Chapter 885: Young Age Cannot Bear to be Broken

Rongguo Prefecture, Lixiang Courtyard.

In the morning, the sky was bright; it was still cold outside, but fortunately, the weather was clear, only the sun had not yet climbed high.

The sunlight slanted on the courtyard, and the houses and trees in the garden were plated with a layer of gold, casting mottled and scattered shadows.

In the main hall, the silver frost charcoal was burning in the fire basin on the ground, flashing with red firelight, baking the room warmly.

Lady Xue was sitting by the desk, flipping through the account books sent from Jin Ling, which had been checked by Baochai, with special notes added for complicated and questionable places.

When Lady Xue flipped through them again, she felt both happy and sighed; the pair of children were worlds apart, as if they had each been reborn in the wrong gender.

In front of the door leading from the main hall to the inner room, a half-old red silk warm curtain was hanging, and Baochai was doing needlework on the kang in the inner room.

Her black, oily, shiny hair was coiled in a bun, wearing a honey-colored cotton jacket, a rose-colored gold and silver thread vest, and a scallion-yellow damask embroidered cotton skirt.

A peony flower branch pearl hairpin was inserted in her hair, and a light blue palace flower was worn on her temple, setting off her ice-like skin and snow-like flesh, painting-like eyebrows and eyes, bright and eye-catching.

As the eldest daughter of the Xue family's main branch, she had grown up in wealth since childhood and originally had boxes full of items and clothing.

However, she was leisurely at home, and Baochai had less and less interest in dressing up; everything was half-new and half-old, not looking luxurious, only feeling elegant and light.

Even if she wanted to dress up for the one she loved, that person was now away on an expedition.

Even if she dressed up finely, it was just a flowerless empty branch, but she didn't know who to show it to.

She was busy with her needlework when she heard a burst of footsteps in the hall outside.

Listening to it, it was hurried, not a maid in the house, it must be her brother Xue Pan.

She felt a bit strange in her heart; during these days at the end of the year and the beginning of the year, her brother mostly went out to call friends, rarely staying at home.

But it was strange these two days, he was actually holed up at home; it was quite fresh, but Baochai didn't ask the reason.

She lifted the curtain and went out, seeing her mother still flipping through the account books, and her brother Xue Pan sitting beside her, looking bored.

The maid Tong Xi served tea to Xue Pan; he took the tea bowl and drank a sip, waved his hand to dismiss Tong Xi, his face full of boredom.

Baochai smiled, "After the beginning of the year, brother goes out to meet friends every day; today you are leisurely, accompanying me and Mom at home."

Lady Xue said, "He is not just leisurely today; didn't he stay at home all day yesterday? It's really the sun rising from the west."

"You only paid attention to sending Brother Cong off on the expedition yesterday and didn't pay much attention to him; if I say he is like this every day, I will be truly at ease."

Xue Pan said with dissatisfaction, "Mom, what are you saying? I go out to make friends, not to commit crimes."

"Why is it called being at ease only when staying at home? I am not that guy Baoyu, who only knows how to stay at home every day."

"His reputation has long been stinking, and no one will pay attention to him even if he goes out."

"In the past, he could be the Heavenly King at home, but now he is nothing; he is just a side door in the East Courtyard, and he is not as good as me now."

Lady Xue scolded with a smile, "I just let you stay at home peacefully, what kind of nonsense did you provoke?"

"It's irrelevant; you are talking about Baoyu, and this can also be related."

Xue Pan smiled, "I am just counting on him to live now; in the past, I also felt that I was useless, but ever since Baoyu was humiliated by the Imperial Clan Court."

"I found that I am not that dissolute, and I am much more decent than him."

"Now he can't even live in the West Prefecture, but I am still living peacefully, much stronger than him."

"I just can't figure out why Baoyu has fallen to such a point, and he is still so pretentious, thinking he is quite good; he is really shameless."

"Yesterday I heard the young servants in the mansion discussing that Baoyu was talking nonsense in Rongqing Hall, actually daring to say that the scholars of the Imperial Academy are all unfilial and rebellious."

"Tsk tsk, he really dares to say it; although I am dissolute, I still don't dare to humiliate scholars."

"This scholar is not easy to provoke; don't look at his poverty today; who knows when he will pass the examination, and he might come back to torture you to death."

"Let's not talk about the far ones; just look at Brother Cong in the East Prefecture; when we first came, he was just a scholar, not showing his face."

"Only a few years have passed, and his waist has become frighteningly thick; I want to curry favor with scholars, but I can't find a way for a while."

"Baoyu dares to scold scholars for being unfilial."

"I heard that the Uncle-in-law was so angry that he gave him a slap, which was so loud."

"Baoyu is still bruised now, and I heard his face is like a big flower; it's a pity that I didn't have the luck to see it; it's really a pity, really a pity."

Baochai saw her brother speaking ridiculously and was amused to smile, but it was not good to talk to him.

Baoyu's wild words that day, and he was showing off in front of the Uncle-in-law, and as a result, he was embarrassed on the spot.

At that time, Baochai and the sisters had already left the hall and didn't see it with their own eyes.

But Shi Xiangyun snuck back to eavesdrop, and upon returning, she blabbed like a little trumpet, so all the sisters knew about Baoyu's embarrassing incident.

It's just that no one took it to heart; these absurd remarks of Baoyu had happened many times, and they had long since not been fresh, just treating them as jokes in the inner courtyard.

