Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 116: Door-pushing Kill
At first glance, one could tell that the people who remained in the hall had been in the army for a long time, and many of them had scars on their faces.

At the right time, someone else asked, "Grand Commander, are you sure that Datong Prefecture cannot be defended? Niu Jizong and Shi Ding are not good-for-nothings. They have also made meritorious contributions with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Prince Zhongshun, who had remained silent the whole time, snorted coldly and said, "How can they resist the barbarians with just the two of them? The Grand Commander has foresight. It is unrealistic to place the hope of defeating the enemy on the children of the four kings and eight dukes."

Hearing this, the young men of the four kings and eight dukes in the hall all looked unhappy, but due to Prince Zhongshun's influence in the court, no one dared to argue with him.

Only the Jia family in the past could make King Zhongshun give way to them, but the Jia family today is no longer the same as it was in the past.

Yue Ling poured a cup of tea for King Zhongshun, sighed, and said, "It's not that I don't trust the abilities of those two, but they have already inherited a mess. King Kang is secretly communicating with the northern barbarians at the border. Even if they close the market now, Datong Town has been infiltrated like a sieve, and the effect will certainly be minimal."

"No matter how cautious we are, there are traitors inside the pass and powerful enemies outside the pass. It is too difficult to defend the city. Now we can only hope that they can hold the city firmly and hinder the progress of the northern barbarians to the south."

Prince Zhongshun also said: "Half of the Beijing troops have left the city, and the city defense needs to be re-arranged. It will take some time to incorporate the local thousand households into the city defense sequence. If the Grand Commander wants to use the capital as the place for the final battle, let alone whether the civil officials will agree, there is not enough time."

"So, this battle is not easy. The Grand Commander is right. If you want to use it to gain military honors and maintain your family lineage, it would be better for you to take your wife and cross the river to the south as soon as possible."

Everyone looked at each other, feeling that these two were being too arbitrary.

At the right time, the mighty general Feng Tang, who was sitting in the front row, said, "No matter what, we who stayed here today want to express our attitude to the Grand Commander. If a war breaks out, we are willing to go to the battlefield to fight the enemy. We also hope that the Grand Commander will not be prejudiced against us because of our background. This is a critical moment for survival, and we should defend the country that our ancestors built."

The lineage of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes cannot be full of fools, otherwise they would not be seen as a threat.

Yue Ling nodded and said, "Okay, I'll have my own considerations."

Afterwards, the descendants of the four kings and eight dukes all bowed to Yue Ling and left one by one.

In the hall, only Prince Zhongshun was left.

After taking a sip of tea to give Yue Ling some face, King Zhongshun asked again, "From what the Grand Commander said, it seems that you have already made up your mind on how to resist the northern barbarians."

Yue Ling nodded, then shook his head.

"what do you mean?"

Yue Ling sat back in the armchair again, "How can I tell the prince about this important military matter first?"

King Zhongshun frowned slightly, "You don't think I'm a spy of the Northern Barbarians, do you? To tell you the truth, I am one of the arms that Your Highness has found for you. When I heard that I would be working with a kid, I was naturally reluctant, but your performance just now was not bad, so I changed my mind."

"After passing the three inner passes, there is no place to defend. However, the walls of the capital are thick and higher than those of the border passes, so it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. I think you also want to hold the decisive battle at the foot of the capital. But most of these civil officials will not agree. They will not take risks, and they will not even shed blood for the court."

"Well, this is really a tricky matter. I have been thinking about it for a few days, but I am still not completely sure. That's all I have to say. See you in the council hall another day."

King Zhongshun stood up, shook his robes, and strode away.

Yue Ling had been seeing Prince Zhongshun off, thinking back to his words, and pondered, "It's not just this. The capital is only slightly better than Datong Prefecture. Who is the spy in the court? We haven't found it yet."

With a long sigh, Yue Ling turned back to the courtyard.

After a day of hard work, Yue Ling's body was a little sore, so he went to the bathroom first, planning to take a bath to relax.

She called Ruizhu and Zhuzhu to boil water, prepared all the bathing supplies, and then sent them away.

Although maids helped him with his daily washing and dressing, Yue Ling still did his bathing by himself.

Yue Ling knew that when the masters of other wealthy families took a bath, they would enjoy the services of a group of young girls, such as massaging their heads, rubbing their shoulders, feeding them, etc. Sometimes there would even be one sitting in the bathtub.

"Forget it, it's best to keep yourself quiet."

Yue Ling sat in the wooden barrel. A few flower petals floated on the water, emitting a faint fragrance that seemed to have a calming effect.

The water temperature was just right. Yue Ling rested his head on a cotton towel, leaned against the edge of the wooden barrel, closed his eyes and enjoyed this moment of leisure.

After a while, there was a knock on the door outside, and Yue Ling responded, "Okay, add some water."

After this instruction, a little maid came into the room and added water for Yue Ling.

