Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 519 Harvesting the Fruits
Back at Dingguo Mansion,
As the sedan curtain fell and she stepped onto the cobblestone path, Qingwen gently clutched her chest and let out a deep breath.

I don't know why she was so unlucky. She rarely went out, but every time she went out, she happened to run into Jia Baoyu.

Seeing his spineless appearance reminded Qingwen of her painful past.

I don't know if I was heartless or blind back then, but I actually defended him and spoke ill of Yue Ling.

Looking at them now, how can they be compared?

Especially since Qingwen had been with the Duke of Dingguo for a long time, there was none of the infighting and backstabbing of the Rongguo Mansion, nor were there any wicked servants who treated people differently based on their status. Despite her own willful nature, she had nowhere to cause trouble and was very successful in assimilating with others.

She lived a carefree life, doing what she loved and sharing the chores of caring for the master and mistress of the house. She was very content.

When she was taking care of Baoyu in the Rongguo Mansion, she did her best. However, several maids who used their looks to serve others bewitched Baoyu, and they ostracized her, who was the most innocent and untainted.

Even after the matter reached Lady Wang, who gave him a good scolding and forced him to leave the mansion with the blame, Baoyu remained unmoved and didn't even plead for him in person.

If it weren't for the lady's kindness, she would probably have been left to rot in the streets long ago.

"You're really blind! I wish I could slap myself a few times to wake myself up!"

Still unable to vent her anger at stepping in dog poop, Qingwen freed one hand and fiercely slapped it down on her own cheek.

With her eyes tightly closed, before the scrape even touched her face, her wrist was grabbed and she was immediately lifted up.

Qingwen innocently raised her head, only to find Yue Ling standing in front of her, looking at her with a suspicious expression.

"What's wrong with this? Why bother struggling with yourself?"

Qingwen has a somewhat extreme temperament and is prone to getting stuck on trivial matters. Even though Yue Ling hasn't had much contact with her, he understands this very well.

When he returned from his official duties, he saw her arguing with herself at the end of the corridor, so he walked closer and happened to witness the scene.

Caught red-handed by Yue Ling, Qingwen was at a loss and found it even more difficult to explain the situation to him.

“Back in the day, I was blinded by greed and spoke ill of my master behind his back. So now I’m going to teach myself a lesson for my gossipy nature.”

Qingwen could only mutter such thoughts to herself, unable to say them aloud. Faced with the situation, she could only lower her head awkwardly and murmur softly, "No, nothing, thank you for your care, sir."

Seeing the stark difference in her expression before and after, Yue Ling assumed she had suffered some injustice. However, noticing her reluctance to answer, he changed the subject, his gaze falling on the brocade box she was holding.

"What's that in your hand?"

Qingwen suddenly came to her senses and couldn't help but recall what Xue Baoqin had just said.

She is alone with the master now, and she is carrying such an object. If her sisters were to see her, wouldn't they misunderstand?

Looking around, there were maids and nannies walking back and forth in the corridor across the courtyard, but they were all focused on their own affairs and paid no attention to this side.

Even so, Qingwen's cheeks flushed without her noticing, and Xue Baoqin's seductive voice kept echoing in her mind.

"Are you trying to become my concubine?"

"I only gave myself to you because I love you, Lord Marquis..."

Qingwen shook her head sharply to clear her mind and forget the jumble of thoughts in her head, replying hastily, "Uh, uh, it's nothing..."

She hugged the brocade box even tighter, fearing that Yue Ling would misunderstand her as wanting to become a concubine.

In this situation, Qingwen only wanted to escape. Her peach blossom eyes darted around, constantly observing the surroundings.

Such a sight could not escape Yue Ling's notice.

Thinking that she might not feel comfortable speaking her mind in public, Yue Ling, out of concern, said, "I was just looking for you. Come with me."

"what?"

Qingwen innocently raised her eyes, not wanting to get too entangled, but little did she know she still couldn't escape.

"What, you don't want to come?"

Yue Ling turned around and asked, puzzled.

Qingwen shook her head repeatedly. She had already decided to repent, so how could she act like a mischievous devil and refuse Yue Ling's request?

"I will follow your instructions, sir."

The two walked one after the other along the covered walkway without exchanging a word, which attracted the attention of everyone they encountered.

Yue Ling also felt a bit awkward. Seeing Qingwen's aggrieved look, he thought he was mistreating her, as if he were parading her through the streets.

In order to conduct the interrogation better later, Yue Ling had to resort to old interrogation methods to ease the atmosphere between the two.

Looking back, Yue Ling sized him up.

