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

Chapter 73 Moon Maiden Apologizes
Little Luan was too young to understand the intricacies of relationships between men and women. She listened in bewilderment, her round face full of confusion, and muttered softly, "Sister Jinlian, she...she only arrived today, how...how could she already...be tied to Master? That's too fast..."

"Quickly?" Jinlian scoffed, leaning down to whisper in Xiaoluan's bewildered ear, "Silly girl! What do you know! No woman in this world ever falls in love with a man because of time! What 'love grows over time'? Bah! What grows from that is nothing more than the bland 'love of daily life,' as tasteless as water! The true willingness to live and die for him happens in the blink of an eye!"

She stared at Xiangling in the hall: "Tell me, which of those girls in brothels and theaters isn't a woman who's seen it all? Which of those married women isn't a mother with children? Don't they all lose their minds and run off with some random guy after just a few glances? Like a bitch with its fur on fire jumping over a wall—it doesn't matter if it's day or night! As the saying goes: 'Ten years of sitting on the kang won't break a pound of affection, but one glance of a flirtatious man can ignite three pounds of soul fire!'"

"And look at those well-bred ladies who sit primly in their boudoirs, adorned with gold hairpins and jade pendants, their faces cold and aloof! Humph, they act more dignified than bodhisattvas!" Jinlian curled her lip, twisting her handkerchief between her fingers. "Haven't we sung enough about it in plays? Cui Yingying, the daughter of the prime minister, just overheard that poor scholar Zhang Sheng humming a few lines of pretentious poetry through the pink wall, and she 'trembled on the bed,' sneaking into the west wing that very night!"

"The wealthy young lady Zhuo Wenjun, after hearing that poor scholar Sima Xiangru play a piece called 'The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate' and glancing at his dashing appearance, eloped with him that very night!"

"You little hussy! When you finally meet a man who truly suits your taste, a man who makes your very bones tingle and itch," Jinlian paused, her gaze shifting to her master. Gazing at his somewhat wicked face, she murmured to herself, as if speaking of herself, "In that brief moment! Your heart, your soul, even your body... will all become his possessions, at his mercy, to be kneaded, to be crushed, to be shattered! You'll have no regrets even if your soul is scattered and your spirit is destroyed!"

She sighed and turned back to look at Xiao Luan's still bewildered face: "Xiao Luan, Xiao Luan, you don't believe me now because you haven't figured it out yet! In your next life, remember to burn more incense and bribe the King of Hell, begging him to have mercy and let you be reborn with the body of a handsome man like Pan An or Song Yu! If you don't become that charming and alluring young man once, you'll never know how quickly those women's bodies go numb and weak when they see you!"

Although Xiao Luan was confused, she felt a little embarrassed and stammered while holding the tray, "Sister, please don't say anymore, this servant... this servant has to go deliver the wine..."

Inside the Buddhist hall, the air was filled with the delicate fragrance of sandalwood incense.

Wu Yueniang sat upright in the large chair at the front, holding a Buddhist rosary of 108 Bodhi seeds in her hand, her face expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Yu Xiao had already been dragged over by several old women and Xiao Yu. Her hair was disheveled, her face was ashen, and she knelt stiffly on the cold brick floor. Her body trembled like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind. She didn't even dare to cry loudly, only sobbing softly.

The Moon Goddess remained silent for a long time, only grinding her prayer beads until they were perfectly smooth. The room was eerily quiet; you could hear a pin drop.

Unable to bear the deathly silence, Yu Xiao banged her head against the bricks with a loud thud, pleading in a tearful voice, "Mother... Mother, have mercy! This servant deserves to die! This servant was confused for a moment, bewitched by a demon, and did such a shameless thing... I have offended your eyes, Mother, and tarnished the reputation of this household... Mother! Please, Mother, consider that I have served you since I was a child. You may beat me, you may scold me, but please spare this dog's life..."

Only then did Yue Niang raise her eyelids, her gaze flat yet like ice water poured over Yu Xiao's head: "Oh? You also know shame? You also know about reputation?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word struck like a hammer blow: "You were originally a close confidante I brought from my maiden home, different from the other maids. I've elevated you to a higher position, your food, clothing, and daily necessities are more refined than those of young ladies from humble families."

Her voice suddenly turned cold, and she said in a low voice, "It was all because you know me so well, that you would bring me honor, and that you would earn my respect in the master's heart. Who would have thought—you would disgrace me and make me a laughingstock in this mansion!"

