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

At this moment, Madam Wang was filled with shock, fear, grief, and anger.

If something really happens to Jia Zheng, not to mention that Bao Yu's reputation will be ruined, if she herself becomes a widow, her situation will probably be even worse than that of You Shi in the East Mansion!

It should be noted that at this moment, Madam Wang was in a situation where she had lost her power to manage the household, the Wang family had lost its influence, Yuan Chun had not been made a concubine, and the eldest branch of the family still had Madam Xing and Wang Xifeng eyeing her covetously.

More importantly, the marriage between Baoyu and Yuanchun has not yet been settled. If something happens to Jia Zheng at this time, the Nian family... well, forget about it!

Regardless, at this moment, Lady Wang probably preferred that Jia Zheng beat Jia Baoyu rather than have any problems with him.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng sighed deeply, forcibly suppressing his resentment, and said almost through gritted teeth:

"Baoyu is becoming increasingly bad at studying! He's not only failing the civil and military exams at the clan school, but he's also getting by at the very bottom."

Even Jing-ge'er thought he was beyond saving, so he took Huan-ge'er, Cong-ge'er, and a few others out to give him a good talking-to, but he was unwilling to discipline him.

"It's bad enough that he stays at home being unruly and lazy without making any progress, but he also pretends to be stupid and starts smashing jade, which disturbs my niece again."

"My brother-in-law wrote to me a few days ago, asking me to take care of him. Jing-ge also said that Ru-hai is a capable minister whom His Majesty values ​​highly. He has made great contributions and even specially found a famous doctor to treat my niece's illness."

"Now that I've just recovered a little, this wretched beast has started acting up again. How can I face Jing-ge'er now? How can I ever face Ru-hai again?"

"This wretched creature has been stubborn and unrepentant since childhood."

"He's no longer behaving like an elder brother, nor does he possess any manners of being knowledgeable and reasonable! Your constant indulgence will only make him more and more unfilial..."

After hearing Jia Zheng's words, Grandmother Jia's expression froze. She understood why he was so angry today and why he was determined to beat Baoyu to death!

It turns out that there was more to it than just the incident of smashing the jade. There was also the reason why Jia Jing was not doing well in his studies at the clan school, and why he hadn't brought the precious jade with him when he was admonishing Jia Cong and the other two.

This is a triple offense, which doubles the severity of the crime!

After a moment of silence, Grandmother Jia sighed and spoke in a hoarse voice, offering words of comfort:

"Just now, Baoyu and Yu'er had a little quarrel, but we have already disciplined him."

Even Feng, the eldest maid, and the third maid all scolded him severely, saying he shouldn't have smashed the jade out of spite!

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng pursed her lips but didn't dare to interrupt and say anything!

"As for why Jing-ge didn't take Bao-yu out, it's not because he thought Bao-yu was... beyond saving and didn't want to discipline him."

"He originally intended to test Baoyu, but I thought that Baoyu had only been at the clan school for a short time and was still lagging behind in his studies. He should stay home and review his lessons more, so I didn't let him go."

"His older sister has been urging him to study hard all day! You know, she cares most about Baoyu's future, so she won't allow him to fool around!"

"I just gave him a break, but the siblings got carried away and started a little joke..."

Grandmother Jia's words were sincere and heartfelt, providing a reasonable explanation for Baoyu's poor academic performance, lack of guidance from Jia Jing, and the smashing of the jade.

Poor academic performance is because the time spent in tribal schools is still too short.

The reason he wasn't subjected to any admonitions by Jia Jing was so that he could study hard and make progress at home.

The incident of smashing the jade was just a minor squabble between siblings, and they've already been disciplined!

Lady Wang, standing nearby, quickly chimed in to defend Jia Baoyu, saying:

"The old lady is right! The eldest maid was initially upset that Baoyu had been beaten so much at the clan school, saying the teacher was too strict!"

"I just told her that the 'Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher' system dictates that it's perfectly normal for a teacher to instruct a student..."

"Even if the princes and princesses in the palace don't listen to you, they'll be punished if they deserve it, and neither the Emperor nor the Empress will blame them. How much less will they punish us!"

"As long as they don't hit you too hard, it'll be fine. My family are polite too!"

Hearing Lady Wang's reasonable words, Yuan Chun's expression changed. "Isn't this my poem..."

However, considering Jia Zheng's health, Yuan Chun did not stand up to refute Lady Wang's untrue remarks!

Thinking about it carefully, this is for the best. Now that Mother has made such a public statement, she will not be able to obstruct Baoyu's studies in the future!

Aunt Xue, who was standing nearby, also stepped forward to advise:

"Baoyu has made some progress compared to before! The once pampered young master has now gotten so tanned from practicing martial arts."

"I think as long as I study hard, it won't be a problem for me to be listed on the imperial examination within two or three years..."

This little chubby, dark-skinned boy looks increasingly worse than his own Pan'er!

Yuan Chun frowned slightly and said softly:

"Father, although Baoyu is mischievous, he has indeed spent two months at the clan school these past few days. If you supervise him properly, he may very well become a good person!"

For a moment, the room was filled with friendly words of advice to Jia Zheng to stop his anger, and the atmosphere felt lighter!

However, to everyone's surprise, Jia Zheng completely ignored these words of advice and coldly snorted:

"Don't try to fool me! Don't I know what kind of person that wretched Baoyu is?"

"Huan-ge and Cong-ge just told me that Bao-yu simply can't stay in the clan school."

"He said he wasn't planning to go back this time! I bet he's already begging and crying to his mother and grandmother that he won't go to school anymore!"

"And as for Jing-ge'er, I heard that he originally wanted to discipline Bao-yu, but you were afraid he would get beaten, so you didn't let him give him any pointers or admonitions."

"With all this pampering of this wretched creature, how can you expect it to improve?"

"I only pray that I will not do anything to disgrace my family or dishonor my ancestors, so that I may not have to cover my face with my hair in the afterlife. That would be enough for me!"

"That damned beast, I think we'd better kill it now to rid ourselves of this future threat!"

Jia Zheng was thinking about his conversation with Cong-ge, Huan-ge, and Lan-ge.

They listened to the profound insights of the people on what they had seen and heard that day, as well as their understanding of the hardships of the people. They also heard Jia Jing's discourse on "cultivating knowledge and accumulating skills," "learning from others' strengths," and "perseverance," and the poem "Bamboo and Rock."

All these experiences left him with many feelings, and some of the words he heard were like a wake-up call, giving him profound insights.

Such earnest teachings, heartfelt expectations, and exemplary conduct not only reveal Jingge'er's illustrious character and upright conduct, but also demonstrate his sincere love and guidance for his younger brothers and nephews in the household.

But this precious opportunity, which is rare for ordinary people, was missed by my own wretched child because he was spoiled!

It would have been fine if he had missed the opportunity, but instead he was restless at home and started smashing the jade again, causing unrest in the whole household. It was simply outrageous!

Such a foolish and stubborn scoundrel, who only knows how to fool around and act crazy, is actually portrayed by the old lady and her friends as a "polite and ambitious" person. This is utter nonsense and absurd!

This wretched creature of mine is hard to change; I'm afraid I've already been spoiled rotten!

Thinking of this, Jia Zheng felt somewhat disheartened towards Jia Baoyu, and even his desire to beat him diminished!