The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 501: Grandmother Jia’s will?

Jia Huan lifted the Xiang curtain and walked into the room. He saw Daiyu, Baochai, Baoqin and Sanchun were all there. Their beautiful eyes were looking at him with surprise. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and asked, "Is everyone okay?"

The girls, having just calmed down from the shock, all shook their heads to indicate that they were fine.

Xichun's maid Ruhua patted her chest and said with lingering fear: "It's a good thing that the Third Master arrived in time. When I heard that the Jinyiwei were coming to search our house and arrest people, I was almost scared to death."

Jia Tanchun stepped forward and asked anxiously, "Brother Huan, I heard that the master vomited blood and fainted in Rong Xi Tang, and the Jinyiwei suddenly came to confiscate the house. What is the situation in the mansion now?"

"The master is fine, but the old lady can't stand the stimulation. After being treated by the imperial physician, the situation is not optimistic." Jia Huan replied in a deep voice.

Lin Daiyu and the others became worried upon hearing this and said they wanted to go visit Grandmother Jia, but Jia Huan shook his head to stop them, saying, "The Imperial Guards are searching everywhere right now, and the situation is chaotic. Don't go yet. Stay inside for now to avoid any accidents. Wait until the Imperial Guards finish searching before you go."

Xue Baochai nodded and said softly, "Brother Huan is right. The mansion is already in chaos. Let's stay in the garden for a while and don't add to the chaos... Hey, how did Brother Huan hurt his hand?"

Xue Baochai's heart tightened and she subconsciously grabbed Jia Huan's left hand. The girls' eyes all fell on the latter's left hand, and they saw a fresh bloodstain on the back of his hand.

Jia Huan lied casually, "Maybe I bumped into him accidentally while walking just now. It's nothing serious, just a little skin broken."

Lin Daiyu, however, felt very distressed and without saying a word, she grabbed Jia Huan's wrist and looked at it carefully. Xue Baochai quickly let go of her hand and just stepped back half a step and watched without saying a word.

Lin Daiyu's attention was focused on Jia Huan's wound at the moment, and she didn't notice Xue Baochai's actions. She frowned slightly and said, "It doesn't look like a collision, but more like a sharp weapon."

After hearing this, Baochai and Tanchun couldn't help showing suspicion.

Jia Huan secretly sweated. Sister Lin was sentimental and thoughtful. She could tell that the wound was caused by a sharp weapon. However, Jia Huan would not admit that he cut it himself, otherwise he would be blamed by all the "sisters". So he continued to lie and said, "I guess it was scratched by the edge of the rockery."

Lin Daiyu looked at Jia Huan doubtfully, then turned around and said, "Zijuan, go get the bottle of golden medicine on the shelf."

Zijuan hurriedly brought the medicine, and Lin Daiyu washed her hands before carefully applying it to Jia Huan. Ying'er teased, "Mr. Huan is so old, but he still gets hurt when he walks. I remember he hurt his left hand last time, and asked my daughter to apply the medicine."

Lin Daiyu was stunned for a moment, and found that there was indeed a faint old scar on the back of Jia Huan's left hand, so she asked, "When did Brother Huan get injured again?"

Xue Baochai's cheeks felt slightly hot, and she smiled and said, "Brother Huan was jogging last time and passed by Hengwu Garden. Yun girl happened to be running out from inside, and she accidentally bumped into him. They both fell down, but Yun girl was fine, but Brother Huan scraped his hand."

Jia Tanchun suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. Yun'er always acts in a hurry. It's a blessing that she wasn't hurt."

Xue Baochai sighed and changed the subject, "That's right, but Yun heard that something happened at home and was rushing back home, so I can't blame her. Now half a month has passed, and I don't know how Yun is doing."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the girls looked gloomy. Now that Jia She and Jia Zhen had both been stripped of their titles and their property had been confiscated, they were afraid that Xiangyun's two uncles would not have a good end either.

