Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 192 Lin Daiyu: Zijuan, what’s wrong with you?

Yue Ling really didn't have any ideas about Xue Baochai. He just pointed her out and told her not to get involved in the quagmire of the Jia family.

After the death of the two old masters of the Jia family, it is hard to say whether Grandmother Jia will live a peaceful life.

In the end, it is inevitable that the ending is "The earth is covered in white and so clean", and anyone who gets touched by it will be unlucky.

However, compared to Xue Baochai, Yue Ling cares more about Xiangling behind her.

Perhaps because of the many days of disaster relief, Yue Ling became more compassionate than before, and felt sympathy for these people who had done nothing wrong but had a tragic life story.

If there were no kidnappers, perhaps Xiangling, also known as Zhen Yinglian, would still be a country gentry lady, and would not have been sold as a maid.

Which family can treat maids as tolerantly as Yue Ling? It is common for them to beat and scold them.

"The kidnappers are really despicable. No matter what era it is, the trafficking of women and children should be thoroughly investigated."

Yue Ling made up his mind that after completing the great task of saving the people, he should solve this major case, which would also be considered a major event to save the hearts of the people.

When you are in a state of confusion,

Yue Ling looked at Zijuan in surprise, and saw that her eyes and eyebrows were like ripples in spring water, and her lips were opening and closing.
Zi Juanhong's mind was in a trance, but driven by instinct, she could no longer resist the emotions. She bit her teeth lightly and murmured, "Master, I..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Yue Ling.

"Let me do it. You lie down and rest for a while."

Yue Ling put on his small clothes, threw the unusable mattress on the ground, replaced it with new ones, and then lay down with Zijuan in his arms.

"Why are you acting so abnormal today?"

After hearing Yue Ling's question, Zijuan seemed to come back to her senses. "Yes, the young lady asked me to find out about Miss Xue. What did the master say just now?"

When Zijuan and Yue Ling looked at each other, they seemed to be burned and quickly looked away.

Yue Ling's hand was still stroking, so Zijuan didn't dare to ask.

"It's okay, it's okay, Master, let's take a break, it's already four o'clock in the morning."

Zijuan leaned against Yue Ling, hugged Yue Ling's waist, and slowly closed her eyes.

Yue Ling chuckled and slowly fell asleep with her.

……

It was rainy and windy last night,

The next morning, Zijuan had not recovered much energy.

Xueyan, who had to take on the responsibility of cooking porridge, pouted. She always felt that Zijuan had been getting up later and later since she went to General Yue's place.

Moreover, the girl didn't ask about it today, as if the two of them had some tacit understanding and kept it secret from her alone.

This made Xueyan's porridge taste even less delicious.

"I'm done eating. I'm going to the government office first."

Yue Ling put down his bowl and chopsticks and said goodbye to the girls.

Lin Daiyu nodded lightly, "Brother Yue, take care."

After Yue Ling left, Lin Daiyu looked at Zijuan again. She was listless, as if she was a flower blown away by wind and rain after a night.

"This... this Sister Zijuan seems to have made a great sacrifice. How come she became a different person overnight?"

Lin Daiyu was a little surprised by this situation. She vaguely remembered that there had been similar times before and Zijuan was always in high spirits with affectionate brows. She didn't know what had happened yesterday.

But Lin Daiyu was too embarrassed to ask.

"Sister Zijuan."

I greeted her, but Zijuan didn't respond. Her eyes were fixed on the two overlapping dishes on the plate.

Lin Daiyu didn't know what she was thinking. She put one of them in her bowl and asked, "Sister Zijuan, what did Brother Yue tell you yesterday?"

Zijuan finally came to her senses.

"Oh, yes, yes."

Lin Daiyu nodded repeatedly, looking forward to her next words.

"It seems that the master admired her very much and said that she had a good background, but it was not an easy one."

Lin Daiyu's brows gradually frowned, "What is this? What else did Brother Yue say? Sister Zijuan, you are smart, you should know what I am asking."

Zijuan tried hard to recall the scene of last night, and her cheeks gradually turned red.

"I dare not think about it. I dare not think about it."

Zijuan shook her head, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and said with a wry smile, "Miss, I forgot a little." Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes, poked Zijuan's forehead, and said, "You can't even do this. You've forgotten everything while lying in bed, even what I said?"

After spitting, Lin Daiyu thought to herself, "She is such a loser. She just slept with Brother Yue for a whole night, but she is like a lost soul. I also slept with Brother Yue for a while, but I was not as stupid as her."

Seeing that Lin Daiyu was very dissatisfied, Zijuan also lowered her head in shame.

Seeing this, Xueyan was even more confused. "What's the matter? Sister Zijuan can't do it well, so let me do it. Don't blame her, girl."

