Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 282 What is she doing!

Following Yue Ling, Miaoyu was originally there to act as a witness, but because Sun Yicai performed so well as a witness, without any flaws, she lost the opportunity to show off.

On the field, the enemies who murdered their father were frightened by Yue Ling and dared not move.

Yue Ling explained their crimes clearly and proved that her father died unjustly.

When this group of thieves died, it was also the day when her father was vindicated. Miaoyu was deeply moved and her eyes were already red.

Her father’s long-cherished wish was fulfilled, and Miaoyu’s obsession was also resolved.

She once discussed with her good sister Xing Xiuyun that if her father's death was ever avenged, she would leave the worldly world and become a nun.

But now, there seems to be another obsession in my heart.

When facing those high-ranking officials whom she looked up to like mountains, Yue Ling manipulated them as easily as a cat playing with a mouse, leaving them powerless to fight back.

Miaoyu's eyes could not leave Yue Ling. He seemed to be shining brightly there, a hero given to her by God.

The tiny seed had already taken root in Yue Ling's heart before, and at this moment it completely broke through the soil and sprouted. Miaoyu couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and made a sneak attack on Yue Ling's cheek.

The touch felt so real, my heart beat faster, and everything was not a dream.

Then, without waiting for Yue Ling to come to his senses, Miaoyu stroked her chest which was beating like a deer and fled.

A kiss from a woman was already an extremely inappropriate act, not to mention that she was a nun who practiced Buddhism with her hair uncut.

After this kiss, she might never be able to become a nun again.

Floating on the lake in a boat, Miaoyu looked back into the pavilion, and she was not thinking about herself.

"I hope I didn't cause any trouble to the Marquis..."

……

"Brother Yue! What is she doing?"

Before Yue Ling could come to his senses, Lin Daiyu immediately ran over, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, and wiped Yue Ling's face vigorously, trying to remove the mark immediately.

"Wow, wow, this is supposed to be my job. Who the hell is she?!"

Yue Ling was manipulated by Lin Daiyu so much that he didn't know how to speak. The corners of his mouth were crooked. Xue Baochai took off her official hat, wiped off her makeup, walked between the two with a smile, and asked, "It should have been you who did it? Sister Lin, what did you do?"

After wiping Yue Ling's cheek thoroughly, Lin Daiyu felt a little relieved and withdrew her hand that was supporting Yue Ling's cheek.

Hearing what Xue Baochai said, her cheeks turned red and her face became more beautiful.

Xue Baochai knew that Lin Daiyu had secretly kissed Yue Ling when they parted in Cangzhou, just like what she had just done. However, Lin Daiyu always believed that their relationship was innocent and she was very proud of herself. All her anger was dispelled by Xue Baochai.

Lin Daiyu curled her lips and whispered, "Humph, an unruly nun! Hateful woman!"

Xue Baochai smiled and said, "The Marquis just introduced that person. He is the orphan of Prefect Zhu, who was wrongly killed in the previous case. I guess he was so excited because the Marquis handled his father's case and redressed his father's injustice, right?"

Xue Baochai winked at Yue Ling, and Yue Ling said quickly, "Yes, that's right. Our relationship is not close, we just work together because of this."

Lin Daiyu frowned and said, "Is that so? Is there really no other relationship? Isn't it that Brother Yue judges people by appearance and is attracted by her looks?"

Yue Ling immediately raised his hand, "I swear, if..."

Before he could finish his words, Lin Daiyu pulled his arm off, stamped her feet, and said anxiously, "Don't swear an oath!"

Yue Ling smiled calmly and spread out his hands. Lin Daiyu's staring eyes gradually faded and turned into longing, and she leaned into Yue Ling's arms.

"Brother Yue, I miss you so much."

"Me too……"

Lin Daiyu held Yue Ling's waist tightly, as if she was afraid of being snatched away, and did not let go for a long time.

……

"Well, there are people outside the pavilion. This is a gathering after all, not at home. Can you please pay attention to them?"

Xue Baochai was so angry at these two people that she almost laughed. Even if they met again after a long separation, they should know the occasion, right?
Poking Yue Ling's shoulder with one hand and Lin Daiyu's shoulder with the other, Xue Baochai kindly reminded them.

