The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 883 Cowardice and Breach of Trust
Jin Chuan, who had served Lady Wang for ten years, was kicked out.

The specific reasons were unknown to outsiders, and the people in Madam Wang's courtyard remained silent about it.

However, there is no shortage of clever people in the world who can deduce the "probability" of things from some simple details.

Therefore, it was destined that the entire Bai family would be subjected to contempt in the Jia family in the future.

Fortunately, both Old Bai's wife and Jin Chuan's younger sister Yu Chuan knew something about the relationship between Jin Chuan and Jia Baoyu.

Although they were ashamed of what had happened, they did not blame Jin Chuan too much.

But how could Jin Chuan possibly face anyone?

Madam Wang's words, "you lowly little whore," were like a poisoned needle, piercing her heart and making it impossible for her to breathe.

She suddenly remembered what Jia Lian had said to her yesterday.

She was told not to get too close to Jia Baoyu, otherwise she would surely offend Lady Wang.

I never expected that Second Master Lian's words would come true so quickly.

All of Master Lian's kind reminder was wasted; I...

Thinking that Madam Wang had disregarded the years of service she had received, and had beaten and scolded her and driven her out without giving her any face, she felt ashamed, regretful and resentful.

Suddenly, he noticed a torrential downpour outside the window and realized that there was probably no one on duty in the mansion.

So she said her first words since returning home to her younger sister Yuchuan, who was wiping away her tears: "Good sister, I want to eat the jujube and apricot cake from the pastry shop on East Street. Can you go and buy some for me?"

Jin Chuan felt somewhat relieved to see that her sister was no longer ashen-faced.

But seeing the heavy rain outside the window, she hesitated and said, "But it's raining now."

Jin Chuan's eyes showed a pleading look.

Yu Chuan couldn't bear it anymore. After thinking for a moment, she got up, took some change, found an umbrella, and went out.

Once everyone else was out of the house, Jin Chuan got up from the kang (a heated brick bed) without any precautions and headed towards the Rongguo Mansion.

Jin Chuan had no idea that as soon as she left home, a figure with an umbrella immediately set his sights on her at the street corner.

This meant that all her schemes would come to naught.

……

Jia Zheng hummed a little tune as he returned to his residence.

With the date of his appointment as Minister of Rites drawing ever closer, he was naturally in a very good mood.

But he soon lost his beauty.

I had barely sat down in the study when the steward came to report: "Master, the chief clerk of the Prince Zhongshun's mansion has arrived and wants to see you!"

Jia Zheng was startled, thinking to himself that the Jia family and the Prince Zhongshun's family usually had no contact, and wondered what the purpose of such a sudden visit was.
While thinking about it, he asked someone to be invited to the main hall, then quickly went back to change his clothes and rushed out to meet them.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries and the offering of tea, before Jia Zheng could even ask any questions, the chief clerk had already spoken with a smile:

"I have come here not on my own initiative, but on the orders of the King, to ask Elder Zheng to make a decision on a matter."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng rose with a forced smile: "Since Your Excellency has come on the King's orders, what are your instructions? I hope Your Excellency will explain them clearly so that I may carry them out accordingly."

Jia Zheng was humble, but the chief clerk took advantage of him.

He changed his expression and sneered, "There's no need to take charge; just a word from Elder Zheng will suffice."

In our household, there is an actor named Qi Guan, who always stays in the house well.

Now, I haven't seen anyone for three or five days at a time.

We searched everywhere, but couldn't find a way to get to him.

Upon inquiring, I learned that Qi Guan had recently become very close to the young master of your household who was said to be "holding a jade pendant".

I, a humble official, have heard this. Your family is not like other families; it is not proper for us to come and make demands without permission.

Therefore, I report this to Your Highness.

To everyone's surprise, the prince said, "If it were any other actor, it wouldn't matter, but this Qi Guan, with his quick wit, cautious maturity, and quick thinking, is exactly what I like. He's indispensable!"

Therefore, I have come to request that Elder Zheng convey my request to your son, Qi Guan, and return him to his rightful place. This would both appease His Highness's esteemed teachings and spare us officials the burden of such trouble.”

After he finished speaking, the chief clerk also stood up, bowed, and gave a deep bow.

Jia Zheng quickly helped him up, his heart filled with anger and fury. He immediately ordered someone to summon Jia Baoyu.

Jia Baoyu was busy comforting Xiren at home when Jia Zheng suddenly called him.

Unsure of what was going on, but not daring to be negligent, he quickly dressed and came out.

Before they could even see the guests clearly, they saw Jia Zheng slamming his fist on the table and cursing, "You damned thing! It's one thing if you don't study, but now you dare to do such lawless things!"

"That Qi Guan is someone who flatters Prince Zhongshun; what are you, mere nobody? You provoked him out for no reason, and now you've implicated me!"

