Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 245 Baoyu: I have seen this sister
It originally took five or six days to travel from Cangzhou to the capital by boat.

After Yue Ling presided over the dredging of the river, the excavation of river silt, and the construction of water conservancy projects, ensuring that the canal had sufficient water flow during the flood season and the dry season, the speed of navigation became faster, taking less than four days.

As they got closer to the capital, the girls also got over the sadness of leaving Cangzhou and they began to visit each other more frequently.

Xue Baochai was sitting in Lin Daiyu's room, with her eyebrows slightly raised and an incomprehensible meaning in her eyes. She stared at Lin Daiyu, making her feel uneasy.

Originally everything was innocent, but now Lin Daiyu really has something to hide.

And the person in front of him has contributed greatly to the situation.

"Sister Bao, if you have something to say, just say it. Why are you always staring at me like this?"

Lin Daiyu raised her eyebrows, showing a bit of dissatisfaction.

Xue Baochai chuckled, put the teacup aside, and curled her eyes. "There's nothing much to say, but I think Sister Lin did a good job. We are in different places, and I'm afraid I can't be as 'bold' as Sister Lin. Or is it better to say 'deep in love'?"

Lin Daiyu pursed her lips, and the momentum she had just raised was shattered by Xue Baochai.

"Sister Bao, please stop teasing me. It's better to think about what to do after arriving in Beijing. Do you have a house in Beijing? Why don't you stay at my place first? It won't be too lonely."

Lin Daiyu brought up a topic that really drew Xue Baochai's attention to it.

Indeed, after arriving in Beijing, it was she, not Lin Daiyu, who faced difficulties.

Xue Baochai lowered her eyebrows slightly, sighed softly, and said, "I can make the decision in Cangzhou, but I have to ask mother's opinion when I come to the capital. The key is how my brother will arrange it. If he doesn't follow the Marquis's suggestion and send him to the military camp for training, mother will probably be willing to let him stay in Rongguo Mansion or the Prince's Mansion and let his uncle discipline him."

It is not a pleasant feeling to live under someone else's roof, let alone when they come with their families.

No matter how wealthy the relatives are, it is difficult for them to accept outsiders for a long time. Besides, the Xue family is not without the financial resources to purchase a house. Such behavior of currying favor with the powerful will only lead to gossip.

When Xue Baochai thought of this, she felt bad.

Lin Daiyu naturally stood beside her, put her arm around her shoulders, slowly put her head against her chest, and comforted her softly, "Don't worry, Sister Bao. After all, he has suffered in prison, so he shouldn't be as arrogant as before. At worst, there is Brother Yue to support him. It will be useless if a letter is sent to the Beijing camp and no one disagrees."

"I am very worried about you."

Xue Baochai was slightly surprised, "Why are you worried about me?"

Lin Daiyu came to sit opposite Xue Baochai, shook her head, and said seriously, "Sister Bao is three years older than me, and now is the right age for you to get married. I am only worried that if you go to Rongguo Mansion, you will not be able to get out and let your mother do whatever she wants."

Hearing this, Xue Baochai's face turned bitter again.

Her mother had indeed mentioned her marriage more than once, but after she had achieved some results, she mentioned it less and less.

It seemed that the shopkeepers of various Fengzihao stores kept sending letters, which changed my mother's mind.

But when he arrives in Beijing and enters the Rongguo Mansion, it is still unknown what will happen.

She knew her mother best. She was a soft-hearted person who had no ideas.

If someone with a little bit of common sense persuades him, he will be tempted to act and will not be able to distinguish between the gains and losses.

Thinking of this, Xue Baochai sighed endlessly, completely forgetting that she was the one who took the initiative just now.

Lin Daiyu didn't want to see her good sister fall into this trap. After all, she had been to Rongguo Mansion several times and had some understanding of the situation there. It was not as good as her parents had described.

What about a family of poetry, etiquette, and nobility, a family of benevolence, filial piety, and brotherhood? It's all nonsense. It only looks good on the surface, but in reality it's nothing but a fire boiling oil.

