Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 356: Sister, do you want to have some involvement?

"What? How could this happen?"

Yue Ling looked incredulous and spread his hands, saying, "Brother, you can't believe those rumors!"

Lin Ruhai frowned, "How dare you say that it's just a rumor? Everything has its cause and effect, there is no smoke without fire. Yu'er just said that you spent the night with a few maids, is this still a rumor?"

Yue Ling was speechless after being refuted. There were indeed quite a few maids in his room last night. There was really nothing to explain. He could only lower his head and sigh.

Lin Ruhai took a few more breaths and said, "Well, you can handle these matters on your own. I shouldn't have to remind you. I called you here because I have something important to tell you."

"This morning, a message came back from the navigable canal. A body was washed out on the hill outside Jinhu Town by the rain last night. It was so decomposed that it was beyond recognition. It was found by local villagers, who found it on the river and reported it to the police."

"Jinhu Town has always had trouble investigating cases. The person who intercepted the news on the river was someone from our Salt Court, so they sent it back to Yangzhou first."

"Even if I hand the matter over to Governor Cui to investigate, you won't trust me, right? Why don't you go and take a look yourself?"

Yue Ling pondered for a moment, his eyes lit up and he asked, "Does the deceased have a token of identity?"

Lin Ruhai shook his head and said, "There are no missing people in the homes of the surrounding villagers. It is not easy for outsiders to confirm their identities."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "What a coincidence! I was planning to go to Jinhu Lake."

It was too dangerous for Yue Ling to stay in the mansion. Lin Ruhai just wanted to find something for him to do so that he could keep some distance from Lin Daiyu and prevent their relationship from getting too heated up and creating other sparks just because they went out for fun.

Unexpectedly, Yue Ling actually said that he wanted to leave, so Lin Ruhai looked surprised and asked: "Oh? That's true, what did you find out?"

Yue Ling nodded and said, "Thanks to Sister Lin's suggestion to visit Slender West Lake, we have discovered a secret that we had not noticed before."

"That night, Sister Lin and I were on that small boat..."

Lin Ruhai raised his teacup and drank a sip of tea, then spat it out again. He placed the teacup on the table and angrily asked, "What did you say? Aren't you a group of people going out to play together?"

"Oh, right, right."

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly, "That's right, brother, you're right. That day when we watched the fireworks, Sister Lin and I sat together."

"These fireworks should be produced by Jinhu Town, and they are related to the government office. I have told Sister Lin about the rest of the things, and you only need to ask Sister Lin."

"Since this is a murder case involving human life, I will not stay in Yanyuan. I will try to go there early and come back early so that I can find out some secrets."

"Brother, goodbye!"

Yue Ling quickly got away, leaving Lin Ruhai alone in the classroom, wiping the tea table and sighing softly.

"You are already a capable commander-in-chief, why can't you be more steady? You really treat me as your elder."

Lin Ruhai was very tired, always acting like this, which was completely different from when he was trying to make friends in the past, and of course it was also hard work.

But he had to continue playing the role, for fear that these two fearless little ancestors would do something wrong.

There were three knocks outside the classroom door. Lin Ruhai raised his eyes again and sat up straight. "Come in."

The one who came over was Nanny Wang from the inner house. She came to Lin Ruhai and whispered, "Don't worry, Master. Someone has checked and the girl is still a virgin."

Lin Ruhai let out a long sigh and said, "That's good, that's good."

……

"Sister, this is the ginseng soup that has just been cooked in the kitchen. Can you drink some while it's hot? It will nourish your body."

Ruizhu and Zhuzhu, one holding a soup and the other holding a small bowl and spoon, walked to Qin Keqing's bedside together.

Qin Keqing, who had worked hard all night, was still a little dizzy at this moment.

The aroma emanating from the sand stove whetted Qin Keqing's appetite. She sat up lazily, stroked her forehead, and leaned back on the soft pillow at the head of the bed.

Qin Keqing opened her red lips and stammered, "Then take a break and have something to eat."

This weak response attracted the attention of the two maids, who looked at Qin Keqing's body back and forth.

Qin Keqing felt something and tilted her head to look over, "Hmm? What are you looking at?"

Baozhu knelt down beside the bed first, blinked her eyes, and asked curiously: "Sister, was what happened last night so dangerous? If your voice had not been covered by the rain and the sound insulation on the boat was not good, I'm afraid everyone would have heard it."

Ruizhu originally wanted to pull Baozhu aside to prevent her from asking so as not to embarrass her sister, but before she could react, Baozhu had already said it.

