Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 44: Second Attack on Rongguo Mansion

Yue Ling frowned, feeling unhappy. "Is it a courier? I have to sign for it myself. It's just a letter. Why do you have to send it directly? Why do you have to let a servant pass on a message? It's really a waste of time."

Curling his lips, Yue Ling said, "Let him in."

Seeing that Yue Ling was unhappy, Jia Yun and Ni Er took their leave and left first. The next person to come in was the Rongguo Mansion's accountant and housekeeper, the well-known Lin Zhixiao.

But now that he had come to Yue Ling's courtyard, he still had to step forward with his head lowered and said in a gentle voice, "General Yue, a letter from Master Lin in the south was delivered to the mansion, so he hoped that Miss Lin could come back to the mansion."

Yue Ling rebuked, "Why didn't you just send it here, but asked Daiyu to go instead?"

Everyone in Rongguo Mansion knew that Yue Ling was not easy to deal with. Apart from Lin Zhixiao who worked hard without complaint, no one else was willing to take on this difficult task. Lin Zhixiao had already prepared himself mentally, and grinned again, "The old lady missed the young lady, and wanted to take this opportunity to bring her into the mansion to see her. But don't worry, she is not asking Miss Lin to stay there overnight, she has also invited General Yue to go with her."

"Oh?"

There have been many unpleasant things between Yue Ling and the Rongguo Mansion, and now they have the audacity to invite him. Are they trying to mend the relationship between them, or do they have other intentions?
"Is this what the second master of the mansion meant, or is it Old Lady Shi?"

Lin Zhixiao said hurriedly: "It's the old lady's idea."

Yue Ling nodded and said, "Wait here, I'll go to the room and ask."

After saying that, Yue Ling turned around and went into the room, knocked on the door and walked into Lin Daiyu's small room.

At that time, Lin Daiyu tied her hair with an ivory headband, wore a satin lining, a gauze top, and a royal blue pleated skirt. Her little feet were swinging back and forth as she was happily flipping through a book.

Seeing Yue Ling coming in, he smiled and looked over, tilting his head and asked, "Brother Yue, what's wrong? Do you want to eat some fruits?"

"Eat fruits? Where are they?"

Xueyan, who was lying lazily on the bed, suddenly turned over and sat up, looking at Yue Ling eagerly.

Yue Ling suppressed the corners of his mouth that were about to rise, and said calmly: "No, the housekeeper of Rongguo Mansion came to pass on a message that Lord Lin from Yangzhou Prefecture has sent a letter. Old Lady Shi wants you to visit her mansion. Do you want to go?"

Lin Daiyu had many bad memories left in the mansion, and she was reluctant to leave. However, she hesitated and said, "Go ahead, please."

Yue Ling saw her tangle and comforted her: "If you don't want to go, I can go get it."

Thinking about the many conflicts she had with the Jia family, including the last time she beat Baoyu in the courtyard, the Rongguo Mansion must be dissatisfied with Yue Ling, so as to prevent Yue Ling from arguing with the Rongguo Mansion again, Lin Daiyu hurriedly said, "No need, no need. I have been in Beijing for half a year, and I should go to pay my respects to my grandmother. Otherwise, people will think I don't know etiquette."

Yue Ling asked again in confusion: "Half a year, you haven't sent a letter home? Didn't the letter tell you where you live now?"

Lin Daiyu thought about it carefully, and then her cheeks slowly turned red all the way to her ears.

After a while, he stammered, "I...seem to have forgotten."

Yue Ling seemed to suddenly realize something, scratched his head, and said awkwardly: "I thought you had sent it, so I didn't write to Lord Lin. It's been half a year, and it's really wrong not to write a letter. Well, I'll accompany you to Rongguo Mansion first."

Xueyan rolled her eyes.

Not only did she have no fruit to eat, but she also had to go to Rongguo Mansion, which she also disliked.

Lin Daiyu was surprised and asked, "Brother Yue, are you going too?"

