The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 641 Defeat
The wind picked up, swirling fine snowflakes across the sky. The bamboo outside Xiaoxiang Pavilion swayed precariously in the cold wind, rubbing against each other and making soft, creaking sounds, as if it were weeping.

Lin Daiyu stood by the window, silently weeping. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and she was oblivious to the cold snowflakes hitting her cheeks. A thin layer of frost even formed on her curved eyelashes.

At this moment, the curtain was lifted, and Baochai, Tanchun, and Baoqin walked in. They were all taken aback by the scene before them.

"How long has she been like this?" Jia Tanchun frowned and asked Zijuan behind her in a low voice.

Zijuan said with a worried expression, "She's been like this ever since she came back. I can't persuade her or stop her. Miss Lin used to cry a lot, but I haven't seen her like this much in recent years. What if she catches up with her old ailment? Good ladies, please help me persuade her. I really have no other choice."

Xue Baochai sighed inwardly, her nose inexplicably feeling a little sore. She walked behind Lin Daiyu and said softly, "It's snowing, and you can't stand the wind. What are you doing standing in the wind? Be careful not to catch a cold."

Baoqin nodded in agreement, "Yes, Sister Lin's health has only improved in the last two years. If she were to relapse into her old ailment, it would be disastrous. Besides, if Brother Huan were to come back and see you not taking care of yourself, wouldn't he be heartbroken?"

Lin Daiyu, who had been frozen in place, moved slightly. Xue Baochai quickly gave Jia Tanchun a wink, and the latter immediately understood and reached out to close the window.

Xue Baochai touched Daiyu's hand and found it icy cold. She quickly opened her arms and hugged Daiyu, but it felt like she was holding a block of ice. She shivered and hurriedly ordered, "Zijuan, quickly bring in the stove outside. Xueyan, go and get a handkerchief and hot water!"

It turned out that Lin Daiyu had been standing at the window for too long and had become numb from the cold. The other women hurriedly helped her to sit down by the stove and applied a hot towel to her, which helped her recover slowly.

"Waaah, you scared me to death, young lady!" Xueyan cried, holding the basin of hot water.

Jia Tanchun said urgently, "Silly girl, why are you crying now? Quickly, warm up a pot of wine!"

"Oh!" Xueyan hurriedly went to the outer room to fetch a pot of warm yellow wine. Jia Tanchun quickly poured a cup, brought it to Lin Daiyu's lips, and commanded, "Quickly drink a cup while it's still hot."

Lin Daiyu drank a cup of warm wine, let out a long breath, and her face regained some color. Seeing this, Xue Baochai was relieved and sighed, "Why do you demean yourself like this?"

Lin Daiyu coughed twice and said in a sobbing voice, "Huan Di has been in the palace for so long, and there's still no news. Could it be...?"

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "You're just worrying too much. Just rest well and don't think too much. The fact that there's no news right now is actually good news!"

"Why is it good news when there's no news?" the little girl Chunxian asked, puzzled.

Jia Tanchun gently poked her forehead: "Use your brain to think!"

Chunxian tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and blurted out, "That's it! If Third Master were beheaded by the Emperor, it would definitely be a big commotion and everyone would know. The fact that there's no news means Third Master is still alright!"

Upon hearing the words "beheading," Lin Daiyu couldn't help but weep again, regretting, "I shouldn't have. I should have persuaded Huan to accept the imperial decree. Marrying a princess is better than losing my life."

Zijuan glared at Chunxian reproachfully, who awkwardly stuck out her tongue, picked up the basin of water, and went out the door.

Xue Baochai held Lin Daiyu's hand and sighed, "Pin'er, you don't need to blame yourself. With Huan's deep affection for you, even if you try to persuade him, it won't make a difference. He even dared to disobey the imperial edict, which shows that he has already disregarded life and death."

Lin Daiyu lowered her head in embarrassment, recalling the scene when Jia Huan refused the imperial decree. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings of sorrow and joy, and tenderness.

Seeing this, Xue Baoqin said enviously, "It's easy to find priceless treasures, but hard to find a loving man. The Mei family are heartless people. As soon as they saw that the Xue family was in trouble, they immediately broke off the engagement and avoided them. And look at Brother Huan. For Sister Lin, he treated the royal princess as nothing and even dared to disobey the imperial decree."

Confucius said, "If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening." I, Xue Baoqin, am a worldly woman; I don't care about such things as the Way. If my brother Huan also defies the imperial decree for my sake, I would be willing to die.

Upon hearing this, all the women looked at Xue Baoqin with strange expressions, even Lin Daiyu looked up at her. Xue Baoqin realized her mistake and blushed deeply, saying awkwardly, "Why are you looking at me? I was just using an analogy!"

Just as Baoqin was feeling embarrassed, Chunxian rushed in like the wind, panting, and said, "Second Miss has returned to the manor and is on her way here." Everyone was taken aback, and soon, sure enough, they heard the tinkling of jade pendants, and Jia Yingchun, dressed in her finest attire, entered with the help of Xiuju.

"When will Second Sister arrive?" Jia Tanchun asked in surprise.

The three girls, Chai, Qin, and Dai, also stood up to greet her. Jia Yingchun smiled and said, "I've been here for a couple of hours. I sat with the old lady and madam for a while, but unexpectedly it started snowing. I'm afraid I won't be able to leave tonight."

Tan Chun smiled and said, "Then let's go back to Zhuijin Pavilion for the night. It's been a long time since we sisters have gotten together."

