Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 295 The Jia Family is Alarmed
The glow of light shone through the window lattice and onto the bed curtain, and Qin Keqing slowly woke up.

Lying on the brocade quilt and embroidered couch, her almond eyes were drowsy, her face was full of spring, and she looked sleepy. Her hair was half-askew, her jade hairpin was about to fall, and a few strands of black hair were messy on the pillow, just like those soft clouds.

If this scene were painted, it would naturally become a famous piece handed down from generation to generation.

She stretched her waist lazily and stretched out her jade-like arms, but there were still some red spots on them.

Qin Keqing didn't care at all. She lifted her silk dress and hung it on her shoulders. The folds in it were just perfect like rippling green waves.

"Girl, you finally got up."

Qin Keqing frowned slightly, looked at Ruizhu who had drawn up the bed curtains and brought the basin of water, pouted and said, "You called me the wrong name again. I have told you so many times that there are no young ladies from the Qin family here, only the maids of Marquis Anjing. Come here and call me sister."

Ruizhu sighed helplessly, but still called out obediently, "Sister."

"That's right."

Qin Keqing was satisfied. She stood up and was helped down by Ruizhu. But as she stepped on the ground, her legs felt numb and she fell back onto the couch.

Ruizhu blushed, knowing what was going on, but couldn't point it out, so she could only hint at it: "Aunt... Sister, we are girls from decent families after all. It's really inappropriate for you to sleep with the master here every day, isn't it?"

Qin Keqing rolled her eyes and said, "What's wrong with that? I'm the master's maid, if I don't accompany him, who will? You can't even make sense of this. If you don't stay by my side, you will be dragged out to be married off with a boy sooner or later."

Ruizhu was a little unconvinced, "But, but, we can't..."

Ruizhu had not expected that her daughter would be so involved in the role of the master's maid. Although the Qin family was not wealthy, Qin Ye did have an official position as a construction official in the Ministry of Works, which was at least a fifth-rank official.

The fifth rank may not even be ranked in the capital, but if it is taken to places outside the capital, it is equivalent to a high-ranking official like the governor of a state. Although the power may be much less, the official title is the same.

No matter how much the girl was, she was the daughter of an official family, but she had no status and lived a shameless life with her master.

If she and Baozhu were to do this, it would still make sense, after all, they were maids. But if a girl were to do this, it would seem awkward no matter how you look at it.

Qin Keqing seemed to be completely unaware of Ruizhu's strange gaze. She dipped her handkerchief into clean water and wiped her rosy cheeks with a slow and graceful movement. Her every move revealed the delicate charm of a young woman in the boudoir when she wakes up in the morning.

After washing up, Qin Keqing came to the desk where Yue Ling had looked at the map last night. She cleaned the surface first and then started to grind ink by herself.

"Sister, can I help you?"

"No, just go and do your own thing. You don't have to wash the clothes that the master took off last night, just wash the mattress. The master's clothes are finely made and made of luxurious materials. They can't stand being beaten. I will wash them carefully by hand later."

Ruizhu put the clothes in her arms back to their original place, rolled up the mattress beside her, and curled her lips.

The mattress and clothes are clearly made of the same material. After all, they are both next-to-the-skin, so how could the material of the mattress be bad?

Ruizhu was too embarrassed to expose the girl's thoughts on the spot, so she went out first.

Qin Keqing didn't turn her head, but guessed about 70% of Ruizhu's thoughts. She curled the corners of her mouth and shook her head gently.

"Silly maid, the master loves Miss Lin, and no one can compete with her for favor. That's fine, they are made for each other, and I am willing to lose. There is also Miss Bao who is very outstanding in appearance. She can help the master a lot and is also a strong opponent. I also heard that the marquis had some romantic relationship with a nun. If nothing happens, won't the maids in our room become decorations?"

Qin Keqing is very clear-headed and she understands her advantages.

No matter whether it is Lin Daiyu or Xue Baochai, they all have to maintain a status. It is impossible for them to do something inappropriate with Yue Ling without any status.

