The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 436: The Slave and the Shrew
The next day was the first day of the twelfth lunar month, and it was one day closer to the end of the year. Although the weather was cold, Jia Huan was still very self-disciplined and got up early in the morning to run and exercise. The servants in the garden were used to this. When they saw Jia Huan, they hurriedly let him go to the side of the road and saluted with a smile, saying, "Good morning, Third Master Huan."

This gentleman is now a juren, and who knows, he may become a jinshi in a few months. Who dares to disrespect him?

Yueweiju is located between Hengwuyuan and Zhuijin Pavilion. Jia Huan ran counterclockwise, first to Hengwuyuan in the northeast, then circled back to Zhuijin Pavilion in the south.

Hengwuyuan was originally where Xue Baochai lived. It is still empty now, but Mrs. Wang has sent someone to clean it up. She probably wants to wait until Aunt Xue and her family arrive in Beijing before allowing Xue Baochai to continue living there.

Jia Huan was jogging all the way, passing by flower bushes and willow groves, camellia racks, osmanthus shed, peony pavilion, peony garden, rose courtyard and banana grove. Suddenly, he heard the sound of gurgling water, and then saw a cave made of rockery. After passing through the cave, he saw Hengwu Garden in front of him. The environment here was quiet and secluded. There was a plaque inscribed with "Hengzhi Qingfen" on the gate of the courtyard. It was antique and very elegant.

Jia Huan ran past the gate of Hengwu Garden and saw that it was open. The courtyard was full of various fragrant herbs and ivy. He didn't know what kind they were. In this cold winter, the garden looked even greener. The fragrance was in the air. Several maids were sweeping and irrigating the garden diligently.

Jia Huan couldn't help thinking, "The Xue family's boat must have been stuck on the canal due to the heavy snow a few days ago. I don't know when it will reach the capital. I hope Bao-jie and the others are safe."

While thinking, Jia Huan ran over and arrived at the northeast wall of the courtyard, then turned back to the west. When he ran to Zhuijin Pavilion, he was already sweating slightly.

At this time, I happened to pass a stone bridge and vaguely heard the sound of people arguing under the bridge. I subconsciously slowed down my pace and looked under the bridge.

It turns out that there is Qinfang Spring under the bridge. The fresh water introduced from the Yongding River forms a stream. You can hear the gurgling sound of water. There is a stone staircase built on the side of the bridge. You can follow the stone steps to the water platform under the bridge, where you can wash clothes, fish, or even row a boat.

At this time, two people were arguing on the waterfront platform. Jia Huan recognized one of the maids wearing a red lace vest. She was Xiu Ju, the maid responsible for serving Yingchun. The other one was an old woman, but she was Yingchun's wet nurse, Nanny Wang.

Jia Huan could not help but feel secretly puzzled. It was early in the morning, and these two were both people close to his second sister Jia Yingchun, but he had no idea what they were arguing about. So he leaned on the bridge railing and listened carefully.

Xiu Ju said in an almost pleading tone, "Grandma, I won't argue with you. Please have pity on me and quickly bring back the pearl and silk phoenix. It will be Laba Festival in a few days. If all the girls wear it tomorrow and only our girl doesn't wear it, what shall we do when the old lady asks about it?"

Nanny Wang sneered, "I think the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is. The second young lady hasn't even asked me yet, but you are here to urge me. What are you in such a hurry for? Today is only the first day of the new year, and there are still seven days until Laba. When I win the silver, I will redeem the things naturally."

"What if you lose?" Xiu Ju asked anxiously.

Nanny Wang raised her hand and slapped her, cursing, "Little whore, shut up! New Year's Day is coming soon. Cursing someone for losing money is really unlucky. Bah!"

Xiu Ju was beaten and scolded. She was anxious and angry. She covered her face and cried, "Why did you hit me? I'll tell Second Madam Lian right now. You said I was dishonest and stole the girl's things and didn't return them."

"Bah, go ahead and sue me if you have the guts. When the girl was sucking my breasts, you, a little whore, were hanging in some wild man's crotch. And you're suing me without even weighing yourself. The girl grew up drinking my milk. How much is a mere piece of jewelry worth? Just treat it as a New Year's gift to me."

After saying this, Nanny Wang grabbed Xiu Ju's hair and pulled it hard, causing her to fall to the ground and cry. Then she let go and walked away triumphantly up the stairs. As soon as she stepped onto the stone bridge, she saw Jia Huan standing there. She was startled and said with a smile, "It's Third Master Huan. Are you running?"

Jia Huan frowned and asked, "Madame Wang, what's going on? Why did you hit her for no reason?"

"Well... this little brat did something wrong, so I punished him a little. I didn't expect that Master Huan San saw it. Haha, it's okay. Master Huan San can continue running and exercising. He won't delay you." Nanny Wang said with a smile.

Jia Huan smiled faintly and said, "No need to delay. I have nothing to do anyway. I am curious and want to ask, what is the story behind the golden phoenix with pearls and silk threads?"

Nanny Wang's heart skipped a beat and she said awkwardly, "Well...

