Parents and children

  It's the late spring season again. Zeng said: The spring breeze on Yangzhou Road is ten miles long, but it can't compare to the beauty of the rolled-up pearl curtains. The spring scenery in Yangzhou always permeates with a subtle and wonderful atmosphere.

  But no matter how good the spring scenery is, it has nothing to do with Lin's mansion. It's not that Chunniang leaked this Lin's mansion, but even if the most beautiful and delicate things are placed in front of you, without that thought, they're just like withered trees and weeds.

  In a few more days, it will be Jia Min's anniversary, and the house is bustling again. Even Lin Jing was caught up in this, and for several days he hadn't gone to listen to Mr. Zhong's lectures. In fact, among these things, Lin Jing was just a decoration like an ear of a deaf person, his heart had long been annoyed, but he still had to pretend to be a wall carving.

  It was easy to disperse early this day, and Lin Jing hurried to Mr. Zhong's place. These days have delayed a lot of homework, Lin Ruhai didn't mind, but Lin Jing was very anxious. She knew her own affairs, and the time left for her was not ample. So, she couldn't help but neglect her usual protection of her eyesight, lighting the lamp until three every night. And on the second day, she had to get up at five.

  After all the hustle and bustle these days, his dark circles have deepened, looking quite haggard. The former vice president looked at him, shook his head, while others were teaching their disciples to work hard, he had to remind his disciple to take care of himself. Lin Jing repeatedly said yes, but Mr. Zhong knew that Lin Jing would still be the same, and could only sigh again.

  Lin Jing knew that his master loved him, so he quickly spoke to Mr. Zhong in a humorous tone, and when he saw the time was not early, he bid farewell.

  He had just returned to his room and hadn't even had time to drink a mouthful of tea when he heard Mrs. Feng's voice.

  Feng Po-po didn't just come back from somewhere, following Lin Jing closely. She rushed to Lin Jing and said: "Hey, Master, are you willing to come back? You just sat there and listened to the meeting for a while, and you're already tired of it? You didn't even have time to slip away and clear your mind?"

  This is unacceptable, it's your stepmother's anniversary, how can you say something that implies you're bothered?

  Lin Jing hastily said: "Nanny misunderstood, actually today I finished early and went to my teacher's place to check on my homework. Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to let you know, but it ended up worrying you instead."

  Feng's wife was about to say something when she heard a little maid outside saying, "Master, the steward of Rongguo House has arrived and requests an audience with you."

  Rongguo House? When did you arrive? What brings you here again?

  Lin Jing looked at Feng Po in confusion. Who would have thought that this old woman would curl up the corner of her mouth, mutter to herself, "Hmph, it's really enough." As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Lin Jing, sizing him up from head to toe several times, letting out a cold hum of laughter, but without any intention of enlightening Lin Jing.

  Lin Jing and others didn't wait for an explanation, nor could they just idle away like this. This was Jia Min's maternal home, and she couldn't be slow now. She hurriedly raised her voice and said, "Please come in." Before the words had fallen, she heard Feng Baozhu's cold laughter again.

  As soon as the words fell, several men and women came in, saw Lin Jing, and bowed their heads. Lin Jing hurriedly returned the courtesy, and while being polite, he heard that the man who led the way called himself Yu Xin, and the woman leading the way was his wife.

  Lin Jing yielded his seat, but these servants all said they didn't dare, and in the end they just moved a few footstools to solve the problem. After being offered tea, Lin Jing asked some casual questions. Then Yu Xin honestly stated the purpose of their visit, which was that Rongguo House had sent them to hold an anniversary memorial service for Lady Jia.

  Lin Jing didn't dare to be presumptuous, and hastily stood up to thank the old lady of Rongguo Mansion, as well as the two elderly gentlemen and their wives.

  As they spoke, Yu Xin was still fine, just a bit more talkative, but his wife kept sizing up Lin Jing repeatedly, her expression showing that she wanted to get especially close.

