The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 471 It’s obvious
Jia Huan returned home, unloaded his luggage, took a nice hot bath with the help of Ping'er and Mandalin, and changed into clean home clothes. When he was sorting out the articles and notes he had written during this period, he heard the door curtain rustle. He thought it was Mandalin coming in, so he said casually, "Come here quickly, let me test you to see if you have made any progress during this period."

However, there was no response. Jia Huan looked up unexpectedly and saw Lin Daiyu leaning against the door, looking at him with a smile. Her eyes were full of joy and anger. He couldn't help but feel a little excited and asked with a smile, "When did Sister Lin come?"

At this moment, Lin Daiyu was wearing a pomegranate red double-breasted feather satin cloak with apricot red edging, a light gold and peach red jacket with scattered flowers inside, a peach red horse-faced skirt, and small red leather boots with gold-patterned patterns. She looked like a red plum blossom blooming in the snow, pleasing to the eye.

"I wonder what Jia Jieyuan wants to test me on? I'm all ears!" Lin Daiyu said with a smile.

Jia Huan laughed and said, "How dare I? Sister Lin is testing me."

After Jia Huan had just finished his bath, his lips and teeth were redder, his eyebrows were sharp, his eyes were bright, and he looked handsome. When he smiled, Lin Daiyu's face became slightly hot. She changed the subject and asked, "Brother Huan, have you seen the old lady and the mistress since you returned home?"

"Not yet. Let's go later. Sister Lin, you've come at the right time. I have something good to give you." Jia Huan waved his hand.

Lin Daiyu walked up curiously and asked, "What good stuff?"

Jia Huan fished out something like a telescope from his bookcase and handed it to Lin Daiyu, saying, "Please look closer to your eyes."

Lin Daiyu took it and put it close to her eyes as she was told. She saw only a colorful pattern, nothing special about it. Just as she was wondering, Jia Huan reached out and turned the small cylinder at the bottom. The colorful pattern in front of her eyes immediately began to change. Sometimes it looked like plum blossoms, sometimes like peach blossoms, and sometimes in the shape of animals. It was very interesting.

"Is it fun?" Jia Huan asked with a smile.

Lin Daiyu nodded and said, "It's really interesting. What kind of Western thing is this?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "This is called a kaleidoscope. A classmate bought it in Panyu, Lingnan, and gave it to me. I thought it was fun, so I kept it for Sister Lin."

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu immediately threw it back to Jia Huan and said, "I don't want it if it's used by others."

Jia Huan seemed to have expected this and said with a smile, "I'm kidding you. This is a new thing I bought specially in the foreign goods store. No one has ever used it except me. Since Sister Lin doesn't want it, I'll give it to Third Sister."

"I'll let you do this!" Lin Daiyu said lightly, raising her hand to give Jia Huan a chestnut. The latter reached out and grabbed her hand, exclaiming softly, "Why are Sister Lin's hands so cold?"

"It just snowed a little outside, and I forgot to bring my hand warmer when I went out." Lin Daiyu said softly.

"Let me warm you up." Jia Huan grabbed Lin Daiyu's hands without saying anything, covered them with both hands, and put them to his mouth to blow a few breaths of warm air.

Lin Daiyu's face felt slightly hot and her heart was pounding. Just at this moment, Ping'er came in with a cup of hot wine. Lin Daiyu's pretty face immediately felt like it was burning on fire and she quickly pulled her hand back.

"Miss Lin, please have a glass of wine to warm yourself up." Ping'er seemed to have seen nothing and just handed the wine to Lin Daiyu. The latter took it with a thank you, raised her head and drank it all.

Ping'er took the empty cup from Lin Daiyu and said with a smile, "Miss Lin, please take off your cloak and sit for a while. I learned that the Third Master would be returning home today, so I stewed some ginseng chicken soup early in the morning. It's still warming on the stove. Miss Lin is weak, so it's just right for us to drink a bowl of it together to nourish ourselves."

Lin Daiyu hurriedly shook her head and said, "It's greasy, I'm not used to it. Oh, I'll go back first."

Jia Huan was stunned and said, "Sister Lin has only been here for a while!"

Lin Daiyu said, "I just came back from my second sister's place and passed by here, so I came in to take a look. Brother Huan has to pack his things and report to the old lady, the lady and the master. I will come again in the evening." After saying that, she took the kaleidoscope and left in a hurry.

When Jia Huan finished organizing his notes and walked out of the outer room, Mandalin had already prepared a large bowl of hot ginseng chicken soup. After Jia Huan drank one bowl, she quickly served another bowl and said with a smile, "Have another bowl."

Seeing that Mandarin's eyes were so charming that tears could drip out of them, Jia Huan knew what this foreign maid was planning. He couldn't help but feel warm in his heart. He hadn't had any "hard food" for more than 20 days since he was away from home. After drinking two bowls of nourishing ginseng chicken soup, he was still getting irritated. However, he had to pay his respects to Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang later, so Jia Huan could only suppress his impulse and wait until the evening to punish this seductive little bitch.

"Sister Ping'er, has anything happened during the time I was away from home?" Jia Huan asked while drinking his third bowl of chicken soup.

Ping Erh replied, "Yes, the Sun family has sent a matchmaker to propose marriage. It is said that the second young lady's marriage has been decided, and an auspicious day will be chosen after the New Year for the wedding ceremony."

He sighed again, "I heard that the master and mistress's persuasion was useless. The old lady simply ignored it and let the eldest master and the eldest mistress do whatever they wanted."

