Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 289 Menarche
The letter from Sun Yicai asking for help that the old party brought to Beijing was at the same time a report from Yue Ling in Suzhou also arrived in the imperial city.

Emperor Longyou was well aware of how corrupt the officialdom in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was when he was still a prince. Otherwise, he would not have gone to such great lengths to insert Lin Ruhai into the Lianghuai Salt Industry like a thorn.

At present, Emperor Longyou, who has been in charge of the government for many years, has taken control of the situation, and the problems in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will have to be faced sooner or later.

But if we dig deeper, we will inevitably find the bad debts of the previous dynasty. It would be difficult for Emperor Longyou to speak of the faults of the previous dynasty after he ascended the throne. The royal family may be ruthless, but they still have to set an example of filial piety.

When Emperor Longyou received Yue Ling's secret report, he was delighted but also mentally prepared. As long as the matter was not too bad, he would let Yue Ling punish all the convicted people on the spot, remove the main culprit, and hand over Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Yue Ling for a period of time, gradually cleaning up the officialdom.

But after unfolding the letter, Emperor Longyou's brows could never relax again.

"Fabricating charges, creating false cases, destroying dikes and flooding fields?"

Emperor Longyou could not help but curl the corners of his mouth, instead of being angry he smiled, with trembling arms he placed the secret letter on the imperial desk, slowly smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles, as if he was suppressing his inner anger.

This abnormal scene made Xia Shouzhong, who was accompanying him, unsure of what was going on. He lowered his head and dared not ask.

Emperor Longyou knew clearly that if the content of the secret letter were to be made public, the old party would surely suffer a devastating disaster and the entire southeast region would be in turmoil.

Perhaps now is a good time to exclude all officials who resist the new policies.

However, the internal situation of a court is not clear-cut. Apart from the two factions of the Old Party and the New Party that Emperor Longyou intentionally divided, most officials still hold a wait-and-see attitude and are unwilling to get too deeply involved.

Right now, the new party's new policies have not been effective and have offended many royal relatives and nobles. The old party still controls many areas with heavy taxes. Emperor Longyou still has to rely on the network of relationships they have woven in the local area to make up for the deficit in the national treasury. Changing from rice to mulberry is an attempt and also a chance for the old party.

Emperor Longyou wanted to implement the new law as Yue Ling said, but the new law was a long-term plan, and perhaps after three or five years of implementation, the national treasury might not be full.

The imperial power did not extend below the county level, and the cost of clarifying the fish scale book was an astronomical figure.

If Emperor Longyou takes his time to achieve his goal, he will have to endure the old party supplying him with money. Now he is really in a dilemma.

The secret letter had not been read to the end. In addition to the reports on the two major cases of Zhu Huailin's unjust death in prison and the destruction of dikes and flooding of fields, Yue Ling also listed the accounts of the silver earned from the national policy of replacing rice with mulberry trees in Zhejiang over the past four years, which had achieved some success.

"In four years, the Suzhou and Hangzhou Weaving Bureau added a total of 4,000 looms, producing an additional 520,000 pieces of silk, equivalent to 7.8 million taels of silver, of which 2.6 million taels went to the national treasury... All of the above can be found in the accounts."

"The superficial splendor concealed the fact that local wealthy merchants and gentry took advantage of this to gobble up land, causing a sharp drop in grain production in Hangzhou, which was known as a land of fish and rice. There were starving people everywhere, and they had to borrow grain from Suzhou. They monopolized the silk cocoon trade with the government and lowered the price of raw silk, so that the people who switched from rice to mulberry could not make any profit at all, and eventually had to sell their land and become weavers."

"Officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are in collusion with one another. The trees are deep and deep, and it is chilling to think about it. Changing rice to mulberry is a sharp weapon for them to exploit the people. This sharp weapon is only a hair away from cutting the people of Suzhou. I hope Your Majesty will understand this."

Emperor Longyou slowly closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, and said to himself, "Seven million eight hundred thousand taels, two million six hundred thousand taels go to the national treasury. Hahaha, very good. They really have a way."

Xia Shouzhong, who was serving on one side, did not hear clearly what the Emperor Longyou said, and thought that the emperor had given instructions, so he immediately knelt on the ground and asked, "What did your majesty just say? I didn't hear it clearly just now."

