The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 882 Painting Roses? Painting Lotus?
After hearing her cousin's words, Qing'er felt a mix of emotions.

After leaving the brothel, she intended to go straight back to the main building.

But she desperately wanted to ask Jia Baoyu what he planned to do with her!
Surely we can't just keep her by Jia Lian's side forever?
Xiren said that Jia Baoyu was bored after lunch and went out for a stroll in the garden.

She guessed that the woman had probably gone to Grandmother Jia's place, so she left the garden and headed this way.

Unable to find Jia Baoyu in Rongqing Hall, she tentatively headed towards the courtyard where Lady Wang was sitting.

Unexpectedly, they were lucky enough to see Jia Baoyu sneak into Lady Wang's room.

She dared not shout loudly in Madam Wang's courtyard, so she followed her to the outer corridor.

Lady Wang's room was quiet, except for Jia Baoyu's teasing voice: "My wife and I will take you as our bride, and we can be together from now on, okay?"

"Once my wife wakes up, I'll take you as my wife~"

Every now and then, Jin Chuan's sweet voice whispered, "What are you busy with? 'A golden hairpin falling into a well—what's yours is yours,' don't you even know this old saying?"

I'll only tell you one trick; why don't you go to the east courtyard and fetch Huan-ge'er and Cai-yun?"

"I don't care what they do, I only care about you..."

Before Jia Baoyu's triumphant voice had even faded, a sharp "snap" was heard, followed by an angry and authoritative voice:

"You vile little whore, you've corrupted all the good men!"

The sound was so loud that Qing'er instinctively took two steps back.

Before she could even stand up straight, a figure as beautiful as a precious gem lifted the curtain and fled in a disheveled state.

He paused slightly when he saw Qing'er, then glanced at the door but didn't dare to pay her any attention and ran away.

Qing'er already knew she had stumbled upon a scandal, so she didn't dare linger.

He quickly started walking and headed back the way he came.

However, before she left, she heard Jin Chuan's cries and pleas, as well as Madam Wang's increasingly angry voice:

"Where is Old Bai's wife? Someone, go and fetch Old Bai's wife!"

The courtyard erupted in chaos.

Unfortunately, Qing'er herself was also scared and dared not stay to see what would happen next.

After she left, Jia Baoyu was nowhere to be found.

Qing'er couldn't help but worry for Jin Chuan: It was Bao Er Ye who flirted with her first, but now Bao Er Ye has run away, leaving her all alone in front of Madam. What should she do?

Although Qing'er entered the mansion late, she knew that Madam Wang was the most dignified.

Jin Chuan has fallen into Lady Wang's hands again. If no one pleads for her, her fate may be grim.

Since Jia Baoyu was the one who caused this trouble, he should be the one to plead for Jin Chuan.

It is common knowledge that Madam Wang cherished this son the most.

So she quickened her pace and hurried toward the brothel.

……

Meanwhile, Jia Baoyu was feeling uneasy because Jia Zheng had recently returned to the capital and he had been reprimanded several times.

I want to hang out with my girlfriends.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see Daiyu, and Baochai ignored him.

Even his closest sister, Tan Chun, seemed to be busy with her own affairs and had no time to pay attention to him.

So he had no choice but to leave the garden and wander around.

This stroll led them to Madam Wang's courtyard.

He knew all the maids in Madam Wang's courtyard well. Except for Caiyun, who was determined to invest in Jia Huan and didn't pay much attention to him, the other maids were all very close to him.

He especially loved the Jin Chuan and Yu Chuan sisters the most.

She wanted to ask to go to her own room, but she was afraid of her mother's authority and didn't dare to ask.

I never expected that when I sneaked into my mother's room today and saw that she was fast asleep, I dared to flirt with Jin Chuan, only to be caught red-handed by Madam Wang!

Feeling uneasy, he didn't rush back to the brothel.

Instead, they wandered aimlessly through the garden.

Suddenly, he noticed a girl squatting and crying under the rose trellis, which immediately caught his attention.

He crouched outside the flower stand, finding a gap in the branches and leaves to peer at the girl inside.

The girl had delicate brows like spring mountains, eyes like autumn waters, a slender face and waist, and a graceful figure, much like Daiyu!
Jia Baoyu was so captivated by the sight that he became completely mesmerized.

Although he had already recognized the girl as Lingguan, he lingered and refused to leave.

Then I saw Lingguan squatting on the ground, crying while repeatedly drawing something on the ground with that wooden stick.

Jia Baoyu spread out his hand and used a brush to recreate the traces of Lingguan's painting, only to be surprised to find that it had become the character "蔷" (qiang).

Jia Baoyu did not understand its meaning.

Suddenly, Lingguan stood up and stomped her feet hard several times on the spot where she had just painted the rose.

Jia Baoyu was about to speak up to stop him.

