Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 30 Travel
For some unknown reason, the Northern Barbarians would send such a rough man to discuss important matters. Du Ke suppressed his dissatisfaction and sat next to the barbarian.

"Brave man, do you have any documents with you?"

The barbarian waved his hand casually, looking down upon the skinny Du Ke. "No such thing. My Khan said that if you want peace, it's not impossible. You have to show your sincerity!"

"What sincerity does Tuji Khan need?"

The barbarian said, "Of course it's money, food, salt, silk, and all the good things."

Seeing that the agenda was on track, Du Ke also said straight to the point: "These are not a problem, but my prince also has conditions."

The barbarian narrowed his eyes and smiled, "That's the problem. Let's not talk about your conditions first, but first tell me what you are going to give it under. What my Khan wants is the annual tribute."

Du Ke raised his eyebrows. It was true that one cannot judge a book by its cover. This barbarian was actually a rough but meticulous person.

The annual tribute was promoted by the Song Dynasty, which was used to buy peace with silver. The Southern Song Dynasty even had to humiliate itself by recognizing the Jin Dynasty as its suzerain state and itself as its vassal state. This was unacceptable in Dachang.

Du Ke argued: "The annual tribute is only sent by the Emperor of Dachang, and Your Highness is only a prince, how can he agree to your terms?"

"King Kang is seeking peace with us, probably for the throne of Emperor Dachang. Our Khan has also heard that Emperor Dachang is seriously ill. If he dies one day, King Kang will not be in the capital, and King Qin will take the throne. Then both you and I will have done nothing."

"We don't want the King of Qin to take the throne either. He is very difficult to deal with, so we will help King Kang. However, if King Kang takes the throne, he cannot default on the annual tribute."

Du Ke still argued: "It can only be done in the name of a brotherly country. As for the specific amount, it depends on how much you invest."

The barbarian squinted at Du Ke with disdain, "The Han people are cunning, we barbarians will not go back on our word!"

At that moment, two chimes were heard from the inner room, signaling that King Kang had accepted the offer.

Du Ke stood up, went out to meet the barbarian, and said with a smile: "Then it's a deal. Come with me, brave man, and take some gifts back to your Khan."

The barbarian slammed the table and stood up, "Okay, that's great."

……

After a while, Du Ke returned and reported to King Kang: "We selected some of the treasures brought by Jia She and sent them to the Northern Barbarians. The Rongguo Mansion has a deep foundation, and those boxes of valuables are worth a lot of money."

Prince Kang nodded slightly, "Have you found out the whereabouts of Duke Rong?"

Now he has coaxed and deceived the Jia family and tied them to his boat. If Duke Rong is still alive, then this lie will not be able to stand up.

Du Ke replied, "He is still breathing, but unconscious. Tuji Khan respected the old Duke and did not kill him. He is looking for a doctor to treat him."

Prince Kang's fingers touched the table lightly, a sinister look flashed in his eyes, "If Duke Rong is alive, things will be difficult to handle."

Du Ke smiled and said, "It's hard to deal with living people, but it's easier to deal with living dead people. Your Highness, now everything is ready, you should make up your mind."

Prince Kang paced in the hall for a few times before saying, "Let's follow the plan first."

Looking at the overturned teacup on the table, King Kang turned his eyes away in disdain, "Throw away this teacup and get a new one."

……

The fifth day of May is the Dragon Boat Festival.

The Grand Canal widened the waterway heading south from the capital, and went directly to the Dongjiao Shipyard from Donghua Gate in the east. As the final section of the Grand Canal, the Tonghui River has constant traffic of ships every day, which naturally provides excellent geographical conditions for dragon boat racing.

Yue Ling originally wanted to take Lin Daiyu, who had not been out for a long time, out to relax, and today was a good opportunity.

Women in this world follow the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, and women from wealthy families must avoid being seen by others and not see outsiders. Only on certain festivals can they walk freely on the streets, such as the Lantern Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, etc.

