Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 61 Good Girl

"Well, what's going on?"

Lin Daiyu leaned on the bench, looking at the two maids, one big and one small, standing in front of her, and her brows furrowed repeatedly.

Compared to Xueyan's confusion, Zijuan seemed even more at a loss. She clenched the hem of her skirt with both hands, causing some wrinkles, and whispered, "No, nothing happened."

Lin Daiyu's eyes widened immediately. "How stupid do you think I am? Can't you see that you are hiding something from me? Can't we even talk to each other from the heart? Do we have to keep some secrets?"

Seeing that Lin Daiyu had misunderstood her, Zijuan waved her hands and explained, "No, young lady, it's not like that."

Her face flushed again, and Zijuan looked at Xueyan and said, "I can't tell you, young lady, let Xueyan speak first."

Seeing Zijuan's hesitation, Lin Daiyu lost some of her patience and turned to Xueyan and asked, "Tell me, what's going on?"

"Ah? I don't know?"

Xueyan looked at Lin Daiyu, then at Zijuan, and became more confused.

Zijuan tugged at Xueyan's sleeve and whispered, "The young lady is asking you about your crime, why are you still pretending to be ignorant? You still don't know that you slept in General Yue's room last night."

Xueyan's big eyes flickered as she answered frankly, "Yes, the girl asked me to go last night."

"what?"

It was Zijuan's turn to be confused by this sentence, and she glanced at Lin Daiyu secretly.

Hearing this, Lin Daiyu asked anxiously, "What? You went to sleep in Brother Yue's room last night? When did I allow you to go?"

"It was last night. The girl asked me to squeeze into another room."

"I said you and Zijuan should squeeze together!"

Xueyan lowered her head and said aggrievedly, "It was too late at night, I was dazed, maybe I heard it wrongly."

"But don't worry, young lady. I just slept. When it was dawn, General Yue was not in the room. I didn't do anything."

Lin Daiyu was so embarrassed and angry at these words that she threw her handkerchief on Xueyan's head and said, "Stop talking now! You're really going to dirty someone's ears!"

After a while, Lin Daiyu stroked her cheek and found that the temperature was gradually cooling down. Then she spoke again, "When Brother Yue comes back today, go to his room and tell him about his grievances. Brother Yue works hard every day, and you still disturb him at night."

"Also, you have no shame. You are such a grown-up girl, but you still sleep on the same couch with Brother Yue. Are you really not going to get married in the future?"

Seeing that Lin Daiyu was not really angry, Xueyan smiled, moved closer to Lin Daiyu's legs, rubbed her face against hers, and said coquettishly: "If the young lady doesn't want to marry, of course I won't marry either. I will serve the young lady every day."

Seeing Xueyan's shameless appearance, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but smile and said, "Okay, okay, I made a mistake this time, but I won't do it again next time."

The three little girls resolved their misunderstandings and became friends again.

Xueyan went to the outer room to clean, while Zijuan was in the room making tea for Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu looked out through the moon-shaped window. A gust of wind blew, and the withered and yellow leaves on the treetops were blown down. They danced in the air, and after a few breaths, they fell on the swing and on the muddy ground.

The cries of wild geese echoed in the air, reminding Lin Daiyu of her worries. "Brother Yue has been gone for quite a long time today. Could it be that he has encountered some difficulties?"

……

Xuanwu Gate,
Yue Ling mounted his horse and returned to the palace with the King of Qin.

"Your Highness, I saw Prince Kang also went into the palace. Did Your Highness meet him?"

The King of Qin looked worried and said, "Not only did he meet him, but he was in my mother's bedroom, and he will host a banquet for me in a few days."

"this is not?"

The King of Qin nodded, "Hongmen Banquet." "Then Your Highness is going too?"

