Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 68 Asking for Liu Wuer

As soon as Lady Jia spoke, it reached Aunt Zhao's ears in less than two hours.

These days, her brother, who was raised by her nurse, moved into the West Mansion and left the East Courtyard where no one was allowed to live. It was heard that Brother Cong was studying hard at home, and the second master valued him more than his own son.

All those snobbish mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law changed their attitude and started to talk to her. Many people came to chat with her for no reason at all, and all they said were nice and flattering words.

But today, Nanny Zhao heard a lot of cold words and felt uncomfortable, so she went to Qingzhizhai to inform Jia Cong.

Jia Cong still respected this nanny who treated him sincerely. He asked her to sit in the study and asked Qingwen to serve her tea.

When Nanny Zhao saw what she said, Jia Cong looked indifferent and as if he didn't care.

There was some anxiety on her face: "Brother, don't be careless. You finally left the East Road Courtyard and just got a good result. If you are always disliked by the old lady, you may be punished again in the future."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Mom, you worry too much. The old lady just felt sorry for Baoyu being beaten, so she said some angry words. It will be fine in a few days. I will also pay attention to it. Thank you for always thinking about me."

After hearing what she said, Aunt Zhao felt a little relieved. She had lived half her life, so she naturally knew the knot in the old lady's heart. It had been there for more than ten years, so she could easily resolve it.

She didn't expect the old lady to be very nice to Jia Cong, she just hoped that Jia Cong would be more careful and not suffer any more losses.

"My brother is a capable man. Just know what's going on in your mind. Study hard, go to school and become an official in the future. Then you can start your own business and don't have to worry about other people's opinions."

Jia Cong sent Zhao Ma away and looked at Rongqing Hall in the east with a hint of sarcasm on his face. Since all the rules were waived, it would save a lot of trouble, wouldn't it be better?

Will I have to stay in the Jia Mansion for the rest of my life? I will fight for my own future. I just hope that I won’t be held back by the Jia family in the future.

The more distance you can get now, the easier it will be later.

……

Rongqing Hall.

Grandmother Jia hugged Baoyu, whose face was covered with tears, and cried out in pain. She then asked Yuanyang to find some medicine to reduce the swelling and apply it on him.

He also asked Baoyu what he wanted to eat and play. He said that his father had been busy studying these days and it was time for him to relax for a day.

Baoyu gradually recovered from the fear of being scolded by his father, and seeing that his grandmother loved him in every way, he felt happy.

It was all because Jia Cong dreamed of being a traitor and a corrupt official every day, imitated the behavior of those sour Confucian scholars, and read those stinky and corrupt books.

It also caused me to fall into corruption, and I had to read those crap things, and was beaten and scolded by the master. It was really boring.

Thinking of Jia Cong, Baoyu was inexplicably reminded of the delicate, pretty and quiet Liu Wu'er who was by his side, and his heart couldn't help but feel soft.

Qingwen was given away by the old lady herself, so it is not easy to ask for her back. But Wu'er doesn't have such concerns, so maybe he can ask the old lady for help.

At this time, Daiyu was going to Rongqing Hall to pay her respects to Lady Jia. This was also the daily routine of the sisters in the garden. After paying her respects every day, she would chat and joke with Lady Jia.

Then, either Grandmother Jia would invite them to stay for dinner, or everyone would go their separate ways and go to their sisters' rooms to chat, or they would each find their own things to do.

Daiyu met Tanchun halfway. Just after passing the Chuihua Pavilion, the maid outside the door said that this morning, Master Bao couldn't recite his lessons, so he was beaten with a ruler by the master. One of his hands was red and swollen.

The old lady felt sorry for Master Bao and for some reason she got angry at Master Cong. She even asked Master Cong to be exempted from the filial piety etiquette and no longer had to greet her or follow the rules.

Daiyu and Tanchun felt helpless after hearing this. How could Baoyu be beaten and the third brother Cong suffer as well? It sounded strange.

No matter how capable and motivated Third Brother Cong was, it was strange that he was still not liked by the old lady. Could it be that the two of them were not compatible? As soon as they reached the door of Rongqing Hall, they heard Baoyu's voice inside, which seemed to mention Jia Cong. They were startled and stopped at the same time.

