Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 252: The Queen's Arrangement

At the Rongguo Mansion, Aunt Xue was caught between Wang Ziteng and Mrs. Wang, and was in a dilemma.

It’s not right to let Xue Baochai come back, and it’s not right not to let her come back, so she might as well just leave it lying in the yard.

The trouble-making Xue Pan was not around, and the uncontrollable Xue Baochai was not around either, so she was able to have some peace and quiet.

As for Mrs. Wang's grand plan, Jia Baoyu doesn't seem to be someone who can accomplish anything. Even with Mrs. Wang's support, she still feels a little dissatisfied.

When the incident in the court fermented today, the beating Jia Baoyu received was actually the smallest loss.

Seeing the Jia family's bad reputation, who would dare to marry into the Jia family in the future?

The noble families would be marginalized without marriage as a bond.

But now the Xue family is thriving. Just the business in the capital city must exceed the income from the Jia family's farm.

As for Yuanchun's transformation into a phoenix in the palace, it would not be too late to flatter her until there is news.

Apart from Yuanchun, there is nothing else worth investing in the Jia family.

Merchants are profit-driven, and Aunt Xue has been in charge of the Feng brand for so long that she has been influenced by it.

After thinking it over, Aunt Xue told the maids, "Go and lock the gate, and clean up here. If the Second Madam comes to ask, tell her that I have rested after my long journey, and will go to the hall later to greet them."

If things can't be done, just use the tactic of procrastination first. At worst, we can buy a house outside Rongguo Mansion in the future. The Xue family is not short of this little money.

Aunt Xue lay down here with peace of mind, but she made Mrs. Wang, who came late, very angry.

She then stopped the angry Jia Zheng in the other yard and rescued Baoyu, but she was unable to save Baoyu from the fate of having to rest on the couch.

"After being beaten, he will have to stay on the bed for several months. My son has a miserable life."

No matter how distressed Mrs. Wang was, she had to go to Aunt Xue to discuss important matters. But when she arrived, she found that Aunt Xue had already gone to bed.

Now she was the one who was furious.

"This is a hopeless family. How can she sleep at this critical moment?"

The eldest wife had just inherited the title, and Mrs. Wang's position in the house was severely challenged, so she naturally couldn't sleep.

The original intention of asking the Xue family to come was to help, but now it has only made things worse, and this time they even stayed indoors and refused to come out.

Mrs. Wang couldn't do anything about them. If she drove the Xue family out again in anger, she would be the one who would be embarrassed.

You lured people here and then drove them away. What kind of drama are you performing?
There are hundreds of Jia family members living in this mansion. Who knows how they will be laughed at and gossiped about, with maids and nannies gossiping about them all day long. Mrs. Wang has to be decent.

After glancing at the gate of Lixiang Courtyard, Madam Wang left in anger, secretly complaining in her heart: "The Xue family is useless, so there is naturally my mother's family. At that time, they arranged a marriage for Feng girl and Lian'er, but I don't think it is necessary to arrange a marriage for Lian'er!"

……

While the Rongguo Mansion was in chaos, the Anjinghou Mansion was much more stable.

When Lin Daiyu returned from the imperial city and walked into the courtyard, she saw Qingwen, dressed in new clothes. Now she and Ni Ni were working as curtain-rolling maids on her left and right.

The maid who pulled up the curtains was usually just a little girl with a topknot. It was a bit strange for a senior maid like Qingwen to do errands outside.

"Miss Lin."

Qingwen bowed her head slightly and pursed her lips nervously.

For a maid, being kicked out of the mansion was a very terrifying thing. First of all, it meant that she had made a serious mistake in the previous master's house, and her family background was not clear, so it would be difficult to find another job.

Qingwen was an orphan, and had only one cousin who worked in the Rongguo Mansion. However, he was only the lowest-ranking servant in the outer court, and he got the job because Qingwen was a maid in the inner court. He could not provide much help to her.

If a girl of her age were to wander the streets, she would most likely end up in some shady place.

So death was her only choice, but now she had thought it through and did not want to die because of Baoyu.

Even though she still felt unwilling, she wanted to do as Xue Baochai said and see if Baoyu would remember their old relationship and send someone to inquire about her.

The most important thing is the immediate livelihood.

Lin Daiyu's emotions were not as complicated as Qingwen's. Her thoughts were very simple. Although the maid was wrong, she was not unrelated to the punishment. If she died because of such a thing, the kind-hearted Lin Daiyu would find it hard to bear.

"Look up."

Qingwen responded and looked over, and saw Lin Daiyu smiling gently again.

"You look quite similar to me. Have you thought it through? Do you want to stay and work in the mansion?"

Qingwen nodded and said, "I am willing to stay and work in your mansion. I beg Miss Lin to take me in."

Lin Daiyu blinked her eyes. As a maid, Qingwen was very beautiful and she was protective of her master. She thought that if she stayed, it would not cause any trouble. However, there were already many maids in the room, and she was just a latecomer. It seemed that staying in front of the door to roll up the curtains was the best job for her.

The head maid in Rongguo Mansion can only be used as a servant here. It seems that the gap between the past and the present is quite big.

