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

Page 2

Unexpectedly, the old woman's face darkened, and she replied sadly, "It's a pity that the young master is unlucky. He accidentally fell into the water a few days ago... Now the madam is still blaming herself, and she has only hurt herself by crying for nothing."

Gu Yu then fell silent and followed quietly to the main hall.

As soon as Gu Yu stepped into the courtyard, her eyes widened.

Before us, the waterside pavilions and bamboo gardens are arranged in a well-organized manner, with artificial hills and paths scattered throughout. It can be said that every inch of this courtyard has been utilized to the fullest extent, not to mention how many precious flowers and rare plants are there.

"This is the famous Banbu Garden in Yangzhou. It is the result of the hard work of the master and mistress over more than ten years. It means 'half a step to the horizon.' Others also call it the number one garden in Yangzhou."

Although Gu Yu wanted to stop and enjoy the sights, she remembered why she had come, so she could only slow down and take a few more glances.

Upon arriving at the back hall, a maidservant came out to greet them as soon as they reached the door.

"Young Master Yu, you've finally arrived! Master and Madam were just talking about you."

Gu Yu raised her face and smiled, which made the maid blush and lower her voice by eight octaves.

Upon entering, one sees Lin Hai and a woman sitting in the hall, their gentle eyes scrutinizing him.

Gu Yu knelt down respectfully and kowtowed. This time, Lin Hai did not help him up. After the ceremony was over, he had the maid help him up and sit down.

"Is this Sister Su's son? Good boy, when you were born, I was pregnant with your cousin and couldn't move around. I had just given birth to your cousin a few days after you were 100 days old, so we missed each other. I never thought that I would finally meet you today."

Jia Min lovingly touched Gu Yu's face, and then, thinking of her own infant son who had just died, a touch of sadness appeared on her face.

Lin Hai immediately understood his wife's thoughts and quickly changed the subject:

"Why hasn't Yu'er arrived yet? It's quite impolite of you to be so dismissive of your cousin on our first meeting."

"She must have lost track of time in the garden. I sent someone to find her a while ago, and she should be here soon."

Before she could finish speaking, Gu Yu heard a series of light footsteps behind her, followed by a melodious and clear voice, like that of a nightingale, yet with the soft and sweet voice unique to a little girl.

"Mother, I didn't miss the opportunity, did I!"

Lin Hai immediately knew that his quirky daughter was deliberately ignoring him because she was still angry that he hadn't agreed to move two more rose bushes to her yard yesterday.

Little did he know that he was worried that she was young and naughty and might accidentally cut her hand on a thorn, rather than that he was reluctant to part with her because roses were rare in Jiangnan.

He couldn't help but smile helplessly, but quickly straightened his face again, coughed slightly, and said in a deep voice, "The older you get, the more outrageous you become. Hurry up and come to see your cousin Yu."

As soon as the little girl entered, she saw a strange figure sitting to one side. She immediately realized she had been delayed, so she gave Lin Hai and his wife a fawning smile and then bowed to Gu Yu.

"I've met Cousin Yu."

Gu Yu stood up and returned the greeting, but realized that she didn't know her cousin's name, so she subconsciously looked at Lin Hai.

Jia Min affectionately pulled the little girl into her arms, then looked at Gu Yu and said:

"Your aunt has been married into the Lin family for over ten years. She finally had a child, but unfortunately, she wasn't born a boy. She was also born beautiful and intelligent, so they wanted her to learn to read and write. Therefore, they raised her as a boy from a young age. Her formal name was Daiyu, and she was usually called Yu'er. You can just call her Daiyu."

Gu Yu nodded, then called out "Cousin Daiyu" before sitting down. Daiyu, however, shrank shyly into Jia Min's arms.

After sitting down, Gu Yu casually thought, "Daiyu, so her full name is Lin Daiyu? That's a nice name... Uncle Lin is missing a cousin... Salt Commissioner Lin... Lin Daiyu...?!"

At the crucial point, Gu Yu was so shocked that she almost jumped up in the middle of the room, but she managed to restrain herself. She just kept glancing at Lin Daiyu, who was talking and laughing with Jia Min in a low voice.

I hadn't paid attention before, only glancing at it casually before bowing, but now, upon closer inspection, its features do indeed resemble those in the book.

