I'm in the Red Mansion

Chapter 6 If life were just like the first time we met

After leaving Mrs. Xing's house, Lin Daiyu went to visit her second uncle Jia Zheng.

Mrs. Wang gave her some more instructions, telling Lin Daiyu not to pay any attention to Jia Baoyu in the future.

Lin Daiyu couldn't help but smile and said, "Aunt, are you talking about the brother who was born with the jade in his mouth? When I was at home, I often heard my mother say that this brother is one year older than me and his nickname is Baoyu."

"Although she is very naive, she said that sisterhood is the best. Besides, when I come here, I will naturally stay with my sisters. My brothers are in another courtyard and another room. How can I get involved with them?"

Mrs. Wang laughed and said, "You don't know why: he is different from others. He has been loved by the old lady since he was a child. He was originally spoiled by his sisters."

"If the sisters ignored him one day, he would be quieter. Even if he was unhappy, he would just go out and vent his anger on his two little kids behind their backs. He would just grumble for a while and then it would be over."

"If the sisters talk to him one more word today, he will be happy and do so many things! So I tell you not to pay attention to him. He may speak sweet words one moment, be careless the next, and be crazy and foolish the next. Just don't believe him!"

If it weren't for Jia Cong's previous words, Lin Daiyu might not have thought too much about it.

With Jia Cong's previous words in mind, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but think about it more, and a thoughtful look appeared on her face.

After a few more words, Lin Daiyu was called by Grandmother Jia. It turned out that dinner was about to start.

After dinner, Jia Baoyu returned from the temple to fulfill his vow.

When Lin Daiyu looked up, she saw that he was wearing a purple gold crown inlaid with jewels on his hair, and a golden headband with a pattern of two dragons fighting for a pearl tied around his eyebrows.

She wore a red sleeve with two-color golden butterflies and a long tasseled ribbon tied with colorful silk flowers. She also wore a dark blue flowered Japanese satin jacket with eight tassels and small court boots with a green satin and pink base.

Her face is like the Mid-Autumn moon, her complexion is like flowers in the spring morning, her temples are as if cut by a knife, her eyebrows are as if painted with ink, her face is like peach petals, and her eyes are like autumn waves.

Although she seemed to smile when she was angry, she was also affectionate when she was glaring. She had a golden dragon necklace around her neck, and a five-colored silk string tied with a beautiful jade.

When Lin Daiyu saw it, she was surprised and thought to herself: How strange! It seems like I have seen it somewhere before. How can it be so familiar?
When Jia Baoyu saw Lin Daiyu, he said, "I have seen this sister before."

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "That's nonsense again! When have you ever seen her?"

Baoyu smiled and said, "Although I have never met her before, I look at her kindly, and in my heart she is an old acquaintance. Today we just want to meet her again after a long distance, so it's not a bad idea."

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "That's even better. If this is the case, we can live in harmony!"

Next, Jia Baoyu asked Lin Daiyu whether she had any education and what her given name was. When he heard that Lin Daiyu had no given name, he gave her the name Pinpin.

Lin Daiyu judged his words and actions, and it was just as Third Brother Cong had said, that he was good at deceiving girls and working hard in front of them.

Thinking of how he liked to eat the rouge on the maid's lips, she couldn't help but feel a little more disgusted with him.

Not long after, Jia Baoyu asked Lin Daiyu again whether she had a jade.

Daiyu began to wonder, because he had a jade, so she asked me whether I had one or not.

Yin replied: "I don't have that. I think the jade is also a rare thing. How can everyone have it?"

When Baoyu heard this, he immediately became mad, took off the jade and threw it away.

He cursed, "What a rare thing! It doesn't even distinguish between high and low people, and still talks about whether it is 'psychic' or not! I don't want this thing anymore!"

Everyone was so frightened that they rushed to pick up the jade.

Grandmother Jia hugged Baoyu anxiously and said, "You evil creature! If you are angry, it is easy to beat and scold people, but why bother to smash your vitals!"

Baoyu cried with tears on his face, "I have no sisters at home, and I am the only one who has me, so I am boring. Now here comes such a fairy-like sister, but I don't have any. You know this is not a good thing!"

Grandmother Jia hurriedly coaxed him, saying, "Your sister originally had this. When your aunt died, she couldn't bear to part with your sister and had no other choice, so she took her jade with her." "First, it was to complete the ritual of burial with the deceased and show your sister's filial piety; second, your aunt's spirit could also be regarded as having seen her daughter. Therefore, she only said that she didn't have this, so as not to exaggerate."

"How can you compare to him now? You'd better be careful with him, or your mother will know!"

As she spoke, she took it from the maid and put it on him. Baoyu heard this and thought about it, and found it quite reasonable, so he didn't say anything else.

Lin Daiyu watched from the side, feeling very disappointed.

This second brother Bao is really a troublemaker. He will lose his temper when he is not satisfied.

His grandmother doted on him a little too much and always did what he wanted.

It would be better to stay away from him in the future to avoid any trouble.

Not long after, the wet nurse came to ask about Daiyu's room.

Grandmother Jia said, "Move Baoyu out now and put him in the warm room with me in the suite. I will temporarily put Miss Lin in the green gauze cupboard. After the end of winter, we can clean up the house for them in the spring and make new arrangements for them."

Baoyu said, "Good ancestor, I am very comfortable on the bed outside the green gauze cabinet. Why do you have to come out and disturb the old ancestor?"

Lin Daiyu was shocked when she heard this.

What kind of nonsense is this? How can it be that I live in the green gauze cabinet and he lives outside the green gauze cabinet?
If this gets out, will my reputation be ruined?
Lin Daiyu saw that her grandmother, Lady Jia, seemed to be about to agree, so she hurriedly said:

"Grandmother, this is absolutely not allowed. Boys and girls at the age of seven should leave the table. How can we not avoid suspicion?"

"If this gets out, my reputation will be small, but if it damages Brother Bao's reputation, won't it be my fault?"

Grandmother Jia thought for a moment and said, "What Yu'er said makes sense. In that case, move Baoyu out and let him stay with me in the warm room of the suite."

Although Jia Baoyu was extremely reluctant, since his grandmother had spoken, he could not make a fuss any further and had to give up.

After arranging the accommodation, Jia's mother saw that Lin Daiyu brought two people, one was her wet nurse Wang Ma, and the other was a ten-year-old maid who had also been with her since childhood, named Xueyan.

Seeing that Xueyan was very young and childish, and Nanny Wang was very old, Jia's grandmother thought that Daiyu would not be able to satisfy her and save her effort, so she gave Daiyu one of her second-class maids named Yingge.

Jia Cong practiced calligraphy for the whole morning and opened the proficiency panel to take a look.

【Calligraphy (beginner) 63/100】

In just one morning, Jia Cong had already made more than 60% of the progress in learning calligraphy, and he was very happy.

Although your calligraphy proficiency won't increase by just writing one character, the progress is extremely fast.

By tomorrow, you will be able to complete the entry-level progress.

Even if the progress is slower later on, it will be enough to prepare for the exam next year.

In the afternoon, Jia Cong switched to reciting the Doctrine of the Mean.

A copy of Zhongyong has more than 3,500 words, which is a little more than that of Daxue, but still very limited.

If you work hard, you can reach full proficiency in just a few days.

In the evening, Jia Cong continued to recite the Doctrine of the Mean. Before going to bed, he practiced the Eight-Section Brocade several times before going to rest.

(End of this chapter)