Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

The sun had passed its zenith and it was past the afternoon when the East and West Palaces calmed down from the hustle and bustle.

The yard is full of green trees, beautiful flowers and plants, and low-hanging eaves. It is quiet, fresh and full of vitality.

In the middle of the yard, Douguan had two small buns on her head, which made her look very cute. She rolled up her sleeves to her elbows, revealing two white arms, and was catching butterflies in the flowers with her bare hands.

She was already at the age where she could keep her hair, and she could eat and run every day and was full of energy. As long as she stopped shaving her hair, it would grow rapidly. After three months, Lingguan combed her hair and tied it into a bun every day.

She had learned opera and practiced martial arts since she was a child, so her hands and feet were very nimble. She moved left and right among the flowers, chasing butterflies all over the yard, and she looked like a big butterfly.

Xichun also imitated her and ran around her for fun.

The people Xichun is closest to in the past two years are Jia Cong and Yingchun. When the East Palace was first opened, she only occasionally stayed in Yingchun's courtyard.

Later, when she became a permanent resident, Yingchun picked out the most sunny wing in the courtyard for her and selected attentive maids and servants from the East Palace to serve her.

Although Xichun was raised by Grandmother Jia since childhood, she was the legitimate daughter of Ningguo and had no blood relationship with Grandmother Jia, making it difficult to compare her with granddaughters such as Yingchun and Tanchun.

Although Lady Jia was a good educator to her, it would be an exaggeration to say that they were emotionally close.

In Grandmother Jia's mind, granddaughters such as Xichun and Tanchun are just embellishments and foils for her Baoyu.

Therefore, Grandmother Jia did not care much about Xichun staying in the East Palace for a long time, nor did she have the same expectation as Yingchun, but just let it go.

Jia Cong sometimes thought of Xichun's father and brother, the decline of the Ningguo family, and her situation in the Rongguo Mansion, and he would always feel more pity and love for her.

Therefore, Xichun has lived a very good life in the East Palace in the past two years. The cold and introverted nature of her nature has been diluted a lot, and her temperament is much more cheerful than before.

Because she and Douguan are of similar age, and Douguan is smart, romantic, eloquent and popular, the two of them have been playing together frequently recently.

But Xichun is not as unrestrained as Douguan. The education she received in an aristocratic family since childhood makes her dare not run around with her sleeves rolled up and her skirt pulled up like Douguan.

She just followed behind Douguan, slightly lifting her skirt with her left hand, walking briskly and gracefully, holding a round fan in her right hand, and constantly patting the colorful butterflies flying around her.

The two of them ran around the yard, their foreheads sweating, their pretty faces blushing, and they laughed happily from time to time...

In the main hall, Jia Cong took a break from his busy schedule and was playing chess with Yingchun. Daiyu and Xiangyun were good chess players and sat on the sidelines watching the game.

Xing Xiuyun was talking to Zhishao, discussing when to go to Muni Temple to talk and drink tea with Miaoyu, and more importantly, to visit Master Xiushan, because her serious illness had relapsed.

Baochai was watching Qingwen embroidering. Seeing her selecting the needle and sewing, she couldn't help but feel itchy and took the embroidery frame from Qingwen's hand and tried to embroider a few stitches.

Yinglian and Lingguan were reading side by side a copy of "The Peony Pavilion" which was newly bought by Jia Cong. Lingguan even hummed a few lines in ecstasy, which made Yinglian clap her hands.

Time is long, the courtyard is deep, the warm sun is setting, and everyone is enjoying themselves.

……

Ever since Jia Cong passed the imperial examination, the east and west mansions of the Jia family have been crowded with guests every day.

During this period, Jia Cong was appointed as a Hanlin scholar, there were anecdotes about him praising officials in the Imperial Street, he was the top guest at the Ministry of Rites' Banquet, and all these strange things were talked about with relish by the guests.

