The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 517: Alcohol makes cowards brave?
When Jia Huan and his party arrived at Zuiyuezhai, the shopkeeper, perhaps knowing Xu Wenhou's identity, was very respectful and personally led them to a small private room in the back of the restaurant. He asked with a smile, "What would you like to eat today, Master Qi? We have some fresh mountain and seafood delicacies."

Xu Wenhou stretched his fat face and said, "Today we will only eat thousand-layer cakes. One portion for each person."

The shopkeeper was dumbfounded, thinking he had misheard, and said with a smile: "One thousand layer cake for each person?"

Xu Wenhou rolled his eyes and said, "Are you deaf? Come on, bring two more jars of good wine."

"Yes, yes, I'll be there right away. Please wait a moment." The shopkeeper retreated hurriedly, thinking to himself that it was bad luck, thinking that this gentleman was probably in a bad mood today.

Everyone looked at each other, while Liu Yi lowered his head slightly and remained silent, secretly clenching his fists.

Soon, the thousand-layer cake was served, one plate for each person, and two jars of fine wine. The shopkeeper personally poured everyone a bowl of wine and said with a smile: "The wine and food are all here, please enjoy. If Master Qi needs anything else, please let me know." Then he left very tactfully and closed the door considerately.

Xu Wenhou had a gloomy face. Since he met this man, it was the first time that Jia Huan saw the fat boy with such an expression. He couldn't help but be secretly surprised.

"In the whole capital, Zuiyuezhai's thousand-layer cake is the most delicious. Everyone should try it." Xu Wenhou said as he picked up a piece of thousand-layer cake from the plate in front of him and took a bite. After chewing it twice, his fat face fell and he choked up and said, "Sister Wanruo loves to eat this the most. It's a pity that she can no longer eat it now."

Liu Yi shuddered slightly, picked up the wine bowl and drank it. Xu Wenhou stood up suddenly, pointed his finger and cursed: "Liu Shouzheng, what else can you do besides drinking? You useless pus, even if you drink all the wine in the world, can Sister Wanruo come back to life?"

Liu Yi's face turned pale, he drank the wine in one breath, and said in a trembling voice: "That's right, I am a waste and can't do anything."

Xu Wenhou sat down dejectedly and began to cry: "I am also a loser, I can't do anything. I didn't even dare to ask my father for mercy. I have no right to scold you."

Xu Wenhou's chubby face was like a piece of bread, with curved eyebrows and eyes. He was originally quite funny, but now he was crying and sobbing, which was really moving.

Jia Huan couldn't help but be secretly surprised. It seemed that Xu Wenhou had a very deep affection for Qi Wanruo, otherwise he wouldn't have cried like this. He didn't know what kind of relationship the two had.

"It is difficult to disobey the emperor's will. What can we do?" Liu Yi murmured with red eyes.

Xu Wenhou grabbed the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp, then smashed the bowl to the ground, cursing, "Damn Baiwa, a traitor who stole the country to the throne. What qualifications does he have to succeed the King of Hami? He still has the nerve to ask my Great Jin for a princess as a concubine. Father should have raised an army to destroy this traitor. Sister Wanruo is pitiful. She died less than a year after she went to Hami. Baiwa, this traitor, not only did not repent and admit his mistakes, he even dared to ask my Great Jin to marry another princess as a concubine. Bastard, I fuck his uncle!"

As the saying goes, alcohol makes cowards bolder. After drinking a large bowl of liquor, Xu Wenhou's chubby white face turned red. He, who had always been cowardly and timid, became extremely wild and unrestrained. Not only did he curse Hami King Baiwa, but he also seemed to be dissatisfied with his father, Emperor Qiansheng, in his words, which almost shocked Jia Huan and others.

It is worth mentioning here that the current King of Hami is named Baiwa, a general under the previous King of Hami. This man was cunning and greedy. With the secret support of Turpan, he rebelled, killed the previous King of Hami, and imprisoned the commander of the Hami Guard sent by the Jin Dynasty and a group of subordinate officials. After that, he shamelessly asked the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty for a title and proposed a marriage. Otherwise, he would lead Hami to surrender to Turpan and send troops to attack Jiayu Pass.

Emperor Qiansheng was furious, but at this time there was a powerful threat from the Qing Dynasty in the northeast of the Great Jin Dynasty, and the Tartars in the north were also ready to make a move. If war broke out again in the west, the Great Jin Dynasty would be surrounded by enemies on all sides. So Emperor Qiansheng had no choice but to swallow his anger. He not only issued an edict to enthrone Baiwa as the new King of Hami, he also selected Qi Wanruo, the daughter of Qi Qin, the current chief academic officer of the Imperial College, and made her a princess. He then went to Hami to marry.

