Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 487 Lin Daiyu's Conferment of a Noble Title

"marriage……"

Even though Lin Daiyu had already learned from her correspondence with the Empress that His Majesty had arranged her marriage to Brother Yue, she was still deeply moved upon receiving the confirmation.

Her face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head shyly.

"Does getting married need to be arranged so early?"

"Of course we need it."

Qingwen smiled and replied, "Miss probably doesn't know yet. The eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department said that from our residence all the way to Zhuque Avenue and the South Gate, the entire street will be decorated anew. The shops along the street have also been informed, and each one has begun to tidy up its facade, just waiting to hang up that big red silk."

Lin Daiyu raised her eyes slightly, first in surprise, then with concern, and asked, "This is too wasteful of manpower and resources, too extravagant."

Qingwen immediately reassured her, "It's natural to tidy up as the New Year approaches. Besides, the streets and alleys will be bustling with activity during the Lantern Festival, so it's not inappropriate for everyone to be aware of it in advance."

"Besides, this was decided by the palace. You should just accept it."

"But His Majesty has always been frugal..."

"There's no 'but' about it. The Imperial Household Department is handling this, so it must have been His Majesty's order."

As Qingwen celebrated, maids kept coming in to congratulate Lin Daiyu, and gradually a large circle formed around them as the sisters from each room arrived.

More and more people gathered, each with a beaming smile on their face, as if they were even more excited about the grand wedding than Lin Daiyu herself.

Where is Lin, the beloved daughter of the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai?

Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out from outside, clearly an eunuch from the palace calling for someone.

The women all reached out and helped Lin Daiyu up, surrounding her as they reached the door without her feet touching the ground.

The first thing that came into view was an eunuch followed by several eunuchs, each carrying a brocade tray covered with red silk, clearly about to read out an imperial edict and bestow rewards.

Lin Daiyu led the women in prostrating themselves in respect, her heart pounding uncontrollably.

Unexpectedly, the imperial decree arrived so quickly, but Lin Daiyu felt a little regretful that Yue Ling was not by her side to hear it.

The eunuch outside the door, with a warm smile, took out the golden imperial edict from the brocade tray, untied the silk knot, cleared his throat, and read aloud: "Her Majesty the Empress's decree: The Empress, inheriting the virtues of Heaven, serves as a model for all people. I, the Empress, am diligent day and night, striving to spread her benevolent example."

"Your daughter, Lin Daiyu, is from the Lin family of Suzhou. She is the orphan of Lin Ruhai, the salt commissioner of Yangzhou. She is a woman of exceptional beauty and intelligence."

"Her nature is pure and upright; her talent is exceptional and unparalleled. However, her parents passed away early, leaving her all alone and helpless. Upon hearing this, I felt compassion and, in accordance with the will of Heaven and my compassionate heart, I have specially adopted her as my goddaughter and bestowed upon her a name to be recorded in the Imperial Register."

He was granted the title of Lady of Gusu County, with a fief of three hundred households and an annual stipend of two hundred shi (a unit of dry measure).

"Awesome!"

Lin Daiyu was still somewhat dazed when the words were spoken.

She thought it was an imperial decree to grant her a marriage, but she never expected that she would be adopted as a goddaughter by the Empress.

With Lin Daiyu's exceptional intelligence, she could naturally understand the underlying meaning.

It wasn't just the Empress's constant doting; it was also about elevating her status before the marriage so that she could be a match for Yue Ling, who was enjoying a successful official career, in terms of public status.

At least in terms of official records, it is not much inferior.

Logically speaking, the daughter of a mere salt inspector should not be a good match for a duke.

However, having the title of royal family member changes everything.

"It is thanks to Father that I have been stuck in my official career all these years, which prompted Her Majesty the Empress to issue an imperial decree."

Lin Daiyu couldn't help but murmur to herself.

"Princess of Gusu County, shall we receive the imperial decree?"

With their hands supporting Lin Daiyu as she rose, she stepped forward to receive the imperial decree.

The eunuch delivering the decree smiled and said, "In the future, there will probably be many more such decrees. The county princess should get used to it."

Presumably, what the eunuch meant was that even the title of county princess was not worthy of the Duke of Dingguo's status. However, since the initial conferment of a title could only be a county princess, the procedures still had to be followed step by step.

After that, there were imperial decrees for bestowed marriage and imperial titles, so it's certain that many people from the palace would come to Dingguo Mansion afterward.

Lin Daiyu smiled and agreed, then had someone hand her a red envelope, which her father-in-law declined.

The group saw them off to the hanging flower gate.

Lin Daiyu looked up and saw that the courtyard was filled with wooden boxes, and the servants and guards in the outer courtyard were extremely busy.

Seeing a group of people blocking the hanging flower gate, Jia Yun quickly went to greet them.

