Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 297 The Girls' Intrigues

Xing Xiuyun was as quiet and elegant as a lotus flower emerging from water. Her eyebrows were as dark as distant black, neither thick nor thin. She wore no makeup on her face, which only made her look more beautiful.

This typical weak and delicate girl from the Jiangnan water town suddenly stood up and asked Shi Xiangyun a question that scared all the girls in the room.

Is this still the soft-spoken, dignified and steady girl just now?

But then they thought, this girl was so excited because she heard the news about Marquis An Jing, and the other girls couldn't help but look at her suspiciously.

You know, everyone in the Jia family already knows about Yue Ling and Lin Daiyu's engagement.

Xing Xiuyan looked around, and after meeting the naked gazes of those around her, her cheeks immediately turned from white to pink, and then she sat back obediently.

"Uh... don't pay attention to what I say, you, you... continue talking..."

Shi Xiangyun pushed the stunned Jia Baoyu aside, sat down near Xing Xiuyan, and said casually, "Sister Yan, why haven't I heard you mention your acquaintance with Marquis Anjing before? Why do you like Marquis Anjing? Although you are also outstanding in appearance and a nice person, I still support Sister Lin more. They have been together for a long time, and you don't have much chance."

Jia Baoyu also came to his senses and nodded, "Yes, he is about to get married. He is not the same kind of person as us. Don't be stubborn and deceive yourself."

The girls all ignored Jia Baoyu's words and stared at Xing Xiuyun with burning eyes, waiting for her explanation.

Xing Xiuyan's head hung even lower, her fingers fiddling with a lush green sash tied around her waist, looking guilty.

Shi Xiangyun grabbed her wrist and pressed, "Sister Yan, why don't you tell me? The girls in this room have known the Marquis of Anjing for a long time, and they all admire the Marquis very much. If you have any thoughts in your mind, there is no need to hide them from us."

Xing Xiuyan frowned and said, "Didn't he just say that he and the Marquis are not of the same kind?"

Shi Xiangyun shook her head repeatedly and said, "Don't listen to his nonsense. He just talked back to the Marquis a few times and was severely punished by the Marquis, so he holds a grudge against him. We are naturally different from him. I have stayed at the Marquis's place and eaten the meals he personally cooked."

Baoyu stood there in a daze, as if he was petrified.

Xing Xiuyan really stopped paying attention to Jia Baoyu, unloaded the burden in her heart, and asked: "So, you all like An Jinghou?"

The girls were stunned when they heard this, then they all blushed and lowered their heads, but they didn't know what to say.

Shi Xiangyun's carefree personality was made weak by Xing Xiuyan's blunt words, and she stammered and couldn't speak clearly.

She couldn't pronounce "爱" and "二" clearly, and couldn't distinguish between the flat and retroflex tongue. Now she was sobbing even more, as if there was cotton stuffed in her mouth.

"Sister Yan, you are talking nonsense. Who is interested in the Marquis? We just admire his ability. We have just said that the Marquis is going to marry Sister Lin."

Xing Xiuyan looked embarrassed and wanted to ask Shi Xiangyun if she was willing to be a mistress, but she swallowed her words back.

In her opinion, Miaoyu had already lost her mind about Marquis Anjing. The arrest of the Zhen family must have meant that the matter had been decided and that Miaoyu's father could be cleared of the injustice. Given Miaoyu's daring nature of love and hate, she would probably become even more depraved.

Not to mention being a concubine, I'm afraid she would be willing even if the Marquis kept her outside.

The girls in this room are all very well-educated and seem to have some status. Among them, Shi Xiangyun is the eldest daughter of the Baolinghou Mansion, so she doesn't look like she can be a maid in another mansion.

There is really no hostility between them.

"I don't know much about Marquis An Jing. We just met by chance when we were in Suzhou. The case that Marquis An Jing is investigating now happens to be a family affair of a friend of mine. Later, we followed Marquis An Jing to do some things..."

Xing Xiuyan pondered for a while, and then told the girls everything that happened in Suzhou in detail. The girls were fascinated by her story, and they could already picture the happy times they had with Yue Ling, doing justice everywhere.

Finally, I heard that Xing Xiuyan had to come to Beijing because her family wanted to live with relatives, and she was unable to be with Yue Ling until the end, which made me feel a little sorry.

