The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 385: Deer Singing Feast (Part )
When Jia Huan returned to the room, he found that Mandarin had indeed fallen asleep on the couch, but she was not covered with a quilt and had even taken off her outer clothes. She was only wearing a tight-fitting top and was sleeping on her side with her arms and legs bare, hugging a pillow. Her face was rosy in the candlelight and the air was filled with the sweet scent of wine. On the coffee table nearby were three opened small wine jars, all of which were empty.

Jia Huan was speechless. This foreign girl must have gone crazy drinking. A small jar of wine like this weighed at least two kilograms, and she drank three jars by herself. No wonder she was so drunk.

Jia Huan walked to the low couch and saw that the quilt had fallen to the ground, and the clothes, belts, shoes, socks, etc. were also scattered all over the floor. It was obvious that the foreign maid had taken them off in her sleep. The quilt was probably kicked off, otherwise, with such a meticulous girl like Yuanyuan, it would be impossible that she did not cover her with the quilt.

"How ridiculous! You still have to have me, your master, serve you!" Jia Huan shook his head with a wry smile, picked up the quilt from the ground and covered Mandarin with it.

It was cold at night in late autumn, and it was easy to catch a cold if you didn't cover yourself with a blanket. However, Mandalin had a good physical constitution, and she had drunk a lot of wine, so it was probably that she had internal heat that was difficult to dissipate. As a result, the blanket was kicked off as soon as Jia Huan covered her with it.

This happened again and again, and Jia Huan couldn't help but get a little annoyed. He raised his hand and slapped the girl on the round buttocks, scolding her, "Behave yourself!"

The sound of snap is crisp, loud and touching.

The sleeping foreign maid let out a low cry of "Oh" in pain, but did not wake up. She just turned over and continued to sleep soundly with her back to Jia Huan.

"This……"

For a moment, Jia felt a little dry in the mouth, and his eyes were attracted by a magnet and fell on Mandarin's graceful curves.

The pear-shaped figure of this foreign maid was already extremely hot. At this moment, she was lying on her side wearing only a tight-fitting inner garment. Her round buttocks were like ripe melons, and her long legs had amazing elasticity that was visible to the naked eye. Her whole body was filled with the aura of a young girl.

Jia Huan swallowed his saliva a little reluctantly, and quickly pulled down the quilt to cover the tempting body that was tempting to commit a crime, and only then did he suppress the restlessness in his heart.

Fortunately, this time the foreign maid did not kick off the quilt again. Jia Huan breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed to his bed and sat down, took off his boots, tried on the pair of Buyun shoes, and found that they fit his feet perfectly and were very comfortable to wear. He could not help but secretly praise Sister Bao for her good craftsmanship.

Neither Aunt Xue nor Baochai came to the banquet today. She only sent Xue Pan and Xue Ke as representatives. It was obvious that she did not want to cause trouble for herself. After all, male guests and female relatives could not sit together, and there was no place for a banquet in her backyard.

Xue Baochai has always been careful and thorough in her work, and it was probably her idea not to attend the banquet. Thinking of Baochai's thoughtfulness, and looking at the pair of exquisitely crafted Buyun shoes on her feet, Jia Huan couldn't help feeling a warm emotion in his heart.

Although Xue Ke did not say it explicitly, Bu Yunlu could tell at a glance that this pair of shoes was made by Baochai herself. Her skills in needlework are like a person's unique handwriting that cannot be imitated by others.

Jia Huan took out the jade carving of Dunhuang Flying Fairy from his arms and played with it carefully. It was a piece of Hetian jade. Although it was not big, the jade material was top-quality and its value was not low. According to Xue Ke, this was the seed jade that Xue Baoqin bought in Hami, Xinjiang when she was doing business with her father. Later, she asked a famous craftsman to carve it, and specially made it into a very distinctive Dunhuang Flying Fairy shape. Now he gave it to himself as a gift, which was very thoughtful!
"Oh, Jia, when did you come back?"

Jia Huan was just about to take off his clothes and go to bed when Mandarin woke up. She rubbed her drunken eyes and walked towards him with unsteady steps. She was only wearing her underwear, so her breasts were shaking and almost bursting.

Jia Huan couldn't help but secretly screamed that he was dying, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about me, just go and sleep."

"Oh, then I'll go to sleep." Mandalin turned around and walked back sleepily. Jia Huan was just breathing a sigh of relief when Mandalin came back again as if possessed by some mysterious force. She yawned and said, "Jia, you don't seem to have taken a shower yet? Let me get you some water!"

"It's very late. You won't take a shower tonight. Go to sleep!" Jia Huan waved his hand again.

Mandalin was also happy to be lazy after hearing this. She was about to go back to sleep when she saw the flying jade statue that Jia Huan had placed on the table. She exclaimed, "What is this?"