In August of the year before last, Jia Yingchun married Liu Yi and is now a daughter-in-law of the Liu family. Her married life is obviously very happy and fulfilling. Her skin is rosy and fair, her figure has become a little plump, her temperament is elegant, and happiness is evident in every corner of her eyes and brows.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with Lin Daiyu?" Jia Yingchun asked in surprise, looking at Lin Daiyu's eyes, which were swollen like walnuts.

Lin Daiyu lowered her head somewhat embarrassed, and Baoqin said, "It's because I'm worried about Brother Huan."

Jia Yingchun suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. I came here precisely because of Brother Huan. Alas, I never expected Brother Huan to be so bold as to defy even the imperial edict."

Lin Daiyu lowered her head and remained silent. Jia Yingchun quickly said, "Sister Lin, don't worry too much. I heard from my husband (Liu Yi) that Brother Huan is currently imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail. It's nothing serious. And Liaodong is in need of manpower right now, so things will probably take a turn for the better in the end."

The women felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this. Jia Yingchun sat for a while longer and promised to go to the palace the next day to see Consort Qi and ask her to plead with the Emperor on her behalf, since Princess Yongning was raised by Consort Qi, and Consort Qi's intervention might be helpful.

…………

Tonight, Emperor Qiansheng did not go to the palace to sleep with his concubines, but instead stayed alone in the warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace. The eunuchs who were familiar with the emperor knew that before making important decisions, Emperor Qiansheng often liked to stay alone in the warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace. Therefore, perhaps after dawn tomorrow, the fate of Jia Huan, the governor of Liaodong, will be settled.

However, at this moment, Emperor Qiansheng was not considering how to deal with Jia Huan. In his opinion, as long as he was locked up for a few days, the boy would probably come to his senses. Sacrificing his future and life for a woman was undoubtedly extremely foolish. Jia Huan was obviously not a fool. He was able to pass the imperial examinations six times in a row, which meant he was extremely intelligent. However, he was young and impetuous and would inevitably act rashly at times. He would be fine once he calmed down.

At this time, Emperor Qiansheng was considering the issue of negotiating peace with Nurhaci. During the morning court session that day, the ministers had discussed it and were basically divided into two factions: one advocating peace and the other advocating war.

The pro-peace faction believed that although the Jurchens suffered a major defeat in Ningyuan, their strength remained, and the newly recovered 300 li of lost territory also needed time to be developed. At this time, negotiating peace with the Jurchens would help buy time to digest and attract them, and at the same time, it would also be possible to use this opportunity to bring back Prince Qing.

The pro-war faction argued that the Jurchens had been severely weakened by their defeat at Ningyuan, and that rumors circulated that Nurhaci had been wounded to death by cannon fire. Their willingness to sue for peace suggested these rumors might be true, and therefore, they believed they should press their advantage and eliminate this major threat in one fell swoop. Of course, the pro-war faction also dared not disregard Prince Qing's life, so they suggested feigning peace talks with the Jurchens, exchanging Prince Qing for him, and then immediately launching an attack across the Liao River to finish the job in one decisive battle.

Emperor Qiansheng himself favored war, hoping to resolve the long-standing hidden dangers in one fell swoop. However, he was also worried that it would be risky to hastily cross the Liao River. If they suffered a defeat, the morale and advantage that had been painstakingly rebuilt through the victory at Ningyuan would collapse, and they would fall back into a passive position.

The matter was of great importance, and Emperor Qiansheng had to be extremely cautious. At this moment, he was like a gambler who had been losing for seven or eight years and had become numb to it. Suddenly, he won a big prize and naturally wanted to win even more, but he was also more worried about losing the chips he had just won.

Just as Emperor Qiansheng was hesitant and agitated, Chen Ju, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, appeared outside the warm pavilion, panting, and said urgently, "Your Majesty, a message has arrived from outside the palace—urgent military news!"

Emperor Qiansheng felt a jolt in his heart, sensing something was amiss, and said in a deep voice, "Come in!"

Chen Ju then pushed open the door to the warm pavilion and handed the urgent report to Emperor Qiansheng. The latter took it, opened it, and his expression immediately changed drastically. He slammed his hand on the imperial desk and cursed, "Damn it!"

It turned out that this was a secret report sent by a Jinyiwei spy from Liaodong, delivered by an urgent messenger – the front lines had suffered a defeat!
According to the report, when Sun Chengzong, the Liaodong military commissioner, received the Jurchen envoys for peace negotiations in Guangning City, Huang Taiji, the fourth prince of the Jurchens, suddenly appeared in Yaozhou City on the opposite bank of the Liao River. His intentions were unclear, and intelligence indicated that Huang Taiji was only accompanied by 500 guards. Man Gui, the guerrilla general stationed at Sanchahe Fortress, was greedy for merit and acted rashly, crossing the river to attack Yaozhou City before the navy from Juehua Island arrived. As a result, he fell into an ambush, suffering heavy losses and retreating with over a thousand men killed or wounded.

After reading the secret report, Emperor Qiansheng was filled with rage. Although the losses from this defeat were not significant, it was undoubtedly a blow to the Jin army, which had just recovered its morale. Moreover, suffering a defeat at this crucial juncture of peace negotiations was extremely disadvantageous for the Great Jin. Clearly, Huang Taiji's appearance in Yaozhou was nothing short of a trap.

"Is Sun Chengzong a good-for-nothing? This is outrageous! Does the front line really not work without Jia Huan?" Emperor Qiansheng's face was gloomy, and his eyes were shifting uncertainly.

(End of this chapter)