The Red Mansion

Chapter 42: The Love of the Queen
Prince Zhongyi carefully instructed a palace guard to ride a horse to take Jiang Nian home.

The guard's name was Bao Yan, he was in his thirties, with a resolute face and an upright posture.

According to the rules, the prince's palace could be equipped with 20 guards. Among them, there were 6 first-class guards, 6 second-class guards, and 8 third-class guards. Bao Yan was a first-class guard of the palace, a third-rank guard.

Bao Yan quickly turned over and mounted a tall horse, then reached out and pulled Jiang Nian onto the horse's back.

The two men rode on the same horse. In the twilight, the horse neighed and the sound of horse hooves echoed crisply as they passed through the streets and alleys and headed towards the Jiang family's small house.

In late spring, it gets dark late.

When Jiang Nian returned to the old house, the sky was still filled with sunset glow, which fell on the fish-scale tiles of the house, dyeing them amber.

Jiang Nian's stomach was rumbling with hunger, but he had no time to eat dinner. He didn't even go back to his own small house first, but walked towards the Qin family next door.

The Qin family was already a busy scene at this time.

After Qin Ye's body was carried back, the funeral was carried out in full swing under the arrangements of He Yun and his wife and Qin's housekeeper Peng Jizhong.

A simple mourning tent has been set up in the courtyard, and white flags are swaying gently in the evening breeze, like snow waves.

Jiang Nian stepped into the Qin family, passed through the hanging flower gate, entered the inner courtyard, and met Meng.

Mrs. Meng, who was busy, saw Jiang Nian coming and hurried forward to greet him: "Master is here."

Jiang Nian asked, "How are the funeral preparations going?"

Mrs. Meng replied, "Master, Mr. Qin has been buried. The coffin was not bought on the spur of the moment; it was prepared by Mr. Qin for himself long ago."

Jiang Nian nodded slightly, knowing that many people in this era would prepare coffins for themselves in advance, let alone an old man like Qin Ye who was only seventy years old and in poor health.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Meng, Jiang Nian walked towards the main house. As soon as he reached the door of the main hall, he saw Qin Keqing.

Qin Keqing, a striking beauty, had not yet donned her mourning clothes. Her plain white dress accentuated her pure and elegant beauty. She knelt beside the coffin, head bowed, sobbing. Tears streamed down her cheeks, like pear blossoms in the rain, creating a unique scene in the mourning hall.

In Jiang Nian's opinion, using the idiom "a beauty that overwhelms a country and a city" to describe a beautiful woman is a bit exaggerated. But at the moment, he would rather use "a beauty that overwhelms a city" to describe Qin Keqing's beauty.

I don’t know if it’s because of her plain white dress and her tearful look that makes Qin Keqing look particularly beautiful at that moment.

Jiang Nian had been traveling through time for half a year, but he had seen very few beauties in this world. He felt that Qin Keqing before him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen since traveling through time.

He Yun was in the main hall when he saw his wife Meng and Jiang Nian appear. He stepped forward to greet them, "Master is here."

Qin's housekeeper Peng Jizhong and his wife were also in the main hall, and they hurried forward to greet Jiang Niangong.

He Yun and his wife have told the Qin family everything they could.
The Qin family knew the cause of Qin Ye's death, and also knew that Jiang Nian was bullied by the governor of the Beijing camp today, and that the Thirteenth Prince was invited to suppress it...

Before, Qin Keqing only thought that Jiang Nian was of extraordinary status, but now she thinks that Jiang Nian is unfathomable.

The sounds of He Yun, Peng Jizhong and his wife, and others greeting Jiang Nian startled Qin Keqing, who was kneeling beside the coffin and sobbing.

Qin Keqing raised her head and met Jiang Nian's gaze. Under normal circumstances, Qin Keqing, as a girl from an official family, would not easily meet a man from outside her family. However, in the circumstances today, how could she care about such etiquette?

Qin Keqing was intelligent and strong-willed, and she knew she had to please Jiang Nian. This was because He Yun and his wife had come to help the Qin family with the funeral arrangements, and because Prince Zhongyi had promised to seek justice for Qin Ye and ensure his unjust death would not be in vain. Qin Keqing felt that Prince Zhongyi's statement was likely motivated by a desire to please Jiang Nian.

Moreover, Qin Keqing felt that she might need help from her neighbor Jiang Nian in other matters in the future...

Qin Keqing gently wiped her moist eyes with a handkerchief, then stood up on her own initiative and walked towards Jiang Nian with steps that were both light and heavy.

She raised her eyes slightly and asked Meng, "Auntie He, is this Mr. Jiang?"

"It's my uncle." Mrs. Meng nodded and looked at Jiang Nian, "Uncle, this is Miss Qin, the daughter of Master Qin."

Qin Keqing bowed to Jiang Nianying and said, "Greetings to Master Jiang."

Jiang Nian's face showed an apologetic look, and he said to Qin Keqing, "I'm sorry, if your father hadn't come to my house today to return the gift, I wouldn't have suffered this unforeseen disaster."

Qin Keqing shook her head gently, her tone calm but mournful: "How can this be blamed on Master Jiang? I should thank Master Jiang for letting Master He and Madam He come to help with the funeral. Prince Zhongyi will also seek justice for my father."

Jiang Nian believed Wang Ziteng had murdered Qin Ye, but even so, seeing Qin Keqing's pitiful appearance, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. According to the original novel's timeline, if Qin Ye didn't die today, he would probably have died in two years. In the original novel, Qin Ye died of anger and a relapse of his old illness, due to the exposure of Qin Zhong's affair with the young nun Zhineng'er, and perhaps also related to Qin Keqing's suicide by hanging in the Ningguo Mansion...

A simple meeting with Qin Keqing made Jiang Nian's heart waver. He felt that Qin Keqing's appearance was very much to his liking, so he decided to keep her without worrying about her personality or character.

It's nothing more than taking another concubine.

Jiang Nian returned to his small courtyard and walked into the main room. He found that the room was already set up with tables and chairs, and a lunch box on the table. After opening the lunch box, he found that it was filled with hot food. This dinner was bought from outside, and it had been bought long ago. Jiang Nian thought that he would have a cold meal.

This actually surprised him a bit, so he asked the housekeeper Feng, "Why is the food hot?"

Feng replied respectfully, "I thought the master would probably be home for dinner, so I worked with Dong Liang's wife to use the kitchen utensils we just bought today to heat up the cold food."

The one from Dong Liang’s family was Dong Liang’s wife, Yao, who was the cook.

Jiang Nian nodded in approval: "You are very careful."

Feng was a virtuous woman with a deep understanding of etiquette and morality. She was also grateful to Jiang Nian. Today, she learned that Jiang Nian was actually close to Prince Zhongyi, and she felt even more awe and a desire to please him.

Jiang Nian carried the bowl of rice and walked to the eaves at the door of the main hall. He sat on a stool and ate dinner while looking at the sky.

The afterglow of the setting sun has almost disappeared, leaving only a faint orange-red, hanging in the distant sky like silk, as if it is the lingering attachment of the setting sun.

The night had begun to spread across the courtyard, and the half-dead pear tree was gradually becoming blurred.

The evening breeze blew on Jiang Nian's cheek, bringing a hint of coolness.

"Today is only my first day in Beijing, but it's so wonderful. It makes me look forward to my future life even more."

Jiang Nian sighed inwardly and ate all the food in the bowl in big mouthfuls.

(End of this chapter)