The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 428 The Down-to-earth Seventh Prince

Hongling was the maid who originally served Jia Huan. Later, because she reached the age of marriage, she was sent out of the house to get married. Coincidentally, the husband she chose was Tie Niu.

At that time, Jia Huan was planning to do some business to earn extra money. Seeing that Tie Niu was honest and hardworking, and with Hong Ling's relationship, he decided to cooperate with Tie Niu to sell ice cream. Later, he even brought the seventh prince Xu Wenhou into the partnership, and the ice cream business became a hit.

Tieniu is honest and hardworking, and Hongling is clever and dexterous. The couple works together and their lives become more and more prosperous. They have made a lot of money in the past few years, so they bought a house and shop in the city and brought their blind mother to live with them.

Hongling has served Jia Huan for many years and they are as close as siblings. Now the whole family can live a happy and stable life, all thanks to Jia Huan. She is naturally very grateful. At this moment, when she suddenly sees Jia Huan after not seeing him for many years, she is so excited that her eyes turn red.

Jia Huan reached out and teased the child in Hong Ling's arms, and said with a smile, "Little guy, what's your name?"

The child is about two years old, with sparse yellow hair. It is hard to tell whether he is a boy or a girl. He is probably shy and quickly buries his little face in his mother's arms.

Hongling hurriedly said, "Xiaoya, kneel down to the Third Master!" and put the child on the ground. The latter stood there but did not kowtow, just staring at the candied haws in Mandalin's hand.

Mandalin hurriedly handed over a string of candied haws. The little guy took the candied haws and then knelt down and kowtowed to Jia Huan.

"Little glutton!" Hongling smiled bitterly and patted the little guy's butt. At the same time, she looked at Mandarin curiously. Blond-haired and blue-eyed Westerners were still very rare in Dajin.

Mandarin smiled generously and said, "Do I look weird?"

Hong Ling said awkwardly: "Excuse me, what is this lady's name?"

"My name is Mandarin, and I come from faraway Europe. I heard that Sister Hongling used to serve the Third Master. Now I do the same job as you."

Mandarin smiled and said, "Miss Man, you speak Chinese very well. Please come inside and sit down." Then she enthusiastically took Mandarin's hand and walked into the house.

Everyone went into the house and sat down. Tie Niu's blind mother also came out of the room with a cane and asked, "Niu'er, Hongling, is the Third Master here?"

Hong Ling and Tie Niu hurried forward to support him, and Jia Huan also stood up and saluted, saying, "Hello, Auntie!"

After a few years, Tie Niu's blind mother looked younger and had a better complexion, which was obviously because her life had improved.

The blind old lady pushed Hong Ling and Tie Niu aside, and knelt down in the direction of Jia Huan and bowed. Jia Huan was startled, and quickly stepped aside, saying, "No, Brother Tie Niu, help the old lady up quickly."

Tieniu and Hongling wanted to help him, but the latter insisted on kowtowed three times before standing up, and said excitedly: "My family can have the good life we ​​have now, all thanks to you, Third Master. Huzi is now successful and is serving as a thousand households in Yangzhou Guard. Wow, this is a fifth-rank military officer. A poor family like us couldn't even dream of it before. Third Master has been very kind to our family, so it doesn't matter if I kowtow to you a few times."

Jia Huan hurriedly said, "Auntie, please don't say that. Although I have provided opportunities for Brother Tie Niu and Hu Zi, in the end it depends on their own real abilities. Brother Tie Niu is hardworking and diligent, and Sister Hong Ling is clever and skillful. The couple work hard together, and no matter what they do, their lives will get better and better. Hu Zi is also a martial artist and the bravest of the three armies. He has achieved what he has today by fighting with his life and blood and sweat!"

"Haha, that also requires the support of a noble person. Third Master, you are the noble person of our family!" The blind old lady said happily: "And if it weren't for Third Master, how could Niu'er marry a good wife like Hongling?"

Hong Ling blushed slightly, and seeing Tie Niu standing beside her and smiling foolishly, she said, "Boss, don't just stand there like an idiot. Go buy some wine and food to entertain Third Master and Brother Shitou."

Tie Niu said hurriedly: "I forgot about this, I'll go right away."

The blind man's mother hurriedly warned him not to go to the Caishikou area, and not to take Xiaoya with him. She heard that beheadings were as common as selling vegetables recently, so there would inevitably be a few lingering ghosts. It would be bad if they were haunted by them.

Although Tie Niu disagreed, he was a filial son, so he quickly agreed and went out.

The blind old woman said to Jia Huan in a very secretive manner: "Third Master, although you are a precious person and have the protection of the gods, you should not go to Caishikou rashly. I heard that you have already beheaded thousands of people and are still beheading them. Tsk tsk, since the emperor ascended the throne, he has never beheaded so many people."

There were many people involved in the Yangzhou smuggling salt case. In the Prince Yi Zhong's Mansion alone, there were as many as five or six hundred people who were approved for execution. In addition, people like Zhang Yidong, the Yangzhou Salt Transport Commissioner, Hong Wenxuan, the Yangzhou Prefect, and Dai Li, the Yangzhou Guard Commander, were all high-ranking officials above the fourth rank. They had large families and many family members and servants. Although they were dead, their families could not escape the fate of being executed as well. Together with other officials involved in the case, soldiers of the garrison, etc., it is estimated that there were as many as two to three thousand people who were executed. This was the biggest handout since Emperor Qiansheng ascended the throne.

