Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 255 The Abnormality of the Shen Family

The paradise on earth is Wuzhong, and among it is the most majestic place, Changmen.

Three thousand green sleeves go up and down the tower, millions of gold flow east and west.

The market never stops at five o'clock in the morning, and the dialects in different places are always different.

If you ask a painter to draw a picture, he will say that painting is difficult.

You can only get a glimpse of the prosperity of Gusu by visiting it in person.

Changmen, one of the eight city gates, is a place where goods pile up like mountains and people flow like water.

After entering the Changmen Gate, there is a ten-mile-long street leading to Fengqiao, with numerous shops of various kinds.

This densely populated area doesn't look like a place where there would be starvation everywhere.

"Is that picture a prediction of what the scene will look like after rice is replaced with mulberry trees? Or is it that the places where rice is replaced with mulberry trees are already like that?"

With doubts in mind, Yue Ling walked around Suzhou City, and took Xiangling to explore it first.

Even if the innkeeper's words were just one-sided, Yue Ling asked around in many places and found that no one said anything bad about the Shen family.

It is indeed quite prestigious.

This is a good thing as it can avoid some unnecessary trouble.

Moreover, the Shen family is a well-known family in Wu County. Perhaps they can find out a lot of information about the former prefect there.

We arrived at a secluded place in the city, and saw a group of houses with white walls and black tiles, with a wooden door half-open and half-closed.

Compared with the vermilion gate of Rongguo Mansion and the stone lions in front of the gate, the majesty of the Shen family's residence is far from that. However, there is a plaque with the words "A Family of Good Deeds" hanging in front of the door, which makes people feel a little closer.

As soon as Yue Ling fell off his horse in front of the door, a guard came out and asked, "Are you here to ask for directions, or to ask for some money, or to visit the master?"

Yue Ling turned his head to look at Xiang Ling, only to see her clasping her hands nervously, her eyes fixed on her feet, she must be extremely nervous.

Taking her hand and kneading it gently, Yue Ling said, "I'm here to recognize my relatives."

The guard was stunned, and looked Yue Ling up and down. Seeing that the man was handsome and tall, he couldn't help but say, "To be honest, you don't look like my master at all. If you are here to deceive me, you might as well go somewhere else."

"Besides, my master has always been a man of integrity and has no illegitimate children."

Yue Ling curled his lips, "It's not me, it's her."

"This... this girl is born weak and delicate, it's hard to say, let me go and tell her, you can come and have some tea and wait."

Yue Ling nodded, "Just say that twelve years ago during the Lantern Festival, this girl was separated from her family, and today she came to look for her mother, Feng."

The guard nodded and said, "Okay, please wait a moment."

Following the guide, Yue Ling and Xiang Ling first came to the back hall to wait.

Looking at the yard again, it is not structured like a Jiangnan garden, quite the opposite. There are not many flowers, plants or fake stones in the yard, but vegetable plots can be seen everywhere. However, they are well maintained, showing the simplicity of this family.

Not long after, an old woman with silver hair rushed into the hall with great vigor.

Looking around, she found Xiangling next to Yue Ling. When she saw the red spot on her forehead, she burst into tears and said, "It's my son!"

The old woman took a few steps forward and hugged the bewildered Xiangling in her arms.

"It's all mother's fault. It's mother who made you suffer!"

The old woman cried so hard that Xiangling's eyes also turned red. Feeling her mother's embrace, she did feel a sense of blood connection.

"mother……"

Hearing Xiangling's soft call, Feng couldn't hold back her tears and cried until she was almost choked with sobs.

She had spent so many days and nights in regret. Whenever she thought of Xiangling's suffering, even freezing to death, starving to death, and being sold into an earthen kiln, Feng couldn't sleep all night and could only wash her face with tears.

Feng was only about forty years old, but her face was full of wrinkles, her hair was full of silver, and her posture was hunched, like an old woman.

The scene of the mother and daughter recognizing each other was truly touching, and everyone around them couldn't help but shed tears.

