Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 462 Yue Ling's Self-Responsibility (Good luck in the College Entrance Examination!)

Lin Daiyu also had such an embarrassing incident at her birthday party in Yangzhou Prefecture in February this year.

But after all, at that time, Lin Daiyu was still the one who passively endured it. Even though she was embarrassed to listen to Yue Ling's love words in front of everyone, she was still a little happy in her heart. After all, she was the most special one.

And now, when I play games again, I never expected that in the end I would be the one making fun of myself.

She even said a few sweet words to express her love in front of Yue Ling, and all she was left with was embarrassment.

Lin Daiyu bent her waist, as if she wanted to get under the table. The girls on the scene all laughed secretly and dispersed, not wanting to embarrass Lin Daiyu.

Yue Ling glanced at Lin Daiyu who was about to hide in the shadows, and didn't know how to comfort her. He could only look at Qin Keqing helplessly, wanting to grab her and hold her accountable. He had said that he was confident, but as expected, something went wrong.

Meeting Yue Ling's glaring eyes, Qin Keqing realized her mistake. She scratched her head and smiled at Yue Ling awkwardly.

An awkward atmosphere spread, and just when they were wondering how to end it, a rough maid came in and delivered a message, "Master, there is an imperial physician outside."

"Imperial physician?" Yue Ling looked around and asked in surprise, "Are any of you injured or sick? Sister Lin, are you feeling unwell?"

Lin Daiyu sat up again. Apart from her face being red all the way down to her neck, there was nothing else unusual about her.

He shook his head and murmured softly, "No, I'm fine."

Yue Ling looked at the maid again, and the maid said repeatedly: "Master, we are not here to treat the girls, we are here to treat you."

"Give me?"

Lin Daiyu's expression returned to normal in an instant, and she looked at Yue Ling beside her in disbelief. Even Xueyan couldn't help but put down her chopsticks and stopped chewing the food in her mouth. Everyone's eyes were focused on Yue Ling.

Yue Ling helplessly spread his hands, "This must be some mistake, I'm fine."

Unable to figure out what was going on and unable to stay there, Yue Ling had no choice but to go to the side room and ask the imperial physician to come in for a consultation.

The girls looked at each other and tried to get up and leave. Before taking action, they unconsciously glanced at Lin Daiyu's expression.

Lin Daiyu pretended not to see it. If she didn't need to maintain such a formal manner, she would have wanted to go and accompany Yue Ling to see the doctor.

Seeing that Lin Daiyu acquiesced, the girls walked together and followed Yue Ling's back.

"This old man has met Duke Dingguo."

"Excuse me, Imperial Physician. Please come in."

Yue Ling invited the imperial physician to sit next to him and served him tea, then immediately asked about his purpose. "The imperial physician said he wanted to examine me, but I don't know what illness I have. To be honest, I know a little bit about medicine, and I usually do a lot of physical exercise. I have plenty of energy and blood in my body, and I am in high spirits, so I don't feel unwell."

The imperial physician shook his head, as if he was certain that there must be something wrong with Yue Ling's body. He said in a firm tone, leaving no room for doubt: "This is just a superficial symptom. Perhaps it is due to excessive kidney fire. We still need to feel his pulse to find out. I am here on the orders of His Majesty, so there is no need for you to refuse."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, rolled up his sleeves and showed his wrists.

When taking a pulse and diagnosing a patient, one would often pay attention to the doctor's expression. Yue Ling was no exception. When he saw the imperial physician's brows slightly frowned and his eyes narrowed even tighter, he couldn't help but become nervous.

"Hiss, this isn't right."

The imperial physician took a deep breath and shook his head.

Yue Ling became even more nervous and asked quickly, "Doctor, do I have any hidden illness?"

The imperial physician still shook his head and said nothing.

Yue Ling didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "What is this?"

The doctor withdrew his hand, took a sip of tea, and sighed, "According to the rumors in the capital, even if the Duke is healthy, he should have some deficiency. But he looks so vigorous and energetic, and his yang energy is not lost, like a virgin. Could it be that the sex that the Duke had before was not what we think is the right sex?"

Yue Ling was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "What are you talking about, Imperial Doctor? These are just rumors, how can we believe them?"

The imperial physician disagreed with Yue Ling's statement, and said: "There is no false reputation under a great name."

The imperial physician's tone changed subtly as the subject changed. "Could it be that the Duke really has some secret that can replenish yin and yang and allow intercourse without ejaculation?"

"If there really is such a way to practice, I hope the Duke can reveal a little bit about it."

The imperial physician suddenly stood up, took out a bag of precious medicine from his bosom and placed it on the shore as a gift, as if it was a gift to become a disciple, and then bowed his head.

