Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 56 Flies
Xue Pan only mumbled, "Let's talk about this later." Suddenly, he felt something was wrong and glared at Liu Yan'er with his big eyes, "Hey, are you still thinking about him?"

Liu Yan'er was stunned for a moment, then her eyes turned red. She said aggrievedly, "Master, what you said is really unreasonable. Master Chen and I were master and servant after all. So what if he's dead? You forced me to come here that day, and now you're disgusted with me. Why don't you send me back? Wuuwuwu—after I've seen Master Chen, I'll find a temple to shave my hair and become a nun!"

Xue Pan choked. After that day, thinking that Xiangling hadn't even had a chance to eat her, and now she had been replaced by someone far less beautiful, Xue Pan felt aggrieved.

But after spending so much time together, Liu Yan'er had become quite adept at seducing Xue Pan. She allowed Xue Pan to control her in bed, responding to whatever he said, even more so than the girls in Jinxiang Courtyard. Furthermore, she flattered him daily, praising Xue Pan from time to time, so Xue Pan actually felt that the change that day was a good one.

Xiangling is so dull and stupid, like a wooden stake, how can she be so charming?

In addition, given the repeated dissuasion before, if Xue Pan had not insisted on his own way, how could there have been such a disaster today?

Xue Pan thought to himself that Yan'er still cared about him. She was gentle and understanding. Although she was a plaything, he couldn't just hit or scold her as he did in the past. So he said, "Forget it, forget it. I just said it casually, but you took it to heart."

Liu Yan'er immediately threw herself into Xue Pan's arms and said coquettishly, "My heart has chilled at your words, Master. How could you say that casually?"

Xue Pan looked down and saw that Liu Yan'er's cross-collared shirt was slightly torn, revealing the tender white skin underneath, which made Xue Pan very excited!
"Where is it cold? Let me feel it!"

"Master~"

Just at this moment, he suddenly heard the jingling of rings and bracelets outside. Xue Pan quickly retracted his "An Lushan Claw", pushed Liu Yan'er away, and stood up to go out to greet them.

Seeing Aunt Xue and Baochai, Xue Pan asked anxiously, "What did Aunt Xue say?"

Aunt Xue said angrily, "What else can I say?" Then, remembering Xue Pan's unruly nature, she said, "Forget it. Don't worry about this matter anymore. Your uncle has sent someone to deliver a letter to Fu Tuiguan's house, and the constables will be secretly investigating soon."

Xue Pan said, "That's good...but I don't know if I can get her back."

Liu Yan'er, standing aside, lowered her eyebrows and looked submissive, but her eyes were still red. She thought to herself: This must be the work of Old Sun. Now that he has succeeded, how can I get it back?
Aunt Xue noticed that Liu Yan'er seemed to have cried again, but she didn't want to scold Xue Pan anymore, so she just sent him back to his room to rest.

Only mother and daughter were left inside. Aunt Xue pulled Baochai over to sit on the kang, frowning and saying, "I just hope we can catch that swindler—" After a pause, she added, "The eldest lady was so happy just now. I wonder what advantage she got."

Upon hearing this, Baochai said, "From what Ying'er said, it seems as if the eldest lady and the young lady have made a fortune."

Aunt Xue said disdainfully, "You come from a humble family, after all. How can you be so happy with just a few hundred taels?" Then she asked Baochai, "How did you earn that?"

Baochai pondered for a moment and then told Ying'er the letter she had heard.

Aunt Xue was very surprised when she heard this and asked, "Does Brother Yuan know Governor Yan's aide?"

"I heard that he was his tutor in his early years."

Aunt Xue nodded, and after a brief thought, she began to think. The news of the port opening had been reported in the official gazette, so it couldn't be fake. Since the man was Chen Siyuan's tutor, it couldn't be fake either. Even if there were some risks, wouldn't it be easy to just resell the property and earn a tenth of the profit for free?

"My son, you say—"

Before Aunt Xue could finish, Baochai said, "Don't overthink it, mother. Although the previous incident has been resolved, if you were in Brother Chen's shoes, how could you feel so happy now? Let's go to his house and ask for help now. Regardless of what others think, we must not let Brother Chen look down on our family."

