Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 402 Sister Lin, are you not married yet?

"Which one is number one?"

Qin Keqing searched back and forth, squeezed through the crowd, and finally came to Tanchun.

Seeing her standing there in a daze, motionless, with a look of bewilderment on her face, Qin Keqing blinked, leaned over and asked, "What's wrong? What did you draw?"

"One...Number one."

Tanchun smiled awkwardly and turned her head away.

"Why? Such a great opportunity fell upon you, and you are still unwilling to accept it? Then I will trade with you."

Tanchun's eyes lit up, "Really? Well, this number is for you."

They were both very happy and were about to exchange notes when Lin Daiyu grabbed their wrists from both sides.

Lin Daiyu narrowed her eyes and glanced at the two people. She said with a fake smile: "How can we change something that has been decided in advance? Take them all back."

Pushing Qin Keqing's note back first, Lin Daiyu took Tanchun's arm and said, "Third sister is new here, so isn't it just right for you to live with me and get familiar with the things in this room?"

"Every day at noon, we go together to play with them."

Tanchun asked tentatively, "Then...what about that night?"

"night?"

Lin Daiyu frowned and said, "Of course you stay here at night? Is there anything wrong?"

Tanchun realized that she had said something wrong, and quickly covered her mouth and shook her head, saying, "No, no, nothing is wrong."

Lin Daiyu looked at her doubtfully. She always felt that there was something unspeakable wrong with this girl, as if she was hiding something from her.

"Perhaps it's just that she has just arrived and is leaving the mansion for the first time, so she is having a hard time adapting. After all, the third sister is different from the second and fourth sisters, and she has some more aspirations."

"Living under the same roof with a man as famous as Brother Yue would probably make you feel uneasy."

Lin Daiyu stroked his back and comforted him, "It's okay. You'll get used to it over time. If you have any difficulties, just come to me."

Tanchun nodded slightly in agreement, but she was muttering in her heart, "You get used to it after a long time? What are you getting used to? Why is Sister Lin always so ambiguous about the most important things?"

"No, I've seen plays where the wives' concubines often say this..."

Gently stroking her cheek, Tanchun realized that her skin was getting hot again.

"The master sent us to the mansion with the intention of bringing us sisters together with Marquis Anjing. But my second and fourth sisters are dull and withdrawn, and they didn't even think of this. Perhaps we will never be able to go back, and even if we do, we will be driven out."

"What's more, Rongguo Mansion itself is not as good as Anjing Marquis Mansion. Moreover, I am a concubine's daughter. Even if the two of them are legitimate daughters, they are not favored. Is there any better place to go than Anjing Marquis Mansion?"

"Maybe if the Marquis can give me some pointers, I can help him like Sister Bao did?"

"Wait, why did I think of helping the Marquis? What on earth was I thinking!!!"

"But Sister Lin always invites me to stay in the hospital. I'm a woman who has never left her boudoir. What should I do?"

While Tanchun was struggling with her thoughts, Yingchun and Xichun pointed their fingers and said, "Second sister, why do I feel like there is white smoke rising from Third sister's head?"

"It seems, it seems a little bit. What happened to her?"

……

After arranging the girls' accommodations, Lin Daiyu instructed, "Lingguan, Ruiguan, you can find a courtyard for your sisters to stay in as you like. The rest of you can go to the gate to get your luggage. It would be best if you can get it ready tonight. If you can't, there is no rush. Be careful not to bump or bump into anything. Have them carry the heavy items into their rooms."

As she spoke, Lin Daiyu called Zijuan over again and said, "Go and get the luggage from our room and lay it out according to the old style of the mansion. I'll go outside and check the treasury first, and come back when I'm done."

Zijuan looked up and asked, "Miss, there are more things to do outside, right? Do you want me to go out with you?"

Lin Daiyu shook her head, looked at Xueyan who was looking at the scenery, twitched her lips and said, "You can't leave the room to her, right? Listen to my arrangements and get busy."

Lin Daiyu took a step forward when someone behind her held her arm again, "Sister Lin, let me go and help you. Xiangling and Ying'er are both very hardworking. There is nothing else in my room except some bottles and jars."

"Well, that's fine."

Lin Daiyu nodded in response and couldn't help asking, "Sister Bao, your mother and her family should also be in the capital, right? Why don't you go and see them?"

Xue Baochai sighed and said, "When they know that I have come to the capital, they will definitely come to look for me. We will talk about it then."

