The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 665 The salted fish turns over
A moment later, Jia Huan's voice came from outside the door: "Your Highness, I, Jia Huan, greet you. The mine bandits have been repelled. I apologize for the fright Your Highness."

"Yes, please come in and explain in detail, Jia the marriage envoy," Lin Daiyu said happily.

At this moment, Duan Yong was not present, probably still outside cleaning up the dowry. Jia Huan cleverly slipped into the room and immediately felt several pairs of beautiful eyes looking at him. Besides Daiyu and Baochai, there were also four beautiful maids: Zijuan, Xiangling, Ying'er, and Xueyan. They were truly like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, colorful and pleasing to the eye.

When Lin Daiyu saw Jia Huan, she immediately stood up, took his arm and spun him around, carefully looking him up and down until she was sure he was not injured. Then she nodded and said, "It's good that you're not hurt. The commotion outside was quite frightening."

As Lin Daiyu spoke, she patted her chest in lingering fear, her concern evident in her words. Her eyebrows were like spring mountains, and her eyes sparkled with a unique and captivating beauty. This stirred a warmth in Jia Huan's heart, and he almost reached out to embrace her tenderly. However, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jia Huan dared not act rashly. He could only pretend to rub his forehead to cover his displeasure, while laughing and saying, "They're just a bunch of rabble. How could they possibly hurt me? Sister Lin, you underestimate me!"

Lin Daiyu blushed slightly. Clearly, the man's involuntary actions had not escaped her notice. Feeling both embarrassed and pleased, she pointed her slender index finger at Jia Huan's forehead and said with a double meaning, "Sister Bao, look at him. He's becoming more and more frivolous these days. Why don't you say something to him? You should know that pride comes before a fall. He'll only realize how dangerous things are when he suffers a loss and hits a brick wall."

Xue Baochai stood quietly to the side, watching with a gentle and kind smile on her face, and said, "Isn't it the same?"

Lin Daiyu shook her head and said, "That's different. He might not listen to what I say, but he'll definitely take what Sister Bao says as gospel."

As the saying goes, what is said without intention may be taken to heart by the listener. Jia smiled guiltily. Just two days ago, he had taken Baochai's advice and submitted a memorial impeaching Wan'an. Could this little jealous pot know about this and be using it as an excuse to make a fuss?
Xue Baochai glanced at Jia Huan and said with a smile, "I don't have that kind of ability. I don't know what kind of demon Brother Huan was after back then, he didn't even listen to the imperial edict. How could he listen to what I said!"

The maids immediately covered their mouths and laughed. Lin Daiyu blushed and reached out to tear at Baochai's little mouth. Although Lin Daiyu was very good at arguing, she was not always able to gain the upper hand when she sparred with Baochai. For example, in Chapter 30 of the original novel, Baochai used a fan to make a double entendre, and Lingguan was so infatuated with drawing roses that even outsiders were affected.

In this episode, after having a conflict with Lin Daiyu, Da Lianbao took the initiative to apologize to her. Then, Wang Xifeng dragged him to watch a play, where Baochai happened to be present. Da Lianbao, in a moment of madness, compared Baochai to Yang Guifei, saying she was "plump and prone to heat," which angered her. She immediately used the story of "bearing thorns to apologize" to tease Da Lianbao and Daiyu, showing her quick wit and erudition.

Getting back to the main point, Jia Huan watched with a smile as the two girls, Daiyu and Baochai, played and laughed. He was inexplicably in a good mood. Since the two girls moved to the temporary princess's residence, he hadn't seen such a relaxed, happy, and pleasing scene for a long time.

The two women teased each other for a while before calming down, their hairpins and ornaments in disarray, a truly pleasing sight to behold, much to the delight of the man.

Xue Baochai glanced at Jia Huan, somewhat embarrassed, smoothed her hair from her forehead, and smiled, "Good sister, I was wrong, please forgive me this time?"

