The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 486: The pretty girl is eating fishy food
Just as Lin Daiyu arrived, Jia Baoyu followed, panting and complaining: "We agreed to go out together yesterday, why did Sister Lin go first?"

Lin Daiyu was stunned for a moment and said, "I got up in a hurry this morning and forgot about this matter. Besides, Second Brother Bao always arrives earlier than others. I thought you were the first one to arrive again, but I didn't expect that someone else was the first." After saying that, she glanced at Mou Huan with a smile.

Jia Huan gave an innocent smile, but Sister Lin rolled her eyes at him. Jia Baoyu said awkwardly, "It was my fault. I went to bed late last night, so I got up late. It has nothing to do with you."

It turned out that Big Face Treasure played the game of picking flower names with the maids in the room last night and drank a lot of wine. He went to bed in the early morning, so he got up half an hour later than usual in the morning. He suddenly remembered that he had an appointment with Lin Daiyu to go to the poetry club together yesterday. He hurriedly changed his clothes and washed up, and went out without even having breakfast. As a result, when he arrived at Xiaoxiang Pavilion, he found that Lin Daiyu had already gone out and was not waiting for him as promised.

Little did she know that Lin Daiyu's heart was now completely on Jia Huan. She agreed to go out with him yesterday just out of courtesy. What's more, Yihong Courtyard and Xiaoxiang Pavilion were adjacent to each other, making it even more difficult for her to refuse. As a result, this morning, when Lin Daiyu was ready to go out, she still hadn't seen Jia Baoyu, so she simply went ahead.

In other words, there is no Baoyu and Daiyu love now. In Lin Daiyu's mind, Jia Baoyu is just an ordinary relative. It is impossible for her to be jealous of him or worry about him anymore, and it is even more impossible for her to compose the popular "Song of Burying Flowers" because of Jia Baoyu.

While everyone was talking, Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun also arrived one after another. The three of them were dressed almost the same, wearing the same bright red gorilla felt and feather satin cloaks, and had gold phoenixes with beads and filigree on their heads.

At one moment, Shi Xiangyun also arrived. She was wearing a gown with a sable head, a black-grey sable lining, and fever fur inside and outside, which had just been given to her by her grandmother. She also wore a Zhaojun hat made of goose yellow with gold lining and a bright red gorilla felt cap on her head, and a large sable collar. She looked beautiful, heroic, and adorable.

Seeing this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but smile and said, "Look everyone, Sun Xingzhe is here."

Shi Xiangyun chuckled and said, "Look at how I'm dressed inside."

As she spoke, she took off her coat, revealing a half-new short jacket with three-lined collar, autumn-colored gold-embroidered dragons, narrow sleeves and a silver mouse collar. Inside, she wore a short water-red satin gown with fox-pattern pleats. Her waist was tightly tied with a five-colored palace belt with long tassels and a bow, and she wore suede boots on her feet, which made her look even more slim, with a wasp waist, ape arms, and crane-like posture.

Jia Tanchun laughed and said, "He just likes to dress up as a boy, which makes him look prettier than her dressing up as a girl."

A moment later, Li Wan also came with her maid Suyun, wearing only a monotonous double-breasted gown, which exuded a simple and elegant beauty. In fact, as one of the twelve beauties of Jinling, Li Wan's appearance was not bad, and she was not too old, only in her twenties, which was the prime of her youth. Unfortunately, she became a widow in her teens. She had been educated in the three obediences and four virtues since childhood, and she had no intention of remarrying. She was faithful to her husband and only focused on raising her young son to grow up. Her heart was like a dead tree, so naturally she didn't dress up much.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get started. Sister Yun is the host of this poetry club. Let's quickly announce the topics of the poems so that everyone can write poems." Jia Baoyu said impatiently.

Shi Xiangyun smiled and said, "Second brother, you are in a hurry again. Have you forgotten that you wrote the last poem about the crabapple tree? Why are you in such a hurry? Let's enjoy the snow first, and it won't be too late to write poems after having some good wine and delicious food."

Jia Baoyu said with a little embarrassment: "I just didn't perform well last time. I will definitely not be the last one this time." After saying that, he glanced at Jia Huan.

Jia Huan just smiled and said to Shi Xiangyun, "Where are Sister Yun's delicious wine and food?"

Shi Xiangyun chuckled and said, "Second brother only cares about writing poems, while Huan'er only cares about eating. Don't worry, there will be enough wine and meat today."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "I don't care about writing poetry or eating. I'd just like to go fishing." While taking a fishing rod, she went fishing by the window.

Luxueguang is built near the river. Although the river is frozen, it is not thick. People can fish by breaking the ice. Of course, the so-called river is just a small pond with running water. Now it is covered with ice and snow, and you can experience the scene of "fishing alone in the cold river".

Seeing this, all the girls joined in the fishing. At this time, the kitchen finally brought over the marinated lamb skewers, two large pieces of venison, and four or five tables of fruit wine.

Shi Xiangyun exclaimed, and asked Baochai in a low voice, "Where did the deer jerky come from?"

Xue Baochai was also a little confused. She called Liu Jia aside and asked, "What's going on with the deer jerky?"

Liu Jia laughed and said, "The deer jerky was bought by Third Master Huan. Didn't he tell the girls about it?"

Xue Baochai turned her head and glanced at Jia Huan in the distance. Her eyes softened and she nodded, saying, "I understand. You can go by yourself."

"Then I will leave first. If you need seasoning, firewood or anything else, please let someone notify the kitchen and I will bring it to you right away." Liu Jia said with a smile.

