Chapter 8: Dream of the Red Chamber 6

It was not just Wang Xifeng in the martial arts practice field; the other Jia family children were there as well.

Jia Zhu was trying to persuade Wang Xifeng, but no matter how much he talked until his mouth went dry, she simply would not listen.

Jia Yuanchun’s eyes were filled with excitement as she led a few little ones in cheering Wang Xifeng on.

Jia Yingchun held Jia Tanchun’s hand in one of hers and Jia Baoyu’s in the other.

All three of them were very young.

Jia Yingchun was only four, while Jia Baoyu and Jia Tanchun were only two or three. With their big heads and small bodies, they looked incredibly adorable.

Jia Yingchun led her younger brother and sister forward to pay their respects to Liu Zhong and Jia Hu; they all liked Liu Zhong very much.

This big brother often gave them interesting little toys.

Liu Zhong smiled and greeted the three little ones, his gaze falling on Jia Baoyu’s chest.

The Spiritual Jade was hidden inside Jia Baoyu’s clothes.

However, the current Spiritual Jade was no longer the piece of Nüwa’s patching stone.

Liu Zhong had also had designs on that patching stone.

When Jia Baoyu had his "washing of the third day" ceremony, Liu Zhong had taken the opportunity to examine the Spiritual Jade closely and found that it indeed contained a trace of merit.

But because the Primordial World had not yet progressed to the time of Nüwa patching the heavens, Liu Zhong could not tell if that merit was the merit of patching the heavens.

However, this stone could be refined into a post-celestial magic treasure of merit.

Liu Zhong, who was penniless and had nothing, was tempted.

He crafted a piece of ordinary jade to look like the Spiritual Jade and, when Jia Baoyu turned one month old, swapped it for the real one.

Afterward, Liu Zhong communicated with the spirit within the patching stone.

He offered it a choice: become the artifact spirit of the magic treasure he was crafting, or have Liu Zhong help it reincarnate as a human.

The stone spirit chose reincarnation without hesitation.

It had come to the human world to enjoy life, and it wanted to experience the wealth and glory of the mortal realm.

It did not want to be an artifact spirit; not only would it lack freedom, but it wouldn't be able to snuggle up to beautiful young ladies.

Liu Zhong then took the stone spirit for a tour of the capital and chose a wealthy family.

The head of this family was a royal relative, a Prince of the Second Rank, whose status was a cut above the Rongguo Mansion.

The stone spirit was reborn into the womb of the Prince’s primary consort. Although not the eldest son, as the Prince’s second legitimate son, he would still be able to inherit a title in the future.

Having settled the stone spirit, Liu Zhong tucked the Spiritual Jade into a space he had opened up using an innate skill.

His space did not belong to this *Dream of the Red Chamber* world, and once the patching stone entered it, the magical connection certain people had cast upon it was severed.

No matter how they cast spells to search for it, they could no longer find the patching stone.

The Fairy of Disenchantment was shocked. Unable to descend to the mortal realm herself, she could only send word to the Vastness Taoist and the Boundless Monk, ordering them to go to the capital to investigate.

The Vastness Taoist and the Boundless Monk arrived in the capital and snuck into the Rongguo Mansion to probe the Spiritual Jade on Jia Baoyu.

Other than the fact that the stone spirit did not respond to them, they detected nothing unusual.

—Liu Zhong had extracted a trace of the patching stone’s aura and injected it into the fake Spiritual Jade. Combined with his masterful forgery, the Vastness Taoist and the Boundless Monk did not discover that the jade had been swapped.

The two reported their findings to the Fairy of Disenchantment. Though shocked, she was helpless.

For these past years, the Fairy of Disenchantment had remained silent, researching how to absorb luck without the cover of the patching stone to hide the causality.

Back to the present.

Liu Zhong patted Jia Baoyu’s head. Although this child was still a "face-con" (obsessed with beauty), he no longer thought about eating the rouge off people’s lips.

Though he disliked the Four Books and Five Classics, he could at least manage to read them.

He looked like a normal child.

Over there, Jia Lian had already started competing with Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng did not have as much strength as Jia Lian, but her archery was more accurate than his.

In this contest, the two fought to a draw.

Jia Lian was unconvinced: "Just wait, next time I will definitely beat you."

Wang Xifeng wrinkled her little nose and gave a light huff: "Next time we compete, I will definitely win."

The young girl had bright eyes and white teeth, but she was dressed in boy’s attire, making her look even more like a delicately carved little boy.

She was truly worthy of being called "Brother Feng."

Lady Jia Shi liked Wang Xifeng’s straightforwardness and clever tongue, often inviting her to the Rongguo Mansion to play.

Wang Xifeng studied alongside the Jia family’s girls and boys. Not only did she learn archery and horsemanship, but she also read many books, no longer the Wang family girl described in the original text who believed "a woman without talent is virtuous" and was illiterate.

Jia Daishan placed great importance on the education of his grandchildren, hiring reputable tutors to teach them.

Even the girls were required to study.

One only had to look at how Jia Daishan had raised a talented woman like Jia Min to know how much he valued the education of his daughters and granddaughters.

And with Jia Daishan around, the plans Lady Jia Shi and the second branch had for Yuanchun to enter the palace could never be carried out.

Jia Yuanchun had grown up studying the Four Books and Five Classics with her brothers, rather than learning the rules for entering the palace.

In the original text, Wang Xifeng was scared off by the palace rules Yuanchun was learning and did not study with her.

In this world, there were no terrifying palace rules, so Wang Xifeng naturally studied alongside her cousins.

Although her personality was as competitive as a boy’s, Wang Xifeng could barely be considered well-read and sensible.

After Liu Zhong learned that Wang Xifeng was studying at the Rongguo Mansion, he instigated Jia Hu to have the tutor teach the children a course on the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty.

He wanted Wang Xifeng to know that monopolizing lawsuits and usury would lead to the confiscation of one's family property and imprisonment.

He wanted the bold Wang Xifeng to know what was right and wrong, and what could and could not be done.

Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian were a bickering pair who loved to compete with each other.

Jia Zhu, Jia Hu, and Jia Yuanchun all noticed the unusual dynamic between them and watched the fun from the sidelines.

They were all happy to see Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng together.

Although Lady Wang had schemed against Lady Zhang and Jia Hu, leaving them with a poor impression of the Wang family, Wang Xifeng was truly likable. After interacting with her, Lady Zhang had grown fond of her straightforward personality.

If her youngest son liked her, it wouldn't be impossible to marry her in.

In any case, Wang Xifeng was not close to Lady Wang.

Lady Zhang let Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng’s interactions be.

Liu Zhong finished dinner at the Rongguo Mansion before leisurely returning to the Liu household.

Liu Xianglian stared at Liu Zhong with a resentful expression; his older brother had gone out to play while leaving him with a mountain of homework—it was too bullying.

Liu Zhong raised an eyebrow and smiled at Liu Xianglian.

So what if I’m bullying you?

Who told you to be the younger brother and me the older one?

You brat are destined to be oppressed by me!

A few days later, it was the New Year.

Father Liu took the family to the Duke of Li Mansion to join his second uncle and other brothers and nephews of the Duke’s mansion in ancestral worship.

Afterward, they had a sumptuous New Year’s banquet at the Duke’s mansion before leaving.

For the next few days, Liu Zhong accompanied Father Liu to various banquets, dealing with all sorts of people.

Liu Zhong’s face was stiff from smiling, his heart set on leaving as soon as possible.

Finally, after the tenth day of the first lunar month, Liu Zhong and Jia Hu boarded the ship heading south to the Jiangnan region.

(End of chapter)