Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 285 What a coincidence, you also come to attack at night
At first, thinking that everyone had contributed a lot along the way, and Yue Ling only favored her, he always put food into her bowl, making the atmosphere at the table a little awkward.

Lin Daiyu asked Yue Ling to take care of other people as well, so she would not feel embarrassed.

However, the consequences of pretending to be magnanimous were far beyond her expectations.

When Yue Ling showed a good look to other girls, they immediately came close to him, intending to get close to him, and said flattering words to his face, which made Lin Daiyu very angry.

Qin Keqing almost had the word "seduction" written on her face.

Apart from expressing her dissatisfaction with small movements under the table, she had no other choice. She buried her face in front of the bowl, but couldn't eat anything. She was so angry that she was about to eat too much.

"What a bunch of vixens, you must never let go!"

Lin Daiyu's chopsticks squeaked as she tilted her head and glared at Yue Ling fiercely.

"I'm done eating."

Lin Daiyu leaned back in her chair, hugged her shoulders, and pouted.

Perhaps it was because she lowered her head too low just now, or maybe Lin Daiyu was paying attention to the movements on the table and didn't pay attention to herself, so a rare frown appeared on her face.

Yue Ling tilted his head to look over, smiled slightly, reached out to take the rice grains from Lin Daiyu's mouth, put them in his own mouth, chewed them, and swallowed them.

"After you finish eating, why not drink some water? You can clean up after you finish it all in a while."

The girls stared at Yue Ling's actions in a daze, but didn't pay attention to what Yue Ling said. As Yue Ling's throat moved and he swallowed, they couldn't help but swallow as well.

When he looked at Lin Daiyu again, her temper was gone, and her cheeks were no longer white and rosy, but had turned bright red.

As a lady from a wealthy family, having rice on her face was already a disgrace to her image, and Yue Ling even pinched her and ate her...

Lin Daiyu was stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and quickly lowered her head. The shame in her heart reached its peak. She completely forgot what she was angry about just now. Her hands dropped down unnaturally, and she wanted to hide them under the table.

"Uh, what's wrong?"

Yue Ling looked at everyone with a bewildered look on his face. They were talking and laughing just now, but now they were all silent.

"What did I do wrong just now?"

It was just to remove the rice grains on the cheek, there shouldn't be anything wrong with it, Yue Ling's parents often did the same in his previous life.

The girls glanced at Lin Daiyu secretly, but were too embarrassed to speak.

How could they, who grew up in an environment bound by ethical norms, see this?

But somehow, even though they knew that this was not in accordance with ethics, they were inexplicably envious and wished Yue Ling would treat them the same way.

The girls thought they were not playful and dissolute people, and for a moment, they fell into deep thought, not knowing what was going on with them.

Seeing that the girls were stunned and didn't respond, and didn't move their chopsticks, Yue Ling smiled helplessly, "Well, since you don't want to eat, then you can leave first."

There were too many girls in the room, which was not a bad thing. It was very quick to clean the room. After Yue Ling gave the order, the maids stood up and picked up all the dishes, and a few people stayed behind to clean up.

Yue Ling said to Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, who were sitting by the tea table and had not yet recovered, "There are quite a few rooms here. You can decide how to allocate them. I will live in one of the rooms in the main hall. You can choose the rooms on the left or right."

The rooms in this inn are different from the ones I stayed in before.

The main hall is quite large, with only one room inside and an ear room outside. The ear room is not connected to the main hall, and there is only a small door opening to the outside. It seems that few people have lived here.

The privacy inside the hall is better, which may be because officials live here.

Apart from Qin Keqing and her friends, no one else could reasonably live in the ear room.

However, since the ear room is not connected to the main room, Lin Daiyu can feel more at ease about this vixen.

"Then I'll live on the left, and Sister Bao will live on the right."

"I also can."

There are five rooms on each side, including a warehouse, a laundry room, etc.

After the rooms were divided, the two girls took their maids with them and went there to prepare their accommodation.

It was almost night, the sunset had already faded, and it was time to rest.

They had not had enough rest since they came by boat, and they were very tired after this incident.

After seeing the two girls off, Yue Ling walked into the room on his own. Just as he took off his robe, he saw Qin Keqing fetching a bucket of water and walking in with a smile on her face.

"Master? I'm coming in."