Without the constraints of her identity, she could fill this gap and meet Yue Ling's various needs. How could this not be considered a great help to him?

As long as Yue Ling is willing, she would be willing to call him Brother Yue or Uncle Yue, even if she had to wear Lin Daiyu's clothes.

Because Qin Keqing knew that Yue Ling was a man who valued friendship and loyalty, Yue Ling would not owe her anything for what she had given him at this moment.

She tapped her head lightly with her wrist. Qin Keqing still had a headache because she had slept too late last night.

After grinding the ink, Qin Keqing took out an inconspicuous booklet from the drawer under the table. She unfolded it, turned to a blank page, and began to write.

During the four years of separation from Yue Ling, Qin Keqing went from counting the days by counting the numbers to gradually developing a new habit, which was to record her experiences in a book every day. When she looked through it later, she would know what she had been doing during this period.

It’s just that before she reunited with Yue Ling, she often wrote about how much she missed Yue Ling. But today, after these two days of nourishment, she already has too many things she wants to record.

"August 11th, I succeeded again last night, great. The master is surrounded by so many little maids all day long, even if he doesn't think too much, he can't stand the feelings in his heart."

"As long as I touch it gently, it will definitely be shaken. The master is really easy to understand."

"Last night, there were a total of one and a half Zheng characters. If I really put on Miss Lin's clothes, would it be possible to write two Zheng characters?"

As she wrote this, Qin Keqing couldn't help but rub her slightly trembling legs, and a feeling of shyness surged in her heart.

"I envy Miss Lin for being so favored, but Miss Lin is a very good person, smart and kind. It's not bad for me to be a concubine in the mansion. Marry a virtuous wife and a beautiful concubine. My appearance should not be inferior to these little girls, right?"

……

In the west wing, three people sat together and the atmosphere was just right.

Lin Daiyu approached Yue Ling and poured tea for him, while Xue Baochai was on the other side, gently waving a round fan to fan herself.

The two clever little girls have now become Yue Ling's advisors, and they all give him advice.

Thinking of this, Yue Ling couldn't help but smile.

If he had not met them, perhaps at this moment, they would still be following their original fate, feeling sad and depressed in the Rongguo Mansion, playing and frolicking with Jia Baoyu all day long, and secretly competing with each other.

Such a fate is so unfair to these two beautiful girls.

When Yue Ling got along with them, he paid more attention to their ages and ignored their talents. Originally, these two were talented women, and now that they were more experienced in the world, they really became Yue Ling's staff.

Yue Ling was also glad that after traveling through time, he was able to meet and get to know the two of them, which gave him a sense of belonging in this world. No wonder he could only feel at ease when he returned. After all, traveling through time into the world still had a sense of unreality.

"Brother Yue, what are you laughing at?"

Lin Daiyu tilted her head curiously, looked over, and asked with a blink.

Yue Ling raised his head and smiled at the two women, "You have given me so much advice on my official business, I owe you something. Now, hiring a capable staff member in the Marquis' Mansion will cost a lot, not to mention that there are two of them now."

Lin Daiyu pouted and said, "It's such a long time, and Brother Yue is still talking nonsense. He really deserves a beating."

She tapped Yue Ling gently, as if massaging his back. Lin Daiyu was very happy, but she still said, "Now that you have thought it through, you might as well make preparations early. Brother Yue still has plenty of time, but after all, the issues involved are very broad."

"We are just talking on paper this time. It is inevitable that accidents will happen and deviate from our plan. The most difficult thing is how Brother Yue will implement it."

Yue Ling shook his robe and stood up, nodding slightly and said, "Okay, I'll go back and prepare now."

After the two girls watched Yue Ling leave, they turned back at the same time. They could both see each other's intentions in their eyes, and they lowered their heads at the same time, with some shyness on their faces.

It was the older Xue Baochai who spoke with concern, "How is Sister Lin today? I was out yesterday and didn't have time to visit you."

Lin Daiyu nodded and said, "It's much better now."