The situation of the Xue family is much more complicated than that of the Lin family. Lin Daiyu has known about the discord between mother and daughter for many days, so she no longer gives any advice and respects Xue Baochai's choice.

But before Lin Daiyu could say anything to comfort her, Xue Baochai's words had already come true.

A little girl ran in from outside and bowed deeply in front of Lin Daiyu, "Miss, someone is outside looking for Miss Xue, saying it's Miss Xue's mother and brother."

"This……"

Lin Daiyu turned her head to look at Xue Baochai's expression.

Hearing this, Xue Baochai's face remained calm, as if she had anticipated this moment a long time ago, and was not surprised that it came so quickly.

Xue Baochai put away her arm around Lin Daiyu and said with a smile, "I wanted to help Sister Lin, but now I have to deal with my mother and brother."

Lin Daiyu couldn't help but ask worriedly: "How about I go out with you?"

Xue Baochai shook her head and refused. "Sister Lin is busy here. I can't help her, and I have to delay Sister Lin's business. How can I do this? It's more important to take care of this mansion than my family affairs."

Lin Daiyu couldn't say much about other people's family affairs, so she could only say reluctantly: "Sister Bao, that yard is reserved for you. If they embarrass you and do something against your will, don't bear the grievance. At worst, you can come back."

Xue Baochai's heartfelt smile hung on her face, like peach blossoms in full bloom in the spring breeze of March. Her eyes were curved, and she gently raised her jade hand to hold Lin Daiyu's soft hand. "Okay, I will remember everything Sister Lin said. We will be good sisters for life."

Watching Xue Baochai leave alone, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but sigh.

The Lin family was not prosperous, and she was the only one without brothers or sisters, which was a pity. Xue Baochai had an elder brother, who should be a father, but became a burden instead.

"Sister Lin, can I go out with you?"

When she came to her senses, Lin Daiyu found that it was Xichun who came to her side.

Xichun is the youngest of the three sisters, a few years younger than Lin Daiyu. Due to her poor background, she is the most withdrawn and seldom gets involved in other people's affairs.

Lin Daiyu was slightly surprised that someone volunteered to come here, and asked, "Fourth sister, if you have something else to do, you can go and do it. There is no need to be so stubborn."

Xichun shook her head and said, "I'm not being stubborn. Anyway, Third Sister is going to live with you, so we have to clean up the yard together. I'll leave it to her, and she seems to be happy to go there."

When Lin Daiyu turned around, she found that Tanchun was no longer there.

"OK then."

The two walked side by side in the corridor, and Xichun asked curiously, "Sister Lin, what are we going out for? How can I help?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and asked, "What are you good at?"

Xichun thought about it secretly. She was good at and liked painting, but whenever other women from other families came to the house, Grandmother Jia would call them to the hall and always boast about their abilities.

Yingchun is good at chess, Tanchun is good at calligraphy, and Xichun is good at painting.

Chess is an elegant skill that can only be revealed through playing chess, and calligraphy copybooks are not as vivid as paintings.

So every time this happened, Grandmother Jia would ask for pen and ink, and let her copy or paint the scene for the ladies on the spot.

It's like a rare animal in captivity, which must be kept for outsiders to admire when they come.

Over time, Xichun became less interested in painting.

Paintings are not something to please others.

At least Xichun thought so, so she felt resistance.

But now that Lin Daiyu asked, Xichun really had nothing else to say, "I... I can draw and trace, especially portraits and landscapes."

Lin Daiyu casually praised: "Fourth sister is so young, if she is good at this, she will be a genius. I also like painting. When we have free time in the future, we can paint together."

"Moreover, the back garden of this mansion is actually larger, with pavilions, towers, ponds and waterside pavilions. There are many more scenes that we can describe."

Xichun's eyes lit up and she nodded twice, "Okay, I'll listen to Sister Lin. But what are we going to do today?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Today we are going to go out and check the treasury and check the accounts with the housekeepers' wives."

"Treasury?"

Lin Daiyu nodded and said, "Brother Yue was given a large sum of money by His Majesty before, and it was all sealed in the treasury. However, going to Jiangnan and having such a large garden now have a lot of expenses. In the future, we have to think about the income of this mansion and can't just live off the money."

"This time, we have to check and record it carefully."

Xichun looked up and asked, "Has the Marquis always left the management of the treasury to Sister Lin?"

