The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 348 Take the initiative to come to the door

The melody of Liu Jun's song "Hearing You in the Distance" is gentle and pleasant, with graceful and lingering tune. At this moment, Jia Huan plays it with a flute, which brings a hint of sadness, making it even more touching. After the song is over, there is silence all around, with only the bright moon hanging high in the sky and mottled shadows of trees, which has a bit of the flavor of "The boats on the east and west are silent, only the white autumn moon in the middle of the river can be seen".

After a long time, everyone came back to their senses, but Lin Daiyu was still staring at Jia Huan in a daze, as if she was still immersed in the lingering and moving flute sound.

"Little brother, what song is this? Can you teach me how to play it?" Little Xing Yuan asked impatiently.

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Of course, the song is called..."

Jia Huan stopped talking halfway, feeling a little troubled. Although this song "Hearing You in the Distance" is the author's recollection of the happy times he spent with his grandmother during his childhood, and is inspired by the author's longing for and guilt towards his grandmother (the author was unable to see his grandmother before she died), the lyrics can be regarded as a love song, which is nothing in modern times, but in the feudal society with its strict ethics and morals, it is obviously a bit too "unrestrained".

"What's your name?" Little Xing Yuan asked curiously when he saw Jia Huan pause.

Jia Huan smiled and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. I'll tell you when I have thought about it."

Little Xing Yuan was a little disappointed and said "oh".

Lin Daiyu was not so easily fooled. Jia Huan played this piece of music very well, so it was unlikely that he had not given it a name. So she asked, "If he hasn't given it a name, then there must be lyrics, right?"

Jia Huan said with a stiff face, "I haven't written the lyrics for the new song yet. How about Sister Lin help me write one?"

"I am a woman of little talent and knowledge, and I cannot compose a piece of music in such a strange style. It's better for you to compose it yourself, Brother Huan. When you finish, remember to record a copy for me. This is the song you owe me, and you can't default on it." As Lin Daiyu said this, she looked at Jia Huan with a smile, as if to say, I don't trust you at all.

Jia Huan had no choice but to play dumb and said, "Okay, I'll give Sister Lin some comments after I finish filling it out."

After that, everyone chatted for a while, and when they saw the moon moving westward and the cold dew wetting their clothes, they dispersed and rested.

After serving Jia Huan and lying down, Qiao Ping'er was about to go back to the small couch in the outer room to rest, but someone grabbed her by the waist and carried her back to the bed. She couldn't help but let out a delicate cry, and the next second, someone had already taken the position with ease.

"My dear, please stop making trouble. Yuanyuan lives in the next room. She might have heard everything... um!" Ping'er begged for mercy in a low voice, but was soon completely defeated by someone's attack.

After finishing the job, Jia Huan lay down contentedly. Qiao Ping'er's face was flushed, as beautiful as a crabapple blossoming in spring. She put on her underwear quietly, fetched clean water to wipe both of them, and was about to go back to the outer room, but someone grabbed her and brought her back.

"My dear ancestor, I really dare not make trouble anymore. It will harm your health. This is not a joke. The provincial examination is coming soon." Ping'er said in a low voice with a little anxiety.

Jia Huan hugged her soft and fragrant waist and said with a smile: "Sister Ping'er, please sleep here tonight, so you don't have to move around."

Ping'er then realized that she had misunderstood. Her face felt a little hot, but she felt very happy in her heart. She said softly, "It's just that I'm afraid it will disturb Third Master's rest."

"How could that be? I slept even more soundly when I hugged Sister Ping'er." Jia Huan said with a smile, and then clenched his hands.

Ping'er was delighted. She turned around and hugged Jia Huan, letting him lean against her soft arms. She said softly, "Then Third Master, go to sleep quickly. The third watch drum has just been struck outside."

Jia Huan rubbed himself comfortably, then closed his eyes, and soon began to snore softly, as if he had fallen asleep. However, Ping'er, perhaps because she was too excited after making love, or because she was worried, could not fall asleep. Instead, she became more and more awake. She was afraid of waking Jia Huan up, so she dared not move. She just stared at the ceiling of the tent in a daze. After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly sighed leisurely.

At this moment, Jia Huan opened his eyes and asked with concern, "Why is Sister Ping'er sighing?"

Ping'er's pretty face flushed, and she said with a chuckle, "So Third Master wasn't asleep, you scared me. No...I didn't sigh, Third Master must have heard it wrong."

Jia Huan sat up, took Ping'er's hand, and said seriously, "Sister Ping'er, are you feeling unwell, or have you been wronged? If I have done anything wrong, please tell me, and don't keep it in your heart."

