Little More Than Pampered Wastrels

Li Wan had no idea what Jia Heng was thinking. Seeing that he had a mind of his own, she said no more. Her nature was to play the fool and hide her talents; she seldom ventured even a few questions about other people's affairs.

After exchanging a few more casual pleasantries, she made ready to take her leave.

Jia Heng walked beneath the eaves and watched Li Wan depart. He shook his head. For the moment, he still could not decide how to deal with the Jia family, that rotten ship.

My only concern is that, if I enter officialdom through the imperial examinations, I may be regarded as one of the Jia family's men.

Perhaps that was the tragedy of it. Political struggles had always been ruthlessly cruel. Unless, like Jia Yun, the Second Master of the Corridor Branch, he resigned himself to being an ordinary commoner scraping out a living, he might not escape unscathed when the Jia family fell.

Otherwise, once he entered officialdom through the examinations, however unwilling he might be, he would inevitably be seen as a standard-bearer for the Jia family.

Of course, history offered no shortage of examples of people hedging their bets on several sides.

Fortunately... there is still time to make arrangements.

Jia Heng considered the matter. He already had a few plans in mind.

Meanwhile, Li Wan left Jia Heng's courtyard with the books, climbed into her carriage, and returned to Rongguo Mansion. She was about to head to her own quarters when, after only a short walk, she saw two graceful figures standing beneath the Hanging Flower Gate and stopped.

The woman in front wore an apricot-yellow outer robe. Beneath her curved, willow-leaf brows, a pair of phoenix eyes gleamed with shrewdness and a hint of severity. Beside her stood a woman in a pale green, front-fastened jacket and skirt, with delicately arched brows, a fine nose, rosy lips, and smooth, fair skin.

"Elder Sister-in-law, where have you been?" Wang Xifeng asked. Her voice was crisp and pleasing, clear as the chime of shattered jade. As she spoke, her eyes, holding the suggestion of a smile, settled on the books in Li Wan's hands.

Well, she knew few characters and could hardly recognize what books they were.

"Feng, why aren't you attending on the Old Madam?" Li Wan walked up with a smile. Seeing Wang Xifeng's questioning gaze, she explained, "I fetched these from Jia Si's place in Liutiao Alley, off Front Gate Street."

Jia Heng's father had ranked fourth among his clansmen, hence the name.

A thoughtful look crossed Wang Xifeng's lovely phoenix eyes before understanding dawned. "Oh, his family. Jia Si died young, leaving a widow and an orphan. I hear that Dong Shi had high ambitions too, forever driving her boy to study. But that Jia Heng loved nothing better than brandishing sabers and spears. He vexed his mother terribly."

As the daughter-in-law managing the Rongguo Estate, Wang Xifeng handled affairs great and small on Lady Wang's behalf. Although Jia Heng's late father, Jia Fourth, had long been beyond the five degrees of mourning kinship with the main household, she was not entirely ignorant of such amusing clan gossip.

In an age with little entertainment, the domestic affairs and gossip of one's neighbors naturally supplied amusing conversation.

Li Wan paused. "Oh, I hadn't heard that. When I left his house, I didn't see Dong Shi."

Wang Xifeng's words stirred a sense of shared experience in Li Wan's heart.

Since Jia Zhu's death, she too had been raising a child alone. How different was her situation from that of Jia Si's family?

Then she thought of that boy, scarcely more than a child, whose every movement already seemed that of a little grown man. She could not help thinking of Lan, wondering whether he would be able to hold up a patch of sky for her when he grew older.

Wang Xifeng said, "He lost his mother just before the New Year. Such a bitter lot. She was determined to have him enter the schools, but Jia Heng loved playing with sabers and spears most of all. Now he serves as a regular attendant to Rong, just to keep himself fed."

Since Young Master Rong often caroused with Jia Lian and frequently dropped into Wang Xifeng's rooms, she knew something of the people around Jia Rong.

A trace of puzzlement rose in Li Wan's heart. He disliked studying, yet could reproduce such fine calligraphy. That was remarkable.

But the young widow was not one to fret over other people's affairs or cling like a vine winding about a curtain. She smiled. "If there's nothing else, I'll go back now. Lan should be finishing his lessons about this time."

Wang Xifeng smiled and watched Li Wan leave.

"Is Master Heng at home?"

Jia Heng was about to return indoors when he suddenly heard a call from outside. Looking up, he saw a short fellow dressed in the close-fitting silk clothes of a personal attendant. He looked at people sidelong, though his lowered brows gave him a submissive air.

"Master Rong heard you'd recovered. He's going to the theater today to drink and listen to songs, and he needs someone to attend him. He specifically asked for you," the servant said.

Jia Heng knitted his brows, recalling his former self's dealings with Jia Rong.

Jia Rong was sixteen. His favorite pastimes were hawking, hunting, and seeking out women. Sometimes he quarreled with the sons of powerful families in the capital, and brawls were common.

Having knocked about with his elder cousin in childhood and learned some fighting skills, Jia Heng had often looked out for Jia Rong when accompanying him.

