The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

After the war, the Eight Banners troops retreated like a tide.

The battlefield was littered with corpses, broken weapons were scattered everywhere, and tattered flags fluttered feebly in the cold wind. Several horses lying in pools of blood were still alive, some groaning, and some trying to stand up but falling down again.

Soon, the battlefield became deathly silent.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of horse hooves broke the silence, and several horses rushed over.

Looking at the battlefield that was like hell on earth, they looked at each other in bewilderment.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed: "It's the Datong Guards!"

The others looked in the direction of the sound, and although one-third of the big flag on the flagpole had been burned by the war, the two words "Datong" on it were still clearly fluttering in the cold wind!
Several people rode into the battlefield and found the body of the Datong general. There was a bloody hole in his chest, obviously because he was pierced by a spear.

Someone spoke up: "It looks like they should be the main force of the Datong Guards."

Another person: "We must report this to the Emperor immediately."

"Emperor, Emperor's Mausoleum." The man next to him trembled in his voice.

The others looked on and saw flames shooting up into the sky, lighting up half the sky red!
Two days passed in a blink of an eye, and when it was confirmed that the Jurchens had withdrawn, the people in the capital city breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, there was a sound of wailing in the Taimiao.

Because the Li royal tomb is relatively shallow and the entrance is obvious, it is easy to be looted.

Due to time constraints, Fu Kang'an was unable to carry out large-scale robbing of imperial tombs, so he chose two imperial tombs that were easiest to rob, which were the tombs of the Supreme Emperor's father and grandfather.

In order to vent his anger, Fu Kang'an trampled the remains in the mausoleum into powder with his war horses, destroyed all the buildings on the ground, and set a fire before leaving, which has not been extinguished until now.

The tragic news of the fall of Nanjing, the annihilation of the Datong Guards, and the burning of the imperial mausoleum caused the already ill Supreme Emperor to faint.

As soon as he woke up, the Supreme Emperor immediately sent officials to offer sacrifices to heaven, earth and the country, while he himself was dressed in mourning and dragged his sick body to the Taimiao to cry and offer sacrifice to his ancestors.

In the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Supreme Emperor prostrated himself on the ground and cried loudly: "My ancestors in the afterlife have been ravaged by the Tartars. I will not be able to face them after my death."

The chief minister of the cabinet, Zhen Yingjia, and the two great scholars Shi and Meng came in breathlessly. When they saw this scene, they all walked silently to the back of the Supreme Emperor and knelt down.

The Supreme Emperor cried more and more heartbroken, and was in great pain. He was ready to sacrifice his life for his country and follow his ancestors. The four ministers of the cabinet and the eunuch who was accompanying him, as well as his trusted eunuchs and servants, were moved by the Supreme Emperor's cries and burst into tears together!
Suddenly, the sound of bronze horses "ding-dong-dong" came from under the eaves of the hall.

Then, a strong wind blew in and blew out all the candles used for the sacrifice. The shrines and statues of emperors on the table were also swept to the ground by the strong wind.

The Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Zhen Yingjia, the two Grand Secretaries Shi and Meng, and the eunuch in charge of the seal were all shocked and looked terrified!

The Supreme Emperor suddenly stopped crying and sat on the ground, crying in a daze.

The Prime Minister looked at the eunuch who held the seal.

The eunuch in charge of the seal understood and said softly: "Supreme Emperor"

The Supreme Emperor turned his tearful eyes and stared at the eunuch who held the seal. After a while, he asked, "The wind blows out the candle. Is it God's will to destroy us, the Great Shun?" As he spoke, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell down.

The eunuch in charge of the seal had blood all over his head and face, but he didn't care about anything else. He picked up the Supreme Emperor and ran out of the palace!
“The Supreme Emperor!” The chief minister of the cabinet, Zhen Yingjia, two grand secretaries Shi and Meng, and all the eunuchs chased after him in panic.

The cold wind was howling and soon snowflakes began to fall.

