Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 354: This is how reputation is ruined!
The lights on the banks of Suzhou's West Lake are as bright as the Milky Way.

The lantern festival along the street was crowded with people and noisy.

The boats rocked ashore from the depths of the lake, and pairs of young girls happily got off the boats and blended into the street scene.

When we first arrived at the street, the women walked out from the mist, like pretty girls walking out of a painting of ladies, accompanied by laughter and joy. They naturally became the most beautiful scene, making people unconsciously keep a distance from them.

The revolving lantern inlaid with mother-of-pearl depicted the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, the peony lanterns made of colored glaze bloomed in layers, and the Aoshan lanterns, over ten feet high, were so splendid and dazzling that they attracted bursts of amazement.

But after this group of girls came ashore, they attracted my attention.

Yue Ling stood in front of the group of girls, accompanying them in looking around and satisfying their desire for fun.

The group of people all had extraordinary looks and conversation, and were dressed in luxurious clothes. When they walked in front of the stalls, people couldn't help but be cautious.

After walking a few steps, the girls were attracted by a stall selling small items.

"Look, dear guests. Although our stall is small, each item here is very exquisite."

The little girls were most interested in the strange little gadgets. They soon gathered together and started touching them.

Yue Ling was surrounded by them at the front and took a glance at the items on the stall. Indeed, each item was exquisitely made.

There are star plates made of mother-of-pearl, whistling arrows made of bamboo, heart-shaped locks with ingenious mechanisms but different from each other, some jade carvings, and even inkstones and ink boxes. There is only one of each, and whether to buy or not depends entirely on your preference.

"Hey, I haven't seen this thing for a long time."

Lingguan, a young girl from the opera troupe, picked up a small bone joint from the stall, held it in her hand, and examined it carefully under the light.

Yue Ling was also attracted by her actions, but in Yue Ling's eyes, what she held in her hand was just a long piece of bone, which was somewhat ordinary, and he didn't see what was so exquisite about it.

Seeing that the little girl was very interested, the vendor immediately said, "This girl has a good eye. This is a hollowed-out sculpture made from the tibia of a crane. There are six holes above seven inches, and the sound of the music is long and melodious."

Yue Ling raised his eyebrows, "This is actually a musical instrument?"

Lingguan nodded repeatedly and explained, "This is called a bone flute. It is a very ancient musical instrument, but it is still very common among the people. It's just that it's rare to see one made of crane bones."

Lin Daiyu also took it and looked at it. "It's a good item. If you like it, buy it."

"Stadium owner, how much silver?"

The stall owner looked up and down at Yue Ling's clothes, and saw the precious jade buckle on his waist. He knew that he was not from an ordinary family, so he shouted, "Two hundred taels, one price, no bargaining."

"Two hundred taels?"

Lingguan's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly put the bone flute back to its original place. "Although the item is good, the price is too expensive. I don't have that much money, so I'd better not take it."

"Hey, this bone flute is not only finely crafted, but also a symbol of the previous dynasty, used by the court music bureau. Just look at the patina, it must cost two hundred taels to take it away."

The stall owner was sure that this rich young man would pay, so he kept his mouth shut.

Hearing the stall owner asking for an exorbitant price, Lin Daiyu was also a little angry. Qin Keqing, who was keeping accounts and managing the household beside her, was even more furious. She pinched out two bone flutes and laughed coldly, "My father-in-law is really good at talking about ancient things. There is not a single inscription or seal on the whole piece of music used in the palace? Is there no one in the palace of the previous dynasty who can read?"

Xue Baochai also stepped forward and took out the gold-inlaid jade hairpin from her bosom, saying, "This is an item used by the previous emperor that I collected last month. I took a look at it and found that the price from the Ministry of Works was only 120 taels. How can your fake be more expensive than the real thing?"

Before Lin Daiyu could even open her mouth, the stall owner was already sweating profusely from being scolded by the two girls.

The girl behind even took out a real weapon and mentioned that it was related to the Ministry of Industry. It seemed that she was a big shot from the capital, and the stall owner could not afford to offend her.

Seeing that the man standing in front of him was not an ordinary dandy, the stall owner had no choice but to sell well and said in a friendly manner: "It is because I am not appreciative. Since you ladies really know the value of goods, I will set the price based on your judgment."

Lin Daiyu nodded with satisfaction and looked at Yue Ling beside her.

Yue Ling also smiled and said, "Well, everyone pick one, and that will also be considered as taking care of the old man's business."

Looking at Lingguan again, Yue Ling added: "Lingguan, please put this bone flute away first. Since it is a musical instrument, it is no wonder that you like it. Don't worry about the price, I will pay for it."

The little girls clapped their hands happily and started looking for it in the stall.