Yue Ling stood up and advised: "Since we have recognized each other today, we still have a lot of time to spend together in the future. Extreme joy or sorrow is not good for your health."

Feng looked up at Yue Ling and saw that he looked very majestic. She probably guessed about 70% of the situation.

He let go of his daughter and bowed to Yue Ling, saying, "Thank you so much for helping me find my daughter. But she is now alone outside and there is no chance for her to meet me again. Now that we have come to this day and my daughter is born perfectly, I would be willing to die."

Yue Ling raised his hand and said, "You're welcome. This is also Xiao Lian'er's wish."

Xiang Ling almost choked when she heard Yue Ling calling her like that.

Seeing that her daughter was very close to this man, Feng couldn't help but ask about their relationship.

Xiangling explained that Yue Ling was traveling around the world and happened to see a kidnapper mistreating her, so he saved her.

Xiangling had no idea about her own life experience and searched for a long time without any clue. It was not until she grew up that she recognized the appearance of a Jiangnan woman.

So he came to Gusu and asked around until he found this place.

When she heard that her daughter had been abducted by kidnappers and had been cruelly treated, Feng held back her tears and they rolled down again.

"It's all my fault. How can I let my daughter suffer? God should punish me a thousand times, ten thousand times more!"

"Let me see if you have any injuries."

Xiangling did have some injuries on her body, but they were not caused by the kidnapper. Moreover, not only was she injured now, she also bled last night.

Xiangling blushed and dodged, "Mom, that was when I was a kid, there's no way I'll have any injuries on my body. We're out here, how can you rummage through my clothes?"

Feng smiled awkwardly and said, "Yes, Yinglian is already a grown-up girl."

As she spoke, Feng took out another object from her bosom. It was the tiger-head hat Yinglian used to wear. With the passage of time, the color had faded a lot, but it still looked quite cute. "Since you were lost, your father has lost interest in running the business and has been concentrating on finding you. Later, the family suffered a fire, and most of the family property was burned. Since then, your father has gone crazy and went out to say that he was looking for the way. I have never seen him since."

"Later, I went to live with your grandfather, and then to your aunt's house, and only then did I feel settled."

"The master of the Shen family is a kind-hearted person. He felt sorry for me and let me have an extra mouth to feed in the room. I didn't do any work."

"Now that Yinglian is back, she doesn't have to suffer outside. I'll go tell your aunt and Mr. Shen, and we'll buy a house in the backyard for her to live in."

Xiangling was very touched, but she still looked up at Yue Ling. Seeing Yue Ling nod in agreement, she agreed, "I will follow mother's arrangements, but Hou..."

After saying the word "Hou", Xiangling suddenly realized that she had said it wrong, and quickly swallowed it back. She said shyly, "Mother, please talk to Mr. Shen and arrange a place for my husband to live."

"Your husband?"

Feng was stunned. She had thought that the two had a good relationship. After all, they were both talented men and beautiful women, and Xiangling's appearance was extremely outstanding. However, she did not expect that the two had such a relationship.

As a girl who just recognized her relatives, she was not qualified to say too much, and she was also unable to comment on Yue Ling. It was not that Yue Ling was not good, but she was shocked to learn about such things just after meeting him.

Xiangling nodded slightly and agreed, "Yes."

Feng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go ask."

After Feng left, the hall returned to silence. Xiangling wiped the tears from her eyes and said to Yue Ling, "My Lord, my mother doesn't know your identity. If she is disrespectful, please don't take it to heart."

Yue Ling was not a man who was fussy about small matters. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay to be ignorant, but you can't call me that in public anymore, even if there's no one around. You should know that walls have ears when you're in another's house."

Xiangling nodded shyly and replied, "Husband, I understand."

Yue Ling couldn't help but smile, and rubbed Xiang Ling's soft waist. "I won't remember your mother's mistakes. At most, you can come and make amends."

Xiangling's cheeks were red. After tasting the sweetness, she was actually looking forward to it, especially when Yue Ling patted her on the butt.

When the two were being intimate, a light cough was heard outside the door.