Yue Ling had his eyes closed the whole time, and did not see who was coming. When the water stopped being added, he felt a small hand stirring in the water, and Yue Ling said again: "Okay, that's enough, let's go out. If it's late, tell Sister Lin not to wait for me for dinner, I'll take it to my room and eat it later."

Then the man replied, "General Yue, the young lady was a little tired today, and has already eaten and gone to bed."

When Yue Ling opened his eyes, he saw Zijuan standing by the bucket. The hot steam in the room wet her clothes and some water droplets were dripping from the ends of her hair.

Yue Ling was startled, his throat moved slightly, and he said, "Zijuan, why are you here?"

Zijuan blushed and walked around behind Yue Ling. "I saw the lights were on here, so I thought someone had forgotten. I knocked on the door and heard General Yue's voice."

Zijuan clenched her hands tightly in her sleeves and was extremely nervous.

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "Okay, thank you for your help. You should go back and rest first." "Okay."

Zijuan nodded softly, feeling a little disappointed.

When they lived in the small courtyard, she was responsible for many of Yue Ling's daily life. Now that they have moved into a big house, the two of them hardly speak to each other.

Just as he was about to go out, he heard another knock on the door, "Master, I'm coming in."

Upon hearing Ruizhu's voice, Yue Ling hurriedly said, "No, no, don't come in yet."

Ruizhu outside the door was very confused, "What's wrong, Master? It's time to add water."

"No need to add more, I'll wash it right away."

"Ah, I've already cooked it. No one in the room wants to wash, so it's a waste of firewood. Besides, the master always has to add water when he takes a bath. Could it be that you are not feeling well? Master, let me come in and take a look."

Zijuan was so anxious that she was at a loss. She pulled Yue Ling's arm, wanting him to think of a way to get Ruizhu away quickly. As Lin Daiyu's maid, if she was found here, she would be rumored to be so shameless that she would not be able to work in the mansion.

Yue Ling looked around. In this small bathroom, there was only half a screen to block the changing area, which obviously could not hide anyone.

Yue Ling had no choice but to say: "Then leave it at the door, I'll go get it."

But Ruizhu has already accepted Yue Ling's favor, and she will need the Yurong Powder in the future, so how could she allow Yue Ling to be polite to her over such a trivial matter?

"How can I let the master come to the door to fetch water? If Sister Keqing knew about this, she would definitely not forgive me. I'd better let the master have some."

Zijuan was stunned when she heard the sound of the door hinge turning. Yue Ling was quick to pull her into the bathtub.

There was a splash, accompanied by a scream, and water splashed all over the ground.

Ruizhu walked in puzzled and asked, "Master, what's going on?"

Yue Ling glanced at the dumbfounded Zijuan in the wooden barrel and said awkwardly, "I was just about to get up when you came in."

Ruizhu came closer with the wooden bucket and shook her head, saying, "That's not the case. Master, did you hear a woman screaming just now?"

Ruizhu said this while looking around suspiciously.

"How is that possible? You must have heard it wrong. You must have worked too hard today. You should go back and rest early."

After searching around and finding nothing unusual, Ruizhu nodded, "Maybe the master is right. I am really tired today. There are too many new things bought in the mansion, and many of them have been transported into the second gate."

Yue Ling forced a smile and continued, "Thank you for your hard work."

Turning back, Yue Ling saw Ruizhu had walked behind him. He hurriedly said, "Okay, leave the water here. I'll add more myself. A lot of water was spilled just now, so it's inconvenient for you to come over."

Hearing this, Ruizhu blushed and hurriedly threw the wooden barrel down, saying, "Okay, there are a few more barrels. I'll put them all here for the master."

"it is good."

Yue Ling and Zijuan in the bathtub stared at each other. The water had completely soaked her skirt, it was really unbearable to look at.

Yue Ling turned his head away, but his mind couldn't stop thinking about what happened on the first night he entered the mansion.

Ruizhu was carrying buckets of water back and forth behind me, and time seemed to be very long.

Finally, when Ruizhu finished her task and heard the sound of the door closing, Yue Ling let out a long sigh.

"Okay, Zijuan, come out."

Zijuan hugged her body, trembling slightly, "Master, I. Master, you..."

Yue Ling also realized that there was something wrong with his body. "I, this... let me explain."

……

The original purpose of taking a bath was to release stress and relieve a tired body, but who knew that by some strange coincidence, I would end up doing more harm than good.

In the next room, Yue Ling searched for some clothes and chose one from Zijuan before returning to the bathroom.

"Today...it's really hard for you again."

Zijuan took the clothes with a shy look on her face, as if the spring tide had not yet subsided. She blushed and said, "No, General Yue is overthinking. It's not difficult. In fact, I saw General Yue coming to bathe, and wanted to come over to say a few words to General Yue, but I didn't expect..."

Yue Ling did not blame the little girl for having some small thoughts, and still comforted her: "I am busy on weekdays and neglected you, but you don't have to worry. I will definitely not forget about you, I will tell Rongguo Mansion when the time is right."

(End of this chapter)