Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 189 Baoyu: Brother Zhen, it turns out that we are the same kind of people!

……

Grandmother Jia got angry and punished the old woman.

He greatly maintained his dignity and the already precarious status of the second wife's eldest son, Da Baoyu.

"Baoyu, if something like this happens again in the future, just let Xiren come to me. Our family is naturally a kind family and treats servants well, but we will never allow servants to bully their masters!" Jia's mother's voice was full of severity, and the look she gave below was much sharper than usual.

Many people lowered their heads guiltily, secretly cursing Mrs. Li for being so ignorant and causing everyone to get scolded.

Tanchun looked at Yingchun and whispered, "I remember your wet nurse was also a piece of shit, do you want to take this opportunity to reveal it to me?"

Yingchun quickly shook her head: "No."

"Nanny is also very good."

Seeing Yingchun was so cowardly, Tanchun said no more. She looked at Baoyu who was lying inside, showing up as a token of her presence, and then left.

It's just a courtesy.

She and Baoyu are not on good terms now.

There is no need to flatter Baoyu.

To speak her mind: Baoyu's character is not even as good as her younger brother Jia Huan.

Although Jia Huan was also a lazy person, at least he still insisted on studying in school. Without Mrs. Wang talking about copying Buddhist scriptures all day long, his studies have been getting better and better recently.

After Tanchun left, Yingchun followed.

Xichun stepped forward and said with a smile: "Second Brother Bao, you should take good care of your injuries. The master beat you for your own good. You must remember to study hard in the future. Look at Rong'er, the master never beats him. By the way, why did the master beat you this time?"

Jia Baoyu: "..."

Why are you so annoying?

Can you please go away!
Why didn’t Rong Ge’er get beaten?

It’s because Brother Zhen was beaten all day and couldn’t get out of bed, otherwise how could he be better than me?

"Cough cough!"

Grandmother Jia coughed and said, "Fourth girl, it's getting late. You should go back and have a rest."

Grandmother Jia has been particularly annoyed with little Xichun recently.

Which pot does not open which pot.

Xichun originally came to watch the fun, and now that it was over, she didn't want to stay any longer.

"Old lady, second brother, I'm leaving."

"Brother Rong is still studying hard at home. I have to personally make him a bowl of bird's nest porridge to help him pass the imperial examination next year, hehe."

Jia Baoyu: "..."

What are you hehehe!
Parasite!

He would rather become a monk than take the imperial examination to become an official.

Why did Brother Zhen become a monk?

I guess he has let it go.

Unwilling to follow the crowd in Dongfu.

Baoyu suddenly understood.

It turns out that Brother Zhen and I are like-minded people!

"Brother Bao, you should have a good rest and remember to take your medicine on time." Baochai stepped forward and said a few words, then prepared to leave.

When Baoyu saw Baochai coming over to talk to him, he was very happy. He then looked at Baochai's fair and smooth skin, which looked even more beautiful under the light.

I was stunned unconsciously.

When Baochai saw Baoyu looking at her in a daze, she felt a little embarrassed and annoyed.

He is indeed a drunkard and a womanizer.

My wife has already entered the small Buddhist temple. Anyone with a bit of backbone would know that she should study hard and rescue her mother from the temple in the future.

He can still play around with peace of mind, he is truly a talented person.

Any girl who marries such a man is undoubtedly jumping into a fire pit.

Thinking of this, Baochai left calmly.

Baoyu was stunned for a moment. When he came to his senses, he found that everyone had left and only Xiren was left serving him by the bed.

"Where are they?" Baoyu asked curiously.

Xiren said unhappily, "Second Master was stunned, and everyone left long ago."

"Oh."

Jia Baoyu felt a little lost.

Then he became happy again.

This beating was not in vain.

Not only did his sisters come to see him, but he also no longer had to go to school.

It’s a pity that Sister Lin and Sister Baoqin didn’t come.

……

This winter started off a little warm, but after the winter solstice it took a sharp turn for the worse, becoming so cold that it was difficult to breathe.

Early in the morning on the second day after the winter solstice, goose-feather-like snowflakes fell, covering the streets of Kyoto.

Rich families used warm rooms, kangs, hand warmers, fireplaces, incense burners, etc. to keep warm.

Two fumigation baskets were used in Jia Rong's room, and the warm room was also lit. The maids huddled in there all night and didn't feel cold.

"Wow, it's snowing!"

