Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 334 Yu'er, You Should Be Self-Responsible

Under the eaves of the door, the young man in a blue-gray robe still had sharp features, with little change.

However, his demeanor has lost its former sharpness. He has grown from a sword-carrying guard to a general who commands three armies and is in charge of a region.

This calmness and sophistication did not match his age, but in Lin Ruhai's eyes, he saw a pillar of Dachang, and a look of relief appeared on his face.

After all, he was someone he favored, and he had even written a letter to Emperor Longyou to recommend him.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Lin Ruhai clenched his back teeth.

"Brother?"

The relief on Lin Ruhai's face disappeared, and was replaced by a scrutinizing look. He looked up and down at Yue Ling, with a frown between his brows, and was unable to utter a word for a long time.

However, there were too many people gathered outside the Salt Court. If they were not allowed to enter the government office as soon as possible, it would be detrimental to the public security on the street, and it might even attract the prefect and others.

Lin Ruhai held his breath and waved to the servant behind him.

The servants bowed and went to greet the women in the carriage as Lin Ruhai had instructed.

Although they are called female relatives, they are actually the girls in the family.

Lin Ruhai thought so too, and the only people who came with him were Han Da, Nanny Wang, two strong women, and a maid.

The servants went to greet him. Lin Ruhai's eyes returned to Yue Ling and he said calmly, "I also heard about what happened in Suzhou. You did a great job. When you return to Beijing from the north, His Majesty will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Yue Ling bowed politely, "I relied a lot on my brother's efforts, so it doesn't count as my personal achievement. I also wrote it down in the memorial submitted to the palace."

Lin Ruhai didn't care about any credit. He just gathered donations from salt merchants to support Suzhou and didn't help much.

But Yue Ling kept calling him "brother", which really made Lin Ruhai angry.

"Brother, do you really regard me as your brother?"

Lin Ruhai frowned, and his face was like the Chinese character "川". He looked up at Yue Ling again, and Yue Ling asked with concern: "Brother, are you feeling unwell? There are too many people here, why don't you... go back to your room first."

Yue Ling didn't know why Lin Ruhai didn't come to the dock to meet him. Given their close relationship, this shouldn't have been the case. And even if he didn't come to pick him up, he would at least come to pick up Lin Daiyu, or at least send some servants.

But Lin Ruhai just sat quietly in the mansion and waited for a long time until he knocked on the door before coming out. Apart from being unwell, Yue Ling really couldn't think of any other reason for the moment, so he took the initiative to hold the way for Lin Ruhai to go down.

Lin Ruhai took a few deep breaths and just wanted to leave.

But after all, he hadn't seen his daughter for many years, so of course Lin Ruhai missed her, so he said, "Come on, we haven't seen each other for a long time, I should treat you well."

Lin Ruhai was just about to turn around and walk back into the room, but he saw a convoy of cars outside, like a long dragon, moving into the salt yard little by little.

At a glance, there must be nearly ten cars. Lin Ruhai's brows, which had just relaxed, frowned again and asked coldly, "You brought a lot of gifts? There's no need to be so polite between us."

Lin Ruhai felt a little uneasy. He didn't expect Yue Ling to open up to him so soon. She even sent so many carriages to deliver the betrothal gifts.

Yue Ling scratched his head and looked at the convoy. The last car of gifts had not come in yet.

Lin Ruhai was the first to bring this up. Yue Ling was a little surprised and said, "It's just a small gift, not a courtesy."

Lin Ruhai looked at the frame of the car, not knowing how to start the conversation for a moment, so he just stared at Yue Ling, wanting him to say something.

Yue Ling saw Lin Ruhai's questioning look and his heart immediately started beating. "What's going on? I feel like Master Lin is a little strange this time. He's not as polite as before."

"Is it because I rarely exchange letters with him and our relationship has become cold?"

Yue Ling didn't know what to say, so he just smiled back. If Lin Ruhai didn't move, he wouldn't leave either.

Lin Ruhai was even more confused. "What does he mean by this? He wants me to see what gifts he has prepared?"

But one saw carriages passing by and going straight into the second gate.

Lin Ruhai shook his sleeves and walked back toward the door.