But looking at Qin Keqing's expression, she didn't care at all, and even seemed a little proud.

There was a kind of meaning in his eyes and brows, saying, "How can a group of little girls know the fun here?"

Ruizhu squatted beside Baozhu and asked her doubts without paying attention, "Sister, in your previous articles, you wrote "I want more" and "Come again, come again". Why did you say "No, no" and "Forgive me" last night?"

Qin Keqing frowned, poked the two girls on the forehead twice, and said coldly: "You two yellow-haired girls, what do you know? The master doesn't like the kind of people who go along with him, but the kind of people who are willing to resist but still willing to accept. The more they say no, the harder they will try."

Ruizhu looked at each other, neither of them understood the meaning.

Qin Keqing waved her hands impatiently and said, "Forget it, forget it. You won't understand even if I tell you."

Ruizhu was not giving up and continued to ask, "Last night, sister's movements were like she was crying, she knelt down and begged for mercy, and... or she was trying to please the master?"

Qin Keqing glared and said, "Ruizhu, what do you mean by this? Do you think I like to be bullied? Or do you think I can't stand it?"

"You didn't see Xiangling last night. She couldn't even match 50% of my power."

"It's not enough to share the burden. I have to bring Zijuan with me next time."

At this moment, the sound of footsteps could be heard outside. "Hey, which girl is still gossiping behind others' backs? Why are you saying bad things about our Xiangling again?"

Qin Keqing looked over and saw Xue Baochai coming in with Ying'er. She smiled, waved her hand, and asked Baozhu to bring a chair for Xue Baochai to sit in front of the bed.

Holding Xue Baochai's hot hand, Qin Keqing smiled knowingly.

Generally, girls in the boudoir have weak spleen and stomach, and cold limbs, especially in winter, so hand warmers are a common item in the boudoir in winter.

Only Xue Baochai, who had internal fever, still had hot hands and feet, just like a man.

"My dear sister, you came to see me. I am really happy for you."

Xue Baochai naturally took the chicken soup from the table, blew it gently and fed it to Qin Keqing, smiling and saying, "You are so ungrateful. If Xiangling hadn't gone, would you still be awake today? This is good. As soon as I came, I heard you were criticizing Xiangling again."

Qin Keqing sighed softly and said, "Ah, sister, you don't know what the master is capable of. Xiangling..."

Xue Baochai blushed slightly, and she scooped another spoonful for Qin Keqing and put it to her mouth, stopping her from saying anything. "I heard from Xiangling that she begged you to let her go last night, but you didn't. You forced yourself on her and let the Marquis tease her. Is that true?"

"You really know how to please the Marquis. You can do anything. It's really hard for Xiangling. She is so obedient, but she is always teased by you."

Xue Baochai scolded Qin Keqing in a coquettish and angry tone. Qin Keqing smiled calmly and sighed, "Don't mention it. I envy you." Xue Baochai's eyes widened and she said in surprise, "What's wrong with you now? Why do you envy me?"

After swallowing another mouthful of chicken soup, Qin Keqing slowly said, "You are capable and can handle things on your own. You have the entire Xue family as a foil to help the master, and you are indispensable in all external affairs. How can I not envy you?"

Xue Baochai shook her head and chuckled, "So, I envy you."

Qin Keqing's eyebrows curved, the corners of her mouth raised, she turned her head, a playful expression on her face and even changed her tone of voice, "Oh? But you envy me for being able to sleep with you in the room?"

Xue Baochai's words slipped and her face turned red with embarrassment. She immediately spat, "Pooh, what are you talking about?"

Xue Baochai originally wanted to say that she envied Qin Keqing for not having any family ties that held her back, but she took advantage of the situation and sang this obscene cliché.

But Qin Keqing was relentless and did not miss the opportunity to tease Xue Baochai. She continued, "If you are really envious, why don't you put a rouge mole on your forehead at night? When I call Ruizhu to find Xiangling, you can come to the room to take her place."

"When the time comes, I will cover the master's eyes with a veil. How will he be able to tell the difference?"

"You know the master's temper. How can he deny it after sleeping with him? The rice has been cooked."

Qin Keqing laughed so hard that she fell backwards, and Ruizhu, Baozhu and even Ying'er behind Xue Baochai all covered their mouths and laughed.

This really made Xue Baochai feel ashamed and annoyed. She dropped the bowl of chicken soup, snorted coldly and stood up to leave, "I'm giving it to you to eat, but it still can't stop you from talking! Look at your dissolute nature. It's not enough to humiliate Xiangling, you also find ways to humiliate me!"

