Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 274: Old Madam, don’t you know about the arranged marriage?

Faced with the new policy, two distinct factions gradually emerged in the court.

First, the old ministers of the previous dynasty, headed by the left prime minister An Jingzhong, were conservative and expressed great resistance to the new policies proposed by Emperor Longyou.

The second was the new faction headed by Dongfang Zhi, an old official of the Prince of Qin's Palace, who vigorously promoted the policies of Emperor Longyou.

The two groups often fought and quarreled in the court.

Although Emperor Longyou was in favor of the new law, he did not want to be too biased in the court.

The power of the prime minister is now quite strong, and An Jingzhong is a well-connected person with many disciples in all six ministries. Although he is a very shrewd and introverted person, not all of his subordinates are obedient.

The strife and tug-of-war in the court made Emperor Longyou exhausted both physically and mentally.

As for the deficit in the national treasury, both the New Party and the Old Party have their own ways. The New Party, in power, wants to clarify the land tax system, while the Old Party, with the goal of replacing rice with mulberry as its national policy, wants to increase revenue.

However, the change from rice to mulberry trees caused trouble, and Emperor Longyou could only pin his hopes on Yue Ling to find out what was going on.

Among them, the Zhen family of Jinling had been extremely favored during the reign of the previous emperor.

When the late emperor was on tour in the south, the Zhen family received him many times, and countless amounts of gold and silver were spent.

Afterwards, the Zhen family obtained the weaving bureau of the salt industry. This lucrative position could be regarded as the late emperor had not treated them unfairly.

The Zhen family thus became a prominent family outside of the four major families in Jinling.

But a new emperor has new ministers. This was the case for the late emperor, but it is hard to say for Emperor Longyou.

Beijing, Rongguo Mansion,

After the two old masters were buried with great ceremony, the Jia Mansion returned to its former tranquility.

Jia She, Jia Zheng, and Jia Zhen all had to go into mourning, and Jia Baoyu's good days came again. No one urged him to go to school anymore, and only the women in the room doted on him.

At this moment, Hu, the wife of Zhen Yinghan, a female member of the Zhen family, was visiting Lady Jia in Rongqing Hall. He was also listening on the side, receiving everyone's praise.

"Baoyu's face really resembles the old Duke when he was young. No wonder he is so popular with the old lady."

Mrs. Wang said, "He is nothing like the old master. He is just like a devil all day long, reciting poems and enjoying the moonlight. He is not very capable. If he could catch up with the old master, we would be relieved."

Mrs. Hu laughed again and said, "Is this true? Then our two families are indeed related. There is a boy in our family, also called Baoyu, Zhen Baoyu, who has the same personality as the Baoyu in your family. He spends all day looking for fun among girls."

"It has to be a girl who is not married. If she is married, he will call her a dead fish eye."

Baoyu clapped his hands and exclaimed, "I can't believe there is a brother who understands me so well. I really want to meet him. The three words 'dead fish eyes' are really wonderful and appropriate."

Hu asked curiously, "We all don't know what this 'dead fish eyes' means, but Baoyu understood it immediately? Why don't you explain it to me?"

Baoyu waved his hands and said, "It's not very meaningful to explain it to you. It's just a waste of words."

Mrs. Hu was neither anxious nor annoyed, and smiled again, "Sure enough, it looks like the one in my family was cast from the same mold. He said the same thing."

Baoyu was in high spirits and asked with a smile, "Does he have any jade?"

Baoyu pulled the jade wrapped with a five-colored rope out from his chest and showed it to Mrs. Hu.

Hu took a closer look and saw that the jade was extraordinary. He praised: "You were born with jade in your mouth, but he was not. From this experience, you are the 'real jade' and he is the 'fake jade'."

The whole room burst into laughter after hearing Hu's laughter.

Grandmother Jia was also quite pleased and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter whether it's true or false, we are all one family. When you come to the capital next time, bring Baoyu to me, an old woman, to admire him."

"Okay, I will definitely bring him to meet the old lady next time. When we left, he was still clamoring to come to the capital to meet Baoyu, but my second brother didn't allow it, fearing that he would offend the old lady, so he stayed at home."

Hearing that the jade was gone, Jia Baoyu felt very sorry.

I suddenly lost interest in seeing that my brother, who shared such a close rapport with me, didn't have the jade either.

After chatting for a while, the atmosphere in the hall was very good, and Mrs. Hu asked again: "Niece, I have one more thing I want to ask you today."

Grandmother Jia was in a good mood and nodded, "We are all family, why keep us in suspense?"

Mrs. Hu thought about it for a while before asking, "I heard that the old Duke had a close relationship with Marquis Anjing when he was alive. The old Duke's life was even saved by Marquis Anjing. The one from Ningguo Mansion was able to keep his title because he and Marquis Anjing had made meritorious contributions together."

