Chapter 362: Lady Wang: Baoyu's health is precious!

Inside the side chamber,

Lady Wang furrowed her brows after listening to Baoyu's complaints, unable to help suspecting that Jia Jing had secretly instructed the teachers in the clan school to harass her own Baoyu, intending to eliminate the legitimate heir with ill intentions!

After all, that eldest son of the main house has always been vicious-hearted!

How could she just stand by and watch such a thing happen? Her family now has only this precious little darling, and she absolutely cannot let anyone harm him.

Compared to making progress in studies at the clan school, it's more reassuring to let him stay home under her watch and live peacefully!

Various thoughts flashed through Lady Wang's mind; the prayer beads in her hand spun rapidly. She glanced at Yuan Chun nearby and couldn't help but speak tentatively:

"Eldest maid, you heard what Baoyu said—he's always been frail; how could he endure the repeated beatings from those dark-hearted teachers in the clan school?"

"Look at him these days at the clan school—dark and thin, who knows how much suffering he's endured; I really can't bear to see it."

"Why not let him come back to recuperate? We can talk about his studies later; it's not too late!"

Lady Wang originally didn't want Baoyu to study at the clan school; if Yuan Chun hadn't insisted, she would have already sent him home!

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chun turned her gaze to Baoyu's increasingly round and full face, her beautiful, plump cheeks showing a puzzled expression—where is he thin?

He's a bit darker, but truly not thin at all; his old clothes now feel tight on him!

And where is his body weak?

Compared to the slender builds of Lan Ge'er, Huan Ge'er, and Cong Ge'er, calling him a sturdy young man would not be an exaggeration; his mother truly dotes on him too much.

Yuan Chun let out a sigh and gently advised:

"Mother, I know you feel sorry for Baoyu and can't bear to see him suffer; I, too, care for him."

"But his academic progress is a major matter concerning his lifelong future; the more we pity him, the more we must be stern and plan far ahead for him."

"As for being beaten by the teachers at the clan school, that's because he hasn't done well; the teachers are disciplining him!"

"When I was in the palace, if the princes and princesses didn't heed their teachers while studying, the teachers would still punish or scold them as needed, and the emperor and empress, upon hearing, would only praise the teachers' good discipline."

"Heaven, earth, monarch, parents, teachers—having teachers correct students is perfectly normal; Mother, don't speak of 'dark-hearted' things again, lest people think our family spoils him rotten and doesn't know gratitude."

Upon hearing this, Lady Wang's prayer beads paused in her hand; her fair visage shifted slightly, and she spoke in a solemn tone:

"How can they be the same! Princes and princesses are princes and princesses; Baoyu is young and his body is extremely precious."

"Look at this injury on his arm," Lady Wang pulled up Baoyu's sleeve, revealing a faint bruise on his forearm,

"These are from martial practice bumps and bruises; once so delicate, these young men now hardly have a patch of sound flesh, and even his palms are red and swollen from the beatings..."

Yuan Chun furrowed her brows, her radiant, lovely face flashing a hint of helplessness; she had grown somewhat immune to her mother's occasional 'nonsense'.

Looking again at the faint bruise and swelling on Baoyu's arm, after applying medicine it's barely noticeable; without close inspection, one could hardly see it!

"Mother, Baoyu will grow into a pillar of the family; what's this little injury?"

Yuan Chun's voice was low and resonant, her pearl-round, jade-smooth tones like large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate,

"Besides, if Baoyu hasn't made a mistake, would the teacher really beat him for no reason?"

"He himself just said it was because his lessons weren't finished and he couldn't recite his texts that the teacher reprimanded him, right?"

Yuan Chun didn't mention the 'salary-bug' matter; in her view, calling civil-service officials 'salary bugs' to the teacher's face is utterly deviant, so being beaten is hardly unjust.

Just as she often heard the Senior Palace Lady say in the palace: 'Not beat the diligent, not beat the lazy, only beat the...'

Lady Wang's mouth opened and closed again, her fingers tightly gripping the prayer beads, her knuckles whitening slightly.

"Even if he made a mistake, he's young and doesn't understand; why beat him!" Lady Wang's voice lowered, carrying a hint of incomprehension.

"Even if he made a mistake, he's just young and doesn't understand things—why beat him!" Lady Wang's voice lowered a bit, carrying a hint of incomprehension.

"His situation at the clan school truly worries me; I think we should let him return home to recuperate for another two years!"

"When he's older and his body stronger, studying later won't be too late; why rush him now?"

Yuan Chun's gentle, beautiful face tightened as she shook her head and said:

"Mother, haven't you heard the saying, 'Youths don't know to study early; in old age they regret studying late'? Ordinary families' youngsters his age have already entered school."

"In our household, Huan Ge'er and Lan Ge'er are younger than him, yet they remain in the clan school; why can't he?"

Lady Wang heard this, somewhat displeased, and said:

"Huan Ge'er is a son of a concubine—how can he be compared to Baoyu! Lan Ge'er also..."

Although Lady Wang didn't finish, her meaning was clear: even if Lan Ge'er is a legitimate grandson, he still falls far short compared to Baoyu.

Yuan Chun remained silent, her elegant visage full of resolve; evidently she would not yield on the matter of Baoyu's studies.

Lady Wang's eyes flickered; she feigned sorrow on her face, letting out two soft, tear‑less sobs, and spoke mournfully:

"I'm not saying I don't understand you're doing this for your brother's sake; merely..."

"Your elder brother, Zhu Ge'er, was forced to study too hard back then, ruining his health, which is why he died young..."

"Your elder brother, Zhu Ge'er, back then was forced to study too hard, wore out his body, that's why he... at such a young age,"

"Now I only have Baoyu as my son; I cannot let him follow Zhu Ge'er's old path... If something happens to him, how could I go on living?"

Lady Wang unleashed her Big Move, Jia Zhu—a tactic that never failed her.

Yuan Chun's eye sockets reddened slightly, her dignified countenance paling a bit, and she spoke softly:

"Mother, I also feel pained over my elder brother's matter, but the elder brother is the elder brother, and Baoyu is Baoyu."

"The elder brother over‑studied; as for Baoyu? He simply doesn't know what effort means."

"Using your elder brother's case to shield Baoyu will only make him care even less about his studies."

Yuan Chun harbors deep feelings for Jia Zhu, but she also knows that the original Jia Zhu and today's Jia Baoyu are fundamentally different and must not be conflated!

In her view, Jia Zhu and Jia Baoyu are two opposite extremes in education—one pushed too hard, the other indulged too loosely!

Lady Wang hadn't expected her Big Move to fail with Yuan Chun; she urgently spoke in Baoyu's defense:

"Baoyu is a good child! He isn't lazy; he's just physically frail and can't endure long hours of hard study..."

"Mother!" Yuan Chun sighed, her tone easing, yet her graceful, beautiful face remained stern, and she spoke solemnly:

"Mother!" Yuan Chun sighed, her tone softened, but her graceful, delicate face was full of seriousness, and said seriously:

A weak body— it's not because they were raised too delicately! Living every day in the mansion, fine clothes and jade food, sheltered from wind and rain, pampered like a young lady in the boudoir— how could they not appear delicate?