Now Zijuan has been assigned to Yue Ling as a personal maid, and Lin Daiyu needs another one in her room at this time. But as for such things, let's wait and see how it goes and see if Qingwen will behave herself.

"Then you should just work outside for now. There are some rules at home, which are not as relaxed as those in Rongguo Mansion. Let Ni Ni talk to you about it."

"I know you are half a girl in Rongguo Mansion, but if you still act like an old girl here, Brother Yue will not tolerate you. So if you want to work in the mansion, you should control your temper first."

Qingwen nodded repeatedly, not daring to say a word in rebuttal.

Lin Daiyu ordered again: "Clean up the room on the right wing and let her live there first."

Ni Ni looked at Qingwen, whose face was filled with sorrow, and dared not say anything, and hurriedly went to do her work.

After dealing with Qingwen's matter, Lin Daiyu entered the hall again and found that the atmosphere in the hall was as silent as a pool of stagnant water.

Qin Keqing and Xue Baochai didn't seem to get along very well. They just sat opposite each other without saying anything.

Lin Daiyu couldn't help but laugh secretly.

When the two men saw Lin Daiyu coming in, they also stood up and came to Lin Daiyu, and then heard Lin Daiyu say: "After returning from the imperial city, our next plan is basically determined."

"Within three to five days, His Majesty will issue an imperial decree to appoint Brother Yue as the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, a second-rank official, to handle all confidential matters in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. We will take our family south and meet Brother Yue in Gusu."

"Well, except for Ni Ni and Qing Wen who stay at home, we will all go."

"And then there is one more thing. The Queen Mother said that it would be more convenient to have someone impersonate Brother Yue. I think that is the case, so Sister Bao?"

Xue Baochai tilted her head and looked at Lin Daiyu in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Sister Bao, can you take care of the Xue family's affairs in the next three to five days and then go south with us?"

Xue Baochai was surprised and asked, "Am I going too?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Who else can pretend to be Brother Yue? We can't just find a man, right?"

"I'm pretending?"

Lin Daiyu nodded repeatedly, "Sister Ke'er is tall and her limbs are too slender. How can she pretend to be a man? I'm afraid she will be recognized from a distance."

When Xue Baochai heard that she was chosen to dress as a man because of her fuller figure, she was really not happy at all.

"Brother Yue is so strong, I don't think there is anyone more suitable than Sister Bao in this room."

Lin Daiyu came to Xue Baochai's side, took her arm again, and shook her, "Sister Bao? Do you want to stay in Beijing and get entangled with Rongguo Mansion?"

Xue Baochai sighed helplessly and poked Lin Daiyu on the forehead. "You have already figured me out, what else can I say? Since we are all here to help the Marquis, there is nothing wrong with going to Jiangnan again."

Lin Daiyu was beaming with joy, and the atmosphere in the room became cheerful. The girls began to prepare a banquet to celebrate their upcoming trip south.

……

The Dachang Dynasty inherited the old system of the Yuan Dynasty and still set up provinces at the local level, with the Xingzhongshu Province managing all military and political affairs.

Such management certainly saved the court a lot of trouble, but the power of the Secretariat at the local level was too great, so the military was separated from it and the positions of governor and governor-general were set up in one or several provinces, which provided some checks and balances.

At present, the Xingzhongshu Province is only in charge of civil affairs, but even so, the position of the prime minister, the head of the Xingzhongshu Province, is very transcendent. He is far away from the court, but has great influence on the court.

The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province covered vast areas of southern Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, etc., and had two prefectures, two states, 26 states and 143 counties.

Yangzhou Prefecture, Jinling Prefecture, Suzhou, Hangzhou, these cities that are as wealthy as the capital are all located in one place. The prosperity of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is unimaginable.

Therefore, the taxes from Jiangsu and Zhejiang alone account for more than half of the country's total, so it goes without saying how important their status is.

And even in such a place, there was something fishy when implementing national policies. It was even very likely that officials worked together to conceal the facts and report them. How could Emperor Longyou accept this?

A painting titled "A Thousand Miles of Starving Corpses" kept him awake day and night.

Hangzhou, Provincial Government Office,
The lights in the second hall were on. Behind the desk sat an old man with white hair and beard, who was resting with his eyes closed. Below him were eighteen sandalwood chairs, all painted vermilion, which matched the intricately carved pillars and colorful ribbons hanging between the beams in the second hall.

The first person on the left hand side of the desk was Qian Shiyuan, the vice-minister of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province. He was middle-aged and slightly bloated, with a slightly bulging belly under his gold-embroidered official robe. His face was round, and the fat on his cheeks trembled slightly with his breathing.

Sitting opposite him on the right is Zhen Yingjia, the supervisor of the Suzhou and Hangzhou Weaving Bureau. He was born in the Zhen family of Jinling and was a royal servant. Although his official title was not as high as the other two, his influence in front of the emperor and power in the local area of ​​Jiangnan were not inferior to them.

But at this moment, they all looked worried and sighed continuously.

"No matter what, if we want to increase our profits by 50% this year compared to last year, we need to produce at least 300,000 more pieces of silk..."

(End of this chapter)