Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 468 I have no regrets about my move!
"Don't talk nonsense, what's wrong with me?"

Xue Baochai covered her neck with her hands and turned her head away, unwilling to look at Qin Keqing.

Such awkward behavior made Qin Keqing even more suspicious.

When it comes to the scent of a vixen, no one in this room is more familiar with it than her, especially Xue Baochai, whose face is now white with a hint of pink, which is very different from the past.

Although Xue Baochai was born with a hot body and her cheeks were usually flushed, today she looked a little more charming, making Qin Keqing feel like she had seen her before.

Qin Keqing raised her head and glanced at Yue Ling, but Yue Ling looked normal.

He leaned over again to ask Xue Baochai what was going on, but he found that she had already left the table and ran to the side, sitting down opposite.

Lin Daiyu looked back and forth between the two of them, and she had already figured out what was going on. She said, "Sister Ke'er, please stop making trouble. Brother Yue loves you all the time, but who is he neglecting by favoring one over the other?"

The girls were startled when they heard this and stopped talking. They all looked in the direction of Lin Daiyu, then lowered their heads after a moment.

Since Lin Daiyu had already spoken, Qin Keqing, who had just tasted the new delicacy the day before, had nothing to say and lowered her head in shame.

Such an awkward atmosphere made Yue Ling feel a little uncomfortable. He leaned back in his chair, relaxed his frown, and pretended to close his eyes to rest.

After Qin Keqing made such a fuss, Yue Ling thought that Lin Daiyu had noticed something and would become jealous like them, but she ended up showing such magnanimity that she suppressed the whole audience.

This growth in character also made Yue Ling secretly shocked.

However, the stepping feeling from the toes is still somewhat familiar.

Yue Ling's face was full of helplessness, knowing that with Lin Daiyu's bad temper, she would definitely pester him again in the evening to give her the replenishment.

But Lin Daiyu did not show any sign of discouragement, and even assigned work to the sisters below her as if she were using her own arms.

"Today, taking advantage of the fact that everyone is here, I will tell you all about what happened recently."

As soon as Lin Daiyu opened her mouth, she attracted everyone's attention and they listened silently.

After coughing lightly, Lin Daiyu continued, "Even if you didn't go out, you should have known that Brother Yue has been caught in a whirlpool recently. Although we can't go out to help, we can't sit around and have fun like we did in the past."

"Father once said that Brother Yue would face a dangerous situation when he came to Beijing. This is the first time we have to work together to overcome difficulties."

"Let's not talk about more for now."

Lin Daiyu took a sip of water and pursed her lips as she said, "First of all, time is running out, and we need to share the affairs of Sister Baoqin."

"Second sister, fourth sister, sister Yan'er, please try to be able to decipher Western words within a month and participate in the proofreading of the translation. I have found a professional teacher to teach you Western words, and sister Baoqin will also take time to help you."

"Sister Ke'er, help Sister Bao with the official report and do what Brother Yue has asked you to do. At this critical moment, you are not allowed to mess around anymore. Do you understand?"

Qin Keqing nodded awkwardly, "It was my fault. I will listen to Sister Lin."

"Third sister, you have always been interested in exquisite craftsmanship. Ask Sister Baoqin what kind of processes those precision objects go through. If you can learn something and be able to supervise such matters in the future, it will be a great thing."

Tanchun was surprised when her name was not called. But when she heard that Lin Daiyu had assigned her a special task, she smiled again and nodded confidently, "Okay, don't worry, sister. I will not disappoint you."

Nodding slightly, Lin Daiyu sighed and said, "I don't know how Sister Yun is doing. I wanted to find her to help you. She is lively and should be interested in the outside world."

Hearing that Lin Daiyu had almost finished speaking but still hadn't called her name, Miaoyu became anxious and asked first, but her tone was a little weak, "Ms. Lin, what can I do?"

Following the sound, she saw Miaoyu asking. Lin Daiyu blinked and asked in confusion, "Master Miaoyu, do you not need to practice anymore? I heard that your master is still recovering from illness and still needs someone to take care of him. Can you take care of both of them?"

Miaoyu looked around with a red face, then smiled awkwardly and said nothing more.

The maidservant below also raised her hands.

"Miss Lin, if we want to learn, can we go with the girls?"

They had been studying scriptures together in the Buddhist temple not long ago and had already created a good learning atmosphere. Now that something serious had happened, even the maids wanted to help to the best of their ability.

