Three Wives and Four Concubines in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Page 163

"Is the brown sugar and purple rice porridge I asked you to make yesterday ready? Lin Daiyu said she hasn't had much of an appetite these past few days, so this should be fine for her. Also, tell the kitchen to prepare a couple more bowls of sour soup; it will both whet their appetites and warm them up."

Seeing that Gu Yu hadn't even filled her own stomach yet, but was already worrying about the appetites of the other women outside, Qingwen couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, though she felt a warm feeling in her heart.

After all, she had specially ordered a dish herself, so how could she possibly be jealous? And where else in the world could she find someone like that…

……

Miaoyu, who had been staying at Longcui Nunnery for several days, finally went out for the first time. After having breakfast, she went straight to Zilingzhou. The old woman guarding the gate gave her a perfunctory smile and a greeting, then dejectedly retreated back to bask in the sun.

In this garden, the most lucrative jobs are those in the Grand View Garden, which are highly sought after. Even sweeping the courtyard is a fierce competition. The second most lucrative jobs are those that involve planting trees and grass and maintenance, as well as the teams that also patrol at night.

The latter, in particular, although on the surface it doesn't seem to pay as much as the previous contract work, it's just a bonus, but the night patrol involves dealing with various courtyards, and which girl's courtyard doesn't have to show some respect? The tea money and other commissions from these interactions add up to a considerable amount, not to mention the added prestige.

The worst off, of course, are the maids and servants in the courtyards of unfavored girls. Not only do they have to watch their fellow servants strut around arrogantly every night, but they also have to put on a smiling face and endure their mistreatment, receiving a meager monthly salary. Apart from being a little more comfortable and having less to do, their lives are practically a one-way street.

In addition, Yingchun and Xichun didn't have the energy to discipline them. Being out of favor also meant they weren't financially well-off. They couldn't use either carrots or sticks, so how could they subdue these resentful old foxes?

Over time, everyone has become such lazy bums, always trying to shirk responsibility, let alone outsiders like Miaoyu and Xing Xiuyan? If you don't have money, don't even think about talking to anyone!

Miaoyu glanced back at the old woman who was dozing off again, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything. She walked alone to Xing Xiuyan's side room, lifted the curtain and went inside.

"Xiuyan? Are you there?"

Soon, there was movement from the inner room. Xing Xiuyan peeked out in surprise and welcomed Miaoyu inside.

"What brings you here? Come, sit down and have some tea. It can't compare to the tea in your room, so please don't be offended."

Xing Xiuyan was glad that she had gone out to brew a pot of hot tea and brought it back, otherwise she wouldn't even have a sip of hot water to serve Miaoyu, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

Miaoyu took the teacup, using the act of bowing her head to drink the tea to conceal the blush on her face, and tried hard to organize her thoughts.

I can't just blurt out, "I already know you were taken advantage of, but actually I'm in a worse situation than you," can I?

"Hmm... Yingchun and the others have all gone to play. Why are you left alone in the room?"

Xing Xiuyan's face stiffened. She forced a smile, but couldn't manage it. She then raised her teacup, trying to appear nonchalant.

"I went there yesterday too... Anyway, it was just chatting. I'm too lazy to move today because I'm sleepy."

Pretending not to notice the slight redness in Xing Xiuyan's eyes, Miaoyu lowered her head and chatted idly for a few more minutes before finally gritting her teeth and getting down to business.

"After spending these days together, what do you think of that young master Yu? I think he treats all the girls in the garden very well, and he seems to have a very good temperament."

Xing Xiuyan's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, almost spilling it. Then her eyes reddened, and she quickly lowered her head to hide her unusual expression.

"Hmm... I guess so. I don't really know much about them... What do those kinds of people have to do with me..."

When Xing Xiuyan returned yesterday, she almost burst into tears. She buried herself in the quilt and sobbed for a long time before she could calm down.

I thought I had found a rare highlight in this mundane life that seemed to have no end in sight, but before I could be happy for more than a few days, I realized that I had misjudged it!

How could a lustful scoundrel who only desires his own body possibly be a good match?

