Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 250: Like a mother and daughter talking, teaching and answering questions
"A marriage...?"

In the palace, the Queen uttered these two words in a very warm voice, but to Lin Daiyu's ears, it was like a bolt from the blue.

Suddenly, blush appeared on Lin Daiyu's snow-white cheeks. Her affectionate eyes were as big as two copper bells. There was no spirit in her eyes anymore, only astonishment and bewilderment.

His eyes were fixed into a line and he couldn't even see anything around him.

The queen calmly took a sip of tea to moisten her lips, then put down the teacup. But seeing Lin Daiyu was in a daze and didn't know how to respond, she couldn't help but covering her mouth and laughing.

"Why, don't you know? His Majesty has already sent an edict to your father, and also awarded a lot of gifts for the wedding."

The queen frowned slightly, and a few ripples appeared. She asked again in confusion, "You have asked me so many questions, so you haven't expressed your feelings yet? Or are you unwilling?"

Lin Daiyu suddenly came back to her senses and waved her hands, "No, no."

The queen continued to tease, "Neither the former, nor the latter, or neither?"

"Do not……"

Lin Daiyu choked halfway through her words, her face burning with shame, but she stammered and couldn't say anything.

The Queen seldom had anything fun to do in the deep palace, but today she found something fun and laughed even more happily.

"Tell me, how far have you come? There are no outsiders here, so what can't you say?"

Lin Daiyu hesitated for a while, and finally explained to the Queen what she had to do before leaving. In her opinion, this was a statement of her feelings. Until now, she had not figured out how to treat Yue Ling when she saw him again.

This was also the answer she wanted to get from the Queen during this trip to the palace.

However, the marriage between the Empress and Emperor Longyou was also a family political marriage. Although their feelings for each other had always been deep, they could not escape the saying "parents' orders and matchmaker's words". They got married without ever meeting each other. How familiar were they with love affairs?

At the moment, the Queen seemed to be placing her fantasies of love on Lin Daiyu, just like reading the characters in a storybook, just for fun.

But the story must be as perfect as possible. The queen racked her brains and thought, "According to what you said, Yue Ling is also emotionally clumsy. However, you took the initiative to kiss him, so even if he is stupid, he should realize the difference."

"Come to think of it, you two are not related by blood. From brother and sister to marriage, there is only a thin window of paper between you and him. How could he not like you?"

"I'm afraid that after you kiss him, he will think about it for a long time and won't be able to forget it."

"But as a girl, you have to be self-sufficient. When you meet again, you must pretend that you don't care, or even pretend that it never happened. Let him take the initiative to ask and show his affection. This way, there will be give and take, and your relationship will go further."

"Men, no matter what, need something to attract them. If you give him too many advantages, he will lose a lot of novelty. You have to keep a mysterious distance at all times, so that he can't stop wanting you."

The Queen was talking excitedly, and gave an example, "Besides, your majesty and Yue Ling are both military officers. Military officers prefer the joy of conquering cities and territories, but not easy victories. When he racks his brains and thinks of ways to enhance your relationship, you will have locked his heart firmly by your side."

Lin Daiyu was even more astonished when she heard this. It turned out that there were so many tricks involved. She couldn't help but admire the Queen even more.

"What if he really asks? How should I reply him?"

The queen smiled faintly and said, "When he asks you, he often already has the answer he wants in his mind. At this time, you should be sincere and speak out what is in your mind."

"When you lay your cards on the table, that's not the time to be shy. Remember that."

Lin Daiyu nodded repeatedly and took notes carefully.

The Queen then asked, "Did Yue Ling arrange any itinerary for you during his trip to Jiangnan?"

Lin Daiyu answered truthfully: "Brother Yue asked me to return to Beijing to take care of some matters, and then take my family south, and continue to pretend that Brother Yue is on the boat, going to Suzhou to take up his post."

The Queen nodded and said, "It's good to let you be in the open without any threat to your life. But since you have to pretend all the way, shouldn't you have someone pretend to be him? Make the show more thorough."

Lin Daiyu's eyes flashed, and she thought it made a lot of sense.

"Yes, Brother Yue is not well-known in Jiangnan, and many people must have never seen him in person. If he disguises himself, it would be easy and convenient."

Lin Daiyu immediately locked on the candidate because he could enter and leave the inner house, was close to her, and was willing to go south with her.

"That's fine, it would be boring if I were to go south alone."

The Queen interrupted Lin Daiyu's thoughts and said, "Your Majesty will announce Yue Ling's appointment in the next few days. Jiangnan is not like Cangzhou, and it will definitely be more dangerous. However, based on Yue Ling's ability, I believe he will be fine."

"You should also pack up and prepare to leave Beijing to reunite with him."

"The Jiangnan area is rich in beauties. You'd better be careful not to see your brother Yue again. There are several more girls around him."

The queen covered her mouth and chuckled again, her eyes curved as she looked at Lin Daiyu, paying attention to the changes in her facial expression.