"Thank you, Aunt Liu." Shi Xiangyun hurriedly asked Cuilu to take out a hundred coins as a reward, but unexpectedly, Aunt Liu smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Master Huan has already given five hundred coins, Miss Shi, there is no need to give more."

Cuilu was feeling sorry for the 100 coins, so she immediately put them away without a clear conscience. Xiangyun was so angry that she wanted to pinch this stingy little hoof, but she couldn't do it in front of everyone. After Liu's family and their people left, Shi Xiangyun twisted Cuilu's ear and said angrily, "I asked you to give me the money just now, why did you put it away again? You have made me lose face."

Cuilu pouted her lips in grievance and said, "Miss, didn't you hear that Master Huan San has already rewarded you? He rewarded you 500 coins, which is already enough. Miss, you only get 500 coins a month, which is not enough. After buying hair oil and rouge, there won't be much left. You have to spend sparingly."

Shi Xiangyun blushed with embarrassment and said angrily, "You little bastard, you've become a miser even though you're still young."

Xue Baochai smiled softly and said, "Forget it. Cuilu is also for your own good. Since Brother Huan has already rewarded her, there is no need to reward her again."

Shi Xiangyun was straightforward and was about to go and thank Jia Huan. Xue Baochai quickly stopped her and whispered, "What are you in such a hurry for? Brother Huan didn't mention it himself, so he didn't want to make it public. But for your sake, if you go to thank him now and let everyone hear it, wouldn't it be a waste of his kindness? You can thank him separately after the meeting is over. Otherwise, you don't have to thank him at all. Just appreciate his kindness in your heart and give him something small later. It doesn't have to be expensive, but just a small token of your appreciation."

Upon hearing this, Shi Xiangyun nodded and looked at Jia Huan with gratitude who was fishing in the distance.

Next, the masters were fishing and chatting, while the maids gathered together to grill lamb skewers. Ping'er and Mandarin were invited, and the young ladies gathered together, making it as lively as a street market. The foreign maid was especially happy. It was her first time to participate in such an activity. In addition, she had blonde hair and blue eyes, an angelic face, and a devilish figure, so everyone surrounded her curiously and asked her all kinds of questions, inquiring about the interesting things in that distant country.

"Wow, it smells so good, I want to try it too!" Jia Tanchun smelled the fragrant aroma of barbecue, was the first to put down her fishing rod, and ran to eat the grilled lamb skewers.

Shi Xiangyun was the host today. She stood up and said, "Everyone, eat and drink your fill first, then we can write poems."

So everyone was told to take their seats, and together with the masters and maids, there were exactly five tables. Lin Daiyu didn't like roasted meat very much, thinking it was too greasy, so she only ate half a piece of cake on the table. Seeing this, Jia Huan took a bunch of golden and crispy roasted lamb thighs, washed off the grease and a lot of seasoning powder with boiling water, and then handed it to Lin Daiyu, saying, "These lamb thighs are all lean, not fat. Sister Lin, try some. You can't live without meat."

Lin Daiyu felt sweet in her heart. She took the skewer and ate half of it, then said she was full. She just watched Jia Huan and the others eat. In comparison, Shi Xiangyun was much more generous. She ate more than a dozen skewers of the delicious food, and her mouth was full of oil. This was not enough, so she started to think about the two pieces of venison jerky, and finally decided to roast a whole piece.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

Seeing Shi Xiangyun skillfully cut a whole piece of venison as big as a chopping board into small pieces with a knife, then coated it with seasoning and grilled it on a wire mesh, Xue Baoqin couldn't help but stick out her tongue and asked, "Sister Yun, can you eat such a big piece of venison?"

Shi Xiangyun laughed and said, "Fool, don't you want to eat?"

Xue Baoqin looked at the bloody venison and said with a smile, "It smells fishy. I won't eat it."

"Wouldn't mutton smell even more smelly? It's just that the seasoning has been used to remove the fishy smell. My venison will not smell fishy after it's roasted. The sound of deer calling and eating wild duckweed are delicacies only available at the Deer Calling Banquet. Among those present, only Huan'er has had the honor of participating in the Deer Calling Banquet. Hehehe, you are lucky enough to eat the venison roasted by me today." Shi Xiangyun said proudly.

Everyone laughed, and Xue Baochai joked, "If it doesn't taste good later, you can eat the whole piece of venison by yourself."

"If she can't finish the meal, make her wash the cups and plates on the tables." Lin Daiyu said with a smile.

Shi Xiangyun pointed at the half skewer of mutton that Lin Daiyu had left over and said with a smile, "Look everyone, who hasn't finished eating? If anyone is going to punish me, I'll punish you first."

Lin Daiyu ate the remaining half of the lamb shank out of spite, and then said, "Now you can't punish me."

Jia Huan laughed softly and said, "If I want you to eat more meat, I have to rely on Sister Yun."

Lin Daiyu's pretty face turned slightly hot, and she just turned her head away and ignored Jia Huan.

The venison was finally roasted. Shi Xiangyun cut it into small pieces for everyone to taste. As a result, everyone rushed to eat it. Even Xue Baoqin, who had said she didn't want to eat it before, ate two pieces.

Lin Daiyu said with a smile: "Where did these beggars come from? It's all your fault, Yun'er. Well, today Luxueguan was robbed, and I cry for Luxueguan."

Shi Xiangyun said proudly: "I am a true gentleman who is naturally romantic. Now that I have eaten meat and fish, I will be able to write poems with great skill. Sister Lin, you are definitely not comparable to me."

Xue Baochai joked, "You can boast as much as you want. If you can't write a good poem, I will dig out the venison you ate and bury it in this pile of reeds and snow to offer sacrifice to you, so as to end the disaster."

(End of this chapter)