Ch. 14 - It Was the Dream of Red Mansions Scene 1

Salt patrolling was a unique official position on the two Huaihe rivers. Although it was only an official title of the three grades, it was a top-ranking position in the world.

It not only controls the salt tax on the two Huaihe rivers but also has the right to picket hundreds of officials. In terms of status, it was not under the governor of one province but only inferior to the governor of the two rivers. Therefore, it has always been forbidden to be a close Minister of the Emperor.

Lin Ruhai, Jia Lian's uncle, was once such an extravagant figure.

However, these were old records. After Lin Ruhai died after being appointed to the office, his former wealth and glory vanished.

At present, the salt patrolling official office was bleak. Even the servants have been dismissed, leaving only a few servants brought by Jia Lian from the capital.

But that evening, in the small back hall of the official office, rare lights were lit up again, and the two copper furnaces were filled with silver frost and charcoal, which was as warm as early summer.

Under the candlelight, Jia Lian drank the alcohol one after another, his eyes had already turned straight and his body trembled, but he shouted with his tongue wide, "Come, this... this cup of wine, your second brother, I want to toast it to your soulmate! If she wasn't here, how could you and I drink so freely?”

He has been busy with funeral arrangements these days, and he also has to take into account his young cousin. He has not been able to drink freely for more than half a year and has already saved up a bellyful of wine bugs.

So he was overjoyed when he heard that Sun Shaozong had brought his wife!

According to the custom at this time, if there were only two men, Jia Lian, and Sun Shaozong, it would be inconvenient for them to drink in the official office for the sake of their cousin's reputation. But with the company of the Sun family members, there would be no need to worry about anything.

So Jia Lian happily ordered someone to take Ruan Rong to the backyard and arrange for her to rest with his cousin. He immediately put down a banquet and dragged Sun Shaozong for a drink from noon until the evening.

Seeing that Jia Lian was drunk, Sun Shaozong accompanied him for another cup, and while he was not paying attention, he changed the contents of their cups into tea.

Who knew, just after putting the teapot back on the table, Jia Lian sat down at his desk and cried bitterly. His mouth was full of confusion. "My pitiful cousin, who was supposed to be like a fairy coming down to earth, but it happened that she was so unlucky. She first lost her mother, and now it was her father. These days, even her words are a lot less and have become even thinner!"

After hearing this, Sun Shaozong was speechless. He was hesitating about whether he should just call the servant to send him back to his bedroom and rest. However, he thumped on the table and shouted, "Daiyu… Daiyu, don't blame your Second Brother Lian for being heartless. It's... it's just…"

What about it? He mumbled, and nothing was heard clearly, but the word ”Daiyu” was like thunder and lightning. Sun Shaozong's mind was buzzing!

Daiyu?

Lin Daiyu?!

Isn't that the heroine in the Dream of Red Mansions novel?!

Sun Shaozong was also a ”boor” in his previous life. He liked the stories of the "Three Kingdoms" the best in his life. He also likes the novels "Heroes of the Marshes" and "Journey to the West.” Among the four famous works, only this "Dream of Red Mansions" has never been read.

Therefore, he did not know that Jia Lian, Sun Shaozu, and others were also characters in the book.

But Sun Shaozong has heard of the names Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai!

At this time, he suddenly heard the name ”Daiyu” and connected the story to the Jia family. Didn’t he know that he had crossed into the "Dream of Red Mansions" novel?

If he crossed to the world of the "Three Kingdoms" or the *"Heroes of the Marshes,” with his foresight and a mighty force, not to mention the establishment of an imperial figure and hegemony, at least it would not be a problem to have a manor and be given the title of a prince!

But why was this the "Dream of Red Mansions"?!

How did he knew what was written in the book?

After thinking hard about Jia Lian, who was crying and laughing, Sun Shaozong only vaguely remembered that “The Dream of Red Mansions” was mainly about the Jia family, which seemed to be a love tragedy, but he didn't remember the specific plot of the story.

