Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 138 The present world report

East Cross Courtyard.

Mrs. Xing had just returned when Mrs. Fei came up to her eagerly and said, "Madam, Manager Lai just delivered a bag of spices himself. They're all fine items, and they look worth at least two hundred taels."

In the past, Madam Xing would have been overjoyed, but because of Chen Siyuan, Third Sister Xing was about to get married, and Madam Xing would get a sum of money soon. How could she be interested in a mere two hundred taels now?
He curled his lips and said, "Throw it back to me! You're a dog-eyed servant. How much of this garden has he embezzled? He provoked Brother Yuan, and now he wants to get rid of him with just two hundred taels? Pah!"

Mrs. Fei was silent as a cicada, and wanted to say a few words of comfort, but seeing that Mrs. Xing's face was frosty, she immediately became embarrassed and kept silent, and had to do as she was told.

Mrs. Xing sat upright on the couch, Miao'er and Tiao'er carefully waiting on her. She was thinking, "I'll go find Chen Siyuan now," but then she remembered she was short of money, so she suppressed her thoughts and decided to look for the thief tomorrow.

But when Mrs. Fei came out of the third ceremonial gate, she ran into Jia She, who was striding towards her. Mrs. Fei did not dare to neglect him and quickly stepped aside and bowed.

Jia She took a quick look and saw that Mrs. Fei was holding a brocade box. He could not help but stop and ask curiously, "What did she take?"

Mrs. Fei hurriedly said, "Master, it was Steward Lai who sent some spices, and Madam was unhappy with them, so she sent me back."

"Spices?" Jia She reached out and snatched the brocade box, opened it, and took a quick look. He saw the spices inside and estimated that they were no more than two hundred taels. He snorted coldly and said, "They only sent a few spices? Go and give them back to Lai Da. Don't bother with anything else!"

Jia She was counting on Chen Siyuan to help him make a fortune, and this move might as well have been a way of punishing the Lai family. The villa for the imperial visit was nearing completion, and from various tributes alone, Jia She had already received over three thousand taels, one thousand of which came from Lai Da.

Oh, Jia She thought clearly that Lai Daneng gave him one thousand taels, so he might have embezzled five thousand or ten thousand taels in private!

This time Jia She allowed Mrs. Xing to take advantage of the situation with the intention of blackmailing her. But Lai Da was so ignorant that he treated him, the eldest master, as a second brother who knew nothing about family affairs. Who was he trying to fool?
Seeing Jia She's gloomy face, Mrs. Fei hurriedly agreed. As Mrs. Xing's companion, she naturally followed her master's instructions in everything. With Mrs. Xing's instructions in front and the master's instructions behind, Mrs. Fei immediately felt more confident.

He immediately agreed: "Don't worry, Master, I know how to deal with it!"

The master waved his sleeves and said, "Go ahead."

Mrs. Fei bowed, then walked out of the black oil gate with a heroic spirit, entered the Rongguo Mansion through the corner gate, and went to look for Lai Da. After listening for a while, Mrs. Fei went straight to the back hall. Seeing Lai Da, Mrs. Fei said with a fake smile: "Master Lai, our mistress said that Master Lai is not needed for his filial piety. Can you please take these spices back?"

"This..." Lai Da stood up and frowned.

Mrs. Fei dropped the spices, thought for a moment, and then said, "The master just took a quick look. Ha...it's up to Mr. Lai to decide."

He sneered and walked away.

Lai Da's face was filled with worry, and he thought to himself, "This time I'm going to have to pay a lot of money... I'm afraid I won't be able to get by without a thousand or two taels." After a moment's thought, he personally picked up the spices, stuffed a thousand taels of silver into the box, and hurried back to the east wing.

After entering, he was led into the outer study and waited for a full cup of tea before the eldest master Jia She slowly came in.

As Jia She sat down, Lai Da bowed profusely and said, "I know I was wrong. I beg for your forgiveness, sir." Without waiting for Jia She to say anything, he hurriedly presented the brocade box and said, "I have another filial gift. I beg your inspection, sir."