Lin Daiyu suddenly woke up from her dream and looked outside the pavilion. Sure enough, there were many people looking in this direction.

Lin Daiyu quickly bounced off Yue Ling and hid behind Xue Baochai, nodding her head repeatedly, "Yes, yes, Sister Bao is right. This elegant gathering has such a big change, and Brother Yue has to preside over it and bring it to an end."

Yue Ling put down his hand and looked at the poems written by the people around him. He strode to the table, sat down cross-legged and picked up the pen.

The two girls' eyes lit up and they happily came to Yue Ling's side.

Lin Daiyu grinds ink for Yue Ling and asks, "Brother Yue, do you want to leave a poem too?"

Yue Ling nodded slightly, "Of course, it's a gathering after all, and I want to use this opportunity to spread the word that I've arrived in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and all the scoundrels should pay attention to their own safety."

As he spoke, Yue Ling rolled up his sleeves, picked up his brush, and left his mark on the snow-white rice paper.

As the words fell one by one, the two little girls beside them read them out loud.

"The marquis was appointed to guard Wusong in Jingkou, and was surprised to encounter the heavy political burden on his way to the post.

There is no noble man like Mengchang, but many ferocious tigers and wolves in power.

The gluttons devour gold and their granaries become empty, while the people of Guizhou shed tears over the tax abscess.

Today I am singing wildly and writing manifestos to replace the pure air with the polluted wind. "

Xue Baochai clapped her hands and applauded, "What a great poem, 'Today I am singing wildly and writing letters to exchange the pure air for the filthy wind'! I can't write such a magnificent poem. If I had written it just now, I would have been exposed."

Yue Ling put away his pen and said with a smile, "That's not the case. 'Good winds help me soar to the sky' is also very majestic. It sounds like something written by a frustrated scholar. How can it sound like a poem written by a girl?"

Lin Daiyu frowned and asked, "Sister Bao, you also wrote this poem, how come I haven't seen it before?"

Xue Baochai was stunned by Yue Ling's words. She didn't expect that Yue Ling knew all the poems she wrote in the boudoir. How well did he know about her...

Xue Baochai tightened her clothes involuntarily and said with a shy smile, "It's just something I wrote casually some time ago. I haven't shown it to Sister Lin yet. I'll write it down for you when I get back."

Lin Daiyu nodded, looked at Yue Ling suspiciously, and then looked at Xue Baochai.

Yue Ling stood up and said with a smile: "Well, it's time to end today's gathering. Let's go."

When he came out of the pavilion, he saw Jia Yun waiting at the foot of the stone steps.

After not seeing each other for a long time, Jia Yun also contributed a lot to the fact that the little girls were able to arrive in Suzhou safely.

Yue Ling stepped forward and patted Jia Yun on the shoulder, praising him: "You've done a good job. You're almost capable of taking charge of your own affairs now."

Jia Yun bowed and said, "I am doing this all for you, Master. I dare not take credit for it."

Turning back to look at the audience waiting in the room, Jia Yun whispered again, "How do you think this elegant gathering will end, Master?"

Yue Ling nodded slightly and took a deep breath. The sound was like a huge bell, floating on the isolated island in the middle of the lake. "The former prefect Zhu Huailin was framed and died unjustly in prison. The flood in Suzhou in July was not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster. This marquis will find out the inside story and catch all the criminals at this elegant gathering!"

"If anyone has any interest in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provincial government, Qian Shiyuan, Suzhou prefect Sun Yicai, Suzhou and Hangzhou manufacturing supervisor Zhen Yingjia, Xu Yaozu of the Xu family, and others, and has any interest in the rice-to-mulberry conversion, please come forward and wait for trial."

"If you take the initiative to admit your mistakes, I will try to get leniency. If you conceal your mistakes, I will interrogate them and punish them severely!"

Soon, a few people stood up, and the soldiers from the Beijing camp came forward and took them away.

Yue Ling then asked Jia Yun, "Where is the recorder here?"

Jia Yun turned around to look for them, and brought a group of weak scholars with him. Each of them held a scroll in his hand, which was used to record what had happened at the party.

