Chapter 52: The Four Great Families of Jinling

Page (1/3)
The Jade Pavilion.
Lin Hongyu sat under the corridor, chatting with several young maids to pass the time. One maid nudged her toward the door with her mouth. Lin Hongyu turned to look and saw Second Master Bao storming back into the Jade Pavilion, his face flushed with anger and tears.

“What’s Second Master Bao up to?” a maid asked curiously.
“Either scolded by the master or upset with Miss Lin,” another replied, making them all laugh.

“Listen,”
Lin Hongyu hushed the maids and pointed toward Second Master Bao’s room inside the pavilion. The maids leaned in to listen and heard him calling out. They guessed the reason and said, “Xiren and Qingwen left early this morning; there’s no one to attend to him in the room!”

“Who will serve Second Master Bao then?” asked one maid.

They all shook their heads. “Who dares go in on their own? The people serving inside are fierce. They would be angry to find us there—just the other day, Xiaohong got scolded for bringing tea in. I don’t want to bring trouble on myself!”

No one volunteered to go, and Lin Hongyu remained seated, deep in thought.

At that moment, Jia Baoyu came out of the room. Seeing them sitting under the corridor, he shouted, “What are you all doing there? Come and pour me a cup of tea!”

Several maids instinctively stood, but one named Zuan’er stayed seated, smiling at him and saying,
“Baoyu, why are you still like this? Things aren’t the same as before. The family has been raided; who knows what will happen next. We can still serve you today, but what about the future?”

Zuan’er’s words startled Zhuan’er, Liu Wuer, Zi Xiao, and the others.

The implication was clear: you are no longer our master; you can’t order us around anymore. If you want tea, pour it yourself.

Lin Hongyu was not surprised. Zuan’er, who was close to her, had often said that within three to five years, they would all leave the garden—either marrying servants or being allowed to leave.

Now that the Jia family had been raided, it seemed just as she wished.

Hearing this, Jia Baoyu trembled with anger. “The family hasn’t even been raided yet, and you’ve already planned your escape. I’ve wasted my kindness on you all!”

Zuan’er saw his anger and said no more, sitting coldly under the corridor, her thoughts unknown.

The other maids exchanged glances in silence. Jia Baoyu, eyes brimming with tears, looked at them just as Xiren and Qingwen returned. Seeing his state, they hurried over to ask, “Second Master, what’s wrong?”

“Enough, enough. You all go to the palace and put your names on the list to enter. Let Prince Qian pick you one by one to serve him. Miss Lin has left, Miss Yun has gone, Sister Bao is about to leave, Sister Qin... all gone.”

Jia Baoyu, lost and broken, retreated to his room. Xiren and Qingwen tried to persuade him, but to no avail. It was Qiu Wen who came up with the idea to quickly send for Miss Lin and Miss Yun!

Zuan’er still sat motionless, nursing her own thoughts:

Now that the Jia family members had been conscripted into labor and sent to the Yeting Palace, no longer noble young masters and misses but commoners like them maids, why bother serving them anymore?

The group of maids looked at each other.

She Yue scolded them angrily for their ingratitude.

Page (2/3)
Lin Hongyu advised them, “Right now, Prince Qian doesn’t know how he will deal with the nobles in the capital. If the ladies enter the palace, who knows—perhaps one will become a favored consort.”

The maids found this reasonable and went with her to find people. Zuan’er was pulled along as well.

She Yue reported back to Xiren, but Jia Baoyu overheard the word “enter palace” again. He went mad, shouting for everyone to leave, either sent to the palace or elsewhere. He refused to keep any of them!

Lin Hongyu went to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion and told Zi Juan what had happened.

Zi Juan whispered, “Stop talking. Second Master Bao can still order you to pour tea, but my lady is about to fall ill. How could I dare ask her to go persuade him?”

Lin Hongyu quietly entered the room and saw Lin Daiyu sitting dazed by the window, her fragile frame growing ever more delicate like a willow in the breeze.

Not wanting to disturb her, Lin Hongyu went to find Miss Shi.