"Hey, just pretending."

Qin Keqing glanced at her with disdain, but she also knew that Xue Baochai was a well-known and wealthy girl, and she would definitely not lower herself to do such a ridiculous thing like herself.

With a turn of her eyes, Qin Keqing took Xue Baochai's arm and tried to persuade her to stay, "Okay, okay, it was my fault just now, please don't be upset. I won't talk nonsense again in the future, please forgive me."

"To be honest, my sister has a way. Even if you don't come, you can still feel a sense of participation."

Xue Baochai just stood up, not understanding what Qin Keqing was talking about. She turned around and glanced at her in confusion.

Qin Keqing suddenly lifted the brocade quilt on her body, revealing the bellyband she was wearing. It was a lotus seed bellyband, the one that Xue Baochai had just taken off last night.

Xue Baochai's eyes widened in astonishment, and she asked, "How did this happen to you?"

Qin Keqing did not answer, but changed the subject and said, "If I say that I was wearing this dress when I had sex with the Marquis last night, would you feel a little involved, sister?"

Xue Baochai was so ashamed and angry that she wanted to go forward and tear the bellyband off Qin Keqing. Qin Keqing quickly hid under the quilt and moved onto the bed.

Xue Baochai is plump and not as agile as Qin Keqing.

Seeing that she could not catch him, Xue Baochai stamped her feet anxiously, shaking with anger, "You, you, you are so shameless, how dare you!"

Qin Keqing raised her head and smiled: "Do you dare to go back and ask Xiangling?"

"you you you!"

Seeing that Xue Baochai was furious and helpless against her, Qin Keqing felt very happy, as if she had vented all her anger about working illegally and being exploited in the past.

Just at this moment, Qingwen came over and shouted, "Miss Bao, Miss Lin wants you to come over."

Xue Baochai was anxious and had no idea how to punish Qin Keqing. She looked down and saw the chicken soup on the small table. She picked it up suddenly, tilted her head back and poured it into her mouth. She drank it all, then threw the sand stove on the table and finished it in one go.

"Pooh!"

After spitting at Qin Keqing again, Xue Baochai rushed out angrily.

"Hey! Why did you drink my soup? What should I drink?"

When the two men started fighting, the maids hid in the corridor to avoid being hurt.

Seeing Xue Baochai leave, Ruizhu and Zhuzhu both covered their mouths and laughed, then returned to the room.

Baozhu exclaimed: "Hey, Miss Bao has a really good appetite. She drank the whole pot of soup. She's almost as good as Sister Xueyan."

Ruizhu was more concerned about the conversation between the two and asked Qin Keqing, "Sister, you just said that you were wearing Miss Bao's bellyband last night. Is it true?"

Qin Keqing still had a smile on her face. She shook her head and said, "Of course it's fake. The Marquis had already torn the bellyband into tatters. How could it be in such good condition?"

"What about this bellyband?"

"Of course I asked Xiangling for it. Baomeimei's clothes can fit me. Yours are too small and won't fit me."

Ruizhu looked at each other and stuck out her tongue...

……

Not long ago, Longgang Village, Jinhu Town,

After the spring rain, it is a good time for villagers to go up the mountain together.

When the rain moistens the earth, mushrooms will pop out from the soil in an instant.

At the turn of winter and spring, every household had surplus food and no harvest.

Being able to go up the mountain and step on mushrooms is the best thing for every family in the village.

Therefore, the rain had not stopped yet, and it turned to drizzle in the early morning. Someone from each family carried baskets and wore straw hats and went up the mountain.

The white fog in the forest has not dissipated, and the fields are covered with moss. It is not easy to find an edible white moss. You have to have a sharp eye and be diligent in digging it out with a small hoe.

It was not until they reached halfway up the mountain that the sudden rain stopped and the villagers who were traveling together took a breath and started talking.

"The stone mine of the fireworks workshop is ahead, right? Should we take a detour?"

"No, no, I just went up the mountain to check it out two days ago. The stones in this saltpeter pit have been almost mined and moved to the back of the mountain a long time ago."

"But this place is full of potholes, so you have to be careful when passing by."

After taking a few breaths and drinking some water, the villagers continued walking into the mountains.

Passing by the saltpeter pit, everyone couldn't help but be more cautious where they went.

"Hey, that's not right. What is this? A green jade token?"

This shout immediately attracted everyone's attention and they all gathered around.

The old man in the village took a closer look and said in astonishment: "It's not a jade token at all, it's clearly half of a swollen human finger!"

"There's a body here. Go back to the village and report to the police!"

(End of this chapter)