Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 498 Father-in-law and Son-in-law Discuss
The next day,

Zijuan and Qingwen consciously came into the room to clean up the mess, and helped Yue Ling and Lin Daiyu wash and dress, leaving Xueyan still fast asleep on the bed, undisturbed no matter how much noise they made.

Seeing Xueyan's miserable state, Lin Daiyu was still shaken by what happened last night.

She had thought that Yue Ling was only verbally expressing pity for her pain, but had not actually shown any pity. However, compared to Xue Yan, he had indeed shown her enough pity.

Xueyan was curvy and had a very robust figure, but her legs were so weak that she couldn't stand up straight.

It's already high in the sky, and he still hasn't woken up.

Lin Daiyu suppressed her embarrassment and anger, and instructed the people around her, "Take this table out and bring in a new one. Also, after Xueyan has slept in it, replace the bed with a new one."

Zijuan and Qingwen exchanged a glance, and of course they could guess the reason, and couldn't help but smile.

Lin Daiyu had no choice but to pretend not to see it, and said, "Prepare some more food for her. When she wakes up, she will definitely complain that she is hungry. She has already missed a meal."

"Okay, okay, don't worry, young lady."

Yue Ling kept looking out the window at the sky; the sun was high in the sky, and it was almost noon.

After the wedding, he became a little carried away and forgot that Lin Ruhai was still resting in the mansion. He should have gone to serve tea earlier.

Now, the two already had many misunderstandings, making it even harder to resolve them.

Noticing the worry in Yue Ling's eyes, Lin Daiyu comforted him, "Husband, don't worry too much. If Father disliked us, he would have come looking for us long ago. Even if he didn't come looking for us, he should have sent someone to summon us."

"Since neither of these apply, it must mean that Father no longer cares."

Lin Daiyu's words made perfect sense. Yue Ling pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement, "That's exactly right."

An ugly daughter-in-law will eventually have to meet her in-laws; some things can't be avoided.

Dressed in new clothes and with her hair neatly tied up, Yue Ling helped Lin Daiyu to her feet and said, "There's no point in thinking about it too much. Let's go and see for ourselves."

Lin Daiyu smiled sweetly and blinked, saying, "Before leaving, my husband forgot to do one thing."

Yue Ling understood, leaned down, and gently pecked Lin Daiyu's delicate lips. "All done?"

Lin Daiyu nodded, took Yue Ling's hand, their fingers intertwined, and the two walked out the door together.

Their intimate behavior, unconcerned about being seen by outsiders, stunned the two maids who were still tidying up the room.

Especially in Qingwen's eyes, Lin Daiyu's cheeks, which were shy yesterday, were like two fiery clouds, but today she was already going out to ask for a kiss.

It's as if they are two different people.

With a twitch of her lips, Qingwen shuddered and asked, "Sister Zijuan, can people change so much overnight? I remember that young ladies used to talk about 'self-restraint' and 'pure and innocent,' and kept their distance from the master. But now, they act as if we don't exist, and they are so intimate in front of us."

Zijuan was also surprised by Lin Daiyu's boldness. If Lin Daiyu's offensive was so fierce, even Qin Keqing would not have had a chance to seize the opportunity.

But having been more experienced, she had already tempered her mind. She stood still, broom in hand, watching the two figures disappear at the end of the corridor before replying, "You'll get used to it."

Zijuan had slept with Yue Ling, and she knew perfectly well what had happened after that one night, but she couldn't describe it to Qingwen.

"By the way, from now on we can't call you 'Miss' anymore, we have to call you 'Madam' or 'Mrs.'"

Qingwen smiled wryly and agreed, "Okay."

……

As soon as Yue Ling and Lin Daiyu arrived at the gate of the two concubines' courtyard, they could hear the crying of two little ones inside, as well as the loud discussions among the adults.

"What's going on? Why can't the baby stop crying? She's not sleepy or hungry. How do you usually take care of her?"

Lin Ruhai's voice was exceptionally loud.

Then Aunt Bai said, "It's common for children to cry. They cry a lot on ordinary days, and we always have to soothe them."

Lin Ruhai seemed very annoyed and said urgently, "Then why don't you try to coax them? How come after I've been trying to coax them for so long, they've cried until their voices are almost hoarse?"

You could tell that Lin Ruhai was both angry and anxious, as if he had tried everything he could, but still couldn't appease the two children.

Aunt Zhou mustered her courage and said, "Why don't you go out and rest for a while, sir? Let the two of us coax him."

Lin Ruhai wasn't stupid. He could tell from Aunt Zhou's intention to drive them away. He asked doubtfully, "Could it be that they're crying because I'm here? Don't make things up. I'm their father. Even if they're not close to me, they shouldn't be so afraid of me that they keep crying, right?"