Yue Ling followed, just wanting to wait for Lin Daiyu to get off the carriage so that she could break this weird atmosphere.

At this time in the courtyard, Aunt Bai and Aunt Zhou heard that Lin Daiyu had returned, so they went back to their rooms to dress up before coming to the second gate to greet her.

When they arrived at the door, they were stunned for a moment.

"This...when did so many girls appear in the room?"

Aunt Zhou glanced over and couldn't even see where Lin Daiyu was.

Aunt Bai hesitated and said, "They should be the maids of Marquis Anjing? Aren't there too many of them? I can't even count them with both hands."

Aunt Zhou said awkwardly, "It's nothing. After all, the Marquis of Anjing is ten years older than his daughter. She should have been married long ago. Besides, he was born into a military family and is full of vigor. It's not uncommon for him to have a few concubines."

"The girl is not in good health and can't stand the hard work. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have more people to share the burden."

Aunt Bai smiled bitterly and said, "Just tell me this. We will be alone with the master later, so please don't say anything nonsense."

Aunt Zhou nodded repeatedly, "These girls are really pretty. I like them very much."

As she spoke, Aunt Zhou walked down the stone steps, called out to the many maids, and raised her voice a little, asking, "Maid of Marquis Anjing, follow me into the hall first."

Aunt Zhou called out, and everyone saw her attire, a fine gown with a hairpin on her head, and knew that she was the mistress of the inner chamber. They stopped talking, stood in an orderly manner behind Aunt Zhou, and entered the room together.

After everyone had left, Aunt Bai finally found Lin Daiyu, who was hidden from view. She walked down gracefully, bowed and said, "Finally you are back. We missed you so much. After not seeing you for so many years, you have become even more beautiful. You really look like Madam."

After saying this, tears welled up in Aunt Bai's eyes. She leaned over, took Lin Daiyu into her arms, and choked up.

Lin Daiyu gently stroked her back and comforted her, "It's hard for you to take care of Daddy for all these years on behalf of your mother, and this yard hasn't changed at all. Now that I'm back, I want to hear about your difficulties, but you don't have to hide anything from me."

Aunt Bai was startled when she heard the voice. She felt more and more that Lin Daiyu's gentle and virtuous character was more like her mistress, and she couldn't help but shed two lines of tears.

After a while, Aunt Bai heard some noise outside, so she stood up, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and walked into the room with Lin Daiyu in her hand.

Lin Daiyu also heard the footsteps. She turned around to look, but didn't see any clear figure, so she waved her hand to signal.

"Girl, what are you doing?"

Aunt Bai was a little confused. Lin Daiyu's actions just now were too exaggerated. How could a girl raise her arms and shake them back and forth in the air? Wouldn't it be a waste of time to learn such posture and manners? The Lin family's education would never allow such behavior.

Lin Daiyu was also puzzled and asked: "What's wrong? We usually greet each other like this, just to show that I am here."

Aunt Bai choked and wondered what Lin Daiyu had learned from Marquis Anjing.

But thinking that Lin Daiyu and Marquis Anjing had lived together for eight years, she must have been affected, and she couldn't help but worry again. She whispered in Lin Daiyu's ear: "Miss, you have to be careful about these things. This is the Lin Mansion. You must not bring out Marquis Anjing's habits, otherwise the master will be displeased."

Lin Daiyu came back to her senses and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, you are right, I remember it."

"Come with me to the room first."

……

Lin Ruhai and Yue Ling walked through the courtyard together.

When he arrived at the courtyard, Lin Ruhai felt inexplicably nervous, but when he saw that there were not so many red-painted wooden boxes in front of him, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"So I misunderstood. He shouldn't be so reckless. He should find a suitable opportunity to make things clear to me. How can he threaten someone right away?"

"This is not the way to behave in the world."

Lin Ruhai smiled slightly, turned around and said to Yue Ling: "Come sit in the hall first. Since you are here, you can rest in Yangzhou for a while. I will welcome you tonight."

Everyone in Yangzhou knew that Yue Ling had come to the Salt Inspectorate's Office, and Lin Ruhai had no way to chase him away. If Marquis An Jing had not stayed at the Lin residence, that would have caused even more gossip among outsiders.