Upon hearing that it concerned Qi Guan, Jia Baoyu was startled and quickly said, "I don't know any Qi Guan, so how could you be teasing me?"

Before Jia Zheng could continue his tirade, the chief clerk said with a smile, "Why does the young master need to argue? Either he is hiding at home, or we know where he is."

"If we had said it sooner, we would have had less trouble."

Jia Baoyu shook his head repeatedly: "I really don't know who Qi Guan is. I'm afraid you've come to the wrong person."

The chief clerk sneered, "Since I've come to you, I must have evidence. If you insist on saying it in front of the old master, wouldn't you be at a disadvantage?"

Seeing that Jia Baoyu was still pretending to be stupid, the chief clerk said in a sinister tone, "Since you say you don't know Qi Guan, then how did Qi Guan's red handkerchief end up on your waist, young master?" Jia Baoyu panicked as soon as he heard the red handkerchief and didn't know how to answer.

Upon seeing this, Jia Zheng immediately understood that the other party was not wronged, and he was so angry that he was furious.

"You wicked beast, confess the truth at once!"

Faced with his father's coercion and the watchful eyes of the Prince's steward, Jia Baoyu could no longer hold on.

Thinking to myself, if the other party even knows about the 'red handkerchief', what else can't they find out?

If he continues to press her, she might reveal other things. If that gets back to her father, she'll be in even worse shape.

It would be better to get rid of him sooner rather than later.

So he silently apologized and said in a weak voice, "Since you know his background, how come you didn't even know that he had a house outside?"
I heard that he lived in a place called Zitanbao, about 20 miles outside the city in the eastern suburbs.

He bought several acres of land there; who knows if he's still there now.

As Jia Baoyu spoke, he lowered his head.

I felt very guilty.

Qi Guan is a celestial being, even more beautiful than the likes of Jia Lian and Jia Qiang.

A beautiful woman is a source of trouble.

The same applies to handsome men without status.

Since Qi Guan became famous throughout the world, he has been sought after by various powerful and wealthy families.

Even Prince Bei Jing had a very close relationship with him.

It was just bad luck.

Prince Bei Jing was ordered to inspect the border, but his reputation came to the attention of Prince Zhong Shun, who summoned him to his residence.

That Prince Zhongshun is the current emperor's own younger brother, who would dare to disobey him?
Jia Baoyu had no idea what kind of humiliation Qi Guan had suffered after falling into that scoundrel's hands.

However, these "friends" were powerless to save him.

But Qi Guan himself seemed unwilling to continue serving the loyal and compliant King Zhongshun.

At the previous gathering, Qi Guan told them that he had already bought a house outside the city and would gradually retire from the profession of actor to make a living by farming and studying.

His friends all applauded him.

But he was also worried that the Prince Zhongshun would not let him go.

Qi Guan also had his own plans. He said he would gradually give the Prince Zhongshun the cold shoulder, and that as time went on, the prince would stop thinking about him.

Unexpectedly, the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion came to them.

What saddened Jia Baoyu even more was that he had personally betrayed the other party.

The chief clerk paid no heed to the turmoil in Jia Baoyu's heart. Seeing that Jia Baoyu didn't seem to be lying, he immediately stood up and said:

"Is he really there? If we find him, that's good. If we don't, we'll have to come back and ask you for help!"

After saying that, he ignored Jia Zheng and walked straight out of the hall.

"Stay here and don't move. I have some questions for you when we get back!"

After hastily giving this instruction, Jia Zheng personally held an umbrella and saw the chief steward out of the mansion.

Seeing the chief clerk leave in his carriage, Jia Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to walk back.

Just as he passed through the ceremonial gate, a boy suddenly darted out from the left corridor and bumped into him.

When Jia Zheng saw that it was his own son, a deformed and ugly child, he immediately scolded, "Why did you run away for no reason?"

Jia Huan looked up and saw his father, and was terrified.

He immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Father, please don't be angry. I was scared when I saw someone jump into the well, so I ran away."

Jia Zheng was shocked: "Who would jump into the well out of nowhere?"

I thought to myself, nothing so horrifying has ever happened in my family in decades.

It must be because I have been too negligent in my management over the years that my subordinates have committed such a cruel and suicidal act.

He immediately ordered someone to summon Lin Zhixiao to ask him questions.

Kneeling on the ground, Jia Huan's eyes darted around, and he immediately grabbed Jia Zheng's trouser leg, which was swaggering about, and said slyly:
"Sir, there is no need to be angry. Apart from the people in Madam's room, no one else knows about this matter."

I heard from my mother that at noon, Brother Bao was in Madam's room and tried to rape Jin Chuan!

When the rape attempt failed, they ended up beating Jin Chuan instead.

In a fit of pique, Jin Chuan jumped into the well.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng was so angry he nearly fainted.

After finally regaining his footing, he roared, "Bring me the precious jade!"

……

　The buff is fully stacked, what's next?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)