At this time, Lin Daiyu had already applied medicine to Jia Huan's wound and said to Jia Tanchun, "Tan girl, bandage him up."

Jia Tanchun said with a smile: "It's better not to trouble two people for one thing. Sister Lin has already applied the medicine to her wound, why not bandage Brother Huan's wound as well."

Lin Daiyu laughed and said, "How dare you say that to me? He is your own brother, but you don't care about him yourself and you want me to take care of him. That's unreasonable!"

Jia Huan knew Lin Daiyu's temper well. This little jealous girl must have been jealous again, so she gave up halfway and was angry with him. So Jia Huan smiled and said, "No need to bandage it. It's just a small wound, so you don't even need medicine."

Lin Daiyu clapped her hands and said, "Listen, girl Tan, let's not meddle in other people's business. Let him go by himself. The other good sisters will help him bandage the wound."

Jia Tanchun smiled without saying anything. She took out a clean handkerchief to bandage Jia Huan. Xue Baochai turned her head and talked to Jia Yingchun, as if she didn't hear anything.

Jia Huan coughed lightly and said, "Everyone, please stay here for a while. This is the villa where the imperial concubine comes to visit her parents. The Jinyiwei have promised not to come in to search, so don't worry. I will go back and check the situation."

Jia Tanchun nodded and said softly, "Brother Huan, go quickly. The mansion is in chaos now. Some are arrested, some are sick, and there is no one in charge outside. Although my brother is young, he can take charge on his own. He should do his part to help share the burden for the master."

Xue Baochai glanced at Jia Huan, wanting to say something but stopping herself, while Lin Daiyu smiled but didn't say a word either. Jia Huan was sweating inwardly, thinking that Sister Lin was very jealous, and if he said too much, he would be in trouble, so he turned around and left Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

...Let’s talk about the captain of the Jinyiwei who was stopped by Jia Huan. He was originally going to lead people to search the Grand View Garden, but he was stopped by Jia Huan on the way. The latter spoke to him in a soft and hard way. After weighing the pros and cons, he finally left the garden in disappointment and went back to report to the captain Lu Youwei.

Lu Youwei was directing the house search at Ningguo Mansion. Seeing that the centurion had returned so quickly and with a look of surprise on his face, he asked in surprise, "Old Zhao, did you finish the search so quickly?"

The captain's name was Zhao Quan. He said angrily, "We hadn't even robbed a single hair when Jia Huan stopped us. He said that the garden was visited by the Imperial Concubine, and anyone who dared to go in and mess around would be disrespectful to the Imperial Concubine."

Lu Youwei laughed and said, "So you guys are retreating? You, Old Zhao, have never been so cowardly before!"

Zhao Quan said with a bit of embarrassment: "I am only giving Jia Huan a little face for the sake of the boss."

Lu Youwei chuckled and said, "Old Zhao, you are smart for once. Although the Jia family is now in ruins, this Jia Huan is a formidable figure. It is best not to offend him if you can."

Zhao Quan frowned and asked in a low voice, "I heard that our boss is on good terms with this Jia Huan. Besides being good at studying, what else is this guy good at?"

Lu Youwei said in a low voice, "I can only tell you that this guy has saved our boss's life, and more than once. Don't look at his young age, he is quite good at fighting, and he is decisive and ruthless. Even our boss is afraid of him!"

Zhao Quan said doubtfully, "Not really, right?"

Lu Youwei rolled his eyes and whispered in Zhao Quan's ear, "Do you know how Prince Yi Zhong's great-grandson Xu Wenhan died?"

Zhao Quan's heart trembled, and he whispered, "It is said that he was killed by a hail of bullets when he led his assassins to attack the Yangzhou Salt Inspectorate. Could it be that Jia Huan did it?"

Lu Youwei chuckled and put his finger on his head to make a trigger gesture. Zhao Quan clenched his lips as if he had a toothache, and his heart was even more dignified. Although Prince Yi Zhong had been executed, he was still a prince after all, and Prince Yi Zhong had not been convicted at the time. How dare Jia Huan, this wolf cub, kill the prince's great-grandson, who was a member of the royal family? Tsk tsk, he was really bold!

