Chapter 707: Fragrant Bath in the Evening

Rongguo Prefecture, Rongqing Hall.

After hearing Wang Xifeng's words, Lady Jia felt refreshed and spirited. She took the almanac from Yuanyang and pulled Xue Yima aside to discuss which date would be auspicious.

Lady Wang felt exceptionally disgusted. That boy in the East Prefecture was a lecher; he dragged every decent-looking maid from both prefectures into his chambers.

That Feng girl was also shameless; to curry favor with that boy, she even sent her own personal maid to be trampled by him.

It was unlike my Baoyu, whose concubines were all maids from his own quarters, never recklessly provoking trouble elsewhere.

Even if there was that business with Lady Xia's personal maid, it must have been that little hussy seducing and provoking Baoyu; otherwise, how could my Baoyu have been so muddled?

Once Lady Xia enters the household, that little maid will surely accompany her as a dowry. I must discipline her thoroughly then, to ensure no more trouble arises in Baoyu's quarters.

Lady Wang calculated and sneered in her heart, unaware that her son Baoyu, hearing Wang Xifeng's words, was experiencing a turbulent storm of fury and madness.

Baoyu had been the Phoenix of Rongguo Prefecture since birth. With the omen of being born with jade in his mouth, he was infinitely doted upon by Lady Jia and cherished by everyone in both prefectures.

He had lived above the rest of humanity from the start, possessing everything he desired; others could only envy him, while he never needed to envy anyone.

Precisely because of this, he was bored enough to enjoy idle chatter. Coupled with a lazy and scattered nature, he did nothing of substance, only indulging in sentimental melancholy and slandering the pursuit of scholarly exams.

It was only because of this that he appeared to have no desires regarding material things, showing no signs of dark, selfish thoughts, appearing more noble than Lady Wang's viciousness.

Even when the Second Branch lost its right to inherit the title and moved to the East Road Courtyard, becoming a mere side branch,

he still lived in the Rongguo Prefecture as usual due to Lady Jia's doting, his luxurious and elegant life barely changing at all.

Even when Wang Xifeng dismissed many of his maids and servants, he only complained a little in private, forgetting it soon after, as if his heart were untainted.

This was only because he hadn't truly been touched where it hurt; those dismissed servants were merely for show during his days of wealth, and he never truly needed so many.

Even if Jia Cong had many beautiful maids by his side, those were Jia Cong's belongings.

Baoyu felt jealous and resentful, but because it was only natural, he could only slander him in private, venting his spite with his tongue.

However, worldly affairs can change, and how can the human heart remain unchanged?

Baoyu's licentious indulgence in Jia Zheng's study, the subsequent disaster, the loss of his virility, his impotence in the bridal chamber, the shame of the beautiful women sharing his bed—

this immense pressure regarding his humiliating secret had finally shattered his ignorant mindset of being superior to all women.

To say that Baoyu's character hadn't been twisted or altered by today, how could that be possible?

Back then, Zhi Shao and Wu'er were both beautiful and outstanding; they entered Jia Cong's chambers and became his bed-warmers.

But they were Jia Cong's maids from childhood; Baoyu could only feel jealous and envious, helpless to do anything.

Yet Ping'er was different. He had been accustomed to seeing her beautiful and dignified appearance by Wang Xifeng's side since he was small.

Although he feared Wang Xifeng's sharp tongue and had never dared to harbor thoughts of possession, the desire to covet her had likely been buried deep in his heart for a long time.

Now, even such an outstanding daughter was to become Jia Cong's possession.

The jealousy he had harbored toward Jia Cong's romantic fortune for so long erupted in an instant, twisting into deep, hateful resentment.

In his eyes, Ping'er was different from Zhi Shao and Wu'er; she hadn't been Jia Cong's maid to begin with.

Why couldn't he have her, only for her to be snatched away by Jia Cong?

Baoyu's jealousy overflowed, and an unprecedented sense of unwillingness surged in his chest. According to his true nature, he wanted to speak out and stop it.

But he wasn't completely blinded by greed; he felt that bluntly blocking this matter seemed somewhat unreasonable.