Unexpectedly, the girl from the Qi family died soon after arriving in Hami. Just before the New Year, Emperor Qiansheng received a letter from Baiwa, requesting the Jin Dynasty to give another princess as a marriage partner. Yes, a princess, not even a county lady would be accepted. Moreover, the arrogant words in Baiwa's letter made Emperor Qiansheng so angry that he smashed a piece of imperial inkstone. However, there was a major threat in the northeast of the empire, and he had no time to pay attention to the west. He could only issue an imperial decree to reprimand Baiwa in a perfunctory manner, and said that he would consider Baiwa's marriage request.

No one knew what kind of relationship Xu Wenhou had with Qi Wanruo. When he met Liu Yi today, it was probably because something was on his mind, so he used alcohol to vent his anger.

"Damned Baiwa, one day, I will kill you and send your head to all the nine borders!" At this moment, the little fat man's face was full of murderous intent and he gritted his teeth. He was completely different from his usual timid and cowardly appearance. He picked up a jar of wine and drank it down. The overflowing wine wet his clothes.

Jia Huan quickly snatched the jar of wine and said with a smile, "Seventh Master, please wait a little longer. At least leave some for us!"

Xu Wenhou wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, his eyes wide open, and grabbed Jia Huan's hand and said, "Brother Jia, I heard that you are good at fighting and have wiped out a group of pirates in the south. If I let you lead 100,000 soldiers, can you destroy Hami?"

Jia Huan frowned and said, "Seventh Master, you are drunk!"

"I'm not drunk. I'm serious. It's ridiculous that we, the great Celestial Empire, have to endure the bullying of a small country in the Western Regions. Jia Ziming, don't change the subject. I just want to ask you, is there anything you can do?" Xu Wenhou stared at Jia Huan, his face flushed and he was gasping for air.

There was a hint of surprise in Jia Huan's eyes. It is said that people speak the truth after drinking. Is this little fat boy really as cowardly as he appears to be, or is he simply emboldened by alcohol?
"Wait until you have 100,000 soldiers." Jia Huan said calmly.

Xu Wenhou was stunned for a moment, then he fell back into his seat like a deflated ball, and said self-deprecatingly: "Yes, where did I get a hundred thousand soldiers? Brother Jia, just treat it as my fart!"

As he spoke, he slid down from his seat and fell to the ground, knocking over the chair. Everyone was startled and rushed forward to help him, only to find that the little fat man had fallen asleep. His alcohol tolerance was really extraordinary.

Jia Huan could not help but laugh or cry, so he had to call in the four palace guards who followed Xu Wenhou and told them to send him home and take good care of him.

Everyone watched Xu Wenhou's carriage go away. Zhang Zhilong couldn't help but sigh and said, "I didn't expect the Seventh Prince to have such deep feelings for Miss Qi."

At this moment, Liu Yi was settling the bill with the shopkeeper and was not nearby. Jia Huan took the opportunity to ask, "What is the relationship between the Seventh Master and Miss Qi?"

Zhang Zhilong asked curiously, "Doesn't Ziming know that the Seventh Prince's biological mother is Concubine Qi?"

Jia Huan's mind was moved, and he blurted out: "Could it be that Master Qi and Miss Qi are cousins?"

Zhang Zhilong nodded and said, "The Liu and Qi families are old friends and live close to each other. Senior Brother and Miss Qi have been childhood sweethearts, and Uncle Liu is the Seventh Prince's teacher, so the three of them are familiar with each other."

Jia Huan suddenly realized. Judging from Xu Wenhou's performance just now, he should have a very good relationship with his cousin Qi Wanruo. He didn't know whether there was any love affair between men and women. However, senior brother Liu Yi was already in his early twenties, so Qi Wanruo should be about the same age, and Xu Wenhou was not even fifteen years old. The age difference was quite large. This kid shouldn't be so naive, so it was most likely pure family affection.

At this time, Liu Yi came out of Zuiyuezhai after paying the bill. He was obviously in a very low mood. He said in a deep voice: "My fellow junior brothers, I have something to go home for. I'll take my leave first. See you at the examination hall on the ninth day of next month." After that, he turned around and walked away along the street.

Zhang Zhilong said with some annoyance: "Big Brother finally came out of this situation, but he didn't expect that he would face this case again." Lu Xiangsheng frowned and said: "A good man should have ambitions, but Big Brother is trapped by love all day long, which is too much of a fuss."

Jia Huan said: "That's because Jiandou hasn't met a woman he likes yet."

Lu Xiangsheng's fair face turned slightly red, and he shook his head and said, "I only want to achieve great things in my life, and I don't care about the love affairs of my children at all. It's too tiring. It's better to ride a horse and fight on the battlefield."

Zhang Zhilong laughed and said, "Look, this is what a candidate should say? No wonder he got the nickname Lu Dali. He should not have taken the imperial examination, but the military examination."

Next, Jia Huan and the other two found a restaurant to eat, chatted while eating, and only parted ways after they had eaten and drunk their fill.

Just as Jia Huan walked out of the restaurant and got on the carriage to leave, a man suddenly appeared from a nearby alley, staring at the carriage with vicious eyes, as if his fists were about to break.

This person was none other than Sun Shaozu, the Wolf of Zhongshan who had just been released from the prison of Shuntian Prefecture.

