The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 550 The rat-throwing weapon
Jia Huan followed the palace maid to Wensi Pavilion, where Crown Prince Xu Wenhong was indeed already waiting, smiling and seemingly very friendly. However, Jia Huan would not be fooled by this appearance. He behaved with all due courtesy, not leaving any handle for the other party to exploit.

The crown prince is the heir to the throne and holds a high position, but because of this, he has to be more careful about his reputation. If he wants to punish Jia Huan, he must have a good reason. Besides, Jia Huan is quite famous now. With the title of "Six Yuan Talent", he is an imperial prodigy that appears only once in a thousand years and a role model for scholars all over the world.

"What classics did Mr. Jia study?" Xu Wenhong asked.

Jia Huan replied, "Spring and Autumn."

Xu Wenhong's eyes flashed and he said, "Then let's ask Jia Zhuangyuan to give a lecture on the Book of Changes. This is not because I am deliberately trying to make things difficult for you, but this is the only way to show Jia Zhuangyuan's great talent."

Xu Wenhong's move was extremely insidious. He deliberately asked about Jia Huan's original scripture but did not let him explain it. He also specifically picked the most obscure of the Five Classics, the "Book of Changes", and asked him to explain it. His intention to tease and make things difficult was obvious.

But this little trick was nothing to Jia Huan. He came well prepared, and he was a top student in his previous life. After traveling to the world of Red Mansions, he went through the baptism of the imperial examination. He was basically familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, so he started his lecture very calmly.

"Xiang says: Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman should constantly strive to improve himself. Earth's condition is gentle, and a gentleman should carry all things with great virtue. What is a gentleman? A gentleman is one who has both virtue and talent. If his virtue is not worthy of his position, he will be sent away by Heaven..."

Jia Huan deliberately chose the Qian hexagram among the sixty-four hexagrams to talk about, and thus extended the gentleman's theory, secretly satirizing the Crown Prince Xu Wenhong's illegal pursuit of profit, narrow-mindedness and other immoral issues, which made the latter blush and grit his teeth in hatred.

Jia Huan spoke eloquently and non-stop for half an hour. He finally finished talking about the Qian hexagram and wanted to talk about the Kun hexagram. Xu Wenhong could no longer sit still and hurriedly said, "Mr. Jia, please take a rest and have a cup of tea. I am going to change my clothes and will leave you for a while."

Changing clothes is the same as going to the toilet, which is an elegant name for peeing in the toilet. Xu Wenhong stood up and left Wensi Pavilion, while Jia Huan only glanced at the cup of tea on the coffee table and did not drink it. He did not trust Xu Wenhong's character. Although the other party would not poison him, it would be enough for him to suffer if he used laxatives or something.

At this time, a beautiful palace maid came in. She was wearing a light gauze bodice, which was very tall and eye-catching. The palace maid walked up to Jia Huan, bowed slightly and said, "Jia Hanlin's tea is cold. I will change it for you."

Jia Huan did not look away, but just nodded slightly to express his gratitude. The busty palace maid chuckled and said, "Why doesn't Jia Hanlin look at me?" She lifted the sides of the veil to make the bra on her chest look more prominent.

Jia Huan frowned and said coldly, "Young lady, please respect yourself."

The maid curled her lips, poured another cup of tea for Jia Huan, and deliberately knocked the cup over with her hand, and took the opportunity to fall to the ground, uttering a cry of "ouch", covering her chest with both hands and calling out in shame and anxiety: "Jia Hanlin you..."

Jia Huan had no expression on his face, he just stared at her indifferently. The palace maid felt like a thorn in her back, and she felt a little embarrassed to continue her passionate performance.

At this time, Crown Prince Xu Wenhong walked in quickly and asked, "What happened?"

"Your servant... Your servant!" The maid stuttered, but under Xu Wenhong's fierce gaze, she finally pointed at Jia Huan and said, "He touched... touched my... hand, and I fell down in fear."

