The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 411: I Want to Tell Yaoqin My Feelings

That night, a cold moon was passing through the clouds, a few cold stars were scattered across the sky, and the roof was covered with a layer of white mist, which seemed to be the cold moonlight, or the cold frost.

Xue Baochai stood in front of the window for a long time. The cold air of the winter night hit her face, penetrating her skin and bones, but she seemed unaware of it.

Ying'er walked up behind Baochai, wanting to say something but stopping herself, then turned around and fetched a light fur coat and put it on Baochai, whispering, "Miss, it's late at night, go and have some rest. It's frosty outside, be careful not to get a cold."

Xue Baochai then woke up as if from a dream. She felt her hands and face were numb from the cold. She quickly closed the window and sat down by the stove to keep warm.

Ying'er brought a basin of warm water and said, "Young lady, take a dip quickly. Be careful not to get frostbite. It's not a trivial matter. The winter before last, I got two frostbite on my hands. They were itchy and painful. It was really painful. Alas!"

For some reason, Ying'er couldn't help but sigh.

Xue Baochai put her hand into the warm water and soaked it for a while before she gradually regained consciousness. Ying'er wrung out a hot towel and put it on her face, then took out some facial cream and applied it on Baochai's face and hands.

The weather is dry in winter, especially on frosty nights. If you don’t apply facial cream, your skin will easily dry out and crack, which will be dry and painful and also painful.

"Ying'er, it's really hard for you." Xue Baochai said softly.

Ying'er smiled and said, "What are you talking about, young lady? Isn't it my duty to serve my master?"

Xue Baochai said lightly, "That being said, I am still grateful for having you by my side all these years. You understand my feelings and are considerate of me. If you had gone out that day..."

Ying'er's heart skipped a beat, and she said with a smile, "What are you trying to say again, young lady? What you said tonight seemed strange. Why should I leave? Are you trying to chase me away?"

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "I never wanted to drive you away. I was just making an assumption. After all, a long tent is a feast that will never end. There will always be a time when the music ends and everyone will go their separate ways."

Ying'er felt sympathetic when she heard this and said, "Why do you feel this way all of a sudden, young lady? Please don't scare me. I am panicking. No matter what, as long as young lady doesn't send me away, I will stay by your side for the rest of the day."

Xue Baochai was touched, and she took Ying'er's hand and said with a smile, "My dear sister, I don't know what happened tonight, but I feel very confused. I always feel like something bad is going to happen. I won't say any more. Go back to bed. It's very late now, and I'm not sleepy at all. Please let me stay alone for a while."

Ying Er shook her head and said, "Then I will chat with you for a while. Anyway, I don't feel like sleeping now."

Xue Baochai smiled and said, "In that case, please help me grind the ink. I suddenly want to write a piece of calligraphy."

Ying'er hurriedly used warm water to thaw the frozen brush, and then took out an ink stick and carefully started to write. Xue Baochai spread a piece of rice paper on the table, picked up the brush and was silent for a moment before dipping it in ink and writing on the rice paper. A line of elegant and graceful handwriting appeared on the paper:
Before the frosty moon sets in the courtyard, who will be kept awake all night by it?
Picking up the pen disturbs the candlelight, and the memories are hard to write.

Looking at the stories in the human world, none of them can escape separation, and countless ups and downs change into the waxing and waning of ...

A lifetime of wind and snow, cannot blow away the tears of the falling flowers, cannot call them back, the lone goose will eventually fly south.

Who can understand my heart? Only the bright moon is with me. My longing for you makes my brows a little haggard!
A lifetime of wind and snow cannot blow away the tears left by the years, nor can it bring back the black hair that has turned to ashes.

Who will write the ending? It is impossible to write all the love and hate. I can only look at myself in pity and sigh over and over again.

After finishing writing, Xue Baochai did not put down her pen. She just stood in front of the desk, staring at the dripping ink in a daze.

Ying'er had served Baochai since she was a child, and naturally she was familiar with writing. She saw that Baochai's calligraphy was neither like poetry nor lyrics, but the artistic conception was sad and beautiful. It was not poetry but better than poetry. It was a bit like the style of the music composed by the Third Master. Could it be that the Third Master wrote it for the girl? But if you look closely, it seems that the girl is expressing her feelings.

In fact, this song "Half Life Snow" is one of the many songs "written" by Jia Huan for Lin Daiyu. It is said that ever since Lin Daiyu heard the song "Hearing You in the Distance" that Jia Huan wrote for Xiao Yuanyuan, she felt very jealous and had been urging Jia Huan to compose a new song for her. Jia Huan had no choice but to write this song "Half Life Snow" and gave it to Lin Daiyu.