Having finally given her heart away only to lose so completely, Xing Xiuyan was almost ready to shut herself off from love. She stayed up half the night with her eyes open before finally managing to fall asleep, and she did indeed wake up a little late today.

Seeing that Xing Xiuyan was still not showing any interest despite her current state, Miaoyu fidgeted in her chair, wanting to speak but unable to, almost frantic with worry. After pondering for a long time, she cleared her throat and tried to subtly probe:

“I’ve lived in this garden for a long time, so I’ve gotten to know him a bit. He’s always been unconventional and admires the spirit of the pre-Qin era. You can tell just by looking at how he jokes and laughs with the sisters.”

"Pre-Qin period?"

Miaoyu smiled awkwardly. What about love between men and women, sleeping under the sky, eloping, etc.? Aren't these just ancient customs?

Every word I said was from the bottom of my heart!

Chapter 53 Don't misunderstand, it's not targeting you alone.

Miaoyu dared to swear to Buddha that everything she said was absolutely true, so after she got started, the psychological pressure lessened considerably, and she spoke fluently and eloquently.

“Look at him, he’s always hugging and cuddling with Xichun. When has he ever paid any attention to the separation of men and women? He’s even shameless enough to bow and beg for mercy. He’s never looked down on us.”

Xing Xiuyan opened her mouth, then hesitated, realizing her situation was somewhat different; she was actually doing it herself…

Seeing that she could still keep quiet, Miaoyu completely gave up and had no choice but to swallow her pride and tell her the truth:

"There's something else you don't know... almost every girl in this garden has fallen for him. After all, it's hard to find such a remarkable man in the world, so..."

"So what?"

Xing Xiuyan lowered her eyes, feeling a little nervous. She thought that Miaoyu had seen through the abnormal relationship between her and Gu Yu these past few days and was deliberately saying it to make her back down.

"That kind of lecher... I'll never go near him again... I'll pay him back next month and we'll be even!"

Just as the girl was feeling resentful and her heart ached, she heard Miaoyu's gentle voice continue to reach her ears:

"Hmm... so they were mutually in love, and... they got used to being a little reckless..."

Xing Xiuyan blinked blankly, feeling that she had heard each word clearly, but she couldn't understand what it meant when put together. She turned to look at Miaoyu beside her, only to find that Miaoyu's face was already flushed and she refused to look at anyone.

With things having come to this point, Miaoyu had no way out. She could only look away and grit her teeth as she blurted everything out:

"Actually... I already know about what happened to you, Xiuyan. Yulang didn't mean to humiliate you; it's just his usual way of doing things..."

"Yu Lang?"

Xing Xiuyan didn't react at first, then her eyes widened. Remembering what she had said about knowing, she blushed and stood up, looking at Miaoyu, who had been her teacher and friend for ten years, in disbelief.

"You and him... are also in love?! Aren't you a nun? You two??"

The girl felt as if she had been hit on the head with a hammer, her head buzzing. The shock of this event was no less than finding out that your muscular buddy is actually a bottom. Her mind went blank, and she couldn't say a word.

"I can also leave the monastic life..."

Miaoyu whispered a defense for herself, but unfortunately, her voice was so soft that even she couldn't hear it.

"Ahem...! Anyway, he specifically asked me to come here today to apologize to you on his behalf, for I slighted you for a moment."

"You don't need to worry about it so much. It's just normal affection. The other sisters in the garden are much closer than this..."

Xing Xiuyan was so shocked that she was numb. Her mind was like a slideshow, going over and over again from Gu Yu standing under the plum tree to yesterday's strong embrace. Only, many details that she hadn't paid attention to before suddenly became vivid.

He touched Xichun's head, Lin pinched his shoulder with her handkerchief, Bao interacted with him with her eyes, Yingchun's face was flushed... it seemed that everything had been shown to him all along, but he had ignored it.

So was I an idiot before?

Xing Xiuyan was stunned and speechless, standing frozen in place. Miaoyu also stood up, took a deep breath, and leaned close to her, saying in a trembling voice:

"It was me... I was also... oh dear!"