Once the elegant meeting is over, the recorded contents will be compiled into a book and disseminated.

Yue Ling only looked through the records of a few people, and then instructed: "There is no need to record the details of what happened in this pavilion, just record the final results. There is also a collection of poems written by the participants in the pavilion, all of which are excellent works selected by the judges, and can be bound into a book."

"The top poem is "Autumn Window, Wind and Rain Evening", and there is another poem left by this marquis, which is also included in the collection."

Several scholars agreed one after another.

After explaining everything, Yue Ling took the two girls and wanted to go back to the inn first.

When he passed by the table of the Shen family father and son, he saw that they were still kneeling on the ground and unable to get up.

Yue Ling frowned and said, "Your Shen family and the Xu family are inextricably linked. Your Shen family is also involved in the case of framing Prefect Zhu. Why don't you turn yourself in?"

Shen Yishu burst into tears and kowtowed, "My Lord, for Yinglian's sake, can you let the Shen family go?"

Shen Ying also changed his previous arrogance, kowtowed repeatedly, and choked up and said: "My Lord, please be magnanimous and don't bother with a villain like me. Just treat me as a stray dog ​​on the side of the road and kick it away."

Yue Ling frowned and said nothing. Shen Ying pointed at his father and said, "My Lord, please understand. All the mistakes made by the Shen family were done by this old guy. I have never participated in them. My Lord, please forgive me!"

Shen Yishu looked at his son begging for mercy, sighed, and said, "Yes, it was me who did it. Lord, please spare his life and capture me."

Shen Ying was overjoyed upon hearing this, and crawled to Yue Ling's feet, with a flattering look on her face.

"My Lord, he has confessed his guilt, can you let me go?"

It was a wonderful show of loving father and filial son. Yue Ling frowned frequently while the two little girls behind him also looked at it with disgust.

Yue Ling said calmly: "The right and wrong will be decided in the government office. Come on, take them all away!"

The two were dragged away, and Shen Ying was still shouting, "My Lord, My Lord! We are relatives. You wanted Yinglian, why do you abandon us like trash?"

Lin Daiyu frowned and asked, "Who is Yinglian?"

Yue Ling's originally cold expression froze when Lin Daiyu asked him. Just as he was about to speak, Xue Baochai took over and said, "Yinglian is Xiangling beside me, the maid who followed the Marquis south. It seems that the Marquis has found her parents, but it seems that these relatives are not good people either."

Thinking of the little girl with a miserable life, Lin Daiyu's lips pursed. Although she had anticipated that such a thing might happen, she still felt a little uneasy when she really heard the news.

"I thought that little girl was honest and didn't talk much on weekdays, but now it seems that each of them is a seductress!"

Lin Daiyu secretly complained in her heart and thought of the Queen's instructions.

If these people took the initiative to approach Yue Ling, what would she do?
Lin Daiyu was very annoyed. She glared at Yue Ling, snorted coldly and turned her head away. After just over a month of not seeing each other, two more girls fell in love with Brother Yue. If they didn't see each other for a year, wouldn't there be twenty-four more girls?

From now on, Lin Daiyu will never be separated from him again. Lin Daiyu has made up her mind.

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly, took the two little girls on board the boat, crossed the water, and came to the shore.

There gathered more scholars, most of whom came from poor backgrounds, who came here to try their luck at the elegant gathering to see if they could make friends with important figures.

And many of them have also received favors from Yue Ling.

It was because no one could pass through the gate of Canglang Pavilion at the beginning because the first question was too difficult. But after Yue Ling solved it, many people were able to solve the next two questions.

After Yue Ling landed, everyone was stunned when they saw his appearance clearly.

This turned out to be the person they had gathered to watch, and they all knelt down and saluted.

Yue Ling no longer paid attention to what was happening here. He said a few words to Jia Yun, then left the garden with Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai.

As the people prostrated themselves and saluted, the words spoken by Marquis Anjing in front of the Noon Gate echoed in their minds.

"If you don't kneel today, you won't be able to kneel in the future!"

It turned out to be true. What was said not long ago is being confirmed at this moment.

