Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 439: On the Eve of the Visit, Everyone Has Their Own Ghostly Intentions
"Wait a moment, Miss San. We will get it right away."

Caiyun and Xiaying bowed and stepped forward. One of them set up the chair and stabilized it, while the other stood on it and took down a wooden box on the top of the bookshelf.

After taking it down, he did not rush to give it to Tanchun. Instead, he opened the lock first, searched around inside, and then took out the volume that recorded the objects.

Tanchun just glanced at the two of them out of the corner of her eye, while she was still chatting with the girls around her.

"Miss Tanchun, will our master come tomorrow?"

Several little girls asked in a chattering voice.

Tanchun shook her head and said, "The visit is a family banquet at Rongguo Mansion, so I won't come."

"That's it..."

The little girls looked at me, and I looked at you, with a hint of loss on our faces.

Tanchun comforted him kindly, "However, Sister Lin will definitely come, so you don't have to worry too much. Just use the skills you used when singing in the mansion, and you will be able to cope with it."

"To be honest, I used to listen to operas in the old mansion, but I have never seen anyone sing better than you."

The girls pouted their lips proudly and pinched their waists, "Of course, when we were in Suzhou, the master spent 100,000 taels to buy us from the nanny and gave us to the master."

Speaking of the number of one hundred thousand taels, I can't help but think of what happened recently.

"I wonder what kind of woman the second young master of the Jia family has found, who can be comparable to our entire troupe."

The girls were still young, and their desire to compare with others was at its strongest. Even though Tanchun was very nervous at the moment, she couldn't help but comfort them, "You are different from that person. He sells his body, and you sell your art..."

However, a few girls started playing with their hair with their fingers and lowered their heads shyly. "That's not necessarily the case...it depends on who the other person is..."

Tanchun couldn't help rolling her eyes. She really didn't know how these girls were made to be like this.

She had nothing to say, but Caiyun Cloud and Xia, who had left, came back with their hands covering their mouths and laughing secretly.

Thinking that this was indeed the way things were in the Duke Dingguo's mansion, Caixia couldn't help but tease him, "So what you mean is that if it was the Duke Dingguo, you would sell both your art and your body?"

Rui Guan stuck out her tongue and said, "So what? There are so many people who want to serve the master, and they can't even wait in line. Besides, if you had the opportunity to serve my master, wouldn't you rush over? You still want to tease us? If you can't eat the grapes, you say they are sour."

"That's it."

"Oh, you little girls are so shameless."

The girls started laughing and making noises. Tanchun held her forehead helplessly and said, "Stop making noises and finish the business first, okay?"

Talking about the provocative things, Caiyun Cloud and Xia lost their composure for a moment. She smiled apologetically and handed over the account.

According to the plays to be performed, Tanchun immediately took the girls from the small opera troupe to check them one by one.

"Two sets of long skirts with water sleeves, one set of dragon robe costume, two sets of short shirts, one phoenix crown with kingfisher feathers, and a box of pearl hairpins and step-shaking ornaments..."

Caiyun and Xia were watching by the side, the words of the girls in the opera troupe echoing in their minds.

"Even the actors in the Duke Dingguo's mansion are always waiting to enter the concubine's room, no wonder there are such bizarre rumors in the market. Moreover, since it is almost the actors' turn, doesn't it mean that the maids in each room have already..."

The sisters looked at each other, and they both understood what the other was thinking, and they couldn't help but shudder.

At that moment, Qingwen came in through the door curtain. Seeing the two standing there in a daze, she couldn't help but laugh and tease, "What are you doing standing here? You look like fools."

Caiyun Cloud and Xiaxia came back to their senses, but they pointed at Qingwen with a look of disgust, and whispered: "Qingwen is such a beautiful girl, she must have been married to the Duke a long time ago."

"That's right. She used to pretend to be pure and innocent. She would sneer at anyone who tried to please Baoyu. Isn't she still the same as everyone else now?"

Qingwen twitched her lips. She didn't know what these two old acquaintances were whispering about, so she simply ignored them.

But when she entered, she did not close the door tightly, and the laughter from the hall came in.

"Qingwen, what are they talking about outside?"

Qingwen was smart and clever, and she guessed Qin Keqing's intention, which was to attract the attention of these two maids who were trusted by Lady Wang, so that they could do things in the room.

She simply risked her life, and with a blushing face, Qingwen boasted, "That's Sister Keqing outside, my master's personal maid, who is teaching her the art of sex and the art of wearing seductive underwear. Well, if she is to be the most favored one in this mansion, we really haven't trained well enough."

