The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 449: The Reason for the Marriage
"There is snow on the Tianshan Mountains in May, no flowers, only cold. I hear the sound of willows being cut in the flute, but I have not seen the spring scenery. I fight in the morning to the sound of golden drums, and sleep at night hugging the jade saddle. I wish I could draw the sword from my waist to kill Lou Lan!" Liu Yi sang and drank wildly, and soon he drank most of the jar of wine. His stomach was visibly swollen, and if he drank any more, he would be afraid that his stomach would burst.

Jia Huan quickly winked at Lu Xiangsheng, who immediately stepped forward and snatched the jar of wine away with lightning speed, saying with a smile, "Big Brother, leave some for us."

Liu Yi was already drunk at this moment. Seeing the wine jar being taken away, he flew into a rage and shouted, "Give it back!" while reaching out to snatch it.

Lu Xiangsheng is a man of both civil and military talents. Although he looks weak, he actually has amazing arm strength. He just pressed Liu Yi's shoulder with one hand, and the latter was unable to move.

Liu Yi struggled hard for a few times, and finally sat down weakly, crying loudly like a helpless child, which made Lu Xiangsheng freeze in embarrassment.

Liu Yi cried bitterly and collapsed to the ground with his face up to the sky. With tears streaming down his face, he said, "A scholar is completely useless. I, Liu Shouzheng, am a waste, such a waste!" Then he started to slap himself in the face.

Zhang Zhilong's eyes flushed, and he sighed, "Big Brother, it's hard to disobey the emperor's order. How can I blame you? I can only say that it's Miss Qi's fate. It's been almost three years, and you still can't let it go?"

"Rugui, you don't understand, you don't understand, Wanruo is gone, she is gone!" Liu Yi cried bitterly and took out a small bag from his arms. Jia Huan recognized that it was the bag that the middle-aged man dressed as a butler gave to Liu Yi before.

Zhang Zhilong was shocked and asked in a lost voice: "When did it happen?"

Liu Yi did not answer, but opened the bundle with trembling hands. Inside was a neatly folded handkerchief. After opening it layer by layer, he could clearly see a comb and a bunch of knotted black hair inside.

Liu Yi held the comb and his hair, tears streaming down his face. Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng were moved when they saw this. Who says men don't shed tears easily? It's just that men haven't shed tears yet when they are sad.

Zhang Zhilong was stunned, and for a moment he didn't know whether he should persuade him or not. Liu Yi cried bitterly, and was drunk, and he actually fell asleep.

"The ground is cold. Rugui, Jiandou, please lend a hand and carry our eldest brother to the bed to sleep," Jia Huan ordered hurriedly.

Zhang Zhilong and Lu Xiangsheng hurried forward to help lift Liu Yi onto the bed, while the latter still held the tuft of black hair and the wooden comb in his hands.

Jia Huan carefully took the black hair and wooden comb from Liu Yi's hands, picked up the handkerchief from the ground and tried to wrap it up, but he saw many tiny words written on the handkerchief in beautiful handwriting. The signature was "Qi Wanruo's last letter", which should be the last letter this woman left for Liu Yi.

Jia Huan read the words on the handkerchief and couldn't help but sigh. This suicide note should have been written by the woman on her deathbed. Although it was concise, it was sincere and heartfelt, and every word was tear-jerking. Every word revealed her endless longing for Liu Lang. The letter also mentioned that the woman wanted to die, but was worried about bringing trouble to her family, so she had no choice but to put on her wedding dress and go to Hami. As a result, she suffered from water and climate there and simply refused to take medicine. Knowing that she would not live long, she secretly wrote this suicide letter, cut a lock of her hair, and secretly mailed it together with a comb. Judging from the date on the letter, it was mailed in February this year, and it took more than nine months to arrive.

"What is love in this world? It makes people promise to be together for life and death." Jia Huan couldn't help but sigh again, then he wrapped the lock of black hair and the wooden comb in a handkerchief and carefully stuffed it under Liu Yi's pillow.

The three of them sat down again. Zhang Zhilong took a sip of wine and threw a few pieces of charcoal into the stove to make the fire burn brighter. Then he began to narrate in a deep voice: "The Liu and Qi families are old friends. The eldest brother and Miss Qi Wanruo have been childhood sweethearts and have a lot in love with each other. The two families have been planning to get married and are just waiting for the provincial examination to make it happen.

The provincial examination that year was the year after our college examination. Ziming, you had already gone south with your coffin and did not participate in the provincial examination that year. My eldest brother and I both took part, but I did not pass. However, my eldest brother did and took second place.

This was originally a good thing, as the eldest brother was about to have a double happiness, but at this time, Miss Qi was spotted by the marriage selection envoy of the Ministry of Rites, and was personally adopted as the daughter of Prince Zhongshun, and was given the title of Princess. In less than a month, she was sent to Hami to marry the new King of Hami."

Jia Huan suddenly realized and sighed, "No wonder Senior Brother has become like this."

Zhang Zhilong sighed, "My eldest brother and Miss Qi have been childhood sweethearts, in love with each other, talented and beautiful, a match made in heaven, but fate plays tricks on them and the emperor's order is hard to disobey. Since then, my eldest brother has been drinking to drown his sorrows and has become depressed. No matter how his family, teachers and friends persuade him, it is useless. There is really no other way, so his family arranged another marriage for him. The girl's family is of excellent status and appearance, but my eldest brother despises her and runs to the temple to shave his head and become a monk.

