Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 406: A world where only Lin Ruhai is injured

"Sister Keqing, the bellyband has been torn by the Marquis and cannot be sewn back together."

Deep in the corridor, the voice was carried by the wind. Siqi naturally hid in the cave again, only slightly turning sideways and revealing one eye to observe the outside.

"If you can't sew it back, then just get a new one. Sister Bao just went out, and there's no one else in the room. You can use the excuse of packing to get Ying'er out of the way, and then steal another one. What's the difficulty?"

"Ah? This... this is not good. If the girl changes out of old, unwanted clothes, I can take them away, but if I steal something the girl is still wearing and the girl finds out, how... how can I explain it?"

Qin Keqing acted like a caring elder sister, and patiently persuaded her: "What's the big deal? Bellybands are not rare items. How can Bao-sister find out if there are more or less of them? Besides, only heaven and earth know, and you and I know. If I don't tell anyone, who would know that you stole Bao-sister's bellyband to please the master?"

"Besides, isn't this also for the good of Sister Bao?"

Xiangling was a little confused to begin with, and was even more confused by what Qin Keqing said. She looked over in confusion and asked, "Is this also for the lady's own good?"

Qin Keqing said noncommittally: "Of course, look at how many girls there are in this mansion now. If you want to be favored by the master, you must have a skill to please others."

"You are doing this now, just waiting for the master to become obsessed with this feeling. When your girl has the chance, won't it tug at the master's heartstrings even more?"

Xiangling's cheeks were white with a hint of pink, like a lotus bud about to bloom by the pond. Holding back her shyness, she stammered, "Okay then... I'll give it a try."

The two of them stopped in front of the cave. Qin Keqing smiled and pulled Xiangling, saying, "It's a deal. I've calculated the days. Sister Lin's period will soon come. Then we will have a chance!"

Xiangling pursed her lips and nodded softly.

Si Qi stuck half of her head out to look outside. After identifying the two men's identities from their clothes, she immediately covered her mouth tightly and took a deep breath.

"This is the Marquis' personal maid, Sister Keqing, and Miss Bao's maid, Xiangling. How did they get together? Sister Keqing served the Marquis, and that's fine, but Xiangling..."

"What the third lady said turned out to be true. Such a ridiculous thing really exists."

Siqi was horrified and couldn't help but take a step back.

Unexpectedly, there was a gravel under his feet, which Siqi kicked away.

"what sound?"

Qin Keqing looked into the cave vigilantly and protected Xiangling behind her.

Qin Keqing asked in surprise: "Is there anyone hiding in this cave?"

Xiangling was frightened by the sudden change. She even spoke faster and said, "This is the mansion given by His Majesty. How could there be someone hiding here?"

Qin Keqing did not doubt her ears at all and insisted, "But there is indeed movement inside. I have to go in and take a look."

Xiangling hurriedly tugged at the corner of Qin Keqing's clothes and said, "Farewell, if you insist on going in, wait for me to call a few people and we can go in together."

Qin Keqing ignored Xiangling's advice, climbed over the railing and tiptoed towards the cave.

Xiangling also hurried to catch up, but she was still very scared.

"Meow meow……"

Qin Keqing took a long breath and said, "What? It turned out to be just a wild cat. This garden is so big, it's not uncommon to have some small animals."

Xiangling also felt relieved and hurriedly walked back with Qin Keqing.

"It was really scary. Luckily it was during the day. If I had passed by at night and heard this noise, I would have fainted on the spot."

Qin Keqing blinked and said, "How about we propose to Sister Lin to clean up all the small animals in this garden?"

Xiangling shook her head. "That's not good. It's pitiful enough that they are homeless, how can we take their lives? There are so many gardens here, why not use one to raise them."

Qin Keqing nodded and said, "That's a good idea."

"Okay, Sister Keqing, stop making trouble. We should go back to our room and do some work."

Qin Keqing pinched Xiangling's chubby little face and smiled charmingly, "Okay, okay, okay. Sister Bao is not here right now, and it would be bad if I delayed your work."

Xiangling lowered her head in shame, but did not refuse.

Suddenly, Qin Keqing remembered something else and said with a smile: "However, when I think of the cat's cry, I think of your daughter."

Xiangling raised her head in confusion, "Why is this happening?"

Qin Keqing covered her mouth and chuckled, "Because in the old days your daughter once hid under the window sill and imitated the meow of a cat. This has a great story. She didn't let me tell others, but you are not an outsider either, so let me tell you in detail."

After taking a meaningful look into the cave, Qin Keqing took Xiangling's hand and led her away. "Your daughter may look dignified and graceful, but she is actually a charming girl at heart..."

The footsteps and voices became increasingly distant, and only then did Siqi dare to slowly walk out of the cave.

