The Red Mansion

Chapter 107 Thunderstorm and Golden Hairpin

The next day, Emperor Taishun issued an edict to promote Jia Zheng to be Langzhong of the Ministry of Works.

Jia Zheng originally wanted to host a party at the hour of You and invite Jiang Nian to drink together to express his gratitude.

Jiang Nian politely declined.

He wanted to learn from Qu Tai at 5 p.m., and he didn't want to drink with Jia Zheng, as it was time-consuming and laborious, and he had to flatter him, and he wouldn't be able to see the golden hairpins of Rongguo Mansion.

It’s better not to go to such a host.

Although Yuanchun lived in seclusion in Changchun Garden, she was well-informed and learned of her father's promotion that very day, as well as the reason for it. It was a eunuch who told her the news, and for this eunuch's disclosure, Yuanchun gave him a generous gift.

Night falls.

Changchun Garden is brightly lit.

Yuanchun, accompanied by her maid Baoqin, strolled along the lakeside embankment of the Ningchun Hall scenic area.

Baoqin looked up at the sky and said softly, "Miss, there is no moon or stars tonight."

Upon hearing this, Yuanchun looked up at the sky, only to see dark clouds covering the night sky, thick as ink, obscuring the light of the stars and moon. She frowned slightly and whispered, "Heavy rain is coming."

Baoqin looked at the dark clouds in the night sky and said hurriedly, "Since it's going to rain heavily, let's go back and avoid getting wet."

Yuanchun smiled sweetly: "Don't worry, it won't rain for a while."

After she finished speaking, her starry eyes turned slightly, staring blankly at the lake surface stained by the night.

After a while, Baoqin couldn't help but ask, "Young lady, you are so absent-minded, are you thinking about Guard Jiang?"

Yuanchun couldn't help feeling embarrassed and remained silent.

Baoqin smiled and said, "This Guard Jiang is truly remarkable. It wasn't long after the Queen Mother arranged a marriage for him, and in the blink of an eye, he helped the Second Master get promoted to a doctor. It seems he cares a lot about the girl!"

These words made Yuanchun feel both shy and sweet. She gently patted Baoqin's head with the round fan in her hand, and the jade pendant on the fan pendant jingled. She deliberately said angrily: "Don't talk nonsense!"

Baoqin chuckled: "I'm not talking nonsense, the facts are obvious."

Yuanchun snorted.

Baoqin couldn't help but ask, "Since the Empress Dowager has already arranged the marriage, and the girl is scheduled to get married in February of next year, I wonder when the Empress Dowager will let her go home?"

Yuanchun's slender fingers unconsciously stroked the jade pendant on the fan and said, "The Queen Mother said that at the end of the year, I will be allowed to go home for the New Year. After the New Year, I will... get married."

Baoqin looked at the dark pavilion in the center of the lake and sighed, "Do we have to wait until the end of the year? Young lady, I want to go back to our Rong Mansion right now."

Yuanchun fell silent. She had wanted to go back for a long time, especially today, when she learned that Jiang Nian's extraordinary talent had helped his father get promoted. She felt a strong desire to return to the Rongguo Mansion. However, the Empress Dowager had said that she would not be allowed to return to the Rongguo Mansion until the end of the year, so she naturally obeyed.

Yuanchun was just in a trance when suddenly a lightning bolt like a golden snake splitting the sky split the night sky, followed by a loud thunder, which scared Yuanchun and Baoqin.

Baoqin patted her chest and said, "This is incredible! It seems that the Thunder God and Lightning Goddess are about to poke a hole in the Milky Way! Girl, let's go back quickly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, raindrops as big as beans began to fall from the night sky.

"Come on!"

Yuanchun also became anxious, and hurriedly walked along the embankment with Baoqin.

When the master and servant ran to the eaves of Ningchun Hall and looked back, they saw that the sky was already covered with rain.

……

……

In the eastern suburbs of Shenjing City, the Jiang family's small compound.

