Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 37 Exploring Baochai at Night
  Clang! Jia Cong pulled out the sword. This sword was in the style of a Tang Hengdao. The blade was straight and narrow, with a thick back and a thin blade. There was no iron ring at the tail. Instead, it had the head of a divine bird. The wings spread downwards and wrapped around the handle. It was very domineering and comfortable to hold. Comfortable and stable.

What surprised Jia Cong the most was the strange pattern all over the blade body. This pattern was called the "Muhammad pattern" in later generations and is the iconic pattern of Damascus steel.

Unexpectedly, this knife was made of steel thousands of miles away.

"I heard that this sword was inherited from the original Duke of Xianrong. The old head of the Xue family, "Ziwei Sheren" Xue Gong, purchased high-quality iron from the coast of the West Sea. He also asked the imperial general to be a master craftsman to make it. It's done, as a celebration gift." Lin Zhixiao said with a smile.

Jia Cong nodded and couldn't put it down. He saw two seal script inscriptions on the swallowing part of the blade. They were probably the names of the swords, but he didn't recognize them either. It seems that Sister-in-law Feng miscalculated this time. She has probably never been to a dirty place like an arsenal. She only thought that ordinary weapons were rotten. She did not expect that there were well-preserved magical weapons. This wave is worth 666.
  "Steward Lin, thank you very much."

"This is the duty of a slave. Mr. Cong is being polite." Lin Zhixiao was a good person. He saw that Jia Cong was not what he used to be, so he was happy to do favors.

Jia Cong smiled slightly, went home, and carefully cleaned the sword. The more he looked at it, the more he fell in love with it, and couldn't help but dance in the courtyard.

Just a loud shout was heard, and Jia Cong's hand erupted with heavy waves of swords and cold air. The sword light was like a sword, criss-crossing left and right, and a continuous silver light was seen traveling around Jia Cong, cutting out whooshes in the air. The sound is extremely sharp.

Jia Cong quickly put away the knife and stood up, stroking the blade lightly with a satisfied look on his face. This knife was easier on his hands than any knife he had ever used before!
  The length, weight, style, and center of gravity are all just right. If you add one point, it will be more, if you subtract one point, it will be less.

Qingwen came over and wiped his sweat gently: "Master Cong played so hard just now."

Jia Cong smiled slightly, took the rose-colored silk handkerchief in her hand, and said, "There are better ones." He threw the handkerchief into the air.

Then under Qingwen's puzzled gaze, she raised the blade of the knife, flicked it slightly, and with a soft hiss, the handkerchief was cut into two pieces in the air.

So sharp.

Qingwen ignored this, stamped her feet and said coquettishly: "Master, my handkerchief was made by someone else, please pay for it."

Jia Cong laughed, took out the handkerchief from his arms, threw it to her and said, "I'll compensate you. It's better than yours." It was Qin Keqing's piece.

Qingwen took it and took a look. This veil was extraordinary and she asked suspiciously, "Where did you get it from?"

"Uh, I'm telling you," Jia Cong pulled Qingwen into the room and whispered, "This was given to me by someone else. I'm not allowed to lose it, and I'm not allowed to show it to others."

Seeing his sneaky look, Qingwen said angrily: "Bah, some fox gave this to you, I don't care." Then she threw the handkerchief aside.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "You don't need to poop, just put it away for me. It's not safe for me to keep it on my body, so I'd better leave it at home."

Suddenly he saw Jia Huan running in and said: "Third brother, I heard that in a few days the Holy Lord will take the clan members and nobles to Tienwang Mountain for a siege. None of the gentlemen will go, and neither will the second brother Lian. Only Dongfu will go." Brother Zhen is going to represent our family, will you go?"

Jia Cong's eyes lit up, he had a God-given opportunity, and he hurriedly said: "Who did you listen to? Is it reliable?"

"I heard my mother say that the master told her."

Of course Jia Cong knew that Jia Huan was talking about Aunt Zhao, so he secretly thought that the information was reliable, and he already had an idea in his mind.

Suddenly something occurred to him and he said: "Brother Huan, I practice at my master's house every day and have no time to stay in the house. Please ask me something. If you are right, I will reward you with 10 taels of silver."

