Red Chamber 7

Because the county examination was to be held in February, Jia Hu and Liu Zhong were in quite a rush along the way.

Upon reaching their destination, they only spent two days acclimating before entering the examination hall.

The county examination was simple for both Jia Hu and Liu Zhong, and both successfully took the top spots on the list.

The two did not return to the capital, choosing instead to stay in their ancestral home to wait for the prefectural examination in April and the academy examination in August.

Jia Hu's teacher was a disciple of his maternal grandfather, Grand Tutor Zhang, and the head academician of the Hanlin Academy.

Out of respect for his own mentor, he had accepted Jia Hu as a student and taught him with great care.

Jia Hu's academic foundation was extremely solid.

Even Liu Zhong benefited quite a bit from following along.

Consequently, the two passed the prefectural and academy examinations just as smoothly.

Jia Hu even achieved the "Little Three Primaries."

When the news reached the capital, everyone in the Rongguo Mansion was overjoyed, setting off firecrackers on Ningrong Street for three days.

Jia Daishan was in such high spirits from the good news that he was actually able to ride a horse into the palace to chat with the Emperor.

At that time, the Fourth Prince was by the Emperor's side assisting with state affairs; hearing Jia Daishan boast about his grandson, he took note of the name Jia Hu.

Since the provincial examination would not be held until next year, Jia Hu and Liu Zhong decided to return to the capital first before heading back to the south to participate in the provincial examination.

The two agreed to meet in Hangzhou to first tour the West Lake, which is "always appropriate in heavy makeup or light," and then go to Yangzhou to visit Jia Hu's aunt, Jia Min, and uncle, Lin Ruhai.

Liu Zhong was very curious about Lin Meimei and wanted to see if she was truly the reincarnation of Fairy Jiangzhu and if there was anything extraordinary about her.

After touring Hangzhou, the two arrived in Yangzhou.

Jia Min was very expectant upon receiving the news that her nephew was coming, and she had long since sent people to the port every day to see if they had arrived.

Three days later, Jia Hu and Liu Zhong finally arrived in Yangzhou.

The Lin family servants finally received them, breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly brought the two back to the Lin Mansion.

The two made their way to Jia Min's courtyard; as a male guest, Liu Zhong should not have entered the inner quarters.

However, Jia Min said that since Liu Zhong was a junior from a noble family, there was no need for such formalities, and she allowed him to enter the courtyard as well.

As the biological mother of Fairy Jiangzhu, Jia Min was very beautiful.

However, her mental state was quite poor, and her body was frail, carrying a visible exhaustion that diminished her beauty by at least thirty percent.

Liu Zhong's gaze fell upon Jia Min's slightly protruding belly; she was pregnant.

He shifted his gaze to the little girl beside Jia Min.

The little girl was only two or three years old, thin and small, looking very weak.

However, her features were exquisite; when she grew up, her beauty would surpass that of her mother.

This must be Lin Daiyu.

Jia Hu and Liu Zhong bowed to Jia Min together.

"Greetings, Aunt."

"Greetings, Mrs. Lin."

Jia Min said happily, "No need for such formalities, no need for such formalities."

She first invited the two to sit, exchanged a few polite pleasantries with Liu Zhong, and then beckoned Jia Hu forward to speak.

As the aunt and nephew talked about matters in the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Min thought of her parents and brothers and could not help but shed tears.

Jia Hu hurriedly comforted Jia Min.

Liu Zhong pretended to drink tea, keeping his head down and looking at nothing else.

Jia Min quickly dried her tears and glanced toward Liu Zhong; seeing him keeping his head down, she praised him in her heart as truly worthy of being Jia Hu's friend.

Jia Min: "You have had a hard journey; go wash up and rest first. We will let you meet your uncle when he returns home."

Jia Hu and Liu Zhong agreed, bid farewell to Jia Min and Lin Daiyu, and left the courtyard.