Lin Daiyu was quite surprised, but still nodded and said, "It depends on your comprehension. I may not take care of you too much, and you will rely on yourself more, but you still have to take good care of your daily chores. Of course, I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. If any of you study and are not inferior to them, I will give you the reward you want most. How about it?"

The maids looked at each other, but they all understood each other tacitly, their faces turned red and they lowered their heads.

They wanted to do something for this mansion and Yue Ling without asking for anything in return, but when Lin Daiyu promised such a generous reward, everyone became eager to try and became more motivated.

Yue Ling raised the corner of his mouth, thinking that Lin Daiyu's control over the overall situation was too strong, and just now it seemed that she had inadvertently promised something inexplicable, and it seemed to be closely related to him.

The room gradually fell silent. Yue Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "Since everyone has agreed, let's have dinner..."

Everyone gathered their thoughts, followed Yue Ling's instructions, and started eating.

Soon, Xiaoluo, who was serving Baoqin behind her, leaned over to Baoqin's ear stealthily and asked in a low voice: "Miss, if these maids can also study together with the girls in the room, can they also sign me up?"

Baoqin rolled her eyes, poked her forehead with the tail of a chopstick, and snorted, "You already know it, why do you need to practice it? Don't think I don't know what you are thinking. Just do the job I give you well. How can I treat you unfairly?"

The little snail laughed and didn't feel any pain, so it hopped away.

Baoqin curled her lips, filled her cup with tea, stood up, put on a smile, came to Lin Daiyu's side, bowed gracefully, and thanked her respectfully: "Sister Lin, you have just shared my affairs with the sisters, which is really a great help. The Marquis wants everything very urgently, and I am afraid that I can't handle it."

"I'll serve tea to Sister Lin. Thank you, Sister Lin."

Baoqin's unusual behavior immediately aroused the vigilance of the women at the table.

Everyone followed suit, filling their cups with tea and coming forward to surround Lin Daiyu.

"Thank you, Sister Lin, for your care."

"Sister Lin, I was rude to you a while ago. I apologize to you again. Please don't bear it to heart."

"Sister Lin, we will do our best..."

With so many people talking at once and several arms in front of her, Lin Daiyu was overwhelmed and didn't know whose tea to drink first.

In this situation, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but glance at Yue Ling who was still eating quietly beside her. She opened her mouth with a fake smile, and although it was silent, it seemed to be saying, "Brother Yue, look at what you have done!"

……

More than a month had passed, and the sounds of students fighting in the imperial city had not ceased. Although the noise was getting louder and louder, the number of people was increasing, and each time was more intense than the last, the palace remained unmoved.

The court had been suspended for nearly two months. The ministers wanted to advise the emperor in person, but they could not even see Emperor Longyou. Some ministers even began to doubt whether Emperor Longyou was really ill and that the suspension of court was not an excuse.

Of course, the ministers would become panicked if they didn't see the emperor for a long time, especially an emperor as diligent as Emperor Longyou.

Since he ascended the throne, there has never been a break from court for more than three days. This time it was sixty days, and there was no decree issued outside the palace, leaving all officials at a loss.

Gradually, different sounds began to be heard outside the palace gate.

Many ministers who were unwilling to take part in the struggle gathered at the Xuanwu Gate and begged Emperor Longyou to return to court or allow them to visit him.

But he was still rejected by the guards and eunuchs guarding the palace gate.

They no longer had any news about Emperor Longyou, not even knowing whether he was alive or dead.

"The affairs of the court cannot be abolished, so how can we continue to suspend the court like this?"

"That's right. There are many other things that cannot be delayed than the imperial examination. How can this matter cause a rift between the emperor and his subjects and make them stop communicating? This... this, it doesn't make sense."

"Prime Minister Chai, what do you think? Should we go to the palace again to beg for mercy?"

Chai Pu stood in the crowd, sighed secretly, and turned his head to ask Dongfang Zhi, the Privy Council member standing shoulder to shoulder with him, "Lord Dongfang, what do you think?"

Dongfang Zhi twirled his beard lightly, as if trying to guess what Emperor Longyou was thinking, and said, "Your Majesty is a wise and enlightened monarch. The current situation and chaos in the capital are not your fault."

"We must first admit this mistake. Whether it is the ministers who submitted the memorial earlier, or the Jingzhao Yin, the Wucheng Bingmasi, and the Imperial College, they must jointly admit this mistake. The mistake today is the fault of the ministers, not your majesty."

All the ministers who were watching nodded, thinking that what Dongfang Zhi said made some sense.

