The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 205 No match for Lin Daiyu
"Lin Daiyu, Lin Daiyu."

Jia Baoyu trotted to Xiaoxiang Pavilion, ignoring the beautiful scene of a handful of green shadows falling from the bamboo tips. In the past, Xiaoxiang Pavilion, where Lin Daiyu lived, was a place where every scene and object could make people fascinated. But today, he had some exciting news to tell Lin Daiyu.

They went there but found nothing. "Where did Lin Daiyu go?"

Jia Baoyu asked anxiously, and the maids of Xiaoxiang Pavilion smiled and told him, "You all went out to play, and Miss Lin is alone in the garden, so she must have gone to find someone else to play with."

Hearing the maids' words, Jia Baoyu asked, puzzled, "That's strange. None of the sisters are here. Who did Lin Daiyu go to?" Jia Baoyu couldn't figure it out, since the young ladies of the manor had left with their maids.

"And Ping'er and Qingwen too."

"Ah, you went to Tubishan Manor?"

Jia Baoyu was greatly surprised.

Wang Xin left long ago, and he's probably back by now. Wouldn't he just happen to run into Lin Daiyu? What good would a delicate person like Lin Daiyu have to talk to a rude brute? He wouldn't bully her, would he?

Jia Baoyu wished he could go to the Convex Jade Mountain Villa right now, but when he thought of his father, he lost his spirit.

Wang Xin actually dared to argue with his uncle; he was incredibly bold. Yet, his father accompanied him as he left. Although his father did this to save face—after all, Wang Xin was a guest invited by his uncle, and his uncle couldn't go too far—with his father's company, outsiders wouldn't easily see through their conflict.

Jia Baoyu was unwilling to put his mind to this, but he was really clever and came up with an idea in no time.

Even so, it proves Wang Xin's importance in his father's heart. Oh well, that man is the kind of person who repays kindness; Lin Daiyu's family has done him a great favor, so he probably wouldn't dare to act recklessly.

After careful consideration, Jia Baoyu left dejectedly.

The maids were used to this, and some even smiled and tried to persuade Jia Baoyu to stay. Normally, Jia Baoyu would have readily agreed to stay, but today he was simply not in the mood, and the longer he stayed, the more annoyed he would become.

Lin Daiyu went to Tubi Villa early in the morning with Zijuan and Xueyan. Ping'er and Qingwen joined them, and they chatted about their private matters in the room. Time passed quickly, and just as they were talking, Wang Xin returned.

Everyone except Xueyan sensed something was wrong.

Ping'er got up to greet them, Qingwen went to pour tea, and Wang Xin rode back and forth on horseback. Although it wasn't far, the dust was considerable. It was difficult to see trees in or around the city, and one had to go two or three miles away to cut firewood.

"You're here too." Wang Xin looked surprised to see Lin Daiyu, but quickly broke into a smile.

Lin Daiyu sat there with a half-smile, seemingly still angry about what had happened earlier. She was quite temperamental. Wang Xin laughed and said, "You saw your uncle and didn't even greet him. You have no manners at all."

The more this happened, the more Wang Xin wanted to tease him.

Lin Daiyu was amused and said instead, "I won't provoke you today, I'll let you off this time."

When Wang Xin entered the room, he looked unhappy. Lin Daiyu saw this, and given that she was visiting the Wang family, there was no reason for her to return halfway. There must have been some unpleasantness. Although she found it unbelievable, it had already happened, so Lin Daiyu chose to give in gently.

Given Lin Daiyu's character, her gentle and tolerant nature was almost overwhelming, and Wang Xin felt much better.

It would be different if someone else were here. Lin Daiyu has her own style, and she knows herself well; she's truly a clever girl. Ping'er took out a silk handkerchief and wiped Wang Xin's face, asking with concern, "Are you alright?"

It was no secret that Ping'er had followed Wang Xin, but everyone avoided talking about it.

Upon seeing Ping'er's actions, Xueyan instinctively covered her eyes, while Zijuan's eyes widened in surprise. Ping'er had never been like this before; how could she have changed? Qingwen, on the other hand, seemed unfazed.

The old women in the village said that Ping'er was completely conquered by Xinye, so she didn't care about anything else. In fact, this is when a woman is happiest.

Qingwen didn't understand what the mothers-in-law were saying, but she vaguely felt that it was true when they said that this was the happiest time for Ping'er. Ping'er had always been sensible in her actions, but now she didn't even care about being sensible anymore. Didn't that say something?

