The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

At noon, the sun was scorching and dazzling.

However, the Chaoyangmen Wharf was crowded with people. Prince Zhongshun stood in the middle of the line of officials, and the eunuch Zhao Tong, the chief steward of the Yuqing Palace, stood beside him. On both sides were officials from the Beijing government who were above the seventh rank and below the third rank.

The river bank was crowded with ordinary people.

Finally, a huge official ship appeared on the river, followed by a huge fleet of ships!
The official from the Ministry of Rites came over and said, "Your Majesty."

No matter how angry King Zhongshun was at this time, he could only say, "Fire the cannon and play the music."

The official of the Ministry of Rites shouted, "Fire the cannon! Play the music!"

Dozens of cannons arranged in two rows fired in sequence, emitting balls of dazzling sparks!

Immediately afterwards, ten cowhide drums were beaten at the same time, trombones sounded, and suona, sheng and flute played "Triumphal Order"!
The fleet was approaching. The people of Beijing on the river bank cheered heartily!

The main ship approached the dock.

"The Duke has arrived. Let's welcome him." Zhao Tong said softly.

King Zhongshun said nothing and just walked away.

Zhao Tong smiled, wiped the sweat from his face, led a group of officials down the dock and went to meet them.

The gangplank had been set up. Prince Zhongshun, Zhao Tong and other officials stared at the gangplank on the ship. A team of personal soldiers came down and stood in two rows on the shore. Then a tall and burly figure appeared. It was Li Hu!
The onlookers cheered like thunder!

Zhao Tong: "Your Majesty."

King Zhongshun gritted his teeth, clasped his hands and said, "I am ordered to lead the officials to welcome Duke Lu back to the capital in triumph!"

"Welcome Duke Lu back to the capital in triumph!" All the officials bowed deeply to Li Hu who was getting off the boat.

"A great achievement for all ages! A great achievement for all ages!" Zhao Tong bowed loudly to Li Hu and congratulated him.

Li Hu bowed his hands in return: "I rely on the emperor's blessing, and I rely on the soldiers' dedication!"

Seeing that Prince Zhongshun was silent, Zhao Tong smiled and said, "Your Majesty won a great victory in the Central Plains and made great contributions to our Dashun. The Emperor ordered His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to hold a celebration banquet for you and the soldiers in the Imperial Garden. Your Majesty, please come in."

Li Hu smiled and nodded: "Please come in, Manager Zhao."

Zhao Tong extended his hand and made a gesture of concession: "You are the oldest here today, please go first."

Li Hu smiled and took a step forward.

Zhao Tong looked at King Zhongshun again: "Your Majesty."

With a "humph", Prince Zhongshun followed.

Zhao Tong shook his head and led the officials to the dock.

The guns and cannons started to fire again! The drums, trombones, suonas, shengs and flutes played the "Triumphal Order" again!
The crowd dispersed, and the carriage from Rongguo Mansion drove over.
Study Room of Prince Zhongshun's Mansion
Prince Zhongshun sat at his desk with a gloomy face, his chest heaving.

Looking at the tea bowl fragments and tea foam on the ground, the steward gave a bitter smile. The emperor meant well and wanted to ease the relationship between Prince Zhongshun and Li Hu, but his own prince had such a bad temper.
"Why is he so arrogant!" Prince Zhongshun slammed his desk repeatedly, "He is only a duke, which is several levels away from the title of prince! Why is he ahead of me? He just defeated that loser Shui Rong! If he has the ability, he can go and destroy the Jurchen Tartars."

The steward smiled bitterly.

King Zhongshun: "According to Jurchen rules, he is just a servant of the royal family. How dare a servant walk in front of his master."

The steward's expression changed: "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words!"

King Zhongshun came to his senses and realized that he had spoken rashly. He snorted and stopped talking.

At this moment, the voice of the captain of the guard came from outside the door: "Your Majesty."

King Zhongshun: "Come in."

A corner of the bamboo curtain was lifted, and the captain of the guard came in through the gap. He took a look at the fragments and tea foam on the ground, then walked forward and reported to Prince Zhongshun: "Your Majesty, we have found out that it was the Southern Pacification Office who did it."

King Zhongshun: “Oh?”

The captain of the guard said, "I also heard that these fake monks are here to assassinate Lu Guo." Seeing King Zhongshun frown, he quickly changed his words, "They are here to assassinate Li Hu."

"God is blind! No, it's the emperor." Thinking of this, Prince Zhongshun was furious and gnashed his teeth and said, "Is Li Hu his father or his son? Why does he protect him in everything?!"

The manager and the captain of the guard were both shocked and looked at each other.

Prince Zhongshun: "What else did you find out?"

The captain of the guard quickly replied: "I heard that someone helped those fake monks to assassinate Li Hu."

King Zhongshun was overjoyed: "Really?"

The captain of the guard nodded and said, "The emperor has handed this matter over to Zhen Fu."

