Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 308 Qingwen, Qingwen! How can I live without you?
Kunning Palace,
Along with Yue Ling's report, a letter from Lin Daiyu to the Queen also arrived in the capital.

When the Queen received Lin Daiyu's letter and gift, she was a little surprised. She never thought that Lin Daiyu, who was far away in Jiangnan, would still miss her.

I held the sachet in my hand and sniffed it. Different from the smell of heavy makeup and powder, there was a light fragrance lingering around my nose, refreshing my heart.

As the mother of a country, the queen received many gifts.

But it should be called tribute. During every festival, the queen has seen too many gifts of jewels, silks, and all kinds of accessories, as well as the flattery of the gift givers, and she hates this hypocrisy from the bottom of her heart.

However, the care from a junior like Lin Daiyu made her feel a little warm in her heart, and she did not feel the slightest bit of rejection.

She opened the letter again and read the beginning, only to find out that she had encountered a new situation recently and was worried about it, so she wanted her help. Seeing this, the queen couldn't help but covered her mouth and laughed.

At this moment, Emperor Longyou came back.

The Queen immediately stood up to greet him and put the letter away. "Your Majesty, you are back so soon. Did anything happen?"

Emperor Longyou shook his head and sighed, and seeing the smile on the empress's face, he couldn't help but ask, "What's the good news?"

The empress shook her head and helped Emperor Longyou to her side. "These are just some trivial matters. Your Majesty's business should be the priority. What happened that made Your Majesty come back in such a hurry?"

Emperor Longyou took out Yue Ling's report again and said, "This is Yue Ling's confession during the interrogation. After reading it, you will know what happened in Jiangsu and Zhejiang recently."

Emperor Longyou took a deep breath and slowly calmed down.

In fact, he also listened to what the Queen Mother said just now, especially the sentence "If the officials are not well fed, how can the people possibly have enough to eat?"

He did not deny that she had her reasons, but he did not want to repeat his father's mistakes and let the prosperity of Dachang remain superficial.

After opening the letter, Emperor Longyou carefully read the confession of the case.

The matter was almost identical to what Yue Ling had reported last time.

In short, Zhu Huailin did not commit suicide, but was framed and died unjustly. There were many people involved in the case, and Zhao Deyong, the prime minister of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, was the culprit.

Although some benefits were gained from changing rice crops to mulberry crops, the benefits were also diverted. A large part of the benefits did not enter the national treasury, nor did it enrich the people. Instead, the people were subjected to more brutal exploitation and land annexation.

Now that the evidence is conclusive, Qian Shiyuan, Zhen Yingjia and others are actually trying to change their testimony in court. It seems that the court or other backers have new information and have given them new instructions.

All the charges put together are enough to confiscate these people's property and exterminate their entire clan.

However, what was even worse was that Zhao Deyong was suspected of collaborating with the Japanese, and Chen Ju even wrote a letter requesting the mobilization of warships to provide firepower support in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Two years ago, when the capital was collecting donations, Emperor Longyou ordered the construction of several warships modeled after Western ships, but they are still anchored at the port and have never been used.

But now, the Japanese pirates' invasion of Jiangnan is imminent, and it seems that we cannot care about gains and losses and can only trust Yue Ling's judgment.

As for military expenses, food and wages, the currently stretched treasury made Emperor Longyou frown again.

Emperor Longyou thought of two fastest and most effective methods in an instant.

The first was to confiscate the property of all these criminals and give all the money obtained to Yue Ling to fight against the Japanese pirates.

The second was to ask the rich Yangzhou salt merchants to donate food and money to support the front line.

It was just that Emperor Longyou found it difficult to make up his mind about the first one because of the influence of Empress Dowager Sun.

After all, Dachang ruled the country with filial piety, which is why the mother-son relationship was able to break the ice. It is not a good thing that they cannot reconcile because of this incident.

Now that the harem is in turmoil, if it is still not peaceful, it will really make Emperor Longyou exhausted.

After reading Yue Ling's report, Emperor Longyou picked up Zhao Deyong's previous report and realized that the so-called deal Zhao Deyong had reached with Japanese merchants was actually collusion with Japan.

Is it really because of the difficulty in the national treasury that he wants to sell silk to the Japanese?

Emperor Longyou was not completely ignorant of trade.

