The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 579 Mixed Doubles
When they arrived at the Guiyuan Garden, they found that dozens of osmanthus trees were in full bloom, dotted with small golden granular flowers. There was also a layer of them on the ground, like gold scattered all over the ground, and the refreshing floral fragrance wafted into the air.

Ying Er couldn't help but sigh, "Prices are high nowadays. The sweet-scented osmanthus cakes on the market are more than twice as expensive as before. These sweet-scented osmanthus flowers will surely fetch a good price."

Shishu smiled and said, "Osmanthus flowers are not only used to make osmanthus cakes, but can also be used as medicine, to make wine, to make scented tea, to make fragrant soap, to make pillows, etc. In fact, the osmanthus flowers in our house are all rare varieties. Someone has already reserved them and has made an appointment to pick them the day after tomorrow."

Lin Daiyu shook her head and said, "Everyone is here to enjoy the flowers, but you are talking about how to sell them. It's really like burning the piano and cooking the crane, which really spoils the scenery."

Xue Baoqin looked at Jia Huan with a smile: "What did I say just now? Brother Huan, are you still allowed to sell these osmanthus flowers?"

Lin Daiyu's face flushed, and she stretched out her hand to tear Baoqin's little mouth, saying, "Sister Qin has also learned bad habits now."

Baoqin hid behind Baochai and started laughing and playing with Lin Daiyu.

Jia Tanchun smiled and said, "I want to sell the osmanthus flowers. I am the one who started the burning of the zither and boiling of the crane. As the saying goes: You must go early to seek spring, and don't wait until the branches are old to see the flowers. If you want to enjoy the osmanthus flowers, hurry up, don't wait until there are no flowers left to break the branches."

Everyone laughed at her playful words, except Baochai, who seemed to be troubled by something. A trace of sadness flashed across her eyes. She quickly turned around and faced a sweet-scented osmanthus tree, pretending to admire the flowers to cover up her mistake.

Baochai will be eighteen after the Chinese New Year, which is already the age to get married. Unfortunately, her family suffered a great change. Her elder brother Xue Pan disappeared, and her millions of wealth became a fantasy. Now she has become a slave, living under the care of others, with no place to go for the rest of her life. Although her youth is beautiful, it is as fleeting as the sweet-scented osmanthus. How can she not be sad!

There is a pavilion in the Gui Garden, named Guifang Pavilion. Tanchun has ordered people to prepare several tables of fruit wine. One table was placed in the pavilion, where the masters sat, and the maids sat at two tables outside the pavilion.

Soon, Mrs. Liu from the kitchen brought two baskets of steamed hot crabs. It was the perfect time to eat crabs, and the crabs were big and plump. Everyone enjoyed the osmanthus flowers while drinking and eating crabs with constant laughter.

Lin Daiyu didn't like fishy things, but she was in a good mood today, and the crab roe was really delicious, so she greedily ate a few shells. Crabs are cold in nature, and Jia Huan was afraid that her stomach couldn't take it, so he asked someone to warm up the wine, poured a glass for Lin Daiyu, and asked her to drink it while it was hot.

Lin Daiyu felt sweet in her heart and drank the wine as she was told. When Jia Huan saw Baochai looking at him, he quickly poured her a glass and said with a smile, "Sister Bao, have a drink too to warm yourself up."

Xue Baochai smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Huan." But she did not drink. Instead, she stood up and walked out of the pavilion to admire the osmanthus flowers.

Lin Daiyu looked at Jia Huan with a half-smile and even scratched her face to embarrass him as if she was gloating. Even though Jia was thick-skinned, he felt a little embarrassed at this time. Ping'er happened to have peeled a shell of crab meat and kindly put it to his mouth.

"Add more ginger and vinegar, I love vinegar!" Jia Huan said with a double entendre and laughed, which immediately caused Lin Daiyu to roll her eyes. She also stood up and walked out of the pavilion to appreciate the osmanthus, ignoring him and seemed a little angry.

Jia Huan was sweating inwardly, wondering if he was being too bold. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he said loudly, "Today, when we are enjoying the laurels, how can we not write a poem? I have already got one. Who dares to challenge me?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Lin Daiyu turned back as expected. Xue Baochai, who was outside the pavilion, also picked a branch of osmanthus and walked back calmly.

Jia Tanchun smiled and said, "Brother Huan, please listen to my recitation first. If you can defeat me, I will fight you. If you can't, then forget it."

Jia Huan said with a smile, "Then I will throw out a brick to attract jade and show my ugliness." After saying this, he washed his hands, asked Qingwen to bring paper and pen to grind ink, and picked up the pen to write:
Holding the claws, he likes the coolness of the osmanthus tree, and pouring vinegar and pounding ginger makes him excited.

The gluttonous prince should have wine, but the domineering young man has no intestines.

The coldness between the navel makes one forget to be greedy, and the fingers that are stained with fishy smell still smell good when washed.

Originally for the sake of people's appetite, the poet Po once laughed at his busy life.