Jia Min had prepared a relatively large guest courtyard for the two, where clean bedding and utensils were already set out, and tea at a moderate temperature along with several plates of pastries were placed on the table.

Hot water for bathing had also been prepared.

The two took a hot bath and changed into clean clothes, by which time it was already evening.

Lin Ruhai had already finished his official duties and returned to the mansion.

Jia Min sent someone to call Jia Hu and Liu Zhong, and she brought them to meet Lin Ruhai.

Lin Ruhai was very welcoming of the two young men's arrival.

Not to mention that Jia Hu was his wife's nephew, just the fact that these two were young talents who had become scholars in their teens—with Jia Hu being a "Little Three Primaries"—made Lin Ruhai very happy to be acquainted with them.

Lin Ruhai tested the two on their studies and was very satisfied with their answers, saying: "With your scholarship, the provincial examination will be within your grasp, and even for the metropolitan examination, you have a great chance of making the list."

Liu Zhong smiled and bowed: "Thank you for your praise, Magistrate Lin."

Lin Ruhai laughed: "This is not praise, but a fact."

Jia Min said with pride, "My nephew from my maiden family and the junior of a family friend, they aren't bad, are they?"

Lin Ruhai nodded, "Indeed, they are quite good. It is a pity that their ages do not match."

As Lin Ruhai's wife, Jia Min immediately understood what he meant.

She couldn't help but look at Jia Hu and Liu Zhong with regret; indeed, the age gap was too large.

However, her second brother's second son, Baoyu, was of a similar age to her daughter, so perhaps her mother's suggestion was feasible.

Jia Min pondered this.

Lin Daiyu was held by her wet nurse, blinking her large eyes as she looked at her cousin and the Liu family brother.

She felt even more favorably toward Liu Zhong, always feeling that Liu Zhong gave her a very intimate sensation, making her want to get close to him.

The food was brought to the table, and Jia Min invited the two youths to eat.

The meals in the Lin household were all very light, but the flavors were excellent, and both of them found it to their liking.

Jia Min ate very little, consuming only half a bowl the size of an infant's fist and a few bites of vegetables before setting down her chopsticks.

A maid brought over a large bowl filled to the brim with medicinal liquid, which emitted a pungent, medicinal odor.

Jia Hu was surprised and asked, "Is Auntie ill?"

Jia Min smiled and said, "No, this is a tonic for the pregnancy."

Liu Zhong twitched his nose and spoke up, "The smell of this medicine is wrong."

Liu Zhong had never studied medicine, but as a plant by nature, he could distinguish the scents of medicinal herbs, which also belonged to the plant kingdom, very well.

Liu Zhong had smelled pregnancy tonics before; Mother Liu had drunk plenty of them when she was pregnant with Liu Xianglian.

This bowl of tonic in Jia Min's hand contained an extra medicinal herb.

Jia Hu, knowing his companion's sensitivity to herbs, immediately said, "Auntie, don't drink the medicine yet; have someone check this bowl first."

Jia Min and Lin Ruhai exchanged a glance. Jia Min placed the medicine bowl on the table, and Lin Ruhai sent his men to fetch a physician.

The two of them trusted Jia Hu and Liu Zhong; they had no conflicts of interest with their family and were, in fact, kin.

Compared to the servants in the manor who might be bribed or turn traitor, the two of them trusted Jia Hu and Liu Zhong more.

Jia Min said to Lin Daiyu's wet nurse, "Take the young lady back to her room first."

Lin Daiyu bit her lower lip; although she was worried about her parents, she did not insist on staying to disturb them with their serious business and obediently let the wet nurse carry her back to her own room.

The physician was summoned before long; he was a rather famous doctor in Yangzhou with excellent medical skills.

Lin Ruhai had the maid bring the medicine bowl to the physician for inspection, and after some examination, the physician reached a conclusion.

A medicinal herb had been added to the pregnancy tonic, turning it into a poison.

Although the toxin was not strong, if consumed frequently, the accumulation of toxins would eventually cause problems.