The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 129 Seeking Death
Under the encouragement of Aunt Zhao, Tanchun practiced hard during the day and at night. She felt more and more the joy of sex and made rapid progress.

Master Zhan, however, was unaware of the mother and daughter's plan and was still enjoying the pleasure of subduing demons and monsters.

Through the intelligence gathered in the mansion over the past few days, Mr. Zhan was finally convinced that this "precognitive dream" was not a rumor, but was indeed news released from Daiyu's courtyard.

This is interesting!

This is a very clear signal!

Lin Daiyu also set her eyes on the area under Baochai's butt!
No wonder Aunt Xue has been so nervous these days, with so much tension, it turns out the root of the problem is here!
This is a good thing. Competition will lead to improved service quality, and the only consumer who will benefit in the end is Mr. Zhan. Of course, he will not come out to refute this rumor.

However, appropriate responses are also necessary. We need to give Lin Daiyu a little positive feedback so that her "precognitive dream" can continue.

So Mr. Zhan came to visit Sister Lin in a swaggering manner.

In the past, due to the strict rules between men and women, it was not convenient for him to come over, and he even rarely spoke to Lin Daiyu. Now that he had this excuse, no one would say anything.

Hearing that Mr. Zhan had finally arrived, Daiyu and the other girls were overjoyed and hurriedly invited him in to chat.

Mr. Zhan was invited into the living room, where he sat and drank his tea leisurely. His sensitive hearing allowed him to picture in his mind the bustling scene in the backyard. The teasing words in the boudoir also all fell into his ears, and he couldn't help but smile.

In the back, Daiyu was sitting in front of the dressing table, hurriedly touching up her makeup, while Zijuan and Xueyan were busy beside her, choosing clothes and putting on jewelry.

"If I had known that Brother Zhan was coming today, I should have gotten up earlier and put on makeup."

"What's the point of talking about this now? Hurry up and don't keep Master Zhan waiting for too long."

"This dress is too complicated to wear. Change it to something easier to wear... This color is not good. It's too bright and not solemn enough..."

"Miss, do you want us to find an excuse to go out and give you space to talk to each other?"

"What do you mean by sharing your true feelings? That's so embarrassing. We're just chatting..."

"Miss, don't just chat. When it's time to get intimate, don't be reserved. Don't forget our purpose!"

"That's right, I'll go pour the tea later, Xueyan will get the fruit, put it down and leave, you can handle the rest yourself, young lady!"

After a lot of trouble, he finally finished tidying up and felt that he was ready to meet people, so he went out to meet Master Zhan.

Hearing the footsteps of the three women getting closer, Mr. Zhan put down his teacup, looked up, and heard the jingling of bells and ornaments. Zijuan and Xueyan lifted the curtains on the left and right, and walked in from outside the door, accompanying Daiyu.

Although he had long known that Sister Lin was a beauty, in Mr. Zhan's usual impression she was always sickly and weak. But today Sister Lin was different from the past.

At this moment, Lin Daiyu's eyebrows were like a crescent moon, her face was rosy, her skin was delicate, and she was dressed gorgeously. She was so beautiful that she didn't look like a real person. Her beautiful face was like a carefully crafted work of art, and every line looked so harmonious and perfect.

Looking at her clothes, simple yet elegant. She was wearing a light blue long dress, the fabric was soft and thin, with a few simple plum blossoms embroidered on it, the branches were vigorous and the flowers were elegant and refined, and the neckline and cuffs were embroidered with a few strokes of ink-colored bamboo leaves, swaying gently in the wind, making her look more bookish.

She had a pair of small jade pendants hanging on her ears, with a few strokes of plum blossoms carved on them. She wore a thin silver chain around her neck, with a small jade pendant hung on the chain. The jade pendant was carved with a small boat, and there seemed to be a fisherman fishing in the boat. It must be the work of a famous artist.

