Dream of the Red Chamber: Rising from Refugees to Sweep Across the Land

Chapter 53 Rejecting visitors is outrageous!

Jia Zhen acted swiftly, delivering the person before dawn and even going to the yamen to change the indenture to Liu Feng's name.

However, Liu Feng was not at home; he had gone to the Hundred Households Office to report for duty.

The atmosphere in the living room was somewhat eerie.

Qingwen stood there with her head down, dressed in a brand-new pink dress. Her jet-black hair was styled into a new bride's bun, with a small red velvet flower tucked into her temple. She nervously twisted the new handkerchief in her hands.

Liu Ma and Xiang Ling stood in front of her, their eyes both fixed on her.

Aunt Liu frowned deeply; she had also noticed that Qingwen's eyes and demeanor bore a resemblance to Lin Daiyu.

Xiangling's focus was completely different from Liu Ma's. She stared at Qingwen's chest for a long time, then looked down at herself, her little face immediately drooping and she looked dejected.

The light in the room gradually dimmed. Aunt Liu lit a candle, walked back to Qingwen, took her hand, and looked her over carefully for a while. She smiled and said, "You're quite pretty! How old are you? Where are your parents? What's your hometown?"

Qingwen was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "I'm thirteen this year, and... I can't remember anything else."

Same age as me?

Xiangling's mouth was slightly open, her eyes wide, and her face was full of disbelief.

Just then, the old woman's voice came from outside the door: "Second Master is back."

Xiangling quickly stepped forward and lifted the bamboo curtain, smiling as she said, "Second Master is back!"

Liu Feng walked in, covered in sweat: "Do you have any herbal tea? Pour me a big bowl."

"I saved some plum juice for Second Master!"

Xiangling skillfully untied the goose-feather knife from Liu Feng's waist, hung it on the wall, and then ran to pick up the chilled teapot and poured a large bowl of chilled plum juice.

"Aunt Liu is here too."

Liu Feng saw Qingwen standing there. He had just entered the mansion when Liu An told him about her. To be honest, he was still a little moved, after all, Qingwen was recognized as "the shadow of Lin Daiyu".

Seeing Liu Ma staring at him with a strange expression, Liu Feng turned his head away guiltily.

Aunt Liu's gaze swept back and forth between Liu Feng and Qingwen, and then she looked Liu Feng up and down carefully before nodding thoughtfully.

"Second Master, chilled plum juice!"

Liu Feng took the bowl, blew on it as usual, and gulped it down. After finishing, he let out a burp, handed the empty bowl to Xiang Ling, and then seriously looked at Qing Wen, and was slightly taken aback.

Judging from this outfit, is he planning to have his wedding night tonight?

Liu Feng also glanced at Qingwen's chest and asked, "How old are you this year?"

Before Qingwen could even reply, Xiangling quickly answered, "Thirteen, the same age as me."

Same age?

Liu Feng glanced at her chest subconsciously.

Xiangling was taken aback at first, then turned around and walked out angrily.

Liu Feng chuckled. This girl's temper is getting worse and worse; he'll have to teach her a lesson tonight.

Seeing two chests at Qingwen's feet, he walked over and opened them. One chest contained fabric, and the other contained gold and silver jewelry and ten five-tael silver ingots.

"Did Grandpa Zhen get all of this for you?" Liu Feng asked Qingwen.

Qingwen hummed in agreement and said, "Master Zhen said that from now on I am a member of the Liu family. I will be a member of the Liu family in life and in death. I can no longer think about the people and things from the past."

Liu Feng nodded. Although Jia Zhen's personal morality wasn't great, he was a decent person and considered all aspects of things. Especially these two boxes of things, which would prevent Qingwen from holding a grudge against him and from speaking ill of him.

It would be utterly disrespectful to refuse a visit from someone who comes to your door.

Liu Feng turned to Liu Ma and said, "Are there any empty rooms in the side rooms? Arrange for her to stay there."

Aunt Liu was taken aback. "Not putting it in Second Master's room?"

Liu Feng rolled his eyes. It's so hot outside, and he only wears a bellyband to bed at night. Xiangling is a thin girl with nothing to offer, so it's understandable that he might have some thoughts about her. But Qingwen is different; she's got real assets. If he doesn't control his thoughts, he might end up with a beast.

Not wanting to say it outright, Liu Feng casually replied, "Xiangling is enough for me."