Shi Xiangyun was in Grandmother Jia’s room. Lin Hongyu listened for a while and saw that the madams and grandmothers were discussing whose names should be added to the palace entry list.

Almost all the young ladies, except Lin Daiyu, were on the list!

Even Miaoyu of the Lòng Cuì Nunnery was included. As one madam put it, “For now, list her. If Prince Qian selects her, we’ll talk to her later. She’s a nun with hair, so it’s easy for her to return to secular life.”

Miaoyu?

Lin Hongyu had visited the Lòng Cuì Nunnery several times. Each time, Miaoyu never showed her a friendly face; people said she was aloof.

She too would enter the palace to serve the new sovereign?

“Madam, madam,”

After searching a few times, Lin Hongyu entered and spoke of Jia Baoyu’s condition.

Wang Madam scolded Baoyu twice in exasperation. Grandmother Jia told Shi Xiangyun, “Xiangyun, go see him and persuade your second brother. You know he’s a bit slow. Don’t mention ‘entering the palace’ around him again; it might trigger his illness.”

Xiangyun agreed and was about to go when someone hurriedly reported, “Madam Shi, the madams and aunts, and the ladies, all have come to the residence. They request the madams and grandmothers to come out and welcome them!”

Everyone was shocked.

Shi Xiangyun froze. Her second and third aunts had come? Was the raid over?

Even the matriarch had arrived!

Wang Xifeng also stared in disbelief. Her maternal family had come too? What about her uncle?

“Hurry and welcome them!” Grandmother Jia ordered.

Aunt Xue also called to fetch Baochai quickly to meet the relatives.

Everyone hurried to dress and prepare, but before they could step out, the Shi and Wang family members had already arrived at the inner residence.

With no choice, Grandmother Jia, Wang Madam, Wang Xifeng, Li Wan, Aunt Xue, and others had to go out to greet them.

In the chaos, Shi Xiangyun followed and, at the entrance of Grandmother Jia’s courtyard, saw her grandmother, second aunt, and others mingling with the Wang family.

Page (3/3)
Both groups were streaming tears.

The Four Great Families of Jinling—the Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue—were all present at this moment.

All had been raided by Prince Qian; the Four Great Families were left utterly desolate!

“Sister-in-law!”

“Aunt!”

Grandmother Jia and Shi family matriarch wept bitterly.

Before Grandmother Jia’s marriage, the Shi matriarch had married into the Shi family. After managing their households, they remained in contact, though in old age, visits had become rare.

Who would have thought they would meet under such circumstances?

“Aunt!”

Wang Xifeng looked at Madam Wang Zitong with a heartache; the Wang family had also been raided by Prince Qian!

“How could this happen...” Aunt Xue wiped tears from her cheeks, and her sister, Madam Wang, wept in sorrow.

Shi Xiangyun returned to her second and third aunts. They wept openly upon seeing her, holding her hands tightly. “Now, our family depends only on you, Yun’er!”

Indeed, only by entering the palace could the Wang family be saved.

Shi Xiangyun sobbed, understanding her aunts’ meaning.

“Madams, madams, grandmothers, and young ladies, come inside quickly!” Yingchun and two others arrived. Chen Xichun’s eyes welled with tears but hurried the relatives and sisters indoors.

A crowd of women flooded into Grandmother Jia’s courtyard—seven or eight madams, over ten young grandmothers, and numerous unmarried young ladies filling the outer corridors.

When Xue Baochai and Xue Baoqin arrived, they saw the Wang and Shi cousins—all striking and well-born young ladies, the very image of noble daughters.

Yet now, they all wept silently in the corridors, lost and anxious about the future.

Jia Baoyu also arrived. Seeing so many fresh and graceful young ladies, he was stunned, whispering, “How many exquisite spirits has heaven gathered to birth such beauties?”

Xiren and others were used to his oddities.

But the Wang and Shi ladies turned away from him, hiding their faces behind fans, some breaking into tears.

They had never met young men before; even after the raid, they walked with bowed heads, surrounded by maids and nurses.

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu came as well. Seeing Baoyu gazing madly at the ladies under the corridor, she was angered and turned away, returning to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

The matriarch’s room was too crowded, and she might not be able to enter.