The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 463 Fermentation

Ping Er returned to Yuewei Residence and, while hanging up the lantern, she stamped her feet and said, "It's freezing cold outside. My hands and feet are numb after a while, and my face feels like it's being cut by a knife."

Mandalin quickly poured a cup of hot rice wine and handed it to Ping'er, who drank it all in one gulp. She immediately felt a warm current spreading from her stomach, and then she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This year seems to be colder than last year. On the way back just now, I saw that the stream below Qinfang Sluice was frozen."

Jia Huan held up Ping'er's red hands and blew on them to warm them, then lifted up his own clothes and put them in. Ping'er felt sweet in her heart, pulled her hands out, and said softly, "I'll warm them by the fire for a while, be careful not to freeze you, I'll have to serve you later." Then she walked to the stove to warm herself by the fire.

Mandalin took the opportunity to say with a smile: "Sister Ping'er doesn't want it, but I do. My hands are also very cold. Third Master, you can't be partial to one and treat the other differently."

Jia Huan put his hands around the maid's slender waist and said, "Go warm up the quilt first. You are very tired today. Go to bed early."

Mandarin's eyes lit up and she happily ran to warm the bed.

Jia Huan sat down next to the stove and asked, "What did Second Sister say?"

"The second young lady asked me to thank the third master, and she also said that she would come to our place to have her portrait painted tomorrow morning." Ping'er hesitated for a moment, and then said, "But the second young lady doesn't look well. Her eyes are swollen like walnuts from crying, and she wanted to go to bed as soon as it got dark."

Jia Huan was surprised and asked, "What happened?"

Ping Erh repeated what Si Qi had said, and sighed, "The eldest master and mistress are so foolish. Although the second young lady is a concubine's daughter, our Jia family is at least a founding duke, and with the second young lady's character and appearance, there is no need to worry about not finding a satisfactory husband. They chose a crude and ugly warrior, and the age difference is too big. No wonder the second young lady is unhappy. I heard from Si Qi that the second young lady cried on the bed for a long time after she came back, and she didn't even eat dinner."

Jia Huan's face darkened. The old bastard Jia She really sold his daughter. If his second sister had married Sun Shaozu, the wolf from Zhongshan, she would probably have suffered the same miserable end as in the original book.

…………

After dinner, Jia Zheng drank a cup of ginseng tea as usual to replenish his energy and refresh his mind. Aunt Zhou brought hot water to help him wash his feet, while Mrs. Wang sat beside him, chanting with her eyes closed, holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand.

When Jia Zheng had washed his feet and put on his shoes and socks, Mrs. Wang seemed to have finished chanting the Buddha's name three hundred times. She opened her eyes and chattered, "Master, I heard that the eldest master and the eldest mistress sent the second young lady to meet a stranger today. I'm afraid the marriage has already been decided."

Jia Zheng stroked his beard and said, "According to the rules, Ying-maid has reached the age to get married. This is a good thing. I just don't know whose family the man is from."

"I wonder if the master has any impression of the Sun family in Datong Prefecture?" Mrs. Wang asked.

"The Sun family of Datong Prefecture?" Jia Zheng pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I remember now. The ancestors of the Sun family of Datong Prefecture once came across a problem that they could not solve, so they relied on our Jia family, but later on, the relationship became increasingly distant."

Mrs. Wang suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. It is said that Mr. Sun's name is Sun Shaozu. He inherited his ancestor's position and is now the commander of the East City Military Division. Although his position is not high, he seems to be quite capable."

Jia Zheng's face changed, and he blurted out, "Now that you've said that, I'm awake. I've seen this Sun Shaozu before. Because of his bad reputation, he's still unmarried at the age of nearly thirty. How could the master be so foolish as to marry Ying to this man?"

Mrs. Wang was surprised and said, "I have always wondered why this man has not married at the age of nearly thirty. I thought it was because he was too ugly. It turns out there is another reason. I just don't know why this man has such a bad reputation."

Jia Zheng frowned and said, "It is said that this man took advantage of his position to plunder and rob people, so he became rich, and made friends with all kinds of people in the market. It is inevitable that he behaved eccentrically and unscrupulously. I am afraid that he did a lot of shady things in private. He slept with prostitutes and bullied men and women. It goes without saying that he even beat two concubines to death. In the end, he spent money to settle the matter."

Mrs. Wang was shocked and said, "Amitabha, how could this man be so cruel? No wonder no one dared to marry their daughter to him."

Jia Zheng said in a deep voice: "I have to persuade my elder brother. This is clearly pushing Ying girl into the fire pit. You should also explain the severity of the situation to Taida in private."

Madam Wang said calmly, "I will tell the Madam about this myself, but I'm afraid the Master won't listen."

Jia Zheng fell silent for a moment. In fact, his relationship with his elder brother Jia She was not harmonious, and Jia She had already arranged for Ying Yatou to meet Sun Shaozu in person, which meant that he had made up his mind. Even if he tried to dissuade him, he would probably not listen.

Thinking of this, Jia Zheng couldn't help but sigh and said, "Forget it, I'll just remind him a few words, as to whether he can listen or not, I'll leave it to him."

