Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 134: Duke Rong scolds Lady Jia
Yue Ling knocked at the gate of Xizhimen and the city guards were waiting. Prince Zhongshun, who had not slept all night, hurried to open the gate himself and welcomed Yue Ling in.

"Everyone was worried about you today, and you're finally back."

Seeing that Yue Ling was covered in blood but seemed uninjured, Prince Zhongshun breathed a sigh of relief.

When they arrived in front of Yue Ling's horse, they saw that Yue Ling was carrying a person on his back, who was wrapped in a brocade quilt.

Prince Zhongshun was startled and asked, "You didn't capture Tuji alive?"

Yue Ling raised his eyebrows helplessly and slowly dismounted, "What are you thinking, Your Majesty? Am I some kind of god? This is Old Duke Rong."

"What? Duke Rong is not dead?"

Prince Zhongshun said the same thing as Yue Ling.

When Yue Ling loosened the rope, he saw that Jia Daishan's eyes were closed and he had fainted. He had lost his previous spirit. Yue Ling hurriedly put his finger on his philtrum.

Sighing, Yue Ling said, "Although it is a little weak, it is still breathing. Your Majesty, please send the imperial physician here as soon as possible. The old Duke Rong is in very poor health. If he is not taken good care of, I am afraid he will not live long."

"Well, that's just what we should do."

Prince Zhongshun hurriedly followed Yue Ling's instructions and invited Yue Ling and Jia Daishan to stay in a nearby house.

The news of Yue Ling's return spread quickly throughout the capital, and the generals guarding the other eight gates of the capital all came to Xizhimen to visit him.

In the room, Yue Ling took off all his armor, washed himself briefly, changed into casual clothes, sat on the kang and drank some tea, then saw them walk in one by one.

Seeing Yue Ling, Liu Fang said excitedly: "The Grand Commander is indeed brave! He fought back and forth against 70,000 northern barbarians. He is simply the modern-day Zhao Zilong of Changshan. From now on, storytellers should not tell these old stories. They should make up stories for the Grand Commander."

"It was just luck. The Northern Barbarians were careless and didn't prepare for defense."

General Feng Tang asked again, "I heard that the Grand Commander rescued Duke Rong from the Northern Barbarians' tent. Is that true?"

Yue Ling nodded, "It's right next door. Old Duke Rong has a lot of old injuries all over his body. The imperial physician said he needs to rest, so please don't disturb him."

Feng Tang nodded and said, "The Grand Commander is invincible. I admire him."

At the right time, another person came in and said, "The key is that after this battle, the Northern Barbarians will be on tenterhooks all day long. According to the news sent back by the spies, this battle burned nearly half of the Northern Barbarians' baggage camps, killed twice as many enemy troops as ours during the night raid, and injured countless people."

Smiles appeared on the faces of all the generals. They all knew what this meant. There was a high probability that the capital would be saved.

Only if they defend the capital city can their previous military exploits be converted into real merit.

Yue Ling nodded slightly, "Everyone, you should go to the city wall first. We cannot rule out the possibility that the northern barbarians will go desperate and attack us. If they do, we will have to rely on you."

Hearing Yue Ling use the phrase "a cornered dog will climb a wall" to describe it, all the generals couldn't help but smile, thinking it was very apt.

Then they all bowed to Yue Ling and left.

"General Jia, please stay."

Among the crowd, Yue Ling called Jia Daihua back.

"Old General, Duke Rong is resting in the next room now. Why don't you go and take a look?"

Jia Daihua frowned, nodded slightly, walked to the door of the room beside him, but did not push it open, and then stepped back.

With a long sigh, Jia Daihua said, "Alas, I am too ashamed to see him. Forget it, it's enough to know that he didn't die at the hands of the Northern Barbarians. Yue boy, I leave it to you. After daybreak, you should send him back to the mansion."

Yue Ling nodded slightly and said, "That's the only way."

At this moment, Jia Daishan in the room had already woken up. Having learned everything about the capital from Du Ke, he couldn't help but sigh.

……

Early in the morning, Rongguo Mansion,

The gate of Rongguo Mansion was closed as usual, and a soldier came forward and knocked on the doorknob.

"Who is it?"

The doorman impatiently opened a crack and said to the person outside: "Rongguo Mansion is not welcoming guests now, please go back."

The soldier thrust his knife into the crack of the door and shouted angrily, "Are you blind? Is this a visitor?"

The doorman was startled, and when he opened the door again, he saw Yue Ling and several others carrying an old man down from the carriage.

The old Duke had been guarding the border for many years, so the doorman didn't know him, but he recognized Yue Ling, and hurriedly said to the others: "It's bad, Yue Ling is here to cause trouble again, quickly send someone to inform the second master in the room!"

Before long, Jia Zheng was escorted out of the door by a group of people.

Jia Zheng, who knew how Yue Ling bullied Jia Zhen and Jia Rong in Ningguo Mansion, was also very nervous at this time.

"Whether he wants food, silver, or women, as long as it's not too much, we can grant it to him. He is so powerful in the capital now, who dares to offend him?"

Jia Zheng rubbed his hands nervously, then stepped out of the door and saw Yue Ling talking to an old man.

"Look, old Duke, this is the doorman in your house, and he can be so arrogant. And the Jia family's way of entertaining guests is that anyone who comes has to wait outside the door. Is this reasonable?"

Jia Daishan was so angry that he coughed repeatedly. "I will kill these evil bastards and leave it to the Grand Commander!"

