Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 349 He calls him Brother, I call him Dad

"Brother, wait a moment. I will change into my official uniform."

The trial in court cannot be neglected. Yue Ling nodded repeatedly in response, then stood up and walked into the room.

Lin Ruhai poured himself some tea and waited. When he looked up, he saw Lin Daiyu following Yue Ling and about to enter the room.

"Yu'er? What are you doing?"

Lin Ruhai glared at him, looking unhappy. He couldn't help but complain in his heart: "A grown man went in to change his clothes, and you, a little girl, followed him. What's the big deal?"

This girl was such a worry that Lin Ruhai was immediately furious.

Lin Daiyu smiled awkwardly. In fact, she was used to it and took it for granted without considering the details.

Even so, Lin Daiyu still looked up and said, "It's complicated to wear official uniforms, and father is anxious. If I help Brother Yue get dressed, isn't that also helping father? There's no maid in the room right now. Should I go and call someone in? It would just waste a lot of time."

"You, what kind of twisted logic are you using? Isn't Yue Ling without arms or legs?"

Lin Ruhai frowned, looking quite unhappy, but Lin Daiyu still curved her brows and went back to her room.

"Oh, this girl..."

Xue Baochai was the only one left standing alone in the hall.

She could see that the father and daughter were at loggerheads. Out of gratitude to Lin Ruhai, or perhaps because she was afraid that the two of them would get too close in the room, Xue Baochai said carefully, "Master Lin, then, I'll go to the room and help out, too."

"Are you going too?"

Xue Baochai smiled awkwardly, then followed Lin Daiyu into the house.

Lin Ruhai leaned weakly against the back of the chair, complaining in his heart, "What kind of magic potion did Yue Ling give these girls? They are all grown-up girls in the boudoir, but they serve me like little maids."

"Yu'er is like this, and so is the girl from the Xue family. It's really outrageous."

"Why is he so lucky?"

The more Lin Ruhai thought about it, the angrier he became, and he remembered that Lin Daiyu had once written home asking for money.

At first, he really thought that Suzhou was short of money, so he gave a lot of silver. But now, seeing the attitude of the Xue family's daughter towards Yue Ling, just like the maid around her, doesn't this prove that those who belong to the Xue family are Yue Ling's?
Moreover, based on Lin Ruhai's understanding of the Feng brand, how could this large business with connections from north to south be short of money?

Even so, Lin Daiyu still came home to ask for money.

Before getting married, she had already set her sights on the family. Even if they were not in need, she would still subsidize Yue Ling. After they get married, who knows what the excess will be like.

"This girl has been raised up, and she has long lost track of family ties. She is closer to Yue Ling than to me, her father. Now, it's time to have another baby."

Lin Ruhai was thinking silently, sipping his tea, and after two more cups, Yue Ling slowly walked out of the room.

Looking up, no matter how dissatisfied Lin Ruhai was with Yue Ling, he had to admit that he did have a good-looking appearance.

Unlike the handsome appearance of a scholar, his face was as white as jade, his brows were full of heroic spirit, he was dressed in a dark official robe with cloud patterns and gold thread, his jade belt and pendants jingled when he walked, his attire was luxurious, but his broad shoulders and narrow waist gave him an austere air. His sword was not unsheathed, but there was a faint sound of sword noise.

Yue Ling was indeed eye-catching, but what caught Lin Ruhai's attention even more was Lin Daiyu who was following behind him.

Those watery eyes were staring straight at Yue Ling, not even a glance away from him.

Just this infatuated look shows even deeper affection than the two aunts have shown towards him recently.

Lin Ruhai felt jealous and inexplicably irritated. He slammed the table and stood up, urging, "Okay, it's getting late, we should go. The horses are ready, follow me."

Yue Ling bowed respectfully, "Brother, please."

Lin Ruhai strode over and paused in front of Lin Daiyu and glanced at her.

Lin Daiyu turned her head away guiltily, pursed her lips and pretended not to see it.

After Lin Ruhai left, he whispered to Yue Ling, "Be careful."

Yue Ling smiled, nodded, and waved goodbye.

After both of them left, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sister Lin, there is something that I find very strange and I really can't understand it."

Lin Daiyu leaned against the door and looked at it, and answered casually: "What's the matter? Just tell me directly, why beat around the bush?"

Xue Baochai asked thoughtfully, "Why does the Marquis call Lord Lin "brother", and you call the Marquis "brother"? Isn't there a difference in generation between them?"

Lin Daiyu retracted her gaze and said lightly, "When I first came back, I wanted to change my way of addressing him, but after spending so much time with him, I unconsciously called him by the wrong name. By the time I came to my senses, Dad had already noticed it."

