Dreams of Jianghu

Got some chapter navigation linkes on previous chapters.

Chapter 5 – Red Chamber (5)

Lin Ru Hai did not know if it was just his feeling but after eating, he felt warm all over, unspeakably comfortable.

At this time, only Steward Lin was in the room. Lin Ru Hai asked, “Where are the two children?”

“Eldest Miss and Young Master went to sleep in the side rooms. Right now, this one’s wife is cleaning them out. Also, Eldest Miss did not use the clothing and jewelry the residence prepared for her and told this servant to go to the clothing shops and buy some. It appears that Eldest Miss is very wary of the Jia Family,” Steward Lin reported in a low voice.

“It is right to be careful.” Lin Ru Hai nodded seriously. His expression was dark and uncertain. “I was too proud. I never thought about the Jia Family. Otherwise, I would not have caused the two children to be known by everyone. The thoughts of the Jia Family…… It is hard to say right now. But it is certain they do not like the two children. The Rong Ducal Establishment is a noble family. I do not know how many dark methods of the inner courtyard there are that people cannot guard against. It is hard for her to think of this, and knows to be on guard.” He sighed. “But why did she, a young girl, learn these things.”

Steward Lin sighed. “They say that politics is like a battlefield. It is the same in business. Eldest Miss started from walking the streets with a jar as a child, and interacted with all kinds of people. She likely had to depend on the favor of others and suffered a lot to learn. She did business with adults, did not lose, and managed to get bigger. It could be said that she experienced and saw the most complicated of hearts. One must scheme in order to survive in the lower classes.”

Lin Ru Hai nodded. “Give her the family accounts to take care of.”

Steward Lin bowed his head and retreated.

Lin Yu Tong prepared her brother’s room and had him first rest. “I had Er Niu go to talk to the school. You will not go there for now. Study at home. When Father’s health is better, then let’s see how your studies will be arranged.” She only knew some about the examinations. With Lin Ru Hai as a ready-made tutor, Lin Yu Tong could just let go.

Lin Yu Yang nodded. “Sister, do not worry, I will not let my studies fall behind.”

“Do not slack off, but do not have too much pressure.” Lin Yu Tong inspected everything in the room, saw nothing was wrong and then said, “Do not leave the courtyard in these two days. Except for me and Steward Lin, do not trust anyone. Do not touch other people’s things, especially food and drink.”

Lin Yu Yang was stunned and nodded.

She went back to her own eastern room. The room had been cleaned already. The very fine furniture in Lin Yu Tong’s opinion were still too crude for Steward Lin.

Lin Yu Tong was one to live anywhere and could sleep anywhere.

Rather than clean the room, she liked the pile of ledgers and the servant roster in front of her.

She looked at the ledgers and made three meals a day for Lin Ru Hai. Lin Yu Tong’s days in the Lin Family got on track like this.

But except for the rare few of the Lin Residence servants who saw Lin Yu Yang and Lin Yu Tong from a distance, the other people had not met the two young masters of the rumors.

Ever since these two entered the residence, they did not take a step outside Master’s courtyard. If they did not see Steward Lin go on his shifts everyday without much worry in his expression, many people would speculate that the master was not doing well. Otherwise, why would the newly-returned young masters not even go into their own courtyards and stay by Master’s side to take care of him?

The mood of the Lin Family was not right. The servants of the Jia Family all agreed on this. Right now, Steward Lin started to avoid the people from the Jia Family when giving out duties. Also, he started to use the old people of the Lin Family and even transferred many people back from the estates.

There were only three masters in the family. There were enough servants, and there was no place for more. Now that more people were being transferred back, it clearly was not right.

There was a limit to the people who served. Would the extra be sent to the estates?

Granny Liu was Jia Min’s wet nurse. At this time, her face was dark. “Without Mistress, us people are not valuable.” Her son’s job as a purchaser was still there, but Steward Lin had stopped giving her son duties. This clearly was turning him into a figurehead. Without real power, there was no money. Also, no one knew better than her, his mother, just how corrupt he had been these years.

Also, the two brats who came back to the residence likely were not easy. She had handled the matter back then.

She truly had been absolute back then.

The servant girls around the two concubines had been spies for Mistress. The two not having their cycles could not escape the eyes of their personal servant girls. She thought the two may be pregnant and told Mistress. Mistress was the old mistress’s blood daughter, and naturally did not lack for methods. Otherwise, why would a ducal establishment not have any shu-children?¹ Mother and daughter had the same methods.

Taking advantage of the fact the old granny was absent, she received Mistress’s orders for the two concubines to go pray in the temple. They were led outside the city, and put down at the base of a mountain where there were not many people. She then drove the carriage away. After returning to the residence, she took care of the servant girls of the concubines. She said that the two had sown discord with the concubines, causing them to become alarmed and want to leave the residence just because of a few words. Master gave each of the concubines two hundred taels of silver. She had taken it. Adding on the two thought they were going to just worship and burn incense at the temple, they had not taken any money or possessions. It all benefited her. Using the excuse of going to help the two settle down, she had taken all their things and gotten a large sum of wealth. Mistress had turned a blind eye to this, using it as a benefit to having done this matter.

