Chapter 7: Dream of the Red Chamber 5

Liu Zhong would occasionally nourish Father Liu and Mother Liu’s bodies with spiritual energy, keeping them in excellent health.

Father Liu had even more energy to discipline his mischievous younger son.

Liu Xianglian didn't like to study?

Father Liu would force him to study.

However, upon learning that his younger son enjoyed martial arts, Father Liu hired a martial arts master to teach Liu Xianglian.

Liu Xianglian was incredibly gifted in martial arts.

In the original story, he had no formal master; he simply learned a move here and stole a technique there, yet he still became one of the top experts in *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

Now that he had a proper master, Liu Xianglian would only become stronger.

Seeing that his younger son was better suited for martial arts, Father Liu made a plan for him: he would aim to pass the military imperial examinations in the future.

As for the civil examinations, that would depend on his eldest son.

Father Liu felt very proud.

Although he was mediocre and had achieved nothing himself, he had fathered two outstanding sons.

His eldest son was brilliant at his studies, and his younger son was formidable at martial arts; their future prospects were visibly bright.

His eldest son had already planned to take the examinations early next year, and he had much to look forward to.

Liu Zhong and Jia Hu were discussing the imperial examinations.

Jia Hu was also set to take the county examination next year.

The two had agreed to head south together after the New Year.

Jia Hu’s ancestral home was in Jinling, while Liu Zhong’s was in Jiaxing; both had to return to their respective ancestral homes to take the county, prefectural, and provincial examinations.

They could certainly travel together along the way.

Jia Daishan placed great importance on his eldest grandson’s examination. Not only did he arrange for reliable people to protect and care for Jia Hu throughout the journey, but he also specifically arranged a boat to take him south.

Although Jia Daishan’s health was not perfect, he was still alive.

Without the shock of his eldest grandson and eldest daughter-in-law’s deaths, Jia Daishan had not been angered to death.

Over the years, by consuming the medicinal diet recipes obtained from Liu Zhong, his health had become even better than it was in the first two years.

With Jia Daishan holding the reins, neither Lady Jia (Jia Shishi) nor Lady Wang dared to stir up trouble.

Lady Zhang managed the affairs of the Rongguo Mansion. Unlike Lady Jia and Lady Wang, she would not indulge the servants out of selfishness, which prevented the servants of the Rongguo Mansion from becoming arrogant, gossiping about their masters, or stealing from the household.

The current Rongguo Mansion was far superior to the one in the book.

The Lai family, having been intimidated by Jia Daishan’s handling of Lady Wang’s dowry servants, only dared to embezzle small amounts and certainly didn't dare to recklessly carry away the Emperor’s rewards.

Although Nanny Lai was a confidante of Lady Jia, with Jia Daishan still alive, she did not dare to arrogantly demand that the young masters and misses of the mansion bow to her.

The younger generation, including Yingchun, Tanchun, and Jia Baoyu, had been born one after another.

Yingchun and Jia Cong were born to concubines of the first branch.

They were both born to the same woman, a dowry maid of Lady Zhang.

That maid had originally been betrothed to someone and was supposed to return home to marry once she reached the right age, with Lady Zhang providing her with a dowry.

But before she could leave the mansion, she received news that her fiancé had been carrying on with his cousin and had even fathered a child.

The maid, Yan Hong, was furious and forcefully broke off the engagement.

As a result, her parents, wanting to build a new house for her brother, tried to sell her to a man in his fifties as a concubine.

With no other choice, Yan Hong sought help from Lady Zhang.

It just so happened that Lady Jia was causing trouble, feeling that Jia She had too few sons, and wanted to give her own maid to Jia She as a concubine.

Lady Zhang used the excuse that Jia She already had a concubine to refuse Lady Jia, and then had Yan Hong become Jia She’s concubine instead.

Yan Hong was an honest person and was grateful to Lady Zhang for giving her a way out—after all, Jia She was young, handsome, and the heir to a Duke’s mansion, far better than that fat, greasy old man—so she followed Lady Zhang’s lead in everything.

