“Do not let them leave. Miss Lin is still in the sedan chair…”
At the beginning of April, the Yan family’s pleasure boat arrived in the capital.
The morning light was still faint, and a trace of chill lingered in the air. Yet the dock was already bustling with activity. There were peddlers carrying shoulder poles and calling out their wares, as well as commoners and servants waiting to receive people.
Wu You spent more than ten coins to buy ten Ya pears and distributed them among the servants who had come with him to receive their people.
After everyone had taken one, he still had a pear left. He could not eat another, and carrying it around was inconvenient, so he looked around for someone to give it to. He spotted a well dressed man standing nearby with several servants, apparently waiting for someone, and walked over.
“Brother, are you here to receive someone too? These are good Ya pears. Have one!”
The man waiting there was none other than the Yan family’s steward, Yan Ming. He did not stand during the ceremony.
“Thank you, brother. You are here to receive someone as well?”
Wu You took a bite of the pear, unable to hide his pride.
“Yes. I am a servant of the Rongguo Household. Our Old Madam’s granddaughter is coming to the capital, and my wife was sent to receive her. We heard they should arrive today, so I specifically asked for this assignment.”
Yan Ming had been sent to the capital as soon as Yan Hong received news of his new appointment. He knew nothing about the quarrel between Wu You’s wife and Madam Lin. Hearing this, he smiled.
“Then congratulations to you and your wife on being reunited.”
Wu You gave a silly laugh. Half of his pride came from the distinguished status of his master, while the other half came from being reunited with his wife after a long separation. There was even a hint of self satisfaction in his expression.
“You look unfamiliar to me, brother, and I can hear a bit of a southern accent in your speech. May I ask what your status is? When will your master come to the capital?”
Yan Ming smiled faintly.
“You guessed correctly. My master has lived in Songjiang for generations.
He previously served as Prefect of Songjiang, but he has now been transferred to serve as Governor General of Liangguang, while also holding the position of Left Censor in Chief, a first rank office. He could not bear to make Madam and Miss suffer by following him there, so he ordered me to return to the capital, put the Imperial Estate in order, and receive Madam and Miss so they could live here.”
Wu You drew in a sharp breath. The pride he had displayed earlier disappeared completely.
It was true that he was a servant of a Duke’s Household, but the other man was also the servant of a first rank official. In terms of status, he really was not much higher than the other man.
“So brother’s status is extraordinary as well. I was disrespectful earlier. Please forgive me.”
“From what you said, Madam and Miss from your household are returning to the capital. Are they actually going to live on an Imperial Estate?”
Yan Ming smiled.
“Of course. My master’s maternal grandfather was a Grand Secretary during the reign of the Retired Emperor. When the old gentleman retired from office, the Retired Emperor personally bestowed an Imperial Estate upon him so that he could enjoy his later years there. Now that Madam and Miss are returning to the capital, my master specifically reported the matter to His Majesty, who arranged for them to live on the Imperial Estate.”
Wu You immediately regarded Yan Ming with newfound respect, and even his gaze toward him changed.
He often accompanied Jia Zheng outside the household and therefore knew a little about official affairs. Although the Rongguo Household was the residence of a Duke, the First Master had only his hereditary title, while the Second Master held merely a fifth rank office. The Jia family possessed nobility but little power.
Their in-laws, the Wang family, were different. They possessed power but no hereditary title.
Power and nobility were inseparable. Once one possessed power, why would anyone still dare look down upon them?
That was precisely why, despite the Jia family having two Dukes in one household, it was the Wang family that now held the greatest influence among the four great families.
And this Master Yan was a powerful and influential figure like Master Wang.
If anything, Wu You was the one who should lower his head.
Wu You immediately bowed to Yan Ming, his smile becoming even brighter.
“If my brother intends to remain in the capital for a long time, perhaps our households will have occasion to interact in the future. When that time comes, I hope my brother will look after me a little.”
Yan Ming exchanged a few polite words with him. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an extremely magnificent pleasure boat approaching along the river.
He immediately became alert.
“Everyone, stay sharp. Our Madam’s boat has arrived!”
Upon hearing this, the Yan family’s servants immediately gathered around.