Pretending to be frustrated, Qingwen sighed.

Caiyun and Xiaxia all swallowed their saliva. Although they did not have the opportunity to seduce Yue Ling, as maids beside Madam Wang, they had the chance to be paired with the young master of the mansion.

If they could learn a few tricks, after the Jia family came to visit and became successful, wouldn't they also be able to rise to the same level and compete for the position of concubine?
Without thinking, the two of them squeezed out of the room together and quickly merged into the outside world.

"No, what are you going to do with me?"

Following behind Caiyun and Xia, there were actually two girls from a small opera troupe. Qingwen was truly speechless.

The two little girls looked up shyly and flapped their innocent big eyes, as if they had done something wrong.

"Sister Qingwen, you know that the master doesn't like to listen to operas, so there are few opportunities for us to perform. Now Sister Keqing is teaching us skills, so of course we have to learn. I think this is much more useful than the scriptures taught by Master Miaoyu."

The other girl also affirmed the former's words and nodded repeatedly, "Yeah, that's right."

Qingwen stopped them from all sides and said helplessly: "The room is our main business. This is helping the master. Don't mess around."

Now that the colorful clouds and mist were gone, Tanchun also withdrew herself and handed over the task of checking the details of the items to Lingguan and Ruiguan. She then climbed onto the chair again and took down the wooden box.

"Qingwen, why did you come in?"

Qingwen stepped forward to take a look and saw that it was Tanchun who touched a locked wooden box. She immediately understood why Qin Keqing had just signaled to her to come in.

“That’s what I came for.”

Tanchun sighed and said, "Yes. There should be other accounts in here, or we can find out something fishy, ​​but the key is with Caixia, so I can't think of a reason to come here."

Qingwen shook her head and said, "No need to bother."

He pointed at the two little girls who were about to leave and ordered, "Barrier the door and don't let anyone in."

Then, when Tanchun was stunned, she saw Qingwen take the earring off her earlobe, insert the sharp end into the enlarged hole, and touch it a few times tentatively, and the copper lock opened.

If she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, Tanchun would never have believed that Qingwen had such skills.

"It's opened just like that? Then what's the point of locking it?" Qingwen was not relieved. She sighed softly and said, "It's not as easy as it looks. You should check inside to see if there is what you want."

"okay."

The two of them rummaged through the wooden box together, and indeed found several account books inside.

Turning over the title page, they saw records of all the expenses in the mansion since the construction of the Grand View Garden. There was nothing surprising about it, and the situation was urgent, so they didn't have time to read through them one by one.

"Third Miss, have you found anything? I'm afraid the Second Madam will be back soon."

"I'm looking for it. I'm looking for it."

Tanchun was so anxious that she was sweating all over and searching quickly.

The girls around also came to help and each copied an account book. Even though they couldn't understand it very well, they could still read.

Qingwen knew few words, so she would just stare anxiously, walking back and forth from the table to the door, or leaning against the wall, listening to the noise coming from next door.

After a long while, they still hadn't found any clues, but then they heard Madam Wang's voice outside the room, "You guys have been chatting so excitedly since I left. You didn't even go back to your rooms to rest. What are you talking about?"

Qingwen's eyes widened immediately, and she hurried to Tanchun's side to persuade her, "No, the Second Madam is back, it's too late. Third Miss, quickly put all these things away and put the box back."

"This shouldn't be possible. How could there be nothing in here?" Tanchun was still a little unwilling to give up, but she did as Qingwen said and put all the account books in bit by bit.

"Is it ready? Is there anything missing?"

Tanchun nodded slightly. When Qingwen closed the wooden box, a hollow collision sound was heard. Tanchun's eyes lit up immediately, "No, Qingwen, open it again quickly. The wall of this wooden box is empty. There is something inside!"

However, Mrs. Wang's voice was closer.

"Why are there so few people? Where's the third girl?"

"Replying to the Second Madam, the Third Miss is in the room with the girls from the troupe, checking the accounts for the costumes used, checking for any missing items and making up for any omissions."

"what?"

……

Not long ago,
In the room inside the Buddhist temple where they stayed, Yuanyang found a secret compartment and took out a wooden box.

She didn't know what was inside, but Grandmother Jia always attached great importance to this item and always kept it with her, even after she was driven out of Rongqing Hall.

Since Grandmother Jia never mentioned anything about the items inside, Yuanyang didn't dare to ask more questions.

