Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 355: Auntie is Happy, Daiyu is Worried
"Master? Why are you here?"

Ruizhu and Baozhu were walking outside, one carrying a wooden bucket and the other holding a wooden basin, when they bumped into Yue Ling who was walking into the guest room.

Normally, Yue Ling should have rested with Lin Daiyu at this time, but he suddenly appeared here. No wonder the two girls were surprised.

Yue Ling touched the tip of his nose, and the embarrassing scene just now flashed through his mind.

I thought Lin Daiyu was still an ignorant girl, but I didn't expect that my flaws would be seen through. It seems that my self-control is not strong enough, which really makes Yue Ling feel embarrassed.

"I'm staying here tonight."

Ruizhu and Baozhu looked at each other, their faces flushed slightly, and they responded in a soft voice: "Then, let's go call sister out."

"No need, you guys go and rest, I can go by myself."

The two mischievous little girls are no longer as innocent and cute as they were at the beginning.

They stared at Yue Ling's body in a sneaky way, feeling that Qin Keqing had led him astray. Yue Ling had to ask them to leave the room first to prevent others from peeping at his private parts again.

The two girls walked away with their heads down shyly. Yue Ling then bolted the door and tiptoed to the bedside.

As the boat drifted leisurely on the lake, the veil in front of the bed curtain also swayed regularly like the lake surface, causing some ripples.

Among them, there was a slender figure in the shadows, stretching out on the bed.

Yue Ling walked over slowly and when he pulled aside the bed curtain, he startled Qin Keqing, who was half-undressed.

Qin Keqing turned her head in confusion. Under the dim light, she could not tell that the person was Yue Ling. Instead, she smiled and raised her lotus-like arms. She lightly tapped her fingers on the tip of Yue Ling's nose and sneered, "Sister Bao, have you really thought it through?"

Yue Ling twitched his lips speechlessly and said, "It's me... What on earth did you do to coax Miss Bao?"

Hearing Yue Ling's deep voice, Qin Keqing's eyes suddenly widened. She was surprised at first, and then she got into bed in shame, covering her face with the quilt, and muttered, "Ah! How embarrassing! Master, how did you get here? Where's Sister Lin?"

"Sister Lin has gone to bed."

Yue Ling shook his head awkwardly.

Qin Keqing showed her eyes, blinked them, and looked at Yue Ling's face, confused and puzzled.

Normally, Sister Lin and her master are inseparable. Today is the Lantern Festival, and there is no reason for her to let her master come to her place.
"Did they have a fight?"

This idea is really absurd. The relationship between the two is so strong that it is impossible for them to quarrel.

Seeing the regretful look on Yue Ling's face, Qin Keqing realized something, "Could it be that the Marquis wanted to eat meat, but Sister Lin shyly refused? According to Sister Lin's temperament, this is very likely to happen, otherwise the Master would not have come to me."

Even though she was used as a substitute, Qin Keqing was still very happy. After all, she was the first one among the substitutes.

With a smile, Qin Keqing lifted the quilt, revealing two white and slender thighs. She cast a seductive look at Yue Ling and said softly, "Then Master, please stop standing there like an idiot. Let me serve you well tonight, okay?"

After saying that, Qin Keqing raised her hand and pulled Yue Ling's sleeve. Like a butcher cutting up an ox, her slender fingers danced on Yue Ling's body, stripping him of all his flesh without leaving a single piece of armor.

"Master, I have made you wait so long for this day..."

"Shh, keep your voice down. Don't let the pearls outside hear you."

"..."

……

Early the next morning,
The sky is clear and the wind is gentle and the clouds are calm.

There was a slight smell of gunpowder in the air. Perhaps it was because they were by the lake, Yue Ling sniffed it gently.

The girls went back ashore and boarded the sedan chair, looking at the lake reluctantly, all of them still having a lot of fun.

Lin Daiyu changed into a cross-collared skirt made of Tianshui blue silk and a white snow-white silk shawl on her shoulders. The fine pleats on the hem of her skirt swayed gently, like a little willow branch hanging by the lake, peaceful and beautiful.

Getting closer, Lin Daiyu looked up and asked, "Brother Yue, shall we go too?"

Yue Ling came back to his senses, nodded and smiled, helped Lin Daiyu up, and rode in a sedan chair back home together.

As soon as he got into the sedan chair, Yue Ling discovered that Zijuan and Xueyan, who were supposed to accompany Lin Daiyu, must have been sent away by Lin Daiyu in advance and were not riding in the sedan chair with her. He couldn't help feeling uneasy.

