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

Chapter 86 Hua Zixu enters the game
Fu Ming was so frightened that he dared not linger any longer. He bowed as he walked, saying, "Fourth Master, please calm down! I'll leave right away! I'll leave right away!" He stumbled out of the Hua Mansion gate in a disheveled state, stood in the middle of the street, his heart pounding wildly, wiped away a cold sweat, cursed under his breath, and had no choice but to head towards the West Gate Mansion.

Meanwhile, Hua Zixu, having chased Fu Ming away, stood in the hall, panting heavily, looking like a toad whose bladder had been stepped on. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more he felt that this matter of money was a real pain in the neck.

"That damned Li Zhongyi, I wonder which whore he crawled into! Gambling like that, and now you, Fourth Master, are getting dragged into this mess!" He cursed filthyly, but his eyes darted around.

Despite his cursing, he knew perfectly well that he dared not truly offend Ximen Qing. But his own savings... his coffers were already empty, and he still had a mountain of debts to pay off in his extravagant spending on food, drink, gambling, and womanizing! Thinking of this, his arrogance diminished by a third, and he wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, thinking to himself, "I can't afford to be rude to Brother Ximen."

Thinking of this, he didn't bother to change into proper clothes, and rushed into Li Ping'er's room in the backyard in his slippers.

As soon as I reached the door, I smelled a sweet, cloying scent of cosmetics mixed with the aroma of medicine. Lifting the curtain, I saw Li Ping'er reclining on the chaise longue by the window, with her maid Xiu Chun gently massaging her legs with a small jade mallet.

She was holding a round fan in her hand, waving it casually. Her face was flushed with spring, and her eyes were filled with a mix of languor and allure. Her skin was so white that it was dazzling; even all the beauties in Qinghe County combined couldn't match her snow-white complexion.

But I can't even smell a single fragrance, let alone bite into it.

Hua Zixu's mouth went dry from looking at her, and he shamelessly leaned closer, saying, "My dear sister, are you resting?"

"Stop! Get back! How many times have I told you not to come within ten steps of me, and certainly not to enter my room!" Li Ping'er didn't even lift her eyelids, disgustedly shielding her eyes with her fan, as if something filthy was floating over: "How much filth have you drunk this time? You reek!"

Hua Zixu rubbed his hands together, took two steps back to stand on the threshold, and put on a fawning smile: "Living Buddha, do you have any spare change? Lend me two hundred taels of silver to use, and I'll pay you back in a few days!"

"Borrow money? Pay it back? How dare you even ask? What are you going to use to pay it back? With your consumptive appearance, your head is all sticking out of three tendons, and you're practically skin and bones. If you went to work as a pimp at a kiln, people would all complain that you're too ugly and have no manners!"

Li Ping'er then raised her eyelids, her large, almond-shaped eyes sweeping over him, a mocking sneer curling at the corner of her lips: "Two hundred taels again? Which bottomless pit have you filled this time? Or have you lost to some prostitute again? Where would I get spare money to fill this bottomless pit? I don't have any!"

Hua Zixu panicked upon hearing this: "My dear mother! My living Buddha! How could you not have any? Brother Ximen is pressing me hard, and I only acted as guarantor for that dog Li Zhongyi for three hundred taels of silver..." "Pah!" Li Ping'er's eyebrows shot up, and she sat up abruptly: "You acted as guarantor yourself, and you have the nerve to ask me for money? Master Ximen is pressing you, go find that Li Zhongyi yourself! Why are you looking for me? Do I owe you or owe you anything? All you do all day is indulge in drinking, gambling, and whoring, doing absolutely nothing, while your money just flows out like water! You have the ability to borrow, but not the ability to repay? Let me tell you, I have no money! Not a single coin! Get out! Don't get in my way! You still have a lot of Hua family public silver there, why don't you go there and take some? If you keep nagging, you'll lose your monthly allowance!"

This barrage of insults was even harsher than the one he had just used on Fu Ming. Hua Zixu was thoroughly humiliated, his face flushing red and then turning pale. He was both ashamed and angry, but he dared not turn against this "Goddess of Wealth." He could only meekly reply, "Okay, okay, if it's not true, then it's not true... Please calm down, or you'll hurt yourself..." and slunk away.

Standing under the eaves, Hua Zixu felt increasingly frustrated and humiliated. Ximen Qing was pressing for payment, but Li Ping'er refused to give him the money. What was he to do? Just then, the four words Li Ping'er had just uttered exploded into his mind.

Hua Jia Gongyin!!
Night had fallen, autumn insects chirped, candlelight flickered, and shadows loomed. Hua Zixu, alone, hunched over like a mouse stealing oil, entered the inner chamber of the ancestral hall of the Hua family mansion and stared blankly at the several large black lacquered wooden chests in the corner.

The chest was made of the finest camphor wood, its surface gleaming with an oily sheen. Its four corners were bound with brass, and its weight seemed to dent the blue bricks of the ground. Most striking were the two vermilion seals crossed in the center of the lid, their deep red ink dripping, bearing the four large characters "Hua Shi Gong Zhong" (Hua Family Public Office). Also stamped was the ink mark of the late eunuch Hua's private seal, a dark, almost black, imposing red. The edges of the seals were slightly curled, revealing dark brown paste residue beneath, like dried scabs.

Hua Zixu's heart pounded in his throat, making his throat tighten and his palms sticky with cold sweat. He rubbed his hands together, paced around the box twice, his steps unsteady, making soft, thumping sounds that were particularly unsettling in the deathly silence.

"The Hua family's public property..." He repeated these four words to himself, as if he were holding a hot iron in his mouth. This was no ordinary money; it was "public property" personally designated by Eunuch Hua before his death. It was clearly stated that it was the foundation left to all the undivided branches of the Hua family, and that not a single penny could be moved unless absolutely necessary or by a collective decision of the entire clan. On the day the box was brought in, Eunuch Hua's hawk-like eyes seemed to still be staring at the lid, coldly sweeping across the faces of every member of the Hua family.

More importantly, Hua Zixu knew that each of the gleaming silver ingots in the box bore the "Hua Mark" stamp. These were official-style ingots that Hua the eunuch had carefully cast under the guise of procurement when he worked in the palace. It was said that each ingot had the four small characters "Hua of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs" engraved on the bottom, along with a fish-scale pattern, making them extremely conspicuous and easily recognizable as belonging to the Hua family. Everyone in the Hua family knew about them.

But right now… Hua Zixu was so worried he was practically in a knot. The several hundred taels of silver he'd lost a few days ago were still a hole he hadn't covered, and he was already burdened by gambling debts and past romantic entanglements, with those sycophantic hangers-on relentlessly pursuing him. And now, his sworn brother had come knocking on his door. He shouldn't have been so greedy as to be a guarantor for that scoundrel Li Zhongyi for those 100 taels of silver.

If I don't get some money, not only will I have no hope of recouping my losses, but I'm afraid that in a few days those people will skin me alive and come to my house demanding repayment, and I'll lose all face. This empty title of "Master Hua" will immediately become a laughing stock in Qinghe County!
A surge of anger suddenly rushed to his head. He abruptly moved closer to the largest box, his nose almost touching the cold copper horn.

(End of this chapter)