Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 332 Heading north to Yangzhou Prefecture!

Xuan Tomb Mountain, Panxiang Temple,
The Haiqingyi was casually spread on the bed, and Miaoyu sat alone in front of the dressing table, putting on makeup in front of the mirror.

She was only wearing an ivory-white cross-collared lining, and no scarf or hat on her head. Instead, her long black hair hung down her shoulders. She was weaving her hair into a bun bit by bit, and her hands were moving very stiffly.

Either she rarely did this kind of thing herself, or she was a little absent-minded at the moment.

If Xing Xiuyan was around, she would always be the one doing this kind of thing. Miaoyu looked at her lonely figure in the mirror and felt mixed emotions.

She opened a brocade box and found a hairpin that Qin Keqing had given her before they left, saying it was an apology gift.

Miaoyu had no idea that Qin Keqing had offended her in any way, and she accepted the farewell gift in a daze.

In the brocade box was a hairpin, made of gilded silver and inlaid with agate. It was not expensive, but Miaoyu liked it very much.

In Canglang Garden, every girl is lively and cute, except Miaoyu, who is unique.

Miaoyu is taciturn and rarely gets along with them, and she doesn't know how to get along with them.

When Miaoyu saw them all dressed up beautifully and vying for beauty in front of Yue Ling, Miaoyu also wanted to dress up herself.

She is also a girl, and she also longs to have a girl's makeup instead of always wearing a cassock.

She picked it up, held it in front of her face for a while, and then Miaoyu wanted to try it on her head.

But when she raised her head and looked at the mirror again, her hands froze and she said in astonishment, "Master, why did you get out of bed?"

The old nun frowned and said in a cold voice: "Why can't I get out of bed? Look at you, a nun who doesn't hold a wooden fish but picks up a hairpin, how can you be considered a practitioner?"

Miaoyu's face turned red with embarrassment. She quickly put the hairpin back into the brocade box and poured some water on the table beside her.

"Master, please have some tea."

The old nun took a deep breath and slowly sat down in the chair, staring at Miaoyu with her eyes, "You evil creature, you are here physically but your mind is nowhere to be found. You look so distraught, how can you be so disgraced?"

"Is Marquis An Jing going to leave Suzhou?"

Miaoyu's face turned redder and she was too embarrassed to speak, so she just nodded slightly in response.

The old nun lowered her eyebrows and thought for a moment before saying, "Pack your luggage and we will go to Beijing as well."

"Enter the capital?"

Miaoyu widened her eyes, somewhat unable to believe what the old nun said, and kept repeating it to confirm.

"Why? You don't want to go?"

The old nun snorted coldly and said, "Suzhou is now flourishing, but it is your sad place. In this case, why don't we leave this Panxiang Temple and go to the capital to join our friend who is your teacher."

"Didn't I tell you this before?"

Miaoyu was stunned for a moment, then a smile immediately appeared on her face. She took a few quick steps, came behind her master, and started massaging his shoulders.

"Okay, I will follow Master's arrangements in everything. It's just right that I can go to the capital to see if Yan'er is doing well."

The old nun's mouth twitched, and she mercilessly exposed Miaoyu's little thoughts, saying: "Are you going to see that girl? I think that after entering the capital, you can have the word 'peace' in your mind and feel at ease."

Miaoyu stuck out her tongue, not knowing what to say next.

The old nun just let out a sigh and said secretly: "What kind of evil fate is this..."

……

Canglang Garden,
Xiangling walked out from the corner door with her head down and a worried look on her face. The two people waiting at the door immediately came over and took her hand.

"Yinglian, come here, let's go somewhere with mom."

Xiangling raised her head slightly and saw the woman whose face was full of wrinkles and severely eroded by time. She felt pity for her.

After all, this was her mother who gave birth to her. There was a blood relationship between them, so how could she bear to refuse her?

Then she looked at her aunt beside her, who was also looking at her with a loving expression.

But my aunt’s well-maintained face is no longer there. It seems that her hair turned white overnight and is now full of silver hair. She looks decades older.

Xiangling whispered, "My... mother, it won't be long before I have to return to the capital with Marquis Anjing. I... don't know what to do..."

When Feng heard the word "mother" from Xiangling, her heart was already filled with tears.

I didn't expect that after going through so much, she was still willing to call me mother.

When Yinglian was four years old, it was due to the negligence of her parents that Yinglian was abducted by kidnappers and suffered untold hardships. Now she has found a good family, the famous Marquis of Anjing, but she wants to break them up and destroy the child's happiness.

Feng is a kind-hearted person, so of course she would not do such a thing.