Emperor Longyou slammed the table and stood up, pointing at the secret report and angrily said: "I consider that it is not easy for them to increase their income, so I opened the door for them and allowed them to not pay taxes for five years. Even the palace did not ask for an extra piece of cloth. How dare they only give me 30%?!"

Xia Shouzhong was trembling, and did not dare to say anything. He just bowed his forehead to the ground, cursing these vermin in his heart.

Emperor Longyou was furious and continued, "Get up and see what they have done. They have exploited my people and put all the money into their pockets. I am the one who has to bear the blame!"

"If you buy land under the guise of the Weaving Bureau and oppress the people under the guise of national policy, the people will call me a tyrant and call me incompetent!"

He roared angrily, followed by a series of heavy coughs.

Xia Shouzhong quickly stood up and said soothingly, "Your Majesty, calm down, Your Majesty, calm down, and take care of your health. Now that the Marquis of Anjing is in charge of the southeast, there will definitely be no more trouble. Your Majesty, if you order him to rectify the situation, it will surely restore your Majesty's reputation."

Emperor Longyou held the imperial desk with one hand and his forehead with the other. He felt dizzy, perhaps because he was angry and his mind was a little confused.

At this moment, the queen, who was supposed to be in the harem, came to the Qianqing Palace.

After the palace maid reported the matter, the empress went straight into the Qianqing Palace and came to the front of the main hall.

This was not in compliance with the rules of the harem, and other ministers also voiced impeachment after hearing about it. However, the emperor and empress were too close, so they ignored it and no one paid any attention to it.

Before entering the palace, the Empress heard the roar of Emperor Longyou. She couldn't help but quicken her pace and walked in carrying her heavy palace skirt.

On both sides were eunuchs kneeling in fear. Only Emperor Longyou himself stood in front of the imperial desk, his face still showing anger and his face flushed red.

Seeing the queen come in, Emperor Longyou managed to smile a little, and asked in a softer tone, "Why did you come here suddenly?"

The queen waved at Xia Shouzhong, signaling them all to leave.

Xia Shouzhong immediately understood and left with all the palace servants, leaving only the old couple in the palace.

The empress took the arm of Emperor Longyou and led him to the dragon throne. She pressed his shoulder and said in a slightly blaming tone, "It was agreed that you would test the homework of Yun'er, Yi'er, and Chen'er today, but you, the father, have not come yet. I have been waiting anxiously and came to see what Your Majesty is doing."

Emperor Longyou said with an apologetic tone, and smiled awkwardly, "Yes, I was negligent. I had something else to do and forgot about it for a moment."

The Queen glanced towards the imperial desk and recognised that it was a memorial presented by Yue Ling. She could guess a little without looking closely.

"Did something big happen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang? Your Majesty doesn't need to worry. Doesn't this prove that your Majesty was right to let Yue Ling go? Now that he is in charge, your Majesty has nothing to worry about."

The same words, spoken by different people, have completely different effects.

Emperor Longyou heaved a sigh of relief, his face no longer angry, and asked: "Without Yue Ling, such a major event was concealed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and I was not informed at all. Is this Jiangsu and Zhejiang still my Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"

"Speaking of which, Yue Ling may not have an easy time in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Next, he will definitely catch these ringleaders as examples, but the big cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have a population of millions, thousands of officials, and are deeply rooted in the local aristocratic families. They will definitely fight against them. Even if he wants to do something by then, it will be difficult to find people to use."

"Jiangsu and Zhejiang are provinces with high tax burdens. We need to make some changes, but we dare not make any deep changes. The national treasury is already in deficit. If we cannot collect taxes from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, we don't know how to celebrate the New Year, let alone the new policies."

The Queen asked, "Then according to your Majesty's wishes, will you still allow them to do this?"

Emperor Longyou shook his head. "I have no doubt about the new law described by Yue Ling, but how many people in the court and the public can share the same aspirations with me and have a clean record? Dachang has one capital and fourteen provinces, and it needs so many officials. Even if we drag all the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang out and behead them, who can guarantee that the people who get to take office again will not be more greedy than the previous ones?"

"Until now, I have not found a good solution. I am willing but unable to do so."

