Chapter 66: Reading with Red Sleeves

Jia Mu's carriage waited outside the palace gate for over an hour before a palace attendant summoned her to enter the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager.

The current Empress Dowager Yizhang was of similar age to Jia Mu and also came from a prominent family. The two had dealings when they were in their boudoirs, and their friendship had deeper roots than other titled ladies.

This was also the reason why, when such a major event happened in the family, the first thing Jia Mu thought of was to dress formally and enter the palace to seek help from this former handkerchief friend.

"Empress Dowager, although my son is unworthy, he would absolutely never commit the unethical act of harming his own brother. It was all due to the groundless slander of that wicked servant."

"I am in my twilight years and do not have much time left. I beg the Empress Dowager to make the decision for me, to leave some dignity for the Jia family, so that I may have the face to meet my late husband in the afterlife."

As Jia Mu spoke, she shed tears, washing away much of the makeup on her face. Her appearance was disheveled and desolate, which was somewhat pitiable.

Empress Dowager Yizhang was of similar age to Jia Mu. Although she was also somewhat aged, she wore precious and complex phoenix-neon court attire, her hair was full of silver, and her spirit was clear and bright; she had more energy than Jia Mu.

At this moment, seeing Jia Mu's appearance, she felt a sigh in her heart. Her former boudoir friend had been such a sharp and shrewd person in her youth.

Having been a top-ranked Lady of the State for decades, could it be that she had enjoyed wealth for too long, lost her mind, and become muddled?

Jia Mu's carriage left the palace gate, but her expression was still dazed; she did not even take to heart that she had returned without success today.

Empress Dowager Yizhang's expression was stunned, and then she smiled slightly: "Your Enhou is not the only son you have."

As for whether this lack of decorum was because Jia She was implicated in the witchcraft disaster or because of other matters, the Empress Dowager was not sure, and she did not want to figure it out.

"Lady Jia, do not be so anxious. Enhou was only summoned by the Imperial Clan Court, not detained. Most likely, it was just to ask about the cause of the matter. Perhaps he will return in a few days."

Therefore, the Empress Dowager truly had nothing to say regarding what Jia Mu requested.

But after hearing the Empress Dowager's last sentence, she felt somewhat confused and asked: "Is the Empress Dowager speaking of Jia Lian?"

The inner palace must not interfere in politics; this sentence also included her, the woman with the most honorable status in the world.

Therefore, regarding the Emperor's affairs, she watched from afar at most and would not take even half a step across the line.

The Emperor's heart is like the sea, and the state is like an abyss. Even if she were the current Empress Dowager, she would absolutely not ignore this matter.

Jia Mu naturally knew who the Empress Dowager was talking about, but the Empress Dowager lived in the deep palace; how could she know about this obstacle? Had he caused some other mystery again? Jia Mu felt a headache.

Her son's matter was still hanging there; how could this obstacle pop up everywhere? Jia Mu felt a headache.

Did she not see that the Emperor was only using the Imperial Clan Court to warn them because the Jia family lacked decorum, to show vigilance?

Jia Mu had listened to the Empress Dowager's words earlier, but she did not grasp the point. The Empress Dowager's words were the same whether said or not.

She felt somewhat depressed in her heart, but it was not easy to show it on her face. Having been a Lady of the State for so many years, she still had that much sense. She had heard it clearly: the Empress Dowager did not want to intervene in this matter.

Recalling Empress Dowager Yizhang's last sentence: "Your Enhou is not the only son you have."

She sighed again: "Whether it is the Imperial Clan or a noble family, if there are many descendants, it is always inevitable that some trouble will arise. As long as it does not violate the law and does not betray the Emperor's favor, everything else is easy to talk about."

"Your eldest son, Enhou, although he often does things that are foolish, he is not entirely useless. At the very least, he raised a good son, didn't he?"

"You are also advanced in years; you must look at everything openly and take good care of your own body; that is the blessing."

Wu'er and Qingwen discovered that the Cong Sanye was becoming increasingly diligent in his studies. They had not been by Jia Cong's side for long, and they had seen him reading in the outer study for those few days, but he had not been as diligent as he was now.