Seeing her look, Yue Ling couldn't help but smile and said, "You guys must have worked hard on the journey, go back and rest early, I can wash myself."

Qin Keqing shook her head and said, "I didn't go outside with them either. I arrived in Suzhou early this morning and have been resting for a long time. It is my duty to take care of the master. I haven't fulfilled my duty for many years. Is the master going to chase me away?"

A pair of eyes as bright as autumn water, looking at Yue Ling, Yue Ling couldn't stand such coquetry, so he had to agree, "Okay, thank you for your trouble."

"It's no trouble."

Qin Keqing quickly placed the bucket in front of the chair, helped Yue Ling to sit over, and began to take off his court boots.

This was her chance to be alone with Yue Ling, and Qin Keqing couldn't afford to waste even a single moment of it.

After untying Yue Ling's leggings, he held his feet with both hands, put them into the wooden barrel, and began to knead them carefully.

"Master, is the water temperature okay?"

"Just right."

"Is there anyone who takes care of the master like this when I'm away?"

"When you're not here, Zijuan usually serves you."

Qin Keqing curled her lips and kept these words in mind. She planned to monopolize this opportunity in the future and shut out other girls.

After kneading for a while, Qin Keqing added some hot water into the bucket and began to knead Yue Ling's calves to loosen up his muscles and bones.

"Master, would you like me to warm your bed tonight?"

"Uh……"

I still remember that when we were in the capital, Qin Keqing was very embarrassed to warm the bed, but today she is so proactive.

And look at her attire, a light pink gauze dress that only slightly covers her figure, with the carp hidden in the lotus pond faintly visible, and it feels like if you pull the belt, the dress will all fall to the ground. There is only one plain hairpin on her head, and if you pull it out, the waist-length hair will fall down like a waterfall.

Compared to the little girl, Qin Keqing is indeed of the same age as him, in her early twenties, which is just the right age.

However, Yue Ling still remained cautious about this kind of behavior of offering himself to someone else.

After all, tonight is the first night since arriving in Suzhou, and perhaps Lin Daiyu will come to talk to him as usual and stay up late before going to bed.

If he saw Qin Keqing lying naked on the bed as soon as he arrived, he would probably be very angry.

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly, "Sister Lin might come over soon, so there's no need for now."

Qin Keqing quickly found the loophole in Yue Ling's words, and the hand that was pinching her calf slowly moved up to her thigh, and asked in a soft voice: "Master, what you mean is that as long as Miss Lin doesn't come, everything will be fine?"

Faced with such temptation, Yue Ling couldn't help but tense up a little, so as not to let Qin Keqing see through him and take advantage of him.

Helplessly turning aside, Yue Ling said, "Didn't you just talk about warming the bed? What are you talking about..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw Qin Keqing sitting on top of him, with her arms around his neck, her eyes full of mist, "Master, I have been yours for a long time, why are you still rejecting me? Zijuan, even Xiangling are all good, what's the difference between me and you?"

As she spoke, Qin Keqing untied her belt, as if she was asking Yu Ji to force herself on Xiang Wang.

After a moment, Qin Keqing touched it, her face flushed, and she said with a smile: "Master, you may say no, but your body is very honest."

Yue Ling closed his eyes tightly, wishing he could eat this vixen alive, but today was not a good time.

"Stop making trouble, go down first, be good and listen to me."

Qin Keqing gently touched Yue Ling's cheek, blew softly in his ear, and said, "If the master doesn't want to, why don't you dare to open your eyes and look at me?"

At this moment, there was a knock on the outer door.

Yue Ling breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking that his savior had arrived.

"Quick, go down first, it's probably Sister Lin coming."

There was no way, there was a seating order in this room. Qin Keqing could force Yue Ling to be unable to move in this regard, but she couldn't do such a thing blatantly in front of Lin Daiyu.

Qin Keqing pouted and obediently climbed down from Yue Ling, then tightened her belt and walked out carrying the bucket.

"who is that?"

"It's me. Can't you hear my voice?"

Lin Daiyu stood outside the door waiting. After a while, no one opened the door. She felt a little dissatisfied and suspicious about what was going on in the room.

"Oh, here we come."

Qin Keqing opened the door and walked out with the bucket. When she passed by Lin Daiyu, she smiled awkwardly and said, "Miss Lin, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. I was just washing the master's feet. Now the master is sitting in the room. Go find him, Miss Lin."

