Damn it, no one had ever told her that transmigrating into a book could mean this…
At the end of the Yin hour and the beginning of the Mao hour, a faint glow of dawn was beginning to spread across the pale blue horizon, while Songjiang Prefecture lay shrouded in a hazy spring mist.
Inside Jade Ruler Tower, the maid Danmo noticed the curtain around the bed move slightly. Judging that the young lady had probably awakened, she signaled toward the outer room.
In an instant, the maids throughout the three floors of the tower sprang into action. They moved swiftly and quietly, without the slightest whisper among them.
By the time Yan Xianzhi was completely awake and called for someone to attend to her, everything she might need had already been prepared.
Danmo and Qingyun stepped forward and tied back the three layers of brocade gauze curtains hanging around the bed.
Although spring had already deepened, there was still a chill in the mornings and evenings. Danmo had deliberately hung several extra layers of curtains to keep out the cold.
Once the curtains were drawn back, two neat rows of maids could be seen outside. Everyone performed her assigned duty, one carrying water, another holding a kettle, and everything proceeded in perfect order.
With the maids attending to her, Yan Xianzhi finished washing and dressing, but instead of going downstairs immediately to pay her respects to her parents, she went upstairs first.
The Jade Ruler Tower where she currently lived had three floors. The first floor contained the study, the music room, and the main reception hall. The second floor was her bedchamber, while the third floor was used for worship. It was normally kept firmly locked, and only the golden key hanging from the necklace around Yan Xianzhi’s neck could open the door.
Since even the key was so precious, it was easy to imagine how important the things inside must be.
Those things were three particularly important objects from the original novel: the imperial calligraphy plaque bearing the words “Hongwen Talented Lady,” the Talent Measuring Jade Ruler, and the Golden Ruyi.
In truth, Yan Xianzhi was a transmigrator. It was not until a year after she had crossed into this world that she realized she had not transmigrated into some fictional world with no connection to reality, but into a book called Ping Shan Leng Yan.
Transmigrating into a book was not frightening in itself. What Yan Xianzhi could not understand was that she had apparently transmigrated into the world twenty years after the ending of the story.
According to the plot of Ping Shan Leng Yan, Yan Xianzhi’s grandfather, Yan Baihan, was the greatest scholar in the world. During the imperial examinations, he consecutively became the top candidate at the provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations, ultimately attaining the title of Palace Examination Champion.
Her grandmother, Shan Dai, was the greatest talented woman in the world.
She had received the title of “Hongwen Talented Lady” personally bestowed by the Emperor, and had also been granted an imperial marriage. With the fateful coincidence of “a beauty above the pavilion and a scholar below the pavilion,” she and her grandfather had truly been made for each other.
The original novel ended there, but the passage of time continued beyond the story.
Not long after their marriage, Yan and Shan had a son named Yan Hong, who was Yan Xianzhi’s father.
Yan Hong inherited his parents’ intelligence and talent. At fifteen, he became the Palace Examination Champion, and two years later, the Emperor himself acted as matchmaker and arranged his marriage to Lin, the younger sister of the Palace Examination Third Place Scholar. The talented man and beautiful woman fell deeply in love, and their marriage soon became a celebrated tale.
By the time Yan Xianzhi was born, twenty years had already passed since the grand finale of the original story.
Yan Xianzhi simply could not understand it. Who in their right mind would transmigrate into a book twenty years after its happy ending?
By the time Yan Xianzhi finally figured out the circumstances of this world, Yan Baihan and Shan Dai had already entered their later years.
Three years ago, Yan Baihan had submitted a memorial requesting retirement and had withdrawn to the countryside with Shan Dai.
During the first few years after transmigrating, Yan Xianzhi had often been anxious, always feeling that something might go wrong.
After all, she had transmigrated into the world after the happy ending. The moment she opened her eyes, she was already destined to enjoy a life of comfort and prosperity. Who would believe that she could live carefree for the rest of her life?
After enjoying thirteen years of such a life, Yan Xianzhi believed it herself.
Her maternal great grandfather and grandfather had both once been important officials of the imperial court, while her father was currently held in high favor by the Emperor. Her mother was gentle and beautiful, an excellent household manager, and their family was wealthy and well established.
From the moment Yan Xianzhi was born until now, thirteen years had passed without illness or disaster, and she had grown into a lovely young woman with delicate features.
The only real difficulty was that, as the descendant of Yan Baihan and Shan Dai, Yan Xianzhi had been deprived of the right to be a poor student from the moment she was born.
However, while her grandparents had placed great expectations upon her, they had also given her the ability to remember everything she saw and to express herself with remarkable eloquence.