"Daddy is not a conservative person, just let me call you whatever I like."

"I guess Daddy has also said the same thing to Brother Yue."

"So it's like this now. I call Brother Yue Brother, Brother Yue calls Daddy Brother, and I call Daddy Daddy."

"It's fine to each their own. They're all used to it anyway."

Lin Daiyu shook her skirt, found the chair next to the tea table, and slowly sat down.

He threw away the teacup that his father had used, replaced it with a new one, and started pouring tea.

Xue Baochai's mouth twitched, and she was deeply shocked. "Then... Lord Lin is quite open-minded."

Soon, there was another burst of laughter from outside the yard.

Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the two concubines in the room who came looking for them.

What was different from usual days was that the two concubines who always wore light makeup put on very delicate makeup today and looked like they were more than ten years younger.

Aunt Bai stepped over the threshold and went straight to find Lin Daiyu.

"Just when I heard that the master came to look for the marquis and then went out in a huff, I knew that you must be here. Come on, don't sit here idle, come with us to the room to have fun and discuss the procedures for the New Year's Festival."

Aunt Zhou's face also flushed. She held up Lin Daiyu's other arm and whispered affectionately, "That's right. Without the young lady, who else in the family can make this decision?"

The two aunts had always been very considerate to her, but the way they were asking about her well-being today still made Lin Daiyu shudder. She looked around at them in surprise and asked in confusion, "Do you want anything from me? Just say it directly. There's no need to be so rude."

Aunt Bai secretly poked Aunt Zhou, who frowned and poked her back.

Aunt Bai smiled awkwardly and had to ask, "Miss, can you still make the master angry again before the New Year?"

Lin Daiyu widened her eyes, "?"

……

"My Lord, Lord Lin, and the prefect are already in the government office, waiting for you two to come."

In front of the yamen, a minor official had been waiting for a long time, and he saluted respectfully with Yue Ling and Lin Ruhai in front of the horse's head.

This was the second time Yue Ling had passed by this place. Before he went to the Bao family to investigate a case, he had also passed by this government office as a detour. At that time, a group of people were watching a woman being whipped, which left a deep impression on Yue Ling.

Recalling this incident, Yue Ling asked, "Some time ago, a village woman came to the government office to appeal and was flogged. What happened?"

These words stunned all the yamen runners who came to greet him. They looked at each other and stammered, and no one could say anything.

Yue Ling frowned, already displeased.

The man who was about to greet him said, "My Lord, the village woman didn't survive the fifty lashes. After being sent back to recuperate, she became ill for a long time and should have been buried. This... this is a common occurrence."

"what?"

Yue Ling jumped off his horse, his blood boiling. He wanted to grab the clerk by the collar and question him how he could say such cold-blooded words so easily.

A woman who sought justice was beaten to death in front of the government office.

A woman who traveled a long distance to Yangzhou Prefecture to file a complaint with the government, did not know how much hardship she had to endure.

The people just wanted to seek justice, but they didn't ask about the circumstances and just beat the person to death?
He is truly not a human being and treats the common people like grass.

However, as soon as he raised his hand, Yue Ling pressed it down again.

In this era, just as this official said, the death of a commoner is a common occurrence. Although it arouses sympathy, no one will care if you are not a relative or friend.

Moreover, filing an appeal is extremely complicated. Once the case is investigated, the prefectural officials will definitely punish the county officials. This is what is meant by "if officials cannot protect other officials, how can they protect the people?"
But in Yue Ling's mind, the world should not be so cold and indifferent. Ultimately, it was the prefect's inaction.

Those who hold high positions and are in charge of the affairs of a region should be the parents of the people and fulfill their responsibility to protect the country and the people.

Love your family and be kind to the people, be kind to the people and love all things.

Everyone who participated in the imperial examination could not have been unaware of the words of the Second Sage, but the prefect of Yangzhou was able to carry out such a brutal act, condoning his yamen runners and whipping the common people to death.

This is the biggest drawback of the feudal bureaucracy. Before the imperial examination, they followed the words of the sages, but after becoming officials, they discarded them like worn-out shoes, and became more and more in tune with the world, not caring about the lives of the people at all.

Lin Ruhai dismounted and came to Yue Ling's side, patted his shoulder and comforted him: "This fault is not yours, don't blame yourself too much. The world is like this, and it cannot be changed by one person."

Yue Ling was silent for a moment, then replied: "This is why I entered the imperial court. From now on, I will not hesitate any more."

Lin Ruhai was slightly startled, but nodded in approval, "Good boy."

Lin Ruhai raised his hand again and patted Yue Ling on the shoulder. This time, there was no comfort in his eyes, but encouragement and even envy.