Emperor Longyou covered his mouth and coughed a few times. The empress came over and sat with Emperor Longyou. She made tea and served water, comforting him, "Your Majesty has just presided over the imperial examination. The accumulation of talents is not enough, but it will definitely get better in the future. Right now, the country is in danger, so it is not too much to ask them to spit out the silver they originally swallowed."

Thinking of this, Emperor Longyou couldn't help laughing again, "They really did a good job. The national policy I promoted could only get 30% of the benefits. I even praised them in the court. It's really funny."

After taking a deep breath, Emperor Longyou began to write a reply to Yue Ling.

"I will leave this matter entirely to Yue Ling. I trust him and he will definitely handle it with due care."

"In order to prevent him from being hindered in handling cases in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and if he is alone, it is easy to provoke resistance from all local forces. I must send him a few people to share the pressure."

"Let Chen Ju go over the palace affairs of the Weaving Bureau, and send Wang Xianzhi, the deputy censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, to investigate the case. This year's number one scholar Su Moyun no longer needs to study in the Hanlin Academy. At this time of change, he should go out and gain experience by Yue Ling's side and serve as the prefect of Suzhou."

The queen covered her mouth and chuckled, "This number one scholar is probably more than fifteen years older than Yue Ling, yet he allowed Yue Ling to take him to train."

Emperor Longyou also shook his head and laughed, "Yue Ling is a steady person, and I always forget that he is only an adult. Even if Su Moyun can learn a few of Yue Ling's skills, it will be enough to guard Jiangnan."

"Besides this, I am a little worried about Yue Ling's personal safety. After all, in Cangzhou, just a few merchants dared to communicate with the Japanese pirates. I don't know what these noble families are secretly planning. Give Yue Ling the military token of the southeast, so that he can mobilize all the troops he can mobilize. It can also be regarded as his duty to set up coastal defense and prevent Japanese pirates."

After writing the reply, Emperor Longyou thought of something else, "By the way, how old is Lin Ruhai's daughter this year?"

The queen thought for a moment and said, "She should be twelve years old."

"Twelve? Still a little young."

"Is twelve still too young? I have already entered the mansion when I was twelve."

Emperor Longyou took the Empress's hand again and said with a smile, "The royal family is still a little different. But Lin Ruhai, after receiving my imperial edict last time, has not written back a single letter in this period of time. Is he really so busy with the Lianghuai Salt Administration that he forgot to write back to me?"

"I should give him another letter of resignation, so that he will cooperate with Yue Ling in Jiangsu and Zhejiang at all costs."

……

Suzhou government office,

The news of the Canglang Elegant Gathering spread throughout the city, and the people in official circles were most shocked.

The yamen runners stood straight in front of the door, and the students in the classrooms on both sides were diligently busy with their work, but they were silent and solemn, for fear of leaving a bad impression on Marquis An Jing, who had just arrived in Suzhou.

When Yue Ling really arrived at the government office and dismounted, the prefectural chancellor Fan Pengcheng, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time, came out to greet him. He bowed and said, "I am Fan Pengcheng, the prefectural chancellor of Suzhou. I am honored to meet you, Lord Marquis."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, "No need to be polite. Has the person arrested at the Canglang Elegant Gathering yesterday been brought in for questioning?"

Fan Pengcheng bowed his head and answered carefully, "Without the order of the Marquis, I dare not interrogate them easily. Now they are all imprisoned in the prison."

Yue Ling looked Fan Pengcheng up and down. He was a middle-aged man of medium build. The wide official robe didn't seem to fit him too well. He had a scholarly demeanor and didn't look like a criminal, but one can only judge a person by his appearance.

"How much do you know about the death of Prefect Zhu?"

When they arrived at the lobby of the government office, Yue Ling did not ask about other things, but asked about himself tentatively first. This made Fan Pengcheng horrified and he almost knelt down to protest his innocence.

Yue Ling signaled to his attendants to bring a chair for him, which made him feel a little relieved.

"I dare not hide anything. When Governor Zhu opposed the rice-to-mulberry trade at first, we were puzzled, but we did not help Qian Shiyuan and other criminals to force Governor Zhu. After Governor Zhu was imprisoned, all matters in the government office were handled by Sun Yicai, who replaced him. Sun Yicai is a greedy person, and I disdain to associate with him. I have not participated in his affairs at all. I hope that the Marquis will understand."

