Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

While Grandmother Jia, Aunt Xue, Sister Feng, and others were talking, a completely different scene was unfolding in a separate room not far away, separated by a glass screen.

The gauze curtain was half-rolled up, and sunlight streamed in through the latticed window, casting delicate, fragmented light and shadow patterns on the floor.

Several tables and chairs were set up in the side room, where the four sisters, Bao and Dai, Xiangyun, Xing Xiuyan and others sat in twos and threes, talking, playing chess or composing poems together.

The maids, including Zijuan, Ying'er, Shishu, and Cuilu, served him at the side, some pouring tea, others fanning him, all enjoying themselves immensely.

Daiyu and Baochai sat on a couch by the window, with a small table between them and a Go board on it.

Daiyu played white and Baochai played black. The two of them played at a steady pace, seemingly confident in their abilities!

Today, Daiyu wore a moon-white jacket with a few slender bamboo stalks embroidered on the collar, which made her look even more delicate and refreshing!

She held a white chess piece in her hand, hesitating to place it, her eyes fixed on the chessboard, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Baochai wore a honey-colored jacket with a light blue half-sleeved garment over it. She held a round fan in her hand and occasionally glanced meaningfully at Daiyu, without urging her on.

Tan Chun and Xiang Yun were sitting at another table, also playing chess.

Xiangyun was an impatient person; she placed her pieces quickly and took them back just as fast. Tanchun, unable to bear her nagging any longer, simply pushed the chessboard away.

"I'm not playing anymore. You always cheat. Don't you know that once a move is made, it can't be taken back?"

Xiangyun chuckled and put the chess pieces back: "Who cheated? I just misread it."

Xichun sat in the corner, holding a pen in her hand, drawing something on a piece of paper.

Upon closer inspection, one can see a pure white lion cat from Linqing on the drawing paper, with its blue and yellow eyes painted with remarkable realism.

This is the pet she picked out from Jia Jing, and she asked Jia Jing to name it "White-haired Palace General".

Although she had only raised it for two or three days, she loved it dearly. She would feed it herself and play with it for a while every day. Now she could be considered a proper little raccoon!

Yingchun sat beside her, watching quietly, occasionally reaching out to help her straighten her drawing paper, her gentleness as tender as water.

Xing Xiuyan stood beside Yingchun, holding a book in her hands, but her eyes were not on the words. She was looking at the banana trees in the yard, seemingly lost in thought!

Lady Wang sat on the other side of the chair, her fingers twirling prayer beads, a kind smile on her face, her eyes occasionally glancing at Yuan Chun and Jia Baoyu.

It must be said that Jia Baoyu's image at this time is quite different from before!

Today he was wearing a dark blue robe, the same one he always wore, but it was too tight on him.

The collar was tight around his neck, and the cuffs hung down above his wrists, as if he had borrowed someone else's clothes. He looked noticeably more robust!

His face was a dark reddish-brown, as if it had been repeatedly baked by the summer sun.

He already had a round face, and this dark skin made him look even more憨憨 (simple and honest), like a chubby little black boy who had just come down from the training ground.

His once radiant skin, comparable to that of girls, has become rough and dull. Sitting there, he no longer resembles the wealthy and leisurely young master "Master Bao" at all!

At this moment, Baoyu lowered his head, placed his hands on his knees, and circled his thumbs back and forth.

His lips were slightly pursed, and he would occasionally glance at Yuan Chun before quickly looking down again. His gaze held a mixture of grievance, pleading, and a hint of begging for mercy.

He sat to Yuan Chun's left, his body slightly hunched, as if afraid of being seen, but with his rounder figure, he couldn't really hide.

"Big sister..." His voice was muffled, with a hint of the coquettish tone he used in front of Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, as he pleaded in a low voice:

"I really don't want to go to the clan school anymore, please don't make me go, please..."

Yuan Chun sat opposite him, her back ramrod straight, wearing a light blue jacket and a white magnolia hairpin, as pure and simple as a porcelain Guanyin.

Her gaze fell on Baoyu's face, neither warm nor cold, but the weight of her composure made Baoyu's voice grow softer and softer.

"No way! Everyone else can go, but you can't? You've only been studying at the clan school for a short time, and you're already giving up?"

"And in these last few exams, your grades in both academic and martial arts subjects were poor. Huan-ge'er's grades in martial arts are even better than yours. How can you be a proper older brother?"

Yuan Chun raised her eyebrows, giving a rather disapproving reprimand!

In front of Yuan Chun, Bao Yu was like a wilted cat, his head hanging low, not daring to breathe too loudly, let alone mingle with the sisters and maids as usual!

Seeing that Yuan Chun was unmoved and completely ignored his coquettish pleas, Jia Baoyu's eyes flashed, and he went around to Lady Wang and knelt down with a thud!

Madam Wang was startled, and the prayer beads in her hand stopped moving!

"Madam!" Baoyu's voice trembled with tears, his eyes already brimming with emotion. "I don't want to go to the clan school anymore! Madam, please talk to Master for me, will you let me go?"

Madam Wang gestured for Jin Chuan, who was behind him, to bend down and help him, her heart aching with concern: "What's wrong? Why don't you want to go anymore?"

Jin Chuan'er was not old, but she already had a youthful appearance and a certain charm. In particular, the fierceness between her eyebrows and eyes added to her beauty.

Baoyu's gaze lingered on the bright red rouge on Jin Chuan's cherry lips for a moment, then he began to unleash his skill in shedding tears, which fell in a pitiful patter as he said:

"Madam, please have pity on our son! I'm being beaten to death at the clan school!"

"If you don't finish your homework, you get beaten; if you can't recite your lessons, you get beaten; if you don't write well, you get beaten. You also have to practice martial arts every day, and if you don't practice well, you get beaten."

"In this sweltering heat, we still have to stand in the sun every day for one or two hours at a time."

"I have to do everything myself, from washing clothes to folding blankets, and I get punished if I don't do it well! It's so tough!"

He rolled up his sleeves, revealing the bruises on his arms: "Madam, look, these are from bumps and bruises from practicing martial arts."

When Lady Wang heard Jia Baoyu's story, her heart skipped a beat.

Since his birth, his precious child has always been cherished like the apple of his eye; he has never suffered such hardship before!

Not to mention that they would never beat or scold her, she was served by maids in her daily life, so how could she endure such torment!

This isn't a place to study; it's a place to suffer!

However, she also knew that Yuan Chun and Jia Zheng agreed to and strongly supported Bao Yu going to the clan school, and even Grandmother Jia did not object too much. What could she do?

Lady Wang looked at the bruises on his arm, her eyes reddening. She glanced back at Yuan Chun, then turned back to wipe away Bao Yu's tears.

"My son, you've really suffered. You've hardly ever touched water at home all these years. How would you know how to wash clothes or fold blankets?"

"Besides, these are not things that a young master from a noble family like ours should be doing!"

Seeing that he had aroused Lady Wang's sympathy, Baoyu cried even harder and said:

"Madam, you don't know, that clan school is no place for a human being."

"I only said 'corrupt official,' and the teacher beat me severely with a ruler! If you don't let my son come back, he'll die in the clan school sooner or later!"

"My son! Why does he beat you for even saying a word! Is your husband some kind of heartless man? You're so frail, how can you withstand such repeated beatings!"

At this moment, Madam Wang even suspected that the eldest son of the illegitimate branch of the family was up to no good, and had deliberately ordered the clan school teacher to beat her Baoyu severely!