The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

Jia Jue held Jiao Da in some respect.

For no other reason than his willingness to speak his mind, which earned Jia Jue's utmost respect.

So Jia Jue walked up to Jiao Da, bowed respectfully, and said, "Could you be Jiao Da? I often hear the old lady talk about you. If it weren't for you carrying the old master out of the battlefield, the Jia family wouldn't be where we are today!"

Jiao Da was pleased to hear this, and he proudly raised his head, but then he let out a heavy "humph".

He said, "What's the big deal? It was fine before, but now, how many people in your household still remember my past contributions? They all look at me like I'm a ghost. I know all of this! I know all of this!"

Jiao Da was now completely drunk; his face was flushed, his eyes were glazed, and he was acting wildly.

Jiao Da suddenly stood up from the ground, stood still, and stared straight at Jia Jue's face.

Two lines of clear tears flowed down from her two deep-set, withered eye sockets.

Jiao Da walked shakily to Jia Jue and said, "Jue-ge'er, you'd better not come to this mansion so often! You don't know, but I've lived here my whole life, and I know how filthy this mansion is! Incestuous relationships! Keeping mistresses! Harassing sons! Now, fathers are no longer fathers, sons are no longer sons, wives are no longer wives, and mothers are no longer mothers!"

As he spoke, Jiao Da looked up to the sky and howled, his cries shaking the heavens like a lone wolf howling at the moon.

While Jiao Da was complaining and crying, in Qin Keqing's boudoir, Baoyu and Qin Zhong were also having a heart-to-heart talk.

Baoyu was used to playing around with women; he liked making rouge and eating rouge.

He even carried a box of newly made rouge with him at all times.

He thought Qin Zhong would also like the rouge.

So he carefully took out the rouge box and showed it to Qin Zhong like a treasure, saying, "Look at this, what a wonderful thing this is!"

Qin Zhong hesitated before accepting the rouge box. He gently opened it and saw that the inside was a vibrant, bright red, like the finest jade among flowers.

He took a gentle sniff, and the fragrance was intoxicating, filling his senses with a delicate aroma, as if a myriad of beauties were present within.

However, he had never seen such rouge before, and he could not imagine that this was rouge.

So he asked, "It has a wonderful fragrance, as if it were made from flowers, but I wonder what it is?"

Baoyu smiled gently and said, "This is rouge that I made myself."

"Rouge?" Qin Zhong was surprised. He had never seen such brightly colored rouge before, nor had he ever seen rouge in this form.

So Qin Zhong asked, "Since this is rouge, how should it be applied?"

Baoyu smiled and said, "This rouge is different from the ones sold outside. This rouge is made from fresh flower petals that I picked myself. It is clean and vibrant. When you want to use it, you only need to apply a little bit to your lips."

Qin Zhong nodded and said, "I didn't know there were such rouges?"

Just as Qin Zhong was looking down and playing with the rouge box, Bao Yu saw his handsome face and delicate appearance, and felt an indescribable, lingering affection rise in his heart.

He sighed inwardly – ​​there really are such fine men in the world!

He said to Qin Zhong, "Would you like to try it?"

Qin Zhong laughed and said, "I am a man, how can I wear makeup?"

Baoyu laughed and said, "Brother Qin, you have a handsome appearance, with the bearing of a dragon and the shape of a phoenix. If you were to get a makeover, you would surely be on par with Xu Gong and Pan An!"

Qin Zhong had no choice but to let Bao Yu apply a layer of bright rouge to him.

He was already handsome with feminine features, but now, with a touch of rouge, he looks just like a girl dressed as a boy!

After Baoyu finished applying the rouge to him, he smiled and said, "Did you know that the rouge I made has a floral scent?"

Qin Zhong said, "I can smell it."

Baoyu said, "It's not about smelling, it's about eating."

As he spoke, Baoyu told Qin Zhong about how he used to eat the rouge off the maids' lips. He then added that the rouge tasted like honey, sweet and delightful.

As she spoke, she took the rouge from Qin Zhong's lips and ate it.

Qin Zhong, after all, had never seen much of the world and was rather shy. Seeing Bao Yu like this, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

Yet, an indescribable, confused emotion was also swirling within him.

Left with no other choice, they had to agree to Baoyu's request.

Just as Baoyu was about to taste the rouge, he heard a wailing sound coming from somewhere.

The voice was like a lone wolf, like a demon, like weeping and resentment, like a monster.

The two were so frightened that they rushed out to find Wang Xifeng and the others to ask, "What happened?"

When Wang Xifeng and the other two saw the two people running out in fright, they quickly comforted them. Then, seeing Qin Zhong's bright red lips, they understood what had happened.

Wang Xifeng laughed, "Your face has turned pale with fright, but why are your lips so red?"

As he spoke, he called over a maid to prepare a basin of water and a towel to wash away the rouge from Qin Zhong's lips.

Wang Xifeng laughed again, "You two don't need to panic. How could you possibly see a ghost in broad daylight? Perhaps someone is just drunk and acting crazy. Don't worry!"

Hearing Wang Xifeng, You Shi, and Qin Keqing's comforting words, the two boys were no longer afraid.

-

While the two teenagers were seeking comfort, someone came to collect it.

It turned out that Jiao Da's cries were too loud, alarming not only Bao Yu and Qin Zhong, but also Jia Zhen, Jia Rong, and Jia Qiang.

Upon hearing the wailing, Jia Zhen immediately summoned Jia Rong and ordered him to find the person wailing and gag him!

Jia Rong accepted the order and gathered twenty or thirty strong young servants, each carrying a stick, who surrounded Jia Rong in the middle and marched towards Jia Jue in a grand procession.

When they arrived at the destination, they found Jiao Da crying and shouting at Jia Jue. Jia Rong immediately spat inwardly.

Without waiting for the servants, one man stepped forward and was about to slap Jiao Da on the head, muttering, "Don't you even open your dog eyes and see who this is?! Still causing trouble here!"

However, his slap did not actually land on Jiao Da's head; it was stopped by Jia Jue.

Jia Jue laughed and said, "Rong-ge'er, Jiao Da has done a great service to our Jia family, so let's not be too harsh on him."

Seeing that Jia Jue had grabbed him, Jia Rong could only smile and say, "That makes sense, but he..."

Jia Jue laughed and said, "It's alright."

Jiao Da finally calmed down a bit from his wailing. Looking down, he saw Jia Rong and said, "Rong-ge'er, don't act like a master in front of Jiao Da. If it weren't for Jiao Da, you wouldn't know where you'd be!"

As he turned to leave, he said to Jia Jue before he did, "Jue-ge, remember, you're the only one left now, so don't fall into the same trap as them!"