The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 456 Another wealthy idler comes

After the heavy snow, the ground was covered with silver, and the Grand View Garden turned into a crystal glass world of snow. The rockery, pavilions, trees, bridges, flowing water, terraces and terraces were all hidden under the white snow. Ice crystals hung upside down on the tree trunks and under the eaves, crystal clear, just like a fairy tale world.

Jia Huan opened the window and looked out. He saw the glass world of white snow and red plum blossoms, which made him feel relaxed and happy. Several maids, who still had pigtails on their heads, were playing snowballs in the yard, laughing and having a great time. Suddenly, they saw Jia Huan opening the window and looking in. They hurriedly picked up the tools on the ground and pretended to sweep the snow.

Jia Huan said with a smile: "You guys go and play. It's a rare snowfall. It would be a pity to sweep it away. Just clear a path for walking. The rest is for you to play."

The maids cheered, threw away their tools and continued to play snowballs happily. At this time, Jia Tanchun's maidservant Shishu came in from outside and was hit with snow. She couldn't help but exclaimed: "You wild hooves, are you crazy? You don't work hard, but just play here. I'll tell Ping'er."

"Hehe, go ahead and sue. It was Master Huan San who asked us to play. Sister Ping'er can't do anything about it." The maid laughed and grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at the secretary.

The secretary was so angry that she picked up a handful of snow to fight back. Soon, everyone was laughing and making a scene. Ping'er walked out of the room and said, "Shishu, why are you going crazy with them?"

The secretary then got away, brushing off the snow on her body while laughing, "You said that this bunch of wild hooves are lawless, and Madam Ping doesn't care about it, which makes me forget the serious things."

Ping'er's face immediately turned red, and she shouted to the maids, "Quickly, stuff her mouth with snow!"

Several servant girls immediately surrounded her with laughter. The secretary quickly hid behind Ping'er, begging for mercy, "Good sister, please forgive me this time. I won't dare to do it again."

Ping Er then asked the servants to retreat and said with a smile, "Let's see if you can still show off your skills."

The secretary said angrily, "I sent an invitation to the Third Master with good intentions, but was treated like this. If I had known, I would not have come."

At this time, Jia Huan came out and asked with a smile, "What invitation?"

The secretary bowed and said, "Good morning, Third Master. This is an invitation from our girl to you." He took out a piece of pink paper from his sleeve and handed it to him.

Jia Huan quickly took it and opened it. It was written by Jia Tanchun. It read:
Sister Detective
Huandi Wenji: Last night, the wind and snow continued. I lay down late at night and listened to the music. My mind was full of thoughts. I thought about the ancients who were in the place of fame and profit. They still placed themselves in the mountains and waters, invited people from far and near, threw their caps and climbed the shafts, and tried to gather two or three comrades to linger there, or set up a poetry forum, or opened a poetry society. Although it was a temporary interest, it became a good talk for thousands of years. Although I am not talented, I secretly live among the raw stones, and I also admire Xue Lin's style. It's a pity that there are no banquets for poets in the wind courtyard and moon pavilion; the curtains of apricots and peaches in the stream may be drunk and flying. Who is the hero of the Lotus Society, and only men are allowed? Just let the elegant meeting in Dongshan give way to the rest of the women. If you come with a boat in the snow, Tan will sweep the flowers to wait for you.

This is respectfully presented!
After reading it, Jia Huan smiled and said, "Third sister is very elegant. Please tell the secretary sister that I will be there soon."

The secretary bowed and prepared to leave. Ping'er hurriedly said, "Wait a moment."

As he said that, he turned back to the house and took out the plate of iced fresh lychees, and handed it to the secretary, saying, "These are the fresh lychees that the madam gave me yesterday. They are said to be grown with hot spring water, which is really rare in the winter. Shishu, take it back and let everyone taste it."

The secretary thanked him, took it, and turned to leave Yueweiju.

Jia Huan returned to the house, changed his clothes with the help of Ping'er and Mandalin, and prepared to go to Qiu Shuang Zhai to join the poetry club.

Ping Erh brought a colorful light fur coat and put it on Jia Huan, saying happily, "This is the golden peacock fur coat that Yuan Yang sent this morning. A closer look reveals that it is made of peacock gold thread and filled with velvet. It is light and warm, and must be very valuable. It looks good and shows your status. The old lady is really thoughtful. If it were in the past..."

Jia Huan, however, thought the golden magpie fur coat was too showy. After putting it on, he looked like a magpie seeking a mate. He quickly took it off and said, "I don't want this. It's just a daily gathering of sisters. There's no need to dress so formally. I'd rather wear my old coat."

Seeing that Jia Huan refused to put it on, Ping Erh coaxed him softly, "Little Ancestor, this was given by the old lady. You should put it on and show it off. First, let everyone see it. Second, the old lady will be happy if she knows about it, right?"

Mandarin nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I think it looks good in clothes, so why not wear it?"

Under the persuasion of the two beautiful maids, Jia Huan had no choice but to put on the showy golden pheasant fur coat. Ping'er looked him up and down and felt that the clothes and shoes did not match, so she changed Jia Huan's top into a red sleeve with hundreds of butterflies and flowers, and his lower body into a pair of half-exposed pine flower silk trousers, and his cloud shoes into a pair of thick-soled red shoes. His height immediately "exploded" by ten centimeters, and he was almost as tall as Mandarin.

