The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 573 Baoqin Asks for Help
On this day, Jia Zheng returned home after being reinstated. He felt as if he was in another world. He first went to the back house to pay a visit to Jia's grandmother. The mother and son were reunited after the disaster and couldn't help crying again. Mrs. Wang, Jia Baoyu, Jia Tanchun, Li Wan, Jia Lan and others who were present also wiped away tears.

After this ordeal, Jia Zheng seemed to have aged a lot. Perhaps it was because he was locked up for two months and suffered from malnutrition, he was thinner, his back was hunched, and his face had more wrinkles, giving people a decadent and timid look. Seeing this scene, even though Jia Huan had never been very fond of this cheap old man, he felt sad at this moment.

After Jia Zheng kowtowed to his mother, he stood up and carefully clasped his fists in the direction of the imperial city and said, "I have been granted the emperor's grace this time and have been released without charge and reinstated. This is truly a great favor from the emperor! As a minister, I am deeply grateful, but my family is unfortunate and has produced a traitor, which has brought shame to our ancestors and I am ashamed of the emperor's grace. Although the emperor has not issued an order to take back our mansion and garden, I think we should take the initiative to hand them over. What do you think, old lady?"

Jia Zheng's political talent was mediocre to begin with. After experiencing this political turmoil that nearly wiped out his family, he was obviously frightened and became even more cautious. He even proposed to hand over the mansion passed down from Jia's ancestors and the Grand View Garden.

For a moment, all the masters and servants present changed their expressions. As the saying goes, a broken house is worth a thousand dollars. Even if the house is shabby, at least there is a place to live and a roof to shelter from the wind and rain. If you don’t even have a home, you will really become a stray dog.

Grandmother Jia frowned and said, "I also understand your concerns, Zheng'er. You can hand over the garden, but if you also hand over this ancestral house, where will this family of nearly 200 people live?"

Jia Zheng was also in a dilemma at this time, and looked at Jia Huan, but the latter deliberately ignored him. Jia Zheng coughed awkwardly and asked, "Brother Huan, what do you think?"

When a father speaks to his son in a negotiating tone, it means that his son has grown up. When a father speaks to his son in a timid tone, it means that he is really old.

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "If the master wants to show his loyalty to the emperor, he only needs to hand over the garden. There is no need to hand over the ancestral house, and it may even be counterproductive."

Jia Zheng frowned and asked in confusion: "Why is this?"

Jia Huan said bluntly: "First, the house is our ancestral property, a legacy passed down from our ancestors. If we abandon it lightly, we will be ashamed of our ancestors. Second, if we hand over the house, nearly 200 people in our family will be homeless, which will make the emperor seem unkind. Third, the old lady is about to be displaced at her 80s. How can you bear it?"
You must know that our dynasty governs the world with filial piety. Your actions are to show your loyalty, but you ignore filial piety. This is actually an act that makes the emperor look unkind and unjust. How can the emperor be happy? He might even think that your actions are too hypocritical and pretentious. "

Jia Zheng's face flushed and he broke out in a cold sweat. He said in a low voice, "Huan'er is right. It seems I have not considered it carefully. In this case, I will just hand over the garden."

Jia Huan still shook his head and said, "Since the emperor has not issued an order to seal and confiscate the goods, there is really no need for me to do anything unnecessary and create trouble. I should just do my duty. Now is a time of trouble. The emperor is busy with many things and is too busy to handle them. It is best to keep a low profile. There is really no need to get in front of the emperor and cause trouble for myself!"

Grandmother Jia nodded and said, "Huan'er is right. It's better to have less trouble than more."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Jia Zheng's face. He coughed lightly and said, "If that's the case, then so be it." After that, he looked at Jia Huan deeply. Although he felt that what this rebellious son said made sense, he was still a little angry. In front of everyone, you didn't even give your father any face, you evil creature!
All the masters and servants present breathed a sigh of relief. The master was so pedantic sometimes that it made people speechless. Fortunately, Master Huan San was here, otherwise everyone would have become homeless dogs with no place to live.

At this time, Lin Zhixiao's wife walked into Jia's mother's room and said to Jia Huan, "Master Huan, Master Ke and Miss Qin are here. Please see Master Huan."

"Is Qin girl here? Bring her in quickly." Grandmother Jia liked Xue Baoqin very much and had originally wanted to match her with Jia Baoyu, but she gave up the plan when she learned that Baoqin had already been promised to someone else.

Soon, Xue Ke and Bao Qin were brought in. The latter threw herself into Grandmother Jia's arms and started crying, "Grandfather, please save Auntie and Sister Bao."

Jia Huan's heart skipped a beat and he quickly asked Xue Ke beside him what was going on.

Xue Ke's eyes were red as he stamped his feet and said, "It was all because of Brother Pan buying the sixth-rank commander of the East City Army. Yesterday, a group of soldiers rushed into our house, saying that Brother Pan was a core member of the traitors. They arrested Auntie Bo and Sister Bao, and confiscated all the property in our house. Fortunately, my sister and I are cousins ​​and are not among the three tribes of the Yi people, so we were lucky enough to escape."

Upon hearing this, Jia Huan was both furious and helpless. This idiot Xue Pan was really a troublemaker and a complete prodigal. Other people's castrated male cats were all well-behaved, but this guy was so stupid that he still caused a disaster that wiped out the entire family.