Feng came outside with a charming woman who looked a little younger than her.

I guess this person must be Feng’s sister.

The woman came to Xiangling, looked her up and down, and couldn't help but say happily: "As expected of a girl from the Feng family, her beauty is first-rate."

Feng added: "This rouge mole can't be fake. This is my girl."

The woman praised it continuously, saying that the rouge mole was the finishing touch of her appearance, right in the middle of her forehead, which was really pleasing.

The woman was also very curious, so she took Xiangling's hand.

"Poor little kid, I don't know how much you have suffered these years. Come with me and let me have some good food and use. You can live in my house without worry. No one will treat you harshly in the future."

The woman was too enthusiastic, but Xiangling still hadn't forgotten Yue Ling, so she asked, "What about my husband?"

The woman glanced at Yue Ling, but her expression was not very good. "He has someone to entertain him. It's not your business to worry about. Come back to your room first. Don't stay in the outer curtain where the servants come and go."

When Xiangling saw Yue Ling nodded again, she followed the woman and her mother and left.

Before he could finish his task, several burly guards came in and said to Yue Ling, "The master has prepared tea in the hall. Please come with us."

Yue Ling nodded, "Lead the way."

As the saying goes, seeing is believing.

But when Yue Ling saw it with his own eyes, it seemed that it was not entirely true.

There was nothing wrong with the Shen family's hospitality, but Yue Ling always felt something was a little different. For example, for a family that only farms and studies, there were too many guards.

From the door at the entrance to the people walking in the courtyard, each of them seems to have a background in martial arts. If you are not a martial artist with a certain level of accomplishment, it would be difficult to tell them apart.

Unfortunately, Yue Ling is just such a person.

In the main hall, a middle-aged man in a Confucian robe was drinking tea and waiting. When he saw Yue Ling coming, he smiled like a spring breeze and said, "Sir, please take a seat."

Yue Ling shook his robe, then leaned back and sat down, facing the head of the Shen family at the table.

Shen Yishu took a closer look at Yue Ling and liked his handsome face, so he said in a friendly manner: "I wonder where your fairyland is, and is there anyone else in the mansion?"

Yue Ling took a sip of tea and said, "I am from the capital. I have several family members, but I don't have frequent contact with them. I don't have my parents to take care of me, so I just wander around. Fortunately, I ran into Xiao Lian'er on the road. It can be considered a chance encounter."

Shen Yishu nodded, "It's Jinlian's good fortune to meet you, young man. How long have you been together?"

Yue Ling said: "When I rescued her, she was seven years old. It has been nine years now."

Shen Yishu sighed again, "For nine years, you have been running around just to find your relatives. You are really righteous and admirable. Come, taste this tea again. It is the best Biluochun this year. If it weren't for the relationship, I would not be willing to give it out."

Yue Ling cupped his hands, "Mr. Shen, you are too polite."

After chatting for a while, Shen Yishu finally brought the topic to his ultimate goal, "I really don't know how to start this matter. My wife loves Yinglian and wants to keep her in the room as a daughter. As for you, you are homeless and they don't want Yinglian to suffer with you anymore."

"I know you two are very close, but isn't it true that when you're out there, you should stay out of trouble."

"Jinlian is just a girl from an ordinary family. Living a peaceful life is her destiny. Young man, you really don't want that."

"There are so many women in the world, why do you have to pity this one?"

"You took Yinglian's body because you two were in love, so we can't say anything. But I admire your demeanor and am willing to help you with some money. You just need to tell me the amount."

Yue Ling sighed secretly and said, "When traveling in the martial arts world, money is just a thing outside of one's body. Loyalty and righteousness are the most important things. Master Shen, please stop using the smell of money to taint others."

Shen Yishu sighed and shook his head.

At that moment, a voice called out from outside the door, "Didn't you say that my extremely pretty cousin is here? Tell me where she is, I want to go and see her!"

Yue Ling frowned, feeling as if he had come to Rongguo Mansion and bumped into Jia Baoyu...

(End of this chapter)