The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 85 February th (Part )

The sunlight filled the whole room. Bai Hongzhi was lying on the bed, having a sound sleep. When he woke up, he felt refreshed. He looked at the clock in the corner and it was the end of the Si hour.

Bai Hongzhi threw off the quilt, got off the bed, walked to the door in his slippers, and called out, "Is anyone there? Come in."

There was a sound of footsteps, and the old steward hurried over from the living room: "Young Master Sun is awake." He then shouted outside: "Come on, help Young Master Sun wash up."

Then two maids came in to help her wash and dress.

The elderly steward came in with a food box and saw that Bai Hongzhi had finished combing his hair, so he winked at the two maids.

The two retreated.

The old steward put down the food box, took out a bowl of porridge from it, walked up to Bai Hongzhi, and said softly: "Master Sun, have a bowl of porridge first."

Bai Hongzhi put down the mirror in his hand, took the bowl from the old steward, scooped half a spoonful and ate, and asked: "Is there any news from Qinglong Hall?"

The old steward replied: "No, but there is some news from the headquarters."

Bai Hongzhi: "Oh? What happened at the headquarters?"

The old steward sighed and said, "The leader is old and can no longer manage the affairs below."

Bai Hongzhi didn't say anything and continued to drink his porridge.

"Some things are really difficult for him. He has to mediate the conflicts between the provincial branches and guard against the imperial court."

At this point, he sighed again, "Everyone below has their own thoughts, and they are not as sensible as before. I heard that many of them are getting along very well with the people in the White Tiger Hall!"

Bai Hongzhi curled his lips and said disdainfully: "They are just a bunch of warriors who only know how to kill and burn. There is no need to worry."

The old steward thought for a moment and replied, "Yes."

Bai Hongzhi used a spoon to scrape the porridge remaining at the bottom of the bowl to the edge of the bowl, ate it in one gulp, and asked again: "How is it going in Yangzhou?"

The old steward said: "The followers of the Third Prince have had several conflicts with the followers of the Second Prince recently, and they are ready to take action at any time. However..."

Bai Hongzhi looked at him.

The old steward: "It seems that there is a force watching them. I am worried that if we start fighting, our identities may be exposed."

Bai Hongzhi was startled: "Who is it? The Imperial Household Department, or the Northern Pacification Department?"

The old steward: "Neither of them look like that. I suspect they are from Daming Palace."

Bai Hongzhi rolled his eyes and thought for a while, then said, "Then let's not do anything. Let them fight and compete! We'll just stand on the shore and watch the scenery." At this point, he suddenly remembered, "Did the Jurchens reply?"

The elderly steward's face suddenly looked a little grim.

Bai Hongzhi: "What's wrong?"

The old steward: "The Jurchens said that we are not yet trustworthy enough to gain their trust, so no one with a higher status will contact us for the time being."

Bai Hongzhi snorted, stood up irritably, walked back and forth a few steps, then turned around with a cold light in his eyes: "Learn the people from the Southern Pacification Office over there, and kill them all while the chaos is going on!"

The elderly steward was stunned.

Bai Hongzhi: "Don't worry, they won't suspect us."

The old steward nodded. In order to make a comeback, Captain Qiu searched the capital city all day for the traces of Jurchen spies.

Bai Hongzhi continued, "Don't contact them for now. There will be a war in the north soon, and they will come to us for help sooner or later. Is the meal ready?"

Elderly steward: "Okay."

Bai Hongzhi: "Let's go and have dinner." He walked out.

At this time, Li Hu was also sitting in front of the dressing mirror. Lin Daiyu gently untied the ribbon on his hair from behind, and his long hair fell down. Lin Daiyu took the comb from Amber's hand and gently combed his hair from front to back. Then she used one hand to comb his hair from the back to the root and lifted his long hair up. She then used the comb to comb his hair from the back to the top of his head. After combing his hair up, the comb was fixed slightly above the root of the hair. Then she lifted his long hair with one hand and took the hairband from Amber with the other hand and passed it around the root of the hair. Amber helped to pull one end, and she pulled the other end herself, tightened it, and then tied the hairband into a knot. Then she took off the comb and circled it around the hair. The long hair was twisted into a strand, tied a knot, and then tied it with a hairband and inserted a jade hairpin.

Lin Daiyu heaved a sigh of relief, looked at Li Hu in the mirror with a smile, and asked, "Is Uncle Li satisfied?"

Lin Daiyu was behind Li Hu, and Li Hu was facing the mirror, and the two looked at each other in the mirror.

Li Hu smiled at Lin Daiyu in the mirror and said, "Sister, you have really skillful hands!"

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes. If he hadn't been so persistent and today was his birthday, she wouldn't have combed his hair. She just thought of it as practicing in advance.

Thinking of this, her face turned red with embarrassment.

Li Hu smiled and held her hand. He had just returned from Zhang Cheng's place and smelled of alcohol, so he took a shower.

Lin Daiyu came to celebrate his birthday and give him a birthday present.

Li Hu then realized that Lin Daiyu not only made him a set of clothes, but also shoes and socks.

Now everything he wears is made by Lin Daiyu herself. Of course, Qingwen also helped a lot.

At this time, laughter was heard from the warm room.

Lin Daiyu pulled her hand out and said with a smile, "Come in."

A group of maids came in with smiles. It turned out to be Zijuan, Xueyan, Qingwen and others. They all came in with kneeling mats in their arms and said with smiles, "Long live the master of the family. We are here to kowtow to him." As they spoke, Zijuan, Xueyan and Qingwen came in front, and the little maids from the two rooms followed behind. They knelt on the kneeling mats and kowtowed to Li Hu.

Like Lin Daiyu's birthday, Li Hu did not have a banquet on his birthday. Even his generals were arranged to have a meal at Zhang Cheng's house.

With the noise of these girls, Li Hu felt a surge of energy and was very happy. He waved his hand and said, "Reward!"

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes and looked at Amber.

Amber understood and turned around and brought out a tray filled with purses from the inner room.

The little girls who took the purses left happily.

Qingwen shook the purse in her hand and said with a smile, "They are silver ingots." She then pulled out the string and took out two silver ingots with the words "Fu Lu Shou Xi" inscribed on them, and she was so happy that her eyes were beaming with joy.

Li Hu took a look and found that it was a silver ingot worth two taels. This girl was really generous!

Then, Nanny Wang brought the housekeeper's wife and the maids to pay their respects to Li Hu, and each of them was given a purse.

After a while of noise, the room became quiet again.

Lin Daiyu spoke up: "Go outside and have a couple of drinks with Uncle San and the others."

Li Hu nodded: "You eat first, no need to wait for me."

Lin Daiyu: "I'm not hungry. Go quickly."

Li Hu thought for a moment and said, "Well, you go fishing in the waterside pavilion first, and I'll grill fish for you later."

Lin Daiyu's eyes lit up and then she laughed happily.

Li Hu gently touched her head and said, "Prepare some mutton, venison or something, and I will roast it for you."

Lin Daiyu pursed her lips and said, "It's your birthday today, let's do it next time."

Li Hu smiled and looked at her: "Okay. I'll take you to the farm in a few days. It's right beside the river. You can enjoy the scenery while drinking and eating meat. You can experience the true elegance of a gentleman."

Lin Daiyu blinked her eyes, imagined for a moment, and then said "hmm".

Li Hu: "Wait for me." After saying that, he strode out.

(End of this chapter)