Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 327 Rongguo Mansion? Gone, Gone
An Jingzhong presided over the government of two dynasties. He had many students and former officials, especially those from Jiangnan, and his network of contacts spread throughout government offices at all levels.

Officials from Jiangnan also regarded him as a towering figure in the court. Whenever candidates from Jiangnan went to Beijing to take the imperial examinations, their first stop would always be to seek an audience with the Prime Minister's residence.

After Emperor Longyou agreed to beg for his remains, there was an uproar in the hall, and people knelt down in groups to petition for An Jingzhong.

An Jingzhong devoted his life to Dachang and did not retire with any title. However, his exit was so humiliating, which made the officials from Jiangnan even more disheartened.

At the right time, Dongfang Zhi stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Prime Minister An is old, and it is Your Majesty's sympathy that he has returned to his hometown to spend his remaining years. However, the Prime Minister is the head of all officials and needs to assist Your Majesty in managing the government. This position is related to the safety of the country and the prosperity and decline of the world, and it must not be vacant for long. I wonder if Your Majesty has any idea about the successor to the position of Prime Minister?"

The decisions made by Emperor Longyou had never been reversed in the court, not to mention that it was An Jingzhong himself who asked to beg for his remains.

After Dongfang Zhi spoke, everyone's attention shifted to the new candidate for the position of prime minister.

Normally, before retiring, the prime minister would provide several candidates to the emperor. However, in the court, An Jingzhong did not have the opportunity to speak for a while.

Emperor Longyou responded to Dongfang Zhi's words and said, "I don't have anyone to choose for the position of Prime Minister at the moment. You and Chai Pu will take on the responsibility of the Secretariat for the time being."

The two people whose names were called stood up and said, "We thank your Majesty."

……

After discussing this final court affair, Emperor Longyou walked happily toward the harem.

When we arrived at Kunning Palace, we saw the Queen teaching the three princes in a very stern way. Several half-grown children stood with their heads down, and some were wiping their tears.

When she looked up and saw Emperor Longyou not far away, the Queen asked the nanny to take the three of them away first, and then she went to meet them.

The nurse brought the three princes and bowed three times to Emperor Longyou, "Meet the Emperor, Father."

Emperor Longyou patted the three children on the shoulders and warned them, "You must listen to your mother and never make her angry, understand?"

The three of them responded in unison.

After they left, Emperor Longyou put on a smile again and asked with concern: "What? What did they do wrong again?"

The two walked together and came to the palace hall. They sat down next to each other. The queen sighed quietly, "Bad habits are hard to change. They are not only unwilling to learn but also naughty. Today they teased the teacher and deliberately threw insects from somewhere into the teacup when the teacher was not paying attention. Then they made the teacher so angry that he came here to complain."

Emperor Longyou laughed out loud at the three children, but the empress glared at him and he calmed down, saying comfortingly, "They are still young. You won't have to worry so much when they grow older."

The empress was obviously not as optimistic as Emperor Longyou, and sighed again, "When a woman first comes to teach a child, she behaves like this when she is young. How can they become better when they grow up? It's fine if we are an ordinary family, but this is the royal family."

Emperor Longyou took the empress's hand, stroked her and comforted her, "The emperor does not ask about personal virtues. Haven't you heard of Duke Huan of Qi's attitude towards Guan Zhong and Emperor Gaozu of Han's attitude towards Zhang Liang? Now that Guan Zhong and Zhang Liang are here, it is enough for them not to hinder them."

Seeing that Emperor Longyou was in great joy, the Queen knew the purpose of his visit.

"But did Yue Ling send a message?"

Emperor Longyou nodded, took the tea served by the palace maid, took a sip to moisten his lips, and replied: "Great achievement, the Shuangyu Island was wiped out without a single casualty."

The queen, who was unaware of the war, was also surprised. "Such a thing actually happened. It is indeed a great achievement. A victory without any casualties is unheard of. It will surely go down in history and be remembered forever."

Seeing Emperor Longyou's smug smile, the empress couldn't help but smile, "This is a good conversation between the monarch and his subjects. No wonder it makes Your Majesty so happy."

