Dream of the Red Chamber: Madam, please have some self-respect!

After returning from the west corridor, Su Yun reported everything she had seen and heard to Li Wan in detail.

"Grandma, you didn't see Second Master Yun's hands. They were swollen with chilblains like carrots. There was only a candle in the room, but the characters he wrote were extremely neat, as if he had worked hard. His mother, Madam Bu, was standing beside him, her eyes still red and swollen. It was clear that she was quite frightened and very distressed." Su Yun's tone was tinged with pity.

Li Wan listened quietly, fiddling with her prayer beads, her feelings of sympathy for her kind deepening.

She wanted to help, but she couldn't just reach out directly.

A young widowed aunt showing excessive concern for a distant nephew would inevitably attract a lot of gossip, damaging both her and Jia Lan's reputation.

All she could do was offer a subtle way out, to see if Jia Yun knew how to take advantage of the situation and whether it was worth the small risk she was taking.

Sure enough, the next day when Jia Lan returned from school, he didn't go straight to study as usual. Instead, he sidled up to Li Wan and whispered, "Mother, I want to... I want to give some books to Brother Yun."

Li Wan's heart skipped a beat, but she remained outwardly calm as she asked, "Oh? Why did you suddenly give him a book? What did he say to you this time?"

Jia Lan quickly shook her head, her little face showing a hint of excitement: "I'm not kidding! Second Brother Yun can tell so many interesting stories, even more interesting than the teacher's! He said... he said that as long as I lend him a book, he'll tell me about the mountains and rivers, strange tales, and... and about the human body's organs and meridians. Although it sounds terrifying, it makes perfect sense!"

Jia Zhu died young, and Jia Lan, who was strict from a young age, had never heard of such strange and unusual things before, so he was naturally attracted to them.

Seeing the rare gleam in her son's eyes, Li Wan felt a pang of tenderness and a touch of sadness.

She patted Jia Lan's head and smiled slightly, "If that's the case, then so be it. But..."

Li Wan pondered for a moment, then instructed Su Yun, "Go to the study and pick out some copies of the imperial examination essays and classic commentaries that your Master Zhu has read in the past, or those that are superfluous. Also prepare some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Take some of the silver charcoal that was sent from the estate the other day, and also get some candles. As for the money, add an ounce or two so they can have a good New Year. If anyone asks, just say that Lan-ge promised to reward him for telling stories, thus fulfilling his promise."

This arrangement was both thorough and discreet.

The books were either read or superfluous, and the pens, ink, and charcoal were "rewards." Everything was attributed to Jia Lan's childish behavior of "keeping his promise," and no one could find fault with it.

When Suyun, accompanied by two maids, delivered these items to the west corridor.

Jia Yun almost burst into tears.

Looking at the whole stack of rough-edged paper, several ingots of new ink, two Huzhou brushes, and especially the basket of silver charcoal, a large bag of candles, and that deadly tael of silver, he suddenly couldn't contain his emotions.

In the vast Jia family mansion, where else had anyone ever opened their heart to him like this?

He bowed deeply to Su Yun, his voice still brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "Thank you so much, Sister Su Yun! Thank you so much, Aunt Wan and Brother Lan! This...this has truly saved my life!"

Su Yun avoided his formal greeting and said with a smile in a low voice, "Second Master Yun, please don't be so polite. Our grandmother said that this is a promise Lan-ge'er made to you, and scholars value their word above all else. If you have some free time in the future, please tell Lan-ge'er more of those serious and interesting stories."

This gave Jia Yun a legitimate reason to visit Li Wan's courtyard.

Jia Yun nodded repeatedly, understanding perfectly: "Of course, of course! Please tell Aunt that I will certainly live up to your expectations and the kindness of Brother Lan."

After completing her mission, Su Yun left with her men. Jia Yun gazed at the pile of precious supplies, her heart filled with gratitude and hope.

He was carrying the charcoal into the house when Madam Bu tugged at his sleeve, her eyes fixed on the direction Su Yun had left, and whispered, "Yun'er, I think this Su Yun is pretty and reliable, and she's also one of Madam Zhu's favorites... Why don't I ask someone to inquire about her..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Yun was both amused and exasperated, and quickly interrupted, "Mother! Please stop talking nonsense! Your son is just a poor, struggling man who can barely support himself. I haven't achieved any official rank or established a family business, how could I dare to think about such things? Besides, she's a trusted servant of Aunt Wan, how could we possibly aspire to such a position?"

Just then, a blurry image flashed through Jia Yun's mind—Lin Xiaohong, the clever and capable maid who was his wife in the original story.

Jia Yun was slightly distracted, but quickly suppressed her chaotic thoughts.