He was born a military general. Besides being an expert at fighting wars, he also paid the most attention to food, fodder, soldiers and horses. Adequate supplies were the prerequisite for winning a battle.

If officers and soldiers are not fully paid, how can they be expected to fight to their full potential?

Having said that, the Japanese were not the only ones trading with Dachang, and the Japanese offer was not high. In addition, because the number was too large, Dachang gave up some profits.

If it were a normal business activity, this would be easy to understand.

But now, it has been confirmed that Zhao Deyong was colluding with the Japanese.

Damaging the interests of the country for personal gain is something that Emperor Longyou absolutely cannot tolerate. And even if such things are allowed to happen again, if these parasites are allowed to manage Jiangnan, they will surely happen again in the future.

Emperor Longyou immediately made up his mind, summoned the eunuch who was in charge of writing, and wrote the edict.

"Draft an imperial edict, ordering Yue Ling to escort all the criminals to the capital, and the Jinling Jinyiwei to search and confiscate all the houses, and all the money seized will be used as silver to defend Jiangsu and Zhejiang against the Japanese pirates."

Such a simple sentence actually affected the life and death of hundreds of people, but despite this, Emperor Longyou felt that it was still not enough to calm the anger in his heart.

"Yue Ling, the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Wang Xianzhi, the deputy chief censor of the Censorate, will start investigating officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and rectifying the administration of officials. Those who embezzle and accept bribes will be dealt with in accordance with the Dachang Code."

"Yes."

Emperor Longyou stood up and the empress followed him to the inner room.

The two of them sat on the bed, and the queen gently pressed the center of Emperor Longyou's brow to relieve his fatigue, and asked, "Did the queen mother plead for these people?"

When the Empress spread out Emperor Longyou's palms, she saw several scratches on the palms caused by his fingernails clenching his fists too tightly. The Empress knew how determined Emperor Longyou was to turn all this around.

Even at the risk of shaking the foundation.

Emperor Longyou did not comment, but slowly leaned on the queen, then fell on her legs, sighed softly, and asked, "Do you think the prime minister has too much power? If there is no prime minister, would it be more convenient for me to do what I want to do?"

The Queen thought for a moment and said, "Zhao Deyong is An Jingzhong's student. Logically, he has made mistakes. However, Prime Minister An has worked diligently over the years to maintain the stability since Your Majesty ascended the throne. He has made great efforts. If he were not here, Your Majesty would probably have to deal with more state affairs."

Emperor Longyou took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. Only by resting his head on the queen's legs could he enjoy peace. "I'm not afraid of being tired, I'm only afraid of being tired to no avail."

The two sat quietly for a while. Emperor Longyou felt a little tired, but it was not time to sleep yet. Since Yue Ling was preparing to go to war with the Japanese pirates, necessary arrangements needed to be made.

Emperor Longyou stood up again and chatted with the empress casually, asking, "When I entered the door just now, I saw that you were smiling, so there must be something good. Now tell me about it. There really hasn't been anything good to say lately."

When she thought of the words in the letter, the queen covered her mouth and chuckled again, "It's a letter from Yu'er."

"Yu'er?" Emperor Longyou thought for a moment, then came to his senses and said, "Oh, she is Lin Ruhai's daughter."

The queen nodded and said, "Yes."

Emperor Longyou added: "It is rumored that she became quite famous at the literary conference in Suzhou and won the first place in poetry, becoming the first female poet in history."

"Many young talents were dissatisfied, but after reading the poem, they were all impressed. She is so talented at such a young age, but it's a pity that she is a girl. If she were a boy, I might be able to entrust her with important tasks like I did with her father."

The Queen smiled and said, "Now, Your Majesty has entrusted her with an important task."

Emperor Longyou was confused and asked in surprise, "Why do you say that?"

The queen smiled and explained, "A man as outstanding as Yue Ling must have many women who admire him. If a man wants to achieve something in his career, he must have a stable inner house. The little girl is worried about this. There are too many girls in the room and she can't handle it."

Hearing this, Emperor Longyou couldn't help but laugh, "It's really as the Queen said, it's not an easy task, so how do you plan to help her?"

The Queen raised her eyebrows and said, "Your Majesty cannot be told this."

