Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Outside Gusu City, Lin’s Cemetery.

Daiyu was dressed in mourning clothes, standing facing the wind, tears falling like beads from a broken string.

Beside her, Zijuan, also wearing plain clothes and a coarse mourning belt around her waist, gently held Lin Daiyu's arm and accompanied her silently.

Behind her, the white-haired and bearded head of the Lin family and the young and handsome Jia Lian stood side by side.

The two did not speak, but looked at the back of the girl in front of them with complicated eyes.

There has never been a weak woman who could perform such a big move in an instant.

The two glanced at each other calmly, and thought to themselves at the same time: He is worthy of being the blood of Duke Rong/Gusu Lin!

Lin Ruhai passed away at four o'clock in the morning on the night when Daiyu was reborn.

When he closed his eyes, Lin Daiyu was the only one guarding his bed.

As for Jia Lian, after drinking a cup of tea from the doctor, he felt so sleepy that he couldn't hold on any longer, so he simply went back to his room and had a good sleep.

When he woke up in the morning, the Lin Mansion was completely white, and reports of the death had even begun to spread everywhere.

Furious, he went straight to the mourning hall to question Lin Daiyu, but was stopped by Lin Jing, the chief steward of the Lin residence, who scolded him, "Second Master Jia is so sleepy, he keeps telling us to do this and that, saying that you are here to watch over the master and call us when there is something.

"But you actually let our girl, a young lady in her teens, keep watch all night alone and watch her dear grandfather die with her own eyes! She was almost scared to death!

"Now that you have had a good night's sleep, you have come to the funeral hall to pay your respects. We servants can only respect this, but why do you come here wearing such fresh clothes?

"The one lying in there is your own uncle! Are you letting our young lady see you in this state to slap our young lady in the face on behalf of your entire Jia family? Or are you deliberately bullying our Lin family because we have no one left?"

Jia Lian looked down at his peacock blue brocade robe embroidered with golden plum blossoms, and felt annoyed. He had to go back and change into a plain moon-white robe before coming to the mourning hall.

At that moment, there was actually a beardless, pale-faced middle-aged man in official uniform squatting on the ground and whispering to Lin Daiyu!

Jia Lian tried to step forward, but was stopped again—by ​​soldiers wearing armor and holding staffs!

This is——Long Jinwei!

Jia Lian recognized the identities of the four people at a glance, and his heart trembled. He hurriedly smiled and said, "I am the son of Jia She, the first-class general of the Duke of Rong's Mansion. The person in the coffin is my uncle. May I ask this general, who is the one who came in and talked to my cousin?"

"Stand back!" Wei Long Jin didn't care who he was and just pushed him aside with his sword.

And then……

Jia Lian lowered his eyes as he recalled.

The white-faced, beardless gentleman stayed in the Lin residence for seven days and personally sent them on the ship that would take them back to Gusu for burial. Then he bowed deeply on the shore and left with his men.

He didn't even get to know anything about what was happening behind Lin Ruhai.

It was not until Lin Ruhai's coffin was buried that he, together with the head of the Lin family, listened to Lin Daiyu's sorrowful announcement of the three pieces of news that were like a bolt from the blue:

"The emperor personally appointed the palace supervisor to take charge of my father's funeral affairs. All decisions were made by the palace supervisor conveying the emperor's orders, and Lin had no choice but to obey them.

"Except Suzhou, all my father's shops and farms have been sold by the Palace Supervisor, and he has bought property in the capital. The income will be my future expenses in the Jia Mansion, and I dare not add any burden to my grandmother's family. When I get married, it will be my dowry, and my grandmother and uncles will not have to worry about it.

"As for all my father's properties in his ancestral home, they will remain here. Uncle Lin Jing, the former butler of my family, will live here in his old age and manage the business for me.

"The annual interest will be used to support the poor students in the clan school. This is my father's last wish. I hope the clan leader will help me."

How could the clan leader dare to say anything else at this moment? He could only twirl his beard and nod.

Jia Lian was struck by lightning. He thought for a long time before he stammered, "Who will help you deal with the property you have in the capital?"

"This palace supervisor was my father's classmate. He said he would take on this job, so I naturally dared not refuse. I could only call him uncle and hope that he would consider my father's kindness and not lose all his money."

After Lin Daiyu finished speaking, she lowered her head and wiped her tears. Zijuan immediately stepped forward and said, "Miss, you are exhausted and you should take a rest, otherwise your body will not be able to bear it."

Jia Lian and the head of the Lin family watched her gracefully enter the inner room and looked at each other in silence.

Therefore, on this trip to the south of the Yangtze River, Jia Lian not only did not earn a penny, but also spent a lot of money on travel expenses.

As for the Lin clan leader, he could not help but quietly shook his head and smiled bitterly at Jia Lian, saying, "What Lord Ruhai left in Gusu is thousands of acres of fertile land, but not even a single shop. Even so, he was afraid that I would deduct her money, so he even left an old butler here who had been around for many years.

"What a thoughtful and thoughtful person!"

So it was not that they were willing to leave the Gusu property behind, but there were so many fields that no one could eat them all in a hurry and they could not be sold!

Jia Lian stamped his feet, and after a long while he managed only one sentence from between his teeth: "... You're not afraid of dying of stuffiness!"

Lin Ruhai is a direct descendant of the Lin family. He is a marquis for four generations and an imperial censor of salt. His family fortune cannot be said to be the best in the world, but it must be a mountain of gold and silver. Now, it has all fallen into the pocket of a palace eunuch!

Instead, his own family had to spend money to raise the orphan of the Lin family - he said she had a promising future, could his family really not care about Lin Daiyu's food, clothing, shelter and transportation? !

This is really unreasonable!

Lin Daiyu didn't know what he was thinking, nor did she bother to know. Anyway, all these things were arranged one by one, and she could start to take care of her body.

Only Zijuan felt distressed when she saw Daiyu's increasingly thin figure and face. "Since the palace supervisor has taken on the responsibility according to the emperor's order, you should let him do it and just wait for the dividends in peace. Why do you have to worry about it yourself?"

"That man was sent by the emperor. Would the emperor be greedy for such a small amount of money from a girl? All the money in the world belongs to him!"

Daiyu laughed and slapped her, "Wouldn't that make me a deaf and blind man? You'd better keep quiet. The doctor we met the other day was a master in medicine. He gave me a prescription. Ask the clan leader to ask someone to take you to the pharmacy and get a few prescriptions. We can take them with us on the way."

"There's no rush. We have to wait until the late master's grave is completed in seven days and the girl is feeling better before we set off back to the capital." Zijuan disagreed.

Daiyu curled her lips and whispered, "The palace supervisor told me that the eldest daughter of the Jia family in the palace of the Duke of Rong was granted the title of noble concubine at the end of last year."

Zijuan was surprised and delighted: "Really?! Is our eldest daughter going to be favored?"

"Besides, before he left the palace, His Majesty said that Jia's rank would be raised by one level in a day or two." Daiyu's smile turned a little cold. "Sister Yuanchun must have been made a concubine by now. We will naturally set off as soon as possible."

Zijuan clapped her hands and was about to laugh, but suddenly remembered that Lin Ruhai had just been buried, so she quickly suppressed her smile and comforted Daiyu: "The eldest lady has become a queen, and they will definitely be more careful with the lady's property. This is a good thing."

"I hope so." Daiyu looked calm, she just wrapped herself tightly in the black crane cloak and said, "Go get the medicine."