The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 307 News has arrived

After a night of heavy rain, the weather became much cooler.

Waves of silvery bell-like laughter echoed in the sky above the back garden.

There were three tables set in the waterside pavilion, and Nanny Wang and Feng were asking the maids and servants to set up the tables.

Li Hu leaned on the railing facing the lake, looking at the river connecting the New Lake and the Old Lake. Two small boats were slowly approaching.

Li Hu and Lin Daiyu are the hosts today and Jia's mother, Mrs. Xing, Aunt Xue, Jia Yingchun, Jia Tanchun, Jia Xichun, Shi Xiangyun, Xue Baochai, Xue Baoqin, Wang Xifeng and Jia Baoyu all came early in the morning.

The old women of Western Yi watched, appreciated the Western Yi dances, and listened to the Western Yi songs. Grandmother Jia was happy, and the group of people went for a stroll in the mountain again, then took a boat from Ao Jing Pavilion to the waterside pavilion for lunch. In the afternoon, they went to the theater to listen to an opera, and dinner was also served in the theater, where they ate and drank while listening to the opera.

Li Hu had no time to accompany them on the tour. He had just returned from the Ministry of War, and good news came from the Beijing camp. The army was advancing triumphantly all the way, winning battle after battle, capturing and killing more than 50,000 people, and shocking the southern grasslands of the desert, dealing a heavy blow to the Ulanqab League Coalition.

The war was going smoothly, but Li Hu became even more worried.

As for Henan, Zhang Cheng's secret letter arrived yesterday. Luoyang was lost, and Shui Rong got the weapons and equipment in the Luoyang arsenal. The Central Plains is really going to be in chaos. I don't know how the emperor will react when he knows about this.

"Brother-in-law Lin!" Shi Xiangyun's shout brought him back from his thoughts.

Li Hu looked up and saw Shi Xiangyun, who was sitting next to Lin Daiyu, waving at him.

This is just a silly girl with a lot of nerves. If outsiders saw this, they might think that something was going on between them.

Li Hu shook his head and suddenly remembered, hey, when we go to the opera later, she won't point at Ling Guan and say she looks like Lin Daiyu, right? Well, it shouldn't happen, they have a good relationship, good sisters, the kind that will last a lifetime.

"Second Brother Li!" Jia Baoyu, who was sitting next to Grandmother Jia, also waved at him.

Li Hu rolled his eyes. Shi Xiangyun just waved her hand, so forget it. Why are you joining in the fun?
Nanny Wang spoke up: "Second Master, shall we set the table now?"

Li Hu: "Set the table."

As they were talking, the boat was approaching the dock.

Li Hu went out to greet her and just in time caught Lin Daiyu getting off the boat, so he helped her off the boat.

The group entered the pavilion chatting and laughing.

At the top, Jia's mother sat at a table with Li Hu and Lin Daiyu, and Shi Xiangyun sat with her. Opposite, Mrs. Xing and Aunt Xue sat at a table with Jia Baoyu, accompanied by Wang Xifeng. Jia Yingchun and her three sisters sat at a table with Xue Baochai and Xue Baoqin.

Maids and old women came in one after another, and the food was served in an instant.

Looking at the big pot of rouge rice, Grandmother Jia sighed in her heart. In order to build the villa for the visit of imperial relatives, not only had the money in the public account of Rongguo Mansion been almost used up, but several farms and properties were also sold off. Among them was a farm that specialized in growing rouge rice. Nowadays, the rouge rice could be used to make hats, and there was no surplus at all.

However, Jia Mu also knew that it was only the public account that was poor. Both the first and second houses had money. The second house paid the majority of the money for the two banquets and operas, and then took a small part from the public account. As for the first house, it was okay to ask Jia She and Jia Lian to help entertain the guests, but it was impossible for them to pay.

Well, the project in the garden is about to be completed. At that time, according to the eldest brother's wishes, the Wang family's assistants who are in charge of the garden project will be punished. This year, they have embezzled a lot of money, and the money for the queen's visit next year will be enough.

Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia felt much more relieved.

Lin Daiyu took Jia Mu's bowl and filled it with rice, then put her hands in front of her. Then she took the empty bowl in front of Li Hu.