Her eyebrows, like wisps of smoke, seemed to furrow yet not quite, and her eyes, seemingly joyful yet not quite, held a captivating charm. Though not yet etched with sorrow, she already possessed a delicate and alluring air.

Lin Haiyuan hadn't noticed this part, but Gu Yu's way of looking at Daiyu was too obvious, making it hard for anyone not to notice. He couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, as if he were protecting the cabbage.

"What is Yu'er looking at?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu subconsciously looked towards Gu Yu, only to find her extremely handsome cousin staring at her intently. Her face flushed, and she buried her head in her mother's arms, refusing to come out.

Gu Yu snapped out of her daze, a sudden panic gripping her, a strange sense of guilt washing over her. She composed herself and quickly replied, "I think my sister seems a little weak?"

Lin Hai nodded. "Your sister was born with some health issues, so she's a bit weak. She's always on her own with medication, but fortunately, she hasn't developed any serious illnesses yet."

"Oh? What medicine is my sister taking these days?"

"The doctor was specially sent from the capital by Yu'er's maternal grandmother. He prescribed Ginseng Nourishing Pills. I have asked about it, and there are no omissions."

"How many more years have you been eating this?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Hai seemed to grasp the meaning, abandoning his previous nonchalance. He glanced at Gu Yu again but didn't notice anything amiss.

"It's been four or five years now."

"Has there been any improvement?"

"...he still needs his medication constantly."

Daiyu sensed that the atmosphere was slightly off and the chatter gradually stopped. She looked around and then clutched her mother's clothes, not daring to interrupt.

Jia Min smiled as she watched her husband, who seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but didn't interrupt. She simply held Daiyu and watched the commotion.

Gu Yu had read Dream of the Red Chamber several times in her previous life, and had also read many interpretations and various conspiracy theories.

Normally, I would just laugh it off, but now that I'm in the thick of it, I have to be on guard just in case.

"Since you are a renowned doctor in the capital, you must have seen many cases of deficiency, which are not difficult or complicated diseases. You should be able to cure them with ease. Uncle, have you ever heard of anyone taking medicine for four or five years without any improvement in their condition?"

"Besides, although my nephew is young, he has heard the saying that things change with time and medicine should change with time. How can a medicine be taken for several years without any effect?"

Seeing Lin Hai's embarrassed expression and Lin Daiyu looking up at him with a frown, Gu Yu knew that her words had been somewhat impolite, so she quickly stood up to apologize and make amends.

"If I get my uncle's approval, I'll write to Suzhou later and ask Elder Sun from my family to come over. This person..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Hai interrupted him, "Are you talking about Senior Sun Lingxu?"

This stumped Gu Yu. He only knew that there was a physician surnamed Sun in the Gu family who had been there for more than ten years and whose medical skills were unfathomable.

His father suddenly fell ill and was on the verge of death, but he managed to save him and he gradually recovered.

Unexpectedly, after only a few days of visiting friends, the Gu family suffered a sudden change of fortune. Gu Zhong then took him to Yangzhou overnight. He hadn't come over yet, but stayed in Suzhou to help out.

"I don't know if this is the correct name, but there is only one servant in the household with the surname Sun, and he has been in the household for more than ten years."

"That's it!"

Lin Hai smiled and turned to explain to them.

"Senior Sun Lingxu became the head of the Imperial Medical Academy at a young age thanks to his strength, which aroused the jealousy of some villains who framed him and wanted to punish him."

Thanks to the efforts of Lord Wenzheng, he was spared. Disheartened, he resigned from his post as a judge and went to work as a servant in the Gu family. It was hard to say who had gotten the good fortune.

Gu Yu then realized that the unreliable old man in her memory was actually so fierce, and could be considered the officially recognized number one in the world.

Then he recalled the implication in Lin Hai's words.

"...Lord Wenzheng?"

Seeing the confusion in Gu Yu's eyes, Lin Hai felt a pang of pain in his heart and felt even more guilty. After a long while, he finally spoke slowly.

……

Chapter Three: Gu Lin's Relatives

"Yu'er, do you know the origins of the Gu family of Gusu?"

Gu Yu shook his head blankly. Most of his memories were of being buried in books and documents. When he was old enough to remember things, he had studied with his grandfather for a period of time.

My grandfather was seriously ill when he passed away and was cared for in a temple outside the city for two or three months.

