Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 397 What is coming cannot be avoided

Rongguo Mansion, Rongxi Hall,
Mrs. Wang held a gilded nanmu carved food box in her hand, placed it attentively on the tea table by the window, lowered her head and sniffed, and came to Jia Zheng's side.

Jia Zheng had a look of melancholy on his face, with some anger still lingering between his brows.

"master."

Mrs. Wang felt distressed and wanted to argue with him about how he had hit Baoyu so hard in public, but she did not dare to really start a quarrel at this critical juncture.

Now the family situation has changed. The first and second wives have joined forces to sideline Lady Jia. She cannot mess up her own family first.

Jia Zheng raised his head slightly and said impatiently, "Has Baoyu been examined by the imperial physician? How is his injury?"

Wiping the tears from her cheeks with her handkerchief, Madam Wang choked up and said, "The imperial physician said that he had broken his bones and muscles, and that he would have to stay in bed for at least another three months. The master was too cruel, as if he were not his own flesh and blood. His hips and legs are swollen two fingers high, and they are a mess of blood and flesh."

The more she spoke, the more agitated Mrs. Wang became, and she began to sob in the room again.

Jia Zheng slammed the table angrily and said, "I want to beat that good-for-nothing to death at once, so that I can get rid of the trouble in our house!"

Mrs. Wang cried, "He is a little naughty, but he is not a bad person. Master, you can just teach him a lesson. Why do you have to use such a heavy hand?"

"You still think I didn't go easy on you?"

After hearing what Mrs. Wang said, Jia Zheng became even more annoyed. "Didn't you hear the eunuch in Rongqing Hall say that Yue Ling has been promoted to Duke of the State, and is on par with my Jia family's ancestors in terms of title."

"He is at the peak of his career right now. If we offend him at this time and create a feud with him, do you want us to be confiscated and exterminated?"

Mrs. Wang was so frightened by Jia Zheng's words that her face turned pale. She asked in a trembling voice, "Is it really that serious?"

Jia Zheng stood up and swung his sleeves, pacing fiercely in the hall a few times, "What else? Do you think I'm joking with you?!"

"But, there are older girls in the palace after all. It's normal for children to quarrel while playing. Even brothers have conflicts."

As she said this, Mrs. Wang couldn't help but glance at Jia Zheng's face a few times.

Jia Zheng, however, looked very disappointed with her. He pointed at Mrs. Wang with a trembling finger and said, "You, you, why do you think my elder brother was in such a hurry to come to the mansion? The idea of ​​respecting Marquis Anjing was spread by the eldest lady in the palace!"

"Moreover, the one who just delivered the message was the eunuch beside the Queen. This is the Queen warning us, do you understand?"

Mrs. Wang was slightly stunned, and after a while she came back to her senses. She asked tentatively, "What about what our ancestor said? After he has achieved his glory, he will decline. Doesn't that mean there is still a chance for our Jia family to turn things around? We can't let Baoyu suffer so much in vain, right?"

"I saw that he was so scared when he saw the girl from the Lin family that he was like a quail. How can he marry another girl in the future if he is so cowardly?"

Jia Zheng glared at her and said, "Don't think I don't know that you didn't get any advantage from that girl from the Lin family. You two, mother and son, are just like two people cast in the same mold!"

"master……"

Jia Zheng waved his hand, interrupting Mrs. Wang's words, and said impatiently: "Right now, the most important thing for the Jia family is to welcome the imperial concubine to visit her parents. We should first prepare the separate courtyard for the visit. This is the common idea of ​​my elder brother and I. You have to distinguish between the priorities."

Speaking of the villa for visiting relatives, Mrs. Wang looked embarrassed again.

"But there is not much money left in the account now. If we want to finish the project on time, we will definitely not have enough money. The annual allowance from the previous year has been used up, and it will be too late to wait until next year."

Jia Zheng put his hands behind his back and said, "Then you should think of a solution. You are just hanging around at home all day and not doing any work. If it really doesn't work, ask your Wang family for some money. 'The East Sea lacks a white jade bed, so the Dragon King comes to ask the King of Jinling'. Can the Wang family still be short of this little money?"

"Besides, your mother's uncle is the eldest, and the eldest daughter has secured a position in the palace, and your Wang family is the most popular one."

Speaking of subsidizing the money herself, Mrs. Wang shook off her previous dejection and glared, "How can that be the same? This is to renovate the Jia Mansion's garden, how can my Wang family subsidize it? If my brothers and sisters-in-law knew about this, wouldn't they be so angry that I was humiliated?"

Jia Zheng was also aware of the Jia family's current financial difficulties, and the confidence he had just accumulated was also weakened a little. "What should we do? If the Wang family doesn't work, what about the Xue family? Your sister's family is now the largest imperial merchant in the capital, and they are not short of money."