Emperor Longyou clapped his hands and smiled, and said, "Not only have we eradicated Shuangyu Island, a stubborn problem in the southeast, but we have also confiscated money on the island. This must be a great harvest. If we add the 5 million taels of silver paid by Japan, we may be able to earn enough taxes for Dachang for a year. This is really a relief."

"I thought the flood in Suzhou would cause a tremor in the southeast, so I could only delay the process, but I didn't expect that I would make a lot of money this time."

"It should be at least eight million taels. You have suffered enough with me over the years. How about inviting all the officials to the palace for a feast during the New Year's Day this year?"

Unconsciously, Emperor Longyou, as the Son of Heaven, cared more about gold and silver things than before, and was very happy about it.

The Queen frowned and said, "It's true that we made some money, but the wealth accumulated by robbing pirates is not something that can be achieved every year. Yue Ling is in the south not just for this one-time deal. He must have other things to do next. Doesn't he need a lot of silver?"

Emperor Longyou nodded and said, "Yue Ling submitted a memorial, wanting to open the sea and set up a separate government office, the Maritime Customs Office, to be in charge of maritime affairs. From protecting the merchant caravans to collecting taxes and silver from entering and leaving the port, all will be handled by this government office."

"Dachang has a long coastline. We need to open dozens of government offices from Tianjin to Guangzhou. Building ships and hiring officials will all require a lot of money."

"Moreover, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang government offices collapsed, and now Yue Ling is supporting them. The old system also needs to be changed. He wrote a letter suggesting that power should be divided and that the prime minister should no longer be appointed to take charge of all the power. Otherwise, in the rich lands of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it would be easy for a second Zhao Deyong to emerge."

"Military power, civil affairs, and law are divided into three offices: the Military Command, the Provincial Administration, and the Provincial Inspection Office. The boundaries of the powers of these three offices are clearly defined, so that they do not interfere with each other but can supervise each other."

"Jiangsu and Zhejiang are too rich and densely populated, so he also mentioned that they should be divided into two provinces, Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

"There are many other contents. The memorial is very detailed and has dozens of pages. I only glanced at some of it when I came here and have not read it all."

Emperor Longyou took out a thick piece of paper from his sleeve and sighed slightly.

"Yue Ling has a hard time too. He has to govern the country with civil affairs and maintain peace with military affairs. I'm afraid he is suffocating under the heavy burden, and he is still busy with taxation."

The Queen picked it up and flipped through it, saying, "Sharing such a burden, I am worried about your Majesty's health."

Emperor Longyou nodded heavily without saying anything.

The Queen asked, "With such an unprecedented achievement, I'm sure it has already caused a sensation in the capital. How will Your Majesty reward him?"

Emperor Longyou asked tentatively, "Promote him to Duke?"

"Let's not talk about the 22-year-old Duke. What if he makes more achievements after he is promoted to Duke? The Jurchens have not been pacified yet."

"A title of a county prince?"

"How can a county prince who is less than 30 years old be given the title of a prince?"

Emperor Longyou was also a little distressed, "Otherwise, should we give him the Qin Palace?"

The queen tilted her head to think about it, then sighed and said, "It would be nice if one of the three princes could be like him."

Blinking her eyes, the empress gradually shifted her gaze from the palace lantern to Emperor Longyou, "How about this, Your Majesty, stay overnight at Kunning Palace, and I will try my best to give birth to a princess, and then take him as your consort?"

Emperor Longyou smiled bitterly and said, "You must have gone insane. After ten months of pregnancy, it will take more than twenty years for Xiao Yueling to give birth. Besides, didn't you arrange the marriage of Lin Ruhai's orphan daughter to him?"

"The Imperial Hospital has also said that your body is no longer suitable for childbearing. Just take good care of yourself."

The Queen frowned and pretended to be displeased, "It's because Your Majesty doesn't try hard. There's no harm in giving it a try."

As she spoke, the empress came and grabbed the corner of Emperor Longyou's clothes. Emperor Longyou stood up immediately as if he had received an electric shock and said, "State affairs are heavy. I still have to read Yue Ling's memorial carefully. I will go back first. The empress, take care of yourself."

"Where's Xia Shouzhong? Hurry up and get ready!"

Emperor Longyou left in a hurry, causing the palace maids serving beside him to hold back their laughter.

The Queen raised her eyebrows and said, "Okay, stop making a fuss and go do your own things. Yuanchun, come and grind the ink. I want to write another letter for Yu'er."