After finally getting to the meeting, he had already offended the most important figure in this gathering. Everyone would feel mixed emotions and not know what to do.

On the Canglang Pavilion,

Apart from the visitors who were interrogated by the soldiers to see if they were related to the previous major case and undergoing a final investigation, the remaining group of people were the scholars who stayed behind to record the important events of the Canglang Gathering.

Everyone gathered together, but no one knew how to start writing.

After all, they were working for Marquis Anjing, so they were a little nervous.

"How should I write it? Should I record it as it is, or should I embellish the image of the Marquis?"

Someone raised a question and everyone started discussing it.

"How about this? Let's not talk about the Marquis hiding his whereabouts for now. It seems that the Marquis doesn't want people to know about this. Just write that the Marquis and the daughter of the Salt Inspector Lin Ruhai attended the meeting together. They were a pair, a talented man and a beautiful woman. Lin Ruhai's poem "Autumn Window Wind and Rain Evening" amazed everyone and won the first prize."

"At the most heated moment of the meeting, the Marquis spoke about the purpose of today's meeting, which was to arrest all those involved in the case. Then he was inspired to write a poem and leave a famous piece. How about that?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, "That's great, that's great."

Someone else raised a question, "The head of the Xu family had previously arranged to have several hardcover copies of this book sent to the Yangzhou Salt Inspectorate. Do we still want to do this?"

"Of course we have to do it. Not only do we have to do it, but we have to do it right away. Think about it, although this matter was organized by those corrupt officials, the original intention was to do good for the Marquis. Miss Lin won the first prize in the poetry competition. Besides the Marquis being proud, the one who was happy was Lord Lin who was far away in Yangzhou."

"Seeing how loving and talented they are, how could Lord Lin not be happy? Since the Marquis did not go to Yangzhou and hid his tracks in Suzhou, he must not have gone to Yangzhou to visit Lord Lin."

"If you can see that your daughter and the Marquis have a deep relationship, wouldn't Lord Lin feel relieved?"

After these words were spoken, everyone seemed to suddenly understand.

The way to be an official is to do more and think more, to do what your superiors cannot do and to do what is difficult for your superiors to do. Only in this way can you stand out from the crowd.

"If this is done well, we will certainly benefit from it. The Marquis has never been a stingy person. We can see a little from Cangzhou. If we can work under the Marquis in the future, wouldn't it be a day of success?"

"Yes, yes!"

Everyone was very excited. They rolled up their sleeves, climbed up to Canglang Pavilion, and began to paint with all their heart and soul.

……

"Brother Yue, I want to interrogate you!"

The group returned to the inn, and Qin Keqing and others who had received the news came out to greet them. However, seeing that Lin Daiyu's face did not look good at all, they were pulled by Xue Baochai to the next room.

It looked like they were in the next room, but they all put their heads against the door, listening to the noise inside.

Lin Daiyu sat upright on the chair, while Yue Ling stood obediently below, smiling helplessly, and cooperating with her, "Okay, Sister Lin, please be magnanimous to me."

Lin Daiyu frowned, "What on earth did that nun do with Brother Yue?!"

"What did you do?"

Lin Daiyu's cheeks blushed slightly, "We did something intimate!"

"Nothing compares to what I did with Sister Lin."

"Puh, puh, puh." Lin Daiyu spat several times and said, "Why do you bring me into this again? Brother Yue and I are innocent, how can there be any intimacy? She is a nun, and she dares to kiss you in broad daylight. Who knows if she has done something more outrageous behind your back!"

Although Lin Daiyu was harsh in her words, there was no coldness between her brows. Especially when Yue Ling said that he was not as close to her as Miaoyu, there was a hint of pride in her brows.

The little girl's thoughts were all on her face, and Yue Ling could see it clearly. Then he crouched down and approached Lin Daiyu and asked, "Sister Lin, you have something to ask me, and I also have something to ask Sister Lin."

Lin Daiyu's heart trembled. The face-to-face confrontation that had been played out countless times in her mind seemed to be about to happen.

But if Yue Ling looked into that kiss in detail, she really didn't know how to explain it.

But Yue Ling asked, "After you return to Beijing, your first stop should be Rongguo Mansion. Have you ever been harassed?"