Mrs. Wang nodded and said, "That's right. Although we feel sorry for Yingchun, she is not our biological daughter after all. The eldest master is her real father, so it's not our place to interfere. If she marries well, it's her good fortune. If she doesn't, it's just fate." Mrs. Wang was a hypocritical good person. She had been fighting openly and secretly with Mrs. Xing for so many years that she was too lazy to care about Jia Yingchun's marriage, so as to avoid trouble and being bullied by Mrs. Xing.

…………

The northwest wind whistled across the roof of the Qianqing Palace. The study in the Yangxin Palace was burning with the finest silver charcoal, and there was copper pipe floor heating, so the room was as warm as spring.

Emperor Qiansheng was wearing only a light suit and sitting behind his desk reviewing memorials. Yi Hong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, stood respectfully in front of the desk until he put down his imperial brush. Then he carefully reported: "The scholars who were sitting in front of the Zuoye Gate to petition were dispersed by the people of the East City Military Department with a puff of cold water."

Emperor Qiansheng frowned and asked, "Who is the commander of the East City Army?"

Yi Hong replied, "Your Majesty, that man's surname is Sun, and his name is Sun Shaozu, from Datong Prefecture. Hehe, this guy has dirty hands and a dirty bottom. It's easy to catch him, and there's no need to check."

Emperor Qiansheng waved his hand and said, "No need, just let him do whatever he wants, you can leave now."

Yi Honggong retreated out of the study.

Emperor Qiansheng picked up a scroll on the desk, which was the joint petition of those scholars. It was densely signed with red fingerprints, and there were estimated to be thousands of people. They demanded that the court thoroughly investigate the reselling of salt permits and pointed the finger at the Ministry of Revenue and the noble family group.

Emperor Qiansheng just glanced at it and put it aside. There were too many people involved in the reselling of salt permits, and they were all powerful people in the court. The impact was huge, and the resistance was naturally great. The current public opinion was obviously far from hot enough, so Emperor Qiansheng did not intend to take any action and waited for public opinion to ferment for a while.

Although those scholars have been dispersed today, they will certainly not give up. The official suppression will only arouse greater anger in them. As long as Donglin Academy incites them again, a more massive movement will surely come back. It would be best if a few lives were lost. Then Emperor Qiansheng can take action with justification and take down the Ministry of Revenue in one fell swoop.

…………

In the Jinling Guild Hall, Zhang Pu and others gathered around a fire pit, shivering, sneezing, and blowing their noses one after another. Some people's teeth were chattering, almost turning into a "symphony".

It is said that Zhang Pu's ability to mobilize is truly powerful. There are now nearly two hundred people living in the Jinling Guild Hall, all of whom are candidates from Nanzhili who are coming to Beijing to take the imperial examinations. As a result, more than half of the candidates were mobilized by him to participate in today's petition demonstration at Zuoye Gate. Many of them were soaked, and they were frozen like dogs. Some weak people even fell ill.

"How ridiculous! Those bastards from the East City Military Affairs Division are pouring cold water on us in the middle of winter. They clearly want to kill us. I'm freezing to death... sneeze!" A scholar was cursing angrily, but he sneezed before he could finish his words, and his snot flew half a meter away.

Wu Changshi gritted his teeth and said, "We can't just let this go. We have to make the East City Army pay the price. At worst, we'll have to fight them. I, Wu Changshi, can't swallow this kind of humiliation."

"Brother Laizhi is absolutely right. We are all candidates, but we are treated like this by these bastards. This is intolerable!"

"Let's fight them!" The scholars gritted their teeth, everyone was filled with indignation.

Seeing that the situation was getting heated, Zhang Pu stood up and said loudly, "Students, please be patient. We are writing this petition together only for the sake of our country and society, not to be brave and aggressive. The Dongcheng Military Division is just a lackey under the command of the powerful. These lackeys came out to suppress us, which just shows that the powerful behind them are anxious, and it also proves that we are doing the right thing. At this time, we must not be blinded by anger and let the other side take advantage of us. Instead, we must mobilize more like-minded people to strengthen our momentum. I believe that one day, the emperor will hear our calls for justice and wipe out these evil spirits in one fell swoop."

"Brother Tianru is right. We should mobilize more people to enhance our prestige. If it is beneficial to the country, we have to do it at all costs. Why should we avoid it because of misfortune or fortune? The backbones of us scholars cannot be bent!" Yang Tingshu waved his fist and shouted.

The scholars were as cold as dogs just now, but upon hearing the words, their blood immediately boiled and they raised their arms and shouted.

At this time, a scholar ran out of the room in a panic and said, "Oh no, Brother Sanxin's whole body feels like it's on fire. We need to call a doctor, otherwise his life may be in danger."

Zhang Pu and others hurried into the room, only to see a scholar lying on the bed shivering. Even covering himself with several quilts did not help. When they touched his forehead, it was burning hot.

It turned out that the scholar on the bed was called Zhang Xin, with the courtesy name Sanjin, so everyone called him Brother Sanjin. This guy was also unlucky. He was weak to begin with, and he fell while escaping. Someone from the Wucheng Bingmasi poured a bucket of water on his head, soaking his whole body. He almost froze to death on the spot. After being rescued by his companions, he developed a high fever.

"My fellow students, please take good care of Brother Sanjin. I will go get a doctor right away!" Zhang Pu immediately went out in the severe cold.

(End of this chapter)