With his affair with Wang Ziteng, Xue Pan and Jia Baoyu present, and Jia Zheng leaving early as many servants had witnessed, Wang Xin said indifferently, "I had a bit of an unpleasant experience with Lord Wang, so I came back first. Lord Jia accompanied me back because he's had too many days off lately. Since I left the Wang family early, I might as well go to the yamen to take my shift."

Faced with the conflict between himself and Wang Ziteng, Jia Zheng was at a loss and did not know how to deal with it, so he remained neutral and went to the yamen (government office).

After hearing Wang Xin's explanation, Ping'er was startled, while Qingwen and the others were alright. Ping'er didn't know what to say, and finally Lin Daiyu asked with concern, "Is it alright to you?"

"It's alright." Wang Xin shook his head and then laughed, "At worst, I can go back to Jinling and continue following your father. To be honest, I really want to go back to Jinling."

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes and felt relieved.

As for what he said after that, Lin Daiyu didn't take it seriously. Since he said it was alright, how could he possibly go back to Jinling? It was just a joke; he had no seriousness at all, and he kept making her call him "uncle" every day. What kind of elder was he?

Wang Xin's nonchalant attitude relieved the girls, though they were still somewhat worried.

These were none other than Ping'er and Qingwen; he was also quite familiar with Zijuan and Xueyan, having traveled to the capital together by boat before, and he had bought them many trinkets. Wang Xin sat down at the round table in the outer room, showing concern for Lin Daiyu, and asked, "How have you been eating lately?"

Lin Daiyu ignored Wang Xin, and Wang Xin didn't ask Zijuan either, but went straight to Xueyan: "Your young lady hasn't been eating much lately, has she?"

“Who said that?” Xueyan immediately retorted, “My daughter eats very well, she just doesn’t like to move. I remember everything that Master Xin told me to do.”

"Hehe." Amused by Xueyan's innocent and silly appearance, Wang Xin gave her a thumbs up and praised, "Xueyan has grown up and become smarter."

Xueyan smiled happily when praised.

Wang Xin then looked at Lin Daiyu, adopting the attitude of an elder uncle. Lin Daiyu knew that Wang Xin was about to nag her, so she deliberately avoided looking at him, holding a silk handkerchief in her hand. She had a slender figure, a face as beautiful as a lotus, and eyebrows as exquisite as a painting.

"Would you like to sit down?" Wang Xin glanced at her, then immediately looked away, not daring to look any longer, and asked to cover it up with his words.

"I wouldn't dare sit there."

Lin Daiyu was speaking seriously, but her cheeks were naturally etched with sorrow, and she was plagued by illness. Her eyes were glistening with tears, and her breath was soft and gentle. When she was still, she was like a beautiful flower reflected in water; when she moved, she was like a willow swaying in the breeze. What was clearly a playful remark came out as a coquettish expression.

Wang Xin believed in nature; beauty is beauty, and ugliness is ugliness. The notion that beauty and ugliness are the same is nonsense. However, people have emotions, and the beauty they appreciate includes not only appearance but also character.

Some people may not be beautiful, but they can be dignified, lively, clever, manipulative, innocent, naive, kind, or talented, and they are all attractive in their own way.

But when it came to Lin Daiyu, Wang Xin could only describe her with one word—beautiful.

As expected of Lin Daiyu, just looking at her face is enough to make people swoon, even young noblemen cannot escape her charm, not to mention her character. Every word she utters is captivating, and together they have an irresistible power.

Although it wasn't the first time they'd met, each time it was stunning. Wang Xin sighed, "I may not be your proper uncle, but I would never harm you. You heard right."

If Wang Xin had used a different tone, Lin Daiyu wouldn't have cared. But hearing Wang Xin sigh, she wondered if he was admitting defeat. Lin Daiyu couldn't help but say, "It's just that we haven't been together much these past few days, haven't we? We've been busy with your affairs."

Wang Xin laughed and said, "There's no rush. You're just being greedy, yet you're trying to cling to me."

"This person can't speak properly," Lin Daiyu sneered. "If I'm slow, you'll say, 'So this is it? All that cleverness and quick wit you usually show was fake, just something you used to argue with.'"

"Pfft."

"cluck"

The girls laughed so hard they couldn't stand up. Xueyan even laughed so hard she made a goose-like sound, because Miss Lin's imitation was so perfect, just like what Master Xin had said.

Wang Xin was speechless. He used to be able to out-argue Lin Daiyu, but Lin Daiyu had gotten used to his own way of doing things, and he couldn't quite keep up with her anymore. What could he do? Wang Xin could only grin awkwardly.

