The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 556: Iron Net Mountain (Part )
Although it is midsummer in June, the nights in the mountains are still quite cool. The night breeze is blowing, the moon is hanging high in the sky, fireflies are like lights, and insects are chirping. If it weren't for the annoying mosquitoes, this summer night would undoubtedly be perfect.

The camping site of Jia Huan and others was built at the mouth of a valley. There was a stream winding out of the valley. They set up their tents on the gravel bank on the left side of the stream, making it very convenient to get water.

The results of hunting on the first day were not ideal. If we had not shot a hare near dark, we would have been empty-handed.

At this time, on the blazing bonfire, the only spoils of the day had been roasted to a sizzling sizzle. Xu Wenhou was so greedy that he kept swallowing his saliva and kept asking, "Brother Jia, are we ready to eat?"

"Wait a moment, it's not yet cooked enough." Jia Huan turned the branch skillfully to allow all parts of the rabbit meat to be heated more evenly.

Suddenly, with a "chirp", a small black shadow jumped into the fire, struggling violently, sparks flew everywhere, and everyone was startled. Shitou was quick and used a branch to pull the little thing out of the fire. It turned out to be a cicada, its wings were burnt, and a burnt smell came to his nose.

Jia Huan suddenly had an idea and said with a smile: "Seventh Master, you are in for a treat. I will prepare a delicious dish for you that I guarantee you have never tasted before."

The little fat boy's eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly, "What kind of food?"

"Seventh Master will know soon." Jia Huan smiled and ordered Jin Bao and Mu Ye to shake the nearby trees.

Although Jin Bao and Mu Ye didn't understand why, they still did what they were told. They bumped into the cicadas on the tree and kicked them. The cicadas were startled and flew up into the sky. They turned around and rushed towards the bonfire, bumping around aimlessly. Jia Huan quickly asked everyone to help pick them up. After pinching off their wings and legs, they gathered them together. Soon they had collected dozens of them.

There is an idiom called "moths fly into the fire". Insects are phototactic, and cicadas are no exception. They fly away from the tree when startled and rush to the light. Jia Huan's grandfather in his previous life grew up in the countryside and had a deep attachment to the countryside. When he was a child, his grandfather would take Jia Huan back to the countryside to live for a while during the summer vacation and taught him how to catch cicadas at night using a flashlight.

Cicada monkeys are stir-fried with chili oil and some green onions. Wow, they are so fragrant. Mature cicadas are also delicious if their wings are plucked and fried. People who lived in the 1970s and 1980s basically know about it and have eaten it. However, as material wealth increased, no one cared about cicadas as a delicacy. For some reason, the number of cicadas that no one eats is decreasing, just like fireflies in the countryside. They were always flying in the sky on summer nights when I was a child, but now they have almost disappeared.

Since there was no iron pan at the time, Jia Huan skewered the cicadas with their wings removed, smeared them with oil, sprinkled them with salt, and roasted them over the fire. Soon they turned golden and smelled fragrant.

Xu Wenhou was originally apprehensive, but when he smelled the fragrance, he no longer felt disgusted. He took the roasted cicadas handed over by Jia Huan and began to chew them. The more he ate, the more addicted he became. He sighed repeatedly, "It turns out that this thing is so delicious. I didn't even know it before."

Jia Huan handed a string to Mandarin who was eager to try. However, the foreign maid took it but did not dare to eat it because the bugs looked disgusting.

Jia Huan smiled and chanted, "It drinks the dew from the trees, and the sound of the flowing water comes out from the combing of the tung tree. It lives high up and its sound is far away, not relying on the autumn wind. Don't be fooled by the ugly appearance of the cicada, but it drinks dew and eats tree sap, which is very clean. It is a rare healthy green food."

Mandalin took a bite after hearing this. It felt a little dry at first, but the more she chewed, the more she savored it. She said happily, "It's really delicious."

Xu Wenhou muttered, "Healthy green food? Brother Jia always comes up with new and strange words. They sound unreasonable at first, but they make sense after careful consideration...give me another string."