"Very well, I'll spare you for today." Lin Daiyu said, as she reached out to straighten the crooked hairpin in her hair bun. Her pretty face was flushed, her eyes were sparkling, and she exuded a charming allure.

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Sister Lin, let me help you!" As he helped Lin Daiyu re-insert her hairpins, the latter felt a surge of sweetness in her heart. She recalled the scene when her brother Huan refused the imperial decree for her sake, and her tenderness almost overflowed from her beautiful eyes.

Seeing this, Xue Baochai silently looked away and lowered her head to tidy her clothes. Ying'er secretly pouted, seemingly feeling wronged for her young lady. Third Master Huan is really biased.

Just then, Tie Niu's honest voice came from outside the door: "Eunuch Duan is here."

Zijuan and Ying'er quickly and cleverly tidied up their mistresses' appearance. A moment later, Duan Yong walked in, knelt down and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness the Princess."

Lin Daiyu's appearance and temperament were no less than those of a royal princess. Now that she had been a "princess" for several months, she was used to kneeling before others. She nodded and said, "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Duan Yong stood up, glanced at Jia Huan, and said, "It's getting late. Your Highness should take a bath and change your clothes. Since Jia Huan has already paid his respects, you may leave."

Jia Huan had no choice but to leave the room. A moment later, Duan Yong followed him out and said, "Wan An has run away. He's probably gone back to Luoyang to get reinforcements. That guy is petty and we have to be careful!"

Jia Huan said, "So what? Does Duan Zhongshi think he's afraid of retaliation?"

Duan Yong immediately raised his chin and sneered, "Bah, why would I be afraid of him? Besides, I'm going to Hami this time and I probably won't be back for the rest of my life. What's there to be afraid of?" He glanced at Jia Huan and continued, "I am a little worried about Third Master Huan. Wan An is a very petty person. He may have already held a grudge since you refused his invitation that day. Moreover, I heard that Third Master Huan and Shi Dayong, the director of the Eastern Depot, don't get along. You should be careful in the future. Wan An is Shi Dayong's man."

Jia Huan smiled calmly and asked in return, "Is Duan Zhongshi really willing to stay in Hami for the rest of his life?"

Duan Yong's lips twitched as if he had been hit where it hurt. He was naturally unwilling. Who would want to stay in a godforsaken place like Hami for the rest of their life? In fact, he was very resistant to this job at first, but he could not disobey the emperor's orders. Sometimes he even suspected that Shi Dayong was making things difficult for him. Otherwise, why would he be chosen out of so many people in the Directorate of Ceremonial?

Upon seeing Duan Yong's expression, Jia Huan immediately understood that this guy clearly didn't want to stay in Hami. However, he himself wouldn't want to either. Eunuchs were the emperor's servants, and their power originated from the emperor. If they were far away from the emperor, what future would they have?

The aroma of food wafted in the evening breeze, indicating that the guards had brought water and were preparing dinner.

Jia Huan laughed nonchalantly and said, "Let's eat first. Life is unpredictable, and who can foresee what will happen in the future?" After saying that, he turned and left.

Duan Yong's eyes flashed as he thoughtfully watched Jia Huan's retreating figure, muttering to himself, "I wonder what this kid is up to. Could he be planning to disobey the imperial order again? What should we do if Jia Huan really does disobey and refuses to send Princess Kangle to Hami for the marriage alliance? Kill him?"

Before leaving the capital, Emperor Qiansheng gave Duan Yong a secret decree: if Jia Huan dared to disobey, he should be executed on the spot. To be honest, at the beginning of his journey, Duan Yong was confident in carrying out Emperor Qiansheng's secret decree. However, after today's events, Duan Yong's confidence wavered. Jia Huan's abilities were simply too strong; he couldn't control him at all. For example, now, Jia Huan's prestige in the Imperial Guard was probably even higher than his own. In addition, with the Imperial Guard's leader Han Xin dead in battle, Jia Huan now seemed to have become the leader of the Imperial Guard, and everyone was more willing to obey his orders.