Letting out a long sigh, Siqi's body, which had been tense just now, now became soft and weak. If she hadn't been leaning on the pillar, she would have almost fallen to the ground.

After looking around and seeing that there was no one around, Siqi patted her chest with relief and sighed, "It was too scary just now. If Sister Keqing had taken another step forward, she would have seen me. Fortunately, fortunately."

Rubbing his temples, Siqi felt that he had heard too much news today and his mind was a little confused.

"Ying'er not only served as a trial marriage for the Marquis, but also served him. She even had sex with Xiangling, another maid in Miss Bao's room. It seems that this news is definitely not false."

"Also, Sister Keqing's suggestion to Xiangling to please the Marquis was to steal Miss Bao's bellyband. Is there something special about Miss Bao's bellyband? Or during the trial marriage, the maids have to wear the lady's bellyband, so do I have to steal the lady's bellyband as well?"

Pinching her chin, Siqi was filled with thoughts, but she had no idea for a moment.

"Could it be that the Marquis just likes pretty bellybands? When I go out tomorrow, should I buy a few nice ones for the young lady, and pair them with light outer garments... wouldn't that make things easier? And I won't have to do something shameful."

Siqi nodded repeatedly, confirming her thoughts, "It's just a try anyway, there's nothing wrong in giving it a try..."

"What if the Marquis really likes her? Given my daughter's temper, she won't be able to say 'no' even if the Marquis forces her."

With her fists clenched tightly, Siqi's momentum was rising. "Don't worry, young lady. I will never let you fall behind others! I will change your destiny!"

……

Dingguo Gongfu, foreign treasury,
The lacquered red gate was open, and people were coming and going, transferring all the property they had brought from the mansion into the treasury.

In the nearby pavilion, Lin Daiyu and Xichun sat on a stone bench together, flipping through the account book that Ni Er had given them.

"Madam, according to the account book, there are nearly one million taels of silver in the mansion now. Other jewelry, paintings, antiques and other items were sold as needed when Miss Ke'er was the housekeeper. These have also been counted, and everything sent in is in good condition." Xichun tilted her head to look at Lin Daiyu, who was called "Madam" by Ni Er. Her face seemed to be darker than before, and gradually turned red. She couldn't help but laugh in her heart.

"It turns out that the people in this mansion have long regarded Sister Lin as their madam. It was me who was meddling just now."

Although Lin Daiyu's eyes were only on this small account, she could still feel the gaze shooting at her from the side, which was very hot and burned her cheeks.

"How can Butler Ni call me like this? I am not prepared at all. Isn't this going to make Fourth Sister laugh at me?"

Lin Daiyu was thinking secretly in her heart, but besides embarrassment, she was mostly happy.

"The title of Madam sounds much more pleasant than Miss Lin. No, no, we haven't gotten married yet, so I still need to be more self-restrained. But since they call me that, there's no need for me to deliberately correct them, or it would seem like I care too much..."

Seeing that Lin Daiyu seemed to have a faint smile on her lips, Ni Er knew that he had played into Lin Daiyu's hands.

Lin Daiyu did not respond for a moment, so Ni Er hurriedly called out, "Madam, Madam? Did you hear what I just said?"

"Ah?" Lin Daiyu suddenly came back to her senses, "Ah, yes, yes, everything is fine, you did a good job."

Lin Daiyu continued to look through the accounts. When she saw the final signature on the account, which showed a balance of 890,000 taels of silver, her face changed immediately.

"That's not right. How come there are only more than 800,000 taels of silver? When the treasury was sealed, there were clearly nearly 3 million taels of silver in the treasury. How come when we came back, there were 2 million taels less, and a lot of items were missing?"

Ni Er scratched his head and realized that Lin Daiyu didn't hear anything he said just now.

Bowing, Ni Er apologized, "Madam, don't worry. Every expense is recorded. During the years when the master went south, he didn't spend much money in Cangzhou at first. But later, when he opened Qingfeng College, the master donated a lot, and now he still donates every year, with an annual expenditure of nearly 50,000 taels."

"Later, the master went to Suzhou. When he was in Suzhou, his expenses were much higher."

"At first, the food and poultry used for disaster relief were all provided to the Cao Gang through the money from the government, so that they could meet the emergency. Later, the master rewarded the Cao Gang a lot, and Cao Gang guild halls were built in various places."

"Then, on the eve of the battle of Shuangyu Island, the master recruited soldiers from Cangzhou and paid most of the expenses himself. Later, when he disbanded the various troops, the mansion also paid for their return home expenses. This round trip was an even greater expense."

"And the expenses of the Madam and the girls on the way are actually not small. But the Marquis has no other income except the salary we collect on his behalf every year. Although he punished corrupt officials and confiscated a lot of dirty silver every time, the Marquis did not take a penny and turned it all over to the national treasury."

