I haven't asked yet, Sister Lin is married... Is Brother Jian okay?"

Li Weijian smiled and said, "It's all good. I am very proud of my sister's personality."

Jia Lian glanced at Third Sister You and said, "Young couples may feel fresh for a while. But as time goes by... I'm not being too nosy, Sister Lin is of high birth, so she may not be willing to be patient and serve Brother Jian."

"Ok?"

Then Jia Lian said, "Besides, the wife of the principal wife has received an imperial decree, so she has to put on airs. I'm afraid it will lose some of the fun. Haha, brother Jian is also an experienced person, so I think he knows what you mean."

What does it mean? Are you spreading rumors to alienate me and Daiyu? What's wrong with this?
Li Weijian smiled without saying anything, but at this moment he felt his calf being gently touched. He lowered his head slightly and saw an embroidered shoe rubbing along his ankle all the way to his calf. When he raised his eyes again, he saw that Third Sister You had undressed at some point, revealing her inner garment. Perhaps she had drunk some wine, her face was flushed, and she was looking at him affectionately.

At this time, Jia Lian said, "Brother, I am not saying this to wish for bad things to happen between Brother Jian and Sister Lin... It's just that when it comes to sex... Brother Jian needs to find someone who is suitable for him, so that he can experience the beauty of it."

Li Weijian remained calm, took a deep breath, quietly moved his chair back, and pretended to be drunk, then he took the wine cup in front of Jia Lian and said, "I don't know what to say to what you said, second brother."

As he was about to drink it all, Jia Lian blinked and said quickly, "Brother Jian has taken the wrong cup."

"Oh?" Li Weijian was startled, and quickly put down the cup, and said casually: "I'm ashamed, I drank too much and my eyes are a little dizzy. How dare I use this that my second brother has used?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Third Sister You was not stupid and her face turned pale.

Jia Lian was also startled, and quickly said, "It doesn't matter if Brother Jian took the wrong thing."

Li Weijian smiled and said, "Second brother is always good at joking. I will spit into the cup later. Do you think you will continue to use it?"

As soon as the voice fell, how could Third Sister You hold it back? She stood up and said with a pale face: "Mr. Li looks down on a withered flower like me, so my brother-in-law should not help me turn things around!"

After saying that, he turned around and left angrily.

Jia Lian said with an embarrassed look: "Brother Jian, look——"

Li Weijian stopped smiling and said solemnly, "Second brother, you think you are precious, why do you have to do this matchmaking job?" He pointed to Third Sister You in the room and said, "She went to Ningguo Mansion when she had nothing to do. Do you think I didn't know?"

Jia Lian laughed and said, "It's just a toy, and you're thinking about Brother Jian all the time. Why should Brother Jian——"

Li Weijian said coldly: "Even if it is a toy, you have to pick it up cleanly. Brother is afraid of getting sick." After saying that, he stood up and bowed carelessly: "It's getting late. I'll go back first. Second brother, please stay."

"Hey? Brother Jian, tell me about this..."

But Li Weijian suddenly stopped at the door and turned to Jia Lian and said, "Second brother, why don't you go and see Third Sister? I think she has a bad temper. If she commits suicide because of a word I said, I will be guilty of a great sin. Goodbye!"

Jia Lian knew that Third Sister You was a fierce woman, so how could he believe that she would commit suicide? He kept apologizing and sent Li Weijian out of the courtyard before returning.

She felt a little annoyed. She had thought it was a good thing, but she didn't expect that this brother Jian was a worldly-wise man who looked down on her third sister.

He sighed and staggered. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the second courtyard, he saw Bao Erjia rushing out to greet him: "Second Master, go and persuade her. Third Aunt has found a pair of scissors and wants to commit suicide!"

"what?"

Jia Lian was so frightened that he hurried inside. When he entered, he saw that in the west room, Old Lady You and Second Sister You were each holding half of the body, and Third Sister You was rolling and crying like a maggot, and there was a pair of blood-stained scissors on the ground.

Looking up and taking a closer look, I saw a cut on my third sister's neck.

Seeing that he was still in a daze, You Erjie said anxiously, "Second Master, don't just stand there. Take the scissors away and call a doctor!"

Third Sister You cried out, "I knew he looked down on me. Mother and sister, please let me go."

Jia Lian was upset and hurriedly sent Bao Er to find a doctor. He himself helped to hold down Third Sister You. The commotion in Xiaohuazhi Lane lasted for half the night until Third Sister You fell asleep exhausted.