In addition, Jia Huan has two fierce generals, Tie Niu and Man Gui, who can each take on ten men. If he fails to kill Jia Huan, he may end up being killed instead.

Duan Yong's mind raced. He hesitated whether to report the truth to Emperor Qiansheng and request more escorts, but doing so would make him appear incompetent.

"That's right. The Jia family is all in the capital, and they have a large and powerful family. Would Jia Huan really risk the lives of his family for a woman?"

Thinking of this, Duan Yong calmed down and temporarily gave up the idea of ​​reporting to Emperor Qiansheng.

…………

That night, under the cold moon, Zhang Cunmeng, who was not covered in mud, led his remaining hundred or so brothers through the fields. They dared not walk on the main roads for fear of being discovered by the government troops. Fortunately, the drought had lasted too long, and the fields were parched. There were not a single blade of grass, let alone crops. They were hard and easy to walk on.

However, Zhang Cunmeng was dejected at this moment, his heart colder than the cold moon in the sky. Damn it, he died before he could even start his campaign. Rebellion is really hard work. He lost more than three hundred brothers before he could even make a splash. It was too cruel.

"Brother, everyone's too hungry to walk, let's rest for a bit," Zhang Biao muttered, rubbing his belly.

Zhang Cunmeng was also starving. He looked back at his listless brothers and felt even more guilty. He nodded and said, "Let's rest for a while. There shouldn't be any pursuers coming now."

The miners immediately lay down haphazardly in the field. Zhang Biao sat down next to Zhang Cunmeng and said with some regret, "Brother, it's all my fault for killing someone in a moment of impulse, which has harmed everyone."

Zhang Cunmeng, however, was quite responsible. He shook his head and said, "It's none of your business. Those bastards have gone too far. It's only natural that officials force the people to rebel. It's just a pity that I, Zhang Cunmeng, am unlucky and have had an unsuccessful start. I only regret that I was unable to kill that eunuch Wan An and rid the people of this scourge!"

"That bastard Li Zicheng is so disloyal. As soon as he saw the wind was blowing in his way, he immediately ran away with his men," Ah Xiu said sullenly.

Zhang Cunmeng's face darkened slightly, and he remained silent. In fact, he did not blame Li Zicheng. It was his own people who did not listen to advice and were too greedy, which led to their defeat. He did not blame Li Zicheng for fleeing.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from the quiet night. Zhang Cunmeng and the others were so frightened that they thought the pursuers had arrived. They immediately lay down in the field and dared not move.

“Brother, it seems there are only three riders, not pursuers!” a miner with good eyesight suddenly said.

By the dim moonlight, Zhang Cunmeng looked out and saw several dark dots galloping along the official road. He could vaguely make out that they were three horses, but he dared not be careless. He whispered, "They might be scouts. Everyone, lie down and don't move."

So the miners lay there motionless, but when the three horses ran nearby, a dark figure fell off one of them with a sharp scream.

The other two horses were quickly reined in, and two men jumped off, calling out, "Eunuch Wan, are you alright?"

"What do you say? Aren't you going to help me up? Ouch, it hurts so much!"

Zhang Cunmeng had already taken a liking to the name "Eunuch Wan," and when he heard Wan An's familiar rooster-like voice, he was both surprised and delighted: "Hehe, you really do choose the path to hell when there's a way to heaven!"

It turned out that the three men on horseback were none other than Wan An and two of his henchmen. After leaving the post station, Wan An originally intended to rush back to Luoyang overnight to mobilize troops to clean up the mess. However, due to his weak body, he lost his strength and fell off his horse. Unfortunately, he ran into the remnants of Zhang Cunmeng's gang. It was a case of reaping what you sow.

The two guards helped Wan'an up and found that his wound had reopened and was bleeding again. They quickly re-bandaged it to stop the bleeding. When they finished and were about to mount their horses, they looked up and found that they were surrounded by dozens of mining thieves. The gleaming swords flashed with a cold light under the cold moon.