The blue bricks and black tiles flickered in the lightning, the flowers and plants in the inner courtyard were knocked all over the place by the heavy rain, a pear tree was swaying in the storm, and the two red gauze lanterns hanging outside the gate were blown around by the wind, like a pair of red ghost eyes in the underworld.

The study was brightly lit. Jiang Nian was bent over the desk, writing the homework assigned by Qu Tai with a wolf-hair brush.

Suddenly, a crack of thunder erupted outside the window, and the strong wind rustled the windows. He simply pressed the jade lion paperweight down heavily on the rice paper without looking up. But the lightning flashed through the window lattice, casting a dark green shadow on his moon-white Hangzhou silk shirt.

At this moment, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by Xiangling's timid voice: "Master, it's me."

Jiang Nian put down his pen and said, "Come in."

When the door opened, a gust of cold, eerie air rushed in. Xiangling walked in with her head lowered, twisting her handkerchief in her delicate hands. With a guilty look on her face, she said, "Master, I didn't mean to disturb you, but the God of Thunder and the Goddess of Lightning were making such a fuss, and I...I was all alone in my bedroom, and I was terrified."

As soon as she finished speaking, a flash of lightning struck outside the window, making her face pale.

Jiang Nian picked up a walnut-sized gold watch from the table and played with it while staring at Xiangling. He smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that ghosts will take you away?"

Xiangling was so frightened that she tugged at his sleeve: "Good sir, don't scare me! I'm already terrified, and when you talk about ghosts, I'm even more frightened!"

Jiang Nian smiled and looked at the gold watch in his hand. The needle pointed to between 3:15 and 4:15 of the 11th hour of the 11th century.

"Come with me to the main hall door to see the thunderstorm."

After saying that, he stood up and walked out of the study, came to the main room, opened the door, and suddenly the wind blew in his face and the rain hit his eyes. He saw silver snakes dancing in the sky and heavy rain pouring down like ink, causing thousands of silver balls to burst out in the yard.

Jiang Nian stepped over the threshold and walked under the eaves of the door.

Although Xiangling was afraid of thunder and lightning, she also stepped over the threshold and stood behind Jiang Nian, saying, "Master, why are you looking at this thunderstorm? It's really scary."

Jiang Nian stood with his hands behind his back and said with a smile, "You think this thunderstorm is scary? But throughout history, there have been many poems written about thunderstorms."

When Xiangling heard about the poem, she immediately became interested and asked hurriedly, "Master, have you written it down? Read it to me."

Jiang Nian began to recite: "'Thunder roars suddenly send rain across a thousand peaks, the scent of flowers thickens like the fragrance of a hundred flowers'—this is Du Fu's; 'The thunder chariot shakes the earth, lightning flashes, and the torrential rain pours down like a torrential downpour'—this is Lu Fangweng's; 'Black clouds turn like ink, but do not cover the mountains; white raindrops dance like pearls into the boat'—this is Su Dongpo's."

"Master, you are truly gifted and have a wonderful memory!" Xiangling was mesmerized, her eyes sparkling, as if she had forgotten even her fear. She murmured, "No wonder the ancients said that books contain beautiful women. It turns out that even thunderstorms contain beautiful verses."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a "creak" from the west wing, and saw Xue Baochai and Ying'er walking out of the west wing and standing under the eaves at the door.

Just now, the master and servant were standing behind the west wing window, watching the thunderstorm, when they suddenly noticed the door to the main hall open. Jiang Nian and Xiangling walked under the eaves of the main entrance. Xue Baochai hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but open the door and step out, wanting to say a few words to her master on this stormy night.

At this moment, Jiang Nian, who was standing under the eaves at the main door, walked along the corridor towards Xue Baochai. Xiangling hurriedly shrank her neck and followed his footsteps.