Lady Zhang was also lenient with her, allowing her to give birth to a son and a daughter.

Yingchun was raised by her own mother from a young age and was no longer the "wooden block" from the original story, though she retained her gentle and submissive personality.

And Jia Cong, having his own mother, was no longer a "frozen cat."

His life was much better than that of Jia Huan from the second branch.

When Jia Baoyu was born, the spiritual jade came with him.

However, with Jia Daishan present, the fact that Jia Baoyu was born with jade in his mouth was limited to only a few people in the Jia family.

The servants in Lady Wang’s courtyard were once again purged, and along with the midwife, they were sent by Jia Daishan to a farm thousands of miles away from the capital.

Before Lady Wang could even act smug, she was terrified by Jia Daishan’s words.

In his eyes, Jia Baoyu had become a source of disaster, so naturally, he couldn't bring himself to like the boy.

In any case, she had her eldest son and would rely on him in the future.

Lady Jia also lost interest in raising Jia Baoyu, only providing him with enough wet nurses and maids to ensure he was well cared for.

Lady Zhang felt pity for Jia Baoyu in her heart and often showed him concern.

In Jia Baoyu’s heart, Lady Zhang was closer to him than his own mother, Lady Wang.

He was no longer the "phoenix egg" of the Rongguo Mansion and could not be as willful as he was in the original story.

Although he disliked the Four Books and Five Classics, he was still forced to study and could not skip classes as he did in the original story.

Shi Xiangyun was often brought to the Rongguo Mansion, and she and Jia Baoyu grew up as childhood sweethearts with a very good relationship.

Xichun was still brought to the Rongguo Mansion to be raised, and Jia Jing had still become a monk.

Jia Daishan did not express opposition to Jia Jing becoming a monk; presumably, he knew there was more to the story.

It was likely that Jia Jing had become entangled in the former Crown Prince’s rebellion and had no choice but to become a monk to preserve the entire Ningguo Mansion.

After Liu Zhong and Jia Hu agreed on the time for their departure, they chatted about idle matters.

The two talked most about their respective younger brothers.

Both of their brothers were troublesome, but fortunately, both men had ways of dealing with unruly children.

Jia Hu didn't have any, but Liu Zhong would teach him.

Jia Lian was not afraid of his own father or mother, only his grandfather and his older brother.

Liu Xianglian was also only afraid of his older brother.

The two children felt they were "in the same boat" and became good friends the moment they met.

After that, whenever they caused trouble, they did it together, often turning the Rongguo Mansion upside down.

Jia Daishan would watch the fun from the sidelines; he quite liked this lively scene.

Regarding his grandson Jia Lian, Jia Daishan was much more tolerant than he was toward Jia Hu, the heir, or Jia Zhu, the eldest legitimate son of the second branch.

As they were talking, Jia Lian ran over with Liu Xianglian, pulling Jia Hu and Liu Zhong over to act as judges.

Liu Zhong: "What are you two competing about this time?"

Liu Xianglian: "It’s not a competition between me and Brother Lian; it’s between Brother Lian and the eldest daughter of the Wang family. They want to compete in archery."

Jia Hu glared at Jia Lian: "You’re competing in archery against a girl?"

Jia Lian pouted: "Since when is Wang Xifeng like a girl? She’s a tomboy."

Jia Hu reached out and flicked Jia Lian on the forehead: "It’s impolite to talk about a girl like that."

Jia Lian grumbled, and although he yielded to Jia Hu’s "tyranny," he didn't agree with him in his heart, though he didn't dare to argue back.

Liu Zhong laughed: "I’ve heard that the eldest daughter of the Wang family is a heroine who doesn't lose to men and has been raised like a boy since she was young. I imagine her archery skills must be quite good. Let’s go and see for ourselves."

Jia Hu gave him a look that said, "You just want to watch the fun," but tacitly allowed Liu Zhong to pull him toward the martial arts field.