Jia She remained silent, waiting for the servant to bring the brocade box. He opened it, examined it, and pinched it with his hand. He realized that the banknote was worth about one thousand taels. He felt a little relieved, and then a smile appeared on his face. He scolded, "Yuan'er is the Madam's nephew. He is usually respectful and filial. Even I find it difficult to teach him a lesson. Tell me, why did your son have to pick on him when there are so many people to pick on?"

Lai Da just kept bowing and kowtowed with a bitter face.

Jia She sighed and said contentedly, "Never mind. Since you are still respectful, I will go and persuade you later and let this matter go... But, there will be no next time."

Lai Da said firmly, "There won't be a next time! If my evil creature does it again, I will kill him myself and bring him to the master to apologize!"

Jia She waved his hand and said, "Forget it, as long as you know what's going on."

There was nothing else to say at the moment, and Lai Da flattered for a long time before leaving the outer study.

He returned to the back hall dejectedly, and soon everyone came over and took a glance at him, and saw the same sad face.

Lai Dajin hurriedly pulled him to a corner and asked in a low voice, "What did the madam say?"

Lai Dajia said: "The spices were collected, but... the wife has taken the rice warehouse twice. Boss, what do you think about this matter——"

Lai Da sighed, "What else can I do? I've been caught, so I just agreed to it, Madam. What will Master Yuan say?"

Lai Dajia said nonchalantly, "The first and second wives have appeased him. Even if he's still angry, what can he do? Besides, the crested ibis has been left behind. Maybe his anger will subside in a couple of days."

Lai Da was very thoughtful and shook his head, saying, "Don't be careless. That person is a very hard-working person. If he keeps holding on to me..."

Lai Dajia snorted coldly, "If you don't want to let him go, then don't let him go. At most, he won't go to the Imperial College. Later, we can donate an official position to Rong Ge'er!"

Lai Da was silent after hearing this, so Lai Da said, "Boss, that guy seems to be a stubborn person. It's useless for us to complain to him."

Lai Da could only sigh and say, "Forget it. Let's just take it one step at a time. Mother has lost her dignity and begged the old lady. I just hope this matter will be put to rest."

After the couple discussed it for a while, their worries disappeared.

Thanks to Nanny Lai's request, Lai Shangrong's scheme to harm Chen Siyuan became known to the entire household. Baochai, hearing that Chen Siyuan was fine, no longer worried. Daiyu, however, was annoyed, but as an outsider, she couldn't speak to him. After everyone had dispersed, she finally took up her pen and wrote a piece of paper, asking Xueyan to deliver it to Chen Siyuan when she had time.

Seeing it was still early, the three sisters went together to the Yingchun wing in the east wing. After talking for a while, they brought up this matter.

Tanchun frowned and said, "What a shame for the old lady's kindness! Who could have known that Lai Shangrong would be in such a state? I never thought he would bully Brother Yuan!"

Xichun nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right. The servant doesn't act like a servant, and the master doesn't act like a master. It seems so unreasonable."

Yingchun was a few years older and knew everything. She might not have much experience with external affairs, but she had a clear understanding of the affairs at home. It was simply because the old lady was reluctant to leave that she was entertaining a bunch of old servants.

If this continued, the servants would surely bully their master. However, since she was a lowly person, no one would care even if she spoke out, so it would be better to just hide her incompetence.

Hearing her two sisters say this, Yingchun laughed and said, "Brother Yuan is not someone you can easily mess with. Didn't Lai Shangrong hit a wall this time? You don't have to worry about Brother Yuan. He's acting cautiously and he won't stumble."

Tanchun shook her head and said, "Second sister, what you said is not right. As the saying goes, people make mistakes and horses stumble. If he really lets it harm you, how will Brother Yuan pass the imperial examination? I think the old lady is being too lenient this time."

Yingchun hesitated to speak, and finally sighed. Her two sisters were still young, and some things were hard to say.

At that moment, Siqi lifted the curtain and entered. After listening carefully for a few words, she stepped forward and said, "The Lai family is really interesting. They just sent a beautiful maid to Master Yuan, but Master Yuan sent her to Master Xue the next day. Oh, I'm afraid the Lai family thinks Master Yuan is a womanizer."