"In that case, the relationship between the Jia family and Marquis Anjing should be very close, right? Now there is news in the palace that His Majesty is going to grant Marquis Anjing a marriage. In the future, the friendship between the Jia family and Marquis Anjing will be further strengthened."

"With Marquis Anjing here, the Jia family will be rich for more than a hundred years. I wonder if you can introduce him to my family so that we can benefit from his presence."

Mrs. Hu sighed and said, "Old Madam, you must know that when His Majesty ascends the throne, the people who are most worried are us old people. If we can get in touch with Marquis Anjing, it would be the best."

"At present, the Marquis of Anjing has gone to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to serve as the governor, and is in charge of Nanjing."

After these words were spoken, the originally good atmosphere in the classroom suddenly dropped to freezing point.

Many of the female members of the Jia family looked at Grandmother Jia at a loss, but they saw that Grandmother Jia's hands were trembling slightly, and the crutches she was holding on to were unstable.

Hu was very confused.

Could it be that she said something wrong?

Marquis Anjing has been so kind to the Jia family, and now they are even closer than before, is it possible that the relationship between the two families is not good?

Grandmother Jia calmed down and asked first, "An arranged marriage? We haven't heard of an arranged marriage. What does this have to do with my Jia family?"

Mrs. Hu said, "How can it be unrelated? The one who was granted the marriage was the old lady's granddaughter."

"what?"

Everyone in the hall was surprised, and Grandmother Jia was also stunned.

"Daiyu?"

"Yes, she is the beloved daughter of Censor Lin. She has been with Marquis Anjing for so long, so she must have a status. Even if they don't get married, they must be engaged."

Grandmother Jia opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

The girls around, Sanchun, and Shi Xiangyun were also stunned when they heard this, as if they had just met Lin Daiyu last month and there was nothing special about it.

How come I hear any news about her again? She is about to get married.

In the eyes of the girls, this is far ahead.

There was another person in the hall, his face looked as pale as death, and that was Baoyu.

Her cheeks, which were originally round like a silver basin, now seemed to be filled with dirt. Her eyes were even more lifeless, and she kept muttering, "Impossible, impossible! Sister Lin regards him as her uncle, how could she marry him? There must be something wrong with the message."

Baoyu stood up in a daze. Although Lin Daiyu hated him very much, it did not prevent her from being a fairy-like girl in his eyes.

Fairy, how could you cause trouble for the dust? And the one you caused trouble for was such a vulgar person.

Baoyu was furious and scolded, "Don't spread nonsense to tarnish Sister Lin's reputation!"

After saying this, everyone in the hall seemed to wake up from a dream. Mrs. Wang hurriedly signaled the maid in the hall to pull Baoyu out in a hurry, and then went forward to say to Mrs. Hu, "Don't blame him, he is just a little crazy. He can't stand the idea of ​​his sister marrying an outsider."

Mrs. Hu smiled awkwardly and thought to herself, "How come Baoyu is even more naughty than my own? He has no manners and is like a mud pig or a mangy dog. He is unruly and only has a good appearance."

In front of him, Mrs. Hu was polite and responded, "Forget it, my husband is also temperamental."

Mrs. Wang bowed apologetically and returned to her original seat. Everyone then waited for what Lady Jia would say.

But Grandmother Jia was in a daze for a moment.

Jia Min is her eldest daughter and her most beloved daughter. However, Jia Min's daughter, Lin Daiyu, who is also outstanding in appearance and talent, is now going to marry someone else.

Moreover, she had to marry Yue Ling, and was appointed by the royal family. Even she was powerless to say anything against it.

If Yue Ling forced her to marry him, she might be able to use her status as a noble lady to make some trouble, but that was not the case at the moment.

A feeling of weakness flowed through her body. Grandmother Jia closed her eyes and breathed heavily.

Mrs. Hu didn't know what was going on, so she asked again quickly, otherwise all the favor she had gained would be in vain.

"Madam, can't you help introduce someone to the Zhen family? There are still twelve branches of the Jia family in Jinling, and many of them have intermarried with our family. Our two families are close relatives."

Grandmother Jia calmed down and said slowly, "I am a little tired today. Let's talk about it another day. I am old and useless."

"Second Madam, please see the guest off."

Yuanyang and Amber helped Lady Jia back to her room. Mrs. Wang stood up and went to meet Mrs. Hu.

Mrs. Hu was quite helpless. She had come to the capital city just to receive such an assignment, but she hadn't even finished it yet.

"Does the relationship between Marquis Anjing and the Jia family have a bad relationship? Did I say something wrong?"

Madam Wang consoled him, "It can't be said that he is bad, but Marquis Anjing has a very strange temper. He is different from us. He doesn't recognize feelings, but only principles."

"If you want to improve your relationship, you can use him to help, but it's unlikely to work."

Hu sighed and shook his head repeatedly.

……

"A sneeze, a sneeze."

Yue Ling sneezed twice while walking on the street.