For three or four days in a row, all kinds of guests, from different families, different official positions, different relatives, different generations, and different friendships, came to the two palaces to congratulate.

Apart from the old relatives and nobles who had a close relationship with the Jia family or had frequent contacts with them, all of them came to celebrate, with no family left out.

Those old friends and acquaintances who had become estranged from the Jia family for various reasons also came to pay their respects and congratulate them.

The Rongguo Jia family has been silent for many years, but now their power and glory are gradually recovering, and there is even a trend of rising to a higher level, which makes these people want to make friends and curry favor with them again.

Even though the Jia family probably wouldn't appreciate the enthusiasm of these people, they would still flock to them even if they had some of the noble status of a Jinshi or Hanlin family.

Therefore, in recent days, Jia Cong has been running back and forth between the East and West Palaces, entertaining various visitors with drinks and laughter.

Although this made him a little tired to deal with, that was the way the world was, and he did not have Baoyu's feelings of coming and going naked without any worries, so he just did his best.

……

The sisters saw that Jia Cong had been running back and forth between the two mansions for the past two days and was quite busy. They could help with things in the inner courtyard, but it was difficult for them to share the burden of entertaining guests in the outer courtyard.

Fortunately, there were only so many guests coming to the house in the first two days that we were overwhelmed. In the following days, the number of guests gradually decreased.

After the third hour every day, the guests from the two mansions left one after another, and Jia Cong had some free time. The sisters would often gather in his yard, drinking tea, playing chess, chatting, and spending time with each other.

The other sisters were the same as usual, but Jia Cong noticed that Daiyu seemed a little different.

Although Daiyu's words and actions were the same as usual, her bright eyes were full of brilliance and clear waves, which were particularly moving.

Every time her eyes met Jia Cong's, she would smile unconsciously, as if she was in a very happy mood. Jia Cong was a little confused and didn't know the reason.

As for Yinglian, Qingwen, Lingguan and others around her, the cute ones are still cute, the quick-talking ones are still quick-talking, and the clever ones are still clever.

Only Zhishao and Wu'er were a little different. Every time their eyes met his, they seemed not as frank as before, and their eyes were always a little shy and evasive.

People who have been together day and night for many years seem to have suddenly awakened their emotions, and feel a little bit of palpitations and confusion, and an additional kind of unspeakable feelings.

Jia Cong naturally knew the reason. He thought that if it were in his previous life, at his age, even if he had such an encounter, he would probably have done it secretly and not announced it to the public.

She would never be like Lady Jia, who served tea and gave gifts in front of everyone in Rongqing Hall, and announced it to everyone, as if she was afraid that others would not know.

Sisters like Yingchun, Daiyu, and Tanchun seemed to turn a blind eye to such things and did not care at all. They just made jokes about it occasionally and no one mentioned it again.

Baochai even took two sets of jewelry and head ornaments to give to Zhishao and Wu'er as gifts.

Compared with the ups and downs and glory of the imperial examination and official career, the mundane worldly affairs and love affairs around him made Jia Cong full of novelty and exploration.

Only at this time will he deeply realize that the world that now only flashes in his dreams is already out of his reach.

After many years of immersion, he himself was somewhat dazed, as if he had not come from anywhere, but had never left...

……

After the Jinshi Enhonor Banquet, all successful Jinshi will have ten days off. This will be the most carefree and leisurely time for them, as a turbulent and eventful official career will be waiting for them afterwards.

After a ten-day rest, all the new scholars were dispatched by the Ministry of Personnel to observe government affairs in the six ministries, the Censorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme Court and other government offices.

"Jinshi observing government affairs" is just a polite way of saying it. In fact, it means going to various government offices to engage in basic government affairs, which is similar to the miscellaneous work of low-level clerks.

Among them, talented Jinshi may stand out, but more new Jinshi will appear mediocre.

Normally, they would observe government affairs for one to three years, during which time the Ministry of Personnel would select and appoint officials based on official vacancies and each person's political performance.

