The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 29: Unveiling Jia Baoyu

Not long after, Shen Yuan and Xue Pan followed Jia Zheng to Rongqing Hall.

Under Jia Zheng's introduction, the two of them paid their respects to Lady Jia one after another.

"Brother Yuan, Brother Pan, please sit down and talk."

Jia's mother learned from Shi Ding's letter that Shen Yuan was the one the Shi family wanted to win over, so she became more friendly to the young man in front of her and treated him as a junior. "It was thanks to Yuan'er that my concubine's family and Yun'er were spared along the way."

Shen Yuan said in a clear voice: "Old lady, you are too kind. This is not just my own work. I also have the son of the Jinling governor and a group of guards with me."

Seeing that Shen Yuan spoke modestly and had a solemn demeanor, Jia Mu and Feng Ji couldn't help but look up to the young man.

Xue Pan on the side couldn't help but add: "Most of those bandits were killed by Brother Shen. In the end, that group of thieves were scared away by Brother Shen!"

Aunt Xue felt mixed emotions as she looked at Xue Pan's admiring face. If her own son could do half as well as that young man, she would have much less worries.

In the warm room next door, Daiyu, Tanchun and other girls were listening to the conversation outside, and they couldn't help but become more curious about Shen Yuan.

When I listened to Xiangyun's story just now, I thought that the young man was a strong, sturdy and rugged man, but when I heard his voice now, he clearly sounded like a gentle and kind man.

Xiangyun had just described what had happened along the way in great detail, so Grandmother Jia was no longer surprised. Instead, she was somewhat curious about Shen Yuan's background. Since he could speak so well, his family background must not be too bad.

The old lady asked kindly, "Where is Yuan'er's family in Jinling? Who else is there in his family?"

Shen Yuan said frankly: "Yuan grew up in Gusu. Both of his parents have passed away. Now Yuan is alone."

Hearing this, Jia's mother couldn't help but sigh, "What a poor child!"

He sighed and said in a gentle voice, "Since we are from the same hometown and you have done a favor for the family, you can come and visit more often in the future. Don't feel that you are strangers."

Shen Yuan smiled slightly in response.

In fact, he was not very willing to interact with the Jia family, but because of Baochai and Xiangyun, he couldn't appear too cold.

Hearing that Shen Yuan's parents had passed away and that he was alone, most people were touched.

Aunt Xue couldn't help but make another comparison. Shen Yuan had no parents to teach him, but Xue Pan at least had her, his mother, to take care of him. How could there be such a big gap between the two?
In the warm room on the east side, although Baochai already knew Shen Yuan's life experience before, she still felt sad and even more distressed when she heard the young man mention it again.

"I never thought that Brother Shen is so miserable." Xiangyun, a loli who also lost her parents, felt the same way, and tears welled up in her beautiful eyes.

Daiyu lost love at a young age, and she seemed to be sad when she heard the words. Her beautiful eyes were filled with dew under her furrowed brows, and she seemed to be crying but not quite. Her expression was sad and moving.

Tanchun said, "Sister Lin is also from Gusu, right? Come to think of it, this Mr. Shen and sister are actually from the same hometown."

It is true. When Baoyu heard this, he felt a vague sense of vigilance in his heart.

Daiyu nodded without saying anything more.

In the hall, Fengjie felt that the atmosphere was a little sad for a moment, so she changed the subject: "I heard that Yuan'er is not only the new martial arts champion in Jinling, but also a literary scholar?"

Before Shen Yuan could respond, Xue Pan chimed in, "Sister Feng, you don't know that Brother Shen is not only a talented scholar, but also the new champion of poetry in Jinling. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Brother Shen's poem shocked the entire Yingtian Prefecture!"

Shen Yuan glanced at Xue Pan and couldn't help feeling weird. This future brother-in-law was really a natural supporting actor. It would be a pity if he didn't partner with Xiao Yueyue.

In the warm room next to her, Tanchun's beautiful eyes twinkled, and she curiously asked Xiangyun, "What poem? Does Sister Yun know?"