Although Lin Daiyu agreed yesterday, things went a little too far in the end, resulting in Qin Keqing and Xiangling both collapsing on the bed today and having to be helped up by others, which really scared the girls.

After last night's embarrassing incident of pounding garlic with a pestle, Yue Ling didn't know how to start a conversation to break this weird atmosphere.

The sedan chair moved slowly. Lin Daiyu didn't seem to mind. She sat opposite Yue Ling, lifted a corner of the sedan chair curtain, and looked at the scenery of the lake with lingering interest.

Pavilions and waterside terraces, spring swallows pecking at the mud, gradually flying farther and farther away.

After a long while, Lin Daiyu murmured, "Last night the rain was so heavy that it hit the windows like rocks. I thought it was going to capsize the boat."

"Did it rain last night?"

Yue Ling repeated it in surprise.

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes in annoyance and said, "You didn't even know it was raining outside. What a good thing you did!"

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly, scratched his head, and followed Lin Daiyu's gaze out of the window. The lantern show in Slender West Lake had been removed, and the street had returned to being an official road for pedestrians.

"After the New Year, it's time to have an explanation for Daddy's case."

Lin Daiyu sighed softly, and before returning home, she couldn't help but worry about important matters.

Yue Ling took her hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, we are very cautious in every step we take, and there will be no more mistakes."

"Next, we need to identify the character of Governor Cui."

Lin Daiyu didn't know what she was thinking about and burst out laughing.

Yue Ling looked over with a puzzled look on his face, and Lin Daiyu explained, "And the fireworks at Jinhu Lake disturbed Brother Yue's good deeds."

Yue Ling smiled helplessly, knowing that this girl was teasing him again.

Normally, he often teased Lin Daiyu. This time, the girl caught him with something and brought it up over and over again to make him angry.

Yue Ling shook his head and listened to Lin Daiyu again: "I calmed down and thought about it last night. It's just as Brother Yue said. The fireworks in Jinhu Lake can really be investigated. Someone said in front of the vendors that the fireworks in Slender West Lake are set off by the government."

"Think about it, there are so many private fireworks. If there is a fire, it will be a disaster."

"Since the government chose Jinhu's fireworks, it is definitely impossible that there is no connection between the two."

"Golden Lake, Golden Lake."

Yue Ling muttered the name several times. Perhaps he had gotten rid of all the distracting thoughts last night. Today, his mind was particularly clear. He suddenly remembered, "Oh, right, the day before the New Year when we first arrived in Yangzhou Prefecture, the Salt House sent a batch of salt. The Bao family wanted to send it to Jinhu, and asked the salt soldiers of the Salt House to help escort it." Lin Daiyu pondered, "This is very strange. If the Bao family really smuggled salt, why would they need the salt soldiers to help transport it?"

"Besides, the whereabouts of the salt is also suspicious. Jinhu is just a small town with a small population. It's almost the New Year, so there shouldn't be a shortage of salt."

"Salt, sodium chloride... Wait, Sister Lin, what color were the fireworks we watched last night?"

Lin Daiyu smiled crisply, poked Yue Ling's head, and said, "You really want to make me angry to death. It's just one night, and you are going to lose your memory? Don't remember anything?"

"It's okay that I didn't hear the rain outside, but I even forgot what color the fireworks were last night."

"Are you trying to say that you have forgotten everything that happened on the boat last night?"

Yue Ling held his forehead and smiled bitterly, "Of course not, it's just that Sister Lin is more beautiful than the fireworks, I only looked at Sister Lin and didn't notice the fireworks."

"Bah bah bah."

Lin Daiyu spat several times, crossed her shoulders and said, "You are talking nonsense. I don't believe you."

Although she was not willing to give in, Yue Ling's words still made Lin Daiyu feel sweet inside. She softened her tone and added, "Most of the fireworks that night were yellow, and they were blindingly bright."

"It is also because the fireworks produced in Jinhu are brighter that they stand out from many fireworks shops."

Yue Ling suddenly realized and clapped his hands, saying, "That's right. Sodium chloride is a sodium salt, and its flame color will appear yellow. So the fireworks at Jinhu are special because they contain sodium salt. This salt is most likely sea salt."

"Moreover, they urgently requested several ships of salt, probably to rush the fireworks for the New Year holidays."

"In this case, everything makes sense."

As smart as Lin Daiyu was, she couldn't keep up with Yue Ling's unconventional thinking. Flame color reaction and sodium chloride were words she had never heard of before.

