Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Ningrong Street, east of Shenjing City.

At sunset, the sky is full of red clouds, and the spacious and clean streets, bathed in a golden halo, appear particularly peaceful and quiet.

A carriage turned the corner and headed towards the Rongguo Mansion. The wheels rolled slowly and leisurely, exuding an air of stability and safety.

Jia Zheng sat upright in the carriage, twirling his beard with his hand, looking contented, even a little complacent.

He worked in the Ministry of Works for fifteen years, sitting in the government office, living a mediocre life and making no achievements.

Although he had been an official for many years, his performance in the Ministry of Personnel's evaluations every three years had always been average. Although he was not demoted, his hopes of promotion were cut off.

During his fifteen-year career in the Ministry of Works, he was only promoted from a chief clerk to a doctor. It was not because of his political achievements, but mainly because he was too experienced and was able to be promoted according to routine procedures.

Li Dekang, who joined the Ministry of Works five years later than him, is now a second-rank minister of Works, while Jia Zheng is still a fifth-rank doctor of Works.

Fortunately, he is the legitimate son of Duke Rong and the scion of a noble family. Not only does he have a noble status, he will not hinder the careers of others and has a very good relationship with people in the Ministry of Works.

But during these two years, although Jia Zheng did not get promoted in the Ministry of Works, he was no longer just the good guy he used to be.

His popularity among his colleagues grew, and he became increasingly noticeable among the officials of the Ministry of Works.

Even the Minister of Works Li Dekang looked at him differently and often invited him to his office to chat when he had free time, which made Jia Zheng feel very happy and honored.

He was not confused, and knew that his current respectability in the officialdom all came from his nephew Jia Cong.

Because of his nephew's outstanding ability and success in imperial examinations, the Jia family of Rongguo was pushed to the peak again, becoming a noble Hanlin family and a dazzling Jinshi family.

Although his two sons were not very ambitious and had achieved nothing so far, Jia Zheng always felt a little regretful.

But he and Jia Cong have a relationship like father and son, and Jia Cong has always treated Jia Zheng as his own son. How can there be perfection in this world? The family's reputation is so prosperous, which can be regarded as the fulfillment of Jia Zheng's lifelong wish.

Jia Zheng is now extremely proud of himself. The routine of going to and from the government offices, which used to be boring, has now become something he enjoys and is eager to do.

……

When the carriage was about to pass by the clan school, Jia Zheng subconsciously lifted the curtain to take a look.

He was passionate about studying and taking exams throughout his life. Although he did not achieve much in this area, he always took good care of some of the young men in his family who devoted themselves to study.

Most of these young people came from poor families. Although they did not have the talent of Jia Cong, they knew how to study hard, which was extremely rare.

Jia Zheng would usually give some change, paper and pens to these students to support them, so he always paid attention to the clan school and would come to visit in his spare time.

This time he lifted the curtain and looked into the clan school, but it was just a habit. He was thinking that since he hadn't seen Grandpa Dai Ru for a long time, he might want to find him to chat about books.

I happened to see my nephew Jia Rui talking to a woman at the gate of the clan school, and his words were quite cold and heartless.

The woman was in her thirties, had a pale complexion, and was dressed in ordinary clothes. She seemed to be from a poor family.

I only heard the woman say, "Master Rui, why did the old man kick my Rong'er out of school for no reason? There must be an explanation.

My family is an orphan and a widow, and life is already hard. If he leaves the Jia family school, how can we have rice and food to support his studies?

Please, Master Rui, be kind and help us plead with the old man to keep Rong'er."

Jia Rui sneered, "Sister-in-law Jin, don't say such things. Who made Jin Rong offend Huan'er? Sister-in-law Lian has spoken personally, so who dares to say no?"

Jia Zheng had not paid much attention at first, but when he happened to hear Huan'er's name, he was suddenly startled and said involuntarily, "Stop the car."

After hearing this, Li Gui, the coachman, gently pulled the reins and the carriage stopped by the roadside.

……

The woman's voice came out clearly: "Master Rui, this doesn't make sense. Rong'er was beaten by Master Huan San, but Master Huan San was fine. Rong'er was kicked out of the school instead."

Jia Rui sneered and said, "Sister Jin, I manage the school for my grandfather, so I know everything about the school.

Let's not beat around the bush. Your Jin Rong did something in school that caused a lot of uproar on the streets. Don't you say you knew nothing about it?

Not to mention the fact that Huan'er beat him, it was because he did such a dirty thing and dirty Huan'er's house that he angered his second sister-in-law, who kicked the boy out of school.

I will never ask for this favor. Why would I ask for this embarrassment? Grandma Huang and my second sister-in-law have a close relationship, and even she doesn't dare to ask for it, let alone me."

After hearing this, Widow Jin couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. As a mother, she knew very well what dirty things her son had done.