Then he asked, "What are Sister Bao's plans? After all, Sister Bao went south to cooperate with me, and at most she followed my willfulness. Is it still very busy in Beijing now? Does Sister Bao need to go back?"

Xue Baochai sighed lightly, "It cannot be said that the responsibility for this matter lies with Sister Lin. After all, we are working for the Marquis, and this applies to both the south and the north. Now that the Xue family's business in the capital is being managed by a few old shopkeepers, it is relatively stable."

"I'd like to spend more time with Sister Lin. After all, there's still a lot of fun I haven't seen yet, so I can't miss it."

"Lively?" Lin Daiyu didn't understand what he meant, and couldn't help but repeat it in a low voice, looking at Xue Baochai in confusion.

"Are you talking about the excitement of the Marquis wiping out the Japanese pirates?"

Xue Baochai shook her head, still staring at Lin Daiyu with burning eyes, a meaningful smile on her face.

Lin Daiyu felt guilty when she looked at her. She couldn't help but tremble and said, "I'll go back first. Sister Bao, you can rest first."

Xue Baochai laughed and said, "Sister Lin, are you not curious about what I'm talking about?"

Lin Daiyu waved her hands repeatedly, "I'm not curious anymore. What Baojie wants to watch is her business, and it has nothing to do with me. If you're willing to stay with me, I'm happy too. Why bother going to the capital to suffer?"

At the right time, Xiangling came over to add tea. Seeing the two people go from being speechless at the beginning to quarreling and arguing now, she couldn't help but ask in confusion: "What kind of excitement is the girl talking about? Can we see it?"

Seeing Xiangling's cute and naive look, Xue Baochai smiled and explained to her, "When Censor Lin sent Sister Lin to live with the Marquis, it seemed that he didn't expect that Sister Lin and the Marquis would be together to this point. When they return to Yangzhou, won't it be a lot of fun to see?" Xiangling and Ying'er, who had come to join in the fun, looked at each other, and then looked at Lin Daiyu who was about to leave, and they immediately understood.

But Lin Daiyu, who had just raised her front foot, sat back with a red face, and tried to cover Xue Baochai's mouth with her claws and teeth, "Sister Bao! You have also learned bad things from Brother Yue, and you have evil intentions! You are not allowed to go back to Yangzhou with me!"

Lin Daiyu walked out of the door angrily and went straight to the main hall, but she didn't see Yue Ling.

Only Qin Keqing was sitting at the desk, apparently writing something.

Lin Daiyu thought it was strange. When she was with Qin Keqing, she seldom saw Qin Keqing writing. It was always she who wrote while the two of them chatted casually.

Lin Daiyu leaned over and looked over as she got closer, then asked, "Sister Ke'er, what are you writing?"

Qin Keqing originally thought it was Baozhu who came over, but when she heard Lin Daiyu's voice, she panicked immediately and quickly closed the booklet and put it in the drawer. She forced a smile and said, "Well, I didn't write anything. I just looked at the recent accounts and the expenses of the room."

Lin Daiyu nodded slightly. She always felt that Qin Keqing's expression was very unnatural, so she sat next to her, frowning and thinking.

Qin Keqing patted her chest lightly and said to herself, "It seems that Miss Lin didn't see what I wrote. If Miss Lin saw it, it would be a disaster."

Qin Keqing didn't even dare to think about how shameful that was.

I looked at Lin Daiyu's clothes again. She was still wearing white today, a moon-white dress and skirt, dotted with bamboo patterns. It was this elegant dress that only made Lin Daiyu feel as if she was floating like a fairy, free from the dust.

If I put this dress on myself, then at night...

Qin Keqing quickly withdrew her thoughts and dared not let them run wild anymore.

Lin Daiyu suddenly spoke up, "Since I followed the master to Cangzhou, Sister Ke'er has been taking care of the household affairs for four years, which is not easy. Since there is something wrong with the accounts, let me take a look. I can't leave everything to Sister Ke'er and let me enjoy the leisure time."

Hearing that Lin Daiyu still wanted to read it, Qin Keqing was not flustered. She pulled out another booklet from the drawer. The cover of the book was exactly the same as the one just now. This book was the recent accounts.