"This is the thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum that I just got not long ago. I hope the Duke will not discard it..."

Yue Ling felt speechless. It would have been fine if the imperial physician had not given him a red envelope when examining him, but he actually accepted the gift. If this got out of the mansion, who knows how outrageous the rumors would be.

Yue Ling quickly stood up and supported him, saying helplessly: "No, no, please stop teasing me. I guess the imperial physician didn't leave the palace just to see the patient. Could it be that His Majesty has something to tell him?"

The doctor stood up again and finally nodded, "Your Majesty is right. Your Majesty has something to tell me."

Yue Ling finally calmed down and took a sip of tea. He was really overwhelmed by this unreasonable questioning, but since Emperor Longyou had something to tell him, there must be a deeper meaning behind it.

"Your Majesty has noticed that someone is secretly instigating the students to cause trouble. The reform of the imperial examination system presided over by the Duke has far-reaching impacts. Even if it is just one step, it will change the path of tens of thousands of students across the country. There will definitely be a lot of controversy. I hope the Duke can make plans early and come up with a convincing argument."

"We will not allow the Imperial Academy to have any complaints, and we will not let the students of the world feel disappointed."

Yue Ling frowned slightly, facing the obvious difficulties. Emperor Longyou asked the imperial physician to convey the message again under the pretext of consulting a patient. He must have heard some rumors and told him not to slack off.

"Your Majesty, did you say who this instigator was?"

It would be easier to strike if there was a target, so Yue Ling wanted to ask for details.

"Your Majesty has had a hard time along the way, and there have been many people targeting you, and you have many enemies. There are many who are either related to the imperial examination or just want to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble."

Nodding solemnly, Yue Ling replied, "Please ask the imperial physician to return to the palace and report to His Majesty. Please rest assured that I have a way to break the impasse. Anyone who blocks our way is just a mob. As the saying goes, 'those who talk about righteousness lightly will betray us in battle'. Even if it's just a war of words, I am confident that I can defeat them."

The imperial physician's eyes lit up slightly, gleaming with anticipation.

"Okay, this is all I have to say. I will not stay any longer. I will return to the palace to report. I hope you will remember my mission."

"Yes, please, imperial physician."

The two of them walked out of the door, and before they stepped over the threshold, the imperial physician turned back and asked, "My Lord, I have something else to ask you."

Yue Ling was puzzled, but he accepted it calmly, "Just tell me what the doctor said." The doctor opened his eyes and said expectantly, "Does the Duke really have no way to cultivate himself? Considering the Duke's body and his romantic habits, if he said he didn't know any techniques to replenish his body, I'm afraid no one would believe it."

Yue Ling was embarrassed to find out that this imperial physician was actually a naughty old man.

"Really? Please call the doctor."

Pushing the imperial physician's back, Yue Ling opened the door and sent him out.

After returning home, Yue Ling returned to the tea table and drank a sip of tea. He sighed and said to the outer room separated by the screen, "Hey, stop eavesdropping. Come out."

As soon as he finished speaking, a few girls came out from behind the screen, with embarrassed looks on their faces.

Yue Ling looked closely and saw that they were Qin Keqing, Tanchun, Miaoyu, Xing Xiuyun, Xue Baoqin and several other girls, as well as a few maids.

After being discovered by Yue Ling, their faces turned bright red as if blood was about to drip out.

They scratched their palms and stood in a row awkwardly, feeling very helpless.

"Eavesdropping is not a good habit, especially when someone is from the palace. It would be impolite to be discovered."

Tanchun quickly explained, "I was just worried that you were really ill, so I came to eavesdrop... I didn't mean to hear those words, I know I was wrong."

Having just obtained permanent residence permit at the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, Tanchun heard that Yue Ling was ill. Of course she was very worried, so she joined Qin Keqing's team.

If she still had some sense left, she should have known that if she stayed with Qin Keqing, bad things would definitely happen.

Xing Xiuyun and Xue Baoqin usually nodded their heads repeatedly, while Miaoyu blushed with shame, bent her body, and lowered her head. She was the one who lowered the least among them, and it seemed that she cared more about the imperial physician's last few embarrassing words.

Qin Keqing seemed to be lost in her memories, pursing her lips from time to time.

Yue Ling shook his head and reminded: "I can understand your feelings, but there must not be a next time, remember?"

"Yes."

The girls said in unison and were about to leave when Qin Keqing asked again, "Master, do you really know some method of collecting and replenishing energy? Otherwise, every time after I have sex, I will be exhausted for a long time, while you are still vigorous and energetic, and you don't even miss the next morning court."

"The doctor is right. This doesn't make sense."