Today, Qingwen wore a rose-red vest with peach blossom embroidery, a vermilion silk cross-collar jacket, and a matching silk pleated skirt.

The belt around her waist accentuated her slender waist and graceful figure.

Over the years, upon closer inspection, Qingwen has become even more radiant and beautiful than she was when she was just a budding flower.

With a little dust and mud on his feet, Yue Ling greeted him, "Judging from your attire, you must have just gone out?"

Qingwen nodded obsequiously, not daring to hide anything, and said, "I went to Fengzi House to look for the second young lady of the Xue family. It was for business."

"Business matters? Could it be that Baoqin made things difficult for you?"

Qingwen shook her head repeatedly, "No, no, Miss Qin is a very kind person. It's just..."

Qingwen bit her lip, but swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Yue Ling glanced back again, and seeing this, didn't press the matter further, turning forward and exiting through the ceremonial gate.

Following Yue Ling all the way to the outer study, Qingwen, unable to hide her feelings, felt as if her legs were filled with lead, and she could hardly take another step.

When Qingwen stood in front of the table, Yue Ling saw that she was still unconsciously clutching the brocade box tightly, and sighed helplessly, "Alright, put the thing you're holding on the table first."

"what?"

Qingwen looked up innocently.

"Don't you find it heavy to carry you all the time? I just heard bells ringing inside, they must be gold and silver utensils, right?"

"Well... not entirely."

After hesitating for a long time, Qingwen had no choice but to give in to Yue Ling's clear and unwavering gaze. "Alright, I'll do whatever Master says."

She raised her hand and handed over the brocade box that she had been protecting for so long, waiting for Yue Ling to ask her questions.

Yue Ling placed his hand on the brocade box, pressing it under his elbow, and looked up to ask, "There are only the two of us here. If you encounter any difficulties, just speak frankly. Why keep them to yourself?"

"With my wife keeping an eye on me, I don't think anyone will suffer any injustice."

Seeing that Lin Daiyu had been implicated, Qingwen had no choice but to clarify, "No, it has nothing to do with anyone. I just went out and met with Master Bao of the Rongguo Mansion..."

"Master Bao?"

Yue Ling was slightly puzzled, but upon careful reflection, he realized that he had completely forgotten about this person's existence at some point.

Why would you want to see him?

Yue Ling casually opened the lid of the brocade box, and his eyes widened at what he saw. No wonder Qingwen had been so hesitant outside, but was actually holding these "playthings".

Yue Ling's eyelids twitched slightly, and she asked incredulously, "What are you going to do with all this?"

"I……"

Qingwen's face flushed red; it was clear that Yue Ling had forgotten to instruct her to make these items.

For a moment, Qingwen didn't know where to begin her rebuttal, and stammered out a complete sentence.

"come here!"

Seeing Yue Ling's brows furrowed, several times more serious than before, Qingwen immediately fell silent and mechanically approached Yue Ling.

Then, the scene that Qingwen would never forget began.

Yue Ling lifted her chin and kissed her fiercely. "Kiss" wasn't quite the right word; the deep kiss felt like a tearing, demanding kiss.

Qingwen was immediately stunned and could only respond awkwardly. Her eyes gradually closed, with only her eyelashes trembling slightly.

After an unknown amount of time, Qingwen began to feel dizzy and her breathing became increasingly unsteady before she was finally able to escape.

When she opened her eyes, she didn't realize that cat ears were already on her head.

Yue Ling sneered, "Is this what you wanted? Well, that's quite suitable."

Qingwen was completely confused and explained, "No, no... Master, you misunderstood... Waaah."

However, Yue Ling's possessiveness had reached its peak, and his lips pressed against hers once again.

He allowed these young girls to play innocently and frolic in the mansion, but when they saw old friends outside the mansion, they found it hard to let go, which was unacceptable to Yue Ling.

Upon seeing Jia Baoyu, Qingwen would feel remorse and frustration, and punish herself in a secluded place.

Then Yue Ling had no choice but to create even more profound memories for her.

He put his arm around Qingwen's waist, felt for the knot, and gently lifted it. Her jacket fell apart, revealing a light pink diamond-shaped bodice with plain trim. At the bottom, there was an embroidered kitten chasing a butterfly, which complemented the cat ears on her head.

Unable to suppress his laughter, Yue Ling pulled Qingwen into his arms after they parted, and gently rubbed her delicate nose with his finger.

"Today, as you wish, I will make you forget the past!"

Yue Ling pulled a small tail out of the brocade box and carefully handed it over.