Lin Ruhai tried to keep his tone as calm as possible. He would have to wait until he met Lin Daiyu to decide what was right and what was wrong.

"Yu'er has been smart since she was young. She could read the Book of Songs at the age of four and recite poems at the age of five. Her mother has taught her very well about etiquette and she should not do anything too outrageous."

"No matter how close the two were, their relationship shouldn't be as bad as the rumors said."

"She was only six or seven years old when she went to Anjing Marquis's Mansion. Is Yue Ling worse than a beast? Besides, Yu'er is a girl, how could she be so shameless?"

"Yu'er should be more self-controlled. I really scared myself."

Lin Ruhai let out a breath, and led Yue Ling to lift the felt curtain and enter the hall together.

But the foot that stepped over the threshold was suspended in the air and did not fall down for a long time.

Seeing the scene inside, Lin Ruhai had only one thought in his mind: "Is this still the Lin Mansion?"

Looking at the rows of little maids inside, each dressed in bright and colorful clothes of different colors, they looked like they were competing for beauty in a flower garden.

The Lin family was small and they didn't have many tables and chairs. Now they even had to move out stools, and people in the hall had to stand to talk.

These little maids seemed to have suddenly popped out of the ground.

Among them, Lin Daiyu was followed by two concubines on both sides, seemingly holding hands and chatting about family matters.

Lin Ruhai's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized, "So the people in the car just now were them? And the carriage behind them was also their luggage?"

Seeing the noisy little maids chattering non-stop, Yue Ling's face turned a little red.

After all, this is not the Anjing Marquis Mansion. The Lin Mansion has a very strict discipline and it is not very lively on weekdays. Moreover, Lin Ruhai likes quietness and likes to bring official business back to deal with it.

If there was such a commotion, it would naturally disturb his thoughts.

Indeed, the buzzing in his ears made Lin Ruhai's head feel a little swollen.

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "They are the maids in my house, and Miss Bao from the Xue family, who are traveling with us."

Lin Ruhai frowned slightly, complaining in his heart, "Okay, okay, you really don't hide it. The rumors about your habit in the capital, I thought it was slander, but I didn't expect that there are so many little girls in your house, who don't look older than Yu'er."

"Besides, you came to visit me to ask for Yu'er's hand in marriage, but you brought another girl with you. What's the reason? Are you showing off to me?" Lin Ruhai's breathing became difficult again. He coughed and asked, "What is the girl from the Xue family doing with you?"

I didn't expect Lin Ruhai to care so much about Xue Baochai. Maybe they are related and familiar with each other. Yue Ling explained: "Miss Bao and Sister Lin...Yu'er get along like sisters. They went south to Yangzhou together. Now Miss Bao is managing the business of Fengzihao in Suzhou and is busy with the job of reporting to the emperor."

"Palace Gazette? The Palace Gazette of Suzhou?"

Lin Ruhai's heart sank. He had also read the Suzhou newspaper. To describe it in one word, it was simply unbearable to look at.

Unexpectedly, this newspaper was actually published by the Xue family, and this woman was in charge of it. Lin Ruhai had good reasons to suspect that Yue Ling must be the mastermind behind this.

What unmarried girl would post obscene articles all day? Do you still want to have a good reputation?
"This girl from the Xue family is so obedient to Yue Ling. I'm afraid she has already fallen into his trap."

"And what does this 'as close as sisters' mean? Does he want Emperor Longyou to grant two marriages? It's not enough to have Yu'er alone, he actually wants to discuss age!"

Lin Ruhai showed a bit of anger, but his years of training in the officialdom allowed him to remain calm. He just asked, "Who is older and who is younger?"

Yue Ling was stunned for a moment, not knowing what Lin Ruhai was asking for no reason.

The ages of the two are obvious. Xue Baochai is at least three years older than Lin Daiyu.

Yue Ling responded: "Miss Bao wants it to be bigger."

Lin Ruhai unconsciously clenched his fists in his sleeves, thinking, "This is too much, this is too much!"

"It's fine if you just came to visit me, but you actually dared to tell me in person that you want Yu'er to be your mistress? Do you really think I've passed away?"

Lin Ruhai was a very well-mannered man. Even though he was extremely angry, he did not show any excessive expression at this moment. He just turned his back to Yue Ling, and his expression could not be observed at all.