Wu You was startled. He had originally assumed that Yan Ming had brought only a few people with him. Only after everyone gathered did he realize that there were nearly a hundred servants!
Yan Ming smiled.
“Our Madam and Miss naturally require an impressive retinue. There are more than twenty or thirty maidservants attending them alone. Including the maidservants belonging to our Young Miss’s cousin, there are nearly fifty!”
“And that does not even include the cooks, gardeners, and others. There is also an enormous amount of luggage. That is why we hired such a large boat. I could hardly come without bringing enough people.”
Wu You became even more respectful and repeatedly cupped his hands.
“I do not know when our Young Miss will arrive. If my brother does not have enough people, we can help as well!”
Yan Ming smiled.
He had come to receive them. How could he possibly fail to bring enough people? However, since Wu You had offered his assistance, there was no need to reject his goodwill.
“Then thank you, brother. We will see what is needed later.”
As they spoke, the Yan family’s boat had already reached the shore.
Madam Lin, Yan Xianzhi, and Daiyu disembarked.
Yan Ming had already arranged three sedan chairs for them.
The three women had just entered the sedan chairs when Yan Ming was about to order them to depart.
Suddenly, Wu You’s wife came running over with an old matron, panting heavily.
“Do not let them leave! Miss Lin is still inside the sedan chair!”
Wu You had been standing with the other servants, deliberately turning his back to give the ladies privacy. Hearing his wife’s voice, he was startled.
“Miss Lin? Where is Miss Lin?”
Wu You’s wife was furious at her husband’s foolishness. She grabbed Wu You and pointed toward the sedan chair where Daiyu was sitting.
“Are you blind? The young lady just got into that sedan chair, and they are about to leave. If you do not stop them now, what will you tell Old Madam when you return?”
Wu You was startled and immediately snapped.
“What nonsense are you talking about? These are the family members of the Governor General of Liangguang. How could our Miss Lin possibly be among them?”
Wu You’s wife shouted angrily.
“You fool! You do not even know who they are, yet you stand here spouting nonsense. These are clearly the family members of the Prefect of Songjiang. The Prefect’s wife is Miss Lin’s paternal aunt. She had the audacity to look down upon our Duke’s Household and drove us out of the residence. She brought Miss Lin into the capital herself!”
Only then did Wu You connect everything together.
For a moment, he was so furious that he felt his lungs might burst. He kicked his wife.
“You wretched fool!”
Seeing Yan Ming looking over suspiciously, Wu You did not dare say anything more. He hurried forward and apologized.
“Brother, my wife is narrow minded and ignorant. She probably said something foolish and offended your Madam. I ask you to please help me smooth things over. I am begging you.”
With that, regardless of whether Yan Ming understood what was happening, Wu You threw himself onto the ground and knocked his head against it three times. Then he looked miserable as he continued apologizing.
“Brother, I should let you know that the Miss Lin I came to receive today is your household’s Young Miss’s cousin. Now that you have received her, I am afraid I will have no way to explain this when I return. What do you think we should do?”
Yan Ming did not dislike Wu You.
However, hearing that the man’s wife had somehow offended his own Madam, he gave him a meaningful smile.
“Your wife certainly has quite an impressive temper.”
He continued.
“Madam has not instructed us to send our Young Miss to your household. I presume she intends to arrange for Young Miss to live on the Imperial Estate. You should simply report the facts when you return. If your household wishes to receive her, send a formal invitation to my Madam first and discuss it with her.”
“Forgive me for speaking frankly. You brought only these few people. You would not have enough hands even to carry away all the maidservants serving our Young Miss, let alone take her home.”
“Looking at the situation, even if Young Miss returned with you, she would probably suffer grievances in the future. It would be better for her to live with my Madam.”
After saying this, Yan Ming cupped his hands toward Wu You and left directly.
Wu You’s wife still did not understand what had happened and continued cursing her husband.
“You useless fool! You just watched them take Miss Lin away. How are we supposed to explain this to Old Madam when we return?”
Wu You was furious enough to explode. He glared at his wife and cursed back.
“You blind fool! Open those two holes beneath your eyebrows and look properly! Look at the kind of people they are dealing with. You are nothing but a servant, yet you act as though you are a master of the Duke’s Household, throwing your weight around outside!”
