The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 544 Moving Out of the Garden
"Bao girl doesn't want to get married? Why? I always saw Bao girl and Huan'er getting along well." Grandmother Jia frowned, feeling quite unhappy. In her opinion, although the Jia family is now in decline and no longer has the mighty power it once had, the Xue family is even worse. The Xue family is considered to be marrying up to the Jia family, but now they are unwilling to marry into the family, which is a bit ungrateful.

Aunt Xue said a little embarrassedly: "Bao girl and Huan Ge'er do get along very well. I don't know why it suddenly became like this. Alas!"

Grandmother Jia asked, "Could it be that they are having a quarrel? But Bao-ya-tou has always been steady and proper, unlike Yu-ya-tou, who is always quarreling, laughing and crying. It shouldn't be that serious."

Aunt Xue sighed and said, "Madam, I am really sorry this time. Although marriage is decided by parents and matchmakers, since Bao girl doesn't want to, I don't want to force her. I can only blame her for being unlucky. Let's just leave it at that."

Although Grandmother Jia was unhappy, she also gave Aunt Xue some face and said calmly, "As the saying goes, a forced melon is not sweet. Let's just forget about it."

Aunt Xue obviously felt that Grandmother Jia was unhappy, and said awkwardly: "There is one more thing. We have been bothering your house for nearly half a year. We are embarrassed to stay any longer. We have packed up a villa in the capital and moved out these days."

Hearing this, Jia's mother became even more unhappy and waved her hand, saying, "Since the concubine has made up her mind, I, the old woman, will not keep you. You can only come to my house more often when you are free to avoid being strangers."

Aunt Xue thanked her and left Lady Jia's room. She was so embarrassed that the backs of her ears were still burning. Alas, she thought the relationship would be closer, but she didn't expect it to end up like this.

In the room, Jia's mother could not help but sigh, "A good thing turned into a bad thing, which made everyone embarrassed. I should have known better than to mention it."

Yuanyang comforted her, "As the saying goes, good things take time. Don't be discouraged, old lady. I see that Miss Bao and Master Huan San are usually very close. She didn't object at first, but only said she didn't want to when she saw that the matter was settled. There must be a reason for that."

Grandmother Jia frowned and asked, "What's the reason? Could it be that Cheng Huan'er offended her and she got angry?"

Yuanyang smiled and said, "That's not the case. Miss Bao has always been generous and doesn't get angry easily. I'm just afraid that there are other reasons..."

Grandmother Jia laughed and scolded: "You are a straightforward person, but now you are hesitant. What is it that you can't speak out?"

Yuanyang blushed slightly and said, "I heard that Master Lin wanted to entrust Miss Lin to Master Huan San before he died, and Miss Lin is indeed the closest to Master Huan San."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia remained silent and looked thoughtful.

Mrs. Wang was naturally the happiest person when the marriage was called off, so she did not try to persuade them and told Jia Zheng and Wang Ziteng the truth. The two of them had no choice but to give up and never mentioned it again.

…………

The news that Xue's mother and daughter were moving away spread quickly, shocking many people. Jia Baoyu felt as if the sky had fallen. He stopped going to school and went to Hengwu Garden every day, trying to keep Baochai and Baoqin. After all, without these two beautiful and talented women, the garden would be much less colorful and fun.

Shi Xiangyun, Jia Tanchun and others tried to persuade her to stay, but Xue Baochai was obviously determined to leave, and the other girls could not persuade her, so she finally left.

In the evening, Jia Huan walked into the gate of Hengwu Garden with mixed feelings. He naturally knew why Baochai insisted on moving out. Alas, it was time to make a choice, but unfortunately he did not have the strength to choose from it now. He could not enjoy the blessing of having two wives, so he could only focus on the "main contradiction" first.

As soon as Jia Huan entered Hengwu Garden, he ran into Xiangling and asked with a smile, "Miss Xiangling, is Sister Bao at home?"

Xiangling pointed inside the house and walked away without speaking to Jia Huan, and her attitude became noticeably colder.

Jia Huan had no choice but to go inside. He found Baochai and Ying'er packing their luggage, so he went up to them and asked, "Are you really moving away?"

Xue Baochai smiled and said, "Brother Huan is here. Yes, we are moving out. We have been bothering your house for so long, it is time to move out."

Xue Baochai's smile was still as gentle as ever, but there was an invisible barrier that made people feel strange.

Jia Huan opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Feeling guilty, he could not utter a word to try to keep the girl.

Seeing this, Ying'er became even more annoyed, because in her opinion, her daughter definitely had feelings for Jia Huan, and the reason why she rejected this marriage must be because of Jia Huan. Seeing Jia Huan being so nagging and not even saying a word to keep him, she deliberately bumped into Jia Huan with her things in her hands, saying, "Mr. Huan, please move aside and don't block the way. If you have nothing to do, please leave. Can't you see we are busy?"

Jia Huan stepped aside awkwardly, and Xue Baochai smiled and said, "Brother Huan, please go back. It will be dark soon, and I don't have time to talk to you now."

Jia Huan had no choice but to leave Hengwu Garden, but he ran into Lin Daiyu. He felt a little uneasy and said, "Sister Bao is moving away, I came to see her..." Lin Daiyu said gently, "Brother Huan, there is no need to explain. I am not such a stingy person. Sister Bao is moving away, and I am very sad to see her. I was just planning to meet her and talk."

