Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 477 The Empress's Teasing

近来京城中最为轰动的事，莫过于‘经筵大辩’的召开。

On that very day, snowflakes began to fall in the capital city, which had been dry for a long time.

Although it melted and disappeared upon landing, it still brought a chill.

However, this did nothing to cool down the atmosphere in the city.

Too many people have been waiting for this day, and they want to demand an explanation from Yue Ling in front of everyone.

所以天刚蒙蒙亮，京城里便有学子自发的前往文庙再去请圣人，亚圣相，亲临文华殿。

胜利者对于游戏的进行总是乐此不疲的，文官当然也更喜欢制定有利于自己的规则，当宣武门洞开城门后，众人便迫不及待的前往皇城东路的文华殿。

乾清宫，御书房，
When Emperor Longyou learned from the Embroidered Uniform Guards what was happening in the capital, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, a hint of worry creeping into his heart.

This debate was unprecedented in scale, and the resistance Yue Ling faced was immeasurable.

尤其在隆祐帝眼中，岳凌还是孤军奋战，未能寻到什么得力的助手。

However, since Yue Ling insisted that none of this was a problem, Emperor Longyou was willing to trust him.

毕竟他也曾在太后面前夸下海口了。

隆祐帝陷在深思中，未能察觉到一旁夏守忠悄然告退。

而后，便有一双纤细的手掌，抚上他的眉心，轻声宽慰道：“事已至此，陛下再怎么忧虑都是徒劳的，相信岳凌吧，之前陛下不也是这样做的？”

隆祐帝回过神来，抬手盖在额前的手掌上，长长舒了口气，“你怎么来了？”

The Empress responded and moved to the imperial desk, took an embroidered stool and sat down, placing her hands in front of her. She said, "There is nothing to do in the inner palace. The Empress Dowager has already bathed and changed her clothes. They are all waiting to go to the Wenhua Hall to watch the debate on the classics."

“皇儿们呢？”

"He also got up very early, just like His Majesty. He didn't sleep for much time and is very excited. He even skipped his teacher's lessons this morning to come and see Yue Ling."

"Oh?" Emperor Longyou smiled slightly. "Have you asked them which side they're on?"

皇后思忖着道：“岳凌曾作为他们三个的授业先生，进宫相处过一段时日，令三人的十分深刻。他们三人年纪还尚小，情感上肯定都担忧着岳凌，只是他们一直以来也是修习经文更多，恐怕难相信岳凌会胜过一场了。”

“不过，我信过岳凌，更信过陛下的眼光。”

Emperor Longyou smiled calmly, took the Empress's hand, and sighed, "I hope Yue Ling will not disappoint me and the Empress."

……

Xia family,

桂花夏家的经济实力在京城也算排得上座次，夏金桂在得知文华殿要召开“经筵大辩”的消息，也留意着疏通人脉在其中得几个名额，入皇城观礼。

商贾之家进入皇城的机会不多，哪怕如夏家这般的皇商。

而且这一次，还是要看那个岳凌出糗，夏金桂哪怕是一掷千金买下观礼的座位都舍得。

It wasn't that she harbored any resentment towards Yue Ling; she and Yue Ling had absolutely no contact whatsoever.

It was mainly her competitive nature as a woman that made her extremely jealous of Xue Baochai, so she was happy to see Yue Ling fall from grace.

She casually mentioned this to Baoyu, but unexpectedly, Jia Baoyu, who had been listless and like a walking corpse for days, suddenly had a glint in his eyes and insisted on going with Xia Jingui.

夏金桂如今对贾宝玉，当然称不上什么怜惜之情。

多日的相处，夏金桂也发现了，贾宝玉就是个银样镴枪头，除了空有一副皮囊以外，别的便是一无是处了。

Xia Jingui despised him, but she hadn't found a better candidate for marriage yet, especially since she hadn't seen any return on her investment from the Wang or Shi families. She wouldn't let go easily.

However, on this day, Jia Baoyu solemnly declared that he would study diligently from now on, pass the imperial examinations, and make her an official's wife, which made Xia Jingui hesitate again.

The tutors who had previously been chosen to tutor Jia Baoyu all commented that he was intelligent but lacked diligence and ambition, but if he truly studied hard, there might still be some hope for him.

"Why do you insist on going to this 'Great Debate on the Classics'? You had no interest in the Four Books and Five Classics back then, and this debate is just about those same things, so why are you interested now?"

Jia Baoyu glared with his bloodshot eyes and said fiercely, "If it weren't for that scoundrel 'Yue Ling' causing trouble in the Rongguo Mansion, how could the Rongguo Mansion have fallen into such a state of disrepair today?"

