2.24 Xue Baochai: It is all thanks to Elder Brother Rui's assistance

Early the next morning, Lin Rui finished his routine workout and headed straight for the back garden.

He had forgotten something very important yet utterly trivial.

"Oh dear, why is Elder Brother here?" As soon as he stepped through the gates, Xueyan, who happened to be gathering items in the living room, hurried over and pushed him back toward the exit. "Our young mistress hasn't even gotten up yet. What kind of sense does it make for you to just barge in?"

Lin Rui froze. He looked at the already risen sun and wore a speechless expression.

Up on the stairs, Xiangling caught sight of him and hurriedly retreated, looking somewhat nervous.

"What of it even if I do go in!" Seeing no one else around, he simply pulled the maid in and kissed her.

"Elder Brother—" After a long moment, Xueyan let him hold her limply, though she still fulfilled her duty as a maid. "You really can't go in. This servant understands that in the future... there is still a reputation to maintain. Besides, our young mistress has a petty temper; if she gets angry, she won't be easy to appease."

"How much longer will it take?" Lin Rui wasn't out of his mind; why would he insist on barging into his cousin's bedchamber?

Hmm? Though, come to think of it, that actually sounded rather interesting?

"At the very least, the length of an incense stick, and it's bound to take quite a while," Xueyan thought for a moment before answering.

"That's not short at all!" Realizing there was no immediate issue, Lin Rui couldn't help tightening his embrace around the maid with a mischievous smile.

"Elder Brother!" Could Xueyan fail to see what was on his mind?

Yet for some reason, her limbs suddenly turned weak, and she had no choice but to let him carry her into a nearby flower bed. Fortunately, the Lin household currently had few servants, and apart from the embroidered tower, the entire back garden was entirely deserted.

"Xueyan, why aren't you here to wait on me?" I know not how much time had passed when a voice called down from upstairs.

The maid finally managed to stand, first wiping away the traces at the corner of her mouth, before playfully swatting the thick-skinned fellow a few times. She had to lean on him just to stay upright, dragging her weak legs back as quickly as possible.

After waiting another quarter of an hour or so, Lin Rui finally walked briskly into the parlor of the embroidered tower.

"Elder Brother Rui, why are you so early today?" Seeing him enter, Lin Daiyu poured him a cup of tea personally.

"I've run into a rather troublesome matter that I truly cannot handle on my own, so I immediately thought of Cousin," Lin Rui didn't beat around the bush. He sat down on the long couch and said, "Remember how I just secured an official posting? According to court custom, a newly appointed official must submit a memorial of gratitude, especially when stationed in the capital."

"This—" Lin Daiyu's expression turned troubled. "Little Sister has never written one before!"

"I remember that among the things we brought back, quite a few belonged to Uncle," Lin Rui had naturally considered this. "They include many former official documents, memorials, and the like, and surely there must be some standard routine greeting memorials among them. You can just model yours after those.

Besides, everyone knows I bought my official rank through a contribution and spent all my time leading troops previously, so it's entirely normal for my writing and calligraphy to be mediocre—ah, almost forgot, Cousin's calligraphy is truly exceptional! Doesn't that save me another headache? Even if the content is a bit lacking, people will understand."

"Since that is the case, Little Sister will give it a try. I only hope Elder Brother Rui won't find it too clumsy!" Lin Daiyu then hesitated and nodded. "Only, I wonder if there are any taboos or pitfalls to watch out for? I shouldn't cause any trouble, should I?"

"Just be careful to avoid naming taboos; I heard Uncle mention it before." Lin Rui actually knew nothing about it.

Official documents were complex if one made them so, filled with a pile of bureaucratic phrasing that ordinary people couldn't even understand without prior preparation. But they were also simple, because the main point was to convey a matter clearly—once that was done, nobody would be idle enough to pick apart every single character.

This wasn't the Qing dynasty, where people were constantly plucked at random to have their entire families executed on the pretext of their phrasing.

"That's a relief!" Lin Daiyu finally breathed easier.

"Actually, you don't need to overthink it. Routine memorials of this sort are hardly ever read by anyone. Once they scan the opening to know what it's about, they just get filed away into archives," Lin Rui comforted her with a smile. "What's more, my current rank is simply too low.

If it were Grand Secretaries and senior ministers, the Emperor would have to look at their memorials regardless of content and issue vermilion endorsements when necessary. If His Majesty had to read routine memorials from minor fifth- or sixth-rank officials like me, even an emperor of iron would crumble from exhaustion."

Take the Chongzhen Emperor, who worked so hard it would have been better had he done nothing, or the Yongzhen Emperor, who was truly a workaholic.

"In that case, Little Sister will be bold!" Lin Daiyu looked quite pleased.

When one thought about it, it was hardly strange. Who wouldn't want to show off what they had learned? Her literary accomplishments had long surpassed those of the vast majority of men, yet she was confined to the inner chambers purely because of her gender. It would have been stranger if she harbored no ambitions.

"What a pity that Sister Bao isn't here; otherwise, she could have helped," Xue Baoqin, who had just come downstairs, remarked with a smile.
"Her?" Lin Rui paused slightly before realizing the point was likely valid.

Xue Baochai could be considered the textbook archetype of a classic young lady of good breeding, but that didn't mean she strictly adhered to rigid, dogmatic rules. For instance, regarding *The Story of the Western Wing*, she guessed its origin from hearing just a single line of poetry, proving she must have secretly read it as well.

Extrapolating from that, it was entirely normal for her to understand more "advanced" matters.

"Sister Bao has followed our late Elder Uncle since childhood, helping manage the family business," Xue Baoqin explained with a smile, as expected. "When she had free time, Little Sister saw her on several occasions browsing through yamen documents, such as the *Di Bao* gazettes that are only circulated down to the county level."

