The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 724 Aunt Man Goes to War

In the sweltering heat of June, the pond in front of Yuewei Residence in the Grand View Garden is filled with lotus leaves, their graceful canopies like umbrellas. Red, white, and pink lotus flowers stand amidst the green water and leaves, some still in bud, others in full bloom under the sun. A gentle breeze carries the fragrance of the lotus blossoms, their delicate beauty filling the air.

Inside Yuewei Residence, Ping'er was tidying up her belongings, neatly stacking clothes, hats, towels, and insoles into a wicker trunk, while Caixia helped her. Due to the hot weather, the pretty Ping'er's fair and sweet cheeks were already covered in fragrant sweat.

Caixia very considerately fanned Ping'er, saying, "You've been busy all day, Ping'er, take a rest and have some water. Anyway, Mandarin doesn't set off until early tomorrow morning."

Ping'er said, "You don't know, I have a problem. I can't sleep soundly until I finish what I'm doing, because I'm afraid I'll forget something. I can only feel at ease if I arrange things properly as soon as possible."

Caixia smiled and said, "No wonder everyone says that Sister Ping is a clever and thoughtful person."

Ping'er shook her head and laughed, "What cleverness and thoughtfulness? She's just destined to be a busybody. By the way, where did Qingwen go? I haven't seen her all day."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Qingwen entered, carrying a blue-and-white porcelain vase, swaying gently in the breeze like a willow branch. Inside the vase were several lotus buds and two lotus leaves, which she carefully placed on the desk.

Caixia said, "I was wondering why Sister Qingwen had been gone for so long. Turns out she went off to be a flower thief."

Qingwen laughed and said, "If others can pick them, why can't I? If I don't pick them now, there won't be any left after the hottest days of summer. This is what they mean by 'pluck the flower while it blooms, lest you break a bare branch when there are no flowers left.'"

"Stop doing bad things, or Aunt Li will complain to the Third Miss. We really can't afford to lose face like that," Ping'er said, shaking her head.

In recent years, the Jia family's accumulated bad debts have come to a head. In order to increase revenue and cut expenses, Jia Huan carried out sweeping reforms, dismissing most of the servants in the mansion, cutting various unnecessary expenses, and depositing half of the annual revenue from the sale of honeycomb briquettes into the public account. This reversed the predicament of being unable to make ends meet. Now the Jia family has basically paid off all its debts and even has a surplus every year.

In order to increase income, Jia Tanchun came up with a plan to contract out all the flowers, plants, fruits, trees, fish, shrimp, birds and other things that could live in the Grand View Garden to the steward servants. They could earn two or three hundred taels of silver every year, but the price was that everyone could no longer pick the flowers, trees and fruits in the garden at will.

The lotus pond in front of Yuewei Residence was contracted out to a steward named Aunt Li, which is why Ping'er made that statement.

Qingwen raised her charming phoenix eyes and sneered, "Let that old hag sue if she wants to. It's just picking two lotus flowers, what's the big deal? If it weren't for our master's ambition, would the whole mansion be as prosperous as it is today?"

Ping'er laughed angrily, "Look at your arrogant manner. You've offended too many people. Be careful you don't suffer a big fall. As the saying goes, 'When the sky is arrogant, it will rain; when a person is arrogant, disaster will follow.' The more successful you are, the more vigilant you should be. Third Master is now in a high position and has a lot of eyes on him. We should be more low-key and humble, and avoid causing trouble."

Although we young ladies live secluded in the inner quarters and are unlikely to cause much trouble, we are still prone to attracting the envy and resentment of petty people. Moreover, since the Third Miss is now in charge of the garden's affairs, we must not make things difficult for her.

Qingwen chuckled and said, "You've been lecturing on and on about a bunch of grand principles just because I picked a couple of flowers. I know, Aunt Ping, I didn't pick these lotus flowers. Aunt Li picked them and brought them over herself. I wouldn't even bother picking them myself. Third Master isn't here, so who are we putting these up for?"

Ping'er blushed upon hearing this and scolded with a laugh, "You little rascal! Since it was sent by Aunt Li, why didn't you say so earlier? Go and see how Mandarin is preparing."

Qingwen snorted coldly and said, "I'm not going. I can't stand the smug look on that foreign woman's face."

Although Qingwen said that, she still swayed her hips as she walked out of the room and headed towards Mandarin's room in the west wing.

It turns out that Mandarin is leaving for Ganzhou tomorrow, so Ping'er started packing her luggage yesterday. She packed three large boxes full of things to bring to Jia Huan, including clothes, household items, and food. A significant portion of the items were prepared by Grandmother Jia and her sisters-in-law. Lady Wang and Jia Baoyu also contributed a small amount.

It's worth mentioning that Mandarin's trip to Ganzhou wasn't sent by Grandmother Jia, but rather instructed by a letter from Jia Huan. Mandarin, this foreign beauty, was overjoyed upon receiving Jia Huan's letter, while Ping'er, Qingwen, and Caixia could only look on with envy. The proud and arrogant Qingwen, in particular, remained sullen for a long time, blaming the Third Master for being biased!
Getting back to the main point, when Qingwen arrived at Mandarin's room, the latter was taking a nap on the bed, wearing only a thin undershirt, revealing her fair legs and pink back, and her exaggeratedly curvaceous pear-shaped figure. Even Qingwen, who was also a woman, felt her heart flutter when she saw her.