The King of Qin thought for a moment, "King Kang just opened his heart to me because he wanted to improve the relationship between the two governments. Hosting a banquet to entertain him may also be a good intention. If it really turns into a Hongmen Banquet, it will be a loss of righteousness. Even if he finally ascends the throne, his foundation will definitely not be solid."

Hearing this, Yue Ling wanted to persuade him again. The eternal mystery left by the candlelight and axe sound of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty did not affect his accession to the throne. The current victory or defeat is the most important thing, and history will be left to future generations to judge.

But on second thought, the King of Qin was not a time traveler after all, and he could not agree with him.

Yue Ling said: "Then Your Highness should make all possible preparations."

The King of Qin laughed heartily and said, "Of course. I am really afraid that he will change his mind and stop causing trouble. Otherwise, how can I have a legitimate reason to eliminate this hidden danger and how can I pay tribute to the soldiers of the King of Qin's Palace?"

"In ancient times, Guan Gong went to a banquet alone with a sword. Can the Kangwang Mansion be compared with the army of the Eastern Wu? Even if he really has swordsmen and axemen behind his tent, I will not be afraid of him!"

With a clang, the King of Qin drew out the sword from his waist, pointed it to the sky, raised his eyebrows and said, "The country should be ruled by the capable. I will not trust the people to his hands. Even if he uses sinister and cunning means, I will not retreat even a bit!"

The autumn rain was getting heavier and heavier on the streets, and there were few pedestrians passing by.

The raindrops hitting the two men's hats sounded like the beating of drums, boosting the morale of the King of Qin.

If there were any meritorious officials from the Qin Wang's party present at this moment, they would certainly be excited by the Qin Wang's impassioned speech. However, Yue Ling remained much calmer at the moment, even though he was a minister in the Qin Wang's palace.

"Yue Ling, I will go with you two to the banquet on that day."

"As ordered."

……

"General Yue, I'm safe."

Zijuan lowered her head and saluted Yue Ling, which was less restrained than in the early morning.

After Yue Ling entered the room, she helped him take off his hat and used a silk scarf to wipe the water droplets that had not yet fallen off his body.

"Ah, Zijuan, I can do it myself."

Zijuan shook her head and said, "I am the maid in this room. This is my job. General Yue, there is no need to refuse. Come and sit here."

Zijuan took out an embroidered mat, helped Yue Ling to sit down, then squatted on the ground and took off Yue Ling's muddy court boots.

There was a mixture of sweat and dirt. Yue Ling could smell it even when he was sitting there. He felt really bad about being served like this by a little girl.

"Just leave it there, I'll do it myself."

Zijuan didn't frown, she just shook her head lightly, "No need, General Yue is busy outside, how can he do these things? I'll take these boots and brush them, and put them on the fire to warm them up so they'll be easier to wear."

"Let Xueyan fetch some water to wash General Yue's feet. I'm going to leave now."

Holding Yue Ling's boots, Zijuan bowed to Yue Ling hesitantly again, "I misunderstood General Yue this morning. I knew what kind of person General Yue was. I was wrong."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "These are all trivial matters. Thank you for your hard work."

Zijuan nodded slightly, breathed a sigh of relief, opened the door, and went to the laundry room under the eaves to avoid the rain.

Soon, Xueyan, hearing the noise, came out.

She looked at Yue Ling inquisitively, fetched the hot water and wooden bucket from the room, and poured the water while testing the temperature with her hands, while muttering to Yue Ling: "Last night, the girl didn't ask me to disturb General Yue's room. I made a mistake."

Yue Ling rubbed Xueyan's head and comforted her: "It's not your fault, it's just a small matter."

　Thanks to Self-Questioning, Book Friend 20210303114331258, Wu Shanhe, Bi'an Tingfeng, Mo Zhihuan, I don’t know what to name it so let it be, Book Friend 20230726448, Hei Xiu O_O, Feng Yi Yanyu, Thanks to Book Friend 20230726448 for the reward, Thanks to everyone for the recommendation votes, Thanks for the support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)