Although she cursed her son for being shameless in her heart, he was her flesh and blood after all. It was not easy for a widow to make a living, and she was counting on this only son for the future, so naturally he had to help out.

He also knew the difficulties faced by his sister-in-law Jia Huang's wife. It was she who asked Second Madam Lian for help to get her son into the Jia family to study.

Not only did she not have to pay tuition, but she also received a two-liang writing allowance every month. This was a great thing that could not be found anywhere else in the world, and she was reluctant to give it up.

Now his son was fooling around with his classmates at school, and this had something to do with Master Huan San, giving him a very bad reputation.

Naturally, her sister-in-law didn't dare to ask Second Madam Lian for mercy, and only went to make trouble for the fallen Second Wife, picking on the weak.

Now it seems that the sister-in-law is indeed a smart person. She got a lot of benefits by asking the second wife to make trouble.

If you go to Second Mistress Lian right from the start, you will get absolutely no benefit and will be punished.

Now that the news reached Second Mistress Lian's ears, she really started to rage...

……

Jia Rui said, "Sister Jin, you don't have to fool me. You are smart and I am not stupid. What happened on Ningrong Street cannot be concealed.

The day before yesterday, Huang's sister-in-law went to the East Courtyard to argue, but the Second Wife gave her two hundred taels of silver at once, and only then did Huang's sister-in-law give up.

Two hundred taels of silver are enough for your family to buy a few acres of good paddy fields, so that you won't have to worry about food and clothing in the future. Jin Rong is not a good student, so how can he get into school even if he studies?

It would be better for you to go home earlier and make a living in the soil. Don’t say that Jin Rong can no longer enter the clan school. Don’t waste your breath..."

Jia Zheng was sitting in the carriage, and although he could not hear every word clearly through the curtains, he understood most of what was said.

It turned out that it was her son Jia Huan who beat Jin Rong. In the end, Feng Ji expelled Jin Rong from the school and accused him of doing something shameless.

The lady actually spent two hundred taels of silver to settle the matter. Since the second house moved into the east courtyard, two hundred taels was not a small sum of money.

No one knows a wife better than her husband. Madam spent such a large sum of money, probably because she was afraid that Huan'er was doing something dishonest. It was obvious that she was using the money to silence others.

When Jia Zheng thought about all this, his face was filled with gloom. The thing he hated most in his life was that neither of his two sons lived up to his expectations and both were complete playboys.

All his hopes for a glorious career and the revival of his family's reputation in this life depended on Jia Cong, while Baoyu and Huan'er did not even have one percent of the potential that others had.

He said in a deep voice: "Li Gui, you heard what I just said. Go find out what's going on and come back to tell me."

……

Li Gui had a strange look on his face after hearing his master's instructions. In fact, he knew what was going on without asking.

He was originally Baoyu's foster brother. When Baoyu had the maple dew tea incident, his wet nurse, Li Ma, took advantage of her seniority and made Mrs. Wang dislike her for it.

It happened that the imperial court promulgated a new policy, and the Rongguo Mansion needed to pay a large amount of land tax, which made it inconvenient to circulate the public surplus, so Wang Xifeng laid off the staff in various places.

Mrs. Wang took this opportunity to drive Qianxue, who was involved in the incident, out of the house, and also sent Nanny Li back home.

The Li family lost a great deal of benefits as a result. Li Gui, as Baoyu's foster brother, did not dare to reveal any of it on the surface, but in his heart he began to resent Mrs. Wang.

Afterwards, Wang Xifeng laid off many of Baoyu's maids and servants, and Li Gui was among them.

Originally he was going to be sent to work on the farm, but in the end he had the audacity to go to Aunt Zhao and pass on a message.

Aunt Zhao was secretly dissatisfied with Lady Wang and Baoyu, and usually did not dare to fart.

However, they helped the slaves they had sent away, which made them feel a little relieved and won their hearts, so they were naturally willing to do this favor.

Aunt Zhao is middle-aged, but her pillow talk is a hundred times more powerful than that of Lady Wang.

After a night of love and a few words, Li Gui was made Jia Zheng's coachman and kept his job.

……

From then on, Li Gui naturally sided with Aunt Zhao and Jia Huan. He had long known the rumors outside, but since Jia Zheng went to the yamen every day, everyone kept it from him.

Now that the master has heard the news, he can't say that he knew it a long time ago, so he can only pretend to find out.

However, after a short while, he told Jia Zheng everything about the recent rumors and the origin of Jia Huan's affairs.

He did not dare to exaggerate or hide anything, because he knew that the master had heard the news, and if he did not say it, others would.

The master cares the most about educating his son, and he has a very strict and serious personality. He cannot stand these obscene things between men.

If I were to deliberately favor Master Huan San, or lie to the master with my words, and the master found out, I would be dead.

