The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 427: Big Butt Can Give Birth to a Son

With a "bang", the tea bowl smashed to pieces on the ground, giving Dai Quan, who had just walked into the study, a fright.

"Useless! A useless person who can't do anything good but always causes trouble!" Emperor Yongchang slammed the imperial desk in frustration.

Dai Quan smiled bitterly. Although the court was ready to go to war in Mobei, the emperor still wanted to use Fu Kang'an to consume the strength of the Jurchen Eight Banners Army, and then take action to completely wipe out the main Jurchen army under Agui.

Not only did he secretly support Fu Kang'an with money, food, weapons and equipment, but he also transferred 5,000 of the self-propelled muskets replaced by the imperial guards to Fu Kang'an, enabling him to block Agui's fierce attack and stabilize the front line.

In early June, Fu Kang'an sent another envoy to request the court to support him with another 5,000 self-propelled muskets and 100 submachine guns, so that he could kill Agui for Dashun.

After some consideration, the emperor ordered the transfer of 3,000 muskets, 50 submachine guns, and corresponding ammunition from Suiyuan City to Fu Kang'an.

Unexpectedly, this batch of military equipment was intercepted by the Jurchens on the way. The urgent delivery from Mobei and the letter from the Jurchens arrived almost at the same time, and the Jurchen delegation was already on the way to Beijing.

He suspected that Fukang'an was plotting against Dashun and forcing Dashun to take action early.

Emperor Yongchang calmed down his anger at this time and looked at Dai Quan and the document in his hand.

Dai Quan walked to the imperial desk and said softly, "The daily report sent by the Northern Pacification Office says that many Buddhist lay disciples have come to the capital, saying that they are here to participate in the martial arts examination."

Emperor Yongchang did not speak.

Dai Quan: "Their traces were also found near the Duke of Lu's Mansion."

Emperor Yongchang frowned.

Dai Quan changed the subject: "Just now, the Queen sent someone to say that they are planning to hold a ceremony after the Mid-Autumn Festival to recognize the daughter of the Lin family as their goddaughter." At the same time, he placed the daily newspaper on the imperial desk.

Emperor Yongchang was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where is Li Hu?"

Dai Quan: "According to the time, we should have passed Wuqing."

Emperor Yongchang: "We can enter the capital almost tomorrow"

Dai Quan: “Yes.”

Emperor Yongchang was silent again, and said, "Forget about sending the imperial guards. Send twenty guards from the Imperial Household Department to the Li family, and wait for Li Hu to return home before withdrawing. Also, have the Military Affairs Department send people to seal off the streets near the Li family, and do not allow outsiders to approach."

Dai Quan agreed and was about to leave.

Emperor Yongchang suddenly said, "Stand still. I have something to ask you."

Dai Quan hurried back.

Emperor Yongchang: "I heard that the Queen is still investigating Concubine Shu's affairs?"

Dai Quan was silent for a moment, and then replied, "I heard that they are looking for a maid who served the Concubine Shu."

Emperor Yongchang interrupted him and said, "Go to Kunning Palace and tell them what I said, 'When a person dies, the light goes out. Don't disturb the living and the dead.'"

"Yes." Dai Quan understood that the emperor had found out the cause of Concubine Shu's death.

Emperor Yongchang looked at his back, then took out a thin case record from the case file and looked at it. He sighed slightly and said to the eunuch on duty who came in to clean up the fragments and tea foam on the ground: "Send half of the people from the second son's side to the imperial mausoleum and tell them to keep a close watch on the third son."

Inside a small inn in the city, there is a huge locust tree, whose thick shade covers most of the yard.

A group of shirtless bald men were sitting around a stone table under a locust tree. The table was littered with cups and plates. They were all drunk to their heart's content. The sound of their finger-guessing games and shouting made the cicadas on the locust tree stop chirping.

The door creaked open and three bald men walked in.

The bald men looked at them and started drinking again.

When I walked to the main door, a bald man knocked on the door.

"Come in." An old voice came from the room.

The bald man gently pushed the door open and walked in sideways. He felt a cool breeze in his face. He immediately closed the door and looked up.

In front of a large basin of ice, an old monk in a cassock was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, counting beads in his hands and reciting Buddhist scriptures silently.

The bald man knelt down and said, "Elder, I saw someone."

The old monk is still chanting.

The bald man said: "The other side said that horse archery is our only chance, and we only have one chance to do it."

The old monk opened his eyes.

The bald man: "Their people will replace bows and arrows."

"Who is the other party?" the old monk suddenly asked.

