Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 348 What are you doing? I'm still here!
The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month,
It was early in the morning, the sky was already turning white, and Lin Daiyu was still sleeping soundly in the room.

Last night, I once again had a long conversation with Yue Ling until late at night.

The two have been together for a long time and have always talked about everything, so they no longer have so many topics to talk about.

But even though there was nothing important to talk about, they could still chat for a long time. The two of them were just thinking about how to celebrate the New Year, and they talked about the customs of Yangzhou over and over again.

Lin Daiyu also mentioned the good news that she had persuaded her father to go out for fun during the Lantern Festival, and shared it with Yue Ling first.

Talking about traveling, the two of them looked forward to boating in the painted boat on the Slender West Lake and looking at the stars in the Milky Way in the distance.

The more they talked, the more excited they became. They talked about everything under the sun, and said many irrelevant things. It was not until after midnight that Lin Daiyu closed her eyes sleepily.

The result was that two hours after the cock crowed this morning, Lin Daiyu had not yet gotten up from the couch.

Yue Ling was the first to wake up. He pinched his eyebrows and was still a little sleepy. But when he tilted his head, he was already mostly awake.

Lin Daiyu did not go back to the inner curtain as usual, but leaned against him.

His body was slightly curled up, and his head did not rest on the pillow, but was close to Yue Ling's arm.

A small, tender hand, as white as a scallion, reached out from under the quilt and placed it on Yue Ling's chest.

Her breathing was even and her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she didn't look like she was about to wake up.

The sleeping Lin Daiyu looked more like a porcelain doll, with skin as white as snow and as delicate as jade, and eyebrows and eyes as dark as distant black. Even without makeup, her beautiful appearance was unmatched.

Perhaps most of the tenderness and delicacy of the Jiangnan water town are concentrated in her.

After a moment of silence, Yue Ling lay down again obediently, looking at the agate pendant on the top of the bed, and said secretly: "Lord Lin has not come for several days in a row. I guess he should go to the government office early this morning to do his work and solve the case."

"It shouldn't be a problem to let Miss Lin sleep a little longer."

Therefore, Yue Ling gave up the idea of ​​waking up Lin Daiyu and slowly closed his eyes with peace of mind.

Not long after, there was an inopportune knock on the door.

The two people on the bed woke up immediately, opened their eyes abruptly, sat up, and looked at each other in the eye.

"Ah? Why is it already this late?"

Lin Daiyu had a look of annoyance on her face, her hair was a little messy, and her whole body looked dishevelled.

Yue Ling couldn't help laughing and said, "It's my fault. I saw Sister Lin was fast asleep, so I didn't wake you up. Don't panic. I'll go see who's outside."

Lin Daiyu hugged the quilt to herself and secretly said, "Is it Daddy again? He is really annoying."

Lin Daiyu rubbed her cheeks helplessly, perked up a little, and looked at Yue Ling who was going to open the door.

Yue Ling put on the clothes placed on the bedside, walked quickly, and called out before opening the door, "Is this Master Lin?"

There was a clear female voice responding from outside. It wasn't Xiangling, but it sounded familiar.

"My Lord, it's me. I have something to ask you right now."

When she realized that the person was Xue Baochai, Lin Daiyu's heart fell at last and she fell back onto the bed.

"What? It turns out he's not Daddy."

"Hey, that's not right either!"

Lin Daiyu sat up from the bed again and hurriedly put on her clothes.

Seeing her flustered look, Yue Ling couldn't stop laughing.

Lin Daiyu was still quite dissatisfied. She frowned and whispered, "Don't make fun of me. Wait until I'm dressed properly, then let Sister Bao in."

Yue Ling nodded lovingly and looked at Lin Daiyu putting on her skirt layer by layer in front of him.

When she was about to put on her trouser legs, Lin Daiyu's cheeks turned red, and a burning gaze from behind her made it impossible for her to ignore it even if she wanted to.

Lin Daiyu raised her eyebrows a little more, glared at Yue Ling, pointed her finger to the side, pursed her lips, and looked dissatisfied.

Yue Ling raised his hands to show surrender, turned his back and stopped staring at Lin Daiyu.

After a few breaths, Lin Daiyu murmured softly again: "Alright, alright, let Sister Bao come in."

After lowering the bolt, Yue Ling pushed open the door. Xue Baochai bowed to him and said, "Greetings to the Marquis."