Lin Daiyu's cheeks trembled slightly, and she murmured, "It should be... not possible."

The Queen rolled her eyes and said, "Of course not. Yue Ling might not take the initiative, but what if he meets a girl who is more willing to take the initiative? What if the girl takes the initiative? Can Yue Ling still beat her up?"

"You don't know that when your majesty was guarding the nine borders, many barbarian women rushed to expose their bodies and climb onto your majesty's bed."

"Yue Ling is also a top-notch young talent, and he became famous at a young age. How could he be unpopular?"

Lin Daiyu found it hard to imagine that kind of scene. Could she be so despicable as to take the initiative? What kind of woman would that be?

Lin Daiyu was half-believing and half-doubting the Queen's warning, and thought it was more of an alarmist statement.

"Brother Yue is not Meng Lang's man." The Queen waved her hand, "Forget it, your relationship is stronger than gold. If you say more, it will be my fault."

Lin Daiyu hurriedly said in a flattering tone, "My Queen, that's not what I meant. You are very considerate to me, just like a mother."

Speaking of this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but have tears in her eyes.

The queen was the mother of the country. Looking at this beautiful and elegant girl and thinking of her tragic life, her heart couldn't help but soften.

She took Lin Daiyu into her arms, stroked her forehead, and comforted her: "Okay, silly girl, of course I know you don't have any other intentions."

"Speaking of which, do you know your brother Yue's reputation outside?"

Lin Daiyu shook her head. "Public opinion? I don't know."

The queen laughed again, "Well, forget it if you don't know. According to rumors, he is not a noble man."

After a long time, although Lin Daiyu was reluctant to leave the Queen's arms, she had to get up.

"Empress, my father has repeatedly asked me to return to Yangzhou Prefecture. If he knew about the arranged marriage... he probably wouldn't do that."

"what?"

Lin Daiyu's words surprised the queen.

"Let you go back to Yangzhou? What does he think?"

The Queen frowned and said, "It was his idea to send you to the capital. Today, Your Majesty and I have helped him, but he wants to disobey the order?"

"I really don't know what to say."

The queen was extremely angry, as if her carefully choreographed play had been interrupted by an outsider.

"Don't worry about him. If you pass by Yangzhou Prefecture on your way back north and he doesn't allow you to come to Beijing, just tell him that I want to see you."

"Don't worry. I will bring this up with His Majesty today and give him a good lesson. What kind of person is he if he keeps changing his mind?"

Lin Daiyu felt relieved and pleaded with her father, "Don't blame me too much. He has so much work to do that maybe he doesn't think too much."

The Queen folded her hands and snorted, "I know how to handle this matter."

Soon, a group of palace maids came in, came to the queen's side and whispered a few words, and the queen showed joy on her face.

"Then what are you waiting for? Bring them all in?"

A moment later, each of the palace maids was seen wearing a brocade plate, on which were various palace costumes and luxurious jeweled head ornaments.

The queen looked at Lin Daiyu's clothes. She was wearing a moon-white long skirt that could not be simpler. There was only a gray and white striped belt around her waist. On her feet were white silk embroidered shoes. She was as plain as a little flower on the roadside.

"It's a pity to wear only this kind of clothes for a woman like you. Now that you have paid your respects, come and change your clothes."

"I just sent someone from the palace to alter this. Try it and see if it fits you."

Looking at the heavy skirts, Lin Daiyu knew that she would have to change clothes again today. She would have to change into several sets of clothes at a time, and the palace maids would have to fiddle with her for a long time.

But seeing that the queen was very interested, he had no choice but to agree.

"Okay then... I'll go inside and change..."

Not far away, Jia Yuanchun, a maid in Kunning Palace, witnessed everything in the palace and was secretly envious, but she could only stand by and wait for orders.

I dare not even sigh secretly...

……

Anjing Marquis Mansion,

The carriage wobbled into the gate, and Jia Yun and his men cut off the inside and outside. They ordered the carriage to take a sedan chair and only landed after entering the inner court.

Qin Keqing came out excitedly, but saw a woman getting off the sedan in front of her. Her appearance was quite outstanding, not inferior to Lin Daiyu. She was stunned for a moment.

"Girl, who are you?"

Until Zijuan came down and introduced to Qin Keqing: "This is the eldest daughter of the Xue family. She came to the capital with you."

Qin Keqing didn't care about this matter and asked, "What about the master?"

Zijuan blushed, turned around to look at Xue Baochai, and was too embarrassed to say anything.

Xueyan followed and casually said, "What about General Yue? When we were in Cangzhou, we were often together, and Miss Xue often stayed in the room."

"What?! You often stay in the room?!!!"

Qin Keqing's eyelids trembled, "Zijuan, what are you eating? Where is Miss Lin?"

Zijuan looked helpless. She covered Xueyan's mouth and took her away from the courtyard where there was chaos.

(End of this chapter)