Chapter 417 Baoyu Pays His Respects

Jia Baoyu felt as if a golden light had flashed through his mind, cleaving away all the chaos and leaving only clarity.

He opened his eyes and saw Zhi Neng searching for him everywhere...

Upon returning to the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Baoyu carried a pot of beautifully grown lotus-petal orchids from his study to pay his respects to his grandmother.

He hadn't done something like this in a long time. In the past, whenever he had something to show his filial piety, he would always give it to Grandmother Jia first.

From what point did he begin to feel nothing but annoyance, even finding it somewhat tedious to pay his respects to his ancestors?

His father made him read in the front study. He seemed to be absorbed in the reading, but at the same time, he seemed to understand nothing.

Especially in the last six months, Jia Baoyu felt completely uninterested in doing anything. Apart from listening to his father and studying, he was like a puppet on a string.

This situation probably began to emerge when Lin Daiyu moved out of the Rongguo Mansion, but it was milder at that time, and Jia Baoyu himself only felt unhappy.

He was dressed in a bright red robe. Today he was going to worship Guanyin, and his mother asked someone to dress him up to look more energetic, as red makes one appear full of spirit.

When he got home, he didn't change his clothes and personally carried the orchid to Rongxi Hall.

The old woman guarding outside Rongxi Hall, seeing Baoyu approaching from afar, acted as if she had seen some rare guest, and hurriedly shouted.

“Master Bao is here. Go quickly and tell the old lady that Master Bao has come to pay his respects to the old lady.”

The sound carried all the way to the main room, where Grandmother Jia, who was playing cards with someone, heard this, pushed the cards aside, and laughed.

“My grandson hasn’t come over for a long time. I heard he went out to burn incense today. It seems he was enlightened by the Bodhisattva and finally remembered this old man.”

The maid who was holding the curtain outside lifted it, and Baoyu strode in.

Upon entering, she first gave the orchid to Yuanyang, then, with a flick of her robe, knelt down to greet the old lady.

"Grandma, your grandson has come to pay his respects."

Baoyu raised his head, and the old lady saw that his peach blossom eyes seemed to be smiling. His red robe made his red lips and white teeth stand out even more, and his face was as handsome as jade. His expression seemed to have shed the ignorance of childhood and was full of youthful vigor.

"Get up quickly. I haven't seen you for so long. It seems like you've grown up all of a sudden." Grandmother Jia was happy to see Baoyu so well-behaved.

After all, this was her grandson whom she had doted on for over a decade. Even though Wang Xifeng had recently given birth to a son, that was a great-grandson. Among her grandchildren, Baoyu was still the one she doted on the most.

"Grandma, your grandson has nothing else but this pot of lotus petal orchids, which I have carefully cared for over the years. It is worth seeing."

The mandarin ducks arranged the orchids for the old lady to admire.

“Baoyu is becoming more and more sensible, and he is really growing these orchids very well.”

"Grandma is so lucky. If my grandson had half the filial piety of Baoyu, I would wake up laughing in my dreams."

The mahjong partners, all ladies from collateral branches of the Jia family who had come to live on Ningrong Street, all began to praise Baoyu.

The old lady was in high spirits and this time she wasn't polite at all. Instead of saying things like "Don't praise a child too much," she accepted everything and greeted Baoyu with a smile.

"Come here quickly, let me see you. These past few years, your father has had people watching over your studies, and I've become a bit obsessed with it. This is much better now. This is the real Baoyu I have!"

Grandmother Jia had Jia Baoyu sit beside her and looked at him carefully.

"It was my fault for being unfilial, causing my grandmother, father, and mother too much worry. Now that I've grown up a bit, I understand things a little better, and I will never be as foolish as I was before." Jia Baoyu's words revealed a hint of shame.

"What are you saying? It's good that you're studying hard. But you should also pay attention to rest in the future. You've lost all the flesh on your face... Is it because the servants aren't taking good care of you? You should come eat at my place from now on." Grandmother Jia looked at Baoyu with heartache. His once chubby, full-moon face had now become so thin that he had a pointed chin.

Although he looks much more handsome now, unlike before when he had some baby fat, how could the old lady, who doted on her child so much, possibly approve of Baoyu like this?

In her view, it was because the people below hadn't taken good care of her that her precious grandson had suffered and become so thin.

"Grandma, you only see that I've lost weight, you didn't see that I've grown quite a bit taller!" Baoyu stood up with a grin and gestured.

“My size is much different now compared to when I was in the spring, and I can’t wear the clothes I wore last year.”

“He has indeed grown quite a bit taller. Children grow quickly and wear out clothes. Yuanyang, go and find all the tribute satin and Shu brocade in the storeroom and have someone make new clothes for Baoyu. Also, I remember there were quite a few fine fabrics in the festival gifts that the Lin family sent from the south last month. Go and see if there are any suitable for Baoyu, and find them all.”

The way Grandmother Jia showed her affection for someone was by constantly giving him the best things she had.

The same was true for Daiyu back then, and these days only Jia Lin, who has only been with her for a little over a month, has received this honor.

As for Baoyu, since he hadn't been here for a long time, Grandmother Jia would only send someone to check on him and bring him some things when she remembered him.

However, Jia Baoyu wouldn't come to Rongxi Hall to thank the old lady every time he received something; he would only come once out of five times.

This led Grandmother Jia to feel that her favoritism was somewhat one-sided, and her heart gradually cooled down.

This time, Jia Baoyu sent orchids, which was the first time in the past two years that Grandmother Jia had received a gift from him, apart from festivals and birthdays. It would be impossible for her not to be happy.

The grandfather and grandson were chatting happily when the topic somehow veered towards the Southern Tour.

"Grandma, I heard from Father that Lin Daiyu is also going to Suzhou with the Southern Inspection Tour this time."

"She hasn't been home for several years, so it's only natural that she wants to go back and visit." Grandmother Jia also knew about this. Before Daiyu set off, she even came over to say that she hadn't been in the capital for the past few months and couldn't come to pay her respects to the old lady.

In comparison, Grandmother Jia truly felt that her love for Daiyu had not been in vain.

How thoughtful!

"Will Lin Daiyu ever come back after she leaves?" Jia Baoyu asked cautiously.

He had a question in his mind, a question that only Lin Daiyu could answer.

Unable to find an answer to this question, he felt that sooner or later he would return to that confused state.

"How could he not come back!" Grandmother Jia thought Jia Baoyu's question was naive.

“Your Uncle Lin is a high-ranking official in the south, and he only has your sister Lin as his child. If he is not kept in the capital, some people will not feel at ease.”

Jia Baoyu felt a sudden, inexplicable pain in his heart.

"It's so heartbreaking that my sister and uncle are separated like this, unable to enjoy family life together."