The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 23 First Encounter with Qin Keqing

Jia Rong was startled, and when he looked carefully, he became furious and frowned, cursing:
"Jiao Da, you are such a dog!"

"Where did you get drunk again and come here to make a scene?"

"The master's distinguished guest is here, don't offend him!"

The old man was staggering and swaying, obviously drunk, and he was yelling at the top of his lungs:
"What distinguished guest?"

"These men are covered in blood, they are clearly murderers. They must be thieves pretending to be thieves, and they want to rob the mansion!"

Jia Rong became even angrier after hearing this, and waved his hand to signal Lai Er and others to come forward.

"Hurry up and tie this guy up and throw him out, or else we will lose face for our Ningguo Mansion!"

After cursing, he turned around and explained to Zhan Ershisi with a smile:

"This Jiao Da is an old man in the mansion. He used to be with the old master. He saved the old master's life on the battlefield. The family misses the old times, so they have been raising him in the mansion."

"Who would have thought that this fellow would take advantage of his age and do nothing but drink and spit shit everywhere when he was drunk."

"Normally he wanders around and no one cares about him. I didn't expect him to jump out and act like a spoiled brat today. It's really embarrassing for uncle."

Zhan Ershisi also smiled and waved his hand, saying:
"It doesn't matter. Some of my men were hunters in the past. It's not wrong to say that their hands are stained with blood."

"Since Jiao Da has made great contributions, we should give him some credit."

"As for his tendency to talk nonsense when drunk, just don't believe him. What can he do?"

Seeing that he was not angry, Jia Rong heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile:
"Uncle is really kind and generous. This is absolutely true. No one believes Jiao Da's drunken talk anymore."

The two men continued to move forward, talking and laughing as usual, but Zhan Ershisi became alert in his heart.

Jiao Da had fought on the battlefield before, so he was very familiar with the murderous aura and recognized it at a glance.

And since Jiao Dayu has sharp eyes and can see through everyone's background, there must be other people in the capital who have this ability. When you go out in the future, you have to bring some subordinates who have never been stained with blood.

Jiao Da's little disturbance did not have any impact, so everyone pretended nothing had happened and went straight into the warm room. Jia Zhen was waiting in the inner hall.

This inner hall is luxurious and elegant, with dragons and phoenixes carved on the walls and several famous calligraphy and paintings hung on the walls. The ink is vivid and the brushstrokes are vigorous. I wonder which famous artist created these works.

A bluestone screen cleverly divides the space, and the screen is carved with mountains, rivers, and pavilions in great detail.

The floor of the hall is paved with blue bricks and there is a ground heating underneath. The heat rises from the ground, bringing warmth, and accompanied by the curling sandalwood smoke, it appears more quiet and solemn, full of the style and heritage of a large family.

In the center of the hall stands a hollow-carved rosewood Eight Immortals Table, on which are neatly arranged various porcelain tea sets. The celadon tea cups glow with a warm luster under the light.

Jia Zhen was sitting at the table sipping tea, showing the demeanor of a wealthy man and not looking like a prodigal at all.

After meeting Jia Zhen, Zhan Ershisi smiled and bowed, saying:

"The honeycomb briquettes in the store have just been made, so I brought some over for Brother Zhen to see."

The men put down the small stove and honeycomb coal and went out, leaving the three of them alone to chat.

Jia Zhen did not look at the merchandise. Instead, he laughed and stood up to greet him. He led him to the table and invited him to sit down. While pouring tea for him, he said jokingly, "Haha... my dear brother, you came at the right time. Aunt Xue and several women from the West Mansion are also here as guests today. They are chatting with my wife in the backyard."

"It's a pity that your fiancée has not come, otherwise I would have arranged a secluded place for you two to have an intimate meeting there!"

Jia Zhen himself was a shameless person, so he treated everyone as the same as himself. He smiled happily when talking about these things and did not feel it was a loss of status at all.

It’s a pity that he didn’t know that Zhan Ershisi came here not for some fiancée, he was definitely inviting a wolf into the house.

Zhan Ershisi didn't know why Baochai brought Aunt Xue here, but he thought it was just a cover, so he smiled and said:

"So Madam Xue is here. I will go to see her. I would like to ask Brother Zhen to help inform her."

Jia Zhen didn't know the reason and thought it was just a matter of etiquette, so he didn't object and immediately asked Lai Er to go to the back to pass the message.

After Lai Er left, Jia Zhen chatted with Zhan Twenty-four for a few more words before picking up the small stove and honeycomb coal, taking a look at them, and throwing them down in disgust.

"This thing is only used by the lower class. I definitely don't use this thing in my house."

Although Zhan Ershisi knew that the annual cost of burning charcoal in the Ning and Rong mansions must be very high, if they were replaced with honeycomb coal, they would probably save at least a few hundred taels of silver every year. However, this kind of thing would cut off people's financial resources and make them hate him. Moreover, he was now hoping that the two mansions would go bankrupt, so how could he say anything? He smiled and agreed:
"Brother Zhen is right. Not only here, but also in my family, we don't need these things."

"Which respectable family doesn't use charcoal these days?"

"It's because the rich are smart and it's hard to make money from their pockets, so I have to find a way to take money out of the pockets of the poor."

"That's right!" Jia Zhen smiled brightly. "Those poor fellows have never read a book. They just want to survive. How can they understand dignity?"

The two of them were chatting and laughing in the front. Aunt Xue in the backyard received Lai Er's report and didn't know why Master Zhan came suddenly. She didn't dare to refuse to see him, so of course she agreed.

Lai Er came back and replied, inviting the masters to come in and talk.

The two of them entered the inner courtyard hand in hand, and saw Aunt Xue surrounded by the crowd, sitting in the middle, with several ladies sitting on each side. Baochai had also come, and was sitting on one side with another little girl.

The little girl was dressed as a young lady, sitting quietly at the bottom, with her brows lowered and her eyes downcast, looking aloof and cold, as if she were a little transparent. Only occasionally would she turn her head and chat with Baochai.

Of the other women, he only recognized one, Wang Xifeng, whom he had met in the east courtyard that day. The others were also dressed as women, around 20 or 30 years old, with very charming looks and figures.

There were many people present, and it was not convenient for Zhan Ershisi to look around casually, so he glanced around and took a look at the most beautiful woman. He guessed that this was Qin Keqing, then he retracted his gaze, took a step forward, and bowed to Aunt Xue.

"My nephew Zhan Niansi meets Madam Xue."

Aunt Xue waved her hand hastily, "Mr. Zhan, please don't be polite."

Zhan Ershisi also exchanged greetings with several other people and listened to Jia Zhen's introduction. In addition to Lian's second sister-in-law, whom he had met before, he also got to know Zhen's eldest sister-in-law Youshi, Rong'er's daughter-in-law Qin Keqing, and his younger sister Jia Xichun.

Seeing Zhan Ershi's handsome appearance, the eyes of the girls immediately lit up. Yu Shi even poked Baochai mischievously and said with a smile:

"The person that someone has been thinking about is here, so we won't keep you here any longer. Why don't you take your brother from the Zhan family to stroll around the garden at the back?"

Baochai blushed and stood up to ask Aunt Xue for permission. How could Aunt Xue refuse? She agreed with a smile.

Amid the murmurs of laughter from the crowd, Baochai led Zhan Twenty-four straight into the back garden.

(End of this chapter)