Turning her eyes, Lin Daiyu kindly reminded: "When Sister Bao enters Rongguo Mansion, you must be careful of one person."

Xue Baochai asked in confusion, "Be careful of one person? Rongguo Mansion is the residence of a duke after all, and we are also close relatives. How could someone harm us?"

Lin Daiyu waved her hands, "That's not the case. There is a mischievous devil in Rongguo Mansion. He is favored by my grandmother and everyone in the mansion holds him in the palm of their hand. No one dares to offend him. I think he is a pervert. When he sees a girl with outstanding appearance, he will use sweet words to deceive her. He often says, 'I have seen this girl before', 'Just treat her as an old acquaintance'. Sister, don't be fooled by him."

Xue Baochai smiled awkwardly.

She is not really a girl who never leaves the house. Not to mention that she has met various talented and romantic men, but her understanding of the world and human nature have long exceeded her current age.

If she wanted to be good at dancing and gain a foothold in the Rongguo Mansion, it would not be difficult. If she didn't want to cooperate with her mother in a play, who could trick her?

What's more, she has seen people like Yue Ling and has already had her heart set on him. Could there be someone who is better than Yue Ling?
Xue Baochai shook her head. "Although I am not as clever as Sister Lin, I am not someone who can be fooled by a few sweet words. Sister Lin really underestimates me."

Lin Daiyu blinked her eyes, as if smiling, and said, "But I heard that when Sister Bao first met Brother Yue, Brother Yue won you over without even saying sweet words?"

Xue Baochai's face was filled with anger. She tilted her head to look at the place where the maids were having fun. "Did that damn girl Ying'er say something too much? How could she say such a thing?"

Lin Daiyu waved her hands and sneered, "It wasn't Ying'er who said that. I guessed it. Sister Bao is really careless. Brother Yue is not the kind of scoundrel who would say sweet words to someone he meets for the first time. That's why I asked this question."

Xue Baochai lost again and held her forehead helplessly, "Yes, it's all because of Sister Lin's good intentions. I will be careful to avoid it."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "At worst, I can let your mother and brother live in Rongguo Mansion, and you can come and live with me. Anyway, I will not sit idly by and watch you get into trouble... Sister Bao, please relax."

Xue Baochai nodded slightly, and Lin Daiyu also smiled slightly.

……

In the capital city, at Rongguo Mansion, the funeral ceremonies for the Duke were of an extraordinary standard.

Because of His Majesty's great favor and old friendship, the treatment of the Jia family was further improved. Countless relatives and dignitaries set up mourning sheds on Ningrong Street, and all the descendants of the four kings and eight dukes were included, and it was the heads of the families who took care of them.

Now it was still the mourning period, and Jia Daishan's subordinates and students, who were spread all over the world, kept going to Rongguo Mansion to pay their respects. The generals of the nine frontiers, who could not leave their posts without permission, had to reluctantly send people to pay their respects.

The Rongguo Mansion was overwhelmed for a while.

Inside the inner curtain, Baoyu also changed out of his favorite bright red clothes and put on pure white mourning clothes, tied a hemp rope around his waist, and cried in the mourning hall for several mornings.

His feelings for his grandfather were not deep, but everyone in his hall was crying, even some old people in the Rongguo Mansion were almost fainting from crying. If he didn't cry, he would probably be beaten.

But after crying for more than ten days, he was really tired of it and didn't know when he could resume his normal life. After all, he could come and go freely in the garden from now on.

No one will bring up the fact that he hangs around in the inner chambers all day long. Isn't that convenient?
But today, when he was about to go out, he found that the door was locked from the outside, locking him in the room.

Jia Baoyu was stunned for a moment, knocking and calling for people, "Sister Xiren? Sister Qingwen? Qiu Wen, She Yue?"

After shouting for a long time, a little maid came over and said, "Greetings, Master Bao. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Baoyu looked at the person's appearance and didn't think she looked familiar. There were often new maids in the garden, and he was not familiar with all of them, except those who were good-looking.

"You look unfamiliar. I wonder if you know what's going on in this room and why my door is locked?"