As the words reached his lips, he had a sudden flash of wit and changed his tune: "Sister Feng, Jia Cong already has Zhi Shao and Wu'er in his chambers.

There are also sisters Qingwen and Zhen Ying Lian, and I hear a Lingguan has arrived too. His household is already quite crowded.

If you are in such a hurry to send Sister Ping'er over, I fear Jia Cong won't be able to attend to her, and Sister Ping'er will only suffer grievances."

When Baoyu said this, everyone in the hall was surprised. No one expected Baoyu, who usually never concerned himself with others' affairs, to speak up at this moment.

Moreover, his words were implicitly opposing the giving of Ping'er to Jia Cong. Everyone felt it was strange; was this something he should be saying?

Xue Yima glanced at Baoyu, her eyes filled with strangeness. Jia Cong taking a woman into his chambers was the business of the First Branch; did the Second Branch need to gossip about it?

Baoyu was truly spoiled by his grandmother; a grown man saying such tactless and unreasonable things, not even fearing the shame before outsiders.

She thought of the talk of the "Gold and Jade Affinity" she had once drummed up at Lady Wang's suggestion.

Fortunately, she had stopped in time and hadn't turned that matter into reality.

If her daughter had truly been given to Baoyu, she would have had to spend her life with such an insensitive person, suffering countless cold looks and ridicule in the Jia household.

Although Wang Xifeng was shrewd and smooth, usually lively and quick with her words, she felt her face had been slapped by Baoyu's words, and a look of anger appeared in her phoenix eyes.

Baoyu's words sounded polite, but the meaning was anything but. He was bluntly saying she was muddled in her dealings, not cherishing her own maid, and rushing to give her away!

Wang Xifeng was a strong-willed and temperamental person, and she was the managing mistress of the West Prefecture.

If she let Baoyu's words deflate her prestige, and word got out, all the servants in both prefectures would be laughing at her.

Who would obey her in the future, and how could she manage the West Prefecture?

Lady Jia heard Baoyu's words and frowned slightly, blaming Baoyu for being reckless.

Feng girl wanted to give her own maid away; she was willing, so others had no need to interfere. She herself hadn't even spoken.

Furthermore, this matter had been settled since last October and was known throughout both prefectures; why did Baoyu have to run his mouth now?

Lady Wang saw her son suddenly speak up, and with such unpleasant words, she felt a headache coming on. Had her son gone mad again?

Baoyu was getting married at the end of the year, and he still wanted the West Prefecture to provide silver for the wedding; why offend Feng girl at this juncture?

But since Baoyu had already spoken, she couldn't take it back. Lady Wang didn't want her son to lose face, so she naturally had to speak up to smooth things over.

She smiled and said: "Baoyu is still young and doesn't understand the affairs of women in the inner chambers, but what he says has some twisted logic.

Jia Cong and Baoyu are the same age; they both have two women in their chambers, which I think is enough.

They are young and have many things to do; excessive indulgence in the boudoir is somewhat wasteful, and it doesn't look right to outsiders."

Lady Wang carefully chose her words, feeling her logic was sound, considering the big picture, and showing the demeanor of a mistress.

She could also help Baoyu save face and maintain his dignity.

Wang Xifeng heard Lady Wang's words and couldn't help but smile slightly.

She said: "Second Aunt, that is incorrect. Jia Cong is a titled master of the household, while Baoyu is just a young master of the Second Branch; how can they be mentioned in the same breath?"

Lady Jia and Xue Yima's expressions changed slightly upon hearing this.

Although Wang Xifeng's words were polite and she was smiling, the meaning was anything but. It was like a direct stab at the heart.

Lady Wang heard the sarcasm in Wang Xifeng's words, and anger rose on her face.

Even if Jia Cong inherited the title, it was just a matter of luck.

My Baoyu is the legitimate heir of the Jia family, born with jade in his mouth, an outstanding figure.

His mother is the eldest daughter of the Jin Ling Wang family, and his father, like Jia Cong, is a legitimate official of the imperial court.

Among the Yu-generation descendants of the Jia family in Shenjing, who has a more noble background than my Baoyu?

