Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 303 The polarity reversal
It was time for dinner again. Everyone sat together and the atmosphere was more relaxed than in the morning.

Perhaps it was because after a day, they realized that Nanny Wang was not an evil nanny who was difficult to get along with, and the girls' tense nerves relaxed a little.

This is especially true for Lin Daiyu.

After she had a heart-to-heart talk with Nanny Wang, she felt refreshed, as if all her burdens had been lifted off her shoulders.

A pair of curved eyebrows brushed against Yue Ling's face, and a smug smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Yue Ling raised his eyebrows slightly, not knowing what happy event Lin Daiyu had encountered, but in front of everyone, he did not ask any more questions and just kept it in his heart.

I licked my lips gently and found they were a little dry and chapped.

Since he got started, he has never drunk tea, which is contrary to his life habits for many years.

Lin Daiyu captured the little movement just right. She took the teapot from the stove, poured a cup for Yue Ling, and blew gently on the hot tea.

Then he came to Yue Ling with a smile, "Brother Yue, have some tea before dinner."

Two pinches of Biluochun tea leaves floated in the teacup, along with the fragrance emanating from wisps of white vapor and entwined with the smell emanating from Lin Daiyu's cuffs, making the aroma even richer.

Yue Ling is not a pervert, but he just likes this.

When he raised his hand to take it, he accidentally touched Lin Daiyu's slender and tender fingers, causing Lin Daiyu to blush a little, but she still suppressed her embarrassment and placed the teacup safely into Yue Ling's hand before sitting down.

As the girls looked at him either directly or sideways, Yue Ling coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment, took a sip, and acted with self-control.

He secretly glanced at Nanny Wang again, but her attention was not on the two of them at all. She seemed to be unconcerned about their intimate behavior, just like they were two different people in the morning.

During breakfast, Nanny Wang would glance up from time to time, and Yue Ling thought she was sent by Lin Ruhai to monitor him and Lin Daiyu.

Yue Ling was really confused at the time. He didn't know what had happened to make Lin Ruhai start to be wary of him. It turned out that he was just scaring himself.

After a sigh of relief, the delicious dishes were served.

Yue Ling’s dining table is like a barometer of the local economy.

When everyone at home was drinking white porridge and eating pickled vegetables, it must have been difficult to make ends meet in the city, just like in Cangzhou. But now the larger and more prosperous city of Suzhou has gradually recovered its vitality, and the types of food offered to Fengqiao Posthouse are increasing.

According to the usual rules of the room, everyone at the table can order a dish. No matter whether they are girls or maids, they all have this privilege. This is Yue Ling's way of taking care of everyone in the room.

After all, their hobbies are different, so they should seek common ground while reserving differences when it comes to eating and drinking.

Like Lin Daiyu, she would usually only order a bowl of bird's nest porridge with rock sugar to nourish her body.

Xue Baochai prefers the homely flavor of cooking, and often orders a dish of stir-fried wolfberry sprouts with oil and salt, which has the effect of clearing away heat and improving eyesight. Today she ate more than usual.

Qin Keqing prefers soups, and the bowl of ham and bamboo shoots soup on the table is her favorite.

While she was eating, she did not forget to look after Xue Baochai who was beside her. She picked up a piece of fresh bamboo shoot and put it in Xue Baochai's bowl, "Sister Bao, try this? After this month, you won't be able to eat summer bamboo shoots. You can only eat winter bamboo shoots which have a harder texture."

Ladies of noble families were absolutely not allowed to pick up their bowls and chopsticks to eat. Xue Baochai was unable to avoid it and saw the bamboo shoots falling into her bowl. She then looked at Qin Keqing's lips, and her mind was distracted, and she lost all her appetite.

"Sister Keqing, you eat yours, I'm done..."

Qin Keqing raised her eyebrows slightly and thought to herself, "This girl, I tried to show my kindness to her in such a small matter, but she refused to accept it. How can she torture me with my little braid?"

Although Qin Keqing liked torturing others, it was only limited to her master torturing her, not others.

Although she was extremely unhappy, Qin Keqing did not dare to offend Xue Baochai for the moment, for she was afraid that Xue Baochai would suddenly make public what she had recorded, and then her reputation as a vixen would be confirmed.

Qin Keqing forced a smile and said, "Okay, okay, Sister Bao has finished her meal, so you won't have any more. I'll eat instead."

