The Good Grandson of the Red Chamber

Chapter 56: Flower Festival, Lin Daiyu's Arrival

Prince Zhongshun secretly gave Xia Chengzong a thousand taels of silver notes, telling him not to tell his elders and to keep them for his own spending money.

The business of making honeycomb briquettes was originally provided to him by this little guy.

Logically, if money were to be distributed, it should be given to the little guy.

However, he was too young and had not yet separated from the family, so he was not allowed to have his own private property.

Therefore, Prince Chungshun had no choice but to hand over the silver to his third brother.

But he still felt guilty.

Xia Chengzong exchanged pleasantries and then accepted the silver notes.

He certainly has many needs for money.

……

Xia Chengzong discovered that his status at home had changed without him realizing it.

The children—including Xia Chengqian—were somewhat awkward in front of Xia Chengzong, no longer joking around as freely as before.

It was as if he was the eldest brother, and Xia Chengqian, the eldest brother, was like a younger brother in front of him.

His father, Prince Chung-machi, no longer treated him like a child and showed him more respect.

The princess remained kind and loving, but it was always hard to tell whether her kindness was genuine or not.

The Prince's mansion had many more eunuchs, maids, and old women, many of whom he did not recognize.

Everyone treated him with the utmost respect, far exceeding the attitude shown towards other young masters.

The Prince's Mansion of today is no longer the loving mansion it was when it was sealed off.

Family ties will gradually drift away from him.

However, this is the price to pay for vying for the throne!

Time passed day by day, and before we knew it, it was New Year's Eve.

Prince Chungshun had sent them many firecrackers beforehand.

Xia Chengzhi was drooling over the firecrackers. He had never set off firecrackers himself before, only ever seen them from the walls of the Prince's Mansion.

Therefore, they had been eagerly anticipating it for a long time.

He had just finished his New Year's Eve dinner and it wasn't even completely dark yet when he eagerly grabbed a lit incense stick and ran to the back garden to set off firecrackers.

Fearing something might happen to him, Xia Chengqian quickly took his younger brother and sister-in-law and followed.

Xia Chengzhi placed a large firecracker on the open ground, squatted down, leaned back, and stretched his arms forward.

He poked it once and then quickly pulled his hand back to run away. When he looked back and saw that he had missed, he cautiously reached out to poke it again.

It took eighty or ninety pokes to finally light the firecracker.

He quickly covered his ears, turned around, and ran away.

He was running too fast, tripped, and fell to the ground with a thud.

He quickly got up and ran to the crowd in a few swift movements.

Whoosh!

After a while, firecrackers rose into the air and exploded in mid-air, bursting into colorful light.

Xia Chengzhi asked smugly, "How about that? Aren't I amazing?"

Xia Caiwei pouted and said, "You stood eight hundred feet away, and it took you more than ten tries to light it. What's so great about that? You're just a coward!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Chengzhi immediately blushed and retorted, "I wasn't afraid, I was just being cautious!"

"If you're so capable, then you do it! You're too scared to even order it! What right do you have to call me a coward?"

The two children were arguing fiercely. Xia Caiwei was so provoked that she actually wanted to set off firecrackers herself, but Xia Chengqian stopped her.

Xia Chengzhi set off a few firecrackers, then asked Xia Chengqian to set them off as well, but Xia Chengqian shook his head.

Then Xia Chengkun set off two firecrackers. He wasn't as afraid as Xia Chengzhi, but he didn't particularly like setting off firecrackers either.

Xia Chengkun then asked Xia Chengzong to do the same.

Xia Chengzong did not refuse and took the incense from Xia Chengkun.

Then he picked up a large firecracker, placed it on the ground, bent down to light it, and slowly walked towards the crowd.

The children shouted, "Third Brother, run! Run!"

Xia Chengzong laughed and said, "It's alright!"

He turned around halfway there, and firecrackers shot into the air and exploded in mid-air.

Xia Caiwei clapped her hands and said, "Look at Third Brother, he remains calm even when Mount Tai collapses on top of him—that's true bravery!"

"You haven't been to school, so you don't know this saying. All you need to know is that you're a coward."

You haven't read any books, so you don't know this saying. It's not very hurtful, but it's extremely insulting, and it immediately silenced Xia Chengzhi.

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Xia Chengkun's negative emotions +1 +1 +1

Huh?

He could understand Xia Chengzhi's negative emotions, but what was the reason for Xia Chengkun's negative emotions?

Just because Xia Caiwei praised him?

Or perhaps it's because he's too outstanding that he's harbored underlying negative emotions towards himself, which have now surfaced?

Human nature is still too complicated.

Fortunately, he didn't need to see through people's hearts; he only needed to know that Xia Chengkun had negative feelings towards him.

The crowd stayed up until midnight before dispersing.

The next morning, he got up early to go to the palace to pay his respects.

Afterwards, they hosted a banquet and were busy for several days.

However, after only a few days of busy work, the only people they are now closest to are the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion and the Lin family.

Xia Chengzong saw Jia Min once at the Lin family home. Her belly was high and her face was glowing with maternal radiance.

There weren't many other close relatives; he would just visit the Eastern Palace and a few other princes from the Crown Prince's faction.

Before we knew it, the Lantern Festival had arrived.

The day was lively again, and the next day, the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, marked the complete end of the New Year celebrations.

The children reluctantly went to the main hall to study, and this time, Xia Chengzhi, another little fellow, joined them.

The following year, he grew a year older and is now six years old, the age to start school.

Xia Chengzhi didn't cry or make a fuss; in fact, he seemed quite eager to try, his eyes revealing a clear sense of foolishness.

After attending school for a few days, Xia Chengzhi grew tired of it.

He couldn't understand arithmetic even by counting on his fingers, and he would fall asleep as soon as he entered the class on physics.

Even Xia Chengzong personally taught him, but he still couldn't understand.

Some people's talents don't lie in studying, so why make things difficult for others and for themselves?

Xia Chengzong was too lazy to control him anymore and let him be.

However, Xia Chengzhi is quite talented in martial arts.

Even compared to Xia Chengren, he is no less impressive.

Before we knew it, it was February 12th, a day that happened to be a school holiday.

The Lin family sent someone to announce the birth; it turned out that Jia Min had given birth to a daughter today.

The Prince Chung-jung and his family were also happy for them.

Xia Chengzong thought to himself that February 12th was the Flower Festival, which was also Lin Daiyu's birthday.

It is clear that this young lady from the Lin family is none other than Lin Daiyu from the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

Xia Chengzong was curious about what Lin Daiyu, the most eloquent of the Twelve Beauties, looked like when she was a child.

Nearby, a few children started chattering amongst themselves.

Xia Chengkun said, "Aunt Jia's daughter is as beautiful as a fairy descended from heaven. Her daughter must also be as beautiful as an angel."

Xia Chengzhi nodded and said, "Yes, I really want to see what this Lin family girl looks like!"

Xia Caiwei snorted coldly, "You guys should hurry up and leave. What are you still doing at home?"

Xia Chengkun and Xia Chengzhi looked completely bewildered, wondering what had gotten into Xia Caiwei all of a sudden.

Xia Chengzong laughed and said, "No matter how beautiful the Lin family girl is, how can she compare to Caiwei? Caiwei is the most beautiful girl in the world!"

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