"Pah, that slut, no wonder Third Master only sent her!" Qingwen spat inwardly, then stepped forward and pinched Mandarin's round buttocks.

Mandarin was fast asleep when she winced in pain and rolled over, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Seeing Qingwen looking at her with a grin, she said displeasedly, "Qingwen, you hussy, why are you pinching me?"

Mandarin's flip revealed a striking figure, her ample bosom and deep, snow-white cleavage were truly eye-catching. Qingwen blushed and spat, "What a shameless slut! Not even wearing a bodice, doesn't she care if people see?"

Mandarin chuckled and said, "It's so hot, why bother wearing that? There are women all over the house, what's there to be afraid of? It's not like you don't have any."

As Mandarin spoke, she put on her outer garment in front of Qingwen with an air of nonchalance, deliberately puffing out her chest and striking an exaggerated "S" pose to annoy her. Qingwen was so angry that she sneered, "What's with the swagger? You're all show and no substance, you can't even lay an egg."

Mandarin retorted, "You've served Third Master for so long and you haven't fallen yet, but this time when we go to Ganzhou, I might fall." She then laughed smugly.

"Pah, how shameless!" Qingwen rolled her eyes in anger, turned around to leave, but suddenly stopped and said, "You almost made me forget the important matter. Sister Ping'er asked me to ask if you have prepared your luggage."

Mandarin shrugged and spread her hands, saying, "We're not leaving until tomorrow, so it's not too late to pack tonight."

Qingwen said with amusement, "I knew you lazy thing hadn't tidied up yet. You can't serve people and you're lazy. I really don't know what our master wants you to do."

Mandalinebah blinked and laughed, "Because I have a brain."

Qingwen glanced at Mandarin's ample breasts and pouted, "I really couldn't tell."

Mandarin said proudly, "I may not be as good as you at needlework, but I can... biu biu!"

Mandarin made a shooting gesture, and Qingwen blushed and spat, "Pah, you really are a barbarian woman from the West, how can you say such a thing?"

It's no wonder Qingwen would have the wrong idea, since Mandarin had even made an aiming motion, placing her hands naturally in front of her chin and "pulling" the trigger one after the other.

"What's wrong with talking about shooting? Oh... what are you thinking? Pui pui, you shameless bastard, I'll tear your mouth off!" Mandarin was puzzled for a moment before realizing that Qingwen had misunderstood. She giggled and went to tear Qingwen's mouth off.

Qingwen realized she had misunderstood, feeling both embarrassed and amused. The two joked around for a while, until their hair was disheveled and they were slightly sweaty before stopping.

"Hurry up and pack your things, don't always procrastinate, or you'll forget everything again." Qingwen said with a smile, "Fine, I'll help you pack, so you won't be lazy again."

Mandarin laughed and said, "Everyone says you're all bark and no bite, all thorns and a fire inside. You go ahead and do your thing, I'll take care of myself, it won't take up much time."

Upon hearing this, Qingwen left. Mandarin hummed a little tune and began packing her luggage. First, she took out two flintlock pistols from a hidden compartment in the wardrobe, carefully wiped and oiled them, then put them in holsters and placed them at the bottom of the suitcase.

It turns out that when they were in Liaodong, Mandarin made not just one flintlock pistol, but three. One of them was given to Jia Huan for self-defense, while the other two were kept secret.

The reason Jia Huan specifically summoned Mandarin to Ganzhou this time was not to have her serve him, but to have her manufacture guns and cannons, even more advanced ones!
The next morning, the carriages were ready and waiting outside the south gate of the Grand View Garden. Servants carried five suitcases onto the carriages.

Tie Hu and Xing Wei were dumbfounded. This young lady had way too much luggage. She was going to war, not to go sightseeing.

Due to the chaos and turmoil along the way, Jia Huan sent a letter to Tie Hu and Xing Wei at the same time as issuing the transfer order, asking them to return to the capital to pick up Mandarin before reporting for duty, so that Mandarin would have a safety guarantee on the road.

Although Mandarin is also very capable in combat, she is ultimately a woman, and having Tiehu and Xingwei escort her is better than her traveling alone.

After waiting for a while, Tiehu and Xingwei finally saw Mandarin, dressed in short clothes, riding a horse. Her blonde hair was tied up on her back, neat and tidy, and she looked heroic. She did not deliberately dress as a man, but even if she did, she could not fool people. After all, her figure was too hot. In addition, with blonde hair, blue eyes, an angelic face, and a devilish figure, anyone who was not blind could recognize her as a woman at a glance.

"Greetings, Aunt Man!"

Tiehu and Xingwei were quite familiar with Mandarin, and they immediately greeted her upon meeting. Mandarin didn't act like a concubine, because she knew that these two were her husband's good friends, and politely returned the greeting, saying, "Tiger and Wei, it's been a long time, thank you for your trouble!"

Tiehu and Xingwei repeatedly said they dared not, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries, they set off, leaving the city through Fucheng Gate and heading towards Xuanfu and Datong.

More than two months ago, the rebel army led by Gao Yingxiang, Wang Ziyong and others broke through Taiyuan and dug up the ancestral tombs of the Great Jin Dynasty. In a fit of anger, Emperor Qiansheng mobilized the Beijing Garrison to Shanxi. The rebel army probably knew that they were no match for the elite troops of the Beijing Garrison, so they immediately scattered. Therefore, going through Xuanfu and Datong is now the safest option and also greatly shortens the distance to the Northwest.

(End of this chapter)