As he spoke, he picked up the bamboo shoots from Xue Baochai's bowl, put them to his lips to suck on the flavor, and then began to chew them carefully.

In Xue Baochai's eyes, this little movement corresponded to the movements in the booklet. She could not bear to look at it directly, so she raised her sleeves to cover her face.

Yue Ling looked around, puzzled, wondering when these two had become so close.

"Well, this crab meat stew tastes very fresh. Brother Yue will definitely like it. You should try it."

As she spoke, Lin Daiyu picked up a piece of crab meat for Yue Ling and stuffed it into Yue Ling's small bowl which was already filled with vegetables.

Sister Lin was also a little strange today, and seemed to be more attentive than before.

Nanny Wang was even more puzzled. She looked at all this without any displeasure on her face. She even nodded towards Lin Daiyu in approval.

Dinner ended in this strange atmosphere, and something even stranger was yet to come. Lin Daiyu stayed in the hall and refused to leave. After the maids had tidied up everything in the room, she swaggered into Yue Ling's inner room.

It feels as if I'm back in my own room.

Yue Ling held his forehead helplessly and hurriedly pulled Lin Daiyu's sleeve from behind.

Lin Daiyu turned her head without noticing and looked at him with a frown.

Yue Ling glanced behind him again, pursed his lips, and whispered, "Sister Lin, Nanny Wang from the Lin residence is still outside, and she lives in your room. If you don't go back tonight, what if she tells Lord Lin?"

"It's not that I don't want to sit with my sister for a while, but I'm afraid your father will be too concerned."

Lin Daiyu patted Yue Ling's hand soothingly, "Don't worry, my father won't know."

"?"

Yue Ling was stunned. Why did this conversation sound like an affair? It was obvious that they didn't have anything yet, so why was he feeling guilty?

Lin Daiyu also realized the flaw in her words and blushed again, "If you know, then know. Brother Yue and I have always been close, so what? Anyway, I didn't do anything inappropriate. I am very self-disciplined."

Yue Ling nodded slightly and let go of Lin Daiyu's sleeve.

Lin Daiyu walked into Yue Ling's bed curtain, kicked off her embroidered shoes, and sat by the bed waiting to wash up with Yue Ling.

Not long after, Ruizhu Zhuzhu, who had just cleaned up the dishes, came in carrying a bucket of hot water.

The two men saw Lin Daiyu was also in the room, with a pair of moon-white silk stockings on her feet swinging by the bed, and couldn't help asking: "Miss Lin, do you want to wash in the room too? Let's go and prepare another set."

Lin Daiyu shook her head, smiled and looked at Yue Ling who was sitting on a chair nearby, waved her hand and said, "Don't bother, Brother Yue and I will wash together."

Lin Daiyu took off her pair of silk stockings, threw them into the bamboo basket filled with clothes beside her, and swung them around, looking very happy.

First of all, Yue Ling is not a foot fetishist.

But the pair of small feet, under the yellow candlelight, were flawless white, like beautiful jade. The arch of the foot was as beautiful as a crescent moon, and the ten toes were neatly arranged like jade shoots, round and cute. The toenails were light pink, like peach blossoms in spring.

If this foot is used...

Yue Ling swallowed his saliva, rubbed his palms, and turned his head to say: "You guys wash her first, and I'll wash her after you use up the remaining water."

The Ruizhu pearls looked at each other, nodded, and went forward to serve Lin Daiyu.

His feet dipped into the water, causing ripples. Yue Ling stopped looking and stood up, turned to the desk beside him, flipping through a book to divert his attention.

Ruizhu and Baozhu worked very hard. She felt a little embarrassed to have these two maids, who were not her own, take care of Lin Daiyu, so she casually said to them, "Sister Ke'er is having her period, isn't she? Does she need anyone to take care of her? If you are tired, you can call Xueyan, Zijuan and others to help."

Ruizhu wiped the sweat from her forehead and shook her head gently, saying, "My sister doesn't need anyone. She is in a bad mood today for some reason. She seems to be lying on the bed in anger. Neither of us has offended her, and she won't say anything when we ask her."

Lin Daiyu blinked, unable to give the two little girls any advice for the moment, but there was still someone in the room who could see through people's minds, so she asked, "How about asking Sister Bao? At the dinner table today, I saw Sister Ke'er picking up some food for her, and she didn't look angry."

