The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 48 Lin Daiyu Enters Beijing

Near the end of the year, heavy snow arrived early and the Yongding River froze. All ships coming from the south were forced to unload cargo at Zhangjiawan Wharf in Tongzhou. As a result, the Tongzhou section of the canal was full of ships, and the wharf was filled with people and trucks coming to receive cargo.

It was the third day of the twelfth lunar month. Zhangjiawan Wharf was empty and all the people were driven away. They were crowded on the banks on both sides of the wharf. The soldiers of the vanguard camp, wearing wide-brimmed winter hats and cloaks, carried swords and guns and stood in two rows along the stone steps from the edge of the river to the top of the wharf in the flying snow.

On the avenue at the dock were parked Li Hu's luxurious carriage, a dozen covered carriages, and twenty large luggage carts.

There were some covered carriages and carts parked not far away. They were the vehicles of the Rongguo Mansion.

Li Hu and Jia Lian stood on top of the dock, watching the huge official ship in the river slowly approaching the dock.

Jia Lian smiled bitterly. Although Li Hu said nothing, he knew that he could not pick her up. But he was here to pick up Lin Daiyu on the orders of Lady Jia, and it would be hard to explain when he returned!
Li Hu seemed to have seen through Jia Lian's thoughts and said with a smile: "I will teach you a sentence, and I guarantee that the Madam will be speechless."

Jia Lian asked anxiously: "What did you say?"

Li Hu: "I heard that the second son of Bao has been hanging around in the inner chambers since he was young, and he doesn't care about the taboos of etiquette at all."

Jia Lian blushed and was about to speak.

Li Hu continued, "Of course, I believe that the Madam has arranged everything. But rumors are terrible and gossip hurts the heart, so I have to do this."

After hearing this, Jia Lian sighed and said, "I understand."

Li Hu: "Tell the Madam that after tomorrow I will personally come to apologize to her."

Jia Lian nodded.

The other two passenger ships approached the pier, and the official ship that was docking at the pier stopped.

"They're here. Let's welcome them."

Li Hu and Jia Lian walked down the dock and went to greet them.

The huge gangplank was set up. Li Hu's eyes were fixed on the gangplank on the big ship. The personal soldiers sent to pick up Lin Daiyu came out and saluted to Li Hu, "General."

Li Hu raised his hand and said, "You have been tired this time. Go up and rest first."

The guards shouted in response: "Yes," and then walked towards the dock.

In the heavy snow, a figure wearing a white fox fur cloak and a half-length white veiled hat appeared.

Although he couldn't see it, Li Hu knew it was Lin Daiyu!

Lin Daiyu was holding the hand of a little maid, and behind her an old maid was holding a large oilcloth snow umbrella over her head.

Lin Daiyu had introduced them in the letter, and Li Hu knew they were Xueyan and Wang Ma.

Lin Daiyu walked onto the springboard and slowly walked towards Li Hu.

Because of the heavy snow, the springboard was soon covered in white.

The gangplank was built on the edge of the dock, much higher than the ground. Li Hu was worried that Lin Daiyu would slip, so he stretched out his arm.

As if she didn't expect Li Hu to lend a hand to help her, Lin Daiyu was slightly stunned, then she put her right hand wearing a fur glove on Li Hu's arm, and used the help to walk down.

Lin Daiyu knelt down before Li Hu and said softly, "General Li." Her voice was pleasant to the ears.

Li Hu suddenly thought of something and said with a smile: "Sister, you can just call me Second Brother."

Lin Daiyu was silent for a moment, then said "hmm".

Nanny Wang and Xueyan: "Greetings to General Li."

Li Hu smiled and nodded: "Don't be so polite." Then he waved to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian came over.

Li Hu: "Jia Lian, the son of the eldest master of Rongguo Mansion."

Lin Daiyu bowed to Jia Lian and said, "Second cousin."

Jia Lian turned his body to the side and bowed. Just as he was about to speak, Li Hu spoke up, "It's cold here, and the wind is strong. It would be terrible if you caught a cold. If you have anything to say, we can talk about it the day after tomorrow."

Jia Lian had nothing else to say, so he could only reply, "Okay."

A group of people walked towards the pier.

Wang Daniu, who was standing at the top, gestured to Li Hu who was gradually approaching.

Li Hu didn't bother to pay attention to him and said to Lin Daiyu, "The snow is slippery, walk slowly."

Lin Daiyu said "hmm", then said: "If there is anything, second brother should go first." Li Hu smiled and said: "His name is Wang Daniu, a brother who followed me from the Imperial Guards. He is the captain of my personal guards and is in charge of the guards at home. If you need to run errands in the future, just let Nanny Wang tell him." He said loudly to Wang Daniu: "I have introduced you."

Wang Daniu immediately smiled and ran forward to open the car door.