Xichun was extremely surprised when she heard this and asked, "Did Brother Yuan send the person to the Xue family?"

Siqi smiled and told him the news she had heard. She had gone back several times today, hoping to run into Chen Siyuan again, but unfortunately, her wish did not come true and she never ran into him.

Siqi was a stubborn person by nature. The longer she couldn't see him, the more she missed him. Just then, her heart felt like it was full of grass, filled with the shadow of Chen Siyuan.

When Siqi heard that Chen Siyuan had been wronged, she was furious. Coincidentally, the three girls were all there, and Siqi felt that she could not afford to offend the Lai family, so she simply came to pass on the message.

Tanchun frowned and said, "Another maid? Do the Lai family mistake Brother Yuan for Brother Bao?"

As soon as she said this, Tanchun realized she had said something wrong and quickly covered her mouth and stuck out her tongue.

But Yingchun looked at him with a smile but didn't teach him anything.

Who among the sisters didn't know Baoyu's character? It was only because the old lady doted on him that they praised him. If they really offended Baoyu, the three sisters would certainly suffer.

Xichun then said, "I'm afraid Brother Yuan is even more angry this time. Third sister, why don't we go and take a look together?"

Tanchun didn't hesitate and nodded in agreement, "Okay, let's go take a look."

The two sisters said goodbye to Yingchun and went to look for Chen Siyuan. As soon as they left, Siqi said, "Even if you can't go, please ask the third lady to pass on a message... After all, we are cousins."

Yingchun mumbled silently, her head bowed. Siqi knew Yingchun's feelings; though she hadn't spoken, it was clear she was secretly deeply moved. "That's good. If you bring it up often, maybe this good thing will finally come to fruition," she said.

Tanchun and Xichun came together to look for Chen Siyuan. They found themselves chattering away inside, and they were quite content to offer some solace. Chen Siyuan, smiling, chatted with the two young girls, briefly touching upon the Lai family's affairs, and then turned to the topic of birthdays.

As soon as the conversation turned to this, Xichun stopped thinking about the Lai family and could not help counting on her fingers: "The old ancestor has already given birth. After that, it's Baojiejie, Second Sister, and Third Sister. I won't be due until April."

Chen Siyuan said, "I remember Fourth Sister's birth. How about giving her a set of Danqing paintbrushes?"

Xichun blinked, her heart indeed moved. She said happily, "Brother Yuan, how did you know what I was thinking? I've been strolling around the garden these past few days, and I've been thinking of sketching it after I finish it... Unfortunately, I've never learned to paint, so I don't know if it's any good."

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "How many people can become famous masters of music, chess, calligraphy and painting? The rest are mostly just entertaining themselves. Fourth sister, just learn to paint, as long as it suits your own heart."

Xichun thought it made sense, so she agreed with a smile.

Just as Tanchun was about to speak, Yunxiang knocked on the door and came in, saying with a strange look on her face, "Master Bao was here just now."

"Ok?"

Several people looked at Yunxiang. Yunxiang pouted and said, "As soon as I opened the door, Master Bao asked where the new maid was. When he heard that she had been sent to Lixiang Courtyard, Master Bao went to Lixiang Courtyard."

Several people inside were stunned. Chen Siyuan chuckled to himself, thinking that only Baoyu could do such a thing. Going to another courtyard to check on the maids, what kind of thing was that?

Tanchun and Xichun exchanged a glance, speechless. Seeing it was getting late, they simply said goodbye to Chen Siyuan. As they left the courtyard together, they saw Baoyu approaching from the Pear Fragrance Courtyard with a frown on his face.

The two men hurried forward to greet him. Baoyu gave a vague reply, then walked away with a sigh, his hands behind his back, muttering faintly, "What a waste of natural resources."

Xiren had just mentioned that the Lai family had sent a maid named Zhuni to Chen Siyuan. Qingwen had come to the Lai household with Zhuni and immediately declared that Zhuni's beauty was not inferior to hers. If it weren't for Qingwen's needlework, Nanny Lai would have sent Zhuni to the Jia household.

