Red Chamber 3

The Liu family and Jia Hu stayed at the villa for half a month.

During those two weeks, Jia Hu learned how to swim.

Jia Hu had tanned quite a bit, and he was having such a good time that he had forgotten all about returning home.

Zhang and Lady Jia Shi were heartbroken, arranging for servants to wash Jia Hu's face with milk every day, determined to make him turn fair again as quickly as possible.

After this bout of unbridled play, Jia Hu never had the chance to enjoy himself so freely again.

He had officially begun his schooling, following his tutor every day to study the Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, and the Thousand Character Classic, leaving him no spare time for play.

Consequently, Jia Hu and Liu Zhong could no longer meet often.

They met again when it was time for Jia Zhu's "washing of the third day" ceremony.

Wang had finally given birth, and having delivered a son in one go, the wild ambitions in her heart began to sprout bit by bit.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed, and the situation in the imperial court grew very tense; the conflict between the Emperor and the Crown Prince had reached a fever pitch.

These were not things that ordinary commoners could know.

Although Second Uncle Liu was only a baron, he held an actual position in the Ministry of Rites, so he was well aware of the affairs of the court.

Although Liu Zhong did not go to the Li Duke Mansion, one of the maidservants around him was a relative of a steward at the Li Duke Mansion, and through this maid and the steward, Liu Zhong was able to learn quite a few things about the Li Duke Mansion.

The fact that the Crown Prince and the Emperor were at odds was something known throughout the aristocratic circles; even the servants in their households were aware of it.

Liu Zhong cultivated this maid, named Jiqiu, into one of his intelligence agents, having her frequently visit the Li Duke Mansion to gather information.

One day, Jiqiu brought back a piece of news for Liu Zhong.

The Emperor was going to Tiewang Mountain for a hunt, and Second Uncle Liu was among the entourage.

A hunt at Tiewang Mountain?

Having read the original Red Chamber and quite a few fan-fiction works, Liu Zhong thought of a possibility.

The mountain wind was rising, signaling the coming storm!

Liu Zhong went to find Mother Liu and asked her to invite Jia Hu over to their home to play.

Liu Zhong said, "Hu Ge'er's grandfather and father are going to Tiewang Mountain to hunt with the Emperor. His mother is pregnant and in poor spirits, so she cannot take proper care of Hu Ge'er. It would be better to bring him to our home. It would also allow Hu Ge'er's mother to better recuperate."

Upon hearing this, Mother Liu sent servants to fetch Jia Hu.

Zhang agreed very readily.

She was seven or eight months pregnant now, her body felt very heavy, and her energy was even more depleted; she had no extra strength to look after her eldest son.

With her father-in-law and husband about to head out, there were fewer people to watch over the boy, so it was better to send him to the Liu family.

Zhang then had someone pack Jia Hu's clothes and sent him to the Liu family.

Jia Hu's tutor went along with him as well.

Do not think that just because he was at a friend's house, he would stop studying.

Jia Hu came to the Liu family happily; although he still had to study every day, he still had time to play with his little friend.

He was having a happy time at the Liu family, but over at the Jia family, everything was in total chaos.

The head of the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Daishan, had left standing and returned lying down.

As it turned out, the Crown Prince had rebelled, setting a trap at Tiewang Mountain in an attempt to kill the other princes and force the Emperor to abdicate.

Jia Daishan had blocked a blade for the Emperor and suffered severe injuries.

The imperial physicians followed Jia Daishan to the Rongguo Mansion and did their utmost to treat him.

Fortunately, although Jia Daishan was severely wounded, the imperial physicians managed to save his life.

However, his body was ruined.

From then on, he could only rest quietly and would never be able to return to the battlefield.

Jia Daishan had no choice but to resign from his post as the Jingcheng Jiedushi and stay at home to properly nurse his health.

After the Emperor finished dealing with the aftermath of the Crown Prince's incident, he sent generous rewards to the Rongguo Mansion.

Although Jia Daishan no longer held real power, he was enfeoffed as a Taibao and received a large quantity of other rewards.

Jia Daishan thanked the imperial grace with extreme "gratitude," but his lowered eyelids masked the emotions in his eyes.