Qingwen chose a handful of bone needles, Xiangling picked out a box of rouge, Zijuan found a pornographic picture, and Xueyan found a set of ivory chopsticks and spoons and liked them very much.

Each maid found her favorite thing, Yue Ling paid the money, and then everyone moved forward.

When it comes to the Lantern Festival, the most indispensable thing is guessing lantern riddles.

In such a large team like Yue Ling, all the girls are literate, and there are two talented girls, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. Even the girls in the small opera troupe can recite a few ancient poems.

When they saw a stall for guessing riddles in front of them, they were all eager to try and were very excited.

"Master, let's go and guess that one. There are not many people in front of that stall, so it must be very difficult to guess. There are a few girls leading us, so of course we have to guess the most difficult one!"

As soon as Ying'er opened her mouth, many girls echoed her.

Yue Ling is very confident in the girls' talents. Even if worst comes to worst, there's still Lin Daiyu. Is there any riddle in the world that Lin Daiyu can't guess?

Besides, even if they couldn't guess it, it was just for fun. Yue Ling wasn't a big patriarch who would spoil the fun. "Okay, everyone come over here first, don't get separated."

An old woman was standing in front of the riddle stall, looking at the little girls with a smile, and they were in a very friendly mood.

"Girls, do you want to guess the riddles? As long as you guess the answer, you can get a corresponding item. But if you can't guess it, you have to pay silver, one tael per person for each person who guesses the riddle. However, even if you don't guess it, you can still get a rabbit lantern."

The little girls' eyes lit up as well, and they said in surprise, "Hey, this is really unusual. If you don't guess the riddle correctly, you have to pay money, but if you guess it correctly, you can get something that tells you the answer."

"It seems that the old woman is very confident in her riddle."

The little girls were all very excited and ready to compete with each other.

Yue Ling did not compete with the little girls. He let them go to the front to play and he just stood behind the girls and watched.

"Girls, try this first." The old woman slowly lifted the first lampshade, revealing the riddle, "Spend the night in the hibiscus tent. Guess what to eat."

"Eat?"

Xueyan came over with shining eyes. She didn't expect that the chopsticks and soup spoon she just bought would be put to good use. She was really lucky today.

But she knew very little about riddles and only half understood the riddles. She was immediately discouraged.

Lin Daiyu and the other girls were unable to figure out the answer to the riddle for a while. Could such a famous poem be used as a riddle?

After a while, Zijuan said faintly: "It can't be spring rolls... Spring night rolls up the quilt..."

The girls' faces turned slightly red, and Yue Ling felt embarrassed after hearing that. He could not help but touch the tip of his nose, look away and pretend not to hear it.

The girls' thoughts were misled by Zijuan. They all thought what she said made sense and could not come to a conclusion for a while.

After a while of silence, the old woman said helplessly: "It's not spring rolls, it's wontons..."

After a light cough, the old woman hurriedly said, "Don't be discouraged, girls. There is another one. A golden needle pierces the peach blossom. Dare not speak loudly and frown secretly. Guess a commonly used object." Xue Baochai said doubtfully, "Stall owner, your riddle is not right. It always feels a bit unserious..."

The old woman said repeatedly: "Young lady, you think too much. The answer to this riddle is definitely serious."

Just as Xue Baochai was about to try to guess, Qingwen asked, "Is it an embroidery needle?"

The old woman shook her head and smiled, "Wrong again, it's the garlic pestle. If you pound too hard, the juice will burst into your eyes, and you will frown."

Qingwen was a little unconvinced and asked, "You have to frown even if you prick your hand with an embroidery needle?"

The old woman laughed even more and raised her head in Yue Ling's direction, "Then ask your son whether it is a garlic pestle or an embroidery needle."

The older maids all understood the meaning of the old woman's words and their faces turned redder. Only the little girl didn't understand and pulled Yue Ling's arm tightly, asking him to judge whether she was right or wrong.

"My Lord, is it a garlic pestle or an embroidery needle? Tell me, tell me now!"

Yue Ling was helpless. "Just use the garlic pestle. There is more to come. Guess what's next."

Even Yue Ling didn't stand on their side, which completely aroused their competitive spirit.

"Okay, okay, come on, let's see what the third one is."

The little girls couldn't stop urging.

The old woman smiled secretly, as if she couldn't help laughing when she thought about what she was going to say soon.

"Girls, listen carefully. The third riddle is: 'Two coiled dragons on a jade pillar, exploring a hidden treasure cave'. Guess a famous spot in Yangzhou."

This riddle obviously has a hidden meaning, and having suffered the same setbacks as the first two, the girls couldn't help but think of it in a wrong way.

Lin Daiyu was too embarrassed to guess the riddle and didn't say a word, which was considered as her early admission of defeat.