After that, he stayed with his father and mother, and went out very rarely. That's why Lin Hai said earlier that he didn't even know who Wenzheng Gong was.

"Then do you know about the Seven Families?"

Gu Yu nodded. Although the history books only covered the previous dynasty, the story of the Seven Families had existed for a long time.

People say, "The Seven Families control seven parts of the world; without them, all else is meaningless." Of the world's ten parts, the Seven Families control seven, and their immense power is evident to the naked eye.

"The Seven Families, starting from the Yang family of Hongnong in the Eastern Han Dynasty, to the Sima family, the Wang family of Langya, the Zhang family of Jiangdong, the Lu family, and finally the Gu family of Gusu and the Xie family of Chenjun in the late Han Dynasty, are collectively known as the Seven Families."

"In the hundreds of years of the Han Dynasty, only these seven families emerged. The rest, such as the Yuan family of Runan, the Zhuge family of Langya, and the Xun family of Yingchuan, were ultimately lacking in luck."

"After a century of internal strife, the first few families gradually declined. When the Sui Dynasty reformed the court system and vigorously supported scholars from humble backgrounds, the saying that only one out of ten members of the seven great families could be selected was adopted. Thus, the saying about the seven great families gradually disappeared."

"Nevertheless, there is still a saying that the bloodline of the Seven Families is more noble than that of the royal family. The Seven Families have always been closely connected and intermarry within their own families. The saying 'Royal daughters are easy to find, but daughters of the Seven Families are hard to come by' is a testament to this."

"Several dynasties changed hands, and there were wars and man-made disasters. In the previous dynasty, the Xie family of Chen Commandery, having offended the crown prince, plotted to lead pirates and Japanese pirates to attack the ancestral home of Chen Commandery, looting and killing everyone. This drew the attention of the whole country."

"The head of the Xie family left a letter written in blood and hanged himself, which aroused the resentment of the people of Chen County, and from then on, it was out of control."

"The seven families have always shared honor and disgrace. At that time, the other six families had already declined, and only your Gu family was able to make inroads in the court,"

"But the Gu family was on guard at the time and had no military power. So your Gu family chose the close friend of the current head of the family, the Jiang family of Longxi, and used the accumulation of seven generations of the family for hundreds of years to help him succeed. After clearing the court of corrupt officials, he accepted the abdication, changed the era name, and established the Qian dynasty."

Gu Yu was deeply moved as he listened. In the past, when he was studying, he only regarded it as a historical biography. Now that the protagonist was himself, how could he not feel deeply moved?

Recalling the days when her father tested her, and how she said that the decline of the seven generations of her family was an inevitable trend, the trace of melancholy on her father's face clearly reflected this moment.

Since the founding of this dynasty is inseparable from the Gu family, why is the Gu family now shutting themselves away from worldly affairs like small landlords?

And they were almost wiped out a while ago. Could it be that they've already used up all their resources and are now discarded like a good bow? But this is all too late.

Gu Yu thought about it for a while but couldn't figure out the key point, so she turned her attention back to Lin Hai.

Daiyu, who was standing to the side, listened with sparkling eyes. She had also studied this part of history, but she never expected that there would be such inside stories amidst the turbulent history of the past few hundred years.

Lin Hai took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before continuing.

"After the founding of the country, the head of the Gu family retired gracefully, relinquishing all power and passing down his family's knowledge and skills through poetry and books. He also declined the proposal to marry into the Jiang family, which displeased Emperor Gaozu."

"Fortunately, he is not a cold-hearted person. He simply established an ancestral rule that prohibits the selection of officials based on their reputation, and only selects talents according to the imperial examination system. This was a small warning to the Gu family."

"It just so happens that the lineage of the other six families has been lost, so the head of the Gu family made an exception and chose to arrange a marriage between the Lin family, which is also in Suzhou, and the Huang family, which is originally from Sichuan."

"My Lin family of Suzhou made great contributions in the founding war and was awarded the title of Marquis. The title was passed down for three generations, and later, out of gratitude for the late emperor's favor, the title was passed down for another generation."

"Even so, when he heard that he could marry into the Gu family, my great-grandfather was overjoyed and wept in the hall. He made a vow that whoever married a woman from the Gu family would never take another woman for the rest of his life, even if it meant his lineage would end."

"Seven or eight of my Lin family's elders witnessed this event back then, and there are even several written documents."

