Red Chamber 6

In the training grounds, it was not just Wang Xifeng; the other children of the Jia family were present as well.

Jia Zhu was currently trying to persuade Wang Xifeng, but no matter how much he talked until his throat went dry, Wang Xifeng simply refused to listen.

Jia Yuanchun's eyes were filled with an excited glow as she led a few little ones to cheer 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 barely four, while Jia Baoyu and Jia Tanchun were only two or three; with their large heads and small bodies, they looked incredibly adorable.

Jia Yingchun led her younger brother and sister forward to bow to Liu Zhong and Jia Hu, as they were all very fond of Liu Zhong.

This big brother often gave them interesting little toys.

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

The Tongling Baoyu was hidden inside the clothing on Jia Baoyu's chest.

However, the current Tongling Baoyu was no longer the Heaven-Mending Stone of Nuwa.

Liu Zhong had also harbored intentions toward the Heaven-Mending Stone.

When Jia Baoyu had his three-day bath ceremony, Liu Zhong had taken the opportunity to carefully examine the Tongling Baoyu, finding that it indeed contained a trace of merit.

But because the Primordial World had not yet progressed to the time of Nuwa mending the heavens, Liu Zhong could not distinguish if that trace of merit was indeed the merit of mending the heavens.

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

The penniless Liu Zhong was tempted.

He had used an ordinary piece of jade to craft a replica of the Tongling Baoyu, and when Jia Baoyu reached his one-month milestone, he swapped out the real one.

Afterward, Liu Zhong communicated with the spirit within the Heaven-Mending Stone.

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

The Stone Spirit chose reincarnation without a moment's 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 on a tour of the capital and selected a wealthy family.

The head of this household was a relative of the emperor, 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 second legitimate son of a prince, he would still be entitled to a title in the future.

Having settled the Stone Spirit, Liu Zhong tucked the Tongling Baoyu into a space he had opened up using an innate skill.

His space did not belong to this Red Chamber world, and once the Heaven-Mending Stone entered it, the magical connections certain people had placed upon it were severed.

No matter how they cast their spells to search, they could no longer find the Heaven-Mending Stone.

Fairy Jinghuan was greatly alarmed; unable to descend to the mortal realm herself, she could only send word to Mangmang Dashi and Miaomiao Zhenren, ordering them to go to the capital to investigate the situation.

Mangmang Dashi and Miaomiao Zhenren arrived in the capital and snuck into the Rongguo Mansion to probe the Tongling Baoyu on Jia Baoyu.

Aside from the Stone Spirit not responding to them, they detected nothing out of the ordinary.

--Liu Zhong had extracted a wisp of the Heaven-Mending Stone's aura and injected it into the fake Tongling Baoyu, and with his masterful forgery skills, Mangmang Dashi and Miaomiao Zhenren did not discover that the stone had been swapped.

The two reported their findings to Fairy Jinghuan, who, though shocked, was left with no recourse.

For these past years, Fairy Jinghuan had remained dormant, researching how to absorb luck without the cover of the Heaven-Mending Stone to mask the causality.

Returning to the present.

Liu Zhong patted Jia Baoyu's head; although the child was still a fan of 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 perfectly normal child.

Over there, Jia Lian had already begun his contest with Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng's strength was not as great as Jia Lian's, but her archery was more accurate than his.

The match ended in a draw.

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

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

The young girl had bright eyes and white teeth, and though she was dressed in boy's attire, she looked even more like a finely carved little boy.

She was truly worthy of the name "Feng Ge'er."

Lady Jia Shi was very fond of Wang Xifeng's forthright nature and clever tongue, often inviting her to the Rongguo Mansion to play.

Wang Xifeng studied alongside the girls and boys of the Jia family, learning not only archery and horsemanship but also reading many books, no longer the Wang family girl described in the original text who was "virtuous for being unlearned" and illiterate.

Jia Daishan placed great importance on the upbringing of his grandchildren, hiring reputable tutors to teach the children in the household.

Even the girls were required to study.

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

With Jia Daishan still around, the plans Lady Jia Shi and the second branch had for Yuanchun to enter the palace were absolutely impossible to implement.

Jia Yuanchun had been studying the Four Books and Five Classics alongside her brothers since childhood, rather than learning the etiquette required for palace life.

In the original story, Wang Xifeng had been scared off by the rigid rules Yuanchun had to study, choosing not to join her in her lessons.

In this world, without those intimidating palace regulations, Wang Xifeng naturally followed her cousins to study.

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

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

He wanted Wang Xifeng to understand that both monopolizing lawsuits and usury were crimes punishable by the confiscation of property and imprisonment.

He wanted the bold Wang Xifeng to know what was good and what was bad, and what could or could not be done.

Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian were a pair of bickering lovers who enjoyed competing with each other.

Jia Zhu, Jia Hu, and Jia Yuanchun all noticed the unusual bond between the two and watched the spectacle from the sidelines.

The group was happy to see Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng together.

Although Wang had schemed against Zhang and Jia Hu, leaving them with a poor impression of the Wang Family, they found Wang Xifeng truly likable, and after spending time with her, Zhang grew fond of her straightforward personality.

If her younger son liked her, it wouldn't be impossible to have her marry into the family.

In any case, Wang Xifeng was not close with Wang.

Thus, Zhang allowed the interactions between Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng to continue.

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

Liu Xianglian stared at Liu Zhong with a look of grievance; his older brother had run off to have fun while leaving him with a mountain of homework—it was simply 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 are destined to be oppressed by me!

A few days later, the New Year arrived.

Father Liu took his family to the Li Duke Mansion to join Second Uncle Liu and his other brothers and nephews who had returned to the mansion to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.

After enjoying a lavish New Year's banquet at the Duke Mansion, they took their leave.

In the following days, Liu Zhong accompanied Father Liu to various banquets, dealing with all sorts of people.

Liu Zhong's face grew stiff from smiling, and he could only think about setting off as soon as possible.

Finally, after the tenth day of the lunar month, Liu Zhong and Jia Hu boarded the boat heading south of the Yangtze River.