As it happened, the last time Xue Baochai followed Aunt Xue to Yangzhou to help take care of Lin Ruhai's funeral, she accidentally saw this poem "Half Life Snow" on Daiyu's desk. She was immediately attracted by the beautiful lyrics and wrote it down.

Such a song, such a style, Xue Baochai knew it was written by Jia Huan even without asking. She felt very uncomfortable at the time, especially when she heard from the servants of the Lin family that Lin Ruhai entrusted Daiyu to Jia Huan before his death.

Tonight, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse. The frost is cold and the water is chilly. Xue Baochai is upset. For some reason, the lyrics of this song are all in her mind. She can't help but write it down. Now, looking at the dripping ink in front of her, the sad lyrics make her feel even more uncomfortable. "Who understands my heart? Only the bright moon is here to accompany me. My longing makes my brows a little haggard... Alas, Brother Huan wrote this song for Pin'er, but the person in the song is more like me."

When Xue Baochai thought of this, she felt a dull pain in her chest and her pretty face turned pale in an instant. She lost control of the pen in her hand and it fell to the ground, leaving a blob of ink on the rice paper, covering up several of the words.

"Oh!" Ying'er cried softly, feeling sorry for ruining the calligraphy. She looked up and found that Xue Baochai's pretty face was as pale as paper and she looked like she was about to collapse. She was immediately frightened and hurriedly walked around the desk to support Baochai, saying in surprise, "Miss, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me."

Ying'er helped Baochai to sit down beside the bed, and said in a tearful voice, "Miss, please lie down for a while. I will send someone to tell the Madam to send for the doctor."

Xue Baochai hurriedly held her back and said with a smile, "I'm fine, just a little tired. I'll be fine after a rest. It's the middle of the night now, why bother disturbing mother for something so unimportant? Go get me a glass of water."

Ying'er quickly poured a cup of hot water and brought it over. Baochai drank a few sips and her complexion gradually returned to its rosy color. Seeing this, she breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest and said, "Miss, you scared me to death just now. How could you suddenly become like this?"

Xue Baochai's face was slightly hot. She knew what was going on, but how could she say it? Even though Ying'er was like a sister to her, she wanted to tell her feelings to her harp, but there were few people who understood her. Who would listen when the strings broke?

Xue Baochai sat quietly for a while, and her mind slowly calmed down. She stood up, walked to the table, rolled up the blurred calligraphy, threw it into the fire and burned it.

bang bang bang...

Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door of the room, giving people a thrilling feeling in the quiet night.

"Is the young lady asleep?" A voice came from outside the door. It could be heard that it was the old woman in charge of night watch.

Ying'er hurriedly asked, "The young lady has gone to bed. Is there anything Madam Zhou can do for you?"

"Miss Tongxi passed on a message outside, saying that the madam asked the young lady to go quickly, it seems that there is something urgent."

Xue Baochai was startled. She thought her mother suddenly came to look for her in the middle of the night, which must be something very urgent. So she quickly put on her light fur coat, took the lantern and hurried to Aunt Xue's residence.

"Bao girl, something happened!" Aunt Xue said in panic as soon as she saw Baochai.

Xue Baochai was already feeling uneasy tonight, always feeling that something bad was going to happen. She was secretly frightened at this moment and hurriedly said, "Don't worry, mother. Please take your time to tell me. But has my brother gotten into trouble again?"

Aunt Xue calmed down and shook her head, saying, "It's not your brother who got into trouble, it's your cousin Ren who got into trouble."

Xue Baochai heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this and asked, "What happened to Master Ren?"

"Precious girl, do you still remember the last time Ren Geer asked our family to help purchase stones?"

Xue Baochai's expression changed slightly and she said, "But the incident of the Wang family renovating their ancestral tomb and violating the rules has come out?"

Aunt Xue nodded and said, "Isn't it? Because of this matter, even your second uncle was impeached by the censor. The emperor has ordered the Jinyiwei stationed in Jinling to conduct a thorough investigation. In order to protect himself, your second uncle has resigned."

Xue Baochai was slightly shocked. Now the Wang family was supported by her second uncle Wang Ziteng. If even he fell, the fate of the Wang family would be worrying.

"Don't worry, mother. Even if you are anxious, it will be useless. Now we can only wait for the result. If it is just a minor violation of the rules, the emperor's punishment will not be too severe."

Aunt Xue said bitterly, "I'm afraid it won't be easy. Your cousin Ren has come to our house to avoid being caught by the Jinyiwei. He is hiding in your brother's study now."

Xue Baochai's body trembled instantly and her face turned pale.

(End of this chapter)