Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 2 Monthly Example
Three years ago, Jia Cong went to study at the clan school. His classmates sat several feet away from him and were very afraid of him.

Only the descendants of the eight branches of the Jia family in Beijing could enter the Jia clan school.

Although the old lady had spoken sternly, she would not allow anyone to spread the news that Jia Cong was stubborn.

But there are many gossipy people in the Ning and Rong mansions, and there is no impenetrable wall in the clan.

Most of these children who were studying were nagged by their families to stay away from Jia Cong to avoid being harmed.

Fortunately, the Jia family is a wealthy and noble family. Although Jia Cong was born in an unseemly manner, he is a direct descendant after all, and it is not his turn to be a servant born to the smart families in the family.

That year, an official from the capital happened to get into trouble, so the steward Lai Da bought a young slave and sent her to serve Jia Cong. This would also prevent gossip from reaching the old lady's ears and bringing shame to the whole family.

In this way, year after year, although Jia Cong did not have any dignity as a young master, he was raised in the black oil gate of the East Courtyard.

Zhishao helped Jia Cong to lie on the kang. Nanny Zhao came over to the desk and took a look. She said, "Brother, your handwriting is really beautiful. Why didn't I know before that this kind of person will go to school and become an official sooner or later? Who will dare to look down on others in the future?"

Aunt Zhao continued to nag: "Brother, write me a couplet tomorrow. I will take it home during the New Year and show it off..."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "No need to wait until tomorrow. I'll write it right now and Mom can take it now."

Nanny Zhao's face was full of smiles, while Zhishao was busy grinding ink.

Jia Cong looked at the flying snowflakes outside the window, thought for a moment, picked up his pen and wrote two couplets, then gently blew away the remaining ink.

Zhishao glanced at the words on the paper and found them better than those hanging on the walls of the mansion.

She was also a little confused. Since Third Master woke up, he had changed a lot.

Not only has she become much more intelligent, but her manners have also become more decent. She has been serving the master since she was a child, and he could not write very well before.

The old people in the mansion said that the third master took after his deceased aunt and had a very good-looking appearance, better than the second master Bao who served the old lady.

But the Third Master had never been loved since he was a child. He had no sense of superiority and was very timid in front of others. His eyes were evasive, and he was careless in reading and writing. He was nowhere near the kind of person he is now.

Nanny Zhao took the couplet and left the yard with satisfaction, saying that she would ask Jia Cong's brother to post it when she got home.

Zhishao looked at the paper box on the bookshelf and said, "Third Master's rice paper is running out. We need to buy new ones."

Jia Cong had just drawn a piece of rice paper. He practiced writing five large characters every day, which was a homework he set for himself.

If I had more money, I would practice more.

After hearing what Zhishao said, he stopped writing helplessly, rolled up the rough rice paper and put it aside.

"Tomorrow, Madam will come back to the courtyard and ask her to go out and buy some. Is there any silver left in our purse?"

Zhi Shao frowned and said, "There are only a few copper coins left. I haven't even received last month's monthly allowance yet."

The old women in the West Mansion kitchen were all contemptuous and never treated Jia Cong and his servants as human beings.

Every time Zhishao went to get food, she was given some leftovers and coarse rice, and sometimes even the rice was rotten.

Last month, Jia Cong was severely beaten by the eldest master. In order to nourish him, Zhishao took out the monthly salary that she had saved with great difficulty and went to the kitchen to ask for some good meat, rice and vegetables, and even gave her own money in.

Even though they took the silver, the old women and wives in the kitchen still put on a bad face.

Every time Zhishao asked for a bowl of fresh egg custard, Mrs. Zhang, who worked as an assistant for the Liu family, would charge her a hundred coins.

You should know that the price of an egg outside is only ten cents.

Adding other better meat dishes and fresh vegetables, at the end of the month, Jia Cong and Zhi Shao had spent almost all of their savings.

If it weren't for the fact that Mrs. Liu's daughter in the kitchen was good friends with Zhishao and often secretly left some food for them, they wouldn't have enough money to last even a month.