Xue Baochai and Ying'er waited until Jiang Nian approached, and they both bowed to him. After the ceremony, Xue Baochai raised her eyes and gazed at Jiang Nian, who was a full head taller than her. She said softly, "In such a thunderstorm, why are you standing outside the house instead of staying in the study?"

Just as she finished speaking, there was a flash of lightning, illuminating her cheeks, which were slightly red.

"I was watching the thunderstorm with Xiangling," Jiang Nian said, then asked, "What about you? Why did you suddenly open the door and come out? Are you scared and want me to accompany you and give you courage?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Baochai lowered her eyes and twisted the apricot-yellow handkerchief between her fingers.

Ying'er blurted out, "My lady and I were watching the thunderstorm from the window when we suddenly saw you come out, and then..."

Before she could finish her words, Xue Baochai coughed lightly and Ying'er immediately fell silent.

Jiang Nian smiled faintly, having understood that Xue Baochai followed him out after seeing him leave.

Jiang Nian laughed and said, "Just now Xiangling was so scared that she ran into my study. She said that the Thunder God and Lightning Goddess were making a big fuss and she was terrified to be alone in her bedroom. She was afraid that the ghosts would take her away."

When Ying'er heard this, she couldn't help but laugh, and a smile also broke out on Xue Baochai's pretty face.

Xiangling laughed and said, "Master, please don't wrongly accuse me! I only said that the God of Thunder and the Goddess of Lightning were making such a fuss that I was terrified staying alone in my bedroom. But I didn't say I was afraid of ghosts coming to catch me. How could I ever mention the word 'ghost'? You said that to scare me. Now I'd like Miss Xue to judge for yourself. I was already terrified, and you're trying to scare me like this, and now you're wrongly accusing me!"

Ying'er chuckled again when she saw this, while Xue Baochai covered her mouth with her handkerchief and chuckled.

Xiangling, curious, asked Xue Baochai, "Miss, you and Ying'er, staying in the west wing, aren't you afraid of the terrifying Thunder God and Lightning Goddess?"

Xue Baochai glanced at Ying'er, who understood what she meant, knowing that she wanted her to answer Xiangling's question. So, Ying'er smiled and said, "I am afraid, but you are not."

Xiangling clapped her hands gently and said, "You are so brave, young lady!"

Xiangling's words were meant to praise Xue Baochai, but Xue Baochai was more sensitive, and she thought that the word "bold" might not be a good thing when heard by Jiang Nian in person. A girl, who had been promised to be Jiang Nian's concubine, might not be liked by Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian didn't care about this kind of thing at the moment. He looked at the thunderstorm in the night sky. He didn't know what he was thinking about, and his expression became a little serious.

Xiangling, however, did not notice the change in his expression. She tugged at Xue Baochai's sleeve as if offering a treasure and said, "Miss, you didn't know that just now you recited a few lines of poetry about thunderstorms. You are truly talented and have a very good memory!"

Xue Baochai didn't notice the change in Jiang Nian's expression. She smiled and asked Jiang Nian, "Oh? I wonder which lines of poetry you are reciting?"

Jiang Nian withdrew his gaze from the night sky and instead looked at the rain curtain cascading down from the eaves. He suddenly changed the subject, "Just now I was feeling poetic, but now it's gone. It's like the rain has extinguished my poetic inspiration. This rain is too heavy. I hope it doesn't continue. Everything has its limits. In summer, if it continues to rain heavily, it will easily cause floods."

Hearing this, Xiangling stopped laughing and lowered her head in silence.

Ying'er bit her lips lightly and twisted her handkerchief gently with her hands. She felt that Jiang Nian's words were a bit of a dampener. Suddenly he brought up the flood, which made the atmosphere suddenly become solemn.

Xue Baochai was shocked when she saw Jiang Nian standing under the eaves, looking at the rain curtain like a waterfall. Her moon-white silk shirt seemed to be a little wet from the rain. She frowned slightly, and looked more majestic than usual.

