Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 21 Zhishao Warm Couch
On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, try out the lanterns.

On the street outside the courtyard, officials were setting up colorful tents, hanging lights and decorations, and hanging various lanterns. There were also various artists practicing songs and variety shows, so that they could earn some money for food on the fifteenth day.

The two brothers of the Jia family, the east and west mansions, and the Lai family, each led a group of maids and servants to hang lanterns everywhere.

Maids who had some free time in various places sneaked out and excitedly pointed at the dazzling array of hanging lanterns.

Early in the morning, Baoyu, Daiyu, Sanchun and other sisters were busy writing riddles.

Considering the number of lanterns in the garden, this is not an easy task.

But they were busy and in high spirits. They didn't want others to see the riddles they had made, but they also wanted to find out the riddles made by others. They were laughing and joking, and the whole place was full of joy.

Jia Cong is going to attend the Nanxi Literary Meeting tomorrow. Jia She naturally won't care about it, but Jia Zheng is very concerned.

They even arranged a carriage for him in advance, and assigned two servants to take care of him, which warmed up Jia Cong's originally cold heart.

After noon, Yingchun's maid Siqi came to see him and brought a pair of Buyun boots made by Yingchun herself, saying that she wanted Jia Cong to wear them when he went to the literary meeting.

That day, Yingchun saw that Jia Cong's shoe uppers were shabby in Rongqing Hall, so she went back and thought of making a new pair of shoes for her younger brother. She even asked Siqi to help her sew the soles for a whole day.

Finally, everything was completed on the 14th.

Not long after Siqi left, Shishu came over again, bringing a bright red gorilla felt cloak, saying that it was newly made for the girl this year and she wore it once on New Year's Eve.

Tanchun said that the sky was very cloudy today and it would definitely snow tomorrow. The valley on the other side of Nanxi would be even colder, so she gave him this cloak to keep him warm.

Tanchun also asked the maid to bring an exquisite hand warmer made of purple copper inlaid with blue, filled with silver frost charcoal, so that Jia Cong could use it to warm his hands on the road and not feel stiff when writing.

Although these two palaces are full of filth and evil, there are still warm-hearted people after all.

The gloom in Jia Cong's heart caused by Jia She's coveting Zhishao was dissipated a lot because of these people's gratitude and concern.

In the evening, Jia Cong went to Mengpo Zhai's study to thank Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng stroked his beard and looked at Jia Cong with a smile. He was very satisfied with this nephew who was talented, respectful and polite. He said some words of encouragement.

Although it was not obvious in his words, he still had some yearning for Jia Cong to participate in the elegant and high-end Nanxi Literary Society.

Finally, Jia Zheng allowed him to stay for dinner in Mengpo Zhai, and talked to him about some gossip about his studies before letting him go back.

Jia Cong did not go to the backyard to thank Yingchun and Tanchun, because they both lived with Jia's grandmother, and Jia's grandmother had always disliked her grandson, so the backyard was not a place he could go.

When Siqi and Shishu left in the afternoon, he asked them to convey a message of thanks.

When he returned to the granary, his new robe had been made. Zhishao's needlework was amazing, and the new robe fit him perfectly.

When the night fell, the west wind started to howl outside, and the room was freezing cold.

Fortunately, Jia Cong now had some money. When the food in the kitchen was usually insufficient, he would secretly go out to buy some food and bring back some bamboo charcoal.

Zhishao burned the bamboo charcoal and the room became a little warmer, but the thin quilt on the bed was still cold to the touch. At this time, it started snowing outside.

As usual, Jia Cong went to the desk. This was a habit he had from his previous life to this life. He would write a few words and read a few pages of a book before going to bed.

Zhishao took off all her clothes except for her small clothes, and got into the quilt to help Jia Cong get warm first.

As a personal maid, she has been used to doing this since she was a child, and Jia Cong has seen a lot of it since he came.