"Miss Lin has been weak recently and shouldn't have been too tired. It's okay for me to do some chores, but if Miss Lin wants to watch, it's fine."

Originally, she thought Qin Keqing was hiding something from her, but she actually let her see it so openly. Lin Daiyu became even more confused.

She didn't think Qin Keqing would falsify the accounts and steal money.

Qin Keqing had already broken off relations with the Qin family. Who could she use the money she stole from the accounts for? Besides, her heart was completely devoted to Yue Ling, so she would never have such evil thoughts.

But even so, today's actions made Lin Daiyu feel even more unusual. She subconsciously thought that Qin Keqing was hiding something from her.

After carefully checking the accounts, Lin Daiyu indeed discovered the problem.

When she entered the room just now, she clearly saw Qin Keqing writing, and the handwriting on the accounts was all old, with no new handwriting at all, so the book she had just written was not the same as the one she took out now!
But Lin Daiyu didn't dare to rummage in the drawer. She was not the type to embarrass others in front of them, so she just took note of it and would try to figure it out later.

"Sister Bao is a bad person, and Sister Ke'er is even more of a vixen. She's also a bad person for hiding something from me!"

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes and secretly resented it.

Spreading the accounts on the table, Lin Daiyu said, "Sister Ke'er is very meticulous in her work. Why should I worry about that? I should go back to take my medicine now. I won't delay Sister Ke'er's work."

Qin Keqing heaved a sigh of relief and saw Lin Daiyu out with a big smile on her face...

……

Beijing, Rongguo Mansion,

Half a year has passed since the passing of the two old masters. Jia She, the eldest son, is still in mourning at the tomb, while Jia Zheng has returned and is working in the Ministry of Works again.

The Rongguo Mansion has also changed drastically.

Because of Jia's grandmother's previous assignment, Jia She was sent to Datong to deliver a letter. Finally, he was involved in the Jia family's rebellion case and suffered in prison.

In prison, Jia She was scolded by Yue Ling again, and he saw things more clearly. The root of the Jia family's decline was actually Jia's mother, and the gap between him and Jia's mother deepened.

Grandmother Jia also thought that he must have confessed some shameful things about the Jia family in prison, and Jia She would become a stain on the Jia family, so she built a new courtyard in the Rongguo Mansion for him to live in, and built a high wall between it and the main courtyard.

Because it is close to the east, between the Ning and Rong mansions, the servants often call it the East Courtyard.

There is a black-painted gate at the front, and a three-story ceremonial gate inside. The main rooms, side halls, and corridors are all small and unique, and lack the grandeur of the main courtyard.

If you walk from the east courtyard to the main courtyard, there is not even a small door leading to the inside. You can only go out from the black oil gate and pass through the corner gate of Rongguo Mansion to reach the main courtyard.

You should know that there is a small door connecting the Rong and Ning mansions, which makes it convenient for the two families to travel together.

The harsh treatment that Lady Jia showed was beyond words.

After moving from Rongguo Mansion to the East Courtyard, Mrs. Xing cried all day long and made a fuss several times. But after all, the Xing family was not as wealthy as the Wang family, and few people in the room cared about her thoughts, not to mention Lady Jia, who thought that Mrs. Xing was petty.

After some time, Mrs. Xing realized the benefits of it. The accounts of the East Courtyard were separated from those of the Main Courtyard. In the past, the accounts had never passed through the hands of her, the daughter-in-law of the eldest wife, but were always managed by the second wife.

Now, the monthly salary and expenses of the East Courtyard have to be paid to her first, and then she distributes it to the lower levels. This makes it convenient for her to embezzle money, but it makes her live a much more comfortable life than before. She even brought her niece to keep her company.

Jia She, who was away, learned all this and was very angry, but there was nothing he could do. He could only wear mourning clothes in front of the tomb, but he felt quite disappointed.

It was obvious that he inherited the title, but now he only had an empty title. He had to live in the Black Oil Gate when he returned, and all the family property fell into the hands of the second branch. How could he not feel resentful?

