The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 385: Survive on the battlefield first
".We've made a fortune! Girl, our family has made a fortune!"

"Wow, this box is full of pearls, jade and gems!"

"Why is this box full of tea~"

"Come and see, there are gold bowls and silver plates here."

The huge yard was filled with boxes and cages. Zijuan, Xueyan, Qingwen, Xiangling and others were busy touching this and looking at that, having a lot of fun.

Xiangling said excitedly: "Mom, mom, what is this?"

Feng shook her head with a wry smile. The Zhen family had been rich, but they were only modestly wealthy. She had never seen the treasures in the imperial palace.

Amber took a look and said with a smile, "This is sea dragon skin, which is the leather clothing material used by the palace. It is strictly forbidden for ordinary officials and civilians to use it. The old lady has a sea dragon skin coat in her box." Then she said to Lin Daiyu who was walking over, "Sea dragon skin is soft and gentle. It is not only warm to wear in winter, but also not afraid of rain and snow. It's only the beginning of October now, so it's a good time to cut a piece of clothing for the girl to wear in the winter when it snows."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "I'm at home, protected from the wind and rain, so why would I need it? Leave it for your Second Master." Then she looked at the white fox fur in the box and said, "I think this white fox fur is pretty good."

Amber suddenly remembered: "There is a crane cloak with a bright red feather gauze surface and white fox lining in the old lady's room. It is very beautiful. Now the girl can wear bright red. We have white fox fur, feather satin, feather gauze, etc. here. Let's make one for her. It will definitely look very beautiful when the girl wears it on a snowy day!"

Lin Daiyu smiled and nodded, picked out one fox fur and one mink fur, plus two small bottles of fresh tea, and asked someone to deliver them to Li San.

It was a great joy for the head of the family to win a battle. Lin Daiyu waved her hand and gave Feng and the wives of the housekeepers a bolt of cloth each, two months' wages to the maids and servants, one bolt of cloth to the outer housekeepers, and two bolts of cloth to each of the personal soldiers.

Nanny Wang was not as good as Li San, she only had a piece of ermine skin and two small bottles of fresh tea. Zijuan, Xueyan and Qingwen were all jewelry, but Hubo and Xiangling were treated differently, they were Li Hu's maids, they had to take care of Li Hu's face, and their jewelry, silk, furs, etc. filled a box.

Looking at the people packing up boxes and crates, Lin Daiyu always felt that something was not right.

At this moment, the voice of the old woman came from outside the courtyard: "Xiao Ni is here."

Lin Daiyu finally realized that she had almost forgotten about this girl.

Xiao Ni, with her hair in a bun, walked in from the moon gate of the courtyard.

Xiao Ni got married, Jia Yun's mother was eager to have a grandson, Ni Er was worried that the status of the two families would become too different, so the two families started to go through the formalities before Jia Yun returned to Beijing. Jia Yun's mother was also worried that Jia Yun might go to war at any time, and Ni Er was also a casual person, so the two sides discussed and held the wedding during the few days when Jia Yun returned to Beijing.

Walking up to her, Xiao Ni bowed and said with a smile, "Congratulations to the young lady." Then she handed over the gift list.

Lin Daiyu took it, looked at it carefully, and said with a smile: "We are not strangers, it is good enough that the gift is sincere. Don't send such an expensive gift next time."

Zijuan took a look and said with a smile, "The great victory is still to come. You sent such an expensive gift this time. What will you send next time? Your dowry is generous, but how many times can you send?"

Xiao Ni smiled and replied, "It's almost the New Year, Miss, just give us something, it will be enough for us to live for several lifetimes."

Lin Daiyu: "Then give me a smaller reward."

Xiao Ni smiled and said, "There will be more next year."

Lin Daiyu smiled and nodded at her: "Where are you from?"

"My father is here too. He's talking to my third uncle in the front yard." Xiao Ni took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it over.

Lin Daiyu took the letter, tore it open and read it, then frowned. Jia Yucun and Heshen started a business together? What kind of business could there be between them?!

Thinking about this, Lin Daiyu folded the letter. The situation in the capital city has been quite magical recently. Zhen Fu and Wang Li, the son of Wang Ziteng, are getting along very well. The officials of Yanshenggong and the Jinshi who passed the imperial examination are banding together for warmth. The nobles are also making small moves behind the scenes. It seems that everyone is looking for allies and backers to deal with the complicated situation that will follow.