When Baoyu heard that it was no big deal, he immediately wrapped his clothes in haste and went to see it. When he heard from a distance that the crested ibis had been sent to Xue's house, he hurried back to Lixiang Courtyard.

He went inside and spoke with Aunt Xue and Baochai, his eyes scanning the surroundings, evading the subject until he had a glimpse of the crested ibis. Baoyu was no fool, and knew it would be inappropriate to bring up the matter at this moment, so he went straight to the wing room to observe.

But after sitting there for a long while without seeing the crested ibis, he had no choice but to say goodbye. Before leaving, he glanced carefully into the side room and vaguely caught a glimpse of a beautiful figure tidying up the bedding. Baoyu immediately froze.

Just at this moment, Xue Pan came out of the side room and went forward to talk to him with a smile, but Baoyu didn't pay much attention to him and just kept looking into the side room.

After a while, the crested ibis was settled, and she stood up and turned to look outside. Baoyu saw her picturesque features, and how pitiful she looked, and his heart softened. Then he caught sight of Xue Pan's uncouth figure, and he felt a deep sense of unease. He sighed inwardly that such a beautiful woman had ended up in Xue Pan's room. It was truly like a flower stuck in cow dung!
There was no interest in talking anymore, so we just said a few words and went home disappointed.

Xue Pan still didn't know why Baoyu had suddenly lost interest, so he mentioned it to Aunt Xue and Baochai in the main room, expressing his surprise. Aunt Xue evaded the question with a few words, but Baochai, perceptive, guessed that Brother Bao might have fallen into the habit of pity for women again.

I wasn't too angry at all, I just thought that this was how this person should be.

Baoyu ran into Tanchun and Xichun, who were muttering about "wasting natural resources" as they left, which naturally made the two sisters puzzled. They followed Baoyu all the way through the villa where the relatives came to visit, and only said goodbye to each other when they arrived in front of Fengjie's courtyard.

At this time, the matter of Lai Shangrong provoking Chen Siyuan was a hot topic and had already spread far and wide. As well, the fact that Chen Siyuan gave the red-crowned crane to Xue Pan was also known to everyone.

Later, Lai Da and his wife found out about it, and they got together again to discuss it.

Lai Da said, "We've passed the old lady's test, the eldest master gave us a thousand taels, and we've also made concessions from the lady. As for that Mr. Yuan, even if he's still angry, what can he do? We've already sent him an apology, so whether he wants it or not is up to him."

Lai Da's wife was feeling uneasy and said, "Master, what if Mr. Yuan takes revenge again in the future?"

Lai Da was in a state of panic at the moment. There was no maid in the house who was more beautiful than Crested Ibis, so how could he care about these things? He just said a few perfunctory words and let it go.

The next morning, before Chen Siyuan left, Madam Xing came in person. Without even sending away the other maids, she went straight to Chen Siyuan and said, "Last night, the wife of the Marquis of Jinxiang came in person to deliver some money. Count it. Including what I give and what the master gives, it's a total of thirty-nine thousand taels."

Chen Siyuan took the banknotes and handed them to Hongyu, who counted them nearby. Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "Aunt, why bother coming here so early this morning? Just send someone to let me know this afternoon, and I'll pick them up myself." Madam Xing looked at the thick stack of banknotes reluctantly, and after a long moment, she averted her eyes and said, "These banknotes have kept me up all night. You'd better hurry and bring them over." After a pause, seeing that the new maid was indeed not among them, Madam Xing teased, "Have you changed your personality? I heard that the crested ibis is so beautiful, why don't you keep her in your room?"

Chen Siyuan said, "Aunt, what are you talking about? I'm not a lustful devil. I can't just take every pretty girl into my room, right?"

Mrs. Xing glanced at Xiangling and Hongyu, teasing them without saying a word.

After the banknotes were delivered, Mrs. Xing didn't stay any longer and left, taking a sedan chair back to the East Wing. Chen Siyuan had breakfast, dressed neatly, and headed for the Imperial College.

This day was just like any other, except that when Chen Siyuan went out at noon, he saw Lai Shangrong stopping in front of Suixing Hall.

