Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 5: Prince Jiashun

The secretary somehow found out that Mrs. Zhang, who grew flowers in the garden, and Jia Cong's wet nurse, Aunt Zhao, were from the same hometown.

She took two coins to give to Mrs. Zhang for a drink, and soon heard a lot of gossip about Jia Cong from her.

"Miss, I heard that Third Master Cong's concubine has a bad reputation and the old lady doesn't like her very much."

"Bad reputation?"

Seeing that Tanchun looked puzzled, the secretary whispered a few words into her ear, which made Tanchun blush, but she felt a little pity for Jia Cong in her heart.

The matter of Jia Cong's biological mother was a hot topic back then, bringing shame to the Jia family. The old lady even issued a gag order, and for so many years everyone in the mansion who knew the truth kept it a secret. Tanchun had not been born at that time, so naturally she didn't know about it.

"It is said that the death of the Third Master Cong was quite violent. His aunt died the next day, and even the maids who gave birth to her died one after another.

The eldest master and mistress disliked him even more. Beating and scolding him were commonplace. Since he was a child, he had been confined to the storehouse of Dongluyuan and squeezed into the same room with a maid.

I heard that last month he broke the Master's jade ruyi and was beaten by the Master until he was covered in blood and was about to die. Fortunately, he was rescued later... "

When Tanchun heard this, her face turned pale and her eyes turned red. The Jia family had the old lady to keep things under control, so there were seldom any unusual things happening in their daily lives. At least Tanchun had never heard of any mistreatment in the family since she was a child.

Even though the master was compassionate and kind to the maids and servants on the surface, not to mention the children and grandchildren of decent family backgrounds in the mansion, it has never been heard that Jia Cong was as miserable as he was.

Being confined in the granary and growing up in hardship, he actually managed to develop such outstanding calligraphy. How difficult it must have been! Thinking of this, Tanchun couldn't help but shed tears.

"That old woman Zhang also said that Third Master Cong was born to look like his mother, and he was very good-looking. His aunt was a very beautiful courtesan..."

Tanchun raised her eyebrows and shouted, "Shut up, you don't even look at where you are, you just keep saying this kind of nonsense, don't say it again, that person is the biological mother of Cong San Ge, there is no need to disrespect her."

Tanchun is also a concubine's daughter. She has tasted enough of her biological mother's hidden filthiness. She can empathize with Jia Cong's background and can't help but defend him.

"Send these books and Xuelang paper to Brother Cong San, and be careful with your words and actions. Donglu Courtyard is not our place, so don't cause trouble for others."

The secretary pouted and put things on the table, and asked, "Miss, should we send something else? Third Master Cong is so pitiful, his injury hasn't healed yet, but he is still your brother after all."

"You don't need that now. There's still a lot of time to come. Go now."

Tanchun was a smart person. This time, when she sent the books and paper, she could also say that she liked Jia Cong's calligraphy and wanted to ask for a gift of ink as a thank you, so no one could gossip about it.

If he showed sympathy and gave more money for medicine or something like that, it would embarrass the eldest master and mistress, and might even bring disaster to Jia Cong.

……

In the Jiashun Palace, Prince Jiashun walked around excitedly holding a couplet on red nitrate paper, tracing it in the air with his left hand and cheering. His usual elegance and calmness were gone.
He had seen countless famous calligraphy works in the palace treasury, so his vision was naturally much higher than that of ordinary people.

But I was still shocked by this running script that was warm, ancient, elegant, free and easy, and unique in style.

How could he not see the extraordinaryness of this running script, as he has a talented mind and broad vision? The person who wrote it has already reached the level of establishing a new school.

Shouldn't it be hard to find a word from such a person? Yet, he would use such coarse red saltpeter paper to write the couplet and casually have it posted on the door across the street.

"Chang Yan can ask the name of the person who wrote it."

"He is Jia Cong, the illegitimate son of Jia She, the first-class general of Rongguo Mansion. He is only ten years old."

