By the time Daiyu reached the visitor dock outside Lin Manor's gates, she discovered that the visitor was none other than Jia Lian, the man responsible for managing Jia Residence's external affairs—her cousin, Second Master Lian!
Of course, more precisely, Jia Lian had escorted the Jia Residence girls—Baochai, Yingchun, and Xichun—to visit Daiyu at her new home.
Though Daiyu was quite surprised, she did not think much of it and warmly welcomed Jia Lian and the sisters inside.
Fortunately!
Jia Lian was a tactful man. Not only did he refrain from mentioning Daiyu's "running away from home" and establishing her own household, he also said nothing about persuading Daiyu and Tanchun to return. Seeing that Lin Manor was occupied entirely by women, he did not linger. He merely escorted Baochai, Yingchun, Xichun, and the maids each of them had brought into Lin Manor's main hall. After exchanging a few polite words with Daiyu and Tanchun, and seeing that there was nothing else to attend to, he took his leave first.
Before leaving, however, he arranged with Baochai, Yingchun, and Xichun to return and pick them up around nightfall.
After all, Daiyu's home was not far from Jia Residence. By high-speed celestial boat, the journey took only about half a shichen, so coming to collect them after dark was hardly an inconvenience.
As for letting Baochai, Yingchun, and Xichun stay overnight at Lin Manor, he had not considered it at all.
No matter what, Baochai, Yingchun, and Xichun were unmarried young ladies of Jia Residence. How could they possibly spend the night outside?
Besides, Daiyu and Tanchun had already run off to establish their own household. If the remaining three girls also came out and refused to return, the consequences would be far too bad!
After Jia Lian left, Daiyu and