Chapter 166

Late November, 12th year of Emperor Jia Zhao.

Since Prince Ning returned to the Love Shenjing, nearly two months had passed. The main hall of the Daci'en Temple had been basically completed, leaving only the finishing work such as painting murals in the hall and gilding the Buddha statues.

After more than a month of copying scriptures, Jia Cong finally finished copying all twelve Buddhist scriptures designated by Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao.

After being verified and sealed by officials of the Ministry of Rites, they would be enshrined before the Empress Dowager's spirit after the main hall of the Daci'en Temple was officially completed, and would be moved to the temple's library for permanent collection after it was built.

A few days before this, Jia Cong finally learned from Qin Ye that Keqing had left Jin Ling with Madam Qin a month ago.

Qin Ye mentioned this casually when Jia Cong asked about the completion time of the main hall, but he intentionally or unintentionally mentioned that his daughter had returned to the capital to wait for marriage.

Keqing had left without saying goodbye like this, and Jia Cong felt a burst of discomfort in his heart. He could roughly guess the reason for Keqing doing this; perhaps this was the result they were supposed to have.

It would be five or six days before the main hall of the temple was completed. Jia Cong decided to take this time to do something he had long been prepared to do.

When Jia Cong told Xiang Ling that he was going to send her to Gusu to reunite with her mother, Xiang Ling's expression was somewhat at a loss. She had been abducted when she was less than three years old, and her impression of her parents was very vague.

Although he liked Xiang Ling very much and knew that once she recognized her mother and daughter, he might not be able to keep her by his side for a long time.

Because he knew that Xiang Ling's mother, Madam Feng, was still alive and should currently be living in the home of her father, Feng Su, mother and daughter had been separated for more than ten years, so they should be reunited for both reason and emotion.

I have already asked the Ying Tian Prefecture to help find her. Your mother is currently living at her maternal family's home. Your maternal grandfather was originally from Dazhou in Huai'an, and later moved to Gusu, where he married into the Zhen family of Gusu.

Even if he sent Xiang Ling back to her mother's side, he would not ignore her from then on.

Tomorrow we will go to Gusu. After seeing your mother, we will make plans for the future."

Jia Cong smiled: "Then I can't bear it."

"It's just that your mother is still alive. You have been lost for more than ten years, so mother and daughter should be reunited."

Recently, officials from various ministries in the Love Shenjing have been frequently traveling between the two places, and the latest news from the south has been constantly brought to the Love Shenjing.

Because that Feng Su is not a good person. When Zhen Shiyin went bankrupt and went to rely on him, he took the opportunity to embezzle his son-in-law's silver and wealth, and his character was very inferior.

It is said that these two new poems by Jia Cong are not only sung everywhere in the brothels and entertainment venues of Jin Ling, but also in the fragrant places of Qinhuai.

Hearing Jia Cong's words, Xiang Ling asked timidly: "Young Master, is my mother really in Gusu? If you send me back, will you not want me in the future?"

Love Shenjing, Jude Lane, Rongguo Mansion.

Various interesting stories are widely spread in the six prefectures and one prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River. A youth who has not yet reached adulthood has already established a brilliant poetic reputation in the literary circles of the south of the Yangtze River. The strangeness of his encounters and the prosperity of his literary talent have been spread by the public as something unseen since the founding of the Great Zhou.

And the excellence of his calligraphy, which has become a school of its own, is even more praised.

But since he knew that Xiang Ling's biological mother was still alive, he could not pretend not to know because of his own selfishness. Otherwise, what would be the difference between him and people like Jia Yucun?

Xiang Ling's face turned red when she heard this, and her original anxious and at-a-loss mood was smoothed out by Jia Cong's sentence.

Since Prince Ning, Yang Hongbin, and others returned to the Love Shenjing, Jia Cong's two new poems have gradually spread in the Love Shenjing.

She had been living in a muddle with Old Dong Er for more than ten years, and only lived a good life after being bought by Jia Cong. In her eyes, Jia Cong was the person she trusted and relied on the most.

Zhen Shiyin broke his door and became a monk. Whether there is a connection in this, no one can say for sure.

These days, Jia Zheng's mood is surprisingly good, and the invitations for banquets from colleagues in the ministry have obviously increased.

The most talked-about topic at the banquet is nothing more than Jia Cong helping Prince Ning detect the major case of the Water Supervision Department in Jin Ling, and the two wonderful poems that shocked the south of the Yangtze River.

And when he has leisure at home, he mostly calls on guests like Shan Pinren and Zhan Guang to discuss elegant matters such as the phrasing and rhyming of Jia Cong's two new poems.

He privately fantasized about how proud Jia Cong's actions were as a youth. He himself had fantasized about it when he was young, but he was far from having Jia Cong's opportunity and talent to achieve it.

He couldn't help but feel full of emotion and regret. Although his thoughts were surging, he couldn't write wonderful poems like Jia Cong. But fortunately, the Jia family was lucky to have a generation of literary prosperity like Brother Cong.

The day the Jia family stays in history and is praised by everyone seems to be just around the corner.

Although Jia Cong is currently being raised in the second branch, he is not born of himself, which is a bit of a flaw. Therefore, he is becoming more and more strict with the studies of Baoyu, Jia Huan, and their ilk.

Jia Huan is fine, but with Baoyu's strange logic of reading, he naturally cannot avoid being scolded or beaten on the palm by Jia Zheng every three days.

Naturally, there are various scenes in the inner mansion of the Jia family, such as Madam Wang's secret hatred, Jia Mu slamming the table, and Wang Xifeng watching silently.

And then, as the news from the south became more and more detailed, various legendary materials about Jia Cong annihilating the Eastern ronin, mobilizing troops in Yangzhou, capturing culprits in the city, and intercepting information began to spread in the Love Shenjing.