Ruizhu dried Lin Daiyu's feet, helped her to cover the couch with a blanket, and said, "Miss Lin is right. Let's go ask Ying'er first. It would be inappropriate to go directly to Miss Bao."

The two men came to Yue Ling with buckets of water, and helped Yue Ling take off his shoes and leggings, and soak his feet in the water that Lin Daiyu had just used.

"Master, is the temperature right? If it's not hot enough, let Baozhu heat some more."

Yue Ling came back to his senses and shook his head, "No need, let's just leave it like this..."

After the two maids finished their work, they closed the doors and windows and left. Yue Ling came to the bedside curtain again and saw Lin Daiyu lying on the bed with a comfortable expression.

And he even slept in it. Does this mean he won’t leave at night?
Yue Ling felt mixed emotions. If the relationship between the two of them continued like this, would it still be innocent? If Lin Ruhai really knew about it, how would he go to Yangzhou?

But this is not a bad thing. Putting aside the current comfort, the more Lin Daiyu depends on him, the more opportunities he will have to take Lin Daiyu away from Yangzhou Prefecture again.

The last time Lin Daiyu was taken away from Yangzhou Prefecture, it was Lin Ruhai who entrusted her.

When they returned to Yangzhou this time, Lin Daiyu was about to reach the age of marriage, so how could she let Yue Ling stay by her side any longer, unless...

Yue Ling secretly glanced at the incredibly beautiful Lin Daiyu beside him. She was so young, as cute as a porcelain doll, pure and flawless, which dispelled all of Yue Ling's improper thoughts.

"Forget it, let's just take it one step at a time. Sister Lin is still young now."

The two of them each covered themselves with their own quilts and lived in peace.

It was Yue Ling who broke the silence first and asked, "Sister Lin, have you not been writing to the Empress recently? It's rare to see Sister Lin writing letters."

Lin Daiyu's eyes, which had been narrowed just now, suddenly widened a little, and she couldn't help but shout in her heart: "Yes, there are so many seductresses in the room now, which is something I never thought of when I came to Jiangnan. Moreover, Brother Yue and I probably have communicated with each other, which is different from when we left Beijing before."

"I want to be closer to Brother Yue, but I can't go too far. I don't know what to do. Just like today, I went a little too far by spending time with Bai Si Lu and washing up with Brother Yue. Brother Yue didn't agree either. What a clumsy way."

"What should I do next? It's a good opportunity to ask the Queen."

Lin Daiyu took a deep breath and replied, "I haven't sent any letters to the capital recently. Is there anything you want me to convey to Brother Yue?"

Yue Ling smiled and said, "Sister Lin forgot that I am an outsider, how can I communicate with the Empress? This is not in accordance with the rules. If Sister Lin wants to send a letter to the Empress, you can also send some gifts, Suzhou local specialties, I will prepare some for Sister Lin."

Lin Daiyu nodded repeatedly, "Okay, then I'll trouble Brother Yue."

"What trouble are you talking about? There is also Lord Lin. Would you like to send a letter to Lord Lin as well?" Lin Daiyu curled her lips. She felt a little unhappy when her father was mentioned.

It would have been bad enough if she often made trouble, but they even sent a nanny to monitor her. Fortunately, she was capable and instigated Nanny Wang to rebel, otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble would have been caused and how many more vixens would have appeared in Fengqiao Posthouse.

"Forget it. Dad is in Yangzhou, not far away. I have to go back soon, so I won't write to him anymore."

……

Qin Keqing lay on her bed racking her brains trying to figure out how to find out some embarrassing things about Xue Baochai, or how to drag her into this trouble, but she couldn't find a way out.

In her room, Xue Baochai was like an egg without any cracks. She did everything very carefully and without leaving any room for error.

She was gentle to all the maids, and was very polite to Lin Daiyu and her. She always thought about them and gave them gifts from time to time.

Qin Keqing took quite a few small gifts from her, such as rouge and powder, which were not very valuable gadgets.

Not to mention outside, Xue Baochai can be regarded as Yue Ling's logistics manager now. A lot of the allocated food and fodder are coordinated by the Feng brands from all over the country.

Thinking like this, Qin Keqing became more distressed.

However, at this moment, Xue Baochai, who had always been safe and sound, appeared in the kitchen.

Taking advantage of the dim light, Xue Baochai walked in and found another person in front of the stove.

