The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 605: Encounter at Aojing Pavilion

In a blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve of the eighth year of Qiansheng's reign. The ninth year of Qiansheng was about to arrive. The Jia Mansion and the Grand View Garden were decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and a festive and peaceful atmosphere was everywhere.

During this year, the Jia family experienced too many things, or too many storms. The two titles passed down from their ancestors were lost, the main houses of Ningguo Mansion and Rongguo Mansion were completely confiscated and expelled, Jia She and Jia Zhen were tortured to death, Jia Lian and Jia Rong were exiled, and the huge debt of more than 200,000 taels owed by the two mansions also exploded.

This series of heavy blows was devastating even for a century-old Chinese family like the Jia family. This should have been a situation where the monkeys would scatter when the tree fell, but it was precisely because of Jia Huan's existence that the Jia family not only did not fall completely, but instead quickly reborn in adversity.

Although the Jia family is now far from its heyday, and even less prosperous than last year, after experiencing the baptism of this great disaster, the Jia family is now like a patient who has been cured of his chronic illness. Black sheep such as Jia She, Jia Zhen, Lai Da and Lai Er have been eliminated, and a large number of redundant slaves have been laid off, leaving only relatively loyal and reliable servants.

Now that the mansion's income has increased and its expenses have decreased, the difficult situation of not making enough money has been completely reversed. The whole mansion is full of vitality, and it is the illegitimate son - Jia Huan who has brought new life to the Jia family.

Therefore, except for a few exceptions, everyone in the mansion loves and supports Jia Huan. Obviously, Jia Huan's status in the Jia family has surpassed that of Jia Baoyu, the legitimate son. Although he does not have the name of a legitimate son, he has the power of a legitimate son. He can be said to be a model of counterattack among illegitimate sons.

Of course, as a time traveler, Jia Huan never took the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children seriously, but he could not help but realize that the ancients attached great importance to the status of legitimate and illegitimate children!

On New Year's Eve, under the leadership of Jia's grandmother and Jia Zheng, Jia Baoyu, Jia Huan, Jia Lan and other members of the Jia family solemnly paid homage to the ancestral temple. Then Jia Zheng announced an important decision in public, to promote the late Aunt Zhao to a concubine, on par with the principal wife, Lady Wang, and to move Aunt Zhao's spirit tablet into the ancestral temple to enjoy the incense and offerings of the Jia family's descendants.

Jia Zheng's move was beyond Jia Huan's expectations, but it was also reasonable. As the saying goes, a mother is honored by her son. With Jia Huan's current achievements and status, and the fact that the Wang family was destroyed because of rebellion, it is normal for Jia Zheng to make Aunt Zhao his wife and give her the title of a co-wife. This is probably what Grandmother Jia meant, and the main purpose was to eliminate Jia Huan's status as a bastard and make him officially a legitimate son.

In fact, Jia Huan didn't care much about his status as the legitimate son, but this was undoubtedly a kind of compensation and comfort to the deceased Aunt Zhao. Moreover, Jia Huan did promise Aunt Zhao in front of her grave that since she wanted the Jia family's property so much, he would get it for her. Therefore, now he has fulfilled half of his promise.

The person who was most upset about Aunt Zhao being promoted to a co-wife was naturally Lady Wang. She had tried every means to suppress Jia Huan in order to prevent the current situation. Unfortunately, Jia Huan was too powerful and eventually broke through the shackles and soared into the sky. However, her own son, who was born with a jade in his mouth, was not up to the standard. She thought he was a beautiful jade, but in fact he was just a piece of stubborn stone. What could she do?

In addition, her brother Wang Ziteng was involved in rebellion, and her biggest backer, the Wang family, had three clans exterminated. She herself was also deprived of her imperial edict. Now she is no longer qualified to oppose Jia Zheng's decision and can only accept the reality silently.

Let's get back to the topic. After paying homage to the ancestral temple, Jia Zheng held a ceremony for Jia Huan to celebrate his fifteenth birthday in Rong Xi Hall. He invited all relatives and friends and made it particularly grand. People like Ye Gao, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Prince of Nan'an sent gifts. Prince of Min Xu Wenhou even came to watch the ceremony in person. It can be said that the whole house was filled with nobles and was glorious, making others the envy of others.