Stomping her foot, Miaoyu realized she had overestimated her sense of shame and couldn't bring herself to say such a thing. She covered her face and walked away, no longer daring to look at Xing Xiuyan's expression.

"Just remember to return it tomorrow!"

"I--"

"Shh-!"

Staring at the curtain that had been thrown down, Xing Xiuyan's mind was in a mess. She felt dizzy and had no desire to chase after it. She simply sat down in a chair to calm herself down.

So... I wasn't being deliberately taken advantage of, but rather, to others, this was just a normal interaction?

Xing Xiuyan found the result both absurd and funny, but when it actually happened to her, she couldn't laugh. Her pretty face flushed red and then turned pale. After a long while, she couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of saliva.

"He's a lecherous scoundrel!"

The hot tea in the cup had gone cold, so Xing Xiuyan poured it out. Sitting there like this was getting a bit chilly, so she went back to bed to catch up on some sleep.

"call--"

Lying on the soft quilt, the girl let out a long sigh, whether it was a sense of relief from fatigue or a release of inner pressure, it was hard to tell.

But soon, lying on the bed like this, the faint pressure on her chest reminded her of the large hand that had pressed down on her yesterday. So she blushed and turned to her side, hugging the blanket and rubbing the corner of the blanket in a fit of pique.

"What did Miaoyu mean by what she just said? Was she also with him? Could it be...?"

The thought of Miaoyu, whom she always respected, collapsing in that man's arms with a flushed face and being wantonly kneaded by his large hands made Xing Xiuyan feel a strange sensation in her chest, even though she was lying on her side. She turned over and over with a flushed face, feeling uncomfortable all over.

"...What if he really asks me for five hundred taels of silver? How am I supposed to pay him back?...Anyway, nothing else is allowed..."

When the girl finally felt sleepy and lay down on the bed for a nap, a faint smile appeared on her face again. Her brows, which had been furious from crying the night before, relaxed, and she regained some of her vitality.

……

"Sister Wen, do you like this candied fruit? If it's too sweet or too bland, just let me know, and I'll have someone replace it for you."

"No, no, I think it's fine..."

Li Qi, who was not far away, pursed his lips in annoyance, but he couldn't show it in front of Yingchun and Xichun, so he could only sulk in his heart.

She really couldn't understand why. She and her sister looked exactly alike, so why was this Young Master Yu so attentive to her sister, while he didn't even glance at her?

Although I didn't mean to say that I cared about Young Master Yu's favor, I just felt very uncomfortable!

Seeing Coco Lee's pretty face flushed, her head bowed as she spoke to Gu Yu while clutching her handkerchief, Li Qi felt like she could crush a walnut in her hand.

How could Young Master Yu have the patience to talk to such a clueless idiot? Shouldn't he be able to have a good conversation with someone as quick-witted as himself?

Xi Chun and Ying Chun, who had deliberately stayed here to lower the Li sisters' guard, exchanged a glance without making a sound, and then quickly hid behind their sleeves and smiled at each other while pretending to whisper to each other.

Even someone as dull as Yingchun could see Li Qi's resentment, which shows how successful Gu Yu's strategy of dividing and resolving conflict was.

When Gu Yu finally stopped talking, satisfied, Coco Lee's head was almost buried in her chest, her beautiful face was burning, and she was almost exhausted.

She didn't know why, but when she looked into Gu Yu's eyes, she blushed and her heart raced. She didn't dare to look him in the eye, not to mention that he would occasionally pick up snacks and offer them to her as if to feed her. She was too embarrassed to refuse, so she ate them with a blush on her face and didn't dare to look back at the reactions of the other people on the field.

Fortunately, after so many days she has gotten used to it a little. So many of her sisters have been fed... so what she has done shouldn't be anything special, right?

Chapter Fifty-Four: Establishing a Poetry Society

Having successfully completed today's strategy, Gu Yu stood up with satisfaction and invited Li Wen and the others to go to the next room to watch Daiyu and the others play chess.