Lin Daiyu pondered and said, "It seems that since we moved to our old mansion, Brother Yue gave me the key to the treasury for safekeeping."

Xichun opened her mouth in surprise, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

Lin Daiyu turned her head curiously and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xichun was stunned and said, "Isn't this something that only the first lady in the mansion does? Sister Lin has been doing this for so long, but she still hasn't married the Marquis?"

Lin Daiyu was startled and stopped, "Eh, is that so? But in the Lin Mansion..."

She then remembered that her mother passed away very early and never taught her these things, and Lin Daiyu was distracted for a moment.

Lin Daiyu rolled up the hair hanging down from her temples with her fingers and said guiltily, "I, I haven't reached the age of marriage yet, it's too early to talk about getting married..."

Xichun added, "But it's inappropriate for Sister Lin to manage the treasury as an outsider, isn't it? Even in Rongguo Mansion, the second wife didn't take control of the finances of the mansion as soon as she got married, and the first wife didn't even touch it."

Lin Daiyu smiled awkwardly and thought carefully, and she felt that what Xichun said made more sense.

But then again, she had been doing this for a long time, and the servants in the house always followed her instructions. In their eyes, didn't she already have been Yue Ling's wife?

After passing through the hanging flower gate, Lin Daiyu's cheeks were rosy and her head was slightly lowered. For a moment, she didn't know how to face the servants in the mansion again.

At the right time, Ni Er came over, bowed and said, "Madam, we have prepared everything here, just waiting for you to count it."

"what?"

……

Imperial City, Hall of Supreme Harmony,

Emperor Longyou wore a crown and a black robe with a nine-claw dragon pattern on it. He sat on the dragon throne and looked down at all the officials in the court paying their respects.

He usually doesn't smile, but today the corners of his mouth curved up in a rare way.

It was because he saw Yue Ling standing in the first row below, holding the imperial sword in both hands, ready to present it.

Everyone else was bowing, but he was the only one with a different posture, which really attracted attention.

Emperor Longyou tilted his head and gave Xia Shouzhong a look, who immediately found the eunuch who led the way and asked why this strange scene happened.

When he learned that he was stopped by the Yulin Guards at the city gate, Xia Shouzhong's cheeks were frosted. He took two steps at a time and whispered a message to Emperor Longyou.

After learning the truth of the matter, Emperor Longyou's face became a little gloomy.

With a wave of his hand, Xia Shouzhong walked down the stone steps and came to Yue Ling's side.

"My Lord, that's not right. My Lord, there is no need to be restrained. Just proceed as usual. Your Majesty can discuss other matters after the morning court session."

"Yes."

Yue Ling took back the imperial sword and hung it around his waist again.

Emperor Longyou admired his dignified appearance. Before Yue Ling bowed, he said in a deep voice, "My dear ministers, please stand up. As usual, the six ministries will discuss court affairs."

"As ordered."

After a moment of silence, a military official stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Jianzhou Jurchens unified the Jurchen tribes at the beginning of the year, and the remnants of the northern barbarians joined them. Now they are very powerful and have marched south to the border. The important towns in Liaodong must be defended, and we need to allocate troops, horses, and food to prepare for emergencies."

"We also need a general to stay in Liaodong Town and deal with the Jurchens..."

The court officials were discussing the matter and the noisy voices arose. Yue Ling, who had not attended court for a long time, felt firsthand why Emperor Longyou was always upset.

This noisy atmosphere made Yue Ling, who had been working hard all night, feel a little sleepy.

The experience at this moment is like being back in school. Even though the class is noisy during breaks, it still makes people sleepy.

"Now that the court affairs are over, is there anyone who would like to submit another memorial?"

Xia Shouzhong shook the whip and asked in a sharp voice.

"Minister, I have something to report!"

Emperor Longyou looked up and saw someone at the end of the team step sideways, holding a tablet and speaking loudly.

Seeing that it was the Imperial Censor, Emperor Longyou felt inexplicably annoyed. This was the time for the war of words that would occur during every morning court session.

Emperor Longyou raised his hand to support him, and asked with a breath, "Who do you want to impeach, my dear minister?"

The censor stared at Yue Ling, the most prominent figure among the row of military officers in front of him, who tilted his head and seemed to be dozing off.

"I impeach Anjing Marquis Yue Ling! He forcibly abducted women and brought them into his palace for pleasure. His behavior is lewd and notorious. He is despised by the people of the world!"

(End of this chapter)