Since it is something that has been repeatedly painted on, it must be something extremely important. How can we bear to destroy it?

But Lingguan had already squatted down again, changed her position slightly, and started painting again.

This time, the stroke order seemed a little different. Jia Baoyu used the same trick again and quickly formed the character "琏" in his palm.

He was so familiar with that word that he knew who it was without even having to think.

My heart sank instantly.

So, this girl also has feelings for Brother Lian?
Thinking this way, he remained motionless.

He could only watch helplessly through the crack as that graceful figure squatted there, repeatedly drawing words.

They didn't even know when it started raining.

However, he was unaware that Lingguan, who was squatting on the ground, had noticed it.

She hurriedly stood up to seek shelter from the rain.

Unfortunately, she seemed to remember something after running only two steps, and immediately ran back. She stomped her feet a few times on the "Lian" character that she had drawn countless times before finally showing a carefree expression on her face and drifting away.

The beauty vanished from his sight, and Jia Baoyu only realized it belatedly.

Only when he realized his clothes were soaked did he remember to run home.

They ran all the way back to the brothel, only to find the gates tightly shut. All they could hear were the cheers and shouts of many girls coming from inside.

"Open the door! Open the door!"

Jia Baoyu called out several times from outside the door.

It's unclear whether his voice was too soft, or the sound of the rain and the maids' laughter was too loud, but no one came to open the door for him for a long time.

He was feeling frustrated in several places and had nowhere to vent his anger.

He couldn't help but feel ruthless, determined to teach these arrogant maids a lesson once he entered!

So he pounded on the door loudly.

This finally attracted the attention of some people inside.

He could hear them chattering away, and it took quite a while before someone came to open the door for him.

Having been holding back her anger for a long time, she didn't even see who it was before kicking the maid who opened the door.

With a cry of "Ouch!", Xiren collapsed.

Only then did Jia Baoyu realize who he had kicked. Filled with remorse, he didn't forget to yell at the dozen or so stunned maids in the courtyard:

"You filthy things, it's been so long since you opened the door! I've been lenient with you all this time, but you've only become more arrogant and don't even respect me anymore!"

After scolding the maids, he hurriedly came to help the tearful Xiren up: "How are you? Did you kick it? Usually, it's the maids who open the door, I didn't know it was you."

Xi Ren was kicked and was filled with resentment.

At this moment, most of the dissipation was dispelled by the young master's kind explanation.

Seeing that there were so many people around, she knew she would lose face if she really argued about it. So, she suppressed the pain in her stomach, stood up with Jia Baoyu's help, and shook her head, saying:

"I'm fine. Why don't you go inside and change your clothes? You're all wet."

Seeing that Xiren didn't seem to be lying, Jia Baoyu felt a little relieved and went into the room to change his clothes along the covered corridor.

Xiren wanted to follow, but Jia Baoyu's kick was so hard that she couldn't keep up.

At this moment, Qing'er ran over, helped her up, and asked with concern, "Cousin, are you alright?"

Xi Ren simply shook her head.

Qing'er then scolded, "How could he do this? He just harmed Jin Chuan, and now he's hitting my sister! Is this what you mean by being gentle with servants?"

Qing'er spoke loudly, and many maids in the courtyard heard her.

Jia Baoyu actually heard it, but he pretended not to hear it and quickened his pace to go into the house.

Xiren quickly tugged at her cousin twice, signaling her not to be presumptuous.

But attention was already focused on her words: "Harmed Jin Chuan? Who harmed Jin Chuan? What happened?"

As soon as I finished asking, I saw several girls looking over curiously.

Xiren immediately realized something was amiss. So she stopped her cousin from speaking, arranged for several maids to go into the room to help Jia Baoyu change his clothes, and then took her cousin to her own room.

When Qing'er arrived at Yihong Courtyard, she didn't see Jia Baoyu, but there were several young actors playing happily with the maids in the courtyard.

She had intended to tell her sister about what happened in Madam Wang's courtyard after the outsiders had left.

Just then, it started raining, blocking the young actors' way back to Tianxiang Tower.

There were many maids in Jia Baoyu's courtyard, and several lively young actresses accompanied him. They simply blocked up the drainage ditch in the courtyard.

The water was stored. The wild ducks, mandarin ducks, and other animals kept for ornamental purposes were released into the yard; some were caught, others herded.

Because they were having so much fun, they didn't hear anyone knocking on the door.

After all, it was raining heavily, who would have thought someone would come?
They heard about it later, but the maids were too lazy to take it seriously.

Xi Ren, being diligent and conscientious, did not forget her duty and went around to see who was knocking on the door in the heavy rain.

When she peeked through the crack in the door and saw Jia Baoyu looking like a drowned rat, she opened the gate with a smile without thinking.

Little did she expect that she would be met with a kick, leaving her no time to react.

……

(End of this chapter)