The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

While it appeared to be a question, Grandmother Jia was actually giving Jia Jue no room to refuse.

For the Dowager Consort Zhen's birthday on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the journey from the capital to Jinling, if undertaken by both land and water, would take no more than a month and a half at most; if traveled solely by water, it would take no more than two months. In other words, it would be best to travel in May.

The results will be released in a few days. If you pass, you will naturally need to prepare for the prefectural examination in April.

In this way, it seemed as if everything had been planned out for Jia Jue.

Jia Jue had no choice but to say, "Of course I'm willing."

Grandmother Jia continued, "I know you're tired, but there's no one more suitable than you in the whole household. Your second brother Lian has a lot of things to do outside, Baoyu is weak and can't withstand the hardships of travel, and Huan'er is inexperienced and might mess things up."

Jia Jue said, "Grandson understands."

The old lady nodded in satisfaction, said a few more words to Jia Jue, and then told him to go back and rest.

Is it really true that there is no one left in this mansion?

of course not.

As for Jia Lian alone—he has many things going on outside, but he doesn't have that many things going on outside. He just goes out to drink and have fun every day.

Logically speaking, even if Grandmother Jia were biased, she couldn't be so biased as to this extent. Therefore, something must have happened before Consort Zhen fell ill, and it is highly likely to be related to Baoyu.

Back in his room, Jia Jue learned the whole story.

He heard it from Qingwen:

His former teacher, surnamed Yin, was appointed by the current emperor and rose to become the Minister of Works.

He suddenly became Jia Zheng's superior.

However, Mr. Yin was a humble man, and remembering the kindness of Jia Zheng who had taken him in when he lost his official position, so his words and actions remained the same as before, without any change.

Today, Minister Yin came to visit the mansion and talked to Jia Zheng about Jia Jue's upcoming examination. His words inevitably contained a hint of praise for Jia Jue.

Later, when talking about Baoyu, there was an inevitable sense of helplessness in his words.

Jia Zheng, ever the busybody, upon seeing Mr. Yin return to the mansion, produced an article that he had asked Jia Baoyu to write a couple of days prior, and asked Mr. Yin to critique it.

To everyone's surprise, Mr. Yin shook his head and sighed, "Your son is exceptionally talented, but he still needs to work hard and should take his elder brother as his role model! Such an essay, let alone with his brother's current abilities, even two years ago, he could not have written such an essay. Baoyu is intelligent, but his elder brother still needs to guide him more."

Mr. Yin has always been like this, speaking directly and without beating around the bush. Otherwise, he would not have lost his official position and been hired by Jia Zheng to teach in the Rongguo Mansion for three or four years.

However, Mr. Yin was extremely talented, proficient in both poetry and prose. What was even more commendable was his willingness to dedicate himself to studying practical knowledge—what is practical knowledge? It refers to things like water conservancy projects and agricultural and astronomical knowledge, which are hard to find in the current imperial court.

His Majesty valued this point, which is why he graciously promoted him.

Jia Zheng also knew that Mr. Yin had always treated people with sincerity, and he would not have said such a thing if Baoyu's article had not been so terrible.

After Mr. Yin left that day, Jia Zheng sent someone to summon Baoyu.

He was made to kneel at the door for an hour, repeatedly cursing him as a "wicked beast" and a "wicked wretch."

However, not even an hour later, just as Baoyu knelt down, the old lady received the news and rushed over in a panic, calling him "my darling" and "my flesh" repeatedly.

Even worse, he shouted at Jia Zheng, "Baoyu is a frail man, how can he endure the hardship of studying? People like us don't need to work so hard. What good is it if he becomes the top scholar?"

Jia Zheng had no choice but to obey his mother and release Baoyu.

The news has already spread throughout the mansion, but Jia Jue was outside the city with Zhao Xing when it happened and was unaware of it.

Even so, Jia Jue only told Qingwen this after he repeatedly asked her.

After all, this matter arose because of the comparison between Jia Jue and Bao Yu. Qingwen and Sheyue were afraid that if Jia Jue found out, he would think that the old lady was being biased and would be unhappy, so they didn't tell him.

Moreover, everyone in the manor now knows that the current Minister said that Second Master Jue is sure to pass the exam, so the previous contempt has naturally disappeared.

Even the old lady was somewhat certain that Jia Jue would make the list.

Grandmother Jia was naturally happy that her sons were successful, but she was displeased that Baoyu would be beaten and scolded by his father after his success. Thus, a complex mix of emotions swirled in Grandmother Jia's heart, and she eventually came up with a plan by taking advantage of the matter of Consort Zhen.

That means sending Jia Jue to Jinling for a while.

She had considered this—in ancient times, scholars traveled extensively for study, and there was a saying, "Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles," indicating the necessity of going out to see the world. So why not let Jia Jue go out and see the world? It would certainly help his studies. Moreover, this way, Bao Yu would have no point of comparison in the mansion. With his talent and ability, he could naturally live a comfortable life for a while. Even if Jia Jue returned later, it wouldn't matter; Jia Zheng would be used to it by then, and would keep a closer eye on Jia Jue and less on Bao Yu, reducing the frequency of Bao Yu being beaten or scolded. Furthermore, this would also allow her to curry favor with the Dowager Empress Zhen and pay a visit to the Zhen family, whom she hadn't contacted in a long time.

This is a plan that kills three birds with one stone, how could it not make the old lady happy?

Moreover, the old lady also thought that if Jia Jue passed the exam, he would naturally have to participate in the prefectural examination. So she postponed the date for a few more days until he finished the prefectural examination before leaving, which would also show that she was very considerate.

In the old lady's heart, she never felt that she was being biased!

Just as Jia Jue was feeling somewhat helpless in his room, he heard Musk Moon call out from outside, "Miss Lin is here! Master, come quickly, Miss Lin is here!"

Jia Jue then got up to greet him.

Daiyu walked in slowly, her expression seemingly sorrowful yet not sorrowful, which made her appear even more like a fairy.

As soon as she entered, Daiyu said, "Grandmother asked Brother Jue to go to Jinling. We cannot break our promise to our elders, so Brother Jue naturally has no choice but to go. But he will be traveling through mountains and rivers, so Second Brother needs to take good care of his health."

Jia Jue laughed and said, "If you put it that way, I'd like to set off tomorrow. Why are you in such a hurry, little sister, to let me go?"

Daiyu blushed instantly, realizing that she had been too hasty.

But when she heard the matriarch say that Jia Jue was to go to Jinling in the south of the Yangtze River, she felt a surge of anxiety—and couldn't help but think of all the kindness Jia Jue had shown her in the Jia family over the past few days:

When she slept with Grandmother Jia that day, she naturally received all the necessities and supplies that the old lady needed, so she was never shortchanged.

However, once they moved out, the servants in the mansion naturally became somewhat lax. And since she was an outsider, she dared not say anything.

If it weren't for Brother Jue's attentiveness, noticing the many instances of neglect from the servants, and regularly finding nourishing foods for her, such as bird's nest, and considering that she didn't want to trouble the kitchen, he would have always ordered the kitchen to prepare the food in his own name before giving it to her, would her health have improved so much by now?

Upon realizing this, Daiyu couldn't help but panic.

Therefore, after leaving the old lady's place, she went straight to Jia Jue's courtyard.

Looking back now, I realize that my concern led me astray, and I can't help but feel a little embarrassed.