Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 19 Instant Kill
At first, Lin Daiyu thought the pair of dark objects in the room were just playful toys left by Li Chen, that纨绔 (wan ku, a spoiled young master) to tease her.

Unexpectedly, she was actually required to lift it.

How could she handle such a heavy instrument?

He instinctively felt a sense of resistance, so he turned to his desk, picked up a pen, and spread out some paper, intending to brush the matter off.

Given the choice between schoolwork and stone weights, she would choose the former a thousand times over.

"The lesson the teacher assigned is important, and I am currently concentrating on it. As for this stone lock... we can discuss it tomorrow."

“Young Master, you said this the day before yesterday and the day before yesterday.” Chun Tao stood outside the door, her voice coming through the door panel. Her tone seemed to have seen through Lin Daiyu’s procrastination and even seemed to be used to it.

"The master gave the order himself, so this servant dares not cover for you any longer. If you don't open the door, this servant will have no choice but to report back to the master."

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu had no choice but to put down her pen and slowly remove the door latch.

"Sister, this stone lock is too heavy. Just practice it casually. The most important thing now is to study. The imperial examination is next spring. If you hurt yourself, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

“Young Master, you said the same thing last time!” Chun Tao put her hands on her hips, mimicking Li Chen’s usual tone, “‘A more flexible body makes one appear more learned!’ As a result, Master heard it and gave her a good scolding! Madam specifically instructed that the imperial examinations are mentally taxing and require a strong physique, so we absolutely cannot let you have your way today!”

"Huh? I already said..."

Lin Daiyu muttered to herself, feeling indignant. That纨绔 (wan ku, a spoiled brat) had blocked her path in order to slack off!

With no room for maneuver from the maid in front of her, Lin Daiyu had no choice but to reluctantly squat down in front of the stone locks.

"That's too rude. How can this be something a young lady should do?"

Lin Daiyu was secretly grumbling to herself when Chuntao asked, puzzled, "Young Master, what are you doing now? With your knees tucked between your legs, do you think you're some young lady picking up an embroidery needle?"

"Oh dear, I can't bear to look at this. Have you forgotten again? Open your legs shoulder-width apart, bend over and pull in your stomach, and inhale forcefully."

Chuntao stepped forward and gently corrected Lin Daiyu's "improper" posture, while nagging, "My good young master, studying is a good thing, but if you can't even kill a chicken, how will you support the family in the future? Although the maids in the mansion admire your frail and pitiful appearance, they all say behind your back that you are... effeminate. How can this be allowed?"

"Grip the stone lock tighter, and pull!"

Lin Daiyu closed her eyes tightly as instructed and used all her strength to lift herself upwards.

Unexpectedly, this body's strength far surpassed her own, and the stone lock easily reached past her knees.

"Still too soft, young master, straighten up. If you don't even have this much strength, are you expecting your bride to carry you out of the sedan chair when you get married?"

These words were truly unpleasant to hear, igniting a nameless anger within Lin Daiyu. Mixed with her defiant nature, she clenched her teeth, shouldered her burden, and exerted her strength once more. The dark blue stone lock, trembling, was lifted above her chest!
In an instant, a strange sense of power filled her, replacing the resistance in Lin Daiyu's heart, and her eyes lit up.

Before she could even savor the wonderful taste, Chun Tao's clear voice rang out again: "Done! Just like that, do it nineteen more times and it'll be finished."

Lin Daiyu: "..."

His arm suddenly felt weak and powerless, like a butterfly flapping its wings, and he threw the stone lock to the ground with a loud thud.

"It's no use, I have no strength left..."

Lin Daiyu then slumped to the side to rest, wanting nothing more than to give up.

"It's not working?" Chun Tao squinted, leaned closer, lowered her voice, and said with a hint of teasing, "I heard that the young master spent a full hour bathing and changing in the washroom. Could it be that he 'didn't behave properly' in there, which is why he's 'not working' now? If that's the case, I dare not hide it and must report the truth to Madam..."

Although Lin Daiyu did not fully understand the deeper meaning of "not learning well" and "not succeeding," she could still hear the ambiguous and teasing tone in Chuntao's voice.

Her cheeks flushed instantly, the color spreading all the way to her ears, and she felt incredibly guilty.

She was taking a serious shower, but there was one spot where she hesitated repeatedly, unsure whether she should wash it or not.

Its face was so ferocious that Lin Daiyu could not bear to look at it.

However, Lin Daiyu was a clean freak and couldn't stand even the slightest bit of dirt on her body, so she had no choice but to close her eyes and scrub herself.

But as she rubbed, she inexplicably felt a comfortable and indulgent sensation, which startled her so much that she immediately stopped and rinsed with water.

"No, no, this misunderstanding is impossible to explain. If it gets out, who knows how that playboy will laugh at me when he comes back."

