Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with a Chronicle of Tragic Love

A daughter's poem?

Jiao Si's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized the identity of the person in front of him.

The dark-skinned, muscular young man was likely Feng Ziying, the eldest son of the Divine General Feng Tang.

As for this foolish young man, he's not Xue Da at all... he's clearly Xue Da the Fool—the Foolish Tyrant, Xue Pan.

The Jia family is not fake; their halls are made of white jade and their horses of gold.

The Epang Palace, spanning three hundred li, could not house even one Shi family member from Jinling.

The East Sea lacked a jade bed, so the Dragon King invited the King of Jinling.

In a good year, it snows heavily, and pearls are like gold and iron.

The Jia family is not a misnomer; it refers to the descendants of Jia Yan, the Duke of Ning, and Jia Yuan, the Duke of Rong, who were the owners of the Ning and Rong mansions.

The history of Jinling refers to the Shi family, the maternal family of Old Lady Shi (Grandmother Jia) and the descendants of Marquis Shi of Baoling.

The "King of Jinling" refers to the Wang family, the maternal family of Wang Xifeng, descendants of the governor-general and county magistrate.

As for the final phrase "a bountiful year with heavy snow," it refers to the Xue family, the clan of the seemingly dazed young man before him, descendants of Xue Gong, the Ziwei Sheren.

In the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber, the Xue family, who came from a royal merchant family, lived a life of extravagance, where "pearls were as common as dirt and gold as precious as iron."

Unfortunately, the Xue family mismanaged their business, and by the time they appeared in the book, they were already at their limit and lacked the strength to continue.

How did I end up in the world of Dream of the Red Chamber? Judging from Xue Pan's demeanor, the Xue family is still as fierce as ever...

Just as he was deep in thought, he heard Xue Da urging him on again.

"Hey kid, why aren't you saying anything?"

"If you're not going to do business, then get the hell out of here and stop interfering with my good time!"

No matter how shocked I am, I still have to do business.

Fortunately, Xue Pan was not a stingy person. He ordered his servants to add a chair and invited Jiao Si to sit down.

"Brother Feng, let me be the grand finale, you go first."

His eyes darted around, and Xue Pan looked at the dark-skinned, muscular young man.

Since we're going to play this game anyway, I might as well add some conditions.

"Since it is a poem written by a daughter, it must also include the four characters for sorrow, grief, joy, and happiness, each forming a short line. Not only that, but the reason for these four characters must also be explained."

"Having finished speaking, drink your cup to the last drop, and then compose a miscellaneous poem. It must have something that brings life to the table, whether it's food or wine vessels, anything on the table will do."

Feng Ziying shook his head and sighed helplessly.

"Brother Xue, you're both terrible at it and love to play games."

After saying this, seeing that Xue Pan looked unconvinced and was about to argue again, Feng Ziying quickly spoke up and recited a poem.

"My daughter is saddened, her youth has passed and she is left alone in her chamber."

"My daughter is saddened, regretting that she urged her husband to seek fame and fortune."

"My daughter is delighted; she looks in the mirror and sees how beautiful her morning makeup is."

"The daughter is happy, wearing a swing and a light spring dress."

After reciting the poem, he drank from his cup, tapped a plate of crispy lotus root and chicken feet with his chopsticks, pondered for a moment, and then composed a miscellaneous verse.

"The brocade feathers are majestic, and the helmet is colorful."

"His voice was loud and clear, and his spirit was as majestic as the mountains and rivers."

"A vast expanse of blue waves, where a single leaf touches the sky."

"Even with the will to roam freely, it's difficult without the right tools."

This Feng Ziying... also seems to have a touch of regret about his unfulfilled potential...

Jiao Si was sighing when he saw Xue Pan's brows furrowed.

"No, no!"

"Feng Ge'er's recitation of this poem is so incomprehensible; the last miscellaneous sentence is also completely inexplicable."

"A perfectly good plate of crispy lotus root and chicken feet, yet you recited it as 'a rooster falling into the water,' how strange!"

Feng Ziying was so angry that she laughed and punched him hard.

"Come here!"

Xue Pan exclaimed "Ouch!" and then grinned mischievously.

"No hurry, no rush!"

"Everyone says the girls at Huai Shang Yun Lou are exceptionally beautiful and talented. Now that we've paid a hefty price to come here, we naturally want to verify their authenticity."

"Let the beauty recite a poem first, so I can judge it!"

After saying that, he pinched the prostitute next to him.

The beauty let out a soft moan, playfully winked at him, and parted her cherry lips slightly.

"My daughter is heartbroken; who will she rely on for the rest of her life?"

Xue Pan sighed, "My beauty, with you, Master Xue, here, what are you afraid of?"

The girl choked, her train of thought interrupted, and it took her a while to come back to her senses before she continued speaking.

"My daughter is distressed; when will her mother's beatings and scoldings end?"

Xue Pan was furious again.

"How come even in this Huai Shang Yun Lou, there are mothers who beat and scold you? You better serve Master Xue well, and when I see your mother later, I'll give her some money and ask her to punish you less!"

The girl choked again, then couldn't speak for a moment.

Feng Ziying punched Xue Pan again with a loud thud. "Xue the Fool, if you keep messing around with him, I'm afraid we won't be able to test this young man's true abilities when the written exam starts!"