"It's not a poem, it's a ci. I just happened to have copied it down here." Xiangyun said, and took out a piece of rice paper from her sleeve and handed it to Tanchun.

Tanchun took it and couldn't wait to open it and check it out.

Daiyu, Baoyu, Yingchun and Xichun also became interested and came over.

Linjiang Fairy · Rolling Yangtze River East Passing Water
"good words!"

After reading it, Tanchun felt her heart tremble, which was quite consistent with her bold and heroic character. She felt as if she looked down upon everything.

Even Daiyu, who was a figure of the graceful and elegant school, was moved after reading it and exclaimed that it was a masterpiece. However, what the young girl experienced was the vicissitudes and loneliness of history.

"Hey, why is there another poem!" Tanchun continued to unfold, "Linjiangxian·Willow Catkins"

"This is also a good piece of work." Tanchun looked at Xiangyun and asked in confusion, "Why are there two of them? And they have the same tune. Are they both written by Master Shen?"

Xiangyun smiled coquettishly and said mysteriously, "Look at the signature."

"Fairy Hengwu."

Baoyu got interested when he saw her and asked, "Who is this Fairy Hengwu? She sounds like a woman."

"This Fairy Hengwu is so far away~"

"Girl Yun!"

Xiangyun was about to speak out, but Baochai covered her mouth first, preventing her from saying anything, fearing that her relationship with Shen Yuan would be exposed and disrupt the young man's plans.

Xiangyun blinked at Baochai, indicating that she understood what she meant, and Baochai let go of Xiangyun.

"What are you talking about? Who is this Fairy Hengwu?" Baoyu became more and more curious, and his heart was itching. Xiangyun smiled playfully and said slowly: "This Fairy Hengwu is the sweetheart of Brother Shen, but Brother Shen asked us not to tell"

The little Loli recounted in detail what happened at the poetry party on the boat that day, and the girls were amazed.

When Baoyu heard that a beautiful fairy had someone in her heart, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and said angrily: "What's so good about Shen Yuan? He is cruel and bloodthirsty. He is really vulgar and hard to describe."

She was just complaining and didn't try to lower her voice. This shout was heard not only by the girls but also by everyone in the hall outside.

Xiangyun was furious when she heard this. She puffed up her cheeks and said angrily, "Second brother, what you said is so unreasonable. How can you be so cruel and bloodthirsty? Second brother, how can you not know how vicious those bandits are, killing, setting fire, burning, and looting. Shouldn't such people be punished?"

Baochai, who was so gentle, frowned and said in a clear voice, "It is said that studying makes one wise. Brother Bao is also studying hard in the private school, so why don't you understand this simple truth? If it weren't for Brother Shen and the others' decisive measures, Sister Yun and I would have turned into a pile of dry bones! Do you still deserve to be blamed for doing this?"

After hearing what Baochai said, Baoyu felt even more unhappy. He didn't know that Jia Baoyu went to the private school just to have a secret meeting with the beautiful young man Qin Zhong. How could he be considered knowledgeable and wise?

Tanchun couldn't stand Baoyu's remarks and said, "My second brother has always been the most noble!"

Baoyu: “.”

Baoyu was a little upset at this time. What happened to his sisters today? They all came to talk about his shortcomings because of an outsider. He took a deep breath, pretended to be gentle and elegant, and retorted: "Even so, he is also devoted to the 'official career and economy'. In the future, he will either become a 'traitor to the country' or a 'soldier'!"

At this moment, everyone in the hall had different expressions.

Shen Yuan concentrated his attention and looked towards the warm room in the east, with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

He murmured in a deep voice: "Traitors and parasites? Soldiers? This brother, you have great courage!
Lord Lin from Yangzhou was a top scholar in the imperial examinations. He reformed the salt administration, eliminated long-standing malpractices, and served his official duties diligently. Is this also what you call a 'traitor and parasite'?
The two Dukes Ning and Rong were heroes in the founding of the dynasty. They killed the enemy in battle, chased the enemy to the north, and destroyed an army of 100,000. Are they the crude "soldiers" you are talking about?
It is because of what you call "official career economy" that a lazy and incompetent person like you can spend the whole day doing nothing and hanging around in the backyard.