Lin Daiyu widened her eyes and glared at Wang Xin.
-
Jia Zheng rode in a sedan chair, feeling troubled.

They had thought Wang Xin's reputation was rising, and even the Ministry of Works was beginning to hear his name, but who knew things would escalate to this point? What happened to them? Thinking of the matter of Prince Yizhong, the Ningguo Mansion almost perished, and the Rongguo Mansion was also implicated. Prince Teng had finally risen to power, but he was too domineering.

Being assertive was one thing, but at least they preserved a lot of their foundation. Their eldest daughter married into the palace, and under Lin Ruhai's schemes, their relationship with the emperor became increasingly stable.

I really hope things stay the same forever, and that everything goes smoothly until the day the emperor takes over the reins of power.

But Prince Teng was unwilling to give up. He also wanted to curry favor with the emperor and hoped that in the new emperor's reign, he could not only keep his position but also rise to a higher level. Therefore, he offered the position of military governor of the capital garrison from the Jia family as a pledge of loyalty.

He should have been on the Emperor Emeritus's side, while the Ningguo Mansion remained unchanged, continuing down the old path of the nobility. Otherwise, too many changes in the Ningguo Mansion could easily cause the Emperor Emeritus to be dissatisfied with the old affairs, leading to another upheaval.

Instead, he betrayed the retired emperor, or to put it bluntly, he betrayed him halfway through his journey.

Learn from the old master of Ningguo Mansion.

At that time, the Jia family was very grand and powerful, but after its downfall, for the sake of the family, the old master of Ningguo Mansion immediately became a monk and devoted himself to spiritual practice for decades, giving up wealth and honor as soon as he said he would.

What about Wang Ziteng?

Driven by self-interest, he completely disregarded the overall situation, botched things up, and refused to take responsibility, instead trying to use Wang Xin to salvage the situation.

If he were in the Emperor's shoes, he should have committed suicide on the way back to the capital. Death would have ended the matter, and the Emperor Emeritus wouldn't have pursued the matter further. Even if he hadn't died, at least Wang Xin had caught the Emperor Emeritus's eye.

If Wang Xin were to be labeled as Lin Ruhai's man and considered by the court to belong to Lin Ruhai, then given Lin Ruhai's current extraordinary status, it would benefit the four great families, Wang Xin, the court, Lin Ruhai, and even the emperor. Yet, Wang Ziteng still wants to make a comeback.

Jia Zheng couldn't understand how Wang Ziteng, who used to be so intelligent, could have become like this. Would someone really grasp at straws when they're desperate?

"Master Zheng, Lord Chen has arrived," a minor official announced at the entrance of the jail.

Jia Zheng's thoughts were interrupted, and he quickly got up to greet him. It turned out to be Chen Yan, an assistant minister in the Ministry of War. Chen Yan had caught the eye of Grand Secretary Zhang and was now a favorite in the Ministry of War. Although he was only an assistant minister, everyone knew that he would definitely be promoted.

Jia Zheng dared not be negligent and took the initiative to cup his hands in greeting: "I did not know that Lord Chen was coming and did not come to greet you. Please forgive me."

"Lord Jia."

Chen Yan warmly took Jia Zheng's hand and said with a smile, "There's no need for us to be so polite."

Jia Zheng was pleased and said with a smile, "Please."

"please."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two entered Jia Zheng's cell and sat down on a bench against the wall. Jia Zheng ordered the servants outside to bring tea. Once everything was finished, the room finally quieted down.

Chen Yan put down his teacup. Jia Zheng knew it was time to get down to business, so he leaned forward and listened attentively.

“The matter of Wang Xin is not something the Ministry of War wants to obstruct. The Ministry of War has its own ideas, and it is not targeting Wang Xin. Please rest assured, Lord Jia. That’s why I’ve come here to explain.” Chen Yan got straight to the point.

Jia Zheng and Lu Zhongheng, the newly appointed Hanlin scholar, spearheaded the idea of ​​establishing an army in Datong, and those who were interested knew their intentions.

Who doesn't have selfish motives? Everyone has selfish motives when doing things. It's normal to have selfish motives; it would be abnormal not to have them. The important thing is whether things can be done. Jia Zheng and Lu Zhongheng's proposals clearly meet the needs of all parties, so this matter will definitely be approved unless there are unexpected circumstances.

"Does the Ministry of War intend to refuse?" Jia Zheng asked curiously.

Chen Yan quickly denied it.

Jia Zheng became increasingly curious. If that was the case, why not agree?

(End of this chapter)