Yan Xianzhi was already tired of saying how comfortable her life was.
Her daily routine was simple. After rising early, she would go to the third floor of Jade Ruler Tower to offer incense before the imperial brush, the jade ruler, and the Golden Ruyi. She would then read for half an hour before going to pay her respects to her parents.
After that, she could arrange the rest of her day however she pleased.
When dinner time arrived, she would pay her respects to her parents once more, and her duties for the day would be completely finished.
Life was so peaceful and beautiful that even Yan Xianzhi could hardly believe it.
Until yesterday, when an imperial decree arrived.
The Emperor had ordered Yan Hong to take up a post in Liangguang for a three year term.
After accepting the decree, Yan Xianzhi overheard her father discussing the matter with her mother. He did not want her to accompany him to his new post.
“The climate and customs of Liangguang are completely different from those of Songjiang and the capital, and you will have no close friends or old acquaintances there. Even if you and our daughter come with me, I fear the two of you will not be able to adapt.”
“Besides, our daughter is already of marriageable age. If I spend three years away on official business, am I supposed to find a suitable husband for her while I am there?”
“Once my term ends, we do not know when we will be able to see each other again.”
“It would be better for you to return to the capital and discuss her marriage there. Once I retire in the future, we can live together again and enjoy more family reunions.”
Yan Xianzhi had little interest in marriage, but she had grown up in Songjiang Prefecture and had never traveled far from home. Although her daily life was comfortable and free, even the most pleasant life could become dull after enough time had passed.
Now that she had heard there was a chance to visit the capital, she could not help becoming excited despite being reluctant to part with her father.
Just as she was happily anticipating the trip, she suddenly heard her mother, Madam Lin, say with a smile, “I was thinking the same thing. As it happens, my elder brother wrote to us a few days ago. He said that before his daughter Daiyu goes to the capital to stay with her relatives, she will first come to our residence for a visit. He is busy with official matters and cannot accompany her, so he asked us to look after her for a while.”
“Since one favor need not trouble two households, why don’t I take A Zhi with me and enter the capital together with Daiyu?”
The next moment, the osmanthus cake in Yan Xianzhi’s hand fell to the ground.
“Mother, who did you say?”
Madam Lin smiled, not understanding her reaction. “Your uncle’s daughter, your cousin Daiyu. Your aunt was from the Rongguo Residence in the capital, and she passed away some time ago. The Old Madam of the Rongguo Residence loves her granddaughter dearly, so she sent people to bring Daiyu to the capital.”
“Your uncle thought that since she would be traveling so far anyway, it would be good for her to visit relatives along the way. You and Daiyu are about the same age, so perhaps you can keep her company and comfort her a little.”
Yan Xianzhi opened and closed her mouth several times, but the thousand words in her heart remained stuck in her throat.
She had thought she had transmigrated twenty years after the happy ending.
She had never imagined that she had actually been thrown into the prequel!
Damn it, no one had ever told her that transmigrating into a book could mean being dropped straight into a completely collected edition!
Yan Xianzhi suddenly felt that this world had become rather surreal.
She grabbed Madam Lin’s hand, her expression still filled with disbelief.
“Mother, didn’t you tell me that my cousin’s name was Lin Ying?”
Madam Lin smiled. “Your uncle has no sons and only one daughter, so he allowed her to attend school and gave her the formal name Lin Ying. It was merely meant to ease his loneliness at having no son. In truth, her childhood name is Daiyu.”
Yan Xianzhi released her hand as though she had been struck by lightning.
Good heavens, her uncle was Lin Ruhai, and her cousin was Lin Daiyu!
The Yan family often received various gifts sent by her uncle, but both her uncle and father held official positions and had never had the opportunity to meet. As a result, Yan Xianzhi had never even met this uncle of hers.
For more than a decade, all she had known was that her uncle’s surname was Lin and that he had passed the Palace Examination as the Third Place Scholar.
Who could have imagined that two books could actually be connected like this?
The warm and generous uncle she remembered suddenly overlapped with a character from a novel, leaving Yan Xianzhi momentarily dazed.
However, she quickly recovered and pleaded with Madam Lin. “The journey to the capital is a long one, and I don’t know whether my cousin has brought enough people and belongings with her.”
“Since Mother will already be arranging attendants and luggage, why don’t we prepare another set for my cousin as well?”
After the initial shock, Yan Xianzhi remembered the plot of Dream of the Red Chamber.
If she remembered correctly, when Lin Daiyu entered the capital, she had only two people accompanying her. Nanny Wang was already quite old, while Xueyan was still very young and childish.
