Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

Meanwhile, in a courtyard of the Marquis of Liu'an's residence.

This is a very large courtyard with artificial hills and ponds in front, pavilions and towers in the back, and three courtyards in the middle, where Wang An, the eldest son of the Marquis of Liu'an, lived.

Wang An is nineteen years old this year. He looks seven or eight parts like his father, Wang Zhi. He also has a round face and thin eyebrows, but his eyes have more undisguised frivolity and ruthlessness than Wang Zhi's.

At this moment, he was wearing a bright red brocade robe with arrow-sleeved sleeves, a jade pendant and sachet hanging from his waist, and a pair of pink-soled black boots. He was playing with several beautiful women in the pavilion in the back garden.

Before long, Wang An got tired of playing. He had a woman on his lap, holding a wine cup in one hand and kneading her waist with the other, feeding her the wine.

The woman chuckled and twisted her body to dodge, spilling wine on her clothes, leaving a small patch of deep red.

Two maids stood under the eaves, holding handkerchiefs and incense boxes in their hands, each with their heads bowed and eyes lowered, pretending not to see anything.

"Young Master." At this moment, a weasel-faced servant trotted over from the other end of the corridor. Reaching the pavilion, he bowed respectfully, a fawning smile plastered on his face, and whispered:

"I've found out everything!"

Upon hearing the sound, Wang An quickly pushed the woman off his lap, sat up straight, and his slender eyes lit up instantly.

He slammed his wine cup on the table, wiped his mouth, and hurriedly said, "You scoundrel, hurry up and talk!"

The servant leaned close to a pavilion pillar and whispered:

"That girl's surname is Xue, and her name is Xue Baoqin. She's not a local; she's the daughter of the Xue family, a royal merchant family, specifically from the second branch of the Xue family."

"A few days ago, there was chaos in Jiangnan. She came to Jinling from Yangzhou with her father and brother, but they encountered the White Lotus Sect's troops on the way."

"Her father was separated from her, and she and her brother, along with several old nannies and young maids, now live in their old family house in the south of the city."

Wang An licked his lips.

The face he had glimpsed from afar on the street a few days ago resurfaced in his mind.

The girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old. She wore a light pink cotton-padded jacket over a slightly worn, pale white vest. She was plump and had only a plain silver hairpin in her hair. She wore no other adornments.

But her face was as white as a freshly peeled egg, with curved eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes that looked at people without flinching or looking away, like a clear spring.

He was stunned at the time, but because they were some distance apart, the woman disappeared in the blink of an eye. He immediately sent people to look for her and inquire about her, and now he has finally received news.

"Young master, look..." the servant winked and lowered his voice further.

"However, the Xue family is one of the four great families. I've heard they're related to the Jia, Wang, and Shi families. If they cause any trouble..."

Wang An scoffed, took out a silver ingot from his sleeve, weighed it in his hand, and casually tossed it to the servant.

The silver coin landed with a "clang" at the servant's feet, rolled twice, and the servant quickly bent down to pick it up and put it in his pocket.

"The four great families?" Wang An leaned back in his chair, propped his legs up on the edge of the table, and pointed his boots at the servant's face, saying:

"I've been playing around in Jinling City for years, what kind of woman haven't I touched? From officials' wives and gentry's wives to merchants' wives, even the maidservant from the Jinling prefect's residence—if I wanted one, which one couldn't I get?"

"What is the Xue family? They're just imperial merchants. No matter how much silver they have, they're still just merchants, and besides, they're only a concubine's wife..."

Relying on the power of the Marquis of Liu'an, Wang An, who was not yet twenty years old, had been bullying men and women and committing all sorts of evil deeds in Jinling over the years.

Wang An got more and more excited as he spoke, waving the tip of his boot in front of the servant's face and chuckling:

"In Jinling City, there's no woman I can't have! Take your men and bring her here immediately. With war raging outside, who cares about a young girl's life or death!"

The servant took the silver, his eyes crinkling with laughter, and quickly said:

"Don't worry, young master, leave it to me. I guarantee I'll do it without anyone knowing!"

Wang An hummed in agreement, put his legs off the table, and reached out to hug the woman on his lap again.

The woman, who had been left hanging for a while, was pouting unhappily when he pulled her into his arms, and she started giggling again.

Wang An kissed her on the cheek and laughed heartily, saying:

"Come on, let's go back inside. We have important business to attend to later, so let's take care of this first."

The women in the pavilion laughed along, while the maids under the eaves lowered their heads and looked on, as if they hadn't heard anything.

Amidst the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms in the garden, laughter from the western courtyard drifted over the high walls, mingling with the continuous sounds of battle from the soldiers atop the distant city walls.

One high, one low; one joy, one sorrow—like two completely different fates in this city of Jinling.

Jinling, Xue Residence.

This is a two-courtyard house deep in Jianzi Lane in the south of the city. It was originally an old residence of the Xue family. The courtyard wall is not high, and there is no plaque on the lintel. There is only a faded lantern hanging on it.

There are two old locust trees in the yard, most of their leaves have fallen, and only a few withered yellow leaves are swirling in the morning breeze.

Inside the side room, a handsome young man with delicate features, wearing a slightly worn royal blue silk robe, was sighing with a troubled expression.

Sitting on a chair by the window, a beautiful young woman with a graceful and elegant appearance was quietly gazing out the window.

The girl was about fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a light pink cotton-padded jacket, over which was a moon-white silk vest, and a light blue cotton skirt.

The two tiny pearl pendants on her ears were perfectly round, with a warm luster, and swayed gently as she tilted her head slightly.

She had an oval face with full cheeks and fair skin. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright and moist, with slightly upturned corners that did not appear frivolous but rather had a natural clarity.

Her eyebrows were naturally dark green without any makeup, her lips were naturally red without any lipstick, her teeth were as white as melon seeds, and she had two shallow dimples when she smiled.

She sat there, her simple yet radiant beauty bearing a striking resemblance to Xue Baochai.

"What do we do now? The White Lotus Sect has besieged the city, and there's chaos outside. The city gates are locked tight, not even a bird can fly out, let alone get any information."

"I don't know where my father has been swept away by those chaotic soldiers, and there's been no news of him for a long time!" Xue Ke sighed with worry.

Seeing that Xue Baoqin did not speak, Xue Ke continued:

"We should have gone straight to the capital. We shouldn't have been so fixated on the shops here. Now look at this mess we've created. Not only is Father missing, but we're also trapped in this city, our lives hanging by a thread!"

After the chaos in Jiangnan and the White Lotus Rebellion, countless wealthy merchants and ordinary people began to flee to other places for refuge.

Originally, Xue Ke and the others also planned to go to the capital for a while, firstly because Aunt Xue was in the capital and could take care of them.

Secondly, it was also for Xue Baoqin's marriage. Xue Baoqin was engaged to the son of Mei Hanlin in Shenjing, and now she had reached the age for betrothal!