Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 458 Waiting for Xia Kuan and Lin Daiyu

After returning to Duke Dingguo's Mansion, Sanchun felt as if a huge stone had fallen from her heart, and she finally felt at peace.

In Dingguo Mansion, they will no longer suffer the coldness and harsh treatment they experienced in Rongguo Mansion, nor will they have to worry about the intrigues and deceptions in the inner chambers that annoyed them the most. It is the beginning of a brand new life.

However, just before they walked out of the prison, the eunuch's casual words lingered in their minds and could not be shaken off.

Just as that person said, they need to repay Yue Ling.

But their status in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion is really too embarrassing, so how can they repay him?
It can’t escape the four words “use beauty to please men”.

Even though Lin Daiyu had said in advance that she would take them in and didn't mention anything else, they were now already labeled as Yue Ling's, and they were afraid that they would have to stay in this mansion for the rest of their lives.

With so many thoughts in mind, I couldn't help feeling a little more ashamed when I stepped through the threshold of Duke Dingguo's Mansion. My mood was completely different from the first time I entered.

Sanchun seemed to have a tacit understanding and stopped at the same time, then looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.

"Second sister, you go first."

Tanchun seemed to be very polite and modest, but her hands had already been tightly pinching the hem of her skirt in embarrassment.

Yingchun just reacted a little slowly, not that she was not worried. When she saw her two sisters stopped, she did not say a word but her cheeks turned red.

"Third sister has been busy and has done a lot of work. She has contributed the most among us sisters and should be in the front."

Tanchun looked at Xichun beside her with a guilty conscience and said, "My sister is weak, so go in first."

Xichun shook her head repeatedly, "Second sister is right, third sister, please don't refuse."

Tanchun had no choice but to make a concession and said, "We sisters eat at the same table and sleep on the same bed. There is no need to be humble now. No matter what happens in the future, we will face it together."

Yingchun and Xichun also nodded repeatedly, and the three of them supported each other and stepped over the threshold. However, they could not hide the shyness on their faces.

This is their destination. Sanchun understood it tacitly and said no more.

Yue Ling was a few steps away from the three of them, watching them walk and stop, and found it very strange. He didn't know when they had become so humble and fussy even when they stepped through the door.

"Master, there are guests in the mansion."

At that moment, Jia Yun came up to him, bowed and saluted, and reported.

Yue Ling withdrew his gaze from the three little girls, raised his eyebrows slightly, and asked in surprise: "Who is here? Where is he now?"

There was already a huge uproar in the court just now, but Yue Ling hadn't made any rash moves. He didn't know who had come to his house, and he had no idea whether it was an enemy or a friend.

However, what Yue Ling could guess was that this person must be an extremely difficult person, otherwise he would have been sent away by the servants in the mansion long ago.

Jia Yun scratched his head, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Two people came. One of them claimed to be Miss Xue's sister and was also an old friend of the master. The other one was her personal maid, and she is now in the inner curtain."

Yue Ling closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking to himself, "Why is that girl here? She has only received three people, and now two more are coming. I wonder what Sister Lin thinks of this."

Yue Ling shook his head and said helplessly, "Okay, I understand. Recently, the servants in Rongguo Mansion, except those who have connections with the heads of the family, should be released one after another. When their sisters' maids are sent out, you should also pay attention to them and bring them back to the mansion to settle them down."

Jia Yun clasped his fists and replied, "Yes."

In his heart, he was secretly shocked, "As expected of a master, he doesn't let any of the young lady's maids go unattended, it's really like training soldiers, the more the better. It seems I can't rest, I need to go to the gate of the government office and guard it quickly."

Yue Ling turned around, but saw Sanchun was still standing inside the second gate. He did not go around the screen to go into the corridor. He just stood there stupidly, looking at a loss.

"What's wrong with you? Why don't you go up to the hall?"

Xichun looked up and asked carefully, "Sister Lin once said that she would welcome us back, but Sister Lin is not here now, so we..."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, "Maybe Sister Lin just forgot about it. We are going to look for her together now. How could she treat you harshly? That is not Sister Lin's character. She is kind and never makes things difficult for anyone, let alone you sisters who are in trouble."

"As far as I know, I have never seen Sister Lin punish or embarrass anyone else."

Sanchun all nodded, thinking that what Yue Ling said made a lot of sense. It was because they had returned from prison that their minds had become much more fragile, and they couldn't help but think too much.

"Okay, don't worry. This is your home from now on. Why are you still so restrained?"

The three girls looked at each other, their cheeks turned even redder, and they followed Yue Ling timidly and went to Lin Daiyu's room together.