In her hand she held an exquisite round fan with peonies painted on it. The colors were bright and the brushstrokes were delicate, as if to draw people into the painting. It was probably her own work.

Sister Lin walked up to Master Zhan gracefully, blushing and bowing to apologize:

"Daiyu didn't know that Brother Zhan was coming, so she was very rude and made Brother Zhan wait for a long time."

Mr. Zhan stood up with a smile and bowed in return:

"It would be worth it for me to wait a few more hours to see Sister Lin dressed up like this."

These words made Lin Daiyu's face even redder.

The two of them sat down and had the tea refilled. Zijuan and the other girl winked at their mistress and ran out. Sister Lin felt ashamed but couldn't get angry. She suppressed her shyness and asked in a fake tone:

"I wonder why Brother Zhan came here today?"

As an expert in picking up girls, Mr. Zhan had already prepared an excuse, and immediately said to Sister Lin with a smile:
"My family has a clothing business called 'backyard suits', but these clothes are easy to sew but difficult to design."

"I heard that Sister Lin has the ability to predict dreams, so I thought that maybe Sister Lin had seen all kinds of novel clothes in the future in her dreams. This time, I came here to ask Sister Lin to be a guest fashion designer in my house and give me some advice."

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu's face turned even redder.

She was very familiar with the costumes in the Zhan Mansion. Every time she dreamed of them, she would wear a new and novel outfit. For a long time, she had never worn the same outfit twice.

When it comes to fashion design, I'm afraid there is no one who can do it better than her.

But every time she put on the costumes, she would be teased by Master Zhan, which was really too embarrassing.

Sister Lin turned her face away shyly, and said awkwardly:
"This 'precognitive dream' has never been controlled. I am not sure whether I can dream about the clothes in that mansion."

“Even if I really dreamed about it, whether I can draw it or whether it will not look like it is still uncertain.”

Master Zhan smiled and said:
"It doesn't matter. If Sister Lin dreams about it, you can come to my house and tell me. If you don't dream about it, then you can only say that it is not destined to be together."

"The main reason is that this clothing business is an important source of income for my family. We have connections with various powerful and wealthy families, so it is quite important. Therefore, I value it very much, so I am trying to ask Sister Lin for help."

"As for whether the clothes can be sold after they are designed, and whether they sell well or not, that is entirely my own responsibility. It cannot be blamed on Sister Lin."

Although she pretended to distance herself from the matter, Sister Lin didn't want to really lose the opportunity to date Master Zhan legitimately, especially since it involved the Zhan family's property, which was the right and responsibility of a housewife.

She will be the eldest lady of the Zhan family in the future. Doesn't that mean that the business of the Zhan family is something she should be responsible for?

Since we have to take care of it sooner or later, we might as well start taking care of it now.

So Sister Lin smiled and said:

"I just never did these things before. I was afraid that if I did something wrong, it would affect the business of the mansion."

"Since Brother Zhan trusts me so much, I'll give it a try!"

"That's great!" Master Zhan immediately struck while the iron was hot and invited Sister Lin to his house. "Since Sister Lin is free now, why don't you go to my house and meet those embroiderers to see how they sew clothes, so that you can cooperate with them in the future."

Of course, Lin Daiyu knew that these were all excuses. The real purpose was just to invite her to the Zhan Mansion to test her feelings, but she had this intention in mind and agreed immediately.

"In that case, I will simply pack up and then go to your house to pay you a visit."

Before she could stand up, Zijuan suddenly came in quickly and saluted:
"Miss, Master Zheng sent someone to invite you. It is said that... it is Hanlin Mei who is here."

"Mei Hanlin?" Sister Lin was stunned. "What is he doing here? What does his coming have to do with me?"

Zijuan glanced at Master Zhan and reminded him in a low voice:
"I heard from the messenger in the front yard that Mei Hanlin came to ask for help from the young lady."

"I don't know where he found out that the reason why the Xue family refused the marriage with his family was because of your idea, Miss. He also knew about the 'precognitive dream', so..."