The busty palace maid was originally going to say that Jia Huan touched her big white rabbit, but for some unknown reason she changed her words.

Xu Wenhong glared at the busty maid in annoyance, then turned around and angrily said, "Jia Huan, I didn't expect that you, who are so handsome and well-dressed, would dare to flirt with the maids in the East Palace. You are really a bad person and a disgrace to society."

Tsk, another such dirty trick, just like what Jia She and Jia Zhen did.

"Ridiculous! Jia Huan didn't touch her. Even if he touched her hand accidentally, it was an unintentional mistake when he took the teacup. It was definitely not his intention to be frivolous or teasing." Jia Huan spoke righteously, with clear eyes and a clear conscience.

Jia Huan said this very skillfully, in line with what the palace maid had just said, which was equivalent to killing the palace maid's possibility of further framing him. Even if the two parties had physical contact, it was only limited to the hands and was unintentional.

Xu Wenhong glared at the maid. If she had said that Jia Huan touched her breasts at the beginning, Jia Huan would have no way to argue at this moment. The big-breasted maid lowered her head and dared not speak, trembling with fear.

Xu Wenhong had no choice but to rebuke him: "Jia Huan, stop trying to make excuses. Someone come here!"

Several palace guards immediately rushed in. Xu Wenhong pointed at Jia Huan and said, "Jia Huan molested a palace maid and behaved indecently. Drag him outside the East Palace Gate and give him twenty strokes of the cane."

Jia Huan's heart sank. Twenty strokes of the cane may not sound like a lot, but if they were hit harder, the man could either die or be crippled.

The palace guards rushed forward, grabbed Jia Huan and tried to push him out. The latter raised his sword-like eyebrows and said calmly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince can always find excuses to accuse me of a crime. However, Jia Huan will scream and shout when he is tortured. If he screams something, it will be bad."

Xu Wenhong's expression changed slightly, and he asked coldly: "What do you mean?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "I am only telling the truth. If I get beaten, I will start to yell, for example, telling some old secrets or the numbers in the account books."

Xu Wenhong's eyes changed constantly. Although he was punished by Emperor Qiansheng for participating in the smuggling of salt for profit, not many people knew about the account book, and most of them were dead. The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Yi Hong, had also assured him that, apart from Yi Hong himself, only the emperor had seen the account book, and the emperor burned it after reading it.

Although Jia Huan did not explicitly say that he had seen the account book at this time, Xu Wenhong had something to hide and naturally associated it with that aspect immediately, so he was shocked and suspicious.

Although Emperor Qiansheng punished the crown prince for the private salt business, he burned the account book himself, which shows that he had no intention of deposing the crown prince. If Jia Huan had read the account book and knew that the crown prince was involved in private salt business, once it was leaked, Xu Wenhong would definitely be in trouble, and his position as crown prince might not be saved. Xu Wenhong's face changed for a moment, and finally he waved his hand and said, "You can leave."

The palace guards hurriedly left the room, and the busty palace maid stood there at a loss. Xu Wenhong shouted with a dark face, "Get out of here!"

The palace maid fled from Wensi Pavilion in a hurry.

Xu Wenhong paced back and forth for a few steps, then stopped and said coldly, "Jia Huan, have you seen the account book?"

Jia Huan was just trying to save himself in a hurry, so he wouldn't be stupid enough to admit that he had seen it, so he pretended to be confused and asked, "What account book is the Crown Prince referring to?"

Jia Huan was playing dumb, and Xu Wenhong couldn't say it clearly, so he was furious and sneered, "Jia Huan, you are a smart man. I believe you know very well what to say and what not to say."

Jia Huan nodded and said, "I only yell and talk nonsense when I'm beaten. I don't do that at other times."

Xu Wenhong was almost choked up, but he was afraid to act rashly. Jia Huan bowed and said, "If Your Highness the Crown Prince has no other instructions, I will take my leave." After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave Wensi Pavilion.