Qingwen's eyes widened immediately. She gripped Yue Ling's shoulders tightly with both hands and begged for mercy, "No, no, Master, you've misunderstood. It's not that I haven't forgotten Jia Baoyu, it's just that seeing him reminds me of my past self, and I hate that version of myself."

Faced with this cruel threat, Qingwen suddenly became much more eloquent. "Master, please spare me! I hate Jia Baoyu; seeing him is like stepping in dog poop—disgusting!"

"No, it wasn't for that. It's dirty, Master is dirty!"

With a pitiful scream, Qingwen was completely exhausted and collapsed onto Yue Ling.

Yue Ling seemed quite pleased with himself, picked her up, and carried her to the bed.

"It's too late."

Qingwen's eyes were filled with tears, like a pear blossom in the rain.

"Sir, I haven't done it yet..."

"rest assured……"

Then, there was a thunderstorm inside the house.

……

Chai Mansion

The lamp in the study was dim.

Chai Pu held a book in his hands, his eyes narrowed as he read it intently.

Suddenly, the candlelight flickered, and figures hurried along the corridor, their footsteps approaching from afar.

Ignoring the servants' attempts to stop him, the visitor even shouted at them to leave and rushed straight into the study.

He stood beneath the desk, panting heavily.

Chai Pu looked up at the person in front of him, his face full of disgust. "Everything is in a state of extreme emergency right now, what are you doing here?"

Ji Bin looked troubled, and even sitting down felt like sitting on pins and needles. He poured out his grievances, saying, "Yue Ling came to the Ministry of Justice to look for me today."

Chai Pu's expression softened slightly. "I went looking for you, and you managed to come back unharmed?"

"All right?"

Ji Bin said urgently, "He was practically holding the Emperor's Sword to my neck."

"Minister Chai, no matter what you say today or how you plan in the future, I can no longer trust you. I must, I absolutely must get Yue Ling out of here as soon as possible, otherwise, it won't be long before I'm already in jail!"

Chai Pu frowned slightly. "This is not something that can be rushed."

Ji Bin slammed his hand on the table and said, "Not in a hurry? How can we not be in a hurry? He has investigated the case of Tuji Khan's death. The case file is covered up in various places, and he has already seen through the clues. If he really finds the body and finds the real culprit, who can protect you? Can you even save your life?"

Upon hearing this, Chai Pu also thought the matter was quite troublesome.

Right now, everything is being done step by step, and there's no way to rush it.

Seeing that Chai Pu was deep in thought and seemed to be hesitating, Ji Bin quickly added, "Before Yue Ling left, he said he would give me a few days to find out the problem, otherwise he would definitely have to report to the Emperor."

"The Emperor's presence? That's the Emperor's presence! Who can argue with Yue Ling? Even if Yue Ling can't find out the truth, he'll still find me guilty of dereliction of duty, and I'll be severely punished, if not killed!"

"This is an ultimatum! If our preparation time cannot keep up with Yue Ling's investigation time, then all our plans will be in vain and die before they even begin!"

Chai Pu raised his hand and pressed the excited Ji Bin back into his seat, sighing, "The Second Prince was originally scheduled to set off next month, but he also plans to lead the vanguard cavalry out of the city. As for when they will set off, it has not yet been decided."

"The roster for troop deployment is now available, but the Ministry of Revenue has not yet fully prepared the provisions, supplies, and pay. If we want to advance the march, the first issue to resolve is the horses."

With a slight lift of his eyelids, Chai Pu asked, "Can you handle this? If so, then we and the Second Prince will be on the same page, and we can hold the grand ceremony to send out the generals in less than ten days."

Ji Bin hesitated and said, "Aren't we supporting the First Prince? If I were to sponsor the Second Prince's expedition now, wouldn't the First Prince think I'm playing both sides?"

Chai Pu sighed, "Your Highness is currently procuring military supplies and provisions for the Second Prince. Could it be that the First Prince is also wavering?"

“What Chai Xiang said…makes some sense.”

Seeing that he still had some concerns, Chai Pu comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, I will personally explain your difficulties to His Highness."

Now that there were no more worries, Ji Bin pondered for a moment and then said, "It's just a few hundred or a thousand horses; the Ji family can afford it."

After bowing and paying his respects, Ji Bin's face no longer showed the anxiety he had just displayed. He said sincerely, "I hope that Minister Chai can expedite this matter. I will take care of all the supplies and make up for them as a donation in the name of the Shanxi merchants."

Chai Pu nodded. "Alright."

After saying goodbye, Ji Bin left in a hurry.

Chai Pu had lost interest in reading ancient books. He looked up at the figures passing by outside the window and muttered to himself, "Fool, not worth discussing things with!"

(End of this chapter)