Yue Ling frowned. It seemed that he had been sneezing more and more frequently recently. Someone must be talking bad about him behind his back again.

After all, he has been making quite a few moves in Suzhou recently, and those high-ranking officials hiding behind the scenes must be very anxious.

"You are a spineless person, you will only gossip behind people's backs like a woman. Your children will have no assholes in the future."

Yue Ling snorted lightly and continued to walk with Su Si to the government office.

"There are people making trouble at the gate of this government office every day. How do you get in and out on weekdays?"

Su Si replied, "We opened a small door in this alley temporarily to facilitate our entry and exit. If there were less than a dozen people, we would not dare to go through the main gate, for fear of being beaten."

Yue Ling nodded and said, "Let's go."

Su Si led Yue Ling to Sun Yicai's classroom and knocked on the door first, "Master Sun, it's me, Su Si from the torture room."

Soon, a lazy voice came from inside, "What's the matter?"

"Master Sun asked me to investigate the case of the Buddha statue's miraculous appearance. Now there is finally progress. I have found out who might be framing you!"

Hearing this, Sun Yicai's voice in the room became a little louder, "Come in quickly!"

After finding out who was spreading bad things about the government, Sun Yicai could also shirk the responsibility for the arson. In an instant, he seemed to have thought of a way to break the impasse.

If we prove that these two cases were committed by the same person, and use this person to appease the public anger, won't his position still be secure?
After Su Si entered the room, he saw another person following him. The person was also in the official uniform of a clerk, but he had a dignified appearance and a heroic look between his brows, which made Sun Yicai unhappy.

What's the point of a clerk with a lowly position having such a good-looking appearance?
"Who's the person behind you?"

Su Si bowed and replied, "He is my fellow villager, and the brother who followed me around to investigate the case."

Sun Yicai nodded slightly, glanced at him disdainfully, and then looked away.

"Tell me, who is behind this and intends to murder me?"

Su Si replied, "We found out in Panxiang Temple that a man visited the mountain not long ago, and then disappeared. That man had some connection with the former prefect Zhu Zhifu, and perhaps he was dissatisfied with you, so this happened, but he escaped and we haven't caught him yet."

"Oh? Is that true? Then the arsonist might have been this person who did it?"

Su Si was startled, but still responded, "Maybe. We have already noted down the man's appearance, and we can issue a warrant to arrest him."

Sun Yi was relieved and said with a smile, "Don't bother. Do I need to teach you this? Find someone in the prison who has a connection with the previous prefect. I promise to treat his family well. Let him come out first and take the blame. It won't be too late to arrest the accomplices who escaped later."

Su Si was stunned and said, "This, sir, this is not in accordance with the rules."

"Rules? In Suzhou Prefecture, what I say is the rule! Do it!"

Seeing this big drama, Yue Ling couldn't help but sneer, "You are such a dog official, how bold! Is your official authority comparable to what you have done? Where do you think your official power comes from? Fabricating right and wrong and fooling the people, you are really stupid and don't even know it."

Sun Yicai was stunned by the scolding. He was the top leader of Suzhou City, and he was the only one who scolded others. There was no reason for others to scold him.

"You are just a small clerk, and you dare to teach me a lesson?! Come on..."

Before he could even finish his words, Yue Ling stepped forward and slapped him, sending him flying backwards with blood foam in his mouth.

Sun Yicai fell on the chair, his whole body seemed to fall apart, his eyes widened and he looked at Yue Ling in disbelief, "Beating up your superior? This is unheard of, you look like you're going to die!"

Yue Ling threw the badge calmly over, hitting Sun Yicai on the bridge of his nose.

Sun Yicai was even more confused. He picked up the fallen jade plate and felt its delicate texture, which showed it was not an ordinary item. But when he carefully looked at the words engraved on it, he saw "Marquis of Anjing" written in large letters. His expression changed immediately.

"You are Marquis Anjing? Impossible! Marquis Anjing has not arrived in Suzhou yet!"

Yue Ling sneered and said, "You can choose to believe it or not. But the fact that you destroyed the dikes and flooded the fields in Suzhou and the fire dragon burned the warehouse is enough to implicate three clans."

"You think you can fool me with the things you used to fool the people? I think you are going to fool yourself, and I don't know why your predecessor died!"

Yue Ling raised his foot and lifted up the chair that had fallen to the ground, and then sat on it with his arms and legs spread out.

"This marquis is kind-hearted. Today I will explain to you, the dog official, how you will return to the end of Prefect Zhu."

Sun Yicai fell to the ground, breathing heavily, looking at Yue Ling with a look of disbelief.

Su Si carefully stepped aside and said silently in his heart: "This is the Marquis of Anjing. He dares to slap a high-ranking official in the face and makes him listen to reason honestly. Compared with Lord Sun, I am much smarter..."

　I haven't recovered from my cold yet, I'll try to make up for the number of words I owe tomorrow. The weather has changed recently, so everyone remember to keep warm.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)