Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 65 Late arrival
"Stop him!"

Seeing that the thief was about to escape, Li Chen ordered the guards to step forward without hesitation.

When their master was attacked, these guards actually hesitated and instead of going forward to capture him, they moved even closer to Jia Baoyu.

They all had an air of "Master Bao is alright, everything is fine," which really annoyed Li Chen.

This Jia family is truly a case of the upper beam being crooked and the lower beam being crooked as well.

Even passersby couldn't help but murmur and boo when they saw it.

Li Chen looked down and saw that many earthenware pots had fallen to the ground in the chaos.

He then kicked into the crowd, causing pedestrians to scramble to avoid him.

"Watch out for that thief, he's armed!"

The thief, who had almost disappeared, was suddenly exposed to the public eye again.

"it is good!"

"This young lady has great courage!"

The onlookers all applauded and cheered.

The thief was both surprised and furious, and turned around to glare fiercely at Li Chen.

He truly underestimated this woman, repeatedly showing off his arrogance.

If the other person hadn't been a woman in both appearance and speech, he would have suspected that she was a man dressed as a woman, just like himself.

Now that he has lost the opportunity to escape, he is filled with regret.

Li Chen wanted to hurry and chase after him, but her long dress trailed on the ground, making it very inconvenient. She could only watch helplessly as the thief got further and further away from her, unable to do anything about it.

"In the end, it was all for naught. I didn't manage to solve this huge problem for my father! Where on earth did that cheap old man go on patrol?"

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves grew louder as they approached.

A burly man with a full beard swung his halberd through the air, catching the thief completely off guard. He and his dagger were sent flying several steps like a kite with a broken string before crashing heavily to the ground.

"Patrol officers, arrest the suspect! Bystanders, stand back!"

Marquis Li Chong of Zhenyuan, with a voice as loud as a bell, reined in his horse and stood still.

The surrounding area was taken aback.

Then dozens of soldiers filed out, captured the thief, and quickly tied him up like a dumpling, which then erupted into thunderous cheers.

"What amazing martial arts skills!"

Only then did Xiren and the others dare to surround Jia Baoyu, help him up from the ground, and offer their condolences and comfort.

"Sir! Are you alright? Were you frightened?"

Jia Baoyu's face paled, and his gaze darted guiltily towards the fierce and stern-looking Marquis Zhenyuan. He forced himself to say, "No, it's alright. I knew he was problematic... so I was prepared..."

Xue Baochai rushed to Li Chen's side, took his hand, and looked him over carefully. "Sister, you were too reckless just now! What if that thief, cornered, turned around and hurt you?"

Coming to her senses, Shi Xiangyun rushed forward and buried her face in Li Chen's arms, choking back tears as she said, "Sister Lin, thank you so much, thank you so much... otherwise I would have..."

"I'm fine, I'm alright."

Li Chen gently patted Shi Xiangyun's back, then joked with Xue Baochai, "We can't just watch him scratch Sister Yun's face. Sister Yun still wants to be a handsome young man, how can we let her face get hurt first?"

As he spoke, Li Chen stuffed the broken ivory fan into her palm.

"This fan has protected you from disaster today, so its merit is complete. Let's buy a new one another day."

Shi Xiangyun shook her head repeatedly, refusing to take the fan, and held onto Li Chen tightly.

Zijuan and Xueyan, who had gone to deliver the message, had just returned. They immediately went to their young lady's side, looked her up and down, and were filled with lingering fear.

At this moment, Marquis Zhenyuan dismounted and walked over, condescending to pay a respectful bow to Li Chen. "Young lady, you have excellent skills! You saw it clearly from afar just now. Today, you have captured this thief. You should be credited with the greatest merit."

He couldn't help but sigh again, "This villain has committed numerous evils and has been roaming freely in the capital for more than ten days, which has truly given us a headache."

"May I ask where the young lady's residence is located?"

Li Chen's lips twitched slightly, a strange feeling welling up inside him, but he still returned the greeting and said, "General, you flatter me. My daughter's surname is Lin, and my father is Lin Hai, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai."

"What? She's actually Lin Tanhua's daughter?"

Li Chong was shocked and carefully examined the frail girl in front of him.

That clean and efficient skill just now could not be achieved without two and a half years of training. Even my youngest son has been practicing for more than five years and has only just reached that level.

Thinking of his son, Li Chong was surprised to find that the fist techniques and body movements he had just witnessed did indeed look somewhat familiar.

"The Lin family has been a distinguished family for generations, yet they also practice martial arts for protection?"

Li Chong sighed inwardly, "It seems that my Zhenyuan Marquis family should study even harder, otherwise how will we compare with these aristocratic families in the future?"

Coming back to his senses, Li Chong thanked her repeatedly, "I am very grateful to Miss Lin for conveying my regards to Lord Jia."

"General Li, you flatter me."

As Xue Baochai watched the two exchange words, she felt a strange unease rising in her heart.

"So Lin Daiyu actually possesses such martial arts skills! I thought it was just a rumor when she caused such a scene at Sister Feng's place, but now it seems she does have some real talent. Perhaps it was for training her body?"

"In such a moment of urgency, such decisiveness and courage will surely earn the admiration of the Marquis of Zhenyuan, a general from a powerful family. In that so-called fair competition, wouldn't I be at a disadvantage?"

“The Xue family clearly has connections with the Zhenyuan Marquis’s residence, yet I couldn’t utter a single word just now… This…”

"My brother's business...should I take over and handle it more properly..."

Although he felt bad, seeing that Lin Daiyu looked quite well, he didn't have time to worry about it too much.

Shortly after, Li Wan and the others arrived.

He led everyone onto the large vehicle, and once everyone was seated, he began to inquire about the details.

Hearing the description, Sanchun and the others already felt extremely scared.

Seeing that Shi Xiangyun's cloak sleeves were torn, everyone was filled with fear and apprehension.

Fortunately, I was dressed warmly in winter, otherwise I would have really gotten injured.

But no matter what, the result is always good.

Li Wan breathed a sigh of relief. On this joyous day, she had almost become a sinner. She couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, "From now on, you must never be reckless. Lin Daiyu is of a pure and simple nature, but she shouldn't have chased after that thief herself. What if he had pushed you too far and taken you hostage?"

Before Li Chen could speak, Shi Xiangyun, who had been holding onto his arm tightly, quickly spoke up to defend him, "Sister-in-law, please don't blame my sister. She only came forward without hesitation because of me. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I'll go to Rongqing Hall in a little while to receive my punishment from the Ancestor."

"However, even if I accept the punishment, someone else has to share it!"

As she spoke, Shi Xiangyun glared fiercely at Jia Baoyu, who was sitting in the corner of the carriage.

"If someone hadn't provoked that thief for no reason, how could we have gotten into this mess today?"

Jia Baoyu, who had been sitting on pins and needles in the carriage, blushed even more at this remark. "Wasn't it...didn't they capture the thief in the end?"

"It can't be considered a bad thing to rid the city of a menace."

"How dare you say that!" Shi Xiangyun retorted angrily, "If anything happens to Sister Lin today, I will never let you get away with this!"

"OK OK."

Li Wan quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Rest for a while, then go back to the manor. The ancestor will take care of you there."

(End of this chapter)