Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 502 Don't worry, she can't get pregnant.

After Yue Ling and Lin Daiyu got married, the household chores were naturally handed over to Lin Daiyu's maids Zijuan, Xueyan, Qingwen and others. Yuanyang also assisted in handling important matters. Therefore, Qin Keqing, as well as Ruizhu and Baozhu, who were originally Yue Ling's maids, were freed up and rarely went to the main hall anymore, only doing some odd jobs outside.

Although Qin Keqing was Yue Ling's head maid, no one in the room treated her like a maid. She was treated the same as the other girls, with her own courtyard and maids at her beck and call.

Living in a secluded courtyard for a long time, Qin Keqing found it quite boring.

Lin Daiyu and Yue Ling were deeply in love, their relationship radiant and beautiful. Qin Keqing, not wanting to disturb them, could only stay in her room all day writing diligently, busy with her original duties.

She racked her brains but couldn't come up with anything new, which made Qin Keqing increasingly tired and even less willing to go out.

She spends her days lounging lazily against the bed curtains, with a small square sandalwood table in front of her. She sips tea as she strolls along, her delicate, snow-white feet slightly raised, leisurely enjoying her free time.

But ever since the young ladies held their meeting in Xue Baochai's room, and Qin Keqing revealed the cruel struggle that would ensue within the household.

Even seasoned veterans like Ruizhu and Baozhu, who have shared intimate moments with Yue Ling, would feel a sense of crisis deep down.

Especially when Qin Keqing, who was always proactive, turned to such a passive and uncooperative attitude, they felt even worse.

However, the two young maids were too shy to openly discuss bedroom arts like Qin Keqing did in front of everyone. So they kept quiet and went in and out of Qin Keqing's sight, seemingly busy.

The frequent comings and goings annoyed Qin Keqing, who frowned and asked unhappily, "What's wrong with you two these days? It's like you have a lump under your buttocks and can't sit still. Why are you always walking back and forth? We don't need you two to go to the hall anymore."

Ruizhu and Zhu looked at each other, both appearing hesitant to speak.

Qin Keqing glanced over with her eyes half-open, then couldn't help but ask, "What? Are you two hiding something from me that you can't tell me?"

Ruizhu was older, so she carried a small stool and sat on the edge of the bed, asking, "Sister, why haven't you been going to the main hall lately?"

Looking up at the canopy above the bed, Qin Keqing breathed softly, "Master has only just gotten married, it's still early."

Baozhu added, "Didn't you say you were determined to have Master's child? There's still no sign of it these days. You had your period a couple of days ago, so it seems like it didn't work out again."

Qin Keqing turned her head and tapped Baozhu's forehead three times.

"When did you all start paying so much attention to these things?"

The two maids stuck out their tongues in unison and said, "We've learned a lot from our older sister."

Qin Keqing's lips twitched; it really was true.

He decided to clarify things with them, saying, "If it's not a marriage before the wedding, then we can't force it for the time being. If the lady can conceive the eldest son, it won't be a bad thing within this family."

Ruizhu continued, "But the lady's body is still too slender and weak. I'm afraid the master won't want children anytime soon. He has said many times before that he thinks we are too young. So, so... we didn't take the final step."

Baozhu counted on her fingers again, "However, when Madam comes of age, Sister Xueyan will be four years older, nineteen, which is the age when she can give birth. Moreover, Sister Xueyan has a very good figure, with full breasts and a plump bottom. The wet nurses and nannies all praise her for being fertile. If she passes away before Sister Xueyan..."

These words aroused Qin Keqing's competitive spirit. She straightened up and slammed her hand on the table, saying, "My husband and I have tried so many times, but we've never succeeded. How could she succeed in just a few days? I've also heard that she's been avoiding my husband lately. With such a lack of sincerity, how can it be so easy to succeed?"

……

In Tan Chun's room,

Tan Chun sat at the table, carefully wiping several lenses with a silk scarf, comparing their colors and light transmission. Beside her, Ying Chun and Xi Chun were setting up a chessboard on the couch and playing chess.

Yingchun is an expert in Go. If the pieces are laid out for a game, the younger Xichun is no match for her, and there is not much fun in it.

The two were playing a game called "douqi," a common game played in the inner chambers of young women's homes.

The rules are very simple, even a maid can easily learn them. Each person simply takes one black and one white piece and places them in opposite corners on the board.

Roll the dice again, move across all the squares on the board, and you win when you reach the opponent's starting position.

So for the two talented young girls, such a simple game was nothing more than a way to pass the time.

Tan Chun glanced at the two women throwing dice in the bowl, seemingly very interested, and asked with a puzzled look, "Second sister, fourth sister, have you been coming here more and more often lately? You two live so close to each other, why do you always have to come here to sit when you're throwing dice?"

