Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 409 No more pretending, I’m showing off my cards
"Miss Bao is back?"

"Miss Bao, your room is ready. Sister Ying'er is playing in the garden. Do you want me to call her back?"

As Xue Baochai was walking in the corridor, she met many little maids. Each of them greeted her warmly. They became quite familiar with each other, just like family members.

"No need, she's been busy for two days, just let her play outside."

Xue Baochai forced a slight smile on her face and responded to everyone, but she unconsciously quickened her pace and hurried back to her room to open the letters.

Along the way, Xue Baochai's eyelids kept twitching, and she always felt that it was not a good sign.

But everything has been going well these days and I haven't encountered any troubles. After thinking about it, I think it can only be this letter that is the reason.

Looking down at the letter in her hand, Xue Baochai resisted the urge to open it in public. She quickened her pace and walked faster.

"Why should I be so nervous? Sister Lin let me stay in the mansion out of consideration for our friendship. The Marquis has just arrived in the capital and there is a lot of work waiting for me to do. How could I be afraid that Sister Lin will surpass me after she arrives in the capital? She doesn't have the ability to do anything."

Secretly encouraging herself, Xue Baochai raised her hand to push the door, but failed to open it.

After pushing harder, I realized that the door was locked from the inside.

Frowning slightly, Xue Baochai thought to herself, "What's going on? Didn't Ying'er go out? Could it be that Xiangling went to bed, so she locked the door?"

Xue Baochai didn't want to disturb Xiangling's nap, so she walked along the corridor and felt her way to the window to look out to see if there was anyone in the room.

But when Xue Baochai walked over, she saw a scene that she would never forget.

Xiangling was rummaging through the package to find her bellyband and trying it on herself.

Xiangling is usually cute and adorable, with a pair of bright eyes that makes people think she is ignorant of the world and makes people feel sorry for her, but no one would have thought that she could do such a dirty thing behind her back.

If she hadn't been able to see her profile, Xue Baochai would have thought it was Qin Keqing who came to break into the monastery.

"This girl, why did she take my bellyband? Maybe she just wanted to wash it, it looks like something I've worn."

Xue Baochai hid behind the wall, only showing a pair of eyes, staring without blinking, secretly pondering in her heart, "That's not right, if she was just going to wash, why would she measure it on herself? It's more like she's checking whether it fits her."

"Could it be that she likes it? Wants something similar? Then it's not impossible for me to buy more for her..."

"what?"

Xue Baochai was about to comfort herself, but the next second, Xiangling tucked the bellyband in her arms, patted her cheeks a few times, tied a knot on the package, and put it back to its original place.

"You really are here to steal the bellyband!"

No matter what, in this situation, Xue Baochai could no longer deceive herself and hurried towards the main entrance.

Soon, the door opened. Xiangling let out a breath and raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead because of doing something wrong.

"You can't keep this thing here. Ying'er and I live in the same room. If she finds out, I won't be able to explain it even if I have a hundred mouths. It's better to send it to Sister Keqing as soon as possible."

Xiangling muttered to herself as she took a step toward the threshold. Xue Baochai, who had been waiting there for a long time, suddenly appeared from the corner, startling Xiangling. She took several steps back and fell to the ground.

Rubbing her sore buttocks, Xiangling looked up at Xue Baochai with tears in her eyes, and said hesitantly, "Miss, you are back?"

Xue Baochai was also a little embarrassed and annoyed at this time. She walked in without saying a word, closed the doors and windows first, then glared at Xiangling and asked, "Tell me, what are you going to do?"

"Me? I won't do anything. I'm going to go find Ying'er and come back."

While Xiangling was lying, her eyes were wandering and she couldn't help but look to the side.

This guilty look and gradually flushed face betrayed her completely. Even Xueyan could sense something fishy, ​​let alone the fact that the person in front of her was Xue Baochai.

Xue Baochai twitched her lips, and her tone became a little colder, "Xiangling, don't you know that you are not a good liar? Why don't you tell the truth quickly? You are so scared when you see me, and you still say that you have done nothing wrong?"

"me……"

Realizing that she couldn't hide it anymore, Xiangling became even more panicked and subconsciously covered her chest tightly.

Seeing that she refused to admit her guilt, Xue Baochai became even more angry. She immediately squatted down and started to tear Xiangling's clothes.

