The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

Seeing how much Xue Pan liked it, Jia Jue gave him the snuff bottle.

Xue Pan then said, "Brother, why don't we go to 'happy Hong Lou' and have some fun?"

happy Hong Lou was a notorious brothel in Jinling City, famous for its beautiful women. In ancient times, the "Yangzhou Slender Horses" were renowned throughout the land, but they paled in comparison to the girls of Xi Hong Lou.

Jia Jue shook his head and said, "Brother Xue, there's no rush. It's getting late, and I should head back now."

Upon hearing this, Xue Pan became anxious, "Why are you going back so early? Are you trying to embarrass me? Brother, you're new to Jinling and don't know the charm of Xi Hong Lou. Once you've been there, you'll know what it's like!"

Jia Jue simply shook his head and refused to go.

At this moment, Baochai outside heard the sounds inside the room subside and knew that the two had reconciled. She happened to come over and heard her elder brother talking about the "Dream of the Red Chamber," so she couldn't help but frown.

However, Xue Pan was, after all, his elder brother, and Jia Jue was present, so he couldn't easily cause a scene. He simply asked, "Where is elder brother going?"

Upon seeing his younger sister arrive, Xue Pan quickly smiled and said, "I am overjoyed to see Brother Jia Jue come to our house and would like to take him to a restaurant to welcome him and wash away the dust of his journey."

Baochai sneered, "Brother Jue has been in Jinling for three days now, what's the point of talking about a welcoming feast? Besides, is the food in a restaurant any better than home?"

Xue Pan just smiled awkwardly and said nothing more.

At this moment, Jia Jue also stood up and said, "It's getting late, so I'll take my leave now."

When they saw that Jia Jue was about to leave, the two hosts naturally tried to persuade him to stay, but seeing that Jia Jue was determined to leave, they did not try to keep him any longer and could only let him go.

-

After visiting the Xue family that day, Jia Jue also went to the Shi and Wang families. After all, they were four great families, and it was not appropriate to show favoritism to one over the other. Since he had visited one family, he should also visit the other two.

After visiting all the places, Jia Jue began preparing for the prayers for the Dowager Empress, spending his days busy at the family temple, the Zhen family temple, and the royal temple outside the city.

But this busy work led to many other things.

It turns out that the local leaders of the Jia clan in Jinling, namely Jia Chi, Jia Dun, and Jia Xiao, had been ruling the city for a long time and had long since started to act recklessly and disregard human ethics.

All three were lustful gluttons and lecherous beasts.

On this day, Jia Jue's courtyard ran out of incense, so Xiren went to the mansion's storeroom to ask for some more.

Remembering what Jia Jue had said that day, she called Yinglian and Qingwen to go with her, leaving only Sheyue to look after the house.

Just then, Jia Chi came to discuss something with Jia Jue. When he entered Jia Jue's room, he saw Musk Moon inside.

Although Musk Moon had come from the capital with Jia Jue and her status in the mansion was not low, Jia Chi was, after all, a master and Musk Moon was a servant. When she saw Jia Chi arrive, Musk Moon hurriedly served him tea and water, saying, "Master, you've come at an inopportune time. Second Master is out."

At this moment, Jia Chi had no idea why he had come here. Seeing that Musk Moon was beautiful and had a graceful demeanor, he was momentarily captivated and stared at her without moving.

Musk Moon felt uneasy under his gaze, but due to the distinction between master and servant, she couldn't say anything.

She just prayed in her heart that Xiren and the others would return soon.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find any incense in the storeroom, so the three of them had to go elsewhere to ask the steward for some.

While they were busy searching for incense, Musk Moon was suffering here.

Sensing Jia Chi's lecherous gaze, Musk Moon was on the verge of tears and could only say, "Master, our Second Master is probably at the family temple right now. Your arrival must be for some important matter, and we cannot delay you."

Jia Chi slowly came to his senses and, seeing Musk Moon's expression revealing a hint of panic, he smiled and said, "Since Jue-ge'er will be staying in the temple for quite some time, I suppose?"

Musk Moon said, "Second Master usually doesn't stay at the family temple for very long, so he may be coming back soon."

Musk Moon said this to intimidate Jia Chi, implying that Jia Jue was about to return and asked if he still dared to lay a hand on her here.

Unexpectedly, Jia Chi rode his donkey downhill and said, "Since Jue-ge'er is about to return, what's wrong with me waiting a bit?"

It turned out that Jia Chi already knew that Jia Jue was neither in the courtyard nor in the family temple, but in the imperial temple on the outskirts of the city, directing the workers to repaint!

Today, there is not enough incense in his courtyard, and coincidentally, the storehouse is missing. Could this also be a coincidence?

of course not.

Jia Chi had long heard that the maids Jia Jue brought were exceptionally beautiful and charming, and he had long wanted to feast his eyes on them, or even satisfy his personal desires.

That day, he had secretly caught a glimpse of Musk Moon, Xi Ren, and Qing Wen coming out of the storeroom to get something. Although it was just a fleeting glance, it left an indelible mark on him.

However, the maids in Jia Jue's courtyard often went out in groups, making it difficult for him to find an opportunity.

So he put in a lot of effort to make this day and this moment happen.

He knew that Jia Jue wouldn't be back anytime soon, so his thoughts began to wander.

At first, they just watched, then they started to tease each other with words, and gradually, they began to take action.

Musk Moon was so frightened that she backed away repeatedly, her voice trembling as she said, "Master, please have some self-respect!"

"Have some self-respect?" Jia Chi laughed. "It's your honor that I've taken a liking to you. How many people want to get into my bed? Don't be ungrateful!"

At this moment, Musk Moon was filled with despair, tears streaming down her face, only wishing that Jia Jue would return quickly.

Seeing Musk Moon crying with tears streaming down her face, Jia Chi became even more excited and was about to pounce on her.

Just then, Jia Chi felt a strong force pulling on his clothes, throwing him off balance.

Once he regained his balance and looked closely, he saw that it was Jia Jue squinting at him.

"Jue... why are you here so early today?"

Jia Jue sneered, "Today at the temple, I suddenly felt a tremor in my heart and thought I would come back to rest, but I never expected to see such a scene!"

At this moment, Musk Moon had already huddled in Jia Jue's arms while crying.

"Good uncle, are you so thirsty?"

Jia Chi laughed and said, "Nephew, what are you saying? It's just that the maids in your room are really to my liking... why don't you give them to me?"

For Jia Chi, exchanging maids or even concubines was perfectly normal. He believed that Jia Jue, born into a wealthy family like the Jia family and coming from the capital, would be even more confused about matters of love than he was, and would absolutely accept such a statement.

However, he was wrong. Jia Jue sneered, "Uncle, you may leave now. I won't see you off!"

"You..." Jia Chi choked on his breath, pointing a finger at Jia Jue, "I'm your elder, your uncle. This isn't the capital, this is Jinling. You'd better think this through!"