Chapter 49

"Qingwen, come here."

A maid walked out from behind Jia Mu, her appearance exquisite and pretty, her skin fair, her figure graceful, with a willow waist and sloping shoulders, making everyone's eyes light up.

When Baoyu saw Qingwen, his eyes went straight, and he almost blurted out a request to Jia Mu.

It was fortunate he wasn't completely muddled, knowing his father was present, and he restrained himself from being presumptuous, but his eyes remained fixed on Qingwen, unable to move away, his heart filled with anxiety.

He heard Jia Mu say to Qingwen, "From now on, you will follow Brother Cong and serve him well."

Baoyu's face turned ugly in an instant; if Jia Zheng hadn't been present, he likely would have smashed his jade again.

Daiyu was the most sensitive and had long sensed Baoyu's expression; Baoyu had always liked pretty girls, and such things were common in wealthy and noble families, so she didn't actually mind much in her heart.

But knowing the reason Jia Mu rewarded Jia Cong with a maid, Baoyu still having such a demeanor showed a lack of understanding of priorities.

Especially seeing his subconscious action of grabbing his jade, Daiyu frowned slightly and lowered her eyes.

Qingwen's eyes showed some astonishment, but she obediently agreed; after all, she was just a maid, and she would serve whoever the Old Lady told her to.

"Old Ancestor, why don't you beat me too and reward me with a good one?"

Wang Dong, Liu Bi, and the others had also come at a coincidental time, actually catching this moment to see him.

When Jia Zheng took Qingwen to the outer study, Wang Xifeng stepped forward to add to the fun: "This Brother Cong is also lucky; after a beating, he got a maid as pretty as a scallion for nothing."

Originally, he was a weak victim after being severely beaten by Jia She, but his refusal to write in the East Courtyard was, after all, a defiance of Jia She first.

This pretty girl was the legendary Qingwen; she was indeed very exquisite.

Jia Mu had originally been somewhat depressed, but being teased like this, she couldn't help but laugh, saying repeatedly that this monkey was truly asking for a beating.

Lady Wang and the others all understood the meaning; this was to have Jia Zheng rush to speak first, and then let Jia Cong meet the guests, to save Jia Cong from saying things he shouldn't—truly watertight.

Jia Mu was also helpless and could only bring out this pretty girl Qingwen to stand in and fill the scene.

Jia Cong was somewhat confused to see Jia Zheng return and bring a pretty maid.

The first to arrive at the outer study was Wang Dong; these people arrived almost one after another, and they couldn't all come at once, so because Wang Dong held an official position, he took precedence.

It was said that his maid was outstanding, otherwise she wouldn't have been coveted by the Eldest Master.

The Old Lady, forced by the situation and fearing the ruin of the Jia family's reputation, stopped calculating further, warning and soothing him to smooth things over.

She hadn't expected Jia Cong's affair, and even less that he would make such a scene over a maid.

Qingwen had been in Jia Mu's room for less than half a year; Jia Mu had originally intended to keep her by her side for two years and then put her in Baoyu's room when she was a little older.

Since she said she would compensate him with one, she naturally had to bring out someone decent, and also to shut Jia Cong's mouth.

She was originally a maid bought by Lai Mama since childhood, and after being raised for a few years, she grew up very pretty; Lai Mama knew Jia Mu liked good-looking ones, so she sent her to Jia Mu to serve.

Jia Mu said to Jia Zheng, "You go to the outer study and say these words of mine. I will have Lian'er go to Songxuan Hall to serve tea, and after a cup of tea, I will bring the guests to see him."

In the eyes of people like Jia Mu, he was also unfilial, and it wouldn't have been easy to pass the hurdle, but the sudden visits of Wang Dong, Liu Bi, and others had helped him a great deal.

After hearing Jia Zheng say those words and that this maid was rewarded by the Old Lady, how could he not understand in his heart?

Liu Bi brought his grandfather's instructions and was also visiting as a friend, so he was naturally not in a hurry and waited patiently in Songxuan Hall.

As for that young Daoist, his airs were even bigger than Wang Dong's; he sat to one side holding a long sword, ignoring everyone.

Liu Bi had seen him standing behind Zhang Tian Shi at the Nanxi Literary Gathering and knew his background must be significant, so he didn't go to strike up a conversation or provoke him.