Ping'er felt warm in her heart and shook her head repeatedly, saying, "I am not feeling uncomfortable. Miss Lin and the servants here are also very kind to me. There is no way I feel wronged."

"Then it must be my fault." Jia Huan said with a smile.

Ping'er said softly, "No, don't make blind guesses, my dear. Go to bed quickly. You have to get up early to study tomorrow."

"Really?" Jia Huan looked at Ping'er seriously, and the latter nodded and said, "Really!"

Jia Huan had no choice but to lie down again. Suddenly he remembered something and said, "Oh, by the way, Yuanyuan should have mentioned Mandarin to Sister Ping'er, right?"

Ping'er's pretty face flashed a trace of unnaturalness, and she nodded and said, "Yuanyuan did tell me about this. She said that this is the foreign maid that Master Lin gave to the Third Master. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, is very pretty, and is tall. She is a rare beauty."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Mandalin should arrive in Yangzhou at noon the day after tomorrow. You can get to know her first. If she doesn't understand something, Sister Ping'er, you can teach her. We still have a lot of time to spend together in the future."

Ping'er forced a smile and said, "That's great! I haven't seen a Western beauty with golden eyes and blue eyes yet. I've been looking forward to seeing her." A trace of sadness flashed in her eyes. Jia Huan saw it and suddenly realized that it was no wonder that this pretty maid was so flattering and more passionate and bold than before when they were intimate just now, but secretly sighed and groaned. It turned out that the problem was here, so he deliberately teased her, "Sister Ping'er, you don't look very well, are you unhappy?"

Ping Erh hurriedly said, "No, according to the rules of our Jia Mansion, there should be two personal maids to serve my brother. In addition to the four nurses, there should be five or six maids responsible for cleaning and two servants who follow him around. Over the years, the Third Master has only had one maid to serve him, which is not in accordance with the rules. Now that there is one more person, it is just right for me to play the role of a servant. I am so happy!"

Jia Huan said with a half-smile, "Really?"

Ping'er said in a blushing voice, "Of course it's true, but... since Mandarin is a Westerner, I'm afraid she doesn't understand the etiquette of our Great Jin, and we can't speak her language, and I don't know her temper, so I'm a little worried that it will be difficult to get along with her. If there are conflicts in daily life, please bear with me, Third Master."

Jia Huan laughed and said, "Sister Ping'er, are you still worried that I will get tired of the old and fall in love with the new, and forget the old when I find the new one?"

Ping'er was so touched by what she was thinking that she blushed immediately and tried to defend herself, "I didn't do that. Third Master is just making up stories about me."

Jia Huan opened his arms and embraced the pretty maid, kissed her lips and said lovingly, "My dear sister, what are you imagining? How could I, Jia Huan, be the kind of person who loves the new and hates the old, forgets about love and loyalty. Don't you think about who was willing to give up the luxurious clothes and delicious food in the Jia Mansion and accompany me to Jinling in the south without hesitation? Who was the one who served me for three years in the thatched cottage in the wilderness without leaving me? Sister Ping'er may be a maid, but when did I, Jia Huan, ever treat Sister Ping'er as a slave?"

Ping'er felt sweet inside, shy and ashamed. She subconsciously hugged Jia Huan and buried her pretty face in his arms. She asked in a low and shy voice, "What does the Third Master think of me?"

Jia Huan leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Of course they are relatives who depend on each other for survival, and Sister Ping'er is Huan'er's first woman, and no one can replace her."

Ping Er could not help but feel ashamed, but her heart was as sweet as if she had eaten a few bowls of honey. She called out in a low voice with emotion: "Third Master!"

Ping'er was originally a maid who came with Wang Xifeng's dowry, but by accident she became Jia Huan's maid. Due to the big age difference between the two, at the beginning, she never thought of becoming Jia Huan's roommate. She just wanted to use this opportunity to escape from Wang Xifeng's clutches and live one day at a time.

However, since serving Jia Huan, Ping'er soon discovered that this Third Master Huan was different from others. He had a good temper, was extremely kind to his servants, and had many abilities. Later, he won the top three honors in the imperial examinations and obtained the title of scholar.

During this daily life together, Qiao Ping'er gradually fell in love with him, to the point that she accompanied Jia Huan without hesitation when leaving the Jia Mansion, and willingly accompanied him in "exile" to Jinling. Under extremely difficult conditions, she served Jia Huan for several years without regrets, and after Jia Huan's mourning period ended, she even gave her virginity to this boy who was six or seven years younger than her.

