The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 378 Sequelae

Xue Baochai looked at the withering water chestnuts in the pond and suddenly began to chant, "The lotus has withered and there is no rain cover, but the chrysanthemums are dead but their branches still stand proudly against the frost. You must remember the best scenery of the year, when the oranges and tangerines are green and yellow."

After reciting the poem, he turned to look at Jia Huan, his almond eyes rolling, and he smiled, "Lu Fangweng is leisurely, Du Gongbu is melancholy, Wei Suzhou is elegant, Li Yishan is secluded, but I only love Su Dongpo's boldness and open-mindedness. There are thousands of beautiful things in the world, but it is a talent to write about the bad ones well, just like these withered lotus and chrysanthemums, which are originally decaying things, but Su Dongpo wrote them with a sense of indomitable and vigorous progress."

Jia Huan's heart moved slightly. Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Shi Xiangyun and Jia Tanchun are the four talented women in Dream of Red Mansions. In terms of quick wit, Xue Baochai may be slightly inferior to Lin Daiyu, but in terms of erudition, Baochai seems to be better, and she is second to none in dealing with people and doing things. Is she discussing poetry with him, or does she have other intentions?

"Su Dongpo's poems are mainly bold and unrestrained, but there are also some graceful and lingering ones, such as the poem "Dielianhua" where the flowers fade and the green apricots grow small. Some people like Li Bai's romance, some like Liu Sanbian's elegance, and some like Wen Bacha's elegance. It's just like different people have different preferences." Jia Huan paused here, looked at Xue Baochai and smiled, "What a coincidence, what Baojie loves is also what I love, not only Su Dongpo's poems, but also the water chestnuts in the pond."

Jia Huan pointed to the water chestnuts floating in the pond below. Xue Baochai was startled for a moment and asked curiously, "How did Brother Huan know that I like to eat water chestnuts?"

Jia Huan smiled but did not answer. He suddenly jumped over the railing and nimbly climbed down the rockery next to him. Xue Baochai could not help but exclaimed: "Be careful, don't slip!"

However, Jia Huan had already quickly gone down to the pond, reached out and picked a handful of fresh water chestnuts, put them in his handkerchief, and then climbed up along the rockery. Xue Baochai was terrified and held her breath, not daring to speak, fearing that Jia Huan was distracted. It was not until Jia Huan climbed up to the pavilion that she breathed a sigh of relief and asked angrily, "Brother Huan, what are you doing?"

"I'm craving for food!" Jia Huan smiled as he peeled a water chestnut and put it into his mouth to chew, praising her: "It's sweet and refreshing. Sister Bao, you should try it too."

Xue Baochai seemed a little angry and shook her head, saying, "I don't like this, but if you like it, you can eat it all."

Jia Huan, however, swiftly peeled a water chestnut and put it to Baochai's lips, saying, "It's really sweet, sister Bao, please have a taste. It's worth my trip down to pick it."

Xue Baochai's heart softened when she heard this, and she smelled the faint fragrance of the water chestnut. In the end, she took a light bite.

"I didn't lie to you, did I?" Jia Huan asked with a smile.

Seeing someone smiling happily, Xue Baochai's heart trembled slightly, and her cheeks became slightly hot. She said helplessly, "You are just naughty. If you fell down just now, it was not for fun."

However, the tone was so gentle that Jia Huan felt as if he was walking on cotton. He smiled and said, "Sister Bao, you underestimate me too much. After all, Huan'er has fought in battles and killed enemies. He is not a weak scholar."

Xue Baochai shook her head and said softly, "As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, let alone risking his life, especially for something unimportant. For example, if you like to eat water chestnuts, you can ask the servants to go pick them by boat. This rockery is not only steep, but also has edges and corners. It would be terrible if you got hurt. Even I... We feel sad when we see it. Brother Huan, please don't do this again in the future!"

Jia Huan felt warm in his heart, nodded and admitted his mistake, saying: "Sister Bao is right, I won't do it again next time."

Seeing that someone was obedient, Xue Baochai felt a little sweet in her heart. She peeled a water chestnut and handed it to him, saying softly, "If you like it, brother Huan, please eat more. I will ask someone to pick more for you to take back so that Miss Man and Sister Yuanyuan can also taste it."

"Thank you, Sister Bao!" Jia Huan happily opened his mouth and took it. It was indeed crispy and sweet.

Seeing Jia Huan eating with such relish, Xue Baochai was even more delighted. She was about to peel another one when Ying'er ran in with a somewhat panicked look on her face and said, "Miss, Third Master, it's bad. The master has been taken to the government office of Yingtian Prefecture by the officials."

Xue Baochai was startled and asked hurriedly, "What did you do wrong, sir?"

"It seems like someone was injured." Ying'er replied helplessly.

Jia Huan was speechless. It was true that it was easy to change the country but hard to change one's nature. Xue Pan was just a dog that could not change its habit of eating shit. How long had it been since his chrysanthemums healed? He was actually causing trouble again. He was really unlucky to have such a weird brother. Damn it!
However, although he was annoyed, seeing Baochai's anxious look, Jia Huan had to intervene even if he didn't want to, and hurriedly comforted her: "Don't worry, Sister Bao, Brother Ke and I will go to Yingtian Prefecture now."

Xue Baochai's eyes were slightly red, and she said a little apologetically: "I always trouble you, Brother Huan..."

"Sister Bao, there is no need to say more. Just wait for my news." Jia Huan waved his hand to interrupt Xue Baochai, then turned around and walked out of the pavilion quickly.

Xue Baochai looked at Jia Huan's back as he quickly left, and a layer of mist appeared in her eyes. She felt moved and worried, ashamed and helpless.