Jia Lian recalled what Li Weijian had said before he left the house, and he immediately felt annoyed and sighed, "What am I trying to achieve?"

............................................................

Li Weijian walked out of Xiaohuazhi Lane and headed for the back door of the Bo's Mansion. He sneered in his heart. Who doesn't know what kind of character Third Sister You has? When she was in Ningguo Mansion, she had an ambiguous relationship with Jia Zhen and his son. After Ningguo Mansion collapsed, Third Sister You had been hanging out with countless playboys outside.

She was hot-tempered and beautiful. When she was happy, she would send people to invite men. When she was unhappy, she would ignore him even if you gave her ten taels of gold. Rather than saying that she was using her beauty to please men, it would be more accurate to say that she was playing with men.

What, you've had enough fun and now you're looking for me to be the scapegoat? What a nice thought!
Inexplicable, I don't know what it means...

Li Weijian secretly complained as he entered the mansion from the back door. Not far away, he ran into the housekeeper. Li Weijian asked, "Has the Madam returned home?"

The old woman said, "The madam sent someone to tell me half an hour ago that the princess would stay for a while and might not be back until nightfall."

Li Weijian frowned immediately, secretly complaining, he saved Princess Yongshou with good intentions, but she turned around and snatched Daiyu from him? Her kindness was really taken for granted.

When they reached the front yard, he pointed at Xixue and asked, "Did the Madam bring any guards with her?"

Qianxue said, "Master, I brought six guards."

Li Weijian frowned and said, "It's getting dark, don't let anyone mess with you. Ask Haiping to send a few more guards to welcome them."

Qianxue agreed and turned around to pass on the message when she saw lights in front of the east courtyard. Then a maid passed on the message, "The Madam has returned home!"

This was just perfect. Li Weijian was not in a hurry to go back to his room. He simply walked all the way to the ceremonial gate, and saw Daiyu coming gracefully with two maids.

Seeing Li Weijian standing in front of the ceremonial gate, Daiyu immediately asked angrily, "Why did Fourth Brother come to greet me?"

Li Weijian smiled and said, "Brother Lian treated me to a meal. I just got back."

By the light of the lamp, he could see that Daiyu's face was ruddy, obviously she had drunk some wine. Li Weijian held her hand, and the two walked side by side into the inner room. Li Weijian asked with concern, "Why did you come back so late? How many cups did you drink?"

Daiyu stopped and said to Li Weijian, "Fourth brother, please wait a moment." Then she turned to Zijuan and said, "Send the gifts from the second concubine to the storehouse at the back. Send three pieces of peacock silk to Fu and Qin, and two pieces to Qingwen, Xiangling, Xiuying, and Hongyu. Summer is coming, so it's a good time for the sisters to buy some clothes. Keep the remaining ten pieces. I'll go to Rongguo Mansion tomorrow."

Zijuan agreed, handed the brocade box in her hand to Xueyan, turned around and went to give instructions.

At this time, Daiyu pulled Li Weijian and said with a smile: "Thanks to my fourth brother, I went to celebrate the princess' birthday today and got the reward of the second concubine. We are lucky to have made a profit."

Li Weijian smiled and didn't care. He had saved Princess Yongshou by chance before, so it was reasonable for the concubine to prepare a generous gift. Besides, Li Weijian was now very rich, and he could spend money on food and clothing, unless it was beyond the limit. What could he not buy?

He was concerned about Daiyu's current situation, so he asked, "Are you feeling well today, sister?"

Daiyu smiled and gave him a look of disapproval: "Fourth brother, don't treat me like a child. It's just a matter of welcoming and seeing off guests. What's the problem? Besides, today is just the princess's family dinner. She only invited a few close friends and no outsiders. What's wrong with everyone celebrating, telling jokes, and drinking a few glasses of plum wine?"

"Just be at ease, sister."

As they were talking, they entered the main room of the east courtyard. A maidservant was helping the couple wash their hands and change their clothes. Soon, the concubines came over to talk. They chattered for a long time, and Daiyu was smiling all the time, obviously in a very good mood. It was not until the next watch that she urged everyone to disperse.

Seeing that Li Weijian was sitting there in a dignified manner and had not left, Daiyu thought he was going to do something bad again, so she bit her lower lip and said, "Today is Hongyu's day, so Fourth Brother should go quickly."

Li Weijian said, "No hurry, there's no good banquet for Brother Lian today."

"Ah? How do you mean?"

Li Weijian then told Daiyu what had just happened with a wry smile, and Daiyu became immediately furious.

