Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 261 Lord Lin invites you! Lin Daiyu: No!
After leaving the Shen family's gate, Xing Xiuyan could no longer control her emotions and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Miaoyu, you are such a fool. What will you do when I leave?"

"You must seek justice for your father's unjust death. If justice could be sought, the world would have been peaceful long ago."

"I am also a stubborn person. I must accompany you down the mountain, woo woo woo."

Xing Xiuyan cried and covered her face with her sleeves, feeling very sad.

She had already made plans. When she returned to the mountain and returned all the magic tools, she would erect a monument for Miaoyu under the largest plum tree in the courtyard and burn some flower petals to commemorate her, as a way to express her longing for her.

Xing Xiuyan was neglected by her parents since she was a child and could only live in a house rented in a temple.

Living next door to Miaoyu and being of similar age, the two interacted like sisters.

Miaoyu told her scriptures, poems, and taught her calligraphy, and they had a semi-teacher-teacher relationship. Otherwise, Xing Xiuyun, who was naturally calm, would not have accompanied her to go crazy outside.

Passing by the woods they came from, Xing Xiuyan changed out of her cassock. When she was about to take off her regular clothes, someone grabbed her from behind and blindfolded her.

Xing Xiuyan had no idea what was happening. When she wanted to scream for help, her mouth was blocked by rags.

Afterwards, he felt as if ropes were tightening around his body, and even his limbs could not move.

Xing Xiuyan was in tears. She was a nun all alone, but was actually targeted by thieves. She would have to die here today.

After an unknown amount of time of bumpy ride, it seemed as if they were all out of the city. Xing Xiuyan then felt that the carriage they were riding in had stopped, and someone moved them into a house. She sat on the ground, which felt cold and hard.

At this moment, Xing Xiuyan had lost all hope and imagined many scenes in her mind.

The most likely possibility is that he was kidnapped by some bandits and is probably now in someone else's mountain stronghold.

Her parents never valued her, and they might have died several times outside without her parents knowing.

This time, she was completely stuck with nowhere to go.

Yue Ling looked at the pair of beautiful sisters. They took off their monk's hats and kerchiefs, revealing their flowing black hair. They were truly first-class beauties.

She is not inferior to Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, and is definitely superior to Xiangling.

But at this moment, both of them were twitching all over and sobbing, as if they were about to cry to death.

Yue Ling took off the blindfolds of both of them and picked the rags out of their mouths.

The rags were soaked with the saliva of both men, leaving wet fingerprints as soon as they were touched.

Yue Ling threw it aside in disgust and wiped his hands with a silk scarf.

Miaoyu cried out in pain, "Can you please let me go? I can't die!"

Xing Xiuyan also cried bitterly, "Uncle, I didn't do anything bad. That man deserved to die. He has killed many people. He is a complete bad guy."

The two little girls were sitting with their backs against the wall. They heard the noise from both sides and saw that the two of them had been "caught in one net". They were all here and could not help but move their bodies and hug each other and cry.

There is no better place for sisters to be together than in this predicament.

The two little girls cried violently, like pear blossoms in water.

Yue Ling couldn't bear to see his little girl crying like this. He hadn't even seen Lin Daiyu and the others cry for a long time, and he didn't want to make them cry.

But at that moment, the two girls, who were as beautiful as little white flowers, were crying and choking. It was a completely different scene, which made Yue Ling want to play a prank on them.

"How do you know that I'm a good person?"

"Sure enough, we are done, wuwuwu."

The two cried even harder.

Yue Ling held his forehead with his hand helplessly. The little girl's psychological defenses were indeed too fragile.

"It's just a joke. First of all, you should tell me what you did when you went to the Shen family. As for Song Erlang's death, there's no need to talk about it. It's insignificant."

The two of them gradually stopped crying, and Xing Xiuyan asked tentatively: "If I tell you, will you let us go?"

Yue Ling shook his head, "Maybe not. It depends on what you are going to do."

Miaoyu glared at Yue Ling and said, "You scoundrel, if you have any bad intentions, just come after me, don't make things difficult for her!"

Yue Ling was even more speechless. Why did these vulgar people think of matters between men and women first?

Yue Ling frowned and said in a sharper tone: "I see that you are a monk, but you are so vulgar. There are many girls prettier than you in my family. Do I have to risk being questioned by the government to rescue you?"

"I'm not a sex-hungry person."

"Tell me the truth quickly, what exactly did you do to sneak into the Shen family?"