The little girls have naturally been looking forward to it for a long time.

After lunch, they all changed into clean clothes and went to the market impatiently. Lin Daiyu wore a long dress in the color of Xiangfei, and small embroidered shoes with light green soles. Her dark hair was naturally hanging down, decorated with ribbons on both sides, and her bangs in front of her forehead were cute.

Zijuan and Xueyan each wore a light blue coat and a horse-faced skirt of the same color. They had their hair tied into a bun and wore peach blossom-shaped headdresses, like hairpins, which made them look very adorable.

The three men stood in front of Yue Ling from shortest to tallest, looking at him with hope.

Before leaving, Yue Ling told the three little girls, "There will be a lot of people in the market soon, so you must be careful not to get squeezed out. If you find something you like, don't just stop and call me first. Do you remember?"

The three little girls nodded their heads at the same time, especially Xueyan, who nodded the fastest, and looked like she was very eager to fly out the door.

Yue Ling rubbed her head, "Especially you, don't look around and forget things."

"Hey, General Yue, stop rubbing it. I just tied it up. It took me a lot of effort."

Yue Ling smiled and took his hand back, "Okay, let's go, let's go out. Sister Lin, stay with me, don't go too far."

Lin Daiyu smiled sweetly and said, "Okay!"

……

The market town was decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, and the shop signs on both sides were hung with red gourds, creating a festive atmosphere everywhere.

The streets are packed with people, and at a glance all you can see are all kinds of heads.

When he was leaving the alley just now, Yue Ling saw the men arranged by Ni Er nodding to him. They were indeed very responsible. At the moment, no one knew where the people from the Bingmasi were.

Beside Yue Ling, Lin Daiyu gently pulled at the corner of his clothes and looked around curiously.

She couldn't see what was being sold at some of the higher stalls. She wanted to stand on tiptoe to take a look, but she was worried that she would lose her manners and appear to be uncultured.

While he was still hesitating, he found that his feet were gradually leaving the ground and he was actually picked up by Yue Ling.

"This is for selling sachets, do you want one?"

The street was full of people, and she was being held by someone, which was really inappropriate. Lin Daiyu hurriedly said, "No, no, Brother Yue, put me down quickly, there are so many people outside."

Yue Ling held Lin Daiyu up and looked around. "Look, there are many children riding on their parents' heads, and there are so many who are being held in arms. What's wrong with that?"

Lin Daiyu kicked her feet and said, "I am not a child anymore, please put me down."

Seeing Lin Daiyu's anxious look, Xueyan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zijuan suggested: "Girl, choose one. Once you choose, General Yue will let you go."

Lin Daiyu looked at the stall and immediately fell in love with an embroidered peach blossom pattern. The workmanship was very delicate. She liked it very much and could buy it to study needlework. Lin Daiyu hesitated for a while before pointing and said, "This one, how much is it?"

"Girl, you have good taste. This is made of the best quality silk from Zhejiang Province. You can take it back for only two taels of silver."

The stall owner looked at the clothes of Yue Ling and his group. Seeing their exquisite clothes, he knew that they were not an ordinary family, and the smile on his face became even more intense.

Yue Ling was about to take out the money, but was held down by Lin Daiyu's small hand.

"What Jili silk? Who are you trying to fool? Jili silk is used by the emperor, it is fine, round and white. Yours is just ordinary silk, but the craftsmanship is good. Ten cents, if you don't sell it to me, I'm leaving!"

As she spoke, Lin Daiyu pointed ahead and was about to leave.

She thought men wouldn't know the value of something and would definitely pay for it for the sake of face, but she didn't expect that the little girl in her arms was the one who knew what was going on.

The stall owner smiled awkwardly, "Okay, I'll sell it. The girl is so eloquent that I have to admit defeat. I'll give her ten cents as a token of my gratitude."

(End of this chapter)