……

Beijing,

The news of the victory in Suzhou swept across the capital like a gust of wind. The streets were deserted and the place was bustling with activity. People all came out of their houses and congratulated each other on this rare victory.

There were many people from Jiangnan in the capital. When they heard that the stubborn disease that had plagued Jiangsu and Zhejiang for decades had been eliminated overnight by Marquis Anjing, they were so happy that they danced with joy and praised Marquis Anjing's achievements to everyone they met.

Brothels, taverns, teahouses, all the places where common people gathered were packed with people today.

And they talked about nothing else but Marquis Anjing.

Some people thought of the rumors about Marquis An Jing, some were wondering how the emperor would reward him, and some were speculating on how Marquis An Jing accomplished the feat without any casualties. The streets were bustling with activity, as if the New Year had arrived.

The high-ranking families in the capital, especially the nobles, would sit together and discuss this huge event.

Especially since Marquis Anjing had promoted the sons of four kings and eight dukes during the Northern Barbarian Disaster, which allowed them to still have a place in the capital today. This was truly a great favor.

When it comes to discussing the matter of Marquis Anjing, there is no better place than Rongguo Mansion.

Not long after the news spread, the women of various families came to Rongqing Hall to celebrate and meet the old feudal lord of the Jia family.

And Grandmother Jia has not yet recovered from what happened this morning.

It turned out that Zhen Yingjia, the second master of the Zhen family, was escorted to the capital this morning, and the eunuchs had already announced at the foot of the city gate that he would be executed on a chosen day.

At this moment, Jia's mother, who was playing cards with several housekeepers' wives, realized that the errand she had sent someone to the south to do was not completed at all.

When he went to Jia Lian to find out the situation, he learned from him that Marquis Anjing did not give the Rongguo Mansion any face at all.

Not only that, if Jia Lian had not been so humble and served as circumstantial evidence of the Zhen family's mistakes, the Rongguo Mansion would have been investigated as well.

This made Grandmother Jia very angry.

I asked you to do something, but you didn't do it, and you let the Jia family get involved, making them accomplices in the beheading of the Zhen family. How can she face the women of the Zhen family again? How will the other four kings and eight dukes look at her?

While Lady Jia was still breathing heavily in Rongqing Hall, the women from the four kings and eight dukes' families really swarmed in.

"Old Lord Feng, have you heard about what happened this morning?" Wang Ziteng's wife, Liu, came closer to congratulate Lady Jia with a flattering smile on her face.

But this smile only made Lady Jia feel annoyed. She thought that everyone in the room was there to laugh at her, and she was secretly resentful.

"This Wang family is really annoying. As soon as they came in, they brought up something unpleasant. Isn't it obvious that they want to make me lose face?"

How could she know that few people cared about the life or death of the Zhen family. No one cared about their decline, only the flourishing flowers filled the house.

Grandmother Jia frowned and said perfunctorily: "I heard that, but we haven't done enough."

The faces of many female relatives froze when they heard this. They did not expect that Marquis Anjing would make new achievements in Suzhou and the Jia family would actually get some credit. As expected, if they had a good relationship with the Jia family, they might be able to get on Marquis Anjing's big ship.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Liu swallowed her saliva, endured the unbearable expression, and continued to try to get closer to him, saying, "No, no, the Rongguo Mansion's participation in this is really a relief for us. The old Lord Feng has never asked about outside affairs, and this move is indeed extraordinary."

A big question mark popped up in Grandmother Jia's heart.

"The first sentence sounds good. I thought the Wang family had changed their minds, but what does the second sentence mean? The Zhen family is almost dead. Is it because I, an old woman, am extraordinary?"

"Sure enough, this person has evil intentions and is still mocking and ridiculing me."

When Lady Jia looked at Mrs. Wang who was busy entertaining many female relatives, she couldn't help but feel a little hatred in her heart.

But everyone's eyes never left Grandmother Jia, so she had to suppress her anger and continued to talk, "It's not that he's extraordinary, but he doesn't know how to distinguish between relatives and strangers, so he won't be able to achieve anything. I just gave him a little reminder."

The women were stunned again.

