Chapter 48: Forced by Circumstances

Upon hearing that although Jia Cong had been beaten severely, he had already been carried out of the East Road Courtyard and was recuperating in the outer study outside the West Mansion, Jia Seeing Yingchun felt sad, but also breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Lin Daiyu heard that for the sake of a deceased maid, Jia Cong had burned his writing brushes, preferring to be beaten to death by his eldest uncle rather than write in the East Road Courtyard again.

A strange glint appeared in her eyes; this Third Brother Cong could write well, compose fine poetry, and yet was also such a man of deep sentiment and loyalty.

Having followed her father, a top-ranking scholar, since childhood, she had been deeply influenced and was well-read in poetry and books; her insight was naturally higher than that of ordinary young ladies of the boudoir.

Talented people throughout history, because they see through things more clearly than ordinary people, always tend to be somewhat cynical. Lin Daiyu could not escape this convention either; although she held concepts of propriety and filial piety in her heart, she was not blindly loyal or rigid.

Therefore, she did not feel that Jia Cong's refusal to write for Jia She was unfilial or rebellious; one only had to look at what her eldest uncle had done beforehand.

……

After Wang Wang Xifeng settled Jia Cong in the outer study, she went to the Rongqing Hall to inform Jia Mu. Just as she entered the hanging flower gate, she ran into a maid delivering a message.

It was said that a servant from outside the second gate had come to pass on word that Wang Dong, the Director of the Palace Domestic Service at the Prince Prince Jia Shun Mansion, having learned that Third Brother Cong was out of danger, had come to the mansion specifically to visit him.

Wang Wang Xifeng's expression stiffened. Wasn't this Wang Dong the same person who had sent the New Year's Eve gifts to Jia Cong? He really knew how to pick his timing, coming to see Brother Cong at such a moment.

Last time Wang Dong sent New Year's gifts to Jia Cong, Jia Mu had taken note. Palace officials who reached the level of Wang Dong in the Love Shenjing were certainly not ordinary people.

Wang Wang Xifeng entered the Rongqing Hall and hurriedly told Jia Mu the matter. Jia Mu's head felt a size larger.

During the New Year, the female relatives of the Four Dukes and Eight Marquises had visited. During casual conversation, Jia Mu had mentioned a few things and learned that this Wang Dong had quite a background; he had originally been an attendant by the Retired Emperor's side.

Jia Mu's chest felt as if it had been hammered, and she felt a wave of stuffiness. How did this wicked creature develop such a nature? If he didn't stir up some trouble every day, he wouldn't be satisfied. How was he going to let people live?

Consequently, she had someone first welcome Wang Dong to the Songxuan Hall to wait, and then had a maid go to invite the Second Master.

Lady Wang, Wang Wang Xifeng, and the others all looked at each other in dismay. Had these people conspired to come together to watch the Jia family make a fool of itself?

Moreover, the timing of Wang Dong's visit was far too coincidental.

A palace official with such connections, who now had dealings with her grandson several times—even if it was said to be on the instructions of Prince Prince Jia Shun.

There was also a young Daoist from the Profound Heaven Temple who said he had come to visit Third Brother Cong on the orders of the Celestial Master Zhang.

Just now in the outer study, a physician had already been summoned to examine Jia Cong's injuries. It was said he had been beaten too severely; although his bones and tendons were not damaged, he would need to rest quietly for a month to barely recover.

She feared that there would be no end to these entanglements in the future. Jia Mu had many thoughts in her heart.

First it was the Prince Prince Jia Shun Mansion, then the Master of Literature Liu Jingan, and what did this have to do with the leader of the Daoist religion? Why had even he popped up?

These people all had significant backgrounds; usually, it was difficult to see even one of them. Why were they all showing up at the door today?

If they were to learn the reason why Jia Cong was beaten, the Jia family's old face would be trampled underfoot all over the Love Shenjing.

The words had barely left her mouth when a maid came over to pass on word that a scholar named Liu Bi, having heard that Third Brother Cong had returned safely, had come specifically to pay a visit, claiming to be a good friend of Third Brother Cong and the grandson of the old Minister of the Rites, Liu Jingan.

But people still had to be allowed to meet; they were not ordinary figures, and it wasn't as if they could be dismissed just like that.

It was only because Prince Prince Jia Shun had come of age and moved out of the palace that Wang Dong was transferred to the Prince Prince Jia Shun Mansion. If he weren't a trusted aide of the Retired Emperor, why would he have been transferred to the side of his youngest son?

At this moment, Jia Zheng entered the Rongqing Hall, his face somewhat pale and weary.

That person had just been beaten half to death by his own father; if he went to see him, what would that mean? The Jia family couldn't even cover up its own shame.