When these words reached Liu Ma's ears, the meaning changed. She assumed that Liu Feng thought Qingwen's features resembled Lin Daiyu's, which was why it was inconvenient to keep her in the room to serve him.

Thinking this way, Aunt Liu was even more satisfied. A thought suddenly popped into her mind: although Liu Feng was of humble origins, he was already a fourth-rank commander of the Imperial Guard at a young age. If her daughter married him, it wouldn't be a bad thing. Moreover, Liu Feng was an orphan, so she wouldn't have to serve her in-laws or follow any rules; she could simply marry him directly.

Being a stay-at-home mom is so easy...

"Aunt Liu..."

Liu Ma snapped out of her reverie, startled by her own sudden thought. She quickly shook her head to suppress it, and after calming herself, asked again, "How should we arrange the people?"

"Her specialty is needles... What are you good at?"

Liu Feng swallowed his words, which were on the tip of his tongue, and turned to look at Qingwen.

Knowing she no longer needed to sleep with Liu Feng, Qingwen felt relieved and a smile returned to her face: "Second Master, I am very good at needlework. Even the Old Madam praised me. Several of the Old Madam's clothes were made by me and Sister Yuanyang."

Liu Feng: "That's perfect. From now on, you'll be in charge of making my clothes." He then pointed to the two trunks and baskets, "These are her things. Take them to her room as well."

"Yes."

Aunt Liu nudged Qingwen, reminding her, "Hurry up and thank the Second Master for his kindness."

Qingwen immediately knelt down and respectfully kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Second Master."

Liu Feng smiled and waved his hand: "Go down."

Watching Qingwen's departing figure, Liu Feng smiled.

Including Xiangling, he has now collected two of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling in the secondary register. It's just a pity that they are both too young, so he can only watch from afar and will have to raise them for a few more years.

Those older, more capable ones seem to be all in the Rongguo Mansion. Maybe... we should go and ask for a few more?

"Slow down, be careful not to spill!"

Liu Feng came to his senses, and Xiangling called to the old woman to carry buckets of bathwater into the green gauze cabinet.

With the bath water ready, Xiangling turned around and went to the bedroom to fetch a change of clothes.

"Second Master, the bathwater is ready."

Liu Feng got up and walked towards the green gauze curtain, but seeing that she didn't follow, he turned around and asked, "What are you standing there for?"

Xiangling pouted and said, "Let the new Qingwen serve Second Master while he takes a bath."

Liu Feng was both annoyed and amused. This little brat had actually learned to be jealous.

"From now on, Qingwen, just focus on making clothes for me. You can take care of my daily life."

Xiangling's face immediately lit up with a smile, and she skipped over to him, saying, "Second Master, I'll help you take a bath."

Liu Feng chuckled and pinched her cheek: "The garrison is in dire need of rebuilding. Starting tomorrow, I'll be busy for a while, and I don't know when I'll be back tonight. If it's too late, just go to sleep first; don't wait for me."

"No, I want to wait for Second Master to come back."

"Whatever you want."

......................

The Commander-in-Chief did not have an independent office; he had a department within the Embroidered Uniform Guard. However, Liu Feng was still directly under the jurisdiction of the Directorate of Ceremonial, so he did not need to go there to report for duty.

So Liu Feng simply converted the Qianmen Street Thousand Household Office into a clerk's office, so that he could manage the affairs of the two Thousand Household Offices nearby.

The scale of a thousand-household garrison was far more impressive than that of a hundred-household garrison.

First was the front yard, then the official government office area, then the barracks where the officers and soldiers lived, and then the separate prison cells, the warehouse and weapons storage area, and finally a shrine was set up where people burned incense and prayed for the stability of the government office and the smooth progress of their duties.

This thousand-household compound had been abandoned and dilapidated for more than ten years, with many of the houses inside either collapsed or damaged.

Liu Feng spent a lot of money to hire a large number of skilled craftsmen and purchased timber and stone materials from the Imperial Household Department at high prices. He worked hard and finally finished the repairs of the Thousand Households Office in early June.

The other part isn't urgent; we can repair it slowly.

This morning, the weather was fine and sunny, and even magpies were chirping in the trees along the street.

Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, Liu Feng pushed open the newly renovated vermilion gate and led a group of Imperial Guards inside to pray for blessings...