Chapter Twelve: The Two Siblings Escort the Coffin Back to Their Hometown

  Yangzhou dock still has a lively and bustling atmosphere, Daiyu returned from the capital to the official dock, now they no longer have the qualifications to take the official boat. A large group of people stopped in front of Yangzhou's private dock.

  The family property has all been moved onto the boat, and the steward is now distributing contracts to the departing servants who are standing beside Lin Zhiyuan, each of whom received twenty taels of silver yesterday.

  Purple Cuckoo and others got down from the horse-drawn carriage behind, hurried to help Daiyu, but saw that the young master had already helped his own daughter out of the sedan chair. The two stood side by side on the dock, in the distance was a very luxurious two-story large ship, much more majestic than the one they took when they came.

  Several people walked up quickly and waited on the girl.

  Daiyu looked at the boat and asked: "Brother, where did you find such a boat? It doesn't seem to be something an ordinary family would use!"

  "It was a private boat of a wealthy merchant family in Suzhou."

  Daiyu couldn't quite believe it: "Sister is a bit ignorant, only knowing that our Jiangnan is rich and prosperous, but didn't think that a wealthy merchant's family could spend a large sum of money to build such a luxurious boat."

  Zhiyuan smiled and said, "The owner of this boat made his fortune by selling silk. His family has countless gold and silver treasures. He likes to invite a few good friends to take a distant tour on the boat. We can be considered as old friends who have forgotten their age. His boat is very large, and it's more comfortable for your sister to sit."

  "Look, that's the young master of the Dongping Hou family, my good friend Shen Xiu Jie. He's a man of great justice, so you can consider him as an older brother and don't need to be polite."

  As Shen Xiu Jie walked closer, he looked at Dai Yu who was wearing a gauze hat and smiled: "So this is Miss Lin? I'm a good brother of Zhi Yuan's. Although I'm older than you by several years, you can just call me big brother."

  Although Daiyu was wearing a hat, outsiders couldn't see her true face. However, as a young lady, she was too shy and didn't dare to look at the man directly. She only said softly: "Thank you very much for your help this time, Shen brother. Daiyu will remember it in her heart."

  Shen Xiu Jie was a straightforward person and didn't take these polite words to heart, leading Lin's siblings and the maidservants onto the boat.

  The servants of the Lin family were not many, and they were all arranged on the lower deck. The masters lived in the front cabin and rear cabin on the top floor. Daiyu and two aunts were settled in the rear cabin, while Zhiyuan and Shen Xiu were accommodated in the front cabin.

  Daiyu saw that the cabin was extremely large and luxurious, and she immediately thought of her brother's words. He and this rich merchant who lent them the boat were actually close friends despite their age difference. Daiyu knew that having a close friend like that wasn't something just anyone could ask for. Her brother was only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet he was able to hold his own in society - probably even better than any of her older cousins from her maternal grandparents' side in the capital. Daiyu couldn't help but think of Baoyu again; although she never encouraged him to study, that didn't mean she looked down on those who wanted to pursue a career in government. Her father had been a high-ranking official in his youth, so surely her brother would be able to bring glory to the Lin family once more?

  Just thinking about the capital, I don't know how my grandmother's body is doing. Has my second elder brother arrived in the capital? Does the old lady know that she stayed in Suzhou?

  And then there was Xueyan, holding a large box and looking around at the furnishings inside the boat, even forgetting to put down the things in her hands. She wished she had a few more eyes to take it all in. In the past few years at the Jia household, Xueyan hadn't seen much of the world, but today, seeing that a merchant's family in Jiangnan could afford such a large boat, she couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

  Purple Cuckoo was just about to open the trunk and take out Daiyu's usual tea set, cups and saucers. Daiyu simply didn't want her to be busy: "I heard brother say that Yangzhou is very close to Suzhou, it's probably less than half a day before we arrive. You're now packing up the trunk, but nothing has happened yet, I'm afraid you'll soon arrive in Suzhou. All of you have been busy for several days and didn't sleep well last night, so just take a break for now and wait until we get home to give all of you a holiday."

  "The young lady is having fun with us again. If we take a rest, who will serve the young lady?" Zijuan refused after all, "Besides, can it be that the young lady won't drink water on this journey? Even the tea cups and saucers on this boat, we don't dare to let the young lady use them. Although it's a bit of trouble, at least I feel at ease in my heart."

