The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 417: Counterattack with an Army

Jia Huan and Tanchun met each other, and the girls exchanged greetings with Lin Daiyu, and then they all went to Jia Huan. Jia Yingchun had not changed much, she was still gentle and silent, and she was amiable. But Jia Xichun had changed a lot, she had grown taller, her figure was more curvy, and she was graceful, but she looked rather cold, which was in line with her cold and lonely personality in the original novel.

"Huan'er greets Sister-in-law Zhu, Second Sister, Fourth Sister!" Jia Huan greeted Li Wan, Yingchun, and Xichun one by one, and everyone returned the greetings. (Note: It is difficult to tell who is older between Xichun and Jia Huan in the original novel, so just assume that she is a little older than Jia Huan.)
Li Wan looked at Jia Huan, who had a tall and straight figure, a handsome face, was wearing a long gown for a juren, and a Confucian scarf and gauze crown on his head, and she felt extremely envious. Although her own Lan'er had passed the provincial examination this year, she still pales in comparison with Jia Huan!
But on second thought, there was only one child prodigy as talented as Jia Huan since the founding of the Jin Dynasty. Li Wan felt a little more balanced. It was not that her Lan'er was not as good as Jia Huan, but that there was no scholar in the entire Jin Dynasty who could compare with Jia Huan. He won the top three places in the minor examination and the top prize in the provincial examination, and obtained the title of Juren before he was thirteen years old. Wow, there is really no one like him before and it will be hard to find one in the future, right?
As the saying goes, fortune follows misfortune, and misfortune follows fortune. Huan'er was banished to the south by his wife to fend for himself. Everyone thought that his life was over. Unexpectedly, this boy was not buried, but soared to the sky and completely got rid of his wife's control. Now he has the title of a juren and has received the emperor's edict of commendation. Even his wife can't do anything to him.

"Brother Huan is now a scholar. It's true that when you've been away for three days, you should look at him with new eyes." Li Wan smiled with deep feeling and said, "You should all be polite to Master Huan San in the future. If you offend our Wenquxing, I will punish you severely."

All the maids and servants smiled with complicated expressions. Maids like Yuanyang and Amber also cast strange looks at Jia Huan. Who could have expected that the illegitimate son Jia Huan, who used to be a despicable person, has undergone such a gorgeous transformation. Not only in economics and official career, but even in appearance and temperament, he seems to have surpassed Master Bao.

People like Amber and Jin Chuan'er didn't even look at Jia Huan at first, especially Jin Chuan'er, who was determined to become Bao Erye's wife and treated Baoyu as a treasure. Now she finds that she is eclipsed when Bao Erye stands next to Jia Huan, and she naturally feels very upset. Alas, the third brother Huan, whom she ignored back then, has now become a juren master whom she cannot reach.

Jia Huan smiled calmly and said, "Sister-in-law, you are too kind. Brother Lang will definitely surpass me in his achievements in the future."

Although she knew Jia Huan was just being polite, Li Wan was still very happy in her heart and said with a smile, "If Lan'er can be even a little bit as good as Brother Huan, I will burn incense to express my gratitude."

Jia Baoyu was first treated coldly by Lin Daiyu, and now seeing Jia Huan becoming the focus of everyone's attention, he felt even more unhappy. He stood beside Jia Huan awkwardly, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

Yuanyang seemed to see Jia Baoyu's embarrassment and said with a smile: "Everyone, please go inside. The old lady and the mistress are still waiting inside."

So everyone gathered around Daiyu and walked into the house. Jia Huan followed at the end in a low profile. As soon as he entered the house, he quickly glanced at the situation inside. He saw Jia's mother sitting in the middle, Xing Furen and Wang Furen sitting at the left and right, each with a group of maids and servants serving behind them. However, what surprised Jia Huan was that he didn't see Wang Xifeng. It was strange. In the past, this kind of scene would never be without this woman.

While Jia Huan was puzzled, Lin Daiyu and Grandmother Jia had already met. The latter hugged Daiyu and burst into tears: "I pity your poor Yu'er. First you lost your mother, and now you have lost your father. Why is God so blind?"

Lin Daiyu was sentimental to begin with, and she burst into tears immediately. Lady Xing and Lady Wang were beside her, comforting her and wiping her tears. However, Lady Jia's love for Lin Daiyu was genuine, but it was hard to say about the other two, as their affection was probably mostly insincere.

The maids and old women also joined in the persuasion, and finally persuaded Grandmother Jia to stop. The latter patted Lin Daiyu's back lovingly and asked her to sit down beside her, saying, "Yu'er, you can live in the garden in peace from now on. Just treat it as your own home. If you want to eat or use anything, just go to your second sister-in-law Lian or your eldest sister-in-law Zhu."

Jia Baoyu was overjoyed when he heard this, and said happily: "Then Sister Lin, you should still live in the original Xiaoxiang Pavilion, right?"

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Your sister is used to living there, so of course she will still live there."

Jia Baoyu said excitedly, "That's great. Sister Lin, do you remember that at the beginning of the year, we had agreed to start a poetry club? Who knew that before we could start the club, you hurriedly went south, and the idea of ​​starting a poetry club was aborted. Now that Sister Lin is back, let's ask the ancestors to send someone to bring Sister Yun here tomorrow, and start a club while it snows, isn't it wonderful?"

"Grandfather, why don't you send someone to pick up Sister Yun now?" Jia Baoyu said impatiently.

