The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 346: Three Poems of Flower and Moon

There was a bright moon in the sky, and the soft moonlight filled the courtyard. The evening breeze brought the fragrance of osmanthus, and autumn insects hid in the corners and chirped. Jia Huan wore a moon-white long gown tonight, lying comfortably on a recliner in the courtyard, looking up at the bright moon and starry sky while listening to the music played by Yuanyuan.

The pretty maid Ping'er was making tea on a clay stove nearby. Her pretty face was covered with a sweet smile and full of tenderness. While watching the fire, she put peeled grapes into Jia Huan's mouth. Seeing the latter eating them with relish, she felt sweetly happy in her heart. It had been a long time since the two of them had sat together and talked leisurely at night.

Indeed, since following Lin Ruhai to encircle and suppress Kang Dayong's gang, Jia Huan has been working non-stop for more than two months, fighting in the east and the west, going through wind and fire, and even risking his life several times. He has really been at the gates of hell several times. Now he finally has some rare leisure time to enjoy this peaceful, comfortable and warm time.

In the past few days, the Jinyiwei were like chicken blood, ransacking homes and arresting people all over the city, from Zhang Yidong, the Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner, Hong Wenxuan, the Yangzhou prefect, the Yangzhou co-prefect and the Tongpan, to the Jiangdu county magistrate, county magistrate, county lieutenant, chief clerk, county clerk, etc. The entire Yangzhou local officialdom was almost uprooted.

In addition, a large number of military personnel were arrested, including Dai Li, the commander of Yangzhou Guard, the deputy commander, the deputy commander, the commander, and the commander of Qianhu, etc. Some military officers from Gaoyou Guard, Taizhou Guard, Dahe Guard, etc. were also involved in the case. Most of them accepted benefits from the big salt merchant Kang Lingcheng, acted as umbrellas, and provided convenience for Kang Lingcheng and the salt smuggler Gu Sanmazi to sell private salt and smuggled goods. The total amount involved in the case was as high as hundreds of millions of taels, which was really shocking.

In addition, Li Baiwan, another big salt merchant in Yangzhou, was also involved in selling private salt and smuggling goods. As a result, he was also detained and his property was searched by the Jinyiwei. His property worth nearly 10 million taels was confiscated by the national treasury. The Jinyiwei who participated in the search and seizure naturally made a lot of money. Yi Hong himself also made a lot of money. After working hard for several months and even blinding one eye, he finally got a generous reward.

Of course, money is secondary. Yi Hong is quite ambitious and cares more about making further progress in his career. This time, Emperor Qiansheng appointed him as the deputy imperial envoy, whose main task was to overthrow Prince Yi Zhong and destroy the money bag of Emperor Kang Ping, the retired emperor. Now Yi Hong has completed his task. There are witnesses and evidences to prove that Ji Jinxiao participated in private salt and goods smuggling activities for profit, and all the huge amount of money went into Prince Yi Zhong's pocket.

In addition, people in Prince Yizhong's mansion used their royal status to abuse their power for personal gain. They obtained a large number of salt permits from the Ministry of Revenue through various means and sold them for profit. They secretly kept assassins. They repeatedly murdered court officials to cover up their crimes. It would be difficult for Prince Yizhong to avoid being convicted of such crimes. Just the charge of keeping assassins was enough to make him be charged with treason.

Because there were so many people involved in the case, thousands of people were arrested in just three days. The prisons were overcrowded. Not only the Yangzhou Prefecture Prison, but also the Jiangdu County Prison and the Salt Transport Bureau Prison were filled with prisoners.

Due to the torture and interrogation of the Jinyiwei, people were beaten to death almost every day, and many people were left with lifelong disabilities. It was truly a bloody purgatory that frightened both gods and ghosts. In recent days, it seemed as if the entire Yangzhou city was shrouded in a layer of haze. People were in a state of panic and saw enemies everywhere. Not to mention the officials, even ordinary people were so scared that they ran away when they met the Jinyiwei on the street for fear of getting into trouble. Once caught by these devils, no matter whether you were guilty or not, you would be skinned alive if you didn't die.

