From the Red Mansion, you can travel through the world of martial arts

Chapter 96: Lin Daiyu is gone, Jia Rong is gone too ( words long chapter!)

The next day, Daiyu got up, washed, and sat by the window, blinking her sleepy eyes. Zijuan was combing her hair.

Daiyu was still a little sleepy. She didn't sleep well last night, but it was not because she was frightened by the bandits, but because she was thinking about the poems written by Jia Wei... and the person Jia Wei.

Those lines of poetry were really excellent, certainly much better than what she had written, and even among those she had read, there were few that could compare to them.

But it was a pity that she didn't hear the whole thing. The second brother was really bad. If she didn't shout, he wouldn't say anything...

Not long after, the maid brought the meal. After Daiyu finished her meal, she prepared to read a book for a while, but then she remembered that all her books were burned in the fire on the boat. She felt sorry for it and prepared to go out for a walk and walk around the third floor.

It was still early in the morning and the light inside the boat was not very good. When Daiyu went out, she saw that the light was still on in the study on the side. There was a figure sitting there, seemingly writing furiously.

She led Zijuan around, stopped at a window, pulled open the thick curtains, and looked outside.

It was cold in late autumn, and the river was covered with thick fog. Visibility was very low and it was difficult to see much. Even the flag of the "Jinyi Commander" was a little blurry.

The next ten days or so will be spent on the third floor of this official ship.

Daiyu naturally did not feel bored, on the contrary, this day was quite novel.

Girls in the boudoir have been confined to a small world for more than ten years. Not to mention spending more than ten days on the boat enjoying the scenery, they can hardly sit still even for a longer period of time.

The autumn wind was cold and Daiyu was weak, so she dared not blow too much.

When they reached the stairs, they heard noisy and chaotic sounds. There was no need for training on the boat, so the Jinyiwei soldiers were all in a state of panic.

Daiyu was afraid of being seen by other men, so she would not approach him. She went back and saw that the light in the study was still on, so she went over and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Jia Wei raised his head, thinking it was the old woman who came to add tea, but the one who walked in was the delicate and beautiful Lin Daiyu, who was wearing a light green satin skirt with a crane pattern and a lily-shaped bun. He was stunned at first sight.

Daiyu walked in, meeting his gaze. "What is Second Brother Wei writing? Is it a letter to be sent back to the mansion?"

"Yes, I've almost finished it and am sending someone to send it back." After saying this, Jia Wei continued to write quickly.

Daiyu looked at the handsome figure, walked forward lightly, and stopped beside the desk, keeping a distance of more than three feet from Jia Wei. She stretched her head to look, but could not see the handwriting clearly, so she could only move half a step closer.

But when she saw the handwriting clearly, Daiyu looked a little strange. After Jia Wei finished copying the poem last night, Daiyu's impression of him was that he was a talented scholar, but this handwriting could only be considered square and upright, which was far from his poetic talent...

After reading for a while, Daiyu's face gradually became strange when she read the letter written by Jia Wei. When she saw the part where Jia Wei wrote, she couldn't help but burst out laughing...

Jia Wei glanced at her and gave her a look that said "go play somewhere else".

It’s not Daiyu’s fault for being rude, it’s just that the letter written by Jia Wei is too... unique.

He finished describing what happened last night in just a few words, and the remaining 70% of the article was actually scolding Jia Lian! He never repeated himself in any of the articles.

Daiyu raised her eyebrows slightly and said with a smile: "Second Brother Lian is really a man of character... But if you send this letter back, Second Brother Lian will have a hard time standing. If others know about it, they will say something bad about me. Second Brother Lian sent me with good intentions, but ended up like this."

Jia Wei didn't take it seriously. After the ink dried, he put the letter into the envelope. "A few days ago, the old lady said that I was a descendant of Ningguo and insisted on giving me the title of clan leader. Now, can't the clan leader scold the unfilial sons in the clan?"

Jia Wei handed the envelope to Zijuan: "Go find a maid and ask her to go downstairs and give it to Jin Yichuan."

Zijuan agreed, took the envelope and walked out. Daiyu took a look and felt quite uncomfortable. How could a man and a woman be alone in a room?

Jia Wei stood up and asked Daiyu to sit down on a chair beside him. "Sister, did you feel comfortable last night? We left in a hurry yesterday and all our luggage was left on the boat. If you need anything, write a note and I will send someone to buy it when we get to Linqing."

Jia Yu was a little eager, and Daiyu was a little panicked for a moment. She smiled and said, "There is everything on this ship. It will take only ten days to get home. There is nothing to buy... There is only one thing missing. I need Second Brother Yu to write a note and give it to me."