Of course, there is another hidden reason, that is, official connections. Jinshi with powerful backgrounds may be assigned to an official position after observing politics for a few months.

Just like Liu Jing'an's eldest grandson Liu Bi, although he was among the top two on the list, he was unable to enter the Hanlin Academy due to various obscure reasons.

Perhaps it was out of fear of Liu Jing'an's reputation as Emperor Wenzong that he was worried that this would cause criticism from both the court and the public.

In addition, although Liu Jing'an has retired for many years, his connections in the officialdom cannot be underestimated.

As the nobles in the palace pretended to be ignorant, some people in the court were half-hearted and went with the flow. After Liu Bi had only been observing government affairs in the Ministry of Revenue for half a year, he was granted the post of Magistrate of Gaochun County by the Ministry of Personnel.

Such actions can cover up some unspeakable plots and also allow people from all sides to find a way out and ease the situation with dignity.

Although it is a somewhat sad result that a top second-class Jinshi could not enter the Hanlin Academy.

But for most Jinshi, being able to be assigned to a real job within half a year still made many of Liu Bi's peers envious.

No matter it is the official career or the ups and downs of life, outsiders only see the glory and glory, but not the hesitation and confusion. Only you know the ups and downs of it.

……

Although Jia Cong did not have the same experience as Liu Bi and did not have to worry about whether he would be included in the Hanlin Academy, he also did not have the blessing of having ten days off like other people of the same year.

Even though he had returned with honors from the banquet, as a successful candidate in the imperial examination, he nominally had ten days off, but he did not dare to slack off in the slightest on his official duties.

In the first two days, because of the large number of guests, he was unable to get away to go to the workshop to be on duty, so he asked Liu Shizhen and Qian Huai to take turns to come to his house every day to give details of the progress of the workshop that day.

When encountering urgent matters that require him to make a decision, or when he needs to coordinate with the heads of various government offices, he must be informed as soon as possible to avoid delays.

Therefore, although he was busy entertaining guests during those days, the construction of the breech-loading rifle in the workshop outside the city progressed smoothly without any hindrance. According to the daily construction performance reports submitted by Liu Shizhen and Qian Huai, as the skills of the new craftsmen became more and more sophisticated, the speed of forging breech-loading rifle parts has been steadily increasing.

According to the current trend, the workshop may be able to complete the task of manufacturing 500 breech-loading rifles before the end of the year.

Liu Shizhen also told Jia Cong that Qin Ye, the construction officer of the Ministry of Works, was very efficient and had completed the expansion of the workshop and the addition of the building in just over ten days.

In recent days, the imperial guards guarding the workshop have been rotated frequently, but the number of guards has increased. The imperial guards have also built fixed barracks around the workshop.

Yesterday, the palace issued an imperial decree, stating that the officials in charge of the workshop and the craftsmen should be encouraged for their hard work in state affairs, and the workshop was rewarded with a large number of pigs, sheep, rice, and a considerable amount of silver.

When Liu Shizhen and Qian Huai talked about these things, there was a sense of pride on their faces.

Their reaction was understandable, because the more the emperor valued the workshop, the more secure the future of the workshop officials would be.

However, Jia Cong showed extra favor to the palace, but was also very strict on the outside. He could sense the hidden meaning behind it, and felt more worried and alert...

……

At this time, a maid from the inner courtyard came back with a message saying that Aunt Liu from the Zhen family in Jinling had received instructions from Miss Zhen San to go to the mansion to ask to see the uncle.

After hearing this, Jia Cong was moved and quickly asked the maid to bring the person to the yard.

Liu Xian's wife had been to the Jia Mansion many times and was familiar with the place. When she met Jia Cong, she exchanged a few polite words and then took out Zhen Fangqing's letter.