Gu Yu couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. He simply couldn't imagine that in ancient times, someone would be willing to marry a woman from the Gu family even if it meant having no heir. Was he crazy?

As if hearing Gu Yu's thoughts, Lin Hai gave a soft hum and said:

"You still don't understand how significant this is. If you hadn't said those words back then, you wouldn't have been able to arrange a marriage with the Gu family; you would probably have been surrounded and attacked instead."

"With the change of dynasties, even the current royal family has a mixed bloodline. Only the direct line of the seven great families has remained intact. In the current dynasty, only the Gu family branch still exists, which is truly the most precious bloodline in the world."

"Even the great-grandfather of the Jiang family could not get his wish. The mother of the late emperor was just a concubine's daughter of the Gu family. She entered the palace and was greatly favored. She was made empress. At that time, no one from the Gu family was in the court, but no one objected to the matter of making her empress."

At this point, Lin Hai couldn't help but marvel at his family's good fortune, "Back then, the Lin family married the eldest daughter of the Gu family!"

Jia Min, who was standing next to her, was already stunned. She had grown up in the capital since childhood and had been influenced by the illustrious reputation of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes.

Although the Lin family had been marquises for four generations, the lineage had ended with Lin Hai. Therefore, when Jia Daishan arranged for her to marry him, although she admired Lin Hai's handsome and talented appearance and secretly harbored feelings for him, she couldn't help but have the intention of marrying him.

I never expected the Lin family to have such an opportunity. Thinking about the so-called Four Kings and Eight Dukes, and considering that they have declined in just a hundred years, aren't they just like the mountain kings who change their flags on the city walls?

Looking at Gu Yu's refined appearance as she listened intently, Jia Min couldn't help but value her even more.

Just then, Daiyu twisted in her arms, startling her. Looking down at Daiyu's bright eyes, she had a sudden thought.

...

"My Lin family, from our great-grandfather onwards for three generations, has a history of the saying that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law live in different families. In the middle, we married the so-called legitimate daughter of the Lu family of Jiangdong, but it was just a title."

“My mother was also the eldest daughter of the Gu family. Despite the fact that the Lin family’s title had been passed down, she still married into the family. She worked diligently and conscientiously to manage the household. She passed away a few years after giving birth to me due to overwork. My father, who was also deeply devoted to his family, also passed away.”

Recalling those childhood years, Lin Hai's eyes reddened slightly as he thought of his mother's dignified, elegant, gentle, and kind temperament, and her harmonious relationship with his father, which was praised by everyone in the household for her virtue. He quickly composed himself.

"After that, my uncle, who is also your grandfather, came to the Lin family to adopt me. I lived and studied with Brother Jingyuan. We were not blood brothers, but we were closer than blood brothers."

More than just brothers, I still remember one time when he was very drunk, Gu Ningxiu suddenly sobbed. After being asked several times, he said, "My own son is not as good as my sister's son. It's really heartbreaking." This made people laugh, but also made them feel grateful for his uncle's affection.

It is said that the greatest thing in the world is one's maternal uncle, who has also been raised and educated by Lin Hai. Under such great kindness, Lin Hai had long regarded his maternal uncle, Gu Hongying, as his own father.

Just then, my uncle came into the yard and heard these "outrageous" words. He just snorted and turned away.

For the next period of time, the amount of schoolwork doubled dramatically, tormenting Gu Ningxiu to the point of despair. He cried out in injustice, yet he still couldn't figure out the source of the problem.

The deep brotherhood of yesteryear is now separated by death, how can one not feel deeply moved?

Moreover, this predicament was caused by his own influence. If Gu Yu hadn't survived and needed his care, Lin Hai would have wanted to commit suicide to atone for his sins, but that wouldn't have been enough to repay the Gu family's deep kindness.

He quickly lowered his head, pretending to drink tea to hide the murderous intent in his eyes towards those families. When he looked up again, he saw a hint of doubt on Gu Yu's face and couldn't help but ask, "Yu'er, is there something you're wondering about?"

Gu Yu blushed, knowing she couldn't get away with being vague, so she had no choice but to ask:

"The Lin family has been marquises for four generations, so why did my uncle only mention three generations? Besides, there's only the Lu family in between. I really can't figure it out. I wonder if they've had any other marriage alliances?"