The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 303 July 2
A flash of lightning illuminated the living room inside and out in a pale white, and the clock in the corner rang.

Lin Daiyu put down the book in her hand and took a glance. It was almost past the hour of Xu and it would be the second watch soon.

At this time, Amber came out from the inner room and said softly, "Miss, do you want to prepare some clothes for the Second Master to go out?"

Lin Daiyu stood up, walked to the window, and looked up at the dark sky outside.

Lightning flashed between the clouds and then bursts of muffled thunder rolled over from the distant sky.

Lin Daiyu spoke up: "No, your Second Master won't be going out for the time being."

Amber was puzzled, but didn't dare to ask more.

Lin Daiyu turned around and walked back to the chair and sat down, picked up the book, flipped through two pages, and put it down again.

There was a loud thunder and the rain outside was getting heavier.

Amber took out the teapot from a hollow ivory tea basket on the table, refilled Lin Daiyu's tea, and said softly, "Young lady, have some tea."

Lin Daiyu uttered "hmm", picked up the tea bowl and was about to drink, but seemed to hear some sound and turned to look outside the door.

A lantern floated over.

Amber's eyes lit up: "The Second Master is back." Just as she was about to go out to greet him, she suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu put down the tea bowl, stood up and went out to greet him.

Amber then walked over quickly and opened the Xiang curtain.

"It's windy outside, be careful not to catch a cold." Li Hu handed the oil coat to the old woman, wiped the rain off his face, and walked in with Lin Daiyu in his arms.

Li Hu sat down on the chair, picked up the bowl of tea and drank it down with gulps.

Lin Daiyu took the towel handed over by Amber and wiped the rain off Li Hu's face, while asking, "How is it, is Second Uncle okay?"

"The White Lotus Sect is launching riots in Henan Prefecture, Ruzhou, Xuzhou, and Chenzhou Prefecture. Kaifeng is still safe for the time being."

Li Hu put down the tea bowl and motioned to Amber to refill his tea. He continued, "Things are a bit tricky. Why were the main forces of the patrol camps of these four prefectures and Guide Prefecture east of Kaifeng transferred to Kaifeng to repair the Yellow River dike?" At this point, he took the tea handed to him by Amber and took a sip. "I suspect Guide Prefecture has been lost, but the court has not received the news yet."

Lin Daiyu was shocked: "How is this possible?"

"Shui, ahem. If the White Lotus Sect wants to succeed, they must stop the first wave of the imperial court's 'encirclement and suppression'. As long as they can hold back the government troops from Xuzhou in the direction of Guide Prefecture, even if it's just for ten days or half a month, they will be halfway to success."

"But how could they possibly capture the city of Guide Prefecture?"

"The Central Plains has been peaceful for over a hundred years, and those old soldiers are worse than the disaster victims who were forced into a desperate situation, not to mention the crazy White Lotus Sect. In the battle at Heishui Valley, the patrol battalion I dispatched from various prefectures was defeated by the White Lotus Sect. You didn't see it, those White Lotus Sect members really don't care about their lives!"

"What did the palace say?"

"We will dispatch troops from several neighboring provinces to suppress the rebellion. In order to ensure the safety of the Luoyang arsenal, we will send an express delivery of 800 miles to Tongguan and dispatch elite troops to support Luoyang."

Lin Daiyu nodded. Dashun had arsenals in the capital and in local areas to store weapons and equipment. There were arsenals in important places such as Luoyang, Xuzhou, and Jinling. The Luoyang arsenal was designed to deal with possible riots in Shaanxi and Gansu.

Amber, who was standing silently at the side, finally couldn't help but said, "Second Master, you won't lead the troops to suppress the rebellion?"

Li Hu was stunned for a moment, "I won't get involved in those things."

Lin Daiyu heard this and sneered, "It's not your turn."

"You have such a big mouth!"

Li Hu laughed and pinched her cheek gently, "Hey, your face is getting rounder and rounder!" As he said that, he couldn't help but pinch it again.

"You're so annoying!" Lin Daiyu slapped Li Hu's hand away and said angrily, "How many times have I told you not to pinch my face?"

Li Hu: "Okay, okay, I'll just kiss you and not pinch you from now on."

Lin Daiyu was too lazy to pay attention to him and said to Hubo, "Send someone to bring the midnight snack."

Amber responded and walked out.

Li Hu smiled: "My sister still cares about me."

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes.

Li Hu: "Okay, no more jokes. Whether it was the Yellow River bursting its banks or the White Lotus riots, they were all planned and premeditated. They can't be quelled in a short time, and may even affect most of the Central Plains."