In the end, the family had no choice but to compromise and cancel the marriage. After that, the eldest brother proposed to go out to study and not to participate in the second year's imperial examination. Fortunately, the elders in the family were open-minded and agreed to let him go out to study and relax after thinking it over. Anyway, he would definitely not pass the imperial examination in his current state, so it would be better to try to change his environment and maybe he could get over the past. Unexpectedly, the eldest brother went out to study for almost two years! "

Jia Huan interrupted, "Did Senior Brother go to Hami?"

Zhang Zhilong nodded and said, "Those two jars of wine were what he brought back from Hami."

Lu Xiangsheng sighed, "I didn't expect that the eldest brother would be so attached to this. I just wonder if he met Miss Qi after he went to Hami." Zhang Zhilong smiled bitterly, "I don't know. I hope he did. Anyway, the eldest brother was darker and thinner after he came back from Hami, and he looked even more unruly than he is now. Even his parents didn't dare to recognize him. It took him several months to recover his current appearance. He also had no intention of taking the imperial examination. He applied to the headmaster to become a teacher in the academy. Every day, apart from lecturing his junior brothers, he planted flowers and grass. His family was afraid that he would leave without saying goodbye or become a monk, so they didn't dare to force him to take the imperial examination and could only leave him alone."

Zhang Zhilong pondered for a few breaths, then sighed, "I thought that after a few years, Senior Brother would forget everything and move on from the past, but just when things were starting to get better, Miss Qi... passed away."

Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but hold his wrist and sighed: "Since ancient times, beautiful women have had short lives. What can we do about it?"

Jia Huan looked at Liu Yi who was sleeping on the bed with pity. This love story was really cruel. If it were in the Ming Dynasty, the eldest brother would not have encountered such a tragedy.

Because looking at all the dynasties, although the Ming Dynasty was not the most powerful, it was undoubtedly the toughest. Even as powerful as the Han and Tang dynasties, they also had to rely on the means of marriage to win over the surrounding countries, but the Ming Dynasty had the courage to refuse marriage.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, the ancestral precepts of "no marriage alliances, no compensation, no cession of territory, no tribute, the emperor guarding the national borders, and the king dying for the country" were followed, and the emperors of the Ming Dynasty did indeed do so. After the capital was captured by Li Zicheng, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself and ultimately did not accept the advice of his ministers to flee south from the capital.

Although this world of Red Mansions has many similarities with the Ming Dynasty, it is not the Ming Dynasty after all. Marriage of wives is still one of the means for it to win over neighboring countries. For example, Jia Tanchun in the original Red Mansions was selected by the court, adopted as a daughter by the Prince of Nan'an, and then sent to the Zhenzhen Kingdom for marriage. From then on, she was separated from her family, unable to return to her homeland, and eventually died in a foreign country.

Just as the song "Separation of Flesh and Bone" from Dream of Red Mansions goes: A journey of three thousand miles through wind and rain, leaving behind my family and homeland. I am afraid that crying will waste my remaining years, so I tell my parents: Don't worry about me. Since ancient times, wealth and poverty are destined, and separation and reunion are not without fate! From now on, we will be separated, and each of us must keep safe. I am leaving, so don't get involved.

At this moment, Jia Huan couldn't help but ask himself, what if the court took a fancy to his third sister Jia Tanchun, or the two daughters Chai and Dai, and arranged for them to marry?
Jia Huan thought about it again and again, but found sadly that he was unable to cope with it now. In the end, he might just end up like his eldest senior brother, watching his childhood sweetheart marry in a foreign country.

The power must be held in your own hands!
Jia Huan subconsciously clenched his fists, picked up the bowl and drank the wine, then asked, "Brother Zhang, have you passed the provincial examination this year?"

Zhang Rugui nodded and said, "Luckily I passed, but my ranking is not high. There are two other people in our academy who passed, but they all went home today. Otherwise, they would have come to meet the two junior brothers now."

"In that case, our Diecui Academy will have five successful candidates taking part in the Spring Examination in February next year?" Jia Huan said.

"Wrong, there should be twelve people, because there are seven senior brothers who are interested in participating." Zhang Rugui said: "It's a pity that the eldest brother is depressed. If he also participates, there will be exactly thirteen people."

Jia Huan groaned and said, "Perhaps I can try to persuade Senior Brother!"

Zhang Rugui smiled bitterly and said, "Even the old headmaster couldn't persuade her, but Junior Brother Jia, please give it a try. If you succeed, I will invite you to Zuiyan Tower to drink wine and sleep with the most popular prostitute!"

Zhang Rugui gritted his teeth and obviously spent a lot of money, which shows that his friendship with his senior brother Liu Yi is indeed deep.

Jia Huan said calmly: "Forget it, I have mysophobia!"

Zhang Rugui spit out a mouthful of wine and said in a coy tone, "You are a full man who doesn't know the hunger of a hungry man. I'll starve you for a year or so and see if you still have any complaints."

He added, "By the way, after the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the academy will have a year-end holiday, but the ten candidates who will take the imperial examination will not have a holiday. They will continue to study hard in the academy until the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. At that time, the dean will personally teach. Do you want to join us, Junior Brother Jia and Junior Brother Lu?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Since Jiandou and I are now students of the academy, we will naturally participate. What's more, the class will be taught by the dean himself, which is something we couldn't ask for more."

Lu Xiangsheng nodded and said, "That's right!"

Zhang Zhilong was delighted and said, "Great! Then you can go back tomorrow to prepare and move into the academy's dormitory before the ninth day of the first lunar month. This will save you from running back and forth in the city every day."

Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng both agreed happily.

(End of this chapter)