Jia Huan rushed to the front living room of the Xue family and found Lin Zhixiao and his two sons waiting there. After asking, he found out that it was they who brought the news that Xue Pan had injured someone.

Jia Huan frowned and asked, "Butler Lin, what's going on? Why did Master Xue have a conflict with others?" Ever since Jia Huan stepped forward and easily rescued Xue Pan from the Jinyiwei and saved the Xue family from danger, Lin Zhixiao has valued Jia Huan even more. Seeing Jia Huan asking this question, he immediately respectfully told him what had happened.

It turned out that Xue Pan learned that Jia Huan would come to visit the Xue family today, so he sneaked out of the house to avoid seeing him, and went to the brothel with two servants, Tianfu and Tianlu, to have fun.

Xue Pan's anus was injured, and he had to recuperate at home for some time. He was already feeling depressed, so when he arrived at the brothel, he asked two old lovers to accompany him. They first drank some wine and listened to some music to liven up the mood, and had a great time. But when they were in high spirits after drinking, something went wrong. The usually powerful and domineering bully couldn't hold himself up anymore, and he failed after many attempts. The two girls took advantage of their familiarity and mocked him with a smile.

Xue Pan was used to being domineering, and this matter concerned a man's dignity, so he got angry and beat up the two girls. Not only did he refuse to pay compensation, he also threatened to burn down the brothel. The brothel owner also got angry and immediately called someone to report to the police, who then took the men back to the Yingtian government office.

What a coincidence, Lin Zhixiao and his son happened to visit Jia Yucun today. After learning about this, they hurried to the Xue family to report the news. Of course, Lin Zhixiao also knew that Jia Huan was attending a banquet at the Xue family today, and he hurried to report the news with the intention of winning Jia Huan's favor.

After listening to Lin Zhixiao's story, Jia Huan couldn't help but frown. Could it be that since Xue Pan was bullied by Lei Zhengfa, although his chrysanthemum has recovered, he has developed psychological problems, so that thing is no longer effective?

Thinking of this, Jia Huan couldn't help but sweat secretly. He didn't have the slightest sympathy for a scum like Xue Pan. He just felt sorry for Aunt Xue, who only had this one child and might have no descendants if things went wrong.

Jia Huan pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you know how the other party is injured?"

Lin Zhixiao immediately replied, "I have inquired carefully. The two girls in the brothel were not seriously injured. One girl had a bruised face and the other had a bruised forehead. The Yingtian government office has Lord Jia to take care of them. We can just pay a little more money and the blame will be settled."

As soon as Lin Zhixiao finished speaking, Aunt Xue stumbled out from behind the screen and cried, "Brother Huan, no matter how much money the other party wants, we will pay it. Saving people is the most important thing!"

Jia Huan turned around and saw Aunt Xue being supported by two maids, Tongxi and Tonggui. She was trembling all over and had a sad expression. He didn't know if she had just heard what Lin Zhixiao said.

"Greetings, Madam!" Lin Zhixiao and his son hurriedly bowed to Aunt Xue, but the latter seemed to have lost her soul and was in a daze.

When Jia Huan saw this, he knew that Aunt Xue had probably heard about it, but he couldn't comfort her about this matter, so he could only say, "Don't worry, Aunt, I'll go and make arrangements to save them."

Aunt Xue finally came to her senses and said gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Huan. If you need any silver, just send someone back to get it."

Jia Huan nodded, led Lin Zhixiao and his son, as well as Shitou, Muye, Jinbao and others to leave Xue Mansion and hurried to the Yingtian Prefecture government office.

Just as Lin Zhixiao said, the two brothel girls were not seriously injured, they just wanted to pay more silver. Jia Huan was too lazy to get involved in such matters, so he only sent Lin Zhixiao to negotiate with the brothel madam. In the end, after paying three hundred taels of silver, the brothel madam withdrew the lawsuit, and Jia Huan successfully got Xue Pan out of the Yingtian government office.

A man like Jia Yucun who is good at socializing would naturally not miss the opportunity to get close to Jia Huan. After all, Jia Huan has shown great potential at present, and even the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Yi Hong, is very respectful to this kid. So after Jia Yucun personally released Xue Pan, he cordially took Jia Huan to drink tea for a while, and finally personally sent him out.

After Xue Pan left the Yingtian government office, he kept his head down and didn't dare to look Jia Huan in the eye. He had completely lost his previous arrogant look.

"Get on the horse!" Jia Huan jumped onto the horse and ordered coldly.

Xue Pan's face suddenly turned long, his temper flared up, and he said unhappily, "I don't ride a horse, go hire a carriage."

Jia Huan immediately jumped off his horse, and without saying anything, he stepped forward and kicked Xue Pan hard to the ground. He then raised his whip and whipped him in the face. Several bloody marks immediately appeared on the guy's face, and he screamed in pain, holding his head.

Hiss——!
Lin Zhixiao and his son, and Xue Pan's two servants couldn't help but gasp, obviously shocked by Jia Huan's violent behavior.

"Huan Lao San, who the hell do you think you are, to dare to hit me!" Xue Pan was shocked and angry.

Jia Huan's eyes turned cold when he heard this, and he whipped Xue Pan again. Xue Pan held his head and cried like a ghost, cursing: "Huan Lao San, you have been my slave for generations, I will kill your ancestors... Ouch, it hurts so much, you two dogs are the ones who should die, they beat their master, and you just stood by and watched?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Pan's two servants wanted to step forward to stop him, but were immediately frightened by Shi Tou's sharp eyes and retreated one after another. Hehe, Shi Tou is a ruthless guy. He has been through life and death and experienced the baptism of war in the past six months. It can be said that he had just crawled out of a pile of dead bodies. The murderous aura is real.

(End of this chapter)