The Good Grandson of the Red Chamber

Chapter 11: Lin Ruhai is my father's best friend

The little ones happily followed Prince Chungshun out the door.

Even Xia Chengzong had some expectations.

In his previous life, he had naturally climbed the Great Wall, but he had never climbed it when it was snowing.

Now, this has piqued his interest, and he is eager to see what the Great Wall looks like after the snow.

He also longed to stand atop the Great Wall and overlook the surrounding snowscape.

The officials in the capital were not incompetent; in just one day, the snow on the roads was cleared.

After leaving the city gate, the snow clearing on the roads gradually worsened, and the carriage became bumpy and slow.

The little ones, however, remained excited. They lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the snow-covered landscape outside, exclaiming in amazement.

However, as time went on, they gradually lost interest.

At first glance, the vast snowscape is breathtaking, but after looking at it for a while, you realize that they all look the same, and it even hurts your eyes.

Add to that the melting snow, the freezing cold, the howling north wind, and the biting cold.

They drew the curtains, curled up inside the carriage, and began to doze off.

More than an hour later, they finally arrived at the foot of the Great Wall.

As everyone disembarked from the carriage, Prince Zhongshun personally warned them, "It's freezing cold and the snow is thick. If you get bumped or bruised and freeze, it won't be a joke."

"Therefore, we will climb up to this high place, look at the snow scene, and then go back. No wandering around."

"If you behave, your fifth uncle will take you out to play more often in the future. If you don't behave, he will never take you out to play again."

The little ones responded in a chaotic manner:

"Okay, okay, we'll listen to Fifth Uncle."

"Let's go!"

"Fifth Uncle, will you take us shopping tomorrow?"

Prince Chungshun chuckled and responded to them as he led them up the mountain.

As a result, Xia Chengzhi slipped and fell to the ground with a whoosh, disappearing without a trace.

Everyone was startled, and the accompanying guards rushed forward to look for him, quickly pulling him out of the snowdrift.

Seeing that he was unharmed and covered in snow, the children couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Xia Chengzhi wasn't annoyed at all; in fact, he found it quite amusing and encouraged Xia Chengkun to dance with him again, telling him how much fun it was.

Even Xia Caiwei was tempted after hearing this and wanted to dance along.

In the end, they were stopped by Prince Chungshun, and only then did they give up the idea.

Fifteen minutes later, stumbling and struggling, they finally reached the top.

Looking out from a high vantage point, one is immediately struck by the vastness of the world and the grandeur of the mountains and rivers, and a sense of pride arises spontaneously.

This scene prompted Xia Chengzong to recite: "The scenery of the Northland is magnificent, with thousands of miles of ice and snow."

"Looking beyond the Great Wall, all that remains is boundless expanse; the Yellow River, both upstream and downstream, has lost its roaring flow. The mountains dance like silver serpents, the plains gallop like wax elephants, vying with the heavens in height!"

"On a sunny day, one can see the red-clad beauties dressed in white, looking exceptionally enchanting."

Upon hearing this half of the poem, Prince Chungshun couldn't help but exclaim, "What a wonderful poem! And the second half?"

Xia Chengzong suddenly realized what was happening.

The scene and the poem were so perfectly matched that he couldn't help but recite them.

However, the second half of this poem should absolutely not be read.

In the second half of the poem, the author compares himself to Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Taizu of Song, as well as Emperor Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, and concludes with the statement: "All have passed away; the truly remarkable figures are those of today."

It would be a big problem if I were to recite this myself, so the second half of the poem must never be read aloud.

Thinking of this, Xia Chengzong said, "Fifth Uncle, I just spoke spontaneously."

"I've lost inspiration right now. Let me go back and think about it slowly to see if I can fill in the gaps."

Prince Chungshun laughed and said, "We must complete it properly, otherwise it would be a pity to waste this half of a fine poem."

Looking out from the high vantage point, the snow scene was indeed magnificent, but the biting cold wind made the little ones shiver and their noses run.

Seeing this, Prince Chungshun quickly told them to go downstairs.

Once they climbed onto the carriage, the warmth emanating from the incense burner inside made them feel cozy and comfortable.

A sneeze!

A sneeze!

Xia Caiwei and Xia Chengzhi, the two little ones, immediately started sneezing.

These two people, after being chilled like this, will probably catch a cold—what we called typhoid fever in this era.

After more than an hour, they returned to the Prince Zhongshun's residence.

Prince Zhongshun dared not neglect the task and hurriedly ordered ginger soup to be prepared for the children.

As a result, Xia Caiwei and Xia Chengzhi, the two little ones, started having snot and tears streaming down their faces.

This inevitably caused Prince Chungshun to feel worried and regretful.

A cold is not considered a serious illness in modern times, but in this era, it can be a life-threatening condition.

Prince Zhongshun dared not delay, so he quickly summoned the imperial physician, who prescribed a medicine and personally watched the two little ones take it.

Seeing that their symptoms had eased somewhat, I felt a little relieved.

It wasn't until evening that Prince Chungshun sent them back.

When they arrived at the gate of Prince Zhongzheng's residence, he didn't even dare to enter. He quickly ordered the carriage to be turned around and sped away.

When the princess saw that the two children had caught a cold, she was so angry that she kept scolding him for being unreliable.

Fortunately, there was nothing seriously wrong, and the condition improved by the second day.

Surprisingly, their third brother did not check their homework.

Instead, they checked Xia Chengkun's homework in front of them. Xia Chengkun hadn't memorized it, so he was punished with a cane in front of them.

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

Xia Caiwei's positive emotions +1 +1 +1

夏承志正面情绪+1+1+1+1+1

Goodness, they can actually provide themselves with positive emotions?

This gave Xia Chengzong a glimmer of hope, and he wondered if he could delve deeper and create a track that could earn their positive emotions.

After thinking about it, I finally realized that it's easier to generate negative emotions.

It's not that positive emotions can't be profitable, but rather that negative emotions are more cost-effective.

……

Xia Chengzong continued polishing the crystal pieces. With the Emperor's birthday approaching, he needed to speed things up.

Not long after, a servant came to inform them that the prince was receiving guests and asked them to go and meet him.

This puzzled Xia Chengzong.

Generally, only very close friends would ask a younger member of their family to come and pay their respects.

For example, in the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, when Jia Yucun visits Jia Zheng, Jia Zheng will call out Jia Baoyu to accompany him.

Jia Yucun was promoted by the Jia family and was also a member of the same clan, so they were extremely close, which is why they acted this way.

The Prince's Mansion had been sealed off for seven years. Xia Chengzong was curious that his cheap father actually had such close friends.

Before long, the four brothers gathered together and headed straight for the study.

From afar, they could hear their father's hearty laughter.

Upon entering the study, Xia Chengzong saw his father chatting happily with a young man.

This man was handsome and refined, with an air of scholarly elegance; he truly deserved the title of "a gentleman as beautiful as jade."

When Prince Zhongzheng saw the children enter, he instructed them, "You all, quickly come and pay your respects to Uncle Lin."

"Nephew pays his respects to Uncle Lin."

Lin Ruhai laughed and said, "Get up quickly, Brother Xia is truly blessed. Your sons are all outstanding talents, their future prospects are immeasurable!"