King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 665 Lin Family Trouble
"Xu Xin'an is aloof and arrogant. I'm afraid he may not be willing to get close to us!"

"Yeah... He's in the position of the Censor, he wants to put us all in jail, how could he be willing to help us!"

Many of those who followed Lao Liu were once supporters of the crown prince. They turned to the Rui Palace for practical interests, and now they have the nerve to look for Xu Xin'an.

Facing the people's petition, Zhu Jingyuan said with a smile: "This is a different time!"

Many people still think it is unreliable, but those with quick thinking have seen through the surface and understood the essence.

"Since Sixth Master has said so, we can only give it a try!"

So the matter was agreed upon, and the next day came, and Zhu Jingyuan packed up and left Yingtian accompanied by the head eunuch Liu Zhao.

The decree from yesterday was issued today and it was obvious that the emperor was in a hurry, fearing that the sixth son would cause trouble here.

Zhu Jinghong only learned about this situation on June 20. At that time, he had already completed the inspection in Hangzhou and was planning to lead his team back to Yingtian.

According to the latest intelligence, the Spanish fleet is currently undergoing repairs and is unlikely to attack within a month or two.

A month has passed since the Spanish fleet retreated, and these people have not sent anyone to negotiate, which shows that they are determined to start a war.

Perhaps these people were waiting for the Ming Dynasty to take the initiative to seek peace, and then restrict the navy according to their own rules to achieve their goal of dominating the ocean... This was Zhu Jinghong's guess.

His guess was completely correct. The Spaniards were so arrogant that they did not take the Ming navy seriously at all.

After all, their navy has roamed the oceans, participated in countless battles, and experienced the test of gunfire and blood.

In their eyes, the Ming navy was nothing more than infantrymen who could sail ships and knew nothing about naval warfare.

When Zhu Jinghong set out for Yingtian, something happened in the Lin family in the city.

The matter was very simple. The male members of the Lin family's side branches all asked Daiyu to come forward to discuss Lin Ruhai's funeral arrangements.

Under the continuous pressure from these people, Daiyu had to come forward to discuss the matter.

But these people started talking about family property as soon as they opened their mouths. Their implicit meaning was that the Lin family's property would be inherited by the Lin family members and had nothing to do with a girl like her.

It’s just that Daiyu is a girl. Even if she was a boy of a few years old, there would be people in the world who would support her. After all, there would be benefits to doing so.

Of course, it was also because Lin Ruhai had offended many people in the officialdom when he was working for the emperor before. Although he was a noble, he was treated differently by others, so outsiders did not lend a helping hand.

As for Jia Yucun, he was capable and willing to help, but he had too many things to do and was unable to take care of the Lin family's affairs.

Because they had nothing to say, Daiyu only stayed in the hall for a few minutes before leaving in anger.

The men in the Lin family immediately became agitated and began to accuse Daiyu of not knowing the rules and etiquette.

Although Daiyu was not present, she heard these words from the maid, which made her extremely uncomfortable. For a moment, tears flowed like streams.

"Girl, they are going too far, thinking you have no one to rely on... They are too presumptuous!" Zijuan looked angry.

Seeing Daiyu still sobbing, Zijuan continued, "Why don't I go find Eunuch Yu and ask him to drive those people away!"

Yu Hai, under Zhu Jinghong's order, had previously visited the Lin family and had also greeted Daiyu on behalf of Zhu Jinghong.

"Forget it... The Thirteenth Master is busy too, so let's not bother him!" Daiyu said, wiping away her tears.

Zijuan quickly tried to persuade him, "My girl...it's true that the Thirteenth Master has a lot of things to do, but he is busy with important matters. The things in our house are insignificant to him!"

Daiyu certainly understood these principles, but after careful consideration, she still said, "After all, it hasn't come to that point yet, and I don't want to make it too embarrassing..."

"But they went too far..."

Before Zijuan could finish, Daiyu continued, "If a quarrel breaks out, what will happen if father finds out?"

If the family gets in trouble, Lin Ruhai might die on the spot. How could Daiyu bear to do that?

But in fact, she was just too concerned and confused, and it was difficult for her to see the whole picture of the situation. Otherwise, the men in the Lin family would be easy to get rid of.

While Daiyu was struggling with her worries, Xia Yuegui had already learned about the Lin family from the servants in the Xue family compound, about two miles away.

Yingtian City is big, but also small... The Xue family and the Lin family are not far apart, so it is easy to find out some information.

The reason why Xia Yuegui pays attention to the Lin family is because she is thoughtful enough.

Although Baochai had also instructed the Xue family to take better care of the Lin family, sending them some gifts and visiting them on weekdays was enough, and it was not enough for the Xue family to send someone to keep an eye on them.

The reason why Xia Yuegui cared so much about the Lin family was because when she was in Beijing before, she heard some news from her sister Xia Jingui and knew that Zhu Jinghong was very concerned about the girls of the Lin family.