"Well, I've caught you red-handed, and you still won't tell me. Wait until I take out the stolen goods, and I'll see how you can hide it!"

Xiangling was so anxious that she burst into tears and choked up, "I'm telling you, girl, I was wrong, please let me go."

Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Being interrupted, Xue Baochai asked impatiently, "Who is it?"

Outside was Tanchun's maidservant.

Hearing Xue Baochai's bad tone, he carefully said, "Miss Bao, the Marquis asked me to pass on a message."

The door opened and the secretary looked out, only to see Xiangling kneeling on the ground, her skirt stripped to pieces and even her bellyband pulled out.

Her face was tearful, which made people feel distressed.

After swallowing his saliva, the secretary quickly covered his eyes and thought to himself, "No way, what the young lady said is actually true? The master and servant played so openly in broad daylight. If it was at night, in front of the Marquis..."

Xue Baochai was still angry, so she took a long breath and asked, "My Lord, do you have anything to say? Shishu, please come in and talk first."

The secretary took a step back, closed her eyes, and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, Miss Bao, please let me go. I'm still a green hand."

"Just now, I didn't see anything. Also, the Marquis only asked me to pass on a message, asking Miss Bao to go over to discuss something. As for what it is, you will know when Miss Bao goes there."

"I'm going back first. My daughter is waiting for me to make her bed. She'll be scared if she's alone in the room, and I'll be scared if I'm alone outside..."

The secretary's words came out all at once like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube, and his voice became weaker and weaker.

All this happened because she started running back as soon as she said the first word, and by the time she finished the last sentence, she had already run out of the yard.

Xue Baochai was stunned and said, "Why is this girl so crazy? What nonsense is she saying?"

Looking back at Xiangling who was standing up and tying the belt around her waist, Xue Baochai snorted coldly and said, "Why don't you tell me? The Marquis is waiting for me."

Wiping away her tears, Xiangling sobbed, "Miss, I shouldn't have listened to Sister Keqing and insisted on wearing your underwear to serve the Marquis. Last night, I wore your discarded underwear to the Marquis' room, and he tore it to pieces." "But Sister Keqing said that men tear it to pieces because they like it, and asked me to steal another one, and when I have the chance in the future, I can wear it to serve the Marquis..."

It was as if thunder rang in Xue Baochai's ears.

Unexpectedly, Qin Keqing's joke turned out to be true.

She actually took Xiangling with her, changed into her own bellyband and went to serve the Marquis.

Xue Baochai's cheeks, as white as jade, turned red in an instant.

The situation had become like this and even she didn't know how to end it.

Logically speaking, she would unconditionally support whatever Yue Ling wanted to do, but it was too shameless to show off her own bellyband. And what would Lin Daiyu think if she heard about this?
Even Xue Baochai didn't dare to ask Xiangling whether the Marquis knew that the bellyband Xiangling was wearing was hers.

Covering her burning cheeks, Xue Baochai turned to open the door, "Okay, get up first. I'll go talk to the Marquis and punish you later!"

……

"The mansion is actually unable to make ends meet?"

As he walked, Yue Ling pondered this question deeply.

To be honest, Yue Ling had never considered the issue of expenses in the mansion. After all, Emperor Longyou, who was still the King of Qin at the time, had given him all the treasures of the Prince Kang's Mansion.

It's like a mountain of gold and silver, it's impossible to eat it all.

After a careful calculation, he realized that he had indeed spent a lot in the past eight years. Even if he had a mountain of gold and silver, he would have squandered it all according to his wasteful nature.

"I'm sorry that Sister Lin is so worried about this. I didn't expect that after all my reforms to fill the national treasury, my own treasury would not be filled in the end."

"Master, please take a look. The decoration here is to your liking. If there is anything that is not in accordance with your wishes, I will call someone to change it."

Ni Er accompanied Yue Ling to the outer study, pushed the door open and asked Yue Ling questions.

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "This is His Majesty's old house, a royal garden, not our own property. We might move out someday. Everything remains the same and cannot be changed."

Ni Er nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I understand."

Sitting behind his desk, Yue Ling tapped his fingers on the table, thinking about ways to make money.

Beside him, Ni Er took down the teapot which was burning with the aroma of tea from the tea stove and poured the fragrant tea for Yue Ling attentively.