Lin Daiyu burst out laughing, but quickly held it back.

Li Hu smiled and looked at her. He was closer now, and the white gauze could no longer block his view. However, Lin Daiyu was wearing a Guanyin hat on her head, so from his perspective he could only see a little bit of her profile, which was fair and translucent, like white jade.

Li Hu: "There are a few more people. I will introduce them to you in two days."

Lin Daiyu did not refuse, nor did she say anything. She just said "hmm" and went up to the dock.

This time, Wang Daniu was tactful enough to step aside in advance.

Lin Daiyu took Li Hu's arm and got into the carriage.

Seeing Xueyan in a daze, Li Hu asked, "Do you want me to help you?"

Xueyan quickly shook her head and climbed into the carriage, grabbing the handrail.

Li Hu looked at Nanny Wang again and said, "You always take this carriage. I'll go to the covered carriage at the back."

Nanny Wang hesitated. This luxurious carriage was obviously the exclusive carriage for Li Hu, the head of the family. It would be unreasonable to ask him to ride in other carriages.

Lin Daiyu spoke up: "The carriage is very spacious, so you don't have to sit in the carriage at the back."

Knowing that Lin Daiyu would not let him sit in the back carriage alone, Li Hu smiled and said, "Sister, please wait for a moment. I will arrange things, and then we will go home." As he said that, he strode towards Wang Daniu.

At this time, the maids and servants of the Lin family had already boarded the dock, and the porters also began to board the ship to unload the cargo.

Li Hu asked the maids and old women to get in the car, gave some instructions to Wang Daniu, then spoke a few words to Jia Lian, then turned and walked towards the carriage.

At the moment Li Hu boarded the carriage, Jia Yucun hurriedly boarded the dock. Looking at the slowly approaching carriage, he blinked his eyes and looked at the carriage of Rongguo Mansion again. Finally, he made up his mind that the future of relying on the prince would be much better than relying on the Jia family. As for the future, he would talk about it later.

Jia Yucun immediately stopped the first covered carriage and said a few words to the maids inside, and the maids gave the carriage to him.

The interior of the luxurious carriage that the prince gave to Li Hu was very spacious. The pine wood compartment was wrapped in leather and covered with thick carpets. It was equipped with soft couches, coffee tables, etc. The interior was bright and very comfortable.

The charcoal fire in the stove was burning very brightly, and Li Hu took off his cloak.

Nanny Wang also took off Lin Daiyu's veil, Guanyin hood and cloak.

Although he had seen Lin Daiyu's portrait before, Li Hu was still stunned by her beauty, especially her unique eyebrows. Her eyebrows seemed to be covered and stretched at the same time, and her eyes seemed to reveal joy and sorrow, as if covered by smoke and making it difficult to see clearly.

Lin Daiyu's face suddenly turned red and she lowered her head in panic.

Nanny Wang spoke up: "General Li?"

Li Hu came back to his senses: "Yeah." Then, he smiled awkwardly: "I suddenly remembered something and lost my focus."

Xueyan covered her mouth and smiled.

Nanny Wang glared at her, took out a copper kettle from the stove and brewed a cup of tea, "General Li, have some hot tea." She placed her hands in front of him.

Li Hu took a sip from the cup, put it down, and said with a smile: "What's the use of calling each other general or not? It's too strange. From now on, just call me uncle." Suddenly, he saw Lin Daiyu blushing to her ears, "You can also call me Second Master."

Nanny Wang: "Yes." She made a cup of tea for Lin Daiyu as well, and then picked up a bundle from the couch where Lin Daiyu was sitting. The bundle had four corners and was obviously filled with a box.

Nanny Wang placed the bundle on a corner of the table, untied it, and a sandalwood box came out.

Li Hu looked at Lin Daiyu: "What is it?"

Lin Daiyu held the tea bowl in both hands, lowered her head slightly, and answered softly, "It's a body contract."

Li Hu was slightly stunned. He didn't expect that Lin Ruhai would actually bring the maid's indenture to him.

Without waiting for Nanny Wang to lift the lid of the box, Li Hu said to Lin Daiyu, "This is your dowry. I won't look at it. Leave it in your room."

This time, Lin Daiyu did not blush, but just said "hmm".

Li Hu coughed and then said, "If you are tired, you can lie down and rest. By the way, I have invited the imperial physician to diagnose your pulse tomorrow. We will go to Rongguo Mansion the day after tomorrow."

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu raised her eyelids to glance at Li Hu, then lowered her eyelids, "Hmm."

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

It was their first meeting, and Li Hu didn't know what to talk about. He glimpsed a food box by the window, and then he seemed to remember something. He immediately brought the food box over and opened the lid. Inside the box were four plates of exquisite snacks, which he placed on the table one by one. "I guess you won't be home until the early afternoon, so just eat something first."

(End of this chapter)