Chapter 51: , Liu Guozong reveals the secrets of Dream of the Red Chamber... Part Three

That papaya that An Lushan secretly gave to Yang Guifei……

(I) Baoyu is a 'lowly bone', while Keqing is merely a 'lascivious fox'——

In the previous chapter, it was said that Jia Baoyu, having grown tired from playing in the Daguanyuan, was seduced by his niece's wife Qin Keqing into her room; who would have thought that Jia Baoyu was originally a 'lowly bone' who drools at the sight of a beautiful woman, and Qin Keqing is a 'lascivious fox' who seduces men? As long as that lascivious fox releases her 'lascivious aura', even the most upright man will obediently submit, ear to the ground. For Jia Baoyu, the libertine scion of the Jia family, Qin Keqing had long wanted to drag him into debauchery and have a good time with him. Now this 'lowly bone' has finally fallen into the lascivious fox's mouth. A bone about to reach the mouth—how could it be let slip?

Recall how that greedy fox, using every trick on the tree, managed to deceive the meat out of the crow's beak; now the crow, holding the meat, brings it to you of its own accord—how could you still let it get away?

(II) This person just wants people to praise him, even children are like that——

As soon as Baoyu stepped into Keqing's room, a sweet, delicate fragrance bewildered his heart and mind.

Friend, guess where this fragrance is wafting from?

As it turns out, Qin Keqing is also a world-class beauty of star calibre, yet although she possesses talent and looks, her talent and beauty have never had a venue to be displayed, and she fails to gain others' appreciation.

This person is nothing but a 'monster', loving to show off, wanting people to fawn over him, wanting people to praise him. He wants to find a stage to display himself. Even a newborn baby wants others to praise him (or her) for being good-looking, big-eyed, clever, capable, and smiling… Therefore, in real life, those who boast and flatter are always popular. As long as you hit the right note, you'll soon get a promotion! Don't believe me? Try flattering your boss and see! Whether Chinese or foreign, as long as one is human, everyone likes to be praised.

(III) There's an old foreigner who praises people into a single flower——

There is an old foreigner named Shakespeare who praises people into a single flower. Look at how he praises humanity: 'Humanity is a most remarkable masterpiece! How noble its reason! How great its power! How graceful its bearing! How elegant its conduct! In conduct, how like an angel! In wisdom, how like a deity! The essence of the universe! The spirit of all things!'

This foreigner just loves to blow his own horn, spouting nonsense; if we take his words at face value, does humanity have no flaws? Is he a perfect person? Is the whole world full of good people? We won't argue with him; we'll just purse our lips, and he won't be able to contend with us.

Anyway, getting back to the story, let's see how that little lascivious fox wins over Baoyu in an amusing way.

(IV) Qin Keqing's room is decorated like a fairy cavern——

Just now we went a bit off-topic; let's return to discussing Qin Keqing's room.

Speaking of which, Baoyu had just been brought to the **fox's room when a refreshing fragrance hit him, making his head spin and losing his sense of direction. Could this lascivious fox's room be Zhuge Liang's 'Eight Trigrams Formation'? Or Jiang Ziya's '** Formation'?

'No! No!' Qin Keqing's room décor is something else—take a look: the mirror that Wu Zetian used, the silk handkerchief washed by Xi Shi, the mandarin duck pillow personally sewn by the matchmaker, and the papaya that An Lushan threw at Yang Guifei. In short, everything in the room has been used and signed by celebrities.

As it turns out, before marrying into the Jia family, Qin Keqing also wanted to be a star, but she never became one. She then channeled her unfulfilled desire for fame into joining the 'fan club' crowd, becoming a fan of celebrities. Later, as her beauty faded and her enthusiasm waned, she found a family to marry into, wedding Jia Rong's son as his wife.

Who would have thought that Jia Rong's son is a good-for-nothing, a food barrel, whose brains often 'leak air'. Qin Keqing thought: 'I cannot live like this, good-for-nothing! Since I cannot become a star, I will use my innate beauty to lure men and make them wicked.' She had heard that the 'magic treasure' An Lushan used to corrupt Yang Guifei was none other than the papaya in his hand. Thus, Qin Keqing, using various means, managed to obtain the papaya that An Lushan once used to seduce An Lushan.

(V) The origin of the papaya——

As it turns out, this papaya is a treasure that An Lushan obtained at the summit of Kunlun Mountain back then. The papaya grows on the Kunlun summit; its blossoms open and fall over five hundred years, and it takes another five hundred years to mature into a fruit. Obtaining it is a matter of a thousand years—easy.

Besides its strange fragrance, its main special function is: if a man takes a fancy to a beautiful woman he loves, he need only take out the papaya and give it a little shake in front of her; then a refreshing fragrance will drift from the papaya's stem. If the woman smells that fragrance, her great soul will depart, and the one holding the papaya, who likes to take her somewhere to play, will just take her there to play.

Back then, An Lushan had taken a liking to Yang Guifei, but he dared not make a move. Although An Lushan was a great general of the foreign state, a handsome man, a great lecher who had played with many beautiful women, do you know what kind of person Yang Guifei was?

Let's see what follows——