The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 454 Lying in Bed Listening to the Snow
In fact, when Jia Huan met Sun Shaozu in Jia She's room that day, he had suspected that the two had hooked up. Now, after listening to Lin Daiyu's description, he was even more certain that Jia She was going to marry his second sister Jia Yingchun to Sun Shaozu, the wolf of Zhongshan, and he might have even accepted Sun Shaozu's six thousand taels of silver. Tsk tsk, this old man, for the sake of silver, he had the heart to push his daughter into the fire pit. This is not marrying a daughter, it is clearly selling a daughter.

Jia She and Jia Zhen are indeed the two beasts of the Jia family. One is greedy for money, the other is lustful like a devil. One pushes his own daughter into the fire pit, the other stretches out his evil claws to his daughter-in-law. They are both scum of society and a scourge to the family!

Thinking of this, Jia Huan couldn't help but recall the reactions of Jia She and Jia Zhen in Rong Xi Hall just now. These two were so nervous, and there was a high probability that they had participated in reselling salt permits for profit. Perhaps he could use this to take advantage of this and get rid of these two black sheep.

Lin Daiyu was also lost in thought at this time. In her opinion, her second cousin Jia Yingchun was cowardly and even the servants around her could bully her. If her uncle decided to marry her to Sun Shaozu, she would not dare to complain. Alas, Sun Shaozu was not only ugly, but also had a huge age difference. Moreover, looking at his eyes, he did not look like a good person. He had a bad heart and his character was probably not that good either. A weak girl like her second sister falling into his hands would be like a sheep falling into the mouth of a wolf.

Lin Daiyu was sentimental to begin with, and soon she thought of herself from Jia Yingchun. Now that she had no parents, her future marriage would probably be decided by the old lady, and the old lady was already over seventy years old...

Thinking of this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but steal a glance at Jia Huan. Her face felt inexplicably hot, and she felt a little worried.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of dripping water on the roof. Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu came to their senses at once and turned to look out the window at the same time. They saw cold rain floating outside the window, and then the roof was clanging. Many ice particles the size of soybeans fell in the courtyard and splashed everywhere.

"Oh no, it's hailing!" Xueyan screamed and ran out of the house to get back the birdcage hanging under the eaves. There was a commotion in the yard and the maids and old women hid in their rooms with their heads in their hands.

Fortunately, the hail was not big and it turned into fluttering snowflakes in a short while - it was snowing!

Jia Huan stood up hurriedly and said, "Sister Lin, I have to go back now. It should still be in time before the snow gets too heavy."

Lin Daiyu frowned slightly and said, "It's impossible to go now. The ground is covered with ice particles. Be careful not to slip and fall. What if you get hurt? Let's wait until the snow stops before going back. If Huan-di is worried that Sister Ping-erh is worried, just send a maid to tell her. It's worth running home in the wind and snow."

Upon hearing this, Jia Huan sat down again. Zijuan went outside to find a maid and asked her to pass on the message to Yueweiju. She was rewarded with two hundred coins. The maid then put on her snow equipment and went there happily. She was quite enthusiastic.

At this time, the snow was getting heavier and heavier. Even with the windows and doors closed, the sound of snow falling outside could still be clearly heard. Everyone subconsciously listened carefully. There was silence and peace all around. Staying in the warm house, one felt safe in the heart and had an inexplicable sense of happiness.

Lin Daiyu lay down, pulled the quilt up to cover herself, and chuckled, "I want to lie down and listen to the snow. Don't bother me."

"Good sister, please move in closer so that I can lie down and listen to the snow!" Jia Huan felt warm in his heart and he shamelessly squeezed onto the bed.

Lin Daiyu had no choice but to move inside to make room for someone, but the latter was not satisfied. He pulled the quilt to cover himself and wanted to share a pillow with Sister Lin.

Lin Daiyu was both angry and amused. She pushed Jia Huan away and said, "Go outside and get a pillow. It's so crowded!"

Jia Huan said confidently, "It's so cold, I'm too lazy to move, and I don't know which old woman used those pillows outside, I don't want them." Lin Daiyu had no choice but to move a little further inside and give half of the pillow to someone else. Jia Huan lay in the warm quilt, smelling the unique fragrance of Sister Lin, listening to the howling of the wind and snow outside, feeling indescribably comfortable.

Xueyan was already accustomed to Jia Huan's behavior of rubbing against the bed, so she just sat by the stove and took care of the macaw. Zijuan felt that it was a bit inappropriate, but didn't know what to say. She could only do needlework while stealing a glance at them casually. She found that the two of them were just lying there talking properly, without any other intimate actions, so she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Jia Huan listened to the snow for a while, then suddenly asked, "Sister Lin, do you know why most people, especially boys and girls, like to hide in their beds and listen to the wind and rain outside?"

"Why?" Lin Daiyu asked curiously.

Jia Huan coughed lightly and said, "Then we have to start from the distant ancient times. By the way, Sister Lin, do you know how humans came into being?"

"Of course it was Pangu who created the world, and Nuwa who created human beings." Lin Daiyu replied.

Jia Huan shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, no, that's just a myth or legend, it can't be taken seriously."

Lin Daiyu said with a half-smile, "Then I'd like to ask Jia Jieyuan for some advice."

Jia Huan stroked his beard and said, "That's good. Since Miss Lin is so humbly asking for advice, I will reluctantly explain a few things to you."

Lin Daiyu burst out laughing and said angrily, "Why don't you tell me how humans came into being? If you keep making up stories, I'll let you go."

Jia Huan leaned close to Lin Daiyu's ear and whispered, "People naturally come from their mother's belly. The mother's belly is like a warm quilt. It gives people a sense of security. So when it's windy, snowy, or thundering, everyone likes to hide in the quilt because they feel safe. This is an instinct brought from the womb. However, as people grow older and their minds become more mature and stable, this instinct will gradually weaken. So when it's windy and rainy, little kids especially like to hide in the quilt, but adults don't."

"I knew you had nothing nice to say. You are the little brat!" Lin Daiyu blushed and spat secretly, but when she thought about it carefully, it seemed to make sense. She really didn't know where Huan Di knew all this. Could it be that he had been remembering it since he was in his mother's womb?

The snowstorm lasted for more than an hour, but the sky was still overcast and it seemed that it would continue to snow. Jia Huan wanted to stay in bed for a while longer, but Ping'er and Mandalin came to his house with their snow gear, so he had to say goodbye to Lin Daiyu and return to Yuewei Residence when the snow stopped.

Sure enough, not long after Jia Huan returned to the house, snowflakes began to fall again. If he had stayed in Xiaoxiang Pavilion just now, he would have had to spend the night there.

(End of this chapter)