The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 113 Couple Communication

Baozhu and Ruizhu waited outside, barely daring to breathe.

Hearing the sounds coming from inside the house, the two women blushed.

They exchanged a glance and quickly looked away.

They didn't know how much time had passed, but the two women heard a series of hurried sounds from inside the house before it fell silent.

The two women waited for a while, and then they seemed to hear their young mistress calling them softly.

"Quickly," Ruizhu whispered to Baozhu.

"Ouch!" Baozhu took a step and almost fell to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Ruizhu asked hurriedly.

"My legs are numb," Baozhu replied.

Seeing Baozhu's expression, Ruizhu seemed to realize something, her face flushed, and without saying anything, she quickly walked out.

A short while later, Ruizhu returned.

She was holding a large, steaming copper basin, with a snow-white cotton towel draped over its rim, the edges embroidered with delicate orchid patterns.

"Go and fetch the incense and sachet quickly," Ruizhu whispered as she passed Baozhu.

After Ruizhu brought the copper basin inside, she saw the red silk curtains on the bed fall down, and she could only vaguely see the figures of two people inside.

She carefully placed the copper basin beside the bed.

At this moment, Baozhu also came in, placed a sachet beside the bed, and lit incense.

"Grandma, it's done." Ruizhu whispered.

After saying that, she and Baozhu withdrew.

After the two women went out, they waited at the door.

They could only hear the sound of water dripping inside. After a while, Qin Keqing called them again.

Ruizhu hurriedly went in and brought out the cleaned copper basin.

Jia Chen watched as Qin Keqing, her face flushed, carefully put away the pure white silk handkerchief, leaving only a few smudges of crimson on it.

Afterwards, Qin Keqing lay down next to Jia Chen with a sachet in her hand.

She gently smeared the sachet on Jia Chen's clothes, filling the bed with a delicate fragrance.

Jia Chen found it amusing. Not only had she lit incense in the room, but she had also used a sachet, all to cover up the lingering smell on the two of them afterward.

To be honest, there was a bit of a smell right after we finished, but by tomorrow, the smell would have dissipated even if we did nothing.

Jia Chen had just asked Qin Keqing about her menstrual cycle, so he dared not be careless about it.

In this era, childbirth was an extremely dangerous thing for women; it was like walking through the gates of hell. If things went wrong, it could mean the death of both mother and child.

Especially for someone like Qin Keqing, who is still young, it would be even more dangerous if she got pregnant.

Jia Chen had thought it over; no matter what, this matter should be considered after Qin Keqing turned eighteen.

Although he knew his mother was eager to have a grandchild, he couldn't risk Qin Keqing's life.

After learning the date from Qin Keqing, Jia Chen calculated that it was fortunately within the safe period.

Jia Chen was relieved; otherwise, he would have had to resort to some form of contraception, such as withdrawal.

Seeing Jia Chen staring at her, Qin Keqing blushed and, thinking about what had just happened, felt even more embarrassed. She buried her face in Jia Chen's chest and refused to lift it.

"Where were we?" Jia Chen chuckled.

Such a beautiful woman was actually his wife.

Perhaps the world's original historical trajectory has been altered by itself.

"Master, what did you say?" Qin Keqing asked softly.

"It's like what we talked about before, you seemed to have mentioned paying homage at court during the New Year—" Jia Chen said, holding Qin Keqing's small hand as he reminded her.

Before accomplishing the good deed, Jia Chen tried to find many topics to talk about in order to appease the nervous Qin Keqing.

Later, Qin Keqing also talked about her family, the situation during the New Year, and so on.

Qin Keqing then realized, "My lord, on New Year's Day, before dawn, my mother-in-law and I got up, dressed in our official robes, and made sure our makeup was appropriate. Going to the palace to offer congratulations was a big deal, and we couldn't be careless in the slightest. Since it was my mother-in-law's and my first time going to the palace, the old lady had specially asked us to come and personally teach us some of the rules for entering the palace—so many rules! My lord, do you know how many people there were that day? The old lady was in front, and my mother-in-law and I followed the second madam, at the very end of the line. We were extremely nervous at the time, but thankfully we just had to follow along and call out the rules, and nothing went wrong."

As she spoke, Qin Keqing seemed to recall the events of that day, her face filled with excitement.

Not just anyone is qualified to enter the palace to offer congratulations; only those of the fifth rank or above are eligible.

Jia Chen's mother and Qin Keqing were both fifth-rank officials, which qualified them to participate.

This is an immense honor for the family, bringing glory to their ancestors.

Jia Chen realized that the old lady Qin Keqing mentioned was Grandmother Jia, and the second wife was Lady Wang, Jia Zheng's wife.

Lady Wang was also a fifth-rank imperial consort. During the court audience, the imperial consorts were arranged according to their rank, and since they were the lowest-ranking, they were naturally placed at the very end.

"You must be exhausted?" Jia Chen asked.

When Qin Keqing entered the palace for the first time as a Lady of Imperial Decree, she faced extremely complicated and oppressive court etiquette. In addition to the fatigue caused by the high tension due to fear of making mistakes, her body was also put to the test.

After all, it involved getting up very early in the morning and doing all that work; most people wouldn't be able to handle it.

"My mother-in-law and I are both fine, but the old lady is getting on in years. I heard that she changed her clothes and rested after returning home, probably because she was tired."

"Qin Keqing said."

Jia Chen smiled.

Perhaps because it was my first time, I was inevitably excited and thrilled, and I didn't even feel tired anymore.

Grandmother Jia was getting on in years, and this day's ordeal was certainly exhausting for her.

The two continued chatting, with Qin Keqing and Jia Chen discussing family matters and the affairs of the Jia family.