Jia Huan heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Sister Bao is busy packing her luggage, I'm afraid she won't be available."

"It's okay. I'll just say hello to her and leave."

"Then I'll wait for you to go together."

Lin Daiyu nodded, and walked lightly into Hengwu Garden. Sure enough, she came out after a moment and said softly, "Brother Huan, let's go."

Jia Huan really wanted to ask Lin Daiyu what she had said to Baochai, but in the end he resisted the urge to ask. He sent Lin Daiyu all the way back to Xiaoxiang Pavilion, sat for a while before leaving and returning to Yueweiju.

On the last day of March in the eighth year of Qiansheng, Aunt Xue and her family moved out of the Jia Mansion. The villa where they lived was not far from the Jia Mansion, only a dozen minutes' walk away. But after Chaiqin moved out, Hengwu Garden became empty, with lonely windows and curtains, and no more beautiful women coming and going. Only the fragrant vines and creepers in the yard were left, which made people feel melancholy.

In a blink of an eye, it was April 15th of the eighth year of Qiansheng. It was the end of spring and the beginning of summer. Jia Huan's vacation was over and he officially went to the Hanlin Academy to take up his post.

On the first day of work, everything was fresh. Jia Huan joined the company along with second place winner Liu Tongsheng and third place winner Liu Yi.

Liu Tongsheng was from Jishui, Jiangxi Province. He was over 30 years old, more than a generation older than Jia Huan. In ancient times, people generally got married early, so the son of Liu Bangyan was already in his teens, almost the same age as Jia Huan. People like Liu Yi, who were still unmarried in their twenties, were definitely an anomaly.

Just like in later generations, new employees had basically nothing to do when they first started working. They spent some time getting familiar with the environment and helping out. Anyway, they definitely had no part in drafting imperial edicts or writing documents. In fact, for several days in a row, Jia Huan and the other two were doing some editing work, which was extremely boring.

One day, when the government was dismissed, Jia Huan and Liu Yi walked out of the Hanlin Academy and happened to meet Lu Xiangsheng and Huang Cong. The two of them must have been waiting for Jia Huan and Liu Yi here on purpose.

After not seeing each other for more than a month, they were very excited to meet each other again. They immediately went to the street to find a pub, sat down, ordered a table of food and drinks, and chatted while drinking.

"Jiandou, Lao Huang, have you all been selected as scholars?" Jia Huan asked excitedly.

Since the top three in the palace examination are automatically appointed to the Hanlin Academy, they do not need to participate in the hall selection. Other new scholars must go through a rigorous selection to enter the Hanlin Academy, which is called "hall selection". All new scholars who pass the hall selection will be granted the position of Hanlin Shujishi, which is equivalent to an intern, and from then on they will enter the Hanlin Academy for internship.

Although the Hanlin Shujishi was not a high-ranking position, he was noble and specialized in writing. Any Jinshi who aspired to enter the cabinet in the future would choose to participate in the selection, so Lu Xiangsheng and Huang Cong were naturally no exception. Unfortunately, both of them failed.

Jia Huan and Liu Yi were naturally very sorry to hear that both of them failed. Jia Huan took a sip of wine and asked softly, "What are Jiandou's plans next?"

Lu Xiangsheng did not look depressed at all. He smiled and said, "I have already applied to the Ministry of Personnel for a posting outside the province. It just so happens that the post of county magistrate of Mizhi County in Shaanxi has been vacant for a long time. The Ministry of Personnel decided to send me to fill the vacancy. I agreed. I will take up the post as soon as the documents are issued."

Huang Cong shook his head repeatedly, stroked his beard and lectured: "Student Lu is confused. Others avoid such a poor place, but you run there happily. Shouzheng, Ziming, you have to persuade him. It will be too late to regret it when the appointment documents come down!"

Liu Yi was also surprised and said, "A few years ago, I traveled west and passed through Mizhi County. It was indeed an extremely cold and harsh place, and the people there were barbaric and fierce. Does Jiandou really want to be an official there?"

Lu Xiangsheng said firmly, "Of course, the poorer and more backward a place is, the more it needs a competent official. When serving as an official, I want to benefit the people and educate them. This is exactly what I have wanted to do since I was a child. Moreover, isn't it the precept of our academy to establish a mission for the people and to carry on the lost knowledge of the ancient sages?"

Everyone was moved and cheered in unison. Jia Huan patted Lu Xiangsheng on the shoulder and praised him, "Brother Jiandou is admirable for his unity of knowledge and practice. Although Mizhi County is backward and poor, the more shabby a place is, the easier it is to make achievements. Come on, let's drink a glass to Jiandou. I wish Jiandou great success and a bright future."

Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but feel his blood boiling, he raised his cup and drank deeply, just like this: Young man is full of confidence and ambition, one day he will soar into the sky!

"Old Huang, what about you? What are your plans next?" Jia Huan asked.

Huang Cong smiled bitterly and said, "I am old, I can't compare to you young people, and I have a family to support. I just want to live a stable life, so I applied for a position in Beijing. I think I will observe the government for a while, and then find a small position."

Huang Cong was nearly forty years old, so it was understandable that he wanted to live a stable life. Jia Huan and the others expressed their understanding. They chatted with each other for another half an hour, and when the sun was about to set, they paid the bill and left.

(End of this chapter)