Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 208: Marquis Anjing

Under Yue Ling's governance, Cangzhou Prefecture is visibly regaining vitality.

The main street in the city has been re-paved with bluestone slabs. It is no longer bumpy like it used to be, and it will not become muddy when it rains.

The trees along the street, which were originally withered and yellow, have now sprouted new buds. When the breeze blows, the willow branches rustle, which also provides some coolness for passers-by.

The shops facing the street are no longer with closed doors and windows and dusty signboards. Now nine out of ten shops are open, and a new market has slowly taken shape.

The Xue family did contribute a lot in this.

Under Yue Ling's instructions, Xue Jiafeng acquired many shops and, after renovating them, continued to sell daily necessities for the city's citizens at low prices.

The Xue family's silver shop now also supports the purchase of grain at a price lower than the market price. The people can exchange the food rations they earn from working for cash at the silver shop and then buy some commercial goods.

This cycle repeated itself over and over again. Money circulated in the city like blood, spreading to every street and alley, and business showed signs of recovery.

As more shops opened, more shop assistants were hired, which also absorbed a group of idle vagrants.

Moreover, the Xue family opened a porridge stall outside the main store, doing good deeds to win people's hearts, and their reputation gradually improved.

But the development was too rapid, and Xue Baochai's burden became heavier.

Starting from noon every day, the sound of abacus in her room would not stop, checking accounts, calculating various expenses, and planning the next projects to be implemented.

Yue Ling provided the direction, but there would still be many difficulties when it came to implementation, and this would all need to be discussed and decided by Xue Baochai and the old managers of the Xue family.

Despite the hard work, Xue Baochai still enjoyed it.

At first, she wanted to fulfill her father's long-cherished wish and personally paint the picture that Yue Ling had drawn for her. Later, after Yue Ling's guidance, she wanted to get rid of her identity, not be looked down upon because of her daughter, and truly take on the responsibility of the Xue family.

But now, her mood has changed again.

Everything Xue Baochai did was just to catch up with the person in her heart and move towards the light in her mind.

She couldn't ask for a better fate, just as she couldn't ask for a better life experience.

But Xue Baochai wanted to rely on her own efforts to have the confidence to stand by that person's side, just to be able to stand by his side...

Xue Baochai covered her mouth and coughed lightly. Ying'er, who was flipping through the account book at the side, brought her some tea. It was the same strong and fragrant tea as always, which was Xue Baochai's favorite.

"Girl, you should take a break. Even if you work so hard, no one can see it. It's useless."

Xue Baochai took the tea, rolled her eyes at Ying'er and said, "You only know how to gossip every day. If you continue to talk nonsense, I'll pull out your tongue."

Ying'er stuck out her tongue. "The girl's thoughts are written on her face. How could I be wrong?"

After taking a sip of tea, Xue Baochai pretended not to hear Ying'er's words and continued to be busy.

Ying'er also made herself look bad, and was also looking through the accounts on a small table nearby.

After a while, another person came back into the room.

Xiangling took off her coat and placed the pile of accounts on Xue Baochai's desk again.

The account books, which originally had only a few left, were piled up like a small mountain.

Xue Baochai's face showed no sign of change, and she asked casually, "Is everything going well outside? How is the business of the new store that opened today?"

Xiangling replied, "Everything else is fine, but the business of the rouge and powder shop is surprisingly good."

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "This is nothing surprising. Although there are many disaster victims in the city, most of them are from the counties and villages outside the city. There are still many people with good families in the city. Otherwise, who would buy two hundred coins of grain?"

"There is a shortage of houses in the city, and there haven't been stores like this for a long time, so we buy something new at the beginning of the business."

Xiangling thought about it and nodded slightly.

Xue Baochai looked up and saw that Xiangling, who was already sullen, looked even more stunned as if something was on her mind. She couldn't help but ask with concern, "What happened to you outside?"

Xiangling said, "When I went to the rouge shop, I ran into a big, dark-skinned man buying rouge... Uh, that was very strange."

Xue Baochai was puzzled. "A big, dark-skinned man? Maybe he's a servant in someone's mansion."

Xiangling didn't think so. The man's clothes didn't look like a servant, and his words and actions were even less like a servant. But Xiangling couldn't describe it, so she kept silent.

Xue Baochai stopped writing and continued, "Since you think he's strange, ask the shopkeepers outside to keep an eye on his movements today and ask where he's been. If he's really suspicious, report it to the Marquis."

The Xue family now has shops all over the city, and has taken on the task of collecting information for Yue Ling. This is the Xue family's second job.

Xiangling nodded slightly and agreed.

"Before nightfall today, you will deliver this letter to the Cangzhou government office to the Marquis."

After hearing the "slander" of the little girl Ying'er, Xue Baochai thought it made some sense. Besides, she had to report on her work from time to time, so it was a good opportunity for Xiangling to go there.

Xiangling replied woodenly, "Yes."

But when I thought about meeting that godlike figure, my calm heart began to be slightly disturbed.

……

In the back hall of the government office in Cangzhou Prefecture, Yue Ling continued to push forward the investigation into the case of the Yunxing Escort Agency smuggling young children. In Yue Ling's opinion, it was a trap set up for the Yunxing Escort Agency, and several parties were involved in it to achieve their own goals.

