Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 89 Celebration Banquet for Two (First Order)
Hall of Supreme Harmony, Side Hall,

The King of Qin set up a long table here to temporarily handle state affairs and receive ministers.

Due to Emperor Yuan Qing's health, he missed many morning court sessions, so a lot of government affairs were left behind. When the table was filled with memorials, it was still not enough. In a nearby bookcase, memorials were piled up like a small mountain.

When Yue Ling entered the room, he saw the King of Qin holding a memorial in his hand, but his eyes were not on it. He was looking into the distance outside the window, wondering what he was thinking about.

"Your Highness."

Yue Ling walked closer and muttered softly.

The King of Qin seemed to come back to his senses. Seeing Yue Ling's clear face, he smiled and said, "Have you rested enough?"

Yue Ling nodded, "Well, Your Highness, do you have anything else to do?"

The King of Qin shook his head, walked down from his seat, and said to the outside, "Bring up the prepared food."

Afterwards, a group of eunuchs were seen carrying a short-legged table and two cushions, as well as steaming hot food and wine brought from the imperial kitchen, and placing them on the table.

King Qin first sat at the table and poured himself some wine. He then said to Yue Ling, "Come, sit down and eat with me."

Yue Ling couldn't refuse, so he sat on the ground with the King of Qin.

The King of Qin poured another cup for Yue Ling and said, "I know you don't drink, but now you are not a personal guard, so please break the rules for me this time."

His father was seriously ill, his mother lost her mind, and his brother died at his hands. Even though he was going to sit on the throne of the emperor, he could not help but feel a little sad. Yue Ling could understand the King of Qin's current state of mind. It was really heartbreaking to have no family affection in the world.

And as the crown prince and future emperor, the King of Qin did not even have a loophole to vent his emotions. He could only suppress them deep in his heart, while still struggling with the officials in the court.

Yue Ling took the wine cup and drank it all.

The King of Qin laughed and shouted, "Great! What does it taste like?"

Yue Ling took a breath and said, "It's a bit spicy, not very tasty."

"Hahaha."

The King of Qin laughed heartily and drank another cup himself.

Putting down the wine cup, the King of Qin paused and sighed, "You have saved my life many times. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here today. I should have rewarded you handsomely, promoted you, but unfortunately I'm not the emperor yet, and I still have to consider the officials. If I promote you to the Privy Council, memorials will fly into my face like flies."

Yue Ling looked at the table in the distance and remained silent.

The King of Qin did not finish his words, and continued slowly: "The Secretariat is in charge of government affairs. Even if the emperor is sick and bedridden, the court can still live in peace. The Privy Council is in charge of military affairs and has the power to mobilize troops. Now the court is in turmoil and there are powerful enemies outside, so I am naturally worried. When the war is approaching, I will ask you to do more things."

Yue Ling nodded.

"King Kang said that the northern barbarians have occupied Datong Prefecture. I have sent people to investigate. In Liaodong, there are the Jianzhou Jurchens who have repeatedly disturbed the border. Both sides are the main threats to our dynasty. What good strategies do you have for this?"

Yue Ling thought for a while and replied, "From a strategic point of view, the two tribes are not united. The Northern Barbarians have a tribe that has signed a contract with Your Highness before. The Jianzhou Jurchens are ambitious and have been at war with the Haixi Jurchens for years. There is also resistance outside the Great Wall."

"The best way is to divide and appease them, let them fight among themselves, and buy a chance for our dynasty to breathe."

"As for tactics and how to face the enemy in battle, I do have some ideas."

The King of Qin was in high spirits. He ate meat and drank wine at the same time. He never interrupted Yue Ling and poured another glass of wine for him. He said, "Go on."

Yue Ling drank all the water, moistened his throat, and continued, "Your Highness also saw yesterday that firearms will truly change the battlefield in the future. Firearms are just not very accurate and have limited power at the moment, but their upper limit is completely beyond the reach of bows and crossbows."

"We must improve firearms, equip the army, and train a special army that is accustomed to using firearms in combat. Moreover, in order to prevent disasters, we must gradually replace the copper cannons made by traditional methods with new cannons in the capital."

"The Portuguese and the Red Barbarians in Tianjin were able to withstand the storms and cross the ocean to trade with our dynasty because they relied on their strong ships and powerful guns, especially the cannons, which were far more powerful than our homemade ones."

"If Your Highness can import the cannon casting technology, buy a few cannons and some imitation muskets, and hire a group of craftsmen, you can improve the army's combat effectiveness."

Hearing this, the King of Qin nodded repeatedly. After a moment of silence, he replied, "Indeed, I have also heard that the cannons on their ships can fire more than a thousand steps at sea, which is really shocking. If used to defend the city, the power it exerts is immeasurable."

When mentioning this, the King of Qin sighed again and said, "I never thought that the gunpowder invented by our ancestors is not as good as those foreigners in using it."

"I will send someone to do this as soon as possible. After the cannon is sent back, we will go and see its quality together."

Yue Ling nodded in agreement.

After three rounds of drinking, the King of Qin was drunk and looked much more relieved. He talked with Yue Ling and did not seem like a king and his subject.

Finally, there was not much left on the plate. The King of Qin rinsed his mouth with tea and said, "I know you have a lot to do with your new home. You don't have to rush to the Privy Council. I have two more things to tell you. The first is Rongguo Mansion. I heard that you had a conflict with Rongguo Mansion?"

Yue Ling thought that it must be the incident in which the King of Qin whipped Jia Baoyu.