"So, you are a clean official in Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"

Fan Pengcheng raised his head, then dropped it again.

In the once ironclad officialdom of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, firing all the officials one by one might hurt innocent people, but firing them one by one would certainly not eliminate all the infestations.

Fan Pengcheng pursed his lips tightly and dared not answer. The reason why the officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang could always coordinate and work together was because he was a thorough interest group.

Making profits is the common goal of everyone, so they dare to risk the world's condemnation and do things like destroying dikes and flooding fields.

Because only when everyone benefits, everyone can speak with one voice. As for the emperor far away in the capital, he will not know the exact news for a while. In the end, even if he notices the trick, he will be shut up by the 500,000 pieces of silk they presented as a tribute.

For most emperors, the loss of civilians was just a number. How deeply could an emperor who had been in the palace for a long time understand the hardships of the people?
Under such circumstances, Fan Pengcheng would never dare to say that he was innocent. He might not have added fuel to the flames, but he could be charged with knowing the crime but not reporting it.

As the second in command of a prefecture, the prefectural chancellor had the responsibility of supervision and had close dealings with these gentry and merchants. According to the Dachang Law, ten bolts of silk could result in a year of imprisonment, and three hundred bolts could result in exile three thousand miles away.

Beads of sweat the size of beans dripped to the ground, and Fan Pengcheng didn't know how to respond.

Officialdom matters cannot stand up to scrutiny. If everything really had to be weighed, how many people in the fourteen provinces of Dachang would be honest officials? That is to say, the Marquis of Anjing in front of him had never lacked money since he followed Emperor Longyou into the Forbidden City.

With trembling hands, Fan Pengcheng took off his official hat and placed it on the table beside him.

"I know my crime, so I will donate all my wealth to help you, my Lord, with the disaster relief."

The yamen runners on both sides were dumbfounded. Instead of interrogating the guilty official, they entered the court and said a few words to the official, who was a fourth-rank official, and then made the official take off his official hat and confess his guilt. It seemed that the officialdom in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was about to face a major purge.

Things are about to change.

Yue Ling called out to his attendants, "Take Minister Fan away. There is no need to put him in jail. Let him reflect on his mistakes at home. The corruption is not our responsibility right now. Minister Fan, you can write a letter to the capital to apologize for your crime."

"Yes."

"Bring Xu Yaozu here again."

Soon, Fan Pengcheng left the stage and Xu Yaozu, looking dusty and dusty, came in.

This "local emperor" among the people was spoiled all day long and perhaps had never suffered such a great punishment. Even when he was wearing shackles and shackles, his face still twitched with pain.

The silk he was wearing looked tattered after having been in jail for a day.

Although Xu Yaozu had never been involved in officialdom, he often dealt with officials and had considerable experience.

He saw a fourth-rank robe and cape on the table at one side, and realized that Yue Ling had forced Fan Pengcheng to resign not long ago.

The Suzhou Prefecture was a place where Yue Ling had the final say, and Xu Yaozu held no official position, so whether his property was confiscated or he was beheaded was just a matter of Yue Ling's words.

He swallowed nervously, but before he could say anything, Yue Ling slammed the gavel and shouted angrily, "You daring thief, do you know your crime?"

If you know your sin you will die, but if you don't know your sin how can you get away with it?

"The common people don't know."

"Oh?"

Yue Ling looked at him with interest and asked, "Then tell me, what is the case that Sun Yicai mentioned before?"

Xu Yaozu looked up at the young man sitting in the middle. His handsome face looked like the King of Hell in his eyes, but he had a good mentality and still gritted his teeth and said, "I work for the Weaving Bureau. It's not me who turned rice into mulberry, it's the national treasury. I only get 10% of it. This is earned through my business. Why do you throw all the dirty water on me?"

Yue Ling interrupted, "Sun Yicai forged the accounts, and the Xu family silver shop cooperated with him. Moreover, the grain used for reform and relief this time was dirty silver embezzled from public funds. How can you explain this?"

"Bring Sun Yicai here!"

Soon, Sun Yicai, who was also in tatters, knelt beside Xu Yaozu and kowtowed, saying, "Greetings, Lord Marquis."