Prince Zhongshun said "Oh", his eyes rolled around, and then he sneered and said to the captain of the guard: "Give me more money, I want to know everything Zhen Fu does."

The manager and the captain of the guard answered in unison, "Yes."

The two red silk lanterns with the words "Lu Guogong Mansion" under the dripping eaves were swaying in the night wind.

On both sides of the door stood soldiers armed with swords.

Li San changed into festive clothes, stood in the open space in front of the door, and looked at the street corner anxiously.

Behind him stood stewards and servants.

The door was wide open, and at first glance, the whole yard was brightly lit.

In the distance, there were faint sounds of horse hooves and wheels rolling. Li San was a little uncertain and turned behind him: "Did you hear it?"

The sound of horse hooves and wheels rolling gradually became louder and louder.

Several stewards cheered: "The master is back!"

A figure flashed through the door, and a servant ran to the backyard like a gust of wind.
From the gate to the backyard, lanterns were lit everywhere.

After returning after a long absence, Li Hu walked into the backyard with a bit of joy and a bit of emotion.

Lin Daiyu, dressed in her best clothes, led Amber and Xiangling and stood on the stone path in the middle waiting for Li Hu.

The other maids, housekeepers, wives and old women were standing all over the yard.

Seeing Li Hu coming in, Lin Daiyu bowed slightly: "Second brother is back."

Li Hu quickened his pace upon seeing her. He returned the greeting first, then looked Lin Daiyu up and down carefully, and said with a smile, "You have grown taller and become more beautiful."

Lin Daiyu glared at him and then stood behind Li Hu.

Amber and Xiangling took a step forward, knelt on both knees, and bowed their heads: "Greetings, head of the family."

All the maids, housekeepers, wives and old women knelt down in unison: "Greetings to the master of the house!"

Li Hu smiled and looked at Hubo and Xiangling, then said to Zijuan, Xueyan, Qingwen, Nanny Wang, Feng, and all the maids, housekeepers, wives, and old women: "Get up, all of you."

Everyone kowtowed again: "Thank you, Patriarch!"

They all stood up.

Li Hu waved his hand and said, "Let's all go."

"Yes." Nanny Wang and Feng led the maids, housekeepers, wives and old women to retreat.

Only Amber, Xiangling, Zijuan, Xueyan and Qingwen are left here.

They smiled at each other and went into the living room.

Lin Daiyu also walked towards the living room, but Li Hu held her hand and looked at her with a smile.

"Let me go."

"Did you miss me?"

Lin Daiyu didn't say anything, but tears welled up in her eyes.

Li Hu held her in his arms and whispered, "I'm back."

Lin Daiyu hummed like a cat, and tears flowed from her eyes.

Li Hu hugged Lin Daiyu tightly with one hand, patted her back gently with the other hand, and whispered: "Don't cry, my internal organs are broken"

Lin Daiyu twisted her body, buried her head tightly in Li Hu's chest, and turned back and forth sobbing.

Tears wet Li Hu's chest.

Li Hu laughed: "I'm not a rag, why are your tears all over me?"

Lin Daiyu snorted and said coquettishly: "You are so annoying~~"

An idea suddenly flashed through Li Hu's mind, and he held her face in his hands: "My sister's talent and beauty are rare in the world. You come out of the boudoir alone with your beautiful face. Before she even sobbed, flowers fell all over the ground and birds flew away in fright."

Lin Daiyu was startled at first, then blushed and spat, "You're talking nonsense again."

Li Hu reached out to wipe away Lin Daiyu's tears and asked with a smile, "What do you think of my poem?"

Lin Daiyu wrinkled her cute nose: "Flattery!"

Li Hu laughed and gave her a princess hug, "Let's eat and tell her our true feelings."

Lin Daiyu felt warm in her heart and looked at Li Hu with bright eyes: "Is this a poem you wrote?"

"A poem written specially for you." Li Hu answered affirmatively.

Lin Daiyu smiled happily, her eyes full of tenderness.

Li Hu smiled secretly. This was indeed a poem written specifically for her, but the author was Cao Gong.

Seeing Lin Daiyu's watery eyes, Li Hu immediately moved his mouth closer and said, "Give her a kiss."

Li Hu didn't have time to savor the dragonfly-like touch before he shamelessly put his mouth closer and said, "One more kiss."

"Don't push your luck!"

"Tsk! It doesn't matter if you don't want to kiss me. Anyway, we're getting married soon, and I'll kiss you enough then."

"You, you are so shameless."

"I'll take that as a compliment!"

Lin Daiyu laughed in anger, punched Li Hu, and then buried her head in his chest, "You are not allowed to write poems for others."

After a pause, he said, "Write a poem like this."

Li Hu smiled. He was not good at making any mistakes. He answered loudly, "I will listen to you, Madam." He carried Lin Daiyu to the hall. (End of this chapter)