Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 80 Taste (Subscribe)

But it was nearly three o'clock that day, and just as Mrs. Wang was about to go to see Lady Jia with Aunt Xue and Baochai, someone from Zhao Yihua's household came with a message.

Zhao Yihua's wife already held a grudge against Chen Siyuan, and immediately panicked, "Madam, this is terrible! I wonder what kind of lawsuit that Mr. Yuan got into. First, the shopkeeper Sun came looking for us, and then even Master Fu came looking for us."

Mrs. Wang frowned in displeasure and asked, "Do you know what the reason is?"

Zhao Yihua's family said: "I don't know about this."

A maidservant suddenly said, "Madam, I heard something. They say Master Yuan's tutor was a swindler who cheated us out of tens of thousands of taels of silver. Now he's disappeared without a trace. Those merchants who lost money will surely come after Master Yuan to settle the score."

Chen Siyuan was the eldest wife's nephew, and Mrs. Wang hated him because of him, so she naturally looked down on Chen Siyuan. Upon hearing this, she said angrily, "Oh my God, how can such a person live in our house? I must have a talk with the old lady."

Baochai sat at the head of the table and frowned slightly when she heard this, but didn't know what to say.

Aunt Xue was choked by Chen Siyuan and was speechless. Although Chen Siyuan sent Xue Pan back and returned the silver in full, Aunt Xue had never looked at this man straight in the eye.

Yin Shi did not defend Chen Siyuan, but said with a smile: "It's getting late, let's go to the old lady now."

Mrs. Wang nodded in agreement and immediately led the maids and old women, and the group of people went to Lady Jia's courtyard in a mighty manner.

They arrived a little earlier, and because Li Wan was staying in the hall, when Mrs. Wang entered, she found that Sanchun and Baoyu were both there, telling jokes with Jia's mother.

Mrs. Wang came forward and greeted them, and they all found their seats. After a few words, Mrs. Wang said, "Madam, I heard a story today. It seems that the eldest wife's nephew got into some legal trouble, so much so that even the magistrate Fu came to visit."

After the words fell, Sanchun looked at each other. They wanted to defend Chen Siyuan, but for unknown reasons, they couldn't speak for a while.

Baoyu smiled and said, "I know what mother said."

"Oh?" Grandmother Jia looked at Baoyu and said with a smile, "Even you know about this? Then tell me about it."

Baoyu paced back and forth, laughing, and said, "It seems that Brother Yuan's tutor was a swindler. He lied about being an advisor to Futai Yan, and used the pretext of opening a port to send ships to Fusang as an excuse to secretly raise tens of thousands of taels. Then he disappeared without a trace. I heard that those who lost money are going crazy looking for him."

"Oh, so that's how it is." There was a hint of displeasure on Jia's mother's face.

Mrs. Wang observed his expression and said, "I heard that even the eldest master lost money." After a pause, she added, "Yes, it seems that Feng Ge'er also invested 1,000 taels of silver."

Grandmother Jia pondered in silence, thinking to herself, "I already disliked Madam Xing's subservient behavior to Jia She and her greedy nature. Now a nephew has arrived who is even worse than Madam Xing. How could such a person be kept in the family? It would be better to find a reason to send him away as soon as possible, so as not to teach the younger generation a bad lesson."

Just as Grandmother Jia was about to speak, she heard the tinkling of bells and ornaments outside. Before anyone had even turned behind the screen, the sound, like the tinkling of silver bells, came over: "Why does it sound like the Madam is nagging me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Xifeng turned around the screen with a smile, stepped forward and greeted everyone one by one. Then she stood up and said, "No wonder you have been sneezing all day. I think it's because of my wife's nagging."

Grandmother Jia laughed heartily and pointed at Sister Feng and said, "I was just talking about you. I heard you lost some money."

Sister Feng blinked and said angrily, "Where did you hear that, old lady?"

Without mentioning Lady Wang, Grandmother Jia simply said, "Do you need anyone to tell me? This has spread throughout the entire house."

Feng Jieer covered her mouth and laughed, "That was just a lie to fool people outside, but the old lady took it seriously."

Grandmother Jia was extremely surprised and asked, "Is there a distinction between inside and outside in this argument?"

Sister Feng stepped forward and said with a smile, "Old Madam, you don't know that Brother Yuan was fooled by that tutor surnamed Sun. But Brother Yuan is very clever. A few days ago, he suddenly discovered his whereabouts and came back all sweaty. He hurriedly explained to the master and me that the receipt should be passed on as soon as possible.

Hehe, to be honest, I didn’t lose anything this time, I even made two hundred taels of silver.”

After Wang Xifeng finished speaking, the three sisters looked at each other and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Grandmother Jia also smiled and agreed, thinking to herself that it was a good thing she hadn't said anything about sending someone away. Otherwise, if it got out, wouldn't she be known as someone who couldn't distinguish right from wrong?
Baoyu was puzzled and said, "That's strange. Sister Feng clearly made a profit, so why does she insist on saying she lost money?"

