The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 467: Planting flowers intentionally, planting willows unintentionally

On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the seventh year of the Qiansheng reign, Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng braved the severe cold and arrived at the Diecui Academy in the western suburbs of the capital. They were led by Zhang Zhilong to the dormitory, a room of about 20 square meters with a large bunk bed. Six people lived in it. In addition to Jia Huan, Lu Xiangsheng and Zhang Zhilong, there were three others, all of whom were candidates who were about to take part in the imperial examination.

"The conditions in the academy are simple, not as comfortable as at home. Please make do with it." Zhang Zhilong said with a smile.

"It's okay. This is good." Jia Huan smiled. He thought back to when he was in high school, he lived in an eight-person dormitory. Apart from the independent balcony and two bathrooms, the area was about the same as here. It was just that he was a little uncomfortable sleeping on a large bunk bed.

"If the Third Master has no other instructions, we'll go back first." Mu Ye and Jin Bao put down Jia Huan's luggage and asked hesitantly.

Jia Huan nodded and said, "Go back. Come pick me up on the morning of the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month."

No servants were allowed to be brought into the academy, and there was no place for servants to live, so Mu Ye and Jin Bao naturally could not stay in the academy.

Next, Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng began to tidy up their beds and luggage. Zhang Zhilong thought that Jia Huan, a son of a noble family, must have poor self-care ability because he had been spoiled since childhood. However, he soon found out that he was wrong. This kid was very skilled and quickly packed up and settled down.

"Senior Brother Zhang, what are we going to do next?" Lu Xiangsheng had also packed up by now. Since classes would officially start tomorrow, he had nothing to do now, so he asked.

Zhang Zhilong looked at the sky outside and said with a smile, "It's still early for lunch, how about I take you around the academy to get familiar with the environment?"

"We already visited it last time. Brother Zhang, why don't you take us to the lecture hall? I didn't finish writing an essay yesterday, so I can just finish it before lunch." Jia Huan suggested.

Zhang Zhilong gave a thumbs up and praised: "No wonder Ziming won the first place in the boy's test three times in a row and won the first place in the provincial examination. Now I understand. This spirit really makes us ashamed. Let's go, let's go to the lecture hall!"

As a result, when the three of them arrived at the lecture hall, they found that nine of the twelve desks in the room were already occupied. In other words, except for Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng, all the students were present at this "cramatory class" before the New Year, because there were only twelve candidates from Diecui Academy who would take part in the imperial examination the following year.

What made Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng speechless the most was that the book where Zhang Zhilong was sitting was still open, there was still ink in the inkstone, and the pen was still placed on the pen holder. In other words, this kid was studying hard in the classroom not long ago, and just left temporarily to receive the two of them.

Tsk tsk, Chinese people are still too competitive, no matter in ancient times or modern times, especially the top students in the "top classes", each one is more competitive than the other. Jia Huan has a deep understanding of this. After all, he was also a top student in his previous life. Those classmates were really doing exercises even when they were eating and taking a shit.

These candidates who are about to take part in the imperial examination are undoubtedly the top students in the academy. They are also outstanding. For example, at this moment, when Jia Huan and others arrived, none of these guys looked up, and they were all concentrating on studying.

Zhang Zhilong clapped his hands vigorously and said loudly: "Attention, students, please stop for a moment and introduce two new students."

Everyone in the classroom looked up at this. Zhang Zhilong said with a smile, "My fellow students, this is the famous Jia Huan and Jia Ziming. He is the top three in the boy's exam and also the new top scholar in Nanzhili. He is unprecedented and unparalleled, a child prodigy that only appears once in a century. He is also the youngest juren in our dynasty."

Jia Huan hurriedly bowed and said, "Jia Huan greets all the seniors. You don't have to take Brother Zhang's boasting seriously. Jia Huan is ashamed to accept it."

Everyone laughed in good faith, and secretly looked at the youngest scholar in the dynasty.

Zhang Zhilong continued to introduce: "This is Lu Xiangsheng, courtesy name Jiandou, also a newly-appointed scholar from Nanzhili. He has now joined our academy, and we will be classmates from now on."

Lu Xiangsheng also hurriedly bowed and greeted all the senior brothers. The other candidates stood up to return the greeting, introduced themselves one by one, and expressed their welcome to the two junior brothers to join.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone continued to study. Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng also sat down in the two remaining empty seats, silently took out their homework, and joined the ranks of the students.

As the saying goes, a sword is sharpened by grinding, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. All success is the result of hard work. Even if you are gifted, you cannot do without hard work. For example, Jia Huan, a time traveler, has memories of the afterlife. He is definitely a "gifted" person, but the reason why he was able to pass the imperial examination is also inseparable from the word "hard work".

When a person devotes himself to something, he often does not feel the passage of time. Before he knew it, the bell rang and it was time for lunch. Jia Huan and others rushed to the cafeteria, ate hurriedly, took a half-hour break to digest the food, and then returned to the lecture hall to continue studying.

However, just as Jia Huan was sorting out the books, a roll of drawing paper fell out of the bookcase. Lu Xiangsheng, who was sitting next to him, helped pick it up. He subconsciously opened it and took a look. He found it was a pretty portrait of a woman. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "Is this Ziming's new work? His painting skills have improved again. Congratulations."