Xichun shook her head and smiled, "Aren't we always together anyway? What's wrong with that?"

Tan Chun nodded, unable to refute it, yet she still felt that something was amiss.

Then, fiddling with the lenses, Tan Chun used bamboo tubes to attach the two lenses to the sides and adjusted the focusing position, following the demonstration in the book step by step to make a telescope.

Once the match is successful, Tan Chun can clearly see Ying Chun and Xi Chun's moves on the bed when she looks into her eyes.

In the blink of an eye, looking out the window, in the main hall where the curtains had not yet been drawn, two figures were overlapping each other, startling Tan Chun so much that she quickly put down the bamboo tube in her hand.

"Third sister, have you heard any news about your eldest sister lately?"

Tan Chun turned around, her eyes dim, and sighed, "The Marquis said that His Majesty has set up a Buddhist temple in the palace. Now, my elder sister spends her days chanting Buddhist prayers and eating vegetarian food, and she doesn't see any outsiders."

Yingchun sighed as well, hesitated for a long time, and then earnestly comforted her younger sister, saying, "In any case, it's good that you're alive. There might still be a chance for things to turn around. His Majesty and the Empress are both magnanimous rulers. Eldest sister was the one sacrificed by the Jia family. No one loves her; she only receives pity..."

Tan Chun fiddled with the bamboo tube in her hand, and then recalled the words Yue Ling had said to her in the past.

All the research she is doing now is a kind of scientific research attempt. If one or two of them can be popularized to the public in the future, it will be a great merit to benefit the people and a great achievement for the court.

Everything Tan Chun did was arranged by Yue Ling, so she never had any selfish motives; she just wanted to help Yue Ling better.

Thinking of Yuan-chun's matter, Tan-chun couldn't help but mutter to herself, "If I really did something good, I wonder if I could get my sister out."

However, Tan Chun also understood that she alone could not complete the massive experiment. Yue Ling hoped that she could master these theoretical knowledge and become a supervisor in the future, leading a group of like-minded people to achieve something great.

The murmured words that slipped out were overheard by Xichun, causing her to sigh as well.

"Even if what Third Sister did was of great benefit to the Marquis and can be considered a great achievement, whether she can plead with the royal family depends on her status."

“If Third Sister were a commoner, or even a descendant of a disgraced official from the Jia family, to ask for imperial favor, it would be a pipe dream. However, if she were a concubine of the Dingguo Mansion, then things would be significantly different.”

Yingchun nodded repeatedly, "That's exactly right. If it weren't for the Marquis's presence, we would have been completely helpless."

The two looked at each other again. Tan Chun pointed at herself in surprise and said, "You two have been making things up, and in the end, you've just sold me out." Xi Chun said, "Third Sister is the closest to the Marquis among us. If it's not Third Sister, who else could it be?"

Yingchun nodded repeatedly, but her speech was even less fluent than Xichun's. Xichun was too young to be suitable, so this important task could only fall on Tanchun.

It actually sounded quite fitting, elevating Tan Chun's status and leaving her speechless.

After a moment of silence, Tan Chun recalled Qin Keqing's method of dealing with the situation.

Since I can't back down, then let's explode, and nobody can back down either.

Thinking of this, he put down the object in his hand, went to the bed curtains, and looked around.

This scene made Yingchun and Xichun wary, and they huddled closer to the bed.

"Third sister, what are you doing?"

Tan Chun didn't reply at all, but instead put her hand on one of the shoulders and said with a half-smile, "Since you just said that the three of us are always inseparable, practically eating at the same table and sleeping in the same bed, why don't we all marry the Marquis as his concubines, thus fulfilling our sisterly bond, and without favoritism?"

"We'll get married together, and we'll enter the bridal chamber together, so we won't have to be separated. What do you think?"

Yingchun and Xichun blushed together and spat out, "Pah! How shameless!"

……

Ministry of Justice

In the prison cell, Chai Pu, who also served as Minister of Justice, was no longer the tepid man he used to be. He was now full of energy, flipping through old documents with a furrowed brow.

The case files consist of numerous old cases that Yue Ling encountered starting from his time in the capital.

After witnessing Yue Ling's resume firsthand, Chai Pu truly realized what a legendary life he had experienced over the past decade.

While in the capital, he discovered the secrets hidden by Prince Kang and from then on he was wary of Prince Kang's residence, thus gaining fame at Xuanwu Gate.

He then traveled south to solve many cases, sweeping away the powerful clans of Jiangnan, who are now struggling to regain their former prominence.

On his way back north, he also solved the fireworks case. It can be said that he had no free time along the way, and people lost their heads as he passed by.

