Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 375: Entering Rongguo Mansion for the Fourth Time

In early spring in March, the warm sun is shining.

The palace with its red walls and golden tiles is even more dazzling under the sun.

At the Xuanwu Gate, Emperor Longyou sat on the palace sedan, gazing into the distance at the street, waiting quietly.

On both sides of the road, armored Yulin guards holding spears stood there, with their heads held high and their eyes looking straight ahead.

Perhaps the weather was too hot, or Emperor Longyou was too restless, so he could not sit still in the palace sedan chair. Instead, he stood up and slowly walked down.

Since Xia Shouzhong was not around, the palace servants around him did not dare to guess the emperor's intentions, so they just knelt down humbly, not knowing what to do.

"His Majesty……"

Emperor Longyou looked back and said calmly: "I am just a little tired from sitting. You don't have to panic. Get up."

"Yes."

Gently wiping the sweat from his forehead, Emperor Longyou looked forward again.

Soon, light appeared at the end.

The gilded imperial chariot leapt out of the horizon and slowly approached.

Emperor Longyou immediately smiled and looked at him expectantly.

When the palace carriage stopped, a breeze blew up, causing the black dragon-patterned cloak on Emperor Longyou to flutter.

A man stepped down from the palace chariot. He had a handsome face, eyes like bright stars, a dark blue cloak, black court boots, and a sword slung over his waist. He shook his robe and was about to salute.

"My lord, I have met your Majesty."

Before Yue Ling could bend down, Emperor Longyou raised his hand and helped him up.

"No need to be formal."

Holding Yue Ling's arms, Emperor Longyou looked at him carefully, but smiled without saying a word.

Yue Ling was confused and looked up in confusion.

Emperor Longyou smiled and said, "Jiangnan is indeed a place that nourishes people. After being there for a few years, my skin has become whiter and my appearance has become more outstanding."

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "I feel ashamed for neglecting the task assigned by Your Majesty."

Emperor Longyou was startled when he heard this, then he laughed and patted Yue Ling on the back, saying: "Boy, you are better at behaving than before, and you are more literary than a civil official. If I didn't know about your military achievements, I would really think that you have been away from the battlefield for a long time."

"Well, this is not a place for idle chat. Follow me into the palace."

……

Palace of Heavenly Purity, Imperial Study,
The incense burner on the table began to emit curls of sandalwood, and the palace servants all lined up to leave.

Emperor Longyou sat behind the desk, with Xia Shouzhong standing beside him holding a whisk. Yue Ling was given a stool to sit under the desk, and these three were the only ones left in the room.

When he saw Yue Ling, Emperor Longyou's joy was written all over his face without any attempt to conceal it. Even Xia Shouzhong, who had been by his side for a long time, felt that he had not seen Emperor Longyou so happy for a long time.

If we have to talk about the last time, it would be when they were scrambling to move silver in the palace.

Moreover, the silver at that time was also sent by the man in front of him, Yue Ling.

At that time, the imperial court was empty and short of food and money. This was exactly what Emperor Longyou wanted and solved his urgent needs.

Just from this one point, Xia Shouzhong could understand why Emperor Longyou valued Yue Ling so much, not to mention that he had so many brilliant achievements.

Even Xia Shouzhong was curious about what Emperor Longyou would give to Yue Ling as a reward for his achievements that were now known to everyone.

"You've been exhausted from the journey, I should have let you go back and rest, but I still want to see you first."

"Although you have been delivering messages to the capital city quite often, it is still not as comfortable as meeting in person."

Emperor Longyou talked eloquently while holding the memorial that Yue Ling had just submitted in his hand and slowly unfolding it and reading through it.

"As for what you and Lin Ruhai did in Yangzhou City, he also reported it in detail in his memorial."

With a light sigh, Emperor Longyou did not finish reading the memorial. He closed it first and asked, "Corruption in the government and ineffective policies are not limited to Suzhou and Hangzhou, but are everywhere."

"It's not that I don't understand, but I can't control it. There are so many counties in Dachang. Every time I think about it, I feel exhausted both physically and mentally."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

Yue Ling took a deep breath when he heard this.

Before I could even sit down, Emperor Longyou came to ask about government affairs.

Before leaving Yangzhou Prefecture, Lin Ruhai reminded Yue Ling in advance that this link would definitely be included. However, Yue Ling did not expect Emperor Longyou to be so direct. He even sent a signal that changes in Dachang were imminent. Emperor Longyou was very anxious.

He was even so impatient that he couldn't bear to finish reading Yue Ling's memorial.

In front of other ministers, this might be a loss of composure, but in front of Yue Ling, Emperor Longyou always ignored these details.

On the way north, Yue Ling also thought deeply, constantly recalling the direction of history and his own vision spanning a hundred years.

When it comes to wisdom, he may not be able to "see all the mountains as small" and crush everyone.

But he has accumulated experience and has history to learn from.