"Hey, it turns out that classmate Jia is also a master of painting? Let me take a look!" Zhang Zhilong came forward curiously and looked at the portrait in Lu Xiangsheng's hand, but his face suddenly changed and his eyes were filled with doubt.

It turned out that the portrait Lu Xiangsheng was holding in his hand was exactly the one that Jia Huan had painted for Jia Yingchun that day, and it had already been colored. The beauty in the painting was even more lifelike and charming.

"Jia Ziming, did you draw this... did you paint this?" Zhang Zhilong asked with a stammer. Jia Huan noticed that Zhang Zhilong looked a little strange, and could not help but secretly wonder, and nodded: "Yes, I painted it recently, but I didn't expect to put it in the bookcase. I must have neglected it when I packed up to go out."

"Painted recently? This... is strange!" Zhang Zhilong scratched his head doubtfully, and looked at Jia Huan with a strange expression.

At this time, classmates sitting in nearby seats gathered around curiously to watch. They couldn't help but be amazed at the portrait and praised it for being well-painted. They didn't expect that Junior Brother Jia had such painting skills.

Jia Huan frowned and asked in confusion, "Why do you have such an expression, Senior Brother Zhang? Is there anything wrong with this painting?"

"This...there's nothing wrong with it, the painting is very good, it's indeed a rare masterpiece, but the woman in the painting seems familiar." Zhang Zhilong was hesitating when a man walked in silently. It was his senior brother Liu Yi, with a beard and greasy face.

Liu Yi walked behind and looked at the portrait, but suddenly he felt like he was electrocuted. His whole body trembled violently and his face changed drastically. He snatched the portrait from Lu Xiangsheng without saying a word and stared at the woman in the painting.

"Big...big brother!" Zhang Zhilong said with a chuckle.

Jia Huan was originally confused, but when he saw Liu Yi's reaction, he couldn't help but feel something in his heart and stood up subconsciously.

Liu Yi's chest rose and fell rapidly, and his breathing became heavier. After a long while, he turned to look at Jia Huan and asked in a trembling voice, "Junior Brother Jia, who is this...the woman in the painting?"

Jia Huan bowed and said, "The woman in the painting is my cousin, but I cannot reveal her maiden name."

Liu Yi stared at the portrait for a long time before his breathing slowly calmed down and his expression returned to normal. He rolled up the portrait and returned it to Jia Huan, saying, "I'm sorry for being so rude. I never thought that Junior Brother Jia's attainments in painting are so high."

"Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother." Jia Huan took the scroll calmly and put it back into the bookcase.

The book boxes of the ancients were equivalent to our schoolbags, but they were made of solid wood and had multiple layers of boxes. They could be used to hold books and study supplies and were very sturdy. However, their disadvantage was that they were quite heavy and not easy to carry.

When Liu Yi saw Jia Huan put the portrait into the bookcase, he was somewhat reluctant to leave. After hesitating for a moment, he turned around and left.

Zhang Zhilong sighed and muttered, "This is too similar!"

Jia Huan asked, "Who does he look like?"

Zhang Zhilong hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Looks like... Miss Qi."

Jia Huan was surprised and asked, "You mean to say that my cousin looks like Miss Qi Wanruo, who was my senior brother's childhood sweetheart?"

Zhang Zhilong nodded and said, "Indeed, they look alike. At first glance, I thought it was her, but a closer look reveals a difference. In general, they look about 70% similar, but their temperaments are 80% similar."

Jia Huan suddenly realized that it was no wonder that his senior brother Liu Yi reacted like this, but this was too much of a coincidence.

The reason why Jia Huan painted a portrait of Jia Yingchun and brought it to the academy was not negligence, but intentional. When he was in Yangzhou, Jia Huan had the idea to match Lu Xiangsheng and his second sister Jia Yingchun as a couple, so that Jia Yingchun would not fall into the hands of Sun Shaozu, the wolf of Zhongshan, and be tortured to death as in the original novel.

The portrait fell out of the bookcase just now, which was also done intentionally by Jia Huan. His purpose was to let Lu Xiangsheng see the "beautiful photo" of his second sister and leave a good impression on him first, so that it would be easier to match them up in the future. Unexpectedly, Lu Xiangsheng did not seem to be attracted to the portrait after seeing it, but instead brought up the case of the eldest brother Liu Yi.

At this time, Zhang Zhilong's eyes turned, and he leaned close to Jia Huan's ear and whispered, "Ziming, excuse me, is your cousin married?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "Not really."

Zhang Zhilong was secretly delighted and whispered, "That's good, that's good!"

Jia Huan naturally guessed what this kid was planning, but he didn't say it out loud. The eldest brother was excellent in appearance, character, family background and talent, and he also had the title of Juren. He was far better than that Zhongshan wolf Sun Shaozu. If he could really be matched with the second sister, it would be a good thing. However, the eldest brother was deeply in love with Qi Wanruo and had not been able to get over his grief for nearly three years. The second sister only looked like Qi Wanruo.

(End of this chapter)