Mandalin was about to pick up the jade carving, but she tripped and bumped into the desk. Jia Huan's face changed suddenly. Although the desk was not worth much, it was made of solid wood and was very heavy. If he hit his head on the corner of the desk, he would be bleeding at best, or even die.

"Be careful!" Jia Huan rushed forward to help, but Mandarin staggered and twisted her body, and bumped into him instead.

bang...

The two of them bumped into each other hard and both fell on the bed, groaning at the same time.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Mandarin apologized while trying to get up from Jia Huan, but not only did she fail, but she also rekindled the anger that someone had suppressed with great difficulty. She couldn't help but wrap her arms around the slender waist of the foreign maid and slid down naturally.

Wow, that pear-shaped curve is always so alluring to look at, and now when I measure this fullness and roundness with my own hands, the feeling is indescribable, as if an electric current instantly flows from my fingertips throughout my body.

In an instant, both of them held their breath, and everything around them seemed to stop. They looked into each other's eyes, and only the sounds of their breathing and heartbeats remained.

"Jia..."

"Call me Third Master!"

"Third Master!"

At this moment, the foreign maid's pretty face was flushed as if she was drunk, her eyes were full of peach blossoms, her gaze was hot and wild, and even her voice became delicate. The next second, the hot and fragrant smell fell like raindrops on Jia Huan's face, head, neck, ears, and even eyes. It was everywhere, so hot that it seemed to melt someone.

Jia Huan was so aroused that his blood boiled and he was ready to have sex with the foreign maid on the spot, but he gradually felt something was wrong. Sure enough, within just ten seconds, the foreign maid who had been so "like a wolf and a tiger" just now actually lay on top of him motionless.

Actually——fell asleep!!!
Jia Huan could not help but laugh and cry. He took the foreign girl off his body and shook her hard but she didn't wake up!

This is absurd, this is too bad!

Looking at the drunken and sleeping foreign beauty, Jia Huan complained bitterly. What was the point of being neither up nor down?

In the end, Jia could only helplessly cover Mandarin with a quilt, and ran outside to get some cold water to wash his face to cool down. After coming back, he didn't dare to go to bed with the beauty. He was so angry that he was naturally afraid that he would not be able to help but sing a "one-man show". Although it could save the emergency and quench the thirst, and the foreign maid would definitely be willing, it would always be a bit boring, so he let it go and leave it for next time.

The next day, Jia Huan slept in as an exception. When he woke up, he found Mandalin still sleeping soundly on the bed. She probably drank too much last night and hadn't recovered yet. Xiao Yuanyuan brought some water for Jia Huan to wash his mouth. When she saw Mandalin sleeping soundly on the bed, her face turned red, but she didn't ask anything obediently.

After Jia Huan finished washing up, he asked Mu Ye and Jin Bao to bring a bathtub and hot water. He took a nice bath, then changed into a brand new round-necked cloud-patterned long gown, tied a Confucian scarf around his hair, wrapped a blue sweat towel around his waist, and hung a lotus leaf sachet on it. A graceful and elegant scholar appeared in front of everyone.

"Master San is so handsome!" Xiao Yuanyuan couldn't help but blurt out.

Jia Huan looked at himself in the mirror and couldn't help being a little dazed. The pretty boy in the mirror was indeed very handsome. The little Jia Huan who used to be "ugly in appearance and rude in manners" had really been completely transformed.

"Hey, it's so late, why didn't you wake me up!"

Mandarin finally woke up at this time. She yawned and sat up. When she saw Jia Huan wearing the brand new scholar's uniform, her eyes suddenly lit up and she couldn't take her eyes off him.

It is obvious that everyone loves beauty, regardless of gender!
Xiao Yuanyuan smiled and said, "I wanted to wake up Sister Man, but I saw that Sister Man was sleeping soundly, and I remembered that Sister Man drank a lot of wine last night, so I didn't wake her up."

Mandarin probably still vaguely remembered what happened last night, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Then she realized that she was only wearing her underwear, so she hurriedly lay down again and covered her body with the quilt.

Jia Huan laughed secretly and thought, weren't you a wild foreign girl last night? How come you feel shy now?

"If you're still sleepy, sleep a little longer. I'm going to a banquet now and won't be home for lunch. You and Yuanyuan can eat by yourselves." Jia Huan gave the order and turned to go out.

Mandarin looked at the young man's graceful back as he walked away, and couldn't help but feel secretly annoyed, or... she should have drunk less last night.

At this time, Shitou and his men had already prepared the horses. Jia Huan mounted the horse and the group headed straight for the Yingtian government office.