The girls turned their heads away, then turned back and looked at Yue Ling with shyness on their faces.

Yue Ling stood up helplessly and slapped Qin Keqing on the head. "You are becoming more and more indecent. It's no wonder that Sister Lin punished you. You can say such shameful words. Xiuyan, Tanchun, and Baoqin are still girls in the boudoir, and Master Miaoyu is still a monk. In front of everyone, you..."

Yue Ling was speechless. He didn't know when the atmosphere in the mansion became like this, and it was out of control. Could it be true as Lin Daiyu said, that the upper beam is crooked and the lower beams are crooked?
He thought that his behavior was very appropriate and he had no impure thoughts towards the flashy girls in the mansion.

No one else has his level of awareness. He is already quite self-sufficient.

Qin Keqing was indeed used to being unrestrained in front of others. She didn't think too much about it and just blurted out the words. When she came to her senses, she realized something was wrong and stuck out her tongue.

But seeing that the other girls around him showed no sign of retreating in shame, Qin Keqing immediately understood and said jokingly, "Master, you are wrong about me. Their desire to know the answer is not necessarily any weaker than mine."

"ah!"

As soon as Qin Keqing finished speaking, the room seemed to explode.

The little girls ran away in fear, feeling extremely embarrassed.

Without anyone around, Yue Ling walked up to Qin Keqing, tugged at her cheeks with both hands, and said fiercely, "Okay, very good, wait a minute, when I have time, I will take good care of you!"

Qin Keqing shyly turned her head away and moaned, "Okay..."

Yue Ling: “…”

……

Palace of Heavenly Purity, Imperial Study,
Emperor Longyou on the imperial desk was overwhelmed by memorials. It was indeed refreshing to hear his impassioned speeches in the court, which shocked all the officials. But the result was the current scene.

There are too many criticisms and too many memorials.

Being an emperor does not allow him to do whatever he wants. He will still be constrained by many factors. Whether in the court or in the underworld, there are always forces that cannot be ignored.

This would still be the case even if Emperor Longyou ascended the throne through his military prowess and secured the throne through his civil administration.

But after all the hard work over the years, Emperor Longyou felt exhausted, and looking at the three princes under his knees, this feeling of exhaustion became even worse.

If even he is like this, how can the three princes who have been poorly educated and have not mastered the art of being an emperor suppress the ministers in the future?
Under the imperial desk, the three princes each sat on a small stool, reviewing memorials with Emperor Longyou.

From time to time, Emperor Longyou would send a memorial to test their teachings, or ask some questions to examine their recent academic performance, which made the three of them nervous.

"The imperial examination system is the foundation of a country. This morning, I said that I wanted to change the system and add mathematics and engineering to the Four Books and Five Classics. This has caused so much criticism. What do you three think about it?"

Emperor Longyou threw the question to the three princes below, and then called on them by name and asked, "An'er, you go first."

The one whose name was called was the eldest prince, seventeen years old, named Liu An. Although he was old enough to leave the palace and start his own household, Emperor Longyou valued him very much and still kept him by his side to educate him.

The eldest prince Liu An stood up and bowed, then said earnestly, "Reporting to the emperor, I think that the imperial examination is the foundation of the country, and it is reasonable to add new studies to select practical talents. However... I think this matter will affect the whole body, so we need to be extremely cautious."

"The system of selecting scholars through studying classics has been in place for hundreds of years. Scholars all over the world have spent their whole lives studying classics, and the system has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. If it is changed suddenly, scholars all over the world may be at a loss. Their hard work will be wasted, which will easily lead to resentment and be detrimental to the stability of the court. Moreover, how to define the standards for new subjects such as mathematics and crafts? How to select examiners? All of these are not easy..."

Emperor Longyou showed no expression on his face, he just pointed at the next person, "Yier, what do you think?"

The second prince glanced at his brother beside him and spoke passionately, "Father, you are wise! I fully agree with you! It should have been done long ago!"

"Eight-legged essays are empty talk that harms the country! After a lifetime of studying the classics, one can write beautiful essays, but he may not be able to calculate the accounts of money and grain, build dams and bridges, and judge right from wrong! Now the border needs good generals, the Ministry of Works needs skilled craftsmen, and the Ministry of Justice needs wise officials. What's the point of relying on those corrupt scholars who can only speak 'zhihuzheya'?"

"The world will never change. If you can't adapt to the changes, you should have been the first wave to be eliminated!"

Emperor Longyou nodded slightly and said, "Yun'er, what about you?"

The second prince Liu Yi glanced at his elder brother with pride, then looked at his younger brother beside him with a disdainful expression and sat down.

"What the two royal brothers said is reasonable. I don't have much opinion..."

(End of this chapter)