Glancing at Chen Siyuan, Lai Shangrong opened his mouth to speak, but saw the people around Chen Siyuan looking at him in surprise. Lai Shangrong felt extremely ashamed, but Chen Siyuan stood in front of him calmly, a playful smile on his face.

Jiang Yuanqian took a few glances. He already looked down on Lai Shangrong, so he immediately asked, "Brother Lai, do you have any advice for me?" He paused, then suddenly realized, "Yes, are you here to talk about the relationship between master and servant? Oh, if that's the case, it would be difficult for us to sit in on it."

Lai Shangrong gritted his teeth secretly, opened his mouth, but the angry words of apology did not come out. He let out a long sigh and turned away.

Wang Zhongfang was puzzled and asked, "What exactly does this person mean?"

Chen Siyuan knew clearly in his heart that Lai Shangrong was going to be angry, but he couldn't let go of his face, so he simply turned around and left without saying a word.

Oh, everyone in the Lai family has spoiled you, and you have gained a lot of respect from being a slave for generations. But Chen Siyuan will not tolerate you!

Chen Siyuan said with a smile, "Who knows what this person is thinking? Come on, come on, I brought a food box today, brothers, come and try the Rongguo Mansion's cooking."

Wang Zhongfang was a big glutton, and upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "I've heard that the nobles in the capital never tire of fine food, and I'm just about to try it."

At that moment, several people left the Imperial College together. Chen Siyuan took the food box handed to him by the servant, and then went to the nearby food store with everyone else.

But Lai Shangrong, in the afternoon, was questioned by Doctor Wan about his homework. He had donated his scholarship, so where did his talent come from? He could only write a few sarcastic poems and lyrics, and in terms of knowledge, he couldn't even catch up with Chen Siyuan.

Dr. Wan has always been strict, and he was also under the care of Supervisor Tao. When he asked a few questions and saw that he couldn't answer, he took out the ruler and hit him with twenty slaps!

Dr. Wan still had some conscience, switching to his left hand this time. Even so, Lai Shangrong was deeply hurt. He couldn't help but wonder how much money Chen had spent. He had been beaten with eighty sticks in the past two days. If this continued, would he still have both hands?

Forget it, after today, I won’t be able to come again no matter what.

Lai Shangrong made up his mind and felt relieved. After finally waiting until the afternoon, when the teacher in the hall had just left the homework, he hurriedly packed up his bookcase and left the classroom without looking back.

When he got outside, he took his own sedan chair and went straight back to Lai's house.

The journey had been peaceful, but Lai Shangrong, recalling what had happened to Chen Siyuan at noon, was filled with rage, gnashing his teeth and thinking to himself that he would give Chen a hard time one day. At most, he could spend some money and find some young thugs to give the guy a good beating, at least to vent his anger.

Just as he was thinking about it, the sedan chair suddenly shook, and then he heard shouting outside.

“Ouch—”

"How do you walk?"

The Lai family sedan bearer cursed, "I was hiding to the side, it was you who bumped into me!"

Then I heard someone shouting outside, "You still dare to talk back? I'm not going to teach you a lesson today. You don't know that the Horse King has three eyes. Come on, beat me up!"

Lai Shangrong had just opened the curtain when several large men jumped out of the oncoming carriage and began beating him with clubs. The two sedan bearers and the servant were knocked to the ground in a few blows. Lai Shangrong was so frightened that he had just lowered the curtain, only to be pulled out by the collar of his shirt.

Lai Shangrong said in fear: "My dear, this is all a misunderstanding. I am willing to pay you back!"

The man in front of him glared at him and said, "Do I care about your money? You dog slave, prepare to be beaten!"

bang——

After one punch, Lai Shangrong felt dizzy and a rapeseed shop seemed to open in front of his eyes. Green, white, yellow and red rapeseeds appeared all at once. His ears were buzzing and he could not hear anything.

After the punch, another stick came down, hitting Lai Shangrong right on the forearm. Lai Shangrong felt the pain go deep into his bones, and he screamed and fainted from the pain.

A few young men looked around, nodded to the carriage at the entrance of the alley, cursed, got on the carriage, turned around and ran away.