Mrs. Wang seemed to have a flash of inspiration in her mind, and she stopped making a fuss and began to think secretly, "If we let Miss Bao marry into the mansion, with her generous dowry, we will be able to make up for the shortfall in the account. In this way, Baoyu can also get married. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?"

"I think that Marquis Anjing and the girl from the Lin family are deeply in love, and he keeps Xue Baochai by his side just to use her as a subordinate. She has traveled all over the country for so many years, but she hasn't made any achievements."

"Go and test your sister's opinion first, then make a decision."

Shaking her head, Wang Fu-ren suppressed her worries and said to Jia Zheng, "The richest person in the mansion is the old ancestor. She still has a lot of personal money."

"When we were planning to build the garden, the old ancestor said that there was a certain amount of money missing and she would make up for it. But later, due to my face, I didn't go to the old ancestor. You can ask her when you visit her in a few days."

"Besides, even if we have enough materials, hiring craftsmen will be a big expense. My master is now a deputy minister of the Ministry of Works, so wouldn't it be easy for him to call in some craftsmen?"

"The craftsmen who work for the government have been doing this for generations. Not only do they produce fine workmanship, but they also save money, which is killing two birds with one stone. Now that the master is the father-in-law of the emperor, he is a royal relative, so there must be a lot of people willing to work for him."

Jia Zheng listened carefully and felt that what Mrs. Wang said made sense. He was also flattered by her. He nodded slightly and said, "You still have an idea. I will go to the government office to look for someone tomorrow."

Mrs. Wang walked around behind Jia Zheng and gently patted his shoulder, praising him: "In this way, when the garden is completed, after the visit, the younger generation will be able to get married and get promoted to an official position smoothly. Won't the mansion prosper?"

Jia Zheng narrowed his eyes, enjoying himself. "Yes, that's right. What's in the food box next to it? I'm a little hungry, give it to me to fill my stomach."

"Oh, this food box."

Mrs. Wang took it and opened the wooden lid, only to find that there were no cakes inside, but various exquisite jewels.

Jia Zheng's eyes widened, and he asked in astonishment, "What does this mean? Did you steal the private property from our ancestors?"

Mrs. Wang rolled her eyes and said, "What are you talking about, Master? When did I ever do anything so sneaky?"

"Where did that come from? It can't be your head ornaments. Do you want to sell it for money?"

Madam Wang sighed faintly, "This was sent by Zhen'er from the East Palace."

"What did he send these for?"

Jia Zheng's eyes widened even more and he was even more confused.

Madam Wang curled her lips and said, "It was Brother Zhen who came to thank us. When he sent the girls to the Marquis Anjing's residence, he did not forget Xichun and sent them all there as well."

"She must have taken the rumors about Yue Ling's lust seriously, and thought that Xichun from his family was the youngest and had the best chance."

Jia Zheng: "..."

……

In the corridor of the courtyard of Anjinghou Mansion,
I thought it was just a reunion between the two of them, but I didn’t expect there would be so many spectators.

Lin Daiyu, who was weak and powerless the previous second and still immersed in the wet kiss, immediately perked up and used both hands to push Yue Ling away. But after all, she was holding a warm and soft jade in her arms, and in her own mansion, without outsiders to disturb her.

Yue Ling's whole heart was deeply experiencing the beauty of this moment and he had already immersed himself in it. He thought that Lin Daiyu was still instinctively trying to resist but was still trying to welcome him. After all, Lin Daiyu was still responding in a foolish voice.

But the women who were watching were even more absorbed in the show. Not only did they hurriedly turn off Xueyan's lamp, but they also gathered in front of the window in the shadows.

From Lin Daiyu's perspective, it was not very clear.

But the two of them were facing the moonlight, so they were definitely exposed to them.

Suddenly, Lin Daiyu felt as if countless pairs of eyes were staring at her, and there were ants crawling all over her body.

Lin Daiyu clenched her teeth, stamped her feet, and pushed forward with all her strength.

This sudden attack was completely beyond Yue Ling's expectations.

He was already feeling pain in his mouth, and then he tripped and stumbled, falling backwards.

His waist hit the railing and he flew out of the corridor and fell directly into the pool below.

With a "splash" sound, Yue Ling fell into the pool of water, splashing water everywhere. The frogs resting at night were scared and flew away.

Yue Ling, whose whole body was soaked in water, should have been completely awake, but his heart was full of doubts.

He never dreamed that Lin Daiyu had such great strength and was even proficient in martial arts. While gritting her teeth, she tripped him and threw him away.

"Wasn't it just fine? What happened all of a sudden?..."

“Brother Yue?!”