After listening to Li Gui's words, Jia Zheng realized that his son had done such a shameful thing, and the news spread to everyone in Ningrong Street.

The Jia family has just gained the reputation of a Hanlin family, and now it has been ruined by that beast. How can we have any face in the future!
He was so angry that his face had turned red and he was fuming. He shouted angrily at Li Gui to hurry back home.

……

Rongguo Mansion, East Courtyard. Jia Huan had been in a very bad mood these days. One day, he was wandering around after class in school and happened to see Jin Rongyu hiding in a corner and fooling around.

He had always disliked Jin Rong, a second-rate fellow from another family, who relied on his affair with Xue Pan to show off in the clan school.

It is simply outrageous that those kind-hearted and beautiful women would be subdued by his fierce power.

He happened to discover Jin Rong's scandal and was very proud of himself. He clamored to make the matter public so that Jin Rong would lose face in the future.

Jin Rong was a mean and vicious person. He was not willing to be threatened by Jia Huan. Besides, he was older and stronger than Jia Huan, so he did not take Jia Huan seriously.

He didn't want to lose his masculinity in front of Yu'ai, so he went up to Jia Huan and started fighting with him.

Jia Huan was weak to begin with, so he was no match for Jin Rong. It so happened that Jia Huan's servant went to the toilet, and no one came to help him, so he was beaten black and blue.

That day was unlucky enough. When he returned to the inner courtyard, he met Mrs. Wang again and was scolded by her, which made Jia Huan hate her deeply.

Originally, he wanted to bring a few more servants with him to seek revenge on Jin Rong, but before he could do anything, he heard that Jin Rong was beaten into a cripple.

Before Jia Huan could be happy, rumors started spreading in the school, saying that he and Jin Rong were competing for Yu Ai, and that the two were jealous of each other and said some very unpleasant things.

Jia Huan was extremely embarrassed and speechless because of this. He even skipped school for two days because of this. However, the gossips outside were getting more and more unpleasant and he was helpless.

……

He originally wanted to find Caixia to play with him and to dispel the bad mood in his heart.

Ever since that day when the two of them had been intimate in the warehouse, they had become closer to each other than before because the window paper had been broken.

Although Caixia was afraid in her heart, she could not resist Jia Huan's soft pleading, and was tricked by him into going to deserted places such as the woodshed and the stable, where he played tricks on her several times.

The two were young and ignorant, and they became more and more outrageous and bold without knowing the consequences.

Jia Huan even sneaked into Caixia's room at night and came out like a coward before dawn, and they were very close.

But after he was scolded by Mrs. Wang that day, Caixia disappeared the next day.

It was said that the lady's dowry shop was short of staff, so she was specially assigned to help out and had to stay in the shop to watch over the door at night.

After hearing this, Aunt Zhao couldn't help but gloat over the misfortune and mocked Mrs. Wang behind her back.

They laughed at her for losing her position as the mistress of the house and becoming so stingy that she was unwilling to hire anyone in the shop and instead treated her own personal maid like a slave.

……

Jia Huan was having a passionate affair with Caixia, but he suddenly lost sight of her in the inner courtyard. He felt extremely lonely and missed the smell of her soft and fragrant scent every day.

He was feeling bored that day, so he sneaked into Caixia's room again, hoping that she had returned home.

But when he sneaked into Caixia's room, he didn't see Caixia, but saw Yuchuan packing clothes.

Jia Huan asked curiously, "Yuchuan, why are you here? What are you busy with?"

When Yuchuan saw Jia Huan coming to Caixia's room, she was a little surprised and looked strange.

Said: "I'm helping Caixia pack her clothes."

Jia Huan was angry and asked, "Caixia has lived in the Madam's shop for a long time, and she has not been allowed to come back. Is she going to stay there for a long time?

Why do you need to pack the clothes? Why doesn't Caixia come back to pack them herself?"

Yuchuan thought for a moment before saying, "Third Master doesn't know yet. Madam has just transferred Qiu Wen to serve in the East Courtyard, and asked Caixia to serve Second Master in the West Courtyard."

When Jia Huan heard this, he felt a chill rushing to his head, and then he was filled with anger.

She said, "Second brother is surrounded by good maids, why do you want to snatch Caixia away? I will never allow it!"

Jia Huan is already thirteen years old. He knows the ups and downs of his family. He hates the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. He is jealous of Baoyu, who is the legitimate heir, is doted on in the mansion, and gets all the good things.

He had no brotherly feelings towards Baoyu, only a belly full of resentment and hatred, and whenever he got the chance, he did many overt and covert things to harm him.

Now that she heard that he was going to take away her Caixia, she naturally became furious.

……

Yuchuan couldn't help feeling a little frightened when she saw Jia Huan's scary expression. She was Lady Wang's personal maid, so she naturally knew more than others.

