Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 54 Xue Pan falls into a trap
Chen Siyuan exclaimed in surprise, then smiled graciously and asked, "Where did this come from?"

Yunxiang came over and said, "A wealthy businessman came to pay us a visit this morning, but we didn't expect to run into the master returning home. Then Nanny Wang let it slip that the mistress had made two hundred taels of silver in just a few days by trading it. The mistress made a fortune for nothing, but it's all thanks to her nephew. Everyone's talking now! The master must have made a fortune this time!"

"Madame Wang? Which Madame Wang?" Chen Siyuan asked.

"Sister Siqi's grandmother is Wang Shanbao." Yunxiang replied.

Tsk tsk, Mrs. Xing can't even control her personal nanny. Any disturbance in the east wing courtyard will spread to the whole place in no time... No wonder Lady Jia looks down on her. She is so focused on money. She can't even manage her own courtyard, so how can she manage the family?

Chen Siyuan thought to himself, but smiled and said, "I'm just a passing fortune god. I touched the money and gave it away. How can I be rich?"

Yunxiang's eyes darted around, but she didn't care. She just lowered her voice and said, "Master, could you help my family make some money as well?"

Chen Siyuan stopped and said playfully, "It's not impossible... The problem is, do you have money?"

Yunxiang said, "Of course I can't compare to the masters, but I've been frugal these years and saved seven or eight taels. If I go back and ask my parents for help, I can finally get fifty taels."

Chen Siyuan laughed heartily and said, "You're far from being able to intervene in the opening of the port with just one thousand taels. You should keep the money for yourself."

After saying that, he didn't care about Yunxiang and went into the house.

Yunxiang blinked, and when she was about to chase after him, she saw Hongyu standing at the door. A single glance at her frightened Yunxiang.

Yunxiang was feeling annoyed and was about to go to the west wing when Hongyu frowned and asked, "Have you finished writing the big characters that Master ordered?"

"Write it right away!" Yunxiang ran into the west wing.

Hongyu closed the door, turned around to remove Chen Siyuan's cloak, and helped him wash his hands. She couldn't help but say, "That Yunxiang seems to be a person who only cares about food and not punishment. How could she be back to her old ways just a few days ago? I don't think you can treat her well, otherwise she might open a dyeing workshop in a few days!"

Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "I'll leave the whole household to you. Just watch and hammer."

Hongyu was secretly delighted and brewed some strong tea. Chen Siyuan had just taken a sip when he heard someone outside shouting, "Damn you bastard! My money's gone!"

A female voice then offered soothing words, but unfortunately, it was indistinct. Chen Siyuan was puzzled, wondering, "Does the voice sound like Xue Pan's? What trouble has this dull bully gotten himself into again? Could it be that Liu Yan'er was right?"

He wanted to find out, but he couldn't really go out and eavesdrop. At this moment, through the glass window, he saw the door of the west wing was pushed open, and the little maid Yunxiang came to the wall near the east wing. Because she was short and couldn't see clearly, the girl even brought a stool to stand on, so that half of her face was exposed on the wall and she looked in with great interest.

Hongyu saw this and was about to go out to discipline her, but Chen Siyuan stopped her and said, "Forget it, let her listen. I'm also very curious."

Hongyu stopped and glanced at Chen Siyuan as if she didn't recognize him. Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "What? You don't allow me to be curious?"

Hongyu chuckled and covered her mouth with her hands, saying, "I've always thought you were audacious and all you cared about was worldly affairs, but I never thought you were just like an ordinary person... curious."

Chen Siyuan said as a matter of course: "Everyone is curious."

Before arriving, Hongyu had taken a single, deliberate glance at Chen Siyuan, and from that glance, she had made up her mind. After spending the past twenty days together, the girl's heart was completely consumed by Chen Siyuan. Because she loved him, she didn't notice anything unusual. Instead, she felt that her master had a more down-to-earth air, no longer resembling the clay or wooden statues in the temples. Hongyu smiled and said, "To be honest, sir, I think I've had some feelings for him too... I'll call Yunxiang to question him later."

Chen Siyuan agreed with a smile.

After a cup of tea, the maidservant Yunxiang came down from the wall, still unsatisfied, picked up a stool and skipped towards the west wing. At this moment, Hongyu opened the door and beckoned, "Yunxiang, come in and talk."

Yunxiang suddenly became like a mouse seeing a cat, with her head drooping and her mouth pouting as she walked into the main room.

When the person inside bowed, Hongyu asked, "What did you hear just now?"

Yunxiang blinked, and seeing that Hongyu hadn't taught her a lesson, her fear vanished instantly. She beamed with joy as she said, "It was across the aisle, so I couldn't hear it clearly. But I vaguely heard that Master Xue had lost seven or eight thousand silver coins, and at that moment he was ready to kill someone with a knife in hand.

Sister Yan'er held Master Xue's legs and refused to let him go. Later, the concubine and Miss Bao came out. The concubine got angry and slapped Master Xue. Miss Bao said something else, and then the whole family went into the main room.

There is no doubt about it, it must be the Nanmu incident, something has happened!
Yunxiang smacked her lips and sighed, "Tsk tsk, the Xue family is really rich! That's seven or eight thousand silver coins, and they're gone just like that!"

Hongyu vaguely guessed Chen Siyuan's thoughts—they were distant relatives, and since the eldest wife seemed unconcerned, she naturally had to be extremely cautious while staying in the mansion. If she said the wrong thing, she could easily offend someone. That was why the master had deliberately asked Yunxiang to snoop around. Even if she couldn't flatter him, she could at least avoid any concerns.

Yin opened his mouth and said, "Listen carefully from behind the wall. Half of your head is exposed. If anyone takes a peek this way, how will I explain it to them?"

Yunxiang said, "I'm watching. If anyone looks over here, I'll squat down and won't let anyone see me."

"Huh?" Hongyu glared.

Yunxiang immediately shrank her neck and whispered, "Oh, I see."

Hongyu waved her hand, and the little maid immediately retreated as if she had been pardoned.

............................................................

Lixiangyuan, main room.

Xue Pan knelt on the ground, his head hanging low. Beside him, Liu Yan'er also knelt prostrate, her face tearful as she sobbed, "Madam, if you want to punish me, punish me. When I heard Master's plan that day, I felt something was amiss, so I only tried to persuade him a few times. Who knew that the liar would actually succeed?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Pan stiffened his neck and said, "How can I blame you? This was my own idea... It was Wild Bull's fault. The other day, that liar took me to the residence of the old Prince Yi Zhong, and I looked around. When the servants saw that liar, they all called him Manager Liang... Who knew he was a liar?"

Aunt Xue didn't even look at Xue Pan. Although she didn't like Liu Yan'er in her heart, she said, "Good child, this matter has nothing to do with you. It was this evil creature who acted on his own." She then winked at Tongxi and Tonggui, and the two immediately stepped forward to help Liu Yan'er up.

Aunt Xue secretly wished for luck, then looked at Xue Pan and cursed, "You bastard, why didn't you ask Zhang, the housekeeper, about this business?"

　I was supposed to post the next chapter on time, but somehow I got the next one posted, so I'll move this one up. Also, I've written some stuff in the work-related section, so if you're interested, you can take a look.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)