Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Earl's Mansion, Tanchun Courtyard.

February is coming to an end, the spring breeze is gradually picking up, the sycamore trees in the yard have sprouted, and the banana leaves are turning new green, exuding vitality in the chilly spring weather.

Tanchun was wearing a casual dress and light makeup. She was practicing calligraphy at the desk by the window, killing the afternoon.

A few days ago, Yingchun went to the East Courtyard to visit Tanchun. According to Jia Cong's words, she went to report to Jia Zheng and asked him to take Tanchun to the East Palace for medical treatment so that the sisters could keep her company.

Jia Zheng knew that his daughter had been getting along well with her cousin Jia Cong since she was a child, and that she had lived with her sisters in the East Palace for a long time last year. She was already accustomed to such things.

Therefore, there was nothing wrong with his daughter going to the East Palace, but Jia Zheng felt a little regretful.

In Jia Zheng's eyes, Jia Cong was successful in the imperial examinations, had a brilliant literary talent, and had a successful official career. He was his ideal son. He dreamed that Baoyu could also achieve the same success as Jia Cong.

But no one knows a son better than his father, and he also knows that this is simply wishful thinking.

Even if Baoyu is not a good candidate for the imperial examination, he should still strive to make progress.

In Jia Zheng's opinion, Baoyu should be closer to Jia Cong in daily life so that he can be influenced and guided by him.

In addition, Jia Cong was raised in the second house since he was a child, so his relationship with Baoyu should be closer than that with other young men, which should have been a unique advantage.

Unfortunately, I don’t know whether Baoyu dislikes reading or he and Jia Cong have different personalities. He only confronts Jia Cong when he is with his sisters, and avoids him at other times.

This made Jia Zheng even more angry and disappointed with his son. On the contrary, his daughter Tanchun had ambition and talent since childhood, and she admired and was close to her cousin Jia Cong the most.

Jia Zheng sometimes felt that his two children were born in the wrong womb, and only when they were the other way around would they be just right.

My daughter is also a person of great sentiment and vision. She was living well in the East Palace with her sisters.

But as soon as he moved into the East Courtyard, his daughter also moved in from the East Mansion. Jia Zheng knew that his daughter was concerned about his dignity, and such filial piety was extremely rare.

But no matter how much he liked his daughter, what was the use? After all, she was just a girl and could never support the second wife.

However, it is a very good thing that my daughter likes to be close to Jia Cong.

Not only can she gain some enlightenment and knowledge, but with a cousin like Jia Cong as her endorsement, even if her daughter is a concubine, she will have a better foundation for marriage in the future.

Jia Zheng's little thoughts as a father were also inspired by Yingchun.

Yingchun was originally a concubine's daughter, but because she had a brother like Jia Cong, all the men who came to discuss marriage with her were the legitimate sons of noble families.

Moreover, as a cousin, Jia Cong loved his daughter very much. When he heard that she was slightly unwell, he asked someone to take her to the East Palace for treatment.

This made Jia Zheng feel very relieved. He felt that all his efforts in treating Jia Cong like his own son and taking good care of him over the years were not in vain.

Moreover, since moving into the East Courtyard, Jia Zheng quickly adapted to the living environment because Jia Cong had renovated the house thoroughly inside and out.

But his wife looked gloomy every day, which made people feel uncomfortable.

Moreover, after her daughter moved in from the East Palace, the lady was not very friendly to her. So she let her daughter live in the East Palace for a few days, which would be safe and quiet.

……

After finishing his homework in the morning, Jia Cong took advantage of his free time in the afternoon to visit Tanchun in her courtyard.

Before she reached Tanchun's courtyard, she saw Daiyu and her maid Xueyan coming towards Tanchun's courtyard.

When Daiyu came closer, Jia Cong said with a smile, "Sister, why don't you take a nap and come out now?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "Since I took the Sansheng Yanghun Pills prepared by Doctor Zhang, my complexion has improved a lot and I can sleep well every night.

So I don’t need to take a nap too long. I’m worried that if I take too long a nap, it will disturb my sleep at night, which is not good.”

Jia Cong knew that Daiyu was weak, partly because of a congenital deficiency.

Moreover, because of his wandering life, he has many worries and troubles. He has a shallow sleep every night and there are not many days in a year when he can sleep a full night.

Under the intersection of the two, her body naturally became weak. With Jia Cong's company and counseling over the years, Daiyu's health has improved a lot, but it is only a temporary solution and not a cure.

Jia Cong saw that her face was rosy and her skin was translucent and fragrant. Only when she had enough rest and her blood was replenished could she have such a complexion.