What Yue Ling said made a lot of sense, but Xing Xiuyan found it hard to believe that there were girls in his family who were prettier than them.

In her eyes, Miaoyu is already the most beautiful girl in the world.

That kind of otherworldly elegance... well, now I feel like a drowned rat.

"Sister, let's talk about it. Maybe things will turn around."

Miaoyu's momentum weakened a lot. She pursed her lips and asked, "Before I speak, I have to confirm your identity. If you are in league with the evil official, I might as well kill myself right now."

Yue Ling replied: "Whether I can tell you my identity depends on what you are going to say. Of course, I swear, I am definitely not a criminal official."

Miaoyu lowered her head slightly and said slowly: "My real identity is the orphan daughter of the late Suzhou prefect Zhu Huailin. My other identity is a nun in Panxiang Temple, and my Buddhist name is Miaoyu."

Yue Ling was slightly stunned.

It turns out that this celestial-like woman is Miaoyu, one of the Twelve Beauties. Miaoyu was from Suzhou and later followed her master to Beijing. After her master passed away, she entered the Grand View Garden and has been chanting sutras in the Buddhist temple.

She is beautiful and intelligent, has a noble character, and regards the mundane world as nothing.

But today, after hearing about her life story, it seems that there is a complicated story behind it, which is why she looks down on all worldly things.

A woman like this would actually prefer Baoyu, and her life in the mortal world would not end because of Baoyu. Yue Ling felt speechless just thinking about it.

This setting is obviously even more unreasonable.

"Her name is Xing Xiuyan. She is not a nun, but is staying in the temple. We live close to each other and have a close relationship."

Yue Ling also had an impression of the name Xing Xiuyan. She seemed to be a relative of Mrs. Xing, the eldest wife of the Jia family. She also later entered the Grand View Garden. She was a girl with a miserable life.

The Xing family's family tradition is not good, and Mrs. Xing is not a good person either.

Xing Xiuyun was even looked down upon by Wang Xifeng for this at one point, but later people found out that she was a girl who did not fight for anything and was content with poverty.

Although she was treated as the eldest daughter of the Jia family, with two taels of monthly salary, she gave it all to her greedy parents without reservation.

Having no money left, he had to pawn his cotton-padded clothes. Only with the care of Wang Xifeng and Xue Baochai did he live a better life.

When Yue Ling met her today, she was indeed a simple girl.

"Before my father died, he sent someone to tell me that he had been wronged. I followed the clues and found the false accounts of the Xu family, but the Xu family was very strict and I couldn't get any solid evidence. So I could only find the Shen family, who had a close relationship with the Xu family." "The Shen family looked like a family of gentry who passed down farming and reading, and they had set up porridge stalls many times to show their kindness, but they were actually the hands of the Xu family."

"The people who caused trouble in front of the government office were the guards of the Shen family in disguise."

"In order to get some evidence, I had to find out by all means. Today I got a chance, but I didn't expect to be caught by you."

Having said that, Miaoyu glanced at Yue Ling angrily again, with complaints in her eyes.

"I have said all that needs to be said. If you want to kill me or chop me up, come to me and let her go first."

Yue Ling pondered and said, "The Shen family is indeed somewhat unusual, and what you said is somewhat credible."

Miaoyu and Xing Xiuyan looked at each other and looked at Yue Ling in astonishment.

"But the role played by the Shen family in this may be a little different from what you think. I am in the Shen family and I see it more clearly."

"First of all, the guards do not completely obey Shen Yishu, the head of the Shen family. This proves that they are led by someone of higher status, and this is most likely the Xu family you mentioned."

"As for what you said, these guards had caused trouble before, that was more likely done by the Xu family."

"The Shen family and the Xu family mostly deal with each other on paper. The key is where your father's embezzled money is now and what it is used for."

"As far as I know, a large amount of cash was indeed found in your father's account, but the whereabouts of the cash have not been made public. Next, Suzhou should make some moves. How to change rice to mulberry faster and achieve the goals of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang interest groups is what they need to do."

"Your father stood in the way, so he died."

After hearing Yue Ling's words, the two seemed to understand something, but when they saw Yue Ling's words and actions, they couldn't help but widen their eyes and became more curious about Yue Ling's identity.

The two of them clearly understood that the person in front of them was not an ordinary person, and might even be someone who could bring a turnaround for the situation.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door and someone came in, brought some food and tea, then bowed and left.

He didn't look at the scene in the room for long, nor did he say anything special.

Miaoyu couldn't help but shudder and asked, "What we are discussing is so secretive, we shouldn't let outsiders in, are you being too careless?"