By the time the guests had finished entertaining them, it was already afternoon. The servants of the Jia family cleaned up the leftovers and immediately began to prepare for tonight's reunion banquet (family reunion dinner), while Jia Huan returned to the Grand View Garden, still a little drunk.

It was the dead of winter and the cold was biting, but Jia Huan was wearing warm clothes and had drunk some hot wine, so he was sweating a little as he walked along. From afar, he could see the red plum blossoms blooming in the Longcui Temple on the hillside, like smoke and clouds, so beautiful. The fragrance of the plum blossoms wafted in the cold wind, which was even more refreshing.

Jia Huan then climbed the stairs, admiring the red plum blossoms and trying to get rid of the alcohol. Before he knew it, he had reached the gate of the Longcui Nunnery. As luck would have it, the door opened and Big Face Bao came out with a few red plum blossoms. Jia Huan wanted to avoid him but it was too late. He could only smile and say, "Second Brother Bao, what beautiful red plum blossoms!"

When Jia Baoyu saw Jia Huan, he was also slightly startled. Then he asked in an unnatural manner, "Why are you here, Brother Huan? Are you also going to ask for red plums from Lay Buddhist Miaoyu?"

"Don't worry, I won't compete with you for the nun!" Jia Huan secretly teased in his heart, shook his head and said, "I just drank a few too many glasses of wine at the banquet, so I just took a walk and happened to pass by here."

"Oh!" Jia Baoyu said, and walked down the mountain for a while with a few red plum blossoms. Suddenly he stopped and looked back. Seeing that Jia Huan had indeed gone to Tuobi Villa, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he felt inexplicably a little depressed.

Jia Baoyu was born with a jade in his mouth, which brought him good luck. He was doted on by the old lady and Mrs. Wang since he was a child. All the people in the house also treated him like a treasure and pampered him. Everyone flocked to him and revolved around him. But now it is completely different. Jia Huan has become the center of the family. Not only do his sisters revolve around him, but even the ancestor who loves him the most has changed obviously. He wants to take a concubine for Huan, hold a ceremony for him to come of age, and even give Aunt Zhao the title of co-wife.

Jia Baoyu felt that he had become an insignificant and marginal person in the mansion. Sister Lin didn't care about him and was entirely focused on Jia Huan. Sister Bao was also indifferent to him and was probably also focused on Huan Lao San. Even Qingwen, the beautiful maid who had served him for many years, now avoided him!
"What's so good about Huan Lao San? Why do so many people like him?" Jia Baoyu was frustrated and unconvinced. He angrily threw the few red plum blossoms in his hand to the ground, but immediately picked them up with a distressed look.

Now, apart from Xiren and others in his own room, Miaoyu is the only one who treats him as before, and she is the only one who is willing to listen to his thoughts. Thinking of this, Jia Baoyu can't help but feel warm in his heart. He took the red plum and went back to the door of the Rongcui Nunnery. After confirming that the door was locked and Jia Huan did not enter the nunnery to "harass" Miaoyu, he left with peace of mind.

Hehe, Big Face Bao was also worrying too much. Although Miaoyu was a stunning beauty, he kept his distance from her just because of her severe mysophobia. He had no interest in her at all. On the contrary, as long as Big Face Bao didn't bother his sisters Lin and Bao, he would be very happy to see Big Face Bao and Miaoyu as a couple.

At this time, Jia Huan had already reached Tuobi Villa, the highest point in the Grand View Garden. The view was excellent, and one could overlook the entire Grand View Garden and even clearly see the imperial city in the distance. However, the weather had not been very good in recent days, and it was gloomy, as if a rain or snow was brewing.

Jia Huan stayed there for about an incense stick of time, until the smell of alcohol had almost dissipated, and then he walked down the stone steps towards Aojing Pavilion at the foot of the mountain.