Upon hearing the words "my face," Yu Xiao was struck dumb, collapsing to the ground and sobbing. Yue Niang closed her eyes again, turned the prayer beads on her wrist, and her tone returned to calm: "According to the rules, someone as ungrateful and disgraceful as you should be stripped naked and whipped in front of everyone, then taken away by a slave trader and sold into whatever filth they can find, leaving your fate to be determined."

She paused, the prayer beads stopping on her fingertips: "Since you know you're wrong, let me ask you, besides Chen An, who else have you stolen from, you shameless servant? How many others in the manor have you seduced? Tell me the truth! If you utter even a single lie, you'll be in for a world of hurt!"

Yu Xiao was terrified and dared not hide anything. She just kept kowtowing, her forehead turning blue, and she cried so hard she could barely breathe.
“It’s gone! It’s really gone! Mother, you see through everything! This servant… this servant, with all my might, only dared to do this once… only with that page… I dared not do it with anyone else! Mother, you are my second parents. I did such a despicable thing, you deserve to be beaten to death… I only beg you, Mother… to spare me, considering how carefully I have served you all these years, even if I haven’t done anything meritorious, I have still worked hard…”

Upon hearing this, Yue Niang snorted and began to spin her prayer beads again. Her gaze swept over everyone, and her voice suddenly rose: "From this day forward, Yu Xiao, the head maid of the main house, has lost all her dignity! Strip her of her fine silks and satins, and remove all the gold and silver hairpins from her hair! Drag her into the stable, whip her, and then immediately send her to the kitchen to fill the vacancy of the night maid in the kitchen!"

"Without my permission, you are never to step into this front yard! Nor are you ever to leave the Ximen mansion. If you ever cause any trouble, or slack off in the kitchen, have the old woman in charge of the kitchen come and tell me. Remember, there are plenty of dirty places outside the Ximen mansion where slave traders are waiting to sell you!"

"Mother—!" Upon hearing the words "kitchen maidservant," Yu Xiao felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head, or as if a thunderbolt had exploded on her forehead! What kind of business was this "kitchen maidservant"?

She was three grades worse than a lowly maid! She was constantly surrounded by smoke and fire, her eyes bloodshot from the fumes, emptying the stinking chamber pot at night, doing the most menial work! Confined to that tiny kitchen and outhouse, leaving the mansion was a pipe dream; she was a living prisoner, never to see the light of day, never to rise again!
She let out a pig-like scream, her body went limp and collapsed to the ground like an eel, trembling like a leaf, her face devoid of any human color, looking even worse than the ashes in the stove.

Xiaoyu and several rough-working women nodded repeatedly, glancing at Yueniang's expression, and hurriedly stepped forward to lift the jade flute, which looked like a lump of mud.

Yu Xiao sobbed softly, like a fish out of water, her legs dragging on the ground, looking like a dead dog with a broken spine, as she was hastily carried away.

Moon Goddess sat upright, clutching the string of cold Buddhist beads tightly in her hand.

That vile maid! As the head maid in the main wife's quarters, how dare she secretly seduce that servant in the mansion!
Is this punishment lenient? It's anything but! To confine this jade flute to the fire pit in the back kitchen for the rest of its life, never seeing the light of day, worse off than a mule or horse.

Is it considered severe? It might not be the most severe! According to common practice, such a shameless person should have his pants pulled down, be given dozens of solid lashes until his skin is torn and bleeding, and then be taken away by a slave trader or sold to a poor man to be his slave. Even worse, he could be thrown into a brothel and spend the rest of his life spreading his legs to serve customers, being ridden by thousands and straddled by tens of thousands, rotting in that brothel!
But Yue Niang... had her own selfish motives. These motives were for herself and for her husband.

Yu Xiao was, after all, a maid she had brought from her maiden home. She had served her faithfully for years, and while she hadn't done anything particularly meritorious, she had certainly put in a good impression. More importantly, if she were to sell this head maid of the main house into a brothel, and word got out, wouldn't she lose all face and prestige in the courtyard? How would she maintain her standing after the arrival of second, third, and fourth wives?
and also.

The gentleman is now plotting his way up the social ladder, and if one day he truly reaches the highest echelons of power, it would be an absolute disgrace if people found out that the former head maid of the Ximen household is now serving customers in a brothel!
But the more Yue Niang thought about it, the more her heart ached, as if it were stuffed with a tangled mess. She wondered what her husband would think of her for this arrangement. Would he think she was too soft-hearted and didn't manage the household properly, or...?
She took a deep breath, but the air felt stuck in her chest, unable to rise or fall. She forced herself to move, each step heavier than the last, and shuffled towards the front hall to apologize to her husband.

(End of this chapter)