Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 75 Demonic Whisper
"Why did you come so early this morning, Lin Daiyu?"

Xue Baochai greeted them with a forced smile.

Seeing that Xue Baochai's smile was slightly stiff, Li Chen's eyes shifted slightly, glancing at the messy desk behind her, and he already had some guesses in his mind.

After being led to the tea table, Li Chen casually said, "It's nothing, it's just that I haven't been out for a long time, and I haven't seen Sister Bao come over here. I'm afraid if we don't keep in touch, we'll become estranged."

"Sister, what are you saying?"

Xue Baochai forced a smile and hurriedly ordered Ying'er to serve tea, her hands tucked into her sleeves, unconsciously twisting her handkerchief tightly.

"It was just a joke, sister, don't take it to heart."

Li Chen took a sip of tea and then sighed, "I really wanted to go find Yun'er, but she was avoiding me. I was feeling bored in my room all by myself, so I came here to talk to you, sister, to relieve my boredom."

"What have you been busy with lately, sister?"

Xue Baochai lowered her head, her eyes darting around. "What am I busy with in my room? I just write and draw, do some needlework, and roll some pills."

Li Chen nodded, looked around, and awkwardly pulled his coat tighter around himself. "It's colder in my room than in mine, sister."

Xue Baochai then got up and instructed the maidservant waiting outside, "Go outside and fetch another charcoal brazier and a hand warmer."

When she turned around, she saw Li Chen already standing in front of the desk, looking through the calligraphy and paintings on display.

Xue Baochai was immediately shocked and hurriedly chased after him, grabbing Li Chen's arm.

"Little sister! Didn't we want to talk?"

Seeing Xue Baochai's unprecedented loss of composure, Li Chen became even more convinced that there must be something fishy about the desk.

"I just handed the manuscript to Xue Pan yesterday. Could it be that Xue Pan has already given it to Xue Baochai?"

Li Chen smiled and nodded, echoing Xue Baochai's words, "Alright, I was also curious to see what paintings you made, sister."

"No, there's nothing to see."

Li Chen obediently walked back, and taking advantage of the moment when Xue Baochai relaxed her guard, he suddenly turned over and flipped open the entire desk, where he found his manuscript.

"Oh, what is this?"

Li Chen snatched the manuscript first, feigning surprise, "The Heavenly Ladder of the Classics? Sister Bao also reads classical texts? I am well-versed in all kinds of classical texts, but I have never heard of this book before."

Xue Baochai was in a state of utter confusion and didn't know how to respond.

Li Chen pressed on, "Sister Bao, may I borrow it to take a look?"

"This……"

As instructed by Li Chen to Xue Pan, once the proofreading was confirmed to be correct, preparations for printing should begin.

Unexpectedly, the calibration work fell to Xue Baochai.
Lin Daiyu provided the content, she polished it herself, and Xue Baochai proofread and sold it—what a perfect process!

However, seeing Xue Baochai's face turn pale was a rare sight, so how could Li Chen pass up the opportunity to tease her?

"Sister Lin, to be honest, this is not my book."

Xue Baochai racked her brains and could only come up with this excuse.

Li Chen immediately said, "Then it's alright if I browse through it here?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Baochai had no choice but to agree, no matter how unwilling she was. Seeing Li Chen slowly turning the pages, she felt increasingly regretful.

Lin Daiyu has the ability to remember everything she sees. If she reads it so carefully, won't she notice it when it's published later?

"Insightful and well-written."

Li Chen nodded slightly, closed the book, and then suddenly asked seriously, "Sister, was this written by Young Master Li of the Zhenyuan Marquis's Mansion?"

Xue Baochai's eyes twitched, but she forced a straight face. "Sister Lin is joking. How can someone write a book before even taking the imperial examinations?" Li Chen opened a page of the book and tapped it lightly with his finger, saying, "There's also the signature of Second Young Master Li on this page."

Xue Baochai leaned closer to examine it, then asked incredulously, "How could this be? I didn't notice it when I was looking through it just now?"

Li Chen couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Hahaha, I was just trying to coax my sister, but I didn't expect her to show her weakness so quickly. Isn't that like admitting guilt without being asked?"

"I……"

Xue Baochai was speechless for a moment, and her face quickly turned red.

"So, Sister Bao remembered my words 'fair competition' so clearly. Could it be that you want to create a beautiful love story between a talented man and a beautiful woman by writing a book together?"

"To seize the initiative?"

Li Chen whispered in Xue Baochai's ear, noticing her earlobes flushed red, then moved to the other side, "Then, Sister Bao, you must proofread carefully and make sure there are no mistakes. It's better not to do it at all than to make a mistake, otherwise it would be a waste of your efforts."

"My sister is eagerly awaiting the publication of this book so she can buy a copy and read it."

Having said that, before Xue Baochai could retaliate, Li Chen quickly slipped away, grabbing Zijuan and Xueyan, who were still picking herbs with Ying'er outside the door, and ran off in a flash.

Ying'er returned to her room, completely bewildered. She saw Xue Baochai standing there, trembling slightly, and asked in surprise, "Miss, what's wrong? Did you quarrel with Miss Lin?"

Ying'er didn't think her young lady would lose her temper with others, especially since she was so close to Lin Daiyu.

But apart from that, she couldn't think of any other reason.

Xue Baochai finally let out a long sigh of relief, "This Lin sister is truly naughty to the point of being hateful, always making fun of me for her own amusement!"

When the girl turned around, the blush on her cheeks had not yet faded. Ying'er couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Miss, why is your face so red? Have you caught a fever again? But you're not coughing. Should we give you some medicine?"

"It doesn't matter."

Xue Baochai took a handkerchief soaked in cold water and applied it to her face, then sighed softly, "Go on with your business, I have things to do."

He immediately sat down at the desk, carefully grinding the ink, intending to proofread the manuscript meticulously.

"If even Lin Daiyu wants to watch the show, then I certainly can't afford to lose face!"

……

The Zhenyuan Marquis's Residence

After Lin Daiyu woke up, she noticed that Xiangling was not by her side, which she thought was unusual. However, she also noticed that during meals, Xiangling kept her distance and occasionally glanced at her.

His eyes were shimmering like spring water, but he was too shy to approach, which only made Lin Daiyu more suspicious.

"Could it be that the two of them slept together again? Mother is back now, why doesn't he know how to behave himself!"

Lin Daiyu couldn't help but mutter to herself, chewing the meat slices in her mouth fiercely, grinding her teeth to vent her anger.

However, judging from Xiangling's expression, she probably wouldn't get close to her anytime soon, which was actually a good thing for her.

To save myself the trouble of explaining.

"Master."

Xiangling timidly said, "Tomorrow is the county examination. The teacher said that he will give the last lesson today. The teacher will be waiting for you in the study as before."

Lin Daiyu nodded slightly, put down her chopsticks and bowl, wiped her mouth and said, "Okay, I understand. I can't keep you waiting, so I'll go as soon as I've lifted this stone lock and warmed up my muscles."

After saying this, Lin Daiyu went to the front of the hall, touched the familiar stone lock, spread her legs shoulder-width apart, and focused her energy in her dantian.

So he used his hips to pull his waist, and his waist to pull his arms, took a deep breath, and slowly pulled the stone lock that had gained another ten pounds of weight.

"Okay, I can do it!"

(End of this chapter)