Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 438: Warm and affectionate, storms are rising

Every minute and every second that followed was extremely torturous. Shi Xiangyun could neither move nor make a sound, but the sounds beside her continued.

"Wu...don't, don't go too far, this is Sister Yun's room."

"Why are you afraid? Isn't she asleep? She drank a lot of wine at noon, she will definitely not wake up."

"It's not good if he can't wake up. What if Cuilu comes in later?"

"What is a little girl afraid of? Sister Lin is a good housekeeper, so why should we be afraid of her gossiping behind her back?"

"No, no, that won't do either. We haven't even gotten married yet, you can't push your luck any further. What's more, there are other people in front of us, it's so embarrassing."

Yue Ling's broad palms were caressing Lin Daiyu's back. Under the delicate gauze skirt, the touch of her boneless skin was so wonderful.

He even leaned over and sniffed the subtle fragrance from her neck, which was truly soothing and refreshing.

How could Yue Ling bear to let go of the girl who was as beautiful as a porcelain doll? Even if they couldn't go any further, they could just snuggle in each other's arms and feel so happy.

It was just a pity for Shi Xiangyun. Not only did she feel jealous, but she also had the urge to give the bed to them and just lie under the bed herself.

"Brother Yue, stop messing around and let's get down to business. Do you have any plans for the future?"

Lin Daiyu gently pushed open Yue Ling's chest, pursed her lips, and turned her head to the side. After changing the subject, her heart was beating even faster, as if she had a rabbit in her arms.

Yue Ling used his fingers to comb through Lin Daiyu's hair and tidied her temples around her ears. He thought, "According to what Your Majesty said, we should know the outcome tomorrow night."

"This……"

Lin Daiyu seemed to immediately see in her mind the scene outside the Jia family's door, with torches lighting up the house as bright as day, and teams of Yulin soldiers breaking into the house, ransacking the house and capturing criminals. She couldn't help but worry about her sisters.

"Will the sisters be okay?"

Yue Ling sighed softly and said, "As long as they act according to the plan, can expose the evil deeds of the Jia family, make some contributions to His Majesty's cause, and show their loyalty, there will naturally be a way for them to survive."

Lin Daiyu also sighed, "Sisters are so unlucky. How could we have to deal with such an unreasonable elder? He is even worse than my father."

But when she thought of her father, who always disagreed with her marriage to Yue Ling and often put obstacles in their way, Lin Daiyu seemed to feel that he was no better.

Yue Ling couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sister Lin, you are too kind. In terms of official career, brother is still outstanding."

He noticed that Shi Xiangyun's arm seemed to be trembling slightly under the quilt on the couch.

Yue Ling found it funny. He really couldn't treat them as little girls.

His face slowly moved closer to Lin Daiyu, and Yue Ling concentrated on teasing her again.

"You, what are you doing? Why are you here?"

"Why don't you like it?"

"do not like."

"Then why were you licking your lips just now?"

Lin Daiyu said coquettishly: "How bad, how bad, how could I have such a thing?"

Yue Ling no longer argued with Lin Daiyu, but slowly stood up and held Lin Daiyu in his arms.

Lin Daiyu naturally put her arms around Yue Ling's neck and said in shock: "Let me go, let me down, what are you going to do?"

Yue Ling glanced at the bed, leaned over to Lin Daiyu's ear and smiled, "Your sister Yun seems to be awake, shall we leave quickly?"

"what?"

Lin Daiyu turned back in shock, but she fell on Yue Ling's shoulder again after turning halfway. "When did she wake up?"

Yue Ling thought: "Maybe you woke her up when you came in."

"This...this isn't..."

"Yes, someone else saw it again."

Lin Daiyu clenched her fist and hit Yue Ling's chest hard, "It's all your fault, it's all your fault. You just bully me all day long. I'm going to tell my father."

"Lord Lin has a lot of official duties. Husbands and wives quarrel at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed. How can we trouble him with such a small matter? Let's go back to our room and lie down at the foot of the bed for a while."

"Bah bah bah."

Lin Daiyu spat several times, but couldn't help but laugh at Yue Ling's twisted logic, "Who wants to lie with you? It's so embarrassing!"

"Then I'll go lie down with Sister Yun?"

"You also called her Sister Yun? No way!"

"..."

The noises of their laughter gradually faded away, and after a long while, Cuilu returned to the room.

"Girl, girl, are you awake? Miss Lin came over to question me just now, and I was scared to death. You didn't do anything you shouldn't do in the room, did you?"