The two sedan chair bearers and the servant groaned as they climbed up to take a look, only to see that Lai Shangrong's forearm was bent, and it was obvious that he was useless!

This place was not far from Lai's house, so the three of them did not dare to delay. They shouted and carried Lai Shangrong home.

But that day, Nanny Lai was sitting idle at home. Because Lady Jia had spoken, she thought the matter was over. Thinking of her grandson's injustice, she grumbled and thought about how she would give Chen Siyuan a good lesson one day.

She had just finished her inner complaints and was thinking that her good grandson Lai Shangrong would be back soon when she suddenly heard shouting outside. Then a maid came in in a panic and said, "Madam, it's bad! My brother's arm has been broken!"

"Ah?" Nanny Lai suddenly stood up, feeling dizzy.

Fortunately, the maids around him supported him and he did not fall. After finally recovering from his shock, he hurried out to greet them. After a few steps, he saw the servants carrying Lai Shangrong in.

Nanny Lai only took one glance and burst into tears: "My grandson, this... who the hell did this?"

The bruised-faced servant said, "I had just entered the alley when a carriage came our way. We bumped into each other and ended up on the opposite side. We argued with them for a bit, but out of the carriage jumped a few young thugs with short clubs and started beating us up. I was no match for them, so they pulled me out, gave me a punch, then a club, and then ran off cursing."

Nanny Lai felt as if the sky had fallen! She cursed and quickly ordered someone to carry Lai Shangrong to a soft couch. She also sent someone to Rongguo Mansion to invite the imperial physician to treat him.

Thinking about it, she realized that Lai Shangrong hadn't provoked any enemies recently, only Chen Siyuan, so she guessed that Chen Siyuan must have been behind this! The Lai family's hopes rested entirely on Lai Shangrong, so how could Nanny Lai care about anything else?
He dressed hastily, took a sedan chair and went to Rongguo Mansion to file a complaint.

However, after class that day, Chen Siyuan did not rush back to Rongguo Mansion, but instead went to the inner palace first. He had nearly 50,000 taels of silver in his arms, and he had to finalize the sea trade deal.

When they arrived at the inner court, they found Doctor Zhai, delivered the banknote, and received a receipt. The receipt was not only stamped with the inner court's seal, but also with the private seal of King Ping of Yan. It was much more reliable than the previous one.

After Chen Siyuan finished his task, he was about to leave. However, it happened that King Ping of Yan returned from the imperial city. Upon hearing that Chen Siyuan had arrived, he called him into the hall to ask questions.

When the two met, Chen Siyuan performed the greetings in accordance with the rules. When he stood up, he saw King Ping of Yan saying with a half-smile: "Shangyuan left two poems, and did not come upstairs. He took his confidante and turned away... Tsk tsk, Shuliang has become famous."

Chen Siyuan laughed awkwardly and said, "It's just a little trick. Your Highness, please forgive me for making fun of you."

King Ping of Yan said playfully, "Write a few crooked poems. Do you think you will become a poet in the future?"

Chen Siyuan's poems were widely circulated, and naturally, even within the imperial city, they had been heard. Emperor Yankang paid them no attention, but Concubine Wu and other concubines were obsessed with them and had been talking about them constantly for the past few days. Perhaps feeling unhappy, Emperor Yankang had just complained to Prince Ping of Yan about them.

That was why King Ping of Yan was teasing him so much.

Chen Siyuan was puzzled and said, "This... I only wanted to make a name for myself so that I wouldn't be looked down upon. I didn't think of anything else."

Prince Ping of Yan then advised, "You, from now on, you must focus on the right path. To tell you the truth, when His Majesty heard that you came up with that business, he was very pleased. But now that he hears that you are only focused on writing poems about women's grievances, His Majesty is very disappointed."

The emperor already knew about him? Chen Siyuan was delighted! As for the disappointment, it was just because he had gone astray. He could just straighten himself out later.

Chen Siyuan bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness. I will be more careful in my actions from now on and will not act recklessly again."

King Ping of Yan gave a few more instructions and then sent Chen Siyuan away.

Chen Siyuan was thinking clearly that he had no family background and no talent. If he wanted to make a fortune, he could only hope that someone above him would appreciate him, otherwise he would not be able to pass the provincial examination.

