Chapter Fifty-One

  Lin Ruhai wore a cyan robe, which set off his slender figure even more upright; the collar and sleeve edges were embroidered with elegant bamboo leaf patterns of snow-white piping, which shone brightly with the sheep's fat white jade hairpin on his head.

  Lin Ruhai stood quietly beside the carriage, while the young women and married ladies passing by the Lin Mansion's gate couldn't help but secretly admire him, their hearts shattered into pieces.

  Jia Min brought Qing Mei and Qing Xiang out of the Lin Mansion, and when she saw Lin Ruhai standing beside the carriage, she seemed to be in a daze for a moment.

  Strangers on the road are like jade, and you, young master, are unparalleled in this world!

  Lin Ruhai's eyes were fixed on Yu Shulan in front of him, and suddenly a sentence flashed through Jia Min's mind.

  "Master, the young mistress has come out." Yan Tai, as a servant born in the Lin family, was the most capable and trusted one by Lin Ruhai's side. He had been keeping an eye on everything, and his sharp eyes had spotted Jia Min as soon as she came out. He quickly stepped forward and whispered to his young master.

  "Go and invite Young Mistress to get on the carriage." Lin Ruhai jumped onto the horse with a clean and agile motion, giving instructions to Yan Tai.

  "It's the young master!" Yentai nodded in response and then walked over to Jia Min's servant who was standing on the steps of the gate; Yentai bowed to Jia Min and said: "Young mistress, the young master says it's getting late; please hurry up and get into the carriage, we need to depart."

  "Alright." Jia Min nodded and led Qing Mei and Qing Xiang towards the horse carriage.

  Because today is Jia Min's third day of returning home, even if it's not for Jia Min's face; just for the sake of the Lin family's own face, they can't be too shabby; this world has always been about respecting the clothes before respecting the person!

  On ordinary days, Lin Ruhai usually travels in a humble blue cloth-covered carriage.

  Because of the reason for going to Rongguo Mansion today, everyone in the capital knows; The people of Rongguo Mansion all have a pair of selfish eyes, just because of this, they cannot be too shabby today.

  Today, a luxurious carriage stopped in front of the Lin family's gate, a departure from their usual low-key style; even so, it didn't seem too extravagant, after all, the Lin family was a noble and aristocratic family; those nouveau riche behaviors would not appear on the Lin family members.

  Jia Min got on the carriage with Qingmei and Qing'an, and after they sat down, Qingmei spoke up to Jia Min: "Milady, actually Master Baoyu still has you in his heart; today when he came to pay his respects, he even changed the carriage for you again."

  Although Jia Min, Qing Mei and Qing Xing had only been in the Lin household for a few days, they still knew something about the likes and dislikes of the Lin family.

  "Right!"

  Qing Xing nodded on the side and said: "What Qing Mei sister said makes sense, Nainai Gongzi Ye is really good to you."

  "Is that so?" The words of Qingmei and Qingyan, the two maidservants, caused a thread of confusion in Jiamin's heart; originally, Jiamin had many complaints about Lin Ruhai, but at this moment they were much diluted.

  Unfortunately, Jia Min did not know at this moment that what awaited her upon returning to the Jia residence would be an even greater storm.

  Today is a good day for the third return visit of the lady from Rongguo Mansion after her marriage.

  As she grew older, Jia's sleep became lighter. Old Mrs. Jia got up early; at this moment, she was in Rongxi Hall, eagerly waiting for her own daughter to arrive soon.

  The Lin family's house in the capital is just three streets away from Rongguo Mansion, and even if you walk a little faster, it won't take two incense sticks' time to get there.

  "Come in!" Old Mrs. Jia shouted loudly, throwing back her head.

  Mrs. Jia couldn't sit still any longer, and it was still early; in the large Rongxi Hall, there was only Mrs. Jia herself, not even a single maid or servant girl; Mrs. Jia became really angry.

  "Hmph... I, the old lady, am not dead yet, and you all don't take yourselves seriously; a cold glint flashed in Mrs. Jia's eyes, her face turning unpleasant."

  "The second one is good, but the second one's family doesn't put me in their heart anymore." Old Lady Jia muttered to herself: "It seems that this house is getting more and more lawless. Today is Min'er's third day of returning home, I'll let her be arrogant for now, and see how she'll be dealt with tomorrow."

  Ever since the incident of Jia Min's dowry, Old Lady Jia had been displeased with Wang Shi, Jia Zheng's wife, and couldn't help but look at her with disapproval.

  As for Jia Zheng, the youngest son, Mrs. Jia did not transfer her anger; after all, he was her own spoiled child of over twenty years, but towards Wang Shi, Mrs. Jia became increasingly displeased.

  "Old lady!" The door curtain was lifted, and a 7 or 8 year old girl with clear eyebrows and eyes walked in from outside; she looked like the kind of gentle and warm-tempered little maid.

  Ying-yang curtsied respectfully to Lady Jia: "Your humble servant, Ying-yang, pays her respects to the old lady."

  "Orchid?" Old Lady Jia looked at the little maid standing in front of her, and pondered: "You're one of the four little maids brought over by Lai Da's family yesterday?"