Of course, all this has nothing to do with Jia Huan. He has already returned the seal of the Yingtian governor to Lin Ruhai. In the past few days, apart from visiting Lin Ruhai's condition every day, he has been reviewing and preparing for the exams. After finishing his homework, he occasionally enjoys the meticulous and gentle service of the pretty maid, like now!
At this time, Yuanyuan finished playing a song, and she blinked her bright, crescent-like black eyes, looking at Jia Huan expectantly, eager to get praise. She was so cute and pleasing to the eye!

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Yes, Yuanyuan has improved a lot. She is smooth and natural, with fluent turns and good control of her breath. She is now ready to start her career!"

Xiao Yuanyuan immediately smiled happily, and her eyebrows and eyes curved into beautiful crescents. This little girl is eight years old this year, and she has become more and more beautiful, with a delicate face, eyebrows and eyes like a painting, and double pupils. The legendary peerless beauty is like a small lotus in early summer, gradually showing its pointed corners.

Jia Huan couldn't help but secretly say, "Beauty is a disaster. Who knows who will benefit from it in the future, Wu Sangui?" He just didn't know if there was a person named Wu Sangui in this world of the Red Mansion. If he really met him in the future, should he kill him with a hammer to prevent this guy from harming his juicy little cabbage?

It is obvious that classmate Jia now treats Xiao Yuanyuan as his younger sister and can't help but worry about her as his brother-in-law!
Yuanyuan was so happy to receive Jia Huan's praise that she almost flew up in the air. She took a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake and put it to Jia Huan's mouth, smiling sweetly, "Little brother, this is the sweet-scented osmanthus cake that Yuanyuan and Sister Ping'er made together. The sweet-scented osmanthus flowers are freshly picked today, and they are very fragrant. Come and have a taste."

Jia Huan took a bite and nodded in praise, "It really leaves a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth. You should try it too." After saying that, he finished the whole piece of osmanthus cake in one bite.

Ping'er deliberately said sourly: "I remember making it last year, but Third Master didn't say it was good. Now it tastes so good. I guess it's all Yuanyuan's work!"

Jia Huan reached out and pinched Ping'er's smooth chin, and said with a smile: "Why wouldn't I say it? It's easy for Sister Ping'er to want to hear good things. At worst, I can keep talking to you all night long."

Ping'er's pretty face blushed and she gently pushed Jia Huan's hand away. Xiao Yuanyuan lowered her head in embarrassment.

When Jia Huan saw the little girl's blushing face, he suddenly remembered that girls at this time were precocious and probably had some ignorance about matters between men and women. He couldn't help sweating secretly, and quickly coughed and changed the subject: "Look, the moonlight is so round tonight."

Ping'er and Yuanyuan both looked up at the sky, and saw the vast sky with a bright moon hanging in the sky, dotted with stars. There was a group of cotton-like white clouds slowly flowing under the moon. It was so beautiful that it seemed like a dream. The two girls felt a little drunk at once.

Jia Huan was also in a relaxed and happy mood, and could not help reciting: "Spring has a hundred flowers, autumn has the moon, summer has cool breezes, and winter has snow. If there is nothing to worry about, it is a good time in the world."

As soon as he finished speaking, a light laugh was heard. Jia Huan and others turned their heads and saw Xueyan holding a lantern and leading the way. Lin Daiyu followed behind her and walked slowly into the courtyard. She was wearing a light green pleated skirt, a lotus-colored cross-collared top, and a girlish bun. She was smiling, and she stood as graceful as a lotus flower emerging from the water, and walked towards him with light steps.

Lin Ruhai's condition has improved in the past two days, and he can eat normally. It can be seen that Lin Daiyu's mood has also improved. Under the moonlight, she is beautiful, charming, graceful and indescribably moving.