It was rumored that Zhao Deyong was collaborating with the enemy and treason, and wanted to escape on a Japanese ship, but An Jinghou foresaw it and stopped him with artillery fire. Unexpectedly, it was Rongguo Mansion that first intercepted the news and informed An Jinghou.

Everyone looked at each other and sighed inwardly. The family fortune left by the two old masters was indeed extraordinary. Even their ancestral home, Jiangnan, had such well-informed information. This really should not be underestimated.

A lean camel is actually bigger than a horse.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "I wonder if the old Lord Feng has communicated with Marquis Anjing? If he returns to hold a banquet, can we also get an invitation?"

Grandmother Jia frowned. Why didn't she pass the letter? It was because of the Zhen family's affairs that she sent a letter to that evil creature for the first time in her life. Otherwise, she would not want to get into trouble and would want to avoid him as much as possible.

"What does this person mean? Is he questioning me for not helping the Zhen family?"

Grandmother Jia glared and said, "Of course he has been informed. He is a high-ranking official. Only the imperial edict can decide whether he will return. Who can say for sure?"

Everyone felt sorry, but they also found a way out. It turned out that the Rongguo Mansion had a close relationship with Marquis Anjing.

It is worthy of being the only mansion related to Marquis Anjing.

Rumor has it that Duke Rong Jia Daishan was rescued by Marquis Anjing, which can be regarded as a handover between two generations of meritorious officials. What's more, apart from Rongguo Mansion, Marquis Anjing has never set foot in any other mansion. Can it be said that the two are not close?
Everyone couldn't help but sigh: "Marquis Anjing is really too outstanding, and he is still young, how far he will go in the future is really immeasurable."

Grandmother Jia had a gloomy face and really couldn't understand why these people gathered here.

She kept saying things here and there, and it didn't seem like she was mocking the Zhen family, but she kept praising Yue Ling, which made Grandmother Jia feel unhappy.

Yes, this man has just reached adulthood and he doesn't take the Jia family seriously at all. If he continues to make things difficult for the Jia family in the future, won't he?

Grandmother Jia sighed deeply, picked up the teacup beside her and pretended to drink tea, but the others didn't care at all and had no intention of leaving.

Before long, Jia Zheng, after finishing the morning court, hurried back home.

Even Jia Zheng, who had little experience in politics, understood clearly what the outcome would be after this morning court session.

The prime minister has not been appointed yet, the Jiangnan Party has fallen, and Emperor Longyou is about to issue new laws. Isn't he just waiting for Marquis Anjing to become a general or a prime minister?
Yue Ling has achieved this unprecedented feat again. The minor unpleasantness he had with the Jia family must be resolved quickly, otherwise they would be really ungrateful and would have missed the opportunity.

Jia Zheng walked hurriedly towards Rongqing Hall, as if he could not hear a word. He ignored the servants' attempts to stop him and was determined to go into the hall and tell his mother everything that had happened that day.

But after entering the hall, he found it full of women from various families. He immediately regained his composure and retreated in shame.

In the backyard, women generally wore thin clothes. Especially since Rongguo Mansion was a wealthy family, they never saved on charcoal. There were many people in the house, so some women had already taken off their outer clothes.

After a burst of exclamations, Jia's mother said angrily, "What's the point of being so flustered and not reporting or passing on the message?"

The women in the families hurriedly put on their clothes, thinking in their hearts, "As expected, if the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked. There must be a reason why Baoyu broke into the house before."

Only Mrs. Wang and the others blushed with shame and could not even raise their heads.

When Jia Zheng entered the door again, he kept his head down, not daring to look around, staring at the stone bricks on the ground. "There is a big news in the capital now. Marquis Anjing has made new achievements in Suzhou, wiping out the Japanese pirates on Shuangyu Island, and no one was killed."

"This battle solved the troubles in the southeast for decades. Your Majesty has sent people to the south of the Yangtze River to verify the military achievements. Rewards will be given soon."

"My son, I've been thinking about it. Should we go and celebrate as well?"

Everyone in the hall looked at Grandmother Jia in astonishment. Grandmother Jia didn't know that Marquis Anjing had made another military achievement, so what were they talking about just now?
Unexpectedly, her son was in a hurry to report about Yue Ling, which made Grandmother Jia very angry. Moreover, it was Marquis Anjing who made new achievements and no one was killed in the battle?