According to the custom of the Great Jin Dynasty, a Deer Singing Banquet would be held on the second day after the announcement of the provincial examination results. It would be presided over by the chief examiner himself and attended by all the new candidates, as well as the inner and outer curtain officials. It was of quite high standard and extremely grand. It could be regarded as a celebration banquet to show the court's honor and favor for the new candidates. For scholars, being able to participate in the Deer Singing Banquet was a supreme honor worth boasting about for a lifetime.

In addition, the Luming Banquet was also a farewell banquet, because after the banquet, most candidates would set off for the capital to participate in the spring examination in February of the following year. As the journey was long, they had to travel in the cool autumn. Once winter came, the weather was cold, and if it snowed, it would be quite troublesome. If they were unfortunate enough to fall ill, they might not be able to take the examination next year.

Let's get back to the point. The Luming Banquet in Nanzhili is usually held in the Yingtian government office, and this year is no exception. When Jia Huan and others arrived at the gate of the government office, they saw a candidate standing there looking around. It was Lu Xiangsheng.

"Jian Dou!" Jia Huan smiled, waved his hand, and urged his horse forward.

Lu Xiangsheng's ranking in this provincial examination was a bit low, only ninety-ninth, but he passed after all. Being able to stand out from nearly twenty thousand candidates was undoubtedly quite outstanding.

"Ziming!" Lu Xiangsheng stepped forward quickly and held the reins for Jia Huan.

Jia Huan dismounted, and Shitou, Muye and the others also dismounted and saluted Lu Xiangsheng. The latter simply nodded, and immediately pulled Jia Huan aside, whispering, "Ziming, there is something I must remind you of!"

Jia Huan was suddenly troubled and asked, "What's the matter?"

Lu Xiangsheng said in a deep voice: "There are rumors now that you got the first place in the provincial examination by relying on connections. The reputation is not worthy of the reality and is just an empty reputation."

Jia Huan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Where did this rumor come from?"

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head and said, "I don't know. I just heard other candidates talking about it. They said... the chief examiner and co-examiner of this provincial examination are all related to you, Ziming. Among them, the co-examiner Mei Hanlin is even related to you."

Shitou couldn't help cursing, "They are talking nonsense. The examiner Mei Yucheng is Wang Ziteng's son-in-law. Third Master is not on good terms with the Wang family, so how can he have a relationship with him? These sour people are obviously jealous of Third Master and are spreading rumors and slandering him!"

Lu Xiangsheng said helplessly, "The problem is that others only say that the co-examiner is the son-in-law of Ziming's uncle. It just so happens that the chief examiner, Lord Sun, has presided over Ziming's college entrance examination and is familiar with Ziming. In addition, Ziming was born in Rongguo Mansion and is a relative and student of Lord Lin, the governor of Yingtian. With all these things, how can we not give people something to talk about?"

Shitou was stunned for a moment, then curled his lips and said, "So what? Those who are innocent are innocent. The mouth is on someone else's body, so let them talk. Anyway, the Third Master will not lose a hair. He is the first place in the Jieyuan, and no one can take it away from him."

Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but scold him, "You know nothing, kid. Scholars value integrity and reputation the most. Although this is just a rumor and can't change the facts, it's hard to clean up once you've been blamed. The stink will kill you. It's a stain on your life, how can you take it lightly?"

Jia Huan frowned and his expression became solemn. Lu Xiangsheng was right. Not eating mutton would also make one dirty. This rumor must be nipped in the bud, otherwise three people would make a tiger, and yellow mud would fall into the crotch of pants - it would be shit if it wasn't shit.

Shitou saw Jia Huan's serious expression and knew that this matter was difficult. He could not help cursing, "Which bastard has such a bad heart to throw dirty water on the Third Master? If I knew about this, I would definitely pull out his tongue!"

Jia Huan said calmly: "Shitou, I've told you many times to use your brain when encountering things. Fighting and killing won't work here."

Shitou smiled awkwardly and said, "Third Master, you are better at using your brain. I will only be responsible for fighting and killing." As he said that, he patted the small axe on his waist.

"If the enemy comes, we will fight him; if the water comes, we will block it with earth. Let's go in!" Jia Huan threw the reins to Mu Ye and walked towards the gate of the government office, as calm as ever.

When Lu Xiangsheng saw this, he knew that Jia Huan had a way to deal with it, and he immediately felt relieved. After all, this kid always had unexpected and brilliant moves and could do things that others could not.

Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng revealed their identities to the yamen runners on duty, who immediately let them pass and shouted, "Jia Huan, a newly-appointed scholar from Jiangning County, Yingtian Prefecture, and Lu Xiangsheng, a newly-appointed scholar from Yixing County, Changzhou Prefecture, are seated."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless pairs of eyes in the audience turned to look over here at the same time, examining Jia Huan one after another, some of them showing suspicion and contempt.

(End of this chapter)