The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 574: Death to prove one’s ambition
In the past few days, Yi Hong was extremely busy. On the one hand, he recruited people to rebuild the Jinyiwei system, and on the other hand, he went out to arrest traitors and interrogate them to extract confessions. He was busy day and night. However, this was also the highlight of the Jinyiwei. He was so powerful that everyone was afraid of him and even the former cabinet chief Li Biao had to kneel down and beg for mercy.

Yi Hong liked this feeling very much, and he liked it even more when he was interrogating prisoners in the torture chamber. The smell of burnt flesh and blood, the screams when intestines were pulled out, and the sound of meat being scraped off bones by a knife were all fascinating enjoyment for him.

In short, he was so perverted that Yi Hong was recognized as a first-class cruel official. If he had not accompanied the emperor on the expedition and had escaped by luck, he would have been torn into pieces by his enemies.

When Jia Huan arrived at the Jinyiwei Yamen, Yi Hong was torturing a prisoner in the torture room. Upon hearing that Jia Huan was coming, he immediately washed his hands, came out with a bright smile, and said cheerfully, "Hey, what brings you here, Brother Huan?"

Although Emperor Qiansheng has not yet rewarded Jia Huan based on his merits, Jia Huan's contribution this time is not small, so a reward is inevitable. The key is that Jia Huan has such a close relationship with King Min, and coupled with Jia Huan's personal potential, Yi Hong naturally dare not neglect him.

Although Yi Hong had washed his hands, the strong smell of blood still wafted over from a distance. Jia Huan frowned secretly and said with a smile: "Sorry to bother you, Brother Yi. To be honest, Jia Huan would never come to see you for no reason. I have something I want to ask Brother Yi for help."

"Haha, Brother Huan, you are too polite." Yi Hong laughed. Jia Huan's calling him "Brother Yi" made him feel very comfortable. He asked Jia Huan to sit down and had someone refill the tea. Then he asked, "Brother Huan, are you here for the Jia family?"

Jia Huan nodded and said, "Not only the Jia family, but also the Xue family and the Shi family!"

Yi Hong's only eye flashed, he took a sip from the teacup and said, "Brother Huan, you have also seen how much the army has lost in suppressing the rebellion, and how serious the loss to the country is. The emperor wants to kill all the rebels. Key members like Wang Ziteng, Feng Tang, and Jia She will definitely be executed by slow slicing, and their three clans will be exterminated. No one dares to plead with the emperor at this time!"

Jia Huan nodded and said, "Brother Yi, you misunderstood. Jia Huan did not ask you to intercede with the emperor. He just wanted to redeem the women who were sent to the Jiaofangsi. With your connections and abilities, it shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Yi Hong smiled and said, "That's not a problem, but we can't redeem them all. After all, it would make too much noise and attract the attention of the censors. Then you and I would both be reported. Wouldn't that be a loss of both the wife and the army? Moreover, rebellion is a heinous crime. Even if the wives of the criminal officials are redeemed, they cannot be removed from the entertainment industry."

Jia Huan asked: "How many people can Brother Yi help redeem at most?"

Yi Hong stretched out his palm and said, "Including the girl, it won't exceed this number."

Jia Huan couldn't help but frowned and shook his head, saying, "Five places are too few, ten is about right, I'd like to trouble Brother Yi to help me a little more."

In fact, it was not difficult for Yi Hong to help redeem people. Not to mention five, even fifty were not a problem. The reason why he acted in an awkward manner was just to show Jia Huan. On the one hand, he wanted Jia Huan not to go too far, and on the other hand, he wanted Jia Huan to accept his favor.

So Yi Hong acted awkwardly for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said: "Well, for Brother Huan, I will risk my old face to ask for help this time, ten is ten."

"Thank you very much, Brother Yi. Jia Huan is very grateful. If you have any assignment in the future, I will definitely not refuse!" Jia Huan stood up and bowed, saying gratefully.

Although Jia Huan saw through Yi Hong's tricks, in order to save people as soon as possible, he had no choice but to owe him a favor.

Yi Hong was waiting for Jia Huan to say this, and immediately smiled and said, "Brother Huan, you are too polite. Your matter is my business. Don't worry, I will get it done for you tomorrow, but you have to prepare the ransom. I can be sincere to you, but the Jiaofangsi is a place where money is everything, so Brother Huan must be foreseen. The ransom will definitely not be low."

Jia Huan nodded and said, "Of course Jia Huan understands this."

Next, Jia Huan wrote a list and handed it to Yi Hong, while reminding him: "I hope Brother Yi will inform the music academy and don't let them suffer any injustice."

Yi Hong took the list and saw that the first one was indeed Baochai, the daughter of the Xue family. He smiled knowingly and said, "Don't worry, Brother Huan, go home and wait for the news. The earliest will be tomorrow morning, and the latest will be tomorrow evening."

Jia Huan thanked him again and left with peace of mind. Although Yi Hong was cruel, he was a man of his word and would definitely do what he promised.

"Brother Huan, how is it?" Xue Ke was waiting outside the Jinyiwei Yamen. When he saw Jia Huan coming out, he immediately asked impatiently.

"Yi Hong agreed, and there will be results tomorrow." Jia Huan replied.

Xue Ke breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and said gratefully, "Thanks to Brother Huan." After saying this, he was about to bow.

Jia Huan quickly supported him and said, "Master Ke, you are too polite. We are all family members."