Grandmother Jia would often send people to call her mother and Qin Keqing over, saying that they should visit each other more often so that they would have someone to talk to.

Jia Chen didn't think that he couldn't find anyone to talk to around his mother.

Which subordinate wouldn't be trying to curry favor with them?

All of this was because he had made some contributions, and because his mother and Qin Keqing had both been granted official titles.

Although she was only a fifth-rank imperial consort, the lowest rank among imperial consorts, she was still an imperial consort.

Madam Jia had worked in the Jia household before and was quite familiar with it.

However, her status has changed now. Before, she was a servant, but now she is a noblewoman, so she needs to be waited on by others.

Qin Keqing, Wang Xifeng, and Li Wan became good friends.

He was especially close to Wang Xifeng.

Because the two are of similar age.

"That Second Mistress Lian is quite a character. She's not very old, but she's already managing so many things for the Jia family," Qin Keqing said. "Oh, by the way, Master, she said she helped you get into the capital garrison, and that you owe her a favor."

"That's true," Jia Chen smiled. "Back then, it was through my mother's connections that I was able to enter the capital's military garrison. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be who I am today. My wife and I probably wouldn't be able to be husband and wife."

Although Wang Xifeng only helped out casually, this matter did indeed change Jia Chen's fate.

However, if he hadn't transmigrated here, the real Jia Chen would actually be dead.

These are things that are best left unsaid.

"I'll thank her properly next time," Qin Keqing said.

In Qin Keqing's view, it was indeed thanks to Wang Xifeng that her husband was able to achieve success and make a name for himself.

And what a blessing it was that she became a titled lady as soon as she married into the family.

When Wang Xifeng talked about this, her face was full of envy.

Although Jia Lian purchased the title of Assistant Magistrate (equivalent to a fifth-rank official), it was a nominal position, so Wang Xifeng naturally could not become a Lady of Imperial Decree.

Qin Keqing thought that if Jia Chen were still just a minor officer in the Beijing Garrison, the Jia family probably wouldn't have come to propose marriage.

So from this perspective, she really should thank Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng indirectly facilitated the relationship between Jia Chen and Jia Chen; she could be considered half a matchmaker.

Although she and Jia Chen didn't actually spend much time together, less than a day, she could feel Jia Chen's care for her.

She had often heard that warriors were reckless and soldiers were crude, but she had never seen that in Jia Chen. On the contrary, she felt that Jia Chen was very thoughtful and that those rumors were wrong.

If there's anything to say that's true, it's that Jia Chen, serving in the military, was indeed more robust than the average person, with broad shoulders and a thick waist.

Thinking of his robust physique, Qin Keqing's face flushed. The image of Jia Chen's powerful appearance from earlier suddenly flashed into her mind, causing her heart to pound like a deer, and she felt a pang of sympathy.

Just thinking about it now makes my whole body feel weak and powerless, and the discomfort from that first time hasn't faded yet.

Jia Chen smiled but didn't say anything more. This was a matter between the female best friends, and he shouldn't pry.

"What's wrong? Are you hot?" Jia Chen suddenly noticed that Qin Keqing's cheeks were flushed and couldn't help but ask.

Qin Keqing was so embarrassed that she almost wanted to crawl into bed. What was she thinking?

"No, it's nothing," Qin Keqing hurriedly said. "Master, on the Lantern Festival, the old lady also invited my mother-in-law and me over—"

The Lantern Festival at the Jia family mansion was also very lively. They would usually gather all the members of the Jia clan together to have fun and celebrate.

As Jia Chen listened to Qin Keqing's words, he would occasionally share some of his experiences in the border town.

Before we knew it, the night had deepened.

The couple talked late into the night, and their relationship deepened, eliminating the previous sense of unfamiliarity between them.

Qin Keqing could sense Jia Chen's affection for her, and silently felt that it was the Bodhisattva's protection that allowed her to marry such a good man.

The next day, the couple got up early and went to pay their respects to the mother.

In fact, Madam Jia got up even earlier; she had been thinking about her son and daughter-in-law all night.

She had actually noticed the commotion that Baozhu and Ruizhu made afterward last night.

Seeing her daughter-in-law come in to pay her respects, Jia Shenshi noticed that her walking posture was slightly different from usual. How could she not see the clue? She was very pleased.

Now that the two have consummated their marriage, the day she holds her grandson will probably be coming soon.

Life is getting better and better, there's so much to look forward to.

After breakfast, Jia Chen went to the Jia residence.

Jia Zheng knew that Jia Chen had returned yesterday and thought that Jia Chen would come over today.

So he took leave today and did not go to the Ministry of Works.

He had some questions for Jia Chen, especially about things in Datong Town.

He already knew that Jia Chen had been promoted to garrison commander of the fortified position.

Regarding Juqiangbao, he only knew that it was a fortified city under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Road, but he was clear about the garrison position.

The garrison commander of a city is a significant responsibility, a real and powerful position.

Jia Chen's ability to serve as a garrison commander with the rank of a thousand-household commander is quite remarkable.

I don't know if this is due to Chen Tai's high regard for him or the Emperor's grace.

He's not quite sure right now.

Consider the day Jia Chen got married; the Emperor simultaneously bestowed titles of nobility upon both Jia Chen's mother and wife. Such an event is actually quite rare.

This incident gave Jia Zheng and others a lot to think about.

Did these events mean that the Emperor's attitude towards the Jia family had changed?

Otherwise, the Jia family wouldn't have been granted such great favors.

If Jia Chen's promotion to garrison commander was also a favor from the Emperor, then there is probably no doubt about this matter.

If it's purely Chen Tai's idea, then we need to observe further.

The Emperor's intentions are unpredictable.