Bowing respectfully, Jia Yun raised his hand and introduced, "Madam, the outer chambers are currently inspecting all the ceremonial equipment sent by officials from the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites. After the inspection, they will be stored in the warehouse and sealed for use next year."

Lin Daiyu nodded slightly, her cherry blossom pink cheeks drooping as she slowly lowered her eyes and instructed, "Everyone has worked hard. Yun-ge'er, remember to give everyone some reward money."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Madam."

Just then, as the ladies were about to return to the mansion to chat and laugh, a group of people came into the courtyard. They stopped their sedan chairs, and two people stepped out, causing all the girls to widen their eyes in surprise.

"Sister Yun, Zijuan? You're finally back! Why were you gone for so long?"

Shi Xiangyun was led by the hand by Lin Daiyu, and Zijuan was led by the hand by Qin Keqing. The women then turned around and walked into the corridor to lead the two women to the main hall of the inner courtyard.

Zijuan was still holding a bundle in her hands, which she held tightly until she entered the hall, at which point she finally breathed a sigh of relief and handed it to Qin Keqing.

"This is to be given to the master. Sister Keqing, please keep it safe."

Lin Daiyu sensed something was amiss and frowned, asking, "Sister Yun, did you suffer any injustices when you returned to the Shi residence?"

Seeing the bustling activity outside, with people carrying all sorts of festive items, Shi Xiangyun could easily guess what was going on inside the mansion.

Moreover, the imperial carriage had just passed by, which made Shi Xiangyun feel even more ashamed.

"There are so many happy events in the manor, yet I still have to cause trouble for Sister Lin and the Marquis when I come back."

Shi Xiangyun was very distressed, but she didn't know what to do.

Lin Daiyu pushed the teacup in front of Shi Xiangyun and said in a deep voice, "We are all sisters, why be so formal? If you encounter any trouble, don't worry, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion will support you. Is the Marquis of Baoling's mansion any bigger than the Rongguo mansion?"

……

Duzheng Hall,
Su Moyun, a former top scholar in the imperial examination and the prefect of Suzhou, had reached the end of his term of demotion and was recalled to the capital. Emperor Longyou asked Yue Ling to build a team, and Yue Ling took the opportunity to choose him, with whom he had a past relationship, to assist him in his work.

Having an old acquaintance was one thing, but the top scholar was a protégé of the emperor, so Yue Ling felt at ease using him and considered him one of his own. Therefore, he appointed him as the chief official of criminal cases under the Ministry of Justice, making him a capable assistant to Yue Ling.

Perhaps influenced by Yue Ling while in Suzhou, Su Moyun investigated wrongful convictions after taking office, handling more than two thousand backlog cases in two years and gaining great fame.

Yue Ling also happened to ask him to return to preside over the Criminal Division, which can be described as making the best use of his talents.

At present, Yue Ling's new policy reforms do not involve the law, and the establishment of a criminal division is due to other considerations.

Now, Su Moyun only has three old cases left to handle, but the case files already make up a thick stack.

"My lord, I have thoroughly investigated the cases of the sudden death of Tuji Khan, the child trafficking case in Cangzhou, and the wrongful conviction of the salt merchants in Yangzhou. The details are listed here."

With the establishment of the Criminal Division, Yue Ling had the right to access old files.

"Did no one else notice?"

Su Moyun smiled confidently and said, "Each time we borrow files, we only select a hundred or so, and we just hide them in the order of the files so that no one will find out."

"Moreover, I personally selected these three case files, and no one else knows about them except me."

After saying that, Su Moyun pondered again, "Could it be that you believe these three cases are related, or that they were committed by the same group of people?"

Yue Ling put down the paper and pen beside him, took the file, and shook his head slightly, saying, "If it was done by the same group of people, then their power would probably be enough to overturn the table in front of you, so they wouldn't need to resort to these underhanded tricks."

Cases from all over the country are connected to the same group of people; their power is indeed quite exaggerated.

"Of course, this is just my estimate. I hope it's not the work of the same group of people, but I have a feeling that they are connected."

With her professional instincts, Yue Ling always felt that there were many extraordinary things along the way, and that there was some conspiracy hidden behind the unsolved case.

Firstly, when he was guarding the capital, there was a traitor on the city wall who was tipping off the barbarians. This traitor was Lu Yuan, a colleague in the Privy Council at the time.

Even before his death, Lu Yuan continued to shout that he was innocent. Yue Ling thought there might be something fishy going on, or perhaps he was being instructed by someone else.

Afterwards, Tuji Khan was captured alive and died suddenly in prison. Emperor Longyou ordered the three judicial departments to jointly investigate the case, but it ultimately became a mystery.