After all, even if he had three heads and six arms, he couldn't possibly serve so many sisters at the same time. Now they also had to cooperate with his actions, so Daiyu, Baochai, and Tanchun went to the private room to play chess so that he could keep the Li sisters to talk more.

After entering the room and passing the screen, Daiyu and the others were sitting on the kang bed, engrossed in a game of chess. Xiangyun was so anxious that she scratched her head and blocked the chessboard completely.

Baochai and Qingwen were sitting together embroidering something, while Ying'er was left out in the cold. Bored, she propped her chin up and looked around, just in time to see Gu Yu walking ahead with a smile.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw Gu Yu point to her mouth and then gesture to the group of people playing chess over there. So she shut her mouth, quietly patted Baochai's shoulder, and let her see the people who had come in.

Under the gaze of Baochai and the others, Li Wen, who was standing next to Gu Yu, felt inexplicably ashamed. She took the initiative to move away from him and sit down to the side. Li Qi followed suit, also unaware of what was going on.

The slight noise finally caught the attention of Daiyu and the others who were engrossed in playing chess. When Gu Yu and the others entered, the atmosphere became much livelier.

"Master~"

Qingwen quickly put down what she was holding, stood up, and took the initiative to come forward to lead Gu Yu to sit down. She then made him some tea and stood obediently behind him.

In such situations, she was even more disciplined than Xiangling, and she wouldn't listen to Gu Yu's words, only obediently following the rules for a maid.

Gu Yu sat up and looked at the chessboard not far away. Seeing that Daiyu's moves were slightly clumsy compared to Tanchun's, he couldn't help but smile and glance at Lin Daiyu, who was secretly watching him.

"Third sister's chess skills have been getting better lately. It seems she's encountered something happy recently?"

In his previous life, he scoffed at sayings like "observing chess is like observing a person" or "seeing a person through writing," thinking them to be nonsense. But now that he has truly delved into it, he finds them increasingly insightful.

Daiyu is meticulous and usually plays chess with impeccable skill, matching Tanchun's strengths. However, he noticed a couple of oversights just now, indicating that she was somewhat distracted.

However, Gu Yu, who knew the truth, naturally didn't expose it. Instead, he turned around and praised Tan Chun's progress. Unexpectedly, he was still not spared by Daiyu, who gave him a coquettish glare.

Don't think I don't know you're subtly mocking me!

"What's so great about it... How about we go to admire the plum blossoms the other day? Wouldn't that be a great thing?"

Tan Chun glanced at Gu Yu unconsciously with her bright and beautiful eyes, revealing a rare hint of shyness. However, since there were other people present, she quickly concealed this unusual expression, raised her long eyebrows, and found a new excuse in the blink of an eye.

After receiving her gaze, Gu Yu understood and replied:

"That would be a wonderful occasion. Judging from the weather, the sun is much weaker today, so it's likely that it will snow in the next day or two. Please remember to keep your appointments on time."

Almost all those present were young women with a literary bent. The thought of the sisters gathering by the window amidst the falling snow, watching the heavy snowfall outside, the mirror-like surface of the water, and the vibrant plum grove not far away, was incredibly evocative.

Inside, a warm stove was burning, and everyone was eating, drinking, and having fun while warming themselves by the fire. They even recited poems together, just like the literati in the books. Everyone was so eager to get started!

"This is the first time all of us sisters have gathered together. In my opinion... how about we start a poetry club? Let's take this gathering at Luxue Hermitage as our first club meeting. It's cheap and has a good name. What do you all think?"

Seeing that her sisters were all looking forward to the upcoming gathering, Daiyu covered her mouth and smiled as she looked around. She cleared her throat and suddenly made a suggestion, then turned her gaze to Gu Yu.

After all, he has veto power.

"Start a poetry club?"

First, the lively Xiangyun and Tanchun looked up at Daiyu with their bright, beautiful eyes and were the first to express their support.

“I think it’s pretty good! We haven’t been going to school much since we entered the garden, and my sister-in-law doesn’t have much time on weekdays either… Now that we’ve started a poetry club, it’s a proper thing to do. What do you guys think?”