Lin Daiyu carefully observed Qin Keqing's complexion and clothing, and indeed could not see any clues. She nodded secretly, "Fortunately, if we had come later, these vixens would have succeeded again."

Lin Daiyu curled her lips and walked into the room.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw Yue Ling bending over and changing his underwear.

Glancing at Yue Ling's muscular figure, Lin Daiyu blushed and stepped out, "Brother Yue, you knew I was coming, why didn't you put on your clothes!"

Yue Ling was quite helpless. Lin Daiyu's nose was sharper than that of a puppy. If he didn't change his clothes, she would definitely smell it.

"I didn't expect Sister Lin to come so soon. She's already changed now. Sister Lin, come in."

Lin Daiyu held her chest, trying her best to control her fast-beating heart, and looked towards the bed.

The first thing she saw was Yue Ling, hunched over, looking at her with a forced smile on his face.

Lin Daiyu didn't understand what he meant, so she walked closer and asked, "Brother Yue, what's wrong with you? Why are you hunched over? How about I go find a doctor?"

Yue Ling waved his hands and said, "It's okay, it will be fine in a while."

Lin Daiyu said "oh" softly and sat down next to Yue Ling without saying anything more.

The two sat side by side and didn't say anything for a while, but this silence made Lin Daiyu feel at ease.

She had gone through a lot of hardships during her long journey southwards, but when she thought about the possibility of being granted marriage upon her return to the capital, Lin Daiyu felt that everything was worth it.

Before returning to Beijing, Lin Daiyu had to be on high alert.

Kicking off her embroidered shoes and placing them under the bed, Lin Daiyu then crawled behind the bed curtain.

Yue Ling also recovered at this time, turned around and asked Lin Daiyu who was hiding in the quilt, and asked with a smile: "What's the matter? If you are tired, you can go back and rest for a night and come back tomorrow."

Lin Daiyu shook her head, stretched out a hand from under the quilt and patted her seat outside.

Yue Ling looked at Lin Daiyu lovingly, shook his head, then fell over and rested his head beside Lin Daiyu.

There was only one quilt on the bed, which was for Yue Ling to sleep on. It was not prepared for Lin Daiyu, but at this time only Lin Daiyu was covering herself with it.

Turning her head, Lin Daiyu asked, "Brother Yue, are you cold? I'll give you some of this quilt."

Yue Ling said: "It's okay... just cover yourself up, the weather isn't too cold."

Lin Daiyu uttered a soft "oh" and then said, "I don't want to chat about poetry and songs with Brother Yue today, nor do I want to talk about political affairs. I just want to stay with Brother Yue quietly for a while. Will Brother Yue think I am too willful?"

Lin Daiyu has lived with Yue Ling for so long that she has already developed a dependence on him in her heart. After meeting him again after a long separation, only by staying with Yue Ling longer can she make up for the energy she had lacked before.

Yue Ling also nodded slightly, "Okay, I will always accompany Sister Lin."

The two of them didn't say anything, just lay there quietly, without any unnecessary movements.

Lin Daiyu just looked at Yue Ling with a smile on her face, while Yue Ling lay flat on his back looking at the ceiling of the bed.

Lin Daiyu took a deep breath and smelled a little bit of Yue Ling's scent, a scent she couldn't describe. It just made her feel at ease. There was no extra smell of rouge and powder, and Lin Daiyu was very satisfied.

Then she slowly lay down and began to recall what had happened over the years. It seemed like a dream and very exciting.

What would have happened if she had clamored and refused to leave when she was six years old, or if she had not followed Yue Ling but stayed in Rongguo Mansion?
Lin Daiyu couldn't imagine it, but she knew that she could only be a lady in the boudoir, unable to see the outside world, just like a bird trapped in a cage.

She cannot control her own destiny, nor can she easily express her preferences. Only when she is with Yue Ling, any willfulness will be tolerated.

"What if...what if Daddy really doesn't agree with Brother Yue and I returning to the capital? Should we write a letter to the palace for help?"

Unconsciously, Lin Daiyu had regarded her father, whom she had not met for many years, as her and Yue Ling's common enemy.

