The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 158 Eat and look ugly
After a night of autumn wind and rain, layer upon layer of fallen leaves fell in front of the backyard door, and several old women were sweeping them.

Waves of breaking sounds came from the yard.

Amber asked a few servants to carry two buckets of hot water into the yard.

Li Hu is practicing swordsmanship.

Li Hu sensed it with his peripheral vision, retracted his posture, and followed them into the house with the knife in hand.

In the green gauze cupboard, the old woman poured hot water bucket by bucket into a huge bathtub, and then walked out.

Amber rolled up the bracelet on her wrist and her sleeves and tried the bath water.

The door curtain was lifted and Li Hu walked in.

Amber picked up a towel from the wash basin rack and wiped her hands. She went forward to help Li Hu undress, saying, "It's cold now, and the water is a little hot. Be careful, Second Master. Watch out for the burns."

Li Hu said "hmm" and stepped onto the step stool and entered the bathtub.

"Wow! It's more than just a little hot, you're burning the hair of a pig!"

".I tried and it's okay!" Amber took off the bracelet on her hand, rolled up her sleeves, picked up a snow-white velvet cotton towel from the basin and walked over.

Li Hu gritted his teeth and immersed himself in it. After a while, his face turned red and covered with sweat.

Amber soaked the face towel in the bathtub, wrung it dry, gently wiped the sweat off Li Hu's face, and then helped Li Hu take a bath.

Li Hu relaxed completely and lay down in the bathtub, his head slightly leaning against the edge of the tub, his arms resting on the edge of the tub, chatting with Amber intermittently.

As they were talking, Xueyan's voice came from outside the door: "Second Master."

Li Hu closed his eyes slightly and responded habitually: "Come in."

Amber, who was wiping Li Hu's hair, was startled for a moment, then looked towards the door with a smile.

After a while, Xueyan finally came in reluctantly. She only took a glance and immediately lowered her head, blushing as she said, "The girl said that if the Second Master is alright, she should go over now."

Li Hu still closed his eyes: "What's the matter?"

Xueyan: “Yeah.”

Li Hu: "I'll go over after I put on my clothes." When he said this, he was startled and suddenly opened his eyes.

The snow geese ran out like flying.

Amber burst out laughing.

Li Hu realized that he had accidentally acted like a hooligan. He turned around and glared at Amber: "You didn't even remind me."

Amber suppressed her laughter and said, "Next time, I will definitely remind you, Master."

"I'll take care of you tonight."

Li Hu tapped her head and stood up. "You won't be going out today, so tie your hair up with a ribbon."

Amber responded with a red face and helped Li Hu put on his clothes.

Li Hu wore a light silk robe today, and his hair was tied up with a ribbon embroidered with auspicious clouds. As soon as he entered Lin Daiyu's courtyard, a gust of wind blew his robe sleeves and long hair backwards, making them look like they were about to fly.

At this time, Nanny Wang accompanied Li San out of the main hall.

As soon as they saw Li Hu, the two of them immediately came over to greet him.

Li San and Nanny Wang: "Second Master."

Li Hu: "Hey, why are you always here?"

Li San: "Miss, you have something to tell me."

Li Hu nodded.

Li San: "Second Master, it's alright, I'll go and do the job the young lady asked me to do."

"Row."

Seeing that he was wearing thin clothes, Li Hu said, "It's getting cold, put on more clothes and don't get caught in the cold wind."

Li San smiled and said, "I'm fine."

Li Hu smiled, nodded to Nanny Wang, and turned to walk towards the main hall. After walking less than three or five steps, Li Hu stopped and looked back at Li San and Nanny Wang who were walking out side by side. He seemed to understand something and a smile appeared on his face.

Qingwen came out of the west wing to get some cloth. Suddenly she saw Li Hu standing in the courtyard laughing. She walked over and asked with a smile, "Second Master, what are you so happy about?"

Li Hu looked at her and asked, "What are you doing?"