"To do business well, one must understand the court's major policies and directions," Lin Rui understood her meaning.

This applied not just in the feudal era, but just as much in modern times.

"Having read so much, with Sister Bao's intelligence, I imagine writing something like this wouldn't be difficult," Xue Baoqin said softly. "It's just a pity she is far away in Jinling now. No matter what, there's no way she can help with matters here in the capital."

The two spoke casually, completely unaware of the look of competitive defiance on Lin Daiyu's face beside them.

"Elder Brother Rui, when do you need it by?" she suddenly asked.

"No rush. I take office at the beginning of next month, so submitting it before the end of this month will do," Lin Rui failed to notice her little display of pride. "Counting from now, there are still eight or ten days."

"Rest assured, Elder Brother Rui!" Lin Daiyu immediately nodded.

"In that case, I won't interrupt your chatting. I'll head back first." Having finished his business, Lin Rui stood up to leave. "Cousin Qin, keep an eye on the affairs of the Feng Family stores in the capital region. If you run into anything difficult to handle, come find me."

"Little Sister understands!" Xue Baoqin smiled sweetly.

Watching him leave, the two sisters went back to their own banter.

Meanwhile, Lin Rui's mind wandered somewhat, primarily dwelling on matters after taking office. As the saying went, "A new official brings three fires"—he definitely had to make a blazing start. This wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to, but of necessity, so that his subordinates could see results.

In truth, it was easy to arrange: he merely needed to mass-produce his "carry-guns" according to standardized specifications. The current Great Zhou military possessed plenty of firearms, but the majority were legacy weapons inherited from the previous Ming dynasty—things like divine fire flying crows and multi-shot bee-hives—which were long obsolete.

By comparison, the carry-gun could already be considered "advanced." Most importantly, it lacked technical complexity and yielded obvious results, capable of producing effects in a short timeframe and letting people see tangible achievements. That was far better than trying to launch some grandiose "major project."

Thinking up to this point, he decided he should draft a plan, and strode away entirely unaware that as he passed through the main courtyard's connecting corridor, a slender, graceful figure stood at the entrance of the inner residential quarters, her pretty face etched with an extremely complicated expression.

Jinling, the Xue Residence, Inner Quarters.

Xue Baochai let out a helpless sigh as she put down the letter in her hand, standing up to greet the person entering the parlor.

"My precious girl, what is the matter today?" Lady Xue took her hand the moment she stepped through the door. "I heard Ying'er say you have an important matter to discuss. What on earth is wrong? Isn't your elder brother—"

"It's precisely my elder brother." Xue Baochai hesitated, her words stopping on her lips, but after a moment of thought, she decided to speak out. "Ever since he left Jinling in 'exile,' I have received reports from our branch offices more than once, stating that the moment he arrived at his destination, he went straight to the counters to draw silver, asking for hundreds or thousands at a time."

"What's wrong with that? Isn't it just spending a bit of silver?" Lady Xue was entirely unconcerned.

"Mother, this isn't a matter of silver," Xue Baochai said, her head aching fiercely. "Although the Feng family's legal case is supposedly behind us, he still carries the label of an 'exile.' Fortunately, such matters have always operated on the principle of 'no plaintiff, no prosecution.'

Even so, we must remain cautious. Our business is vast, and we have offended countless people in both overt and covert ways. If someone were truly iron-clad on tearing him down, does Mother think the Prefect would actually banish him to Qiongzhou?"

"Surely not?" Lady Xue's expression stiffened. "He accepted our silver..."

"Oh, Mother, the word 'official' has two faces. Do you really think we have the courage to fall out with him?" Xue Baochai laughed in exasperation. "Besides, the reason he was willing to help arrange things was because of the Lin family and Elder Brother Rui's favor, not because of our silver."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Lady Xue asked anxiously.

"He cannot stay in the Jiangnan region any longer." Xue Baochai bit her lip gently. "You must find some business venture for him to run, regardless of profit or loss, just to put up a front. Otherwise, silver lost can be earned back, but if the Prefect gets angry, things will become impossible to clean up."

"My precious girl, you are so clever!" Lady Xue nodded in satisfaction. "I'll go straight to your Second Uncle's residence right now and have your cousin Ke send someone to deliver a letter. Business or no business, it would be best to send him as far away as possible."

"Mother must not forget." Xue Baochai finally breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment of thought, she returned to the inner room and brought out two letters, placing them on the coffee table. "These were sent over by Cousin Qin. One is a report upon arriving in Tianjin, and the other contains arrangements from a few days ago."

"Oh?" Lady Xue hurriedly flipped through them. A moment later, she put them down, her expression of newfound relaxation tightening once more. "Things have reached such a state over there? Tianjin Garrison—for how many years has that been a port of call for your Second Uncle's fleets? How dare the branch office plot against even Cousin Qin?"

"Mother, although your daughter knew things were... she never imagined they would be this rotten." Xue Baochai nodded helplessly. "Cousin Qin said she is planning to consult Elder Brother Rui and dispose of the whole lot. As for storefronts and other assets, so be it; they've already been sold off, and their deeds remain in our hands anyway."

"Let that girl deal with it however she sees fit!" Lady Xue said with a face full of anger. "Such ungrateful, treacherous slaves—if we don't dispose of them early, are we supposed to keep them around just to disgust us? I never expected that when we let them out because they looked obedient and capable back then, they would turn out like this after just a few years?"

"Indeed!" Xue Baochai's expression paused. "If we want to deal with them, we'll need Elder Brother Rui's help."

"My precious girl?" Lady Xue caught the worry in her voice.

"Mother, what do you say to us also moving to the capital?"

"Ah?"