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

Seeing that Jia Yun wouldn't listen to advice, Li Wan got up to take a book that Jia Zhu had written before his death from the high shelf for Jia Yun to refer to. However, she tripped for some reason and fell backward!

With quick reflexes, Jia Yun stepped forward and firmly supported Li Wan's arm. However, his other hand inevitably rested on her shoulder and waist.

The two were instantly closer. A scent mixed with the warmth of the sun and the faint, refreshing scent of soapberry filled Li Wan's nostrils, while the softness and suppleness of a mature woman's body emanated from Jia Yun's arms and palms.

The slender waist and the suddenly magnified, full and shapely waist and hip curves made the boy's heart skip a beat.

"Damn it!" Jia Yun cursed himself inwardly, "I've been blinded by greed to have such a filthy thought at a time like this!"

He immediately composed himself, but an inappropriate image of Zhou Yingluo's spirited and radiant figure flashed through his mind at the Sanqing Temple outside the city.

Although they hadn't confessed their feelings to each other, they had been exchanging letters frequently lately, and that vague affection held an important place in Jia Yun's heart. This thought now made him feel even more ashamed of his momentary physical reaction.

Li Wan, still shaken, subtly and effortlessly broke free from Jia Yun's grasp as soon as she regained her footing.

She took two steps back and raised her hand to straighten her not-so-disheveled clothes. But beneath her furrowed brow, her voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly: "Thank you...thank you."

Li Wan tried to appear calm, but her heart was pounding like a drum, and her face flushed uncontrollably.

Her mind was a jumble of thoughts: He... didn't smell like those men who were all about perfume and alcohol, but rather like sunshine and... floral soap? It smelled quite nice... This thought had barely surfaced when Li Wan forcibly suppressed it, but the sensation of being embraced by the young man's strong arms lingered in her mind.

Jia Yun quickly lowered his head, saying, "It's good that Aunt is alright. I was the one who offended you."

Li Wan stopped looking at him, turned around and walked to the desk, her tone returning to its usual calm: "It's nothing, just an accident."

But in the instant she turned around, Jia Yun still caught a glimpse of her already bright red ears.

To ease the awkward atmosphere, Jia Yun coughed lightly and started a conversation: "I just heard Aunt mention your father, Lord Li. I wonder... what are Lord Li's hobbies? I would like to do my part to show my appreciation."

Upon hearing this, Li Wan paused slightly, realizing that Jia Yun wanted to use her father's connections.

After a moment's hesitation, she turned around, her words carrying a deeper meaning: "My father has a rather peculiar temperament. If he approves of a young man, he values ​​his character and talent, not those superficial and vulgar things. If you are sincere, keep yourself pure, and work diligently, he will be happier than receiving any lavish gift. If you give him something, he will think you have gone astray and look down on you."

These words, seemingly referring to the father's preferences, actually subtly conveyed a reminder and expectation for Jia Yun.

Jia Yun, being an exceptionally perceptive person, immediately understood the implied meaning—Li Shouzhong had high hopes for him, and Li Wan knew that her father did too.

With a firm resolve, he bowed respectfully and said, "I understand, nephew. I hope you can guide me further, Aunt."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Jia Lan's little head peeked in.

His eyes lit up when he saw Jia Yun, and he ran in excitedly, hugging Jia Yun's leg: "Second Brother Yun! You've finally come! Tell me a story, okay? Tell me about the one who knows the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms!"

The child's intrusion instantly dispelled the slight awkwardness in the room.

Jia Yun breathed a sigh of relief, squatted down, and patted Jia Lan's head with a smile: "Good boy Lan, your second brother is here today to talk to your mother about serious matters. We'll tell you the story another day."

As he spoke, he remembered that he still had a small bag of candied hawthorns in his pocket, which he had originally intended to prepare for a few girls in the school but had ultimately not taken out. So he took them out and handed a few to Jia Lan: "Here, have some to sweeten your mouth."

Jia Lan took the bright red candied hawthorn, happily popped it into his mouth, and the sweet and sour taste made him squint his eyes.

He chewed a few times, then suddenly remembered something, and picked up another one, standing on tiptoe to try and give it to Li Wan: "Mother, you should eat some too, it's delicious!"

Li Wan wanted to refuse, but seeing her son's expectant eyes, she had no choice but to reluctantly accept it. Under the watchful eyes of Jia Lan and Jia Yun, she ate it in small bites.

The sweet and sour taste melts in your mouth and can indeed relieve some of the tension.

After seeing that her mother had eaten, Jia Lan was satisfied and then skipped off to play.

The two people were left inside again.

Li Wan, having just eaten, subconsciously licked the corner of her lips with the tip of her tongue.

Seeing a tiny speck of icing sugar on her lips, Jia Yun almost instinctively reached out her finger to wipe it away, saying quite naturally, "Auntie, there's a little bit on your lips..."

The moment his fingertips touched Li Wan's soft lips, both of them froze, jerking away as if electrocuted!

