The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 15: Autumn Moon Night

You hour, Xue’s house.

After having dinner with her mother and brother, Baochai returned to her room, put on a silk cloak, and was about to go out with Ying'er when she ran into Xue Pan again.

"Where are you going, little sister?"

"Oh, brother! Ying'er and I are going out to buy some rouge."

"Just tell the maids to go, why do you have to go there in person?" Xue Pan looked at his sister's dress and said suspiciously, "Besides, today is Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Little sister, are you planning to go to the Lantern Festival?"

Baochai was stunned for a moment, then hummed lightly with a guilty look on her face.

Xue Pan had an expression of "as expected" and said enviously, "Now it seems as if you are the free and easy gentleman, and I, your brother, have become a secluded girl."

After the Feng Yuan case happened, Xue Pan faked his death to escape, but he has become like a living dead since then and dares not go out of his house.

"We can't stay in Yingtianfu anymore!" Xue Pan complained, "If this continues, I will definitely get sick."

"I have discussed this with my mother. In a few days we will go to Shenjing to seek refuge with my aunt or uncle."

When Baochai heard this, she felt flustered. Was she going to leave Jinling?

But I don’t know when Shen Yuan will go to Shenjing to take part in the Spring Examination?

"Okay, go ahead. If you see any nice lanterns, you can buy a few more."

After Xue Pan said this, he returned to his room in a huff.

Baochai gathered her thoughts and went out to meet her lover.

It was almost dusk on Taiping Lake.

It is particularly prosperous here today, with various sizes of boats floating on the lake. Watching the autumn moon on Taiping Lake has become a feature of Yingtian Prefecture. Many people come here early to rent boats and grab good seats.

There is no curfew in Yingtian Prefecture on Mid-Autumn Night. The excitement and revelry will continue all night, and some people will not leave until the next morning.

On a boat in the middle, Shen Yuan and Baochai were sitting in a room on the second floor, while Ying'er was making tea beside them.

"I didn't expect it to be so lively here today. Has it been like this in previous years?"

Baochai nodded her head and said softly, "It's like this every year, because there is a poetry gathering."

People in the south of the Yangtze River are fond of elegance and it is not surprising that there are countless poetry gatherings of all sizes held in various places every year.

In recent years, the Mid-Autumn Festival Boat Poetry Festival in Yingtian Prefecture has been particularly famous.

There was no other reason, because the person who presided over this poetry meeting was of extraordinary status. He was Li Shouzhong, the former chief academician of the Imperial College and a famous Confucian scholar in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Li Shouzhong has another well-known identity in the Dream of the Red Chamber, that is, the father of Jia Baoyu's sister-in-law Li Wan.

Shen Yuan had also heard about the poetry gathering on the boat in Tianfu, the predecessor of Shen Yuan. He happened to encounter it today, so he just wanted to watch the fun, but he didn't plan to participate.

"Has Sister Xue ever participated in this before?"

"All the participants in the poetry gathering are famous talents in Jinling. There has never been a woman participating in this event."

Shen Yuan thought about it and it made sense. In this era, feudal etiquette was as important as the sky, and only a few people dared to break the shackles of the world.

He remembered that in the original version of the Dream of the Red Chamber, Li Shouzhong, who was the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, also said, "A woman without talent will have virtue." Therefore, when he gave birth to Li Wan, he did not let her study very much. He just gave her three or four books, such as "Four Books for Women", "Biographies of Women" and "Collection of Virtuous Women", so that she could recognize a few words and remember the virtuous women of the previous dynasty. However, he only required her to learn spinning and weaving.

They just wanted to watch the fun, they wouldn't participate, so they stopped talking about the poetry reading.

"Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and Sister Xue went out alone. Does Auntie have any suspicion?"

"Mother caught a cold a few days ago. Although she is getting better, she still feels tired. After dinner, she went back to her room to rest early."

"It doesn't matter if you're discovered. Just tell me straight away. It'll only be half a year before I come to propose marriage." Shen Yuan took the girl's hand and said gently, "I will never let you down in this life."

Baochai was suddenly held by Shen Yuan, hearing sweet words in her ears. She raised her eyes and met his affectionate gaze again. Her heart warmed and her face blushed.

Suddenly, as if she thought of something, a sad look appeared in her soft almond-shaped eyes again.

"When I went out, I happened to meet my brother. He said that he planned to leave Jinling and go to Shenjing in a few days, and mother agreed."

Shen Yuan naturally knew the reason why Xue Pan left Jinling. To him, Shenjing was indeed safer than here.

Shen Yuan smiled and jokingly asked, "Sister, are you reluctant to leave me?"

".Hmm~"

Seeing the girl's lovely appearance and feeling the reluctance in her beautiful eyes, Shen Yuan thought for a moment and said, "In a few days, I should have finished my work here, and then I will set off with my sister."

Baochai's heart was filled with joy, and the sadness in her eyes disappeared.

Although she didn't know how Shen Yuan was going to arrange it, she felt inexplicably relieved when she heard the young man's words.

Shen Yuan looked at the girl's beautiful eyes and felt the softness of her jade hands, and couldn't help feeling a little fascinated.

