Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with a Chronicle of Tragic Love

Northwest of Jinling City, there is a row of low houses.

Compared to the bustling and prosperous main urban area, this place is dilapidated and is a true slum.

Jiao Si followed behind Lu Yanping with his face covered, looking around as he walked.

Tsk tsk...

How is this any different from the urban villages of later generations?

Just look at the prostitutes standing by the roadside; each of them has strange makeup on.

Although she was far inferior to the girls on the Qinhuai River, she still dutifully lifted her skirt and posed for herself.

No matter what industry you're in, you have to be dedicated to your work...

While pondering, Jiao Si accidentally crashed straight into Lu Yanping, who had come to a sudden stop.

"Oh......"

Seeing Jiao Si's embarrassed face, Lu Yanping rubbed her sore buttocks, her cheeks flushed.

"Um... my benefactor, as promised yesterday, you lent me some money..."

He hurriedly pulled out a five-tael silver ingot from his pocket and handed it over, but Miss Lu waved her hand.

"I don't need all of that. Loose silver and copper coins will suffice."

Jiao Si suddenly realized what was happening, and reached into his pocket again, pulling out a few pieces of silver and a string of copper coins.

But then they saw Miss Lu holding copper coins, continuing on her way while giving alms to the poor, prostitutes, and beggars.

What a kind person.

They're already living such a hard life, yet they still think about these poor relatives.

Jiao Si watched this unfold and couldn't help but admire him.

Since transmigrating to the Dream of the Red Chamber, he has been living in constant fear due to Wang Xifeng's gambling debt crisis.

Seeing Lu Yanping being kind and harmonious today made him feel like he had finally let down his guard and was emerging from the depths of his heart.

After a while, Miss Lu came back, carrying a bunch of dark purple mulberries, skipping and jumping with delight.

"My benefactor, please try some!"

"The mulberries aren't fully ripe yet; they're sweet with a hint of tartness—truly delicious!"

Smiling, they accepted the mulberries and continued walking along the path, enjoying them as they went.

Miss Lu then walked to the side of the house, and before long, the half-string of copper coins was gone, and the two of them had their hands full of various fresh fruits and wild vegetables.

The road has come to an end.

An old house, its wooden door tightly shut.

Inside and outside the house, the windows were broken and patched up with a few rags; the house and the back of the house were full of holes of all sizes.

With a tense expression, Miss Lu knocked on the door.

A moment later, a creak was heard and a crack appeared in the wooden door.

An old head, wrapped in gauze, cautiously peeked out from the crack in the door.

"Who is it? What do you want with this old woman?"

Miss Lu removed her veil, revealing her beautiful face with a radiant smile.

"Miss Ping, you're not dead!"

The old lady's face lit up with joy, and she quickly opened the door and invited the two of them into the house.

After exchanging pleasantries, Miss Lu took out a few pieces of silver from her bosom and gave them to the old woman.

"Granny Zhou, what happened to you? Did you fall somewhere? And this house, how did it get so dilapidated in just over ten days?"

"Don't think these few pieces of silver are too little. Go and hire some people to repair the house and treat your head injury properly."

"Recently, I... moved to a new place to make a living, and I'm a little short on money."

Granny Zhou suddenly realized, her face full of kindness. Instead of taking the silver from Lu Yanping's hand, she went to the bedside, lifted the corner of the bed, took out a wooden box, and handed it to Lu Yanping.

"No wonder, a few days ago Wang'er suddenly came over and said that you jumped into the river and died, and that he wanted to take over your job and retrieve this thing."

"I didn't believe it from the start! No matter how he threatened, bribed, or even hit me, I insisted that the thing wasn't with me. Sure enough, you came back eventually!"

"I knew it! How could someone as smart and lovely as you do something so stupid as jumping into the river?"

"So they've moved locations!"

"Good! A change of scenery is good! Staying in that filthy place, we'll get eaten sooner or later!"

Miss Lu was initially heartbroken when she heard that Wang'er had caused trouble;

Upon hearing the last few sentences, her pretty face suddenly flushed red, and she quickly turned to look at Jiao Si, afraid that he might have overheard something.

But Jiao Si looked at her with a mocking expression, his eyes only showing a playful disdain for her "stupid act of jumping off the cliff," without a trace of understanding that he had caught wind of what was going on.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Suppressing her embarrassment, she took the wooden box and forced the few pieces of silver into the hands of Granny Zhou.

"Keep it, Granny Zhou. I'm short on cash right now, but I'll be able to earn it back soon."

"But you, if you don't hurry up and fix up the house, there will be more rain in the summer."

The two struggled and pulled at each other, neither willing to give way.

Jiao Si initially felt warm and fuzzy from this heartwarming scene, but after a while, he became a little impatient.

Caught between the two, Jiao Si took out the five-tael silver ingot from his pocket and stuffed it into Granny Zhou's hand.

"Granny Zhou, to be honest, Miss Lu has reformed and is now with me!"

"Though I am somewhat poor now, I am still a scholar. When the time comes, I will enter officialdom and amset countless riches!"

Granny Zhou's eyes looked strange.

Looking at Miss Lu again, although she kept shaking her head, the blush of shame on her face didn't seem fake at all...

Granny Zhou laughed heartily.

"I see. Miss Ping is truly fortunate to have escaped the wolf's den and found such a kind and righteous scholar!"

"This old woman wishes you a long and happy marriage, and a long and healthy life together; I also wish the scholar a bright future and success in his examinations!"

After a few laughs, Jiao Si shoved the silver into Granny Zhou's hand, then pulled up the blushing Miss Lu and left the wooden house.

On the way back to Fengping Courtyard, the two were unusually silent.