Cuilu asked again and again worriedly, but there was no response from Shi Xiangyun.

When she climbed onto the bed and took a look, she found that Shi Xiangyun was awake, with her eyes wide open, but they were empty and lifeless, and she didn't know where her thoughts were drifting to.

"Girl, girl? You didn't drink too much and become stupid, did you?"

Shi Xiangyun suddenly turned over and sat up, holding the quilt tightly, muttering: "They found out that I was awake, but they are still deliberately showing their affection here. What a bunch of people!"

"Huh? Them?"

Shi Xiangyun picked up the round fan on the bedside table and fanned herself, feeling a little hot. "Sister Lin is really the envy of others. I finally understand why they are all vying to be with the Marquis."

Finding that her daughter had come to her senses, Cuilu asked, "What did the daughter do when the Marquis was in the room just now?"

"No... Of course it's nothing."

Shi Xiangyun secretly twisted her fingers and smiled guiltily.

……

Rongguo Mansion, in the three side rooms on the east side of Rongxi Hall,
The sounds of stringed instruments filled the air. The maids from the small opera troupe of Dingguo Mansion all used their best skills to sing authentic Kunqu opera, which drew cheers from everyone around them.

Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang, and a group of Jia's housekeepers and wives sat together, each of them with a happy look on their face.

"As expected of a troupe sponsored by the Duke Ding's Mansion, the opera performance is truly exquisite. Even if the Imperial Concubine were to come back and watch, she would definitely think it was outstanding."

"Who says it's not true? It must be said that the madam is very prestigious, and she was able to invite these girls."

There were many compliments around her, but Mrs. Wang did not indulge in them as usual. Instead, she could not help but worry about what Xue Baochai had just said. Rongguo Mansion could not afford to make any mistakes at the moment. If Lady Jia made trouble again, it would be a disaster.

Moreover, when Xue Baochai left, she even warned Lady Jia, "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself."

Mrs. Wang had never thought about what Xue Baochai was talking about with such confidence.

Could it be related to the turmoil in the Jia family many years ago? Or is Yue Ling conveying some message through Xue Baochai?
The more she thought about it, the more worried Mrs. Wang became, and naturally she wanted to go to the Buddhist temple again.

Standing up and smiling gently, Mrs. Wang said, "The girls sing so well, there is no need for me to watch over them. Let's select three more plays for rehearsal, and then go back and rest."

"I'll leave this to you, Madam."

After exchanging glances with the main maids Caiyun and Xia in the room, indicating that they should come and watch the scene, Mrs. Wang went upstairs to the Buddhist hall without even touching the ground.

Seeing this, Tanchun, who came here with the small opera troupe, became eager to try.

After looking around, she found that there were indeed quite a few people who came here with her to watch the show.

In addition to the second sister, the fourth sister, and the maids in their respective rooms, there were also Qin Keqing, Zijuan, Qingwen, Ruizhu, Baozhu and others. If one or two people were missing, it would be really difficult to be discovered.

But now that everyone is seated, it would make no sense to rashly enter Madam Wang's inner room.

Time passed by little by little, operas were sung one after another, and the opportunities that originally belonged to them were also slipping away. They finally found such a chance, and it would be fatal if they could not grasp it.

Tanchun racked her brains to think of an excuse, and when her eyes fell on the young opera singers who were not wearing any clothes, an idea suddenly occurred to her. She said to Madam Xing and the many housekeepers and wives in the room, "Oh, by the way, Sister Bao just told me to check whether the costumes they use for the opera can match. If the Jia family doesn't have them, I have to go back to Duke Dingguo's Mansion to get a set as a backup."

"We are just performing now, without any clothes, and I almost forgot about this."

The housekeeper's wife beside him also realized, "Yes, how could such an important thing be overlooked? If we go to look for it tomorrow, I'm afraid we will forget something. What the third lady said is exactly right."

In the past, Tanchun’s words would not carry so much weight and people would not immediately agree with her.

She had a clear mind, and since she became Yue Ling's concubine in everyone's eyes, her prestige in the mansion was also established.

Everyone looked at Madam Xing, the oldest person in the room.

Mrs. Xing is a person who lacks wisdom and strategy. Besides being a little narrow-minded, she is also a little stingy. She only knows how to look at Jia She's face when doing things and has no backbone of her own.

When everyone wanted her to make a decision, she naturally went with the flow.

