Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 473 The Glasses Girl, a New Collection of the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion
"Third Sister, the lamp you gave me isn't working. Could it be that I broke it?"

In Tan Chun's room, Xiang Ling stood blankly by the table with her head down and chest hunched, like a child who had done something wrong.

Tan Chun took the ever-burning lamp that Xiang Ling brought, examined it carefully for a while, and then said with a smile, "It's not that it's broken, it's just that it's out of fuel."

"Fuel? What kind of fuel does it need?"

Tan Chun shook her head and said, "We can't find this kind of fuel right now. Moreover, this lamp is made with an immature technology. It was discovered by Westerners while mining and cannot be mass-produced. So it is inherently flawed, and it is somewhat unsafe for you to use it."

Xiangling sighed, her heart filled with resentment.

Although Tan Chun said the lamp was unsafe, she found it very convenient to use.

There was no pungent smell of burning grease, and the wick didn't need to be trimmed as often as a candle. Moreover, the lighting was brighter, making it very convenient for her to read at night. Who knew that it could never be restored.

This will significantly reduce her recent learning efficiency.

As if Tan Chun could also see the hidden worries in her heart, she smiled and took out another lamp from the drawer, saying with a smile, "I knew you would need a lamp, especially more than others, so I prepared this for you early on."

Xiangling's eyes lit up, and she happily accepted the lamp, only to find that it seemed to be no different from an oil lamp.

With a small head and a big question, Tan Chun explained to her again: "This is whale oil that we got from Baoqin, not the tung oil or soybean oil that we usually use."

"You'll see when you get back and light it. It burns hundreds of times longer than ordinary lamp oil. Even this small piece will last you for months. Plus, it's almost smokeless, so it won't bother you if you're reading with the door closed at night. It's perfect for you since winter is approaching and night falls early."

After hearing Tan Chun explain all the benefits, Xiang Ling hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "This item is so good, it must be very precious, right?"

Tan Chun nodded and said, "It is naturally extremely precious. It is oil taken from the body of a giant beast deep in the sea. Such a huge creature is the size of a medium-sized ship and cannot be hunted by human power. This is just a little bit of oil that Bao Qin accidentally found on the shore of a giant beast that had run aground and died of thirst."

"It's priceless, with no market for it, and priceless."

Xiangling quickly pushed the lampstand back and said, "I'm just a little maid, how can I be worthy of using such a rare item? If you want to use it, you should give it to Miss Lin first, and then we can share any left over."

After saying that, Xiangling turned around and was about to leave.

Tan Chun quickly called Shi Shu to stop her and comforted her, saying, "Alright, alright, we're all sisters, why be so formal? If I had known you were such an honest and simple person, I would have covered for you and not told you, so you wouldn't have to feel so much pressure."

“Actually, Baoqin already gave it to Sister Lin. This small piece, about the size of a palm, is what I saved for you.”

"Left for me?" Xiangling looked surprised.

Tan Chun placed the lamp back into her hand and nodded solemnly, "That's right, this is Baoqin's reward for your hard work in your studies lately, especially for helping her with a lot of translation work."

Xiangling immediately blushed.

Actually, her diligent study was not because she was particularly fascinated by Western languages. If she really had to choose, she would prefer poetry and songs.

However, during the meal that day, Lin Daiyu personally said that she would give them the gifts they wanted most.

The implication was clear, even to the slow-witted Xiangling.

In order to one day truly be able to stage a romantic scene with her husband again, Xiangling was going all out, determined to win no matter what.

Therefore, given this selfish motive, accepting Baoqin's gift would be something he would feel ashamed to do.

Seeing Xiangling hesitate again, Tanchun pushed her out the door along with the lamp without saying a word. "Alright, alright, it's yours anyway. You can do whatever you want with it. It shouldn't have stayed with me. Whether you sell it or give it away, I've given it to you. Even if this thing is worth a fortune, I don't want to accept someone else's things for nothing. How will the sisters in the room view me after this?"

Even after being kicked out of the house, Xiangling was still in a daze.

I wasn't looking where I was going; my mind was wandering off somewhere else.

Before I knew it, at the corner of the corridor, I bumped right into someone, as if I had run into an impenetrable wall.

Xiangling fell to the ground on her bottom, and tears streamed down her face from the pain. When she reached out to rub her bottom, she realized that the lamp in her hand had already flown away.