At present, survival and the imperial examinations are the top priorities; matters of the heart are still a distant concern.

He took his mother's arm, his tone firm yet gentle: "Mother, our only hope now is that your son can make a name for himself with these charcoal-burning pens and ink. We'll talk about the rest later."

Looking into her son's clear and determined eyes, Mrs. Bu finally sighed and then happily went to tidy up the charcoal and candles.

The next day, Jia Yun was studying diligently at home, but the cold wind kept sneaking in through the window cracks, making his hand holding the pen tremble slightly.

Suddenly, the courtyard gate was pushed open with a "bang," and Jia Qiang and Jia Qin staggered in, arm in arm, reeking of cold air and alcohol.

"You little rascal, Yun-ge! At first, I didn't believe it when others told me, thinking you were just putting on an act. But you've actually started learning those corrupt ways? You've completely forgotten about us brothers!"

Jia Qiang snatched the book from Jia Yun's hand, flipped through a couple of pages and seeing it wasn't erotic art, he simply tossed it on the table with a grin and said, "Come on, come on, what's the fun in this freezing weather? I'll treat you, let's go to 'Drunken Immortal Pavilion' for a couple of drinks to warm up!"

Jia Qin chimed in with a laugh, "That's exactly right! Yun-ge, how long has it been since we brothers had a good time together? You can't spoil the fun today!"

Jia Yun naturally didn't want to mingle with these people, but at this moment he could only smile and decline: "I appreciate Second Master Qiang and Brother Qin's kindness. However, my studies are important right now, and the imperial examinations are just around the corner next spring. Jia Yun really dares not neglect them..."

"What do you mean by 'important' or 'not important'!" Jia Qiang interrupted him, feigning displeasure. "Now, do you only care about the classics and not us brothers? If you're going to be so disrespectful, how will we ever face each other again? Aren't you looking down on us?"

These words were a bit harsh, and Jia Yun felt helpless.

He knew their situation all too well. Jia Qiang's parents died early, so he was adopted by Jia Zhen and was therefore half a legitimate master of the Ning Mansion.

So even though he didn't have a proper job, he was always more financially secure than others.

In addition, Jia Qiangsheng was dashing and charming, and also had the ability to scheme and speculate, but he was the most popular among this group of playboys.

Jia Qin's family was even worse off; his mother, Zhou, like Bu, worked odd jobs to barely make ends meet. But instead of looking for work, he insisted on mingling among these young men to fill a position.

Just as the two were trying to coax him, a loud shout came from outside the door: "Is Brother Yun home? Our Master Xue invites you to his residence... oh no, directly to 'Drunken Immortal Pavilion' for a chat!"

Before he could finish speaking, a servant boy standing next to Xue Pan strode in with his head held high.

Although he was speaking to Jia Yun, his eyes were glancing sideways at Jia Qiang and Jia Qin, his demeanor and actions quite arrogant.

Upon hearing this, Jia Qiang and Jia Qin immediately perked up.

Jia Qiang slapped Jia Yun on the shoulder and laughed loudly, "How about it? Even Brother Xue came to invite you! That's a huge honor! You can't refuse this time!"

Jia Qin, sensing the opportunity, pulled and tugged at the air, saying, "Brother Xue's plan must be excellent! Yun-ge, you can't be so hesitant anymore!"

Jia Yun's heart sank. Seeing this situation, he knew that he could no longer refuse, and could only sigh inwardly.

Xue Pan had moved his entire family to the capital in early spring of this year to avoid the murder case involving Feng Yuan, and it had been almost a year since then.

When he first arrived in the capital, he was much more restrained than when he was in Nanjing, as there were many nobles and dignitaries gathered under the emperor's nose. At least he dared not cause any more deaths.

But this "restraint" is only relative. His usual activities of calling on friends, cockfighting, dog racing, and frequenting brothels and gambling dens have never stopped.

Some vague but unpleasant fragments of memory flashed through Jia Yun's mind.

About half a year ago, when Xue Pan had only been in the capital for a few months and had not yet fully grasped the ins and outs of the city, I did indeed fawn over this "Brother Xue" like a groveling lackey in order to get more support in the mansion and to find some connections.

During that period, he spent countless hours being careful and said many insincere flattering words.

Looking back now, Jia Yun felt his face burning. At this moment, he had already realized that such a dissolute young man was not a good companion, and he was no longer willing to waste his time with him, or even bring trouble upon himself.

Jia Yun glanced at his mother, who was peeking out from the inner room with a worried look, and gave her a reassuring look. Then, surrounded by the crowd, he was half-pushed and half-forced to leave the house.

He didn't know whether this trip would be a blessing or a curse.