Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 33 Seeking benevolence will lead to benevolence

Rongfu!

Outside the building where Pan Youan was detained in the northeast corner.

Si Qi opened the door and called in a low voice: "Cousin! Cousin! Are you in there?"

She saw the mother-in-law in the Yingchun room in the morning, instead of working, she gathered together to whisper and scold, not wanting to be ridiculed instead, only then did she know that something happened to her cousin Pan You'an, and she didn't care to get angry with them anymore.

He hurriedly took leave and asked around, and finally heard about this. He sent away the gatekeeper with a few months' worth of money he had saved.

"Cousin! Cousin, save me!"

Pan You'an who was inside heard the call and yelled in a crying voice.

"You...why are you so confused!"

Thinking of what the mothers-in-law said, I felt ashamed and angry, and didn't know how to speak.

"It's all Master Bao, he forced me to do it!"

"He forced you to obey him? With your talent, even if you hate him, won't the second master appreciate it? Now he is hiding in the house and coaxing thousands of people to praise him. How about you?"

It's okay that Si Qi didn't talk about Jia Zheng. When Pan settled down and talked about Jia Zheng, he remembered what he said to Mrs. Wang before leaving - he can't be allowed to go out and talk nonsense!

He, who has always been smart, suddenly thought that only dead people cannot speak.

In addition, he had not eaten a grain of rice since yesterday evening and was locked in a dark room. He was already hungry and scared. He even suspected that Mrs. Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang were going to starve to death.

It will be easy to find a life-saving straw, and you must hold on to it even if you die.

"Cousin! You can't ignore me! I'm doing this for you. If I didn't want to save you as soon as possible, I wouldn't go along with him."

He told a lie and believed it himself.

"It's because of you that I'm in this situation. Cousin, you can't ignore me!"

Siqi thought he was telling the truth and said sadly: "I am just a maid, how can I care about you? I only hope that you will gain wisdom and work steadily in the future."

Hearing this, Pan An inside started sobbing again.

"In the future? Where did my cousin come from? In the future, the second master is afraid that he will kill me!"

"How is that possible!" Siqi outside exclaimed after hearing this.

"Why not! Can what I heard with my own ears be false?"

Suddenly I thought of what Mrs. Wang said before leaving, as if I had grasped a life-saving straw.

"There is... there is someone who can save me!"

Si Qi only thought he was talking about Baoyu, gritted his teeth and said: "If he was willing to save you, would you still be locked up here? I went there before coming here, and he was being grounded by his wife! When I heard that I was asking for mercy for you Yes, he covered his head under the quilt and let me be kicked out by some girls in his room."

"It's not Second Master Bao! It's Master Lai!"

"How could it be him? He is not the master of the house, so why can he save you!"

Si Qi's words were not so much asking Pan You'an as he was talking to himself.

At first, she just thought Pan Youan was ill and rushed to seek medical treatment. She was frightened and started talking nonsense.

Secondly, when I mentioned Lai Shangrong, I couldn't help but think of his plot and my untimely throbbing that night.

So I quickly dismissed Pan Youan.

"Cousin, you don't know, my wife said she would let him deal with me. As long as you beg him, he will definitely not refuse."

"I tried to trick him last time, but he was afraid that he would hate us before it was too late, so why would he be willing to help us? Besides, the master and missus want your life, so what can he do?"

"My wife wants to hand me over to him. As long as he is willing to release me privately, then the body will be thrown into a mass grave. Will they still check it? Since he has that idea, cousin, you will definitely find a way to call me He agreed, and now I can only count on you." Although he didn't say it clearly, the meaning between the lines was very clear. Si Qi felt that his vision went dark, and he couldn't calm down for a long time.

Pan You'an inside saw no movement for a long time, so he just pretended that Siqi didn't care about him. He slapped the door panel and said mournfully: "Cousin! Cousin, please don't leave! I'm doing this for your own good. If you follow him, you won't have to worry about food and clothing... ...By the way! He is still a civil servant, so you might have a chance to be an official wife in the future..."