However, Dongfang Zhi had not yet finished his words, and continued, "But this alone is not enough. Now the students are very angry. They have signed a petition and are boycotting the exams and dropping out of school. If we want to end this, we must come up with a solution that will satisfy Your Majesty and let Your Majesty execute it."

"Of course, if this method is right, it's our credit. If it's wrong, it's still our fault. Who can tell me the answer?"

The officialdom is like a non-stick pan. The ministers want to solve this problem, but no one is willing to take the risk.

After Dongfang Zhi finished his speech, all the ministers stepped back, making Chai Pu and Dongfang Zhi, who were standing alone in the field, more conspicuous.

"Prime Minister Chai has been very secluded these days, so he must be thinking about something. Do you have any solution to this problem?"

Chai Pu said modestly: "Mr. Dongfang, you are too kind. You are an old official of the Qin Palace. You can understand the emperor's heart better than us."

In fact, Chai Pu and Dongfang Zhi have a competitive relationship.

Today, the two governments are almost nominal positions. Although the six ministries still need to report to them, they are no longer under their jurisdiction.

Moreover, although Chai Pu is now the right prime minister, the provinces throughout the country have already been abolished, and his power as prime minister is like a castle in the air. He only has the Menxia Province for him to manage.

He was only in charge of the payment of the emperor's orders and miscellaneous ceremonial affairs.

However, the political affairs of the nine provinces were complicated, and people were still needed to review memorials and assist in handling court affairs.

The power is there, and if either of them takes a step further, they can reach it and become the most powerful ministers in the court, second only to the emperor.

As for Yue Ling, in Chai Pu's eyes, he could more easily replace Dongfang Zhi and take charge of the mobilization of troops across the world.

As expected, Chai Pu kicked the question back, and Dongfang Zhi looked a little unnatural. He took the lead in proposing: "How about this? I beg Your Majesty to host the 'Jingyan Debate'. Whether it is the classics of the ancient sages or the new school that Duke Dingguo is currently hosting, if we can convince the other party in a literary debate, I believe the worries and grievances of this student will also be dissipated."

Upon hearing this, the ministers whispered to each other, and they all thought it made sense.

Since there are different opinions, if one side can convince the other side, then wouldn’t the problem be solved?

Especially as Confucian scholars, they also have their own pride. In their hearts, they secretly lean towards the students rather than Yue Ling.

This is what they are most willing to do, something that appears fair on the surface but actually involves turbulence.

If Yue Ling were to embarrass himself on stage, even Emperor Longyou would not be able to protect him anymore.

Chai Pu smiled secretly in his heart, "Yes, Mr. Dongfang, you finally showed your fangs. Things are getting more interesting."

On the surface, Chai Pu was still as calm as ever, "Okay, since everyone seems to be satisfied with this view, then let's go back and prepare for this, finish it as soon as possible, and persuade His Majesty to resume court affairs."

……

Cining Palace,
Emperor Longyou, who was ill, came to visit his mother, Empress Dowager Sun, once again.

Empress Dowager Sun was in even worse spirits than the last time. Even with the best supplements from the palace to nourish her body, she was still as withered as rotten wood.

"I heard that you have been away from court for a long time?"

Empress Dowager Sun was not surprised by the arrival of her son, especially as she was in her twilight years and had already seen right from wrong.

Emperor Longyou nodded and replied, "Yes, it is true."

"Why do we have to make such a fuss? Is there no other way?"

Emperor Longyou shook his head and said simply, "Without destruction, there is no construction."

Empress Dowager Sun slowly exhaled and whispered, "You really are nothing like your father."

Emperor Longyou remained silent and did not respond.

"What if you make a mistake? You are betting on the country. If you trust the wrong person, who has no real talent and knowledge, and waste the country's strength, then the northern barbarians will take the opportunity to rise up, and the Jurchens will move south. What will you do?"

Emperor Longyou put away the spoons of medicine he had been feeding and placed them on the table. He said in a low but powerful voice, "Wrong? If you are really wrong, I will personally hold a three-foot sword, put on armor and hold a sharp weapon, and stand at the gate of the country!"

"The Northern Barbarians and Jurchens, come if you want! Even if the mountains and rivers are broken, I will drag them down and bury them together under this ancestral foundation! But now, I believe him, and I will not regret this move!"

Empress Dowager Sun gradually closed her eyes, but there was still some tremor on her face.

Emperor Longyou stood up solemnly and said, "However, I will let my mother witness with her own eyes that I am right."

(End of this chapter)