It turned out that Sun Shaozu was taken to Shuntian Prefecture Yamen by Jia Huan that day and was accused of trespassing and injuring people with a sharp weapon, and was detained for a few days. Sun Shaozu spent several hundred taels of silver to get out of the situation with great difficulty, so he hated Jia Huan to the core.

…………

In the dark prison of the Ministry of Justice, Wang Shanbao finally saw Jia She and Jia Zhen. He fell to his knees and cried, "Thank God, I finally get to see you, my Lord."

Jia She and Jia Zhen were originally imprisoned in the Jinyiwei prison. After the Jia family was raided, the two were transferred to the Ministry of Justice prison and were finally allowed to be visited.

At this time, Jia She and Jia Zhen were obviously much more haggard. Jia She said in a deep voice: "Get up. You are a loyal servant. You still remember to come to visit the master. What is the situation in the mansion now?"

Wang Shanbao wiped his tears and said, "The East Mansion was completely confiscated, all the property and servants were confiscated, and our mansion only confiscated the floating property of the eldest wife. However, now the eldest wife is penniless and is being bullied by Jia Huan. She is living a very hard life!"

Jia She frowned and said, "Why does Huan Lao San bully the eldest wife? She is his aunt!"

Wang Shanbao cried and said, "The eldest master doesn't know. Now the old lady has asked Jia Huan to be the housekeeper. He has the final say in everything. He also has the key to the treasury. Originally, after paying off the foreign debts, there were still tens of thousands of taels of silver left in the treasury. The second master planned to use it to return the stolen money and reduce the crime of the eldest master and Master Zhen. Unexpectedly, Jia Huan was so eloquent that he actually convinced the second master that there was money in the treasury, but he was unwilling to take it out to reduce the crime of the eldest master and Master Zhen. In addition, the second master originally promised to give the eldest lady 3,000 taels of silver for self-defense, but Jia Huan rejected it."

Jia She was filled with hatred when he heard this, and said in a fierce voice, "How dare he? You ignorant bastard! When I get out, I'll see how I deal with him. Damn you, you heartless little bastard! You're so pissed that I'm dying!"

Jia Zhen was also gritting his teeth in hatred. He punched the wall and said sternly, "I have long suspected Huan Lao San. If he hadn't instigated me, how could Jia Qiang, the beast, dare to report me? Moreover, he reported me to the Jinyiwei Yamen. It is obvious that someone was instructing him. I guess Jia Rong, the rebellious son, was also involved. I really should have beaten this beast to death that day!"

Jia She said with a dark face: "You still have the nerve to say that rabbits don't eat grass near their burrows, but you are so good that you can even... No wonder Jia Rong and Jia Qiang, those two brats, betrayed you, and now you have implicated me."

Jia Zhen couldn't help but blush!

Hey, neither of these uncle and nephew are good people, and Jia Zhen is obviously at the bottom of the contempt chain.

At this time, Jia She said again: "Jia Rong and Jia Qiang are usually afraid of you like a tiger. If Jia Huan hadn't instigated them behind the scenes, they would never dare to rebel. So the little bastard Huan Lao San is the culprit."

Jia Zhen said in a hateful voice: "It is definitely Huan Lao San who is behind this. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that we just used a trick to force him to give up his shares in the honeycomb coal business, and the Jinyiwei came to arrest him. Moreover, Huan Lao San is familiar with Yi Hong, the commander of the Jinyiwei."

Jia She's face was extremely gloomy, and he said coldly: "Unless I die in this prison, I will avenge this - revenge!"

……

When Jia Huan returned home, it was already around four o'clock in the afternoon. He gave the thousand-layer cake he brought back from Zuiyuezhai to Mandalin, and asked her to give one portion each to Xue Lin and Sanchun, as well as one portion to Yihongyuan, and keep the rest for himself.

This foreign maid now loves to visit people everywhere. After receiving the order, she went out happily and asked the new maid Feng'er to help her carry the food box.

Ping'er changed Jia Huan's outer clothes, fetched hot water and gently helped him wash his face, asking about his health and being considerate.

Jia Huan stretched comfortably and asked, "I'm going out. Is everything fine at home?"

Qiao Ping'er shook her head and smiled sweetly, "Nothing happened."

"How is Qingwen?"

Ping Er sighed and said, "She has been lying in bed all the time. She hasn't even had lunch yet and she won't respond when I call her."

Jia Huan said calmly: "It's okay, let her starve. When she can't stand the hunger anymore, she will come out to eat naturally."

As soon as Jia Huan finished speaking, he heard a little girl outside screaming, "Master Bao, what are you doing?"

"Huan Lao San, you despicable villain, if you have the guts, come out, don't just hide and plot, ugh!"

Following a burst of angry curses, the door curtain was lifted with a loud bang, and Big-Faced Bao rushed in like a cat with its fur standing on end. Ping'er was so scared that she subconsciously hid behind Jia Huan.

(End of this chapter)