Chapter 67: Baichai Discusses Governance

The voice was clear and bright, the tone gentle, as pleasant as a silver bell.

Jia Jing and the others raised their heads and looked, only to see Baichai bringing along her maid Ying Er and a few servant women, walking slowly inside.

Today Baichai wore a crane cloak of lotus-green twilled brocade embroidered with foreign-thread patterned floss, the color a cool, aloof lotus-green,

Wearing a hooded cloak, in the snow it further showed her restrained and steady personality.

The servant women behind her held red food boxes, which looked heavy.

"The young lady has come!" Xiangling hurriedly rose to greet her.

Jia Jing also offered a greeting: "Baichai, you've come; why do you have leisure to visit me today? How is your aunt?"

A smile spread across Baichai's snow-white pretty face, and she said with a laugh:

"Thank you, Third Brother, for your concern; my mother is fine, she's at home chatting with my brother!"

"Third Brother, you're usually busy; I thought, since it's snowing today, you'd likely be at home, and we happen to have some fresh venison and newly prepared marinated goose foot and duck delicacy to offer you a taste, also to thank you for the bird's nest you sent a few days ago."

Jia Jing laughed and said:

"Baichai, you're being polite! A bit of bird's nest is nothing; there's no need to come specially to thank me."

"I've been busy these past days; actually, my aunt borrowed a few of my stewards and shop managers, and I still haven't gone to the Li Xiang Courtyard to thank her!"

Upon hearing this, Baichai's eyes, like a pool of autumn water, she lightly opened her vermilion lips and said:

"Third Brother, if you won't let me thank you, how can you be so improper! A few stewards helping out is nothing!"

"On the contrary, these past few days Third Brother has been helping the distressed and needy within the clan, respecting the elderly and caring for the young, promoting education; performing such good deeds has truly made me view you anew."

As she spoke, a faint blush rose on Baichai's snow-white pretty face.

Beside her, Ying Er saw her mistress's unusual expression and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.

Before, her mistress was always dignified and observant of propriety, but she rarely displayed such a maidenly demeanor.

Jia Jing didn't take it to heart, merely laughing and saying:

"Today happens to be when Xiao Jiaoer wants to eat roasted meat and hot pot; taking advantage of the snowy weather, let's all liven up together—since Baichai has come, let's sit down and have some."

Baichai did not refuse; she had indeed wanted to spend a while with Jia Jing, chatting, and she truly felt some curiosity and admiration for this Third Brother.

Xiangling ushered Baichai into the pavilion and also fetched a seat and utensils for her.

Baichai watched Xiangling, Xiaohong, and Xiao Jiaoer behave without restraint before Jia Jing,

she secretly thought: people often said Third Brother was solemn and stern, especially strict with the mansion's maids and stewards, even having struck people before, and everyone in the household feared Third Brother.

Now it seems not so; she knows Xiangling's temperament well, and even she isn't particularly afraid of Third Brother,

which shows Third Brother is certainly not one to cause trouble for no reason; it must be the mansion's servants acting wantonly, forcing him to discipline them.

Baichai glanced at Xiangling beside her and spoke gently:

"Have you grown accustomed to being in Third Brother's courtyard?"

Xiangling lightly laughed and said:

"Third Uncle treats me well; usually there's not much work in the courtyard, Third Uncle doesn't have us serve him, and he even teaches me to read poetry!"

"I'm truly fortunate—first I met the young lady, and now I've met Third Uncle."

Upon hearing that Jia Jing taught Xiangling to read poetry, Baichai laughed and praised:

"Third Brother is truly a refined person of broad-mindedness!"

Jia Jing said:

"It's also because Xiangling herself is spirited; she likes to read some poetry, these days she's been holding a Tang poetry anthology and never letting go—I should actually thank your aunt for sending me such a fresh and unconventional maid."

Baichai gave a hehe laugh and said:

"If it weren't for Third Brother's generosity, whose maid in another household would have such fortune!"

Jia Jing smiled, didn't continue chatting with Baichai on this topic, as he actually doesn't like overly formal conversation.

Meanwhile, Baichai instructed Ying Er and the servant women to lay out the venison and marinated goose foot and duck delicacy—just right for the cold weather to warm the body.

Jia Jing tasted a bite of the marinated goose foot and duck delicacy and laughed:

"This dish is indeed exquisitely made!"

This is a cold dish; the goose feet and duck webs, after being boned, are repeatedly rubbed with flour,

then repeatedly simmered in chicken broth and spoiled brine, after which they are fished out, drizzled with sesame oil, chilled and sealed for a period before being taken out to eat.

The Jia Mansion and the Xue Family are certainly connoisseurs in this regard; wealthy households pay great attention to food and drink.

When Liu Laolao came, even a single braised eggplant she ate required seven or eight chickens as ingredients, showing how extravagant it was.

Even drinking congee is not as simple as ordinary families make it.

Baichai laughed and said:

"This is the way they eat in Jinling! Historically it can be traced back several hundred years; our family also treats it as a winter custom."

"The few sisters in the mansion and Baoyu have all tried it and said it's good; therefore I specially brought it for Third Brother to taste."

Jia Jing gave Xiao Jiaoer, Xiangling, and Xiaohong each a chopstickful, letting them taste it as well.

Afterward, he pondered and asked Baichai:

"Baichai, you've come from Jiangnan, long heard of its prosperity; I don't know how the livelihood of the people in Jinling city is now—do you have any insight?"

Baichai startled, seemingly not expecting Jia Jing to suddenly ask her, a young lady from the inner chambers, such a "career and economy" question,

and after so many days at the Jia Mansion, this is the first time anyone has asked her about the livelihood of Jinling's people.

Baichai thought for a moment, then lightly opened her vermilion lips and said:

"Although Jiangnan is said to be prosperous, I've heard from my brother and those around that these years the harvests have been poor, with the people suffering from hunger and cold, and the displaced and homeless increasing."

"Every winter, there are not a few who freeze and starve to death on the streets—whereas wealthy households……"

Baichai is of the nature to conceal her wisdom and appear simple, yet she wanted to show herself before Jia Jing, so her expression showed some hesitation.

Jia Jing furrowed his brows and spoke in a cold tone:

"The aristocratic gates reek of wine and meat, and the road is littered with frozen corpses. Splendor always belongs to the great families; what does it have to do with the common folk!"

"Now the nation faces internal troubles and external threats, finances are insufficient; if we cannot reform and eliminate corruption, we fear the problems will become irrecoverable! The New Policies have been implemented in Jiangnan for several years, yet have we seen any results?"

Baichai saw Jia Jing across from her furrowing his brows, seeming to worry about state affairs, and her heart was also filled with sighs.

Truly, Third Brother, who was ennobled at a young age, is different from the pampered young master in the mansion; after tasting just a bite of Jinling cuisine, he thinks of the livelihood of Jinling's common people.

However, being able to discuss state matters with a court aristocrat like Jia Jing is something she greatly longs for and yearns for.

Baichai racked her brain, recalling what she had seen and heard in Jinling, looked at Jia Jing, and chose her words carefully:

"Although the New Policies have not been issued for a short time, there are many obstacles in Jiangnan; I have heard that the court's Labor Tax Allocation and Fire Consumption Public Return policies are very unpopular, and the gentry secretly unite to resist them."

"Once an official envoy goes to measure fields, the Guard Post soldiers and the great families' house servants organize trouble; officials are mostly outwardly obedient but inwardly defiant, making implementation impossible."