boyutpedia Chapter 148 The Concubine of the Lin Family in Dream of the Red Chamber
Chapter 148 The Concubine of the Lin Family in Dream of the Red Chamber
In the years since Lin Daiyu came to the capital, she would visit the Jia family two or three times a year to see the old lady of the Jia family. However, since Wang was still in charge of the household, the old lady of the Jia family never allowed Daiyu to stay overnight at the Jia family mansion.
After Daiyu turned seven, every time she went to the Jia family, she was always accompanied by a large group of maids and servants.
Old Madam Lin also used her old connections to find Xu Mama, who came from the palace and had served the late Empress Dowager, to be Lin Daiyu's tutor.
Apart from Jia Baoyu, who was obsessed with good looks, the rest of the Jia family members were used to fawning over the powerful and belittling the weak. Lin Daiyu always brought Xu Mama with her when she visited the Jia mansion. Jia Shishi had met Xu Mama when she was young, so she was naturally quite polite to her.
Given Jia Shishi's attitude, others naturally wouldn't treat Lin Daiyu lightly. When Jia Baoyu first met Lin Daiyu, he still said, "I've seen this younger sister before!"
Standing in front of Lin Daiyu, Granny Xu said, "Young Master Jia and our young lady are cousins. Young Master Jia looks like the old Duke, our young lady resembles her mother, and Madam also looks like the old Duke. Since they all look like the old Duke, it's as if we've seen each other before."
If it were any other maid, she would certainly be reprimanded for saying such a thing. But since Granny Xu had met the old Duke, she was naturally qualified to say it. Her words struck a chord with Madam Jia, who chimed in, "Indeed, of all my grandchildren, Baoyu is the most like the Duke!" As she spoke, she choked up, unsure whether she was missing Jia Daishan or the former glory of the Duke's mansion.
Everyone offered words of comfort, and Jia Baoyu then asked, "Does my sister have any jade?" Lin Daiyu replied, "Yes, cousin, would you like some? My brother gave me a lot, and my grandmother also gave me many jade stones!"
This was naturally thanks to Liu Yuxi, who wanted to make Lin Daiyu think that jade was something that was not rare at all, just different in style.
Upon hearing this, Jia Baoyu felt somewhat aggrieved, as if he had intended to boast about his uniqueness to his companions, only to find that he had been overthinking things. He then asked Daiyu, "What are the two characters of your name, sister?" Daiyu then told him her given name. Baoyu then asked for her courtesy name. Daiyu replied, "I have no courtesy name."
Before Xu Mama could speak, Baoyu laughed and said, "I would like to give my sister a wonderful word, nothing more than 'Pinpin' (颦颦)."
Enraged, Granny Xu immediately retorted, "Young Master Jia, watch your words! Our young lady is not yet of marriageable age, so naturally she has no courtesy name. When she comes of age, the master will choose a courtesy name for her. There's no need for you, Young Master Jia, to trouble yourself with this!"
Because Lin Daiyu was still young, no one had ever told her about the matter of a woman having a courtesy name. Only her parents or future husband could do it, and other men could not. But when she saw that Granny Xu seemed very angry, she knew that this matter must be very serious, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Although she was very angry that Granny Xu dared to speak to Jia Baoyu like that, Madam Jia also knew that it was Jia Baoyu's fault, so she said to Jia Baoyu: "You naughty monkey, your cousin's courtesy name is to be given by your uncle, it has nothing to do with you, quickly take your Lin sister to play somewhere else!"
Although he kept mentioning Jia Baoyu, he still wanted to pair Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu together. Xu Mama was always by his side, which annoyed Jia Baoyu to no end, but he didn't dare to be too presumptuous in front of Xu Mama. He wasn't stupid, and he could see that Jia Shi treated Xu Mama differently.
He was only thinking about telling Lin Daiyu later that she absolutely must not bring this old nanny with her next time she came to the Jia Mansion!
In the evening, when Lin Daiyu was about to return to the Lin family mansion, Jia Baoyu made a fuss, but with Jia Shishi restraining him, nothing unpleasant happened.
After returning to the mansion, Lin Daiyu told Old Madam Lin and Liu Yuxi about her experiences at the Jia family mansion that day, while Granny Xu added to the story.
Old Madam Lin once again experienced the unspeakable complexities of the Jia family. Although she was very angry, she still explained in detail to Lin Daiyu the pros and cons of choosing a courtesy name. Liu Yuxi occasionally chimed in from the side, mainly aiming to make Lin Daiyu's impression of Jia Baoyu remain as "unreasonable and clueless about human affairs!"
This first impression is terrible. As they spend more time together, Lin Daiyu will definitely focus more on Jia Baoyu's shortcomings, confirming this preconceived notion, which will only worsen her perception of him. What "love between wood and stone"? A lifetime of tears to repay—get lost!
What a lovely little girl! She was born on the banks of the Western Spirit River, by the Three Lives Stone. Why did you need to water her? Besides, what you were watering wasn't even the Spirit River itself! She should be thanking her lucky stars that she didn't drown!
Anyway, in this life, Old Madam Lin, Lin Ruhai and Jia Min are all alive, the Lin family has grown up men who are quite ambitious, and Jia Min is irreconcilable with Wang Shi of the Jia family. It is likely that as long as Jia Shi has any shame, she will not have the nerve to bring up the matter of the two jades again!
However, things often don't go as planned. Ever since her first visit to the Jia family mansion left her with an unpleasant impression, Daiyu would only go there if Jia Shishi repeatedly summoned her or if it was a special holiday.
But that Jia Shi woman still had the audacity to write to Jia Min saying that the two of them got along very well, and since they were so compatible, why not become even closer? Jia Min was so angry when she read the letter that she almost fell over backwards!
She didn't want to believe Grandmother Jia's words, but she was afraid that the two children were indeed getting along well, so she had to quickly write to Old Madam Lin to inquire about Daiyu's visit to the Jia family.
Upon receiving Jia Min's letter, Old Madam Lin and Lin Daiyu were furious. How could she blatantly lie like that! Immediately, disregarding the fact that the Jia family was Jia Min's maternal family, the two wrote separate letters detailing each of Daiyu's visits to the Jia mansion.
In her letter, Old Madam Lin specifically mentioned that Jia Baoyu wanted to give Daiyu a courtesy name. In the letter, she almost dragged Jia Baoyu into the mud. Although Lin Daiyu's letter was not as harsh in its words, she said what needed to be said.
Although Jia Baoyu wasn't inherently a bad kid, he wasn't a good kid either! He lacked responsibility, had no ambition, and spent his days surrounded by women, showing no promise whatsoever.
She has no title to inherit, and she only cares about her sisters, but she has no ability to protect these maids. They were also defiled at a young age. What good is a sincere heart if she has no one to rely on?
After pointing out his shortcomings, praising his sincerity... well, even the author feels a little guilty! Looking at it today, Jia Baoyu is just a useless "central air conditioner"—he really has no redeeming qualities.
When Jia Min received the reply from Old Madam Lin and her daughter, she was so angry that she almost laughed. She was extremely relieved because she hated Wang Shi so much that she had also taken her anger out on the entire Jia family. In the past few years, she had not mentioned her family to Lin Daiyu much.
Otherwise, if Daiyu had developed a favorable impression of the Jia family from the beginning because of the false and wonderful situation she had been told about beforehand, she would be regretting it to death now.