The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became. Jia Lian chattered about it like a woman. Sun Shaozong couldn't help taking the jar of yellow rice wine, slapping open the mud seal, and pouring it into his stomach with his head up!

He was about 1.93 meters tall and weighed about 120 kilograms. Naturally, his stomach was much larger than that of ordinary people. Therefore, he drank a jar of yellow rice wine in a short time.

Plus, with the two pots he drank before, at least he drank more than four kilograms!

Although the alcohol percentage of the yellow rice wine was not very high, which was similar to that of a beer, its after-effect was much stronger than that of a beer. After Sun Shaozong's wild drinking, he soon became drunk.

In a daze, he didn't know which string in his mind was wrong. He tapped his chopsticks on the cup and plate, and the song "The rolling water of the Yangtze River runs east” came out of his throat.

The bleak and vigorous songs spread around in the dark, which complemented the bleak atmosphere of the official office.

—Dividing Line—

Squeak~

Ruan Rong leaned out of the window of the West Wing room in the backyard, listened attentively for a moment, and then looked back curiously and asked, "This song that Brother Sun is singing includes the Yangtze River and a hero. It sounds interesting. Sister Lin, do you know what he’s singing?"

Following her eyes, a young lady was sitting on the spring bench, dressed in hemp, but she was not Lin Daiyu. Who else could she be?

Although the two had been together for only half a day, they were both young officials who had lost their mother at a young age, and neither of them was a conformist, which made them get along perfectly.

It was about from the window that some cold air blew in. Daiyu shrank her shoulders and frowned for a while, then shook her head and said, "This poem is simple, vigorous, generous, and sad. It can be called a first-class masterpiece in the ”State of Linjiang” of all dynasties, but I have never heard of it, and I don't know who wrote it."

Seeing her poor appearance, Ruan Rong hurriedly closed the window.

Then she heard that she had never heard of the word before. Ruan Rong suddenly saw a bright light in front of her eyes. She rushed to Daiyu and laid down on the round table covered with Shu brocade. She asked excitedly, "Are you saying that this song was written by Brother Sun?"

Daiyu and her big eyes stared for a while, and then she suddenly burst out laughing. She quickly covered her mouth and said with a smile, "They all say that “Anyone is perfect in your lover's eyes.” No wonder my elder sister can't help but recognize a great talent!"

Ruan Rong blushed and thought she was a little whimsical, but she said, "You haven't heard this song, so why can't it be written by Brother Sun?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "I'm a young lady, and I'm not a great scholar. How many poems and songs can I read? If I haven't heard of the poems, are they all going to be written by your Brother Sun, whom you love? In that case, isn't he able to write hundreds of poems about drinking at will? It's easy to plagiarize the official script!"

Ruan Rong was speechless when she said this. Seeing the little fox smiling at her, she couldn't help but pounce on her in anger. She tickled her armpits and waist. Daiyu, who was laughing uncontrollably, repeatedly begged for mercy.

With this laugh, they became close again.

Seeing that Daiyu's small hands were cold and could not feel a trace of warmth, Ruan Rong simply opened her woolen coat, wrapped her in her arms, rubbed her chin against Daiyu's forehead, and sighed with anger and joy, "You are a girl who is good everywhere but only has a sharp mouth that refuses to forgive."

However, when Daiyu said that, she was buried between the two peaks. She felt that her mouth and nose were full of warm fragrance, and her heart could not speak out. She couldn't help but remind her, "Elder sister if you are tolerant at everything, are you not afraid of the family members of Lieutenant… Lieutenant Sun does not recognize you? Don't forget the rule that "The ones who are betrothed will be the wife and the ones they pursue, will be the concubine."

She wanted to say, “I'm not afraid that Lieutenant Sun has become a traitor,” but she was afraid that these words would be too hurtful, so she changed her words temporarily.

But even so, Ruan Rong was still stiff when she heard the words, but she soon softened again, buried her pretty face in Daiyu's head of green silk, and said leisurely, "What about if she can only be a concubine? It's better to miss her love and regret her whole life."

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