Lin Daiyu hurried over to the railing. In a hurry, she didn't expect that she could burst out with such great strength. Seeing Yue Ling fall down the corridor, she was also frightened. She didn't care that there were still people watching in the room. She hurriedly called out: "Brother Yue? Are you okay? I didn't mean it."

The pool of water in the inner courtyard was very shallow, not even as high as Yue Ling's knees, but the water was very cold in the dead of night in cold spring, so cold that it penetrated into the bones, and even Yue Ling's heart felt a little chilled.

"Those who don't have a heart are so powerful. If they do, wouldn't they fight alongside me on the battlefield?"

Yue Ling secretly laughed at himself, sat in the middle of the pond, and replied with a wry smile: "Sister Lin has trained her strength well. This time I really believe that you have not been bullied in Rongguo Mansion. It seems that I have to give Sister Lin less food supplements in the future."

Lin Daiyu was embarrassed and anxious. She patted the railing and said, "Brother Yue, why don't you come up quickly? You'll catch a cold!"

Just at this moment, the main door of the lobby opened.

Then Shi Xiangyun came out with Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun, holding the glass palace lantern she had picked up from the door and looking into the courtyard.

Lin Daiyu can be vaguely seen in the corridor, but the figure in the pool cannot be seen.

Shi Xiangyun was shocked and said, "There really is a thief in this room? Sister Lin, be careful, come over here quickly!"

Originally, only the maids in her room saw it, but now it made an even bigger noise, waking up Sanchun and Shi Xiangyun who were originally asleep. The blush on Lin Daiyu's face became a large area, and her neck and earlobes were not spared.

Listening to Shi Xiangyun's anxious words, he could only stammer in response: "Don't be afraid, Sister Yun, this is not a thief, it's Brother Yue who has returned. I dropped some ornaments into the pond, and Brother Yue is helping me fish them out."

Fortunately, Lin Daiyu was very smart and her mind worked quickly. She came up with such a perfect excuse in the first time and deceived the girls from the Jia family.

When Shi Xiangyun heard that it was Yue Ling who came in person, she sighed, "Ah? It turned out that the Marquis had returned. As soon as he came back, he went to find jewelry for Sister Lin in the dark? The Marquis is really considerate to Sister Lin."

Tanchun blinked and said, "My Lord, would you like to use the palace lantern to illuminate it?"

Yue Ling stood up, took off his soaked gown, and said with a wry smile, "No need, no need, I've already found it. I woke you up because I wasn't paying attention. It's late at night and cold, you guys should go back and rest first, I'll also take a hot bath."

"Okay, my Lord, please take care of your health."

The girls bowed deeply to Yue Ling and then returned to their rooms.

Lin Daiyu also rushed to Yue Ling, stood on tiptoe, and wiped the water droplets from his cheeks and hair with a handkerchief.

Lin Daiyu was so embarrassed that she could hardly speak. She felt extremely guilty and stammered, "Yue, Brother Yue, it's my fault. I... didn't expect it to be like this."

Yue Ling gathered up the hair that had fallen down due to the water, and said with a smile: "If Sister Lin can give me a kiss, I won't mind."

"You're still here!"

Lin Daiyu was embarrassed and annoyed, "You you you!"

Yue Ling was puzzled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lin Daiyu threw her handkerchief to Yue Ling and said angrily, "Go take a bath first, or you'll catch a cold. How will you be able to attend the morning court tomorrow?"

After saying this, Lin Daiyu walked to the hall, opened the door, and called out, "Still looking, still looking! Tomorrow I will dig out your eyes! Why don't you come out and help your master bathe?!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Keqing, who was dressed neatly, came out with a smile, holding her willow-leaf slender waist, and said weakly: "Sister Lin, please don't push me, I can walk by myself. Even the Marquis couldn't stand Sister Lin's push, let alone my frail body."

Lin Daiyu stepped forward and was about to pinch the soft flesh on Qin Keqing's waist, but Qin Keqing ran even more happily and dodged behind Yue Ling in a flash.

Lin Daiyu stamped her feet in anger and called to the west wing, "Xiangling, stop looking. Come out and go with Sister Ke'er."

The door opposite also opened in response, and Xiangling walked out shyly, followed by Zijuan who seemed to be looking forward to it.

"Okay, okay, you go too, but if you gossip about me tomorrow, I'll definitely settle the score with you!"

After saying this, Lin Daiyu went back to her room in shame and anger.

The girls who received the hush money were filled with joy. They supported Yue Ling on both sides and walked towards the bathroom.

Only at this moment did Yue Ling realize why Lin Daiyu had changed so much.

"It's already the middle of the night, you're all still awake?"

Qin Keqing laughed so hard that she almost couldn't straighten her back. She held Yue Ling's arm, patted her chest and said, "Fortunately, I didn't fall asleep, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see it."

"How much did you see?"

“Hahaha, I saw it all!”

(End of this chapter)