Jia Cong was surprised after reading the contents of the letter. He asked, "Ms. Fang Qing will go to the palace to bid farewell to the emperor tomorrow. She will leave Beijing and return to the south before sunset tomorrow. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Liu Xianjia said, "Master Cong, our daughter has received the grace of the palace and has been in mourning for the old concubine for half a year. Now the period has expired, and according to the rules, she cannot stay in the imperial mausoleum for too long.

Moreover, the Third Young Master of the Zhen Family has passed away, and now there is no one to support the family business, so the Third Young Lady needs to return to take charge as soon as possible."

Although what Liu Xianjia said made sense, Jia Cong heard the hidden meaning behind his words.

He thought of the letter Qu Hongxiu sent from Nanjing Feiyu, which said that the new captain of Nanjing Jinling Jinyiwei, Wang Zhangjiang, was a very powerful person.

After this man took office, he pursued the Zhen family's suspected illegal manufacture of firearms relentlessly and even brazenly broke into the Zhen family's old house to search.

This kind of aggressive and fearless behavior makes anyone with a discerning eye see that Wang Zhangjiang replaced his predecessor Ge Zhicheng, and he must be someone of great rank.

Ever since he successfully developed the breech-loading musket and witnessed its power, Emperor Jiazhao has developed a cruel and defensive mind in order to control the national weapon and prevent the evil from coveting it.

The day before yesterday, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding came to the mansion to celebrate and told him that in order to prevent further trouble, Emperor Jiazhao ordered the Jinyiwei to review old cases of stolen firearms and fabricated cases. If they found anything, they would not tolerate it!
Taking into account the Jinling Jinyiwei Wang Zhangjiang, the many outrageous actions he took after taking office are all clearly rooted in their causes.

Jia Cong could conclude that Wang Zhangjiang was the chess piece that Emperor Jia Zhao had placed in Nanjing in advance. When the time was right, he would launch an attack to scare others and serve as a warning to others.

Now that the breech-loading rifle has been successfully manufactured, once it is shown to the world, it will surely shock the world again and will inevitably be coveted by evil spirits.

In addition, the old Concubine Zhen had passed away, the six-month mourning period had passed, and the Zhen family had lost its barriers.

How could Zhen Fangqing not think of what I could think of? This might be the reason why she was eager to leave Beijing...

The situation has changed dramatically and the building is about to collapse. Zhen Fangqing is just a girl after all. Even if she rushes back to Nanjing, can she save the situation?
……

After saying goodbye to Liu Xian's family, Jia Cong still held Zhen Fangqing's letter in his hand, thinking about something.

Yingchun asked, "Brother Cong, why did Miss Zhen leave so suddenly? Why was she so anxious?
I heard from the old lady that the Zhen family has a villa in the capital. Even though Miss Zhen has completed her six-month mourning period, it is not appropriate for her to stay in the imperial mausoleum.

She could move back to the villa first and wait for a month for the summer heat to subside before setting off again.

It is almost midsummer now, and it is very hard for a girl to travel thousands of miles to the south at this time."

Daiyu said: "Second sister, what you said makes sense. Miss Zhen has been in the capital for half a year. According to common sense, she must have arranged someone to manage the family business when she came.

Otherwise, with the two places thousands of miles apart and no one to take care of the family business, wouldn't there be trouble?

Now half a year has passed, so there is no point in wasting these days and asking her to go back to the south to take care of the family business.

Third brother, does Miss Zhen have other difficulties?

After all, she has a close relationship with the third brother, so if she has any difficulties, the third brother must help her."

Daiyu saw Jia Cong smiling at her, and her pretty face couldn't help but blush slightly. She said with a little anger: "I am speaking sincerely. After all, she is still a young girl."

Jia Cong said: "I know my sister has good intentions. Miss Zhen is so young, but she can manage such a large family business of the Zhen family. She is not an ordinary boudoir.

What the second sister and Lin Daiyu said were both correct. Miss Zhen was in a hurry to return to Jinling, and there must be other reasons.