Now that she knew Daiyu was her own cousin, Yan Xianzhi could not simply ignore her situation. Two attendants would hardly be enough.
Zijuan might genuinely care for Daiyu, but she was still a maid from the Rongguo Residence and naturally had her own interests.
As a hereditary servant of the Rongguo Residence, Zijuan would naturally hope that Daiyu would remain there permanently so that she could continue serving her.
But from Yan Xianzhi’s perspective, Jia Baoyu was really… well.
In any case, Yan Xianzhi absolutely did not want, and would never allow, her cousin to suffer indignities in the Rongguo Residence.
After finishing her studies for the day, Yan Xianzhi went to pay her respects to her parents. The three of them had breakfast together, after which Yan Hong left to attend to official business while Yan Xianzhi stayed behind to chat with Madam Lin.
Madam Lin instructed the maids and older servants around her to organize everything needed for the journey to the capital. Some of the heavier belongings would have to be sent ahead, while the residence in the capital would also need to be prepared in advance.
With nothing else to do, Yan Xianzhi counted the people serving her.
“Mother, what do you think about arranging twelve attendants for Cousin?”
Madam Lin looked surprised. “Twelve isn’t particularly excessive, but are you suggesting we take all of them from our own household? The Old Madam of the Rongguo Residence may not agree.”
“We can simply act first and inform her afterward. No matter how unwilling the Old Madam is, there will be nothing she can do about it.”
Yan Xianzhi smiled faintly. “Mother is Cousin’s own aunt. Surely she wouldn’t think you intend to harm her. If we prepare the servants in advance and bring along everything she needs, wouldn’t that also save the Old Madam some trouble?”
“We are only acting out of concern for Cousin and saving the Rongguo Residence a great deal of trouble. If that Old Madam refuses, then what kind of intentions could she possibly have?”
Madam Lin did not suspect anything and nodded with a smile. “That does make sense. Still, you are being overly cautious. The Old Madam of the Rongguo Residence is Daiyu’s maternal grandmother. How could she harbor any ill intentions?”
Yan Xianzhi merely smiled without answering.
Perhaps Jia Mu genuinely wanted to treat Daiyu well. However, the mountain could never be higher than the sun, and no matter how deep the water was, it could never drown a duck. No matter how precious Daiyu was, she could never compare with Jia Mu’s beloved grandson who had been born holding a jade in his mouth.
Put simply, the kindness in Jia Mu’s eyes was influenced by her position.
She was the Old Madam of the Jia family, and the way she treated Daiyu could never be completely separated from her identity and status.
Besides, the world was not filled only with the fortunate cases of bad bamboo producing good shoots. There were also plenty of cases where each generation was worse than the one before.
Jia Mu might possess some genuine affection for Daiyu, but what about the other members of the Jia family?
Based on Yan Xianzhi’s understanding of the original novel, she had no doubt that once her mother saw the servants sent by the Rongguo Residence, she would no longer object to her suggestion.
When it came to disregarding rules, behaving without respect for elders, and doing everything possible to ruin a situation, the servants of the Rongguo Residence were truly professionals.
Three days later, Daiyu arrived.
After paying her respects to the elders, Madam Lin asked Yan Xianzhi to accompany Daiyu while she personally called the people who had accompanied Daiyu and asked them to stand outside the room.
Before long, the servants had assembled neatly outside the door. A maid pushed the door open, and Madam Lin sat on the couch with one hand resting on the low table. Her gaze fell upon those standing outside as she spoke in a clear voice.
“Who among you came from Yangzhou with the young lady and is accompanying her to the capital? Step forward so I can have a look.”
Nanny Wang and Xueyan stepped forward, causing Madam Lin to frown.
“My elder brother must have been overwhelmed by grief and simply had no mind for such details. He has brought far too few people. Besides, one is old and the other is young. What use can they possibly be?”
“Bring me the roster. Assign the twelve people I selected yesterday to serve Daiyu.”
The people sent by the Rongguo Residence to receive Daiyu were several younger married women and elderly nannies. The woman leading them was Madam Wu You’s Wife. Hearing Madam Lin’s instructions, she hurriedly stepped forward.
“Master Lin did want to bring more people, but we servants persuaded him otherwise.”
“Once we arrive in the capital, our Old Madam will naturally arrange suitable attendants for Miss Lin. There is no need for Madam to trouble herself.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Lin suddenly understood why Yan Xianzhi had insisted on preparing so many people.
The servants of the Rongguo Residence really were far too presumptuous. They were simply unusable.
Madam Lin gave a light snort, though the smile in her eyes had completely disappeared.
“What an impressive steward’s wife. You have even taken it upon yourself to manage matters concerning this Madam!”