Yue Ling nodded and said, "Xu Yaozu said that he had never participated in the planning of this matter and was not the main culprit. Do you have any evidence to support what you said before?"

Sun Yicai tilted his head to glance at Xu Yaozu. His muddy face was dark and red, as if he was holding back his anger and was afraid to release it.

At this moment, Sun Yicai had been completely divided and leaned towards Yue Ling. He knew what he should do at this moment. "In reply to the Marquis, when the location of the rice-to-mulberry plantation was initially chosen, Songjiang was the first choice, and the head of the Xu family changed it to Suzhou by relying on his relationship with the elders in the province."

"If you look for the official documents from the provincial government, you will know the answer."

Xu Yaozu frowned and looked at Sun Yicai, and said angrily in a low voice: "Sun Yicai, do you want to kill me? How have I ever treated you unfairly? Silver, women, what have I given you less?"

Sun Yicai looked straight ahead and said, "What else can you shirk today?"

Xu Yaozu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he had figured out something.

Sun Yicai must have received a promise from Yue Ling that his family would not be harmed, so he cooperated with Yue Ling and exposed the inside story of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang officialdom.

When these charges were brought to the surface, Xu Yaozu was at least charged with the crime of committing three crimes of the Yi clan. How could he honestly plead guilty?

But since he couldn't escape today, Xu Yaozu suddenly laughed wildly and said, "Good, good, good! In the eyes of the Marquis, I am already a piece of fish on the chopping board, waiting to be killed to provide relief to the victims. The Marquis doesn't know that my Xu family is already skinny, otherwise why would we take the risk and use dirty silver to buy food, which would only give us a chance to talk about it."

"To be honest, after giving the Marquis 30,000 yuan for the opera troupe, all of the Xu family's wealth, including the dirty silver, was exchanged for these 150 ships of grain, a total of 1.8 million shi."

"These grains are enough for you to provide relief to the victims, but you cannot kill the Xu family to fill the deficit in the national treasury!"

Hearing this, Yue Ling found it hard to believe and thought to himself, "The Xu family has been running Suzhou for generations, and they don't have any money left?"

Sun Yicai also looked at the nearly crazy Xu Yaozu with a surprised look on his face, "Who can believe that your Xu family has no extra money?"

Xu Yaozu said ecstatically: "The Xu family has its own accounts in the silver shop. If you don't believe it, you can check it. When the late emperor went south to the south of the Yangtze River, the Xu family mobilized the entire clan to welcome His Majesty in person, and spent a lot of money! After the late emperor returned to the north, he left my Xu family with privileges in the local area, but now the world has changed, and he wants to kill us, the goose that laid the eggs of the previous dynasty."

"The emperor is wise, why doesn't he check how many bad debts his father had during his southern tour? The people can be allowed to do what they want, but they can't be allowed to know about it. How much less serious was the late emperor's actions than destroying dikes and flooding fields?"

Sun Yicai moved his knees unconsciously, trying to get away from this madman.

If all these old accounts were dug up, it would be like a nuclear bomb exploding in the officialdom of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. All the aristocratic families, business tycoons, and officials would be implicated and would be swept away together.

Moreover, if these old accounts were also weighed, it would concern the reputation of the royal family and the stability of the rulers.

In desperation, Xu Yaozu was determined to fight back and make Yue Ling afraid to act rashly.

Is the justice that Yue Ling claims to be real justice? Or is Yue Ling's justice ambiguous justice? Is it that matters concerning the royal family's reputation should be avoided?

Yue Ling also understood Xu Yaozu's purpose from the plaque hanging high above his head. He said to the clerk beside him whose hands and feet were numb, "Record it."

Sun Yicai was horrified and said in panic, "My Lord, you can't remember this."

Yue Ling glared and shouted, "Record it!"

There was no need to review today's matter any further. Qian Shiyuan and others had too high an official rank, so a three-court meeting was needed to determine the guilt. Yue Ling stood up, shook his official robe, and strode out of the government office.

After Yue Ling left, the bailiffs came forward and took the two people who were being interrogated back to the government jail.

At this moment, the redness on Xu Yaozu's cheeks had faded, and only a crazy smile remained at the corner of his mouth.