He didn't expect that the San Sheng Yang Hun Pills prepared by Zhang Shipeng would have such an immediate effect. He truly deserves the title of miracle doctor.

Last month, Jia Cong sent someone to Huaxi Village outside the city to deliver last year's gift to Zhang Youpeng, but he didn't meet him in person. It was said that he left the capital before the New Year to visit friends and collect herbs.

……

Daiyu asked, "Third brother, you asked a doctor to examine my third sister yesterday. What did the doctor say?"

Jia Cong replied: "My third sister just caught a cold at the turn of winter and spring, and her blood and qi are a little unstable. She will be fine after a few days of recuperation..."

The two of them walked into the yard while talking. When Tanchun saw them, she quickly put down her brush and smiled as she asked the maid to serve tea.

Jia Cong said, "Third sister has been feeling unwell these days, and you have to work hard to write. It won't be too late to take care of yourself before you continue."

Tanchun smiled and said, "It's not a serious illness. I took a few doses of medicine yesterday and I'm much better now. It's not worth worrying about."

As they were talking, the secretary came in quickly and said, "Young lady, there was a message from the East Courtyard saying that the wife of the Xia family will come to visit tomorrow and bring her daughter with her.

Madam asked the girl to go back tomorrow to accompany the guests."

Tanchun frowned slightly and said, "I understand. Just say I'll be back early tomorrow morning."

Jia Cong advised: "Sister, your illness is not yet fully recovered, you'd better turn it down. It's not an important guest, it's just her daughter who came with her."

Tanchun said, "I'd better go over. I just came here today and I don't want to go back. There are some things I don't like to hear. I don't want to worry too much. I'll go over and deal with it for a few minutes and then I'll come back."

Daiyu was a little surprised and said, "Yesterday, Zijuan went to the West Mansion and heard some rumors that the marriage between the Xue family and the Xia family did not go through.

Brother Xue actually likes Miss Xia. When he heard the news that the Xia family was thanking the bride, he vaguely heard that there had been a commotion for two days. Logically, the two families would have become estranged.

How come my second aunt has become so close to Mrs. Xia?"

Jia Cong felt more and more strange in his heart. Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Xia were really in love. They visited each other in the inner house every day and even brought their daughter with them. Only close friends would do this...

He knew Mrs. Wang's character. Mrs. Xia was a widow, but she was still able to maintain the name of the Osmanthus Xia family. She was probably not an easy person to deal with.

Both of them were experienced women in the inner house. It was hard to believe that they got together in such an unusual way without any reason.

Jia Cong said, "It's fine for Third Sister to go and show some courtesy, but I heard outside that Miss Xia is not easy to get along with, so it's fine for Sister to just say a few polite words."

After hearing this, Tanchun felt a little strange. This was the second time she heard Jia Cong say such a thing.

I really don’t know what kind of reputation the young lady from the Xia family has spread outside that makes my third brother have an indescribable grudge against her, as if he is afraid that he will suffer a loss if he meets her.

"I've remembered what Third Brother said. I'll show up tomorrow. I'll be careful, Third Brother, don't worry."

……

Rongguo Mansion, Lixiang Garden.

Baoyu heard from the maids in the courtyard that Aunt Xue had been feeling unwell these past two days, so he thought of going to the Pear Garden to visit her.

Although Jia Zheng and his wife have moved to the East Courtyard and the status of the second branch of the Rongguo Mansion has changed dramatically, all this seems to have no effect on Baoyu, and he himself does not feel embarrassed.

Perhaps in Baoyu's view, to distinguish between the ups and downs of honor and disgrace is to belong to the class of parasites and mercenaries. It would make him fall into the vulgarity in vain and tarnish his innocent feelings.

Moreover, although his parents moved to the East Courtyard, Baoyu's life not only did not change, but was even more comfortable than before.

Since his father Jia Zheng moved to the East Courtyard, he sealed the small door leading to the West Palace. Mrs. Wang was depressed to death because of this. However, Baoyu was secretly overjoyed because he no longer had to be controlled by his father every day.

With Jia Cong inheriting the title of Rong at the end of last year, many people around him have changed, but Baoyu remains the same. He is still Grandmother Jia's favorite grandson.

Jia Cong would only visit the West Mansion occasionally when he was meeting guests or discussing family affairs. He usually lived in the East Mansion, and the West Mansion seemed to be no different from before. Jia Cong was disdainful of these trivial matters, so no one broke the window paper. Baoyu still enjoyed the favor of Grandmother Jia and seemed to be the phoenix of the West Mansion.

……

Without Jia Zheng's supervision and reprimand, Baoyu was more satisfied than before, but there was still something imperfect.