Xue Baochai and Qin Keqing became the main force among the girls, and the girls gathered around them and started chattering.

But neither of them was from Yangzhou, and they couldn’t think of a good answer for a while.

"Treasure cave? Broth? I guess it's crab soup dumplings."

As a girl from the south of the Yangtze River, Xiangling immediately got the answer, and it was very convincing, causing the girls behind her to nod in agreement.

But the old woman still shook her head, "No, no, I'll give you one more chance."

Ruizhu tilted her head and asked tentatively: "Panlong, could it be dragon beard pastry?"

The old woman blushed and said with a smile: "Girls are all just going through the motions. It seems that you have seen a lot of them in your daily life. However, they are all wrong. This is a Wu Ding bun, with a coiled dragon-shaped bun skin. Tanyou bites deep into it, and there is no lack of the juice that the girl is thinking about."

The girls were silent for a moment, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

Xiangling was a thin-skinned person to begin with, and now she felt even more ashamed. She lowered her head and said, "This old woman is deliberately trying to embarrass us. The pungent smell of the pounded garlic just now would have made people frown, but she insisted on spitting out the juice."

"I mentioned juice and she's teasing me again."

Xiangling secretly glanced at Yue Ling's face and felt even more embarrassed.

Qin Keqing's eyes turned, and she memorized secretly: "Hiss, this treasure cave and exploration are used very well. It seems that I need to learn more."

Finally, Yue Ling, who was behind the other girls, couldn't hold back his expression anymore and said hastily, "Okay, okay, stop guessing and go to the next one first..."

"Hey, Lord, don't leave. We have to guess one, right?"

Ying Er refused to admit defeat and shouted, "My daughter hasn't guessed yet."

Yue Ling covered his face with shame, "Stop guessing, and don't call me by my name outside, or my reputation will be ruined by you!"

The girls, each holding a rabbit lantern, walked out of the stall in low spirits.

The old lady at the stall covered her mouth and laughed.

"Marquis? It turns out to be the young marquis from Anjing Marquis's Mansion. He is a very down-to-earth person and really funny."

The old woman who was watching laughed so hard that she burst into laughter, and even counted the large amount of silver in her arms. People couldn't help but come over and ask, "Grandma Liu, what are you laughing at? How did you get to see such a good thing?"

"Well, you know what, it's really good news. I just met the famous Marquis of Anjing."

Others said disdainfully, "What's wrong with Marquis Anjing? When I was rowing a boat for a rich young man just now, I also heard a boat shouting 'Marquis' non-stop."

"That sound was like a silver bell, and there were even more than 20 little girls there, which made people's hearts melt when they heard it."

"That rich young man couldn't stand listening to it anymore and was anxious to let us row the boat away. I think the boat must be filled with the wine and women of Marquis Anjing. It's so vulgar and lecherous."

The old woman smiled and nodded, "Is this really true? The rumors in the capital city are indeed true."

……

After playing around outside, the girls had a great time except for one loss at the lantern riddle guessing game.

When we returned to the cabin, there was a rabbit lantern at the head of each bed.

It’s not that the rabbit lantern is so pretty, it’s just that it cost only three taels of silver and it’s too expensive so the girls are reluctant to throw it away.

After Lin Daiyu and Yue Ling boarded the boat hand in hand, she smiled and said, "We had a lot of fun today. Brother Yue put in a lot of effort."

Yue Ling shook his head. "As long as Sister Lin is happy, there aren't many opportunities to have fun in Yangzhou."

Lin Daiyu blinked and said softly, "It will be fine after we return to the capital."

The cabin was noisy, and Yue Ling did not hear Lin Daiyu's words clearly, so he asked, "What did Sister Lin say just now?"

Between Lin Daiyu and Yue Ling, returning to Beijing has almost become synonymous with getting married.

It is obvious that when Lin Daiyu returned to the capital, she was already old enough to get married.

Lin Daiyu longed to return to Beijing and was looking forward to this day, but she was too shy to say it so bluntly, so she just laughed it off and said, "No, I didn't say anything..."

"I won't stay with you tonight, Brother Yue... Go to sleep by yourself..."

Lin Daiyu spoke hesitantly.

Yue Ling was very surprised. The two of them had always been in a good mood, but when they were about to rest at night, Lin Daiyu's expression changed. He couldn't help but ask, "Sister Lin, what do you mean?"

Lin Daiyu lowered her head shyly, and after a while, she seemed to have made up her mind. She stamped her feet, raised her head and said, "When we were on the boat, Brother Yue's garlic pestle hit me! I'm so scared of you. Go find Sister Ke'er and the others!"

After saying that, Lin Daiyu ran away shyly, leaving Yue Ling alone in the evening breeze on the deck...

(End of this chapter)