Lin Daiyu: "Will you lead the troops south?"

Li Hu shook his head: "The situation in Henan will gradually become clear in one or two months. I am afraid I can't wait until then."

Lin Daiyu was startled: "What happened?" Li Hu: "I always feel that something is going to happen in the north."

Lin Daiyu: "Will the Beijing camp be defeated?"

Li Hu shook his head again: "That's not the case. I suspect that the Beijing Army did not encounter the real main force of the Ulanqab League."

Influenced by Li Hu, Lin Daiyu would flip through military books when she had nothing to do. She also read the copy of the Beijing Camp’s military report and immediately understood: “They want to attack the Beijing Camp’s food supply route? They want to bring down the Beijing Camp!”

Li Hu sighed, "Let's not talk about these troubles. There will always be a way out. By the way, Jia Lian was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue and promoted to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, specifically responsible for Henan affairs. Jia Yucun was also promoted to the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhen Yingjia was promoted to the Minister of Rites."

Lin Daiyu smiled bitterly: "Feng girl is getting anxious again."

Li Hu curled his lips, "She deserves it. Jia Lian has complained about her jealousy more than once. Ping'er is just a name without status, and they can only get close to each other once a year, but she still nags and complains, looking for reasons to be unhappy. It would be fine if she was in good health. Jia Lian is not an easy person to deal with, and he has been rolling in the big dye vat of the Ministry of Personnel for nearly two years. He is no longer the Jia Lian who allowed her to control him. When Jia Lian's attitude towards her gradually becomes cold, then she will have a hard time."

After a pause, "The old lady can't help her."

Lin Daiyu nodded. Jia Lian was no longer under the control of the old lady. Although her filial piety could still suppress him, the old lady would never waste it on Wang Xifeng. If she wanted to keep her position as the second wife of Lian, she had to either get pregnant to prove that she was fine, or let Ping'er give birth to a son and register him under her name.

Li Hu suddenly remembered: "Wang is going to host a banquet and sing opera? The prince wants us to go."

Lin Daiyu was alarmed: "Why?"

Li Hu waved his hand and said, "When the day comes, we'll just have the feast and don't worry about anything else."

At this time, Amber called a few little girls to come in carrying food boxes.

Lin Daiyu: "Okay, let's eat."

An agricultural proverb says, "Early autumn brings chilly weather, while late autumn brings heat enough to kill cows." The fifth year in Yongchang was a late autumn, and the sun was still very hot, but there was already a slight chill in the wind.

At this time, a small homely stage was set up in Jia's mother's courtyard, on which was being performed the story of Yuchi Jingde in the Tang Dynasty who pretended to be crazy because he refused to lead the army to war. This story was commonly known as "Pretending to be Crazy".

Grandmother Jia set up several tables for family banquets in her upper room. Apart from Aunt Xue, Xue Baochai and Xue Baoqin, there were no outsiders.

No one can control Lady Jia now. Lady Wang can do whatever she wants to her. She is happy hiding in Rongqing Hall.

Shi Xiangyun put down her chopsticks, glanced at Grandmother Jia, then moved closer to Lin Daiyu and whispered, "Sister Lin, why isn't Brother-in-law Lin here to toast?"

Lin Daiyu still looked at the stage: "No."

Shi Xiangyun: "Busy?"

Lin Daiyu: "Busy." She was slightly startled and turned to look at Shi Xiangyun, "What's going on?"

Shi Xiangyun smiled and said, "I heard that the Western Yi people look like ghosts. Is that true?"

Lin Daiyu said unhappily, "I haven't seen it. Did you hear it from your uncle?"

Shi Xiangyun shook her head: "Baoyu said so."

Lin Daiyu said nothing and looked back at the stage.

Shi Xiangyun blinked her eyes and asked, "Sister Lin, are there any women among the Western barbarians that Brother-in-law Lin bought?"

Lin Daiyu: "I don't know, I haven't asked. By the way, it's hiring, not buying."

"Almost all of them are paid."

Shi Xiangyun held Lin Daiyu's hand and begged, "Sister, I have never seen what a Western Yi person looks like. If there is a Western Yi woman, please let me see her. Please~"

Lin Daiyu had no choice but to nod.

Shi Xiangyun asked again: "Has Brother-in-law Lin received the Western barbarians yet?"

Lin Daiyu: "It should be about the same."

"What do the Western Yi people eat?"

"do not know."

"What did the Western barbarian say?"

"Watch a show!"

"Oh"

(End of this chapter)