I'm in the Red Mansion

Chapter 123 Xiangling Learns Poetry
Jia Cong was shocked. He didn't want to marry a woman he had never met for no reason.

Therefore, he couldn't help but say: "Mom, you don't have to worry about my affairs. I want to get married, and the person must be chosen by me."

Aunt Mei smiled and said, "Okay, okay, even if I find out about a good girl, I'll let you see her in person and let you be satisfied. How about that?"

Jia Cong had no choice but to retreat.

When he walked out of the door, for some reason, the figure of Lin Daiyu, who seemed both angry and happy, suddenly flashed in front of Jia Cong.

A thought flashed through his mind that if he could marry Lin Daiyu, it would be a good choice.

However, it seems a bit difficult.

In this era, people pay attention to parents' orders and matchmaker's words.

At present, the chances of him proposing to Lin Ruhai successfully are very slim.

And now, he has been removed from the Jia family's genealogy and expelled from the mansion, which is even more of a deduction.

There is only a small chance unless he can pass the imperial examination next year, or even become a Jinshi.

And there is no guarantee of 100% success.

I have to say, it's quite difficult.

……

Jia Cong had just moved into a new house and had no experience in living there right away.

Instead, he walked around the new yard.

This house covers a very large area.

What surprised Jia Cong was that there was a large open space in the fourth courtyard.

With just some tidying up, you can build a training ground.

At least there is enough space to set up a few targets.

From now on, he can practice archery here.

When he was at the Jia family, due to limited space, Jia Cong's archery progress was relatively slow.

Now that I have a venue, I can enjoy gaining experience in archery.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong couldn't help but call the housekeeper Xue Da over.

"What are your instructions, Master?"

Jia Cong told them about turning this vacant land into a martial arts training ground.

Xue Da said immediately, "Yes, Master, I will send someone to handle this matter right away."

Jia Cong asked again: "Housekeeper Xue, there is no money in the mansion's account right now. If you need to withdraw money, you can ask my maid Hongxiu to ask for it."

Xue Da immediately said, "Master, Master Xue left us 10,000 taels of silver. If there are no other expenses, this amount of silver will be enough for this year."

"If you are short of money someday, I can send someone to get it from Miss Hongxiu."

Unexpectedly, Xue Pan actually left behind 10,000 taels of silver.

This guy is trustworthy. He is really willing to spend money when something happens!

After Jia Cong dismissed Xue Da, he returned to his own courtyard.

Jia Cong lived in the second courtyard.

Even though it was a secondary courtyard, it was at least twice as large as the courtyard adjacent to the Lixiang Courtyard of the Jia family.

After entering the yard, Jia Cong saw three maids, Hongxiu, Qingwen and Xiangling, chattering about something.

Jia Cong walked in and asked with a smile: "What are you talking about? You seem so happy?" Qingwen smiled and said: "We were talking about how we finally left the Jia Mansion safely with the Third Master!"

"I originally thought that I would have to suffer with the Third Master. I have already planned to do needlework to support the Third Master."

"I never thought that I would live in such a big courtyard right after leaving the mansion, and there would be no one to supervise me. We feel like we are dreaming!"

"It's a pity that Xiren didn't come with you. She can't enjoy the good life with the Third Master. It's such a pity. Sigh, I really don't know what she is thinking!"

Hearing Qingwen's words, Jia Cong couldn't help but smile.

This girl is really loyal and righteous, and she still misses Xiren.

But Xiren is much smarter than you. It would be strange if she followed you.

At this time, Qingwen laughed again and said, "Third Master, you don't know that Xiangling has something to ask of you, but she doesn't dare to say it herself."

After hearing what Qingwen said, Xiangling immediately felt embarrassed. She hurriedly said, "Qingwen, please stop talking. I was just talking in private. Don't take it seriously."

Jia Cong became more and more curious. He couldn't help asking, "Qingwen, tell me quickly, what exactly does Xiangling want to ask of me?"

Qingwen ignored Xiangling's attempts to stop her and said with a stifled laugh: "Third Master, Xiangling wants to warm your bed! But she is too embarrassed to say it, so I..."

Xiangling was furious, she went up to Qingwen and started tickling her.

It's scary when an honest person gets angry. Qingwen was pinned to the ground by Xiangling and couldn't get up.

Hongxiu was laughing so hard that she fell down. She was just watching the fun and was too lazy to try to stop the fight.

Jia Cong smiled and pulled Xiangling up, rescuing Qingwen.

Then he said, "I thought it was something else, it turns out he just wanted to warm my bed, what's the point of that, why should I be embarrassed to say it?"

"Well, how about you two warm my bed together tonight?"

Now it was her turn, and Qingwen felt embarrassed. She blushed and said, "Third Master, you, you are not a good person either, and you also come to tease us."

Xiangling said hurriedly, "Third Master, don't listen to Qingwen's nonsense. I just wanted to learn how to write poetry from you, but I didn't dare to tell you because I was afraid that it would affect your studies."

"It was Qingwen herself who wanted to warm the Third Master's bed, and she used me as an excuse to say it!"

Qingwen was furious when she heard this. She rushed over with her teeth bared and said, "Xiangling, you looked like an honest person, but I didn't expect you to be a bad girl. Today, I will teach you how to deal with me. I will also let you know how powerful I am!"

Jia Cong smiled and separated the two, then asked Xiangling, "Xiangling, why do you want to learn how to write poetry?"

Xiangling said shyly, "I've seen my daughter, Miss Lin, and several other young ladies in the Jia family all write poetry."

"I also want to learn how to write poetry, so that I can become a poet in the future."

Xiangling had a yearning in her heart, but she couldn't express it in words.

Jia Cong also roughly understood what Xiangling was thinking, and he couldn't help but smile and said, "No matter how difficult it is, it's worth learning!"

"It's just a beginning, a development, a turn, and an end. The development and the turn are two pairs of couplets, level tones and oblique tones, virtual to real, real to virtual. If there is a strange sentence, even the level tones, virtual to real, and vice versa are acceptable."

Xiangling laughed and said, "No wonder I often get a book of old poems and read one or two poems when I have time. There are some that are perfectly matched, and some that are not."

"I also heard people say 'One, three and five don't matter, two, four and six are clear'. When I read the poems of the ancients, some were in order, while others were wrong on two, four and six, so I was confused every day."

"Now that I've heard you say that, it turns out that these rules of style are not important. What matters most is the originality of the words and phrases."

Jia Cong said, "That's exactly the reason. Words and sentences are secondary. The most important thing is the intention. If the intention is genuine, even the words and sentences don't need to be embellished. It is good. This is called 'not letting words harm the intention'."

"Here is a copy of the Complete Works of Wang Wei. Read one hundred of his pentasyllabic regulated verses and study them thoroughly."

"Then read one or two hundred of Lao Du's seven-character regulated verses, and then read one or two hundred of Li Qinglian's seven-character quatrains."

"First, you should have these three people as a foundation in your mind, and then you can take a look at Tao Yuanming, Ying Yan, Xie, Ruan, Yu, Bao and others. You are also a very smart person. In less than a year, you will become a poet!"

(End of this chapter)