Xu Wenhong was angry and aggrieved. Seeing that Jia Huan was about to leave, he could not hold back his anger and ordered the palace guards to capture Jia Huan, gag him, and spank him on the spot.

Xu Wenhong originally planned to frame Jia Huan for molesting a palace maid, then push him outside the gate of the East Palace and beat him up, teaching Jia Huan a lesson while ruining his reputation. But now he was worried that Jia Huan would scream, so he could only beat him up secretly in the East Palace to vent his anger, and he did not dare to kill him. After all, this kid was so cunning, who knows if he had any backup plans, such as secretly backing up the account book.

Jia Huan was beaten and felt a burning sensation on his buttocks, but he was able to stand up and walk, so his bones should not be injured.

Xu Wenhong waved away the torture guards, reached out and pulled out the cloth that was blocking Jia Huan's mouth, and said coldly: "This is a small punishment from this prince. If you don't know what's good for you... you won't be so lucky next time."

As Xu Wenhong spoke, murderous intent flashed across his eyes, and the warning he conveyed could not be more obvious.

Jia Huan said nothing, but limped towards the palace gate. Xu Wenhong shouted, "Wait, if someone asks you why the prince beat you, what will you say?"

Jia Huan said calmly, "I am a lowly official with little talent and learning. When I was lecturing on the sutras, I violated the name of the great ancestor, and was therefore punished by the crown prince."

Xu Wenhong's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "Jia Ziming, you are such a talented person. I hope you don't make mistakes. I am the crown prince, the future emperor. With your talent, it is not impossible for you to become my close minister in the future."

"I understand!" Jia Huan said calmly.

Xu Wenhong then waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."

Jia Huan limped out of Wensi Pavilion. Xu Wenhong looked at his back with murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Naturally, he wanted to get rid of Jia Huan. After all, the dead have the tightest mouths. But Jia Huan is not an unknown little character. If he wants to get rid of him, he can't do it openly, and he can't do it in the East Palace. He must plan carefully and not leave any traces.

The key point is that Xu Wenhong is not sure whether Jia Huan has any backup plan. He has to find out the truth. It would be best if he has a plausible excuse to uproot the Jia family and kill them all without leaving any future troubles.

"Brother Jia, what's wrong with you?" Wei Ruolan and Chen Yejun were both very surprised to see Jia Huan limping out.

Jia Huan smiled bitterly and said, "I was not paying attention when I was teaching the prince, and I violated the name of Taizu, so I was punished by His Highness."

Wei Ruolan and Chen Yejun looked at each other. Although it was wrong to offend the emperor's name, he shouldn't be beaten, right? At most, he would be scolded. It seemed that Jia Huan was not favored by the prince, and there was no hope for him to be a tutor in the Eastern Palace.

"Brother Jia, why don't we send you back home?" Chen Yejun said.

Jia Huan waved his hand and declined, "Thank you, brother. It's nothing serious. It's just a superficial wound. Besides, my servant is waiting outside the door."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ruolan and Chen Yejun sent Jia Huan out of the East Palace gate. Shi Tou and Mu Ye were shocked to see that Jia Huan was injured. They hurriedly helped him into the carriage and drove back to the Jia Mansion.

The pretty maid Ping'er, the foreign maid Mandarin, and Qingwen were all horrified when they learned that Jia Huan had been beaten. Especially when they were applying medicine, they saw the bloody buttocks and felt so distressed that they burst into tears. They secretly cursed the prince for being so cruel for beating the Third Master like this.

"Miss Lin is here!"

Ping'er had just finished applying the medicine and had not yet had time to tie Jia Huan's trousers when the maid outside called out, and Qingwen hurriedly took a thin quilt and covered Jia Huan to hide his shame.

After a moment, Lin Daiyu came in hurriedly, her pretty face pale as blood. She said nervously, "I heard that you were beaten, brother Huan? Where are you hurt? Let me take a look."

(End of this chapter)