The two concubines were too embarrassed to speak, and the surrounding nannies and wet nurses also fell silent, which made Lin Ruhai even angrier.

"Alright, alright, you've all gone silent again. I really have no idea what you're hiding from me. Fine, I'll go out now, wait until you've calmed the child down before we talk!"

Lin Ruhai had just stepped out of the door when he saw the two people standing in front of it. His vision went black again, and he took a deep breath before leaning back in the central rosewood tea chair.

"You still know to come? What time is it?"

Lin Daiyu and Yue Ling exchanged a glance, then stepped forward with a smile, took the teapot from the tea tray, poured a cup of tea, and Yue Ling presented it to them with both hands.

"Father-in-law, please have some tea."

Lin Ruhai narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Lin Daiyu and Yue Ling.

Seeing Lin Daiyu staring at him with wide eyes and a smug look on her face, with a hint of languor from a married woman, Lin Ruhai knew that they must have consummated their relationship last night.

Under Lin Daiyu's gaze, Lin Ruhai took the tea first, suppressing the urge to pour it on Yue Ling's head, and placed it on the tea table beside him, asking, "Don't rush to drink the tea, I have something to ask you two."

Seeing her father take the tea, Lin Daiyu smiled, but as soon as Lin Ruhai put the tea aside, her smile gradually faded, and she unconsciously put her hands on her hips and glared at her father.

Lin Ruhai didn't mince words, coldly snorting, "You don't need to glare at me. Now that I'm his father-in-law, not his elder brother, as a junior, isn't it only right that I teach him a lesson?"

Lin Daiyu said angrily, "Since you won't drink it, then I'll drink it for you!"

As she was about to step forward, Yue Ling quickly reached out and stopped her, whispering, "Alright, alright, don't make a scene. We're not here to argue today. Let's calm down, let's calm down."

Lin Daiyu responded softly, "I look down on her for treating her husband differently, her eyes are full of prejudice."

Before the marriage, his daughter was already biased enough, and now she didn't even try to hide it in front of him. Lin Ruhai was truly speechless with frustration.

But then I thought, there are still two little ones in the house now, who might grow up to be their father's little darlings, and my heart felt much more at ease. Thinking about it this way, I realized that Lin Daiyu also often shed tears when she was little; the sisters really do have many things in common.

Since that's the case, Lin Ruhai must raise these two sisters by his side and not give a scoundrel like Yue Ling another chance.

Suppressing his thoughts, Lin Ruhai asked, "Tell me, when did you first have inappropriate thoughts about Yu'er?"

Yue Ling gave an awkward smile.

Lin Ruhai glared at him and said, "Tell the truth!"

Yue Ling nodded slightly and said, "After I first brought my husband Yu'er to the capital, I just did my duty to take care of her. Later, as we spent more and more time together, we found that we had many similar interests and were of one mind, so it became hard for us to be apart."

Even so, I still regarded Yu'er as my younger sister. Until my term in Cangzhou ended, we were separated. Yu'er went north to the capital to cover my whereabouts, while I went south to Suzhou to punish corruption.

"Before we parted, Yu'er leaned out and kissed my cheek. From that day on, I knew that Yu'er was probably mature enough to no longer be treated like a child."

"Later, after the reunion, they confirmed their feelings for each other and have come this far..."

Lin Ruhai's eyelids twitched repeatedly, and he asked in surprise, "She kissed you?"

Lin Daiyu looked up and asked, "Yes, Father, what do you have to say?"

"This is an insult to scholarship! An insult to scholarship! You!"

Now that things have come to this point, Lin Ruhai naturally couldn't say anything to blame them anymore. After all, they had been granted a royal marriage and were legally married.

At this point, there is no longer any trace of innocence or reputation to speak of.

Fortunately, there were still two little ones inside. Lin Ruhai secretly made up his mind that he should deepen their education.

Lin Ruhai exhaled, shaking his head incessantly, his lips dry and parched. He picked up a teacup and swallowed his saliva.

Lin Daiyu clapped her hands and cheered, "Father, you've drunk it! If you've drunk it, you mustn't make things difficult for your husband!"

Lin Ruhai quickly spat the tea onto the ground and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "No way, I haven't finished asking yet."

"Father is so stingy and petty!"

Lin Ruhai frowned and said, "I'm not magnanimous enough. He just took away a perfectly good, filial daughter and turned around to anger her father!"

Then, turning his attention to Yue Ling, he asked, "Also, why did you delay issuing my transfer order until right before my wedding, only sending it to Yangzhou now?"