"Ah!" Lin Daiyu finally understood that this was the follow-up to the previous incident with the Xue family.

She stood up and glanced at Master Zhan in embarrassment, but Master Zhan laughed and stood up as well, saying, "That's great. I also have something to ask Master Zheng, so let's go together!"

Only then did Sister Lin feel relieved and went to the front yard with Master Zhan.

When they arrived at the living room in the front yard, they saw Mr. Zheng and a group of guests drinking tea and chatting with a thin man, while Baoyu sat beside them with a bitter face.

The man was dressed as a scholar, sitting there chatting, looking confident, and looking like a well-educated person.

Master Zheng and his companions spoke respectfully, flattering him intentionally or unintentionally, and offering him all kinds of flattery.

When Baoyu saw Master Zhan and Daiyu coming in, his eyes lit up. He ignored Mei Hanlin standing beside him and waved to greet them. Jia Zheng was furious and quickly stood up to introduce them:
"This is my niece, Lin Daiyu, the only daughter of the late Salt Inspector Lin Ruhai."

"This is Lord Zhan, the 'loyal son' Zhan Niansi."

"This is Mei Lianchi, a scholar from the Imperial Academy."

The three of them greeted each other and exchanged a few polite words.

After Mr. Zhan and Daiyu sat down, Jia Zheng was afraid that his son would mess around again, so he asked directly:
"Daiyu, do you still remember the 'precognitive dream' incident at the Xue family?"

Daiyu glanced at Mei Hanlin and nodded:

"Daiyu, remember, I dreamed that the Xue family was executed because of their marriage relationship with the Mei Hanlin family. Later, the Xue family ended their relationship with the Mei family and escaped the disaster."

"Could it be that Mei Hanlin came here this time to call for punishment?"

Mei Hanlin, who was standing nearby, laughed hastily, waved his hand and said with a smile:

"Don't misunderstand, girl!"

"I have long heard of your magical powers. This time I came here to ask for details so that I can seek benefits and avoid harm, and avoid future disasters."

"If the young lady can save my entire family, everyone in the Mei family will be grateful and forever thankful."

As he spoke, Mei Hanlin stood up and bowed to the ground before Daiyu.

Daiyu was so frightened that she quickly stood up and dodged, not daring to accept the gift.

"Mei Hanlin, please don't do this!"

"It is said that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. If I can save someone, I will definitely not hide it."

"The problem is, I've never dealt with the Mei family in my dreams, and I don't know what happened in their mansion. I can't help them even if I want to!"

When Mei Hanlin heard this, his face suddenly darkened, and he sighed and begged:
"This matter concerns the lives of my entire family. Miss, please think carefully about it. Is there any relevant clue? Even a little bit would be helpful."

Daiyu tilted her head and thought carefully for a long time, and finally shook her head and said:

"I'm sorry, Mei Hanlin, I really can't remember any information related to the disaster in your mansion."

Mei Hanlin was unwilling to accept this, so he urged again:

"Could you please tell me the details of your dream? Maybe there is something you have overlooked!"

"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that you are not an official, and you may not be accurate in many things. The information you think is useless may be extremely important."

"This..." Daiyu hesitated after hearing this.

She didn't care about being suspected by Mei Hanlin, but this dream involved many embarrassing things, which were really inconvenient to tell others. Seeing Daiyu start to hesitate, Mei Hanlin became unhappy, and a flash of anger flashed in his eyes. Mr. Zhan next to him saw it clearly and interrupted:

"This matter is quite simple."

"Since Mei Hanlin is a member of the officialdom, he should know that this disaster did not come out of thin air. It must have originated from the infighting in the officialdom."

"If you want to figure out the cause of the disaster, it will be very difficult, but if you just want to solve the disaster and save the lives of your family, then it is too simple."

"Whether you have violated the law or offended a villain, you only need to resign and no one will keep an eye on you."