Her rough hands touched Xiangling's delicate cheeks, and Feng choked up and said, "Good child, mother is not here to embarrass you. Your aunt and I have thought it through. We are here to see you for the last time. I still have something to tell you. From now on...just live your life well and don't come to see mother again..."

Feng gritted her teeth as she said the last half of the sentence, and then she burst into tears.

Xiangling was also deeply moved and hugged Feng and cried.

After a while, Feng said, "This is where Marquis Anjing stays, not a place to talk. You don't have to worry. How can a parent not want their child to live well? Just follow me."

Xiangling nodded solemnly and followed her mother and aunt into a deep alley.

At the end of the alley, there was a dilapidated courtyard, but the house had been tidied up and it was obvious that someone was living there.

Xiangling looked around, and Shen Feng introduced her, "Since your uncle and cousin were imprisoned, the Shen family's house was confiscated and sold. There is no money left from the old days. Only my dowry and dowry land are left, which barely allows your mother and I to find a place to stay in this city."

Shen Feng helped Xiangling to a bronze mirror and helped her sit down.

Looking at Xiangling in the mirror, Shen Feng couldn't help but sigh and said, "She is really beautiful. She is the daughter of our Feng family."

Xiangling asked in confusion: "Aunt, what should we do?"

Feng searched aside and came back after a while. She put the bracelet on Xiangling's arm, and the thickness of the bracelet was just right.

"This is our Feng family's heirloom jewelry. I'll give it to you from now on. When you wear it, it will be like your mother is by your side."

Xiangling hurriedly refused and wanted to take off the bracelet and return it, "No, no, this is too valuable, mother. You and aunt are living in such a difficult situation now, how can I take your property back?"

Shen Feng said, "Silly child, just keep it. You are the only descendant of the Feng family now. If not you, who else should I give it to?"

Feng also said: "As long as you live your life well, mother will be satisfied. Don't worry about us. We have found a job in the textile workshop. It is not difficult to make a living."

Xiangling cried, "I...I can't support my mother. I am an unfilial daughter."

Feng took out a scraper from the brocade box and said, "We have never supported you, so why do we have to ask you to support me?"

"If one day, you can find out where your father is with the help of the Marquis, you can persuade your father to come and see me. We haven't seen each other for these years, and we both feel indebted to each other."

"If he knew you were still alive, he would definitely feel better." As he spoke, he dipped the scraper in water and slowly moved it closer to Xiangling's cheek.

Xiangling's heart was trembling, and she was extremely moved. When she saw the scene in the mirror, she was a little surprised, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Feng sighed, "Mother can't bear to see you like this when you get married, so let me do this wedding for you myself. In the future, serve the Marquis well in the Anjing Marquis's mansion. If you can get a status, it would be the best thing..."

Hearing this, two more lines of tears flowed from Xiangling's eyes.

……

Carriages loaded with luggage were transported out of the garden, and more carriages came in, waiting to take people to the dock, while Yue Ling was counting the number of people in the garden.

Rows of maids stood in front of him, wearing clothes of various colors, like flowers blooming, which really dazzled Yue Ling. He had to count them carefully and check all the people before leaving.

"So many people, are we going to take them all to Lord Lin? But if we let some of them go first, it doesn't seem appropriate..."

Yue Ling counted them and found that there was one person missing.

"Huh? Why is there one missing? Who of your rooms is missing someone?"

The girls looked at each other and counted the people around them. Ying'er raised her arm and said, "My Lord, I haven't seen Xiangling since a while ago. I don't know where she has gone."

"Xiang Ling?"

Yue Ling didn't expect that Xiangling, who was usually the most well-behaved and sensible, was missing at this time, so he sent someone to find out if anyone in the middle floor of the room had seen her.

It was only later that we learned that someone was looking for Xiangling and she had gone out.

Lin Daiyu stood beside Yue Ling, blinked, and asked in a worried tone: "Brother Yue, she won't get into any trouble, right?"

Yue Ling took a deep breath and shook his head, "It shouldn't happen. The guards at the door said they were two old ladies who claimed to be Xiangling's mother. They shouldn't do anything to her."

Xue Baochai frowned and said, "Don't tell me you won't let her come back? After all, they have only known each other for a short time. It's not impossible to keep her around and arrange a marriage for her in her old age. Xiangling is still very beautiful."

Yue Ling was also worried about this situation happening, so he planned to send someone out to look for her, but before he could send the message, Xiang Ling came back on her own.

Xiangling walked along the eaves with her head down and her chest buried.

She was used to walking with her head down, and now it was down even lower than before.