Xu Wenhou snatched another string of roasted cicadas from Jia Huan's hand and finished it in a flash. He said with a lingering feeling, "This thing is delicious, but there is not enough meat. It's not enough to fill the gaps between your teeth. I think I can eat 200 of them."

Jia Huan laughed and said, "This stuff is high in calories. Don't eat too much at once. Be careful not to get acne."

Xu Wenhou originally wanted to order his guards to get more cicadas, but when he heard this, his anus tightened. He had serious hemorrhoids, which could be fatal if they got irritated, so he quickly gave up the idea of ​​getting another 200. "Hey, someone's coming!" Shitou suddenly stood up and said.

When they looked up, they saw a group of people holding torches walking down the stream. It looked like there were quite a few of them.

Although this is a royal ranch, there is no guarantee that there will be no bandits breaking in, so Xu Sheng and the other thirty palace guards immediately stood up and were on alert.

At this time, the group of people gradually approached. With the help of the firelight, he could see clearly that they were a group of soldiers in uniform. Xu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and shouted loudly: "His Royal Highness King Min is here. Are you soldiers patrolling the mountain?"

There are guards on duty in the royal hunting grounds to prevent civilians from entering to poach. This Iron Net Mountain has a patrol team stationed there for a long time, but there are only fifty people. The team in front of them seems to have more than fifty soldiers.

"Hahaha, so His Royal Highness Prince Min is here. I have been looking for him for half the night." A voice came over with loud laughter.

Jia Huan felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar, and he couldn't help but frowned.

At this time, the team had come close, all wearing khaki jackets and hats. Some were holding knives, some were holding spears, and some were holding matchlock guns. There should be nearly a hundred of them. In the light of the fire, the sight of swords and spears everywhere was very oppressive.

Just as Jia Huan was feeling something was wrong, several men stepped out from the group of soldiers. The leader was none other than Jia Zhen, and standing next to him was an ugly-looking man, who was none other than Sun Shaozu, the Wolf of Zhongshan.

Jia Huan's face changed slightly, and his heart sank quickly to the bottom of the valley. Shitou was also slightly shocked, and he subconsciously touched the axe at his waist, feeling confused and uncertain. Wasn't this guy locked up in the jail? How did he suddenly appear?

Jia Zhen glanced around and saw Jia Huan standing next to Xu Wenhou in the light of the campfire. He was immediately overjoyed and laughed triumphantly, "Huan Lao San, I finally found him. Are you surprised? I didn't expect Master Zhen to come out alive to look for you, did you?"

Xu Wenhou's fat face sank, and he shouted unhappily, "How dare you! Who are you? Why don't you show respect to me when you see me?"

"I am Jia Zhen, the hereditary third-class general and the descendant of Duke Ningguo. I am here to pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Prince of Min." Jia Zhen hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to pay his respects to Xu Wenhou. Although the emperor has returned, Xu Wenhou is still the emperor's grandson and a prince.

Xu Wenhou frowned and said thoughtfully, "Jia Zhen, the descendant of Duke Ning? I remember now. You are Jia Huan's cousin. Weren't you stripped of your title and had your property confiscated at the beginning of the year? Who let you out? Did you escape from prison?"

Jia Zhen's face froze, and he smiled awkwardly, "Your Highness Prince Min, you may not know that I have been acquitted and my title has been restored. I am here to arrest Jia Huan."

Jia Huan's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. Xu Wenhou was stunned for a moment and shouted, "Bullshit, the emperor is in Liaodong now, who allowed you to restore your title?"

Zhongshan Wolf Sun Shaozu interrupted with a grim smile, "Your Highness Prince Min may not know yet, but the Emperor Retired has returned and called on the whole country to purge the emperor's court. The Emperor Retired is highly respected and his call has attracted many people to respond. The whole court supports him. Now the Emperor Retired has the final say in the entire capital. Naturally, it is Master Zhen who was pardoned by the Emperor Retired. Not only Master Zhen, but all the loyal officials who were wronged some time ago have been reinstated, and the treacherous officials of the Donglin Party have all been thrown into prison."

(End of this chapter)