"That's right!" Daiyu clapped her hands and laughed after hearing this, "This is a good idea! As long as Mei Hanlin resigns and returns home, the disaster will naturally be resolved."

Baoyu clapped his hands repeatedly and echoed:

"Being an official is the root of all evil. Not only does it bring disaster to the country and the people, it also brings trouble to your family. It would be better to go home early, read books, paint, and enjoy the countryside every day. Isn't it a hundred times better than being an official?"

After hearing this, Mei Hanlin's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Doesn't he know that this disaster must have come from the officialdom?

Not only did he know, he even suspected that the reason he got into trouble was because he had recently been planning to join the cabinet.

Doesn't he understand that as long as he resigns, his political opponents will naturally follow the unspoken rules and let him go?

If he was willing to give up his official position, would he still have to bow his head and beg a little girl?
He just can't bear to part with that official hat!

Not only was he reluctant to resign, he was even more reluctant to give up the opportunity to join the cabinet!

The reason why he was willing to condescend and seek help from a "charlatan" like Lin Daiyu was that he wanted to know more details about the future and the direction of his political opponents' attacks so that he could make up for it in advance or prepare a response plan in advance, and then achieve a turnaround and ascend to the throne of the Cabinet Grand Secretary in one fell swoop.

Now that he got such an answer, how could he be happy?
However, he was also a shrewd man, so he suppressed his dissatisfaction and continued to speak to Daiyu in a friendly manner:
"It's not that I'm clinging to power. It's just that I'm a scholar who has studied hard for more than ten years. All I want is to be able to put my knowledge into practice, repay the emperor's grace, and help the people. Now is the time when we need to contribute. How can I be discouraged because of the traitor's frame-up?"

"Please forgive me and explain the dream in detail. Even if I don't gain anything, I will be grateful."

But after being reminded by Mr. Zhan, Daiyu realized that the purpose of this Hanlin Mei's trip was not to escape the disaster at all, and he was even willing to risk the death of his family and the extinction of his clan in order to protect his official position. Immediately, her impression of him became bad, so she shook her head coldly, made various excuses and refused to say anything.

Mr. Zhan kept talking too much and exposed Mei Hanlin's various rhetoric. Baoyu also talked nonsense, which ruined Mei Hanlin's good plan.

Seeing that it was impossible to achieve his goal, Mei Hanlin snorted coldly, said goodbye and left in a rage.

This inexplicably offended Mei Hanlin, and Jia Zheng was very angry, but he couldn't get angry with Master Zhan and Lin Daiyu, so he vented his anger on his own stupid son. When he came back, he slapped him and cursed:
"You beast!"

"The master wanted to help you out with good intentions and let you meet Mei Hanlin, hoping that you would be influenced by the literary atmosphere and achieve something in the future. Who knew that you would be so unteachable, saying all sorts of nonsense and offending Mei Hanlin for no reason. You are really a hopeless case!"

When Baoyu was punished by his father, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. He could only shrink his head and stand still, not daring to even fart.

Master Zhan saw this and stepped forward to mediate the fight with a smile:
"Although Master Zheng had good intentions, he hired the wrong person!"

"That Mei family will surely be executed in the future. Others can't even hide from him, so why is Master Zheng actively trying to get close to him?"

Jia Zheng frowned and said:
"Things in the future will change, so won't the Xue family change too?"

"Since Mei Hanlin knows that he will encounter misfortune in the future, he will certainly be cautious and not give others the opportunity to take advantage of him. Maybe he will be safe in the future."

"Master Zheng is wrong." Master Zhan shook his head and explained, "The Xue family knew that the disaster came from the Mei family, so they could change their fate by cutting off their relationship. But the disaster of the Mei family came from his official position. As long as he refused to resign, he would definitely not be able to escape the disaster of extermination. But if he resigned, why would Master Zheng care about him?"