After coughing lightly, Yue Ling said, "To improve the administration of officials, we can start from two aspects, namely, selecting talents and distinguishing rewards and punishments clearly."

"As far as selecting talents is concerned, the Four Books and Five Classics in the current imperial examinations are all the words of the Holy Son..."

Emperor Longyou was puzzled and interrupted to ask: "Is there something wrong with this?"

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "The words of the saints are not wrong. It is enough to cultivate one's character, but the key is not to teach how to do it."

“For example, the Second Sage said, ‘Looking up, one should be able to serve one’s parents; looking down, one should be able to support one’s wife and children,’ but he did not mention how to make the people prosperous; he said, ‘Transform the people into good habits,’ but he did not mention what standard was used as the boundary; ‘Govern them with laws and regulate them with punishments,’ but he could not explain when to focus on virtue and when to focus on punishments.”

"A set of Four Books and Five Classics is not enough to allow a scholar to serve as a local official. Studying hard for decades, not paying attention to the outside world, and passing the imperial examinations, can you govern the people? That's not the case."

"Moreover, after Cheng and Zhu, people only talk about nature and reason in vain, and scholars and officials regard clear discussion as noble and practical work as lowly. They always mention morality in their speeches, but always avoid making a living in their actions. How pedantic is that?"

Emperor Longyou widened his eyes and asked, "In your opinion, what should we do?"

Yue Ling added: "The imperial examination can be changed to include policy essays, mathematics, military tactics and other practical subjects. Learning needs to be put into practice."

Emperor Longyou pondered and nodded.

Yue Ling continued, "The standards for rewards and punishments need to be judged by your majesty and the ministers. Start from multiple angles, such as population, education, taxation, disaster relief, etc. to refine the achievements of a place's management."

"If there is a reward, it should be an annual salary. I will call it the "Yanlian Silver". Officials do not have to go against their conscience and abuse their power to support their families."

"To be honest, I passed through many counties on my way south. There were few officials and many clerks in them. Officials had to hire local advisors to truly serve as officials. Officials with little family background would often be sidelined by the local clerks who had been passed down from generation to generation and were like local tyrants."

"It may sound incredible to your majesty, that a superior is ruled by a subordinate, but this is all what I have seen with my own eyes."

"Back to the money for raising corruption, this is a reward and a way to support scholars. It is used as a benchmark and promoted throughout the country. Scholars love fame, and fame and wealth can greatly reduce their greed."

"Of course they will punish, and they must punish severely. The collusion between officials and businessmen that I have seen along the way, deceiving their superiors and subordinates, and exploiting the people, is like skinning and stuffing, and it is difficult to relieve the hatred in people's hearts..."

Emperor Longyou nodded slightly, "From what you mean, you want me to strictly implement the performance evaluation system and establish a reward and punishment system for civil officials, just like the military merit award system."

Yue Ling replied, "That's right." Emperor Longyou stroked his beard, smiled, and tilted his head, saying to Xia Shouzhong, "Look at him, is he the same as I said?"

Xia Shouzhong also squinted his eyes and smiled in agreement, "It is exactly as Your Majesty expected. Your Majesty really has a good eye for people. I am not as good as you."

Yue Ling was confused by the concerted efforts of all of them. These were all words from his heart and were not a joke at all.

Looking up again, Emperor Longyou explained with great joy: "As a military officer and a noble, how could you stand up for the civil officials and ask me to reward some civil officials who have done a good job?"

"Even if I bring this case up, if you don't refute it in court by saying, 'It is the duty of a minister to wait for the emperor to tour the local area and nurture the people, why should I reward him?' You will already be loyal to the country."

Having been accustomed to the factional fighting and verbal battles in the court, how could Emperor Longyou not be happy when Yue Ling finally arrived, and how could he be reluctant to let him go?

Yue Ling scratched his head, and seeing that Emperor Longyou had retracted his smile, he asked again, "In the final analysis, the treasury must be full before we can have the spare energy to do what we want to do."

"Once this pension is promoted, it will be a considerable expense."

"As for increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, do you have any other ideas after your trip south?"

Yue Ling nodded and said, "I do have some suggestions."

Emperor Longyou's eyes lit up.

Making money has never been an easy task in every dynasty. Even the Song Dynasty eventually suffered losses due to three major problems: redundant staff, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses, and was ultimately destroyed.

A dynasty, especially one in its middle period like Dachang.

Some systems in the early days of the founding of the country could no longer adapt to the current development, and the gradually growing population made management by the court increasingly difficult.

Coupled with the expansion of the gentry, the annexation of land, and the corruption of the royal family, a dynasty could be pushed to the brink of the cliff.

Emperor Longyou did not expect much from this because he knew how difficult it would be.

But when Yue Ling said that he really had a way, how could he contain his excitement?

"Go, prepare tea for Marquis Anjing."

"Yes……"

……

Rongguo Mansion,
The carriage slowly landed inside the hanging flower gate, and the girls came down one by one.