"Sister Zijuan looks listless and dazed. She probably didn't sleep well."

Zijuan was helpless and said in her heart, "You won't be able to sleep well if you go."

Lin Daiyu curled her lips and said, "Forget it, just eat your meal."

Xueyan pouted and scooped another bowl from the pot.

……

All the way to the government office, Yue Ling had a smile on his face.

How could he hide the eye contact between Lin Daiyu and Zijuan at the table? Zijuan's abnormal behavior yesterday was most likely instigated by someone.

"Would Sister Lin instigate such a thing? That shouldn't be the case. Most likely Zijuan misunderstood. Maybe there is some other reason behind it."

Yue Ling didn't have the mood to think about it too much, but there was no doubt that Lin Daiyu was still concerned about Xue Baochai.

Thinking of this, Yue Ling couldn't help but shake his head, "I treat her well because of my heart, and I treat Xue Baochai well because I pity her. How can they be the same? Sister Lin is so smart, I think she is just worried about her."

The little girl stayed in the room all day long and had nothing else to do except reading and painting. The rest of her energy was probably spent on thinking about these trivial things.

Words are not enough to prove anything, and Lin Daiyu doesn't believe what people say the most. All Yue Ling can do is to spend more time with her when he returns.

As they entered the back hall, Jia Yun came to greet them.

"Master, are you in a good mood today?"

Yue Ling smiled and said, "Not bad. Are there any new things happening outside while you are here?"

Jia Yun followed Yue Ling into the room and brought out a complete set of tea sets.

"It was something that the master had expected. There is no surprise at all. Early this morning, all the merchants and gentry in the city sent people to Nanpi County."

Yue Ling nodded, "As the saying goes, people die for money, and birds die for food. It's not surprising that people are like this."

Jia Yun then turned to another matter, "The details of Pu Zheng and Ji Qing that the master asked me to investigate have been almost completed."

"Park Jung was a Jinshi, and in his old age he had a daughter whom he doted on. In his early years, his daughter fell ill, and he visited many famous doctors to treat her, but still failed to save her life, and she died. Since then, Park Jung's personality has changed drastically, and he is not very interested in governing government affairs."

"He must have incurred a lot of foreign debts while treating his daughter, and then he started to make a lot of money, which eventually led to the current situation."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, thinking, "They are all people who have read the books of sages. They will not take the exam just for the sake of money. There must be some opportunity. But there is nothing to pity for such a person. How can we pity him and be worthy of the people in Cangzhou who died because of him?"

Jia Yun had the same idea, so he added, "Ji Qing does have a good background. The Ji family is a big family in Jinzhong, and they have been doing business for generations. But they don't regard business as their primary concern. They never neglect poetry and books, and they have many people who have passed the imperial examinations and become officials."

"There are still nearly twenty officials with the surname Ji in the court. However, none of them hold very high positions. The highest is only a fifth-rank official."

"After your majesty has rewarded the heroes of the battle of the capital, there should be an opportunity to make further progress."

"But Ji Qing has been in prison for several days, and no one from the court or the Shanxi merchants has ever contacted us, as if he does not have such an identity. I was a little skeptical about the accuracy of the news at the time, but after much verification, it was confirmed that he was indeed a branch of the Ji family."

Yue Ling asked, "Did Ji Qing enter the government through the imperial examination?"

Jia Yun shook his head again. "No, it seems that he was promoted from a clerk in Cangzhou and was given the post of Tongpan."

When the imperial examination system developed to its peak, basically all officials were selected through the imperial examination system. Only with honors and achievements could one perform better in officialdom, but there were always exceptions.

The first is to be blessed by someone. If one's ancestors were high-ranking officials or had made great contributions, their descendants can benefit from this, which is similar to Wang Ziteng's current situation.

Secondly, one can donate money to become an official and pay a large sum of money to make up for the financial deficit, but this type of position usually only has an empty title and no real power.

Then there are the clerks. The status of officials and clerks is very different. Officials are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel and are appointed by the central government. Most clerks are local tyrants or selected by officials to assist officials in doing things better in the local area.

There is also a system of selection and promotion for this type of officials. They are usually evaluated every three years, and only those who have served for nine years are eligible for promotion.

In Beijing, the first and second yamen officials can be granted the seventh rank, and the second and third yamen officials can be granted the eighth rank and eighth rank respectively.

Tongpan was of the seventh rank.

I don't know how it worked, but Ji Qing was able to sit in the position of Tongpan now.

"Although the imperial examination system has certain limitations, it is generally the best system today. Officials who are not from the imperial examination system have many more tricks behind them."

Jia Yun asked in confusion, "Master, this auspicious event is not simple?"

Yue Ling shook his head and smiled: "More than that, the Ji family itself is not simple."

(End of this chapter)