Lu Youwei patted Zhao Quan on the shoulder and said, "Jia Huan is a young boy with a bright future. Even the boss looks at him differently. What's wrong with doing him a favor?"

Zhao Quan was a little unhappy at first, but now all his unhappiness disappeared, and he joined the ranks of those who searched and searched Ningguo Mansion with his brothers.

As the saying goes, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. Although the Ningguo Mansion is heavily in debt, there are many valuable antiques and rare treasures in the mansion, and all kinds of precious furniture are countless. For the Jinyiwei, it is simply a feast for the gluttons.

Let's not talk about how the Jinyiwei searched the Ningguo Mansion, let's talk about Jia Huan leaving the garden and returning to the Rongguo Mansion. He learned that Jia's mother had been carried back to her residence, so he went straight to Jia's mother's residence. As a result, as soon as he entered Jia's mother's room, he saw the first wife, Mrs. Xing, with her hair disheveled, sitting on the ground crying. Mrs. Wang and others couldn't persuade her to stop, and Jia Zheng just stamped his feet and sighed.

It turned out that Mrs. Xing had hidden more than 8,000 taels of silver in her own pocket, but it was all seized by the Jinyiwei, leaving not a penny behind. For Mrs. Xing, who loved money like her life, this was even more painful than killing her, so she ran to Lady Jia to cry.

Unfortunately, no one here sympathized with her. Most people even looked at her with contempt and disgust. Last night, the old lady gathered everyone to collect money to return the stolen money for the eldest master and Mr. Zhen. The eldest lady only contributed one thousand taels and shamelessly said that this was all she had. As a result, eight thousand taels of private money were confiscated by the Jinyiwei. She deserved it. If she had given it to the master earlier, the Jinyiwei would not have gotten it so easily.

"Sister-in-law, please be quiet for a while. The silver has been confiscated. It's no use crying and making a fuss now. The old lady is still in a coma. Don't disturb her." Jia Zheng advised helplessly.

Mrs. Xing cried and said, "Now the master and Lian'er are still in prison. I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to be released. Our family has been confiscated and there is not a penny left. I am already old. How can I live in the future?"

Mrs. Xing started to cry again. Jia Zheng was upset by her crying and stamped his feet, saying, "Forget it. I will return the one thousand taels of silver to you later and give you another two thousand taels. You will have three thousand taels of silver to protect yourself and live a peaceful life. At worst, our ancestors still have some farmland, so you won't be left alone in your old age."

Mrs. Xing stopped crying immediately after hearing this. Although Mrs. Wang was unhappy, she couldn't contradict her husband in person.

At this time, Yuanyang came out from the inner room and said, "The old lady has woken up. Please come in, Master."

Jia Zheng hurried into the inner room, and Mrs. Xing immediately pricked up her ears to eavesdrop. She was probably worried that Lady Jia was dying, so she asked Jia Zheng to go in to leave a will and explain the distribution of the estate.

After about a cup of tea, Jia Zheng came out with heavy steps, looked at Jia Huan with complicated eyes, waved his hand and said: "Huan'er, go see your grandmother, she has something to tell you!"

Mrs. Wang and Jia Baoyu were both stunned for a moment, and their expressions were a little unnatural. Needless to say, Mrs. Wang knew that Jia Baoyu was the legitimate grandson. Why did the old lady not see the legitimate grandson at this time, but summon the illegitimate grandson instead?
Jia Baoyu's thoughts were not so utilitarian, because the ancestor had always loved him the most. Now that he was seriously ill, he was not the first one to be summoned, but Jia Huan was summoned instead. He was naturally very disappointed, but he did not think about the distribution of the inheritance.

Jia Huan himself was a little surprised, and entered the inner room with doubts in his mind.

(End of this chapter)