Before Feng Jieer could answer, Ping Er said, "Master Bao, you don't know that when people outside lose money, they're naturally upset. If it gets out that Madam not only didn't lose money but actually made a profit, who knows, there might be those jealous villains who will spread rumors that our family is in cahoots with the swindlers."

Baoyu suddenly understood and clapped his hands in praise, "So that's how it is. Sister Feng is really thoughtful."

Rongqing Hall was filled with joy again, but although Mrs. Wang had a smile on her face, the Buddhist beads in her hand kept turning.

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

In the small courtyard at the back, there is a trumpet-shaped bell heirloom that has been passed down from our ancestors. Whenever there are any big or small events inside or outside the house, they will be spread by it and known to everyone in no time.

Just as Chen Siyuan was called away, the maid Yunxiang heard something from the wife outside and immediately came running back, shouting, "Oh no! Something's happened to the master!"

A loud shout rang out, Hongyu frowned in displeasure, and Xiangling was so frightened that she dropped the feather duster in her hand.

Hongyu lectured him, "Why are you yelling so much? What's wrong with that?"

Yunxiang said, "I'm not kidding. I just heard from Mrs. Zhang who was passing by that some shopkeeper came to collect a debt from you. I heard that even the Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate has come to your house. It's possible that he's going to arrest you and bring you to justice!"

After hearing this, Xiangling's heart skipped a beat!
As Xiangling's bedmate, she spent every day with Chen Siyuan. Chen Siyuan was always on edge outside, so when he got home, he inevitably relaxed a little, often frowning in deep thought.

Xiangling had always felt that the master was worried about something, but she was too embarrassed to ask. Now that she heard that he had caused such trouble, she was immediately panicked.

But Hongyu was not like that. She thought about it and felt that Chen Siyuan was calm and composed in the past few days and had not been panicked at all. She thought that everything should be fine.
Yin Shi stepped forward and grabbed Yunxiang's ear, saying, "The old women in this mansion are the best at gossiping. You heard something and spread it around. Wait until Master comes back and see how I'll teach you a lesson!"

Yunxiang muttered, "What if Master doesn't come back...ah, it hurts, it hurts—"

"If you dare to say that again, you'll be in trouble!"

Having said that, Hongyu couldn't help but feel uneasy.

After being scolded, Yunxiang hid aside with a wronged look in silence, only glancing at Hongyu with an angry look.

After a while, there was a creak in the door outside. Hongyu and Xiangling looked out and saw Chen Siyuan walking in calmly.

Yunxiang blinked and shouted, "Master is back? Eh? Doesn't that mean Master is fine?"

Hongyu said angrily, "You just believe everything you hear! I'll come back to settle the score with you later!"

Three maids came to greet them. Chen Siyuan saw that their faces were either concerned or puzzled, so he smiled and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Oh, yes, I think Yunxiang must have spread rumors again."

Yunxiang said aggrievedly: "I, I heard what Sister Zhang said."

Xiangling stepped forward and asked with concern, "Master..." Chen Siyuan smiled and nodded, "It's okay. It has nothing to do with me. I won't ask any questions when I come to your house. You won't have to ask me in court in the future."

Xiangling heaved a sigh of relief and patted her chest, saying, "That's good, that's good."

Hongyu laughed and said, "What kind of character does our master have? Those crimes have nothing to do with him!"

Yunxiang also said: "That's right, I was thinking just now that it must be someone outside who wronged you——"

"When did you say that?"

"I, I haven't had time to say it yet—"

After all the noise, Chen Siyuan felt relieved and couldn't help laughing. He then pulled Xiangling inside.

Yunxiang didn't care about Hongyu's lecture and followed in to ask Chen Siyuan the reason. Chen Siyuan gave him a brief explanation, but just as he finished, someone knocked on the door.

The little maid Yunxiang ran out to greet them, turning around and shouting, "Sister Yan'er is here to see Master!"

Hongyu frowned slightly upon hearing this and turned back to greet them. After a moment, she led Liu Yan'er in.

Chen Siyuan looked up and saw Liu Yan'er's face was panicked, her eyes red. She walked in without a word and asked anxiously, "Brother, how did you get into trouble for no reason?"

Chen Siyuan said, "It's fine. I was just dragged into this situation by the tutor." He paused and ordered, "The three of you should stop standing around. Go down and rest. I want to talk to Yan'er."

Xiangling and Hongyu had no suspicion of anything. They knew that this pair of master and servant had a deep friendship and there must be some things that they couldn't let outsiders know, so they responded and left together.

As soon as the person left, Liu Yan'er's expression changed immediately. She gritted her teeth and said, "How could this happen?"

Chen Siyuan said, "I told you last time that Hu Mang was being targeted, and they followed the clues and targeted Sun Guangcheng."

