The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 129 If the elder sister is willing

Jingyue Building, first floor lobby.

The auction continued. Although the subsequent bidding was not as fierce as the third one, it still achieved a high price.

The fourth side was engraved with the poem "A noble man lies in the snow-covered mountain, a beautiful woman comes under the moonlit forest" and was sold for two hundred taels.

The fifth side was engraved with the poem "Fallen petals are not heartless, they turn into spring mud to protect the flowers" and was sold at a high price of eight hundred taels.

The sixth side is engraved with the poem "A song, a bottle of wine, and a man fishing alone in the autumn river", and the transaction price is two hundred taels.

The seventh side was engraved with the poem "Flowers are in full bloom outside Gusu City, and the moon is full over the mountains in the grove of ten thousand peach trees". It was sold for three hundred taels.

The eighth page was engraved with the poem "The graceful girl is shy, and the years are free of worries". The transaction price was five hundred taels.

At this point, all the glass mirrors today have been sold, with a total of 5,800 taels of silver being earned, which is a considerable profit.

On the platform, Su Yu Niang bowed to the crowd and announced, "This sale is over. Thank you all for participating."

“When can we buy it next time?” asked someone who hadn’t bought it yet.

Although the people who came today were all wealthy and thought that Shen Yuan's poems were excellent, only a few of them could afford to bid hundreds of taels to participate in the auction. Most of them were eyeing an ordinary glass mirror worth twenty taels.

Su Yu Niang smiled and said, "We don't know the time yet. Once it's confirmed, we will announce it in advance."

“Can you make more next time?”

"Yes, there are still so many people waiting."

"We will try to make as many as possible. Who doesn't want to make money?" Su Yu Niang explained, "But everyone can see that the production method of this glass mirror is quite complicated and not easy to make. I hope you can understand."

Looking at such exquisite objects, everyone could accept this explanation and stopped complaining. They left Jingyue Tower one after another, looking forward to buying the next batch of mirrors.

Even though most of them failed to buy a glass mirror, both the story of the Legend of the White Snake and the excellent poems of Shen Zhuangyuan were worth their careful recollection, and they also had more topics to show off to their relatives and friends, so the trip was not in vain.

The third floor of Jingyue Building.

Shen Yuan, Baochai and others have returned to the room and are sitting around the table.

Xiangyun was still very excited at this time, and there were stars in her eyes when she looked at Shen Yuan.

"Brother Shen is amazing. He can write so many good poems in one night. Is he the reincarnation of Li Bai and Du Fu?"

Shen Yuan smiled and shook his head. Plagiarism was not something worth boasting about. He was just using it to create momentum.

When Ying'er heard Xiangyun's words, some strange images popped up in her little head. The son-in-law wrote a poem last night without hesitation. It took him only a cup of tea to finish it. The rest of the time was spent on tormenting her and the girl. The son-in-law is really amazing.
As she thought about it, the girl's pretty face flushed, and her round and straight legs under her skirt couldn't help but tremble.

"Sister Bao is really amazing. She earned several thousand taels of silver in just one day." Qiu'er exclaimed, and she had even more admiration for Baochai.

Baochai smiled and said, "Many of these were my husband's ideas."

Renshoufang, Fu’s house.

This is the residence of Fu Shi, the Tongpan of Shuntian Prefecture, a spacious courtyard with four entrances.

The maid Xier, holding a brocade box in her arms, walked happily through the corner door and went straight to the backyard.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he said happily, "Girl, I bought it! I bought a mirror."

The woman who was dancing with a sword in the yard heard the sound, made a sword flower with her hand, put away the sword and stood up. This woman was Fu Shi's sister Fu Qiufang.

The girl is heroic, tall, beautiful, and her long hair is tied behind her, fluttering in the wind, adding a bit of elegance and agility.

She raised her eyes to look at the brocade box in her maid's arms, with a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

"Let's talk inside."

The master and servant entered the room. Fu Qiufang placed the sword in his hand on the wooden rack, sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of tea and drank it all.

That was her personality. She didn't care about details and didn't wait for maids to serve her.

At this moment, Xier also came to the table and couldn't wait to put the brocade box in front of her girl.

"Tell me what you saw and heard today," said Fu Qiufang.

She was not in a hurry to take out the mirror to look, as she was also curious about what happened in Jingyue Tower.

After hearing this, Xier thought about it and then told in detail everything she had seen in Jingyue Tower.

Fu Qiufang listened quietly. When she heard the story of the White Snake, the girl's eyes flickered and she was amazed by the wonderfulness of the story, but soon her expression returned to calm.

"Such pure love can only exist in storybooks."