“他堂堂武官，躺在功劳簿里也就罢了。竟是不知天高地厚，与几家硕儒作辩，我必要去看他的丑态！”

此时夏金桂才念起贾宝玉和岳凌还是有着诸般过节的，尤其是定国公府内，如今还有不少旧时荣国府的姑娘，听人说都被岳凌收作禁脔了。

Put yourself in her shoes; even if she were Jia Baoyu, she would be furious and regard Yue Ling as an enemy.

思忖一阵，夏金桂默默点了点头，“也好，带你出去了却心愿，日后好勤于读书，回馈于我。你知道，若是达不成我的要求，你在这府里便如猪狗无异了！”

夏金桂眼神微眯，极尽威胁之意。

Jia Baoyu, unusually, did not back down or avoid the situation, displaying a strong sense of masculinity. He said, "Today I only regret that I did not study more before, so that I could confront Yue Ling face to face in the Wenhua Hall and then easily trample him under my feet!"

Slowly closing his eyes, Jia Baoyu squeezed out a single tear.

Once upon a time, he lived such a comfortable life. All his sisters and maids revolved around him, and there was not a single one who did not love him.

直到岳凌来了，这一切都变了。

不单单似与自己有着牵绊的林妹妹对他是不屑一顾，就连其他的姊妹都常常拿他与岳凌做比，而后对他的一切都嗤之以鼻。

This disparity was something Baoyu found hard to accept.

岳凌只不过是个粗鄙武夫，是贾宝玉最看不上的泥猪癞狗，怎能与冰清玉洁的姊妹们在一块呢？

Wouldn't that be staining the sisters with filth?

And now, it is indeed the case.

贾宝玉甚至隐隐期待，岳凌被学子们夹在火上烤时，他能够挺身而出，安慰旧时的那些姊妹们，再趁虚而入了。

If Yue Ling could take his sisters and maids with him after the Rongguo Duke's family was raided, why couldn't Jia Baoyu do the same?
“行，你能这么想，倒是出乎我的意料。”

不知什么时候，夏金桂已经来到了贾宝玉身边，狐媚一般妖冶的眸子，在贾宝玉身上扫个不停，甚至还情不自禁的用手背在贾宝玉的脸颊上轻轻划着，拭去泪痕。

贾宝玉被唬了一跳，却又慑于夏金桂的淫威，退都不敢退出一步。

偶然来了的阳刚之气，让夏金桂很是喜欢，只是时辰不足了，不由得惋惜道：“罢了，待回来再说吧。先去梳洗梳洗，换身行头，出门在外别给我丢了颜面。”

Jia Baoyu seemed to have a great weight lifted from his heart, and then ran out the door in a panic.

……

Today is, of course, an extremely important day for the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.

The usual hustle and bustle of the mansion was nowhere to be seen today. The young girls coming and going were extremely quiet, moving about as if they were all preoccupied with their own thoughts.

早膳上，林黛玉身边的位子空着。

Yue Ling got up even earlier than them, saying that she had something to check again, and then she left early.

林黛玉也知晓，岳凌近来和“清风书院”的那些老师学生，近来走得很近，似是岳凌头一次在外找到知己一般，有着共同的理想。

"Qingfeng Academy" was an attempt by Yue Ling in the field of education in Cangzhou, despite the opposition from many.

When Lin Daiyu was in Cangzhou, she would often go to the pavilions of the academy with Yue Ling to stroll around and listen to the sound of students reading aloud.

The subjects offered in the academy were not limited to the Four Books and Five Classics.

算学，历法，水利，农学，医学在里面都有学堂，可以根据个人的喜好选择课业修习。

甚至学一门手艺，在书院中都能找到工匠传授。

This is extremely rare in today's world.

尤其所有读书人，都将四书五经奉为正道，读书不从科举，则为三教九流，深以为耻，以至于从书院毕业的学生，出了沧州就不被世人所认可。

反而使得书院开办后数届学子，除了入京赶考的，便大多都留在沧州，发展家乡，还进行了人才反哺，使得沧州越发的与众不同。

Yue Ling learned a great deal from their successful experiences, as theory must always be combined with practice.

Without Yue Ling in the room, Lin Daiyu felt empty and lost her appetite.

见林黛玉时不时轻轻颦眉，临近的两位姨娘便不由得关怀起来。

Aunt Bai called softly, "Miss, is there anything troubling you? Why not tell me before you go out? Don't keep it bottled up inside, it'll only hurt your health."

林黛玉抬起头，望着已有八个月身孕的两个姨娘，肚子都显怀的行动不便了，还目光灼灼的往这边看着，担忧起她来。

明明府邸里如今最值得担忧的是她们两个，林黛玉不忍笑了出来，吐出口气来，很是放松的说道：“没什么可担忧的。定国公府能有今日，也是经历了风风雨雨，不过一场文辩，没有刀光剑影，便也没什么可怕的。”

Even as she said this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but clench the handkerchief in her hand, forcing herself to calm her thoughts.