Therefore, for the long-term development of the Xue family and to improve her husband's image in King Xiang's heart, Xia Yuegui put more effort into the Lin family.

The Lin family was in trouble, or to be more precise, Daiyu was in trouble. But Zhu Jinghong happened to be in Jinling. Xia Yuegui saw this as a golden opportunity to make a name for herself.

Sitting on the porch, watching the birds jumping around in the courtyard, Xia Yuegui murmured in a low voice: "How can I help?"

Just at this moment, a maid outside shouted, "The master is back!"

After Xue Pan got married, he could naturally be called "Master", and Xia Yuegui would naturally be Mrs. Xue.

A few breaths later, Xue Pan walked in with the hem of his robe lifted up, and it was obvious that he looked very proud.

There was no way. Although he was not favored by Zhu Jinghong, he had a prince brother-in-law after all. Now that this prince had arrived in Nanjing and was in charge, Xue Pan had more face.

Now that he is out and about, people can't help but be more respectful to him.

"The sun is high and it's very hot outside... Why is Madam sitting in the yard?"

At first, Xia Yuegui used violence to subdue Xue Pan, and later she used Baochai's handwritten order to suppress Xue Pan.

After more than a year of getting along, Xia Yuegui has used her wisdom and sincerity to make Xue Pan completely fall in love with her.

Now Xue Pan respects and loves his wife, so he expresses his concern as soon as he opens his mouth.

"Who did you meet today? Why did you come back so late?"

"Boss Xu, I heard that his family has a batch of red sandalwood that they want to sell, and the palace happened to be looking to purchase it, so I went to talk to him about the purchase!"

Nodding, Xia Yuegui smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, but there is something... I have to trouble you to run a trip!"

Sitting on the chair next to Xia Yuegui, Xue Pan took the teacup handed to him by the maid and replied, "What's the matter?"

"The Lin family has gone to the Lin residence to cause trouble again... The Lin family girl is weak and I'm afraid she will be wronged. Go and chase those people away!"

Xue Pan hesitated and said, "That's someone else's family affair. It's not appropriate for me to interfere!"

What he said makes sense. It is really unacceptable to interfere in other people's family affairs without any connection.

The only people in this world who can legitimately interfere in this matter are the Jia family members who are thousands of miles away.

Xia Yuegui said in a deep voice: "You have to go even if it's not suitable, you will definitely benefit from it!"

"Benefits? You mean the princess thinks highly of you?"

Xue Pan shook his head and said, "She is my sister after all. It doesn't matter if she looks down on me or not. Could it be that she will not care about me when I am in trouble in the future?"

Although Xue Pan is a man, his knowledge is only at this level, which is far inferior to Xia Yuegui.

Reaching out to grab the teacup from Xue Pan's hand, Xia Yuegui said with dissatisfaction, "What if the Thirteenth Master thinks highly of you?"

"Thirteenth Master, do you think highly of me?" Xue Pan looked doubtful.

Some things were difficult to say directly, so Xia Yuegui waved at him, motioning Xue Pan to come closer.

Then, Xia Yuegui told Xue Pan everything she knew.

Because Xia Yuegui explained it in detail, Xue Pan easily understood the key points.

"So that's it!" "Do you understand everything?" Xia Yuegui asked.

Xue Pan stood up angrily, slammed the table and said, "How can I sit back and watch these beasts from the Lin family bully a weak woman..."

"I'm going now to see who is going to turn the world upside down!"

Looking at Xue Pan walking out quickly, as aggressive as a general, Xia Yuegui couldn't help but smile.

In her opinion, although Xue Pan is sometimes silly, he actually looks quite cute.

Of course, apart from Xia Yuegui, there are indeed not many people in this world who think Xue Pan is lovable. In a sense, this is also called beauty in the eyes of the beholder.

Xue Pan went to the Lin family and used the most brutal method, ordering the servants to drive out those who disturbed "Uncle Lin's" rest.

That’s right, he was addressing them according to the Jia family’s wishes, because the lie he made up was that he was asked by the Jia family to visit the Lin family.

In this way, it makes sense that Xue Pan was in charge of the Lin family's affairs.

Xue Pan's arrival did solve Daiyu's big problem, and the latter was extremely grateful to him.

Because of this timely friendship, Daiyu really regarded Xue Pan as her elder brother.

"Sister Lin, please stand up. Why have you come to this?"

Seeing Daiyu about to kneel down to thank him, Xue Pan quickly stepped aside.

He originally wanted to reach out to help, but when he remembered that this girl was Zhu Jinghong's concubine, he quickly withdrew his hand. The whole process was a little funny.

"Thank you, Brother Xue!" Daiyu thanked him again.

"Sister... don't be afraid. I, Xue Pan, hate bullying the weak. If those bastards dare to come again in the future, just send someone to tell me!"

"Brother Xue, you may not have any other skills, but you have the guts to beat up these bastards, and you're really brave!"