There are even storytellers in tea houses and wine shops who, in order to attract attention and mix more wine and food silver, compile the anecdotes of the young master of the Rongguo Mansion into books to lobby and profit in the market.

In Daiyu's room, the chessboard is quiet, the jade qin is hanging empty, and the incense is curling.

Two stacks of books are neatly placed on the desk, and the ebony bookshelf is also full of various books and picture albums, many of which are still neatly marked with bookmarks.

If it weren't for the dressing table by the bed, which is decorated with hairpins, rouge, and powder, this room really wouldn't look like a young lady's boudoir.

November in the Love Shenjing is very cold compared to Jin Ling.

Daiyu is wearing a pink satin long coat with gold-sprinkled flowers, a coral-red small-collared inner garment, and a peach-red pleated skirt. She is as beautiful as an orchid, with a slender waist, skin as white as jade, and a moving and charming demeanor.

At this moment, she is sitting at the desk, opening the letter sent by her father from Yangzhou. In addition to talking about his situation, the letter also mentions that Third Brother Cong went to Yangzhou to borrow salt troops, as well as various strange things in Jin Ling.

Daiyu's mouth has a slight smile. From the words of her father's letter, she can see that he highly praises Third Brother, and the end of the letter also copies the two new poems written by Third Brother.

A sweet and clear lemon fragrance comes from outside. That is the white jade soup medicinal diet stewed by Hearing Zi Juan on the red clay stove outside the corridor.

This was specially prepared by Third Brother when she vomited blood that year.

A few days ago, thinking of the past, the person far away had not returned, and her mood was restless, so she asked Hearing Zi Juan to find the prescription copied by Wuer and often made some.

In fact, she had already read the two poems copied in her father's letter two days ago.

That was obtained by Sister Seeing Tan Chun from the Second Uncle. Since Third Brother went to Jin Ling, she has been going to the Second Uncle's place every few days to ask for news.

These two poems are naturally excellent, but what Daiyu cares about most is not these.

When she was young, because of her mother's death and father's departure, she lived as a guest in the Jia family alone. Although she was loved by her grandmother, her longing for her relatives and hometown was uninterrupted, her worries were unresolved, and her body naturally became weak.

Since Jia Cong moved into the Qingzhi Studio that year, the garden has shown a different color than usual.

In fact, in this family, people like her grandmother and sisters can all be good to her.

But Third Brother seems to be different from these people. I don't know why, he seems to understand her heart very well, and every word and action can reach her heart.

Just like when she was vomited blood by Baoyu, Third Brother, although he didn't come to visit every day like her sisters, the thoughts he spent on her were more than anyone else.

Two years ago, he rarely came back from the academy. Whenever he came back, he would definitely come to her room to talk. When he was too busy with his studies to come back, he would also send her letters.

She could vaguely feel that Third Brother seemed to be able to see through everything, and had an unusual pity for her, always keeping her in his heart, as if he was worried that she would be left out.

Even she herself couldn't tell what kind of strange fate this was.

But Third Brother treating her like this is what she cares about most. Perhaps no one in this world understands her better than him.

Compared with these, Third Brother's amazing abilities are not the most important to her.

Although everyone is still young, every time he looks at her, the clarity, warmth, and pity in his eyes have become her greatest sustenance in the past few years.

Perhaps it is because of this sustenance that her body has become much better in the past few years.

In Seeing Tan Chun's room, on the pear wood and marble desk, those famous calligraphy rubbings were put away, and the vacated space was filled with a stack of newly written rice paper, on which were the two new poems that Seeing Tan Chun had just copied.

At this moment, her white wrists were hanging empty, her hairpins were moving lightly, her temples were fragrant, and as the brush moved, a "Full River Red: Jin Ling Nostalgia" was being written: Listening to the deep night, loneliness strikes the isolated city, the spring tide rushes.

Counting the days, Third Brother has been in Jin Ling for three months. He said before he left that he would return for the New Year. He should be back in less than a month, right?

Since Jia Cong went to Jin Ling, she often went to her father's place to ask for news. A few days ago, she heard Shi Shu say that the Master had been chatting with the guests at home about Third Brother's new poems these days.

Out of curiosity, she went to her father's Mengpo Study and copied the two new works of Third Brother.

Since then, she has been reading them from time to time, unable to put them down, and every day when she is free, she writes and traces them to pass the time.

Xing'er, a servant from the Second Sister-in-law's side, returned from Jin Ling and also brought a lot of news from Jin Ling. I heard that Jin Ling is a bit chaotic recently, just hoping that Third Brother can come back early.

Yesterday, she went to the Rongqing Hall to pay her respects to the grandmother and happened to meet the wife of the Marquis of Lady Bao Ling coming to see the grandmother.

Because the Marquis of Lady Bao Ling has many old acquaintances in Jin Ling and knows a lot about the situation there, he talked about Third Brother doing many great things in Jin Ling, which seemed very brilliant, and she was also happy listening to it on the side.

Later, the wife of the Marquis of Lady Bao Ling didn't know why, but she specifically mentioned Sister Yun, but the grandmother's face was indifferent.

She knew that because of Third Brother's biological mother, the grandmother had always disliked him, and Third Brother was never willing to be close to the grandmother. This relationship could not be warmed up no matter what.

In the past few years, she has grown a few years older, and her mind has become much more sensitive. Why does the wife of the Marquis of Lady Bao Ling always mention Third Brother and also mention Sister Yun? She can naturally taste the meaning in it.

Sister Yun is excellent in both character and family background. Thinking of these, her heart is always empty, and the brush in her hand is put down with no interest.

(End of chapter)