"Xueyan? Why are you here?"

Xueyan shuddered, and couldn't swallow a mouthful of rice, and the gas that was stuck in her throat couldn't be relieved. Xue Baochai hurried forward to pat her back to help her calm down, and brought her some water.

Snow Goose swallowed a big mouthful, rolled his eyes, then let go and began to breathe heavily.

"It turned out to be Miss Bao. I was shocked. I thought it was Nanny Wang who came."

Xue Baochai looked at the steaming dishes on the stove and asked, "Why don't you take them back to your room to eat?"

Xueyan said with a bitter face: "Madame Wang won't let me eat, but I can't sleep if I don't eat. Miss Bao, why did you come here? Are you hungry too? Do you want to eat something together?"

Xue Baochai was really hungry, and Qin Keqing disturbed her so much that she couldn't eat much.

Xue Baochai does not have the small stomach of Lin Daiyu, who gets full after eating a little. Apart from the special case of Xueyan, Xue Baochai is also plump and often radiates heat, so she consumes a lot of food.

"Well...ok, I'll accompany you."

Xueyan smiled happily and took another set of bowls and chopsticks from the stove.

It was the first time that someone had dinner with her. Xueyan said mysteriously, "Don't worry, Miss Bao. This is a secret between the two of us. I will never tell anyone else that you ate with me secretly."

Hearing the word "eating secretly", Xue Baochai immediately thought of the words in the booklet.

Now her thoughts were becoming less and less pure, and many words made her imagine a lot. With a wry smile, Xue Baochai nodded and said nothing more.

At this moment, in the west wing, Ruizhu Zhuzhu, Ying'er and Xiangling were sitting together, holding a small meeting with the maids.

"Miss Lin is in the master's room. Nanny Wang seems to have stopped caring about Miss Lin. Sister Xiangling probably won't be able to go tonight."

Xiangling blushed and said, "Okay, I understand."

She called her husband "husband" the whole night last night and she just wanted to take a break, but she didn't have the stamina of Qin Keqing.

Ruizhu approached Ying'er and asked, "My sister's temper is a little strange today. I don't know who she is sulking with. Did Miss Bao mention this when she was chatting with you?"

Ying'er was confused by the question without any reason, "Sister Keqing's matter? Why are we talking about it in the room? Oh, but speaking of it, my daughter has been a little strange recently, always looking at the accounts."

"Although he used to look at it, but now after looking at it, his cheeks are still red, and he won't let me see what the account is. Do you think there is something fishy going on?"

Baozhu asked, "Miss Bao is not here right now, I'll go and keep watch, you guys go find the account and take a look, won't that be fine?"

Ying Er shook her head and said, "The girl locked it in the drawer. She carried the key in her purse, so she couldn't get it out."

Baozhu suggested, "What about picking the lock? I heard in the storybook that a needle can be used to poke the lock open. Sister Ying'er is so clever and skillful, and she's good at making lace, so she should be able to pick the lock, right?"

Ying'er still shook her head, "You have to use a needle. I'm not very good at needlework, but I just can't control the needle well."

The women were at a loss as to what to do, and the meeting was somewhat of a failure, so they all dispersed and returned to their rooms.

……

Beijing, Anjinghou Mansion,
Ni Ni put on the new clothes given by the Marquis' Mansion and staggered in front of the bronze mirror, feeling very happy.

Behind her was Qingwen, with whom she had been together for several months. The two of them had become much more familiar with each other. They were the only two people in the room with a similar age, so they were always together.

Qingwen sat on the kang, sewing non-stop, embroidering the final pattern for the clothes.

She bit the thread off with her teeth and then poked it up with an embroidery needle, and a gorgeous dress was completed.

Qingwen shook the robe and tried it on herself happily. Of course it didn't fit her. It was a man's robe.

The cuffs and collar are decorated with cloud patterns woven with gold and silver threads, and the area around the neck is embroidered with a lot of mink fur for warmth. This effect would never have been achieved without excellent needlework techniques.

Ni Ni turned her head and took a look, and exclaimed: "Wow! What amazing craftsmanship! Even better than the old masters who specialize in making clothes outside."

After praising her, Ni Ni sighed for Qingwen and said, "It's a pity that the master doesn't know when he will be back. When he comes back, we don't know if it will be winter and whether we will have enough clothes to wear."