"Sister Xue."

"Hmm~"

"Shouldn't you call me by a different name? We are almost like husband and wife, so we can't just call each other by our first names."

As Shen Yuan spoke, he stretched out his finger and gently scratched the girl's nose.

When Baochai heard the word "husband and wife", her heart trembled slightly, and she felt warm at the intimate and doting actions of her lover.

After thinking for a while, the girl called out softly: "Brother Shen~"

Shen Yuan shook his head, indicating that he was not satisfied with this title, and said in a serious tone: "No, change it!"

Baochai thought about it again, her beautiful eyes flashed, her cheeks flushed, and she used her whole body's strength to speak in a soft voice, "Shen Shenlang."

When Shen Yuan heard the sweet sound, he felt as if an electric current ran through his body, but he did not show any emotion on his face. He said seriously: "Well, there is progress. Let's change another one."

When Baochai heard this, she felt a little embarrassed and annoyed. She said angrily, "What do you want me to call you, Mr. Shen? Do you want me to be happy if I call you Brother Yuan?"

Shen Yuan: “This is good!”

The girl was stunned. She never thought that Shen Yuan actually liked to call her that. However, she was stared at by the boy's burning eyes and couldn't say it out loud.

Shen Yuan looked at Baochai's shy and nervous appearance and thought she was so adorable that he couldn't help but move closer and kiss the girl's soft lips.

"Hmm~"

Baochai was in the middle of a fierce ideological struggle and did not react for a moment, then she felt a warm breath coming towards her, and then she let out a moan.
It was unknown how long it had passed before Shen Yuan stopped absorbing the sweetness. He raised his head slightly and looked at the blushing girl in his arms.

The girl was still a little dazed at the moment, leaning on the boy's shoulder.

Shen Yuan looked at the dazed Baochai and felt that the passionate girl was more charming than ever.

"Call Brother Yuan to listen"

Hearing this, the girl raised her head slightly, her beautiful eyes as bright as water, looked at the handsome face of the boy, and uttered an imperceptible soft voice: "Brother Yuanyuan."

"Hmm~"

Shen Yuan leaned over and kissed her red lips again, more intensely than before.
After a while, the girl's eyes, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened and she stopped the boy's mischief.

I don't know when the front has been penetrated.
Shen Yuan noticed Baochai's nervousness and whispered in her ear, "I want to see your golden lock."

When Baochai heard this, her cheeks burned like fire, and her beautiful face became even more beautiful and charming. She hummed in a voice as light as a mosquito, then lowered her eyes and said no more.

Shen Yuan stretched out his hands to unbutton them, his movements clearly being a little clumsy. It was obvious that he was not yet fully familiar with the clothing of this era.

However, it doesn't matter, as the saying goes, the first time is new, the second time is familiar, and practice makes perfect.
After a while, the golden lock appeared.

"Never leave, never abandon, forever young"

The eight characters are clearly visible and shining, but they no longer need to be paired with "Never lose, never forget, and live forever."

Shen Yuan took just one look and pushed the golden lock aside. The necklace on the lock was swinging like a swing, looking a little aggrieved.

Afterwards, the boy held the snowball. As expected of the ceiling of the slightly plump world, the boy couldn't let it go. From time to time, he would pinch the snowball and twist it gently.

With a slight tremor, Baochai's body softened all of a sudden, she bit her red lips tightly, and buried her head in Shen Yuan's shoulder. Shen Yuan continued with his actions, leaning down to whisper in her ear: "Has my aunt noticed that my sister has lost her innocence?"

Baochai regained some of her composure, pursed her red lips, opened her mouth slightly, and said in a trembling voice, "No, no, it's just..."

"Just what?" Shen Yuan applied slight force between his fingers.

"Um--"

"My mother seems to want to send my name to the palace for selection." The girl seemed to have some difficulty speaking.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan's expression paused and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Unexpectedly, Aunt Xue was really anxious to find a backer for the Xue family.

He couldn't be careless about this matter. How could he let others covet his own wife?
Baochai noticed that Shen Yuan paused, and her heart was flustered. She said softly: "Shen Lang, don't worry. I will talk to mother directly later."

Shen Yuan said in a gentle voice: "I'm sorry, sister. We will get married in another six months."

Baochai leaned in Shen Yuan's warm arms, listening to her lover's words, and felt an inexplicable sense of security in her heart.

As the two of them were whispering to each other, they seemed to have forgotten that there was a maid in the room.

Ever since Ying'er entered the room of the boat, she has been squatting in the corner making tea.

While making tea, she was eating the candied haws that Shen Yuan bought for her.

The tea was almost gone, and only a small wooden stick of the candied haws remained.

Ying'er seemed unaware of this.

The girl kept her ears perked up from beginning to end, listening to the movements of the man and woman not far behind her.

Is that considered eavesdropping?

Of course not!

There was nothing Ying'er couldn't hear when her daughter was talking sweetly to her future son-in-law.

And it seemed like those two never thought of avoiding her!