That was whale oil worth a fortune, and it's just been smashed on the ground, a complete waste. Xiangling couldn't afford to pay for it even if she sold herself.

"Oh no, my light!"

He was about to sit up when he looked up and saw the person's face clearly.

"master?"

Yue Ling, who had just returned from outside, was also hit in the chest by Xiang Ling's headbutt. Clutching the sore spot, he forced a smile and scolded, "Why don't you watch where you're going? Did you break your butt in two?"

Xiangling touched it and cried, "It really is! My butt is really split in two!"

After a moment, Xiangling came to her senses again. "Wait a minute, aren't buttocks supposed to be in two halves? Master, my lamp is more important. Did you see the lamp I was holding just now?"

Yue Ling chuckled and handed the lamp back to her. "Is this it? It looks like whale oil, something rare. You must have brought it from Baoqin, right?"

Xiangling blinked, her admiration for Yue Ling growing even stronger. He could discern an origin and deduce its source with just a glance.

Xiangling couldn't understand why anyone outside would dare to make things difficult for her master, even wanting to question him in front of a court of officials and thousands of scholars, and even challenge him to a duel.

Xiangling was relieved to find the lamp was alright.

Propelling herself to her feet, Xiangling shook off the dust clinging to the hem of her skirt and replied repeatedly, "Master is absolutely right, it was indeed given by the Second Miss."

When Xiangling raised her little face, Yue Ling noticed her recent changes.

Besides the still prominent mole on her forehead, the dark circles under her eyes are getting heavier and heavier, and even her eyeballs seem to be bulging outwards, which is clearly a sign of nearsightedness.

After a moment's thought, Yue Ling tentatively asked, "Xiang Ling, can you see my face clearly from this distance?"

Xiangling was taken aback by the question, then said dreamily, "Of course I can see it clearly."

Yue Ling took another step back and asked, "And now?"

Xiangling blinked. "Even if you can't see the master's face clearly, you can still tell from his figure, right?"

"So you can't see it clearly, right?"

"It's a bit blurry. Maybe it's because I've been reading too much lately. It should be fine after I go back and rest for a night."

Nearsighted people can't distinguish between men and women from five meters away, and can't distinguish between humans and animals from ten meters away.

In Yue Ling's opinion, Xiang Ling might be a little nearsighted.

To help her read, getting her a pair of glasses might be a good option.

As he muttered this, Yue Ling said, "Come on, you must be sick. Come with me first." "I'm sick?" Xiang Ling trembled slightly, and asked in surprise, "Is it serious? Will it affect my reading?"

Yue Ling nodded, "It might have an impact later."

Returning to Tan Chun's room with Xiang Ling, Yue Ling called out as soon as he entered, "Tan Chun, is there any progress on the glasses I mentioned to you before?"

Tan Chun stepped forward in response and replied to Yue Ling, "The procedure proposed by the Marquis can be completed, but it is still quite difficult to be precise, especially to ensure that the mirror surface is free of impurities. The current mirror surface is transparent enough, but there are still some small air bubbles."

Yue Ling considered it carefully and said, "Then why don't we try polishing it with natural crystal first?"

Tan Chun asked in confusion, "Is the Marquis in such a hurry? I still have so many things to do. The tasks the Marquis is assigning are getting more and more demanding. For example, that 'steam engine' and 'internal combustion engine'—how to convert other 'energy' into 'kinetic energy'—I'm completely lost and have no clue what to do."

"This time, the Marquis wants me to grind the lenses again. This requires multiple calibrations, and if I'm not careful, I might even break them. It's a very troublesome thing."

"I'm starting to doubt whether I really like these exquisite objects, or if I just enjoy looking at them."

Tan Chun pouted. Her efforts at the mansion were increasing day by day, and she even seemed to be surpassing Yue Ling. As a result, she felt more confident to act coquettishly in front of Yue Ling.

"Take it slow, start with the simplest things. What I mentioned earlier is something to plan for many years from now."

Xiangling shyly emerged from behind Yue Ling and whispered, "Master, perhaps we should just forget about it. I thought I was fine. I just need some rest tonight."

When Tan Chun saw that it was Xiang Ling who had returned, her tense face immediately turned bright red.

I thought it was just Yue Ling in front of me, and I wanted to take credit, but who knew that I would become the scapegoat.

Shi Shu reached out helplessly. She had just given her mistress a hint, but she was so engrossed in her art that she couldn't pull herself away.