If it weren't for the Master's mercy, unable to bear seeing him suffer in the East Road Courtyard, and his care and concern since childhood, how could he have his current glory?

He would have been trampled to death by the First Master long ago, his bones turned to dust, let alone now, where he has raised a tiger that has snatched away all of Baoyu's possessions.

This Feng girl is also an ungrateful wretch, forgetting who brought her into the Jia family, and now speaking without any sense of hierarchy.

Lady Wang was trembling with rage, her mind in chaos, unable to think of a retort for Wang Xifeng.

Before she could think of anything, Wang Xifeng continued: "Baoyu says he worries that Jia Cong will neglect Ping'er; that is also unreasonable.

Who in the household doesn't know that Jia Cong is the most considerate of women and would never treat my Ping'er poorly.

Besides, Ping'er isn't going to be a legitimate wife; she is just going to serve Jia Cong, so there's no need for such fuss."

Baoyu felt heartbroken; Sister Feng was actually treating Ping'er so poorly, not taking her seriously at all.

Sending her to serve Jia Cong in vain—how many maids does Jia Cong have by his side? It's just sending her to be trampled. It's simply outrageous.

Wang Xifeng glanced at the sorrowful Baoyu and felt even more disgusted and contemptuous, her heart becoming even more vicious.

She continued: "Second Aunt says young masters need to focus on proper business and not indulge too much in the boudoir; that also makes sense.

It seems the Second Master is a sensible person who must teach Baoyu this way.

But these words should be said to Baoyu, not to Jia Cong.

Because Jia Cong has already been granted a title, passed the imperial examinations, and become a Hanlin Academician; he has already achieved the career that ordinary men spend a lifetime striving for.

The great and proper things he has done are things ordinary people couldn't achieve in several lifetimes; what else does he need to busy himself with? The most important thing now is the flourishing of his bloodline.

As the Second Aunt knows, Jia Cong has two titles and two family estates to inherit; it is much more important for him to have a flourishing lineage than for others.

It is only right and proper for him to have a few more women in his chambers; let alone one Ping'er, there will surely be many more in the future.

However, the Second Aunt is also a knowledgeable person; arranging only two women in Baoyu's chambers is also an extremely wise and proper idea.

It can prevent Baoyu from becoming too addicted to the boudoir, allowing him to focus his mind on reading and studying, so that he might also be granted a title and become an official like Jia Cong in the future."

Wang Xifeng was eloquent, rattling off a long list without giving Lady Wang a chance to argue.

It was just that her mouth seemed to be smeared with honey or poison, her words full of sarcasm and biting mockery.

Even that final remark about being granted a title and becoming an official seemed to be deliberately drawn out, filled with mocking derision.

Lady Wang's face turned red and then white. She clearly could have used her status as an elder to reprimand Wang Xifeng, but she couldn't find a single flaw in her words.

Because the points she made about Jia Cong's merits, and not indulging in the boudoir to focus on studies, were all righteous and proper.

She couldn't refute them; if she dared to say these principles were wrong, and word got out, she would be branded a foolish woman.

But even so, Lady Wang was trembling with rage. She truly hadn't expected Wang Xifeng to be so vicious.

What words in this world could be more malicious than speaking of reading, studying, and becoming an official right in front of Baoyu?

Lady Jia saw her daughter-in-law being mocked by her granddaughter-in-law until she was fuming, and felt it was truly unseemly.

She felt somewhat resentful toward Lady Wang. Baoyu was still young and didn't understand the ways of the world, so it was fine that he spoke out of turn.

But this daughter-in-law of hers had been the mistress of the household for over a decade; how had she become so tactless?

Jia Cong taking a woman into his chambers was the business of the First Branch.

This had nothing to do with the Second Branch, yet she didn't stop Baoyu from talking nonsense and even joined in to gossip.

She was in the First Branch's territory, trying to make Feng girl lose face; how could she expect them to be polite? She was a senior elder who didn't act like one, only asking for humiliation.

A child's foolish remark was turned into a whole incident by her; what was the point? Today was supposed to be a happy day, yet she wouldn't let anyone enjoy it in peace.

