The splendor of the Red Chamber, the power that reigns supreme.

Chapter 72 Chen An's Predestined Fate

Looking at Chen An, whom he had driven out of the mansion.

"You insolent fool!" Ximen Qing shouted angrily, his gaze flashing like lightning towards Laiwang. "There are distinguished guests in the front hall! What kind of behavior is this, causing such a commotion?! What's going on?!"

Laiwang knelt down with a thud, not even bothering to wipe his sweat. His voice was filled with panic and lingering fear as he hurriedly reported, "My lord, please calm down! My lord, please calm down! It's all my fault! It was that thieving scoundrel... that dog Chen An! He... he actually dared to crawl through the dog hole in the backyard and sneak into the inner courtyard to harass and entangle Miss Yuxiao! He had malicious intentions! Miss Lian discovered this and warned us, so I brought men to bring this audacious thieving scoundrel here! I have disturbed my lord and distinguished guests, I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

As he spoke, he glared at Chen An, who was struggling on the ground, out of the corner of his eye, as if he wanted to devour him whole.

Upon hearing the words "pulling and entanglement" and "malicious intent," Chen An on the ground felt as if he had been branded with a hot iron. He struggled even more fiercely, twisting his bound body desperately. His eyes were filled with grievance and urgency, and he let out louder sobs, clearly wanting to say something.

Ximen Qing stared coldly at Chen An, who was writhing on the ground, then glanced at Lai Wang, who was kneeling on the ground trembling like a leaf. Then, thinking of Pan Jinlian's claim of witnessing the incident, his mind went through several twists and turns.

He waved his hand, his voice icy: "Take that filthy thing out of his mouth! I want to hear what kind of ivory this dog can spit out before he dies!"

Upon receiving the order, a servant quickly stepped forward, suppressing his nausea, and yanked the greasy, fishy-smelling rag out of Chen An's mouth.

"Pfft—cough cough cough! Ugh..." Chen An gasped for breath, then coughed violently and gagged from the stench of the rag, his face streaked with snot and tears. Finally catching his breath, he grasped at the last straw, ignoring his aches and pains, and began to wail desperately:

"My lord! My lord, please see the truth! I'm innocent! I'm innocent beyond belief! I... I'm not a thief! I'm not a thief! I... I'm... Miss Yuxiao and I are... we're lovers! We've been... we've been lovers for a long time! Today we just met behind the rockery to have a few private words... I swear to heaven! I had absolutely no malicious intent! Absolutely no malicious intent! Please, my lord, have mercy! Spare my life!"

He was incoherent, tears streaming down his face, and in his desperate attempt to survive, he didn't even care about the last shred of dignity he had left.

These words shocked the entire hall!

"Ah?!" Wu Yueniang exclaimed in disbelief, looking towards the corner outside the hall—where Yu Xiao, who had just been helped over by two old women and was still in shock, was struck dumb by Chen An's shameless "confession"!
She shuddered violently, her vision went black, and with a thud, she collapsed to the ground, her face ashen. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a single word; only tears of despair streamed down her face. It was over! Everything was over! This despicable scoundrel had exposed their affair in public! This was a hundred times worse than being arrested as a thief!
A deathly silence fell over the hall. Zhou Tong shook his head slightly and sighed. Young Yue Fei frowned deeply. Neither of them were fools; this was a matter for the Ximen family, and even if there was no reason for it, they had no right to interfere.

Ximen Da Guanren stared at Chen An, who was crying and begging for mercy on the ground, and then glanced at Yu Xiao, who was slumped over outside the hall, his face ashen.

He said calmly, "A lover? Private conversation? What a despicable and shameless scoundrel! How dare you, a dog-like creature, tarnish the reputation of my Ximen family? Crawling through holes and over walls to rape my maids, caught red-handed, and you still dare to deny it?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the dark mass of trembling Laiwang kneeling on the ground and the servants who dared not breathe: "Laiwang!"

"I...I'm here!" Laiwang trembled in fright and kowtowed to the ground.

The wealthy man waved his hand dismissively: "Drag him away! Give him a good beating first! Break his two troublesome legs and two arms! Teach him a lesson! Then..." "Tie him up! Send him to the county jail! Tell the magistrate that this is a thief from my Ximen Qing household who was caught! He had malicious intent! He raped a maid, and we have witnesses and evidence! Let the yamen punish him severely according to the law!"

"Hiss..." Inside and outside the hall, all the servants who heard these words gasped in shock, a chill running from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads! Beat them up first, then send them to the yamen?!
With both hands and feet broken, once Chen An enters the yamen and is labeled "the thief captured by the Ximen family," it's like a death warrant from the King of Hell—he's doomed! Those ruthless bailiffs in the county yamen, having received a hint from Master Ximen, will surely torture him to death in prison! Perhaps death will be a relief, but the worst-case scenario is that he won't even be able to die if he wants to.

"My lord! Spare me! Spare me! I'll never dare to do it again! Spare me..." Chen An was terrified and howled like a pig being slaughtered, desperately trying to kowtow, but he was tied up and unable to move.

After dealing with Chen An, Ximen Qing's gaze shifted to Yu Xiao, who lay slumped on the floor outside the hall, like a puppet who had lost its soul.

He said to Wu Yueniang, whose face was equally pale, "As for Yuxiao, she is a maid you brought with you. You can decide what to do with her."

After saying that, he turned to Zhou Tong and Yue Fei and sighed: "Master, senior brother, it is a misfortune for our family to have such a sordid incident, which has disturbed your enjoyment. It is truly despicable. Come, let's... drink."

Wu Yueniang looked at the jade flute lying on the ground, which seemed to have lost its soul. The steward, who had been with her for many years and was practically a maid in this mansion, had done such a thing.

She sighed and instructed, "Bring her to the Buddhist hall. Don't disturb our distinguished guest's enjoyment of drinking."

The front hall was empty. Only Jinlian stood at the door, holding a cup of Jinhua wine. As usual, only maids responsible for serving wine and dishes were allowed to enter the main hall to serve; Jinlian had to hand the tray to the person in charge of this task.

Looking up, she saw that the person waiting at the entrance of the hall was none other than her spy, Xiao Luan. Jinlian handed over the tray, but her gaze involuntarily swept past Xiao Luan's shoulder and swept towards the corner of the hall.

This one glance was enough to make Jinlian's heart skip a beat!
A beautiful woman, whom no one had ever seen before, emerged from the shadows in the corner. Her skin was as white as snow, and her eyes were full of spring. She sat down close to her master.

Then, she tilted her head back and listened to her master speak, her eyes sparkling with charm, her gaze fixed on her master's face, almost dripping with honey!

Jinlian was instantly overwhelmed with jealousy. She grabbed Xiaoluan, who was about to bring in the wine, and whispered, "Xiaoluan! Who is that slut sitting next to the master? I've never seen her before!"

Xiao Luan was jolted off balance by Jinlian's sudden grip, nearly spilling her wine. She quickly steadied the tray, followed Jinlian's gaze timidly, and whispered, "Sister Jinlian, I heard... I heard she was just sent over today. She's supposed to be a maidservant to accompany the master. Her name... I don't know her name. I only heard the mistress call her Xiangling."

"A study companion?!" Jinlian sneered, "A 'study companion' indeed! Just look at her eyes! She's not studying at all; her soul was probably tied to her master's belt eight hundred years ago!"

(End of this chapter)