Chapter 261

In the room, there are pens and inkstones on the desk under the window, and the bookshelves in the room are full of books.

Hearing Zi Juan brought a cup of hot tea and saw her young lady flipping through books on the bookshelf.

Although it is early autumn, the weather is not yet cold.

After the first day of October, the Cold Clothing Festival, the weather will begin to turn cool, and the sisters in the garden will collect summer clothes and change into autumn clothes.

But Daiyu has always been afraid of the cold, and she will cough when she encounters cold, so she changed into autumn clothes early; she is wearing a light yellow dark-patterned pair-lapel vest, a white round-neck padded jacket, and a moon-white dark-patterned long skirt.

The light yellow pair-lapel vest is elegant in color, close-fitting, setting off Daiyu's slender figure, making her even more graceful.

Although Daiyu's room is a girl's boudoir, there is no heavy rouge atmosphere, but it is filled with a thick literary atmosphere.

The Lin family is a family of marquises for five generations; the family is wealthy, needless to say, and Lin Ruhai is full of knowledge, a top scholar by origin, and even more a person who loves books.

Daiyu has been influenced by her father since she was a child, so she loves books and has read full of brilliant chapters.

Daiyu flipped through the lower shelf for a long time, and it seemed that she didn't find what she was looking for.

In the Jia mansion, Jia Cong is devoted to the imperial examination and is a person who loves to read.

Hearing Zi Juan exclaimed: "Oh, young lady, don't do this, be careful of flashing your waist, it's not fun; what are you looking for, I'll help you find it, don't climb so high."

Hearing Zi Juan saw her young lady stepping on a stool and going to reach for books on the upper shelf.

Whether Daiyu reads for too long or occasionally spends her mind on needlework, Hearing Zi Juan will always patiently persuade her.

Only with such accumulation over the years is there the scene of books in Daiyu's room.

Ever since Daiyu and Baoyu argued that year and Daiyu was angered by Baoyu to vomit blood, the relationship between the cousins became distant and strange.

In these years, there is Jia Cong's frequent company and understanding, and her mind is not as sensitive and sorrowful as before.

In fact, it is also because she could read as soon as she could eat.

The slender and graceful figure like a willow, it seems that she is still quite agile, and she does not care about climbing high and stepping low.

After arriving at the Jia mansion, Lin Ruhai sent gifts to his daughter every year, and a large part of them were all kinds of books.

But she was born with a deficiency after all; even if she had less sorrow and self-pity, her constitution was still much more delicate than sisters like Sanchun.

Daiyu seems to have broken the root of the disease from then on, and she is no longer as fond of crying as when she was a child.

Daiyu smiled: "Just climbing a stool, where is it so weak; the book I'm looking for, you don't understand, only I can come."

But his collection of books cannot be compared with Daiyu's.

When she came to the Jia mansion, she was still young, and she didn't bring many rouge and skirts, but she brought boxes of books with her.

Hearing Zi Juan was ordered by the Grand Lady of Jia and has always been very attentive to Daiyu's maintenance and care.

Her body and mind have more openness, and her complexion is much better, unlike when she was a child, she was often ill.

She is not short of silver, and buying books to hide them is even more common, otherwise, she wouldn't need Zhen Ying Lian to specifically manage the study.

When she first came to the Jia mansion, she told the Grand Lady of Jia that she started taking medicine as soon as she could eat.

Now seeing her climbing high and low, she is afraid that her young lady will fall or bump.

Only heard Daiyu happily shouting: "Oh, it's really here, found it."

Hearing Zi Juan saw her young lady find a book that looked a bit strange, much larger than an ordinary book, and asked curiously: "Young lady, why does this book look strange?"

Daiyu smiled: "This is not a book, it is a volume of maps; when I came to the Love Shenjing, my father was afraid that I would be bored on the way, so he gave me this volume of maps, and I haven't flipped through it for a long time."

"This not only draws the route from Yangzhou to the Love Shenjing, but also the shadows of the territories of the Great Zhou states; my father said that by observing the situation of the maps, one can know the rivers and mountains of the world."