Zhishao felt a little sad when she saw Jia Cong rolled up the rice paper in his hand, apparently reluctant to use it anymore.

She twisted her slender waist, turned around and walked out of the house, walked along the cobblestone path in the yard, and passed through the corridor.

The east courtyard where Jia She lived was originally built by separating a part of the back garden of Rongguo Mansion.

Although the East Road Courtyard covers a small area.

But Jia She was a playboy who was greedy for pleasure. Moreover, as he was the eldest son, he was moved out of Rongguo Mansion by Jia's grandmother, so the old lady felt a little guilty.

He was allowed to use the public funds to renovate the small east courtyard into an exquisite and elegant one, with scattered houses and winding paths.

The courtyards are decorated elegantly and luxuriously, and the gardens are full of fragrant trees and exotic flowers, lush and green all year round.

Although the scenery here is not as magnificent as that of the Rongguo Palace to the west, it is more exquisite and beautiful.

After walking for half a cup of tea, they arrived at a spacious and tidy courtyard, which was the accounting office and warehouse of Dongluyuan.

Although she knew that Wang Shanbao was making things difficult for her, Jia Cong needed money to recuperate after his injury. Zhishao couldn't bring herself to let go and decided to ask for it again.

Wang Xifeng, Mrs. Xing's decent daughter-in-law, did not come to manage the east courtyard of her husband's family, but was asked by the old lady to manage the west palace.

It is rare to see such a thing in wealthy and powerful families where flowers are cultivated within the walls and are fragrant outside the walls.

Mrs. Xing came from a poor family, was narrow-minded, greedy for money and power, and was naturally wary of Wang Xifeng, who was smart and capable and came from a wealthy family.

She was afraid that this powerful daughter-in-law would take advantage of her reputation and control her money and property.

In addition, this daughter-in-law was the niece of the second wife, so she had long regarded this daughter-in-law as an enemy and an obstacle. When the old lady showed that she wanted Wang Xifeng to manage the West Mansion, she was eager to push her out.

She shut herself up in the East Courtyard and acted like a queen.

All the money and valuables that fell into the East Courtyard were swept under his feet, and he was in control of every penny coming in and out. It was truly the most satisfying thing.

Wang Shanbao was Mrs. Xing's companion and her right-hand man. She had the same cunning and ungrateful personality as her master. She stayed in this small courtyard during the day when she had nothing to do.

Zhishao's clear and pleasant voice echoed in the yard:
"Master Cong was injured these days, and the expenses for consulting doctors and taking care of his food are higher than usual. The savings in the house have been used up. Master Cong's monthly allowance has not been paid for more than two months. I really have no other choice. I came to ask Madam to show sympathy and pay Master Cong's monthly allowance..."

Wang Shanbao's old orange-peel face was full of sarcasm. Looking at Zhishao's beautiful and delicate appearance, he felt jealous for no reason.

"Brother Cong is so young, this injury is not worth it. You little hoof is always talking about him, everyone in the mansion knows his background, haha, he thinks he can scare anyone with his delicate appearance.

Don't think I don't know that you have the Liu family prepare all the delicacies from land and sea every day and serve them to those who are not presentable. Even the eldest wife doesn't have such a grand display.

If you waste things like this, you will lose all your gold and silver. No wonder the master and his wife are angry. Now you have the nerve to ask me for monthly allowance. I will go and tell my wife about this now. "

Zhi Shao's face turned pale with anger, but she still managed to be patient and said:
"Master Cong is injured, so I asked the kitchen to make some fresh soup to nourish him. I dare not be frivolous. Besides, Master Cong is still studying, and his daily pens, ink, paper and inkstone also cost money. I beg Madam to understand and make things easier for him."

Wang Shanbao was pushed back by Zhishao, and his face became even more embarrassed and angry: "Humph, he returned the pen, ink, paper and inkstone. He doesn't need to study anymore, and he can't use these things anymore."

Zhishao's face changed: "Madam, what are you talking about? Third Master, are you still not studying?"