"What did you say, ten years old?"

The fact that the writer came from the Jia family, a family of long-standing military honor, already made Prince Jiashun feel strange.

These old families of military honors have long been in decline, and their descendants cannot ride horses or lift guns. Over the years, they have only raised a bunch of ridiculous, dissolute playboys and good-for-nothings. How could they still produce such figures?
Zhou Changyan's next sentence, saying that this person was only ten years old, made Prince Jiashun even more stunned.

This level of calligraphy may not be achieved even after ten years of hard practice. Could it be that this person has been writing since the womb, or is it just a natural talent?

But it takes only five or six years at most for a ten-year-old boy to be able to hold a pen and write. In such a short period of time, he can master calligraphy that is enough to create a new school of calligraphy. This talent is too astonishing.

"Chang Yan really asked clearly, it turned out to be the ten-year-old boy from Rongguo Mansion."

Zhou Changyan smiled bitterly: "I didn't believe it at first, but later I found out that the woman was Jia Cong's wet nurse, who had watched him grow up since he was a child, and she saw Jia Cong write this couplet with her own eyes, so I couldn't help but believe it."

Prince Jiashun was horrified, and although he still didn't believe it, he knew that Zhou Changyan was a meticulous person, and if he didn't know the truth, he wouldn't have brought the couplet to him and said it.

"He is a child of rare talent... After the New Year, you can send him an invitation to attend the Nanxi Literary Festival, so that I can meet him."

Zhou Changyan was shocked. He didn't expect that the prince valued calligraphy so much that he wanted to invite the calligrapher to participate in the Nanxi Literary Meeting!

Seeing Zhou Changyan's expression change, Prince Jiashun guessed his thoughts and said with a smile, "At the age of ten, he has such calligraphy skills. His talent is rare. In a few years, he will become a master of calligraphy. He deserves it."

Speaking of the Nanxi Literary Society, there is a story behind it. Prince Jiashun had a quiet and elegant Shuyun Villa on Qifeng Mountain in the suburbs of Shenjing.

The clear and rushing Nanxi River in Qifeng Ridge was guided by craftsmen to flow through the entire villa, forming a wonderful scene of flowing wine cups and winding water in the garden. It is a famous place of elegance in Shenjing City.

Prince Jiashun admired literature and culture. In order to recruit and discover talented people from famous schools, he held the Nanxi Literary Meeting every other year. It was a literary meeting of extremely high standards in the city of Shenjing.

Although the Nanxi Literary Society was hosted by Prince Jiashun, the retired emperor went there twice. Even the current emperor appeared at the literary society two years ago.

Therefore, the Nanxi Literary Society not only had a royal background, but was even considered semi-official in the eyes of the literati, and all of its participants were famous scholars and talented people.

Being invited to participate in a literary gathering is a great honor for the participants. Through literary gatherings, they can not only communicate and learn from the famous scholars of the time, but also greatly enhance their reputation among the scholars.

The best poems that stand out at literary meetings can be sung all over the country in a blink of an eye, and the authors of these poems will become famous all over the world in a very short time.

Therefore, many students in Beijing flocked to the Nanxi Literary Society, hoping to stand out through the society, be recognized by famous scholars, and soar to the top.
However, for ordinary people who do not have outstanding talent, knowledge and fame, it is nothing but a pipe dream to receive an invitation to the Nanxi Literary Society.

Now, Prince Jiashun actually wants to invite an unknown boy to participate. It seems that he is really impressed by the calligraphy on the couplet.

Li Xiaocheng took a sip of tea and thought: "Forget it, don't send an invitation, I will write a letter in person and you can invite him to come.

Since he is so accomplished in calligraphy, he must be well versed in poetry and literature and a disciple of a famous school. Since I wrote to invite him, he will definitely reply."