Jia Zheng tilted his head and thought for a moment, then felt that this made sense, so he kicked Baoyu hard on the buttocks and cursed:

"You little bastard, I'll let you off this time, but if you dare to talk nonsense again next time, I'll definitely cut off your tongue!"

Baoyu had no choice but to agree, and felt even more grateful to Brother Zhan.

However, after returning home, Mei Hanlin thought about it for a long time and was still reluctant to give up his official hat.

He paced back and forth in the study for a long time, and finally came up with a perfect idea.

Although he didn't know where the future disaster would come from or how to avoid it, he knew that there must be someone who knew how to seek benefits and avoid harm.

That’s Jia Zheng!
Although Lin Daiyu refused to tell him the details of what happened, she couldn't remain indifferent to her uncle, right?

Apart from anything else, she couldn't let the Jia Mansion, her family's only support, fall, right?
If Jia Zheng encountered danger, he would certainly be warned by Lin Daiyu, and then he would avoid danger and seek good fortune, and remain standing in the court.

Then conversely, we can infer that as long as he follows Jia Zheng's steps, there will be no major danger!
At this point, he no longer has any extravagant hopes of becoming a cabinet minister. As long as he can keep his official hat, after avoiding this disaster, he will surely make a comeback one day.

After figuring it out, Mei Hanlin began to pay close attention to Jia Zheng's movements in the court and maintain his position.

So, when Jia Zheng went against the trend and submitted a memorial to the emperor to protect Shi Nai, Mei Hanlin also followed suit and stood among the party of four kings and eight dukes.

Mei Hanlin chose to take sides, and even if his subordinates were unwilling, they had no choice but to follow him and start supporting Baoling Hou.

The four kings and eight dukes were overjoyed at this powerful ally who suddenly showed goodwill to them for no apparent reason. Although they were not clear about his purpose, as long as he spoke for his own people, he was a good friend. Therefore, they showed goodwill to Mei Hanlin in various ways.

All of a sudden, Mei Hanlin found that many things were going smoothly, and he became more certain that Jia Zheng's movements were the best indicator of the government's political situation.

Even the emperor was a little confused by what he did.

What is Mei Hanlin thinking?

He was a typical civil servant, so how did he end up hanging out with that group of powerful people?

Is it because you want to join the cabinet so much?

But the final decision on the choice of cabinet ministers lies in the hands of the emperor!
Or... he was actually the one that the group of civil officials wanted to strike a balance, so they intentionally did this?
The emperor, who was no longer short of money and had greatly increased his power because of Master Zhan's mess, originally wanted to start with Marquis Baoling and try to clip the wings of the powerful in advance. However, he had to temporarily terminate his plan because of Hanlin Mei's defection.

Looking at the glaring names of the Meilianchi faction members in the list of court officials who were trying to protect Marquis Baoling, the emperor couldn't help but think too much.

Compared to the Jia family, who were promised the title of virtuous concubine but still failed to be won over, this civil servant faction is the real concern of the emperor.

Even if you want to deal with the ungrateful Jia family, you have to get rid of Mei Hanlin first!
Mr. Zhan had no idea of ​​the political situation behind this. He still happily took Lin Daiyu for a stroll around his house, allowing her to meet her future sisters one by one.

Although all the concubines had already known that Baochai's "terminal illness" was fake, they all pretended not to know. They all respected Lin Daiyu, the woman who "legend has it" would become the future mistress of the house, and they said a lot of nice things to her and gave her a lot of gifts.

Since this "precognitive dream" conflicts with reality, the smart girls naturally begin to doubt whether this "precognitive dream" is another trick played by their masters.

When Lin Daiyu was unaware, the truth about her "precognitive dream" was revealed in such a confusing way.

Since the master likes to play like this, then everyone should play with him!

Even if we don't do it for Lin Daiyu's sake, we have to do it for our master's sake!
After being surrounded by a group of beautiful girls and being shown around the exhibition hall, Lin Daiyu suddenly felt inexplicably like the mistress of a family.