“Let me tell you, the Prefect of Songjiang has been promoted to Governor General of Liangguang, and he also holds the position of Left Censor in Chief. You relied on Old Madam’s influence and offended a first rank titled lady!”
“I cannot control you anymore. Go back and tell Old Madam yourself. Let us see whether Old Madam is willing to offend a first rank lady for a fool who has brought disaster upon herself!”
Only then did Wu You’s wife realize that she had caused a serious disaster. She trembled with fear.
“What are we going to do? We absolutely cannot let Old Madam find out!”
Wu You cursed.
“Now you know how to be afraid? If you had humbled yourself earlier, would any of this have happened? Miss Lin has already gone with them. If you do not tell Old Madam, where am I supposed to conjure up another Miss Lin?”
When Wu You returned to the Rongguo Household, he still reported everything to Jia Mu.
When she heard that the granddaughter she had been eagerly awaiting had been taken away by someone else, Jia Mu was stunned.
The two Madam Wangs and Madam Xing, who had been waiting nearby to meet the girl, were equally dumbfounded.
Everyone in the room looked at one another in silence.
After a long while, Jia Mu finally recovered her senses. She was so furious that she could barely speak.
“Someone come here! Give Wu You’s wife thirty strokes of the cane and drive her out of the household!”
Then she added angrily.
“What a fool! Even if he had not been promoted to Governor General of Liangguang, he would still be a fourth rank Prefect. A mere servant actually dared to put on such an arrogant attitude in front of him!”
Madam Wang sat to the side, her feelings indescribable.
She had originally thought Jia Min was a woman of poor fortune, and that her daughter probably would not amount to much either. Even if Daiyu were brought back to the Jia family, she would merely be one of the three Spring sisters and could never compare with Baochai, who was about to enter the capital.
Who could have expected that Daiyu would suddenly have a paternal aunt who was the wife of the Governor General of Liangguang?
A sense of crisis rose within Madam Wang.
Whether it was the Governor General of Liangguang or the Left Censor in Chief, there was absolutely no way she would allow the Lin family’s girl to marry her precious son.
Not Daiyu, nor even the daughter of the Governor General. Neither of them was worthy of Baoyu, who was born extraordinary.
Madam Wang had long since decided that Baochai would be her daughter in law.
Her niece was beautiful, well read, sensible, and closely related to her by blood. They were bound to stand on the same side, which made her far better than an outsider.
When Jia Lian’s wife was chosen, she had similarly taken a liking to Wang Xifeng precisely because they both came from the Wang family. She had believed Wang Xifeng would surely obey her arrangements.
Who could have known that Wang Xifeng would favor neither Madam Xing nor herself? Instead, she devoted herself entirely to clinging to Old Madam, causing all Madam Wang’s plans to come to nothing.
Madam Wang had gradually lost faith in the Wang family and turned her attention to the Xue family.
In terms of power and influence, the Wang family was ten times stronger than the Xue family. But since the women of the Wang family could not be controlled, she had no choice but to seek an alliance with the Xue family.
Madam Xue was her own sister, and they had been close since childhood. Naturally, Xue Baochai would be close to her as well.
Madam Wang did not believe that, with Baochai’s beauty and talent, she could fail to win Jia Mu’s favor.
At that point, she could use Baochai to divide Wang Xifeng’s authority, thereby bringing Wang Xifeng under her control and indirectly taking control of the household affairs of both branches of the Rongguo Household.
Madam Wang had been plotting this for several years.
She had never expected that, at this critical moment, Jia Min’s daughter and Lin Ruhai’s niece would disrupt her plans.
Now that Daiyu had another place to live, Madam Wang naturally had no desire whatsoever for her to come to the Rongguo Household.
She therefore comforted Jia Mu.
“Old Madam, since Madam Lin is Miss Lin’s own paternal aunt, I am sure she will not mistreat her. Miss Lin will be living on an Imperial Estate, so her food and accommodation will certainly be excellent. Old Madam can rest assured and need not worry so much.”
“Besides, my younger sister, nephew, and niece will also be coming to the capital. If our household has to receive Miss Lin as well as the Xue family, it will truly become rather cramped.”
“Things have already come to this. Why not simply let matters take their natural course and allow everyone to be happy?”