The person who originally provided the goods has now disappeared without a trace, and it is obvious that this was a joint setup by Jiqing and his gang.

Yue Ling initially thought that Ji Qing was working for the Shanxi merchants, but now it seems that this is not the case.

"My Lord, are you looking for me?"

Zhao Hao, the young master of Yunxing Escort Agency, walked into the back hall and bowed to Yue Ling, who was sitting in the middle thinking.

Yue Ling waved his hand and said, "No need to be polite, please sit down first."

Jia Yun stepped forward to serve tea and invited Zhao Hao to sit at the tea table nearby.

"You said before that you wanted to find a job for the escort agency?"

Hearing this, Zhao Hao picked up the teacup, then put it back tremblingly, "As long as the Marquis has an order, we will go through fire and water to fulfill it."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "It's true that you are the young master of Yunxing Escort Agency, but the whole agency is not united yet. How can you work for me? I can trust you, but how can I trust others?"

Zhao Hao lowered his head in shame.

"I have two good jobs now. One is salt soldier. I need a trusted person to lead the troops and supervise the construction of salt fields on the seashore. The other is grain transport. Now that the canal is embanked and silt is excavated, it will definitely be more convenient to travel on the canal. At the same time, there will be more sailors and trackers taking root around Cangzhou. This also needs a manager."

"The latter doesn't have the official status of the former, but there are not many restrictions on what they can do, which is suitable for people like you who have a strong sense of the underworld. Salt soldiers are too official, so they must be well-trained soldiers."

Zhao Hao's eyes seemed to be shining, "I will follow the arrangements of the Marquis."

"How many people in the escort agency can listen to you now?"

Zhao Hao calculated and said, "There should be about 40 to 50 people. The key is that most of the old escorts are doing this to show respect to me, the young master of the family, but in reality they may have a deeper friendship with my second uncle."

"So what is Zhao Yuanxing doing now?"

"My second uncle is now doing some small business to make a living. It is precisely because I have no income now and my second uncle is doing some work that more and more people are leaning towards him."

Having said this, Zhao Hao couldn't help but sigh.

Yue Ling asked doubtfully, "With the reputation of your Yunxing Escort Agency, are there still people willing to escort for you? You know, anyone with a discerning eye can see that if there is no traitor, who would have changed the transported goods under the eyes of the escort agency?"

“If this happens again and the seller is involved, it will be a mess.”

Zhao Hao sighed, "They are the connections of my second uncle in the early years, and they are customers who can trust him."

Yue Ling asked carefully: "Where are you escorting?"

Zhao Hao continued to answer: "It should be to Shandong and the Huai River area. Our relationship was very tense last time, so I didn't ask in detail. But my father has always been in charge of the north, escorting to the north, and my second uncle is in charge of the south, so he should still go to the south."

Just when Zhao Hao was still worried about not having Zhao Yuanxing's connections, an imperial physician came in from outside the door and saluted Yue Ling.

"My Lord, we have already moved in and are staying in a courtyard near yours. If you need anything in the future, just come and find us."

Emperor Longyou attached great importance to this marquis, and the imperial doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau did not dare to disrespect him.

Yue Ling said politely: "Thank you for your trouble again and again."

The imperial physician shook his head, "I dare not say it's a toss."

After thinking carefully, and seeing that there were outsiders in the room, the imperial physician took a few steps closer and whispered to Yue Ling, "The daughter of Imperial Censor Lin is still young. If she lives with someone as hot-blooded as the Marquis, it is inevitable that she will get some minor illnesses. The Marquis should not get too close to her."

It was strange that the imperial physician was hesitant to speak, and Yue Ling felt even more surprised when he was about to say something.

Yue Ling's eyes widened in confusion and asked, "Is there such a saying?"

The imperial physician nodded slightly, "Of course it's not a big deal, it's just a minor illness like today, but the Marquis should be careful about what he does."

The imperial physician was reluctant to reveal the truth, and Yue Ling did not understand the implication of the imperial physician's words, because he really did not like young girls.

"Well, okay, I know what I'm talking about."

Seeing that Yue Ling seemed reluctant, the imperial physician gave him some pointers: "It's not that you can't get close to her, but you still have to wait until you are older, preferably after you reach the age of marriage."

"The Marquis is full of blood and energy, which is not good for women. Yang alone cannot produce life, and Yin alone cannot grow. It is better to be cautious."

"My Lord, do you have no intention of taking a concubine?"

The imperial physician made Yue Ling more and more confused. "Is this related to taking a concubine?"

The imperial physician nodded repeatedly, "Of course it is related."

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "I have no intention of taking a concubine yet."

The imperial physician's face trembled, "As expected, the Marquis doesn't like girls of the right age. Oh, this is not good, it will easily become a crux of criticism in the court."

After sighing inwardly, the imperial physician spoke again: "That's all I have to say. My Lord, just be sensible."

Then the imperial physician withdrew from Yue Ling's side. Just as he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of Zhao Hao drinking tea silently and frowned, saying, "My little brother, you have been poisoned."

(End of this chapter)