Dream of the Red Chamber: A Refined and Elegant Young Man in a Turbid World

Jia Cong changed into clean clothes and had Chu Lan tie his hair up. Then he called Li Rong, and together with his books and other belongings, headed towards the classroom.

"Cong-ge'er is getting more and more energetic. He was listless a while ago, but he looks very healthy these days." Jia Huan came over with a smile as soon as he saw him, and patted him on the shoulder.

Jia Huansheng had a weasel-like face and a sleazy appearance. In short, he didn't inherit any of the good qualities of Jia Zheng and Aunt Zhao, which explains why Jia Zheng usually disliked this illegitimate son. However, this boy was quite straightforward, except that he was a bit of a sore loser. After class, he would occasionally play dice or Go with Jia Huansheng, and if he lost a few dozen coins, he would act like a rogue.

But don't underestimate this guy. When it comes to reading, neither Jia Lan nor he can compare to Jia Huan. Although his essays may not be particularly profound or insightful, they are always on topic, unlike Jia Huan himself, who is completely unable to integrate into the classroom.

Jia Congqian chuckled twice and was about to exchange a few pleasantries when Mr. Cheng, who was teaching, arrived. Everyone quickly and obediently sat down in their seats.

For the past three months, Jia Cong has been diligently studying the lessons taught by Mr. Cheng. Fortunately, his handwriting is quite good; young masters from large families are unlikely to be illiterate.

After spending the morning reading several texts with his teacher, Jia Cong felt dizzy and lightheaded. The world of Dream of the Red Chamber before him was slightly different from the original. The Four Books and Five Classics were all there, and Li Bai and Du Fu were all present, but the majestic Tang Dynasty seemed to have only lived up to the An Lushan Rebellion. The articles from the Song Dynasty and later were missing, and there were some other texts.

The current emperor is Emperor Yuankang, whom he has never heard of before. Everyone in the Rongguo Mansion inevitably mentions him. The first Duke of Rongguo followed Emperor Yuankang's grandfather to conquer the world, and now it is time for him to enjoy his blessings.

Finally, school was over. Jia Cong hurriedly told Li Rong to tidy up the paper and pens on his desk, and Jia Huan came over again.

"Hehe, to tell you the truth, I got a cricket yesterday, and it's really amazing. I was thinking of playing with it with you today. Come on, let's go play together."

He quickly waved his hand.

"It won't work today. I still have to go to my sister-in-law's place later. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Jia Huan was quite dissatisfied.

"We're all unwanted by our parents, why bother putting on that smiling face?"

Jia Huan was not favored by Lady Wang, and even Jia Zheng looked down on him. He was not comparable to Bao Yu, and even the maids and servants in the mansion were not very respectful to him. Maids who lost money in gambling dared to chase after him to collect their debts.

Jia Cong thought for a moment, then turned around and looked directly at Jia Huan, saying...

"Huan-ge'er, let me ask you, are you really willing to live a life of mediocrity in this mansion?"

Jia Huan was slightly taken aback, his lips twitched twice, but he immediately glared and started shouting.

"What kind of talk is that? If he weren't born this way, who would willingly be looked down upon? Haven't you seen my good second brother? He gets whatever he wants in the manor. If my eldest brother hadn't passed away, how could he have gotten such favor?"

Jia Huan's voice grew louder and louder, attracting the servants outside to come closer.

Jia Huan's dissatisfaction with Jia Baoyu had been brewing for some time, and seeing him becoming incoherent, Jia Cong hurriedly covered his mouth in a panic.

"Stop talking! With that foul mouth of yours, you're bound to cause trouble sooner or later!"

Jia Huan slapped his hand away in dissatisfaction, muttering to himself.

"Of course he is! Everyone in the household greets him with a smile. If you ask me, why did they ever have us in the first place? They would have been better off dead!"

Seeing Jia Huan's resentment, he had no choice but to put his arm around the guy's shoulder, walk to a corner, and quietly whisper in his ear.

"Today I plan to ask my sister-in-law to let me abandon my studies and learn martial arts. Since I can't be a capable minister who governs the world anyway, I might as well make a name for myself right now."

Jia Huan was startled again.

"Cong-ge'er, are you serious? Your father is even worse than my dad. Although he inherited the title of First-Class General, he's never been involved in any serious matters. How could he be willing to spend a lot of money to let you learn martial arts?"

Jia Huan's words make a lot of sense. As the saying goes, "the poor are scholars, the rich are warriors," otherwise there wouldn't be a saying like "poor pedantic scholar."

Jia Cong shook his head.

"It's hard to say, so I have to ask for help. Alright, I need to get ready to go to my sister-in-law's place. We'll play together again tomorrow."

After saying this, ignoring Jia Huan's surprised look, he called over Li Rong and hurriedly returned to his small courtyard, where he rummaged through chests and cabinets to find a small brocade box.

Jia Cong carefully opened the box, inside which lay a crystal-clear and lustrous jade phoenix. He didn't know where this treasure came from; searching through all the original host's memories was to no avail. In any case, he had discovered it by chance last month.

"What is Third Master looking for?" Chu Lan heard the commotion in his room.

Jia Cong didn't answer. He took the jade phoenix and stroked it carefully twice, then sighed and put it back.

"Isn't this Madam's jade phoenix? Why did you remember it, Third Master?" Chu Lan's words surprised him slightly.

"The wife's? Which wife?" He really had no memory of that.

"Who else could it be but the late Mrs. Chu?" Chu Lan's voice trailed off, and she glanced nervously at the doorway.

Jia Cong understood that the jade phoenix was left by his birth mother, and since Madam Xing was Jia She's second wife, she naturally wouldn't keep such an item.

"I understand, you can leave now." He waved Chu Lan away.

"Although she's not my biological mother, she's still Jia Cong's birth mother. I'll use this today, and if my wish comes true one day, I'll definitely bring you back." Jia Cong gritted his teeth, no longer caring about anything else. He immediately wrapped the brocade box in silk, called Li Rong over to carry it, and walked ahead towards Jia Lian's residence.

Halfway there, a group of people came from the front. The leader was wearing a bright red gauze shirt, and the chief braid had a long, black, shiny braid with four large beads strung from top to bottom, and a gold eight-treasure pendant.

This gentleman was Jia Baoyu. Jia Cong had only seen him once in the past three months, at the New Year's sacrificial ceremony. Now that he had met him, he couldn't be rude, so he quickly walked a few steps forward, bowed, and greeted him.

"I've met Brother Bao."

Jia Baoyu is a lazy and lazy character. Most brothers in other families are afraid of their older brothers, but Baoyu is the kind of person who doesn't need anyone to be afraid of him.

In Cao Cao's words, "My brothers all have been taught by their parents, so why should I interfere and only make them more distant?"

Therefore, Jia Baoyu, who was usually very humble, also smiled and cupped his hands in greeting at this moment.

"It's Brother Cong! Where are you headed?"

Jia Cong didn't dare to speak recklessly, so he pointed randomly in the direction of Jia Lian's house.

"I ran into my sister-in-law early this morning, and she invited me to have lunch at Lian's place."

Jia Baoyu nodded, waved his sleeve, and cheerfully made way for him.

"I see. I just came back from Madam's place and was just about to see Miss Lin. Let's talk another day."