Chapter 361

Just as Jia Mu, Aunt Xue, Feng Jie and the others were chatting, a short distance away in a side room divided by a glass screen, a completely different scene was unfolding.

The gauze curtain was half drawn, and sunlight filtered through the flowered window, painting fine, fragmented shadows on the floor.

In the side room were a few tables and chairs; the four Spring sisters, Baoyu and Daiyu, Xiang Yun, Xing Xiuyan and others sat in small groups, talking, playing chess, or composing verses.

The maids Ziqian, Ying Er, Shishu and Cuilu attended nearby, each pouring tea or fanning as they pleased, content and at ease.

Daiyu and Baichai sat on the couch by the window, with a small table between them bearing a Go board.

Daiyu took the white stones, Baichai the black, and the two played at an unhurried, composed pace, each seeming confident.

Today Daiyu wore a moon‑white padded jacket, its collar embroidered with slender bamboo shoots, making her appear even more fresh and delicate.

She held a white stone in her hand, hesitating to place it, eyes fixed on the board, a faint, half‑present smile at the corner of her mouth.

Baichai wore a honey‑colored padded jacket, over it a light‑blue half‑sleeve, and twirled a folding fan in her hand, occasionally glancing at Daiyu with a hint of meaning, yet not urging her.

Tan Chun and Xiang Yun sat at another table, also playing chess.

Xiang Yun was hot‑tempered, placing stones quickly and taking them back just as fast; Tan Chun, unable to keep up, simply pushed the board away:

"I'm done. You always cheat; don't you know you can't regret a move after it's placed?"

Xiang Yun giggled and put the pieces back: "Who's cheating? I just mis‑saw."

Xichun sat in a corner, pen in hand, drawing something on paper.

On closer look, the paper depicted a completely snow‑white Linqing lion‑cat, its blue‑yellow eyes rendered with striking realism.

She had chosen the pet from Jia Jing, who named it "White‑Fur Hall Grand General".

Though she had only kept it for two or three days, she adored it, feeding it personally and playing with it each day; now she could be called a proper little raccoon servant!

Yingchun sat beside her, quietly watching, occasionally reaching out to smooth the paper, gentle as water.

Xing Xiuyan stood by Yingchun, cradling a scroll, her eyes not on the characters but on the few banana trees in the courtyard, seemingly lost in a leisurely reverie.

Lady Wang sat on a chair nearby, twirling Prayer Beads in her hand, a kindly smile on her face, her gaze occasionally fixed on Yuan Chun and Jia Baoyu.

It must be said, Jia Baoyu's appearance now was vastly different from before!

Today he wore a stone‑blue robe, the same one he always had, but it fit him tightly.

The collar choked his neck, the cuffs hung a hand's length above his wrists, as if he'd borrowed someone else's clothing, making his body visibly more robust!

His face was mottled black and red, as if repeatedly baked by the summer sun.

He already had a round face; this darkness made him look even more comically plump, like a little black chubby boy fresh from the schoolyard.

The once delicate, dewy skin that could be compared with the girls' had become very rough; sitting there, there was no trace of the "Second Master Baoyu" aristocratic playboy look!

At this moment, Baoyu lowered his head, his hands resting on his knees, his thumbs tracing circles.

His lips were slightly pursed; he would glance up at Yuan Chun and then quickly look down again, his eyes filled with grievance, pleading, and a hint of begging.

He sat beneath Yuan Chun's hand, his body slightly curled as if afraid to be seen, yet his now‑rounded bulk could not truly shrink.

"Big sister…" his voice was muffled, carrying the usual coquettish inflection he used before Jia Mu and Lady Wang, pleading softly:

"I really don't want to go to the clan academy any more; can you please not make me go? I beg you…"

Yuan Chun sat opposite him, back straight, wearing a light‑blue padded jacket and a white magnolia hairpin, pure as a porcelain Guanyin statue.

Her gaze fell on Baoyu's face, neither cold nor warm, but the weight of her calm pressed his voice lower and lower.

"No! Everyone else goes, and you refuse? You've only been at the clan academy for a short time, and you're already sounding the retreat drum?"

"And those recent exams—your scores in both literature and martial arts are poor; even Huan Ge'er's martial scores surpass yours. How can you, as an elder brother, be acceptable?"

Yuan Chun raised her elegant eyebrows, delivering a reprimand that seemed to wish iron could become steel.

Baoyu before Yuan Chun looked like a wilted kitten, head drooping, daring not even a deep breath, let alone mingling as he used to with sisters and maids.

Seeing Yuan Chun's steadfast refusal, ignoring his pleading, Jia Baoyu's eyes flashed, and he hurried to Lady Wang, thumped down, and knelt outright!

Lady Wang startled, the Prayer Beads in her hand froze mid‑toss!

"Madam!" Baoyu's voice trembled with sobs, tears welling in his eyes, "I don't want to go to the clan academy! Madam, please speak to the Master for me; can I not go?"

Lady Wang ordered the young maid Jin Chuan'er behind her to bend down and support him, her heart aching: "What's wrong? He was fine—why does he suddenly not want to go?"

Jin Chuan'er was still young, but her youthful beauty already showed a hint of color, especially the fierce spark between her brows and eyes that added a touch of charm.

Baoyu's gaze lingered on the bright rouge of Jin Chuan'er's cherry‑red lips, then he launched his ultimate tear‑spilling technique, droplets pattering down pitifully as he said:

"Madam, you do feel for your son, don't you? I'm being beaten to death at the clan academy!"

"If you can't finish your studies, you get beaten; if you can't recite, you get beaten; if your writing is poor, you get beaten. Every day you must practice martial arts, and if you're not good, you get beaten."

"In such scorching weather, we have to stand under the sun daily, a one‑ or two‑hour exposure each time."

"We must wash our clothes, fold our bedding, everything by hand; if we do it poorly we're punished! It's truly unbearable!"

He rolled up his sleeve, exposing the bruised purplish marks on his arm: "Madam, see, these are all from martial‑training injuries."

Lady Wang listened to Jia Baoyu's lament, her heart giving a sudden thud.

Since his birth, Baoyu had always been the family's prized treasure… they loved him like a treasured eye, never having seen him suffer such hardship!

Not to mention they never hesitated to beat or scold him; his food and daily needs were tended by maids—how could he endure such torment!

This is not studying at all; it's clearly going to suffer.

She also knew that Baoyu's enrollment at the clan academy had been approved and strongly supported by Yuan Chun and Jia Zheng, and even Jia Mu had not objected much, leaving her at a loss for what to do!

Lady Wang looked at the bruises on his arm, her eyes reddening; she glanced back at Yuan Chun, then turned again, reaching out to wipe Baoyu's tears:

"My son has truly suffered; you've spent years at home barely touching water—how could you know how to wash clothes or fold bedding?"

"Besides, such tasks were never meant for the great young masters of our noble household!"

Seeing Lady Wang's sympathy, Baoyu cried even more fiercely, saying:

"Madam, you don't understand; the clan academy is not a place for people to stay."

"I merely mentioned a petty official, and the teacher seized a ruler and struck me hard! If you don't let my son return, he'll eventually die at the academy!"

"My son! How can saying a single word earn a beating? Your teacher must be heartless! You're frail—how can you endure his repeated blows?"

At this moment, Lady Wang even had some doubts in her heart whether it was the eldest branch's concubine son who had caused trouble, deliberately ordering the clan school teacher to harshly beat her precious jade!