newbobooks Chapter 177 Lin Daiyu's younger brother in Dream of the Red Chamber 10
Chapter 177 Lin Daiyu's younger brother in Dream of the Red Chamber 10
A delicate room, with landscape paintings hanging on the walls, and a jewel-encrusted screen dividing the room into two sides. Two beautiful women are chatting and laughing at a table outside the screen. One has an elegant demeanor and a strong scholarly air, while the other is bright and charming with a clean and neat demeanor.
“Since you’ve said so, sister-in-law, I will definitely stay at the Rongguo Mansion for a few days. However, Father has just returned to the capital and is very busy. We will have to wait until Father has time to take my brother and me to visit the old lady,” Lin Daiyu said calmly.
After several months of training, Lin Daiyu became much more mature in handling affairs.
Wang Xifeng was shocked. After not seeing her for a long time, Lin Daiyu had become even more beautiful and charming, and her demeanor was that of a lady of high birth.
"I understand your concerns, sister-in-law. Once Mr. Lin has taken his leave, our Rongguo Mansion will definitely prepare a banquet and invite the Lin family to attend," Wang Xifeng said with delight. She had basically completed the old lady's task.
After Wang Xifeng finished speaking, she made an excuse to leave, as she had many things to do, and Jia Lian and Lin Jiyu probably had nothing to talk about.
When Wang Xifeng's maid came to relay the message to Jia Lian, Jia Lian understood what Fengjie meant and stood up, saying, "Then I, your cousin, will look forward to the arrival of my son-in-law, cousin, and cousin sister."
Lin Jiyu stood up naturally, indicating that he would definitely return to the Rongguo Mansion for a few days.
After Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng left, Lin Jiyu invited several friends to a restaurant in the afternoon to compose poems and paint. Although Lin Jiyu did not like socializing, he was now a scholar, and Mr. Liu (Lin Jiyu's teacher for two years) required him to make some friends.
Once you enter the imperial court and become an official, these will all be connections, just like my father and Mr. Liu, who were classmates back then.
Lin Jiyu's poetry was not very good, but his painting was excellent, ranking first among his friends, who also liked to invite him to paint.
Yufenglou is the largest restaurant in Beijing.
Lin Jiyu wore a blue robe and a blue cloud-patterned belt. His black hair was tied up, and he wore a simple white jade and silver crown. Overall, he exuded a handsome and dashing air.
"Brother Lin, you've finally arrived," said a man dressed in a dark blue robe.
He is Jiang Zhujin, the second son of the Vice Minister of Works. He is twenty years old this year. Although his father is a fourth-rank official, his grandfather was the Grand Secretary and the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. However, he has now retired. The Jiang family is a true scholarly family.
“Then you’ll have to drink three cups as punishment,” said a man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe.
Shen Hui is seventeen years old this year. He is the son of the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. However, he has two older brothers, so he doesn't have much pressure. He likes to compose poems and paint. His family has strict rules, and his father is pressuring him to take the imperial examinations.
“He deserves to be punished.” After saying that, Lin Jiyu picked up the cup and drank three cups of wine. Of course, Lin Jiyu had already put the wine into the system space. He dared not get drunk outside, and the body was still young, so his alcohol tolerance was unknown.
"Brother Lin, what a great capacity for alcohol!" A man holding a fan responded. This was Wei Chi, the youngest son of the Wei family. He was fourteen years old this year, and his father and brothers were all serving as officials in other places.
"This time, Brother Lin, please make a few more paintings. It's a rare opportunity to get together like this." Qi Yun Chu is the oldest among them, now twenty-two years old. His father passed away a few years ago, and he has been living with his uncle, who is a confidant of the new emperor.
"Since everyone has said so, I, Lin, will respectfully comply," Lin Jiyu quickly agreed.
These individuals all share a similar personality with Lin Jiyu. Although Lin Jiyu is relatively young, she is poised and generous in her conduct. Furthermore, with Lin Ruhai's promotion, their backgrounds are clearly suitable as well.
In this era, legitimate sons usually spent time with other legitimate sons, while illegitimate sons associated with each other.
After several rounds of poetry and painting, a commotion arose outside their private room. The group exchanged glances, and Qi Yunchu stood up and said he would go out to check. Qi Yunchu was the oldest, and he was the one who had invited them this time.
Qi Yun Chu opened the door and saw an arrogant and domineering rich kid shouting in the corridor, followed by several other rich kids.
Qi Yun Chu frowned and waved for the waiter.
"Young Master Qi, what can I do for you?" The waiter quickly came up to greet him upon seeing the situation.
"What's going on here? Get these troublemakers out of here," Qi Yun Chu said calmly.
"Well, there is something going on. That noisy young master has some connection with the Jia family of Rongguo Mansion. The manager is already trying to dissuade him. We are truly sorry for disturbing Young Master Qi." What could the waiter, a mere laborer, say but apologize?
Qi Yun Chu didn't say anything more, but after thinking about it carefully, the only wealthy family members who could be related to the Rongguo Mansion besides Brother Lin were the Xue family.
The Lin family managed to extricate themselves from the vortex of the retired emperor; otherwise, Lin Ruhai wouldn't have been promoted.
But Lin Jiyu became friends with them because of her great charm. At that time, Lin Jiyu was still in mourning and usually went to Mr. Liu's house to study. Qi Yunchu met Lin Jiyu by chance and they hit it off immediately. Then Qi Yunchu introduced Lin Jiyu to Jiang Zhujin and others.
"What's going on outside?" Jiang Zhujin asked casually, holding a wine glass.
"It's nothing serious, I'm sure the manager will be able to resolve it soon," Qi Yun Chu said.
"In a daze, I seemed to hear something about the Rongguo Mansion or the Xue family." Wei Chi asked curiously. Wei Chi was also spoiled by his grandparents from a young age. His father was an official in another place, and his older brother disciplined him, which made Wei Chi's personality rather unruly.
“But the Xue family of Jinling, a once-great merchant family, has declined.” Shen Hui sighed.
"Let's not talk about them anymore, let's not talk about them anymore, let's continue drinking and reciting poetry," Qi Yun Chu interrupted them.
Not long after, the noise outside stopped, followed by a knock on the door. Qi Yun Chu invited them in, while the shopkeeper stood outside.
"We apologize for disturbing you gentlemen earlier. All expenses will be waived," the innkeeper said humbly.
Qi Yun Chu didn't care about the cost; the Qi family was wealthy and didn't care about such a small amount of money. But since the manager had said so, Qi Yun Chu would still give him face. He had heard that Yu Feng Lou was backed by the emperor, but he didn't know if it was true or not.
Lin Jiyu didn't discuss matters of the court with them. During the gathering, Lin Jiyu created four paintings, one each of plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, all of which were lifelike and each one was painted in a different style.
Upon returning to the Lin residence, he first paid his respects to Lin Ruhai, then told him about Jia Lian's visit, and also mentioned that the Rongguo Mansion had invited them to visit during his father's leave.
Lin Ruhai spoke privately with the Emperor today about his relationship with the Rongguo Mansion, and the Emperor told him to do what he had done before and to continue doing what he had done before.
Lin Ruhai was good at playing both sides. On his first day back in the capital, he went to see the Emperor, and on his second day, he went to see the Emperor Emeritus. The Emperor Emeritus didn't ask anything of him, and he responded to each one. He also secretly gave most of the tribute he received when he was an official in Yangzhou to the Emperor Emeritus.