The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 382 The idea is clear
After listening to Lin Zhixiao's explanation, Jia Huan was finally relieved, but looking at the broken doors and windows, he couldn't help but laugh and cry. Isn't this just the same as the bad custom of wedding pranks? The host suffered property loss in vain, but he couldn't get angry. Fortunately, these neighbors were sensible and only smashed the doors and windows and didn't enter the house to destroy things, otherwise it would be really terrible.

Shitou grimaced as if he had a toothache and said, "I've killed a lot of Japanese pirates, but today I can only watch them come to my house to smash and destroy it, and I have to greet them with a smile. It's really painful!"

Mu Ye smiled bitterly and said, "If the old doesn't go, the new won't come. If we smash it, then we smash it. But how are we going to serve the people who are inside announcing the good news? Are they planning to stay overnight?"

Jia Huan also discovered that some of the messengers were carrying bags and other things, and he couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed. He subconsciously looked at Lin Zhixiao, who immediately perked up, knowing that his chance to show off had come, and hurriedly said, "Third Master's success in the imperial examination is a great joyous event, worthy of praise and honor to the family, so according to custom, we should invite relatives and friends to come and congratulate, and these messengers who are here to announce the good news will also stay to help, so it is inevitable that they will stay overnight."

"Oh my God, we have to stay overnight. Where can we stay at home?" Mandarin said in surprise.

Lin Zhixiao smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss Man, these people can just sleep on the floor for one night and won't disturb you and me. Oh, by the way, please write some invitations and give them to these messengers. They will invite your relatives and friends to the banquet according to the address to celebrate your success."

Jia Huan frowned and said, "Except for Aunt Xue and Sister Bao, I don't have any close relatives or friends in Jinling. Sister Lin is far away in Yangzhou. I'm afraid she won't be able to get here in a day."

Lin Zhixiao coughed lightly and said, "Did Third Master forget about the relatives of the Jia family? In addition, there are many branches of the Shi family, Wang family, and Xue family left in Jinling. We have to invite them all. Otherwise, it will be unjustifiable. Even outsiders will think we are arrogant and rude."

Jia Huan didn't have much sense of belonging to the Jia family, and after Lin Zhixiao's reminder, he became a little hesitant.

It is said that when Jia Huan first traveled to the world of the Red Mansion, he had the idea of ​​leaving the Jia family and working on his own, but gradually he realized that this was not feasible. The reason was that the clan concept in this feudal society was too deeply rooted, and the clan mark on everyone could not be erased, unless he broke with the family completely, fled far away, and changed his name.

In addition, the Jin Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, and filial piety was the criterion for measuring a person's goodness or badness. Under the strict feudal patriarchy, no matter how strict you were, you had to be respectful to your parents and elders. Even if you did not obey their orders, you at least had to do a good job on the surface. Otherwise, you would be considered unfilial and would be cursed by everyone. You would have no place to stand, let alone become an official.

So, although Jia Huan is not interested in the Jia family now, his identity as the illegitimate son of the Jia family is there. Whether you admit it or not, this is an objective fact, so he still has to put in some superficial effort.

Thinking of this, Jia Huan couldn't help but look at Lin Zhixiao. The latter was also smart and said quickly: "The Third Master is young, it is normal that he doesn't recognize our relatives. Leave everything to me. I dare not say anything else, but it will not lose the dignity of our Jia family and the Third Master."

Jia Huan nodded and said, "Then I'll take care of Butler Lao Lin. If you need any silver, ask Xiao Mu to withdraw it."

Lin Zhixiao said hurriedly: "The Third Master's success in the imperial examination is a happy event for the entire Jia family. The banquet to thank the guests should be paid for by the public. How can the Third Master pay for it out of his own pocket?"

Forget it. Since I can't get rid of the identity of the Jia family's bastard, I'll just have to do whatever I have to do. Anyway, I made a promise in front of Aunt Zhao's grave. Since she wants the Jia family's property, I will get it for her. It will be worth it for me to travel through time and space to Jia Huan's body and become mother and son to each other.

In other words, the Jia family will be in his pocket sooner or later, so what's the big deal about spending a little public money? Moreover, given the Jia family's current financial situation, their income is not enough to cover their expenses, and they have been drained out by everyone. It is a definite negative asset, and it would be a good deed for him to take it over.

Instantly, Jia Huan understood, and he stopped being stubborn and nodded, saying, "It's up to you then."

Lin Zhixiao was overjoyed when he heard this. He thought this was a good sign. If he brought up the matter of moving the graves again, maybe Third Master would not be so resistant. So he took out a piece of paper from his bosom and said with a smile, "It lists all the relatives and friends to be invited. Third Master, just write the invitations according to the list!"

Jia Huan took the list and nodded, then went back to his study to write the invitations, and left all other matters to Lin Zhixiao and his sons.

I have to say, old people are more experienced. Lin Zhixiao is really capable of doing things. He arranges everything in an orderly manner and Jia Huan doesn't have to worry about anything at all.

…………

At the same time, the Xue family welcomed a guest, Wang Xifeng's eldest brother Wang Ren. Among the three brothers of the Wang family, Wang Xifeng's father is the eldest, Wang Ziteng is the second, Wang Zisheng is the third, and then there are Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue's two sisters. In other words, Wang Ren is Aunt Xue's nephew and Xue Baochai's cousin!
At this time, Aunt Xue was receiving Wang Ren in the inner hall, and Xue Pan was accompanying her. The cousins ​​had always been like-minded and had played very close when they were in the capital. Now that they were reunited after a long separation, they were even more enthusiastic.

Why did Wang Ren come to Jinling?

