The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

The second prince, Prince Fu, walked out of Feng'an Hall, slowly raised his head and looked towards the sky above the courtyard outside the door.

There is no moon tonight, only the sky full of stars above the courtyard.

At the foot of the stone steps, several strong men were kneeling on the ground, but only their backs could be seen.

After a long while, Prince Fu spoke: "Money is something outside of one's body. You can't bring it with you when you are born, and you can't take it with you when you die. Don't save money for me. Use all means to win over those warriors, and only win over those warriors who have no hope of passing the military imperial examination."

Several people answered at the same time: "Yes!"

Prince Fu: "After you win them over, don't rush to let them leave the capital. Let them leave the capital after they fail the exam, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble."

The leader replied, “Yes.”

Prince Fu: "In addition to bows and arrows, we also need to let them practice military fighting techniques and battle formations, especially the Mandarin Duck Formation. Without the coordination of the formation, they cannot break through the defense line of the Imperial Guards. Do you understand?"

The leader hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, the Imperial Guards have replaced their weapons with new muskets, and they fire faster and more fiercely."

Prince Fu sneered: "If gunpowder can't be used, it's just a fire stick."

The leader understood and answered loudly, "Yes!"

King Fu glanced at them and said loudly: "I swear here that when I ascend the throne in the future, I will share wealth and honor with you. If you break this oath, you will be punished by heaven and earth!"

Several people shouted in unison: "We will serve His Highness till death!"

Prince Fu smiled with satisfaction and nodded: "You all go back."

"Yes." Several people bowed their heads, stood up and ran out.

Prince Fu looked towards the capital, then turned back to the mausoleum, his voice chilling: "Don't worry, you won't be alone, I will send the three of them down to accompany you!"

At this moment, a young eunuch came over quietly and whispered, "Your Highness, the Zhou family has replied that the money is ready."

Prince Fu looked up at the sky: "Autumn Hunting is coming soon"

It's Mid-Autumn Festival again. After the 15th day of the month, the mourning period for the royal family and nobles ends, but they still cannot have a feast or sing opera.

At this time, the moon had risen to the sky, and the sky outside Tuobi Villa was bright white.

The house was brightly lit, with lamps hanging from the beams, lamps sitting in the corners, and lamps placed on the tables, emitting bright light!

Li Hu was sitting at the desk, writing something with a pen.

Lin Daiyu sat on the chair beside him, embroidering a robe while accompanying him.

As he was writing, Li Hu suddenly frowned, then blinked his eyes, and then turned his gaze to Lin Daiyu: "Good sister"

Lin Daiyu was still embroidering her robe: "Which word can't you write now?"

Li Hu's face turned red, he coughed awkwardly, and said, "How do you write the word '卺' in the Heqin ceremony?"

Lin Daiyu put down her needlework, looked at him, and then burst out laughing: "It's better to die with dignity than to suffer in life."

Li Hu laughed and said, "How can a bride write her own wedding program?"

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes at him, stood up and said, "Get out of the way. You talk and I'll write."

Li Hu put down his pen and patted his thigh, "Come on."

Lin Daiyu glared at him, but still sat on his lap.

Li Hu smiled triumphantly, put one arm around Lin Daiyu's waist, let her lean against his arms, and gently rested his head on her shoulder. He immediately smelled a faint fragrance.

He sniffed subconsciously.

Lin Daiyu laughed and punched him, then twisted his waist, "How shameless!"

Li Hu smiled and said, "What's there to be ashamed of? You are my wife. If it were anyone else, I would not respond."

Lin Daiyu was happy in her heart, but she still spat: "You just keep using nice words to deceive me every day."

Li Hu: "This is called coaxing, not cheating."

Lin Daiyu: “Is there any difference?”

Li Hu: "Of course. When a girl is unhappy, you can coax her and say some sweet words to make her happy. The purpose of coaxing is well-intentioned." He said a lot of things.

Lin Daiyu leaned in his arms, rested her head on his shoulder, looked at him tenderly, and listened quietly.

"Finished?"

"That's it."