"What else can I do? Help the girl with needlework."

Qingwen handed over the cloth in her hand and said with a smile, "Miss is preparing clothes for the Second Master for the New Year."

Li Hu smiled and said, "You have worked hard. I will ask your girl to reward you with something good when the time comes." Then he walked into the main hall.

Seeing Li Hu coming in, all the maids and servants bowed and said, "Second Master."

Li Hu smiled and nodded, then turned and went into the warm room. There was no one there, so he lifted the curtain and went into the bedroom.

In front of the desk, Lin Daiyu lowered her head and looked at the account book.

The desk was piled with account books again.

Li Hu walked over, picked up an account book and flipped through it, asking, "What's the matter? Why are you calling me here in such a hurry?"

Lin Daiyu didn't even raise her head: "You bullied Xueyan again?"

Li Hu: "Who bullied her again? Hey, what do you mean? When did I bully her?" He dragged a chair over and sat down next to her. "You ruined my reputation. Let's clear up this matter today."

"Fame and reputation?"

Lin Daiyu glanced at him sideways, pursed her lips and was too lazy to speak.

This look, which seemed to be mocking and laughing, made Li Hu embarrassed, and he quickly changed the subject: "What do you want from me?"

Lin Daiyu pulled out a piece of paper from the pile of account books and handed it to Li Hu.

Li Hu took it and looked at Lin Daiyu in surprise.

Lin Daiyu closed the account book, stood up and went into the inner room to serve Li Hu a cup of tea. She said, "I couldn't sleep after hearing what you said yesterday. I thought about it and realized that given the current situation of Rongguo Mansion, we really don't have the ability to build a villa for the imperial visit."

Li Hu smiled and said, "Are you worried that Rongguo Mansion will borrow money from us?"

Lin Daiyu looked at him for a while and then chuckled.

Li Hu was a little surprised: "What's wrong?"

Lin Daiyu: "The head of our Li family is a person who cares a lot about face and reputation."

Li Hu was stunned at first, then shook his head. The girl was right. As long as Jia Lian asked, he would feel embarrassed to refuse. This was not only a matter of face, but also a conflict of interest.

Lin Daiyu sat down again and said softly, "I have been eyeing these industries for a long time, but I just want to delay and lower the price."

After a pause, he said, "I definitely have to borrow money, but not too much."

Li Hu nodded.

Lin Daiyu leaned back in her chair and sighed, "As soon as the imperial edict to build a villa for the imperial visit was issued, there was another chaos in the Rongguo Mansion. I don't know what the old lady is thinking." At this point, she shook her head helplessly.

Li Hu: "Once the imperial edict is issued, there will be chaos in Rongguo Mansion. Your second aunt will definitely jump up and invite guests to a banquet with a grand feast."

As he was talking, Zijuan came in with a letter: "Second Master, this is a letter from Third Uncle. He said it was from Yuqing Palace."

Li Hu took the letter, opened the seal and read it. Suddenly, he hummed and his face became serious.

Lin Daiyu: "What's wrong?"

Li Hu was silent for a moment, then replied, "The Emperor stayed at Fengzao Palace last night."

Lin Daiyu didn't understand: "So what?"

Li Hu looked at her and it was not easy to tell her these things. The emperor favored concubines, but not all of them could get pregnant. The Imperial Household Department recorded the time the emperor stayed in Fengzao Palace, which meant that the emperor wanted Jia Yuanchun to get pregnant.

This is because the main account has failed, so I need to open a small account to practice again?

Li Hu thought for a moment and then continued reading. He then said to Lin Daiyu, "The imperial edict for conferring titles of consorts has been issued. Jia Yuanchun has been promoted to Consort De. The emperor has not only filled the nine concubines, but has also conferred titles on more than a dozen noble ladies and talented ladies. He must be crazy about money!"

Lin Daiyu covered her mouth and smiled.

Li Hu shook his head. The emperor's eating habits were so ugly!
(End of this chapter)