Qingwen was the first to get up. She put on some clothes casually, tied her hair into a bun, and leaned against the window to look out.

It’s a pity that the thick window paper-cuts block the view.

"Be careful not to get cold."

Ping'er also got up to wash and dress, and seeing Qingwen's thin clothes, she reminded her.

"It's okay, it's okay." Qingwen waved her hand and smiled, "I'm fine." As she spoke, she quietly opened a gap.

A cold wind blew in.

"Ah."

Qingwen covered her nose, closed the window, and looked around for her handkerchief.

"Give."

Ping Er handed over the handkerchief and said with a smile, "Now you know how serious it is. Be careful not to catch a cold. Hurry up and make some ginger soup for yourself to drink to drive away the cold."

"Know it."

Although Qingwen said this, she didn't really care about it.

After a while, Jia Rong woke up.

Qingwen lay on the bed and said with a smile, "It's snowing today, are you still going to school?"

Jia Rong put on a coat and stood up, saying with a smile: "From what you said, does snow have anything to do with not going to school?"

Although for his current articles, it is not very meaningful to go to the Imperial College to listen to classes, but blindly studying hard at home is not enough, especially for current affairs, which can't be said to be constantly changing. Only by learning and communicating with classmates can he make further progress.

"Ok."

The maids also admired Jia Rong's love of learning.

"Wear a cloak today."

Qingwen found a black fox fur cloak from last year.

"No need." Jia Rong waved his hand: "Ordinary cotton-padded clothes and gowns will do. Also prepare a cloak."

I have been practicing martial arts with Xiao Xiao recently. Although there has not been much progress, my health is much better than before.

Qingwen could do nothing about Jia Rong's refusal to listen to her advice. She poutingly put down her cloak, prepared the cotton-padded jacket and robe from the Imperial College, and took out a half-new snow-white goose down cloak that she had made last year.

“This is a nice outfit.”

Jia Rong stood in front of the mirror, looked at himself, and praised.

Qingwen smiled slightly and was about to speak.

"Ah."

He covered his nose and began to look for a handkerchief.

"Why, are you sick?"

Jia Rong expressed concern.

Qingwen waved her hand.

"It's okay. I just got a little cold." Jia Rong: "Remember to take some medicine."

Qingwen: “I know!”

Jia Rong: "If it snows and the roads are hard to travel, I will stay at the Imperial College at night. You and Ping'er and Xiaoxiao can sleep inside. It will be warmer."

"it is good."

Qingwen wiped her nose with a handkerchief, tidied Jia Rong's clothes, and saw him to the door.

"Don't go out." Jia Rong stopped Qingwen from walking out the door and said, "Go back and take your medicine."

Qingwen nodded obediently: "I know." After thinking for a while, she frowned and said: "It's just that the medicine is so bitter, I don't really want to take it."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "It's hard work. I don't want to come back and see you become thinner again."

Qingwen pursed her lips.

It’s better to be thin.

"I'll check when you come back. Be careful if you haven't taken your medicine!" After saying this, Jia Rong went out with some concern.

Although Qingwen didn't want to take the medicine at all, since Jia Rong had given her many instructions, she had no choice but to go back and do as she was told, and she swallowed a bowl of medicine while pinching her nose.

After a while, my head started to feel dizzy. I realized that I had caught a cold accidentally. I felt regretful, but I didn't dare to be careless. I covered myself with the quilt and prepared to sweat and go to sleep.

She was so drowsy that she didn't know how long she had slept until Ping'er came in and called her.

I looked out the window and it was already dark.

There were a few candles lit on the windowsill in the room.

"What time is it? Is Master back yet?"

Qingwen shook her head hard and asked.

Ping Erh brought over a bowl of medicine and said, "It's the evening hour, and it's snowing heavily outside. Master won't be back tonight."

"Get up and take your medicine."

Qingwen looked at the medicine bowl and smiled: "Did you make it?"

Ping Er said, "That's right."

Qingwen said, "Thank you for serving me, sister."

Ping Er smiled and said, "Eat quickly. This is all thanks to you opening the window this morning."

Qingwen gritted her teeth and took a sip, frowning: "It's so bitter, sister, bring me a sugar pill quickly."

Ping'er stretched out her hand and put something into Qingwen's mouth, saying with a smile, "I prepared it for you a long time ago. Drink it up and go to bed early. You will be fine tomorrow."