The two of them returned home immediately and reported the matter to Lady Jia and others, and everyone felt relieved for the time being.

…………

In the Jiaofangsi, Xue Baochai was assigned to a separate room. Although it was far less comfortable than at home, she was treated the best among all the female relatives of the prisoners, and was served by her former maids Ying'er and Xiangling. This was not because the people in the Jiaofangsi were kind, but because of Xue Baochai's appearance and temperament, the experienced teacher (the madam) took a liking to her at first sight and planned to spend some time to train her into a courtesan and cultivate a cash cow.

"Girl, why don't you eat something? You haven't eaten for a day." Ying'er advised softly.

"I won't eat it, and you are not allowed to eat it either. Just be patient!" Xue Baochai shook her head slightly and warned.

At this moment, she couldn't eat at all, and she was worried that there was medicine in the food, which would make her feel uncomfortable and at the mercy of others. So she didn't dare to eat, and didn't allow Ying'er and Xiangling to eat.

Ying'er touched her rumbling stomach with a miserable expression. Xiangying was also so hungry that she was seeing stars, and she forced her eyes away from the plate of steamed buns on the table.

At this moment, the door of the room was pushed open, and a middle-aged woman in her thirties, still with some charm, walked in gracefully. This person was the one in charge of Xue Baochai's teaching. Her name was Xiao Sanniang, and she was one of the "gold medal teachers" of the Jiaofang Bureau. She had trained two top courtesans, and all the women in the Jiaofang called her Xiao Mama.

When Madam Xiao pushed the door open and came in, Ying'er and Xiangling were so frightened that they hurriedly stood beside Xue Baochai. The latter was also very nervous and bowed slightly, saying, "Madam Xiao."

Xiao Sanniang glanced at the untouched food on the table, frowned and said, "Why don't you eat? You have a good figure, you don't need to diet. If you starve yourself and lose weight, it will be bad."

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "I'm not hungry!"

Xiao Sanniang sneered, "Are you afraid that I will put drugs in the food? If I really let you entertain guests, there is no need to put drugs. Some guests like this. The more you resist, the more fun they have. You are a weak woman, how can you be a match for a man? In the end, you will just give in and let the man beat you up."

Xue Baochai was ashamed and angry. Ying'er scolded her, "Pooh, shameless old whore, get out now and don't pollute our girl's ears."

Xiao Sanniang was furious: "You are such an unruly slave, you are so sharp-tongued. Well, since you won't accept my toast, I will teach you a lesson."

"What... do you want to do?" Ying'er suddenly felt something was wrong.

Xiao Sanniang smiled maliciously and said, "You, a slut, look pretty sweet. I wanted to keep your body and sell it to someone else for money. Since you don't know what's good for you, I'll open your body first. It's also a good opportunity for you girls to learn how to serve a man."

Baochai turned pale when she heard this, while Ying'er and Xiangling turned even paler and trembled.

"Someone come!" Xiao Sanniang clapped her hands, and two sturdy turtle slaves flashed in, smiling evilly with shining eyes, "What do you want, Sanniang?"

Xue Baochai was shocked and frightened when she saw this. She gritted her teeth, pulled out the pearl hairpin from her bun, put the tip of the hairpin against her neck, and threatened desperately, "Madam Xiao, don't force me!"

Xiao Sanniang's face changed suddenly. This was her future cash cow. She was counting on her to earn tens of thousands of taels of silver. She smiled and said, "Good girl, put this hairpin down quickly. Don't hurt yourself. Mom was just joking with you."

As Xiao Sanniang spoke, she moved closer and tried to snatch the pearl hairpin from Xue Baochai's hand. However, the latter quickly retreated to the wall and said with a determined look in her eyes, "Don't come over here. If Madam Xiao forces me again, I will only die!" After she finished speaking, she exerted force with her hand, and the tip of the hairpin apparently pierced the skin, and blood immediately appeared on her snow-white neck.

Xiao Sanniang didn't dare to get any closer, and smiled: "Good girl, don't do anything stupid. Even ants try to survive, let alone humans. In fact, as long as women think about it, it's just like that. Here you have good food and accommodation, and there are many men flattering you. It's just sleeping with men. Just like being bitten by a mosquito, it won't hurt. A girl with your appearance may even be redeemed by a noble in the future..."

Xue Baochai could not help feeling both ashamed and angry. Although the Xue family was engaged in business, their ancestors were also a prominent family. As a lady from a wealthy family, how could she have suffered such humiliation before? Thinking of her brother Xue Pan's life and death and her separation from their mother, whom she might never see again in this life, it was like her family was broken up. For a moment, she felt completely hopeless and decided that it would be better for her to die rather than live in this world, trapped in such a quagmire of filth and humiliation.

Thinking of this, Xue Bao couldn't help but increase the strength of his hands, and blood immediately gushed out.

"Miss!!" Ying'er and Xiangling were so frightened that they rushed forward and pulled Xue Baochai's hands from the left and right.

Xiao Sanniang was also so frightened that she rushed forward, snatched the pearl hairpin from Xue Baochai's hand, and stamped her feet, saying, "What a silly girl."

There was a bloody wound on Xue Baochai's neck. Although the wound was not too deep because it was stopped in time, the blood still kept flowing out, wetting her clothes in an instant.

Xiao Sanniang hurriedly asked someone to bandage the wound and called a doctor for treatment. She finally managed to save the boy, but Xue Baochai's determination also frightened Xiao Sanniang, so she did not dare to force her too much.

(End of this chapter)