Seeing the rare girlish delicacy on the empress's face, Emperor Longyou was not annoyed. He stood up and left with a smile, saying, "Okay, okay, I will go out and finish my work, and then come back to 'extort a confession by torture'."

The maidservant next to her couldn't hold back her laughter when she heard this, and after Emperor Longyou left, she burst out laughing. Seeing the empress glaring at her, she quickly straightened her face and stood still.

The queen snorted lightly, but she was in a good mood. She scolded: "You are not ashamed of being old. It makes people laugh at you."

……

The next day, at Anjing Marquis Mansion,
A royal sedan arrived outside the mansion, and a eunuch stepped down from it. The gatekeepers could not help but tremble in fear, and hurriedly opened the main gate to welcome the eunuch.

The eunuch waved his hand, entered from the corner door, and asked the people around him, "Who is in charge of the mansion now?"

Inquiring about Ni Er who had arrived late, he quickly straightened his hat, wiped his palms, and said, "Butler Ni Er, I meet the eunuch."

The visitor nodded and said, "Don't be nervous, it's nothing serious. The Queen sent us here to bring some things and a letter to Miss Lin who is far away in Suzhou."

"It is inconvenient for the palace to send out eunuchs anymore, as it will easily cause criticism, so I will leave it to you to deliver."

After explaining the task, the eunuch took his leave. When Ni Er came to his senses, before he could give the eunuch the red envelope, the eunuch had already left on the palace sedan chair.

The doorman next to him asked, "Butler Ni, who should deliver this thing?"

Ni Er thought about it and decided that after all, the letter was to be given to Miss Lin instead of the master, so it would be better to send a little girl to explain the situation to her. It would be best if she could hand the letter over hand to hand.

Then he thought, the only maids in the room were his daughter Ni Ni and the new Qingwen.

Although Qingwen used to be a maid in the Rongguo Mansion, she had been living a peaceful life in the mansion since the Jia family sent a letter last time. And from her daughter, she learned that Qingwen burned the letter on the spot, and Ni Er also approved of this approach.

The identity of Rongguo Mansion is not a stain, and Qingwen is not the only one who has come to Rongguo Mansion. Zijuan, the head maidservant beside Lin Daiyu, is a maid in Rongguo Mansion.

Thinking about it this way, there is no one more suitable than Qingwen.

Arriving at the back hall outside the second gate, Ni Er called out the two women and began to inform them of the mission.

"Miss Qingwen, a eunuch from the palace came just now and wanted to give some gifts and a letter to Miss Lin who is far away in Yangzhou. After thinking it over, I think it would be better to have a girl and a boat."

Turning his head to look at the silly Ni Ni, Ni Er sighed and said, "Ni Ni is not as smart as you. I'm afraid she will do something bad when we go out. What do you think?"

Qingwen understood what Ni Er said. She had not received any decent errands during her stay in the mansion, so she nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go."

Ni Er nodded and said, "This is something the Queen has instructed us to do. It must not be lost. There are also accounts for the past six months. It's time to show them to the housekeepers. You can take them over as well."

"Okay, when do we leave?"

Ni Er said: "Before tonight."

Qingwen had no more questions, so she turned around and went back to her room to pack her luggage.

Ni Ni stood there in a daze, and Ni Er said helplessly: "Go and help, see if there is anything you can do to help, it can also be considered as a send-off for her."

Only at this moment did Ni Ni come to her senses. A feeling of reluctance surged in her heart, and she left choking with sobs.

Back in the room, Ni Ni, who was unable to help at all, stood by and sobbed. Qingwen said helplessly, "Why are you crying? Is it because there is no playmate in the room?"

Ni Ni shook her head and said, "No, I'm happy for Sister Qingwen. The clothes I sew will soon be worn by the Marquis, and the Marquis will recognize Sister."

When Qingwen thought about it, she felt reminded by the little girl. After hesitating for a long time, she finally put all the clothes she had made and the needle and thread she was used to using into the bag.

Because she didn't measure Yue Ling's size when sewing the clothes. She just sewed according to Yue Ling's size four or five years ago when he was still in the capital. If it didn't fit, she could use the needle and thread she brought with her to modify it.

Focusing her eyes on the little girl, Qingwen said with relief: "You can be smart sometimes."