Yue Ling nodded repeatedly, "Of course, the mansion also invited me."

"Invite you?!"...

Rongxitang,
There were many people gathered in the hall at this moment, and they were not all from the Jia family.

In addition to Jia She and Jia Zheng in the West Palace and Jia Zhen in the East Palace, there are also Wang Ziteng and Wang Zisheng, the commanders of the Wang family, and Shi Nai, the historian in the Baolinghou Mansion.

Now that three of the four major families in Jinling have arrived, it can be said that the scene is quite lively.

Everyone sat at the table and talked about family matters.

Wang Ziteng, the second master of the Wang family, currently works in the Ministry of War. He has thick eyebrows on his face, copper bell-sized eyes, a beard like a halberd, and a rough face. At this moment, he laughed heartily and said, "Shi Nai, this time your third brother went to the Nine Frontiers with the Fuguo family, and got an assignment. Now you don't have to worry about the Shi family anymore."

The Shi family has two marquises. Although they are not as wealthy as the Jia family, they are not an ordinary family.

But he has only had a title but no real job, so the Shi family has been much more low-key in their work. And now, the third master of the Shi family, Shi Ding, is going to the border to command the troops, which is indeed a rare good thing for the Shi family.

Shi Nai was serious and sighed, "Third brother got this title from the King of Qin. He suffered a lot following the King of Qin in his campaigns. At the moment, it is probably because of the King of Qin that he was able to get this assignment. We don't know how to thank him."

Hearing about the Prince of Qin, Wang Ziteng also continued: "Now, the drama of the battle for the throne is no longer suspenseful. His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin will definitely move into the East Palace. The good days of your Shi family are still to come, but it will be difficult for us."

Wang Ziteng's younger brother Wang Zisheng also said: "The Xue family in Jinling sent a message that the pillar of the Xue family is gone, leaving only a widowed mother and a pair of children. As for Xue Pan, forget it, it's better not to say anything, life is getting harder and harder."

Aunt Xue is Madam Wang's sister, and the sister of Wang Ziteng and Wang Zisheng. Since ancient times, the maternal uncle is the most important. When talking about Xue Pan, Wang Ziteng was also full of anger, "That good-for-nothing was spoiled by them. I said to bring him to the military camp for a few years of training, but they were reluctant to let him go. Now he only knows how to bully men and women and do ridiculous things!"

When talking about the useless younger generations in the family, Jia She and Jia Zheng were both speechless. They raised their teacups and sipped the tea to hide their embarrassment.

After a moment, Wang Ziteng sighed again: "It's good that the old master is okay. If the old master is still alive, there will be no big problem. Enhou, Cunzhou, both of you tell me the truth, how is the old master?"

When his name was called, he could not avoid it. Jia She shook his head and said, "He is hanging on for dear life and cannot come back."

"Have you negotiated with the Northern Barbarians? Even if you use some silver to redeem them, that's fine."

Jia She also sighed, "They don't want money."

"Well, that's difficult."

After a few words, the atmosphere in the room became depressing again. Jia Zheng hurriedly stepped out to smooth things over, saying, "We gathered together to come up with some countermeasures. The person we invited to the banquet today is Yue Ling, the commander-in-chief of the Prince of Qin's Palace. Let's test the waters of the Prince of Qin's Palace."

"Yue Ling?" Wang Ziteng repeated, "I've heard so many people mention this guy these days that my ears are almost callused. Is he really capable?"

Jia She said, "We'll know in a moment."

……

A carriage with green tents and blue gauze stopped under the hanging flower gate, the curtain was raised, and a young man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, looking majestic and awe-inspiring, walked out.

A voice in the car called out: "Brother Yue, please remember what you promised me."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "Well, don't worry, you should take good care of yourself. If you are wronged, don't bear it, let Xueyan come to find me outside."

There was another slight hum in the car, and it continued to drive into the second gate.

　Thanks for reading!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)