Liu Yan'er stepped forward and said anxiously, "In that case, shouldn't we also—"

Chen Siyuan nodded silently.

Liu Yan'er twisted her handkerchief and gritted her teeth, "If that's the case, why don't we just run away!"

"Escape? Where to escape?" Chen Siyuan said in a deep voice, "To be frank, if you stay in Rongguo Mansion, you might still have a chance of survival. If you leave... you might end up dead on the spot!"

Liu Yan'er was so frightened that she was shaking like a sieve, and she opened her mouth and spewed out all kinds of Yangzhou dialect, such as "deflated color", "incurable old eggs", "standing corpse", and "skin and five spicy things", some of which even Chen Siyuan could not understand.

She was probably scolding Sun Guangcheng for not being able to fulfill his promise and instead cheating her.

After a while, Liu Yan'er took a deep breath and asked, "Brother, what should we do now?"

Chen Siyuan said slowly, "I've tried my best to clear myself of any involvement, so we're safe for now. The person behind this forced me to investigate something, and whether it succeeds or not, your secret will not be exposed. If I were you, I'd better stay in the Xue family."

This was sheer nonsense. If Jia Lian had returned from Suzhou and Chen Siyuan's true identity had been revealed, then Liu Yan'er's true identity would have been exposed as well. However, at this point, Chen Siyuan was struggling to protect himself, so how could he possibly care about Liu Yan'er?

To put it bluntly, if this woman knew about Chen Siyuan's plan, she would definitely threaten him and ask him to take her away. Every additional person would bring more danger. Chen Siyuan was not a kind man. He cared about Xiangling, a good girl, so how could he care about Liu Yan'er's life or death?
"Is that so?" Liu Yan'er was suspicious.

Chen Siyuan asked, "The person behind this has asked me to investigate the death of Qin from the East Mansion. Can you help?"

Although the four great families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue were related by marriage for generations, and although Aunt Xue and Lady Wang were sisters, they lived in separate houses. Lady Wang usually visited every now and then, while Aunt Xue only visited during major sacrifices, which she considered fulfilling her duty as a relative.

Liu Yan'er is Xue Pan's concubine, so they are not related at all. Unless Liu Yan'er becomes Xue Pan's wife, she can't go to the East Palace.

Liu Yan'er was surprised to hear this and asked, "How is it related to the Qin family of the East Palace? She's dead, what's there to investigate?"

Chen Siyuan said meaningfully, "You really don't know?"

Hu Mang had been exchanging letters with Liu Yan'er before his death, and Chen Siyuan didn't believe that Liu Yan'er knew nothing.

As expected, Liu Yan'er fell silent. After a long pause, she said, "The person behind this is so reckless. How much money do you think the Qin family has hidden?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know." Chen Siyuan said, "No matter how much money there is, it has nothing to do with us. I advise you to behave yourself in the future. Now, only staying in the Xue family can protect you."

Liu Yan'er bit her lower lip, frowned, and looked at Chen Siyuan. She said, "I... was also blinded by the bright silver before. Brother... if you have the ability to escape, please take me with you."

Chen Siyuan was amused and said, "Where to escape to? That person is extremely powerful and has cast a tight net. Not only you, but even I intend to stay in the Jia family forever."

"Brother, are you trying to coax me?"

"believe it or not!"

Liu Yan'er was about to say something when she suddenly heard Yunxiang shouting outside: "Master, the eldest mistress is here!"

Liu Yan'er's expression changed instantly, and she gritted her teeth as she followed Chen Siyuan out the door.

As expected, Mrs. Xing brought Miao'er and Tiao'er. When she saw Liu Yan'er behind Chen Siyuan, she was surprised at first, but then she realized: Yes, this nephew is fake, and maybe this maid is also fake.

He then said with a forced smile, "Oh, Yan'er is really thinking about you, Pan'er is willing to let you come?"

Liu Yan'er said tremblingly, "Madam, the master is not at home. I, I panicked when I heard the news and ran over without caring about anything."

Mrs. Xing snorted twice, thinking that Liu Yan'er must be having an affair with Chen Siyuan. Her mood suddenly became strange, and she felt that she disliked Liu Yan'er no matter how she looked at her.

Glancing at Chen Siyuan again and seeing his burning gaze, Mrs. Xing's heart suddenly moved.

Chen Siyuan bowed and asked, "Why is my aunt here?"

Mrs. Xing thought to herself, you didn't call me like that then... Then she said in a sarcastic tone, "I heard that you were in trouble, so I came here to check on you." "I didn't expect that a vixen would come to my door already." Naturally, she didn't say what was in her heart after that.

Chen Siyuan said, "Aunt, come in and talk." After a pause, he said to Liu Yan'er, "You should go back soon. Now that you are a member of the Xue family, it is best not to come to see me in the future."

Liu Yan'er bowed pitifully and said, "Take care, brother. I'm going back."

(End of this chapter)