The bald man thought for a moment and replied, "The fierce aura that a soldier inadvertently revealed is definitely not something that an ordinary soldier can have! That person should be from the border troops." Border troops? The old monk's eyes flashed, as if he had thought of something, and he smiled and nodded.

The bald man said: "The Li family has imposed martial law, and the soldiers from the military have blocked the streets."

The old monk said: "It's alright. The Buddha is merciful and will only punish the main culprit."

Upon hearing this, the bald man put his hands together and said "Amitabha".

The old monk said: "Keep your fellow apprentice under control and don't let him cause trouble or ruin the great plan of Buddhism." After saying that, he closed his eyes.

At the end of the evening, the wind started to blow, so Lin Daiyu had all the doors and windows opened. The wind blew in from outside, blowing the gauze curtain between the bedroom and the outer room.

Lin Daiyu sat on a recliner in front of a large basin of ice, reading a book.

Zijuan gathered the gauze curtain, picked up a whisk, and stood beside Lin Daiyu, preventing any flying insects from flying in from the window.

At this time, Lin Daiyu put down the book in her hand, glanced at Zijuan, then picked up a piece of iced watermelon from the ice and started eating it happily.

Zijuan said to herself, "Second Master is right. Frozen fruit is not a good thing. Just now Second Madam Lian sent someone to deliver a watermelon, saying that the old lady was greedy and ate an extra piece of frozen watermelon last night.

Lin Daiyu glared at her unhappily: "You are so annoying!"

Zijuan: "Second Master is very accurate in what he says. If the girl has a stomachache again, there will be a real commotion."

Lin Daiyu was slightly startled, looked at the watermelon in her hand, then looked at the fruit in the ice, gritted her teeth and said, "Xueyan."

"Hey, young lady, what do you want to talk to me about?" Xueyan, wearing only a white dress, walked in.

Lin Daiyu handed her the half watermelon and said, "Eat it."

Xueyan took it happily and was about to go out.

Lin Daiyu: "There are still these fruits. You can share them with Qingwen and the others."

Xueyan was even happier, "Thank you, miss." She ran out happily with the fruit plate.

Zijuan shook her head. Almost four years had passed in the blink of an eye, but she was still as childish as ever.

Lin Daiyu snorted and said, "Are you satisfied now?!"

Zijuan laughed. This June was unusually hot. She couldn't go out at all. Ice cubes and iced fruits helped to cool down. Once, she went out for a short while and Lin Daiyu ate too much. As a result, she had a stomachache at night and the whole family was in chaos.

"Miss Bao is here." The maid's voice came from outside the window.

Then Xue Baochai's voice came from outside: "Miss."

Lin Daiyu: "Come in."

The door curtain was lifted, and Xue Baochai walked in with sweat all over her brow.

Lin Daiyu then stood up and looked at her: "Sister Bao, if you have anything to say, please send someone to tell me. The sun is so scorching, it would be terrible if you get a heat stroke."

Xue Baochai wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief and said with a smile, "There are ice cubes in the carriage to keep it cool, so it's okay. By the way, my brother sent someone to tell me that many fake monks from Luoyang have come to the capital. My brother suspects that they will harm the Duke, so he asked me to tell you. Also, the military department has blocked the surrounding streets. If the officer on duty hadn't known the relationship between the Xue family and the Duke's Mansion, they would have been unable to get in."

Lin Daiyu looked at her and smiled: "Thank you for your trouble. Have dinner first and then go back."

Xue Baochai smiled slightly: "Yes."

Lin Daiyu: "Your clothes are still in that closet. Take a shower and change into dry clothes."

Xue Baochai bowed slightly and said, "Yes." Then she turned and went into the bedroom.

Lin Daiyu looked at Xue Baochai's back and suddenly remembered Li Hu's words "a big butt can give birth to a son". She didn't know what she was thinking about. Her face turned red, and then she snorted coldly, thinking to herself: You are a bunch of jumping clowns. When Second Brother comes back, I will crush you all to death!

Thinking about it, she sighed again. It's already late July, why hasn't he come back yet!

Zijuan: "Don't worry, girl. They are just a bunch of clowns."

Lin Daiyu nodded: "Tell the kitchen to prepare dinner for Miss Bao."

Zijuan: “Yes.”

Lin Daiyu: "Prepare more meat."

Zijuan glanced at the bedroom and said softly: "This weather, Miss Bao doesn't eat much meat and doesn't like greasy food."

Lin Daiyu said unhappily: "I'll eat it!"

(End of this chapter)