The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 101: There Should Be a Prize for Tossing Pots

After returning home, Shen Yuan kept thinking about what he had discussed with the emperor in the imperial study today.

My heart became increasingly heavy.

The situation in the prosperous Jiangnan region is now extremely bleak. The Fu Sheng Society, Japanese pirates, and banditry are all of great concern.

He proposed to pay attention to salt, iron, tea and commerce, also out of public interest, in order to reduce the burden on farmers.

Shen Yuan could clearly notice the change in the emperor's expression at that time.

Obviously, Emperor Yuanzhen will definitely increase his efforts in this regard, especially in rectifying the salt administration in the south of the Yangtze River.

Whether successful or not, Lin Ruhai will face an extremely dangerous situation.

Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing his parents. The people from the Fu Sheng Society, as well as the official and private salt merchants, will not let him go.

This may be the real reason why Lin Ruhai died young in the original book.

The scope of the salt administration was unimaginable. To rectify the salt administration on behalf of the emperor would inevitably put one on the opposite side of most officials in the south of the Yangtze River. If one succeeded, there would be a high probability of death; if one failed, there would be a high probability of death.

For both public and private reasons, Shen Yuan was unwilling to sit idly by and watch Lin Ruhai die suddenly.

Some arrangements need to be made to try to save Lin Ruhai's life so that he can get his help if he wants to implement reforms in the future.

First of all, he had to give Lin Ruhai a reminder through Daiyu.

With this in mind, Shen Yuan prepared to ask Baochai to pass a message to Daiyu.

Just at this moment, Qiu'er came over.

"Brother Shen, have you seen father today?"

Shen Yuan was stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself that they were indeed father and daughter, and both wanted to meet each other.

"I went to the palace to see the emperor this morning and indeed saw my uncle. He has now returned to the posthouse in the west of the city and asked me to tell Qiu'er to go find him."

"Oh." Qiu'er responded softly, as if she had something else to say, but hesitated.

Shen Yuan reached out and stroked the girl's fair face, and said softly, "Uncle didn't say anything else. Qiu'er, whether you want to live here or stay in the inn for a while, it doesn't matter. As long as you are happy."

"Yeah." The girl was gently caressed by her lover's big hand, and her fair cheeks suddenly turned pink. After a moment of hesitation, she said softly, "Then I'll stay at my father's for a few days."

Shen Yuan smiled and nodded, and the two chatted for a while, and Qiu'er prepared to leave.

"Have you seen your sister Bao? I just happened to be looking for her for something."

"Sister Bao is in Huifang Garden right now."

Afterwards, Shen Yuan arranged a carriage, and Qiu'er and her maid Hongyao rode to the west city posthouse together.

After seeing Qiu'er off, Shen Yuan returned to the mansion, walked through the main hall, and headed towards Huifang Garden.

Huifang Garden is a large piece of land in the northwest of the former Ningguo Mansion. It is now also part of the Shen Mansion and is an excellent place for sightseeing.

Here, the ground is covered with yellow flowers, white willows are spread across the slopes, there are small bridges and streams, winding paths and pavilions, clear and rapid streams among the rocks, fragrant fences, and the scenery is pleasant and picturesque.

In the southeast corner of Huifang Garden, several pavilions were built against the mountain, with dozens of courtyards scattered among them. Youshi and Qin Keqing lived here temporarily.

The famous Tianxiang Tower and Dengxian Pavilion in the Red Mansion are also located in Huifang Garden and are often used to host large banquets.

After arriving in the garden and walking through the long corridor, Shen Yuan met Baochai in a pavilion.

He went straight into the pavilion and was not seen by his wife until he sat down beside Baochai.

Baochai was surprised for a moment before calling out, "Brother Shen."

Shen Yuan didn't care about this title. In Baochai's mouth, he often switched between Brother Shen, Shen Lang, Husband, and Brother Yuan.

"Sister, why are you sitting alone in the garden?" Before Baochai could answer, she heard a charming voice coming from outside the pavilion.

"Brother Shen!"

Shen Yuan heard a familiar voice, looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Xiangyun stepping up the steps and walking into the pavilion.

Behind him, there were clearly several other girls following: Daiyu, Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun.

Shen Yuan was stunned for a moment, then he realized that it was no wonder that Baochai called him "Brother Shen" just now. It turned out that there were several other girls, but he came in a hurry and did not notice them.

Although it was a bit awkward at this moment, it was not a good idea to just get up and leave.

The distinction between men and women is one thing, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t talk to each other if you meet by chance.

Soon, several little girls entered the pavilion, some happy, some shy.

Shen Yuan greeted them one by one with a smile, his eyes were clear, his expression was calm, his words and actions were graceful, without any suspicion of overstepping the boundaries.

"What are the sisters playing?"

Xiangyun shook the small pottery pot in her arms, glanced at the short arrows in the hands of Daiyu and Tanchun, and said with a smile: "Brother Shen, we were just playing pitching pots."

"Oh? Which sister won?"

Xiangyun's bright eyes twinkled, and she said with a sweet smile, "Brother Shen, guess what it is."

Shen Yuan's gentle eyes swept around and finally landed on his wife Baochai. He smiled and said, "I guess it's Sister Xue."

After hearing this, Baochai looked into her husband's gentle and affectionate eyes, and her cheeks blushed. She said softly, "Brother Shen, I didn't participate just now."

"Anyway, Brother Shen only has Sister Bao in his eyes." Princess Xiangyun giggled.

Then, the little girl took a few steps and walked to Tanchun's side, saying, "Well, it's the third sister who won. She always throws the most accurately."

Shen Yuan then turned to look at Tanchun and said, "Third sister is really as capable as any man. Did you win any prizes?"

Suddenly being praised by Shen Yuan, Tanchun's pretty face flashed with shyness, her pink lips moved, and she whispered, "We are just sisters playing to kill time, how can there be any prize?"

At this moment, an idea flashed through Xiangyun's little head, and she said with a smile: "Brother Shen, why don't you offer a prize? Let's compete again, and the winner will get it."

In fact, Tanchun had the same idea just now, but she was embarrassed to say it out loud. Firstly, she felt that she was not that familiar with Shen Yuan, and secondly, she had the greatest chance of winning the prize, and she was worried that Shen Yuan would think she was taking advantage of him.

The two girls, Yingchun and Xichun, also had anticipation in their beautiful eyes.

At this moment, Daiyu looked at Xiangyun and Tanchun with her bright eyes, smiled softly and said, "I wonder if everyone will participate in this round, or just the original few of us?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan couldn't help but look at this clever little girl with an admiring look.

Daiyu seemed to be aware of something. She raised her delicate head and looked into the boy's eyes. Her curved eyelashes drooped slightly and a blush quietly appeared on her snow-white cheeks.

Tanchun smiled and said, "Of course everyone can participate."

Compared to the prize, she wanted to see Shen Yuan, the martial arts champion, play this kind of game in the inner house.

Imagine a young general who is the focus of everyone's attention playing the game of pitching pots with a group of little girls. What a contrast it is!
Baochai, who was sitting next to him, also laughed and said, "So you guys just want to drag Brother Shen along to play with you."

Shen Yuan shook his head and smiled, and said in a clear voice: "It's fine to participate, but I won't compete with you sisters for this prize."

As he spoke, he took out a round mirror from his arms.

"What is this?"

The girls were immediately attracted to the mirror and cast curious glances at it. It looked like a dressing mirror, but it was quite different from an ordinary mirror.

"This is a two-sided mirror. Sisters, you can try to look at yourself in it." Shen Yuan explained.

(End of this chapter)