……

Maple Bridge Inn,
The girls in the room waited for a whole day, and only saw Yue Ling return when the sun was about to set.

Qin Keqing came forward happily, and seeing that Yue Ling's official robe was stained with dust, she asked in confusion, "Where did the master go today? I never see the master covered in dust normally."

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "After going to the government office today, I went to the martial arts arena and took a look. The arena was covered with yellow soil, so it was stained with a lot of dust. I have to trouble you to wash it."

Qin Keqing concentrated on untying Yue Ling's belt and changing his official robe for him. Her fingers gently stroked Yue Ling's broad chest, and her eyes were already filled with emotions.

She held the official robe in her arms and took a deep breath. It was stained with a slight smell of sweat, which was just right for her.

This isn't just a hassle; it's a reward.

Putting the towel at her waist into her sleeves and replacing Yue Ling with a new one, Qin Keqing said with a smile, "No, no, this is what a servant should do. The master goes to the martial arts arena every day, and I wash his clothes every day."

Looking around, he didn't see Sister Lin. As usual, Sister Lin was already waiting for him with tea. Yue Ling couldn't help but ask, "Where's Sister Lin? Why isn't she in the room?"

Qin Keqing said, "She feels a little uncomfortable and has been resting in her room for a whole day."

Qin Keqing was walking out when she saw Zijuan and Xueyan supporting Lin Daiyu in the hall. As they met, Qin Keqing said, "I heard that the master is back and Miss Lin is well again."

Lin Daiyu's slightly sickly face was already a little red, and after Qin Keqing's teasing, it became even redder.

Frowning, Lin Daiyu snorted and said, "Sister Ke'er, you are such a vindictive person. I told you once, but you just wanted to bully me."

Qin Keqing stuck out her tongue, and Lin Daiyu had no choice but to laugh along and came to Yue Ling again.

Yue Ling took over Zijuan's seat and helped Lin Daiyu to sit in the room. Seeing that she was wearing a crane cloak and seemed to be afraid of the cold, he couldn't help but ask with concern: "I was fine when I left, how come you look like this when you come back? Have you seen a doctor?"

Lin Daiyu shook her head and said, "It's nothing serious. It's not a cold or fever. I just have some abdominal pain. I'm afraid I've made a fool of myself again. Just drinking some warm soup has made me feel much better."

Seeing Lin Daiyu's insistence, Yue Ling had no choice but to agree, "If you are really feeling very uncomfortable, you should ask a doctor to see you as soon as possible, and don't hide it."

Lin Daiyu smiled sweetly and turned to ask about Yue Ling, "Brother Yue, have you had your meal yet?"

Yue Ling nodded, "I went to the martial arts arena today and had some food with the officers and soldiers in the barracks."

"That's right. I just ate. Let's go sit in the room."

It was only the second day since they first met, and Lin Daiyu was still a little clingy to him, but Yue Ling felt much more at ease.

He helped Lin Daiyu to the inner room, let her sit on the soft bed, and Yue Ling sat beside her.

"The twelfth day of the winter month is the anniversary of my mother's death. Brother Yue has been very busy with official duties recently. Why don't we wait until two months later before going out?"

Yue Ling nodded and said, "Okay."

Lin Daiyu felt relieved. She took off her crane cloak, got into the brocade quilt, lay down and looked at Yue Ling. From time to time, she frowned because of the abdominal cramps, but she still had a smile on her face.

Lying on someone else's bed was like being determined for the rest of her life. Lin Daiyu lay quietly with her little thoughts in her mind, and she really felt a lot more relaxed.

Seeing that Lin Daiyu was still a little sleepy after a day's rest, Yue Ling sat beside her, gently rubbed her belly through the quilt, and coaxed her to rest, just like he was coaxing Lin Daiyu when she was a child.

A warm big hand covered her body, and she could feel some temperature even through the quilt. Lin Daiyu's brows were no longer furrowed, and gradually relaxed, and in her comfort, she couldn't help but utter something.

Lin Daiyu's eyes, which were still half-drowsy a moment ago, immediately widened as wide as bells, "Yue... Brother Yue, I want to go back."

"Go back? Go back where? Yangzhou Prefecture?"

"No...no, I want to go back to my room."

(End of this chapter)