As soon as their feet stepped on the ground, they could feel that the courtesy everyone received when entering the mansion this time was indeed far better than before.

Even when Lin Daiyu entered the Jia Mansion for the first time, her sedan chair stopped outside the hanging flower gate and she walked inside.

This time, it stopped directly on the lawn in the courtyard.

Both sides of the road and even the corridors through the mountains were filled with the Jia family's maids, nannies, and housekeepers' wives, waiting outside to greet them.

But Lin Daiyu glanced around a few times and did not see any of her sisters, which further confirmed Xue Baochai's guess.

As a result, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but feel a little wary.

"Strange, why did my aunt stop me as soon as I entered the capital? She said it was because of sisterly love, but my sisters are not here. What else could be the reason?"

Lin Daiyu couldn't figure out Mrs. Wang's plan for a moment. She looked around casually again and saw something even stranger.

Inside this hanging flower door, there seemed to be another door on the side that led to the inner curtain.

It was also separated from the courtyard by a wall, making the courtyard look much narrower than I remembered.

If you look carefully, you can hear the sound of craftsmen hammering on the other side of the wall.

Seeing Lin Daiyu pause and stare at the wall in deep thought, Mrs. Wang came over with a smile and explained, "The garden in the back garden is being repaired. It is convenient for the craftsmen to come in and out and to avoid trouble in the mansion, so it is separated from this side."

"Girl, don't just stand there. Come with me."

Lin Daiyu nodded slightly and followed beside Mrs. Wang, followed by a group of girls from the Anjing Marquis's Mansion.

Each of them is bright and beautiful, wearing clothes of different styles, and they are blooming in this courtyard as if competing for beauty.

The flowers in the flowerbed, which were in full bloom, were overshadowed by it, causing the servants in the mansion to sigh inwardly and praise its good color.

Two familiar figures, Zijuan and Qingwen, attracted the attention of the Jia family.

It turned out that these two maids were not the most noble in the mansion, but now they have risen to the top and become phoenixes. They are so envious that it is impossible not to be jealous.

Feeling everyone's gazes, Zijuan couldn't help but tighten her clothes and lowered her head silently.

Qingwen was completely different. She held her head high and chest out even more proudly. If she were a male peacock, she would probably spread her feathers at this moment.

Walk through the corridor and then through the hall to arrive at the main courtyard, Rongxi Hall.

Mrs. Wang then led the way to the three side rooms on the west side and chatted with Lin Daiyu along the way.

"This garden connects the east and west palaces, and it cost a lot of money."

Lin Daiyu was slightly surprised.

Originally, the back garden of Rongguo Mansion was quite large. After all, it was a mansion built by imperial decree and was much larger than the Lin Mansion.

If Huifang Garden of Ningguo Mansion is merged into it, wouldn't it be as big as the back garden of the imperial palace?
It is impossible to suddenly build such a large garden without any reason.

Almost in an instant, Lin Daiyu realized that this might be the reason why Mrs. Wang invited her to her mansion.

Lin Daiyu asked softly, "Aunt, why did the family spend so much money to build such a large garden?"

Madam Wang pretended not to care and said lightly, "Oh, it's your elder sister Yuanchun. She has been given the title of Virtuous Consort in the palace and will be visiting her parents soon."

"This garden is used to entertain the imperial concubine, so its specifications cannot be too low."

When these words were spoken, many girls were shocked and their eyes widened unconsciously.

Mrs. Wang glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and felt secretly delighted.

This was exactly the effect she wanted. The Anjing Marquis' Mansion had always shaken the Rongguo Mansion time and time again. Now that the Rongguo Mansion was in power, she finally had the chance to pay back.

Even at this moment, Mrs. Wang could understand Lady Jia a little. Why did she spend so much money to build this garden?

The ladies stopped in front of the door of the corner room on the east side of the main courtyard. Madam Wang turned around and smiled, saying, "Miss Lin and I have something else to say. You can go and have some fun first. Don't get too close to the newly built wall, or you'll get hit by the falling stones."

All the girls looked at Lin Daiyu at the same time, and Lin Daiyu just nodded in response, and the girls bowed and dispersed.

Mrs. Wang secretly praised in her heart, "I didn't expect that the people in the backyard of the Anjing Marquis's mansion would listen to Lin Daiyu."

"I had to give her the order before I dared to leave. Could it be that this girl is very tactful?"

Mrs. Wang shook her head slightly to dispel her doubts. "No matter how capable she is, she is still an unmarried maid. How can she know right from wrong?"

"I was just scaring myself. I was overthinking it."

With a wave of her hand, Jinchuan and Yuchuan opened the door, and Mrs. Wang said with a smile, "Come in, young lady."

She didn't know if it was her illusion, but when Mrs. Wang turned her head, she saw that Lin Daiyu's eyes, which had always been bright, suddenly dimmed and became very deep.

(End of this chapter)