Li Wan instantly took a step back, forcefully wiping her lips with the back of her hand. Her cheeks, which had just been slightly flushed, instantly lost all color and became icy cold.

Her gaze pierced Jia Yun like a knife, her heart filled with shock and anger: "This scoundrel! He already hugged me just now, and now he dares... dares to be so disrespectful! Does he think he can take advantage of his cleverness and even flirt with a widow like me? He really is entangled with that Feng girl; his character is so despicable!"

The more Li Wan thought about it, the angrier she became. She felt that Jia Yun's behavior was frivolous. All her previous worries and inexplicable irritation turned into shame and disgust at being offended.

She had lost all interest in continuing the conversation, and her tone was extremely curt: "Since you understand, that's for the best. Go back and study hard, don't let everyone down. I'm tired, you may go now."

The order to leave was delivered without any politeness.

Jia Yun realized that his actions had been too abrupt and impolite, and felt deeply remorseful. However, seeing Li Wan's reaction, he knew that explaining would be useless, so he could only awkwardly bow and say, "Yes, nephew takes his leave. Aunt... please rest well."

After saying that, Jia Yun practically fled in panic.

Watching Jia Yun's retreating figure as he left the room, Li Wan leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh, her brows furrowed with an unyielding worry and disgust.

The Jia family may appear glamorous on the surface, but when will the filth within ever end?

And Jia Yun, who had just begun to show promise and had the potential to bring glory to his family, turned out to be such a frivolous and reckless person. Would he be ruined in this filthy quagmire?

Li Wan felt a chill in her heart. The lingering warmth from her fingertips through her clothes and the strange, cool scent that had enveloped her nose now only made her feel incredibly agitated and nauseous.

Especially the area on my lips that had been touched felt like it had been burned by a spark, burning and unbearable.

Furthermore, every day at Chenshi (7-9 AM), Jia Yun would still go to Qingzhuxuan to teach the young ladies without fail.

He taught with great care, not only systematically explaining the essentials of calligraphy, but also interspersing explanations of poems and allusions, and even telling the story of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in detail during breaks from practicing calligraphy.

The girls gradually went from being reserved and tentative to looking forward to their daily hour together.

Jia Yun was knowledgeable and witty, unlike those pedantic old scholars, and could always make dry academic knowledge vivid and interesting.

Even Baochai and Daiyu, who were initially somewhat critical of him, had to admit that this "young teacher" did indeed have some real talent and learning, and their attitudes softened considerably.

However, Baoyu never showed up. Later, it was vaguely heard that his mother, Lady Wang, had kept him in his room, forcing him to study for the exams, fearing that he would be distracted by these "miscellaneous studies".

Jia Yun was happy to have some peace and quiet; without this "troublemaker," the classroom order improved considerably.

However, when Jia Yun returned to his own small courtyard in the west corridor in the afternoon and buried himself in his studies behind closed doors, he truly felt an ever-increasing pressure—money.

The further one progresses on the path of the imperial examinations, the more astonishing the expenses become.

The difference between good writing materials and inferior ones is like night and day in terms of handwriting and feel. Those precious classics and annotated collections of contemporary writings, especially those "internal materials" related to examiners' preferences and test-taking techniques that are not easily circulated, are even more expensive.

He knew the principle that "to do a good job, one must first have the right tools," and that some money could not be saved.

Although Jia Yun could write decent articles with ordinary stationery thanks to his solid foundation and forward-thinking insights, top-tier resources would undoubtedly increase his chances of standing out in this fiercely competitive field.

This made Jia Yun realize even more urgently that she had to find a way to make money.

The meager monthly allowance from the mansion and the occasional rewards from Grandmother Jia were absolutely insufficient to support his long-term path in the imperial examinations.

Moreover, the unexpected disaster that occurred half a year ago serves as a constant reminder to Jia Yun that life is unpredictable and that he must prepare for the future.

Of the fifty taels of silver that Grandmother Jia gave him, he insisted that his mother deposit thirty taels into a bank, just to leave his mother, Madam Bu, a way out. If something were to happen to him, his mother would not be left alone and helpless.

His desire for money involuntarily reminded him of Wang Xifeng. This second mistress of the Rongguo Mansion managed the internal affairs of the mansion, and even a little bit of money leaking from between her fingers was enough for him to live on for a while.

Moreover, he keenly sensed that Wang Xifeng seemed to be paying attention to him, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Several times, when Jia Yun was walking around the mansion, he caught a glimpse of Ping'er's figure in the distance, and then he could feel a faint gaze falling on him.

When he looked in the direction he felt, he only saw a fleeting glimpse of a skirt around the corner, or a blurry figure behind the window.

That was clearly the bright color that Wang Xifeng usually wore.

She seemed to be observing him from the shadows, but she never went up to him to meet him properly, let alone start a conversation.

Jia Yun wanted to find an opportunity to explain the misunderstanding to Wang Xifeng in person, so as to at least show that he had no intention of offending her.