After feeling happy, Yue Ling frowned again, "Just because there was a transaction doesn't mean much. I need to check the transactions in the accounts to see if there are any omissions, or go to the place where the fireworks are made."

"The easiest way is to ask the salt soldiers escorting the transport if they noticed anything unusual."

Yue Ling in deep thought attracted Lin Daiyu's attention the most. Lin Daiyu stared at Yue Ling's face without blinking, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

Although she didn't understand Yue Ling's thinking, this is also one of the charms of men.

She always thought she was extremely smart, but Yue Ling thought more deeply and got closer to the truth behind the scenes based on the clues she provided.

This is the person she can rely on.

"Girl, we've arrived at the salt yard."

Zijuan was calling softly outside, looking at the small window on the sedan with a sigh on her face.

When she learned the news about Qin Keqing and Xiangling, she sighed inwardly, regretting that she did not catch up with the good times.

Last night, not only was I not called into the room to share the heat, I also heartlessly accompanied Xueyan to eat a lot of street snacks. I felt heavy when I woke up this morning.

It is true that he who keeps company with vermilion becomes redder, and he who keeps company with ink becomes blacker.

Yue Ling helped Lin Daiyu get off the sedan chair. Not far away, they saw Lin Ruhai waiting in the courtyard with a worried look on his face.

Yue Ling and Lin Daiyu quickly let go of their hands and kept some distance.

Lin Ruhai frowned and walked up to the two of them, asking, "Why did you not come back until noon? I wonder how hard it rained last night. I was so worried about you."

"It's all right on the boat. It can shelter us from the wind and rain. There's nothing serious going on..."

Lin Daiyu responded shyly.

Lin Ruhai tilted his head to look at Yue Ling again. The more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong. He thought that this person looked more refreshed than a few days ago. He couldn't help but frowned and said, "You didn't do anything bad to Yu'er, did you?"

"No, no, brother, you are worrying too much."

Yue Ling had that idea, but he also knew his limits. Lin Daiyu also had self-control, so in order to avoid getting angry, she drove him away early to relieve her anger.

"Forget it." Lin Ruhai raised his hand and said, "Yu'er, go back first. I have something to say to him."

Lin Daiyu hesitated and didn't lift her feet. Her snow-white cheeks were flushed. She stammered, "Daddy, please don't make things difficult for Brother Yue. We really didn't do anything bad. Last night, Brother Yue went to sleep with Sister Ke'er and the others."

After hearing the first half of the sentence, Lin Ruhai thought it was more like a case of trying to cover up one's own guilt.

But when he heard the second half of the sentence, when he heard the word "they", Lin Ruhai became extremely angry.

"Okay, I get it, go into the room first."

Lin Daiyu looked at Yue Ling worriedly, and finally had to listen to her father and walked into the door first.

Behind the second door, behind the large screen, two concubines with excellent complexions came to greet them early.

"Girl, you're back? Come and sit in the room. I've brewed your favorite jasmine tea and Biluochun tea. Which one would you like?"

"Girl, the sedan is too bumpy and I'm a little hungry. Here are some refreshments."

The two concubines were too attentive and dragged Lin Daiyu into the main room by various means.

Lin Daiyu looked around and felt that the two concubines were very different from before. It was as if a long drought had finally brought rain. Their faces were much warmer and their complexions became more rosy, as if they had become many years younger.

"Daddy left Brother Yue to question me. I'm a little worried. Why don't I go and listen?"

Sitting in the sandalwood armchair, Lin Daiyu was still worried about what was happening outside.

The two concubines tried to persuade her to stay, saying, "No need, no need. They must be talking about serious matters. Miss, don't worry. Why don't you tell us what you did last night and whether you got closer to the Marquis?"

Rubbing Lin Daiyu's shoulders, Aunt Zhou added, "That's right, the young lady told us, so we can exaggerate. It's wrong to tell the truth, and it's also wrong to help the young lady hide it from the master..."

At the same time, Lin Ruhai and Yue Ling walked side by side through the hall and came to the empty classroom.

Yue Ling reiterated, "Brother, don't worry. Sister Lin and I will not cross that line before we get married."

Lin Ruhai slammed the table and said, "That's not the case."

Yue Ling was stunned, not knowing what Lin Ruhai was referring to.

Lin Ruhai swallowed a mouthful of tea and said angrily, "You are still young, so you don't know the hardships of my age. How can you be so unrestrained and act recklessly?"

"You don't care about the reputation of your Anjing Marquisate. You actually hang out with a bunch of girls on the boat. There's even news that your body is broken and useless!"

(End of this chapter)