If Lin Ruhai could look back at Yue Ling, he would definitely see that Yue Ling was confused and at a loss.

After taking another deep breath, Lin Ruhai said, "Let them calm down and come sit with me first."

Yue Ling nodded slightly and waved to Qin Keqing.

Qin Keqing walked over and greeted Lin Ruhai first, then came to Yue Ling and asked with a smile, "Master, what's the matter?"

Yue Ling hurriedly ordered, "Tell them to clean up the room where we are staying and stop making noise in the hall. I have something to say to Master Lin."

"okay."

After a while, Qin Keqing took all the maids away.

Only Xue Baochai and Xueyan were left in the hall.

As the eldest daughter of the Xue family, Xue Baochai was very polite and greeted Lin Ruhai first before leaving the hall to find Qin Keqing.

After recognizing Xue Baochai's appearance, Lin Ruhai secretly sighed: "This girl from the Xue family is also good-looking, and is comparable to Yu'er. It's a pity that such a girl is still devoted to Yue Ling, the sex maniac. I don't know how she was bewitched."

"There are more than twenty maids in total. We have to clean up the old courtyard of the Lin Mansion to make room for them. It's really annoying."

"Why is Yue Ling so lewd? There are more women in his mansion than in the imperial palace. Is he defiled because of his status?"

Lin Ruhai thought of many possibilities, and then looked at Yue Ling's expression, which showed a smug look and he seemed accustomed to it, so he decided to observe for a while before drawing any conclusions.

He is not a rash person, and neither should Yue Ling.

Lin Ruhai strode into the hall, and Aunt Bai and Aunt Zhou also stood up with Lin Daiyu.

When Lin Ruhai looked at Lin Daiyu directly, tears welled up in his eyes.

This is his daughter whom he has been separated from for eight years. She is his own flesh and blood. Lin Ruhai has a lot of things in his heart that he wants to tell her. He also wants to apologize to her and make up for the fatherly love and affection that he has missed in these eight years.

Seeing that Lin Daiyu looked good and did not look tired or sleepy after the long journey, Lin Ruhai felt a little relieved.

"Yu'er, Daddy really misses you so much."

He wanted to hold Lin Daiyu in his arms and comfort her, but suddenly he realized that she was wearing similar clothes to Yue Ling. Lin Ruhai breathed a sigh of relief and his tone changed a little.

"I sent you letters several times, why don't you reply?"

"Sister Lin doesn't reply to the letter?"

Yue Ling was startled when he heard this, and looked at Lin Daiyu in disbelief, "It doesn't seem like she would do such a careless thing."

Daddy is always like this. If he says something nice, he will also give him a lecture. Lin Daiyu, who has just entered the family not long ago, already has a familiar feeling about this.

She just didn't reply to the letter because she had forgotten and she didn't want to.

The content was simply urging her to return to Yangzhou, but she didn't want to go back at all.

Originally Lin Daiyu was very moved and tears began to well up in her eyes, but she had just talked to her aunts for a while, and now her father was questioning her, so she had to use her clever little brain and try her best to find excuses, and her tears were already held back.

"I have replied to every letter, or was it lost on the way? Cangzhou is not that close to Yangzhou. Xueyan, don't you think so?"

Xueyan stood there stupidly, tapping her lips with her finger: "Yes... yes, there was a time, I don't remember it clearly."

“Is this a snow goose?”

Lin Ruhai frowned.

In his memory, Xueyan was a clever girl and Lin Daiyu's playmate since childhood. Apart from her unwillingness to study, she had no other shortcomings.

But this silly girl, who was only four years older than Lin Daiyu, had such a distorted figure that I might have mistaken her for a wet nurse from some other family.

In this world, slenderness is considered beautiful, and well-developed women, especially those from wealthy families, usually bind their breasts to hinder development.

Although Xueyan was not a lady from a wealthy family, she was Lin Daiyu's personal maid, and her status was equally high. She was also the face of the master's family.

This chest looks like a white flour bag, how embarrassing!

Lin Ruhai frowned, not knowing how to start. It was really inappropriate for a master like him to take charge of the affairs of the female family members.