It's not that he doesn't know what is right and what is wrong, but after being in the officialdom for a long time, he always has to follow the so-called rules of the officialdom, which makes Lin Ruhai deeply trapped in it and unable to break it.

But Yue Ling is not in this category, he has the opportunity to change some things.

Once upon a time, Lin Ruhai was chosen by the emperor as the third place in the imperial examination. He was in his prime, full of vigor and vitality, and he once had dreams, but time has smoothed out his edges.

Through this support, Lin Ruhai seemed to place his vision of a young and high-spirited self on Yue Ling.

"Go to the yamen first. If you want to investigate further, there is no one you cannot check and no files you cannot read."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, shook his official robe, and strode into the yamen.

The case had not even been heard yet, but he already had a very bad impression of the presiding judge, Governor Cui.

In the yamen, a pair of wooden signs with the words "Silence" inscribed on them were placed on both sides, and ten yamen runners holding water and fire sticks stood in front.

Looking up at the plaque with the words "A Clear Mirror Hanging High" again, Yue Ling always felt that it was somewhat ironic.

Below, there were three desks side by side, but they were not of the same height. Cui Ying was currently sitting behind the shortest desk on the right.

Seeing Yue Ling and Lin Ruhai walking into the central hall, he immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Marquis An Jing, Lord Lin."

Yue Ling just nodded and sat on the highest seat without any hesitation.

Lin Ruhai bowed in return, "Master Cui, please judge the case first."

Cui Ying looked back and was very surprised by Yu Yueling's different attitude towards him. He couldn't figure it out for a moment, and it was not easy to ask him in person, so he suppressed his thoughts and said to Lin Ruhai: "Master Lin is right, take the prisoners Bao Zhidao and Bao Lin!"

Before they could finish their task, two men in shackles and shackles were brought into the courtroom.

As the former head of the salt merchants, the Bao family had always lived a life of luxury. But now, the two men were no longer wearing silk and satin, but only coarse yellow earth-colored linen clothes, and their hair was dishevelled and their faces were dirty, and one could tell at a glance that they had suffered a lot.

The prefect Cui Ying slammed the gavel and said, "Get the evidence!"

Suddenly, two tables were pushed out from both sides, on which were piles of paper money.

Someone brought two copies of the table and circulated them between Yue Ling and Lin Ruhai.

Lin Ruhai took a closer look and asked in surprise, "So many salt permits?"

Cui Ying nodded repeatedly, "That's right, these are not all. The Bao family is really bold and reckless. These are the salt permits used by the previous dynasty. They forged them to defraud official salt from the salt depot."

"After the coroner performed the autopsy that night, we began to search Butler Liu's home. We found a compartment in the bookcase, and inside it was an account book."

"The account was from an old year, and there were no omissions, but two pages were stuck together. When I tore them apart, I found an old salt voucher stuck inside."

"I'm afraid that's why he escaped the Bao family's pursuit."

"Later, we pursued Bao Lin to his ancestral land and discovered a large number of old salt permits hidden there. They happened to be from the same year as the one hidden by Steward Liu."

"There is sufficient evidence to prove that Butler Liu was murdered to silence him. In the end, this evidence did not save his life."

Cui Ying secretly raised his eyebrows, feeling deeply disgusted by the Bao family's behavior of abandoning the donkey after it has served its purpose.

Looking down the hall, Cui Ying gritted his teeth and said, "There are criminals, Bao Zhidao and Bao Lin, who hid old salt permits, passed them off as new ones, deceived the salt warehouse clerks, stole official salt, and estimated that the salt tax evaded was more than one million taels. Bao Zhidao, do you admit your guilt?"

Bao Zhidao, the head of the Bao family, is the main culprit and the person most responsible, but his clothes are slightly cleaner than his son Bao Lin. However, he is drowsy at the moment and obviously not awake, and he can't answer Cui Ying's questions.

Cui Ying had no choice but to turn to Bao Lin and ask, "Criminal Bao Lin? Do you plead guilty?"

"I admit my guilt."

"Every word the prefect said is true. The Bao family committed crimes and disregarded the law."

Bao Lin took a few deep breaths and twisted his body uncontrollably, as if he was feeling very uncomfortable.

At this time, the case is judged on the basis of the presumption of guilt. As long as the motive, physical evidence and witness testimony can be linked together and the logic is smooth, the case can be concluded.

Moreover, Bao Zhidao's son, Bao Lin, has already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to death. Even if Bao Zhidao remained silent, he could still be convicted.

Cui Ying glanced at the clerk beside him and instructed: "Write down the details of the case and have them sign and seal their names."

Seeing that everything was about to be settled, Yue Ling, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said in a muffled voice: "Wait a minute."

(End of this chapter)