Jia Huan frowned and nodded. This was also within his expectations. With Jia She's character, he owed Sun Shaozu a huge sum of 6,000 taels, and he wanted to use Jia Yingchun to pay off the debt. How could he listen to other people's advice? "Oh, by the way, there is one more thing. The imperial concubine will not come back to visit her parents after the New Year this year. A few days ago, she sent a palace maid to deliver 120 taels and ordered the mansion to go to Qingxu Temple for a three-day peace ceremony. From Master Zhen and below, all the men in the family went to the temple to kneel and burn incense and worship Buddha. Master Zhen originally wanted to call the third master back from the academy to participate, but the old lady stopped him, saying that the spring examination would be held next year, and it would not be appropriate to disturb the third master's studies. This shows that the old lady still attaches great importance to the third master's studies." Ping'er said softly.

Jia Huan's heart moved. As the saying goes, "When one is in a hurry, one will try any doctor; when one is in bad luck, one will seek help from Buddha." Jia Yuanchun suddenly ordered people to hold a peace ceremony. Could it be that something happened in the palace? It shouldn't be that bad. Jia Yuanchun had just given birth to a prince. It was only a month ago. It was the time when the emperor was favoring her.

After drinking three bowls of ginseng chicken soup, Jia Huan felt warm all over, comfortable all over, and all three legs were full of strength. He immediately put on the golden pheasant fur coat given by Jia's grandmother and went out to pay his respects.

Jia Huan first went to pay his respects to Lady Jia, and then went to Lady Wang's room. To Jia Huan's surprise, Lady Wang did not seem to be nervous, and seemed to be in a good mood. After he kowtowed, she said calmly, "Brother Huan, get up. It's good to be back. It just so happens that the Imperial Concubine gave you a gift before the New Year. You can take it back with you, so I don't have to send someone to send it back."

It turned out that this morning, Eunuch Xia from the palace delivered the New Year's gifts given by Imperial Concubine Jia Yuanchun. All the masters and sisters received one, even Baochai and Baoqin, and Jia Huan was naturally no exception.

In addition, Eunuch Xia also brought a definite piece of news. The reason why the Imperial Concubine ordered the peace-making ceremony a few days ago was that the little prince suddenly had diarrhea. She thought he had dysentery and was extremely nervous, so she ordered the Jia family to hold the ceremony to pray for blessings. In the past two days, the little prince finally stopped having diarrhea and his appetite improved. The Imperial Concubine was in a good mood, so this year's New Year's rewards were particularly generous.

Ever since Wang Ziteng was dismissed from his post, the Wang family has been on the decline, and Mrs. Wang naturally lost the support of her natal family. Now the only person she can rely on is the imperial concubine Jia Yuanchun in the palace. Once something happens to Jia Yuanchun, she will be completely left without anyone to rely on. So she has been worried for days, but today she finally puts down her worry.

Jia Huan accepted the gift from Jia Yuanchun, thanked her and walked out of Mrs. Wang's room. Just as he was about to return to the garden, he suddenly saw a red shadow flash before his eyes, and a slim maid jumped out from behind the moon gate. Jia Huan was startled, and when he looked closely, he found it was Caixia!
Caixia giggled and said, "Did the maid scare the Third Master?"

Jia Huan nodded and said, "That's right, Sister Caixia has to compensate me."

Caixia's eyes turned and she asked, "How do I compensate you?"

Jia Huan looked around and whispered, "Sister, just compensate me for the rouge on your lips."

Caixia's cheeks flushed immediately, and she asked shyly, "Why do you want the rouge on my lips, Third Master?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Of course I ate it."

Caixia was shocked when she heard this and said, "How can you eat this?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "If you don't give me food, forget it. Let's go home!" After saying that, he walked through the Moon Gate and continued walking forward.

Caixia made up her mind and hurriedly chased forward and said, "Don't go, Third Master. I'll give it to you to eat." After saying that, she closed her eyes with a red face, looking as if she was ready to let you taste it.

Although Caixia's appearance is not outstanding, it is above average. She is full of youth and has a sweet smile.

Jia, who had just drunk three bowls of ginseng chicken soup not long ago, was excited to try it. He coughed and said, "Then I'm going to eat it."

Caixia closed her eyes and hummed shyly, but the next second her nose was pinched lightly. When she opened her eyes, she saw Jia Huan running forward with a laugh.

Caixia realized that she was being teased. She stamped her feet in shame and chased after him, angrily saying, "Third Master, you are so mean. You teased me!"

Jia Huan smiled and stopped, bowing respectfully and saying, "Don't be angry, Sister Caixia. I apologize to you!"

Caixia's anger turned into joy. Jia Huan fumbled in his bosom for a while and took out a jade pendant from a fan. He handed it to Caixia and said, "This is for Sister Caixia, just as an apology."

Caixia's eyes lit up, and she blurted out, "This is a gift from the Imperial Concubine, I dare not accept it."

Jia Huan exclaimed, "How did you know that?"

Caixia said proudly, "The things bestowed by the Imperial Concubine passed through Madam's hands first, so how could I not know that? I also know that the girls and brothers all received the same things, except that Master Bao and Miss Bao received something different from the others. The others only received two broken jade fans and pendants, while Master Bao and Miss Bao received two strings of red musk beads, two pieces of phoenix-tail silk, and a lotus mat."

Jia Huan felt very uncomfortable when he heard this. It was not because he was jealous of Jia Baoyu for receiving so many rewards, but because the things Jia Yuanchun gave to Jia Baoyu and Baochai as rewards were exactly the same. Moreover, the red musk beads symbolized happiness, and the phoenix-tail silk and lotus mat were bedding. Her intention was obvious. In other words, Jia Yuanchun wanted to match Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai together.

(End of this chapter)