Hearing Zi Juan heard it half-understood, and asked with a puzzled expression: "Young lady, why do you want to find this thing to look at?"

Hearing Hearing Zi Juan's question, Daiyu's eyebrows frowned slightly, her eyes were full of ripples, and a look of worry appeared on her face; the joy of finding the map just now disappeared instantly.

She said: "Third Brother received a new decree and is going to inspect the nine borders with the Ministry of War at the end of the year; those places are extremely remote and isolated, and they are very far from the Love Shenjing."

"I found the map because I wanted to see how long the road Third Brother will walk, and when he will be able to return after going."

Hearing Zi Juan heard her young lady's voice full of reluctance and melancholy at the end, which made people feel a bit distressed.

Daiyu said gloomily: "Third Brother hasn't seen him rest much since he was named the case leader of the courtyard examination."

"He went to Jinling to handle the imperial errand for half a year, and after returning, he studied hard behind closed doors to prepare for the provincial examination."

"Now that he has finally passed the provincial examination, he is busy with those firearms every day, and he has to go to such a far place as the nine borders."

Hearing Zi Juan comforted: "I advise the young lady to relax; does the young lady hope that the Cong Sanye has ability or not?"

Daiyu raised her eyebrows slightly, and there was a trace of pride in her words: "Is there any man in this mansion who has more ability than Third Brother?"

Hearing Zi Juan laughed, and replied: "That's right; like the Cong Sanye who has such ability, there are many things he can do, so isn't he going to run around and build merit?"

"If he were someone who messed around at home every day, how could he please the young lady?"

Daiyu blushed, and spat: "You dead girl, what are you talking about; when did Third Brother please me?"

Hearing Zi Juan smiled slightly, knowing that her young lady had a thin skin.

They are the closest between master and servant, talking about everything, and they both understand this matter best, but as long as she mentions it, the young lady will always be stubborn and deny it, which is very fun.

Hearing Zi Juan's comforting words were very clever, and Daiyu's mood also opened up a bit.

Hearing Zi Juan changed the subject, looked at the map in Daiyu's hand, and asked curiously: "Young lady, tell me, which places will Third Brother walk?"

At this time, a gentle laugh sounded at the door, echoing in the room: "Sister wants to know where I will go, why don't you ask me?"

Daiyu replied in a beautiful voice: "Third Brother is busy going out early and returning late every day, and I can't even see his shadow if I want to ask."

She saw Jia Cong enter, turned around and smiled, like a strange flower blooming, like rain and dew, the slender and graceful figure like a willow, driving the skirt to brush lightly, indescribably moving.

Jia Cong smiled: "It's been a bit busy for a while, but I can probably relax next."

On the side of the firearm workshop, the regulations for the construction of porcelain mines have been explored, and the progress of the follow-up only needs to be carried out step by step, and he no longer needs to supervise and worry about it every day.

He took the map from Daiyu's hand, turned to one of the pages, and pointed to the nine positions stretching east and west on the map.

He said: "The nine border towns of the Great Zhou are distributed from the Yalu River in the east to the Jiayu Pass in the west, and there is a distance of more than ten thousand miles from east to west."

Daiyu was surprised: "With such a long distance, wouldn't Third Brother have to walk for several years?"

Jia Cong smiled: "Where is there such a long time as Sister said; a fast horse back and forth for half a year is enough."

"The itinerary is not yet set, but the Jurchens are making trouble in Liaodong, and the three towns of Liaodong, Jizhou, and Xuanfu are the first to bear the brunt; I estimate that I will only inspect these three towns."

"In this way, the time back and forth can be shortened by half; set off at the end of the year, and I estimate that I can return when the spring is warm and the flowers bloom."

In fact, this is just Jia Cong's guess; the border inspection route is a secret, and it will not be revealed in advance until a few days before departure.

He knew that Daiyu's mind was sharp and sensitive, and she had always been hanging on to him, so he deliberately shortened the itinerary, just to broaden her heart.

There is a lot of work after the festival, and I am still working overtime.

The time was not controlled well, sorry, ask for leave for one day.

Resume updates tomorrow.

(End of chapter)