Clearing her throat to cover her embarrassment, Tan Chun immediately took Xiang Ling's hand and said with an awkward smile, "So it's Sister Xiang Ling who needs it. Then it's my duty to help."

As he spoke, he led Xiangling into the small workshop inside the room.

As they walked, he pleaded, "Sister Xiangling, you must not tell Sister Lin what happened just now, and you must not tell anyone else either. If they find out about my sneaking away, they will surely condemn me and Sister Lin will punish me severely."

Xiangling turned to look at Yue Ling, who was already doubled over with laughter.

……

"Alright, try wearing it again this time, it should be pretty close to working."

Tan Chun wiped the fine sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, let out a long sigh, and handed the glasses made of natural crystal to Xiang Ling.

Xiangling tried them on, and the gilded frames perfectly covered her dark circles, making her already small face look even more delicate.

In Yue Ling's eyes, she was exactly the kind of girl with glasses!

Although Xiangling was already very beautiful even without wearing a mirror, wearing glasses transformed her from innocent to charming, perfectly making up for the slight allure she lacked, which made Yue Ling stare at her with wide eyes.

It's really unintentional.

"Master, does it look strange on me?" Xiangling asked timidly.

After all, there was no precedent for wearing a mirror in the manor, and Xiangling was always afraid of being the one who stood out.

Yue Ling swallowed hard and said, "It's beautiful, very beautiful."

This shy little expression perfectly matches her glasses.

Upon hearing Yue Ling's praise, Xiang Ling's cheeks immediately flushed pink.

The interaction between the two left Tan Chun, who was standing to the side, speechless. "Lord Marquis, is your request for glasses really just to help Sister Xiangling?"

"Haha, what else?"

……

Inside the main hall,
Lin Daiyu held the letter in her hand, her face full of disbelief, her wrist trembling.

The next moment, Yue Ling entered the room, and Lin Daiyu couldn't wait to come to him and explain the current situation.

Before that, Lin Daiyu habitually sniffed Yue Ling's body, but only smelled a faint scent of soapberry. She guessed that he must have bumped into some maid on the way back, so she didn't bother to argue.

"Brother Yue, come quickly! How could Father make such an arrangement without even informing us beforehand?"

Sensing the urgency in Lin Daiyu's voice, Yue Ling didn't dare to delay. He took off his outer robe and went to Lin Daiyu's side, taking the letter and reading it carefully.

It turns out that the letter mentioned two concubines in the Lin family.

Lin Ruhai already knew that he should go to the capital to report on his duties next year and then stay in the capital to serve as an official. However, his two concubines were already pregnant and could not go to the capital after giving birth. They also could not travel long distances when the children were still young.

The family had been separated for several years. Having learned from past mistakes, Lin Ruhai was truly uneasy. Therefore, on the doctor's advice, he sent his two aunts, whose pregnancies were stable, to the capital by waterway.

Although the journey was arduous, we didn't rush. We stopped and rested along the way, frequently replenishing our supplies of medicine, food, fresh fruit, and other provisions. We also had a doctor and midwife accompanying us. After two and a half months, we successfully arrived in the capital.

However, after staying in the capital for another month, the entourage discussed it and decided that it would be better to send their two concubines to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.

Firstly, the environment of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion is better, which is conducive to the two concubines' recuperation.

Furthermore, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion had more resources and could even invite imperial physicians to provide consultations in case of emergencies.

However, since they were a group of servants looking after the two concubines, if anything went wrong, no one could bear the responsibility.

Especially after arriving in the capital, they learned that their master, Lin Ruhai, was already regarded by everyone in the capital as the father-in-law of the Duke of Dingguo, so there was even less reason for them to avoid suspicion.

Then this letter was drafted, and both aunts agreed to it, as if they were looking forward to coming over.

Yue Ling covered his face and said helplessly, "Sending two concubines to the capital at this critical juncture, how could he do such a thing?"

But the next second, when Yue Ling looked at the now-grown and beautiful Lin Daiyu, he felt at ease.

After all, when Lin Daiyu and I entered the capital, we were both just little kids. In addition, she had a history of illness and had experienced major trauma, including the loss of her mother. It's hard to say whether she was weaker than the pregnant woman.

Lin Ruhai is truly capable of doing things that leave people speechless.

"Brother Yue, what do you mean?"

Yue Ling remained noncommittal, "This cannot be taken lightly! Quickly send someone to prepare horses and bring the two concubines in!"

(End of this chapter)