The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

Jia Jue returned to his courtyard and went inside. Sure enough, Musk Moon had already arranged everything. A pot of hot tea was placed on the table, and several plates of snacks were laid out beside it.

Jia Jue didn't actually like eating pastries, especially those that were too sweet.

However, the old lady loved to eat, and Baoyu also loved these sweet things, so most of the snacks prepared in the kitchen of the mansion were such sweet and greasy things.

It's only February now, just the beginning of spring. As the saying goes, "the spring chill is still in the air," and there's also a folk saying, "dress warmly in spring and lightly in autumn," because it is indeed quite cold outside.

Now that Jia Jue had just returned from outside, although he was wearing thick fur clothes, he still felt a chill in his body. Now, sitting down and having a sip of hot tea, he truly felt comfortable all over.

As Jia Jue sipped his tea, he thought, "It's already 7 PM. According to custom, Madam should have just finished chanting Buddhist prayers today, and Father is probably at Mengpo Studio. Now that I'm back, I should go and pay my respects."

Thinking it over, he said to Musk Moon, "Bring me a set of clothes."

Musk Moon laughed from the side, "I knew long ago that Master would need to change clothes to see the Master and Madam when he came back. The clothes were already prepared, and here they are."

Jia Jue smiled and said, "As expected, you are the most thoughtful."

After saying that, she went to the inner room to change her clothes.

Musk Moon naturally wanted to go in and help.

As for Qingwen—according to the old calendar of the Jia family, each young master had two personal maids who were in charge of managing his clothes, jewelry, money, and other belongings. Of course, everyone knew that Baoyu had more than two. The two maids around Jia Jue were naturally Musk Moon, who had always been with him, and Qingwen, who was given to him when he moved out of Grandmother Jia's house.

Logically speaking, both maids should help their master change clothes, but Qingwen, being a shy girl, had only been there a short time compared to Sheyue. Besides, changing clothes didn't require many people, so she always stayed outside.

A short while later, Jia Jue came out after changing his clothes.

He was dressed in a dark blue brocade robe with embroidered clouds and arrow-sleeved sleeves, over which was a dark blue fur cloak with gold thread. He wore no gold or jade ornaments, nor did he wear a headband; his hair was simply tied up. Yet, he gave off an ethereal and noble air.

As Qingwen watched Jia Jue's figure, she felt that Jia Jue's demeanor had become even more refined after taking the exam.

Jia Jue said to the two men, "I will go and pay my respects to the master and mistress myself. You two can stay inside and keep warm. I don't need anyone else to follow me. Although it's already dark, I'll just carry a lantern myself."

Before she could finish speaking, Qingwen blurted out, "How can that be? Even if we don't come along, we should at least have two old nannies look after you from the front and back."

Jia Jue said, "There are matrons on duty at night, carrying lanterns, so why call anyone else? You don't need to say anything more, or I'll get angry."

Just as Qingwen was about to say something more, Mushe stopped her, saying, "I'll do whatever you say, Master."

After Jia Jue left, Qingwen said to Mushe, "How could you just let him go like that? What if he gets hurt on the way? It's one thing if we get punished, but what if something happens to him?"

Musk Moon smiled at Qingwen and asked, "Him? Who is he? Who is he?"

"Pah!" Qingwen blushed instantly. "I'm giving you a serious talk and you're making fun of me! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Musk Moon laughed and said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about that anymore, let's get back to the point. Our young master has been very opinionated since he was a child. Although he is not as favored by the old lady and madam as the Third Master Bao over there, to put it bluntly, he is more than ten times better than them. Don't worry, since the young master said so, he must have his reasons."

Qingwen thought about it. Although she had only been there for a month or two, Jia Jue was indeed a person with his own opinions and abilities. Although he was kind to the servants, he was someone people could respect, unlike the chaotic state of Baoyu's room.

He simply nodded and said nothing more.

After leaving his own courtyard, Jia Jue did not go directly to his wife's courtyard to pay his respects. Instead, he went to the courtyard of his study first.

There is a tree in the courtyard of Bingxinzhai. This tree has been there for many years and has grown to the point that it takes three people to encircle it.

Jia Jue stood under the tree, then leaped up, and surprisingly, he jumped several feet high and landed on the tree!

He nodded, grabbed a tree branch, pulled hard, and snapped the branch in two with his hand.

Jia Jue lightly jumped down again, thinking to himself, "Sure enough, ever since I entered the Dream Wonderland, I've felt light and strong. Now it seems it wasn't just an illusion. And the essay I wrote for the exam, though I don't know how I wrote it, was better than what I usually write. Just now, when I returned to the manor, I asked Fu Shu to tell me a passage from the Analects, and I wrote one in my head, which was also much better than my previous essays. They say that after transmigrating, you get a cheat code; could this be it?"

While pondering, Jia Jue quietly left the courtyard and went straight to Lady Wang's courtyard.

As soon as Jia Jue entered, he saw Jia Huan bent over his desk writing.

Jia Huan was Jia Jue's younger brother and Jia Zheng's fourth son. However, he was not born of the legitimate wife, but rather to Jia Zheng's concubine, Zhao Yiniang. Jia Zheng was handsome, and Zhao Yiniang was quite beautiful in her youth, so Jia Huan naturally possessed striking good looks.

However, the child was narrow-minded, and his behavior inevitably carried a gloomy air, which displeased Jia Zheng.

Jia Huan felt jealous of his two older brothers, Jia Baoyu, but respected Jia Jue.

Firstly, Jia Jue did take good care of him; secondly, Jia Jue was indeed quite capable, a fact that his peers could clearly see, unlike Bao Yu, who appeared glamorous on the outside but was actually quite questionable on the inside.

Jia Jue was now quite used to seeing him hunched over his desk writing. As Jia Huan's legal mother, Lady Wang naturally had the right to discipline him. When Jia Huan made mistakes, Lady Wang wanted to discipline him, but she couldn't hit him—otherwise, she would be branded as an unkind mother—so she had him copy Buddhist scriptures, as a way to cultivate his character.

When Jia Jue entered, he first bowed and greeted Madam Wang.

When Lady Wang saw him, she said, "My son, come here quickly."

Jia Jue had no choice but to walk up to him.

Madam Wang then grabbed his hand and looked him up and down carefully.

Although Jia Jue's status in Lady Wang's heart was much lower than that of Jia Baoyu, he was still Lady Wang's own son, a piece of her flesh!

What mother in the world doesn't worry about her child?

Now that Jia Jue has been away at the examination hall for five days, has Lady Wang not wondered if he has suffered?

Under these circumstances, Lady Wang naturally kept Jia Jue to talk.

As the two were talking, Madam Wang glanced at Jia Huan in the corner, sighed, and said to him, "Go on, but remember, don't do this again next time."

Jia Huan immediately stood up, said "Yes," and went downstairs obsequiously.

"Sigh," Madam Wang sighed to Jia Jue, "I'm not afraid to tell you, your Huan-di is really quite unruly."