Unexpectedly, the more she looked down on Yue Ling, the more powerful he became, and he was about to become a god in the storybooks.

Grandmother Jia sneered, "What a joke! How can there be no deaths in war? My Jia family is a military family. We should just fool the common people with this matter."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces changed and they moved towards the door imperceptibly.

Only at this moment did they realize that Rongguo Mansion seemed to have little to do with the great victory in Suzhou, and this old lord was not as shrewd as they had imagined.

Before the women could say goodbye and leave, something even more unexpected happened.

The women of the Zhen family followed the prison van to the capital city without giving up.

After the brothers Zhen Yingjia and Zhen Yinghan were imprisoned, their first stop was the Rongguo Mansion and rushed to Rongqing Hall.

At this moment, the hall was packed with people, and this scene made them feel even more aggrieved.

The women of the Zhen family knelt on the ground and cried inconsolably, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

The expression on Lady Jia's face trembled and her expression became even gloomier.

Mrs. Hu suddenly raised her head and said, "The Zhen family and the Jia family have been friends for generations. Considering their friendship, the Jia family would have been fine if they didn't help, but they stood up and accused the Zhen family of wrongdoing, thus making a case against the Zhen family."

"Today I am here to call you my ancestor again. How can you give me an explanation?"

Jia's mother's pale face suddenly turned red. Everyone was watching the excitement, and she was completely embarrassed.

After taking a few deep breaths, Jia's mother couldn't think of any response. Mrs. Wang beside her said, "It's not that we didn't work hard, but Marquis Anjing only recognizes reason, not emotion, and there is nothing we can do."

Mrs. Hu frowned and said angrily, "You only accept gifts? We gave the Jia family cash, the manor and the shop, which is equivalent to millions of taels. You have to pay it back!"

Hearing this, everyone present was shocked.

In a panic, Grandmother Jia fainted and fell to the ground, her eyes turned white, and the hall was in chaos again.

The maids standing by hurried forward to support, Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang shouted for the imperial physician to consult, the nanny, the housekeeper and the wife were all in a panic, and the women from various families who wanted to come to celebrate also took advantage of the chaos to escape.

I heard some incredible inside information today. How could the Jia family and the Zhen family have so much financial transactions?
"Go away, go away! No one is allowed to come to Rongguo Mansion from now on!"

……

Suzhou Prefecture,
As expected by Yue Ling, the long queue that had formed in front of the government office before was now blocked.

All carriages passing through here had to take a detour.

This is because apart from the noble families around Suzhou, all the wealthy families in the two prefectures, two states, twenty-six subordinate states, and one hundred and forty-three subordinate counties in the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, as long as they had any connection with Shuangyu Island, had to come to Suzhou to show their loyalty first.

I don't care about the amount of money and food I ask for, but I'm afraid that Marquis Anjing will kill me or cut me into pieces.

At this moment, Yue Ling's response was still to avoid the person.

Emperor Longyou's mind was squeezed with official duties, and Yue Ling, who had no free time, was at this moment in the cherry blossom forest of Canglang Garden, sitting on the rockery with Lin Daiyu, weaving a flower basket.

A breeze blew by, and the cherry blossom petals all over the sky danced gracefully. Such a beautiful scene, set against the backdrop of Lin Daiyu's smiling face, made Yue Ling stare in a trance.

Lin Daiyu stood up gracefully and brushed off the short branches that had fallen on her skirt one by one. When she raised her eyes again, she met the gaze that was staring at her infatuatedly. She couldn't help laughing and said, "Brother Yue, you are distracted again."

Yue Ling shook his head woodenly, "I wasn't distracted, I was looking at my goddess."

Although Lin Daiyu didn't know what goddess meant, it didn't sound derogatory. She smiled sweetly and pouted, "Brother Yue is not serious. He just coaxes me all day long."

Yue Ling came back to his senses, raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and gently put the wreath in his hand on Lin Daiyu's head.

In an instant, a shy blush appeared on Lin Daiyu's cheeks, her three thousand black hair danced in the wind, reflecting the petals on the wreath. Lin Daiyu, wearing a moon-white gauze skirt and emerald green embroidered shoes, was as beautiful as a winter elf.

When the autumn eyes turn away, all the colors of the world turn as pale as earth.

(End of this chapter)