Lin Daiyu sneered and said, "I can write a hundred poems like this." Then she picked up her pen and wrote:

I will never forget my iron armor and long spear even though I die; I am happy to taste the delicious food on the plate first.

The claws are full of tender jade, and the shell is bulging with fragrant red fat.

I love your eight legs even more, who can help me to drink a thousand cups? This is a good reward for the festival, the osmanthus is brushed by the breeze and the chrysanthemum is covered with frost.

Jia Huan praised without thinking, "What a good poem!"

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes at Jia Huan, then blacked out the poem with her brush, saying with a smile, "Mine is not as good as yours, so I'll burn it. Yours is better, so keep it for others to see."

The women had subtle expressions, but Jia felt embarrassed, because everyone could see that Lin Daiyu's poem was much better than his own. Alas, it was all his fault for being too bold and provoking Lin Duidui just now.

At this time Xue Baochai smiled and said, "I also managed to come up with a poem. It may not be good, but I wrote it down just to make fun of it." Then she picked up her pen and wrote:

Sitting under the osmanthus mist and the shade of the tung tree, I raise my cup, and look forward to the Double Ninth Festival in Chang'an with my mouth watering.

The road ahead has no longitude or latitude, and the skin is empty, black and yellow.

If wine cannot overcome the fishy smell, use chrysanthemum. If you want to prevent coldness, you must use ginger.

What good will it do to drop the cauldron now? Only the fragrance of wheat and millet remains in the Moon Pool.

Everyone was full of praise after reading it. This kind of small title should contain a great meaning to be considered a great talent. Baochai's crab poem is undoubtedly perfectly written. The only sentence "The road ahead has no longitude and latitude, and the skin is black and yellow" satirizes the world.

Jia Huan could not help but sigh: "Sister Bao is very talented. This poem about crabs is also very well written."

Xue Baochai also blacked out the poem with her brush, and chuckled, "My bad ones should be burned, and Brother Huan's good ones should be kept for others to read."

All the girls burst into giggles. They didn't expect that Baochai, who was always dignified and gentle, could be so mischievous.

Xue Baoqin covered her mouth and laughed, "Brother Huan really made a fool of himself this time. Why don't you write another one to get back on track?"

Jia Huan's handsome face rarely turned red. He had asked for trouble, being beaten by two talented women. Just as he was embarrassed, a maid ran over and said, "The old lady is here. She just entered the west gate."

When everyone heard this, they all stood up to greet him. Lin Daiyu lagged behind by two steps and leaned close to Jia Huan's ear, whispering teasingly, "Brother Huan, do you know how powerful you are now? You thought everyone was like me, and would let you bully them."

Jia Huan was so angry that his teeth itched. Lin Daiyu had already covered her mouth and ran away with a smile. At this time, Xue Baochai happened to look back. Jia Huan quickly forced out an awkward smile. Seeing this, Baochai's mouth curled up slightly. She wanted to laugh, but also felt a little regretful. She had been too competitive for a moment, which made this girl a little embarrassed. Alas!
In fact, Jia Huan was not so "fragile" that he could not help but feel distressed by Baochai.

It is said that Jia Mu's mood was not very good during this period. After all, Jia She was also her flesh and blood. He was executed by slow slicing. How could she be in a good mood when she had to see her son die before her?

My mood has improved in the past two days. I heard that Jia Huan and others were admiring the osmanthus flowers in Guiyuan, so I wanted to join in the fun.

Everyone welcomed Lady Jia to Guiyuan. She sat down and drank a glass of wine, but did not dare to eat crabs. She just watched everyone having fun, and her depressed mood of the past few days was relieved a little.

Just as everyone was having fun, Lin Zhixiao's wife walked into Guiyuan happily and said with a smile, "Great news, great news. The Liu family has sent a matchmaker to propose marriage. The master and his wife are in front to receive them. They want to ask if the old lady wants to meet them."

Everyone's eyes turned to Jia Yingchun, who lowered her head shyly, her hands hidden in her sleeves. She was a little at a loss, feeling both shy and happy inside.

Liu Yi is much better than the ugly Sun Shaozu in terms of talent, appearance, and family background. Ever since she came back from Prince Min's Palace, Jia Yingchun has been secretly looking forward to him. Unfortunately, so many days have passed and there is still no movement. She just thought that the other party simply looked down on her, so she became even more self-pitying. Unexpectedly, today, the Liu family suddenly sent a matchmaker to the door, it was like a dream.

Grandmother Jia had heard Jia Huan talk about this a long time ago, and was very satisfied with Liu Yi's background. Besides, if he could pass the imperial examination, how could he be poor in talent? So she had been looking forward to this marriage. Now that she heard that the man had sent a matchmaker to propose marriage, she was so happy that she smiled and said, "Then let's meet. It's time for our family to have a good time."

So, Grandmother Jia immediately got up and left to meet the matchmaker. Soon, the marriage between the two families was finalized, and the next step was to enter the procedure of "three books and six ceremonies".

(End of this chapter)