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Your sister has just arrived and she must have been exhausted from the long journey. Let her settle down and rest before you start the poetry club."

Jia Baoyu slapped his forehead and laughed, "Damn it, I actually forgot this. Sister Lin is weak and must be very tired on the way. Let her rest for a few days. It just so happens that it hasn't rained these few days. It will be more suitable when it snows. Don't you think so, Sister Lin?"

Lin Daiyu hummed, but her eyes turned to Jia Huan. The smile on Jia Baoyu's face suddenly became a little stiff.

Seeing that Jia Baoyu had finished his long-winded talk, Jia Huan took the opportunity to kneel down and salute: "I, your unprepossessing grandson, kowtow to the old ancestor!"

Jia's mother was over seventy years old this year, but she seemed to be as energetic as she was in her youth. She nodded and said, "Brother Huan, please stand up and let me see you." Jia Huan stood up. Jia's mother looked at the tall and handsome young man in the robes of a scholar, and her eyes lit up. She smiled and said, "You seem to have grown a lot taller and look more energetic. Go meet your mother and aunt!"

Jia Huan had no choice but to kowtow to Lady Wang and Lady Xing. Lady Xing slightly turned aside and said with a smile, "Oh, Brother Huan is now the Wenquxing from heaven. Your aunt cannot accept such a great gift. I'm afraid it will shorten my life!"

Mrs. Wang's eyelids twitched, as if she had been stabbed in a sore spot, especially when she saw Jia Huan wearing a long gown, which made her feel like a thorn in her back. She felt extremely uncomfortable and hated him secretly: "Mei Yucheng is such a loser. Not only did he not prevent the third son of the third son of the third son from passing the imperial examination, but he also let him get the first place. I am so angry. If I had known that I would not have allowed this little beast to carry his coffin south. One careless move back then actually allowed him to turn over a new leaf. I regret it so much!"

Mrs. Wang felt resentful and regretful, but the matter was done and it was too late to regret. She could only pretend to be calm and said, "Brother Huan, please stand up. Your aunt is right. You are now a scholar and have a fortune. How can you kneel down to a woman? Forget about kneeling in the future."

Zhou Ruijia smiled and said, "Madam, I'm sorry I don't agree with what you said. The country governs the world with filial piety. No matter how high an official is, he is no more important than the word filial piety. Even the emperor has to pay respects to the empress dowager, let alone others. Madam is Huan'er's mother. Others can't bear Huan'er's kneeling ceremony, but Madam, you can bear it. Haha, Huan'er, what do you think?"

Jia Huan sneered secretly. The master and servant were singing the same tune. They were trying to show off to him and intimidate him. So he nodded and said, "Sister Zhou is right. But if you are so well-mannered, why haven't you bowed to me since I entered the room? Or are you relying on your status as an old man by my mother's side to be spoiled and disrespectful to me, your master?"

Hiss...

Everyone present gasped. This was a counter attack. Master Huan San was worthy of being Master Huan San. His fighting power was still off the charts. Now Zhou Rui's family had hit a wall.

Zhou Ruijia's face had changed greatly at this moment. It was a taboo for a servant to bully the master. Seeing that even the old lady was frowning and looking at her, she knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I dare not. I was just careless for a moment. Please forgive me, Master Huan San."

Jia Huan also stopped when he saw that it was going well, so as to avoid Lady Wang from getting embarrassed and throwing a tantrum, which would only make him passive. So he nodded and said, "It turned out to be just a momentary negligence. It was I who misunderstood Sister Zhou. Get up quickly. There is no need to be so polite!"

Zhou Ruijia stood up awkwardly, and there was a hint of fear in her eyes when she looked at Jia Huan. The other people present were also secretly awe-inspiring.

Grandmother Jia frowned and said calmly, "Brother Huan, I heard from Brother Lian that you were the one who took care of Uncle Lin's funeral?"

As soon as Jia Huan returned home, he started to compete with his stepmother. Naturally, Grandmother Jia was not happy. She said that no matter how good a student he was or how high an official he would become in the future, the rule of seniority must not be crossed. So she decided to give Jia Huan a warning to prevent this kid from becoming more arrogant and disrespectful to his elders.

Jia Huan nodded calmly and said, "That's right!"

"Then let me ask you, how did you deal with your uncle's inheritance?"

"Answering the ancestors, Huan'er sold all of Uncle Lin's properties in Yangzhou for cash, and then returned to Suzhou to buy a farm. From now on, the rent will be collected every year to provide for Sister Lin's daily expenses."

After these words were spoken, Mrs. Xing, the eldest wife, felt a pang of pain and her eyes turned unfriendly when she looked at Jia Huan.

Although Grandmother Jia also felt it was a pity that Jia Huan did not bring back all the Lin family's property, she was not as selfish as Lady Xing and Lady Wang. She nodded and said, "Well, this is also a long-term plan. However, you are young after all, and I am afraid you don't know the details. Managing a farm is not as easy as you think. You need to choose a loyal and reliable headman to manage it. Otherwise, the rent collected may not be enough for the rats in the barn to eat."

Lin Daiyu hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Grandpa. The person in charge of the farm is the original steward of the Lin family. There is no problem with his loyalty. Besides, all the accounts are in my hands. Brother Huan doesn't care about these."

Grandmother Jia wanted to boycott it, but now that Lin Daiyu said that she was in charge of the accounts herself and that they were not in Jia Huan's hands at all, she could not say anything and coughed, "That's great!"

(End of this chapter)