Aunt Xue was immediately filled with melancholy upon hearing this. She sighed, "Your brother is also a scoundrel. He said earlier that he would treat Brother Yuan to a drink when he had time. Why has he been silent for so long?"

Sister Bao looked calm but lamented in her heart, if her brother was reliable, why would the Xue family have to live under someone else's roof?

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

By the evening of that day, Xiangling had improved considerably and was able to move about a little. Chen Siyuan was teaching her in the study. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. Hongyu hurried out to greet them, then returned from the courtyard, saying, "Master, Second Madam and Miss Ping are here!"

Chen Siyuan did not dare to neglect and hurried out of the study to greet them. When he arrived at the main door, he saw Feng Jieer leading Ping'er to his presence.

Chen Siyuan stepped forward to greet him, and Sister Feng returned the greeting, saying, "Brother, please don't be so unkind."

Chen Siyuan smiled and led him in. They seated themselves and served tea. Feng Jieer went straight to the point and asked, "Brother Yuan, how's that matter going?"

"This... I can't say I've accomplished my mission, I can only say it's half accomplished."

Wang Xifeng was puzzled and asked, "What does this mean?"

Chen Siyuan looked helpless as he explained, "Second sister-in-law, you don't know, but Master Sun is in a difficult situation right now. I don't know who leaked the news, but wealthy merchants from all over the place are flocking in. One has the support of the Prince's Palace, and the other has the support of the Earl. Whether they give or not, or give too much or too little, any mistake will offend others."

Wang Xifeng nodded and said, "Brother Yuan is right. Opening a port... and heading to Fusang is a lucrative business that's hard to find even with a lantern. Won't flies everywhere sniff it out and pounce on it?"

Chen Siyuan said, "I talked to Master Sun about it, and he agreed. Well... I'm ashamed. This was my second sister-in-law's first request, and I didn't do a good job."

Wang Xifeng said happily, "Brother Yuan, what's the point? I'd be so grateful if you could get involved."

Previously, Wang Xifeng had only been vaguely concerned, but today, upon hearing that her cheap mother-in-law had made a profit of two hundred taels, her heart suddenly warmed. If it were really difficult to move, she would have temporarily withheld the monthly allowance from the rear residence for six months and used it to support the maritime trade.

At that moment, Sister Feng smiled and glanced at Ping'er, who then counted out a stack of banknotes from her sleeve pocket. Sister Feng took it and pushed it in front of Chen Siyuan, saying, "Brother Yuan, please check and see if the amount is correct."

Chen Siyuan didn't take the banknote either. He just smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law is so straightforward and thoughtful, how could it be wrong?"

Feng Jieer felt relieved and chuckled, "Although I'm straightforward, I can't compare to Brother Yuan's generosity. They say relatives are close or distant. Brother Yuan, I won't say much else. Let's wait and see."

Chen Siyuan smiled and nodded, then said, "To be honest, I do have a request for you, Second Sister-in-law."

"Oh?"

Chen Siyuan said, "A few days ago, I ran into a woman in the outer city. She had cut her face and was struggling to make a living. Now she only relied on washing clothes for others to survive. I took a quick look and listened, and I found out that this woman was actually a maid who was kicked out of the Rongguo Mansion."

Sister Feng pondered, "Do you know her name?"

"Qian Xue."

Feng Jieer was speechless. Qianxue was Baoyu's head maid, and it wasn't Feng Jieer who drove her away.

Chen Siyuan said, "I feel really sorry for her. I wonder if Second Sister-in-law could raise her hand and release her from her bond?"

Sister Feng lowered her voice and said, "This is a simple matter. I'll have Ping'er deliver it to you later. But—"

Before he could finish his words, Yunxiang called out from outside, "Master, Aunt Zhao is here!"

Who? Aunt Zhao?
Chen Siyuan almost thought he had misheard, but when he saw Sister Feng was equally puzzled, he couldn't help but feel even more puzzled. He thought to himself, I have never had any contact with Aunt Zhao, so why did she come to see me now?
At this moment, Sister Feng said, "Look, what was I just saying? It's here now, isn't it?"

Chen Siyuan suddenly laughed secretly, thinking that in Feng Jieer's eyes, Aunt Zhao was just like a fly - she didn't bite but was annoying.

(End of this chapter)