Moreover, Chaoyang Gate was the main attack direction of the army to suppress the rebellion. After more than a month of fierce fighting, the three major camps of the Beijing Army suffered countless casualties, and there were also family members of the ministers who accompanied the emperor were hung on the city walls. They were all full of blood feuds, but Xue Pan still moved forward. Isn't he asking for his own death?

Jia Zheng stamped his feet and sighed, "Pan'er is really foolish. Everyone is trying to avoid him, but he spends money to buy the position of a rebellious official."

Xue Ke glanced at Jia Huan, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Xue Baoqin wiped her tears and said, "Brother Pan is indeed confused, but his original intention of buying the sixth-rank official position was to avoid being looked down upon by Brother Huan!"

Jia Huan was stunned for a moment. Jia Tanchun asked curiously, "What do you mean, Qin girl? When did Brother Huan look down on Master Pan?" Xue Baoqin realized that she had let the cat out of the bag. Her pretty face flushed slightly. Suddenly, her eyes turned and she thought that the only one who could save Bao-sister now was probably Brother Huan. It would be better to go all out and talk it out. So she said, "Because the last time Bao-sister and Brother Huan's marriage failed, Brother Pan thought that it was Brother Huan who looked down on our Xue family, so he refused the marriage and has been brooding over it ever since. So he bought this sixth-rank official position, but who knew..."

Jia Huan suddenly woke up when he heard this. He had met Xue Pan by chance before. This guy had indeed threatened him that he would do something big in the future to make him regret it. He was a little confused at the time. It turned out that this was the reason.

Grandmother Jia was displeased and said, "Qin girl, what are you talking about? It was obviously Bao girl who didn't want to, rejected this marriage, and even moved out of the garden. Now it seems that Huan Ge'er looks down on your Xue family?"

Xue Baoqin blushed and glanced at Lin Daiyu beside her, hesitating, "I don't know why Sister Bao refused, but I'm sure that Sister Bao likes Brother Huan. Back then, we were kidnapped by bandits in Jinling. Brother Huan was injured and fell to the ground in order to save us. He was covered in blood. Sister Bao thought that Brother Huan... was so anxious that she vomited blood."

When these words came out, everyone present was shocked and their expressions were subtle. Xue Ke was extremely embarrassed and hurriedly said, "Sister, don't talk nonsense. Brother Huan was injured while saving you. It's normal for Sister Bao to be worried."

In feudal society, marriages were decided by parents’ orders and housekeepers’ words. Free love and mutual affection were all paradoxes. Secretly getting married was even more immoral and unacceptable to the world.

Xue Baochai has always been dignified, virtuous, and adaptable, a typical lady of feudal society. Now Xue Baoqin said in public that Baochai likes Jia Huan, even if she only likes him secretly, it is still shocking.

It took Grandmother Jia a while to come back to her senses and she looked at Jia Huan meaningfully. Lin Daiyu pursed her lips and lowered her head in silence. In fact, she had noticed it a long time ago, so she often used Baochai to tease Jia Huan. But now that Xue Baoqin had broken the window paper in public, she still felt very uncomfortable.

With Lin Daiyu's intelligence, how could she not know Xue Baoqin's intention? She was willing to tell it out even if it would damage Baochai's reputation. It was obvious that she wanted Huandi to do his best to rescue Baochai. But she forgot one thing: even if she didn't say it out loud, Huandi would definitely try his best to rescue her.

However, what puzzled Lin Daiyu was that since Baochai was interested in Huandi and the marriage was about to be completed, why did she suddenly refuse? She even moved out of the garden!

Thinking of this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but look up and glance at Jia Huan, who was feeling very embarrassed at the moment. He obviously didn't expect Baoqin to speak so bluntly in public.

Jia Zheng was a pedantic person. He glared at Jia Huan and thought that Bao girl had always behaved well. Maybe it was this evil creature who "teased" her first, otherwise he would not have been willing to offer himself as a hostage to save her.

"Brother Huan, my aunt and sister Bao have been sent to the Jiaofangsi. It's not a place for human beings to stay. Please save them quickly." Xue Baoqin begged while crying.

At this time, Jia Huan no longer cared about Lin Daiyu and the eyes of others. He nodded and said, "I'll find a way right away." After that, he turned around and left in a hurry.

Seeing Jia Huan so nervous, Jia Zheng was more certain of his guess and snorted in his heart, "Evil creature!"

"Brother Huan, I'll go with you!" Xue Ke hurriedly chased after him.

At this moment, Jia Baoyu suddenly became worried and said, "I wonder what's wrong with Sister Yun now."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone couldn't help but become worried. The brothers Shi Nai and Shi Ding also participated in the rebellion, and there was a high probability that they would not be able to escape. As the saying goes, when the nest is overturned, no eggs can remain intact. I'm afraid that Shi Xiangyun would also be affected with a high probability.

Grandmother Jia hurriedly sent someone to the Shi family to inquire, but the servants came back to report that the Shi family’s house had been sealed off and the entire family had been arrested and imprisoned, including Shi Xiangyun.

"What a sin!" Grandmother Jia couldn't help but burst into tears again. The Shi family was her maternal family, but it is gone now. The four major families in Jinling in the past were almost wiped out, leaving only Jia Zheng's family.

When Jia Huan left Lady Jia's room, the first person he thought of was Prince of Min Xu Wenhou. But on second thought, he turned around and headed straight for the Jinyiwei Yamen. It seemed more efficient to ask Yi Hong for help with this matter. He didn't want Sister Bao to stay in a place like the Jiaosifang for even a second longer.

(End of this chapter)