Far from thinking that Jiang Nian's sudden mention of the flood was a dampener, she actually admired him. Her gaze towards Jiang Nian softened, and she secretly sighed, "How many pampered young men only care about the pleasures of life, but he can see the big picture and consider potential dangers. This is... a true gentleman!"

Thinking of this, her ears suddenly felt a little hot.

At this moment, Jiang Nian looked at the heavy rain and thought quietly to himself, "If I remember correctly, in the summer of the first year of Yongzheng's reign in my previous life, Zhili Province suffered a serious flood! And the first year of Taishun in this world is similar to the first year of Yongzheng's reign in my previous life. So, it seems that Zhili Province is likely to suffer a serious flood!"

Just as he was in a trance, a thick silver snake suddenly appeared in the sky, illuminating the whole yard with a dark white light.

Xiangling screamed "Ah" and quickly shrank behind Jiang Nian.

Ying'er also hurriedly hid behind Xue Baochai.

"boom--"

A burst of thunder sounded like a heavy bronze drum crashing down from the sky, shaking the entire small house.

Xiangling hurriedly tugged at Jiang Nian's sleeve and said, "Master, the God of Thunder and the Goddess of Lightning are getting more violent. Let's go back inside quickly, so we can ask Miss Xue to come back."

Jiang Nian nodded, then suddenly smiled at Xue Baochai and said, "If you're afraid too, why don't you come to my bedroom and sleep there tonight? I don't mind you sleeping in the same bed with me."

Xue Baochai immediately felt embarrassed and subconsciously raised her eyes to Jiang Nian and rolled them. Without saying a word, she simply said to Ying'er, "Ying'er, let's go back to our room."

After saying that, she turned and walked into the west wing. When Ying'er followed her in, she closed the door herself, as if she was afraid that Jiang Nian would follow her in.

After the door closed, Xue Baochai leaned against it gently, the candlelight illuminating her slightly flushed cheeks. She thought to herself, "Hmph! Just now, because you were worried about the flood, I thought you were even more dignified than usual. I thought you were able to see the big picture and consider potential dangers, and that you were a true master. And now, in the blink of an eye, you're acting so unruly again!"

Seeing the shame and anger that Xue Baochai couldn't hide on her face, Ying'er couldn't help but cover her mouth with her handkerchief and laugh.

Seeing this, Xue Baochai spat at Ying'er, "Don't laugh!"

Ying'er said "Oh" and quickly stopped smiling.

However, Xue Baochai herself couldn't help but reveal a smile...

After Xue Baochai and Ying'er entered the west wing, Jiang Nian turned around and walked along the corridor back to the main room. Xiangling followed closely behind him. Like Ying'er, she couldn't help but cover her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed. The laughter reached Jiang Nian's ears.

When the two of them entered the main hall, Jiang Nian suddenly turned around and asked Xiangling, "Why are you laughing all the time?"

Xiangling laughed and said, "Master was teasing Miss Xue just now. It was quite amusing. Miss Xue's embarrassed and annoyed look was also quite amusing."

Jiang Nian snorted, "Do you think I'm teasing Miss Xue? Actually, I'm serious."

Xiangling blinked her eyes.

Jiang Nian snorted again: "It's so boring to always sleep alone in a bed. How about you not sleep in the outer bed tonight and sleep in the same bed with me?"

Xiangling blushed immediately and lowered her head, her heart pounding like a deer.

……

……

"The Book of Rites: Monthly Ordinances" says: "In the last month of summer, the soil is moist and the heat is sultry, and heavy rains occur from time to time." In June of the first year of Taishun, the territory of the capital seemed to have pierced the Milky Way again and again.

In early June, there was a torrential downpour in the capital city of Shenjing.

In mid-June, there was another torrential downpour in the capital city of Shenjing.

By late June, the worst had happened. Heavy rains blanketed most of Zhili Province, causing floods in the mountains and rivers, and overflowing rivers.

(End of this chapter)