"There are so many commercial goods in the capital, and there is nothing scarce. If you want to make money, it is really not an easy task. Do you want to take advantage of the Xue family? This is a bit unethical."

"If we can do a business, under the title of Duke Dingguo, and let the Xue family run it, it would be best if the Ministry of Internal Affairs could get a share, and then give Your Majesty some money, that would be perfect."

"But how easy is this?"

"Should I also make perfume or soap? But with the current industrial foundation, it is impossible to restore the modern results. Moreover, it takes time for such luxury goods to spread, and it is difficult to reap the results immediately..."

Shaking his head, Yue Ling ordered: "Go and call Miss Xue over first. I have something to discuss with her."

Ni Er asked, "Should we call Miss Lin as well?"

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "No need. Sister Lin has been working hard all day, it's time to take a break. Besides, let me handle this matter."

Ni Er nodded, bowed and retreated.

Before discussing with Xue Baochai, who was more familiar with the business of the capital, Yue Ling thought of another matter.

"The reason why the population in the capital is small now is not due to wealth or life pressure. The Fish Scale Book has checked the land in the capital and supported the reclamation of wasteland, so many tenants have been allocated land and can survive with surplus food."

"People became wealthy, but were unwilling to reproduce, and there was no obvious external pressure. Perhaps due to the impact of the war, people's concepts changed, and the trend of enjoying life in the moment became widespread."

"Among them, the prostitution led by officials was even more popular among the people of the time. The lavish spending of thousands of dollars in brothels could even be passed on as a good story, and people rushed to imitate it. It is no wonder that Your Majesty is troubled by such a declining trend."

Thinking about it again, Yue Ling murmured to himself, "As the saying goes, a wife is not as good as a concubine, and a concubine is not as good as a secret lover. Perhaps it is in places like brothels and wine shops that they can release their nature and seek instinctive pleasure from their bodies. They don't have the interest to do so at home."

"But this is definitely not conducive to reproduction..."

Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind. Yue Ling raised his head abruptly, clapped his hands and said, "Got it. Why don't I bring the QQ underwear industry that released desires during the economic boom in my previous life here? As long as they can have a novel experience at home, and rely on the imperfect contraceptive conditions to make the couple's life more harmonious, wouldn't it be easy to have a large population?"

"Although this kind of atmosphere will be criticized by corrupt scholars and unacceptable to officials. But they only speak of righteousness on the surface, and secretly they are more promiscuous than anyone else. Besides, I have a good reputation, so I am not afraid of being bitten by more lice."

The more Yue Ling thought about it, the more excited he became. "I don't know where this unfounded stigma came from. Since I can't get rid of it, I might as well take it to the next level and turn trash into treasure. From now on, I will be the most powerful signboard of this business!"

"Once this becomes popular, it will be like soap, toothpaste, perfume and other necessities that change people's living habits. Wouldn't that bring a lot of money? By the way, giving some share to the Ministry of Internal Affairs can also be regarded as filling your Majesty's coffers."

"It's really a plan that kills three birds with one stone!"

Just when Yue Ling was feeling smug, there was a knock on the door.

"My Lord? I'm here."

Recognizing Xue Baochai's voice, Yue Ling quickly stepped forward, opened the door, and welcomed her in with a smile, "Come on, come on. I just thought of a good way to make money, and I want you to come to Fengzihao to take charge of this for me."

Xue Baochai lowered her delicate head slightly, and her cheeks and snow-white neck were all flushed, which surprised Yue Ling a little.

"Miss Xue, you are not suffering from a fever again. Why don't you go back to your room and rest, and discuss it another day?"

After what happened just now, Xue Baochai was too embarrassed to look up at Yue Ling. When she thought of Xiangling wearing her bellyband and having sex with the man in front of her, her face felt like boiling water.

"It's okay, it's okay. I might have been out for a while and was stimulated by the cold wind, so I feel a little hot."

With her round fan covering half of her face, Xue Baochai bit her lip shyly and said, "My Lord, please talk about your business first."

Yue Ling felt relieved, sat in the armchair with his arms and legs folded, and said with a smile: "First of all, I want you to start a newspaper in the capital again, and use the style that you were good at in the past to create momentum for my new industry."

Hearing this, Xue Baochai's heart suddenly trembled. She looked at Yue Ling in astonishment and said in her heart, "My Lord, are you doing this for the real thing?"

(End of this chapter)