Red Mansion: Holding Space and Marrying Like the Sea

"Ah, my dear friend Lin, putting aside everything else, the excellent atmosphere in your mansion alone is truly eye-opening! It's clear that the rules and regulations in your house must be quite strict." Just then, a handsome young man wearing a jade crown spoke up. His name was Jiang Huai, and he had known Lin Duan for some time. After spending time together, Lin Duan had come to deeply appreciate that this Jiang brother was not only well-educated and well-mannered, but also had a gentle disposition, as kind as a spring breeze that warmed his heart. Seeing the atmosphere tense, he quickly spoke to smooth things over, seemingly intent on preventing Feng Bao from bringing up any more inappropriate topics.

Lin Jingyu smiled and gestured for tea, warmly inviting everyone to taste the exquisite snacks on the table. After taking a sip of the fragrant tea, he slowly began to describe the personality traits of his father, Lin Ruhai.

"My father, while he doesn't usually meddle with household affairs, does have one clear requirement for his servants: they must always remember their identity and duties as servants." Lin Jingyu paused, observing everyone's reactions, before continuing, "My father believes that a servant's primary duty is to diligently serve their masters and conscientiously complete their assigned tasks. However, in their spare time, they are free to attend to their own personal affairs."

At this point, Lin Jingyu emphasized his tone slightly. "But, as the saying goes, 'You're a monk for a day, you ring the bell for a day.' Even with such relaxed rules, if someone still can't do their job well, then there's no need for them to stay in the mansion! After all, our Lin family is so large, and among the many manors under our name, there's always a place for them to stay."

Among the guests present were several from relatively modest families who had little experience managing servants. After hearing Lin Jingyu's words, most nodded thoughtfully, expressing their understanding and agreement. However, there was one exception: Feng Bao. He frowned, his face showing dissatisfaction, and interrupted, "Brother Lin, aren't the rules of your mansion a bit too harsh? These servants are all from poor backgrounds. It's already very difficult for them to be servile and subservient to their masters all day long. Even if they make some minor mistakes, a few words of reprimand will be enough. Why send them to the countryside to suffer?"

"As the saying goes, 'A hundred good deeds are not enough.' This means that even if a person does a hundred good deeds, it is still far from enough! Therefore, we should treat others with kindness as much as possible. If we do so, we will surely be rewarded!"

After listening to this, Lin Jingyu couldn't help showing a little surprise on his face. He raised his eyebrows subconsciously, but his mouth did not show any weakness at all.

"Brother Feng is absolutely right. However, as people navigate this world, they must have a sense of right and wrong. As Mozi once said, if a person is incompetent for the position they hold, yet stubbornly clings to it and refuses to move, then they are clearly not suited for it."

"Although most servants don't want to be servants their whole lives, who doesn't want to rise to prominence and achieve great success? But since they're already in such a position, they must do their job with all their heart and soul."

"My family's management of servants is not strict, but rather much more relaxed than most families. The treatment and freedom we provide to our servants can be said to be quite good."

"However, the only requirement is this: when in a position, one must do the job. In other words, when these servants are in their positions, they must conscientiously fulfill their duties and obligations as servants. Could it be that from the moment we all entered this mansion, when seeing the master or the guests, the servants have even discarded the most basic etiquette of greeting, or even pretended not to see them? Or even when they just presented us with the four treasures of the study, musical instruments, snacks and tea, they kept making various mistakes. Is this considered okay?"

Lin Jingyu understood Feng Bao's meaning. He was simply trying to dissuade me from setting too high a standard for servants. So, curiously, I asked, "In that case, do any of you have servants in your homes? What are your expectations of them?"

At this moment, Jingyu noticed that Feng Bao's expression looked a little uneasy. In an instant, a light bulb went off in Lin Jingyu's mind, and he suddenly realized that perhaps Feng Bao's family background was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Then, I said, "Brother Feng, take our family for example. The servants who are responsible for taking care of our daily needs are all of second-class or higher status. Moreover, the monthly wages they receive are quite generous, ranging from two taels of silver to as much as five taels!"

Furthermore, I continued, "No matter the season, spring, summer, autumn, or winter, our mansion will provide each servant with four sets of clean clothes and shoes. If they unfortunately fall ill or encounter any difficult problems back home, all expenses and responsibilities will be borne by our mansion. Remember, they have signed a life contract with us. Logically, we have every right to beat, scold, and insult them at will. But look, although they always maintain a respectful and cautious attitude towards their master, there is not a trace of fear in their demeanor!"

"They say that if you make a mistake or accidentally anger the master, you'll be punished. Shouldn't this be the way things are handled? After all, there's no order without rules. If those who make mistakes aren't punished, won't the entire mansion be in chaos?" Lin Jingyu looked at everyone with a firm gaze and continued, "And in our Lin Mansion, for those servants who make mistakes or behave inappropriately, the only measure we take is to send them to the manor. From then on, they no longer serve us. Compared to other mansions that insult, beat, scold, or even kill their servants at will, isn't this a kind act?"

At this point, Lin Jingyu paused briefly, then looked around and continued, "Besides, our family's farm isn't the remote, impoverished place you imagine. There, we have a large-scale livestock breeding industry and vast areas of grain and vegetable cultivation. Not only do we provide our farmers with a regular monthly wage, but at the end of the year, each of them receives a generous dividend! All told, their annual earnings are no less than when they were working in the government office. The only difference is that the rewards may vary slightly."

