The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 33: The Satanic Rival

It was a clear September morning, with sunlight slanting across the water.

The branches on both sides of the canal were still covered with night dew, the breeze was gentle on the river, and the sky was exceptionally clear and transparent blue.

It's another beautiful morning.

At the dressing table by the cabin window, Zijuan was behind Lin Daiyu, drying her hair with a silk scarf. The hair looked darker and shinier wrapped in the scarf. The maids in the cabin carried out buckets of warm water.

Lin Daiyu is a slender and thin girl.

She was wearing a simple, plain white long brocade gown with plum blossoms embroidered on it, extending from the hem of her skirt to her waist.

Because her hair was not completely dry, Lin Daiyu could only wait.

Waiting so boring.

Finally, she placed her hands on the tabletop of the dressing table and put her little face on it. Just then, a beam of sunlight shone through the window onto her face.

The light hair on her face was clearly visible. Not only was she not ugly, but she was revealing a fair, delicate and exquisite face. She was not made up, her face was fair with a rosy complexion, and her slightly thin lips were the finishing touch.

A little more or less would not make her look so beautiful. Lin Daiyu didn't realize it, and she didn't know what she was thinking about, but her face became puffed up again. Zijuan behind her was stunned.

Growing up with her own young lady, Zijuan always thought that her young lady was the best.

The lady always manages to charm people when they least expect it.

Every gesture is natural.

Perfect and natural.

Others can't learn it.

Zijuan was not envious, she was just fascinated by it.

"Uncle got off the boat secretly." Lin Daiyu knew that if she didn't say it, Zijuan wouldn't ask. Finally, she couldn't help but tell Zijuan that she saw Wang Xin getting off the boat at the window just now.

"General Wang might have something to do. How can he take the young lady with him every day?"

Zijuan explained.

"You were bribed by him too, weren't you?"

Lin Daiyu deliberately stared at the mirror, but the Lin Daiyu in the mirror was not fierce at all.

Zijuan smiled and said, "Yesterday, the maids not only told the young lady, but also asked General Wang not to take the young lady off the ship. After all, this is the capital, and General Wang can't do anything about it."

Lin Daiyu sighed.

How could she not know it, but she was just a little reluctant. These days, she seemed to have been happy all the time, as if the child had done something bad, making her feel uneasy.

How can people be happy all the time? Isn't that a luxury?

"Forget it, ignore him."

"Anyway, after arriving in the capital, he will definitely be busy with his own affairs. How can he care about little girls like us? Just forget about it. I am not related to him."

"General Wang is the young lady's uncle."

"What uncle? He's not a proper elder, and I'm not his proper junior. Why should we beg him to take care of us and make him annoyed with us?"

Zijuan was speechless.

The young lady was not like this before, just a little bit. But General Wang liked to speak in a sarcastic tone, and the young lady learned all of his tricks in one go. Zijuan was speechless. Since the young lady had said so, what else could she say?

The journey, which was originally supposed to take more than a month, ended up taking nearly two months.

Wang Xin counted his money.

I really did my best to serve the Wang family army. I didn't take a single cent. Everyone followed the rules. Officers received double the money, and I didn't have much to spend. Over the past year, the military pay plus bonuses totaled nearly 100 taels.

I had a lot of fun along the way, but my money was spent quickly.

Half of it was spent.

There are less than fifty taels left.

He didn't know if fifty taels was enough to rent a house in the capital. After entering the capital, Wang Xin also began to calm down.

Encourage Lin Daiyu to fight for her position in the Jia family, instead of asking her to compete.

You still have to have the proper sense of propriety.

He went to the dock and bought a chicken, had someone slaughter it and clean the internal organs. Wang Xin took the chicken wrapped in lotus leaves back home, lit the stove, and started to stew chicken soup.

The aroma of chicken soup soon filled the cabin.

"What a nice smell! What's that smell?" "It sounds like chicken soup."

Zijuan said uncertainly.

The maids on the boat had rules for doing things and cooked according to the time. Only one person did not follow the time and did whatever she wanted. Lin Daiyu's eyes lit up.

"He is back."

After saying that, she stood up and walked towards Wang Xin. Zijuan had just finished combing her hair and was still holding the comb in her hand.

Seeing the young lady like this, Zijuan was helpless.

Who was being sarcastic just now? In the end, I had no choice but to follow him.

"You got off the boat to buy chicken?"

The door was not closed, and Lin Daiyu walked in without knocking.

Lin Daiyu's voice was easy to recognize. Wang Xin knew Lin Daiyu was coming without even turning his head. She was a dog-nosed person. As soon as he took out the stove and started cooking, no matter what it was, the food would come to him in a short while.

But this time Wang Xin really cooked it specially for Lin Daiyu.

"Sit down, I have something to tell you."

Wang Xin was fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

Lin Daiyu was stunned again, feeling something was wrong, but she was obedient and did not argue. She just sat quietly aside.

"The Jia family has strict rules, and I can't do anything about it."

"But, when you were in the Jia Mansion, remember that there was an uncle named Wang Xin. No matter when or what the situation was, your uncle Wang Xin would always take care of you. This is my promise to your father."

"I tell you this just to make you understand. Your father often said that he regretted you had no brothers, and that's why he couldn't let you go. As for me, I'm neither a good person nor a bad person. Lord Lin has done me a favor, and I will repay him."

"I made chicken soup today. You should drink plenty of it. We'll be in Beijing in two days. When you get back to the Jia Mansion, remember to eat plenty of food, drink plenty of water, and walk around more."

Wang Xin told Lin Daiyu some good ways to maintain health.

Lin Daiyu turned and left.

He walked to the door, turned around and held it open, and said in a clear voice, "If you want to repay a favor, go and repay it to your Lord Lin. Why bother to mess with me? I have done you no favors. I have no brothers, so I don't need your pity."

When Zijuan arrived, she saw Lin Daiyu leaving angrily and looked at Wang Xin in confusion.

Wang Xin was stunned.

She went crazy no matter what she did.

"Did you offend the young lady?"

"Why would I mess with her?"

"The young lady left in anger."

"She's not angry or your lady?"

Zijuan felt that what Wang Xin said made a lot of sense and she had nothing to say. General Wang was so sarcastic that he could sometimes make people so angry that they almost died. Fortunately, the young lady was not there. If the young lady had heard what he said, she would probably have been angry for a long time.

Although Lin Daiyu left in anger, Wang Xin didn't think it was a big deal and thought he would be fine after a while.

Zijuan thinks so too.

Lin Daiyu ended up lying on her dressing table, crying intermittently all night long. She even woke up from her dreams crying. Only then did Zijuan become moved and advised her seriously, "Miss, General Wang was just joking with you. Why are you taking it so seriously today?"

Lin Daiyu shook her head.

The next day, his eyes were swollen like peaches. He didn't dare go out to see anyone. He planned to have a good talk with Wang Xin the next day.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth.

We arrived in the capital that day.

The people in the Jia family had already arranged sedan chairs and luggage carts. After waiting for several days, Lin Daiyu was hesitant to speak. The stewards and wives of the Jia family were very efficient and would not allow outsiders to see their girls. They also asked the servants to draw the curtains.

After getting on the sedan chair, Lin Daiyu listened to the noise outside from time to time, but she never heard Wang Xin's voice again.

"Sister Lin."

"Sister Lin, you are finally back."

When Jia Baoyu learned that Lin Daiyu had returned, he was so happy that he was incoherent. When Lin Daiyu saw Jia Baoyu, she bit her lip and nodded slightly, with a trace of sadness on her face, which made people feel pity for her.

Jia Baoyu was already stunned.

(End of this chapter)