At first, I heard the two of them talking and caring about each other, and everything seemed fine. But after a while, I heard some strange noises.
Ying'er was not stupid. She knew that the two of them must be doing something intimate. She had seen it before.

But the more she listened, the more she felt something was wrong. It seemed like there was something more this time than last time. But she didn't dare to turn around.
Huhu~ It was such a torture, making her little face turn red.

Even my body seemed to be a little bit wrong.
"Is the tea ready?"

Ying'er was still squatting in a daze, unaware that Shen Yuan had come to her side.

"What are you daydreaming about? Pour your daughter a cup of tea. Sister Xue is a little thirsty."

Upon hearing this, Baochai felt ashamed and angry, and gave Shen Yuan a glare.

How can I not be thirsty after being absorbed for so long?
Ying'er came to her senses and was a little flustered.

"Ah? Ok girl, wait a minute."

As a result, when I opened the teapot, I found that there was not a drop of water in it and the bottom of the pot had turned black.

"Woo~ the water has dried up, girl, wait a moment, I'll add some water"

Baochai hummed, but did not blame him. She propped up her limp body, straightened her front, stood up and said to Shen Yuan, "Let's go to the terrace to get some fresh air and see the full moon of Mid-Autumn Festival."

Full moon?

Shen Yuan felt a little strange, thinking about the round and firm body that was hard to grasp with his palm just now, and there seemed to be a lingering fragrance on his hand.
"Ah."

Shen Yuan suppressed his wandering thoughts, took Baochai's hand, and left the room.

Come to the terrace and stand by the railing.

At this time, it was completely dark.

But today the sky is clear and the air is sunny, with a full moon hanging high in the sky, adding some brightness to the entire lake.

At this moment, the lake is filled with buildings and ships, and the lights are even brighter.

Shen Yuan took Baochai's jade hand, turned it over, crossed them, and interlocked their fingers.

The girl's heart was moved and a sweet smile appeared on her face. This was the first time she held hands with her lover like this, and it seemed very warm.

Shen Yuan felt the girl's heartbeat from his fingertips and clenched her fists tighter, feeling that the moment was peaceful and beautiful.

He looked up and saw all kinds of ships on the lake. Most of them had yellow lights and black boats, but there were more than a dozen ships with red lights and red curtains, which were particularly eye-catching.

"What are those red boats for? They look a little different from the others."

"Those are the courtesans in various famous buildings," Baochai explained with a blushing face.

As soon as Shen Yuan heard it, he understood.

The so-called talented men and beautiful women, even the girls in brothels, like to pretend to be cultured.

Shen Yuan glanced to the front right again, and saw a three-story tall ship in front of him, surrounded by other ships, like a crane standing out among chickens.

Baochai noticed where her lover was looking and explained, "The person in this boat is the host of today's Mid-Autumn Festival Poetry Gathering on the Boat."

"Li Shouzhong, former Imperial College Priest?"

"Not only will Mr. Li be here, but according to custom, the Jinling Province's education commissioner will also be here, as well as several local Confucian teachers of great reputation."

“No wonder the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival in Yingtian Prefecture is ranked first among the four major poetry festivals in Jiangnan.”

Although Shen Yuan's previous incarnation had never been to Yingtian Prefecture, he had heard of these poetry meetings, but the information he had was relatively limited.

"What's the prize for this poetry gathering?"

"The winner of the annual Louchuan Poetry Contest can have a private banquet with these Confucian masters."

The so-called feast together means having a meal with these old Confucian scholars to establish a teacher-student friendship.

This jackpot is already very attractive. Among these old scholars, there is the highest education official in Jinling Province, as well as the former president of the country's highest institution of learning. There are also a few others whose identities are unknown, but their status must be high.

For an ordinary scholar, one can imagine how important it is to be able to meet so many great men as teachers at once.

“How is it selected?”

"The rules are relatively simple. Mr. Li will come up with a theme. Poems or lyrics are fine. After writing, approach the ship and hand in your work. Finally, Mr. Li and his Confucian teachers will select the top ten."

"Except for the first place, are there any prizes for the other top ten?"

"No, but," Baochai said, looking in the direction of the red boats.

Shen Yuan understood.

Although the other few names do not have any prizes, as long as they are on the list, their reputations will soar, and people will come to make friends with them, and of course these courtesans will be among them.

Gaining both fame and beauty can be considered an invisible blessing.

"The poetry reading hasn't started yet?"

Just as Shen Yuan was wondering, he saw the colorful lights on the three-story ship in front of him suddenly light up, attracting everyone's attention.

Soon, a gong sounded on the boat, and then someone shouted loudly: "In the 16th year of Yuanzhen, on August 15th, in Yingtian Prefecture, Jinling, the poetry gathering on the boat begins. Mr. Li is invited to give the topic."

After a moment of silence, the loud shouting sounded again.

"As Mr. Li said: Since we are on the lake, let's use 'water' as the theme this year!"

After hearing this, Shen Yuan felt a little strange.

Are the questions for Jiangnan’s first poetry gathering so random?

Water as a theme?

This is not allowed to pass the review? Do you think this is considered driving? Is it? It can't even be considered a bicycle.

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(End of this chapter)