  Lin Jing didn't know the way, so he pretended to be ignorant and first asked the elders in that mansion, then inquired about those brothers and sisters, especially carefully asking about Daiyu's well-being.

  Perhaps they had said it several times already, Lin Jing only slightly nodded his head, and the other side started to speak fluently, with a tone that was somewhat garrulous.

  Lin Jing was also very curious about Daiyu's life in Rongguo Mansion, so she carefully inquired about it. However, just like the original work, she still lived with Shi Lao Tai Jun and spent her days accompanying Jia Baoyu.

  Those few were still afraid that they hadn't spoken carefully enough, fearing the two words "neglect" and "slow" of Rongguo House. The Yu family's words said: "Lin Dage, please rest assured, Lin Niang is doing well there. Bao Er Ye and Lin Niang are almost eating at the same table and sleeping in the same bed. Whatever good things they eat, if they see that Lin Niang likes them, they can't bear to eat them themselves and must leave them for Lin Niang. If there's anything fun, as long as Lin Niang likes it, they'll immediately give it to Lin Niang without any hesitation. Even when they see something good outside, they always think of Lin Niang and want to find it for her.

  This sounds like a superficial interpretation, only saying that Jia Baoyu is good to Lin Daiyu. Indeed, Jia Baoyu was just a **-year-old child who could unhesitatingly give his favorite things to Daiyu, which shows his sincerity. Thinking about the children of this generation, don't even mention how overindulged they are. But, upon careful consideration, is there really no problem with these words?

  Lin Daiyu is still in mourning for her mother, and she eats with Baoyu? Doesn't she observe mourning rites? And what's more, they sleep together on the same bed. Is Lin Daiyu already seven years old?

  In the past, I didn't think much of it when reading "Dream of Red Mansions", but now that I've seen it, I finally understand what it means to be filial! Lin Jing is still a vegetarian and wears mourning clothes every day, just closing his door to read books, unable to have any fun. Of course, reading books is what Lin Jing wants for himself.

  Daiyu was Jia Min's own daughter, cherished like a treasure. Was this really the behavior of a great man? Would Jia Min not rise up from under the earth?

  Not only did Lin Jing feel that it wasn't right, but also Old Lady Feng frowned tightly and came over to ask: "Did you say this to Master just now?"

  Yu Xinfang smiled and said, "Isn't that right? The old master asked very carefully, wanting to know everything from the moment Lin'gu Niang woke up in the morning until she went to bed at night. After hearing our words, he finally put his mind at ease, saying that as long as Lin'gu Niang was used to eating and living here, it would be fine. He also asked us to persuade Lin'gu Niang more, to make her feel more at ease. I replied that I wanted to persuade Lin'gu Niang too. But what's the use? Our family's Bao Er Ye has already taken care of everything. It can be said that our Bao Er Ye is really fond of Lin'gu Niang, calling out 'Lin Mei Mei' all the time, and even making the other girls in our household feel inferior."

  "Speaking of which, I remembered a story. On the day Lin Niang arrived at our mansion, Bao Er Ye only said that he was an old acquaintance of Lin Niang's and eagerly took out his treasured jade to ask if she had one too. When he heard that Lin Niang didn't have one, he became anxious and said that none of his sisters at home had one either, and even a heavenly sister wouldn't have one, so he wanted to smash the jade. After making Lin Niang cry, he regretted it terribly and kept apologizing to her while holding onto her. He wouldn't let go until he managed to make Lin Niang laugh again."

  For these classic bridges, Lin Jing has already made a lot of sarcastic remarks, but he just thinks about Lin Ruhai. Lin Ruhai has always had the self-discipline and nobility of a bookworm in his bones, so how can he be so indifferent after hearing those things?

  Lin Jing didn't believe that Lin Ruhai hadn't noticed anything wrong, if he was really so obtuse, he wouldn't have become the official he is today, and would have been trampled by others long ago.