In the heavy snow, Lin Daiyu's eight-person sedan arrived. Outside the inner gate, many housekeepers, wives and servants were waiting. When they saw Lin Daiyu step out of the sedan, they immediately rushed over, covered her with a thick fur coat, and handed her a hot copper hot water bottle.

Lin Daiyu held the hot water bottle and walked towards the backyard.

Outside the backyard door, Xue Baochai, Amber, Xiangling and others were waiting here.

Xue Baochai was a little absent-minded. Her eyes were looking at the hallway, but her gaze was not focused on it.

Aunt Xue's maid Tongxi came just now. Aunt Xue fell ill because she was angry.

Wang Ren had a son.

Aunt Xue received the wedding invitation from the Wang family and went to congratulate them. Only then did she find out that the maid who gave birth to Wang Ren's son was Xia Jingui.

After Wang Ziteng's title was taken away, it has not been restored to date. The Wang family was not a noble family and did not have to observe a one-year mourning period. Moreover, a maidservant was not considered a concubine. Apart from his bad reputation, Wang Ren did not violate any law or etiquette.

Xue Baochai is not the ignorant girl like the three sisters of the Jia family and Shi Xiangyun. According to the time, Wang Ren had already gone to Xia Jingui's bed before the Xue and Xia families broke off the engagement.

That Xia Jingui is really despicable! Although the Xia family is not a famous family, it is also a wealthy merchant family. She actually took the initiative to become someone's maid! And she is a useless person with a broken arm!
Just as she was thinking, Ying'er's voice rang in her ears: "The princess is back."

Xue Baochai came to her senses and immediately went to greet her, saying, "The princess is back."

Lin Daiyu nodded slightly: "I'm back."

The group walked into the main room in the backyard. Lin Daiyu changed out of her plain clothes and sat down on the kang in the warm room.

Xue Baochai brought Lin Daiyu a bowl of hot tea and asked, "How is Fourth Girl Xichun?"

Lin Daiyu sighed softly: "What else can I do? I'll just cry."

Xue Baochai also sighed, "The fourth girl is so pitiful. She has been without a mother since she was young, and now her brother and father are gone~"

Lin Daiyu took a sip of tea and said to Xue Baochai, "Tomorrow is the official date for the memorial ceremony. Come with me. I'll persuade the fourth girl and talk to the old lady."

Xue Baochai was stunned for a moment, and asked softly, "Is this appropriate?"

Lin Daiyu looked at her and smiled: "The Xue family and the Jia family are also relatives."

Only then did Xue Baochai react and realize that she had been overthinking.

Lin Daiyu suddenly remembered: "There's news from Jinling that the Xue family's mansion was also destroyed in the war."

After a pause, "The Prince of Nan'an ascended the throne and became emperor with the support of the rebel generals and the gentry of Jiangnan. South is opposite to fire, Dashun belongs to wood in the five elements, and fire overcomes wood. The word Li belongs to fire in the five elements, and also represents fire and light. It is the 30th hexagram among the 64 hexagrams in the Book of Changes. Its hexagram image is two yang lines above and below with a yin line sandwiched between them, shaped like a flame. Therefore, the country was established as Dali, and the reign was named Datong."

Xue Baochai laughed: "Dali? Dali? This country name is not very good! And this year name is too explicit."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "The Prince of Nan'an was born a military officer, and all his subordinates are military officers. As for the gentry, they are just a bunch of parasites who only know how to exploit the people. How can they come up with a good name for the country and the reign title?"

Xue Baochai smiled and nodded, suddenly remembering the tone of Lin Daiyu's words just now. It sounded as if she had heard it with her own ears and witnessed a group of people discussing the country's name and reign title.

At this time, Feng came in with an envelope and bowed to Lin Daiyu: "Princess, this is a letter sent by Kong Qingxiang, the commander of the Kong family. He said that the matter is of great importance, so please open it immediately." Then she handed the letter to Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu took the letter, opened the seal and read it, then her eyes flashed, and the wind blew out the candle? (End of this chapter)