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "You're welcome. Come sit in the room first. I'll have someone prepare tea for you."

Ever since Xue Baochai learned that the Xue family had obtained the qualification to become the general merchant of Yangzhou Salt Merchants, she sent people to conduct a rigorous investigation. She wrote a complete plan to find out how much market share and profit the Xue family could get if they really got involved.

Only when everything was ready did Xue Baochai dare to meet Yue Ling and make the final decision.

Knowing that Lin Daiyu would come here to spend the night every night, Xue Baochai deliberately came a little late, for fear that it would be awkward for the two of them to bump into each other.

Of course, it is impossible to say that there are no ulterior motives.

Everyone has his or her own purpose in doing things. Xue Baochai wants to demonstrate her work ability while gaining a little favor from Yue Ling and creating some opportunities for the two of them to be alone.

Even if she was busy with official business, she would rather stand beside Yue Ling and do it.

What's more, he is under one person and surrounded by wolves, and he also has a crazy and stupid sister outside who wants to get involved.

Xue Baochai's pressure doubled.

Holding a stack of white paper, Xue Baochai walked in with her head slightly lowered.

"Don't bother. I'll get back to work after I've talked to the Marquis."

Xue Baochai didn't want to call Xiangling into the room and ruin the atmosphere of being alone together, but she didn't notice that there was another person in the inner room separated by a floor-length screen. Lin Daiyu was still busy tightening her hairpins, trying her best to make her look more natural.

This was the first time that Xue Baochai was alone with Yue Ling since the embarrassing incident in Canglang Garden.

Recalling the charming scenery in the kitchen that day and her own embarrassing situation of imitating the meow of a wild cat under the eaves, Xue Baochai's cheeks turned slightly red.

She never wanted to experience that kind of predicament again in her life. Even today, when she thinks about it, she will dig her toes into the ground unconsciously. It has become an indelible nightmare in her heart.

Yue Ling made room for her, and the two of them sat opposite each other at the tea table. Xue Baochai took a deep breath and then spoke softly, "My Lord, a few days ago, the Feng family in Yangzhou heard that the government had released news that they were going to re-elect the chief salt merchant to replace the Bao family."

"This matter came suddenly, and we only notified the local Chamber of Commerce in Yangzhou. Although Feng brand is not from Yangzhou, it also has a certain influence in Yangzhou."

"Now that I have experience in selling Changlu salt in the capital and Liaodong, I will be able to thrive in Lianghuai."

"Therefore, I would like to ask the Marquis what he thinks. If the Xue family gets involved, will there be any disadvantages?"

Upon hearing this, Yue Ling fell into deep thought, his brows furrowed.

Xue Baochai is the best at discerning people's minds, but in front of Yue Ling, she often dares not to guess his thoughts without authorization, also because she has guessed incorrectly many times.

Seeing Yue Ling's embarrassed expression, he couldn't help but secretly wonder, "Why, Lord, do you think the Xue family is too profit-seeking and can't feed them enough? But every time we do errands for the government, transport food and goods, the Xue family doesn't charge a penny, and uses it as corvée labor."

"When Suzhou was in trouble, the Xue family made a lot of donations. The Marquis should know everything clearly."

At the right moment, Yue Ling shook his head and sighed, "No, there is something wrong with this."

Xue Baochai then spread the white paper on the table. This was the final result of her hard work of several days and nights and weighing the pros and cons. She firmly believed that after Yue Ling took a look at it, it would definitely increase the chances of achieving the goal.

"If you have any doubts, please read this article."

Although Yue Ling took the Bai Xuan pushed by Xue Baochai, he still held it in his hand and continued to ponder.

This really made Xue Baochai dumbfounded, and she didn't know what Yue Ling meant.

Even if they are cooperating to discuss official matters, there should be give and take. However, Marquis Anjing completely turned a blind eye to this. Is he deliberately making things difficult for me?

Xue Baochai's heart began to beat loudly, "Could it be that the Marquis is already dissatisfied with my Xue family? This shouldn't be the case."

"Or are you suggesting that I should make greater sacrifices?"

Xue Baochai saw that Yue Ling's collar was a little messy, and his chest was exposed from his neck. She couldn't help but think more crookedly, "Could it be that the Marquis wants me to learn from Sister Keqing? To achieve the goal, she must use any means necessary? The Marquis already knows that I peeked outside the door that time. If he uses this as an excuse to make me lower my standards again..."

