Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 21: Little Rich Lady Lin Daiyu
Yue Ling washed his hands, came into the room, sat next to Lin Daiyu, and asked, "Well, where?"

Lin Daiyu nodded obediently, "What does 'gentlemen are concerned with righteousness, while villains are concerned with profit' mean here?"

He looked at the book carefully and found it was a passage from the Analects. He answered calmly, "What a person learns depends on what he is used to, and what he is used to depends on what he aspires to. If one's aspiration is righteousness and what he is used to is righteousness, he should be a gentleman; if one's aspiration is profit and what he is used to is profit, he should be a villain. The meaning of this passage is that before reading, one should clearly discern one's aspiration and know why one is reading."

“Why study?”

Lin Daiyu repeated it and looked at Yue Ling's profile.

Yue Ling nodded, "Most people study for the purpose of taking the imperial examinations, and most of them take the imperial examinations for the purpose of becoming an official. When they become officials, they only think about the money. That's why there are so many people who listen to the advice of the saints but are still corrupt officials."

Lin Daiyu asked curiously, "Brother Yue seems to have a lot of insights into the classics, do you also want to take the imperial examination?"

Turning his head to look at Lin Daiyu's bright eyes, Yue Ling couldn't help but rub her head again, "That's not the case. To be precise, before that, I hadn't thought about what I wanted to do."

Looking at the small courtyard outside the window, Yue Ling said, "However, I have an idea right now. We should buy a house in the inner city first. It is really not very convenient for us to live here."

Lin Daiyu really likes this place. It is quiet and no one disturbs her. People live close to each other and can take care of each other, which makes her feel at ease.

“I don’t think it’s inconvenient.”

Yue Ling rubbed his palms again and said with emotion: "Well, it will be difficult to decide for a while. It is not easy to find a house in the capital with a good location and a suitable price. It is never easy to buy a house in the capital."

Lin Daiyu looked up and asked in confusion, "Brother Yue, are you short of money?"

Then he turned to Xueyan and said, "I remember that when Dad sent us here, he packed some money with us, saying that we should keep it for future use. If it's not enough, we should send a letter back to let them know."

Xueyan nodded repeatedly, "Remember, I'll get it right away."

Soon, Xueyan dragged out a dusty wooden box from under the bed, cleaned it, and put it on the table in front of Yue Ling. When she opened it, she saw bundles of silver bills and several ingots of cash.

Xueyan counted them casually, "There should be more than 30,000 taels here."

"Thirty thousand taels?" Yue Ling secretly complained, "My salary is only forty taels a month, and it was granted by the King of Qin."

If we compare it with the prices of goods in this world, a dou of rice (more than ten catties) is only two hundred coins, and a catty of meat is only thirty coins. The courtyard they live in now is worth at most ten taels of silver. Buying a larger house with three courtyards would cost at most a few thousand taels.

"She's actually a little rich woman?"

Lin Daiyu blinked her eyes and pushed the wooden box in front of Yue Ling. "If Brother Yue needs silver, just take it. If these are not enough, I will write to Dad."

Hearing that he had to write to Lin Ruhai for it, Yue Ling couldn't help coughing a few times and hurriedly said, "No, no."

After sealing the wooden box tightly, Yue Ling cleared his throat, turned his face to Lin Daiyu, and said, "There is too much silver here. It is not safe to leave it to you two little kids to look after. I will keep it for you first. When you grow up, I will give it to you. Don't worry, I won't touch a penny in it."

Lin Daiyu said, "It doesn't matter if Brother Yue moves."

Yue Ling thought to himself: "Okay, stop testing the cadres."

Sighing, Yue Ling picked up the wooden box and said, "If you need money in the future, just tell me directly. I'll put these in the room first, and then come back to teach you to read seriously."

"it is good."

Looking at Yue Ling's back as he walked out, Lin Daiyu asked Xiang Xueyan softly, "Xueyan, do you think I am helping Brother Yue?"

Xueyan frowned and thought for a while, then shook her head and said, "It shouldn't count. After all, General Yue just said that he would not touch the silver in it, but would just keep it for the young lady, and would return it to her when she grows up. So it seems that the young lady has troubled General Yue again."

Lin Daiyu nodded slightly, "That makes sense. Alas, I have been causing trouble for Brother Yue all day long."...

Not long after, Yue Ling came back.

This time when he taught again, he was quite attentive.

He and Lin Daiyu sat at the same long desk, flipping through the same sutra, writing and drawing on paper, and seemed to be in perfect harmony.

Xueyan was waiting on the side, grinding ink, adding tea, or fanning herself, staring in a daze at the warm and harmonious scene in front of her.

My mind flashed, and it seemed as if I was back in Yangzhou Prefecture. When the girl was four years old, she was taught by the master, and it was no different from now.

After reading for many days, the three of them became closer.

Xueyan couldn't help but sigh that General Yue was really omnipotent and could handle everything. From food, supplies, to medicinal diet, reading, everything was under his control, and sometimes he could even teach the girls some strange postures called "exercises" to exercise their bodies.

The girl's complexion is much better than before.

Not only that, but considering the girl's mood, he hung a swing in the yard, so that the girl is now willing to go out, sit under the shade of the tree, swing on the swing, and no longer sit in the room all day sighing.

All the changes came from General Yue's meticulous care, which was so considerate as if he had lost something before.

Suddenly, there was a hurried knock on the door, interrupting the peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in the room.

Having lived here for over a month without anyone visiting, Lin Daiyu and Xueyan inevitably became nervous.

Yue Ling comforted him, "I'll go open the door, you guys just stay in the room."

After saying that, Yue Ling came to the courtyard, removed the bolt, and saw a guard from the Prince of Qin's mansion sweating profusely in anxiety.

Seeing Yue Ling, he hurriedly bowed and saluted, "General, something happened in the Nine Borders, and the King of Qin asked you to return to the palace to discuss matters."

Yue Ling's expression suddenly became serious, and he whispered, "Okay, I understand. Wait a moment."

After returning to the room, Yue Ling smiled again and said, "You two stay at home. I'm going out on business. If I can't come back at night, Xueyan, you can cook some food for Sister Lin, and don't forget to boil the medicine."

Lin Daiyu looked worried and asked in a low voice, "Brother Yue, is there any danger?"

Yue Ling smiled and said, “Not yet.”

He rubbed Lin Daiyu's head again and said, "Be obedient and wait at home. Maybe I will be back before dinner."

……

Qin Palace,
As soon as he entered the main gate, Yue Ling felt a solemn atmosphere. All the outsiders were cleared out, and all along the way were the royal guards holding spears.

When Yue Ling walked past the guards, they all nodded to him solemnly. Yue Ling knew that something big had happened.

When they arrived in the hall, they saw that all the capable officials in the palace were sitting below the King of Qin, arguing about something with red faces.

Yue Ling found an empty seat and sat down...

(End of this chapter)