"Grandpa, Jia Cong's maid Wu'er looks good. Can you please ask for her to stay in my room? If Jia Cong doesn't want to, he can choose any maid in my room."

Baoyu was not stupid. In front of the old lady and the lady, he did not exclude Xiren from the selection of maids. This would probably arouse the lady's suspicion.

Xiren was pretty and docile. She was a few years older than the other maids in the room and already had some curves. She was particularly obedient to Baoyu, even though Baoyu was young and could not do anything between men and women.

But every time Xiren slept with him, they would undress, touch each other, and do many intimate things, so Baoyu treated Xiren differently from other maids.

If Jia Cong gave him Wu'er and replaced Xiren, Baoyu would probably not give them back. He would always find other ways to make up for it. He would be most satisfied only when Wu'er and Xiren were in his room.

After hearing this, Tanchun felt uneasy. Her brother was very good to his sisters, but he just couldn't change his lustful bad habit. Everyone in the mansion had seen how Jia Cong treated his maids.

When Daiyu heard Baoyu asking his grandmother for Wu'er outside the door, she couldn't help but frown, remembering the infatuated look in Baoyu's eyes when he looked at Wu'er in Qingzhizhai that day.

Today, Third Brother Cong was implicated because of him, and even the old lady forbade him from observing filial piety and etiquette. Yet, he turned around and used the old lady's hand to target the head maid.

Thinking of this, Daiyu suddenly felt a sense of disgust that she had never felt before.

Daiyu also came from a noble family. Her father Lin Ruhai had several concubines in addition to his wife.

In the eyes of a young lady from an aristocratic family like her, it is common for men to be attracted to women.

But everything has a limit, and excessive pursuit of sex is almost debauchery.

When Baoyu sees a beautiful girl, he wants to pull her into his room. He is still young now, but when he gets older, won’t he be like his uncle in the East Courtyard?
Daiyu and Baoyu grew up with Grandmother Jia, so over time they were naturally closer than other sisters. Baoyu had always been attentive to her, so she naturally cared about Baoyu as well.

A girl of her status and age, she has never left her house and has never seen much of the world. Apart from Baoyu, she has never come into contact with other men of the same age.

I feel that all young men of this age are like Baoyu.

Until Jia Cong suddenly appeared in this mansion, almost everything he did shook Daiyu's heart. It turned out that men in the world could be like this!
She never advised Baoyu to study and go to school. It was not because she and Baoyu hated studying and taking the imperial examinations, but because they had been together since childhood and she knew Baoyu better than anyone else.

It was useless to say those words. She had no reason to be looked down upon by Baoyu and be disgusted. She was just a stranger, living under someone else's roof. Even though she was loved by her grandmother, there was no need for her to seek such boredom.

In fact, her father was a famous scholar in the imperial examination, a top figure among scholars. She was taught by her father since childhood and was known as a talented girl in the boudoir.

With such a background, how could she be disgusted with studying for the imperial examinations? She would only be closer to scholars like her father who studied hard and achieved success.

But she was very smart and lived under the roof of the Jia family, so she was careful about everything and took every step carefully. She would never share her thoughts about reading with Baoyu, who hated reading the most.

Although Jia Cong was born in a humble family and was despised and abused by his biological father and stepmother, he was not discouraged or sad. At such a young age, he had mastered calligraphy that was comparable to that of a master calligrapher, and he studied hard behind closed doors and worked hard to improve himself.

If his father had not worked harder than others, how could he have won the title of Tanhua? Jia Cong today looks just like his father when he was young.

It would be ridiculous to say that all these things did not appeal to a girl like her who came from a scholarly family, and that she instead thought that it would be better for Baoyu to be so obsessed with women and do nothing.

There are many things in this world that, if there is only one choice, will become blurry over time, and eventually you will feel that it is perfect and unparalleled in the world.

If a second one happens and is just as stunning, it would most likely be fate.

Eventually, the hero will turn into a coward, and the gentleman will turn into a rogue.

(End of this chapter)