Lu Yanping kept his head down, whether he was annoyed by Zhi's ramblings or thinking about something else, it was unclear.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Lu Yanping suddenly tugged at Jiao Si's sleeve.

He turned around anxiously.

But then Lu Yanping suddenly knelt down on the ground with a thud.

Holding the wooden box in his hands, he presented it with both hands.

"My benefactor, I retract my statement from yesterday that we should stop here."

"Since taking power, Second Madam Lian has become increasingly power-hungry and inhumane. Her sending Wang'er to harass Granny Zhou is a case in point."

"If we continue to let her run rampant like this, I'm afraid one day she'll fall flat on her face and be smashed to pieces."

"My benefactor, I beg you to use the contents of the box to severely punish Second Madam Lian. I don't expect it to enlighten her, but if it can make her behave even a little, then my efforts will not have been in vain."

Jiao Si readily agreed and hurriedly helped Miss Lu up.

Upon opening the box, one finds a row of crisp white IOUs.

"Fifty taels of silver, Debit: Zhang San. Credit: Lai Wang"

......

"Two hundred taels of silver, Debit: Li Si. Credit: Lai Wang"

......

All things considered, the amount of silver lent out must be at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand.

Jiao Si rubbed his face.

Second Grandma Lian... this is a serious matter for you.

-----------------

It was evening.

In Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Lian sat upright on the long bench, veins throbbing on his forehead.

"Qing'er, do you really want to kill me?"

"Last time, I took some letter from a masked man and tricked him into going to meet Miss Duo. That woman caught me and caused quite a scene, making me lose face completely!"

"What, where did you get this secret message from today? Which girl are you going to make me climb into bed with this time?"

Beside him, the servant Qing'er trembled with fear, not daring to utter a word.

Jia Lian opened the envelope with an angry expression, but after a few glances, he was shocked.

Then came ecstasy.

He rose from his chair, fanning himself with a folding fan as he paced back and forth.

"How could this be... how could this happen?"

"No, no, no... this is more like something a vicious woman like her would do."

"Excellent, excellent!"

He slammed the folding fan shut.

"Qing'er, how's your monthly allowance going lately?"

"Recently... the monthly payments haven't been on time. Lin Zhixiao told me that the accounts are a bit tight lately."

Qing'er wiped the sweat from her forehead, looking somewhat nervous.

"Second Master, you are wise. If I weren't short of money, I wouldn't have become that masked man's messenger for just a few taels of silver."

Jia Lian's eyes flashed with cold light, and he gesticulated wildly.

"No, your message is well delivered, wonderfully delivered!"

"Although that masked man must have some ulterior motive, the information he provided is indeed beneficial to me. Since that's the case, why shouldn't I, Jia Lian, take advantage of it?"

Qing'er was dumbfounded, completely bewildered.

Suddenly, she remembered that when she last sent a letter to Jia Lian, she had brushed past Wang Xifeng's maid, Feng'er, and a familiar corner of an envelope was visible in Feng'er's arms.

Looking at the deranged Jia Lian, he decided to keep the matter buried deep inside.

No, it's best to forget about it.

After a moment of amusement, Jia Lian took a copy of "The Peony Pavilion" from the bookshelf and then took a thin piece of paper from the secret letter and tucked it into the book.

Then, he took out a hundred-tael silver note and handed it to Qing'er.

"Qing'er, tomorrow at dawn, go to the study in the east of the city and buy a copy of 'The Buddha Preaching the Dharma.' Remember, after leaving the manor, act in a masked manner and do not make a sound!"

"Now, take this copy of 'The Peony Pavilion' to Steward Lai and tell him that I, Jia Lian, would like to ask him to take a look at it."

Qing'er, not understanding why, accepted the order and turned to leave.

Jia Lian was in a great mood and went to the garden, where he bumped into Wang Xifeng rushing back to her house.

"Oh, my dear Second Master Lian, why are you so beaming? Have you run into another young lady from some wealthy family? Or perhaps a young maiden?"

"Remember this time, don't let me catch you in the act, or it'll turn into another fight!"

Jia Lian, however, looked smug, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, his eyes filled with mockery.

"Grandma Feng's words are quite something, huh?"

"Calm down, calm down."

"If you can't even handle this kind of pettiness, what will you do if some huge disaster strikes in the future? Won't you be so angry that you'll lose all your composure?"

Wang Xifeng looked puzzled, wondering why her husband had suddenly changed his temperament.

But then Jia Lian turned and left, waving his folding fan with a profound expression.

-----------------

Meanwhile, west of Jinling City.

Duo Guniang hid at the end of an alley, trembling as she looked at the beggars in front of her.

Although she broke the rules and was thrown out of the mansion;

Her husband, Duohunchong, was spared and remained in the household to serve.

It's pitiful that she's a woman who relies on men for a living, and she has no skills to rely on, so she can only wander the streets and be at the mercy of others.

Seeing the lustful glint in the eyes of the beggars, she swallowed hard and forced herself to strike an alluring pose.

"Gentlemen... my sister hasn't eaten for days and I'm afraid she can't withstand any more hardship. Could you please give her some food?"

Seeing his men getting restless, the old beggar leader picked his nose, quite impatient.

"You actually want to give her food? Are you crazy?"

"If you've had enough of this, just throw it in a secluded ditch, and that'll be enough, right?"

The beggars agreed, and with their filthy hands reaching out, the girl cried out for help, leaving filthy finger marks on her body.

But then a few thuds were heard.

Several more people were sprawled out haphazardly on the low wall beside the alley.

Duo Guniang looked up.

A large red lantern was stretched out in front of him, and behind the lantern was a scholar's robe.

"Do you want to live?"