周姨娘眨眨眼，问道：“姑娘，一会儿你们是不是要入皇城？”

Lin Daiyu nodded. "This 'Grand Debate on Classics' is the largest literary gathering His Majesty has ever organized since his ascension to the throne. All the women in the family will be invited to participate, and our mansion has the most places available."

说到这，林黛玉语气顿了顿，扫向下方的姊妹们。

The sisters, however, were quite sensible. They all lowered their heads and silently ate the few mouthfuls of porridge in their bowls.

Lin Daiyu smiled again, "Entering the Wenhua Pavilion and sitting behind the Empress Dowager and the Empress to watch the ceremony, there's no need to wait at home for outdated news."

Aunt Zhou asked, "Could we also go out and see the world?"

It was really inconvenient to have two pregnant women with her, and it would also attract attention, so Lin Daiyu hesitated.

Aunt Zhou lowered her head. Making such an unreasonable request made her feel a little guilty. She gently stroked her belly and murmured, "I thought that since we are going to the Wenhua Hall, it would be best if my unborn child could absorb some of the literary spirit and pass the imperial examinations like my husband in the future."

林黛玉默默的扫了几眼，倒不知两位姨娘在不久之后会诞下弟弟还是妹妹。

再与两位姨娘殷切的目光相对，林黛玉当然也就一如往常的心软了。

"Okay, then you all need to be careful. If you feel unwell while you're out and about, speak up as soon as possible, don't try to bear it just because it's too much trouble."

……

时辰已到，定国公府外备好了几辆马车。

Lin Daiyu, accompanied by her two concubines, Xue Baochai, Xue Baoqin, Jia Yingchun, Jia Tanchun, Jia Xichun, Qin Keqing, Xing Xiuyan, Miaoyu, and others, entered the imperial city.

Approaching the foot of the imperial city, one could see from afar that the area below was packed with a dense, dark mass of people.

这些大多是没能进入文华殿的儒生，只能在皇城脚下等候第一手消息。

For days, students have been causing trouble at the foot of the capital. Coming here is like coming home. They have each marked their own spots, and despite the large number of people, things are not chaotic.

However, in front of each group of people, there was a squad of Imperial Guards maintaining order, which seemed to be a deliberate arrangement by Emperor Longyou to spread the news from the palace and prevent any chaos among the crowd.

外面的看客已是这么多，不少还拉着当初批斗岳凌的条幅，这便让林黛玉气得不轻。

But then I thought about it again, and realized that many of these banners were made by them. Otherwise, no one would have dared to write such arrogant things about Yue Ling at first, which would have emboldened them to become even more unscrupulous. So I felt a little better.

Upon entering the palace, they did not head directly to the Wenhua Hall on the east side of the imperial city like ordinary students, but instead passed through the Chuihua Gate and went to the inner palace.

After all, they still had to enter the palace with the Empress to observe the ceremony, which meant they were separated from outsiders.

下了车轿，一步步踏在皇宫的汉白玉石上，林黛玉很是熟稔，但对于其他人来说，绝对是新奇的体验，脚步都不由得更为拘谨了些。

三春则是心里念着，能不能有机会看到或者是打听到大姐姐如今的近况，担忧她过得好不好。

At the end of the corridor, palace maids were already waiting, and they led the way to the Empress.

“臣女林黛玉……”

林黛玉才携着众女行礼，皇后便抬手扶住了她。

Seeing the large entourage that Lin Daiyu was accompanied by, including two pregnant women, she felt even more justified in saying, "There's no need for such formalities. Pregnant women should also be exempt from these formalities."

As the mother of the nation, the continuation of life was naturally of great importance to the empress, and giving preferential treatment to pregnant women was a matter of her duty as empress.

The Empress was quite puzzled by the sudden appearance of two heavily pregnant women in Yue Ling's residence, as she had not heard of such a thing at all.

"they……"

岳大哥在外的名声不好，林黛玉心如明镜。

怕闹出笑话，林黛玉在皇后犹豫不定的时候，就赶快解释道：“她们是林府的姨娘，父亲让来京城养胎的。”

"profound……"

The Empress nodded slowly and teased, "Imperial Censor Lin is now part of the family and no longer considers things as separate families. He can rest assured that the two of you can have your pregnancies at the Duke of Dingguo's residence. The baby even came earlier than Xiaoyu'er."

林黛玉一脸尴尬。

皇后身后的宫女，以及林黛玉身后的姑娘们已是笑弯了腰……

(End of this chapter)