Xue Yima saw her sister becoming increasingly absurd. Jia Cong taking a woman was the First Branch's business; did she need to gossip about it? And then she got her face washed by her own niece.

According to Xue Yima's usual good-natured way of doing things, she would have stepped in to smooth things over, saying a few nice words to liven up the atmosphere.

But seeing Wang Xifeng's confrontational stance, she dismissed the idea, lest people think they were in the same camp.

If people thought she was as muddled as her sister, wouldn't she lose all face?

If word got back to Jia Cong, he might even offend him, and her own daughter would lose face along with them.

Lady Jia saw the atmosphere in the hall was tense, and only she, the old ancestor, could come out to smooth things over; otherwise, if this continued, everyone would lose face.

The old lady took the almanac, flipped through a few pages, and said: "Aunt, I see the seventeenth of the eighth month is a good day, very suitable for such matters."

Xue Yima replied with a full smile: "The Old Lady has a sharp eye; I also noticed that date. It is auspicious for moving, for weddings, and for childbirth."

"Letting Ping'er enter the chambers on this date is auspicious indeed. Perhaps by this time next year, the Old Lady will be drinking at another full-month celebration."

Baoyu, having heard Wang Xifeng's idle talk about studying and becoming an official, was already trembling with rage in the dark, filled with infinite disdain and sorrow.

He felt that the Rongguo Prefecture was becoming increasingly unseemly; everyone, from top to bottom, seemed to have been corrupted by Jia Cong, the "vermin of salary."

Everyone spoke of titles and officials, vulgar and hopeless; no one had a shred of pure sentiment left. It was truly lamentable.

His own good intentions to save Ping'er from the fire pit of family rules were treated as nothing by them; it was truly bullying.

Moreover, Xue Yima was becoming increasingly absurd, talking about having children at every turn, as if she were deliberately mocking him...

Baoyu roared toward the heavens in his heart, but on the outside, his brows were furrowed, and he dared not utter another word.

He feared provoking Wang Xifeng again, who might then speak of studying, becoming an official, and a man's self-improvement in front of everyone...

But he heard Wang Xifeng smile: "Since the Old Lady has set the date, it's only ten days away. I'll have Ping'er pack her things early so there won't be a rush.

Later, I'll send word to the Second Sister; she is now the mistress of the East Prefecture, so she needs to help arrange this."

Lady Jia smiled: "I see that Ping'er is a lucky girl. I will certainly reward her when the time comes, so she can go over with dignity."

Wang Xifeng smiled: "The Old Lady is truly doting. This gives both me and Ping'er face. I thank the Old Ancestor on Ping'er's behalf."

Baoyu felt the world spinning. He had finally summoned the courage to save Ping'er,

yet these people didn't take it seriously at all, trampling on his sincere intentions, and were so impatient to send Ping'er into the fire pit.

It was truly incomprehensible, tragic, and heartbreaking...

Rongguo Prefecture, Feng's Courtyard.

The afternoon sun was bright, the parasol trees by the south wall were green, and the potted plants by the west window were lush, with vibrant flowers and intoxicating fragrance.

The main room was filled with a dazzling array of gifts. These were not the full-month gifts from guests, but the return gifts Wang Xifeng was preparing for them.

Since the value of the guests' gifts varied, the return gifts naturally had to be different to maintain proper etiquette.

These return gifts were to be sent to each household within three days after the banquet.

After returning from the banquet in the main hall, Feng'er had gone with Wang Xifeng to Rongqing Hall, and Wu'er had gone out to handle chores in the prefecture.

Only Ping'er remained in the room, facing the gift lists, sorting and arranging the return gifts, placing them in piles, and carefully attaching labels.

As Wang Xifeng's personal maid, who usually followed her to manage household affairs, she was dressed more exquisitely than ordinary maids.

She wore a water-blue cross-collared vest with embroidered trim, an ivory-colored thin silk jacket underneath, and a frost-colored skirt, with a light-blue sweat-towel tied around her slender waist.

Her ink-black hair was coiled into a delicate bun, her face was snow-white and moist, her eyes were like water, and her gaze was full of focus and delicacy.

After sorting most of the return gifts, she looked up at the sky outside.