This unusual behavior attracted everyone's attention.

Yue Ling asked loudly: "Xiangling, no one is making things difficult for you, right? If you have been wronged, just tell me."

Xiangling shook her head quickly, clutching the bracelet under her sleeve with one hand, bit her lip and said, "No, no, thank you for your concern, my Lord. I'm fine. I've delayed my trip, I hope you'll forgive me..."

When Xiangling entered the line of maids and came to Ying'er's side, Ying'er realized that something was wrong with this girl. She touched her red face and exclaimed, "Hey, you opened your face?"

"what?"

This voice immediately shut up the maids.

"Open the face? What is open the face?"

"Before a girl gets married, she will ask her elders to scrape off the hair on her face with a scraper, so that she can put on rouge and dress up."

"They all get their faces done and put on makeup the night before they get married, so getting their faces done is equivalent to getting married."

"Ah? Then why did Sister Xiangling open her face? Who did she marry?"

"Who else could it be? There is only one man in this garden!"

The maids' faces instantly turned red, and the blush spread from one to another, as if it would spread.

Ying'er pinched Xiangling's smooth face, supported her cheek and said, "Great, you were already pretty enough, now that your face has opened up, you've really become a phoenix, and we're all chickens!"

Xiangling's face turned red with embarrassment, her eyes turned red, and she looked at Yue Ling with watery eyes as if begging for mercy.

Yue Ling looked at the lively maids in the room, and finally his eyes fell on Xiangling. As expected, after her face was opened, her childishness faded a lot, and her pretty face was revealed, which made people feel more comfortable.

Yue Ling was staring at Xiang Ling. Lin Daiyu pinched Yue Ling's waist secretly and said with gritted teeth, "Brother Yue, it's time to set off. We can't keep the official ship waiting, right?"

"Yep……"

Yue Ling turned around, smiled awkwardly, and grasped the hand that Lin Daiyu extended to him, and would not let go, causing Lin Daiyu to slowly lower her head and stop making a fuss.

"Let's go, get in the car, the four of us will travel together and take care of each other. We will go to Yangzhou Prefecture first, visit Mr. Lin at Sister Lin's home, stay for a while, and then go north to the capital to go home."

"it is good!"

The little girls jumped around for fun and were divided into groups.

There were originally twelve people in the troupe, and they were immediately divided into three groups, while the rest of the people also found their own partners.

The Ruizhu and Xiaozhu duo were together with Ying'er and Xiangling, who had become closer because of the newspaper.

Zijuan, Xueyan and Qingwen rode in the same car, while Qin Keqing and Xue Baochai rode in a separate car.

Everyone got on the bus with laughter, but Xueyan was the only one who couldn't laugh and looked dejected.

Qingwen lowered the carriage curtain and came to Xueyan in confusion, asking with concern, "What are you worried about? You are the only one here who came from the Lin Mansion. What are you unhappy about now that you have returned home?"

Xueyan sighed and said, "It would be nice if we could just go back to the capital, but it would be bad if we have to go back to the Lin Mansion."

Zijuan, Qingwen came close to her and asked unexpectedly: "The Lin family is a family of scholars and scholars, what's wrong with that?"

Xueyan counted on her fingers and said, "Too many is not good. It is precisely because of the profound family tradition of the Lin family that there are so many rules. We can't eat with the Marquis and his family, and we can't eat too much. We can't run around in the yard at will, and we can't fish in the trees. There will be people to discipline us for these things."

Zijuan and Qingwen were both from Rongguo Mansion, so it was not difficult for them to follow some rules. "Just these?"

Xueyan lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, looked at Yue Ling helping Lin Daiyu into the sedan chair, and slowly let out a breath.

"A lot. You'll know when you go there."

The frame started slowly.
Lin Daiyu took out a bundle from under the soft stool, and after untying it, she revealed a long dress.

Lin Daiyu handed it to Yue Ling and said, "Brother Yue, help me put it on."

Yue Ling took it, shook it open, put it on Lin Daiyu's shoulders, and carefully tied the knot for her.

"This dress is quite nice, but it looks a little familiar."

Lin Daiyu tugged at the corner of Yue Ling's clothes, then fell on his shoulders, holding his arm, and said with a sweet smile: "Because this is the same as the one Brother Yue is wearing."

Yue Ling let out a breath and quickly covered his mouth, saying, "Sister Lin, let's go back to your house and wear the same clothes? Isn't that bad?"

Lin Daiyu took out her handkerchief and wiped the corners of Yue Ling's mouth as usual, and said in surprise: "What's wrong with this?"

(End of this chapter)