At this time Xiu Ju came up from under the bridge. Seeing Jia Huan questioning Nanny Wang, she felt as if she had found a strong backer and cried, "Please, Third Master Huan, help me."

When Jia Huan saw the five bright red fingerprints on the maid's face and half of her face was swollen, he realized how severely Nanny Wang had hit her. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Xiu Jie, what happened?" Xiu Jie then told him the whole story.

It turned out that Sanchun all had the same pair of headdresses, which were made by the old lady. It was called Golden Phoenix with Pearls and Filigree. During every New Year and other festivals, Sanchun would wear this headdress to attend the old lady's parties.

However, some time ago, Nanny Wang took the gold phoenix with pearls and filigree without permission, and went to the pawnshop to exchange it for ten taels of silver to put down as a stake (to be the banker in gambling). Jia Yingchun thought that Nanny Wang was short of money and took the money for emergency, and did not ask for it back out of consideration for their relationship. Unexpectedly, the latter actually used it as capital for gambling, and a month later she still hadn't returned it.

Jia Yingchun, nicknamed Ermutou, was a notoriously cowardly person. She was afraid of displeasing her wet nurse, so she didn't dare to ask for the money. As the Laba Festival was approaching, according to the practice of previous years, the old lady would gather everyone for a cold-weather party and appreciate the plum blossoms. Jia Yingchun became a little anxious at this time, so she asked Xiu Ju to ask her wet nurse Wang Ma for the money.

Unexpectedly, Nanny Wang took advantage of Jia Yingchun's cowardly character and, relying on the fact that she was her wet nurse, she started to act like a spoiled child. Not only did she refuse to return the things, she also beat Xiu Ju.

After listening to Xiu Jue's crying, Jia Huan turned his gaze coldly to Nanny Wang and said calmly, "What did Nanny say?"

Nanny Wang saw that she was exposed and stopped pretending. She snorted coldly, "This is a matter between the Second Young Lady and this servant. Don't you think Third Master Huan is meddling too much?"

Jia Huan laughed out of anger. This old servant dared to be so arrogant in front of him. It can be seen how much his cowardly second sister Jia Yingchun suffered in daily life!
"Madame Wang, considering that Second Sister has drunk your milk, I won't bother with you. You should redeem the Golden Phoenix with Pearls and Silk and return it to Second Sister immediately. Then the matter will be over. How about that?" Jia Huan said calmly, suppressing his anger.

Nanny Wang sneered, "Brother Huan is so arrogant. I am on the eldest master's side. Even the wife can't control me, let alone you!"

"You old beast, you have no shame!" Jia Huan didn't waste any words. He stepped forward, grabbed the man by the collar and slapped him in the face, making Nanny Wang dizzy.

Nanny Wang was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses. She felt a burning pain on her face and became furious. She was about to cry, make a fuss, and threaten to commit suicide, but when her eyes met Jia Huan's, she shuddered and swallowed back the cry that she had been holding back.

At some point, Jia Huan had a gleaming dagger in his hand, which was the "Zhanquan" that Liu Xianglian had given him.

"Stubborn slave, Second Sister is good-tempered, but I, Jia Huan, am not someone who can be easily bullied. Believe it or not, I will pierce two holes in your legs. Don't worry, you won't die. Even if you sue the authorities, the worst that can happen is that you will have to pay some money."

Nanny Wang was so frightened that her face turned pale. A scoundrel like her could only bully ordinary people. When she met a man like Jia Huan who had survived a sea of ​​blood and corpses, she would not be able to stand up to him. Just one look from him was enough to scare her paralyzed, not to mention that he was drawing a knife.

"Master Huan San, please calm down. I know I was wrong. I will go and redeem the things and return them to the second young lady right away!" Nanny Wang said tremblingly.

Upon hearing this, Jia Huan loosened his hands, and Nanny Wang fell directly to the ground, with her crotch even wet.

Jia Huan frowned, sheathed the dagger, and said calmly: "Finish the job today. If you still don't return it before sunset, watch out for your head. When I tell the old lady, I will accuse you of bullying your master, and of gathering people to gamble. I will beat you half to death and then drive you out of the house. It's more than enough. You decide for yourself!"

"Don't worry, Master Huan San, I will do as you say!" After saying this, Nanny Wang ran away, crawling away.

Xiu Jie was stunned and looked at Jia Huan with a little horror. She didn't expect that the usually gentle and polite Third Master Huan could be so fierce, as if he had suddenly become a different person. However... he looked so majestic just now!
Jia Huan smiled and said, "Evil men need evil men to deal with them. Go back. Second sister's golden phoenix with pearls and silk threads will be returned to you soon. I don't think that evil maid will dare to break her promise."

Xiu Jue choked and said, "Thank you, Third Master...Would you like to come inside and sit for a while? The Second Miss should be awake by now."

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "Next time, I haven't finished running yet!" Then he continued to run.

When it came to dealing with a scoundrel like Nanny Wang, he didn't even bother to think, he just used violence to deal with her, which was efficient and fast. At that time, this had to be based on the premise that you had an overwhelming advantage, otherwise it would be extremely unwise.

(End of this chapter)