The snow outside the window was getting heavier and heavier, and the dry and hard window paper on the window frame was rustling in the wind. Jia Cong yawned and prepared to go to bed, as he had to get up early the next morning to travel.

When he walked to the bed, he found Zhishao, who had been warming the bed for him, curled up in the quilt and asleep. Her little face was rosy, like a beautiful peony flower.

These past few days, Zhishao had been working day and night to make a new robe for him. She slept for less than two hours last night, and spent the entire morning finishing the stitches.

These days she was worried about the dirty things that Jia She forced her to do. The two things intertwined made her very tired. She had just warmed up the quilt when she fell into a deep sleep.

Usually Zhishao slept on the small step beside his bed so that she could pour him water and put on his clothes in the middle of the night. However, Jia Cong was not used to sleeping on that small step.

Seeing that Zhishao was sleeping soundly, he didn't want to wake her up.

As a personal maid of a wealthy family, she grew up with the young masters and young ladies. It was common for her to warm their quilts and sleep with them when they were young.

It's just that girls develop early. This year, Zhishao's body began to grow. On cold days, she would help Jia Cong warm the bed, but she was too embarrassed to sleep with him. After all, she had grown up a little.

Jia Cong gently moved Zhishao's body inside, then picked up Zhishao's quilt on the small couch and covered himself with it.

The bed was warm and fragrant because of Zhishao's sleep, and lying on it gave one an indescribable sense of comfort and ease.

He did have quite a few stories about men and women in his previous life, but in this life he was still a child and naturally had no other ideas.

I slept exceptionally deeply and soundly that night. I woke up when the sky was slightly bright in the east and found that the quilt beside me was empty.

The door creaked open and a gust of cold wind blew in. Jia Cong saw a white expanse outside out of the corner of his eye.

Zhishao came in with water for washing her face, her face still blushing charmingly. She woke up in the middle of the night last night and wanted to sleep on her own little couch.

But she was afraid of waking Jia Cong up, as he had to attend a literary gathering today and needed to get enough sleep. She did not dare to move, and remained curled up in the quilt, sleeping soundly until dawn.

She had warmed the Third Master's bed and slept with him countless times since she was a child, but she felt a little strange today. She felt so embarrassed that even her legs felt weak when she walked.

Zhishao helped Jia Cong get up and dress, and then combed his hair carefully with a comb and tied it into a bun on top of his head.

Ever since he got the money from selling calligraphy that day, Jia Cong often found ways to buy food to satisfy his hunger. Young people are greedy and gluttonous, so the first thing he did when he got the money was to not let his stomach go hungry.

After more than ten days, his complexion was much better than before, and his cheeks had some color. He no longer looked as emaciated and scary as before.

The newly made robe was made of moon-white Shu brocade with silver bamboo patterns. It was the first time that Zhishao saw Jia Cong wearing such fine material.

As the saying goes, Buddha relies on gold ornaments and people rely on clothes, it is really true.

Zhishao saw that he was wearing a moon-white, simple and bright robe, with a thin belt around his waist, which made his back and arms look straight, and his shoulders were as sharp as a jade tree standing tall in the wind.

A head of long, shiny black hair was pinned up with a Xiuyu hairpin. Zhishao knew that the Xiuyu hairpin was not valuable, but it looked so unique when it was inserted in Third Master's hair.

The black hair set off Jia Cong's rosy cheeks, his eyebrows were thick and straight, his eyes were like autumn pools, and the lines of his nose and mouth were like clear streams from the mountains, with an indescribable beauty.

Zhishao looked a little dazed. She knew since she was a child that the Third Master was handsome, but he lived a miserable life and didn't show it much.

Ever since the time when he was nearly beaten to death by the eldest master and was rescued, the third master has been different. He is smarter, more stable and more responsible than before.

It seemed like in the blink of an eye, he grew from an ignorant child into a man who could be relied on.

Zhishao's heart was beating like a deer, and she suddenly understood why she felt so shy last night, as she had never felt before.

(End of this chapter)