Moreover, since his mother's death, his former self had been short of money and provisions. He had wanted to secure a position in Ningguo Mansion, which was why he had gone to such lengths to curry favor with Jia Rong.

Indeed, that was also why his former self's soul had returned to the netherworld, leaving his body for him to take over.

If events followed the course of the original Dream of the Red Chamber, he would eventually obtain a second-class position in the Jia Family and make a brief appearance when Jia Rong's wife, Madam Qin, died.

At present, however, Jia Rong was still unmarried. His marriage into the household of Qin Ye, a director in the Imperial Provisioning Office, had yet to be settled.

Qin Keqing... say not that all unfilial conduct sprang from Rong; the first seeds of calamity were sown in Ning. Once a peerless beauty like Qin Keqing enters the Jia Family, the countdown to its destruction will begin.

In the original Dream of the Red Chamber, Jia Rong was twenty when Qin Keqing died. Yet when Leng Zixing—the son-in-law of Zhou Rui's wife—gave his account of Rongguo Mansion, Jia Rong was only sixteen.

"Master Heng..." Seeing Jia Heng lost in thought, the servant called to him.

Jia Heng was rather disinclined to go. He had spent more than ten days lying injured in bed, and Jia Rong had not visited even once. Only after seeing him recovered and strolling along Ningrong Street a few days earlier had Jia Rong remembered to put him to use.

With that in mind, he said, "I'm still feeling a little unwell these past couple of days. The physician says I mustn't drink. I'll come over in a few days."

"In that case, I'll go back and report it," the servant said.

Jia Heng nodded and watched the servant leave.

Qingfang Garden

Jia Rong and Jia Lian sat around a round table in a private room. Autumn had already arrived, and as the saying went, each autumn rain brought another measure of cold. Both wore padded robes, cutting elegant, dashing figures.

Jia Lian wore a blue-and-white silk robe. His face looked as though it had been powdered, and beneath his thick brows, his peach-blossom eyes shimmered with amorous feeling. Holding a small wine cup, he took a sip and smiled. "Brother Rong, how are the marriage negotiations coming along?"

Jia Rong picked up a piece of fruit and stuffed it into his mouth. "They've narrowed it down to a few families. They're still discussing it," he answered distractedly.

"Why so glum? What, are you afraid that once you're married, you'll be kept on a leash and won't be able to come out and play?" Guessing Jia Rong's thoughts, Jia Lian laughed. "Look at your Second Uncle. What difference has marriage made to me? I still go wherever I please."

Unable to expose the truth about Jia Lian, Jia Rong held back his laughter. "You're quite right, Second Uncle."

"What, you don't believe me? At home, my word is law." Seeing Jia Rong's peculiar expression, Jia Lian felt his dignity slipping. He put on a stern face and lectured in an elder's tone. "Marrying early is a good thing. You're not so young anymore. It hardly looks proper, spending every day carousing around the capital. What happened the other day? I heard that the only boy of Jia Fourth's family in your clan had his head cracked open."

"Oh, I was fighting with Young Master Liang, the son of the vice minister of rites, over a courtesan queen. Those sons of bitches attacked me from behind. Jia Heng pulled me aside and took a blow himself." Jia Rong was still indignant when he mentioned it.

"Was the courtesan queen pretty?" Jia Lian asked with a knowing smile. Clearly, neither Jia Rong nor Jia Heng concerned him very much.

"Second Uncle, how would I have seen her? That vice minister of rites, Liang Yuan, had already been admitted behind her curtains." Jia Rong's face fell at once.

"You offended the vice minister's son? Brother Zhen will break your legs," Jia Lian teased.

Jia Rong's face immediately turned miserable.

"All right, enough of that. When Brother Zhen comes to beat you, just come and find me." The sight of Jia Rong's misery left Jia Lian feeling rather pleased, and he changed his tone to offer gentle reassurance.

Only then did Jia Rong's worry turn to delight. He smiled. "Second Uncle, Feng Ziying has invited us to an autumn hunt tomorrow. Will you come?"

Jia Lian waved a hand and laughed as he scolded him. "I don't amuse myself with such things. I think you're deliberately trying to make a fool of your Second Uncle."

Nearly a century had passed since the founding generation of honored nobles-the four princes and eight dukes. Most of their descendants had amounted to little, neglecting the arts of war and becoming little more than pampered wastrels.

"But I did hear the Elder Master say the other day that Uncle is about to be entrusted with an important post," Jia Lian said with a smile.

Wang Ziteng belonged to his wife Wang Xifeng's family. The Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue families were branches joined at the root. If Uncle received an important appointment, Jia Lian would have another pillar to lean on in the capital.

At this point, Jia Lian and Feng-jie had not been married long. They were still in their honeymoon days, clinging together like glue and lacquer, loving each other without a trace of doubt.

As uncle and nephew chatted and joked, a servant soon found an opening to speak. "Master Rong, the young master of the Feng family has arrived."

"Second Uncle, Feng Ziying is here. I'll go and meet him." With that, Jia Rong rose and headed outside.