For his own selfishness and unrealistic and lofty ambitions, Fu Shi used his beautiful sister as a reward, which delayed Fu Qiufang's good time and delayed her marriage again and again. She wasted her time and was still unengaged at the age of 23.

Today, Fu Qiufang has long lost interest in matters of marriage and love, and is determined to stay with Jian and keep to herself.

"Go on."

Xier responded and talked about the lottery and the auction, and how she bid for the mirror.

Listening to the maid's story, Fu Qiufang became more interested in the mirror.

After Xier finished speaking, her anticipation reached its peak, and then she opened the brocade box and took out the glass mirror.

He first marveled at the wonderful use of the mirror, and soon turned his eyes to the poems on the frame.

"If the Zen gate is broken, the beauty will be like a jade sword and a rainbow." Fu Qiufang whispered, thinking for a moment, and then her eyes lit up: "Shen Zhuangyuan lives up to his title of the best poet, he is really a strange man."

After savoring it for a long time, he seemed to feel that he had not yet finished, so he looked at Xier and asked, "Didn't they auction off eight mirrors? There should be eight lines of poetry, right? Do you remember the other lines?"

Xier's face suddenly fell when she heard that. She hung her head and said in a soft voice, "Miss, I...I took the mirror and left. I didn't hear the rest."

After hearing this, Fu Qiufang felt a little regretful, but did not blame anyone.

It was already difficult for a little girl to go to that bustling place and compete with a bunch of young men.

What's more, Xier is illiterate, so even if she stays until the end, she may not be able to accurately remember the poems she heard.

"It's okay. It won't take long for those poems to spread throughout Shenjing City."

As he said, the details of the sale that took place in Jingyue Tower were published in Hanmozhai’s tabloid the next day.

Public opinion quickly spread throughout the city and became known to everyone within three days.

The focus of the people of Shenjing was on the story of the White Snake and Shen Yuan's poems.

Hanmozhai also announced the publication date of The Legend of White Snake in the tabloids, and the first volume of the story will be published and sold on the Chinese Valentine's Day.

Everyone is looking forward to this.

Among Shen Yuan's new poems, the three most popular ones are: "Talented people emerge in every generation, and each leads the trend for hundreds of years", which is unprecedentedly heroic.

"Autumn water is the spirit, jade is the bones, lotus is like a painting, willow is like an eyebrow", the writing is absolutely beautiful.

"Fallen petals are not heartless, they turn into spring mud to protect the flowers", which expresses the full tenderness.

More and more people believe that these poems are a perfect expression of Shen Zhuangyuan’s character, a heroic young man with chivalrous spirit and tender feelings.

Once again, it attracted the praise of talented men and the fantasies of women.

Another day passed. After leaving office, Shen Yuan prepared to go to the palace to report to Emperor Yuanzhen on the training progress of the new army guards.

Now, he would basically go to the palace every three to five days. In addition to routine reports on the new army, Emperor Yuanzhen would also ask for his opinions on some recent important events in the court.

Shen Yuan's current role, in addition to being the commander of the new army guards, also serves as half of the emperor's staff.

As soon as he arrived outside the Qianqing Palace, he saw a familiar figure.

When the two were about to pass by each other, Shen Yuan called out, "Big sister."

Yuanchun paused when she heard the voice, looked up in confusion, and saw a handsome face. After a closer look, she recognized it as the young man from the parade in the past. The numb expression on the beautiful face was replaced by a gentle smile, and she said in a delicate voice: "Brother Yuan, how do you recognize me?"

"I've seen big sister in the imperial study before."

Yuanchun thought for a while, then remembered and smiled implicitly.

Shen Yuan glanced at the porcelain bowl in Yuanchun's hand and asked, "Big sister, are you here to bring bird's nest porridge to His Majesty?"

Yuanchun nodded, her eyes flashing with helplessness and disappointment, and she said softly, "Your Majesty doesn't have much appetite."

The beauty knew very well that the emperor was cold towards her, but what else could she do? As long as she stayed in this deep palace, she would try this tiny possibility. This was her mission and her fate that she could not fight against.

Shen Yuan took in Yuanchun's expression, was silent for a moment, and then said seriously: "Big sister, can I have a word with you for a moment?"

Yuanchun didn't understand what Shen Yuan wanted to say. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded.

Afterwards, the two came to a corner in the east where there were several locust trees and it was relatively quiet.

"Big sister has been in the palace for quite a few years, right?"

Yuanchun's eyes flashed with sadness, but her tone remained calm as she said softly, "I entered the palace at the age of thirteen. In a month or so, it will be seven years."

"It's been a few years in the blink of an eye. I wonder what big sister wants?" Shen Yuan asked directly, without hiding anything.

Yuanchun was stunned for a moment, then sighed softly and said, "It's just a long wait for a vague opportunity."