"Miss Lin (Sister Lin)" Ping'er and Yuanyuan quickly stood up and saluted.

Jia Huan also stood up from the recliner and said with a smile: "Hey, what wind blew the fairy from the sky down to the earth. No wonder Li Qinglian wrote in her poem: If we had not met on the top of the Jade Mountain, we would have met under the moon on the Jade Terrace."

Lin Dai's face was slightly hot, and she spat softly, "Brother Huan doesn't learn from others' mistakes. Now he is even more slick-tongued."

Lin Daiyu said this, but she was secretly happy in her heart, because being praised by others is a pleasant thing, and being praised by the person you love is even happier. Jia Huan said innocently: "Huan'er was just speaking the truth, but it turned out to be a slippery tongue."

Snow Goose chuckled.

Lin Daiyu glared at someone and said, "You are just being naughty. You have wasted several months and now you don't study hard. If you fail the provincial examination, I will be ashamed of you."

Jia Huan said confidently: "It's just a small provincial examination, it's just a piece of cake, what's the point of it!"

Lin Daiyu chuckled and said, "Everyone, have you listened carefully? This person is becoming more and more arrogant. If he fails the exam, he will cry."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Yes, if I fail, I'm afraid someone will cry."

Lin Daiyu blushed immediately and pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Whether you win or lose is none of my business. Why should I cry?"

Jia Huan teased, "I didn't say who was crying, but Sister Lin insisted on talking about herself. Isn't this a case of trying to cover up the truth?"

Lin Daiyu was so ashamed and angry that she clenched her fist and was about to hit her. Jia Huan took advantage of the situation and grabbed her soft wrist, begging for mercy: "Good sister, please forgive me. I won't dare to do it again."

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes at someone, pulled her hand back, and snorted, "Brother Huan, if you are so sure, why do you just borrow the verses of the ancients when you have the scene before you? If you can write a better one than this, I will be convinced."

Jia Huan secretly sweated and said, "A good sentence is born naturally, and it is accidentally found by a master. It cannot be forced."

Lin Daiyu frowned slightly and said, "What a sophistry! When I think of Brother Huan's poetic talent, he could write good poems easily. Could it be that he has not made any progress in the past few years and has fallen behind?"

Jia Huan naturally knew that Lin Daiyu was a very talented poet and that ordinary poems were not worthy of her attention. However, he could not help but feel competitive after hearing this. Moreover, he could not afford to lose face in front of all the other girls. So he searched his mind quickly and suddenly an idea struck him. He chanted:

The fragrance of flowers and the moonlight are both in harmony. I cherish the moon and pity the flowers so much that I lie down late.

When the moon sets, the flowers send wine; when the flowers wither, the moon still urges poetry.

There is no shadow when you look at the moon through the flowers, but you can see the flowers differently when you look at the moon.
How many guests are there in front of the flowers and under the moon, getting drunk with the flowers and the moon every year. "

Lin Daiyu's eyes lit up, and she was about to speak, but Jia Huan said, "Another poem. The moon hangs over the flower path, and its shadows intersect; the flowers are fragrant, and the moon is brilliant;

I love the moon and sleep late when the flowers have not yet faded; I love the flowers and wake up early when the moon is setting.

The shadow of the sky moves the moon in front of the flowers, and people in the deep courtyard return to the flowers under the moon;
I envy the flowers and the moon in the world, and I am intoxicated by watching the flowers, admiring the moon and the clouds.

"

As soon as Jia Huan finished reciting, he immediately said, "There is more. Listen to me recite it again:
There are flowers but no moon, and the hatred is endless; there is moon but no flowers, and the hatred becomes longer.

The gorgeous flowers are like people standing in the moon mirror, and the bright moon is like water reflecting the fragrance of the flowers.

Holding a stick, I share the flowers under the moon; bringing wine in front of the flowers to taste the moon.

Such beautiful flowers and such beautiful moon, don’t treat them as ordinary.

"

(End of this chapter)