But she subconsciously felt that there were objects in it that were related to some important event, and her hands trembled slightly when she touched the wooden box.

Yuanyang, who had always served Lady Jia, must know something about the old story of the Jia family.

Why was the first wife assigned to the East Courtyard, why was the East Mansion stripped of its title in the beginning, and why did Jia She and Jia Lian both experience imprisonment.

She vaguely realized that the Jia family was not reviving and prospering under the coordination of Grandmother Jia, but was just superficial.

"Ancestor, is this the wooden box you want?"

Yuanyang brought the item out of the room and presented it to Lady Jia, who had closed her eyes to rest before she slowly opened them.

The rest of the maids had already left the hall, leaving only the master and servant.

She climbed onto the wooden box and weighed it. Grandmother Jia had no intention of opening it. Instead, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that it's still there."

Yuanyang comforted him, "You are worrying too much, old man. This is in our house, how could a thief sneak in?"

Grandmother Jia shook her head and said, "We can guard against thieves day and night, but it is the hardest to guard against thieves in the house. Rumors are spreading everywhere in the mansion. Do you think I, an old woman, don't know? If you say that there is no one in the mansion who has evil intentions, no one will believe it."

"You are plotting against an old woman like me. Do you really think I am stupid and incompetent?"

Yuanyang was unable to understand who Grandmother Jia was criticizing at the moment, but only Xue Baochai, who had just crossed the fence, was the most suitable.

"Grandfather, I thought Miss Bao was just giving a kind reminder. Since she took over the Feng family, although she hasn't provided much help to the mansion, she hasn't caused any trouble for the mansion either. She can be considered kind-hearted."

Grandmother Jia frowned slightly, a little angry, "What are you talking about, little girl? We are the Duke's Mansion, and the Xue family is just an imperial merchant. If she doesn't make things difficult for me, she is kind-hearted? Isn't that against Tian Gang?"

Yuanyang said patiently, "After all, the Xue family is now backed by the Duke Dingguo Mansion. The old ancestor doesn't know that the most prosperous mansion outside is the Duke Dingguo Mansion. Otherwise, after the second master Lian committed a crime, the first master and the second master would not have thought of the Duke Dingguo first to negotiate with the Prince Zhongshun Mansion."

"Your Majesty treats Duke Dingguo as if he were his own son or nephew. This is obvious to everyone in the capital."

Grandmother Jia still sneered and insisted on her own opinion, saying: "It is not true. If he were a high-ranking official, the emperor would definitely have some plans for him. Now he is urging him to reform the law and suppress the officials, so of course he will be favored."

"But this is exactly what is most fatal. If he were a royal relative, it would be fine, and it would be best if he were a prince consort, but he is not one, so how can he have a good ending?"

"Not long ago, when the imperial physician came to see me, he let slip that he wanted to prescribe the same medicine for me as for the emperor. Doesn't that prove that the emperor is seriously injured? A new emperor chooses new ministers. He has made enemies in the court like this. No one can tolerate him anymore."

Yuanyang lowered her head deeply, "This servant does not understand the court."

Grandmother Jia said, "It's a good thing that you don't understand. If the younger generation in the mansion hadn't been incompetent, why would an old woman like me have to worry about things outside?"

"But, right now, the mansion cannot afford to offend Duke Dingguo..."

Grandmother Jia glared and said, "Don't mention him again. It's really unlucky."

He flicked his sleeves and ordered, "This wooden box is now in your care. Don't lose it. The Jia family's success depends entirely on the items inside."

"This……"

Yuanyang knelt on the ground, lifted up the wooden box with both hands, and said, "If the old ancestor regards it as the lifeblood of the Jia family, how dare I keep it with me?"

Grandmother Jia narrowed her eyes and said, "Don't you want to be as rich and powerful as the Lai family, and have your descendants escape from the status of a lowly person?"

Yuanyang shook his head repeatedly, "Yuanyang just wants to serve the ancestor for the rest of his life."

Even though Grandmother Jia was cold-hearted, she was somewhat moved now. She could only raise her hand to support him and said, "You are such a fool. I am an old and disgusting thing, half of my body is buried in the ground. What is there for me to serve? You should find a way out for yourself."

The master and servant were just renewing their old friendship when a voice came from outside, "Second Madam, the old ancestor is resting. You can't go in any further."

Grandmother Jia frowned slightly, and said in a colder tone, "This debt collector is here again."

(End of this chapter)