Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 100 Forgot Daddy Again?

"Do you remember everything I said?"

In the hall, Lin Daiyu was sitting next to the tea table, while below, Zijuan and Xueyan were measuring Qin Keqing's body, preparing to make some suitable clothes for her.

Hearing Lin Daiyu's question, Qin Keqing nodded and said, "I remember everything. First go to the back room and watch them clean up the Buddhist hall, then lead the people who are supposed to work at noon into the garden to plant plum blossoms. Finally, I will reward each person with ten copper coins in the name of the master as a reward for hard work. In the afternoon, there will be new accounts for firewood, rice, oil and salt, which need to be recorded in front of the treasury, and then brought to Miss Lin for verification..."

Lin Daiyu said happily, "Sister looks smart, and indeed she is smart in handling things."

Turning to Xueyan, Lin Daiyu continued, "Recently, many people have sent gifts to your mansion. Ask the housekeeper Ni Er or Yun to get a list from the doorman and send it to me. I will make a copy for Brother Yue to keep. These gifts will have to be returned in the future."

"Sister Zijuan, go help Sister Ke'er get these clothes, two sets each for spring, summer, autumn and winter. Remember to use the same fabric as yours, which was awarded by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at that time."

Zijuan and Xueyan nodded in unison, "Girl, I understand."

After the two left, Lin Daiyu called Qin Keqing to sit next to her.

"Sister Ke'er, is there no one at home? You can bring your family members to the mansion."

Qin Keqing lowered her eyebrows and said, "It was my father who abandoned me."

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu's eyes darkened and she consoled him, "Forget it. If he doesn't recognize this relationship, then there's nothing to be nostalgic about. Just work hard in the mansion. The mansion is your home."

Qin Keqing nodded slightly.

"There is one more thing. I don't think my sister is a bully, but I still want to say it in advance. As Brother Yue's maid, you are superior to the maids, maids, and housekeepers in the mansion, but you should not order people around. Although they are servants in the mansion, their sons and husbands have worked hard for Brother Yue, and some even died on the battlefield. So, even I have to give them some leeway, do you understand?"

Qin Keqing nodded again.

Lin Daiyu continued, "Of course, if they don't obey you, you can come to me first. If they bully you, you can tell Brother Yue directly and send them out. There is no need to argue."

Lin Daiyu was so thoughtful in every aspect that Qin Keqing was secretly shocked. She had never taken care of anything in the mansion before, but Lin Daiyu, who was less than ten years old, was like the head housekeeper of the mansion. Qin Keqing had never expected this and could not help but secretly think, "Only a daughter of a marquisate like Miss Lin can call the shots in a wealthy family. I am just a girl from a small family. How dare I go to Ningguo Mansion to act like a big shot?"

“It’s a good idea to come here.”

After Qin Keqing left, Lin Daiyu sipped her tea and moistened her throat.

Thinking of Qin Keqing's tragic life, he couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, I am afraid that there are parents without affection, otherwise it is better to have no parents. Fortunately, even though my father has complicated official duties and is far away in Yangzhou, he always thinks about me."

"Eh?"

Lin Daiyu stood up immediately and said, "Oh no! I forgot to send the letter again this month!"

Thinking of this, Lin Daiyu hurried to her room to spread out paper and grind ink.

Qin Keqing came to the back room, where some maids were already cleaning.

"Mr. Qin Shun, have you heard about the escaped marriage in Ningguo Mansion?"

"How could I not have heard of it? That was the most sensational event yesterday. I heard that the master of Ningguo Mansion was so angry that he sent everyone out to look for it, but they couldn't find it after searching all night."

"That's right. Today, they have lost all their dignity and have directly hung up a warrant on the city gate tower as a missing person notice."

"Oh? There is such a thing? What does that girl look like?"

"She is very pretty, even if she were painted she would look extraordinary. It would be a mistake for her to marry into the Ningguo Mansion. She might as well come to our mansion."

Qin Shunjia spat and said, "You crazy woman, what are you doing here? Miss Lin is already in the mansion. In a few years, won't things be made clear?"

"Look at what you said. You can't compete with Miss Lin. Being a concubine is not bad. With that appearance, the baby you give birth to cannot be ugly..."

Qin Keqing, who was standing outside the door, trembled in her heart when she heard this. She raised her foot and then retracted it, not daring to step into the room.

At that moment, an old nanny's voice came from behind Qin Keqing.

"Hey, whose girl are you? Why do you look so strange?"

Still, she was discovered. Qin Keqing was in a dilemma and could only bite the bullet and answer, "I just came to the mansion yesterday, and now I am working as a maid in the master's room."

Qin Keqing unconsciously moved Yue Ling out first.