Thinking of this, Lin Daiyu could no longer care about being reserved and hurriedly said, "Good sister, stop talking! I'll raise it! I'll raise it right now!"

"That's more like it." Chun Tao nodded in satisfaction, took a step back, and resumed her supervisory posture.

……

Meanwhile, in Lin Daiyu's room,

Li Chen was lying on Zijuan's lap, his eyes closed, enjoying the service of the two maids.

Lin Daiyu's body was so delicate that even though Jia Lian didn't hurt her, the force of the recoil still left a red mark on her skin.

He only realized it when he returned to his room and picked up his pen. Zijuan cleaned his wound, while Xueyan carefully wrapped it with cotton gauze, both of them looking at him with heartache.

"Girl, you can't be so reckless in the future. You really scared us to death just now."

Zijuan gently comforted her, while Xueyan squatted to the side, her eyes shining with admiration. "However, Miss, you were really brave to block that sword just now. You scared them all. How did you do that? You've never practiced martial arts before."

Li Chen turned his head slightly and looked over, showing no nervousness at the possibility of his identity being questioned. He casually made up a lie, saying, "I had previously read a sword manual that broke down sword moves, so I remembered some of them. However, Second Brother Lian doesn't know how to use a sword at all and is an amateur, which is why I was able to easily deflect his attack."

Xueyan nodded in realization, agreeing with the statement.

Li Chen let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "Lin Daiyu is so intelligent and has a photographic memory; finding an excuse for her is so easy. I wonder how my tool is doing at the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence..."

"Oh, right."

Xueyan suddenly remembered something. "Last night you said there was a book you wanted to remind me to read as soon as you woke up this morning. I was delayed by going out, so I'll go get it for you."

Lin Daiyu, just like herself, had left her information.

As expected, they were of one mind and understood each other perfectly; their chemistry grew even stronger after they switched bodies.

"Alright, let's take a look."

Li Chen reluctantly got up from Zijuan's plump legs and walked to the table.

If Xueyan has impressive achievements, then Zijuan also has something hidden beneath her skirt.

Although I didn't reach out to touch her, I could tell she had a pear-shaped figure, and the lap pillow was incredibly comfortable.

Unfortunately, Li Chen no longer has a younger brother, so he can't entertain any impure thoughts.

"Three chapters of agreement?"

Li Chen flipped through the pages, pondering to himself, "Mutual support aligns with my thoughts. Not displaying my spoiled nature... I shouldn't count what happened just now to quell the trouble, right? I was just trying to be helpful."

“The Jia family is full of parasites. If I back down even a step, they will dare to advance ten feet. If I back down today, I'm afraid I won't even see the ginseng rootlets in the medicine tomorrow, and they'll just give me the dregs.”

Thinking of this, Li Chen couldn't help but point out the Jia family's uneven income and expenditure.

The famine, an external factor, is not the main reason for the Jia family's current predicament. Internal corruption is rampant; even Granny Lai, Jia Mu's personal maid, managed to build her own back garden.

Where else could the silver come from?

"Can't take a bath? What nonsense! It's okay in winter, but in summer you'll stink. You're so stingy. You can wash my body however you want."

Li Chen picked up his pen and wrote two words in the margin: "Stingy."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Sister Lin, are you inside? I have something to say."

Li Chen quickly put the handbook away, and then took out an old article written by Lin Daiyu and held it in his hands, putting on a serious expression.

Baoyu had kept his thoughts to himself all night, tossing and turning unable to sleep, which is why he woke up late today.

As soon as Xueyan opened the door for him, he eagerly walked in.

He firmly believed that Lin Daiyu was his kindred spirit and would never utter such "nonsense" about officialdom and economics.

Jia Baoyu desperately needs this recognition to soothe the wounds inflicted on his face by Li Chen.

He wanted to hear the answer from Lin Daiyu herself.

This sense of belonging can make Baoyu feel comfortable and forget all his suffering.

Upon entering, he saw "Sister Lin" intently flipping through a book. To avoid his question being too abrupt, Jia Baoyu couldn't help but ask, "Sister Lin, what are you looking at?"

Li Chen glanced at him sideways, tossed the book in front of him, and said indifferently, "Just some articles I wrote casually."

"My sister's new work? What poems or songs are they? It's been so long since I've seen them."

Jia Baoyu immediately became interested, but when he opened it, he found it was a copy of the Four Books, and he was immediately astonished.

"Why is my sister writing about classical texts? Women shouldn't be taking the imperial examinations."

Li Chen curled his lip and said sarcastically, "Only by participating in the imperial examination can one write essays on classical texts. The words of the sages? Brother Bao is too utilitarian."

"Ah I……"

Baoyu's face flushed red, and he was choked by the sudden retort, unable to utter a single word for a long while...

(End of this chapter)