"As you can see, the mansion only receives a monthly salary on weekdays. During festivals, we buy rice, flour, grain, oil, meat and eggs for everyone. We have always been very frugal and have not indulged in extravagant eating and drinking, using the public funds in the account."

"Later, the mansion's income and expenditure were too uneven, so Miss Ke'er pawned some antiques of average quality. This is also what you, Madam, promised."

Lin Daiyu was stunned and her face turned red.

This was not because of being addressed as "Madam", but because she was traveling with Yue Ling outside, and the people in the mansion were still living a frugal life. Even in such a huge Duke's Mansion, they had never done anything unscrupulous.

Even if he secretly cultivated flowers and plants in the garden and sold them, he could make a lot of money in eight years.

Holding back the embarrassment in her heart, Lin Daiyu nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work. When Brother Yue comes back, I will use this happy event to reward you all."

Ni Er thanked him repeatedly, "Thank you, ma'am."

"But, the happy event that Madam is talking about, is it the happy event between you and the Marquis?"

Lin Daiyu was slightly startled, raised her hand to cover her face, and lowered her head silently, "This time it's Brother Yue's promotion to a noble, next time, I'll give you more rewards next time."

Ni Er clapped his hands happily, "Great, great, great, Madam, you don't know that the servants in the mansion have already prepared a good feast, let us also share in the joy."

Lin Daiyu raised her hand to stop Ni Er from complimenting her. She coughed lightly, relieved her expression, and said, "Now that we have moved into the Qin Palace, we need more manpower, no matter the front house or the back yard."

"I was planning to take in more little girls from outside and keep them in the mansion as servants to help clean this huge yard. It seems I have to think about it carefully."

Xichun said, "Sister Lin, 800,000 taels of silver is not a small amount. I would say that Rongguo Mansion definitely doesn't have that much silver. Although Rongguo Mansion is not bigger than here, it also cost a lot of money to build the residence for the imperial visit. 800,000 taels is like a mountain of silver, which you can never finish eating."

Lin Daiyu shook her head and said, "This place is different from Rongguo Mansion. Brother Yue's money is not all used on himself. Who knows, he may need money from somewhere else next time. But if the mansion can't take it out by then, it will be a disaster. So I have to think of a way to make money."

Xichun also sighed, "It's so difficult to make money, and we are all young ladies."

Lin Daiyu was thinking silently, while Xichun curiously asked Ni Er, "Butler Ni, how much do the servants here get paid every month?"

Ni Er replied, "This monthly allowance was set by the Madam. Each maid gets one tael of silver per month, a maid gets half a tael, and the doormen in the outer courtyard who do rough work get two taels. I and Jia Yun both get five taels."

Xichun blinked and said blankly, "So much? I only get two taels of silver a month in Rongguo Mansion, and it's not paid on time. This is not as good as the servants in the mansion... There are so many people in the mansion, no wonder the expenses are so high."

Lin Daiyu suddenly raised her head and her eyes lit up.

Xichun hurried over and asked, "Sister Lin, have you come up with a solution?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and nodded, "There are many people in our mansion, but there are few in the Lin Mansion, and Daddy doesn't often subsidize the government office himself. So I want to write to Daddy and ask for some money, um, one million taels, should be about the same."

"Once I have the capital, I will ask Brother Yue if he can think of other ways to make money."

Ni Er twitched his lips when he heard this. He wondered if Lin Daiyu had any idea about money or not. That was one million taels, not one hundred taels. Who could come up with so much silver at once?

But he didn't dare to say anything and could only listen silently.

"Ms. Lin, there is a letter outside. It seems to be for Miss Xue."

Jia Yun stepped into the pavilion and presented it respectfully.

Lin Daiyu raised her eyebrows slightly, stood up and pulled Xichun up, "Wait for Sister Bao to come back at the door, and give it to her in person, so as not to lose it."

"This……"

Jia Yun was not completely stupid. He could tell that Lin Daiyu's tone was quite cold, and he felt that there was some reproach in it, as if she was going to punish him by making him stand in front of the door.

"Okay, Miss Lin, I'll go right away."

Lin Daiyu pouted and led Xichun to the inner curtains. Ni Er smiled and said goodbye, "Madam, take care."

Lin Daiyu nodded and said in a friendly manner, "Okay, Steward Ni did a good job. When the treasury is sealed, withdraw fifty taels from the account and share it with the employees first."

"Thank you ma'am."

While thanking him, Ni Er did not forget to wink at Jia Yun, with a look of pride written all over his face.

Jia Yun looked at all this in disbelief, secretly exclaiming: "Husband...?"

(End of this chapter)