Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 135: The Medicine Bowl

Yingtian Prefecture Prison.

That day, Xue Pan was scolded by Feng Yuan, which aroused his anger. He ordered his servants to give him a severe beating. Unexpectedly, Mr. Rabbit was so weak that he was beaten to death in just a few hits.

Although he was arrogant and domineering in Jinling City, he also knew that human life was at stake. He panicked and was about to escape with his family, but he was caught by the bailiffs of Yingtian Prefecture.

He also suffered a lot on his first day in prison. He was locked up for half a day and a night, and the jailer didn't even give him any water or rice. He was so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back.

Even though he was a playboy in the past and had fought with others before, he had never caused a death. In this world, a person must pay with his life, so could it be that he would have to pay with the life of that rabbit husband this time?

That night I was hungry and scared, feeling miserable and living a life worse than death.

On the next day, the jailer who had originally ignored him suddenly brought him prison food. Although it was coarse food in prison, he, who was used to eating delicacies, gobbled it up in one gulp.

Soon after, the old housekeeper of the house came to see him and brought him food and bedding, but the jailer pretended not to see it.

The housekeeper told him that the mistress had written to the master of the Jia family in Shenjing, and was trying to find a way to help him get rid of the crime. She also said that the young master of the Jia family in Jinling had a good relationship with the prefect and was also helping to smooth things over.

He also said that his wife asked him to stay here patiently for a few days, and his family would naturally try every means to save him.

Xue Pan then understood why the jailer had given him food this morning and why the housekeeper had stuffed something into his cell just now and the jailer had pretended not to see it. It turned out that his family had connections with the Jia family.

As for who the young master Jia of Jinling was, he didn't know. The old house of the Jia family in Xinglongfang had been empty all the time, so there was no young master there.

He endured a few days in the cell and saw that the prison was in chaos during the past two days. He didn't know what was going on, but prisoners were constantly being taken away and some new faces were brought back.

But he was too lazy to care about these things and just hoped that his family would get him out as soon as possible.

……

Jia Cong's time copying scriptures in Anding Temple was very regular and fulfilling.

The time besides copying scriptures every day was used to read the books purchased in Shenjing, which included military books, agricultural books, laws, and political commentaries, laying a solid foundation for the eight-legged essay and policy essays in the future imperial examinations.

In his spare time, he taught Xiangling how to write. Xiangling had attended classes at a private school for several years and could read and recite texts, but she seldom had the opportunity to write.

Now that he has met Jia Cong, a great expert, it is naturally the best thing.

Xiangling is a little naive in other aspects, but she is very intelligent in literary matters. Jia Cong taught her the tricks of using pen and ink, and she almost understood them immediately. What she lacked was the ability to practice and accumulate experience.

For Jia Cong, it was a pleasant thing to teach such a delicate, beautiful, smart and studious girl in his spare time.

Sometimes he would stand on the third-floor corridor of the official residence and look out at the temple construction site. In the past few days, craftsmen have joined in the construction of the temple one after another, and people can be seen everywhere.

On the next day, more than a dozen runners from the Yingtian Prefecture escorted dozens of prisoners to the construction site to do hard labor such as carrying things.

These prisoners were all shackled, dressed in rags, and had dirty faces.

Using prisoners to do hard labor has always been a common method used by the government. It can be used as a punishment for prisoners and can also save a lot of labor hiring fees.

Jia Cong also noticed that the people who frequently appeared at the construction site, besides Qin Ye, the Construction Officer of the Ministry of Works, was Liu Hai, the General Flag Officer of the Water Conservancy Bureau.

Although he was forced by his superior to come here to guard the construction site, he was not discouraged from doing his work and patrolled the construction site every day.

The more than one hundred garrison soldiers under his command were deployed in a very orderly manner. All important places were guarded by soldiers, and the protection and security of the entire construction site were in good order.

Jia Cong couldn't help but nod secretly. Qin Ye could only provide guidance on the construction process and progress.

However, in order to build a large stall with six or seven hundred people on site, all the operational order, material transportation, warehouse protection, etc. were managed by Liu Hai, and he did it very meticulously and properly.

This requires very good execution and outstanding coordination and planning abilities. Liu Hai is also a unique figure.

With such ability and diligence, he should have been relied upon by the garrison or the water supervision office, but he was sent here to guard the construction site?
……

On the day of the rest day, Xiangling got up early, helped Jia Cong wash up, packed his luggage and clothes, and waited for the Jia family's carriage to pick him up.

After returning to the Jia family's old house, Jia Cong entered his own yard, but did not see Wu'er. Only Qingwen was sitting alone in the room at the round table.

Qingwen wore a snow-green and peach-red stand-up collar jacket, a plain white satin bodice with crimson floral patterns, a rose-red long skirt, and a bright red embroidered handkerchief around her waist, looking exceptionally pretty.

There was a small dustpan on the table, filled with various flowers. She was stirring the flowers in a small medicine bowl in her hand, and no one knew what she was busy with.

"Qingwen, what are you busy with?"

When Qingwen saw Jia Cong, her face was filled with joy: "Oh, Third Master is back. I was just thinking that it's time. I was looking for rouge and cream."

"There are a lot of roses and gardenias planted in the old house. The flowers in the south smell better than those in our north."

"I picked a lot of them, crushed them finely, filtered them with fine sand to remove the residue, and after drying them, dripped a little osmanthus oil on them. It became the best rouge."

Qingwen smiled and held the small medicine bowl in front of Jia Cong: "Third Master, please smell it and see if it smells good."

Jia Cong saw a bright red pool of liquid in the medicine bowl, with a sweet fragrance. Among the maids, Qingwen loved beauty the most and always loved these things when she had nothing to do.

"It smells good. Why do you use all this? You smell good even without these rouges."

Qingwen blushed, "Third Master is grown up now. He has heard too much nonsense from outside and is always teasing others."

"Where's Wu'er?"

"Wu'er went to the kitchen to ask them to prepare the fruit dishes that Third Master likes. We are waiting for Third Master to come back."

"Xiangling, you are so good. Come with Third Master and have fun. Third Master, don't be partial. Next time, it's my turn to take me out."

The three were talking and laughing when Wu'er came in with a smile on her face, followed by several old women and maids, who brought up six or seven plates, as well as fragrant glutinous rice and a pot of Jiuchen Nv'erchun.

Although the few people had only been separated for a short time, they were now sitting together again, feeling extremely intimate and having a great time.

Xiangling had never tasted wine before, but Qingwen coaxed her into drinking half a cup of Nv'erchun, and her whole face turned red.

As they were having fun, a maid came in to report that Lord Qin, the Minister of Works, had sent a message asking the Third Master to come to Prince Ning's residence in the afternoon on official business.

Jia Cong then remembered that today was the fifth day. A few days ago, Prince Ning had agreed with them that on the fifth day, he should report on the construction progress of Da Ci'en Temple.

The Prince of Ning had a reputation for being diligent in his work, and was therefore highly regarded by Emperor Jiazhao.

The Da Ci'en Temple involved a dispute over etiquette between Emperor Jiazhao and his court officials, which ultimately ended with the emperor's complete victory. Now the construction of the Da Ci'en Temple has become a matter of demonstrating the majesty of the imperial power.

As a prince, Prince Ning naturally did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. If he was not dealing with the matter of the Japanese ronin, he would not only listen to the report every five days, but also run to Qixia Mountain every two or three days.

(End of this chapter)