The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 765 A Perfect Union (Part 1)

The Lantern Festival is the most important and grandest festival in the Great Jin Dynasty. The whole country celebrates together, and even the usual curfew is lifted. All the gates of the inner and outer cities are opened, allowing people to enter and leave freely, so that everyone can revel all night long. It is truly a night of dazzling lights and bright moonlight.

Jia Huan was already quite drunk, and he walked unsteadily toward the back courtyard. The bright moon hung high in the night sky, and brilliant fireworks shot into the sky from time to time, with the sound of firecrackers rising and falling.

Although Jia Huan married both Daiyu and Baochai with the same respect as his equal wives, just like in this house, there is only one main courtyard and the rest are side courtyards. It is impossible for both Daiyu and Baochai to live in the main courtyard, so there are still some differences. Now, Daiyu lives in the main courtyard, while Baochai can only live in the side courtyard.

No one in the Jia family found this arrangement inappropriate, including Aunt Xue and Baochai themselves, who considered it reasonable. Daiyu's father, Lin Ruhai, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), holding a high official position during his lifetime and receiving posthumous honors. In contrast, while the Xue family had once been noble, their property had been confiscated due to Xue Pan's involvement in the restoration of the retired emperor. Therefore, in terms of status and position, Baochai was ultimately inferior to Daiyu, making her placement in the side courtyard perfectly reasonable.

Of course, as far as Jia Huan is concerned, both his sons and daughters are his flesh and blood, so he will not favor or respect either of them more. He will treat them equally and impartially. However, it is not easy to treat them equally sometimes because he cannot be in two places at once.

At this moment, our Marquis of Dingyuan was in a dilemma: should he go to the main courtyard to find Daiyu first, or go to the side courtyard to find Baochai first?
Jia Huan hesitated for a moment, but finally went to the side courtyard, intending to first lift Baochai's red veil, and then go to Daiyu's place to spend the night.

When Jia Huan arrived at the side courtyard, the old woman on night duty was dozing off. She was startled awake by Jia Huan's light cough and quickly jumped up to bow, saying, "Oh dear, I deserve to die! I was so happy tonight that I drank too much and became sleepy. Please forgive me, Your Excellency!"

Jia Huan didn't blame her. He waved his hand and said politely, "Everyone has worked hard today. Granny Li, you should rest early. There's no need for you to stay here."

The old woman was eager to finish her shift, thanking him repeatedly while calling into the house, "Girls, Third Master is here! Come and greet him!"

Xiangling and Caixia, the two maids, came out in response, both with a look of surprise on their faces. They had thought that Jia Huan would go to the main courtyard first, but they did not expect him to come to the side courtyard first. They quickly stepped forward to bow and said in sweet voices, "Third Master!"

It is worth mentioning that of the four maids who originally served Jia Huan, Ping'er and Mandarin had already been granted the status of concubines, while Qingwen and Caixia were still maids. Now, Qingwen has been assigned to serve Daiyu in the main courtyard, while Caixia has been assigned to serve Baochai in the side courtyard. As for the pretty Ping'er, she naturally has her own independent courtyard and has been given a maid to serve her, making her a sort of half-mistress.

Xiangling and Caixia welcomed Jia Huan into the house. Ying'er happily brought over some hangover soup to help Jia Huan sober up, saying, "I thought Third Master wouldn't be coming tonight. Our mistress was already getting ready to go to bed."

Jia Huan laughed and said, "Tonight is my wedding night with Sister Bao, how could I not come?" He lifted the beaded curtain and strolled into the inner room.

Inside, dragon and phoenix candles burned brightly, a large red "double happiness" character was pasted in the center of the wall, and the brocade quilt and mandarin duck pillow were brand new and fragrant.

Xue Baochai, dressed in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, with a red veil covering her head, sat quietly by the bed. Even though her face could not be seen, her posture and figure were dignified and pleasing to the eye.