"Do you know how much I suffered to make it to yesterday's wedding? I was disheveled and didn't even have time to change my clothes before meeting my colleagues. I really have to admit I'm embarrassing myself."

Yue Ling was truly helpless; he had suffered a loss he couldn't speak of and had no way to defend himself.

“Father-in-law, this was not something I did intentionally. I personally went to the Ministry of Personnel to urge them to release the funds, and they made a mistake. How could I deliberately make things difficult for you?”

Lin Ruhai took a deep breath and thought it over carefully, and he did find that Yue Ling's words made some sense.

Marrying Lin Daiyu doesn't mean cutting ties with him forever; there's no need to offend him to death.

In particular, Yue Ling should have known long ago that Emperor Longyou would attend the wedding in person. Even if he wanted to object, he wouldn't be able to say anything, so there was no need to hide it from him.

Lin Ruhai picked up the teacup again, finally feeling relieved, and took a sip of tea.

Lin Daiyu, with her keen eye, stepped forward and poured another cup, offering it to Lin Ruhai, saying, "Father, please have some tea."

Lin Ruhai rolled his eyes, took the item, and turned his head toward the inner room behind him. "Go inside and take care of your two younger sisters. I have some official business to discuss with Yue Ling."

Lin Daiyu beamed with joy, gave a happy curtsy, and then bid farewell to her father and Yue Ling before heading inside.

Lin Ruhai naturally admired Yue Ling more; otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted Lin Daiyu to him in the first place.

They originally thought they were just friends despite their age difference, but they never expected their relationship to go even further and become like family. Even Lin Ruhai found it hard to adapt to this change in roles.

"Alright, don't just stand there, come and sit down."

Yue Ling bowed again and took the seat next to Lin Ruhai.

"My transfer order states that I'm to serve as the adjutant of the Duzheng Hall, which means I'm now working for you. What is the Duzheng Hall doing these days?"

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly, "I dare not say that I am asking Lord Taishan to do things for me, but I am truly doing things for the country."

Lin Ruhai rolled his eyes and said, "Stop using such empty words."

Yue Ling nodded repeatedly and changed his words, saying, "What the Duzheng Hall is doing now is the new policy that I discussed with my father-in-law before. We are implementing the new policy in terms of taxation, education, and governance. The economic source is the result of opening up the sea, reclaiming wasteland and raising horses, which is also to prepare for the possible war."

"The Ministry of Works' newly built factories, the introduction of foreign craftsmen, and the construction of strong ships and powerful cannons are all included in the five-year plan."

Yue Ling painted a blueprint for Lin Ruhai, and Lin Ruhai, a pragmatic minister, was naturally delighted to hear it, clapping his hands in praise. When it came to the specific government affairs he should be involved in, Yue Ling asked first, "Father-in-law, in investigating the Yangzhou fireworks case, have you discovered any previously overlooked clues, or anything unusual?"

“I always thought that such a large salt merchant group should not become a target of brothels, like ants eating an elephant. Even with the secret help of the then Yangzhou prefect, it was still too outrageous. I think the brothels should have a stronger backer, after all, they are also doing smuggling business in addition to fireworks.”

“This powerful backer can make the Yangzhou prefect readily confess his crimes, just like Lu Yuan, the Privy Councilor in the Tuji Khan case.”

Lin Ruhai's eyes widened, and he said thoughtfully, "Back in Yangzhou, the information was obscure, so I didn't think about it this deeply. If you say there's something fishy about the case of the Barbarian Khan, then there are some problems with this fireworks case. Logically, the profits from smuggling should be higher than the profits from the fireworks themselves, but the money is nowhere to be found in the accounts, and its whereabouts are unknown."

Yue Ling nodded. "I just found out that there are specialized banks among the Shanxi merchants that launder dirty money. Yangzhou is the territory of the Huizhou merchants, so it's normal that they would have the same methods."

"Therefore, the court should have the backing of the two major merchant groups, Shanxi merchants and Anhui merchants, and this backing is not the same person."

"Exactly."

Lin Ruhai speculated, "Could it be Prince Bei Jing, Shui Rong? He has many trusted former generals guarding the borders of the Nine Garrisons, which must require a lot of silver. Military pay is deducted at every level, and probably less than 30% reaches the border troops. In order to maintain the trust of the border troops, subsidies are a common practice."

"By the way, the years after you seized control of the Jiangnan aristocratic families coincided with the booming development of fireworks workshops. Looking back now, isn't that quite a coincidence?"

Yue Ling's eyes lit up; unexpectedly, Lin Ruhai had given him a different idea.

Indeed, the prominent families of Jiangnan and Prince Shui Rong of Beijing, who also hails from Jinling, should have had intricate connections...

(End of this chapter)