Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 23: Double Happiness
After the Princess of Qin understood the whole story, she suddenly realized and said, "It turns out that the beloved daughter of Censor Lin came to the capital and was fostered in General Yue's mansion. I was thinking of bringing her here to raise her together. So it seems that what Your Highness said just now is not right."

King Qin raised his eyebrows, "What's wrong?"

The Princess of Qin patted the King of Qin on the shoulder and said, "This child must be very kind-hearted, honest and reliable, that's why Censor Lin entrusted his beloved daughter to him..."

For convenience, the King of Qin no longer returned to the inner chamber, but set up a family banquet in the meeting room to entertain Dongfang Zhi.

This is not the first time that they have acted like this.

The table was filled with delicacies, but Dongfang Zhi only stared at a few dishes and chewed them carefully.

Above, the Princess of Qin knelt beside the King of Qin, pouring wine and serving him personally.

When the wine was half drunk, the King of Qin asked again: "Mr. Dongfang, what do you think of Yue Ling?"

Dongfang Zhi put down his bamboo chopsticks, wiped his mouth with the handkerchief prepared by the palace maid on the brocade plate beside him, and said with his hands raised, "Young but mature, he must be a thousand-mile horse."

The King of Qin put down the wine cup in his hand, took a breath unconsciously, and looked at Dongfang Zhi, "Mr. Dongfang actually gave such a high evaluation? I have never heard this sentence from you before."

Dongfang Zhi nodded, "He is well-versed in human nature, experienced in planning, and has both civil and military skills. He can be a capable minister to govern the country, or he can be a lone minister belonging to Your Highness, and be the knife in Your Highness's hand. It all depends on how Your Highness guides him."

The Prince of Qin sobered up a little, and even his wife looked towards Dongfang Zhi unconsciously.

"Sir, you said that Yue Ling is a man of both civil and military talents. How do you know that?"

Dongfang Zhi pinched his white beard. "Just now, there was ink between his fingers. I think it was newly dyed. Lin Ruhai was a former top scholar in the imperial examination. I have also heard of his daughter. She is a talented girl who can read poems at the age of three and write poems at the age of five. Perhaps, Yue Xiaoyou is the tutor of this talented girl."

The King of Qin's lips were a little dry, so he pursed them and asked again, "Sir, do you think it is more appropriate for him to be a capable minister or a lonely minister..."

Dongfang Zhi shook his head and said, "I can't say that. Your Highness should make the decision."

After a long while, the King of Qin sighed and said, "I thought I had a keen eye, but now it seems that I am not as good as Lin Ruhai in judging people."

Dongfang Zhi didn't understand what he meant and asked, "What does your highness mean?"

The King of Qin drank the wine in his cup, smacked his lips and said, "Lin Ruhai and Yue Ling only had a few official contacts, but Lin Ruhai could see that Yue Ling was extraordinary and entrusted his daughter to him. I am not as good as him in judging people."

It turned out to be a matter of love between young men and women, so Dongfang Zhi stopped talking.

But in his opinion, Lin Ruhai might not have thought that far ahead.

The Princess of Qin poured wine for the King of Qin and said excitedly, "The daughter of Censor Lin is only sixty or seven years old this year, and he has entrusted her to General Yue. Censor Lin is really willing to give her up. I was twelve years old when I entered the mansion. How about this, Your Highness, do a good deed and marry Censor Lin's daughter to General Yue!"

"This way, the two families can hold the ceremony in a grand manner, and it will be more legitimate!"

The King of Qin waved his hand and said, "It's too early. Besides, Lin Ruhai has to return to Beijing to take up his post, so he can't stay in the southeast forever. When the court is stable, I will summon him back to Beijing to take up an important post, and then grant him a marriage. Isn't it a good thing to have two? It can also be regarded as an explanation to Lin Ruhai for his hard work for me for so many years."

Princess Qin clapped her hands in agreement, "Great, that's great. I'm sure Censor Lin will be grateful for your kindness!"

……

The sunset glowed in the sky, and Yue Ling hurried all the way back home from the palace.

The news today was too sudden. As a result, the capital city was still in chaos. Therefore, Yue Ling wanted to spend as much time with Lin Daiyu as possible. As his position became more important, he would not have as much free time as he did now. In addition, he did not expect that Rong Guogong Jia Daishan was seriously injured and captured in this battle. The Jia family was in a dangerous situation.

The glory of the Jia family's Rong and Ning mansions basically rests on the heads of the two dukes, especially Jia Daishan, who has military power and has guarded the border for several years.

If Jia Daishan died from his injuries at the hands of the northern barbarians, I'm afraid the Rongguo Mansion would really be on the decline.

What's more, the Jia family has so many unfilial descendants who find various ways to commit suicide.

With a myriad of thoughts running through his mind, Yue Ling turned into the alley. The scene in front of him made him open his eyes wide.

I saw a group of people blocking the front door of my house, and some people in front had already entered the courtyard.

Yue Ling was furious. Worried about Lin Daiyu's safety, he whipped his horsewhip three times and was about to draw the sword at his waist.

When they got closer, they suddenly realized that it was the servants of the Jia family, and a few young men who were watching the fun, who seemed to be there to encourage the arrival of the newcomers. Among them was a tomboy dressed as a man, who accompanied Jia Baoyu and walked into the courtyard.

"Sister, Brother Ai said you are very pretty. Let me come in and see if it is true."

Frightened, Lin Daiyu didn't know how to deal with the situation. She hid in her room and refused to come out, nor did she answer the calls from outside. Only the little maid Xueyan was guarding the door, not wanting Jia Baoyu and his friends to come forward.

Baoyu smiled and said, "Sister Lin, we are all not strangers here, why are you so reserved? I am indeed following the order of the ancestor to bring you some gifts, and I am not lying."

Then she waved to a maid beside her and stood under the window together, "Look, Sister Ying'er, the one sent by the ancestors to look after my sister, she can testify that what I said is not a lie."

Baoyu was looking forward to Lin Daiyu opening the door with great joy so that he could have a good chat with her.

Because what he saw was too poor and lonely, he guessed that Lin Daiyu was not living a good life. Once he could reason with her and appeal to her emotions, he might be able to take this opportunity to bring her back home. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

A woman as beautiful as Lin Daiyu was living with Yue Ling. Every time Baoyu thought of her at night, he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

Today, it happened that the evil star Yue Ling was not at home. It seemed that even God was helping him.

Seeing no response from inside, the tomboy in the crowd felt her feet were a little sore from waiting, so she wanted to sit on the swing nearby and have a rest.

However, Lin Daiyu happened to look up and saw him, so she hurriedly shouted, "Don't sit down, don't touch it!"

Just when I was about to say something stingy, I suddenly realized that my feet had left the ground before I even sat on the swing.

When she looked back, she saw that she was being carried by a tall and handsome stranger. She was so frightened that she shrank her neck unconsciously.

Yue Ling looked around and asked coldly: "Who allowed you to come in?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Lin Daiyu in the room felt relieved. She came to the window and looked forward to Yue Ling cleaning up the situation as soon as possible.

Baoyu couldn't help but shiver, and turned around tremblingly. He met Yue Ling's murderous gaze, pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.

Xueyan slowly slid down and sat on the stone steps, sighing: "General Yue, you are finally back. If you hadn't come back, I would have been unable to stop you..."

(End of this chapter)