……

"You have already achieved your goal, why are you still pestering me?"

In Xue Baochai's room, Xue Baochai was looking through accounts at the desk, fiddling with the abacus intentionally or unintentionally, but she was annoyed by Xue Baoqin who was walking back and forth beside her.

Pushing the abacus forward, Xue Baochai folded her arms, frowned slightly, stared at Xue Baoqin, giving a warning look.

Xue Baoqin paced back and forth in the room with her hands behind her back. When she heard Xue Baochai's voice, she smiled again, walked behind Xue Baochai and started massaging her shoulders and neck.

"Sister, you know me. I have something bothering me and I am trying to think of a solution."

Xue Baochai's frown relaxed a little and she asked, "It's just a matter of breaking off the engagement. How difficult is that? You just need to write a letter and send a small gift to the Mei Mansion, stating that the old engagement between the two families is no longer valid now that the person has passed away. Isn't that enough?"

"No, no, no."

Xue Baoqin walked around to Xue Baochai and said with a sad face, "Sister, you don't know that the master of the Mei Mansion is now the president of the Hanlin Academy, a first-class noble civil servant with the best reputation."

"As merchants, we are willing to cancel the engagement, which will be regarded as a humiliation by them. If we provoke them, we will be in endless trouble. Although scholars cannot kill people, saliva can drown people. We need royal permission to trade, and it will be disadvantageous if we anger them."

Xue Baochai said helplessly: "Then what do you want to do? Do you want the Mei family to come to you and cancel the engagement?"

Xue Baoqin nodded repeatedly, "Sister, you are very smart. You and I have the same idea. That's exactly what I was thinking."

Xue Baochai asked again, "Since you also said that they are a family of noble officials with the best reputation, then the reputation of breaking off the engagement and going back on one's word would probably not be good in their eyes. How could the Mei family agree to your wish and break off the engagement?"

Xue Baoqin did not rush to answer, but looked Xue Baochai up and down.

Xue Baochai frowned, "What bad idea are you thinking of again? Don't put your mind on me. I will definitely not ask the Marquis for you. Do you really need to trouble the Marquis for such a small matter?"

Xue Baoqin shook her head repeatedly, "Of course not. How can I trouble you with such a small matter? I just want your cooperation. If this matter can be accomplished, it will be of great benefit to you."

As soon as she entered the Duke Dingguo's mansion, Xue Baoqin confronted her. Xue Baochai didn't believe her words "it would be of great benefit" and was completely unmoved. She even stood up and wanted to go out for some fresh air. Xue Baoqin hurriedly stopped her, pulled her sleeve, and said anxiously: "Sister, don't be in a hurry to leave. You have to listen to what I have to say first."

"Then tell me now, don't keep me in suspense."

Xue Baoqin smiled shyly and said, "Didn't I just say that my sister has a bad reputation in the capital recently? I want to take the blame on her behalf. If my bad reputation spreads throughout the capital, how can the Mei family sit still? They will naturally ask me to cancel the engagement."

Xue Baochai glared at him and said, "You are crazy. Do you think this is something funny? As a girl in the boudoir, with such a reputation on your back, do you still want to hold your head up high when you go out?"

"So what?" Xue Baoqin didn't care. "The Marquis's reputation is mixed, but how does it affect him?"

"As long as the Marquis doesn't care, it doesn't matter to me. Anyway, I have decided to follow the Marquis forever. Besides, Sister Lin is so reasonable. Where can I find such a good mistress?"

Xue Baochai was frightened by Xue Baoqin. She didn't know why Xue Baoqin, at such a young age, had a much more flexible mind than her and took things so lightly.

Perhaps it was because he had been traveling for business for many years and had come into contact with many foreigners, which led to him becoming less conventional in marriage.

This is the only way Xue Baochai can convince herself.

"Sister, just hold a tea party one day to display new products and introduce the previous clothes. In fact, they were made by me. Now let me meet everyone and listen to their opinions. From now on, you will stand behind the scenes and I will stand in front of the stage. Anyway, you don't want to do this job, so just let me take care of it."

Xue Baochai held her forehead and asked, "Have you seen those clothes?"

Xue Baoqin seemed to understand it very well. She even made hand gestures, making a circle with her left hand and poking twice with her right index finger, and said, "Isn't it used for this? Didn't we talk about it in the Buddhist hall just now?"

Xue Baochai slapped her hand away in shame and anger, and said speechlessly: "You are just a little kid, can't you learn something good?"

"But isn't that the way it is in the mansion? The Marquis should like it, right?"