If Yue Ling could really help her out, what would being the eldest wife mean to her?
After Xing Xiuyan finished speaking, Shi Xiangyun began to think and said, "Since the Marquis has arrested the Second Master of the Zhen Family, it is estimated that the Second Master of the Zhen Family is also involved in the murder of your friend's father. This crime of murdering a senior official in the court is probably not a light one, right?"

"If the Zhen family really ends up with their property confiscated and their clan exterminated, wouldn't it also implicate the Jia family if they came to Rongguo Mansion today to give a big gift?"

When Sanchun heard this, she couldn't help feeling uneasy, thinking that what Shi Xiangyun said made a lot of sense.

Upon hearing this, Jia Baoyu couldn't help feeling sad, because he had heard before that the Zhen family had a young man with the same character as him, and there were many girls around him. If the Zhen family was confiscated, wouldn't these girls have nowhere to go?
"It would be great if we could bring them to the Jia family and settle them down. There's not much noise in the room anyway."

The girls naturally had no idea what Baoyu was thinking. After being frightened by Shi Xiangyun's words, it was Xing Xiuyun who spoke up to comfort him.

"We are people who live in the boudoir and have no control over our own lives. It is useless to worry too much. It is better to focus on the things in front of us. What happens outside is naturally not something we can control."

All the girls sighed and lamented again. They had no choice but to do things, which was their helplessness as girls. They envied Lin Daiyu, who was now loved and cared for, and Xue Baochai, who followed Yue Ling and was in charge of the Xue family.

The girls' topic unconsciously shifted to Yue Ling, and they couldn't help mentioning Yue Ling's name every few sentences.

Only when chatting in the boudoirs would they dare to be so unrestrained. In front of Lady Jia, this name is a taboo.

In fact, it was almost the same in front of Baoyu. Every time Yue Ling came to the house, he would always get a good beating. He didn't know how many times his buttocks had been spanked, and he hated Yue Ling even more.

What's more, every woman he values ​​is related to Yue Ling.

Lin Daiyu was like this, Xue Baochai was like this, and even Xing Xiuyun, who now looked weak and taciturn, was like this. When she was lost in thought, some of her delusion was aroused again.

Although the girls in the room were living in the Jia family, each of them regarded Yue Ling's place as their home and their hearts were no longer here. It was no wonder that Wanle was doing it behind his back now.

How could Jia Baoyu, who was nostalgic for the rouge of the world, accept this?

All the girls in the Jia family used to like him and treat him like a treasure, but now they treat him like dirt and no one cares about what he says.

His hands unconsciously climbed up the colorful silk ribbon in front of his chest and tightly grasped the spiritual jade.

The girls were chatting intently. Shi Xiangyun glanced over and saw Jia Baoyu standing there in a daze. He seemed to have become demented again and was about to take off the jade from his chest.

Shi Xiangyun immediately stood up and took off the jade from his neck. She then sent someone to call Xiren over and put the jade in a brocade box for safekeeping.

"Your grandfather is not feeling well again today, and so are you. He has only recovered not long ago, and you let him out to make trouble. If he doesn't recover well and develops some kind of illness, won't it all be your fault?"

Shi Xiangyun and Xiren, who had rushed over after hearing the news, warned, "You are the only maid left in his room who is most proud of him. I don't know where Qingwen has gone. You are going to be a concubine in the future, so why don't you be more careful and win the appreciation of the lady?"

Xiren blushed after being scolded, and quickly spat, "I didn't know what happened when I entered the house, but Yun girl scolded me all over. If the second master disturbed your interest, I apologize to you. Auntie, don't say such nonsense without reason. The Jia family has many gossips, and one day, white will be spread into black."

"Girls, you better keep your mouth shut and don't let people gossip about you."

Xiren put away the brocade box handed to her by Shi Xiangyun, and went back dejectedly, taking Baoyu, whose eyes were dull.

Although she spoke righteously, she actually did not have much confidence. The reason she dared to argue was because she had once taken care of Shi Xiangyun and worked as her maid, and the two had a close relationship.

After Baoyu left, the troublesome person was no longer in the room. The girls no longer had any taboos and asked anything while chatting and laughing. The atmosphere became more lively.

