Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 188 A battlefield without smoke

In the morning, the streets are noisy.
Xue Baochai, who had woken up a long time ago, opened the window and looked out, and saw a long queue of people below the post house, with grain carts lined up among them, one after another.

Xue Baochai was startled.

"The government grain has arrived? So quickly, and so much? I asked the storekeeper to buy grain from the surrounding prefectures and counties, and he only managed to get less than a thousand dan in the past few days."

Thinking about such a big move in the city, and that Yue Ling had not sent her any more letters to tell her what to do next, Xue Baochai couldn't help but feel panicked.

She had her own lofty ambitions, and didn't care about the little bit of money she earned from being a middleman. But if the Xue family was no longer useful in the future, how could she realize the dream that Yue Ling had drawn for her?
Xue Baochai could not wait any longer, so she turned back to Ying'er, who was still staggering in her sleep, and said, "Prepare the sedan chair. I have to go to the government office right away."

Hearing the word "government office", Ying'er shuddered and perked up, "Government office? The Marquis should be busy right now, right? Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to come uninvited?"

Xue Baochai held her breath and said, "I have to go."

In the compartment, Aunt Xue stretched her waist and heard from Tongxi and Tonggui that Xue Baochai was going to the government office again. A hint of disdain appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"Go ahead and make a fuss, go ahead and make a fuss. You won't be satisfied until a large number of Fengzi stores are closed, and the Xue family loses all their wealth."

At the right time, Tongxi came in and handed in a letter, "Madam, here is a reply from the capital, it should be sent back from Rongguo Mansion."

Aunt Xue's eyebrows lit up, and she thought to herself, "Sister always cares about me. She replied so quickly. I'm afraid they must be worried over there. My precious girl, you're making me worry."

After taking the letter, Aunt Xue smiled as she unfolded it and read it from top to bottom. Soon her expression became interesting, and it was colorful.

"…Anjing Hou Yue Ling is an old minister of your majesty's palace, and the most favored minister of the dynasty. He is a man of both civil and military talents, and has extraordinary abilities. It is not something that a girl from a small family like us can marry. If your majesty uses such a capable minister, he will definitely marry a princess, or at least a county lady."

"I'm telling you something from the heart. Don't be greedy and bring disaster to the Xue family."

Aunt Xue's hand trembled, and the letter that she had cherished so much fell to the ground. She was a little dazed, and murmured, "Is this Marquis An Jing so powerful?"

After thinking it over carefully, Aunt Xue shook her head again, "Sister, you are wrong. I clearly heard that Yue Ling took the Lin family's maid with her when she went out. What princess or princess is this? So it seems that Bao girl is the one who did the right thing?"

……

"The Marquis is not in the government office. He is now in the warehouse in the north of the city."

"Okay, thank you, sir."

Upon learning where Yue Ling had gone, Xue Baochai lowered the curtain of the sedan chair, took a deep breath, and felt extremely uneasy.

It was the first time Ying'er saw the girl in such a panic, so she asked with concern: "Girl, this place is not far from the big warehouse in the north of the city. Besides, there is no traffic on this road, and people are gathering at the porridge stall. I think we will arrive soon, what are you still worried about?"

Xue Baochai shook her head and said nothing.

With her hands clenched tightly in her sleeves and clasped in front of her, Xue Baochai's whole body was as tense as a string.

After a while, the sedan chair slowly landed on the ground. Xue Baochai stuck her head out and saw two people standing side by side outside the warehouse door, one tall and one short.

The taller one was Yue Ling, Marquis of Anjing. He was dressed in black and had no ornaments around his waist. He only had a long sword hanging from his waist, which made him look a bit plain.

His face was still angular and his features were still handsome, but he didn't look very well, as if he was even more nervous than Xue Baochai herself?
Looking to the side, it was the girl who accompanied the marquis. She was wearing a moon-white double-breasted jacket with bright red printed patterns, a round-necked lining of the same color, and a bright red flowered pleated skirt that covered her feet.

The breeze blew over the hem of her skirt, revealing a corner of her layered pants, which fluttered in the air like a blooming peach blossom.

This outfit is a little different from her last elegant look. It looks more lively and is just right for going out.

"The Marquis really dotes on her and takes her with him wherever he goes."

Under such circumstances, Xue Baochai couldn't help but feel a little envious.

After sorting out her thoughts, Xue Baochai stood up and walked down from the sedan chair alone.

Xue Baochai was still nervous, and Lin Daiyu was still feeling resentful. The good mood she had when she went out with Yue Ling in the morning was half ruined.

Ever since she entered the city, she had been looking forward to Yue Ling taking her out to see the city of Cangzhou, which was slowly getting better.

"Come if you want to. If I don't come, won't it mean that she and Brother Yue have patrolled the whole city?"

Lin Daiyu suppressed her emotions and held the corner of Yue Ling's clothes tightly with her little hands, causing some wrinkles.

"I greet you, my Lord." Xue Baochai bowed first, then looked at Lin Daiyu and said hello, "Miss Lin, how are you?"

After all, it was a meeting between two well-educated and well-mannered girls, so Lin Daiyu returned the greeting and then said, "What a coincidence that I can run into Miss Xue in such a remote place."