"What the Third Miss said is indeed true." Looking at Caiyun and Xia, Madam Xing also wanted to flatter Tanchun and didn't want to offend her, so she said, "Your master must have left in a hurry because of something important, and we don't know when he will be back. Do you know where the accounts are kept? Take them out and check them. If there is anything missing, it would be better to fill it up as soon as possible."

Caiyun and Xia looked at each other, both looking embarrassed.

Even though they knew where the accounts were, they couldn't take them out and show them to others.

Mrs. Xing saw their worries and smiled softly, "We are not checking your master's account. We just need to find out the details of the items and take a look. Don't delay the important event of visiting your mother."

Speaking of the important matter of the visit, as maids, they certainly dared not delay and had to agree meekly.

"Well, these girls, follow me."

Seeing that Caiyun and Xia had only called a few girls from the troupe, Qin Keqing couldn't help but interrupt and said, "Third sister is very careful. It was she who suggested it, so we should let her go in and help you. To be honest, Third sister is in charge of this matter in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, so it would be safest to let her do it."

Qin Keqing is Yue Ling's personal maid and her status cannot be underestimated. Now that she has spoken, there is no reason for others to refute her.

Mrs. Xing nodded and said, "Okay, please take them to have a look, Miss."

Tanchun nodded slightly, "Madam, you are too kind. This is our own business. How can I say that I am bothering you?"

Everyone was polite and courteous to each other and had a great time.

After Tanchun and her companions entered the inner room, nothing happened outside and the scene was almost over. Qin Keqing's eyes turned and she came up with another plan.

"Everyone, don't rush back yet. The second wife hasn't come back yet. If there is really something missing, she might have to give orders to do things."

But it was very boring for everyone to get together. After all, they had been running around these days to visit their parents and were exhausted. Of course, they wanted to rest now.

"Why don't we just chat and wait for them?" Qin Keqing aroused everyone's interest and said, "Have you heard of the best-selling underwear of Feng brand recently?"

If there is one topic that can most arouse the interest of these people in the boudoir, it is gossip.

Women like them are of course the most aware of the underwear that is all the rage in the capital city nowadays, but they have no way to enter Fengxue Pavilion, and they don't know what is so special about those ordinary items and why they are so popular in the capital city.

However, this thing was produced in the mansion of Duke Dingguo, and Duke Dingguo's personal maid was here now. Could it be that she had rarely been used by Duke Dingguo?

It's really a personal experience.

Many housekeepers and wives couldn't help but have their eyes shining. Even the dry-eyed Madam Xing couldn't help but come over and ask, "Why don't you know this? It's just that we have heard of it but have never seen it. Why don't you tell us what kind of rare thing it is, Miss Qin?"

"Although we can't match the Imperial Household Department in needlework and sewing, it's not a bad thing to try to imitate them a little bit."

Everyone around agreed.

The disharmonious life in the bedroom is an inevitable problem for these housekeepers' wives of their age, so the underwear has become their life-saving straw. Even if they cannot give birth to a child, it is a good thing not to be despised by their husbands.

Qin Keqing covered her mouth shyly and smiled, "You must have asked the right person. Apart from me, I'm afraid no one knows more about this item. To be honest, I designed all of these, and I wore them and had fun with Duke Dingguo every night. I experienced it myself, and it was so wonderful."

Qingwen blinked at the side, feeling as if her credit had been snatched away by someone else.

But Qin Keqing winked at her and motioned her to go into the room. Qingwen immediately came to her senses, put down her teacup, and cleverly went into the inner room.

"Duke Dingguo is in good health, so I'm afraid he can do it more than once a night, right?"

After Qin Keqing opened her mouth charmingly, the topic shifted unconsciously, as if there was some kind of magic.

"Three times? You really underestimated my master."

"How many times can that happen?"

But Qin Keqing said nothing and just extended a finger.

"Once, ten times?" the people around asked, guessing.

Qin Keqing shook her head. "It never stops."

The whole hall was in an uproar.

However, the girls from the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, who had held their heads high since entering the Jia residence, all lowered their heads in shame and looked at Qin Keqing, who was surrounded by everyone in the room, in silence.

She really enjoyed it and described it vividly, as if she was writing a short article on the spot, effortlessly.

Similarly, she really attracted everyone's attention. Even Yingchun and Xichun, who were originally unmoved, listened to her and unconsciously moved closer.

In front of the hall, noisy laughter would occasionally rise...

(End of this chapter)