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

Page 46

"I was just thinking that I could go and live in the big garden with Lin Daiyu. I can't imagine how happy I would be."

"Back then, Fangyuan was already extremely beautiful, and now Grand View Garden is ten times more beautiful. Baoyu also praised it highly. Sister, have you taken a quick look around today? I wonder if that's true?"

Daiyu looked back and saw that there was no one around. Zijuan and Xiangling had already slowed down and were keeping watch in the distance, so she did not pull her hand away. She let Gu Yu's hand, which was a size larger than hers, wrap around her left hand, and the two walked side by side under the moon.

"I find the scenery everywhere to be exquisitely crafted, comparable to the Imperial Garden. I wonder how much money was spent on it..."

After a casual remark, Daiyu enthusiastically began to introduce the garden to Gu Yu, who had not yet visited it.

Yihong Courtyard, Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Hengwu Garden... dozens of scenic spots, each with its own unique charm.

"If you ask me, I would say that Xiaoxiang Pavilion and Pear Blossom Spring Rain are the two places that suit my taste the most. One is full of flowers, much like the small garden at home in Yangzhou, while the other is bamboo shadows and gentle breeze, which are uniquely elegant and naturally a place of purity and nobility."

"..."

Holding Daiyu's slightly cold hand, Gu Yu finally made up his mind, turned his head and smiled, inviting Daiyu to stroll in the garden together the next day.

Once inside the courtyard, Gu Yu wanted to visit another household, but was met with a shy girl's fist, leaving him with no choice but to sigh and lie awake in bed.

After all, we just messed with Xiangling and the others yesterday, so it's really not a good idea to continue today.

Chapter Twenty: Actually, I Was in the Atmosphere

The next morning, after the two had met with Grandmother Jia, they were about to go for a stroll in the garden. Just then, the three sisters also came to pay their respects, so they decided to invite Baochai along as well.

Baoyu was invited to watch a play by the Ningguo Mansion early in the morning, unaware that Gu Yu was taking on the important task of protecting the ladies as they toured the Grand View Garden. Otherwise, he would have been incredibly envious.

That day, Jia Zheng and his entourage spent most of the day exploring the Grand View Garden but still couldn't see it all. Although the group of scholars and gentlemen were taking their time to look around and compose poems, the young girls weren't very stamina-wise. Therefore, after discussing it, they decided that it was more important to see the western part of the garden where they would be staying first.

The east side was mostly filled with Buddhist temples, Taoist monasteries, and thatched cottages. The only one, Yihong Courtyard, was tacitly reserved for Baoyu. The group only glanced at the exterior of Yihong Courtyard when they entered the garden before strolling westward.

After passing Qinfang Pavilion, the group started from Xiaoxiang Pavilion and walked down Zilingzhou and Qiushuangzhai, chatting and laughing about which room they wanted to stay in.

When the sisters were making their choices, they would subconsciously ask Gu Yu for his opinion. When he didn't object, they would happily assert their ownership.

Yingchun and Xichun did not choose Zhuijinlou and Liaofengxuan first, but instead, on Gu Yu's suggestion, they decided on Zilingzhou and Ouxiangxie in the next step.

After exploring half of the place, Daiyu and the three sisters had already come up with a plan for where to stay. Only Gu Yu and Baochai hadn't chosen yet. Seeing that Daoxiang Village in front of them had a unique charm, Xichun smiled and suggested that Gu Yu stay there.

After all, this place was close to all four of them, so Daiyu and the others remained silent, quietly waiting for Gu Yu's response.

Gu Yu simply shook her head without giving a reason, and Baochai didn't choose this spot either, so everyone had to continue choosing from the rest.

As Daiyu watched herself being the first to choose Xiaoxiang Pavilion, she realized that she was getting further and further away from Gu Yu, and she couldn't help but feel resentful.

This idiot! I told him yesterday that we would choose a courtyard together, wasn't the hint obvious enough? But today he's going further and further away from that, which makes the girl feel wronged.

Thinking this, Daiyu's face showed a hint of emotion, and she spoke much less. Unfortunately, Gu Yu was busy whispering with Xichun and did not notice.

After passing Huaxu, which is surrounded by water on three sides, they arrived at Hengwu Garden, which is elegant inside and out. The cold and tasteless place, full of exotic plants, immediately caught Baochai's eye, so she chose this place.