When Zhou Changyan heard that Prince Jiashun actually wrote a letter personally to invite Jia Cong to attend a literary gathering, he found it unbelievable that Jia Cong was just an unknown child and received such a courtesy.

But when he heard that Prince Jiashun wanted to receive a reply from Jia Cong, he understood. It seemed that the prince still did not believe that a ten-year-old boy could have such extraordinary calligraphy.

The prince had humbled himself by writing a personal letter to invite him. Not to mention his noble status as a prince, just based on his social status, Jia Cong could not just accept the letter and accept the invitation. He had to write a reply to be in accordance with etiquette.

As long as there is a handwritten reply, it will be clear whether he has such amazing calligraphy.

Although Prince Jiashun is erudite and elegant, and seems to be a carefree person who doesn't care about details, he also has a meticulous and cautious side.

……

When the secretary came back, he brought back a piece of calligraphy written by Jia Cong on Xuelang paper.

Tanchun couldn't wait to open it, and the familiar and elegant handwriting jumped into her eyes.

Recalling the plum blossoms, I went to Xizhou and sent them to Jiangbei. Her shirt was apricot red, and her temples were the color of crow chicks.

Tanchun couldn't help but smile knowingly when she saw it. When she met Zhao Ma earlier, she was wearing a long coat with an apricot-red background and a cross-collar embroidered with floral branches.

Nanny Zhao must have told this when she went back, that this Third Brother Cong was quite able to adapt to the situation, which showed that he had put a lot of effort into writing this Xizhou Ci from the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Then she thought that this Xizhou poem contained the sentiment of a woman's longing for love, and her pretty face blushed, but she didn't think much about it.

The third brother Cong only thought that the first few sentences were suitable for the occasion, and because of their beautiful artistic conception, he chose to write them, and they complemented his calligraphy very well.

Where is Xizhou? I paddle across the bridge with two oars. At dusk, the shrike flies, and the wind blows the black locust tree. Under the tree is the door, and the green hairpin is exposed in the door.

The man who opened the door did not come, so I went out to pick red lotus. Picking lotus in the South Pond in autumn, the lotus is taller than a person. I lowered my head to play with the lotus seeds, which are as clear as water...

The lyrics are good and the calligraphy is even better. Tanchun couldn't put it down and her right hand kept sketching the characters in the air.

"Miss, I just went to the East Road Courtyard but couldn't find where the Third Master lived. I asked someone to lead the way and finally found the storehouse."

The words of the secretary woke up Tanchun who was immersed in calligraphy. She frowned and asked, "Does Third Brother Cong really live in the storehouse?"

"Sure enough, the small courtyard of the storehouse only had three rooms. Third Master Cong and his maid lived in one of them, and the other two were filled with sundries from the east courtyard.

The Third Master's room is like a snow cave, the few pieces of furniture are all worn out, and the Third Master's sleeves are all patched. I have never seen how the masters in the mansion are treated badly. "

Tanchun has a magnanimous and sharp personality. The maids and wives in the West Mansion nicknamed her "Rose" behind her back. Roses are red and fragrant, and everyone loves them, but they are prickly.

Shishu is Tanchun's personal maid. Influenced by her training, she is also straightforward and outspoken. Today, when she saw Jia Cong's residence, she felt indignant and shouted it out in front of her mistress.

After hearing what the maid said, Tanchun's pretty face darkened. However, that was the eldest master's business, which was separated from her own by a different house. He was also her elder, so what could she do openly?

She took a deep look at the calligraphy on the table and said, "Tomorrow you should find a good framer to frame this calligraphy better so that it won't be damaged.

Brother Cong has lived such a difficult life, yet he has mastered such a good handwriting. He is a strong man and will not remain a low-ranking official forever. Just wait and see."

Outside the window, evening clouds were hanging low and red clouds were reflecting in the sky. Tanchun suddenly said these words, and it was unclear whether she was speaking to her maid or talking to herself.

(End of this chapter)