Jia Hu was fetched back to the Rongguo Mansion.

Previously, the Rongguo Mansion had been in such a mess that no one had thought of Jia Hu.

Now that Jia Daishan's life was saved, the people of the Jia family finally set their minds at ease, and only then did they remember that Jia Hu was still at the Liu family.

Jia She came to the Liu family in person to take Jia Hu away.

Liu Zhong thought that Jia Hu had survived his brush with death, so he waved goodbye to Jia Hu with a light heart.

But a month later, Liu Zhong heard the news that Jia Hu had fallen into the water and contracted a cold.

Liu Zhong could not sit still; he immediately called for Jiqiu and told her to accompany him to the Rongguo Mansion to visit Jia Hu.

Mother Liu originally did not want her son to go, fearing that Liu Zhong would be infected by the sickness.

Liu Zhong patted his chest and said, "Mother, my body is as strong as an ox; I won't catch any sickness. Look, I haven't been ill once since I was a child."

That was indeed true; her son's health was truly excellent.

From the moment he was born until now, he had never been sick.

Even after playing in the snow in the dead of winter, he wouldn't even sneeze when he returned home.

Mother Liu felt reassured, prepared a gift for the visit, and let Liu Zhong head to Rongguo Mansion with his maid and servants.

As soon as they entered the courtyard of Jia Hu, Liu Zhong gave Jiqiu a wink.

Jiqiu blinked, signaling that she understood.

Liu Zhong entered Jia Hu's room and saw the little boy lying on the bed with a flushed face, eyes closed, in a deep slumber.

Jia Hu's wet nurse whispered an apology to Liu Zhong: "Please forgive us, Master Zhong, but Hu Ge'er is still running a fever."

Liu Zhong nodded: "I know. I'll go take a look at Hu Ge'er. Don't worry, I won't disturb his rest."

After speaking, Liu Zhong walked forward and reached out to take one of Jia Hu's hands.

The palm was burning hot; the temperature was quite high.

Liu Zhong looked at the damp cloth on Jia Hu's forehead and asked: "Has he taken his medicine?"

The wet nurse replied: "He has already taken it."

Liu Zhong nodded, and under the cover of their joined hands, he channeled a sliver of spiritual energy into Jia Hu's body.

It was a very small amount of spiritual energy, but it was enough to help Jia Hu clear the virus from his system and slightly strengthen his constitution.

Liu Zhong stayed in Jia Hu's courtyard for a while, feeling Jia Hu's condition gradually improve, before finally leaving Rongguo Mansion.

Back in the carriage, Liu Zhong asked: "Did you find out anything?"

Jiqiu replied: "It seems Hu Ge'er falling into the water was an act of sabotage; someone pushed him in. However, that person didn't know Hu Ge'er could swim, so they ran away right after pushing him. Hu Ge'er swam to the shore by himself."

"When the eldest mistress of the Jia family heard the news of Hu Ge'er falling into the water, she was so shocked that she immediately went into labor. Fortunately, the child was already nearly nine months along, and Hu Ge'er had run back to the East Courtyard on his own. Once the eldest mistress knew Hu Ge'er was safe, she set aside her worries and focused entirely on the delivery. Although there were some dangers during the process, she eventually gave birth to the child. The eldest mistress damaged her health because of this and will find it difficult to conceive again in the future. But thankfully, both mother and child are safe."

"Because Hu Ge'er wore wet clothes and was exposed to the cold wind, he fell ill that very same day."

"The eldest branch of the Jia family was in chaos, and it wasn't until Jia Daishan stepped in that the situation was stabilized."

"And then?" Liu Zhong asked.

He didn't believe that if Jia Daishan had intervened, he wouldn't have been able to uncover the mastermind behind it.

"There is no 'and then'," Jiqiu said.

Liu Zhong: "Apart from the incident in the eldest branch, was there nothing else happening in the Jia family? For instance, on the side of the second branch, didn't anything unusual occur?"

Jiqiu: "Oh, there was. The second mistress of the Jia family is pregnant, and because the fetus is not stable, she needs to stay in her own courtyard to properly rest and nurture the pregnancy."