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

Jia Cong thought that if he could get the evidence of Jia Lian's indiscretion before Ping'er, he might be able to get some benefits from him.

But unexpectedly, some things happened simultaneously. For example, on this day, he had just finished practicing martial arts and hadn't even had a chance to rest when he heard a servant calling him from outside the courtyard.

"Third Master, the Second Master has instructed you to speak with him..."

Jia Cong was somewhat suspicious. Why did Jia Zheng want to see him? He wasn't his biological father... But he didn't slow down and quickly replied.

"Okay, I'll go."

After saying this, he changed into new clothes with Chu Lan's help, and then hurriedly led Li Rong to Jia Zheng's place.

On the way, they encountered Baoyu, who was accompanied by two old maids. Upon seeing him, Baoyu rushed forward as if he had seen a savior, grabbing Jia Cong's sleeve in a few quick steps.

"Good brother, it's a good thing you came. You'll have to help me deal with this later..."

Jia Cong chuckled and pulled his sleeve back.

"Second Brother, why are you in such a panic? I was just following orders to see Second Uncle..."

Baoyu chuckled and lowered his voice.

"Brother, you don't know, but I just received news from the Old Ancestor that the palace has sent word that I should move into the Grand View Garden with you!"

Jia Cong's eyelids twitched. He was involved too?

She thought that no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to live in that garden. Unexpectedly, after the Imperial Concubine returned to the palace, she looked at Jia Cong's manuscript again and again, and couldn't help but feel happy for this cousin she was not very familiar with.

In addition, having heard that the other party had now learned martial arts, and since the Rong and Ning families had entered officialdom through military merit, they naturally hoped that after three or four generations, another military general might emerge. That's why they had this idea and instructed Jia Zheng to bring Jia Cong into the garden together.

Baoyu, who was originally unable to move more than three inches, calmed down a bit and pulled Jia Cong into Jia Zheng and Lady Wang's residence.

As it happened, Jia Zheng was discussing matters in Lady Wang's room, while Jin Chuan'er, Caiyun, Caixia, Xiuluan, Xifeng, and other maids were standing under the eaves. Upon seeing Baoyu approach, they all smiled with pursed lips.

Jin Chuan grabbed Bao Yu's arm and whispered with a smile, "I just applied some fragrant rouge to my lips, do you want some now?"

Caiyun pushed Jinchuan aside and laughed, "He's feeling uncomfortable right now, and you're making fun of him. Take advantage of this moment and go inside."

Baoyu had no choice but to squeeze through the door. It turned out that Jia Zheng and Lady Wang were both in the inner room. Aunt Zhao lifted the curtain, and Baoyu and Jia Cong bowed and squeezed in.

They saw Jia Zheng and Lady Wang sitting opposite each other on the kang (a heated brick bed), talking. A row of chairs sat on the floor, occupied by Yingchun, Tanchun, Xichun, and Jia Huan. Upon seeing them enter, only Tanchun, Xichun, and Jia Huan stood up.

Jia Cong chuckled inwardly, thinking that his second sister was indeed still as dull as ever.

Jia Zheng glanced up and saw Bao Yu standing before him, his spirit ethereal and his beauty captivating; beside him, Jia Cong was handsome and dashing, with the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix; but Jia Huan, on the other hand, was petty and uncouth…

Jia Zheng suddenly remembered Jia Zhu, and then looked at Lady Wang, who only had this one biological son and loved him dearly. His own beard was already turning white. Because of these few things, he unconsciously reduced his usual dislike for Baoyu by eight or nine tenths.

After a long pause, she said, "Her Majesty has instructed that you have been playing outside every day and have gradually become lazy. Now you are to be confined to the garden with your sisters to study and write. You must study diligently. If you continue to misbehave, you will be in serious trouble!"

Baoyu repeatedly agreed with "yes." Lady Wang then pulled him to sit down beside her. He and his two siblings remained seated.

Jia Zheng then looked at Jia Cong, his eyes showing more approval.