A few days ago, the mistress mentioned to the master that she wanted to let Caixia marry Master Bao. The master didn't care too much and had already agreed to it.

However, even though Yuchuan knew the truth, she did not reveal a word to anyone else.

Because Yuchuan knew that Jia Huan and Caixia had always been in contact, and she also heard her sister Jinchuan's reminder and warning that she was not allowed to have any relationship with the master of the second house.

Caixia's affairs involved the two brothers Baoyu and Jia Huan, so she didn't dare to get involved at all.

Seeing Jia Huan's unhappy expression, Yuchuan said cautiously, "It's fine as long as Madam says so. Third Master, I advise you not to get involved in this matter."

Jia Huan's face flushed, and he said, "I just don't agree. I'm going to go talk to the master!"

Before he finished speaking, he heard hurried footsteps in the courtyard of the next door main hall and the angry roar of his father Jia Zheng.

"Hurry up and get the ring. Do it immediately. If anyone dares to delay reporting the news, I will kill him!"

After hearing these words, Jia Huan became furious and murderous, and he knew that something was wrong.

I have done nothing wrong recently, except for the incident with Jin Rong, which is a handle. Could it be that the master believed the rumors outside and came home to settle the score with me?

When Jia Huan thought of this, he was so frightened that his legs went weak. He and Baoyu were not on good terms with each other, but they were very similar in one thing: they both feared their father like a tiger.

In the last incident with Jin Chuan, Jia Huan had fanned the flames in front of Jia Zheng, which resulted in Baoyu being severely beaten and unable to get out of bed for two months. How pleased he was.

Now he was afraid that the retribution would come and he would suffer the same disaster. He was so scared that he let out a strange cry and ran quickly to his biological mother, Aunt Zhao's room.

……

As soon as he ran to the door, he bumped into Aunt Zhao who was just going out. Aunt Zhao staggered a few steps before she could find her footing.

She cursed, "You dirty, shameless thing, why are you running around for no reason? Do you want to get back into my belly and be reborn?"

Jia Huan said tremblingly, "Aunt, please save me quickly. The master is going to have me captured and beaten to death."

Aunt Zhao's face changed drastically when she heard this. She was originally a servant and had some spies among the servants in the mansion.

Naturally, she knew about the recent rumors about her son's scandal, but she didn't quite believe them, and Jia Huan flatly denied them.

The only reason that can be thought of at this moment is this disaster.

He said in a trembling voice, "But the master knows the rumors outside and wants to make trouble for the mess between you and Jin Rong."

Jia Huan had a sad face and said without thinking, "It must be this matter. Auntie knows her son best. How could I mess with a stinky man?

My son is a serious person, I just like to play with Caixia..."

When Aunt Zhao heard this, her face changed drastically and she hurriedly reached out to cover Jia Huan's mouth.

He cursed in a low voice: "You stupid fool with a maggot heart, how dare you say such nonsense? If the master and his wife hear this, you will lose your life!"

……

As soon as Aunt Zhao finished speaking, she heard hurried footsteps outside the door, and Li Gui arrived at the door with two servants.

Jia Huan saw a servant holding a rope in his hand, and he shuddered all over, shouting, "Aunt, help me! The master is going to beat me to death."

Aunt Zhao scolded, "You are a maggot-hearted bastard, a worthless coward, and now you know how to be afraid. Who asked you to fight with Jin Rong and get into this trouble?"

She turned to Li Gui and said, "Boss Li, I helped you before, but you just came here to take someone away instead of asking for mercy in front of the master?"

Li Gui smiled bitterly and said, "Auntie, you are joking. The master has heard Huan'er's gossip outside and is now furious. Even the mistress can't persuade him, let alone me.

Aunt, you'd better not stop him. There's no way to avoid this matter. The correct thing to do is to let Huan'er go as soon as possible.

If we delay, the master will get even angrier, and Huan'er will be in even worse trouble. Auntie, please don't make things difficult for us servants."

As Li Gui was talking, he shouted at the two servants, "Why are you just standing there? Why don't you ask Master Huan San to come over and answer? If you keep hesitating, be careful of the master's punishment."

The two servants stepped forward, took Jia Huan's arms, and dragged him out, their movements seemed quite skillful...

When Aunt Zhao heard Jia Huan's pleading, she became disheartened and burst into tears, and wanted to chase after him.

Li Gui waited for the two servants to leave a few steps before he said to Aunt Zhao, "Aunt, don't panic, the master is angry now.

I'm afraid no one in the East Courtyard can persuade him. I'll say one more word, but only the Third Miss can get the Master to listen to her..."

After hearing this, Aunt Zhao suddenly realized what had happened. She stopped crying and called her maid Xiao Jixiang.

He said, "You also know about Huan'er's affairs. Go to the East Palace immediately and ask the third girl to come over. Tell her that the master wants to beat his brother to death. Come and save him!" (End of this chapter)