Just now, when Jia Zheng went to the East Road Courtyard to save him, his own eldest brother had been drunk. How could someone drunk and beating a person hold back? He had simply beaten him as if to kill him.

Jia Mu asked, "How is your nephew settled? Has the physician seen him? Now that many figures have come to see him, I don't know how this will end."

She then told Jia Zheng about all the people who had come to visit.

Jia Zheng replied, "Old Lady, it is not just me saying Brother Cong is good. Look at all these people who have come; they all hold him in high regard. Could it be that they all lack discernment?"

"Yet we treat him so harshly. You haven't seen Brother Cong's injuries; his skin and flesh have been beaten to a pulp. How could it come to this? How could it come to this?"

As Jia Zheng spoke, he shed tears in grief and indignation. Jia Mu felt another headache coming on. This son of hers had read books until he was rotten; he only saw the surface and hadn't pondered deeply.

She said, "Don't talk about that for now. I see he has gained some standing; why else would so many people outside treat him with respect?"

"I have also seen through it; he and his father can never be on the same path. If he stays in the East Road Courtyard, something bad will happen sooner or later, and then it will be impossible to clean up."

"I will speak to his father and mother about this myself. The matter of that woman back then was something he stirred up himself; who can he blame?"

"Now that his son is raised so big, how can he not tolerate him? He has to torture him until he dies? If this gets out, people will laugh themselves to death."

"Since you like him reading and writing, then raise him under your wing. In a few years when he is older, arrange for him to move out and establish his own household, and everyone will have peace."

"If he can truly study and advance, he will remember your kindness."

Jia Zheng felt joy in his heart. He was naturally very willing to have the Old Lady let him raise Jia Cong.

He had always liked talented scholars. That Jia Yucun had no relation to the Jia family at all; he had only been recommended by his brother-in-law, yet he had still used the Jia family's connections to seek an official position for him.

In the final analysis, it was because Jia Yucun was a proper double-degree scholar and an outstanding reader, whose speech was elegant and refined, which greatly pleased his heart.

And Jia Cong, at such a young age, had already revealed his brilliance. His future prospects would likely be even stronger than Jia Yucun's. If he raised him himself, his future success would also be a matter of face for him.

Originally, with Jia Zhu having passed away, Jia Baoyu being a failure, and Jia Huan'er not worth mentioning, Jia Zheng had always been depressed. Now that the Old Lady had opened her mouth, it had cured his heart's ailment.

Jia Mu added, "I see he is still willing to listen to you, but there is one thing you must tell him."

"No matter what happens in the family, it is all a matter of closing the door and dealing with it ourselves."

"If there is truly something bad, we will speak of it, but he is not allowed to take it outside. If he ruins the family reputation passed down by the Old Duke, I will not forgive him."

Speaking to this point, Jia Mu's tone was unusually severe, showing that she regarded the reputation of the Lady Rongguo Mansion as extremely important.

She added, "I won't even mention him causing such a scene with his father over a maid. Since he has lost one he liked, I will compensate him with another. Just tell him to keep my words in his heart."

Those in the room like Wang Wang Xifeng, Lin Daiyu, and Seeing Tan Chun, who were insightful, naturally heard that Jia Mu intended to warn Jia Cong.

She feared that if he met these officials or young men of noble families, he would speak of the ugly matters such as forcing a maid to her death or abusing his own son, thereby ruining the reputation of the Lady Rongguo Mansion.

One must know that the groups of people who came to see Jia Cong today were not ordinary people.

If these matters were to spread, one could only imagine how many people would point fingers and watch the joke.

Jia Mu was both warning him and rewarding him with a maid, both to shut his mouth and to appease him.

It was said that Jia Cong's original maid was an outstanding one—otherwise, the Eldest Master wouldn't have taken a fancy to her—but she didn't know which person Jia Mu would use to reward him.

Wang Xifeng, however, saw deeper. She knew that the Old Lady had something even more important in her heart, and that was Jia Yuanchun, who served as a female historian in the Fengzao Palace.

If the Lady Rongguo Mansion ruined its reputation, Jia Yuanchun, who had been selected for the palace for her "virtue, filial piety, and talent," would be slapping the face of the Imperial family, and Jia Yuanchun might lose her chance to climb the ladder to success.

That would be an unacceptable blow to the Jia family. Jia Mu was far-sighted and naturally had to prevent trouble before it happened.

This was something that not only young ladies like Lin Daiyu and Seeing Tan Chun couldn't think of, but even Jia Zheng hadn't thought of yet. However, the leaders of the inner household like Wang Wang Xifeng and Lady Wang understood it in their hearts.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 49 =====