She picked two folding fans, a bolt of Su Zhou-embroidered silk, and a hibiscus mat from the gifts, tying them carefully with red silk, adding a touch of festive joy.

She left the main room, entered the side room where she lived, took out a pair of embroidered brocade hand-warmers from her trunk, and a smile appeared on her face.

Then, carrying the pile of return gifts and the newly made hand-warmers, she left the courtyard and headed toward the East Prefecture.

Walking along the way, Ping'er felt the green trees and fragrant grass, and her mood was very relaxed.

Since the full-month celebration of the eldest daughter was approaching, she always felt an inexplicable sweetness and a longing she was too shy to speak of.

When Wang Xifeng told Lady Jia that she wanted to give her to Jia Cong, she was surprised, but naturally, she was more than willing in her heart.

She was originally Wang Xifeng's dowry maid, and her life's destination was never her own to decide; she had always been worried and afraid whenever she thought about it.

She never dreamed that there would be such a day when she could be given to someone like Jia Cong.

She was just a lowly little maid with no great insight or expectations.

But the Cong Sanye was outstanding in appearance, full of learning, and both civil and martial; how could one not be attracted to him?

Perhaps she had harbored such thoughts long ago, but she had buried them in her heart, perhaps never daring to mention them to anyone in her life.

But heaven finally treated her kindly. From the moment Wang Xifeng gave her to Jia Cong, the admiration long buried in her heart began to grow uncontrollably...

In the past, when Jia Cong still lived in the Qingzhi Study in the West Prefecture, she was always polite whenever she saw him, but there was always a distance.

Since her future was settled, although they were still polite and respectful whenever they met,

everything seemed no different from the past, but there was an inexplicable sense of intimacy in her heart.

Day by day, dream by dream, this strange feeling settled into an inseparable attachment and yearning.

Engraved in her heart, never to leave, making her feel sweet even in the face of bitterness.

The Mistress had said many times that once her child was born and stable, she would send her to the East Prefecture to serve Jia Cong.

Although she was too shy to ask about it, she knew in her heart that after the eldest daughter's full-month celebration, the days she had been longing for would likely arrive.

In the past few days, whenever she entered the East Prefecture, she felt a strange sense of belonging, because she would soon belong here too.

Ping'er passed through the small door of the corridor connecting the two prefectures, walked through the back garden of the East Prefecture, and arrived at Jia Cong's courtyard.

Just as she entered the courtyard, she saw Zhen Ying Lian coming out, and asked with a smile: "Sister Zhen Ying Lian, is the Cong Sanye in the room?"

Zhen Ying Lian smiled: "Sister Ping'er, you've come at the right time. The Cong Sanye is just about to go out. You would have missed him if you had come a moment later. He is in the room."

Jia Cong had returned from the main hall of the West Prefecture and, since it was just past noon, was preparing to go back to the firearms workshop outside the city.

With mid-August approaching, the Emperor had issued an edict to complete the construction of five hundred breech-loading rifles by the end of the year.

The number constructed was not yet half, so Jia Cong naturally dared not be the least bit negligent, keeping a close eye on the construction progress in the workshop every day.

Since the beginning of August, the Emperor had issued another oral edict, asking him to select elites from the Divine Machine Battalion to take charge of the training and practice of the breech-loading rifles.

The Emperor seemed to have an impatient desire to see the breech-loading rifles used in actual combat...

Yesterday, he completed the selection of the first batch of firearms soldiers. Jiang Xiao Liu and Yu Xiuzhu, who had been under his command during the Liaodong expedition, were among those selected.

He was currently busy expanding the barracks in the workshop. Once the selected elites entered the workshop, they were not allowed to leave until the end of the year.

There were many practical matters in the workshop these days that required his coordination, and Zhen Ying Lian had just helped him change his clothes, and he was just about to go out.

Because he was walking somewhat hurriedly, he collided head-on with someone at the door, his hands sinking into something soft, fragrant, and bouncy, causing his heart to flutter slightly.

He heard a pleasant, light cry, and a pile of things fell to the ground in a mess.

The person was knocked over, and Jia Cong caught her in his arms... (End of chapter)