At this moment, Ni Ni raised her head again, blinked her big watery eyes and asked, "Sister Qingwen, will you not come back? If you are afraid of seeing the master, will you just run away and disappear?"

Qingwen was quite helpless. She had just praised her for being smart, but now she asked a stupid question again, "Even if I don't want to stay in the mansion, I dare not run around casually, not to mention that this is the Queen's errand. If I run away in the middle of the journey, will I still have a way to survive?"

Rubbing Ni Ni's head, Qingwen walked out calmly, got on the carriage that had been prepared long ago, and headed out of the city towards the pier.

……

Ever since Jia Baoyu handed the letter to the Marquis of Anjing's mansion with a nervous heart, he has been looking forward to Qingwen's reply.

Because he firmly believed that as long as he expressed his feelings, Qingwen would be deeply moved and would reconnect with him.

As for what to do with her afterwards, whether to return home or give her a sum of money and keep her as a mistress, Jia Baoyu had never thought about it.

Because in his opinion, the resonance of two people's souls is more important. As long as they can communicate with each other, nothing can become an obstacle between them.

However, after many days passed, there was no reply at all.

Jia Baoyu couldn't help but wonder whether the doorman of the Anjing Marquis's Mansion had withheld the letter without authorization, resulting in Qingwen not receiving the envelope at all.

Anyway, the problem definitely won't be with him.

One day, Baoyu rode his horse to the Anjing Marquis' Mansion. When he turned the corner, he happened to see Qingwen leaving in a carriage. He felt distressed and rode his horse to rush over.

"Qingwen?! It's me!"

Qingwen heard the familiar voice, but her heart was not moved. The coachman in front asked: "Miss Qingwen, it seems that the young master of Rongguo Mansion is chasing us. How about asking the guards in the mansion to stop him?"

Qingwen whispered, "Don't worry about it, just drive."

After all, the speed of the carriage could not match that of the horses. Baoyu galloped on his horse and kept shouting when he came to the side of the carriage.

Several of Baoyu's servants and uncle behind him kept persuading him, calling him "Second Master" and "Little Ancestor" one after another, begging him not to cause trouble in the street.

Moreover, if the horse is ridden too fast and it loses control and falls to the ground, they cannot afford to bear the consequences.

Baoyu didn't care and continued to call out to the carriage, "Qingwen, Qingwen? Have you forgotten me? Didn't you receive the letter? Are you imprisoned in the Anjing Marquis's Mansion? Where are they going to sell you to?"

Qingwen took the trouble to lift the curtain of the carriage and said to Baoyu outside: "I have seen the letter. I am now a maid in the Anjing Marquis's mansion. Please respect yourself."

These cold words made Baoyu feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He was stunned and could not believe that Qingwen had changed her heart without even seeing Yue Ling.

"How could this be?"

Through the open window, Baoyu discovered that the jade token he had given her was tied to the tailbone of the fan in Qingwen's hand. He was immediately overjoyed and said, "Qingwen, I knew you were someone who would remember the old times and would never forget me. The jade on your fan is still in my room, and you are my maid."

"Tell me, are you embarrassed by the servants of Anjing Marquis Mansion, so that you dare not recognize me? I will go and ask the ancestor to bring you back."

Only then did Qingwen realize that her jade pendant was still from the Rongguo Mansion, so she immediately cut the colored string and threw the pendant out of the car window.

Then he drew down the curtains and said nothing more.

The jade token fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. As the jade token shattered, Baoyu's heart also shattered into dust. His eyes were lifeless and he murmured, "What's going on?"

Unconsciously, he touched his neck, where the jade hanging from a colorful string was, and could not help but angrily said, "Whose spirit is the spiritual jade connected to? Why can't everything go my way?"

Just as he was about to explode, Xue Pan, who came from a distance, saw Baoyu's unhappy expression and asked the servant beside him, only then did he find out what was going on.

Then he patted his chest, put his arm around Baoyu's shoulders, and said, "Hey, a man should have no problem finding a wife. Isn't she just a maid? What's the big deal? I also gave the Marquis a maid, so just think of it as buying one. Aren't you embarrassing yourself by clinging to her?"

"Come on, I'll take you to Gaole. What kind of girls are there in the brothels? You can't imagine how proactive they are."

Baoyu, who was in a daze, was dragged away by Xue Pan...

(End of this chapter)