But when I think about it, I can't always trouble the people in the palace with family matters, and the last time, His Majesty issued an edict to blame Dad. I'm afraid that if I write to the palace again, Dad will be really sad.

Lin Daiyu secretly clenched her fists. She was no longer the same person she used to be. She would defend everything she cherished.

Perhaps she was really tired, or perhaps it was the relief from the mixed emotions, Lin Daiyu fell into a deep sleep.

Hearing the slight panting sound beside him, Yue Ling sat up and saw the quiet and beautiful girl with a slight smile on her lips, as if she was no longer having the nightmare.

Yue Ling couldn't help but push the messy hair away from her forehead and comb it. Then he nodded with satisfaction and got out of bed to get a new quilt to cover himself.

But when he put on his shoes and was about to leave.

Suddenly, Lin Daiyu grabbed his wrist and rubbed his sleepy eyes with his other hand. Lin Daiyu asked in confusion, "Brother Yue, where are you going?"

"I see you are sleeping soundly, so I don't want to disturb you. Bring another quilt to sleep with you."

Lin Daiyu's cheeks blushed slightly. She was still a lady in the boudoir. No matter how much she liked Yue Ling, she couldn't just stay overnight with him while she was sober. Although she had done so before, it was all by accident and could not be counted.

With such a family education, Lin Daiyu propped herself up and said, "Forget it, Brother Yue, come to sleep. It's getting late. I'll go back first."

Having said that, Lin Daiyu put on the coat hanging by the bed, dressed herself and walked out alone.

While walking backwards, he said, "Brother Yue has worked hard all day, take a good rest, don't worry about me."

When they reached the door, Lin Daiyu waved her hand and said loudly, "Good night, Brother Yue, I'm going home."

Such a sensible little girl also made Yue Ling's heart tender, and he waved, "Okay, good night."

Lin Daiyu had left, but her scent had filled the entire bed curtain and the still warm quilt.

Yue Ling blew out the candles and curled his lips slightly. He always felt that it was a bit vulgar to think like this, but he still followed his heart and did not take a new quilt. He lay down in the bed that Lin Daiyu had warmed.

This refreshing fragrance was so relaxing that Yue Ling felt inexplicably relaxed all over just by lying down.

Yue Ling let out a sigh and was enjoying the comfort. Not long after, there was a creaking sound at the door.

Yue Ling immediately sat up alertly and asked, "Who?"

But it was a petite figure who came in and covered Yue Ling's mouth with her hand.

When Yue Ling saw that it was Lin Daiyu who had returned, he was also stunned.

Lin Daiyu made a silent gesture on her lips and whispered to Yue Ling, "I was worried, so I pretended to leave and then came back to wait."

Yue Ling twitched his lips, "What's there to worry about?"

Lin Daiyu didn't dare to say it directly because she wanted to spend more time with Yue Ling on the first day of their reunion after a long separation, so she had to say stubbornly: "They kept talking about Brother Yue all day, so of course they were worried about them."

Lin Daiyu pushed Yue Ling's shoulder and asked Yue Ling to make room for her. She slept outside, sharing the same quilt with Yue Ling.

Yue Ling felt helpless. "Everyone is very tired today, why would they come here to make trouble? Sister Lin, you are too suspicious."

Lin Daiyu curled her lips and said, "Brother Yue is well-versed in the art of war, so he must know the principle of 'taking the enemy by surprise and attacking them when they are least prepared'? Often, it is the opposite of what one would think is impossible that will lead to success. Didn't Brother Yue also raid a camp at night?"

Yue Ling held his forehead with shame, thinking that Lin Daiyu's reading of military books was not in vain.

The two of them lay there quietly until almost three o'clock in the morning, when they were both drowsy and there was actually a noise at the door.

She just casually said it in response, and it actually came true. Lin Daiyu immediately perked up, opened her eyes wide and peeked outside, and saw which vixen walked in first.

Not long after, a figure came in in the dark, and when he reached the bedside curtain, he seemed to be embarrassed again and did not dare to come in. He just stood outside and called softly.

"Master, are you asleep?"

Lin Daiyu recognized it as Zijuan's voice as soon as she heard it. She didn't expect that Zijuan, who was usually well-behaved and had thick eyebrows and big eyes, would be the first one to speak. Lin Daiyu was so angry that her teeth itched.

Lin Daiyu nudged Yue Ling who was lying inside with her elbow and whispered, "Answer me."

