Chapter 70 Baoyu is Punished

Jia Zheng went to deliver the star-gazing mirror that very night. When he returned, it was already late at night. He could hear the watchman's drum outside, and it was already the second watch of the night.

He walked back, and his heart had calmed down considerably.

If Baoyu were to be punished for this, I fear the old lady would be heartbroken, and Lady Wang would also come to hate Daiyu.

But if I don't teach him a lesson, I'm really feeling incredibly frustrated!

We must find a way to teach Baoyu a lesson!

Jia Zheng pondered for a long time...

Ever since the master delivered the star-gazing mirror to the Imperial Observatory, Jia Baoyu's life has been very difficult.

Aside from sleeping and daily greetings, his father forbade him from entering the inner courtyard during the day.

After class during the day, he could only go to Jia Zheng's study, where Jia's retainers were watching him as he copied books.

Jia Zheng didn't allow Baoyu to do anything else; he was to copy books in the study, and no one in the inner courtyard was allowed to disturb him.

Jia Baoyu thought he had done enough after copying the Four Books once, but little did he know that this was just an appetizer.

His father made him copy the "Records of the Grand Historian," that's right, the one with 130 chapters and more than 526,500 characters!

While paying his respects, Jia Baoyu knelt before the old lady, tears streaming down his face, and begged for a long time.

There was nothing Grandmother Jia could do.

If we say that Jia Zheng was forcing Jia Baoyu to study hard, that's not quite right; he only made him copy books. If we call it punishment, then it's actually making Jia Baoyu learn while copying books.

Grandmother Jia was in a difficult position.

So when Jia Zheng came to see her, he mentioned it to her.

Unexpectedly, Jia Zheng's words made Grandmother Jia immediately think: Copying this little bit of books is not enough; we should copy all twenty-four histories!

Jia Zheng told Grandmother Jia about Jia Baoyu's visit to Prince Bei Jing's mansion and his ostentatious display of wealth there.

When Jia Baoyu went to visit someone, some young men from other families mocked him for growing ginseng. During the heated debate, Jia Baoyu not only revealed the Star Gazing Mirror, but also talked about Rongyue Courtyard. Fortunately, he knew what was important and didn't say Rongyue Courtyard, but only that it was his home.

Jia Zheng never expected that Baoyu would be so easily provoked, and that he could be led by the nose by a few words from others.

It seems I really neglected to discipline him, letting him grow up under the influence of women, which is probably not a good thing!

However, Jia Zheng himself had little experience in disciplining children. He had an eldest son, Jia Zhu, whom he disciplined too strictly, and who eventually died. This was a pain that would forever remain in Jia Zheng's heart.

Therefore, he let Baoyu run wild, and when he caused trouble, he would punish him severely, sometimes for up to six months at a time.

It hasn't been cleaned for more than half a year, I guess Baoyu's skin is itching for a beating!

Simply resorting to physical punishment might not change his temperament; we'll have to try other methods.

If studying history can enlighten us, then let him carefully copy the history books and learn from his mistakes!

Grandmother Jia wholeheartedly agreed.

They only asked Jia Baoyu to copy books; how tiring could writing a character be?

Jia Baoyu had originally wanted to get to know the new Baochai better, but now he was so focused on copying the book that he couldn't care less about anything else.

Even his beloved Lin Daiyu could only see him once a day during meals; it was difficult to see her at other times.

And his ginseng, I wonder how it's doing?

Lin Daiyu said she would take good care of him, but he was still worried until he saw it for himself.

Although the master would still let him go back to the inner courtyard to sleep at night, he would usually return after midnight, so tired that he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, not caring about anything else.

In the morning, he had to get up to greet the old lady, and after breakfast, he had to hurry to school.

Whenever I have a spare moment, I copy books.

If he was lazy and didn't write, those retainers, on the master's orders, would take turns reading the "Records of the Grand Historian" to him, until his ears were calloused from hearing it!

This was probably the most tragic period of Jia Baoyu's life.

The cold wind howled, leaving only withered yellow leaves scattered all over the ground.

Daiyu was afraid of the cold, so she stayed indoors and watched from afar as someone approached the bluestone bridge outside Rongyue Courtyard.

"Miss, we've brought back the black fox fur. We'll make the big fur coat for the master today." Zijuan came in carrying a bundle.

Daiyu said happily, "Quickly, let me see it."

Zijuan placed the bundle on the table and opened it. The dark fox fur shone with the unique luster of its fur. What was rare was that several fox furs were the same color, and it was impossible to tell which one was darker and which one was lighter. It was very useful.

Daiyu was very satisfied; the big fur coat made from these furs would definitely be warm!

It's already cold. Although Yangzhou isn't as cold as the capital, the winters there are still tough to endure.

Her father was worried about her in Yangzhou, so how could she not miss him?

In the summer, she had already sent a quilted coat to Yangzhou for her father; in early autumn, she and the ladies in the Rongyue Academy sewing room made cotton-padded clothes, shoes, socks and other items for winter, which were also sent to Yangzhou last month.

Her father wrote to say that she was a perfect match and praised her highly.

So Daiyu had an idea: her father was all alone in Yangzhou, with no one to take care of him. Why not have his clothes and other necessities made here and sent to Yangzhou, both for her father's sake and as a way of showing her filial piety?

After Daiyu had this idea, she discussed it with Yuan Hongqu.

Yuan Hongqu never expected Daiyu to have such thoughts. According to Yuan Hongqu, sending the clothes all the way from the capital to Yangzhou would be a waste of manpower and resources!

Yangzhou is not without embroiderers. The Lin family mansion in Yangzhou has twice as many people in the needlework room as they brought. How could they possibly lack clothes for Lin Ruhai?

However, from Lin Daiyu's perspective, giving her clothes was perfectly reasonable.

Perhaps Lin Ruhai will live a few more years because of his daughter's filial piety?

After all, according to the original novel, Lin Ruhai didn't have many years left to live.

Yuan Hongqu, considering this, also strongly supported Lin Daiyu's actions.

Originally, it had already been sent twice this year, which would have been enough, but the cold weather in the capital gave Daiyu the wrong feeling. She thought that her father would be freezing in Yangzhou wearing such light clothes!

So I thought of making big clothes for Lin Ruhai.

She only had red fox fur and white fox fur, neither of which were suitable for making a cloak for her father.

It was Sister Feng who said there were black fox furs in the storeroom, which would be very useful, so Daiyu said she would trade her own for them.

Wang Xifeng was unwilling to accept it, but Lin Daiyu, having learned from Yuan Hongqu, was unwilling to give anyone a reason to say that she had taken advantage of the Rongguo Mansion.

Therefore, she said that if Sister Feng refused to take it, she would send someone out to find another one, but she would not accept Sister Feng's black fox fur.

Wang Xifeng then accepted the gift, but immediately had it made into a cloak and cape for Daiyu.

Yuan Hongqu knew that Wang Xifeng also genuinely liked Daiyu, and if she didn't accept the gift, Wang Xifeng would be heartbroken. So she took it upon herself to accept it on Daiyu's behalf, saying that she would repay the favor later.

Lin Daiyu then happily asked Zijuan to fetch the black fox pelt.

Inside the Lin residence in Yangzhou, Lin Ruhai looked at the two boxes of clothes in front of him. There were two pieces of Da Mao's clothes, two sets of thick cotton robes, and quite a few cotton boots and socks that people in the capital usually wore in winter.

Lin Ruhai felt gratified, but also puzzled: Had Daiyu forgotten that winters in Yangzhou weren't as cold as those in the capital?