Of course, this is nothing compared to Xu Jin, the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty. At the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Taizu was extremely strict in his laws, especially hating corrupt officials. During Taizu's reign, three sensational cases occurred in the Jin Dynasty, and each time more than 20,000 people were killed.

The blind old mother was very talkative. She asked Jia Huan about Tiehu's recent situation, and then asked whether Shitou had married and whether he wanted her help in matchmaking.

Seeing that Mandarin was playing with her daughter Xiaoya, Hongling was worried that she was neglecting her, so she took her to the yard, where they chatted while basking in the sun, and she also made her a jasmine tea-flavored ice cream.

Mandalin finally tasted the "stimulating" thing that Jia Huan mentioned. It was really stimulating to eat this thing in the middle of winter. The foreign maid's mouth turned red from the cold, but she couldn't help licking it.

"How did Miss Man come to Dajin? And how did she become the maid of the Third Master?" Hong Ling asked curiously. Mandalin licked her ice cream and shrugged, "It's a long story. Anyway, I was kidnapped by the bad guys and brought to Dajin. I happened to meet Jia... Oh, that's the Third Master. He saved me, and then I stayed with him."

"Hey, you are a Westerner, right?"

Mandarin was licking enthusiastically when a fat face suddenly leaned over from the side. She was so scared that she jumped up and subconsciously assumed a fighting stance.

I saw a chubby boy standing there with his hands behind his back, looking Mandarin up and down curiously. His face was round, and coupled with the thick winter clothes he was wearing, he looked like an upright panda, which made people laugh.

When Hong Ling saw this person, she bowed and said, "Greetings, Master Seven!"

The chubby boy nodded and asked, "Sister Hongling, who is she?"

At this time, Jia Huan and Shitou came out of the house upon hearing the noise. Although nearly four years had passed, Jia Huan recognized the fat man at a glance as the Seventh Prince Xu Wenhou, and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Jia Huan greets the Seventh Prince!"

Xu Wenhou was stunned for a moment, then looked Jia Huan up and down, then he clapped his hands and laughed, "Jia Huan, you are finally back in Beijing, you are taller than me... I heard that you passed the provincial examination and won the first place in the Nanzhili provincial examination, is it true?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "It was just luck!"

Xu Wenhou said with envy: "Brother Jia is still so outstanding, and now he is taller and more handsome than me, ah!"

Jia Huan was secretly sweating, thinking that I was more handsome than you back then, and not much shorter.

"By the way, when did you return to Beijing? Is this blonde beauty yours?" Xu Wenhou pointed at Mandarin and asked.

Jia Huan replied, "I returned to the capital on the eighteenth of this month, so it has been ten days. Her name is Mandalin, and she is my maid."

Xu Wenhou said enviously, "I have seen several blonde beauties, but none of them are as good as you. How about Brother Jia give her to me or even sell her to me?"

Mandarin was furious and said, "Fatty, say that again and see what happens."

Xu Wenhou was stunned for a moment, and Hongling was shocked. She quickly pulled Mandarin and said, "Seventh Master, please don't blame me. Miss Man doesn't understand the etiquette of our Dajin."

Xu Wenhou said awkwardly, "It's okay. Ignorance is not a crime. That...Brother Jia, as the saying goes, a gentleman does not take away what others like. I was just joking with you just now."

Xu Wenhou pulled Jia Huan aside and whispered, "Brother Jia, your foreign maid is a little too fierce. Is she always like this to you?"

At the same time, he stole a glance at Mandarin and saw that she was still glaring at him angrily, and he subconsciously shrank his neck.

Jia Huan couldn't help but laugh secretly. Although Xu Wenhou was a prince, he was rather cowardly and generous in character. It was probably related to his weak body. After not seeing him for a few years, the boy had obviously gained weight again, and even his walking seemed a bit clumsy. He must have eaten a lot of ice cream.

"Mandalin is a military man and has a bad temper. Even I have been thrown over her shoulder by her before," Jia Huan said with a smile.

Xu Wenhou secretly stuck out his tongue when he heard this, and thought, this kid Jia Huan has a tendency to be masochistic, it would be better if this woman was gentle and considerate.

"Seventh Master, please come in and sit down." Hongling greeted him.

Xu Wenhou walked into the house with familiarity and greeted Tie Niu's blind mother. It was obvious that he was a frequent visitor to the house.

"Seventh Master is here, please sit down!" the blind old woman fumbled and greeted him.

"Yes!" Xu Wenhou agreed, picked up a low stool and sat down next to the blind old woman. He held the old woman's hand and asked, "Are you cold, ma'am?"

The blind old woman laughed and said, "It's not cold, not cold, the fire basket is still warming up. But Seventh Master's hands are a little cold, warm them up quickly." Then she stuffed the fire basket she was holding into Xu Wenhou's hands.

"Thank you, Auntie!" Xu Wenhou was not polite. He took the fire basket and started to heat the food. His movements were skillful and down-to-earth, which surprised Jia Huan.

Hong Ling obviously saw Jia Huan's confusion and said with a smile, "Seventh Master likes to listen to Grandma's stories, so he comes here often."

(End of this chapter)