When Jia Zheng saw the old Duke, he felt as if he had seen a ghost and could hardly believe his eyes.

He rubbed his face vigorously. Although his cheeks were thin, he knew that he was indeed his biological father. He ran out quickly, fell to his knees with a plop, and cried bitterly, "Dad, I am an unfilial son!" Jia Daishan glared at him and said angrily, "Dad, what do you mean by father? I don't have a son like you! How do you discipline your servants? You only bring shame to my Jia family. Get out!"

Yue Ling shook his head helplessly, signaled to the doorman to open the gate of Rongguo Mansion, and entered Rongguo Mansion with a group of soldiers.

The news of the old Duke's return seemed to have caused a stir in the mansion. Even in the early morning, people from all the courtyards came out, and the female family members all blocked the second gate, looking outside.

After putting on her clothes, Jia's mother did not have time to wash and comb her hair. She was hurriedly supported by someone and came to Rong Xi Tang.

When she saw Jia Daishan, she immediately threw herself on his side and burst into tears. All the female relatives who followed her were wiping away tears.

But at this moment, Jia Daishan closed his eyes tightly and did not respond.

The crying and making a fuss really annoyed Yue Ling, "Master, I'll go back first."

Jia Daishan opened his eyes again and said, "Grand Commander, please wait for a while. I will find someone to invite you after I have dealt with my family affairs."

Yue Ling nodded and agreed, "Okay then."

Jia Daishan glared at Jia Zheng, "You evil creature, entertain our distinguished guest well, or I'll have your legs broken!"

Jia Zheng nodded repeatedly.

This angry shout also stopped the women around him from crying. Even Lady Jia was stunned, not knowing what was going on.

They originally thought that the old man was fast asleep.

Jia Daishan frowned again and said, "Take me to the inner hall."

Several strong women ran out of the room, hurriedly put Jia Daishan on a sedan chair, and carried him to Rongqing Hall.

When they arrived at the hall, Jia Daishan leaned back on the couch and ordered, "Everyone get out."

Then he looked at Lady Jia and said, "You stay."

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but look stern, knowing that something was wrong.

She was the most powerful person in the mansion when the old master was not around, but now that the man was back, the inner house was naturally different.

"Yes, what's the matter?"

After everyone had left, including Yuanyang, who served Lady Jia, and the old couple were the only ones left in the hall, Jia Daishan finally spoke.

"I have been stationed at the border for many years and have never returned home. How did you manage this family when it was handed over to you? You secretly colluded with King Kang, participated in the palace coup, and harmed the East Palace. How can you face the ancestors of the Jia family again?"

"What makes you dare to be so important? Who do you think you are? Everyone in this mansion flatters you as the most powerful person. Do you think you are so arrogant that you can't even touch the ground?"

Grandmother Jia was so shocked that she trembled, "You know everything?"

"Who do you think you can hide this from?"

The more Jia Daishan spoke, the angrier he became. "The Jia family is doomed to fall, and the blame is all on you! She'er, Zheng'er, none of them can become talented, and none of their descendants will have a promising future. And he was born with a jade in his mouth, and he was raised like a treasure in the mansion, and he hangs out with women all day long. I feel ashamed when I hear it at the border."

"My Jia family is a military family. Even if we can't study, we have to come to the border to gain experience. But you are different. You are not good at literature, nor martial arts. You are afraid of bumps and scratches. Are you a porcelain doll made of fire?"

Jia Daishan was really angry. After he said a few words in succession, his face turned purple and he started coughing non-stop.

This frightened Lady Jia, so she quickly took the water on the table and fed it to him.

Jia Daishan turned his head away and continued, "You have ruined this family. Don't even think about being buried in the Jia family's clan cemetery or entering the clan temple!"

These words made Jia's mother feel like being struck by lightning. The teacup fell out of her hand and hit the ground, and she herself collapsed to the ground.

Jia Daishan calmed down for a long time, then said, "Call someone in, I have something to tell you!"

Grandmother Jia had no choice but to get up from the ground and ask a few smart maids from outside to enter the room.

Yuanyang, Amber and the others all knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "Your servant, greets the old master."

Jia Daishan said coldly: "Send someone to build a house for me in the northeast corner of the mansion, closest to the imperial palace. It doesn't have to be many houses, more than ten rooms will be enough, and leave a small door leading to the outside of the mansion."

Glancing at Lady Jia again, Jia Daishan said, "Whether it is Rongqing Hall or Rongxi Hall, I find them unlucky. I will just rest in my little courtyard. No one is allowed to disturb me!"

Yuanyang and Amber both glanced at Lady Jia secretly, but seeing that she was just shedding tears and saying nothing, they immediately responded to the old duke's words.

"Also, invite Grand Commander Yue in. I have something to say."

Looking at Lady Jia, Jia Daishan said, "Fortunately, you and Yue Ling have no intersection. If you offend Yue Ling, the Jia family will have no room for maneuver! You can laugh secretly. Because of this incident, I gave you some face and sent the servants away."

Upon hearing this, Lady Jia collapsed again.

Jia Daishan sensed something was wrong, "Why, is Yue Ling to blame for the crime in the mansion?"

Grandmother Jia hurriedly said, "No, no, there is no intersection."

Jia Daishan exhaled lightly, "That's good, let's leave here first, I don't want to see you either!"

Grandmother Jia nodded repeatedly, and with no one to support her, she went to the porch at the back, hunched over.

(End of this chapter)