Although he had already consummated his marriage with Baochai on the eve of the Lunar New Year, Jia couldn't help but feel a little excited when he saw Baochai in her wedding dress. Hehe, he finally got to marry Baochai!
I remember that summer when the pomegranate flowers were in full bloom. I happened to see Baochai chasing butterflies with a round fan in front of the Dripping Green Pavilion. I can still vividly recall the two sections of her fair arms, as pink as lotus roots, that were revealed under her rolled-up sleeves. From that moment on, young Jia Huan had a crush on Baochai. Now that he has finally gotten his wish, he is truly full of a sense of accomplishment!

Jia Huan suppressed his excitement and stepped forward, while Ying'er cleverly presented the wedding scales to him, blushing slightly as she said, "Please, young master, lift the red veil."

Jia Huan solemnly took the auspicious scales and gently lifted the red veil from Baochai's head with the scale beam. A stunningly beautiful face, surpassing all others in beauty and fragrance, appeared before him. She was truly radiant and captivating, making even peaches and willows blush! Jia Huan stared unblinkingly at the gorgeous woman before him, mesmerized and distracted, until Baochai blushed and gave him a reproachful look. Only then did he come back to his senses.

"Sister Bao, thank you for your hard work!" Jia Huan reached out and helped Baochai up.

Xue Baochai's almond-shaped eyes sparkled with a mixture of shyness and joy as she gently said, "From now on, my husband should change how he addresses me. Stop calling me 'sister' or 'little sister' and make people laugh."

Jia Huan's heart fluttered slightly, and he smiled and said, "I'm used to calling you that, and I can't change it in a short time. Sister Bao... Madam, please forgive me."

Ying'er, Xiangling, and the others covered their mouths and giggled. Then they brought out the nuptial wine, and Jia Huan and Baochai drank it together, which was called the nuptial wine.

After the couple drank the nuptial wine and the aphrodisiac soup, Caixia brought in hot water, wrung out a hot towel, and wiped Jia Huan's face and hands before smiling and leaving. Xue Baochai glanced at Jia Huan with a slightly flushed face, stood up, and said, "It's getting late. Huan-di should go to Lin-meimei's place. Don't keep her waiting!"

“No rush. I’ll be staying at Sister Lin’s place tonight, so I can spend more time with Sister Bao now. Hmm, how about I help you with your makeup?” Jia Huan said, pulling Baochai to sit down in front of the dressing table without waiting for a reply.

"Look, Sister Bao is so beautiful, she surpasses all the spring flowers and autumn moons." Jia Huan bent down, pressed his face close to Baochai's, and looked into the mirror, praising her sincerely.

Looking in the mirror at herself and Huan Di, their faces pressed intimately together, Xue Baochai felt a mixture of joy and shyness. Her heart was filled with sweetness as she gently scolded, "My husband is so glib; he always says nice things to coax me."

"I'm telling the truth," Jia Huan said with a smile, as he removed Xue Baochai's phoenix crown, hairpins, and pearl ornaments, then the pearls adorning her earlobes, and finally gently let down her long, cascading hair...

At this moment, Baochai was so happy that she was a little out of her mind. She let her husband do whatever he wanted in a daze until he took off her wedding dress. She then came to her senses and hurriedly stopped him from taking off her inner clothes.

Jia Huan bent down and swept Baochai up in his arms, pulling her onto the bed. Baochai trembled and went limp, thinking he was about to do the same thing as that night. She stammered, "Husband, go find Pin'er. I want to rest alone tonight, oh..."

Before Xue Baochai could finish speaking, her bright red lips were already possessed by someone, and in a moment she was kissed until she was dizzy and her starry eyes were hazy.

After a long while, Jia Huan finally covered Baochai with the brocade quilt with satisfaction, then gave her a light kiss on the forehead, and said softly, "Good sister, I will come to keep you company again tomorrow."

Xue Baochai nodded shyly. She was not a possessive woman to begin with, and was even a bit cold on the inside despite her warm exterior. In addition, she had already consummated her marriage with Jia Huan before the New Year, so she naturally could not compete with Daiyu for him on this beautiful night.

Jia Huan then snuggled back into bed, embracing Baochai's soft and delicate body, whispering sweet nothings to her for a moment before getting up and leaving the side courtyard, hurrying towards the main courtyard.

(End of this chapter)