The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 375 is also good

The sky is filled with summer colors, and the leaves of the trees are moving with the sound of autumn.

Since the Mid-Autumn Festival, the autumn atmosphere has become stronger. The leaves are falling inside and outside Jinling City, and it is a scene of late autumn. In the afternoon, a carriage drove into the gate of Taipingli in Zhuque Street, and finally slowly stopped in front of an ordinary courtyard.

The servant in charge of driving the carriage jumped off his horse and said respectfully, "Miss, we're here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a young maid in a green lace vest lifted the curtain and got off the carriage first. She had a slim figure, two sparse buns, and was fair, pretty and lovely. It was Ying'er, Xue Baochai's personal maid.

Ying'er looked around the inconspicuous old courtyard in front of her and asked with some concern, "Tianfu, does Master Huan San live here?"

Tianfu was the servant who drove the carriage. He and another servant Tianlu were both followers of Xue Pan. Since they had been here with Xue Pan last time, they knew where Jia Huan lived. They said with certainty, "Don't worry, Miss Ying'er. It's definitely right."

Ying'er turned around and lifted the curtain of the carriage when she heard that, and whispered, "Miss, this is it."

"Hmm!" A light "hmm" came from the carriage, and then a woman wearing a veil came out with her back bent. Although her face could not be seen clearly because of her head covered with white gauze, her figure and temperament made it clear that she was Xue Baochai.

Ying'er helped Baochai get off the carriage, saying, "Master Huan's house looks very ordinary."

The servant Tianfu laughed and interrupted, "Compared to our house, it's certainly nothing, but compared to most ordinary families, Master Huan San's house is pretty good. There are two entrances, front and back, and more than ten rooms. It can accommodate a few more servants. A house in this area of ​​Jinling City is worth at least two or three hundred taels of silver nowadays. Not everyone can afford it."

Ying'er stuck out her tongue and said, "That's true. My monthly salary is only one tael. I can't afford it even if I don't eat or drink for twenty years."

Baochai looked at the small courtyard in front of her through the veil. Although it was a bit old, it looked okay. The Huan brothers did not live in the ancestral home, but bought a small courtyard outside. It seemed that they really wanted to draw a clear line with the Jia family. At least they were incompatible with their aunt (Mrs. Wang)!
Thinking of this, Xue Baochai couldn't help but sigh secretly, feeling a little sad for no reason.

At this time, Ying'er said impatiently, "I'll go and knock on the door now!" After that, she ran briskly towards the courtyard gate.

"Wait...!" Xue Baochai's heartbeat quickened involuntarily, and her pretty face under the veil turned red, and she seemed to be hesitant to speak.

It turned out that after the Jinyiwei returned the 80,000 taels of silver to the Xue family that day, Jia Yucun, the traitor, probably got wind of it and personally returned the 300 taels of gold that the Xue family had given him. He also visited Xue Pan with pretended concern and mentioned Jia Huan vaguely in his words.

This further proved that Jia Huan had made efforts behind the scenes. Naturally, the Xue family was extremely grateful, and even Xue Pan had nothing to say.

In recent days, Aunt Xue was so moved that she kept talking about inviting Jia Huan to her home for dinner to express her gratitude in person. However, she couldn't find a suitable reason at the moment. If she said it directly, she was afraid that Jia Huan would refuse.

It just so happened that Baochai passed by Zhuque Street today while doing some business, and the coachman also recognized Jia Huan's residence. The maid Ying'er urged Baochai to visit Jia Huan's residence and invite him to dinner.

Xue Baochai has always been generous and decent in her dealings with people, but she was a little shy in this matter. After all, she was an unmarried girl. She always felt it was inappropriate to visit without elders or companions. She was also afraid that it would get out and cause gossip among outsiders. However, Jia Huan had done so many things for the Xue family silently, so how could Baochai not be moved? In addition, she had not seen him for many days and was very worried about him. So, at Ying'er's instigation, she came here half-tacitly.

However, as the saying goes, one becomes timid when close to home, when she arrived at the door of Jia Huan's residence, Xue Baochai suddenly felt a little shy again.

Ying'er obviously saw that her girl wanted to back out, and said with a smile: "Since you're here, there's no reason not to come in." As she said that, she raised her hand to knock on the door.

Just at this moment, a very pleasant flute sound suddenly floated out from the small courtyard. Ying'er's raised hand suddenly froze, and the master and servant stood outside the door and listened quietly.

At this time, the song "Hearing You in the Distance" was heard in the courtyard. The tune was soft and lingering, and the player was obviously very skilled, playing the tune gently and beautifully. Baochai and her servant were both mesmerized by the tune, and they still felt a little unsatisfied even after the song ended.

"It sounds so beautiful. It must be Third Master Huan playing it. I remember Third Master can play the flute!" Ying'er whispered.

Xue Baochai nodded secretly. Who else but Brother Huan could have composed this novel melody? I just wonder if he had written the lyrics!
While Xue Baochai was thinking, Ying'er had already knocked on the courtyard door. After a while, she heard the sound of footsteps from inside, followed by a clear and pleasant voice: "Who's outside?"

Xue Baochai was a little surprised because the voice was so beautiful!
Just as Ying'er was about to give her name, Baochai spoke up first, "An old friend from the Xue family in Jinling is here to visit. May I ask if Third Master Huan is home?"

The gate of the courtyard opened in response, and a girl with bright eyes and white teeth poked her head out. She was about eight or nine years old, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and she was really as beautiful as a piece of jade. It was eye-catching, and even Baochai couldn't help but secretly praise: "What a pretty little girl!"

The little girl who opened the door was naturally Chen Yuanyuan. She blinked her dark eyes and looked at Baochai and her servant curiously. Suddenly, she bowed and said, "Hello, Miss Xue."

