Dream of the Red Chamber: I Put on the Flying Fish Robe, and the Whole Jia Household Panicked

Jia Huan, an illegitimate son of the Rongguo Mansion, wears old robes, lives in a rundown courtyard, has his monthly allowance withheld, and is made to kneel in the ancestral hall. His stepmother says he is unworthy of silk, while the servants mock him as “a bastard.” Jia Huan doesn’t argue. He turns around and earns a place in the Pacification Bureau, changing into a black uniform and strapping on an Embroidered Spring Saber. When he returns to the side gate of the Rongguo Mansion, the gatekeeper’s knees nearly buckle. “M-Milord Jia?” From black to silver, and from silver to gold and purple, each step up brings an even more imposing flying-fish pattern. When Madam Wang withholds his accounts, he brings a summons from the Pacification Bureau to collect. When Lai Da steals his silver, he brings out the case files and demands answers. It’s time to rewrite the rules of the Rongguo Mansion.