Xue Pan quickly slapped himself, "You're so deaf! I won't say another word!"

The girl snapped out of her daze and added a couple more sentences.

"The daughter is happy, but the lover is reluctant to leave home."

"The daughter is happy, she has stopped playing the flute and strings."

After reciting the poem, he picked up a piece of cool jellyfish skin.

"Talking about the sea and sky, discussing the sea and sky."

"Though not a celestial bird, it resembles a sea fairy."

"Without feathers, one cannot fly; without scales, one can hardly roam."

"I only pour out my heart and get entangled with people."

After reciting these random sentences, he sighed and looked forlorn.

But then she saw Xue Pan put his arm around her waist, his face full of intimacy.

"My beauty, why can't you restrain yourself while drinking? You want 'the flute,' 'a heart full of water,' and you even want to 'entangle' me?"

"Don't worry, after the written exam, Uncle Xue will take you to 'have some fun' with him!"

Feng Ziying delivered another punch with a loud "bang".

"Xue the Fool, people are lamenting their loneliness and helplessness right now, and you're spouting nonsense!"

"You're really talented! Show us your vast knowledge and broaden our horizons!"

"Brother Feng, I'm not bragging, but if I told you, you'd be shocked."

Xue Pan stood smugly with his hands on his hips.

"A daughter's sorrow--"

He coughed twice more.

"Marrying a man is like marrying a tortoise."

puff......

Feng Ziying and the courtesans burst into laughter, spitting out their wine.

Only anxiety remained unmoved.

"What are you laughing at? Am I wrong?"

"What woman marries a man, only to have him become a cuckold? How can she not be sad?"

"You lot clearly don't know your stuff, except for this kid who sells lyrics; he actually has some discernment!"

Everyone laughed and said, "That's absolutely right," and urged him to continue.

"A daughter's sorrow--"

A large monkey suddenly appeared in the embroidery room.

Everyone laughed again.

But then Xue Pan lost his temper.

"What? The madam loves money, and the girls love beauty. If they get married and find out their husbands are bastards, wouldn't they be worried?"

Feng Ziying clutched her stomach.

"Absolutely! Absolutely!"

"You're right, we were short-sighted!"

Xue Pan saw that Jiao Si did not laugh, and deeply considered him a kindred spirit.

Then he continued.

"Daughter's Joy--"

"Sleepy in the bridal chamber, drowsy when rising in the morning."

Upon hearing this, Feng Ziying and the others stopped laughing.

Why is this phrase considered elegant?

Seeing that he had startled everyone, Xue Pan snorted smugly.

"Ya what?"

"There are even more elegant ones to come!"

After saying that, he stood up and revealed a lecherous smile.

He bent down slightly and wiggled his buttocks towards Feng Ziying.

"My daughter is happy, just a few sticks..."

"Brother Xue!"

It turned out that Jiao Si was blocking the exit.

Xue Pan, seized by a mischievous impulse, was about to play a trick on Feng Ziying when he was interrupted by Jiao Si, which greatly displeased him.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?"

"The old man hasn't finished reciting his poem yet!"

But then Jiao Si wiped away a bead of sweat.

"Brother Xue, the Heavenly Dao is watching this world. If you continue speaking, I fear the Heavenly Dao will punish you and the world will cease to exist."

"We all already know the second half of Brother Xue's sentence."

"As for anything else that I don't know, the gentlemen in the comments section will fill in the gaps. Why should Brother Xue say more?"

Xue Pan found his words strange and didn't understand what they meant.

Just as I was about to continue, I felt a sharp pain.

Feng Ziying punched him in the buttocks again with a "bang".

"Xue Dashan, stop talking! We already know what you're thinking!"

"Truly elegant!"

"Not only is it elegant, it's incredibly elegant!"

Xue Pan hummed smugly a few times and then began reciting miscellaneous verses again.

The daughter was good at writing poetry, but struggled to produce miscellaneous verses.

After muttering to himself for a while, he suddenly felt an itch on his face. He slapped it away and found it was a mosquito.

"How strange, even this Cloud Tower on the Huai River has flies and mosquitoes, really..."

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Got it!"

He waved the mosquito in his hand.

"Flying, flying, a mosquito buzzes."

He then pointed to the fly on the table.

"Crawling and crawling, two flies buzzing and buzzing."

After saying that, he rolled his eyes and pointed to a plate of stewed frog.

"Jump, jump, three toads croak..."

Before he could finish speaking, a white egret appeared out of nowhere and snatched the frog away with a "whoosh".

Xue Pan immediately became anxious.

"You son of a bitch, give me back my poem!"

After cursing, he went to chase after the egret.

Everyone burst into laughter again, and it took a lot of effort to persuade Xue Pan to return to his seat.

Now it's Jiao Si's turn.

After pondering for a while, he was about to speak.

But then Xue Pan spoke again.

"Young man, you're here for money, so your expectations are naturally higher."

"The first two lines of your poem should be as vulgar as Brother Feng's, while the last two lines should be as 'refined' as mine. As for this last miscellaneous poem, it should be both vulgar and refined."

"how?"

Jiao Si rolled his eyes a few times, then pondered for a moment.

"No problem."

"Second brother, just listen."