Sure enough, this was very effective. The old maid praised: "It turns out that this is the new girl in the master's room. Come in quickly. It's cold outside. It's not good to catch a cold."

Without any explanation, Qin Keqing was pulled into the room.

Seeing someone coming in, the maids in the room stopped what they were doing. The old maid introduced, "This is the new girl in the master's room. Her name is...Miss. What's your name?"

Qin Keqing lowered her head and whispered, "Just call me Ke'er."

The old lady nodded, "Yes, Miss Ke'er. What is the reason for Miss Ke'er to come here?"

When talking about business, Qin Keqing raised her head slightly and said, "Miss Lin asked me to come and see if we can clean up the Buddhist hall as soon as possible so that we can invite the Buddha into the mansion. There are many maids in the mansion who believe in Buddhism, so we can provide a place for everyone to worship Buddha and eat some vegetarian food."

The maids interjected and praised: "Ms. Lin is really thoughtful."

"That's right, Miss Lin is so smart at such a young age. What will she be like in the future?"

"Okay, stop chatting and do the job Miss Lin asked you to do first."

The old nanny said to Qin Keqing, "Miss Ke'er, go sit down and take a rest. We will be able to clean up in a few hours."

Qin Keqing nodded and said, "No hurry, it's still early, please be careful."

Seeing that Qin Keqing was as beautiful and kind-hearted as Lin Daiyu, the maids respected her even more.

After a while, the housekeeper's wife who had just been gossiping and another person from Qin Shun's family whispered, "Why do I feel that this girl looks familiar?"

"She looks familiar? Are you having trouble seeing? She's only been here for a day, and you already know her?"

"Qin Shun's family, I don't have the heart to joke with you, I really saw it somewhere, but I just can't remember it at the moment."

"Forget it. How could such a fairy-like girl come out of your village? It's hard for a morning glory to grow."

"Fairy?" The housekeeper's wife was reminded, and then she said in surprise: "It's her? It's her! It's her!"

Qin Shunjia asked in confusion: "Who is it?"

"That's the one, the one who ran away from marriage in Ningguo Mansion!"

"what?"

Although their voices were low, Qin Keqing was not far away. She could hear just a few words and understood their meaning. Her heart was beating like a drum.

"What should I do? Even the servants can recognize me. How can the master not recognize me when he comes back from going out? If I conceal my identity on purpose, won't they kick me out and leave it at that? Besides, there is Ningguo Mansion. That is the mansion of the Duke. Not everyone can afford to offend it. Besides, who would offend the Duke's Mansion for a liar?"

"If I could, I really don't want to leave here. Everyone is very peaceful and nice to each other. Miss Lin is very nice, and the master is also very nice."

"Ruizhu, Baozhu, how are you?"

A myriad of thoughts surged into Qin Keqing's mind, making her feel even more miserable. She silently shed two tears, and could only cover them with a handkerchief in front of everyone. ...

In the Privy Council's classroom,

Yue Ling took the document calmly and pretended not to hear it.

Lu Yuan stepped forward and said to comfort him: "Tongchen Yue, don't be upset with him. Tongchen Feng is still meticulous in his official duties, but he is a little paranoid."

Yue Ling also said: "No problem, I prefer to be straightforward. It's better to be rude in front of others than to be gossiped behind their backs."

Lu Yuan was slightly startled, but soon returned to his original position.

Yue Ling also took a seat and started doing his official duties for the first time.

He picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and flipped through the documents.

A stack of military information on the troop deployment of the twelve guards of Datong Prefecture, and a stack of defense maps of Zijing Pass.

Among them, Zijing Pass, as the first pass of the Inner Great Wall, is located at the intersection of Taihang Mountains and Yanshan Mountains.

After passing Zijing Pass, you can reach the capital directly, and there will be no more strategic locations to defend.

In order to prevent the war from spreading to the capital, the importance of this pass is self-evident.

However, due to the fact that the northern barbarians had not grown in size for many years and had failed to invade the hinterland, Zijing Pass was neglected and the defense became increasingly weak. It was only recently, due to the pressure from the northern barbarians, that it was found again as an important line of defense for the capital.

Yue Ling studied the map while looking at the structure of the pass. Based on the current situation reported in the document, he wondered how he would capture the pass if he were in his position.

Time flies, and as I thought about it, it was time to leave the government office.

When the gong in the yamen sounded, Yue Ling stood up and wanted to go home.

Lu Yuan asked, "Mr. Yue, have you reviewed all these documents?"

Yue Ling replied, "Almost. I'll come back tomorrow to write the approval document and hand it over to Lord Chai."

Feng Yu looked at him with disdain and said coldly, "As expected, you are a warrior. You don't even understand the principle of tomorrow and tomorrow."

I really thought he was Wang Ziteng.