The two concubines had no money and were women. If they were unlucky, they may be eaten by wolves in the mountain. If they were lucky, they would be picked up by a farmer as a wife.

She had never thought the two did not die and birthed two creditors.

She could deal with the two concubines because, one, she was a granny of Mistress, and two, because the two concubines were servants in the end. Master would not disgrace Mistress for the sake of a concubine.

But right now, she was a servant, and those two were masters. They were in the right if they wanted to deal with her.

Even with the fact she was the mistress’s granny, and they could not act against her for the sake of their reputation, what about her son? There was no chance he would be spared. Also, her son was covered in weaknesses.

She had sent a letter to the old mistress already. It likely had arrived. Hopefully the old mistress’s people would arrive soon. Otherwise, she would die here.

At this time, in the capital, Shi-shi put down the letter in her hand with a grave expression.²

She could not get a sense of the truthfulness of the letter. If Son-in-law Lin had two shu-sons and daughters, it was possible. She had to blame her daughter for not being thorough and leaving behind this. But the letter spoke of how excellent the two children were. She felt that this was an exaggeration.

Two children of eleven or twelve with no one to teach them. They grew up in the country. They would be fierce. Otherwise, they could not have lived to now. But in terms of cunning? Shi-shi shook her head. She did not believe the two children were so smart.

She knew these servants. She had managed a household her entire life. If she wanted to, she could not be fooled. No one had been able to truly fool her. It was more likely they had done something, and the other had caught it, using it to punish them. So, speaking so severely was just so that she would go help and rescue them.

To rescue or not? In Shi-shi‘s mind, they were mere servants. Since others had caught them, then if they were rescued, they could not be used in the future, and she would offend others. It was not worth it.

Son-in-law Lin was not in good health. The wealth would definitely fall to her granddaughter Lin Dai Yu. She had originally thought that everything would belong to Dai Yu and then later to Bao Yu. If Bao Yu had the wealth of the Lin Family, even if he was a second son of a rank five official, with the backing of the establishment, no one would look down on him.

After scheming so long, she really was unwilling to let go.

Thinking back to it, that shu-son was just in his early teens. If he inherited the wealth of the Lin Family, it was like a three year old running around the market with a gold ingot. No matter how muddle headed Son-in-law Lin was, before the child came of age, he had to find someone to manage the wealth for his child.

Was there anyone more close to the Lin Family than the Jia Family?

Shu-son. Based on the etiquette, he was still her grandson. She had lived to now. What kind of people and matters had she not seen? Would she not be able to draw in two children? If she managed to get them, she would still have the wealth in her hands.

Thinking like this, she called Yuan Yang³ to bring brush and paper. She was going to write to Son-in-law Lin personally.

Shi-shi sighed to Yuan Yang. “After Min’er passed away, I frequently dream of her. She always cries to me, feeling that she has no children, and after she passed away, there was no son to give her incense. Now, Son-in-law has found his child, and this fulfills Min’er’s wish. I ponder having the two children recorded under Min’er’s name. This will be good for their future, and also reassure Min’er’s spirit in heaven.”⁴

Yuan Yang pressed her lips in a smile. “Everyone knows that Eldest Mistress is the most kind. The eldest miss and young master of the Lin Family are Old Mistress’s granddaughter and grandson. Old Mistress has kindness for them.”

Shi-shi patted with Yuan Yang’s hand and said, “Only you know my thoughts here. I feel sorry for Min’er, and also Dai Yu. The return of the two children will spare Dai Yu from feeling lonely. She admires others for having siblings. Third, when people get old, their hearts get soft. I do not want to see children suffer. These two children suffered in their early years and it was related to Min’er’s lack of discipline of servants. Now, she has passed away. It is up to me, her mother, to make it up on her behalf. I wish that the two children will not hate her, for my sake. If they will sincerely burn incense for her during the festivals in the future, I would not have worried for nothing.” As she spoke, tears appeared in her eyes, and she was very sad.

Translator Ramblings: Granny Liu is pretty horrid. Since Lin Ru Hai’s mother had passed away early, Jia Min got the run of the household, no mother-in-law, no sisters (in-law), and so the servants that came as part of her dowry benefited from the fact they were from the Jia Family and loyal to her.

Regarding Grandmother Jia, Shi-shi, she was born into the Shi Family and married into the Jia. What’s notable about her is that she had two sons, and amazingly, her husband had no other sons, even with six concubines. Those three shu daughters were also remarked to be “short-lived”. More relevant to the story are her two sons, as she favours the second over her eldest, and Jia Bao Yu is the only di son of her second son, who she favours the most of all.

Table of Contents

• Grafting Life Chapter 4 – Red Chamber (4)
• Grafting Life Chapter 5 – Red Chamber (5)
• Grafting Life Chapter 6 – Red Chamber (6)

Liked it? Take a second to support Dreams of Jianghu on Patreon!