"How can this be justified? It would be fine if he found a concubine himself, but he even tried to coax Fourth Brother into marrying one! If she was from a good family, it would be fine, but she has an unclear relationship with the Ning Mansion. Fourth Brother is now in the favor of the Emperor, and there are countless jealous people making up lies behind his back. If he really marries Third Sister You, I'm afraid he will have no good reputation in the future."

Li Weijian said with a smile: "Reputation and the like, those who are innocent will be innocent. Even though they curse happily in private, how many of them will not fawn on me in front of me?"

Daiyu was still angry. She frowned and thought for a while, then said, "Sister Feng, do you know that my second brother has married a little girl?"

Li Weijian said, "It's a secret. If the second sister-in-law knew, she would be furious." Suddenly remembering that Feng Jieer and Jia Lian were estranged, Li Weijian was not sure, "It's hard to say. Maybe for the sake of the child, the second sister-in-law will keep quiet this time?"

Daiyu said, "Second sister-in-law is pregnant now. Even if she doesn't make a scene, she will probably be angry. Forget it. It's not good to tell Second sister-in-law about this." After a pause, she bit her lower lip and said, "But we can't just let it go. It just so happens that I have to go to Rongguo Mansion tomorrow. If I run into Second Brother, I will talk to him in person. If I don't run into him, I will definitely tell the old lady about it. Fourth Brother is a good person. We can't let Second Brother Lian lead him astray."

Li Weijian was at a loss for words, thinking that maybe it was because Daiyu had been drinking that she let her mind wander. He came over and pulled Daiyu to sit on the couch, then held her in his arms and said, "Sister, you still don't trust me? That kind of character is not only filthy, but I would also despise her even if she was innocent."

Daiyu looked up at Li Weijian, and first chuckled, then said, "I'm not afraid that Fourth Brother will be tempted." She felt that she and Li Weijian had a close relationship, and even after they got married, she had never been ignored by him, so she joked, "I'm just afraid that Fourth Brother will learn from Second Brother Lian and treat me like a toy. If she has other ideas in the future, she might come to our house to make trouble."

Li Weijian said angrily, "I don't even look down on you, so how can you have a future?"

Speaking of concubines, Daiyu thought of Siqi again, and under the influence of alcohol, she said, "I mentioned this to my fourth brother last time. The matter of Siqi..."

"Just let me do as you wish. It's just a matter of sending two capable maids over."

Daiyu agreed, feeling very relieved. She leaned in Li Weijian's arms, and the two of them were affectionate for a while. Seeing that Li Weijian was unruly again, Daiyu endured for a long time, but finally couldn't help but break free from his clutches, gasping for breath and said, "Fourth brother, at least you can sympathize with me. I have drunk wine today, so I really can't be tortured. Fourth brother, go find Hongyu and Xiuying!"

Li Weijian had just been teased by Third Sister You, and now he was furious. He wanted to find Hongyu and Xiuying to relieve his anger, but he said with regret, "I just wanted to stay with my sister for a while longer, but I ended up making my sister hate me."

Daiyu immediately came over, smiled and looked up at Li Weijian, and said, "Stay for a few years, and I will obey you, Fourth Brother."

Li Weijian deliberately kept a straight face and did not say anything. Daiyu found it interesting and came over to kiss him a few times before coaxing Li Weijian out.

After Li Weijian left, Xueyan came over with a red face and said, "That's great. The master really loves the young lady sincerely. Look at how reluctant he was just now. I'm afraid he wants to spend the whole day with the young lady."

Daiyu smiled and said, "Fourth brother is indeed sincere. He was just teasing me just now."

Xueyan let out an "ah" and blinked in confusion.

Daiyu smiled and said, "Fourth brother is reluctant to part with those things. He is a person who loves new things but never tires of old ones."

Xueyan said, "That girl coaxed me like a child for quite a while."

Daiyu squinted at him and snorted, "Silly girl, if there is no fun between husband and wife, I'm afraid they will treat each other with coldness."

At this time, Zijuan led two maids to fetch water. Daiyu was worried about her parrot and urged Xueyan to feed it. Xueyan hurriedly found bird food and served it. The parrot was very happy to get the bird food and opened its mouth to imitate: "Zijuan, when do you think the master will come to see us?" Xueyan was startled. Daiyu and Zijuan looked at Xueyan. Xueyan's face turned red and she couldn't help but reach out and knocked the parrot on the head: "You don't learn good things, but you learn all the bad things!"

............................................................