Qingwen, however, did not care at all. She looked at the dress with satisfaction and said, "It took me more than a month to embroider this set of robes. It's just right that the Marquis is not coming back. I can make one set each for spring, summer, autumn and winter."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Ni Ni went to open the door, only to see her father standing outside, calling her out mysteriously.

"Someone has come to Rongguo Mansion, looking for Qingwen inside. It was Master Bao's servant who delivered the letter."

As he said that, Ni Er handed the letter to Ni Ni.

"Logically, we shouldn't give her this letter. She is already a maid in the Marquis's mansion, how can she be involved with her previous master?"

"But then again, if she still has the idea, it's a good opportunity to test her. It wouldn't be a bad thing to leave the house early."

Ni Ni understood what her father meant, put the letter away, and went back to her room.

After spending several days together, she felt that Qingwen was a very good sister, but she was a little too straightforward and would never do anything to be disloyal to her master.

She was afraid that Qingwen would think of their old relationship and be reluctant to leave Rongguo Mansion, so she really left.

Looking at Qingwen infatuatedly, Ni Ni had an urge to hide the letter, so that Qingwen would not know about the letter and would not think about going back.

The Jia family is a pit of fire. They have treated Qingwen so harshly before. How could she bear to watch Qingwen jump into it again?

"What's wrong? You must have been blown silly by the wind after going out. Why are you standing there in a daze without saying anything?"

Seeing Ni Ni staring at her blankly, Qingwen, who had already taken out paper and pen to design her second set of spring clothes, was a little confused.

Ni Ni hesitated for a long time, but finally handed the letter over.

Her father was right. If Qingwen's heart was not in the Anjing Marquis' Mansion, and if she did anything to betray the Marquis in the future, it would be better for her to leave early.

There is no way to have the best of both worlds.

Ni Ni hadn't read many books, so she couldn't recite a poem. She just poked and said, "This is a letter from Rongguo Mansion. Maybe my sister has been waiting for this letter. Come and take a look."

Qingwen paused and took the envelope.

Once upon a time, she had been looking forward to this scene day and night, but she had never been able to see it, until the passion in her heart was completely burned out and turned into ashes.

Finally her dementia was cured.

Now she had been comfortably making clothes for Marquis Anjing, but this letter came at an inopportune time, making Qingwen's eyelids twitch wildly.

The emotions in my heart are hard to describe. There is anger and excitement, but the joy is gone.

After calming down and taking a long breath, Qingwen unfolded the envelope and began to read.

Qingwen doesn't know many words and there are no complicated words in the entire letter, which seems to be a deliberate consideration of Baoyu.

"Your eyebrows are as dark as smoke, they were painted by me yesterday; your rings are as cold as jade, who can I ask to warm them now? Since you left, every time I think of the days we spent together, my heart aches like a needle, and the pain is hard to calm down. I have let you down so much before, I was bound by the shackles of the world, and was deceived by the lies of the people, and I was unable to protect you. Until now, I feel that those etiquettes are like dirt compared to true feelings, and they are not worth mentioning."

"I regret so much, I only hope that time will turn back and I will never leave you. Everywhere I look, I see the things you used in the past, and I can't help crying. Can you forgive me for being such a coward? I don't dare to hope that you will come back to me, but I hope you know my feelings and that I miss you so much that I have never stopped for a moment."

"Moreover, the Anjing Marquis' Mansion is a place of right and wrong. The desire for fame, wealth and power is too great. If you stay there for a long time, you will only be stained with filth. It is definitely not a good place for you to live. Please think carefully."

If it were in the past, Qingwen would have been moved to tears, but after staying in the Anjing Marquis Mansion for some time, she also learned some knowledge from the maids, or rather, the customs of the Anjing Marquis Mansion.

Everything is just nonsense if you don't tell us what to do.

Baoyu only tried to restore their relationship verbally, but did not mention at all what he should do if she went back.

Should Qingwen be asked to carry all the bags and go to the door to kowtow and apologize, begging Lady Wang to let her in again?
What a joke.

She casually threw the letter into the brazier. As the flames turned it into ashes, Qingwen curled her lips and said, "People who live too selfishly will never know what others want."

"Next time he sends you a letter, don't bring it in..."

Just as she picked up her needle and thread again, Ni Ni smiled happily, threw herself on Qingwen, hugged her neck, and laughed non-stop.

"Let go, or you'll suffocate."

(End of this chapter)