  Having said that, Zi Juan still took the key and opened the box. She had always been deeply liked and respected by Dai Yu, and was one year older than Dai Yu, making her the most favored among the maids, even Xue Yan and others had to yield to her, and Dai Yu's keys were all kept on Zi Juan's person.

  Several people were also tired. The little girls had already fallen asleep in the outer warehouse, leaning against the door frame. Even Chunxian and others found a chair to lean on.

  Purple Cuckoo put away the things, enduring the drowsiness to serve Daiyu until she rested on the couch. A few people dozed off, while outside the cabin there were servants waiting and in the distance there were also guards from the Hou Mansion keeping watch, after a while the rear cabin was calm and peaceful.

  It was unknown what time had passed when Daiyu vaguely heard a servant come in to report that they had already arrived at the city of Suzhou, and asked the young lady to pack up her things.

  Zi Juan and others were busy helping the young lady get dressed, but this cabin was spacious, after all, it couldn't compare to a proper house. When the boat docked, it rocked back and forth with the waves, and the little maids were in a bit of disarray. One said you stepped on my embroidered shoes, another said you brushed against my skirt.

  Daiyu looked at the chaotic scene and felt annoyed. Why did her family buy these little maids who were not well-behaved? What were those servant girls' mothers doing? After her mother's death, there was no decent mistress to manage this household properly. No wonder Dizhen wanted to dismiss all the servants in the house. If they were all like this, who would dare to hire them?

  Purple Cuckoo saw Daiyu was not happy, so she knew these little maids had provoked the young lady. She sternly scolded them: "What's going on here? You don't even care about your own dignity! Quickly clean up and get back to work. Whoever dares to be disobedient again will be tied up and taken to see Master."

  These people were mostly bought in the past few years, and they are still young and haven't learned to read the situation. In the past few days, Daiyu returned and was heartbroken, so she didn't bother to assert her authority in front of the younger maids. These foolish things thought that Miss Lin was a kind person, so they became even more unbridled. However, they knew that Young Master Lin was formidable; otherwise, they wouldn't have driven away the new adult this morning.

  A few people look at me, I look at you, and then we all lower our heads and get back to work without a word.

  Before long, Zhiyuan led two matrons to escort Daiyu, and the Lin family followed their master off the boat. Then, Zhiyuan's trusted attendants brought several small sedan chairs and many carriages to welcome them at the ferry terminal.

  Daiyu quietly turned around to look, but didn't see the young master of Dongping Hou anymore. She asked: "Brother, isn't that Shen brother going with us?" After Daiyu finished speaking, she felt that what she had just said was not quite right. What unmarried girl would ask such a question? She secretly scolded herself for being rash. Actually, Daiyu didn't have any ulterior motives, she was simply curious. Daiyu thought that since the young master of Dongping Hou had helped their family so much, at least they should invite him to return to Linfu together and share a cup of water wine, allowing her and her brother to express their gratitude.

  Fortunately, Zhiyuan didn't mind and said: "Oh, I forgot to tell my sister that as soon as the boat stopped, we saw people from the East Ping Hou's house come to pick up Xiu Jie. They said there was something at home and they left before us."

  "After all, we should thank them." Daiyu's voice was low and seemed to be muttering to herself.

  "When we are settled, brother will invite Xiu Jie to our home for a small gathering. Xiu Jie's family has several outstanding sisters, and at that time, sister can often go with them as companions. Princess is also an extremely kind and good person."

  Let's not mention this side for now, the Lin siblings got into their sedan chairs and mounted their horses to return to the Lin estate. As for that side, in Yangzhou's territory, Master Xue of the Jia estate still hadn't left. At this time, he was hiding out at Yangzhou's most prosperous and famous Spring Fragrance Pavilion, drinking wine, admiring beauties, and listening to music.

  They say the Yangzhou thin horse is famous for no reason, and it's really true.

  Jia Rui's arms were wrapped around a woman named Ruan Niang, who was 21 years old and had been in the pleasure quarters for seven or eight years. She was originally also a famous courtesan at Chunxiang Pavilion, only slightly less beautiful than Hua Xiren, but she had also been a treasured darling of her mother's, a beautiful money tree.

  Now that she's older, there are younger and more beautiful women to replace her, so Mother doesn't pay much attention to her anymore. Just a few days ago, Jia Lian saw this Ruan Mama in Chunxiang Pavilion and fell for her at first sight, and has been staying here for several nights.