"Stop talking!" Si Qi couldn't stand listening anymore and said decisively: "Don't worry, I will definitely ask him to save you!"

After saying that, he left without looking back.

…………

Ning Mansion, in the You family courtyard.

Madam You and the three You sisters were talking on the kang in different postures.

"Lai Shangrong? Although his family is still working as an errand in the government, he has long since resigned and won the imperial examination. Even if he cannot become a Jinshi, it will not be difficult to be appointed as a county magistrate in a few years thanks to the connections in the government. His sister will be his wife. It’s a good match.”

The third sister You was lying on the kang. Hearing this, she stretched her legs straight, straightened her waist and bowed, sat up and said, "Oh! Who told you that you are a wife? Sister, let me be his concubine!"

Mrs. You slapped her angrily: "Bah! Mr. Qin didn't decide who it was! It could be you!"

"How did this happen? How can I say that you are also the mistress of the Duke's Mansion, and you are also my younger sisters, how can you be someone's concubine! Besides, his second uncle is still working here, how can I see people in the future?"

"Hey! You still know that we are your sisters! I haven't seen you help us in these years, but now you recognize your sister!"

Although Third Sister You also objected to Second Sister You being a concubine, it did not prevent her from being disgusted with You.

Youshi said guiltily: "It's not like you don't know what's going on with me. Besides, your expenses are too high..."

In the early years, she also supported them for a while, but the expenses for her stepmother and two younger sisters were too high, and she didn't have much dowry, and the monthly money was not enough to make up for it, so she gradually became too lazy to pay attention to it.

"Hey! You are well-dressed and well-fed by your maidservant and mother-in-law, but you let us have a simple life. To tell you the truth, the second sister agreed. I came here today just to tell you!"

Third Sister You was even more proud when she saw that You was deficient, and deliberately said something to annoy her.

Youshi couldn't fault her words for the moment, so she had no choice but to look at Sister You.

Second Sister You was originally an outsider. She listened to her elder sisters bickering and cracking melon seeds. When she saw You turning to stare at her, she hurriedly dropped the melon seeds.

She said shyly, "Don't listen to Third Sister's nonsense. I just want to ask if his house is really half as big as yours."

As he spoke, he made a circle with his hands, but You felt it was not enough, so he let it go, making Third Sister You laugh loudly.

Youshi said angrily: "If you really have such a big house, would you be willing to live in a small one?"

As soon as she asked this question, Mrs. You and Third Sister You stretched their necks and stared at Second Sister You, waiting for her answer.

Second Sister You nodded lightly and whispered softly: "What's wrong with being a child? Isn't it just wearing gold and silver and having enough food and clothing, how can I be inferior to my real wife? Besides, it doesn't matter who the master favors. ! We are not from humble backgrounds, there are always decent concubines, and if we get started early, we can be more valuable than our children."

This theory is similar to that of later generations who would rather cry after riding in a BMW than laugh after riding on a bicycle.

The second sister You looks timid, but in fact she knows what she wants better than the third sister You, and she also recognizes the reality.

Mrs. You suddenly burst into a smile, and slapped Third Sister You's upturned lotus feet: "Your second sister is still sensible, relying on you to drink the northwest wind!"

These words also stung You Shi, Jia Zhen always likes the new and dislikes the old, and there are a lot of young wives in the family, her step-wife is not much better than a widow, and she has no chance to think that mother is more expensive than child.

But if his sister is really given to Lai Shangrong as a concubine, it will be difficult to save the last trace of face.

Can only do the last struggle.

"But the second sister still has a marriage contract, how can..."

"Alas! The Zhang family is now in dire straits. How can he still refuse to break off the engagement if we give him more money? Anyway, if we tell Mr. Qin and the man named Lai about this, we won't still need to pay for the money, right?"

(End of this chapter)