Jia Wei naturally understood, smiled slightly, sat down at the desk again, wrote two sentences, and handed them to Daiyu... He knew that his handwriting was ugly, but a strong person would not feel inferior because of this, as long as he could recognize it. Do you have the ability to compete with him in hard pen calligraphy?
Daiyu took it with some joy. With the blessing of poetry, the ordinary words became elegant.

She liked it after reading it once, and couldn't help but recite silently: "The spring river tide reaches the sea level, and the bright moon on the sea rises with the tide..."

After reading it, Daiyu looked at Jia Wei again, her gentle eyes seemed to be able to speak. Jia Wei said: "These are the first two sentences, the rest can't be read in vain."

It must be said that Jia Wei's ability to keep people in suspense is extraordinary. Daiyu thought about it all night and tried to complete a few sentences herself, but after reading these two sentences, she overturned all her completions...

Daiyu took the paper and liked it more and more as she read it. Her heart was itching as if it had been scratched by a cat. She begged, "Second Brother, please write it to me, or I won't be able to sleep at night again."

Daiyu started to beg and act coquettishly, and Jia Wei found it difficult to resist, but he still looked away.

"If you can't sleep at night, just continue to sleep during the day. After all, no one is watching you on the boat, so you can do whatever you want."

Seeing that it was useless to ask for help, Daiyu became arrogant again and went back to her room. She definitely would not call him "Brother Yu"!

At noon the next day, the ship arrived in Linqing and docked at the pier.

Linqing is a transit point on the canal heading north to the capital, and most ships and caravans would stop here for reorganization, so it was naturally very prosperous.

The dock was bustling with people. In addition to the boat trackers and porters who were doing their jobs, there were also hawkers selling food and other things on their shoulders.

Another group of Jinyiwei came carrying supplies and goods, with an arrogant look on their faces. The peddlers and hawkers consciously made way for them. Daiyu looked at them in wonder for a while, then let down the curtains.

From time to time, a group of strong women carried several large wooden boxes to the third floor and, under the command of Ding Baiying, moved them to Daiyu's room. Daiyu was puzzled.

"Sister Ding, are these all mine?" Daiyu asked.

Ding Baiying had a good impression of this little girl. He nodded and said softly, "My uncle specifically told me that they are all for Miss Lin. There will be no mistake."

Just now, Jia Wei asked her to write a note and ordered someone to buy something.

Daiyu's luggage was burned, so of course there were some things missing, but the problem was that she hadn't taken out the silver she brought with her...

Daiyu is a close relative of the Rong family and has a distant relationship with the Ning family, not to mention the cold and aloof Jia Wei - Daiyu has seen Jia Wei's attitude towards the Rong family and others several times.

Daiyu naturally refused to take advantage of him and only wrote down a few important things, such as gouache used by the maids. She wanted to read a few books to relieve her boredom - but how could there be so many large boxes of things?
When the box was opened, everyone was stunned. Half of the box was filled with books, about several hundred books, and the rest was gouache, jewelry, four treasures of the study, fur coats, silk, etc. This is the amount of money that ordinary wealthy families spend on betrothal gifts and dowries...

As the saying goes, it is good to show kindness when there is nothing to do...

Zijuan glanced at Daiyu and said thoughtfully, "Second Master Yu really cares about you..."

Daiyu's face felt a little hot.

Even the ignorant Xueyan could figure out Jia Wei's thoughts, let alone her intelligence.

……

In the Rongguo Mansion, the originally bustling Rongqing Hall gradually became quiet after a letter from Jia Wei was passed in.

Everyone was silent, observing Grandmother Jia's expression. She was curious at first, then horrified, then relieved, and then her face darkened...

After Jia Mu finished reading the letter and handed it to Yuanchun, Wang Xifeng asked, "Grandma, what does the letter say?"

"I'm so angry! Lian'er, this bastard..." Grandmother Jia slapped her thigh in anger, "When he comes back, tell him to go and kneel in the ancestral hall!"

Wang Xifeng's face froze, and she asked tentatively, "Didn't Lian'er send Sister Lin back to Yangzhou? What is that brother-in-law complaining about now?"

Grandmother Jia said: "Lian'er and Yu'er encountered pirates in Cangzhou..."

When these words came out, everyone was shocked. The sisters were horrified. Baoyu stood up anxiously, "Sister Lin!"

"Don't worry, luckily Brother Wei arrived in time with the Royal Guards. Nothing happened. Your sister Lin is fine."