Pretending to be a hero is also Xue Pan's forte, and he often pretends to be so in public.

"Take good care of Uncle Lin. If you need anything, just come and tell me. Your sister-in-law will send someone to bring it to you!"

After saying a lot of caring words, Xue Pan said goodbye and left the Lin family. Before leaving, Daiyu thanked him again and again.

On the other hand, the men of the Lin family left the house and started cursing one after another. Some said that Xue Pan was meddling in other people's business, while others said that Daiyu was colluding with outsiders.

On this basis, all kinds of messy statements emerged, some of which destroyed Daiyu's life.

"What kind of men are you to slander a woman's innocence like this?"

Hearing the voices, everyone in the Lin family was stunned, and then followed the voices and forgot about it.

Seeing that he was a young boy, everyone started to laugh at him and those who were quick to speak cursed back.

"Kid, who am I? It's none of your business..."

"You are a foreigner, and you dare to meddle in our affairs? Do you really think we are nothing? If I can't deal with the Xue family, can I deal with you?"

Everyone was about to take action, but Mingyan was quick and stepped forward to pull Jia Baoyu away.

That’s right, the person who spoke was Jia Baoyu. He traveled from the capital city, stopping and starting, and it took him four months to finally reach Yingtian. Then he found the Lin family as soon as possible.

Then he met the men of the Lin family. When he heard these people slandering Daiyu, he couldn't help but ask them.

After being pulled away by Mingyan and hearing the mocking voices behind him, Jia Baoyu felt very uncomfortable, but he finally turned back.

He hid in a small alley and waited until all the Lin family members left cursing. Then Jia Baoyu came out of the alley and happened to run into Xue Pan who was leaving the Lin family.

Xue Pan was riding a horse and when he saw Jia Baoyu, he almost thought he was dazzled.

After rubbing his eyes to make sure he was not mistaken, Xue Panfang jumped off his horse and shouted, "Brother Bao, why are you here?"

"I...I'm here to visit Uncle Lin!"

Xue Pan had been to the capital before and had drunk with Jia Baoyu many times. He knew very well what this man was thinking.

He said he was visiting Uncle Lin, but he was obviously here to see Daiyu!

In the past, Xue Pan would definitely not intervene, and might even choose to help.

But now it’s different. He knows some inside information and naturally he has to do something.

"I just came out of the Lin family, and Uncle Lin just rested...it would be useless for you to go!"

"We haven't seen each other for a long time, let's go... I'll buy you a drink!"

After saying this, Xue Pan pulled Jia Baoyu and walked out without caring whether he was willing or not.

"Brother Xue, I have something else to do..."

"Hey...what can you do? Even if you want to visit Uncle Lin, there is no need to rush now!"

"Brother Xue, I..."

"Alright, alright, man, stop being fussy. Let's not go home until we're drunk today..."

Just like that, Xue Pan forced Jia Baoyu to leave and insisted that he have a drink with him.

Soon a few days passed. Although Jia Baoyu wanted to leave, he was unable to leave the restaurants because of Xue Pan's various pulling and forcing.

Xue Pan was not a honest guy either. He took advantage of Jia Baoyu's drunkenness many times to take advantage of him, which helped him to fulfill some of his original ideas.

On June 24, Zhu Jinghong returned to Yingtian, and coincidentally, Yang Jingting and her party also arrived.

It would be inappropriate for his large family to continue living in Jinling Dusi. Normally, they would have to find a special place to stay.

It happened that Zhu Jingyuan moved out of the palace, so Jia Yucun arranged for him to move in, but was directly rejected by Zhu Jinghong.

Previously, the prince lived in a temporary palace when he came to Jinling. In the past two years, Zhu Jingyuan also lived in a temporary palace when he came, but they were all allowed by imperial decree.

The temporary palace is the emperor's residence, and moving in without the emperor's order is an act of usurpation.

Zhu Jinghong is more cautious now and of course he will not make this mistake.

Jia Yucun had many ideas and he managed to find another house in the city to accommodate Zhu Jinghong and his family.

After entering the gate of the mansion, Zhu Jinghong asked in a deep voice: "It wasn't taken by force, was it?"

Jia Yucun followed and quickly replied, "Local wise men admire your reputation and voluntarily offer their houses for your residence!"

"Ok!"

Zhu Jinghong responded and changed the subject.

"You've been in office for so many days, don't just stay in Nanjing, you have to visit other provinces as well!"

"This situation is serious. It is a challenge as well as an opportunity. You must seize it firmly!"

Hearing Zhu Jinghong's words, Jia Yucun immediately replied: "I understand, please rest assured, Master Thirteen!"

Zhu Jinghong stopped and looked at Jia Yucun who was still standing there, and then ordered: "If there is nothing else, just go and get busy!"

"Yes, I resign!"

Jia Yucun bowed and walked out, while Zhu Jinghong walked deeper into the courtyard, and Yang Jingting had already come out to greet him.

(End of this chapter)