Yue Ling had no choice but to cooperate with Lin Daiyu in acting, "Well, you haven't slept yet, what do you want? Sister Lin hasn't slept yet?"

In order to reduce conflicts between the girls, Yue Ling could only give them this much reminder.

But Zijuan didn't understand the meaning of Yue Ling's words at all, and explained: "The girl and I live in a wing room, not the same room. The girl went back earlier, and the lights in the room are off now, so she must have gone to bed."

Yue Ling asked again, "Isn't it the same room? The one Xueyan and Lin Daiyu share?"

Zijuan replied, "Yes, I seem to have made the girl unhappy, so I was excluded."

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes. She was unhappy because she was making trouble at the dinner table. Lin Daiyu originally intended to ignore her for a day and then call her back later. After all, Lin Daiyu couldn't bear to punish her for real.

Unexpectedly, it gave her convenience.

Yue Ling suppressed his smile and said, "Okay, what do you want so late?"

Zijuan moved closer to the bed and said, "I didn't have many chances to talk to the master all day, so... so when I saw that everyone else had left, I came to warm the bed..."

But there was no light in the room. If a candle had been lit, one would have seen that Zijuan's face had turned red with embarrassment.

Lin Daiyu stared fiercely outside the bed curtain, then turned around and whispered to Yue Ling: "Let her in!"

Yue Ling took a deep breath and said, "Then come in."

Hearing this, Zijuan happily lifted the curtain. It was darker inside the curtain than outside, and not even the moonlight could shine in.

Zijuan came in in the dark, but first touched a thin arm. No matter how she felt it, it couldn't possibly be Yue Ling's.

When she looked over again, she saw a pair of bright eyes reflecting the moonlight looking at her.

Zijuan exclaimed, "Ah."

Just as he was about to run away, Lin Daiyu grabbed him again, "Where are you going? Aren't you here to warm the bed? Come here!"

Zijuan didn't dare to disobey, so she had to walk over again obediently, lowering her head shyly, "Girl."

Lin Daiyu snorted coldly, "I never thought that you are the most restless! Get on the bed and squat inside!"

Zijuan looked at Lin Daiyu in astonishment. Yue Ling was also puzzled by Lin Daiyu's arrangement. "How are you going to punish her?"

Lin Daiyu pouted and said, "Zijuan, who is usually honest, is so impatient. I don't believe that no one else has come!"

There is no way. Even if Yue Ling says something about what happened in the bedroom, it doesn’t count. Lin Daiyu is the most important.

Zijuan had no choice but to take off her embroidered shoes. Just as she was about to go to bed, Lin Daiyu reminded her, "Hide your shoes before you go to bed!"

Zijuan then pushed her embroidered shoes into the bed, then climbed onto the bed, walked past the two people's feet, squatted inside the bed, and leaned against the wall.

Lin Daiyu pointed at her and said, "Don't make any noise, just squat there quietly."

Zijuan wanted to cry but had no tears. "Oh, I understand."

After the room fell silent, about an incense stick of time passed, and there was indeed a noise at the door again.

Yue Ling shook his head helplessly, but Lin Daiyu warned him not to make a sound with her eyes.

"Prince... Lord, I have something to say. Are you asleep?"

Xiangling, who was tortured by the girls this morning, felt something was wrong when she thought about telling everything. She couldn't sleep for a long time at night, so she came to ask Yue Ling for his opinion.

Yue Ling replied casually: "No, what do you want?"

Xiangling sighed and said, "This morning I explained to them everything about the Marquis's trip south. Is that a bit bad?"

Yue Ling said, "It's Xiangling, that's nothing, the girls in the room don't have any bad intentions, just say it."

Seeing Yue Ling's gentle attitude, Xiang Ling regained some confidence, moved closer to the bed, and asked in a low voice: "Then... when it's just the two of us, Lord, can I still call you husband?"

Lin Daiyu pointed at Yue Ling and whispered, "Let her come up!"

Yue Ling held his forehead helplessly, "Then come up and tell me."

Xiangling happily opened the curtain, but saw three pairs of eyes staring at her from inside, and her face immediately turned red with embarrassment.

Lin Daiyu's mouth twitched, and she said, "What a coincidence, you are here to raid at night as well?"

(End of this chapter)