Grandmother Jia looked at Wang Xifeng and said, "Lian'er is so good. He couldn't beat the pirates, and he didn't care about his cousin. The bastard just ran away in a small boat!"

Husband and wife are one body, so Wang Xifeng was naturally embarrassed. She wanted to defend Jia Lian, but she definitely couldn't say it at this moment...

Aunt Xue said, "You can't blame him entirely. He has never seen those vicious pirates before. Maybe he was just panicked for a moment."

Baoyu heaved a sigh of relief, and kept chanting "Amitabha Bodhisattva" and "Buddha bless you". He then asked hurriedly:
"How is Miss Lin now? When will she come back?"

After reading the letter, Yuanchun said, "Don't worry. My brother is going to Yangzhou on business, so he can take Miss Lin back on the way. They are on the official ship of the Jinyiwei, so they will have a safe journey."

This has little to do with the official ship. With Jia Wei here, things can be done naturally. Although most people in the hall don't like Jia Wei, they can't deny his ability.

Baoyu should be relieved after hearing this, but for some reason, he still feels uneasy...

Baochai looked at the piece of letter paper with her eyes fixed. So at this moment, a hundred miles away, Second Brother Yu was with Pin'er?
She lowered her head, wondering what she was thinking...

Grandmother Jia said directly: "Brother Yu is a capable man. If I had known earlier, I would have let Yu'er go a day later and leave with him."

Mrs. Xing smiled and said, "What the old lady said is true, but how come he left in the morning and we didn't receive the letter until noon? It is said that you can't write two Jia characters with one stroke, but it's not the case with him..."

Grandmother Jia glanced at Mrs. Xing, and she immediately shut up.

No one will think you are dumb if you don't speak!
Yuanchun explained softly, "Brother, you are handling state affairs. You are escorting the imperial envoy south, so naturally you cannot let the news leak out."

Everyone looked at Yuanchun again. Didn't they say that the news couldn't be leaked? How did you know that he was going to escort the imperial envoy south?

Yuanchun realized that she had said something wrong, so she quickly lowered her blushing face and stopped talking.

Grandmother Jia sighed. The whole city of Shenjing knew that the Jia family had a capable younger generation, but he was not close to the West Mansion... This was like a thorn that made Grandmother Jia uncomfortable.

Grandmother Jia still hasn't forgotten about finding a wife for Jia Wei. She's not stupid, so she knows that the reason she failed last time was because Jia Wei looked down on the girl from the Shi family.

Of course, Lady Jia did not say this matter on a whim that day. She had discussed it with Lady Wang, Lady Xing, Sister Feng and others beforehand.

Several people thought this was a good idea. Mrs. Wang was the first to say that she thought Daiyu was good.

Daiyu is Grandmother Jia's granddaughter and was raised in the West Mansion since she was a child. Naturally, she is close to people in the West Mansion.

Mrs. Wang pushed Daiyu first, so naturally Fengjie didn't dare to object.

Grandmother Jia understood their thoughts, but she still decided on her own daughter Shi Xiangyun out of selfish motives.

Daiyu was left to Baoyu by Jia's grandmother. In Jia's grandmother's view, compared with Baoyu's lifelong event, winning over Jia Wei was a trivial matter.

Who would have thought that they looked down upon the girl from the Shi family... The Shi family has two marquises and they are old relatives, so their status is naturally not low. This must be the reason why Jia Wei has never seen Shi Xiangyun!

This is what Grandmother Jia thought.

Yes, it must be so!

Grandmother Jia just felt bad and sighed again. Suddenly she saw the bright and beautiful Baochai beside her, and her eyes lit up...!
Just then, a maid came in and said, "Madam, Master Lian is back."

"Tell him to go to the ancestral hall and kneel down, and ask him if he has the face to see the ancestors..." Before Jia's mother finished her words, a shabby figure ran in. It was Jia Lian, who was in a dishevel.

Jia Lian knelt down in the hall and said, "Grandfather, something bad has happened. Sister Lin is gone..."

Jia Lian burst into tears - suddenly he felt something was wrong, why didn't anyone react?
Jia Lian raised his head and saw that Jia's mother's old face was terribly dark. Then Wang Xifeng glared at him again and knelt down beside him.

Just as Grandmother Jia was about to speak, another maid came in with the news:
"Madam, news came from the East Palace that Master Rong is gone..."

Everyone was stunned before they remembered that they were talking about Jia Rong who was exiled to the army.

The old woman paused and said, "It is said that the Mongols invaded the border, and Master Rong's body could not be found..."

(End of this chapter)