Qingwen ate the sugar pills, gritted her teeth and drank the medicine, then lay on the bed and said, "Master said he won't be back tonight, so the three of us can sleep in here together. But I'm afraid that the disease will spread to you two, so why don't I go to the warm room so that you can serve him when he comes back tomorrow."

Ping Er shook her head and said, "Just sleep here peacefully. It's also warm in the warm room with the honeycomb coal burning. If the road is blocked by heavy snow again, I won't be able to come back for a day or two. Take your medicine well, and you should be well by then."

"Ah."

Qingwen nodded.

"Where's Xiao Xiao?"

Ping Erh said, "I just came back and took two hand warmers and some charcoal to the Imperial College. I heard that there are no heated beds in the rooms there, not even charcoal."

……

The living conditions in the Imperial College were indeed not very good, but there was a stove. The reason why Jia Rong didn't have one was because he had been living at home. Not to mention a stove, there was a thick layer of dust in the single room he rented.

Xu Lian looked around the room and said with a smile, "So you've never lived here before. The ten taels of silver you paid for the single room is a waste."

Jia Rong wiped the chair, sat on it and said with a smile: "I didn't buy it. I was lucky enough to get the first place in the Shuntianfu Academy Examination, and the Imperial College gave me a single room."

Xu Lian nodded: "I see."

"But this is no place for people to live."

Jia Rong looked at the room full of dust, spider webs, damp and moldy bedding, etc.

It's really uninhabitable.

"I'll go to Xie Jiwen's place and see if I can stay there for two days." Jia Rong said after thinking for a while.

Xu Lian smiled and said, "You'd better not go to his place. It's too small. Do you two want to sleep in the same bed?"

"Forehead……"

It’s actually not impossible to sleep in one bed.

Jia Rong remembered that when he was in college in his previous life, he always slept with his good brothers.

But looking at Xu Lian's strange eyes.

Jia Rong was defeated.

"There should be room for me at my teacher's place."

As the director of the Imperial College, Zhou Zhengguan must have a place for him to stay, and he would certainly not refuse his favorite disciple to let him stay for a night.

Xu Lian smiled and said, "Why bother, Master Siye? My place is big, you can come with me to have a look."

"This, is not quite..."

"Ok."

Jia Rong finally nodded and agreed.

After all, Xu Lian is a man now.

If I insist on not going, the window paper will inevitably be broken, and then it will be difficult to talk to her.

Xu Lian said happily: "That's it."

"We are all classmates, why are you being so pretentious?"

Jia Rong: "Brother Xu is right."

The two of them left Jia Rong's residence and walked a long way to the other side in the snow.

"Where do you live?"

Jia Rong asked suspiciously.

This is obviously out of the living area.

If it weren't for his trust in his classmates, he would have turned back.

Xu Lian pointed and said, "We're almost there, right over there."

The place Xu Lian pointed to was exactly where the Imperial College's chief academic officer lived.

There is a separate small courtyard next to it.

Jia Rong was stunned after seeing this.

If the place where Xie Jiwen lived was a stable.

There are fewer and better places for me to stay, which are considered lower-class rooms.

The place where Xu Lian lives is simply a mountain villa.

"I now deeply suspect that you are the son of the Lord Chief Priest." Looking at the various furnishings in the room, the two incense burners were burning brightly, and all that was missing were a few maids to serve him, Jia Rong couldn't help but sigh.

Xu Lian smiled slightly: "Unfortunately... I guessed wrong."

"I only have one bed here, so..."

Jia Rong: "What?"

Xu Lian put down her writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and said with a smile: "Let's compete in writing, and whoever wins gets to sleep on the bed."

Jia Rong: "What if you lose?"

Xu Lian: "If you lose, just sit here and study until dawn, how about that?"

Jia Rong smiled slightly: "If you say that, I will not be polite. Don't blame me for taking your bed when the time comes."

Xu Lian also smiled: "Haha, if Brother Shunzhi can convince me, I will make the bed for you."

Jia Rong: "Okay."

"But there's a problem."

Xu Lian: "What?"

Jia Rong said solemnly, "As the saying goes, 'There is no first in literature and no second in martial arts.' There are only two of us here. If you think you write well, and I think I write well, what do you think?"

Xu Lian smiled slightly.

"That means there's no winner. Let's continue the competition until there's a winner."

Jia Rong asked again: "What if there is no winner?"

Xu Lian said: "Then let's compete until dawn and go to class."

Jia Rong: “…”

……

(End of this chapter)