Originally, Grandmother Jia said that after the New Year, she would let Daiyu move back to the West Mansion, but now both the East and West Mansions have become Jia Cong's property, so there is naturally no need to move back and forth.

Moreover, when Xiangyun arrived at the Jia family, she stayed in the Yingchun Courtyard of the East Palace and refused to come back. Grandmother Jia didn't want to force her too much, which made Baoyu even more disappointed and bored.

Every morning he went to Rongqing Hall on time to pay his respects to Lady Jia. It was not because he was so filial, but because every morning, his sisters would come from the East Palace and pay their respects to Lady Jia at Rongqing Hall.

Although the Jia family is very different now, Grandmother Jia's love for Baoyu has not changed at all. Perhaps this has long become a habit.

Grandmother Jia knew Baoyu's thoughts, so she often asked her granddaughters to stay for dinner so that Baoyu could take the opportunity to chat and laugh with his sisters for half a day.

But Baoyu chatted with his sisters for a long time. The second sister Yingchun was still gentle, sister Yun was still carefree, and the third sister didn't say much.

Only Lin Daiyu would say something about studying hard and making progress, which made Baoyu distracted and even somewhat unable to believe his own ears, and they often ended up parting on bad terms.

He only hated Jia Cong for causing so much harm to others. It turned out that Xiaohong's talk about official career and economics had already made him disappointed and angry.

Now Sister Lin has become like this. It is a pity that she has stayed in the East Palace for too long and has been led astray by Jia Cong.

Moreover, as the day for Jia Cong to take the imperial examination approaches, Baoyu is horrified to discover that the topics of conversation among his sisters are increasingly about the imperial examination.

Because her father had once won the honor of being the top scholar in the imperial examination, Daiyu was very familiar with the stories about the imperial examinations and could talk about them in a very knowledgeable manner. Yingchun and Tanchun were both concerned about the story and listened with great interest.

Xiangyun's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she kept talking about how glorious it was when her third brother returned victorious from Liaodong and rode into the city on horseback.

If I could pass the imperial examination and become the top scorer this time, and have my name called out on the list, ride a horse through the streets, and enjoy banquets in the imperial palace, wouldn't that be even more impressive?

Such a depressing topic made Baoyu, who had always been close to his sisters, feel extremely aggrieved and unfair. In the final analysis, it was all Jia Cong's fault. Because of him, the sisters in the family were distorted into what they are now...

……

Among the sisters, only Baochai didn't talk much about studying and making progress, and she didn't seem to be that interested in the topic of Jia Cong's participation in the imperial examination, which made Baoyu feel a little more comfortable.

So, although he said he was going to visit Aunt Xue today, he was actually just feeling bored and he and Daiyu didn't get along well, so he thought of chatting with Baochai to relieve the loneliness and emptiness in his heart.

When Baoyu entered Lixiangyuan, Aunt Xue smiled when she saw him coming to visit her.

Said: "My son, you are thinking of your aunt and want to come to see me."

She also asked Baochai to tell the maid to pour some hot tea, asked Baoyu to sit in front of the bed, and chatted with him about some daily life.

Although Aunt Xue completely denied the idea of ​​a perfect match between a rich man and a poor man, Baoyu was her nephew after all, and as an elder, she was just as warm and kind to him as ever.

Baoyu asked, "I saw my aunt a few days ago and she seemed to be in good spirits. How come she suddenly seems unwell?"

Aunt Xue smiled bitterly: "It's not an emergency, but it's because your elder brother Xue is not doing well. I worry too much. If he was as well-behaved as you, I wouldn't be like this."

In fact, Aunt Xue was also vague and did not tell the real reason because it was too embarrassing to say it.

That day, Mrs. Wang came to talk about the Xia family's proposal to marry. Aunt Xue felt a little disappointed after hearing it, but she didn't think it was a big deal because it was common for marriage proposals to succeed or fail.

But when Xue Pan heard the news, he felt very disappointed, because when he saw Miss Xia at the banquet that day, he was stunned by her beauty.

He had occasionally seen sisters like Tanchun and Daiyu at Jia's house, and thought they were the most beautiful girls in the world. He did not expect that Miss Xia was just as charming as them, and he had been unable to forget her ever since.

He had been worrying about her day and night, waiting to marry her, but he didn't expect that with the Xue family's wealth and his handsome appearance, he would still be rejected.

Xue Pan was so angry that he missed the beauty that was about to be his. He smashed everything in his room, which was similar to what Miss Xia did.

Afterwards, he insisted on asking Aunt Xue to go to the Xia family again to negotiate the matter, as if he was determined to marry no one else but Miss Xia.