Every bite of rouge you eat, every piece of your daily food and clothing, which one does not come from the "official career economy" that you despise?
If you are truly noble and really want to be a hermit, why don't you return to the mountains and forests as soon as possible, grow your own food, weave your own clothes, drink dew and walk under the stars?

If you do this, people will obey you. Otherwise, if you just talk nonsense, what is the difference between you and the cockroach in the toilet? "

Baoyu: “.”

Shen Yuan's words were righteous and passionate, and every word was piercing and merciless. They completely pierced through Jia Baoyu's veil, making his face turn pale and blue, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Everyone was shocked by this series of powerful words.

Shen Yuan doesn't argue with people easily, but when he does, he is very skilled at it.

This speech praised Lin Ruhai and flattered the two Dukes Ning and Rong, but only criticized Jia Baoyu. Moreover, all of their statements were facts, leaving the people in the Jia family with no way to refute them.

Xiangyun was particularly excited, her hands clenched into fists, and her previous anger and sadness had long since disappeared.

Baochai's heart was also a little excited, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and she looked at her lover not far away through the gauze cabinet, lost in thought.

Baoyu's mind was filled with Shen Yuan's words, and he felt the looks from his sisters. He instantly collapsed and shouted angrily, "He just came today, and you guys sided with him. Now you're all following him in blaming me!"

After saying that, he snatched the piece of rice paper with Linjiangxian written on it from Tanchun's hand and tore it into pieces.

At this time, Daiyu finally spoke. She frowned, took a deep breath, and said in a cold voice: "If Second Brother Bao feels wronged, just find a reason to explain it back. Why get so angry? Women can understand reason and judge, and men should be more magnanimous."

Baoyu was already in an uneasy mood, and after hearing Daiyu's words, the last string in his heart broke.

"Sister Lin, why are you also...?"

What does Lin Daiyu mean by this? Does she mean that he is not a man? He is narrow-minded and is not as good as a woman?
The more Baoyu thought about it, the more he felt choked up. He could not speak, so he grabbed the spiritual jade from his neck in anger, gritted his teeth and threw it to the ground, saying, "What the hell is this bone? I'll smash you to pieces!"

I saw the jade hit the ground suddenly, bounced a few times, slid to the corner of the wall, and hit back and forth several times.

Unfortunately, the jade was extremely hard, and even after being dropped and bumped so many times, it was not damaged at all.

"Evil obstacle, evil obstacle!"

Seeing the younger generation quarreling again, Jia's mother, who was already having a headache, heard Baoyu throwing the jade, her face suddenly changed, and she stood up abruptly and walked quickly to the warm room.

Entering the warm room, Jia's mother held Baoyu's hand, wiped her tears and said, "You are angry and scolding people is fine, but why did you break your life? It is your life."

Jia Zheng ignored everything else and rushed in angrily. He picked up a duster and started beating him: "You heartless beast, you don't study hard, and you just make trouble all day long. Today I will beat you to death and put an end to it all!"

"master"

Upon seeing this, Mrs. Wang hurried forward to protect Baoyu.

Daiyu felt a little cold in her heart at this moment. Her originally rosy little face had now turned as pale as paper, and her cheeks were filled with sorrow and she was about to cry.

Every time Baoyu dropped a jade, everyone in the whole mansion would know about it, and in the end the old lady would always come to the conclusion: it was just the two Yu'ers playing around.

As a result, Daiyu would be stared at with either indifference, scrutiny, or disgust.

She didn't offend anyone, so why did she have to suffer this injustice for no reason?

Is it because every time Brother Bao threw the jade, he would mutter "Sister Lin"?
If there was anywhere else she could go, she would not want to stay in this house. Being pestered by her second brother Bao all day long only added to her sorrow.

Shen Yuan didn't expect that he would see the famous scene from the Dream of the Red Chamber when he first came to the Rongguo Mansion. He felt a little emotional. The Jia Mansion was really as chaotic as in the original novel.
(End of this chapter)