The next day, Daiyu had a sound sleep, but woke up before the morning as usual.

Zijuan helped her dress up, while Xueyan went to the back to prepare breakfast. When Xueyan came back, she put down her lunch box and came over to say, "Madam, the master has stopped doing morning exercises today."

Daiyu was immediately worried. Although she had never really had sex with Li Weijian, this fake phoenix knew what it was like. She had thought that Fourth Brother was too young to make too much noise at night. But Qingwen and the others said that making noise would save Fourth Brother's energy.

Daiyu still didn't understand the reason behind this. Seeing that the three of them were late again today, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. It was normal for young people to be greedy for flowers and women, but it was wrong to ruin their health because of it. She still wanted to be with her fourth brother for a long time.

Daiyu's face remained unchanged, and she nodded slightly, indicating that she understood. After a moment, a maid came in and reported, "Madam, the master said he would not come to eat today, and asked Madam to eat more."

Daiyu asked hurriedly, "Is the master ill?"

The maid hurriedly shook her head and said, "No, I saw the master put on his clothes and wrote and drew in the study."

Daiyu thought for a moment and asked again, "Where are Miss Hongyu and Miss Xiuying?"

"He hasn't gotten up yet. He just says he's very tired and doesn't want to have breakfast. He says he'll come to greet his wife later."

Daiyu was even more puzzled. The fourth brother was full of energy, but those two were exhausted? Could it be that fooling around really saved energy?

Then he said, "Miss Hongyu and Miss Xiuying are not feeling well today, so there is no need for them to come to me to greet me. Tell them to have a good rest."

The maid agreed and muttered to herself before turning around to reply.

Daiyu looked at the maid carefully, and Zijuan, who was combing her hair, said, "The new girl Cai Ai seems to be a steady and thoughtful girl. She is still learning the rules from the nanny. When she has learned it well next month, why not ask her to come to the Madam's room to listen to your instructions?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "It's impossible to gather all the good ones here, we'll talk about it when the time comes."

In the west courtyard, Li Weijian returned from his study, and the two maids who had been tossing and turning for half the night finally got up with sleepy eyes. Hongyu was busy washing up, while Xiuying sat at the head of the bed with sleepy eyes, lost in thought.

Seeing Li Weijian coming back, Xiuying said angrily, "Master, please come earlier next time. Sister Hongyu and I went to bed yesterday, and you came to see me until nearly three o'clock in the morning."

Li Weijian felt embarrassed, but smiled and walked over to flick Xiuying's forehead with his finger, saying, "Stop being noisy. At most, you can just catch up on some sleep in the morning."

Xiuying pouted and covered her forehead, saying, "No, it's not good for the wife to choose."

Li Weijian said with a smile: "My sister is not a tigress, what are you afraid of?"

Hongyu, who was dressing up, turned her head and smiled, "Ordinary maids would be spanked if they made mistakes, but the mistress saw that Sister Xiuying didn't care at all, so she said that if she made a mistake, she would be punished by copying books."

Li Weijian burst into laughter. No wonder Xiuying was so scared.

Immediately, the maid brought the food box, and the three of them had breakfast in the small courtyard. Li Weijian then leisurely changed into his casual clothes and went to the front.

Not to mention that Li Weijian usually sat in the yamen, Xiuying and Hongyu tidied up and went to the main room in the east courtyard at noon to set the rules as usual.

Daiyu is going to Rongguo Mansion to visit Lady Jia today. The old lady has been tired for more than ten days, and Daiyu is very worried about her, so she asks Hongyu to find some useful supplements from the storehouse and send them to her.

At noon, Daiyu led Zijuan, Xueyan and several maids and old women to Rongguo Mansion. Xiuying and Hongyu, who had some free time, reunited. Hongyu frowned and said, "Mrs. Zhang at the second gate of the east courtyard said that the master came out after the first watch yesterday."

"Ah?" Xiuying counted on her fingers: "It was already three o'clock in the morning when the master came to look for us. Could it be that he went to the study again?"

Hongyu said, "No, the servant in front said that the master didn't go to the study yesterday."

It's been two hours, where did the master go? Xiuying frowned in bewilderment, but Hongyu had already figured it out. She glanced at Rongguo Mansion and thought to herself, maybe the master would come back and cause another death, which would be troublesome.

Xiuying observed Hongyu's expression and kept asking her questions. Hongyu just said, "I'm afraid the master went to Zhijue Zhai in the back to read." After that, she turned and left.

