nycdaug Chapter 3: Going Out to Meet People
Chapter 3: Going Out to Meet People
Jia Huan suppressed his thoughts, flipped through a couple of pages of the book on the kang table, and found it uninteresting.
"Xiuyun!"
The two maids, Xiuyun and Xiuyu, who were guarding the outer room, were studying patterns with their embroidery hoops when they heard the call. They immediately put down their work and came to the front of the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Third Master, we're right here. What are your orders?"
Xiuyun and Xiuyu look alike and are sisters. Xiuyun is a year older than Xiuyu and is only fifteen years old this year. They were among the first to surrender after noticing Jia Huan's change, and they are quite clever.
In addition, Jia Huan had four head maids: Qingyun, Nuanxue, Zizai, and Feihua, which were names given to him by Jia Huan.
To be honest, none of these six maids were particularly clever, but for Jia Huan at this point, their obedience and lack of trouble were their greatest strengths.
At this moment, Xiuyun and Xiuyu were both dressed in lotus-colored silk jackets, blue satin vests with lace trim, and lake-green skirts. They had red handkerchiefs tied around their waists. The young and beautiful girls stood gracefully on the ground, waiting for Jia Huan's instructions.
“There’s a book on my desk that’s called…” Jia Huan paused, then suddenly remembered that the maids were all illiterate, so he changed his words, “Never mind, just bring all the books on the desk over here, and bring me a cup of hot tea.”
"Yes." The two accepted the order and left.
Before long, Xiuyu returned with five or six books. Jia Huan looked through them, took out a travelogue, and told Xiuyu to put the rest back where they belonged. Then he began to read the books with great interest.
Xiuyun also brewed hot tea again and brought over a box of dried fruit, which contained five or six kinds of dried fruit, with melon seeds being the most abundant.
Jia Huan nodded and let them leave.
Jia Huan's ability to turn stones into gold wasn't limited to stones; he could also turn other things into gold as long as they were the right size.
So he would take a handful of melon seeds to exchange for gold every day. The amount of melon seeds needed for two taels of gold was only about fifty, and a box of melon seeds would not attract much attention.
One gold melon seed is worth about six hundred coins. It is small, exquisite and beautiful, has high practical value, and is also very convenient to carry.
So, aside from using stones for the first few days, Jia Huan used melon seeds for the rest of the time, and now he has fifty taels of gold in melon seeds. The stones that turned into gold were also exchanged for copper coins by Jia Huan to reward people.
After completing his "turning stones into gold" project for the day, Jia Huan ate a small pile of sunflower seed shells while drinking tea, which served as a cover for the missing sunflower seeds. Thus, Jia Huan spent a leisurely morning.
Just when Jia Huan thought the afternoon would be as leisurely as it was now, Xiu Yun and Xiu Yu suddenly came over and said, "Third Master, Madam has sent someone."
The "Madam" that Xiuyun mentioned is Lady Wang, Jia Huan's legal mother.
Jia Huan put down his book and said unhurriedly, "Have someone come in and give an answer."
The two men went out, and soon returned with a young maidservant of about twelve or thirteen. This maidservant, being Lady Wang's person, usually looked down on Jia Huan, and when she came to deliver messages, she practically held her head high.
But this time, the little girl was so impressed by the strict rules and regulations in the courtyard that she unconsciously put away some of her arrogance. Seeing that everyone in the courtyard was strictly following the rules and doing their own work, and that there were maids and servants respectfully guarding the gates of the courtyard and the doors of the houses, she could clearly feel the subtle gazes that were falling on her.
Like a thorn in my back!
The little girl was unconsciously influenced by the solemn atmosphere in the courtyard and began to regulate her own words and actions.
As expected, fewer eyes were drawn to her, and the little girl secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Once inside, the quick-witted maidservant curtsied and then respectfully said, "Third Master, the Master wants to see you."
"Hmm, did the master say what it is?" Jia Huan asked.
"Master was talking to Madam inside the room. After a while, he ordered someone to call Baoyu, the three young ladies, and Third Master over. Master didn't say what it was about, so we naturally don't know," the maid replied.
Did they call several people over?
Since arriving here, Jia Huan has not seen anyone in the mansion except for his birth mother, Aunt Zhao. Even his half-sister has not come to visit him.
In the original owner's memories, Jia Zheng was a very strict father.
Jia Zheng studied Confucian classics from a young age and strictly adhered to these feudal ethics, emphasizing things like the relationship between ruler and subject, father and son, and the father not entering the son's room.
He only ever showed his authority in front of his son, rarely showing any tenderness.
So even when Jia Huan was sick, he didn't come to visit him in his courtyard. Instead, he sent someone over every two or three days to inquire about Jia Huan's health.
Later, Lady Wang, citing Jia Huan's illness and fearing that he might offend the Imperial Concubine, forbade Jia Huan from paying respects to the Imperial Concubine and moved him out of the East Courtyard of Rongxi Hall. After that, it became even more difficult for Jia Huan to see Jia Zheng.
Even now, after Jia Huan arrived here, although his health has improved, he still remains ill and convalescent, unwilling to interact with anyone from the Jia family. The side effects of overusing the Midas touch can help him deceive the doctors who treated him.
The doctor couldn't diagnose what was wrong with him, but he didn't want to lose his job, so he reported to Jia Zheng that Jia Huan's weakness was caused by a long-term illness and that he needed to rest and avoid overexertion.
Jia Zheng was a strict father, but not a cruel one. When he heard what the doctor said, he told Jia Huan to skip the greetings and not to go to school for the time being. He just needed to take good care of his health.
"Alright, thank you for making the trip. I'll change my clothes and head over right away." Jia Huan's mind was racing, but he didn't show it on his face. He only instructed Xiu Yun, "Xiu Yun, grab a handful of money for her and make sure she gets out of here safely."
Xiuyun responded and grabbed a handful of money from a black lacquered box with a magpie perched on a branch on the shelf beside the kang, giving it to the little girl. The little girl was surprised to receive a reward this time and went home happily.
When Xiuyun returned to the room after seeing the little maid off, she saw that Jia Huan had already gotten down from the ground and was standing in the middle of the ground with his arms outstretched. Xiuyu, Zizai, and Feihua surrounded him and helped him change into an autumn-colored robe, with a silk sash tied around his waist. He also put a lake-blue cloak over it.
The three men wanted to put some necklaces, sachets, and other ornaments on him, but Jia Huan glanced at them and found them to be ordinary in both style and material. He disdained to wear them and waved his hand in refusal.
Jia Huan also refused to look in the mirror. He hadn't fully gotten used to his new body and appearance yet, and his current face looked extremely awkward, so he simply stopped looking.
After Jia Huan dressed himself properly, he went out with the two nannies, Wang and Zhao, and Xiuyun and Xiuyu, and went to look around the house.
The time is perfect; the sun is high in the sky, and its warm rays have dispelled some of the winter chill.