Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 44 Jia Cong Returns Home
Hongde Gate in the west city of Shenjing.

The tall city walls stood in the dim morning light. When the time came, a few lazy soldiers worked together to push open the heavy city gate, and many common people who had been waiting outside the city rushed in. Among the crowd was a handsome young man in coarse linen clothes.

Qu Hongxiu caught a cold after being injured, and Jia Cong spent another night in the wild temple. He was eager to return to the city early the next morning.

Qu Hongxiu removed the saddle and other identifying items from a horse, then found a farmer's house outside the city and bought two sets of coarse cloth clothes to replace Jia Cong's old robe that was stained with blood.

She led the horse and watched Jia Cong walk towards the city gate from afar. She also saw him looking back at her again and again until his figure disappeared into the city gate.

Jia Cong looked at the bustling crowd in Shenjing City, and an unprecedented sense of ease and joy filled his body and mind. He quickly hurried towards Ningrong Street in East City.

……

Early in the morning, Jia's grandmother washed up with the help of her maids and had a bowl of hot porridge made from green rice. Just then, Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang came to pay their respects.

As we were talking, we heard a few little girls chattering and whispering outside.

There were vaguely frightening words like maid and jumping into the river, which made Grandmother Jia uncomfortable, so she asked Yuanyang to call the person in for questioning.

After a while, Yuanyang brought in a little maid named Xiaoqiu, who was a third-class maid who cleaned the yard on Jia's mother's side. She and Xiaochan, who lived in Tanchun's room, were both granddaughters of Mrs. Xia in the mansion.

Last night was Mrs. Xia’s birth, so Yuanyang let her go home to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday. She came back early this morning.

Grandmother Jia asked, "What did you say outside just now about maids and jumping into the river? Who told you to say that nonsense here?"

Xiaoqiu shrank her neck and hesitated, not daring to speak.

Yuanyang, who was standing by, said, "The old lady is asking you a question, so hurry up and tell her. Don't hide anything, or I'll ask your grandmother to take you home and you won't be allowed to come in again."

Xiao Qiu was so young that she dared not hide anything after being frightened by Yuanyang. She told the whole story.

"Yesterday I went home to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. At night someone told my grandmother that Sister Zhishao, who lived in Master Cong's room, had jumped into the Liuyang River and died last night."

Grandmother Jia's face was horrified. Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang beside her could not sit still and stood up. The maids such as Yuanyang nearby were so frightened that their faces turned pale because they felt sorry for their own kind.

The Jia family has always been kind to their servants, and Grandmother Jia is a respectable person, so things like this rarely happen in their family.

Grandmother Jia asked sternly, "Why would you jump into the river to commit suicide for no reason? Tell me now, or I'll be careful if you tell me a lie!"

Xiao Qiu said hurriedly, "They all said that because Sister Zhishao is pretty, the master has long been attracted to her and wanted to take her into his room, but it never worked out.

"Something happened to Third Master Cong these days, and everyone said he was dead, so the eldest master asked Wang Shanbao to force Sister Zhishao to serve him, but Sister Zhishao was unwilling, and then she jumped into the river."

With a "bang", the jade bowl filled with hot green rice porridge fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

Grandmother Jia was so angry that she trembled: "This evil creature has done such a shameful thing!"

……

In Rongqing Hall, Grandmother Jia pointed at Jia She and scolded him. Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang on the side looked a little embarrassed, but they didn't want to leave. Leaving the old lady alone would only make it more conspicuous.

"You evil creature, if you want a woman, you can just buy her with 1,800 silver coins, but you have to set your eyes on your son's maid.

It would be fine if you just took a fancy to him, but now we don't even know whether your son is alive or dead, yet you insist on causing trouble and even forced his maid to death. You have no shame, but I still have my old face to save.

If this gets out and people hear it, what will become of our Jia family? You are a young master from a wealthy family, how could you do such a shameful thing?

I know you usually think that I favor your brother, but you have done some decent things yourself.

A man with a white beard, not only does he not do his job properly, but he has a concubine on his left and a concubine on his right, and now he has caused such a heart-wrenching incident."

Grandmother Jia glared at her son, her face full of disappointment. Jia Zheng didn't say anything. Lady Wang seemed to be looking down at her rosary, but there was a hint of disgust in her eyes. This uncle is still the heir of the ancestral title, but he did such a thing, which brought bad reputation to the family. If the younger generation follows his example, what will happen? My Baoyu must never be so absurd in the future.

Jia She blushed and said, "Brother Cong will not come back, and I think we can't keep a maid for nothing.

I just wanted to send her to do something, but she jumped into the river. It's all because of her evil nature. She even makes the maids around her worry... "

Before Jia She finished speaking, a maid suddenly ran in and shouted, "Madam, there's news from the East Courtyard that Master Cong has returned home!"

Everyone in the hall was shocked.

Grandmother Jia was stunned.

Jia Zheng was stunned at first, then his expression turned happy.

Mrs. Wang was also so shocked that she opened her mouth. There had been no news from Brother Cong for so many days. They said he was missing, and then he suddenly fell from the sky. Why did he keep doing such scary things?

Jia She was choking on his words halfway through and almost suffocated. He thought to himself that this evil creature had a very tough fate, as he had been robbed by thieves for so many days and yet he was able to come back alive.

Suddenly I remembered that Zhishao had dug the river yesterday, and that evil beast came back today. How would this end? Thinking of this, my face became as embarrassed and angry as a cooked crab.

Grandmother Jia asked hurriedly, "They said they were robbed, but are the people back safe and sound?"

The old woman who brought the news said, "Madam, Third Master Cong has returned safe and sound, without any injuries."

Grandmother Jia breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. He has been lost for a few days and finally came back. Please call him over. I want to question him."

The old woman's face froze. "I was just about to report to the old lady that when Third Master Cong came back, he heard that his maid Zhishao had jumped into the river. He didn't even drink a sip of water, and ran to Liuyang River to look for her."

Mrs. Wang said at this time: "That child is also stupid. His maid jumped into the river last night. How can we find her today?"

It was unclear whether Mrs. Wang had done it intentionally or unintentionally, but the knife strike was very accurate.

Grandmother Jia looked unhappy, glared at Jia She and said, "It's all your fault, let me see how you end up."

……

Xiaochan in Tanchun's room is also Mrs. Xia's granddaughter. Yesterday, she and Xiaoqiu celebrated her grandmother's birthday together, and naturally knew about Zhishao jumping into the river.

Tanchun also cried sadly after hearing this. The whereabouts of Cong's third brother was still unknown, and even his personal maid was forced to death.

Suddenly, the maid ran in breathlessly: "Miss, Third Master Cong is back home, Third Master Cong is back home."

Tanchun was surprised and delighted: "He really came back. Who told you that?"

"It's all over the mansion. He arrived at the East Courtyard early in the morning. Many people saw him. The old lady must have known about it by now."

Tanchun clasped her hands in joy and said, "Oh my god, he finally came back safely. I'll go call my second sister, and we'll go see Third Brother Cong together."

The secretary said, "If you go there now, I'm afraid you won't be able to see the Third Master."

"Why?"

"As soon as the Third Master came back, he heard that his maid Zhishao had jumped into the river, so he immediately went to Liuyang River to look for her."

Tanchun felt sad. Zhishao must have been gone long ago and there was no way she could find her again. Third Brother Cong cared about her so much, and she felt even more resentful towards the eldest master and mistress. How would she live in the future?

(End of this chapter)