Chapter 2 Receiving Guests

  "Baoyu, come here quickly." Grandmother Jia said warmly. She was extremely fond of this grandson and had a special reason for it, one that Jia Zheng did not know about.

  "Old lady, I haven't seen Lin Daiyu for a long time. When can she come back? Isn't Lian Erge already back for a long time?" It turned out that Baoyu had gone to visit Jia Lian and wanted to know about Daiyu's situation, but Jia Lian didn't tell him anything, which made him very unhappy.

  "It won't be long, in three more days I'll bring her back to keep you company." Old Lady Jia said with a smile. Down below, Jia Zheng furrowed his brow, while Madame Wang's eyes showed nothing but displeasure. How could her own son possibly marry such a weak and fragile girl who would run away at the slightest breeze? The old lady was being far too arbitrary. Madame Wang completely ignored Lin Daiyu's current status, and how could she now be someone that the Jia household could aspire to?

  In the palace, Kangxi looked at the news that Lin Ruhai was about to arrive in Beijing and said, "Dequan, do you think I should go to meet him?"

  Li Dequan let out a cold sweat, the emperor went to receive Mr. Lin, this was something that had never happened before, what could he say, Li Dequan chose to pretend he hadn't heard anything and stood there woodenly.

  "Why aren't you speaking?" Kangxi raised his tone, Li Dequan was about to kneel down and admit his mistake when he was stopped by Kangxi. "Forget it, call in the Fourth and Eighth Princes."

  "Yes, sir." Li Dequan retreated and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

  Yongzheng and Yongti soon appeared in the Qianqing Palace, "to pay respects to the Emperor."

  "Get up, three days later you will go to pick up Lin Ai and my Princess Dai, don't let others discover them and send them back to the Lin Mansion." Kangxi knew Lin Ruhai's personality, he didn't like to make a big show, and in the capital city, Lin Ruhai had too many enemies and acquaintances, it was better to be careful under his own eyes.

  "The son obeys the order." Yongzheng and Yonggui exchanged a glance, bowed and left.

  Three days passed quickly, and early in the morning, Jia Zheng brought Jia Yu to wait for Lin Ruhai's arrival at the city gate. This was a good opportunity to repair relations with the Lin family, and if they missed it, there might be no chance later. The sun slowly rose, and the weather became hotter, but still, there was no sign of Lin Ruhai. Jia Zheng and Jia Yu exchanged a glance, both seeing doubt in each other's eyes. Even though Daiyu was weak and needed to ride in a carriage at a slow pace, she should have arrived by now, so why was there still no one in sight?

  Under the big sun, Jia Zheng and Jia Xun gazed at the distant road with eager eyes, feeling that they couldn't wait any longer. Just then, a horse-drawn carriage entered the capital city under the escort of the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince. Jia Zheng and Jia Xun hastily knelt down to pay their respects, wondering who could be worthy of such an honor. They never expected that the person being escorted was the one they had been waiting for. Nor did they notice that after the carriage left, someone lifted the curtain and gave them a cold glance.

  Lin Ruhai and Daiyu soon returned to the Lin Mansion in Beijing. As Daiyu was born in Yangzhou, she had been living in Beijing for two years without ever leaving the Jia Mansion, so it was natural that she felt a bit unfamiliar with the Lin Mansion. However, Lin Ruhai looked around and saw that nothing had changed, which made him feel a sense of nostalgia for Kangxi's thoughtfulness. "Yu'er, do you know? Nothing has changed here," Lin Ruhai said with some sadness, as this place held memories of his life with Jia Min when they were first married.

  "The Emperor has already sent someone to collect the tribute through here, so Lord Lin and the Princess can move in directly." Yongzheng still had that expressionless face, but when he looked towards Daiyu's direction, his eyes flashed with a hint of emotional fluctuation, which was so fast that it seemed like an illusion.

  "Thanks to the four Beile and eight Beile." Lin Ruhai said politely.

  "Mr. Lin is a pillar of the country, and he is naturally someone we juniors should learn from." Yinton said politely, feeling that Lin Ruhai had an impact on the emperor, and he must get along well with him.

  "It's getting late, the two princes should go back and report. Please inform the Emperor that Lin Ruhai will go to pay his respects tomorrow." Lin Ruhai calmly gave the order to dismiss the guests, firstly because he was very tired from traveling by boat and carriage, secondly because he didn't have the mood to engage in polite conversation with these junior officials anymore.

  "All right. Eighth Brother, let's go." Seeing Daiyu's figure from afar, Yongzheng felt satisfied in his heart and restrained the urge to approach her, pulling Yongqi to prepare to leave.

  Although he was somewhat reluctant, he wouldn't show it to Lin Ruhai's dissatisfaction, so he had no choice but to leave with Yongzheng. Before leaving, he also took a meaningful look in Daiyu's direction, but unfortunately only saw her back.

  Yin Zhen and Yin Qi each rode their horses back to the palace to report, after Kangxi knew about it, he nodded his head, having the idea of going out of the palace in mind, however, he didn't take immediate action.

  "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager requests your presence." Su Malan's somewhat aged voice rang out.

  "Oh? I'll go right away." Kangxi put down the memorial in his hand and quickly headed to Yongsu Palace with Li Dequan. The Empress Dowager would not look for him without something important, this time she was in such a hurry to find him, it must be because of Ru Hai's return to Beijing, she was worried. Thinking of this, Kangxi couldn't help but feel some guilt, he was already so old and still making the Empress Dowager worry about him, it was really unfilial.

  At the city gate of Beijing, Jia Zheng and Jia Yun waited from sunrise to sunset, but still didn't see anyone.

  "Second Uncle, could it be that Lin Er's father entered the capital through another gate?" Jia Lian put forward his own speculation.

  "No. From Yangzhou, they will not take a detour to come through this city gate recently. Let's go back first and say that they may not enter the capital today." Jia Zheng's face looked somewhat unpleasant, after all, waiting for a whole day without getting any news was not good for anyone's mood.

  Jia Lian nodded and the two of them were just about to ride off on their horses when they heard murmurs of discussion coming from behind.

  "Did you hear? The Emperor sent the Fourth and Eighth Beile today to receive someone who came from Yangzhou?"

  "Oh? You must be kidding, who has a face so big that two princes need to go and pick him up?"

  "It seems like she's a princess appointed by the Emperor..."

  Two people were talking, getting further and further away. Jia Zheng and Jia Yun both fell silent. If what they said was true, then the carriage escorted by the Fourth Prince and Eighth Prince this morning must be... Ah yes, how could I have forgotten? Lin Ruhai may not have been qualified, but Daiyu, the imperial princess and noblewoman, would definitely have been qualified to receive the escort of the two princes. Why did I forget about this earlier and stay here waiting foolishly? I should go directly to the Lin residence to ask for someone.

  "Return to the mansion." Jia Zheng looked at the sky and shook his head. The sun had already set, and it would be impolite to go ask someone at this hour. On the contrary, it would only make his brother-in-law's impression of the Jia household even worse.

  Jia Yun followed Jia Zheng back to the Rongguo Mansion with a somewhat dispirited look, and as soon as he entered the Rongxi Hall, he heard his mother's angry scolding: "How can you not even handle such a small matter properly? Do I have to personally take charge of everything?"