Later I heard that it was a high monk who had told Miss Xia and myself that it was difficult for us to get married because our horoscopes were incompatible.

Xue Pan even wanted to know which temple the bald monk in was doing the evil deeds, and he would definitely burn it down to be done with it.

……

Aunt Xue was almost angry to death when she saw how unreasonable her son was and how shallow he was, making such a fuss for a woman.

Seeing that his mother was so angry, Xue Pan panicked and dared not act like a tyrant at home anymore. When Aunt Xue calmed down a little, he ran out early in the morning to avoid the stench.

Baoyu originally thought that Aunt Xue was just suffering from a minor illness, and that his visit was just a courtesy, so that he could also have a chance to chat with Baojie in a warm way.

But I didn't expect that such a family change would happen in the Xue family. No wonder I heard from my sisters that Sister Bao hasn't gone out for several days and hasn't been to the East Palace. I guess she is serving her aunt at home.

Under such circumstances, Baoyu naturally couldn't gossip with Baochai. He still had some sense of propriety and chatted a little more with Aunt Xue, then left Lixiang Courtyard in a depressed mood.

But halfway through the walk, Baoyu suddenly remembered that Tanchun had said that the young lady from the Xia family who was meeting Xue Pan was a very beautiful girl.

At that time, Baoyu felt aggrieved, thinking that such a beautiful girl from the boudoir had to be paired with a rough man like Xue Pan. It was really a pity and lament that a pearl and jade fell into the mud.

Now, thinking that the marriage between the Xue and Xia families failed, and that the beautiful girl mentioned by Tanchun had escaped from a vulgar man like Xue Pan, Baoyu felt very happy and comforted.

When I left Lixiangyuan, I was feeling depressed because I didn't have the chance to have a detailed chat with Baochai, but now all the sadness disappeared...

……

The next day, Jia Cong personally escorted Tanchun to the East Courtyard. When Tanchun's carriage came out of the West Corner Gate, Jia Cong saw six or seven people who looked like scholars gathered outside the West Corner Gate, looking into the door.

Jia Cong knew that these days, there were candidates who were going to Beijing for the imperial examinations coming to visit him from time to time, so he didn't care.

Suddenly, he saw a familiar face in the crowd. It seemed like it was standing there watching the fun and was smiling at him.

When Jia Cong saw this person, he couldn't help but smile and quickly asked the housekeeper to invite the man in.

Outside the west corner gate, several candidates who had submitted their visiting cards earlier were waiting for a reply from inside.

Although there were rumors in the capital that this fellow earl had closed his door to visitors, his visit was just a chance to try his luck and to send a visiting card as a courtesy to establish a good relationship.

Unexpectedly, a man who looked like a butler suddenly came out from the corner door of the Earl's Mansion and respectfully invited the strange man standing next to him into the mansion.

Seeing the man's respect for the butler, everyone accepted it calmly without any politeness, and then walked into the Earl's Mansion leisurely, as if he was at home.

Everyone was surprised and wondering who this person was. He didn't even bring a visiting card to enter the Earl's mansion, but was personally invited in by the mansion's butler.

……

Seeing the visitor enter the mansion, Jia Cong smiled and said, "Brother Liu, why did you suddenly come to visit me? A few days ago, I heard from my teacher at Luocang Mountain that you were rated as excellent in the Ministry of Personnel's examination and will be promoted to take up your post soon.

I was just thinking about finding out when you'll leave Beijing so we can catch up. I don't know when we'll meet next time."

The man laughed and said, "Now your threshold is getting higher and higher. People outside say that Jia Jieyuan studies behind closed doors and refuses visitors. Many people come to see him, but it is difficult to see him.

I came to your house today without a visiting card, and your family guarded the door tightly, so I thought I would be turned away, but luckily I was lucky. "

This person was Liu Jing'an's eldest grandson Liu Bi. He was not only Jia Cong's good friend, but the two were also fellow students because their grandfather was Jia Cong's teacher.

Jia Cong smiled apologetically and said, "My teacher taught me that the period before the imperial examination is an extraordinary one, and there are always a lot of gossips, so he told me to keep a low profile.

In addition, there are rumors outside that the failure of my two teachers to be selected as examiners for the imperial examination is actually related to me. Although I don’t know whether this is true or not, the trend has already emerged.

At this moment, it is naturally the best policy for me to stay at home and study."

Liu Bi's face was slightly serious, and he said: "Yu Zhang is right, the Spring Examination is what scholars dream of all their lives. It is not only the road to a successful official career, but also a dangerous and bumpy road.

The imperial court will soon issue an edict to appoint three chief examiners for the spring examinations, as well as related examination officials. Things will start to get busy outside... "(End of this chapter)