Baoyu was led away by Xiren, and he kept muttering, "Qingwen, yes, where is Qingwen? I should go look for her."

Just then an autumn wind blew in the courtyard, blowing down bits of osmanthus flowers from the branches. The golden and white colors mixed together and swirled in the air.

The fallen petals can never return to the branches, just like two people who have been separated can never meet again.

At Marquis Anjing's mansion, the garden was also covered with scattered flower petals. Qingwen sat on a rockery, looking up at the sky aimlessly, feeling empty inside.

Sure enough, things did not deviate from Xue Baochai's expectations at all. Since she left the house, Jia Baoyu never came to inquire about her.

This completely shattered any thoughts that were still lingering in his heart.

Yes, with Baoyu as the case, there are countless maids in the mansion vying to serve in his room. It doesn’t matter if she is missing. I’m afraid that the vacancy has already been filled by someone else.

What's more, Xiren is still around. Now that she is gone, she must help Xiren to be happy.

In the past they did some shameless things and even did them behind Qingwen's back, but now they are probably happy that she is not around.

Her pupils shrank slightly, and Qingwen gradually regained her composure.

Right now, she shouldn't worry about what happened before, but should think carefully about how to live in the Anjing Marquis Mansion.

She was favored in the Jia family because of her beauty, but if she were to go out of the mansion and onto the street, it would be even more dangerous, as she would definitely be sold to a brothel.

At the Marquis Anjing's mansion, Qingwen saw with her own eyes that many girls were more beautiful than her, and they were all completely devoted to Yue Ling, which made her look unattractive at all.

"Yes, I can still do something. The maids in this room are not very skilled in needlework. I can make a piece of clothing for the Marquis to wear, which will prove my intention."

Unconsciously, Qingwen had shifted her reliance from the Jia family to Yue Ling.

Looking away, Qingwen asked the little maid Ni Ni, who was holding a dogtail grass in her mouth, "Can I take the cloth in the room to make clothes?"

Ni Ni was lying carefree on the lawn. When she heard Qingwen talking to her, she sat up and stretched her waist. "Sure, go find Madam Liu from the treasury. She is in charge of this matter. Sister Qingwen, do you want to make clothes? Winter is coming, and the mansion will give you new clothes."

Qingwen shook her head and said, "I want to make a dress for the Marquis."

Ni Ni looked over in surprise and asked, "Sister Qingwen, don't you want to go back to Rongguo Mansion?" Qingwen smiled bitterly and said, "Why should I go back? I was kicked out by someone."

Ni Ni pouted and said, "I don't think Rongguo Mansion is better than here. Don't the ladies of the rich and powerful families all put on airs and order their servants around at will? There are many who beat and scold them at will. Look at our mansion, there is no such thing. Everyone is harmonious. Even if Miss Lin comes back, it won't be like that."

Qingwen nodded slightly, "That's right, this place is better than Rongguo Mansion..."

……

On August 17, Yue Ling, who was on duty at the Suzhou government office, received the first imperial edict in Suzhou.

After Emperor Longyou learned about the Suzhou case, he sent several people to serve and filled the vacant position of Suzhou prefect, reducing the government pressure on Yue Ling and granting Yue Ling the power to mobilize troops, which made it more convenient for him to do things in the future.

Therefore, he wrote a letter to Cangzhou, selecting the best from the hometown of martial arts, and selected 3,000 young and strong men to join the army, in order to build an army specifically to deal with the Japanese pirates.

When the news that Marquis An Jing was recruiting soldiers came to light, Cangzhou was in an uproar.

The last time I recruited soldiers in Cangzhou, it was just to build my hometown, but now I have to follow Marquis Anjing to make achievements.

The greatest heroes serve their country and their people. Practicing martial arts is not just for physical fitness. Who doesn't have a heart to serve the country?

As a result, the people who signed up to join the army in Cangzhou surrounded the conscription site and even held a large competition to select the strongest 3,000 people from 100,000 young and middle-aged men. Only then did the prefect Chen Youmin send these children of the villagers out.

For a time, the people of Cangzhou considered it an honor to be able to serve under Marquis Anjing, and if a family had a member who successfully joined the army, the neighbors would look up to him.

The history of Japanese pirates causing trouble in Dachang is also long.