  "Welcome back, madam. I am one of them." Yuyang raised her head and looked at Mrs. Jia with a big smile, responding respectfully.

  Yesterday, Lai YaYa brought four clever and nimble little maids to Jia Mu: Yuanyang, Que'er, Hupo and Zhenzhu. Among them, Que'er was the maid who was later given by Grandmother Jia to Lin Daiyu and renamed Zi Juan; while Zhenzhu was the one given by Grandmother Jia to Jia Baoyu and later renamed Xiren.

  Before being bought by the Jia family, Yuanyang had been bought and sold several times by slave traders; in the slave trade, Yuanyang had also witnessed slaves being beaten to death and thrown into the wilderness. For the opportunity to enter a wealthy and noble family like the Jias, Yuanyang undoubtedly cherished it.

  Don't look at Yuanyang, who is now only seven or eight years old in appearance. This girl's mind is very agile; although Yuanyang has only been in the Jia Mansion for a day, many important information in the mansion has already been inquired by her clearly.

  The entire Rongguo Mansion has only a few masters, and the one who ranks first is Old Lady Jia; there are also two old gentlemen behind her, namely Big Master Jia She and Big Madam Xing Shi. However, it's said that this Big Madam Xing Shi isn't Big Master Jia She's original wife, as his original wife has passed away many years ago. The current Big Madam is merely a second wife, and doesn't have Big Master Jia She's heart.

  The most important thing is that the master of this mansion is said to be at odds with the old lady; they have already been separated by the old lady in the mansion.

  The second master Jia Zheng and the second lady Wang, the old lady actually liked the second master very much; let's not talk about other things for now, just looking at the Ronggui Hall that should have been qualified to live in by the first master; it was actually given to the second master by the old lady, while the first master's house was divided into a quiet corner of the courtyard; from this we can see generally.

  The old lady seems to be not quite right with the second lady, because the second lady does not get along with the young lady in the house; and this young lady who has just been married for a few days is said to be the one that the old lady holds dear; as long as this young lady is present, the second master and others all take a back seat.

  As for other girls and young masters in this mansion, they can almost be ignored.

  Don't underestimate these seemingly insignificant messages, it was from these messages that Yuanyang understood one thing; although there are now two masters and two mistresses in this mansion, after all, the one who has the final say is still the old lady living in Rong Xitang.

  It was this news that made Yuanyang serve Lady Wang with great joy in the following years, and later in the novel "Dream of Red Mansions", it is also described that Yuanyang's status in the mansion was not ordinary compared to other maids.

  Even if she later married into the Jia family and became Concubine Xiang, that famous Phoenix, she still called Yuanyang "good sister" with every word.

  "Why is it just you alone?" Old Lady Jia's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, her face full of wrinkles showing a faint displeasure: "Where have all the others gone?"

  Yuan thought for a moment before answering, "Lai Ya went to the kitchen and said that today is the third day of the new master's return home; Lai Ya went to the kitchen to supervise and said that someone was making food that the mistress liked. The other sisters were all busy outside; Lai Ya told me to wait here at the door, waiting for Old Madame's orders."

  Don't look at Yuanyang, she's only seven or eight years old now, but such a long passage she can recite fluently; in one breath 'rattling' finished.

  Mrs. Jia was a shrewd person who had spent her whole life in this mansion; she was one of those people with a keen sense of smell, and as soon as she heard the words, she knew there was more to it than met the eye; however, she didn't want to pursue the matter on such a good day.

  "Is it Yuanyang?" Old Lady Jia's eyes dimmed slightly as she gazed at Yuanyang, a faint smile escaping from the corner of her mouth; with an underlying meaning in her words, she said: "You little girl are quite discerning, very well; from now on, you'll serve by my side."

  "Thank you, old lady!"

  Mrs. Jia's words made the pair of mandarin ducks overjoyed, and they hastily knelt down to the ground; respectfully kowtowing to Mrs. Jia: "Your humble servants will definitely do their best to serve you well."

  "All right, I'll just take a look." Old Lady Jia said with a wave of her hand, not paying much attention to Yuanyang's sincere confession.

  This little girl is only seven or eight years old now, if she's really good, it wouldn't hurt to take a closer look at her; if the other party is a useless thing that can't be helped even with support, then even throwing her away would be no loss; after all, she's just a slave.

  Besides, this little girl is still young this year, and it's up to everyone to take care of these little girls; when you're free, let her take good care of herself.

  Mrs. Jia ordered Yuyan: "It's getting late now, go and see why Master Jia, Madame Wang, Second Master Lai and Second Mistress You haven't arrived yet?"

  "It's the old lady, I'll go and take a look." Yuanyang replied respectfully.

  This was the first errand she had undertaken in front of Mrs. Yu, and she couldn't afford to mess it up; although clever, Yuanyang was still young after all, and now that she had received an assignment from Old Lady Jia, her heart couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement; naturally, this showed on her face.

  Hmmm... As expected, she's still just a child, with that joyful and carefree expression; Old Lady Jia's face has softened considerably.