"Forget it. I don't want to think about irrelevant things. It's not easy to come back. Let daddy take a look and see if you are feeling better."

Lin Daiyu smiled happily, her beautiful eyes turned around, and she said excitedly: "Brother Yue takes good care of me. I rarely take medicine now, and I can still practice martial arts!"

"what?"

When Yue Ling heard Lin Daiyu's name, he shuddered.

I don't know why she was so careless. She called him like that in front of Lin Ruhai, and he even called Lin Ruhai brother when he entered the door. Are they going to talk to each other in the future?
Lin Ruhai choked and his cheeks turned red.

Aunt Bai and Aunt Zhou couldn't help but smile knowingly when they heard the two men addressing each other. They then asked, "Practicing martial arts? Did you practice martial arts with Marquis Anjing?"

Lin Daiyu nodded, looked at Yue Ling confidently, and smiled again: "Of course, Brother Yue said that only by doing appropriate activities can we stay healthy."

Lin Ruhai flicked his sleeves, sat up in an angry chair, and slammed the table, saying, "How shameful! Even if girls don't learn music, chess, calligraphy, or ancient scriptures, there's no such thing as martial arts!"

Yue Ling followed Lin Ruhai's footsteps, sat down at the table, and said with a wry smile: "Master Lin, you misunderstood. It's not just practicing martial arts or doing exercises, such as the Five Animal Exercises? It's for improving your health."

Lin Ruhai glared at Yue Ling and took a sip of tea. No matter how good his temper was, he couldn't bear it anymore at this moment.

Ever since Yue Ling joined the company, none of his performances had satisfied Lin Ruhai, which made him very angry.

Lin Ruhai even thought that Yue Ling was here to cause trouble.

Lin Daiyu also knew that she was in the wrong, so she stuck out her tongue, stepped forward and supported Lin Ruhai's shoulders, saying, "Anyway, I'm feeling much better now, which is a good thing."

Aunt Bai and Aunt Zhou also nodded in agreement.

Lin Ruhai heaved a sigh of relief, put down the teacup, tilted his head to look at Lin Daiyu, patted the back of her hand, and said, "Daddy doesn't mean to be sad, but you can't lose the family tradition of my Lin family."

"Well, I won't tell you now. Daddy will explain it to you in detail later."

I thought it would be a touching scene of father and daughter meeting each other, but the atmosphere in the hall was completely different from this kind of moment.

Lin Daiyu's complexion returned to normal and she became more relaxed.

When he saw Yue Ling pursed his lips, as if he was thirsty, he turned to Yue Ling as usual and poured tea for him, "Brother Yue, you must be thirsty after all the traveling? Have some tea to moisten your throat."

Yue Ling held the teacup, feeling increasingly uneasy and embarrassed.

After all, his father is right in front of you, and it wouldn’t be nice for a daughter to pour water for you personally.

Lin Ruhai frowned and said, "When did you become so attentive? I never saw you pour water for Daddy."

Lin Daiyu blinked and asked, "Didn't Dad just drink?"

Yue Ling was really overwhelmed. He hurriedly winked at Lin Daiyu, trying to ask her to stop arguing with Lin Ruhai. Otherwise, how could they have a peaceful stay in Yangzhou Prefecture?

Lin Daiyu caught a glimpse of Yue Ling's expression out of the corner of her eye, but was unable to comprehend what he meant. She just saw that he was holding the teacup but not drinking, so she lifted the lid of the stove and smelled the tea.

Then, Lin Daiyu frowned and asked, "Why is it old tea? Where is Daddy's new tea?"

Lin Daiyu snatched the teacup from Yue Ling again, "Brother Yue, don't drink it yet. It's bitter. Let them get some new ones."

Yue Ling clenched the teacup, pushed Lin Daiyu's hand and said, "No need, no need, just drink this..."

Coming to her home, Brother Yue was so restrained, which was not what Lin Daiyu wanted to see.

Lin Daiyu tried to snatch the teacup from Yue Ling's hand and said, "If it doesn't taste good, don't drink it. There must be new tea in the mansion. This is all Daddy's fault. He knew we were coming back but he didn't prepare anything to entertain us."

"what?"

Lin Ruhai glared, "He is like this, is it my fault?"

(End of this chapter)