Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 33: Beginning of Fame
Zhishao waited in the small courtyard in the west city until dark, but still didn't see Jia Cong come back, and she began to feel a little anxious.

After another night of suffering, Zhishao still didn't see Jia Cong. She was really a little scared.

She hid alone in the corner of the room, enveloped in an unsettling darkness, hugging her knees and crying.

For so many years, Zhishao had been with Jia Cong every night, but now that he was gone, she couldn't fall asleep at all.

It was not until the east was white and the sun rose to the zenith, that the bright sunlight shone through the withered yellow window paper, illuminating the room brightly.

Jia Cong still didn't show up. Zhishao seemed to have run out of tears and she was as motionless as a clay sculpture. Even her shadow in the sunlight seemed frozen.

She suddenly twitched, as if she suddenly woke up: "The Third Master must have forgotten that I was here, he must have returned home by himself.

I will go back to the mansion to find him, go back to the mansion to find him…”

She rushed out of the courtyard, muttering to herself. The dazzling light outside made her feel dizzy. She had not had a drop of water for a whole day and night.

But his heart seemed to be burning with a fire, he did not feel the weakness of his body, and he ran straight to Judefang in the snow and wind that had not stopped all night.

……

Many people in Rongguo Mansion knew that Jia Cong attended the Nanxi Literary Society yesterday.

But Grandmother Jia didn't take it to heart. She didn't know much about literary gatherings and felt that her grandson was always causing trouble, and she frowned every time she thought about it.

Jia She and Mrs. Xing felt disdainful and ashamed when they heard that the second son of the West Mansion had specially prepared a carriage and servants for Jia Cong.

What's this? He's not his son. Who is he doing this for?

The two in the second house love to act like Bodhisattvas and gain a good reputation. They also try to outdo each other. They are too deep-minded.

If this were not the case, how could they have been demoted to the East Courtyard?

In the final analysis, it was all that bastard's fault. Nothing good has ever happened to him since he was born.

Why are you still attending such a crappy literary gathering? It would be better to die outside.

Among the sisters, the most concerned were probably Tanchun and Yingchun, who were both waiting for Jia Cong to come back and tell them about what they had seen and heard at the Nanxi Literary Society.

Girls in the boudoir are trapped in the embroidery room and the garden, and are always curious about and yearning for the outside world.

In fact, Daiyu was also attentive to this. She heard that the literary gathering would be attended by all the great scholars and celebrities in the capital city, and they would definitely compose poems and lyrics at the gathering.

She thought that Jia Cong would definitely bring some back, and then she could take a look at what good poems these famous scholars outside could write.

Baoyu sneered at Jia Cong's participation in a literary gathering, which was filled with a bunch of traitors and greedy people boasting and flattering each other.

Jia Cong seemed to be a handsome man, but he actually participated in such a nonsense and humiliated himself in vain. Baoyu felt sorry for him.

Among the elders in the Jia family, Jia Zheng was the one who cared the most about Jia Cong's participation in the Nanxi Literary Gathering. He himself had no chance to attend, but he was still happy that there was someone in the family who was capable enough to go.

As far as he knew, none of his colleagues from the Ministry of Industry were invited to attend the literary gathering.

Although the officials of the Ministry of Works were all from the imperial examination system, it was the most trivial and busy of the six ministries.

Moreover, he deals with construction projects and other miscellaneous tasks every day, and over time, all his literary and artistic talents have been dulled. There are few colleagues who are outstanding in literary affairs, so he has always been an insulator of the Nanxi Literary Society.

He was also waiting for Jia Cong to come back so that he could tell him about his experiences and poems at the literary gathering, so that he could talk about it with his colleagues in a decent manner in the future.

But until dark, these people still didn't see Jia Cong come back.

Jia Zheng knew that Prince Jiashun always valued Jia Cong, so he might let him stay in the villa overnight, and it was unknown whether he would come back tomorrow.

Guo Zhigui and his two servants never came back to report any news. They are all idiots.

When Tanchun waited until it was lighted, she asked the servant to go to the granary yard to check. The servant came back and said that Master Cong had not come back yet, and even Zhishao was missing. The yard over there was pitch black.

Not only did Third Brother Cong not come back, but even the maid Zhishao was missing. Tanchun had a bad feeling in her heart but didn't know who to tell.

The old lady had always disliked Jia Cong, so she would definitely not care. It was inconvenient to talk to the eldest master across the room, and Tanchun knew how he usually treated Jia Cong.