Lin Daiyu was slightly startled, and then she came back to her senses. The tension on her face disappeared, and she said calmly: "It's not that we were troubled. We gave that devil a hard time and embarrassed him in front of many women. Moreover, I didn't stay in Rongguo Mansion for long before the eunuchs in the palace took me away."

"You went to see the Queen?"

Lin Daiyu nodded slightly.

Yue Ling was quite surprised. He always thought that the relationship between Lin Daiyu and the Queen was too good. When he was in Cangzhou, he heard that the two of them were always exchanging letters.

"What did you say when you met the Queen?"

Lin Daiyu pouted her lips and tilted her head, "Of course I have something to hide in my heart. Brother Yue is hiding something from me."

Lying beside Lin Daiyu's legs, Yue Ling smiled again, "Then why did Sister Lin kiss me when we parted?"

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu turned her head away, then slowly turned back, looked at the person she missed, who smiled at her, and her cheeks turned red again.

Lin Daiyu was very smart and had thought of various answers in advance, but when she really faced this moment, her mind went blank and she didn't know how to respond.

The two of them looked at each other in the hall for a long time.

Next door, the many girls who were listening at the door were already getting impatient.

"Sister Keqing, did you hear that? Did the young lady and the master finally come clean?"

"No, there was no movement afterwards."

Xueyan couldn't squeeze in, so she sat on a small stool behind the other girls, holding her chin and saying, "All the maids in the room call me Master, but I have to call him General Yue, or at least Marquis. Isn't this a bit too unfamiliar?"

"Girl, you have to work harder. I want to change my tune, too."

Zijuan turned around in surprise and asked Xueyan, "You also know that the girl likes the master? I thought you were ignorant of human affairs."

Xueyan pouted and said, "What's so hard about this? General Yue is so good. Even if the girl doesn't like him, I still like him."

"What about you? Who among you doesn't like it?"

Xueyan glanced at the women in the room, and they all lowered their heads in shame.

Yes, who in this room would say that they don't like Yue Ling? That would be a bit too pretentious.

After a long time without hearing any movement in the hall, the girls opened the door a little and looked inside.

I saw Yue Ling squatting beside Lin Daiyu, looking up at her.

Lin Daiyu's face turned red with embarrassment. She could not avoid it, nor could she escape like Miaoyu.

Her eyes flickered, and thinking of the nun just now, Lin Daiyu's confidence was full, "That nun can kiss Brother Yue, and Brother Yue said that he is not as close to her as I am, so why can't I kiss her?"

"I want to kiss you, and I want to be the first one!"

Lin Daiyu held Yue Ling's cheeks, but she didn't have the courage to kiss him again.

Then he spat and said, "Bah, I've been kissed by someone else. It's too dirty. I won't kiss you again."

Throwing Yue Ling's head aside, Lin Daiyu pretended to get up, but a door on the side was opened and the little maids piled together and fell out.

“Ouch, that hurts.”

The maids were piled up into a mountain of flesh, with the two slimmest and most slender maids being pressed at the bottom.

Ruizhu complained, "Xueyan, you must have gained weight. You are too heavy. Get off quickly."

Xueyan, who was on top of the other girls, looked at Lin Daiyu and asked anxiously, "Miss, come on, kiss her. Why don't you kiss her?"

Lin Daiyu's cheeks were burning with anger as she was talking to Brother Yue in private, and there were so many people listening. She couldn't help but spit and said, "What are you talking about? You are so dishonest. Go away and clean up this place."

The girls stood up shyly and shook off the dust on their clothes.

It was really embarrassing to be discovered eavesdropping.

Lin Daiyu and Yue Ling looked at each other and laughed.

Just at this moment, everyone was in the hall. There were hurried footsteps coming from outside. When the door was pushed open, someone poked his head in and asked, "My husband, where are you?"

The girls looked in the direction of the voice and took a closer look. It was Xiangling whom they hadn't seen for a long time. But this name...

The girls' eyes became sharp and they hurriedly pulled Xiangling into the room.

"What did you call just now?"

"If I can't snatch the girl, I can't cure you?"

(End of this chapter)