Ying'er asked in surprise, "How did you know our girl's last name is Xue?"

Xiao Yuanyuan smiled shyly and said, "Although I have never seen Miss Xue, I have often heard Sister Ping'er and Sister Lin mention her. This sister is so impressive and her last name is Xue, so she must be Miss Xue without a doubt."

Xue Baochai smiled gently and said, "What a pretty little sister, with such a sweet mouth. You must be Yuanyuan. I visited Yangzhou not long ago and heard Ping'er and Miss Lin mention you."

Xiao Yuanyuan smiled sweetly, her eyes curved into crescents, and asked, "Miss Xue, are you looking for the Third Master?" Xue Baochai's pretty face felt slightly hot, and she nodded and said, "Is Brother Huan at home?"

Xiao Yuanyuan shook her head and said, "The Third Master went out for a walk today as agreed to by Master Lu. I don't know when he will be back. If Miss Xue is not in a hurry, come in and have a cup of tea and wait for a while. The Third Master might be back soon."

Xue Baochai couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, and shook her head, saying, "No, I just happened to be passing by, and it's nothing urgent. Since Brother Huan is not here, I won't bother you."

As soon as Xue Baochai finished speaking, a blonde and blue-eyed Western woman walked out from behind Yuanyuan. She had an angelic face and a devilish figure. She was the foreign maid Mandarin.

Mandarin knew Xue Baochai and her servant. Last time, she and Feng Ziying, who was dressed as Jia Huan, escorted the Xue family back to Jinling and stayed at the Xue family for a few days. So she was not surprised to see Baochai and her servant at this time. She said in increasingly fluent Chinese, "Since Miss Xue is here, you should come in and have a seat, so that Master Jia... Huan won't come back and find out and say that we didn't entertain her well enough."

Xue Baochai hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "In that case, I would be disrespectful to refuse."

Although Mandalin hated Xue Pan very much, she had a good impression of the gentle and dignified Xue Baochai, and she stepped aside to let Baochai and her servant in.

"Miss Man speaks the official language of the Great Jin Dynasty better and better." Xue Baochai walked into the room and said with a smile as she took off the veil she was wearing.

"Oh, thank you for the compliment. I feel like I'm getting better and better. Third Master also said that my language skills are very strong." Mandarin smiled happily.

"Oh, he is a Western barbarian after all. He doesn't know how to be humble at all." Ying'er secretly complained.

Because she was stopped by Mandarin who was guarding outside the door last time when she went to see Jia Huan, and they had a verbal conflict, Ying'er had a prejudice against Mandarin. In addition, Mandarin's exaggerated pear-shaped figure was too hot and really "inappropriate", so Ying'er regarded her as a "foxy woman" in her heart.

After the girls sat down, Xiao Yuanyuan served them tea. Xue Baochai noticed the bamboo flute tied around her waist and was moved. She smiled and asked, "Was that the song that was played just now by Xiao Yuanyuan?"

Xiao Yuanyuan nodded and said a little embarrassedly: "I didn't play it well. I'm sorry to make Miss Xue laugh."

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "I haven't heard such beautiful music played on the flute for a long time."

Xiao Yuanyuan said shyly: "It should be that Third Master's music is good."

really……

Xue Baochai asked with some anticipation, "Could Sister Yuanyuan blow it again?"

Xiao Yuanyuan nodded, played the tune happily again, and then sang the lyrics once. I have to say that this little girl is quite eager to perform, and the key is that she sings very beautifully. Her voice seems to be kissed by God, it is simply a heavenly sound on earth. I just don't know if she can survive the voice change period, after all, she is only eight years old now.

After the song was over, Baochai and her servant were both extremely shocked. Baochai fell into deep thought for a long time, as if she was still immersed in the beautiful song and seemed to be savoring the beautiful lyrics. After a long time, she came back to her senses and whispered, "You sang really well."

"Miss Xue, please have some tea!" Xiao Yuanyuan tied up her flute a little embarrassedly and poured Baochai another cup of tea.

Xue Baochai held Yuanyuan's hand, with admiration and pity. She had roughly learned about Yuanyuan's experience from Ping'er, and said softly, "You should still call me Sister Bao. I just heard you call Pin'er Sister Lin."

"Sister Bao." Xiao Yuanyuan called out happily.

Xue Baochai has a gentle and generous personality, is considerate and appropriate in her dealings with others, is tolerant and generous, and has a dignified and elegant temperament. This is precisely why she is so popular in the Jia family. As everyone chatted for a while, the atmosphere became more and more harmonious, and even Mandarin and Baochai became familiar with each other, and even took the initiative to talk about things in their homeland in Europe.

As they chatted, the setting sun had climbed up to the windowsill. Ying'er was startled when she saw this and said, "Girl, it's getting late. We have to go back."

Xue Baochai also hurriedly stood up and said goodbye. Mandalin and Yuanyuan saw the master and servant out the door, and watched them get on the carriage and drive away before returning to the house.

Xiao Yuanyuan pursed her red lips and sighed, "This Sister Bao is so pretty, not inferior to Sister Lin, and has a good personality too. I wish she were my real sister."

"Am I not good-looking?" Mandarin asked with her chest puffed out, a little unconvinced.

Xiao Yuanyuan glanced at Mandarin's sexy curves and said with a little envy: "Sister Mandarin is of course pretty too. Not only is she pretty, but she also looks pretty here... hehe."

The little girl suddenly pinched the foreign maid's erection and ran away with a smile. The latter's fair face was full of red clouds, and she spat, "You little bitch, you have learned bad things, don't run away!"

(End of this chapter)