However, even if Miss Zhen encounters difficulties, she probably won’t ask me for help.”

Daiyu was puzzled after hearing this. Miss Zhen really loved her third brother. It was strange that she would not tell him about her difficulties.

However, when Daiyu saw Jia Cong's expression, she knew that what he said was not false.

But she was not the type to get to the bottom of things, so if Jia Cong didn't continue, she wouldn't ask.

That day, when she heard Jia Cong's words in the corridor outside the main hall, she knew what he meant, and no longer worried about the rest...

Only Yingchun listened to Jia Cong's words and thought of what Jia Cong had mentioned to her that day.

The reason why his arranged marriage with Zhen Fangqing was cancelled by the palace was not just because of his great grief for his father's death.

Not only was there a connection between the retired emperor and the Zhen family, but also the fact that the Zhen family's children were involved in the private manufacture of firearms, which was a great taboo for the emperor.

This made Yingchun somewhat guess why Zhen Fangqing would not ask his brother for help when he encountered difficulties.

She sighed slightly in her heart, thinking that if it was really as Brother Cong said, then Miss Zhen was really good to her brother, which was a pity...

……

When the sun set, everyone dispersed. Jia Cong saw Yingchun, Daiyu, Tanchun and other sisters were still walking and talking.

Nothing happened that night. At noon the next day, Jia Cong prepared to set off for the imperial mausoleum in the east of the city to see Zhen Fangqing off before returning south.

As he stepped out of his own courtyard, he saw Yingchun, Daiyu and Tanchun coming towards him, with two old women carrying a box behind them.

Yingchun smiled and said, "We sisters discussed it yesterday when we went back home. We hurried over here today when brother Cong was leaving.

The Zhen family and their families are both prominent families in Jinling, and they are also old relatives who have been friends for generations. Miss Zhen has been in Shenjing for a long time, and now she is coming back from a thousand miles away.

It will be difficult for us to meet each other in the future as we are thousands of miles apart. We are sisters from noble families, so we should have some farewell etiquette and keep it in mind for the future.

My sisters and I hurriedly prepared a box of gifts and asked Brother Cong to bring Miss Zhen to show our friendship."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Second sister and the sisters are really thoughtful. If it weren't for you, I would have seen them off empty-handed."

Yingchun asked the maid to carry the boxes to load the car. The sisters returned to the inner courtyard only after Jia Cong left the second gate.

……

Jia Cong's carriage drove out of Hongde Gate and headed towards the imperial mausoleum in the east of the city.

The official road outside the city was bathed in sunshine, with few pedestrians, making it seem a bit lonely.

Jia Cong thought about the many changes that had taken place in the past six months, and the entanglements between himself and Zhen Fangqing.

From today on, we are thousands of miles apart from each other, and I am afraid that the chance of seeing each other again is slim. I feel depressed and can't help but sigh.

Moreover, given the current situation, the Zhen family’s involvement in the illegal manufacture of firearms is likely to lead to an outbreak.

But when Jia Cong was in Jinling, he had seen Zhen Fangqing's wits and tactics. Since she was in a hurry to return to Jinling, she probably had a way to deal with it...

As his mind was full of thoughts, he saw from afar a carriage parked on the side of the official road ahead. A man was looking back and forth in front of the carriage. It was Liu Xian's family who had delivered the letter yesterday.

Because she had been to Jia's house many times, she recognized Jiang Liu, who was driving the car, as Jia Cong's servant.

He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Is that Third Master Cong in the car?"

She saw Jia Cong lift the curtain of the carriage and said with a smile: "The young lady went to the palace to bid farewell to the retired emperor today, and after leaving the palace, the carriages and horses of the family left the imperial mausoleum.

Now I am waiting at the official road intersection ahead. The girl is worried that the Third Master has gone the wrong way, so she has been asking me to wait here..." (End of this chapter)