Every night he slept only after the hour of Yi (9-11 PM), and just after the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), before the sky was even bright, the lamp in the East Study of the Qingzhi Study would be lit, and Jia Cong would begin his daily study lessons.

In his words, this was when the mind was most clear; one hour was worth two ordinary hours.

Every night, the two maids took turns on night duty, sleeping on the couch in front of Jia Cong's bed, so they could easily tuck him in or hand him water in the middle of the night.

Wu'er and Qingwen were at the age of growing and being greedy for sleep; at the hour of Mao, they were in the midst of their dreams, mostly still in beautiful dreams.

Every time Jia Cong got up, he was also tiptoeing, not wanting to disturb the little maids' good dreams.

Qingwen was a deep sleeper; every time she was on night duty, Jia Cong would get up at this time, and mostly he would not wake her.

Waiting until the sky was slightly bright, Wu'er would wake up and find that half of the candle in the East Study had burned away, while Qingwen was often still not awake.

She was teased by Wu'er for sleeping like a frozen fish, and even if she were hit with a stick, she wouldn't bounce.

When it was Wu'er's turn for night duty, she was a lighter sleeper. As soon as Jia Cong got up, she would definitely wake up, often with dazed eyes, following behind him to pour tea and hand water, and helping to grind ink and spread paper.

Wu'er was a bit delicate in body, and within two days, she had dark circles under her eyes. Qingwen felt somewhat embarrassed and scrambled to take over Wu'er's night duty.

Jia Cong said that he was used to getting up early to read, and they didn't need to get up so early to serve him; they could just go back to sleep.

But the two maids refused, saying there was no reason for the master to be up and the maids to still be sleeping soundly.

So Jia Cong didn't know where he found a recliner and placed it next to his desk.

Every time he got up early to read, the Wu'er or Qingwen on night duty would get up, finish the work of pouring tea and grinding ink, and then wait on the recliner, which could be considered a compromise for the little maids to fulfill their duties.

As soon as Qingwen leaned on the recliner, she would mostly fall asleep before long.

Wu'er was always half-asleep and half-awake on the recliner, the little maid's watery eyes quietly watching Jia Cong, feeling that the Cong Sanye's focused appearance while reading was truly good-looking.

Just at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), Jia Cong would go to the courtyard to exercise his legs and feet, or run more than a dozen laps around the Qingzhi Study.

By the time he finished exercising and washing up, Wu'er would mostly have had Si'er and Juan'er bring breakfast from the kitchen. By the time the east was bright, another fulfilling day would unfold again.

Over this period, both Wu'er and Qingwen were extremely satisfied with this master. They had never seen anyone so good; he had no airs, knew how to improve himself, and also knew how to cherish people.

Of course, he was also good-looking.

As for being good-looking, at first they didn't feel it. Jia Cong had lived a miserable life in the East Road Courtyard, not even having enough to eat, and had always been somewhat gaunt, not having grown out much.

It was said that the Cong Sanye later secretly earned silver by writing, and often went out to buy snacks to eat, which was how he filled his stomach. Although his complexion was better, it was limited.

By the time Wu'er came, she had followed her mother since childhood, and through ear and eye contact, she knew best how to eat delicately.

She worried that Jia Cong's reading was hard work, so she often dug up some nourishing ingredients from her mother and changed ways to add meals for Jia Cong.

Young people were the easiest to nourish. Within a few days, the gauntness of Jia Cong's cheeks had eased, his complexion was as moist as jade, and his slightly raised eyebrows were filled with vibrant vitality and clear, elegant spirit.

His elegant eyebrows were thick and straight, his eyes were like autumn pools, and the lines of his mouth were exquisite and smooth. Whenever he was focused, he would unconsciously purse his lips, revealing a trace of clear and resolute determination.

The whole person seemed to be slowly undergoing a rebirth, often making the two little maids' faces turn red.

They naturally had heard the rumors about Jia Cong's biological mother, who was a courtesan of extreme beauty. It was said that the Cong Sanye was born looking like his mother, but because he had lived a miserable life before and had insufficient food, it hadn't been very apparent.

Now that his days were moist, he gradually grew to look like this. When he grew up later, what would happen? Who knew how proud the Cong Sanye would grow to be.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 77 =====