Even Seeing Tan Chun was a bit numb, and sisters like Yingchun and Daiyu didn't even bother to spend their tongues on more discussion.

Lady Xue scolded with a smile, "You have only been quiet at home for two days, and you feel you are amazing; if people hear it, they will laugh their teeth off."

"You are just going out to cause trouble, and Baoyu is causing trouble at home; the eldest doesn't talk about the second, they are both half a catty and eight taels."

Xue Pan smiled, "You really think highly of me; I don't dare to be half a catty and eight taels with Baoyu; I drink with friends, and if I get drunk, I just scold the little servants to vent my anger."

"Unlike Baoyu who is so bold, either scolding the nobles in the palace or scolding the civil officials and scholars, making it seem like he is the biggest in the world."

"My close friends are all sons of noble military families, and they all understand the ways of the noble families."

"They said that if it weren't for the great virtue accumulated by the Rongguo ancestors, and now the East Prefecture has Brother Cong to support the scene, Baoyu would have been chopped into pieces long ago."

"Mom, your words are so unlucky; even if I am not striving, I don't dare to be half a catty and eight taels with this fool."

Last year, when talking about Baoyu, she thought he was a rare treasure born with jade, the legitimate grandson of the Rongguo Prefecture, her own sister's own son, and his appearance looked extremely good.

It's just that the Xue family had lived in the Jia family for a long time, and really couldn't hide any background; not to mention Jia Cong's sudden emergence, completely covering Baoyu.

Just talking about Baoyu in this year, I don't know how many ugly things he has caused, talking too much, causing trouble, and everything is absurd and ridiculous.

The most important thing is, he is a legitimate grandson of a Duke, born in a wealthy and noble family, but he has no responsibility at all.

Not to mention that his reputation was ruined by the Imperial Clan Court, and apart from eating idle rice at home, it will be difficult for him to get ahead in his life.

In the past, her son was so disgusted with Baoyu, she would definitely scold and stop him, but now she completely looks down on him in her heart.

Now that her son is so glib, she doesn't care anymore, and even feels that her son's glibness makes sense.

Since the business in Jin Ling was connected to the Xin Chun Hao, and with her brother Xue Yuan helping to manage it, the Xue family's main branch's family business had become more stable day by day.

Lady Xue was now satisfied, and the most worried thing was her son Xue Pan, just hoping he would be safe and not cause trouble, and everything would be fine.

Although Baoyu was unbearable, he finally had one good point, which was that he loved to stay at home daily, and the ugly things he caused were mostly not big troubles.

If her son also had this advantage, staying at home every day, Lady Xue would be satisfied.

Now that she saw he had stayed at home for two days, she was afraid he would be bored and go out to wander and fool around.

So she found a topic to chat with him, so that he would be less bored and could stay at home peacefully.

She smiled, "You often talk about those noble sons, they are all your close friends, why don't they come to find you recently?"

"I heard the Old Matriarch say that the government offices are celebrating the fifteenth of the first lunar month, and the officials' leave is coming to an end; are they starting to go to work?"

Xue Pan knew that his mother never talked about this topic, mostly feeling that his friends were all wine and meat pigs and dogs, and wished he wouldn't see them.

But now she was somewhat contrary to the norm, actually chatting with him about his friends' gossip, and he suddenly had a lot of interest.

He smiled, "Mom, you don't know the situation; my friends are not ordinary; they are all sons of high families famous in the Love Shenjing."

"For example, Feng Ziying, the son of the Divine Martial General, Wei Ruolan, the son of the Xiangcheng Count, Chen Ruichang, the grandson of the Qi State Duke, and there are many others."

"These are all my proper friends, not wine and meat people; they have positions in the imperial court, and each of them is extremely knowledgeable."

"They don't go out these few days, not because they are going to work in the government office, nor because they are intentionally ignoring me, but because these noble high families have encountered a major event."

"So every family is cautious, letting the sons of the family restrain their behavior, not daring to go out and walk around, lest they cause any right or wrong."

Baochai heard that the noble high families had encountered a major event, and first thought of Jia Cong, thinking that Brother Cong's status was noble, and he was a first-class noble son in the Love Shenjing.

Except for the Remnant Yuan's army going south, she had never heard him say that there was any major event outside, which made the noble sons dare not go out to fool around.

Lady Xue didn't have Baochai's delicate thoughts and didn't care about what major event the noble high families had in her heart.

But seeing her son's interest, she couldn't dampen his interest, so she naturally had to take the conversation, leading her son to continue nagging.

It was also good to let her son know clearly that even if he was at home, there would still be people talking and laughing, and it wouldn't be too boring.

She smiled, "My daughter and I never go out, so we don't know these major events outside; you tell us, let us hear something fresh."

Lady Xue was teasing her son, but Baochai really had thoughts in her heart, and also wanted to hear the details, looking at her brother with bright eyes, waiting for him to speak.

Xue Pan saw that his mother and sister were contrary to the norm, actually having interest in his fooling around outside, and couldn't help but feel proud in his heart.

Seeing the maid Tong Xi, whom he had just dismissed, sitting in the corner of the hall sewing shoe soles.

He said proudly, "Tong Xi, go and pour another cup of tea for your master; I will moisten my throat first, and then talk to Mom and sister properly." ===== CHAPTER 886 =====