Wan An and the two guards were terrified and trembled with fear.

"Eunuch Wan, what a coincidence that we meet again!" Zhang Cunmeng stepped forward with a sinister grin, revealing his sharp white teeth.

Wan An was filled with remorse and said in a trembling voice, "Brother Zhang, let's talk this out. If you let me go, I'll give you ten thousand taels of silver, no... one hundred thousand taels!"

Tsk tsk, 100,000 taels is no small sum; it's an astronomical figure that ordinary people couldn't earn in ten lifetimes. However, Zhang Cunmeng wasn't stupid. Once he started a rebellion, there was no turning back. Besides, he had just suffered from greed not long ago, so how could he be fooled again? Therefore, he sneered, "I don't want your dirty money; it's all from plundering the common people."

"Brother, don't waste words with him, just kill him to avenge the brothers," Zhang Biao said menacingly.

Zhang Cunmeng nodded, and was about to kill Wan An and the other two when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He said, "This eunuch is not staying at the post station and is traveling in the middle of the night. I'm afraid there's something he's hiding. Let me ask him first."

Wan An, that eunuch, was terrified of death. When a knife was held to his throat and he was forced to confess, he immediately revealed his plan to return to Luoyang to mobilize troops.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cunmeng immediately came up with a plan and decided to take a risk, taking Wan An directly to the nearby county town of Mianchi. That's right, he wanted to use Wan An to swindle the city.

It must be said that Zhang Cunmeng, who never gets involved in mud, is indeed a bit lucky, and with a bit of brains, he actually managed to turn his fortunes around and cause quite a stir.

Meanwhile, Zhang Cunmeng brought Wan An to the city gate of Mianchi County, pressed a dagger against his waist, and forced him to call for the city gate to be opened to the guards on the city wall.

In the past two years, Wan An has been running rampant in Luoyang, and no one dares to mess with him. He has even ordered the city gates to be opened in the middle of the night before. The guards on the city wall were so frightened by the mere mention of Wan An's name that they quickly opened the city gates.

Zhang Cunmeng was overjoyed and led more than a hundred brothers into the city. In one fell swoop, they cut down all the guards and soldiers on duty. Then they rushed straight to the county government office. Poor Mianchi County Magistrate, County Assistant Magistrate, and Registrar were dragged out of their beds and killed in their sleep.

Within two hours, Zhang Cunmeng had taken control of the entire county. Presumably having learned his lesson, Zhang Cunmeng strictly ordered his miners not to disturb the people or plunder their property. He also posted notices to reassure the people and opened the city's granaries at daybreak to distribute grain for disaster relief.

This was quite a shock. News of Mianchi County opening its granaries to distribute grain spread like wildfire, and starving people from all over flocked to the county. By the afternoon, even tens of thousands of starving people outside Luoyang City had received the news and rushed to Mianchi County. In just a few days, Zhang Cunmeng had managed to gather a force of 40,000 to 50,000 people, which greatly alarmed the entire Henan Province.

Furthermore, Zhang Cunmeng had Wan An hung on the city wall as a public spectacle, allowing the people to vent their anger. Wan An had committed countless evils in Luoyang Prefecture over the years, exploiting the people to the bone, and had long been the target of public resentment. Therefore, he was stoned to death by the people, and his body was eventually torn to pieces and burned to ashes.

In a short time, Zhang Cunmeng's reputation spread far and wide, and countless outlaws from near and far came to join him. At the same time, heroes from Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places responded one after another, and rose up in rebellion. Within a few months, the flames of rebellion had become a prairie fire.

This situation is a story for later, and it was something Jia Huan had not anticipated. After staying overnight at Mianchi Post Station, Jia Huan and his party received news the next day that Zhang Cunmeng had captured Mianchi County. To avoid retaliation from the rebels, Jia Huan and Duan Yong led the marriage procession westward in haste. They only felt relieved after entering Shanzhou territory.

(End of this chapter)