Prior to this, Yue Ling had also obtained an exclusive secret from Emperor Longyou: when the Embroidered Uniform Guard went to the border to investigate, they finally obtained the character "Lu" from the assassin.

The character “陆” is a homophone for “卢”, which is also key evidence that Emperor Longyou ultimately tacitly approved Lu Yuan’s execution.

The assassins were another crucial clue that Yue Ling believed to be important.

Raising assassins requires a lot of money, training methods, and, most importantly, unwavering loyalty.

It's no exaggeration to say that with Yue Ling's current financial resources, raising assassins is not an easy task.

Suicide squad members are usually trained from a young age, which makes them closely associated with the business activities of kidnappers in the martial arts world.

Especially when Yue Ling went south to Cangzhou, he happened to come across a case of child abduction, a heinous incident involving government officials.

At that time, Yue Ling did not put the two matters together. Because the Japanese pirates were connected with the rebels in Cangzhou, Yue Ling continued south to eliminate them.

However, Yue Ling found no trace of Japanese pirates raising assassins on Shuangyu Island, which made the situation even more perplexing.

After Cangzhou, the trail of the assassins seemed to have gone cold, and they never reappeared.

The case in Yangzhou was also very strange. Why would a small fireworks merchant dare to threaten the interests of salt merchants and even try to replace them?

With only Cui Ying, the prefect of Yangzhou, backing them up, Yue Ling felt that it wasn't enough to support them in doing this.

Yue Ling always felt that there was a connection between the cases, and that there was a bigger fish behind it all, or even more than one.

Especially in the latter two cases, Yue Ling did not find a large amount of illicit money, which seemed to further suggest his suspicions.

Yue Ling was engrossed in reviewing the case files, trying to find useful information or anything she had overlooked in the past.

Su Moyun stood silently by, and when Yue Ling picked up the case file from Yangzhou, she couldn't help but smile and say, "Sir, this case from Yangzhou was handled by your father-in-law, Imperial Censor Lin. He will be coming to the capital soon. Asking him in person might be more useful than these case files."

Yue Ling looked up, pursed her lips, and said, "What are you talking about? It's not even close to being a done deal yet."

"What do you mean it's gone? The master hasn't gone out and doesn't know what's going on outside. This morning, the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites came to your residence with cartloads of goods. They must be preparing for the wedding banquet."

Yue Ling's eyes lit up, and after a moment, she curled the corners of her lips, turned the page again, hummed softly, and said smugly, "That's not bad either."

"However, has my lord forgotten something?"

"what's up?"

Yue Ling looked over in confusion, somewhat puzzled.

He has been handling a lot of official business lately, and he also has to secretly scheme against the forces behind these difficult cases. He is indeed a bit exhausted, and it is inevitable that he has overlooked some minor matters.

Su Moyun stood up and paced in front of the hall, saying softly, "As someone who has been through this, I must give you a word of advice, sir. Your wedding is approaching, but your father-in-law has not yet arrived in the capital. What will happen if you miss the wedding?"

Su Moyun clapped her hands, feeling very regretful.

Yue Lingsong breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was going to say something, and said indifferently, "Summoning Lord Lin to the capital to report on his duties is His Majesty's decree, and it is not something I need to worry about."

"Besides, there are two whole months involved. How could we not make it in time?"

Su Moyun shook her head repeatedly and said, "My lord, you have forgotten that the canal is now frozen over and it is impossible to travel north on the canal. If we want it to be navigable, it will be at least the following spring. If we travel by land, it will take at least a month, but sending a message will take another month. My lord, your wedding will only be two months away."

"Just now, you said that you need His Majesty's decree to allow Lord Lin to enter the capital. Given your current official position, you only need to petition His Majesty and make a suggestion, and Lord Lin can enter the capital quickly. If he misses the wedding, can Lord Lin blame His Majesty in the end? Won't he blame you, sir?"

Yue Ling's expression froze slightly, and he suddenly realized that it was exactly as Su Moyun had said.

No matter what mistakes were made, in the end it all came down to his fault.

Especially since their relationship had already reached a freezing point.

Yue Ling immediately sat up straight, his expression becoming even more serious. After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke, "No, I have to go to the Ministry of Personnel to ask if there have been any recent orders for personnel transfers."

Su Moyun smiled and stopped him, saying, "Why are you in such a hurry, sir? Just send someone to inquire and you'll find out."

Yue Ling smiled wryly and said, "If not, I will go and request a decree as soon as possible. If Lord Lin travels a long and arduous journey and still doesn't make it to the wedding banquet, the scene will be quite unpleasant."

"Then, sir, what about these case files?"

Yue Ling waved his hand behind him and said, "Put it away for me first. I haven't seen anything yet. Maybe I missed something, or maybe some information is missing..."

(End of this chapter)