Since those few verses didn't quite capture the sage's meaning, he'd better try something else. Regardless, he was still a second-born human being, and even though his memories of his past life were hazy, he still had some knowledge.

Moreover, the Saint and King Ping of Yan were busy with many things, so he had to show some shining points from time to time so that the nobles would remember him. Otherwise, after a long time, who would still remember who he was, Chen Siyuan?

Then he thought again, now that the exchanges between the East and the West are becoming more and more frequent, the theories of the Western Barbarians are constantly spreading to Dashun, so he could write a book introducing the Western Barbarians.

There is no need to rush for this. I will find a chance to look through my previous books in the future and compile them into a book.

Excitedly returning to the Rongguo Mansion, Chen Siyuan got off the carriage through the back door. He paused briefly, wanting to walk down to Little Flower Branch Lane, but then he realized that You Erjie was still there, and going there would be like adding fuel to the fire. So he gave up the idea and turned around and went through the back door.

As soon as he arrived at his own courtyard and entered the door, he saw several women coming out to greet him, with worried expressions on their faces.

Chen Siyuan was puzzled and asked, "Why are you all so embarrassed? What's going on?"

Yunxiang came over and said, "Master, I heard that Lai Shangrong broke his arm, but you are looking for someone to teach him a lesson?"

"what?"

Hongyu pushed Yunxiang away and quickly explained, "A moment ago, Nanny Lai came crying and went straight to the old lady to complain. She said that her grandson Lai Shangrong had his arm broken by some young rascals, and she said it was all Master's orders."

Chen Siyuan thought to himself, this time it must be Xue Pan who did it? This guy has learned his lesson. He didn't show up himself, but simply used silver to invite the young lagu to beat people up.

Lai Shangrong's arm was broken? Serves him right! Such a vicious person, since we've already made enemies, shouldn't be given a chance to turn things around. Even if Xue Pan hadn't been there, Chen Siyuan would have been thinking of other ways to torture Lai Shangrong to the point of ecstasy.

Xiangling said with concern, "Master, that Lai Ma has great respect in front of the old lady. If the old lady asks you to confront her later—"

Chen Siyuan was amused and said, "Confrontation? I confront a servant? Oh, this is interesting." Seeing Hongyu, Xiangling, and even Liu Wu'er were worried, Chen Siyuan said, "Don't worry, this matter has nothing to do with me."

Chen Siyuan always kept his word in front of the girls. After hearing what he said, Hongyu and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Hongyu frowned again and said, "Even if it's nothing to do, Master must still be careful in dealing with it, lest he suffer an unexpected disaster."

As he was speaking, a loud voice suddenly came from outside, "Brother Yuan is back?"

Chen Siyuan turned around and saw Xue Pan standing in front of the door with a smile on his face, as if he was trying to show off his achievements.

Chen Siyuan turned around and came closer, pulling Xue Pan inside, complaining, "Brother Wenlong really did something?"

Xue Pan said proudly, "It's only twenty taels of silver, there are plenty of young men willing to take this job. Hey, hey, it's just that I broke that guy's arm, and I gave those young men an extra ten taels of silver afterwards."

Chen Siyuan was secretly delighted and quickly added, "Now that Nanny Lai has gone to complain, I'm afraid this matter won't be easily let go. Brother Wenlong, just stay home and don't spread this matter around."

Xue Pan curled his lips and said, "Brother Yuan, you look down on me like that. You just did something dirty. How can I brag about it?"

Chen Siyuan was about to say something else when he suddenly saw someone coming from outside. He looked carefully and realized that it was Yuanyang.

Yuanyang bowed and said solemnly, "Master Yuan, the old lady wants you to go to Rongqing Hall."

Xue Pan frowned immediately and said, "How about I go for a walk with Brother Yuan?"

Chen Siyuan patted Xue Pan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother Wenlong, just go home and rest. I'll go see what the old lady has to say."

　Happy New Year everyone~
　　Starting tomorrow, the update will be at 0:20. Once you have enough average subscriptions, you can ask for recommendations.

(End of this chapter)