Yue Ling stepped forward, untied the two men, and explained, "This is the Caoyun Guild Hall, there is no need to worry about safety."

"Caoyun Guild Hall?"

Miaoyu and Xing Xiuyun looked at each other and both had guesses about Yue Ling's identity.

After all, in the Dachang Dynasty, there is only one person who enjoys a great reputation throughout the country. If something happens in a place, it is most likely that he will go out and perform his duties on behalf of the emperor.

The Caoyun Guild Hall was developed and flourished in the area under his rule.

I just heard that he just returned to Beijing from Cangzhou to report on his work, but now...

Yue Ling saw the two girls staring at him blankly, as if they were about to say something but hesitated, and couldn't help but chuckled and said, "Yes, I am the person you guessed."

"Marquis Anjing?"

Xing Xiuyan asked in astonishment, "Why are you in Suzhou?"

Yue Ling replied, "Nothing else to do, just investigate the murder of Prefect Zhu and the corrupt officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

Miaoyu was stunned and fell to her knees, unable to hold back her tears.

She is very smart, how could she not know that her ability is limited? But she still insisted resolutely, for the sake of her true heart.

The woman who has no one to rely on and pretends to be strong is the one who most desires help and is the most vulnerable.

When she learned of Yue Ling's identity, Miaoyu could no longer bear the emotion and burst into tears.

Xing Xiuyan held Miaoyu's shoulders in surprise, wiped her tears and said, "Sister, don't cry. Isn't this a good thing? With Marquis Anjing here, your father's grievances have been redressed halfway."

"Since Marquis Anjing believes that your father died unjustly, he will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly. You should be happy, right?"

Miaoyu nodded, shook off Xing Xiuyan's hand, and kowtowed to the ground to express her gratitude, "I thank the Marquis of Anjing and Your Majesty."

Yue Ling raised his hand to support him, "No need to be like this. When I came here, I wanted to find out the truth as soon as possible. Now that you are helping me, it will be even smoother."

"Please tell me everything you know and guess. My trip to the south has been exposed. Time waits for no one."

Miaoyu had no doubts and nodded, "Yes..."

……

On the Grand Canal,

An official ship sailed against the wind and waves, escorted by many small boats.

It was not uncommon for official ships to sail south, but the golden flags on the ship were too dazzling, with a bright "Yue" character in the middle.

This is the ship of Marquis Anjing, and it really went south!
On the canal, local river offices maintained order and cleared a path for Marquis Anjing, allowing him to travel unimpeded wherever he went.

Inside the cabin, a group of girls were sitting around, all surrounding one person, and that was the "Marquis of An Jing" on the ship.

Lin Daiyu watched Qin Keqing putting makeup on Xue Baochai and could not help but sigh, "They really look alike, except that Baojie is a little shorter than Brother Yue, otherwise they could have been mistaken for the real thing."

Qin Keqing was also delighted when she looked at her masterpiece.

Even after four years of separation, Yue Ling's appearance was still deeply imprinted in her mind and she had never forgotten it. This was her victory.

Putting her arm around Xue Baochai, Qin Keqing came to sit beside her and said, "It's not a problem if you are taller. Just wear shoes that are higher."

"Only the portrait of the master is circulated outside, and no one knows how tall the master is."

Qin Keqing naturally leaned her head on Xue Baochai's shoulder.

Looking around at the maids around her, Xue Baochai sighed and said, "Now I can understand the Marquis's feelings a little bit?"

Qin Keqing tilted her head and asked, "What's your mood?"

Xue Baochai replied: "There are too many girls in the room, which is a bit annoying."

The girls in the room burst into laughter. Xue Baochai, a girl, was really considerate of men.

Qin Keqing tapped Xue Baochai's arm gently and said with the same smile: "Master will never be annoyed with us, but you are saying something without any reason."

At the right moment, a notification came from outside the door.

Just by listening to the sound, one could tell that it was Jia Yun who was calling at the door.

"Miss Lin, Lord Lin, the Imperial Censor of Lianghuai Salt, has sent a letter, inviting you to come to the yamen to sit down and reminisce about the past. Lord Lin has already prepared a banquet, waiting to welcome you."

All the girls in the room looked at Lin Daiyu in silence.

Lin Daiyu replied without hesitation: "Write him a letter and tell him that official business comes first and that you won't visit him for now. Let's talk about it later."

The girls looked at each other, all trying to hold back their laughter.

(End of this chapter)