Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 142: Marriage with a Scholar

Ying and Xi returned to the Jia Mansion. Grandmother Jia, Lady Xing and Wang Xifeng were waiting for them with smiles on their faces to come to Grandmother Jia's main room.

As soon as the two came in, Jia Mu and the others looked behind them, but did not see Tanchun. Jia Mu frowned immediately: "Where is the third girl? Did the queen keep her? This is not in accordance with the rules, right?"

"In reply to the old lady," Yingchun trembled, "the third sister went straight back to the Lin Mansion."

"No rules! So rebellious!" Grandmother Jia was furious. "What on earth does she want to do? Is her surname still Jia? She was able to enter the palace not because of Lin girl, but because of her own sister!"

Before Grandmother Jia had finished her temper, Ping'er walked in quickly, looking panicked: "Old lady, Madam, Second Madam, there's a message from the palace! They say that the Third Miss will be expelled from the family!"

Everyone in the room was shocked: "What!?"

Grandmother Jia felt dizzy and grabbed Yingchun's wrist tightly. "What did you do in the palace? Did you offend the queen? Or did you anger the emperor? Or, that damn girl, she, she seduced... who!?"

"No! No! None at all!" Yingchun cried anxiously, "We didn't do anything! Third sister is even more obedient! The emperor came less than an incense stick of time, and third sister was eight feet away and only answered with one sentence.

"No one else in the palace came. It was the eldest sister and the third sister who had a quarrel. We were all in the side hall, and we didn't know what they were quarreling about. When we came out, the queen was angry and said she wanted to expel the third sister from the family.

"But Baoqin told us not to tell the old lady yet, saying it was not a big deal, that the queen always values ​​the third sister, and that she might just be angry for a moment. She also said that she would go back and plead with the queen, saying that it would definitely not happen..."

Yingchun said something, and Xichun nodded with tears in her eyes. When Yingchun finished speaking, Xichun also burst into tears: "Third sister is fine, Third sister did not break the rules!"

"How dare you! She didn't break the rules, so the Queen wronged her?!" Grandmother Jia shouted, and then looked at Ping'er, "You only said she was expelled from the clan, but did you tell her the crime?"

Ping Erh calmed down a bit and shook her head, "Nothing. No one said anything, not even a piece of paper. Just this one sentence, five words: Jia Tanchun, expelled from the clan."

Wang Xifeng's mind raced, and she hurried over to help Lady Jia sit down, and gently advised, "Don't worry, Grandma. It's about the harp. The Madam was probably just angry for a moment, so she didn't even tell you the reason.

"Third sister is over there, and Sister Lin thinks highly of her. The other day I heard from Brother Yun that Third sister even took him to add flowers and trees to the Tao family's house and renovate it.

"You said, if there is nothing serious going on with such a capable sister, why would the Queen expel her from the clan? I think the two sisters had a quarrel and let it go after they calmed down.

"Don't mention it yet. Wait for one night. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Maybe after a nap, the queen will think about it and feel sorry for me, so she'll punish me with a few sticks just for the sake of it, and that'll be it."

When Grandmother Jia thought about it, she felt that this made sense, so she breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, waved her hand and asked Yingxi and Xi to go back first, and then asked Mrs. Xing: "You also go back and ask your master if there is anything else that the queen or the palace has to tell you."

Mrs. Xing was eager to go out to see her daughter, so she quickly agreed to go out. She quickly caught up with Yingchun and Xichun, hugged Xichun's shoulders, then pulled Yingchun's wrist to take a closer look, and whispered:

"I saw that the old lady used quite a lot of force just now. My silly girl, does it hurt?"

As he lifted his sleeves, he saw a circle of red and purple. He was immediately distressed, his eyes turned red, and he complained in a low voice:

"Why is he so angry with our girl about his second wife's affairs? If you want to cause trouble, go find her eldest granddaughter and the Lin family! He is bullying the weak and afraid of the strong!"

Gritting his teeth, he pulled them back to the main room with one hand each: "Let's go and apply medicine on you first. You two can tell me in detail what happened in the palace!"

The two girls had already felt so wronged that they were in tears. They clung to her tightly, calling her Madam all the time, which made Madam Xing's heart tremble: "My dear children, don't be afraid, I'm here for you!"

The mother and her two daughters returned to the main room together and no one mentioned it again.

The next morning, Rongfu suddenly received a second decree issued in the name of Consort Xiande. The person who came was still holding the harp, and with him was the eunuch who had given Lin Daiyu the Ruyi and token for Kunning Palace last time.

Everyone set up the incense table for unknown reasons and waited for the emperor's order.

An hour later, Yuanyang arrived at the Lin Mansion.

"I have a good story and a bad story. Which one do you want to hear first, Miss Lin?"

Lin Daiyu looked at her complicated expression and knew that what Tanchun said yesterday might come true. But she still wanted to struggle and forced a smile, saying, "Let's hear the good news first. Let's be happy."

"The good news is that the palace granted the second young lady a marriage in the name of the virtuous concubine," Yuanyang said. "In addition to Baoqin, there was also a young eunuch in front of the emperor who came to announce the decree. He heard that the son-in-law ranked among the top three and was a fellow Jinshi.

"He is from Yizhou, and his family is poor. But he is very loyal and honest, and his parents are kind. He is the youngest son, and he has an older brother. His eldest sister-in-law is a child bride, who lives alone in this family. She is very capable and has given birth to two sons.

"The young eunuch also said that the Ministry of Personnel had just issued a transfer order yesterday. It was the chief clerk of a county in Jiangnan, a very lucrative position. Because the emperor and the queen granted the marriage, they gave him an extra half month's leave.

"Let our family hurry up and get the wedding done so that the second young lady can go to work with her husband. He also said that since we are still in mourning for the second wife, we should keep the wedding simple. After the mourning period is over, we can consummate the marriage. He has thought it through very carefully."

Except for the ranking, almost everything was based on the situation of the runner-up that I nominated.

Lin Daiyu's eyes suddenly became wet.

Emperor Zhaoming treated her so well!

Yuanyang naturally understood that she was happy for Yingchun, so she smiled with red eyes and said softly, "Look, young lady, isn't this a great thing?"

Lin Daiyu took the opportunity to shed tears, choking with sobs and laughing, "That's right! Even if I were to choose a son-in-law from the list, I'm sure my uncle wouldn't be able to find such a suitable candidate!

"My second sister has been through a hard time for more than ten years. Now she not only has a loving mother like the first wife, but also a kind husband like my second brother-in-law. It seems that the hardship is over and happiness is coming!"

Yuanyang nodded repeatedly, wiped her tears and said, "Who said it wasn't true?" The second young lady was stunned after hearing this. After receiving the order, she cried so hard that she couldn't stand up. It was the young eunuch who personally helped her up and comforted her before she got up and went back to her room.

"He did not go to the Zhuijin Pavilion, but went to the main room, kowtowed to the first wife, and said that he had finally lived up to her efforts. This caused the first wife to burst into tears."

Daiyu wiped her tears and asked with a smile, "So, when is the wedding date? I must go to congratulate my second sister and buy some dowry."

"I'm looking at a date. I'll tell you as soon as it's decided."

The two looked at each other, exclaimed twice, and then stopped smiling.

"So, what's the bad thing?"

"Baoqin personally told the old lady and the first and second masters that the queen had made up her mind, without any reason or explanation, and would not explain it to the outside world.

"Miss Three, expel her from the clan. She is not allowed to have the surname Jia anymore."