After Lin Jingyu finished his eloquent speech, a brief silence descended upon the room. A flurry of whispers followed, and many nodded in agreement, clearly convinced by Lin Jingyu's arguments. Meanwhile, Feng Bao, standing nearby, blushed crimson, his face barely concealed with embarrassment, even hinting at a hint of shame and annoyance. So, he had always believed that the young Lin Jingyu was far superior to him in terms of talent and learning. He had never imagined that he would be rendered speechless by the other party today. It was truly humiliating. The other person's family background was merely superior to his own; if they were of the same status, he might not even be able to match his own.

He was filled with envy and jealousy, but he had no intention of leaving the circle he was in. On the contrary, he had a sinister mentality of stepping on others as soon as he had the chance.

At this moment, Lin Jingyu bluntly retorted, which made him even more furious. However, even though he opened his mouth for a long time, his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word to refute.

You have to know that in his own family, the only person who could obey his orders and be under his control was a little servant. If the two of them had the same status, perhaps he would not even be able to touch the corner of Lin Jingyu's clothes.

His parents were both simple farmers, and the money they used to support his education was all scraped together by the entire village. Furthermore, to this day, his brothers still haven't split up the family, and most of their hard-earned money goes to Feng Bao for his daily expenses.

In front of outsiders, he always appears to be elegant and unrestrained; but behind others, he is actually a complete NEET, living on the hard work of his relatives, and is simply a good-for-nothing waste!

Regarding this situation, he could do nothing but resent the injustice of God for not being able to reincarnate into a powerful family.

Lin Jingyu watched him standing there, feeling rather bored. So, he cleverly changed the subject, calling out to everyone, urging them to hurry and head to the place where they were supposed to recite poetry. He even took the darts his mother and sister had specially prepared for him and used the flower cakes as a bet.

Those who lose more have to choose a pattern to express in poetry or painting.

Everyone thought it was quite interesting and rushed in. In a short while, they had forgotten about the previous confrontation.

When Feng Bao saw that no one supported him, he felt a little embarrassed.

But everyone present came for Lin Jingyu's sake.

If you keep fighting like this, you won't gain anything.

"Brother Lin's garden is really beautiful. I'd like to go take a look. Is that okay?"

Seeing that Feng Bao was still acting coy, Lin Duan became a little impatient.

But he also knew that it was not a good idea to let the guests wander around on their own.

"Then I'll let Fu Yan accompany Brother Feng, and he can also tell you about the scenery everywhere."

"Brother Feng, if you need anything, just tell him."

Feng Bao just wanted to leave this embarrassing place as soon as possible, as long as no one was watching him.

So after hearing Lin Jingyu's words, he nodded quickly to show his agreement.

Fu Yan, who heard his master's instructions, quickly stepped forward, bowed to Feng Bao, and extended his hand to invite the guest to follow him.

Feng Bao didn't know that when he turned around and hurried away, not only Lin Jingyu, but several other guests were staring at him.

The scenery of the Lin Mansion is really nice. The lotus and duckweed in the pond are elegant and fresh.

Every corridor was hung with gauze. After Feng Bao had walked for a while, the flying gauze blocked his figure.

He walked to a rockery, found a deserted place, sat down, and began to think about things.

I was really impulsive just now and even threw away the basic concealment.

It is really foolish for so many people to argue with Lin Jingyu so openly.

Perhaps it was from the moment he set foot into this luxurious mansion, or from the sight of the large number of servants following him and serving him attentively.

Every place is a circle that is beyond his reach and cannot be reached, which seriously unbalances the balance in Feng Bao's heart.

However, he had never thought deeply about the consequences. Among that group of people, there were many young men from famous families, and there might even be a few officials in the court.

It would have been fine if he had won the debate just now, but in the end, not only did he fail to defeat Lin Jingyu, but he also lowered his status.

How do these people think of themselves? Will they discuss the details of their day with their elders when they return home?

Also, these people all have their own social circles. Will they be sarcastic and mocking towards themselves in front of others?

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Feng Bao raised his eyes and caught a glimpse of Fu Yan, the servant of the Lin family who had always been with him.

Why did he put himself in such an embarrassing situation? Wasn't it for these lowly servants?

But look at this servant who had spoken up for them! There wasn't even a trace of gratitude on his face.

That expression was as calm as a pool of stagnant water, which was exactly the great insult that Feng Bao felt.

"Fu Yan, right? I need to go to the toilet, where should I go?"

Feng Bao didn't want to see this servant again at this moment, so he came up with this trick of urinating in an attempt to get rid of him.

Then find a more secluded place and adjust your mindset.

At least he should restore his image before leaving the Lin Mansion.

Otherwise, if today's scandal gets out, how can I still gain a foothold in the literary circle of the capital!

"Mr. Feng, please follow me. We have toilets in our garden. Just a few steps ahead, there's one in the rockery."

Feng Bao looked ahead like a vigilant hound, thinking to himself, how can I get rid of people so easily in this place?

Then, his face instantly changed like a chameleon, revealing dissatisfaction and disgust.