When Chai Pu saw the name of Ji Qing, the prefectural magistrate of Cangzhou, on the list of prisoners, his pupils contracted and lingered on those two words for a long time.

"Old Chai, there's news."

Ji Bin, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, strode over, stood to one side of the long table, and bowed his head to say, "According to the Ministry of Personnel, not long ago, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding completed his term and came to the capital. Before that, he was stationed in Datong Town and had dealings with many people."

“Since arriving in the capital, he has been awaiting appointment, but his behavior is secretive. He has not stayed at the Shi residence and has even had disagreements with the Marquis of Baoling. I think he may have some unspeakable secret.”

Chai Pu slowly came to his senses, looked up and stared directly at Yue Ling, asking, "Has he ever had any dealings with Yue Ling?"

Ji Bin nodded repeatedly, “Yes. First, when Yue Ling was serving as an imperial censor, he went south to Cangzhou, and I accompanied him as a military supervisor. Second, Shi Xiangyun, the eldest daughter of the Shi family, was also a concubine in Yue Ling’s household. She became acquainted with the current Princess Xiaoxiang in Yue Ling’s household before she was six years old.”

"Before the New Year, Shi Xiangyun stayed at the Shi residence, but it was right after the New Year that Shi Ding received a transfer order and went to the Dingguo residence. At first, I thought it was to attend the wedding of the Duke of Dingguo, but now, seeing Shi Ding's actions, perhaps the two are not coincidental."

Chai Pu pondered and said, "Shi Ding is a veteran who has been tempered on the frontier for many years. He is a rare talent among the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, but he has a special temperament and is not close to Shui Rong and others. Yet he gets along so well with Yue Ling."

Ji Bin replied, "I'm afraid it's due to the influence of the late Duke Rong. After all, the late Duke Rong was honest and upright throughout his life, and he even had a life-or-death friendship with Yue Ling."

"Moreover, during his tenure in Datong, he was never close to us, and I'm afraid he has relevant evidence of crimes in his possession."

Chai Pu couldn't contain himself and asked directly, "Have you found out where he lives? We can't let this kind of person stay in the capital any longer, and we can't let him collude with the Duke of Dingguo's mansion."

Ji Bin looked worried and asked, "We've found out. It's in Baofang Hutong near Dongpailou, and the inn they're staying at is called Yinyue Inn. The inn is in a remote location and not very crowded, but it's still in the inner city. Wouldn't it be too risky to act rashly?"

Chai Pu closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and sighed, "Now is not the time to worry too much. Are we going to wait until the Duke of Dingguo investigates before we take action?"

"Or are you now afraid that the Duke of Dingguo will come after you?"

Ji Bin shook his head repeatedly, "It still needs to be decided by the adults."

Chai Pu nodded. "Go down. You don't need to worry about this anymore."

Ji Bin had just turned around, but before he could even take a step, Chai Pu stood up and asked again, "Wait a minute."

"Does the master have any further instructions?"

Chai Pu stroked his beard, picked up the documents on the table, pointed at them, and asked, "Do you remember this Prefect of Cangzhou, Ji Qing? Is he a member of your clan?"

"Ji Qing? Does he have any official rank or background?"

Chai Pu shook his head and said, "I did not come from the imperial examination system."

Ji Bin recalled carefully and said, "Among the families whose social standing had declined, quite a few donated money to become local minor officials in order to gain a reputation. Up to the position of Tongpan (assistant prefect), it was not very common. I think I have heard this name before."

"I will return to my residence and consult the family genealogy before giving you a definitive answer, sir."

Chai Pu waved his hand and said, "Then there's no need to investigate. If it's someone from your clan, I'm afraid the Duke of Dingguo has already set his sights on your Ji family. Send a letter back to Jinzhong and behave yourself, or you'll be in trouble."

Ji Bin listened without understanding and walked out of the cell in a daze.

Chai Pu raised his eyebrows again and paced back and forth in front of the desk.

"It's chaotic, getting more and more chaotic. Just how far has the Duke of Dingguo gone in his investigation? He spends all his time relaxing in his mansion without making a single move."

"Furthermore, Shui Rong has given some of his confidants to the Second Prince. Could it be that he has truly pledged allegiance to the Second Prince? But in my opinion, neither the First Prince nor the Second Prince possesses the aura of an emperor. Perhaps he should try to befriend the Third Prince?"

"On the day of the Duke of Dingguo's wedding, the Third Prince sat next to Shui Rong. The Third Prince stayed at home and did not come out, as if he was valued by the cunning and treacherous Shui Rong."

"If things don't go well, it's time to meet with Shui Rong again to discuss how to join forces against the Duke of Dingguo..."

(End of this chapter)