"What's going on on me? What's going on in this house that I don't know about? I don't know, and my mother knows too." Jia Huan's chest was slapping loudly.

Jia Cong whispered: "You go and ask me quietly, why does Sister Bao treat me hot and cold, but what did I do to offend her? Don't make it known to everyone, that would be boring. Do you understand? ?”

Jia Huan nodded and ran away. The reward of ten taels of silver made him decide not to go to school today by pretending to be sick.
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  In the evening, Jia Cong came back and just after dinner, Jia Huan came in with a proud look on his face.

"Is there any news?" "That is, don't you know who I am, Third Master Huan? Third Master Huan is out, and he will be able to capture him. Bring the money. Even though we are close brothers, the accounts must be clear." Jia Huan stretched out his hand and said.

Jia Cong laughed and asked Qingwen to get the silver.

Jia Huan collected the money and said with a smile: "Today I went to ask Ying'er next to Sister Bao, but she refused to tell her whether she was dead or alive. Then I played dice with her and lost almost a sling of money and gave it to her, which made her happy. , she just quietly said something to me."

"What?"

"It's a matter of honor and honor, I don't dare to say anything nonsense."

"Doesn't that mean you didn't say anything?" Jia Cong frowned, this shilling of money was so profitable.

"That's what I said. I kept twisting her for a long time before she said something else: Mr. Cong is good at everything, but it's a pity that he is a commoner." Jia Huan leaned into Jia Cong's ear and whispered.

Jia Cong nodded slightly, knowing it in his heart.

Jia Huan continued: "Later, when my mother heard that you gave me 10 taels of silver, she praised you for being a good person and being generous."

Jia Cong smiled bitterly: "Thank you, Aunt Zhao, for your appreciation."

"So my mother has another message for you."

Um? Jia Cong knew that Aunt Zhao had been working hard at home for a long time, so there was no news that she didn't know.

"My mother said that there has been some rumors about a good relationship in the house recently. I don't know where it came from. It seems to be related to Sister Bao."

Jia Cong looked after her before and after, and suddenly realized that it was probably Aunt Xue who disliked her family background, so she did not allow Sister Bao to get close to her. Aunt Xue's dislike of concubines is like the mother-in-law's dislike of men who have no houses in later generations. It is the custom of this era.

Jia Cong can understand it, but that doesn't mean he has to accept it.

After all, we are young people in the new era, and what we value is free love.

After sending Jia Huan away, he took a bath. Seeing that it was already dark, Jia Cong decided to visit Lixiangyuan at night!
  He always does things simply and directly, and likes to cut through the mess quickly. Now that he understands the cause of the matter, he no longer hesitates and strikes first to gain advantage, and to strike later to suffer disaster. Hey, he is not Jia Baoyu, and he will never wait for love.

Another reason why he chose to explore at night was that he felt he was a little accomplished in kung fu and wanted to experience what it was like to be a snitch in ancient times. As a warrior deeply influenced by martial arts culture, it was quite exciting to think about exploring Rongguo Mansion at night.

When the mother-in-law outside came to check for the night, Qingwen turned off the lights, and Jia Cong suddenly sat up from the bed, wearing dark blue clothes, a long knife on his back, and a black scarf on his face.

He originally bought this outfit to prepare for Jia Zhen's assassination, but now he has other plans and doesn't need it anymore.

Qingwen saw that he was dressed like a gangster, she covered her mouth and said in surprise: "What are you going to do?"

"Stealing jade and stealing fragrance." Jia Cong said with a smile, "You stay at home and don't show off your skills. Just pretend that I'm still here. I'll be back in a minute."

Before Qingwen could persuade her again, Jia Cong had already opened the back window, jumped out gently, and stood a little further on the courtyard wall. He held the top of the wall with his hands and climbed over the wall like a civet cat.

Qingwen closed the window bitterly. Mr. Cong was too mischievous. How could he be discovered? Which girl is worthy of him becoming a thief? Could it be Miss Xue? I was so uneasy that I didn't dare to sleep, so I had to put on my clothes and sit outside, waiting anxiously for Jia Cong to come back.

(End of this chapter)