As early as the previous dynasty, Japanese pirates had been invading the border frequently. Since the area south of the Yangtze River had been peaceful for a long time, the more combat-effective ones were the troops from the nine borders. When facing the Japanese pirates at the beginning, they were simply helpless.

Most of the Japanese pirates were elite warriors who were forced to flee to other countries because it was inconvenient for them to make a living during the civil strife in Japan. Later, after the Japanese pirates made their fortunes by plundering the southeast, many daimyos in Japan even formed private armies and pretended to be pirates to make money. This led to the high overall military quality of the Japanese pirates.

Moreover, the combat effectiveness of individual soldiers is also good and their equipment is also very sophisticated.

That was why the border garrisons, which were poorly trained, suffered repeated defeats. A few hundred Japanese pirates could wipe out a garrison of 3,000 people, and even massacre civilians and officials. Several lieutenant generals in the previous dynasty died for their country because of this.

Yue Ling selected soldiers from Cangzhou. First of all, they were loyal and did not need to be suspicious. In addition, the local martial arts culture was very strong. Most of them had a foundation in traditional martial arts and could quickly become combat forces after training.

Even without the advantage of firearms and superior tactics, a single soldier would not be at a great disadvantage when facing the Japanese.

Soldiers from the same hometown can be assigned to the same team to train their mutual understanding and practice military formations, which can multiply the effect several times.

Having such an army under his command gives Yue Ling the confidence to act next.

In the following period of time, Yue Ling's main focus was on military training. He often went in and out of the martial arts field, and even personally led the newly selected Cangzhou army to the mountains for training.

"Why have you been training new recruits recently? What about the case in prison? Are you planning to make some big move?"

The commander of the Beijing camp, Yang Lin, frowned as he looked at the newly recruited soldiers coming from afar. He always felt that their aura was very extraordinary. After only a few days of training, they did not feel like rookies at all, and each of them was as fierce as a tiger.

"I don't know where you recruited these weirdos from. Look at this weird formation you set up. The shield bearer in the front seems to be a Bajiquan practitioner. He has a strong body and is very strong. His legs are like standing still, as still as a mountain. He retreated half a step just now when a mule bumped into him."

"The two men holding the long bamboo poles are obviously Tongbeiquan experts. They have great strength in their waists and abdomens. They have more than enough power to swing the two-meter bamboo poles. The bamboo poles can also kill enemies."

"And those behind them using spears, they look like martial artists. The military often uses stabbing and thrusting, but they don't fight as fiercely as they do."

"Each of these people is extremely fierce, but if they are combined together, unless they can work together, it will be easy for them to fight on their own on the battlefield."

Yue Ling nodded, and looked at the old captain of the Qin Palace with a little approval, "Don't worry about that. They are from the same hometown and will not abandon their relatives."

Yang Lin was startled when he heard this, and then he couldn't help but laugh and shook his head, "Only a freak like you can control these weirdos. If these people can be trained in time, they will definitely become the most ferocious army in our dynasty, and perhaps even comparable to your majesty's Black Armor Army."

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "There are some shortcomings. Firearms will be the king in the future, so we have to integrate firearms into our tactics."

Yang Lin seemed to understand something and asked, "You want to suppress the Japanese?"

Yue Ling remained silent.

Yang Lin sighed, "Although I want to say that now that Suzhou is in trouble and the treasury is empty, it is not a good time to suppress the Japanese, but you always have your reasons. Your Majesty has entrusted Jiangsu and Zhejiang to you with confidence, so why should I be worried?"

"Don't carry all the pressure on yourself. Let me know when you need it."

Yang Lin patted his shoulder and walked back to the training ground.

When the soldiers of the Beijing camp saw their commander entering the arena, they thought they were going to be disbanded, but the first thing they heard when Yang Lin entered the arena was: "Gather all the troops and practice the battle formation three more times."

A captain beside him reminded: "General, we have just practiced today."

Yang Lin glared at him and said, "I told you to practice three more times, why are you refusing? The Beijing camp has not seen any fighting in the past two years, and I'm afraid you've been wasting time. More practice is for your own good, and it can save your lives on the battlefield. Don't you see the new recruits are still practicing over there? You're the ones who are tired first, come on, line up!"