Aojing Pavilion is located at the foot of a mountain, surrounded by mountains and water. In front of it is the edge of Qinfang Pond, and opposite the pond is Ouxiang Pavilion where Jia Xichun lives. Shi Xiangyun used to live in Aojing Pavilion, but now it is naturally vacant, but there are servants cleaning it every day. At this time, festive spring couplets are also posted in front of the door, and lanterns are hung.

Jia Huan stood in front of Aojing Pavilion for a while, and finally walked in. He saw many broken pottery jars with strange shapes placed under the east wall of the courtyard. These were used by Shi Xiangyun to grow chrysanthemums. In previous years, when autumn came, various colors of chrysanthemums competed with each other in splendor and were beautiful. Now, only a pile of empty broken jars were left, which was indescribably lonely and desolate.

Jia Huan looked at the dilapidated scene before him, and the innocent smile of Shi Xiangyun emerged in his mind. Thinking of Xiangyun's whereabouts and whether she was dead or alive, he could not help but sigh and chant:

A cold west wind blew across the pond overnight, scattering the red jade shadows of the lotus leaves.

The Polygonum flowers and water chestnut leaves are filled with sorrow, the heavy dew and frost weigh down their slender stems.

No sound of chess pieces being played can be heard during the long day, and the chessboard is stained with bird droppings.

The ancients cherished their friends’ partings, let alone me…”

Jia Huan suddenly stopped chanting here, and looked in astonishment at Xue Baochai who came out of the room. The two looked at each other, both feeling a little embarrassed.

"So... Sister Bao is here!" Jia Huan said embarrassedly with a light cough.

Today is New Year's Eve. Xue Baochai is wearing a honey-colored cotton-padded jacket, a rose-purple waistcoat with gold and silver thread, and a light yellow satin cotton skirt. They are all half new and half old, and look neither luxurious nor old, but elegant. Her lips are red without any makeup, and her eyebrows are green without any makeup. She is as dignified and gentle as ever, but there is a hint of lingering sadness between her eyebrows, which makes people feel heartbeat.

Jia Huan was having his coming-of-age ceremony today, and Ping'er had dressed him up carefully in the morning. He looked even more handsome now, with red lips and white teeth. Xue Baochai stared at Jia Huan for half a second with her beautiful eyes like apricots, and her heart was beating fast. She lowered her eyes and said softly, "Brother Huan's poem seems to be unfinished."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "I just made up a few random words, but I didn't expect that Sister Bao would hear it. By the way, why is Sister Bao here alone? Where is Ying'er?"

Xue Baochai shook her head and said softly, "I came out to take a walk by myself, why did she follow me? By the way, has Brother Huan heard any news about Yun'er in the past few months?"

"No!" Jia Huan shook his head.

Xue Baochai sighed sadly. How could a living person just disappear like that? But things in the world are unpredictable. In the catastrophe, didn’t her brother also disappear without a trace?
"Sister Bao..."

"Hmm?" Xue Baochai raised her head and looked at Jia Huan in confusion as he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Jia Huan glanced around and approached Xue Baochai. The latter's pretty face felt a little hot and she subconsciously took a step back because he was too close.

Jia Huan took Xue Baochai's hand and walked into the house without saying anything, whispering, "Sister Bao, come with me. I have something important to tell you."

Xue Baochai was pulled into the room by Jia Huan. She couldn't help but feel her heart beating like a deer. She felt embarrassed and a little annoyed. She forced herself to be calm and said, "Brother Huan, let go first. It's disrespectful to others."

Jia Huan sweated secretly, and quickly let go of her hand, whispering: "Sister Bao, actually cousin Pan is still alive."

Xue Baochai was startled for a moment, then her delicate body trembled violently, and she blurted out, "Really?"

Jia Huan raised his head and hissed, then turned around and closed the door. Although there were no spies in the Jia Mansion, Xue Pan was a traitor on the wanted list, and Emperor Qiansheng had established a new spy agency, the East Factory, so it was better to be careful.

Xue Baochai no longer cared about the distinction between men and women. She grabbed Jia Huan's hand and asked excitedly, "Where is my brother now?"

(End of this chapter)