"This……"

Xue Baochai was speechless for a moment, unable to refute.

"So, it must be because my sister is too old-fashioned that there has been no progress."

"You damn girl, I'm going to tear your mouth apart today!"

……

There were still laughter and joy everywhere in Duke Dingguo's mansion, and the aftermath of today's morning court session had quickly swept across the entire capital.

The case of the confiscation of Rongguo Mansion is known to everyone.

It was hard for the people in the capital to imagine that the huge Rongguo Mansion collapsed overnight without any room for recovery.

Only after the imperial edict was posted at the city gate did people find out about the evil deeds that the Rongguo Mansion had been doing.

Sheltering slaves who abuse their power, embezzling dirty money and having secret dealings with foreigners are truly heinous crimes, and everyone despises them. This is very different from the Jia family in the past, which had two dukes and served the emperor.

Moreover, the bad reputation of the Jia family usually stems from the incompetence of their younger generations. Who would have known that there were so many tricks hidden inside.

If the Jia family, which seems so glamorous on the surface, is like this, how clean can the mansions of the other four kings and eight dukes, who are used to being so arrogant, be?
On the list, the last row of small characters is particularly eye-catching.

"Because the third daughter of the Jia family reported the evil deeds of the Rongguo Mansion and presented the evidence of the Rongguo Mansion in court, Your Majesty has now pardoned them. From now on, no matter which family, anyone who reports and exposes the evil deeds will be dealt with in the same way as today."

If it weren't for the second sentence, everyone would have thought that it was Duke Dingguo who rescued his three lovers.

But this sentence made everyone's minds more active.

There are many people who know the merits of the ancestors of Rongguo Mansion. If something happens to the family, it is still unknown how much your majesty will remember the old friendship.

There are two choices before these people: beheading and exile or reporting and saving their lives. Even a fool would know which choice to make.

For a time, the government and the public were in an uproar.

Even the rich and powerful from various families who heard the news could not help but think carefully about their own situations.

Every household in the capital was afraid that their children might cause trouble, so they closed their doors tightly and did not allow anyone to go out. As a result, the streets of the capital were peaceful.

You won't see horses galloping in the streets, nor will you see a group of dandies fighting in the streets. People in the market come and go, it is a truly peaceful and prosperous scene.

After parting with Lin Daiyu, Shi Xiangyun returned to the Shi family with Zijuan and Cuilu, and was trapped in the mansion and unable to go out.

"Young lady, I have heard the news. Except for the old lady in Rongguo Mansion who was sentenced to death, everyone else was exiled to Qiongzhou. Those under the age of fifteen were exempted from the crime and demoted to civilian status. The three young ladies in Jia Mansion seem to have been taken back to the Dingguo Mansion."

Cuilu heard the news from the servants in the Shi mansion, and then rushed back to her room to tell Shi Xiangyun.

Shi Xiangyun, who was doing needlework with Zijuan, slowly put down the needle and thread in her hand and breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm glad you're okay."

Shaking her head, Shi Xiangyun sighed again, "I didn't expect the Jia family to end up like this. I'm afraid the Shi family won't be able to escape unscathed either."

Cuilu also lamented, "Miss, the second wife has just said that no one in the mansion is allowed to leave at will recently. And when I just passed by the main hall, I heard the second wife and the third wife arguing fiercely in the main hall, it seems that they were arguing about the division of the family..."

"Separate?"

Shi Xiangyun blinked.

There are two marquises in the Shi family. One is the Marquis Baoling, who should have inherited the title from Shi Xiangyun's father, but died too early and had no children, so the title fell to the second branch of the family. The other is the Marquis Zhongjing, who was awarded to the third branch of the Shi family, Shi Xiangyun's third uncle, for his many military exploits in the Nine Frontier Wars.

In terms of actual power, the Shi family even surpassed the Jia family, and was considered a prosperous noble family.

Despite this, the second and third wives have been at odds for a long time.

Especially at this critical juncture, if the intention of splitting up is proposed again, it would be obvious.

Zijuan thought for a moment and suggested, "Miss Yun, they've been fighting for so long, and in the end, nothing good will come to us. Even if they don't regard us as a burden, I'm afraid we will be in the same situation as Miss Jia in the mansion, and become a bargaining chip in the end."

"I think it's better to return to Duke Dingguo's Mansion as soon as possible, otherwise something unexpected may happen."

Shi Xiangyun pondered for a moment, and then said, "It will take some time for Third Uncle to report to the capital. If Second Uncle and Third Uncle don't speak, it will just be a verbal dispute. I want to wait and see..."

(End of this chapter)