Yue Ling turned around and asked with a smile, "In which year did Feng Tongchen pass the imperial examination?"

Feng Yu straightened his back and said proudly, "In the twelfth year of Yuanqing, how come?"

Yue Ling added: "Since Feng Tongqian is a Jinshi, his understanding of classics and historical texts must be deeper than mine. I have a question for you."

Feng Yu said disdainfully: "You, have you read classics? I haven't seen you write a single word all day, but you're just fiddling with a map. Do you think you can read?"

Yue Ling nodded, "Since I only know a little, I shouldn't be ashamed to ask."

Feng Yu frowned, thinking to himself, "What do you mean by 'not ashamed to ask questions from someone of a lower level'? How can I be considered inferior to someone of a lower level since I am a Jinshi? Forget it. Since you are a warrior, I won't argue with you if you use the wrong words."

"Well, what's the problem?"

Yue Ling said: "The classics and historical books are the classics of the saints, so the words in them are naturally correct, right?"

Feng Yu said calmly: "That's natural. How can the words of the saints be wrong? Otherwise, what are we learning?"

"Well, Mr. Feng, please listen to my questions."

Yue Ling took the map from the table and said, "The sage said that a country cannot be fortified by the dangers of mountains and rivers, and the world cannot be intimidated by the power of weapons. Then why do we need to repair this Zijing Pass and rely on the terrain to defend it in order to resist the northern barbarians?"

"Since the power of war is not enough to dominate the world, then is the invasion of the Northern Barbarians the reason why we did not treat them with benevolence?"

Hearing Yue Ling talking about Confucian classics, Feng Yu was shocked, and even Lu Yuan couldn't help but look over.

"Perhaps Mr. Feng will think that I am making a sophistry with this question. Then I have another question."

Feng Yu swallowed his saliva, knowing that the person coming was not friendly, "What?"

Yue Ling continued, "The sage said: Etiquette does not extend to common people, and punishment does not extend to officials. If common people do not have to follow complicated etiquette, and punishments cannot be imposed on officials, then how can it be that in our dynasty, the emperor is subject to the same punishment as common people when he breaks the law?"

"But if common people should not be excluded from the rituals, and punishments should not be interpreted as being heavier than those for the officials, then what is the purpose of the rituals? Harmony is the most important thing. Isn't this bottom line a bit too flexible?"

Yue Ling's mouth was like a string of cannonballs, and every word he uttered was like a cannonball hitting Feng Yu on the head, making his head swell.

Seeing that Feng Yu was speechless and couldn't come up with an answer for a long time, Yue Ling curled his lips and lost interest.

"Lord Lu, see you tomorrow."

After bowing, Yue Ling strode out.

After a long time, Feng Yu finally recovered some of his spirits. He lost his arrogance and whispered to Lu Yuan, "Lord Lu, I feel unwell today, so I will go home first."

Lu Yuan smiled awkwardly and consoled him: "Most likely Yue Tongqian was just joking, don't take it to heart."

Feng Yu nodded woodenly and dragged his feet out of the Privy Council gate.

……

After leaving the government office and exiting Xuande Gate, Yue Ling arrived at Zhuque Street. He turned east at the second alley and entered a small road, then passed by the East City Bingmasi government office.

This was the road he usually took when going to and from the imperial city.

I saw a group of people gathered in a circle outside the yamen, pointing at the notice board and talking non-stop.

Yue Ling passed by and took a look. Surprisingly, it was a person's head portrait in the first row, with a note below, "The eldest young lady of Ningguo Mansion is missing. Anyone who can provide clues will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver, and anyone who helps find her will be rewarded with 1,000 taels of silver."

"This is really Qin Keqing. If she hadn't met me, she would have been taken back to the mansion yesterday. If she was taken back to Ningguo Mansion, no matter how Jia Zhen treated her, she would have been in the wrong first, and the Qin family would definitely not care about her. She would have really fallen into a quagmire."

In this way, the ending is the same as in the book, and he dies in Tianxiang Tower.

Yue Ling thought for a while, "Well, if she wants to stay in the mansion, I don't have to kick her out."

With a disdainful look, Yue Ling muttered inwardly, "What kind of family is Ningguo Mansion that we cannot afford to offend? I wonder if he dares to come knocking on our door."

On his way home, he entered the mansion and heard Ni Er and Jia Yun greeting him outside the door. Then Yue Ling went straight into the room.

At that time, Lin Daiyu was flipping through books and practicing calligraphy in the hall, and Qin Keqing was beside her, chatting and laughing with her.

When she saw Yue Ling coming back, Qin Keqing stood up, bowed, and went out to get dinner.

Lin Daiyu waved to Yue Ling and asked, "Brother Yue, did your first day on duty at the government office go smoothly?"

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(End of this chapter)