Xiuying stayed where she was, blinking, and couldn't help muttering, "Who are you trying to fool? It's dark, the master won't go to Zhijue Zhai."

But when Daiyu entered the Grand View Garden, the gatekeeper, Mrs. Fei, hurriedly sent a maid to report. Now it was different from the past. Daiyu was no longer a girl waiting to be married, but a lady of the highest rank.

Although the two families are close friends, the etiquette should not be neglected.

So, just as Daiyu passed Qinfang Pavilion, the third lady Tanchun and the fourth lady Xichun came up to greet her.

The meeting of the sisters was naturally a lively occasion. Then they walked together to Rongqing Hall. On the way, Xichun couldn't help but ask curiously, "It's reasonable for Sister Lin to get the imperial edict, but why did Fourth Brother Jian get promoted this time? Fourth Brother Jian said before that it's not easy for him to get promoted at his age."

As the matter of Princess Yongshou was not to be mentioned, Daiyu smiled and said, "I heard from my fourth brother a moment ago that there was a change in the inner court. Taizong founded the inner court to sympathize with the disabled and weak soldiers of the old camp and the left fifth camp, but it has become so powerful that it cannot be eliminated today. The people in the inner court have colluded with each other and even colluded with the Bagua Cult for their own selfish reasons to send criminals into the imperial city. Fortunately, the saint is very perceptive, otherwise who knows how much trouble it would have caused."

"Ah?" Xichun was startled and said, "So that's the reason. I was wondering why they searched the Imperial City a few days ago."

Daiyu didn't want to talk about this matter anymore, so she asked, "Where is Grandmother now? Is Sister Feng okay?"

Tanchun smiled and took over the conversation, saying, "The old man is in the big hall at the back, but Sister Feng is tired, so she showed up for a while this morning and then went back to the Yihong Courtyard."

Xichun added, "What a coincidence! I received an invitation yesterday saying that Sister Bao will come to visit us soon."

"Sister Bao is coming too?" Daiyu smiled, thinking to herself, they were trying to win people's hearts and build up momentum for the golden marriage, but when they saw that the Jia family was in trouble, they immediately withdrew... How could Sister Bao and the Xue family have the face to come to their house now?

A moment later, the three sisters came out of the Jujin Gate. When they passed by the large painted screen wall, they saw a few unfamiliar maids sweeping in front of the door. Tanchun whispered, "Sister Feng has moved to the Yihong Courtyard, and Sister You is living here now."

Daiyu nodded, and saw that Tanchun seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if she had something to say. But she didn't dare to ask, thinking that it was some private matter that was not easy to talk about.

Walking along the corridor, they soon entered the large flower hall. As soon as they entered, they saw Lady Jia sitting on a soft couch, with Lady Xing and Youshi chatting with her.

Seeing Daiyu coming in, Grandmother Jia waved her hand and said, "Come here, Yu'er!"

Daiyu greeted everyone with a smile, then naturally came to Jia's grandmother and sat down beside her, as the old lady pulled her hand.

Grandmother Jia looked at Daiyu and smiled, "Very good, very good. I haven't seen you for a few days and you have grown some flesh."

Daiyu smiled and said, "Fourth brother is worried that I don't eat well, so he changes the menu every day and even invites Miss Xing to help in the kitchen. If my granddaughter eats and sleeps, won't she gain weight?"

"It's good to gain weight. Yu'er used to be too thin."

Mrs. Xing, who was sitting at the table, smiled and wanted to flatter her, but she thought that Daiyu was a junior after all, so she couldn't lose face. Mrs. You, who was standing by, had her own thoughts. She thought that the main house in the east courtyard where Daiyu was now living was her previous residence, and she felt very sad that her grandmother, who was a good lady in the Duke's Mansion, had to live under someone else's roof. She then thought that now that Jia Lian had married his second sister, and when she coaxed Jia Lian into marrying her, Sister Feng had a bad temper and might even kill her in a fit of rage.

Daiyu was very perceptive and noticed someone was looking at her unkindly, so she turned her head to look over. She exchanged a glance with Youshi, who quickly put on a smile.

Daiyu was puzzled, but she said to Grandmother Jia, "Is grandma all right? It took more than ten days to travel back and forth, and I was worried about her."

Grandmother Jia sighed and said, "I am getting old after all. I took the bus all the way there and back. It would have been nothing twenty years ago, but I didn't expect that my waist and legs would be sore when I came back this time. I'm afraid I won't be able to go through the trouble next time."