These people didn't come exactly on time; because after Jia Cong returned to the mansion that day, he had spent several days searching for Hearing Zhi Shao's whereabouts along the Liuyang River and hadn't had time to see outsiders at all.

Except for those in the Jia Fu, outsiders didn't know he had returned safely until several days later, when people from the Zhenan Prefecture heard the news.

The Zhenan Prefect Zhang Shouan had never found Jia Cong's whereabouts and was being questioned daily by those groups, making him feel overwhelmed and miserable.

Upon receiving the report from his subordinates, it was like rain after a long drought; overjoyed, he had someone go to inform them immediately so he could get rid of this hot potato.

That was why Wang Dong, Liu Bi, and that young Daoist had dragged it out until today to visit, just happening to catch Jia Cong being severely beaten; it was entirely a coincidence, and one could only say that Jia She or the Jia Fu was somewhat unlucky.

Wang Dong saw Jia Cong lying on the bed unable to move, let alone get up to welcome him, and even turning his head made him break out in a cold sweat, which shocked him, and he hurriedly asked for the reason.

But seeing Jia Cong stammering and only saying a few vague words, Jia Zheng to the side had a red face and an expression of having nowhere to hide his shame.

Wang Dong saw Jia Cong's back wrapped in gauze, with spots of blood seeping through; he was a person who had come from the palace and had seen every kind of scene.

This was clearly an injury left by whipping and caning, and the hand was vicious, otherwise it wouldn't have been injured like this.

Jia Cong was a son of the Jia family; who could cane him? Naturally, it was that father of his, Jia She, who was rumored in the streets to be a lecherous playboy.

This youth, who was brilliant and dazzling outside, lived such a miserable life within his own family; although Wang Dong was experienced and steady, his face also showed anger.

But this was, after all, someone else's family business; even if Prince Jia Shun was noble and he had quite a connection with this youth, he couldn't say a word.

He only instructed Jia Cong to rest well and said that if he had leisure in the future, he could visit the Prince's Mansion, and the Prince would certainly be happy.

When Wang Dong left, Jia Zheng specifically saw him to the ceremonial gate, because Wang Dong was a Grade 5 Commissioner, a level higher than Jia Zheng, who was a Grade 5B Vice Director of the Ministry of Works, so the etiquette of officialdom naturally had to be observed.

When Wang Dong left the mansion, he said to Jia Zheng, "Since such a Qilin son has emerged in the family, he should be cherished more. Official Jia is upright and elegant, so you must know that promising descendants are the foundation of a family's wealth and longevity."

This sentence made Jia Zheng feel ashamed, thinking to himself, who let Brother Cong be born to his eldest brother? If he were under his own knees, how could such a thing happen?

After Wang Dong left, Jia Lian brought Liu Bi and that young Daoist over together.

Liu Bi saw Jia Cong's appearance and was shocked, naturally asking for the reason; this time Jia Cong didn't completely evade it, not saying the reason but only saying he had received family punishment.

He didn't speak clearly to Wang Dong because whether it was Wang Dong or Prince Jia Shun, they were not only official figures but also members of the Royal Family.

Their channels of speech led directly to the palace, which would affect the reputation of Yuanchun's future, and this was what Jia Mu feared most.

Jia Zheng was straightforward and hadn't realized it yet, but Jia Cong, like Jia Mu, Lady Wang, and the others, thought of this level as soon as he heard the tone.

Jia Mu having Jia Zheng say these words was originally intended for this.

For Jia Cong to leave the East Courtyard and gain a foothold in the West Prefecture, he could only be evasive for now; there would always be a day to settle the score for Hearing Zhi Shao.

So he naturally kept his mouth shut to Wang Dong; although he felt somewhat guilty, he thought that a person like Wang Dong, who had fought his way out of the palace, would naturally understand his hidden bitterness.

But facing Liu Bi was different; he was his good friend and a commoner, and his grandfather was a master of the academic forest and was also out of office, so there was no direct conflict of interest.

If he were to evade and deceive him blindly, it would be too disrespectful and contrary to the etiquette of the academic forest; Jia Cong was going to take the path of reading and the imperial examinations in the future, so doing so would inevitably leave a handle.

He replied to Liu Bi in this way, and even Jia Zheng by his side felt it should be so.

Moreover, Jia Cong only said he had received family punishment and didn't say those ugly things about his eldest brother; what more could be asked? Doing it to this point could be considered as looking after the overall situation.

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(End of chapter)