The little maid bowed apologetically, "This is what Madam told us. Today, the Xue family from Nanjing came to Beijing to pay their respects, and they also brought along Lin Daiyu, the daughter of Lin Ruhai, the Imperial Censor of Salt. In the past, Master Bao confessed to physical torture, so Madam is here just in case..."

"Bah, what nonsense is this? I don't believe that my wife would lock me up. Who is so bold as to do such a thing? I will sue my ancestor and have her kicked out!"

Before the little maid could finish her words, Jia Baoyu started making a noise in the room.

The little maid said with a bitter face: "Every word I said is true, and it's only this afternoon. I can untie it for Master Bao in the afternoon."

Baoyu said in a loud voice, "No, I want to eat, drink tea, and go to the bathroom! What's the point of locking me up? Besides, I won't provoke them. It's as if I have to go over to them and get slapped in the face."

The little maid was at a loss for a moment, then she saw a girl dressed as a maid turning around the corridor and coming towards them.

Baoyu was delighted when he saw this, "Sister Qingwen! Sister Qingwen, please come quickly and give me this lock! She is holding me captive like this, treating me like a prisoner!"

Qingwen, who had gone out to support the family, came back and glanced at the little girl, then looked at Baoyu through the crack of the door, wondering what the situation was.

But she was eager to protect her master. When she saw Baoyu being wronged, she became angry and grabbed the little maid and asked, "Where are you from? How dare you treat your master like this?"

The little maid choked up and said, "This is not my idea. This is the order from the Madam."

Qingwen retorted, "You are the one who is entrusted by the Madam to do this? Are Caiyun, Xiaxia, Jinchuan and Yuchuan all ill?"

The little maidservant continued, "They are all busy and can't spare time."

Baoyu shouted in a hoarse voice: "Sister Qingwen, don't believe her. How could Madam be willing to lock me up? Even if Madam was willing, the old grandfather would not agree. I still have to go to the mourning hall to mourn for Grandpa. How can there be any reason to lock me up?"

Qingwen believed Jia Baoyu's words more than the maid, so she immediately turned over and snatched the key from the maid's pocket.

With her eyebrows raised, Qingwen pinched her waist and cursed, "I don't know where you came from, you lowly thing, and you are here to humiliate your master for fun. I'm afraid you came here on purpose to use some despicable means. Get out, and don't let me see you again!"

As she spoke, Qingwen unlocked the door and led Baoyu out.

Baoyu asked happily, "Sister Qingwen, you came from outside, did you see the sister from the Xue family?"

Qingwen regained her composure, but when she heard Baoyu ask this, she became a little worried and shook her head, saying, "I haven't seen that. I just heard that they burned incense in the mourning hall. Now they should all be paying respects to the old ancestor."

Now there are women from various families in the mansion, and with so many people gathered together, I think Baoyu will not do anything reckless.

The result was not what Qingwen had expected. Baoyu shook his clothes and said calmly, "Okay, my relatives have come from afar, so I will go and see them..."

……

Perhaps because she drank too much tea, Xue Baochai left before she could say a few words in the hall.

Lin Daiyu was still in the hall being cared for and asked about her well-being by the women of the four kings and eight dukes, who treated her like the moon surrounded by stars. Naturally, they were unable to accompany her out.

At that moment, he was only followed by a little maid from the Jia family who was leading the way.

"Miss Xue, come with me."

When the little maid was bringing Xue Baochai around the porch, she happened to be following Baoyu who was walking in at a brisk pace, and they bumped into each other head on.

The little maid hurriedly stepped back and said respectfully, "Greetings, Master Bao."

Baoyu raised his head proudly and waved his hand, saying, "No need to be polite, go and get busy."

The maid continued to invite Xue Baochai to move forward, but she didn't expect Baoyu to step aside and block her way again. "Hey, I've seen this sister before. She seems to be an old acquaintance. Could she be Sister Bao from the Xue family in Jinling?"

As soon as these words came out, Xue Baochai trembled slightly, as if goose bumps fell all over the ground...

(End of this chapter)