She could talk to her father about it, but she knew that Jia Zheng cared more about Jia Cong's going to the Nanxi Literary Society than she did, so he must have been keeping it in mind.

After a while, Yingchun also went to Tanchun's room to ask. Seeing that it was getting dark outside, the two sisters felt heavy in their hearts. The secretary went there again, but came back and still said that there was no one there.

It was also said that the lights were on at the eldest master's place, and he was drinking and having fun with several concubines. Naturally, he didn't care at all that his youngest son hadn't returned.

Jia Cong did not return home all night, and everyone in the mansion had different thoughts.

The candle burned out, the sky in the east began to turn white, and Tanchun, Yingchun and others who had something on their minds woke up early and paid attention to what was happening outside.

Jia Zheng went to the Ministry of Works early in the morning, but he was worried about something.

He had just arrived at the Ministry of Works and had not been sitting for a while when he saw Zhao Li, who was also a member of the Ministry of Works, coming over with a smile: "Cunzhou, I didn't expect that the Jia family would have such an outstanding son. Why haven't I heard you mention him before?"

Jia Zheng looked puzzled: "Why do you say that, Brother Zhao?"

Zhao Li laughed: "So you didn't know that my brother is the chief priest of the Imperial College. He went to the Nanxi Literary Association yesterday and said that a young man at the meeting wrote a poem about plum blossoms, which shocked everyone. His calligraphy was also outstanding.

Later I learned that your eldest brother’s son, Jia Cong, was a family of great fortune, otherwise how could such an outstanding son be born.”

As Zhao Li spoke, he took out a piece of paper, on which was copied Jia Cong's poem "Ode to the Plum Blossom" by Bu Suanzi.

"Cun Zhou, please take a look at this poem he wrote about plum blossoms. It has an ingenious conception and a majestic demeanor. It is truly a good poem. Even Lord Jing'an praised it in class. This poem will surely be passed down through the ages."

Jia Zheng was stunned by the good news that came out of nowhere. After a while, he asked, "Mr. Jing'an? Is he the old minister of rites a few years ago?"

Zhao Li smiled and said, "Besides this scholarly sage, is there another Jing'an Gong in the world?"

Jia Zheng glanced at the poem for a few times, without having time to appreciate what was good about it. He was just so happy that his heart seemed to be bursting with joy. Jia Cong had gone to the Nanxi Literary Gathering and had become so famous. It was all thanks to how much he valued him. He did have some vision after all.

The poem about plum blossoms written by Jia Cong was actually praised by Mr. Jing'an as a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation, which was something he had never dared to dream of before.

A few days ago, Jia Cong's outstanding calligraphy had already won him great respect.

I didn't expect that he had such an amazing talent for poetry. How could he be so good at both poetry and calligraphy at such a young age?

It is such a blessing from heaven that my Jia family actually has such a talented scholar. Haha, let's see who will dare to say that the Jia family is vulgar and has no military achievements.

Other colleagues nearby who had heard the news also came over to join in the congratulations.

The scholars who participated in the literary gathering yesterday returned to the city early, so the anecdotes from the gathering have already spread.

These officials were all in the official circle of Shenjing City and were the first group of people to know the news.

But there was one thing they didn't know: those who attended the literary gathering almost tacitly did not mention the fact that someone was killed at the gathering.

One reason was to save Prince Jiashun's reputation.

Second, Zhou Junxing of the Magistrates' Court had intervened in the murder of Wu Jinrong. He told Prince Jiashun that Wu Jinrong might have been killed by the remnants of the Hidden Sect. Many people heard this at the time.

This matter not only involves Zhou Yanluo who is famous for framing others, but also involves Yinmen who is regarded as a major threat of treason by the court. Everyone knows how dangerous this matter is.

As long as they don't think they live too long, no one will talk about this matter for fear of causing trouble through their words. They all wish that this incident had never happened, so they all learn to be ostriches and pretend nothing happens.

This is so strange. Such a big event as the murder of the Hanlin Academy scholar had happened half a day and one night ago, but no one in the Shenjing city knew about it.

However, Jia Cong's outstanding performance at the literary meeting was used as a topic of conversation among these people and the news spread quickly.

Jia Zheng had been working in the Ministry of Works for many years, and today was the most honorable day in his memory. Just when he was feeling a little overwhelmed, a messenger came over and said that Minister Li wanted to talk to him.

Looking at the envious eyes of his colleagues, Jia Zheng felt like he was floating to the sky.

(End of this chapter)