Xue Baochai held her chest and took a deep breath. After a moment, she shook her head slightly and gave up this outrageous idea. "It shouldn't be. The Marquis is not that kind of person."

When Xue Baochai was in doubt, Yue Ling finally broke the silence and asked, "On what day did the Xue family get the news?"

Xue Baochai pulled herself together and told the truth, "It was the second day after the Marquis and Lord Lin went out to handle the Bao family case."

As soon as she said this, Xue Baochai realized that something was wrong.

This news was from the government, or the salt administration. The first-hand information should have come from the Salt Inspectorate's Office, but she said that she got the news from the government office. Doesn't this mean that she bypassed Marquis An Jing and the Salt Inspectorate's Office and got in touch with someone else?

Xue Baochai suddenly woke up, and when she looked at Yue Ling again, she felt that she had no way to defend herself. She was so focused on how to run the newly established salt business that she had forgotten about this matter.

Sure enough, the next second, Yue Ling frowned slightly and sighed: "Yes, this is the crux of the problem."

Hearing this, Xue Baochai felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. Although her body was hot, she seemed to feel cold from head to toe.

She didn't expect that after following Marquis Anjing for so long, she would lose his trust after this carelessness.

The prosperity of the Xue family today is backed by Marquis Anjing. If Marquis Anjing wants to abandon the Xue family and support another family, it would be easy.

Xue Baochai stood up eagerly, wanting to prove her innocence. She turned to Yue Ling, bowed humbly, and said, "My Lord, I swear that the Xue family has no ulterior motives. This news did come from the government office, but it did not come from the Xue family alone. The Xue family has never colluded with officials."

The fate of the Xue family depends on her alone. If she doesn't stand up now, when will she do so?
Xue Baochai, who has been in charge of the Xue family for many years, has enough courage.

As Yue Ling was looking at her in surprise, Xue Baochai slowly stood up, gently peeled off the colorful dress hanging on her shoulders, revealing the peony-patterned satin flowered dress underneath, with her pleated skirt lightly covering her, and came to within half a step of Yue Ling.

"My Lord, if you don't believe me, I can tell you everything..."

Xue Baochai bit her lip and moaned, her face so red that it seemed like blood was about to bleed.

"Don't, don't, don't..."

At this moment, Lin Daiyu finally finished dressing up, pushed aside the curtain and walked out of the inner room.

The scene she saw made Lin Daiyu stunned.

"What are you doing?!"

Xue Baochai's delicate body trembled, and she looked back, only to see Lin Daiyu, with her eyebrows raised, standing at the door.

"what?!"

Xue Baochai quickly stepped back, picked up her outer coat on the ground, and put it on carelessly.

The moment Lin Daiyu appeared, Xue Baochai knew that something bad was going to happen. Not only was her coquettish behavior discovered by Lin Daiyu, but she also misunderstood Yue Ling's intentions.

Lin Daiyu was in the room, how could Yue Ling threaten or harass her?
As expected, Yue Ling, who was suddenly attacked by Xue Baochai, suddenly came to his senses. The strange fragrance was even a little choking after Xue Baochai took off her outer clothes.

Yue Ling coughed twice and said helplessly: "Uh, this is a misunderstanding..."

Lin Daiyu walked to the front of the hall angrily, and sat down where Xue Baochai had just sat, feeling resentful in her heart.

"Okay, it's another misunderstanding. It seems that if I don't come to Brother Yue's room every day, this room will be very lively."

Lin Daiyu looked Xue Baochai up and down with an unfriendly look.

This thought was easy to understand. Xue Baochai only glanced at her and knew what Lin Daiyu must be thinking in her heart, "I didn't expect you to be such a Baojie! A vixen with no self-control!"

But being caught on the spot, Xue Baochai had nothing to say in her defense and could only wait pitifully for Yue Ling to explain what happened.

Yue Ling held his forehead helplessly, wondering what the girls in these rooms were watching on a daily basis and how they could understand something so biased after just a few words.

"Miss Bao just mentioned something about the case, which further confirms our previous inference."

Not only did she change the subject and bring the topic to business, attracting Lin Daiyu's attention, but the "we" referred to Yue Ling and her, which also made Lin Daiyu feel very happy.

"Well, Brother Yue, tell me about it."