Seeing that all the large courtyards had been chosen, but Gu Yu still hadn't made a decision, Daiyu finally couldn't help but slow down, secretly glare at him, and then returned to her group of sisters, ignoring him.

Huaxu and Hengwu Garden were separated by a series of artificial rock paths. The winding paths allowed everyone to walk in different directions, and Gu Yu took the opportunity to pull Daiyu along behind them.

Daiyu, seeing her sisters in front of her, dared not utter a sound. She could only playfully nudge him twice, then whispered:

"You've been wandering around for most of the day, and you still haven't settled down. Do you intend to stay at the Jade Emperor Temple in the east?"

Gu Yu gently squeezed Daiyu's slender, jade-like hands a couple of times, couldn't help but play with them for a while before smiling and saying:

"What are you saying, sister? If one day you want to move to that nunnery, I'll go live at the Jade Emperor Temple to keep you company, how about that?"

"Pooh!"

Daiyu wanted to teach this bad man a lesson, but since she was about to leave, she could only glare at him before gently withdrawing her hand and walking quickly forward.

I thought we would have to go to Tubi Villa, but I didn't expect that Gu Yu would choose Pear Blossom Spring Rain as soon as she left Huaxu.

Although the courtyard of Pear Blossom Spring Rain is not small, it is located in a remote area, making it inconvenient to come and go. In addition, the courtyard is surrounded by water on two sides, with a newly built rockery on top. The courtyard only has a few gardens and is really not very special.

Gu Yu, however, didn't care at all. Moreover, his focus was completely different from theirs. Looking at how the courtyard cleverly used flower bushes and fences to not only form a natural barrier but also to create a sense of displacement by using spatial perspective, he couldn't help but admire Shan Ziye.

"Great simplicity can be profound elegance. Although this place lacks rare and precious flowers and plants, and is not as large as other gardens, one can still develop a certain charm after living here for a while. Moreover..."

Gu Yu pulled Xi Chun a few steps inside, and suddenly sat down. The women, who were only a few steps away, could no longer see them.

With a soft exclamation, Daiyu couldn't help but follow and take a look. She saw Xichun sitting close to Gu Yu on a bench. Although there weren't many flowers at this time of year, Daiyu could already imagine the romantic scene of the two of them immersed in a sea of ​​flowers when they were in full bloom.

The women realized what was happening, and four and a half of them blushed, unable to say anything more.

After walking for most of the day, the women had finally achieved their goal and were suddenly exhausted. Their legs and feet felt weak, and they wanted to go back to rest.

The Jia family is still preparing for the arrival of the Imperial Concubine Yuan. The west side of the garden is still deserted. Gu Yu can't carry everything back one by one, so she can only tempt them with the fresh items in her own courtyard.

"What 'three-no-stick' (a slang term for three types of food that don't stick to the surface), orange jelly..." Gu Yu's effusive praise piqued Xi Chun and the others' interest, making them eager to try it.

Although Daiyu and Baochai saw through Gu Yu's trick of quenching thirst with the sight of plums, they still felt a bit lighter when they saw Xichun and the others' bright smiles, and they all laughed and joked about going to taste them.

Baoyu sat in Ningguo Mansion for a while, but found the play too noisy, so he wanted to go out for a bit. Unexpectedly, he bumped into Mingyan controlling a maid.

After the girl ran away, Baoyu couldn't help but think of the scene he had encountered with Qin Zhong and Zhi Neng a few days ago, and then he thought of himself and Xi Ren, and his heart became restless.

Just then, Mingyan noticed that he was bored and encouraged him to go out of the city. Baoyu then decided to go see Xiren, who was home for New Year's tea today.

When he returned to the mansion after receiving Xiren in the evening, Xiren took the opportunity to persuade Baoyu about her own impending departure. Her kind and considerate words made him feel both pity and joy, and he couldn't help but ask Xiren for pleasure again.

His place wasn't as convenient as Gu Yu's, nor did he have the time or energy to help clean up his body. After he finished, he fell asleep. On the contrary, Xi Ren, after helping him tidy up, also fell into a daze and developed a fever early the next morning.

After reporting to Grandmother Jia, Baoyu, being quite responsible, went to fetch doctors and medicine for Xiren, busying himself with these matters and not having a chance to go out for a stroll.

Daiyu walked all day yesterday, and when she woke up the next day, her legs and feet felt sore and weak that she was too lazy to go out. She just lay on the bed and rested.

