The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 366 Baoyu Extra (1)

What does it feel like to suddenly drop from being a precious treasure cherished by many people to the ground?
Feeling lost, helpless, at a loss, fear...

There was a time when Baoyu wondered if it would be better if he were dead.
No matter what he does, his father disapproves.

They should all be scolded and beaten.

His father's scolding and beatings, and his mother's tears, had become his nightmare.

All of his servants, such as Saohua, Tiaoyun, and Banhe, left one by one.

He didn't know what he had done wrong, even though he was working harder and being more obedient than before.

But everyone, from the old lady to the father and mother, has changed.

Although the old lady still protected him, Baoyu knew that things were different from before.

Baoyu always remembered that one day when he was six years old, he was beaten again, and it was his aunt from the East Mansion who saved him.

The eldest aunt personally went to the West Mansion to find the old lady and told her that unless her eldest brother and eldest sister came back, he would no longer need to go to Pear Fragrance Courtyard every day.

He was going to the East Mansion to learn martial arts.

Besides reading, he practiced martial arts every morning and evening, just like Rong-ge'er.

To this end, he even made a pinky promise with his aunt, agreeing that it would remain unchanged for a hundred years.

So even though it was snowing heavily the next day and his hands were still swollen, he still went, and from then on, he never missed a day, except when he was sick.

Later, after his father and mother passed away, and as he read more and more, he vaguely understood why his elders suddenly disliked him.

Whether the jade pendant around his neck was fabricated by his mother to deceive his grandmother into favoring the second wife, or whether he truly had it from birth, can no longer be verified with his mother's passing.

But he had to guard against the royal family's suspicions for the sake of his family.

After passing the provincial examination at the age of nineteen, Baoyu immediately took the imperial examination to become a Jinshi. However, he did not dare to do too well and ended up at the bottom of the second class, almost becoming a Jinshi.

Even though he was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), he was still considered a young prodigy at his age.

Fortunately, the Jia family had many errand runners, so he didn't have to check the list himself; otherwise, he would definitely have been snatched away by someone else to become their son-in-law.

Instead of being snatched away by others, Baoyu went to the Lin family to propose marriage the day after the imperial edict was issued, along with his uncle and elder brother Jia Zhu.

This is something many people didn't expect.

Lin Ruhai is already a Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion and concurrently the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Who is not good enough for his daughter?
For several years in a row, people inquired about their daughter, but the couple always declined, citing a high monk's words that their daughter should marry that very night.

Now, however, he has agreed to accept Jia Jue's offer, even though Jia Jue was almost a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

This is something that many people can't understand.

Although Jia Jue was a prodigy at a young age, he had a very bad father.

Didn't you see that his older brother spent many years at the Imperial Academy, but in the end he never took the exam again?
"Your Majesty is unaware, but this old minister has only one daughter. She suffered many misfortunes when she was young, and we had to call doctors frequently before she was even a month old."

Lin Ruhai was as pleased with his son Lin Chang'an, who was also selected as the third-ranked scholar, as he doted on his daughter. "She finally made it to the capital and her health is gradually improving, but her constitution is weak." His daughter's temperament cannot tolerate being mistreated.

He and Min'er were so close, and he also had several concubines in his early years.

When they were young, Min'er had a lot of arguments with him.

Now that it's his own daughter, he can't help but overthink things.

The Jia family certainly had many shortcomings, but Baoyu's strengths were also obvious.

Not to mention that they grew up together and knew each other's temperaments well, even the way Baoyu humbled himself when his daughter was angry was something that most men wouldn't do.

Besides, the Jia family couldn't easily take concubines.

After marrying into her maternal grandparents' family, everyone from the old lady to her uncle, aunt, cousin, and cousin's wife doted on her.

Lin Ruhai thought it over and over, comparing several suitors from her relatives, and finally chose Baoyu. "Jia Jue is her cousin, they grew up together, and have a foundation of affection for each other."

At this time, Lin Ruhai was just an old father who loved his daughter very much. "This child is also a pitiful child. His parents had some issues and resented each other. They even took their anger out on him. It was only because his eldest sister-in-law in the East Mansion couldn't stand it and let him practice martial arts with Jiao Da that things got better."

The Emperor was aware of this as well.

There is a rumor that the child's nickname was Baoyu because he was born with a piece of jade in his mouth.

The emperor should just take these words with a grain of salt.

Back then, the eldest and second branches of the Rongguo Mansion were secretly vying for power, so he was more inclined to believe that it was Wang Shi of the second branch who had specially fabricated that jade piece in order to win favor, claiming that it was something the child had held in his mouth at birth.

It was later proven that Old Mrs. Jia did indeed love this grandson even more because of that jade.

The secret guards had reported quite a bit about the Jia family's affairs.

The emperor knew that Lin Ruhai was not lying.

His concern for the old minister stemmed from two reasons, one being his care for the veteran official, and the other being... a sense of resentment. The Crown Prince was currently selecting a consort, and the Lin family's daughter was quite accomplished in both family background and appearance.

Unfortunately, when he mentioned it to the Empress years ago, she said that they were already taking care of themselves and that even if they didn't outlive the Emperor, they wouldn't be much younger. Her family background was too good, too deeply entrenched; if he got old and father and son became suspicious of each other, who knows how many people would be implicated.

The emperor was so angry he laughed. Was he the kind of person who would cause suspicion between father and son?

However, the Empress absolutely refused to agree.

He also said that his daughter-in-law's family background was too good, which would give the children unrealistic fantasies. What if they were not capable enough but their ambitions were too big?

So he had no choice but to go along with this idea.

He was thinking that maybe one of the ministers would be willing to bring it up.

The Lin family has a seventeen-year-old daughter who is still unmarried, which inevitably makes the emperor's heart flutter.

Who knew they already had a son-in-law in mind?
The emperor knew that the empress's words were not without merit, but as a father, he inevitably wanted to present the best to his sons.

"Your Majesty, you mentioned last time that the Dazhao Academy should be incorporated into the Hanlin Academy. What do you think of my son-in-law, the staff there?"

Lin Ruhai shamelessly wanted his son-in-law to stay in the capital.

The son-in-law is in Beijing, and so is the daughter.

"The staff member is only a seventh-rank official."

The emperor laughed, "Aren't you going to help him try his best to become a junior official?"

As far as he knew, Jia Jue was talented, but he hadn't performed well in this exam.

Now that he had become Lin Ruhai's son-in-law, he thought of making an exception and granting him a position as a junior official.

"Hello, staff member."

Lin Ruhai also smiled, "The child is young and should be exploring the world. Besides, with his grades, being able to become a rank-holding librarian at the Dazhao Academy is already a great favor from the Emperor."

He doesn't need to be sent to a post outside the capital, he can still do his studies, and he doesn't need to attend court. It's perfect for him to happily play with his daughter for a few years.

As far as he knew, the librarians worked in two shifts: one shift from 5:00 AM to 1:45 PM, and the other shift from 1:45 PM to 7:15 PM.

They rotate shifts every three days, which is much more liberating than what they have in the central government.

"Haha, okay then, I'll start as a librarian."

The Dazhao Academy is one of the places where the literary atmosphere of Dazhao is most concentrated. It would be a good idea to study there for a few years first.

The emperor agreed, and when the official appointment was made, Baoyu indeed became a seventh-rank librarian.

(End of this chapter)