  Does that mean Lin Ruhai can't bear to let her daughter suffer a bit? It means that Bao Dai's marriage has been taken for granted all along.

  Poor Lin Daiyu, her parents' love for her has reached the point of neglecting etiquette and rules, but it is precisely this that has led to her having no way out; once a marriage proposal goes awry, she has only one path left - death.

  Now thinking about it, if everything develops like this, Mrs. Wang really won't like Daiyu. This is a matter of concern for the aunt and sister-in-law, she just loves her son. Any mother would always like a daughter-in-law who is dignified, kind, wise, and strong, and can encourage her son to make progress. Looking at a weak and fragile girl who always needs her son to coax and revolve around her, she won't like it very much. Besides, one is her own niece, and the other is her husband's niece, the thickness and thinness are obvious at a glance.

  Actually, to be serious, Lady Wang is not really a snob. The hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants was deeply ingrained in the minds of ancient people and would never be confused. If she were really a snob, why would she choose a merchant's daughter for her son? Although this merchant's daughter is her niece, are there no other girls in the city? Not to mention coveting the Xue family's wealth, the Xue family has sons and relatives like Xue Ke, and the clan's laws and etiquette are as high as mountains. It is impossible to let all the family property be taken out of the house by a daughter.

  Besides, ancient people attached great importance to reputation and face, some even more than life itself. How could they possibly allow their only son to marry the daughter of a merchant just for that little bit of wealth?

  So this shows that Mrs. Wang values kinship, so she chose a daughter-in-law between the two relatives of Xue Lin, regardless of whether one is the daughter of a merchant and the other is an orphan girl whose parents' family cannot bring benefits to her son, neither of which can be considered a good family.

  Of course, Lin Jing was also maliciously speculating that Mrs. Wang had actually made plans to take in both daughters-in-law. A virtuous wife and a beautiful concubine were the standards of ancient people, with the proper wife being dignified and having the ability to manage the household, while the beautiful concubine provided enjoyment for her husband in terms of emotions. This was perfectly suitable for the two ladies, Xue and Lin. Having obtained the Lin family's property, it was only natural that they would have to settle the matter of Lin Daiyu's marriage, and after all these years of living together, who else could Lin Daiyu marry?

  But if it were really so, would that still be the pure and clean Lin Daiyu who came and went? So she might as well have died.

  It used to be that none of these things had anything to do with Lin Jing, and when he read Hong Lou, he only sighed at the fleeting nature of life and appreciated the beautiful food and poetry. But now, Lin Jing is a scholar, and if these things were to get out, they would surely implicate him.

  Lin Jing looked at Mrs. Feng, but found that she suddenly closed her mouth tightly, and knew that she couldn't rely on others. She took a deep breath and said, "This matter, did I mishear or miss something?"

  As soon as the words fell, everyone in the house changed their faces. These few who could come out to do errands for their master, how could they be so unscrupulous on matters of rules, etiquette, human feelings and worldly affairs? How could they not know what was improper? It's just that the master did it that way, he must have his own reasons. Everyone didn't point it out on the surface, didn't mention it with their mouths, thinking to muddle through.

  But now there's no way to pretend anymore, a direct question that hits right at the heart.

  I believe in the original work of Chapter 7 "Sending Palace Flowers" excerpted as follows:

  Zhou Ruijia's wife asked: "Has the fifteen yuan of monthly incense money been received?" The clever child shook his head and said: "I don't know." Xichun heard this and asked Zhou Ruijia's wife: "Who is in charge of the monthly silver for each temple now?" Zhou Ruijia's wife replied: "It's Yu Xin who is in charge." Xichun smiled when she heard this and said: "That's it. When his master came, Yu Xin's family rushed over to meet him and whispered with his master for half a day, probably about this matter."

  "Oh dear, this chapter got a bit out of hand with the complaints, forgive me! I'll make it up in the next chapter!"