It turned out that when Xue Pan was arrested by Lei Zhengfa and thrown into prison, Aunt Xue wrote to the capital in a hurry, asking Wang Ziteng and Jia Zheng for help. Although Wang Ziteng was a ministerial-level boss, he was not in a good position to intervene in the case of Prince Yi Zhong's private salt nest. He also expected that Yi Hong wanted to bring him down and would not give him face to release Xue Pan. Once he intervened, it might backfire, but he couldn't just stand by and watch his nephew die!
Just at this time, Old Lady Jia could no longer bear Jia Baoyu's nagging and planned to send Jia Lian to Yangzhou to bring Lin Daiyu back to Beijing. So Wang Ziteng asked Wang Ren and Jia Lian to go south together so that Wang Ren could comfort Aunt Xue's family. In addition, Wang Ren also brought a handwritten letter from Jia Yuanchun, pleading with Yi Hong in the name of Concubine Xian De. Presumably, Yi Hong, the head of the Jinyiwei, would have to give him some face.

Unexpectedly, when Wang Ren and Jia Lian were halfway south, they met the Xue family's family members who were going north to the capital. They learned that Xue Pan had been rescued from prison by Jia Huan. They were very surprised. How could Jia Huan have such a skill?
Although Xue Pan's problem was solved, Wang Ren was planning to go to Nanjing to have fun for a while, so he did not return to Beijing, but continued to go south to Yangzhou with Jia Lian, where they had a life of debauchery along the way.

A few days ago, Wang Ren and Jia Lian arrived in Yangzhou. After staying there for two days, they took a boat to Jinling alone. Today, he happened to visit Aunt Xue.

After everyone had asked about each other's well-being, Wang Ren said, "When I heard that my cousin Pan was in trouble, my uncle was very concerned and immediately sent my nephew south to take care of things. Now that I see that my cousin Pan is fine, my nephew is relieved."

Aunt Xue was touched and said, "Ren'er has worked hard, but this time it's all thanks to Huan'er, who not only rescued Pan'er, but also made the other party return all the silver. Wow, Huan'er is really capable, and this child is also filial. He hunted a wild deer some time ago and sent it to me, saying that it was the first time he had hunted a wild deer, and he didn't dare to taste it first, so he let me, your aunt, taste it first."

Wang Ren had suffered at the hands of Jia Huan before. Because he accidentally hit the seventh prince, the Jinyiwei eventually reopened his case and demoted and exiled him along with his father. It was not until Yuanchun selected him for the Fengzao Palace and conferred the title of Consort Xian De that he was forgiven and returned to Beijing.

In addition, Wang Xifeng and Mrs. Wang had a feud with Jia Huan, so Wang Ren had nothing but hatred for Jia Huan. When he heard Aunt Xue praising Jia Huan so much, and her tone was still so affectionate, he was naturally very unhappy. He frowned and said, "The third brother Huan is full of tricks and has always been sweet-mouthed but vicious. Aunt, please don't let him fool you so easily."

Mrs. Wang was a little embarrassed and said in surprise, "Why do you say that, Brother Ren? Brother Huan is a very good person. If it weren't for him, I'm afraid our Xue family's business would not be saved."

Wang Ren sneered and said, "Aunt, don't forget that Prince Yi Zhong and my uncle are his right-hand men. Now that Prince Yi Zhong is dead, Yi Hong wants to bring down my uncle as well. It's not a good thing for Huan Lao San to get close to Yi Hong at this time.

Since Huan Lao San was able to convince Yi Hong to release Pan Cousin and let him return 80,000 taels of silver, it shows that the relationship between the two is very close. So from now on, it is best not to have any contact with Huan Lao San. This guy is full of bad intentions. God knows what bad ideas he has. Maybe he came out to save Pan Cousin just to win your favor!"

Aunt Xue frowned and said, "How could Huan'er have such bad intentions? It's you, Ren'er, who's being too suspicious. What's more, I'm a woman with no power or influence. I can only ask him for help. Why should he try to win our favor?"

Wang Ren was speechless for a moment. Xue Pan rolled his eyes and slapped his thigh, saying, "This kid Jia Huan might be targeting my sister. I saw it with my own eyes when I was on the pirates' boat. This kid remained calm in the face of the fierce bandit Kang Dayong and volunteered to be a hostage in exchange for my sister. My sister was so moved that she cried. How can I not remember his kindness?"

Xue Ma blushed and scolded, "Bullshit, stop chewing maggots here. You still say that if Huan Ge'er hadn't used himself as a hostage, you would be the first to run off the boat, abandoning your mother and brothers and sisters. Do you still have the nerve to do that?"

Xue Pan still had some sense of shame, and dared not say anything more after hearing this.

Wang Ren asked in confusion: "What's going on?"

Aunt Xue then briefly recounted the story of how her family was kidnapped by Kang Dayong and his gang and how Jia Huan risked his life to save them.

Wang Ren's eyes rolled around after hearing this. This kid Jia Huan was actually willing to risk his life to save his aunt's family. Could it be that he really fell in love with Bao girl? Well, it was nine out of ten times likely to be the case. Hey, this kid did have good taste, but he shouldn't take a second to think about it. A bastard wanting to marry the legitimate daughter of the Xue family was like a toad wanting to eat swan flesh. He must be dreaming!
At this moment, Xue Ke rushed in happily and shouted, "Aunt, great news, Huan Ge'er passed the provincial examination and won first place!!!"

"What!" Wang Ren and Xue Pan blurted out almost at the same time. The former even stood up suddenly, with a look of disbelief on his face, muttering: "Impossible, absolutely impossible, obviously..."

(End of this chapter)