Daiyu immediately expressed her concern, "This is the only time. After Sister Feng is out of confinement, she will take care of the outside affairs. If there is another national mourning, it would be better for Grandmother to take sick leave."

"Yeah, that's what I think. I really can't afford to suffer like this. I'm afraid I won't live for many years."

Madam Xing said hurriedly, "Old lady, please don't say anything nonsense. We all hope that you will live a long life."

Youshi, Tanchun and Xichun all echoed her. This was true. Jia Lian was only a third-class general now and could not support the Jia family. If this were not the case, Jia's mother would not have been bothered to drive back and forth to see off the coffin.

Daiyu couldn't help but tear up and said, "Now my grandmother is the only one who loves me. If she dies, I'm afraid no one will love me anymore."

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "Nonsense, Jian'er doesn't love you?"

Daiyu blushed and smiled: "How can they be the same?"

Grandmother Jia sighed and said, "Fortunately, there is a Jian brother who loves you. In this way, I will be able to explain to your mother and father when I die in the future."

As they were talking, the head maid Yuanyang came in and said, "Old Madam, First Madam, Third Miss, the Xue family's carriage has arrived."

Tanchun raised her eyebrows, stood up and said, "Grandpa, I'll go and greet him."

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but frown and nodded, saying, "Go ahead. You are relatives after all."

Even if they were relatives, they were not like this. When the Jia family was doing well, they could not be driven away, but when the Jia family was in trouble, they ran away faster than anyone else! It was because Grandmother Jia was old. If she had been young, she would have fallen out with Aunt Xue a long time ago.

After a while, Tanchun led Aunt Xue and Baochai into the inner room. Baochai's face was still calm, but she seemed to be a little sad; on the contrary, Aunt Xue, as usual, smiled and bowed, and chatted with Jia's mother about family matters.

After the greetings, he saw Daiyu present again. When he heard that Daiyu had received the imperial edict, he kept congratulating her, but his heart felt more and more sour.

In Aunt Xue's heart, how could Daiyu, who was as delicate as a sick Xi Shi, be as good as her own daughter? It was only because of her good family background and Lin Ruhai's decision that she married Li Weijian.

When Aunt Xue and Baochai sat down, Grandmother Jia was too impatient to argue with them, so she asked directly, "Aunt, are you here to see the lady?"

"I have to go see my sister," Aunt Xue paused, and then said, "I have another matter to discuss with the old lady."

"Oh? What's the matter?"

Aunt Xue looked embarrassed, put down her teacup and said, "Sister is ill, I'm afraid Baoyu won't be able to control her."

Jia's mother and the others immediately frowned. How could Aunt Xue say such a thing? No matter how she treated it, it was better than the Xue family being ungrateful and fawning on the powerful, right? How could she have the nerve to criticize Baoyu?

Aunt Xue continued, "I didn't want to bother the old lady in the first place...but since it concerns Baochai's reputation, I really have to come."

"What is it?"

Aunt Xue sighed and said, "Yesterday Baochai sent her maid to buy books and got a new collection of poems. I flipped through it and was shocked. There were several poems written by Baochai." Aunt Xue looked at Daiyu and said, "There are also some by Yu'er," and then looked at Tanchun and Xichun, "There are also some poems by several girls and Zhuge's wife."

"Ah?" Grandmother Jia was suddenly shocked.

At that time, it was customary for women to write poems for pleasure and never spread them outside. Or they would compile them into a book and wait until they reached the age of 50 to publish them. This kind of literary talent was not a good reputation for women, because most of the famous writers at that time were prostitutes. Therefore, even female poets from decent families would be gossiped about behind their backs.

It was a big deal at that time for a girl's poems to be spread!
Grandmother Jia was stunned and asked sternly, "Is it...Baoyu who spread it?"

Aunt Xue couldn't say anything more, so Baochai said, "My brother was very angry when he heard about this, so he came to ask questions the other day, but he forgot that it is not allowed to trespass into the backyard. He happened to run into Brother Bao coming home from school, so he talked to him and found out that it was Brother Bao who, after getting drunk, copied all the sisters' games in front of all his classmates.

The old lady also knows that the Bao brothers... are sometimes confused, and my brother can't explain it clearly, so my mother and I came to visit today."

After the words fell, Baochai remained calm and Daiyu suppressed her annoyance, but Tanchun and Xichun were annoyed. Xichun was not close to Baoyu and could not help shouting, "How could Second Brother Bao do such a foolish thing? If the play of the boudoir spreads out, how will Second Sister and Third Sister get married in the future?"

(End of this chapter)