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

Inside the side room,

After listening to Baoyu's complaints with a frown, Lady Wang couldn't help but suspect that Jia Jing had secretly instructed the teachers at the clan school to torment her own Baoyu, intending to use a concubine to eliminate the legitimate heir, with malicious intent!

After all, that eldest son of a concubine has always been a vicious person!

How could she stand by and watch such a thing happen? This was her only precious child, and she couldn't let anyone harm him.

Compared to studying and making progress in the clan school, I feel more at ease letting him go home and live a peaceful life under my nose!

A multitude of thoughts flashed through Madam Wang's mind. The prayer beads in her hand spun rapidly. She glanced at Yuan Chun nearby and couldn't help but tentatively ask:

"Big girl, you heard what Baoyu said. He has always been frail, how could he withstand the repeated beatings from those heartless teachers at the clan school?"

"Look at him, he's been suffering so much at the clan school these days, he's so dark and thin, I don't know how much hardship he's endured, it really breaks my heart to see him like this."

"Why don't we let him come back and recuperate? We can talk about his schooling later!"

Lady Wang originally didn't want Baoyu to study at the clan school. If it weren't for Yuanchun's insistence, she would have wanted Baoyu to go home long ago!

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chun turned to look at Bao Yu's increasingly round face. A look of surprise appeared on her beautiful, full cheeks. Where had he lost weight?

I'm a bit dark-skinned, but I'm definitely not thinner at all. My old clothes now feel a bit tight on me!

Where is there any weakness in this body?

Compared to the slender figures of Lan-ge'er, Huan-ge'er, and Cong-ge'er, calling him a strongman wouldn't be an exaggeration. His mother really spoiled Bao-yu too much.

Yuan Chun sighed and gently advised:

"Mother, I know you feel sorry for Baoyu and can't bear to see him suffer, but how could I not feel sorry for him too?"

"But studying hard and making progress is a matter of great importance concerning Baoyu's future. The more we feel sorry for him, the more we must harden our hearts and plan far ahead for him!"

"As for being beaten by the teacher at the clan school, that was because he had done something wrong, and the teacher was just disciplining him!"

"When my daughter was in the palace, the princes and princesses would not listen to their teachers when they were studying. The teachers would punish them or scold them when necessary. When the Emperor and the Empress found out, they would only praise the teachers for their good discipline."

"Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher—it's perfectly normal for a teacher to instruct a student. Mother, please don't say anything like 'heartless,' lest people think our family spoils their children rotten and doesn't know what's good for them!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang paused, her prayer beads in her hand, her fair face slightly changing, and she said in a solemn voice:

"How can these be the same! Princes and princesses are princes and princesses, while Baoyu is young and his health is precious."

"Look at his arm injury," Madam Wang said, pulling up Baoyu's sleeve to reveal a faint bruise on his forearm.

"These are all from the bumps and bruises from martial arts training. This once pampered man is now almost completely battered and bruised. And his palms are all red and swollen from being beaten..."

Yuan Chun frowned, a hint of helplessness flashing across her plump and bright face. She had become somewhat immune to her mother's occasional "nonsense"!

Whether it's the old lady or the madam, they seem to value Baoyu more than anyone else. Whenever it comes to his affairs, they lose their sense of priorities!

Then look at the faint bruises and swelling on Baoyu's arm. After applying medicine, they are barely noticeable and can hardly be seen unless you look closely!

"Mother, Baoyu will be a man who supports the family in the future. What's a little injury like this?"

Yuan Chun's voice was deep and resonant, like pearls falling onto a jade plate.

"Besides, if Baoyu hadn't made a mistake, would the teacher have hit him for no reason?"

"Didn't he just say that he was reprimanded by his teacher because he hadn't finished his homework and couldn't recite the text?"

Yuan Chun didn't mention the term "official parasites." In her opinion, calling those who had passed the imperial examinations and become officials "official parasites" in front of the school teacher was so unorthodox that she deserved to be beaten!

Just like what she often heard the head court lady say in the palace: "We don't punish those who are diligent, we don't punish those who are lazy, we only punish those who don't..."

Madam Wang opened her mouth, then closed it again, her fingers gripping the prayer beads tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.

"Even if he made a mistake, he's young and doesn't know any better. Why beat him?" Madam Wang's voice was lower, tinged with incomprehension.

He paused, then continued:

"I'm really worried about his condition at the clan school. I think it's best to let him go home and recuperate for another two years!"

"When you're older and your body is stronger, it's not too late to start studying. Why push yourself so hard now!"

Yuan Chun's gentle and beautiful face froze for a moment, then she shook her head and said:

"Mother, have you not heard the saying, 'A young man who does not study diligently in his youth will regret it when he is old and gray?' Ordinary boys his age would have already started school."

"Huan-ge'er and Lan-ge'er in the household are both younger than him, and they've both stayed in the clan school. Why can't he?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang said with some displeasure:

"Huan-ge'er is a son of a concubine, how can he be compared to Bao-yu! Lan-ge'er too..."

Although Madam Wang didn't finish her sentence, her meaning was clear: even her grandson, Lan-ge'er, was far inferior to Bao-yu.

Yuan Chun remained silent, but her elegant face was filled with determination, clearly indicating that she would not back down on the matter of Bao Yu's studies.

Madam Wang's eyes flickered, her face feigning sorrow. She let out two soft, tearless sobs and said in a mournful voice:

"It's not that I don't understand you're doing this for your brother's good, it's just..."

"Your eldest brother, Zhu-ge'er, was forced to study too hard back then, which ruined his health and caused him to die at a young age..."

Her voice suddenly choked up:

"Now I only have Baoyu as my son, and I can't let him follow in Zhuge's footsteps... If anything happens to him, how will I live..."

Lady Wang used her trump card, Jia Zhu, a move that had always proven successful for her.

Yuan Chun's eyes reddened slightly, her dignified face paled a bit, and she said softly:

"Mother, I am also heartbroken about what happened to my elder brother, but he is my elder brother and Baoyu is Baoyu."

"The eldest brother studies too hard, but what about Baoyu? He doesn't even know how to work hard yet."

"If you use your elder brother's matter to protect Baoyu, Baoyu will only take his studies less seriously in the future."

Yuan Chun had deep feelings for Jia Zhu, but she also knew that the Jia Zhu of the past and the Jia Baoyu of today were completely different things and should not be confused!

In her view, Jia Zhu and Jia Baoyu are two examples of education that went to extremes, one being too strict and the other being too lenient!

Lady Wang hadn't expected her trump card to fail with Yuan Chun, and hurriedly tried to explain to Bao Yu:

"Baoyu is a good boy! It's not that he doesn't study hard; he's just physically weak and can't sit for long periods of time studying..."

"Mother!" Yuan Chun sighed, her tone softening, but her gentle and beautiful face remained serious as she said solemnly:

"His weak constitution is because he's been spoiled too much! He's always living a life of luxury in the mansion, protected from the wind and rain, and pampered like a young lady from a noble family. How could he not appear delicate?"