  Why did Jia Lian favor her over those more tender ones? It turned out that Jia Lian had always been afraid of the old tigeress Wang Xifeng at home, who was a ruthless character. In contrast, this Ruan Niang was soft and boneless, weak and unable to withstand the wind, and even when she spoke, it was in a coquettish tone that made people's hearts ache. Moreover, as an old hand in the pleasure quarters, she naturally knew how to capture men's hearts, so Jia Lian had no reason not to fall for her.

  Jia Lian had originally intended to enjoy the spectacle, so he stayed at Chunxiang Pavilion, where every day was a joyful occasion. Just then, however, Zhao'er came in to report that she had seen the young master and mistress of the Lin family board their boat, and that Huang Daren's entire family had entered the Imperial Censor's residence!

  Jia Lian flew into a rage: "You useless good-for-nothing, I told you to keep an eye on the Lin family, what have you been doing? By now, they're probably already in Suzhou!"

  Jia Lian kicked Zhao'er in the chest, and the little servant fell to the ground with a thud.

  Zhaoyi was anxious in her heart, she had seen Er Ye having a great time at Chunxiang Pavilion for the past few days, so she secretly used the money she had saved to spend there too. She found a third-rate looking maid who wasn't very pretty, but still felt delighted.

  Jia Rui had no idea about Zhao Er's evil deeds and thought that this little fellow was honestly guarding the Lin family gate.

  Zhaoyu spent a little money and bribed some of the lower-ranking servants in the Jia mansion, asking them to report back as soon as they had any news. However, the news came later than expected, and she was still lounging around in her room when the servant arrived, but he didn't dare to report directly to Jia Yu, so it ended up like this.

  Ruan Niang looked at Jia Xian's angry appearance and hurriedly came forward to comfort him. Ruan Niang was getting older and had always wanted to find a suitable person to marry, but in the Jiangnan pleasure quarters, those who were willing to redeem her were mostly old men, and even if they bought her back, it was unknown which concubine she would become. Which young and talented youth would be willing to redeem her as a concubine?

  Nowadays, this Master Jia from the capital is a talented and handsome young man with a lot of money, and he's also at the peak of his life. Mother also told me that if I can capture Master Jia's heart, when we follow him to the capital, won't we have endless wealth and glory?

  Ruan Niang smiled and leaned into Jia Lian's arms: "Second Master, don't be angry. You scared me."

  Jia Rui saw the delicate body in his arms and softened, "My beauty, don't be afraid, I'm not scolding you. You just don't know that my relatives from the Lin family are really hateful, and they didn't even inform me before leaving."

  Ruan Niang's eyes rolled, and she said: "These days, who in Yangzhou doesn't know that the Imperial Censor's household has a young master? In my opinion, Second Master should still give Lin family's young master some face."

  "Isn't Lin Zhiyuan also a guest of yours?" Jia Lian said with some jealousy.

  Ran's wife pretended to be extremely wronged, "What are you saying, Second Master? I'm doing all this for your own good, and yet you're making fun of me. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have bothered with your affairs at all!" After speaking, she turned her back on Jia Lian and refused to look at him.

  Jia Lian was also a mean fellow, and seeing the look on Ruan's face, he repeatedly made bows and apologized.

  As soon as Ruan Niang saw that the timing was right, she said: "You're new to Jiangnan, how would you know about Lin's young master's great reputation? I think that new official also got himself into trouble. I once saw Lin's young master from afar, when the top courtesans of Suzhou, Yangzhou, and Hangzhou were competing, Lin's young master went to watch too. I heard those sisters say that not a single scholar in Jiangnan didn't praise Lin's young master's learning, if it weren't for his mother's mourning, he would have definitely taken the top three places in the imperial examination. The big shots and wealthy landowners in Suzhou city are all trying to curry favor with Lin's young master, precisely because this year he is a hot candidate for the new jinshi title. You say, what's the point of offending someone like that? It's better to sell out! Who knows, maybe one day you'll need his help!"

  Ruan's words moved Jia Xian's heart, and thinking of the son of the Marquis of Dongping being willing to run errands for him, he couldn't help but think that Lin Zhiyuan was indeed a great help to their Jia family.

  PS: Presenting a new chapter~~ Seeking recommendation votes~~ (@^_^@) ~Seeking collection, seeking comments~~