Wang Shanbao's face was gloomy. "The eldest master said that he was a low-class person, had no manners, was a spendthrift, and was not worthy of studying. It would be better to feed the dogs with the money he saved. The eldest master has already told Master Dairu in the school that he is not allowed to go to school anymore."

Zhishao looked like she was struck by lightning, and her pretty face turned pale. Even if the Third Master was not liked, he was his biological son after all. How could a father say such things about his own son?

The Third Master has been bullied in the mansion since he was young. He could only rely on studying and going to school to have a good future. Now he is not even allowed to study. His life is ruined.

She remembered Jia Cong struggling to write with an injury on his back. Zhishao felt a sharp pain in her heart and tears welled up in her eyes. She covered her face and ran out of the yard.

A middle-aged man came towards me. He had a pale face, a short beard under his cheek, and was wearing a brown and yellow Sichuan brocade with a wide waist and a coin pattern.

Zhishao's face froze slightly, and she bowed: "Master."

This person was Jia She, the eldest son of Mrs. Jia of Rongguo Mansion and the father of Jia Cong.

Jia She's eye sockets were slightly swollen, with a little bloodshot in the whites of his eyes. He stared at the pretty Zhi Shao with a look of astonishment and lust.

Zhishao was startled and walked away quickly as if in a rage.

Speaking of which, Jia She had never really seen Zhishao in the eye before.

In the east courtyard, everyone knew that Jia She was lustful, and all the pretty maids were pulled into his room by Jia She.

Later, Mrs. Xing learned her lesson and chose maids of average looks when she was assigned to the East Courtyard.

In the past, Jia She disliked Jia Cong the most. The father and son were like a cat and a mouse playing hide-and-seek with each other on weekdays and only saw each other a few times a year.

As a result, Zhishao always stayed in Jia Cong's courtyard, and many unrelated matters were handled by Zhao Ma.

Therefore, Jia She rarely met Zhishao. Besides, Zhishao was just a yellow-haired girl in the past few years and was not eye-catching.

Now seeing such a pretty maid appear in the East Courtyard, Jia She felt like he was being scratched by a cat when he had never known her before.

He turned around and stared at Zhishao's graceful back with fiery eyes.

Now that he is older, he is more and more greedy for this kind of youthful and graceful beauty.

Could it be the maids from the old lady's and Baoyu's side? But I have seen several of them before, and none of them were like the ones in front of me.

When Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, saw Jia She passing by the courtyard gate, she saw him and hurried forward to flatter him.

"That girl is in that room. How come I haven't seen her before?"

Wang Shanbao's family was a shrewd man. He knew that this gentleman was a sex-hungry maniac, and from his expression one could not tell what he was thinking.

She knew that Mrs. Xing always flattered her husband and even helped her husband to find a concubine in order to consolidate her position.

To put it bluntly, this kind of behavior is not jealousy, but to put it bluntly, it means that she has no confidence. A wife has no dignity and does such servile things.

Although Wang Shanbao's wife was a servant, she had a vicious temper. If her husband was so lustful, she would have exposed his true colors long ago.

Although she despised this old man in her heart, on the surface, no one was as gentle to her master as she was.

"Reporting to the master, this is Zhishao, the maid in the room of Master Cong San. She has started to grow up this year and has become very pretty."

Jia She was furious: "This beast is worthy of such a person. I am too lazy to take care of worldly affairs, but you are even more frivolous. Is this how you all do things?"

Wang Shanbao's wife was speechless, knowing that he had a crush on Zhishao, which Mrs. Xing didn't know about, so she didn't dare to respond casually.

"You were brought in by the Madam, and the Madam cannot bear the hard work, so you should pay more attention to the affairs of the mansion..."

"I don't have anyone suitable around me, but you guys have made good arrangements for that beast, huh!"

Wang Shanbao's wife was standing by with a smile on her face, thinking to herself, how come you don't have anyone suitable around you? But she just took them all to bed and made them her concubines.

He said strange things in his heart, but he was gloating. Now the prostitute's kept boy and his girl were going to be in big trouble.

(End of this chapter)