Lin Daiyu knew what was going on and waited for Yue Ling to finish talking about the main matter.

"Miss Bao said that on the second day after the Bao family incident, she learned from the shopkeeper of Fengzihao that the salt merchants wanted to re-elect a chief merchant."

"But that night, Lord Lin and I had a long talk and decided not to rush into the aftermath because the Bao family's case had not yet been concluded."

"But this news was able to spread so quickly. Isn't it because someone was deliberately pushing it behind the scenes?"

"News that hide huge profits will not be widely announced unless there is a trap buried. There must be some ulterior motive behind it."

"But I still haven't figured out why the government is trying so hard to spread this matter. Who can benefit from it?"

Xue Baochai smiled bitterly, "So... So, that's what happened... Your analysis makes sense."

Lin Daiyu also pondered, "I have never thought about this before."

"But..." Lin Daiyu raised her head again, staring at Xue Baochai who was already dressed neatly, and frowned, "Sister Bao, what's wrong with you? I'm still here, why are you trying to please Brother Yue like this?"

"I really don't know who you learned this from. Why are your heads full of dirty thoughts? I have told you so many times, but you don't know what the word 'self-control' means!"

Lin Daiyu picked up the business plan on the tea table, read it through from beginning to end, and said, "It's well written, but it's better to go back and copy the word 'self-sufficiency' five hundred times!"

Yue Ling smiled and tried to smooth things over, "I didn't notice Miss Bao's expression just now. Maybe she was mistaken about something."

Taking the white scroll in his hand, Yue Ling also read it. The rules and regulations in it were very detailed, and he couldn't help but sigh at Xue Baochai's level of doing things.

"Very good-looking."

Taking a deep breath, Yue Ling said, "We should work with other companies to promote this matter. Don't be too conspicuous. We should get involved first and see if we can get a share of the pie. We'll take one step at a time and see."

Xue Baochai shyly took the Bai Xuan again.

At this moment, she was so ashamed that she wished she could find a hole to crawl into. After hearing Yue Ling's praise, she felt a little happy, but it couldn't overcome the embarrassment she felt at the moment.

Covering her face with white paper, Xue Baochai whispered, "Then I'll go back first. If there's anything, the Marquis can just come and tell you."

"Uh... Sister Lin, hold on for five hundred times. I will teach you tonight."

Lin Daiyu curled her lips, raised her head, and finally felt a little relieved.

These vixens were simply hard to guard against, but fortunately she was able to resolve them every time with her wit, otherwise, Brother Yue would have been eaten to pieces by them.

Just when Lin Daiyu was feeling proud, someone else came outside.

The door had just been opened without being bolted, and the person walked in without even saying hello.

Lin Daiyu looked in the direction of the footsteps, immediately jumped up from her chair, and resumed her respectful appearance.

"Daddy, good evening."

Lin Ruhai frowned and stared at the unfilial girl from head to toe.

A few days ago, the father and daughter had a dispute in public, which really humiliated him as a father. Although Lin Ruhai wanted to refute, he was unable to do so and suffered a loss.

For this reason, Lin Ruhai started to take good care of his body, but the case was still under investigation and no action was taken.

Indeed, if the incense is cut off, it is a huge sin. There are three types of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants.

If there is no filial son who breaks the pot, he will not be able to enter the ancestral tomb a hundred years later.

After coughing twice, Lin Ruhai frowned and said coldly, "Why are you here instead of reading in your room during the day? Are you here to pay your respects to your father? Have you forgotten where your father lives?"

Lin Daiyu's housekeeper's arrogance was swept away. Although she won the previous confrontation with her father, she was a girl after all, so she didn't dare to go against her father every time. What's more, she was staying overnight in Yue Ling's room, so she was a little guilty.

At this time, Xue Baochai stood up, bowed to Lin Ruhai, and said, "Hello, Lord Lin. Sister Lin came with me. I wanted to ask if the news that Yangzhou is recruiting salt merchants is true."

Speaking of the General Merchants’ case, this is the case that has always been a headache for Lin Ruhai. “This matter has not been concluded yet. We have to wait until the case is finalized.”

"Coincidentally, today is the first day of trial."

Lin Ruhai stroked his beard and sighed slightly, "Let's go, Yue Ling. Someone from the government office just came with a message, and they are just waiting for the two of us to arrive..."

(End of this chapter)