"Then why is it called 'coaxing'?" Li Hu was slightly stunned. Seeing Lin Daiyu looking at him with a smirk on her face, he held her face and kissed her fiercely, and let her go only after he had satisfied his desire.

"You..." Lin Daiyu leaned in Li Hu's arms, her face flushed and panting, and said angrily: "If you do this again, I will ignore you!"

Li Hu reached out and wiped the rouge off the corners of her mouth: "Hey, do you think Zijuan and the others can tell?"

"It's all your fault!" Lin Daiyu twisted Li Hu's waist.

Li Hu: "Are you here to provoke me again?" He leaned his head closer.

Lin Daiyu was so scared that she quickly blocked his mouth and begged for mercy: "Good brother, I won't dare to do it again~"

Li Hu would never let her go so easily, but he couldn't be too complacent either. He moved forward and closed his eyes.

Lin Daiyu glanced at the open hall door, kissed Li Hu on the mouth lightly, and punched him on the chest. After a pause, she felt that she couldn't swallow this breath, so she twisted Li Hu's waist again.

Li Hu raised his eyebrows: "You come again!"

"you"

Lin Daiyu bit her lip and said, "Don't bully me."

The words were so soft and sweet, and her expression was so pitiful that even a heart of stone would melt.

Seeing Li Hu in a daze, Lin Daiyu narrowed her eyes with a sly smile.

Li Hu saw it but didn't expose her, which is a good thing.

Thinking of this, Li Hu hugged her gently, enjoying a moment of tenderness.

Lin Daiyu pushed his hand away, sat up straight, picked up the big red paper and began to read it.

Li Hu also sat up straight, put his arms around Lin Daiyu's waist, put his head gently on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear: "When we were in Xuzhou, my father and I had discussed it. We will clean up the villa in the east city and use it as the Lin family's villa in the capital. You will marry from the villa."

Lin Daiyu said "hmm", picked up the pen and wrote the two words "卺礼" after the word "合", which was elegant and graceful, with strong connotation.

Li Hu: "The engagement letter and the wedding letter were written by my father, and I copied them without changing a single word. Normally, the engagement letter should be delivered by a man with full fortune when the betrothal gift is paid, but my father said it was too far away, so he left it with him. The gift letter was also left. Oh, by the way, I put the wedding letter in the cabinet, do you want to take a look first?"

Lin Daiyu was embarrassed: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Li Hu smiled. The Yingshu is the document for marrying the bride. It is the document given by the man to the woman when he takes the bride to marry.

"Our marriage is an arranged marriage. We have already submitted the betrothal gift and the name-asking process. In two days, I will go to Qingxu Temple to find Taoist Zhang and ask him to propose auspicious dates, match the horoscopes, and select an auspicious date. Don't worry, as long as you pay enough, there will be no incompatibility."

"Bah, you're talking nonsense again!"

"Really? Taoist Zhang really likes to be a matchmaker. He hangs around in the mansions of the rich and powerful just to make money."

Lin Daiyu interrupted him quickly: "Okay, stop gossiping about others behind their backs."

Li Hu: "Yes, I'll listen to my wife."

At this moment, the clock in the corner rang!
Li Hu looked and saw that the fifteenth had passed.

Lin Daiyu blinked her eyes and said, "Let's go out for a walk."

"Okay." Li Hu held her and stood up.

Lin Daiyu said coquettishly: "I want you to carry me on your back."

"Okay." Li Hu put her down, picked up the cloak from the chair and put it on her, then half-knelt down.

Lin Daiyu giggled and then fell on Li Hu's back.

Li Hu carried Lin Daiyu on his back and walked out.

"Hey, is your waist okay?"

"Whether my waist is good or not, you will know after we get married."

"Bah, shameless"

The moonlight shone quietly, and the Cining Palace was shrouded in peace.

The door of the side hall opened with a creaky sound, and the retired emperor walked out slowly with his hands behind his back.

After the Daming Palace burned down and the old empress dowager passed away, the emperor moved to the Cining Palace.

Walking down the stone steps, the emperor stopped, slowly raised his head, looked at the full moon, and murmured, "It's almost time." (End of this chapter)