Although Qiao Ping'er believed in Jia Huan's character and believed that he would not let her down, the age difference between them was too big after all. Now that she was almost twenty years old, she was already an "old girl" and naturally had age anxiety. In addition, since Mandarin was given by Lin Ruhai, her "birth" was naturally higher than hers. And Yuanyuan said that Mandarin was not only beautiful, but also had an extremely attractive figure. The Third Master would take her with him when he went out to lead troops to fight, which showed that he doted on her extremely.

As a result, Qiao Ping'er's sense of crisis naturally became stronger, but after hearing Jia Huan's sincere words, all her worries disappeared, and she fell asleep happily leaning on Jia Huan's arms.

…………

On July 12, the seventh year of Qiansheng, although all the gates of Yangzhou City were reopened, the Jinyiwei still occasionally appeared on the streets. From time to time, news came out that another family was arrested, or some unlucky person could not bear the torture and died tragically in prison, and finally the body had to be redeemed from the Jinyiwei with money.

Therefore, the tense atmosphere in and outside the city did not ease at all, but instead tended to intensify. People were reluctant to go out unless necessary, the streets were more than half deserted than usual, the business was depressed, most shops were doing poorly, and there were complaints everywhere.

At this moment, in a noodle shop on the street, four young women dressed as village women were sitting around a table eating noodles quietly. The person in the lead had a plaster on her face and her skin was yellow, but she had a pretty face, a slim figure, and a very proud bust. It was just that the skin under her collar was white, which did not match her sallow face.

The village woman sitting opposite the yellow-faced woman was really ugly, with pig eyes, a bulbous nose, a big and wide mouth, and dark skin. If she had a beard, she would be a real female version of Zhang Fei. In addition, there was another village woman sitting on each side of the table, who looked ordinary. Her shoulder poles, baskets, and other things were placed in the aisle behind her.

At this time, the ugly woman was heard indignantly whispering, "Madam, you have also heard those discussions. Those Jinyiwei are a group of inhumane beasts. They don't treat ordinary people as human beings at all. He just bought half a pound of private salt. It's not a big deal, but he was arrested and tortured in prison. His family had no money to redeem him, so they beat him to death. Ordinary people are like this, let alone us. If we accidentally fall into their hands, we don't know what a miserable end we will have. Aunt, listen to my advice, you should leave quickly and don't think about cooperating with Jia Huan anymore."

It turned out that the woman with the plaster on her face was the female pirate Qin Hongyu, nicknamed Red Lady, and the adopted daughter of the big salt smuggler Gu Sanmazi.

At the beginning, she risked going ashore because of her leg injury and sent Xiao Xing Yuan into the city to buy medicine. However, she was discovered by Jia Huan, so she took Jia Huan hostage and escaped to the sea. Fortunately, Jia Huan treated her inflamed wound and she finally saved her life.

Although Qin Hongyu was a female bandit, she was also clear about gratitude and grudges, so she finally let Jia Huan go and let Jia Huan take little Xing Yuan away with him.

At that time, Jia Huan advised her to surrender to the government, assist the officers and soldiers in encircling and suppressing Dulong Island, and strive to atone for her sins. However, Qin Hongyu flatly refused and declared that she would not be a running dog for the government. She wanted to kill Kang Dayong by herself to avenge her adoptive father Gu Sanmazi's family.

However, just as Qin Hongyu was gathering her old subordinates and secretly accumulating strength, she received the news that Kang Dayong had been wiped out by the government. Although she was happy, she couldn't help but feel regretful that she could not kill him with her own hands.

A few days ago, Qin Hongyu gathered more than a hundred people and three warships, trying to take the opportunity to retake Dulong Island and bury the bodies of his adoptive father and his family who were killed tragically by Kang Dayong. However, when he arrived, he found that Dulong Island had been occupied by a group of Westerners. It turned out that the remaining pirates on the island had also defected to the foreigners.

Qin Hongyu tried to drive away this group of foreigners, but she was no match for their strong ships and powerful guns. Not only did she fail to gain any advantage, but one of her ships was sunk by the enemy. In the end, she could only flee in embarrassment.

When Qin Hongyu was unwilling, she couldn't help but think of Jia Huan, because Jia Huan told her at that time that she could come to him whenever she figured it out.

Qin Hongyu thought it over again and again and realized that it would be difficult to defeat this group of Western devils relying on her own strength, so she decided to cooperate with Jia Huan. She first went to Haimen County, but unfortunately did not find Jia Huan, so she ventured to Yangzhou City to try her luck.

Qin Hongyu frowned after hearing what the ugly slave said, and was hesitant. At this time, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the street.

(End of this chapter)