"Sister, since you are here, why don't you make a few sets of clothes for us!" You Erjie said to Daiyu with a smile, holding a sexy "backyard suit" in one hand.

"This..." Daiyu couldn't help blushing when she saw the uniformly thin and revealing clothes. But her second sister urged her, "Sister, the ladies in the mansion all wear this. It's very comfortable. Why don't you make two first and try them on? If they don't feel comfortable, just throw them away."

Since there are concubines in the mansion, how can I, as the eldest wife, not have any?

Under the instigation of You Erjie, Daiyu gritted her teeth and finally decided to follow the crowd and wear these clothes from now on.

So Xing Xiuyun measured Daiyu herself, wrote down her measurements, and then called Qingwen to ask her to cut and make the clothes herself.

"Hey, Qingwen, your face..."

Daiyu had a deep impression of Qingwen, the maidservant beside Baoyu. She also knew that she had suffered a lot, her throat was hoarse and her face was disfigured. But she didn't expect to see her here. Moreover, her face was so delicate and didn't look disfigured at all. She walked forward in surprise, took her hand and asked softly.

"To answer Miss Lin, it was the master who invited a famous doctor and used secret medicine to cure me."

This is the standard answer to the outside world. We can't let Mr. Zhan's secrets be leaked out casually.

Seeing that Qingwen was now fully recovered, Daiyu asked in a low voice:

"Does Brother Bao know your current situation?"

Qingwen curled her lips and said respectfully:

"Second Master Bao is very busy and rarely comes to visit the mansion. I haven't contacted Second Master Bao for a long time."

After hearing this, Daiyu looked at Qingwen with astonishment and said in surprise:

"Is this still the Qingwen I know?"

"I don't remember you having such rules!"

Qingwen then said:

"That's because Qingwen was young and ignorant, and didn't know the difference between superiors and subordinates, so she suffered the hardships that followed."

"Now I have recognized my own identity and have been serving the master as a maid. My life is much better than before."

After she said that, Daiyu realized that Qingwen's eyes and eyebrows had already opened, and it was obvious that she had also been taken in by Mr. Zhan.

She looked carefully at the people around her and found that all the maids around these concubines were like this.

Naturally, Daiyu became jealous and immediately lost interest. She said goodbye to everyone and returned to Rongguo Mansion.

After returning home, Zijuan and Xueyan began to open the gift boxes happily, chattering non-stop.

"Miss, it seems that the concubines in the mansion have already recognized your identity!"

"Of course not, otherwise why would they give so many gifts!"

"Look at this pearl necklace. Each pearl is so full and round. And these silver earrings. The bells underneath are so beautiful..."

"And these, these... I don't recognize many of these things and don't know what they are used for."

Daiyu was sitting at the table sulking. By chance, she glanced over and saw the toys that Zijuan and Xueyan were fiddling with. She was slightly stunned, and then she recognized the so-called necklace, earrings... what were they? She was immediately embarrassed, jumped up, rushed over, snatched those things, threw them into the box, and shouted with a red face:
"This, this is not a good thing, don't touch it!"

She reached into the box and fiddled around with it, taking a quick glance. Only then did she become certain that none of the gifts given to her by the concubines in the Zhan Mansion were serious. They were all "good things" that she had seen in her dreams!
After realizing this, Daiyu was immediately ashamed and angry. Her original sense of pride was gone. She only felt that people were sinister, and every step in the Zhan Mansion was even more frightening.

However, it was precisely because of what the girls did that Daiyu's original intention to retreat out of jealousy completely disappeared.

She held the gifts in her hands and secretly made up her mind that she really had to have the identity of the eldest lady of the Zhan family!
After she becomes the eldest lady of the mansion, she will bring these "gifts" back and use them on them one by one, letting them taste how good these things are!
Thanks to the disciple "Remembering Blue" for the reward of 500 coins!
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(End of this chapter)