"Cong-ge'er has always needed the guidance of his elder brother, and as his uncle, it's not appropriate for me to discipline him. However, His Majesty instructed me that you possess exceptional talent and are destined for greatness. Although you haven't received much guidance in the past, you are still well-mannered and respectful. Now, you should diligently study military strategy and tactics, and not waste this talent. His Majesty also said that the Grand View Garden is a quiet and elegant place, perfect for focused study. Since you are with Bao-yu and the others, you should also move into the garden and study diligently with your sisters, so that you may also achieve great things in the future!"

Jia Cong was secretly pleased, but remained outwardly respectful.

"Yes, Your Majesty and Uncle will remember your teachings and will not dare to bring shame upon the household!"

Of those present, only Jia Huan was not happy, but he dared not say a word. He was the only one who had not been granted entry to the garden and was still living in Aunt Zhao's side courtyard.

As Jia Cong walked out of Jia Zheng's courtyard, he was still pondering where he would be able to stay after entering the Grand View Garden.

Forget about the Grand View Garden; that's Jia Baoyu's designated residence. The Grand View Garden certainly has more than just the places mentioned in the original story, but living in such a remote place would inevitably make it inconvenient to move around.

Before he could figure it out, he heard that Grandmother Jia wanted to celebrate Xue Baochai's birthday, and he was immediately stumped.

For Baochai's birthday, Jia Cong naturally didn't need to spend any money; Wang Xifeng would handle it herself. However, deciding on a gift was quite a headache.

Jia Cong rummaged through the treasure chest in his room. He gave the emerald to Daiyu, the ruby ​​thumb ring to Wang Xifeng, and there weren't many exquisite items left.

Furthermore, with his limited literary talent and brushwork, he shouldn't try to imitate Baoyu's painting, lest he make a fool of himself.

After much thought, Jia Cong, fiddling with the gold ingot in his hand, came up with an idea.

He pocketed a few pieces of silver and hurried to the kitchen in the backyard. He found Lin Zhixiao's wife, put on a smile, and stuffed the silver into her hand.

"I'll trouble Mama Lin to buy some things for me these next few days, as I'll need them in a couple of days."

Lin Zhixiao's wife, her face full of obsequiousness, tucked the four- or five-tael silver ingot into her sleeve, lowering her body even further.

"Since it's Third Master's order, how dare this servant disobey? May I ask what rare and unusual items Third Master wishes to buy?"

Jia Cong handed over a piece of paper with a list of several items, including glutinous rice flour and cheese.

"That's all. Just make sure they're fresh; absolutely no inferior products will do!"

Lin Zhixiao's wife had some doubts, but she didn't press the matter and just smiled apologetically.

"Third Master, please rest assured, we will send someone to procure it first thing tomorrow morning!"

Jia Cong planned to give Xue Baochai a cake to try at her birthday banquet!

The next day, Lin Zhixiao's wife personally came to invite Jia Cong, saying that the procurement was complete and asking this Third Master Cong to go to the kitchen to see if it was still usable.

Jia Cong quickly put on his clothes and followed Lin Zhixiao's wife to the kitchen. He then tipped several servants several hundred coins and arrogantly pointed to the basin on the cutting board.

"Go, remove the yolks from these eggs, leaving only the egg whites. Beat these egg mixtures until they are foamy!"

The servants, having received a reward, worked diligently. Although they didn't know what this master wanted them to do, they all put in their best effort. Without an egg beater, they had to rely on manual labor, and it took three servants to finally meet Jia Cong's requirements.

Fortunately, sugarcane from India had been introduced to the East since the Tang Dynasty, so the sugar used in the mansion was all fine rock sugar.

Jia Cong looked at the egg whites that had been beaten until foamy with satisfaction, then added sugar by hand before picking up finely ground wheat flour and glutinous rice flour and adding them in to reduce the gluten content of the pure wheat flour.

As for the clear juice, dough starter, milk, and shortening for making fermented rice, the Rong Mansion's kitchen had plenty of these. However, the amount needed was still difficult to control, so Jia Cong had to experiment a few times with a try-and-see attitude.

"Alright, steam it over high heat for a quarter of an hour, then turn to low heat for another quarter of an hour!"

As for shortbread, it was used as a cream to coat the cake base after it was shaped, and it was a dairy product commonly used by nobles at that time.