Yue Ling looked at all this from a distance, shook his head and smiled.

……

Maple Bridge Inn,
As we enter late autumn, the grass and trees in the courtyard gradually change color. Ginkgo leaves fall to the ground, and everything is golden. After the hibiscus and crape myrtle flowers fade, their petals fall and drift in the wind.

Lin Daiyu carried a flower hoe on her shoulder with a flower bag hanging on the hoe, and held a flower broom in her hand as she walked gracefully into the courtyard.

The breeze gently blew a strand of hair on her forehead, making Lin Daiyu itchy, so she casually fiddled with it.

Zijuan thought that Lin Daiyu was tired, so she said with concern: "Miss, your period has just ended a few days ago. If you haven't recovered yet, why don't you go to your room and rest. I will sweep these flowers and sweep them to the flower grave together so that they won't be dirty."

Lin Daiyu was reluctant to leave, and shook her head, saying, "It's boring in the room anyway, so it's good to have something to do. These flowers are really pitiful, they will be crushed into dust when spring goes and autumn comes. So it's better to let them go clean, so that they won't be blown into a dirty place by the wind and be ruined for nothing."

"The sun is setting in the majestic sorrow of separation, and the whip is pointing eastward to the end of the world. Falling red is not a heartless thing, it turns into spring mud to protect the flowers."

A familiar voice came from the distance. Lin Daiyu looked in the direction of the voice and smiled.

"Brother Yue, you're back? It seems like you've encountered something good today, and you're in a good mood, and you even feel like writing poetry. Are you feeling sad about your separation? Brother Yue, do you also want to go back to Beijing?"

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly. He just saw Lin Daiyu burying flowers and suddenly thought of this ancient poem that is required in elementary school. He always thought it was some famous poem, but it turned out that it did not belong to the previous generation, which made Lin Daiyu mistakenly think that it was written by him.

Lin Daiyu put down the work in her hands and savored the poem that Yue Ling had just recited, "Fallen petals are not heartless, they turn into spring mud to protect the flowers?"

"This gives these flowers a home, so it's not so heartless."

Lin Daiyu was very pleased with Yue Ling's good work, so she threw the hoe and broom in her hands to Yue Ling and said, "Brother Yue, I'll leave the cleaning here to you. I'm going to go back and write down this poem so I won't forget it later."

If this sentence were spoken by someone else, it might have some credibility.

With Lin Daiyu's photographic memory, she could draw a map of Cangzhou just by taking a glance at the streets. How could she forget just a short poem?

She just wanted to record it quickly.

It is so difficult for a talented woman to tell a small lie, as it will be easily discovered.

Zijuan covered her mouth and laughed secretly, and Yue Ling had no choice but to take the hoe and broom and take over Lin Daiyu's work.

Lin Daiyu knew that she couldn't hide her thoughts, so she turned around, stuck out her tongue at Yue Ling, made a face, and then pulled Xueyan away in a flash.

Only Zijuan and Yue Ling were left. Zijuan blinked and asked, "Master, do you want to sweep? If you are tired, you can go back and rest. I will just sweep. This yard is not big to begin with, and there are not many flowers left."

Yue Ling curled his lips, put down the broom and said, "Since we are here, let's sweep."

Zijuan felt happy, as she hadn't been alone with Yue Ling for a long time. When Lin Daiyu was menstruating, Qin Keqing monopolized her every day, leaving her no chance at all.

"master……"

Zijuan was just about to get closer and act coquettishly, but she saw Qin Keqing coming over in the distance, smelling the scent.

"Master? You're back, how can you do these things here? Go and wash up, the hot water is ready."

Yue Ling glanced at the flower sac, rubbed his shoulders, and said: "I am indeed a little tired from the military training in the training ground today. It would be good to take a bath to relieve my fatigue."

Qin Keqing showed a look of delight and raised her chin complacently towards Zijuan, but just as she was about to say that she would go and help her bathe, Yue Ling put a flower broom in her hand.

"Then I'll leave this place to you and Zijuan. Let Ruizhu and Zhuzhu serve and bathe us."

Looking at Yue Ling's departing back, Qin Keqing and Zijuan looked at each other with their eyes wide open, their lips twitching, not knowing what to say...

(End of this chapter)