He said, "Actually, there weren't many conflicts. It was just that when Lord Lin's beloved daughter came to Beijing, the old lady of the Jia Mansion insisted on keeping her in the mansion, which caused some unpleasantness."

The King of Qin nodded and said, "The Rongguo Mansion should be connected to the King of Kang, and it may also be connected to the Northern Barbarians. I have sent someone to capture Jia She and you can interrogate him when you have time. Of course, there is no need to rush this matter, it is a good opportunity to leave him alone."

"The second thing is an important matter. The Kangwang Mansion is still sealed. You take people to rob his mansion. The gold, silver, treasures and all kinds of things in it will all belong to you. This is my extra reward for you."

Yue Ling said hurriedly: "Your Highness has promoted me, how can I ask for so much money? With this silver, it is better to convert it into a few cannons and put them on the city gate tower." The King of Qin laughed and said: "I know you don't like money, but I have to reward you, otherwise I will be uneasy. As for buying cannons, you don't need to worry about it. Of course, you can't exchange them with gold and silver treasures. They are originally loading goods to make huge profits. Too much silver on the ship will only be disliked for taking up space. I will naturally exchange tea and porcelain with them. Buying a cannon in this way is much cheaper than gold and silver."

Yue Ling couldn't help but smile.

The King of Qin does have a good business sense, so it seems that we can expect him to lift the maritime ban in the future and truly change the course of history.

"Your Highness is right."

The King of Qin slowly stood up and said, "Well, now that I have had enough wine and food, I should go back and rest."

After not sleeping for a whole day and night, the King of Qin felt a little tired.

But he still walked through the corridor with Yue Ling and headed towards the East Palace.

The Crown Princess, who heard the news, sent Lin Daiyu out early, and then completed the exchange of prisoners inside the gate of the East Palace.

When Lin Daiyu went out, she wore a long dress in the color of Xiangfei, with a cream-colored belt around her waist, and a light-colored jacket with a gold-threaded pattern on the collar. She wore no headdress and no makeup on her face, and her beauty was naturally natural.

But when we saw her again, she was wearing a fluffy red palace dress with gold thread and a crown embellished with jewels on her head. Although it was magnificent, it also highlighted Lin Daiyu's nobleness, and did not make her look bloated, messy, or gaudy.

It was in stark contrast to her quiet and gentle temperament at home, which made Yue Ling stunned for a moment.

The King of Qin could tell at a glance that what Lin Daiyu was wearing was all used by the royal family. He smiled and said, "You and your father are quite similar. You are both handsome. However, when you put on this palace dress, you look more like a princess."

Looking at the Qin Wangfei, the Qin Wang scolded: "You said you wanted to find her to come to the palace to talk, but you amused yourself by dressing her up."

Princess Qin covered her mouth and smiled, "Your Highness, that's not true. It's just that Daiyu is so beautiful that I couldn't help but change into several more sets of clothes. Every set is really beautiful."

The King of Qin turned to Yue Ling and said, "Then you should go back first and finish that matter. You can directly transfer the personal guards of the King of Qin's Palace to do it."

Yue Ling nodded in agreement.

Lin Daiyu stood beside Yue Ling and bowed obediently.

The King of Qin nodded in response.

Everyone was having fun, but suddenly the King of Qin felt weak and fell forward without any warning.

Yue Ling was quick to catch the King of Qin and press his philtrum.

Princess Qin was startled and shouted, "Come quickly, call the imperial physician!"

Lin Daiyu was also very frightened and hid aside, not understanding the situation at all.

The field was in chaos for a moment, but Yue Ling shouted, "Don't panic!"

Helping the King of Qin to lean against him, Yue Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is just fast asleep. He just drank a lot of wine and hasn't slept all day. He must be exhausted."

Princess Qin stepped forward and felt his breathing, which was indeed very calm. She exhaled and said, "Really? Are you trying to scare me to death?"

"Come here, help His Highness go to his room to rest."

Turning to Yue Ling and Lin Daiyu, the Crown Princess regained her composure and said with a smile, "Well, thanks to you being here. Daiyu, remember to send me messages more often in the future. If you want to come to the palace, tell me anytime."

Lin Daiyu nodded shyly, "Thank you, Crown Princess."

……

Sitting in the carriage on the way home, Lin Daiyu felt a little dazed.

Yue Ling sat opposite her, put aside the dress that Lin Daiyu wore when she went out, which was brought by the palace maid, and looked at Lin Daiyu with a smile.

"Brother Yue, that was the prince just now."

Yue Ling nodded and said, "Exactly. What's wrong?"

Lin Daiyu thought for a moment and said, "It's not quite what I imagined."

"What did you imagine?"

"Your Highness, as the crown prince, I think you are serious and don't smile."

Yue Ling replied: "That's true in the court, but not in private. People always have several faces."

Lin Daiyu nodded repeatedly.

Yue Ling asked again: "What did the Crown Princess do to you? Did she just change your clothes?"

Lin Daiyu's cheeks were slightly red, and she pointed her two index fingers at each other through her wide sleeves, "We were just talking about some family matters..."

　感谢笔架官龙、身怀利刃_杀心自起、中庸道、湘中以南、明月潮生921、书友27927、书友34704、莫言觞、YanJSESNTTF、TT骑士、读者70651、小碗杂粮饭、书友28948、吼姆啦丶酱、欲望国王、xiaojun214、叶至强、熬夜修仙T、读者45952、milanbj的月票，感谢大家的推荐票！

　　
　
(End of this chapter)