Ping'er was pretty and charming. She walked around Jia Huan, rummaged through the closet for a while, and finally found a Ruyi brocade sweat towel. She tied it gently around Jia Huan's waist, hung a lotus leaf sachet on it, and then tied a red and black headband on his forehead. The square flat scarf she used to tie her hair was replaced with a purple gold crown. Thus, a rich and handsome young man who looked like a piece of jade was created.

Jia Huan used to dress simply and elegantly, with a gentle and refined temperament, as soft as jade. Although he was still handsome, his handsomeness now had an air of nobility that made Ping'er and Mandalin's hearts beat fast and they were fascinated.

Jia Huan looked at himself in the mirror and could not help but be stunned for a moment. Perhaps this was the difference between a fine binding and a rough binding. He murmured, "Isn't this too ostentatious?"

Ping Er smiled sweetly and said, "That's too much. Go quickly and don't keep everyone waiting. Take your punishment carefully."

Ping Er pushed Jia Huan out again and again, obviously worried that he would suddenly change his mind, so the latter had no choice but to leave Yueweiju and head straight for Qiushuangzhai. As a result, he met Jia Yingchun and Xiuju near Zhuijin Pavilion. Jia Yingchun and Xiuju were both surprised to see Jia Huan dressed like this. Jia Huan bowed a little uncomfortably and said, "Good morning, second sister."

Jia Yingchun smiled gently and said, "Good morning, Brother Huan."

Xiu Jue's eyes were bright and full of little stars, and she said with a smile: "When we saw Third Master Huan dressed like this from a distance just now, we thought it was Second Master Bao."

"Has Huan'er also accepted the invitation from my third sister?" Jia Yingchun asked with a smile.

Jia Huan nodded and said, "I think Second Sister is the same. We can go together."

Jia Yingchun was nicknamed "Wooden Man", and she was weak and taciturn. She didn't talk much at all. She just nodded and said nothing. The two of them walked together for a while, and probably felt that the atmosphere was getting awkward, so Jia Yingchun hesitantly said, "Huan'er, thank you for what you did the day before yesterday."

Jia Huan had long noticed that Jia Yingchun had a golden phoenix hairpin with pearls and silk threads pinned to her hair. He thought that Nanny Wang must have redeemed the hairpin and returned it to Jia Yingchun after being warned by him. He smiled and said, "Second sister, you are too polite. It's just a small matter. You really can't give this kind of evil maid too much face. The more you give her face, the more she will be arrogant."

Xiu Ju nodded and agreed, "That's right, the girl is just too soft-hearted. She never said a word when she was bullied. If it weren't for Master Huan San's help this time, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to get her things back."

Jia Yingchun looked slightly embarrassed and said angrily, "You are the one who is meddling in other people's business. She is my wet nurse and I can only respect her. Usually, she is the one who talks about me, not me. What can I do? Am I going to quarrel with her over a piece of jewelry?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "If she is good, it is right for Second Sister to respect her. But if she commits a crime, Second Sister will use her authority as the master to gather people to gamble, take things without asking, and bully the master. Any of these is enough to beat her up and drive her out of the house."

Jia Yingchun twisted her clothes and said nothing, looking like a primary school student listening to a teacher's lecture. Seeing this, Jia Huan knew that it was useless to say anything. Second sister's cowardly character had already been formed. It was probably impossible to change it in this lifetime. It was impossible for her to be tough. So he could only smile and say, "Huan'er is just giving Second sister a suggestion. You just listen to it for now."

Then he turned to Xiu Ju and said, "If anyone bullies my second sister in the future, you tell me!"

Xiu Jue said happily: "Thank you, Master Huan San. Hehe, now my daughter has someone to back her up."

Jia Yingchun felt warm in her heart and her eyes actually turned slightly red. She and Jia Lian were half-siblings. In terms of blood relationship, she was closer to Jia Lian. However, this brother never cared about her. Instead, her more distant cousin Jia Huan cared about her so much, which was really touching.

"Huan'er, thank you." Jia Yingchun said softly.

Jia Huan's heart was moved, and he said with a smile: "Second sister, you are too polite. By the way, Huan'er hasn't painted for a long time. Recently, I want to review it. I am in need of a model. Can you please be a model for me?"

"What is a model?" Jia Yingchun was puzzled.

Jia Huan hurriedly explained with a smile: "I just want to draw a portrait of you, Second Sister."

Jia Yingchun suddenly realized and smiled: "So that's how it is. Of course there is no problem. When? Do you want to paint at my place or at Huandi's place?"

"It's all right. It depends on when Second Sister is convenient."

Jia Yingchun pondered and said, "How about I go to Huandi's place tomorrow afternoon."

The two agreed on a time and walked towards Qiu Shuang Zhai while chatting. It was obvious that their relationship had become more familiar. Jia Yingchun talked more and also started to call Jia Huan "Brother Huan".

When the two of them arrived at Jia Tanchun's Qiu Shuang Zhai, as soon as they entered the door, they immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the room. Xue Baochai, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baoqin, Jia Tanchun, Jia Xichun, and even Jia Baoyu stared at them.

Jia Huan couldn't help sweating, and he coughed lightly and asked, "What's wrong with you sisters?"

Lin Daiyu covered her mouth and laughed, "Look, Sister Bao, here comes another rich and idle person!"

Xue Baoqin burst out laughing when she heard this. Jia Tanchun's eyes lit up with surprise. She stepped forward, put her hands on Jia Huan's shoulders, and looked him up and down, saying with a smile, "Brother Huan, you look really smart today."

(End of this chapter)