Shi Xiangyun spoke up: "Brother-in-law Lin, do you usually need Sister Lin to serve you food?"

Li Hu: "Why, do you want to serve me some food?"

When Shi Xiangyun heard this, her face immediately turned red, and then she glared at Li Hu fiercely.

Li Hu smiled smugly, "Little guy, can't I deal with you?"

Jia Baoyu came over and said with a smile: "Second Brother Li, when will you let those Western Yi women teach me?"

Shi Xiangyun: "Learn a foreign language."

Jia Baoyu: "Yes, learn foreign languages."

Li Hu almost laughed out loud, but quickly held back his laughter: "Do you really want to learn?"

Jia Baoyu nodded. Shi Xiangyun: "I want to learn too."

Jia Xichun also came over: "Brother-in-law Lin, Brother-in-law Lin, I want to learn too."

Li Hu held his forehead with his hand, thinking about what happened.

He thought about it and felt that they were just in a whim, so he said, "Let's talk about it later." As he was talking, he suddenly remembered, "Hey, the second wife really didn't come?"

After hearing this, Mrs. Xing couldn't help laughing. When she saw Lady Jia looking at her, she immediately lowered her head.

Shi Xiangyun smiled and said, "How come you came if you didn't invite them?"

Jia Baoyu just opened his mouth but no sound came out.

At this time, Jia Tanchun came over and said with a smile: "The second wife has gone to the palace."

Li Hu: "Oh? Can she enter the palace now?"

Jia Baoyu then spoke: "It was my elder sister who asked for the order."

Li Hu nodded without thinking much about it.

On the other side, Aunt Xue gave Xue Baochai a wink.

Xue Baochai understood, stood up and walked over, saying softly, "I heard from my brother before I came here that the manager of the antique shop found a fresh sturgeon from somewhere and a Siamese pig smoked with cypress as tribute from Siam. He said he would personally deliver it over this afternoon, and invite Master, the old lady, the first lady, Miss Lin and the girls to taste it."

Li Hu understood that this was a reminder to him. He looked at her with a smile and said, "Okay, I understand."

Xue Baochai did not avoid Li Hu's gaze and gave him a faint smile.

Seeing that the girls were all gathered around Li Hu, Jia's mother coughed and said, "If you have anything to say, let's talk after dinner."

Dinner is also being served here.

There was a round rosewood table in the third prince's bedroom, on which were placed only four dishes of home-cooked dishes and a bowl of clear soup.

The third prince was sitting there eating, and in front of him stood a sturdy man.

The Third Prince finished the food in his bowl, poured the clear soup into half a bowl, stirred it, and drank it down. Then he looked at the big man and asked, "Are you sure it's Shui-Yan?"

The big man: “Yes.”

The Third Prince was silent for a moment, then asked, "How many people does Shui Rong have now?"

The big man said, "In addition to the two or three thousand White Lotus followers under Shui Rong's command, there are also several hundred surrendered soldiers, who are capable of fighting. The rest are refugees who were taken away. The exact number is not clear, but it is estimated that there are tens of thousands of them who are escorting weapons and equipment looted from the Luoyang arsenal to Ruzhou." At this point, he suddenly remembered, "Shui Rong distributed all the weapons that he could not take away to the people in Luoyang City."

The third prince's eyes flashed. What a vicious plot! In the eyes of the Tongguan reinforcements, these civilians with weapons were rioters!
With a humph, the Third Prince said, "Go down and have a rest."

The big man said, “Yes.” He bowed and walked out.

At this moment, the butler hurried in and reported to the Third Prince: "Your Highness, I have checked it out. The rumor is true."

A cold light flashed in the eyes of the Third Prince, and he said in a cold voice: "Find them, kill them, and then put the blame on the Imperial Household Department. I want to see if the father and son will turn against each other!"

The butler winced: "Yes."

The Third Prince: "Press Wang Ren a little harder and make him surrender as soon as possible."

Butler: "Yes."

There was a sound of footsteps, followed by the voice of the guard: "Your Highness, there is an imperial decree from the palace, summoning Your Highness to the palace for a discussion. I heard that an urgent message came from Henan, and the Minister of War and the left and right assistant ministers were all summoned to the palace."

The third prince understood that news had arrived that Luoyang City had fallen!

(End of this chapter)