"It's not a solution to keep suffering like this. I'm sure you can see that His Majesty is busy with state affairs and has no intention of taking a concubine. Besides..." Shen Yuan paused, staring into Yuanchun's beautiful eyes, and continued: "If I am really selected as a concubine one day, will it really be what you want?"

Yuanchun was silent for a long time, then said sadly: "For the Jia family, this may be my mission."

"I said something to Sister Xue before, you might as well listen to it, big sister."

Yuanchun felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by the young man, and looked away slightly. Her plump and graceful face showed a bit of weakness, and she said in a delicate voice: "Brother Yuan, go ahead."

Shen Yuan said in a clear voice: "A good girl like elder sister should live a free life. The responsibility of the family's rise and fall should be shouldered by the men in the family.

If a man is unwilling to take responsibility and only wants to be a carefree dandy, then such a family is doomed to decline and no one can save it. How can the family's hopes be placed on a girl?"

After hearing what Shen Yuan said, Yuanchun's mood couldn't help but drop a little, but she also felt that what the young man said was not wrong, but she was helpless.

After a moment of silence, Shen Yuan said in a clear voice: "If elder sister is willing, I can ask His Majesty for a favor and let elder sister leave the palace and return home earlier."

These soft words were like a stone falling into the beautiful woman's heart, causing ripples in the stagnant water and stirring up thousands of thoughts.

It has been seven years since she last stayed in this lonely palace. This is the first time that someone has suggested letting her leave the palace.

But the person who came up with this idea was someone who actually had little to do with her.

In contrast, both the Jia family and Concubine Wu were only interested in pushing her to the emperor's side, and they never cared about the thoughts of her as the person involved.

Although as the eldest daughter, she was willing to take on the mission of revitalizing the family, but at this moment, she suddenly had a contrast, which made her feel uneasy.

Seeing Yuanchun remained silent for a long time, Shen Yuan was unsure of what this girl was thinking, so he tried to probe her and said, "If elder sister is only thinking about taking on the so-called family responsibility, then Your Majesty will definitely not be able to get through here. The Third and Fourth Princes have not yet chosen their principal wives, so there is a certain possibility there."

"I don't want to." Yuanchun was probably stimulated by Shen Yuan's words. She shook her head subconsciously and said, "Brother Yuan, I don't want to!"

If she couldn't catch the emperor's eye, yet she turned around and planned to become the prince's consort, what kind of person would she be? Why would the young man in front of her think so much of her?

What's more, she didn't have even the slightest affection for either the emperor or the prince.

"What do you think about this matter, elder sister?"

"Brother Yuan, can you give me a few days to think about it?"

Shen Yuan nodded. He could tell that Yuanchun wanted to leave the palace, but for the time being, she had not yet gotten over the hurdle of family responsibilities.

"I will go to the palace at this time in five days, and you can give me an answer then." Shen Yuan paused, looked at Yuanchun, and said, "I hope you can choose the path you want to take and live a wonderful life."

"Yeah." Yuanchun responded softly.

As the beauty spoke, she raised her graceful and gentle face and looked at Shen Yuan with her bright eyes sparkling.

No matter what, she was grateful to the young man in front of her, who added some color to her gloomy world.

After all, the imperial palace was an important place and it was not convenient to chat for long, so Yuanchun said goodbye and left.

Shen Yuan watched the girl with a voluptuous figure, whose eyes and eyebrows were somewhat similar to Baochai, disappear in the eaves, then turned around and walked towards the Qianqing Palace.

After being informed by the eunuch, he entered the imperial study.

"Your Majesty, I, Shen Yuan, pay my respects to you."

"Huai Zhong is here." Emperor Yuanzhen put down the imperial pen in his hand, looked at Shen Yuan, and signaled the eunuch to let him take a seat.

Shen Yuan sat down straight, and before he could tell him the latest situation of the new army, he heard Emperor Yuan Zhen smiled and said, "I heard that your glass mirrors are selling well. Tell me in detail."

Shen Yuan was stunned for a moment. He did not expect that the emperor would be so interested in this matter. He immediately said, "Your Majesty."

He recounted in detail what happened in Jingyue Tower on June 18th, without hiding anything.

"One hundred and eight mirrors can be sold for five thousand eight hundred taels?" Emperor Yuanzhen confirmed.

Shen Yuan could vaguely guess what the emperor was thinking, and explained, "That's true, but I don't think I can sell it at such a high price next time."

Emperor Yuanzhen nodded and said, "I know, this time it was because of Huaizhong's poem."

After a pause, Emperor Yuan Zhen looked at Shen Yuan with burning eyes and continued, "Can Huaizhong increase the production quantity of this glass mirror?"

(End of this chapter)