Now no one can figure out the emperor's thoughts. The situation on that day suggested the possibility of enthroning the crown prince, but the emperor did not seem to have this plan. Almost a month had passed, and there was no movement at all.

The entire court was shrouded in a strange atmosphere, which made many officials anxious and even uneasy.

Lin Daiyu thought of the letter from her father Lin Ruhai again, and was also full of complaints. She didn't understand what the emperor wanted to do.

Seeing Lin Daiyu in a daze, Zijuan hurriedly greeted her with a smile: "You came at the right time. The young lady just said that she would send someone to bring you something."

Lin Daiyu came back to her senses and said with a smile, "I have picked out a set of jewelry for you and put it in the room. You can also pick out some fabrics for your mother-in-law."

Xiao Ni bowed slightly: "Thank you for the reward, young lady."

Zijuan blinked her eyes a few times, thinking that her daughter had learned bad things from the Second Master, and now she could lie without blushing or beating her heart. At this moment, the maid outside reported: "The fourth daughter, Bao daughter, and Qin daughter are here!"

Before he could finish his words, Jia Xichun smiled and said, "Sister Lin, we are here to congratulate you!" As she spoke, she pulled Xue Baoqin in like a gust of wind.

Lin Daiyu smiled and went to meet him, saying, "Run slowly, or you might get your teeth planted."

Jia Xichun laughed and said, "We are not Xueyan, so we won't have our teeth implanted."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Lin Daiyu smiled and nodded at her.

Xue Baoqin bowed slightly and said, "Congratulations to my sister."

Lin Daiyu: "There's no outsider here, so there's no need for all this empty formalities." Then she asked Jia Xichun: "Why are you the only one here?"

Jia Xichun: "Sister Ping has given birth, both mother and child are safe."

Lin Daiyu: "Ping'er gave birth?"

Jia Xichun: "Yes. My third sister followed the second wife to the Wang family and heard that the uncle of the Wang family also won a great victory."

Lin Daiyu nodded.

Only then did Xue Baochai come in with a group of maids and wives.

When seeing Xue Baochai, Lin Daiyu suddenly thought of Xue Pan. This kid is really a troublemaker. He even dared to spread rumors about the royal family. If it weren't for the spies in the caravan who helped him deal with the aftermath, the Xue family would have been in big trouble by now!

Xue Baochai came forward, knelt down in front of Lin Daiyu, and said softly, "Congratulations to the young lady!"

Lin Daiyu looked at her, smiled, and said, "Let's talk inside."

Jia She opened a gift box, inside which were neatly arranged ingots of gold, each weighing at least two taels. Each ingot had a seal-script character for "Shou" printed on it.

He opened several other gift boxes and looked at them. Jia She nodded with a satisfied smile, then took out a snuff bottle from his body, poured the snuff into the palm of his hand, then pinched two fingers to apply some tobacco powder, put them to his nostrils, and took a deep breath.

At this moment, the door was pushed open with a "bang".

Jia She was so frightened that he yawned and his nose started to snot.

Jia Jing, who was wearing an official uniform, rushed in. He was startled when he saw this, then glanced at the gift box on the table and said, "You have to think it over carefully. That guy doesn't look like a good guy! Don't let the sparrow peck your eyes!"

Jia She took out his handkerchief and wiped his beard, saying, "No matter what he is, let's survive on the battlefield first."

Jia Jing frowned: "With your handwritten letter, Li Hu will definitely take care of him"

"Take care of him?"

Jia She sneered, "What do you think Li Hu is? He's a ruthless guy! It's fine if Sun works hard and honestly, but if he has ulterior motives, humph!"

Jia Jing was stunned for a moment, not wanting to continue arguing with him, so he changed the subject: "Wang Ziteng's progress is too smooth!"

Jia She: "What do you mean?"

Jia Jing: "I suspect that Wang Ziteng was not chasing the main force of the White Lotus Rebellion in Henan."

Jia She was shocked: "How is it possible? Wang Ziteng has thousands of Mongolian cavalry under his command, and there are spies from the Northern Pacification Office providing information."

Jia Jing's expression became serious: "Wang Ziteng has killed too many people and offended too many people. The gentry and people of Henan hate him more than the White Lotus rebels!"

Jia She's expression also became serious: "It seems that Wang Ziteng is indeed in danger."

Jia Jing sighed and said, "I hope he can realize the problem sooner rather than fail so miserably."

(End of this chapter)