Chapter 7 Tribe Study Leave
The next day, after breakfast, Jia Cong went to the clan school! There was naturally no learning atmosphere in the clan school, and there were not many rules, but he had to ask for leave after all.
After saying something to Xiao Que'er, he went out and headed north along the alley in the mansion.
After exiting the back door and walking east along the back street, you will see a large courtyard with a black oil gate by the Tongwai River! When Jia Cong arrived at the gate, many young men of all ages had already entered.
Jia Cong didn't say hello and followed the crowd into the yard, and then rushed into a hall on the east side.
Sitting randomly, these dozens of people were just playing and joking in the room. Jia Cong looked around and found that most of these people were children of the two families' side branches, and some were children of the in-laws' families. In short, they were all related. However, he did not see Baoyu.
After half an hour, a man with his hair tied up and a crown on his head entered the hall! The people who were playing suddenly quieted down a little.
This man is Jia Rui, the grandson of Jia Dairu. In theory, he and Jia Cong are of the same generation, but there is a dozen years difference in age between them.
Jia Rui, with some impatience, just waved his hand and told everyone to study on their own, and then he entered the small door inside.
So, everyone in the hall started to read, talking and nodding. Of course, many people just slipped out to have fun.
The noisy scene made Jia Cong extremely uncomfortable. He finally managed to hold out for more than an hour. As it was almost noon, Jia Cong stood up and walked towards the inner door.
After knocking twice, Jia Rui from the inner door responded.
"Greetings to Brother Rui!" Jia Cong pushed the door open and walked in, then bowed.
Jia Rui's eyes were dark and his face was full of impatience. He just listened to Jia Cong saying, "I was sick with typhoid fever a few days ago, and now I am not well, so I want to take a few days off and come to the clan school when I am well again!"
"Well, go, go, don't forget to study hard at home!" Jia Rui was too lazy to listen and waved his hand to let Jia Cong leave.
Jia Cong bowed, and after leaving the door, he packed up his writing brushes, inkstones, and paper, stuffed them into his bookcase, and then left the clan school! These writing brushes, inkstones, and paper were not top-quality, but they were purchased by the clan. If he took them back for personal use, it would be better than paying a few more taels of silver.
After leaving the clan school, Jia Cong did not rush home, but strolled along the back street.
When he went out today, he took with him half of his worth, more than ten taels of silver. He had troubled his second sister with the book borrowing before, and he had also accepted Daiyu's kindness, so naturally he had to give her something to express his gratitude.
After walking around for a while, he first spent two strings of money to buy a set of clay tumblers, and then spent three taels of silver to buy a music cage.
This music cage is in the shape of a bird cage, with rockery, trees, birds, butterflies and other objects inside. After it is wound up, clear music will be heard and the birds will chirp by vibrating their wings.
These two things were not expensive in the mansion, but it was precisely these novel things that suited the little girl's taste! Moreover, with her own wealth, she could not afford to buy too expensive things...
Afterwards, he went to a bookstore and bought a chess manual for his second sister Yingchun! This chess manual might have some history, but it cost four and a half taels of silver, which really made Jia Cong feel distressed.
After buying these things, Jia Cong waved his hand and bought a lot of food! Melon seeds, preserved fruits, and dried fruits, all filled the book box with only three coins of silver. Finally, Jia Cong carried a bag of chestnut flour cakes in his left hand and a few bags of bayberries in his right hand, and then he went to the mansion with satisfaction.
In order to avoid gossip, Jia Cong did not walk through the mansion, but walked along the alley between the east and west mansions to the front street, and then entered the mansion from the east corner gate.
He walked along the south wall, around the stable, entered the ceremonial gate to the north, and took two quick steps, finally returning to his own yard.
"Is the Third Master back?"
The little maid was feeling bored in the yard. When she saw Jia Cong come in, her eyes immediately lit up. When she saw the things in Jia Cong's hands, she almost jumped for joy.
"Brother Chao Rui asked for leave today, so he will study at home these days and will not go to the clan school!"
"These things will be sent to the second sister later , and you should keep the rest for yourself. Don't let others see them!" Jia Cong said jokingly.
Xiao Que nodded vigorously, holding an arm full of snacks, just like a hamster, with his eyes wide open.
He ran back to the house, put all the things in place, and then brought water for Jia Cong to wash his hands and face.
"Fortunately, I left some food for Third Master, otherwise he would have gone hungry today." Xiao Que happily took out the food from the lunch box.
Jia Cong ate it up in no time, and asked Xiao Que'er to get a plate of chestnut flour cakes for the master and servant to share.
After finishing their meal and taking a nap for most of an hour, the master and servant got up, picked up their things, and headed towards Yingchun's courtyard again.
When I arrived at the courtyard gate, I saw it was half-open and there was a lot of noise from the inner door.
Xiao Que'er pushed the door open, and Jia Cong stepped in, only to see Si Qi's eyes wide open with anger, Yingchun hiding behind Si Qi with tears in her eyes, and in front of them, a middle-aged woman stood with her hands on her hips and scolded. Xiu Ju and the other two little maids protected Yingchun on both sides, but they did not dare to step forward.
"This is the daughter-in-law of the second young lady's wet nurse, from Wang Zhuer's family. She is the most domineering on weekdays, and the second young lady has been bullied by them a lot. Today, she must have caused trouble again to offend the young lady!" Xiao Que'er rolled her eyes and whispered in Jia Cong's ear.
Jia Cong understood immediately. In his memory, Yingchun's wet nurse was indeed extremely domineering, and that family was not easy to mess with. In addition, his own sister was soft-tempered and was used to being bullied.
In an instant, the warm smile on Jia Cong's face disappeared, and instead he showed a bit of hostility! In his previous life, he loved his sisters the most, and in this life, he was also very close to this soft-tempered sister.
"shut up!"
With a loud shout, everyone immediately looked over in surprise.
The woman was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "Master Cong, are you scolding me? I really don't know when Master Cong would become so angry!"
Facing the woman's ridicule and provocation, Jia Cong sneered, "Sister Siqi, please go and invite Lian's second sister-in-law over. I want to ask if Lian's second brother still recognizes me. If he does, then even if I'm a concubine, I'm still the master of the house. When did we have this rule of using slaves to bully their masters?"
When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned, but the woman's expression changed!
How powerful is Wang Xifeng, the housekeeper? Some respectable old maids are not afraid of her, but she is not of that status.
She immediately turned around and headed for the door. "Of course, I cannot afford to offend a master like Third Master Cong. In this case, I will just hide!"
She walked to Jia Cong's side and laughed deliberately with disdain.
