ushernet Chapter 13 Baoyu Gets Beaten
Chapter 13 Baoyu Gets Beaten
Jia Huan frowned, his mind racing, trying to figure out what could have happened to Jia Zheng and Lady Wang.
sick?
Obviously not!
I saw them a while ago, and they didn't look sick.
Are the couple having disagreements and arguments?
That's impossible!
Putting aside the fact that marital discord is a scandal, both of them are respectable people, and even if they have disagreements, they wouldn't make it public knowledge. Moreover, Lady Wang is Wang Ziteng's sister, and Jia Zheng wouldn't make things difficult for her out of respect for him.
The four families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue have always been close, with many intermarriages among their relatives. For example, the matriarch of the Jia family, Grandmother Jia, is surnamed Shi and is the great-aunt of the Shi family. Jia Zheng married Lady Wang, the sister of Prince Teng, while the younger generation, Jia Lian, married Wang Xifeng, a daughter of the Wang family.
The Jia family is now in decline. The glory days of the two dukes of Ning and Rong are gone, and the military power they once held has long been handed over. Now, Jia She's title of first-class general is just a nominal position, and Jia Zheng is only a fifth-rank official, a minor official who doesn't even rank in the capital. The new generation, Jia Lian, is a fifth-rank official who bought his position and only manages the internal affairs of the household.
No member of the Jia family currently holds a high position in the imperial court. Their current prosperity mainly stems from the military achievements of their ancestors, namely the hereditary titles established by Duke Ningguo Jia Yan and Duke Rongguo Jia Yuan for their military exploits, rather than from the power gained by their descendants holding positions in the imperial court.
While the Wang family was largely similar to the Jia family, a member named Wang Ziteng emerged from the younger generation.
Wang Ziteng is Lady Wang's elder brother and Jia Baoyu's uncle. He is quite talented and has had a smooth career since entering the court. He is now the Inspector General of Nine Provinces, with a wide range of authority. He is the highest-ranking official among the four families, and it is no exaggeration to say that he is a person of high position and power. He not only represents the core political power of the Wang family, but his career advancement also has a profound impact on the four families.
Lady Wang had such a good brother, so even though Jia Zheng didn't like her, he respected her a lot. In addition, Lady Wang had given him three children, which made him even more affectionate towards her. The couple lived in harmony and mutual respect.
Therefore, Jia Huan really couldn't imagine what could possibly happen to the two of them.
Just as Jia Huan was wondering, he saw Aunt Zhao raise her eyebrows and say in a low voice, full of schadenfreude, "Your second brother Bao was burned by a candlestick that fell on the kang table while he was resting in Madam's room yesterday. I heard that half of his face was burned."
Ah! This...
Jia Huan, who everyone suspected was about to be finished, said: ......
I really didn't expect it to be like this!
Suddenly, I lost the desire to listen.
Aunt Zhao, like a rat that had stolen some oil, covered her mouth with her handkerchief and secretly rejoiced.
Without Jia Huan needing to ask further, Aunt Zhao recounted the entire story in a straightforward manner.
It turned out that yesterday was the birthday of the wife of Wang Ziteng, the elder brother of Lady Wang and Aunt Xue. They sent out invitations to the Jia family to attend the banquet, but Lady Jia was not feeling well and did not go. Lady Wang, in order to fulfill her filial duty, naturally could not go either, so she stayed at home to take care of Lady Jia. She sent Wang Xifeng with several young ladies of the Jia family and Baoyu, along with Aunt Xue and her two sons, and they did not return until nightfall.
After Baoyu returned, the first thing he did was to pay his respects to Grandmother Jia. Then he went to Rongxi Hall to pay his respects to Lady Wang. Lady Wang saw that his face was flushed from drinking, so she told him to lie down on the kang (heated brick bed) in the room and rest for a while. She also asked a maid to make some sobering soup so that he could sober up before returning to Yihong Courtyard. She herself sat on a chair to the side and closed her eyes to recite scriptures.
Before long, the hangover soup was ready, and Jin Chuan seized the opportunity to personally serve the soup to Bao Yu.
Jin Chuan was Lady Wang's head maid. She was always bold and mischievous, unlike the other maids who were well-behaved and shy. She often joked with Jia Baoyu. This time, seeing that Baoyu was drunk, she naturally teased him as well.
Taking advantage of his drunkenness, Jia Baoyu grabbed her hand and tried to pull her into his arms. Jin Chuan, remembering her status and mindful of Lady Wang's presence in the room, dared not be too presumptuous and tried to pull her hand away. But Baoyu wouldn't allow it, thinking she was just playing around, and he tightened his grip even more.
Jin Chuan panicked, but dared not utter a sound, lest she disturb Madam Wang and suffer the consequences.
The two were struggling like this when, in the chaos, someone knocked over a half-burnt candlestick on the kang table, spilling wax all over Baoyu's left cheek, causing him to scream in pain.
Lady Wang awoke instantly, and upon seeing Baoyu injured, she was heartbroken. She immediately ordered someone to fetch a doctor, and upon learning that the incident was caused by Jin Chuan, she flew into a rage and slapped Jin Chuan twice. She then summoned Wang Xifeng and ordered her to give Jin Chuan twenty lashes and sell her off.
Wang Xifeng knew the saying "it takes two to tango" and understood Baoyu's temperament. She guessed that Baoyu had probably started this, but she naturally wouldn't go against Madam Wang's wishes for the sake of a maid. Besides, Madam Wang was in a bad mood and wouldn't listen to anyone, so why should she offend her? She would just do as Madam Wang ordered.
Actually, it wasn't a big problem for Baoyu to have his face burned by the hot wax. It was just red and swollen but not damaged. He felt much better after applying burn ointment, and he should be fine after a few more days of rest.
Baoyu felt that nothing serious had happened, so he pleaded with Lady Wang on behalf of Jinchuan. Little did he know that Lady Wang was even more furious because of his plea, and she felt even more disgusted with Jinchuan.
Lady Wang was furious because Jin Chuan didn't know how to behave herself. In her room, and with Lady Wang present, she dared to pull and tug at Bao Yu. Who knows what she would do behind his back!
Baoyu is currently living in the Grand View Garden, which is full of young and beautiful girls in their prime. What if they follow his example? Wouldn't such a fine young man be ruined by these vixen-like creatures?
She naturally didn't think Baoyu was at fault in this matter; she only felt that Jinchuan was shameless for daring to seduce men right in front of her.
Lady Wang doted on Baoyu, regarding him as her support for the rest of her life. Her two greatest wishes in life were: first, that Baoyu grow up healthy and strong, unlike her eldest son Zhu'er who died young; and second, that Baoyu study hard, follow the right path, and achieve great success, becoming a high-ranking official, so that all her hard work would not have been in vain.
Jin Chuan happened to hit her sore spot, 'seducing' her and hurting Bao Yu.
This was unbearable for her, and she wished she could beat this shameless person to death on the spot.
Seeing that things were not going well, Jin Chuan's younger sister, Yu Chuan, quickly called her mother, Lao Bai's wife, and the two of them knelt beside Jin Chuan, crying and begging for mercy.
The room became noisy and chaotic, which quickly attracted the attention of Jia Zheng, who had also returned to Rongxi Hall.
After learning the whole story, he immediately flew into a rage.