In her hazy state, she vaguely heard Zijuan's voice. Before she could react, the bed suddenly sank, and a delicate fragrance wafted into her nostrils, making Daiyu more alert.

Without even opening her eyes, Daiyu knew who had come. She snuggled her beautiful face into Gu Yu's arms, still lazily nestled in his embrace.

Gu Yu has a constitution that keeps him warm in winter and cool in summer, and he also has a delicate fragrance that always makes people want to curl up in his arms like a cat, becoming completely captivated by him.

Gu Yu pinched Daiyu's cheek, and even without applying force, a very faint red mark was left on her fair face. Gu Yu was afraid that she had overslept, so she tried to coax her to get up, but Daiyu still refused to get up.

"No, I walked for most of the day yesterday and I'm too tired to move today. Let me lie down a bit more."

"In that case, let me massage you and loosen up your meridians."

Gu Yu got up and pulled Daiyu's legs over. Before Daiyu could open her eyes and speak, she took off Daiyu's socks, revealing her fair, delicate, and slender feet.

Chapter Twenty-One: Shi Xiangyun Arrives

Even in modern times, when women are more physically active and wear tight clothing such as stockings and high heels, there are still a large number of people who are crazy about women's feet.

In ancient times, when the feet were more private and people rarely walked, it's hard to imagine anyone resisting the temptation of a young lady's meticulously cared-for feet that were "slender, small, pointed, curved, fragrant, soft, and perfectly shaped."

Gu Yu comforted herself in this way, holding Daiyu's small and exquisite jade feet in her hands, half touching and half pinching them, causing Daiyu's face to flush and making her unable to help but let out a soft moan.

Sometimes she wondered if Gu Yu had been planning this for years, which was why she was so attentive to her sisters. But Gu Yu quickly dispelled her thoughts with his complete infatuation with her.

Daiyu and the others would soak their feet every day to clean themselves, and every other day they would use milk soup. They had a whole bunch of prescriptions on them, and they had used countless ones. Gu Yu leaned close and took a light sniff. A faint sweet fragrance rushed into his mind, making him unable to resist taking a whiff.

Daiyu's ten jade hairpins couldn't withstand the stimulation and curled up together, making it easy for Gu Yu to devour them.

Such intense stimulation had long since driven away Daiyu's sleepiness. Seeing her private feet being played with by Gu Yu in this way, even though it wasn't the first time, Daiyu was almost ashamed to the point of fainting.

"No—humph~ Brother Yu, no~ It's still daytime... Zijuan is right outside..."

Gu Yu looked up and smiled upon hearing this:

"Does my sister mean she'll wait until tonight...?"

Daiyu took a few light breaths, her beautiful eyes glazed over. She hurriedly tried to pull her small feet away, but Gu Yu grabbed them again, and she had no choice but to beg for mercy.

"If you... if you keep doing this, I'm not going to talk to you anymore—"

The rest of her words turned into sobs, a continuous whimpering. Only when a shout finally came from inside did Zijuan carry the basin of water in.

"I wish to make shoes from silk, and to get along with others from plain clothes."

Taking advantage of Zijuan's lack of knowledge of classical allusions, Gu Yu recited a line of Tao Yuanming's poem in front of her. If she hadn't been so exhausted, Daiyu would have loved to immediately sew up that annoying mouth that everyone both loved and hated!

After fussing and washing up, Daiyu followed Gu Yu to the study. The weather was still not warm enough, so waking her up was just to let her sit somewhere else for a while.

After reading a collection of annotations together and verifying their findings, the two put it aside. With nothing else to do, Gu Yu took out the income statement that had been delivered the day before to check how the company's profits were this year.

Although this was the Gu family's property, Daiyu had no intention of avoiding suspicion and felt perfectly at ease staying close to Gu Yu to inspect it together.

This list was a separate summary of the income from the estates on the land, distinct from shops like Yingkexuan Perfume Shop. Seeing that even the deer and roe deer being escorted to the capital numbered in the hundreds or thousands, and the pheasants and fresh fish were countless, along with the numerous items like bear paws, sea cucumbers, pine nuts, peaches, and apricots, was enough to make one dizzy, Daiyu couldn't help but secretly marvel.

"How can we possibly eat all these live creatures?"

"What's the harm? We can leave enough supplies, and sell the rest at the Welcoming Guests Pavilion. We can also distribute more outside the city to help the starving. As for fresh seasonal fruits and animals every month, whatever you want to eat, sister, we have it all!"