But now, under the suppression of Lady Jia, Rongguo Mansion is relatively peaceful.

Without the old master, no one dared to go against her wishes. She returned to the supreme position in Rong Mansion. Grandmother Jia was in a good mood. As for what Jia Daishan said in the past, not allowing her to be buried in the ancestral land, wasn't she still the one who had the final say now?

After a period of peace and stability, he was playing cards in the hall today as usual, but his good mood was disturbed by the maid who came hurriedly.

"Grandpa, the eldest and second grandmothers of the Zhen family are coming here now."

Grandmother Jia touched the flower cards, frowned slightly, and asked, "What's the matter? I just came here a while ago, why are you here again?"

The little maidservant below said, "It seems that something bad has happened to the Zhen family. They have prepared a lot of gifts this time, but I don't know to whom they will be distributed. The two grandmothers are crying so hard that they want to come to the hall to let the old ancestor make a decision."

Grandmother Jia looked around and couldn't help laughing, "Why do they need an old woman like me to make the decision about their affairs in Jinling?"

Mrs. Wang, who was sitting above Lady Jia, flattered her, "The old lady is the backbone of these families. When this family encounters disasters and misfortunes, the old lady has to make decisions. Since they have come back from Jinling after wading thousands of miles, they must have really encountered difficulties. Whether to help or not, don't we have to listen to her?"

Grandmother Jia smiled and nodded, "The second family is doing things properly. All right, let's call off this card game and play it another day."

Wang Xifeng, who was sitting in the house below Jia's mother, pushed down Jia's mother's hand and saw that the next card Jia was going to play was the one she won. She couldn't help but said with a toothache: "Oh, how did the Zhen family become the savior of the old ancestor? If I had come a little later, I would have made a hundred dollars from the old ancestor."

Grandmother Jia was amused by her and tapped her forehead and said, "You little girl, you only know the value of money all day long, and you don't know how good I am as an old woman. Yuanyang, go get her a hundred taels of silver. I would be willing to give her this hundred taels of silver even if I didn't lose."

Yuanyang was about to leave, but was pulled back by Wang Xifeng, "Sister Yuanyang, how could I only want this 100 yuan? I clearly said that the Zhen family would not bring disaster, but would bring good luck to the old lady. The old lady insisted on blaming me for making this 100 yuan. When did I become so petty?"

Everyone laughed, and Yuanyang also covered her mouth and laughed. Grandmother Jia took a few breaths and said, "Okay, okay, you are such a good talker. No matter what you say, you are right. I will not argue with you anymore. It doesn't matter. I am saving a hundred dollars."

Mrs. Wang added, "I think the old lady can't save this 100 yuan. It has to be added to Feng's betrothal gift."

Grandmother Jia's eyes lit up and she was even happier. "That's great. Not only one tael, but even a thousand taels would be fine."

Speaking of this, Wang Xifeng did not laugh with everyone else. She sat quietly aside and drank tea.

Soon, the two grandmothers of the Zhen family were led in.

One of them was the eldest lady of the Zhen family, Mrs. Hu, who had been here before, and the other second lady, Mrs. Jiang, the wife of Zhen Yingjia, was the daughter of a salt merchant in Yangzhou.

As soon as they entered the hall, the two women knelt down together, scaring everyone.

Mrs. Hu choked up and said, "Grandfather, please have mercy on us. Please save our Zhen family this time, otherwise we will be in great trouble and our family will be exterminated!"

This roar scared Lady Jia half to death.

She had been living a peaceful life recently, so she had never heard of such a dangerous thing.

Grandmother Jia took a few deep breaths and said slowly, "Tell me slowly, what happened?"

Mrs. Hu looked at the miserable Mrs. Jiang who was standing beside her, sobbing uncontrollably. It was difficult for her to speak, so she spoke by herself: "Grandfather, the Marquis of Anjing, who has an old relationship with the Jia family, has thrown our Second Master into jail and is about to punish him for his crimes!"

(End of this chapter)