Xue Baochai was wearing a lake blue flowered jacket, a scallion yellow silk cotton skirt, and a silver mouse shoulder-length coat. Her face was dignified, as bright as the moon, and her cheeks were slightly flushed, not like rouge, but more like the result of body heat.

Lin Daiyu, who had been praised for her beauty since childhood, could not help but secretly approve of Xue Baochai's appearance, "This sister is indeed beautiful and well-mannered, but this makes her more dangerous. If she had no desire for Brother Yue, we should still be good sisters."

The two little girls seemed to be fighting over something as soon as they met. Yue Ling was stuck between them and felt very uncomfortable.

Scratching his head, Yue Ling asked, "I wonder what Miss Xue is here for?"

Xue Baochai was thinking about how to respond to Lin Daiyu's question. After hearing Yue Ling's explanation, she quickly replied, "The city has undergone a lot of changes today. I don't know what the Xue family will do for the Marquis in the future."

Yue Ling understood, "So it's for this matter. There is nothing for the Xue family to do for the time being. When someone comes to visit the pawnshop, remember to lower the price to the lowest. It's not targeting the poor people in the city, but the wealthy merchants. You opened this pawnshop for them."

Xue Baochai was a little puzzled. "Your Majesty can obviously use this grain price to directly bankrupt all the grain merchants who hoarded grain at a high price, and they will certainly come to you for help. Your Majesty can then buy grain at a fair price and store it in the warehouse to quell the chaos in the city. From now on, you can encourage people to engage in agriculture and sericulture, and build water conservancy projects to benefit the people."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "Before we do anything big, we need to get rid of those people who keep making trouble in secret. It's not that I don't have a temper. I let them off the hook before because they were still useful. I'm leaving them a way out today because they are still useful."

The implication is that in Yue Ling's eyes, these people are already dead. When they are no longer useful, it is time to kill them. Moreover, he would rather kill them than let them cause any more trouble in the city.

Xue Baochai's expression was startled and she didn't know how to respond.

Yue Ling looked at the merchants in the city like this, and the Xue family, who were also merchants...

Seeing Xue Baochai's expression change, Yue Ling smiled and said, "The city is short of merchants, and your Xue family should fill the gap. I have high hopes for you, so don't fail to accomplish your mission!"

Yue Ling suddenly felt a pain in his waist. He looked around and saw Lin Daiyu's eyes filled with reproach. Her hands were no longer clutching the corner of her clothes, but were pinching Yue Ling's waist.

Presumably, the two of them started chatting about business, and Yue Ling became a little proud again. He spoke without thinking, and left Lin Daiyu, who was supposed to accompany him, aside, which made her unhappy.

Yue Ling smiled and took Lin Daiyu's hand, then held it in his palm again, and said to Xue Baochai: "You should know how to do business. Even if you don't, there are so many shopkeepers in Fengzihao for you to ask. I am not an expert in this field either."

"Just do your job and don't worry about anything else. Today I am taking Sister Lin out for a walk to see how the porridge distribution in the city is going. I won't talk too much. If you have any more questions, you can come to the government office to pass on a message."

Xue Baochai felt relieved, knowing that she had misunderstood Yue Ling's intention. She could only laugh at herself.

When he looked at Yue Ling again, he nodded and said, "Don't worry, my Lord, the Xue family will not be disappointed."

He glanced at Yue Ling, but his eyes fell on the hands held by the two.

Lin Daiyu even swung her body at the right time, which had an unspoken meaning.

Lin Daiyu is truly doted on by Yue Ling, even more favored than his own sister, while she can only call him Marquis, and only if she does her job more competently can she be considered worthy of his attention. What is there to fight for?

Xue Baochai felt a little jealous, and her eyes became a little blunt.

Seeing this, Lin Daiyu became more alert. "This Miss Xue really has feelings for Brother Yue. The unspeakable meaning in her eyes is different from the respect shown by Yun girl. She is actually a little infatuated. It's dangerous. If it weren't for official business, there would be no delay. Brother Yue really shouldn't get along with such a woman."

However, Lin Daiyu still knew how far she was from herself, and she didn't even look at whose hand Brother Yue was holding at that moment.

"Thank you, Sister Xue, for doing something for my brother. I'm sure my brother will not treat Sister Xue unfairly."

Seeing Lin Daiyu's bright smile, Xue Baochai was neither anxious nor annoyed, and could not help but smile, "I am just doing things with the care of the Marquis, so I can't take any credit for it."

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu's brows furrowed and she held Yue Ling's hand a little harder.

Yue Ling's mood at the moment was even more mixed. He didn't know why the atmosphere was tense after these two girls had only met twice.

I vaguely remember that there was some misunderstanding between the two in the original novel. It was only after a quarrel between the two that they understood each other's feelings and became a pair of good sisters.

It seemed that during a drinking game, Lin Daiyu blurted out a line of poetry from the banned book that Jia Baoyu had shown her. Only after Xue Baochai kindly reminded her did the two open their hearts to each other.

But there was no Jia Baoyu at that moment, only Yue Ling.

"The fight between the two should be a perfect match between a golden jade and a wooden and stone alliance, but now it's more like two little girls fighting over my toy."

(End of this chapter)