Seeing his deliberately arrogant demeanor, Daiyu smiled and deliberately provoked him, saying:

"Brother Yu, Brother Yu is so kind! I don't have much of an appetite today, I wonder if you could make me some dragon liver and phoenix marrow so I can try it?"

"..."

Having finally managed to put on an act in front of Lin Daiyu, Gu Yu was exposed and, in a fit of embarrassment and anger, decided to implement a physical silencing measure.

"Hmm—~"

If Daiyu hadn't trusted the privacy of Gu Yu's room, she would have dragged him away at least twice. Now, however, she could only helplessly let Gu Yu hold her in his arms and take what he wanted.

After a long kiss, Gu Yu kissed her forehead and chuckled softly:

"I can't produce the heart and liver of the dragon and phoenix in the heavens, so I'll just show you mine."

Daiyu gave a soft snort, trying her best to look disgusted, but she couldn't help but feel a sweetness in her eyes, and buried herself in Gu Yu's arms and wouldn't come out.

The two embraced quietly for a while, enjoying the silent atmosphere, when suddenly they heard Zijuan calling from outside:

"Young lady, Miss Shi is here. The old lady wants you to come over."

Daiyu frowned at first, but when she heard that it was Shi Xiangyun, she relaxed and introduced her to Gu Yu.

"This is my maternal grandmother's grandniece, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Baoling's family, Miss Shi. She always loves to bicker with me. Since you've been away from home all these years, she's been staying here for quite a while."

Gu Yu's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected the cheerful and carefree Shi Xiangyun to come. However, seeing that Daiyu, despite saying she disliked her, didn't show any emotion on her face, she couldn't help but smile and ask:

"Since she often comes over to argue and quarrel with you, why do you still secretly enjoy her coming over?"

Seeing that he was subtly mocking her for being petty, Daiyu wrinkled her nose and, without any instruction, directly pinched the soft flesh of Gu Yu's waist.

Although Gu Yu tried to persuade Daiyu to break her hand but couldn't, how could he bear to do that? He could only pretend to let Lin Daiyu pinch him a few times to beg for mercy.

Whether it was because Gu Yu had high defense or something else, it felt like a kitten was just kneading its paws twice, which almost made Gu Yu lose his pretense.

"It was just the two sisters exchanging a few words, how could it lead to them not wanting to see each other? Besides, I know her feelings to some extent; she's just a pitiful person..."

Gu Yu naturally knew about Shi Xiangyun's background, but...

He then forcefully kissed Daiyu's temple, staring into her eyes, and said, word by word:

"Little sister, you really shouldn't have used the word 'also'. I'll take care of everything. You deserve to be happy for the rest of your life."

"..."

Seeing the bright tenderness in Gu Yu's beautiful eyes, Daiyu's heart trembled. She couldn't resist his handsome charm and jumped out of his arms with a blush on her face.

"The old lady must be getting impatient, so let's go quickly."

Gu Yu didn't try to stop her. Seeing that it was a bit windy today, he helped her tighten her collar, gave Zijuan some instructions, and then watched them leave.

As for Shi Xiangyun, although he also wanted to see her, without Grandmother Jia's permission, it would be disrespectful for the Shi family for an outsider to go there rashly, so he could only regretfully give up.

Baoyu was in high spirits today, and after a busy morning, he was full of energy. Hearing that Xiangyun had come, he was overjoyed. With a smile on his face, he went to Grandmother Jia's room.

"Sister Shi is here? You've been gone for over a year! We've all missed you so much!"

"Brother Ai! I missed you guys so much at home, so I flew over as soon as I had some free time."

Xiangyun was chatting and laughing with the three sisters when she saw Baoyu come in. Her face lit up with joy, and she quickly greeted him.

Daiyu, standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh:

"You always talk with a lisp, you can't even say 'Second Brother,' you just keep saying 'Ai Brother, ai Brother.' When we play Go tomorrow, it'll be your turn to make a fuss about 'one, ai, three, four, five' again."

Baoyu laughed and said, "If you get used to him, you'll bite him too tomorrow."

Shi Xiangyun pouted, unable to bear Daiyu's smugness, and retorted:

"You yourself are better than everyone else, so there's no need for you to make fun of everyone you meet and pick on them. If you dare to point out someone, I'll respect you."

Daiyu was startled and quickly asked who it was. Xiangyun replied: