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

On the stage, actors took turns performing.

The play performed was chosen by Jia Mu's most beloved grandson, Baoyu—Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin.

Below the stage, a group of descendants carried gifts and presented them to Grandmother Jia.

Everyone knows that Grandmother Jia was a devout Buddhist, so most of the gifts she gave were related to Buddhism.

The gifts presented by the four kings and eight dukes were either gold or jade, and were extremely precious.

As for the younger generation, the gifts for the daughters and granddaughters were the most thoughtful.

"Min'er (Jia Min, daughter of Grandmother Jia and mother of Lin Daiyu) has been ill recently and is not fit to travel far, yet she still sent a letter to wish me a happy birthday. Was the peony painting that accompanied the letter painted by young Daiyu? I've heard that she has grown into a beautiful young woman, and looks eight-tenths like Min'er back then!"

"Yingchun's lotus embroidery is so delicate and lifelike; she truly deserves to be called the best needleworker among the younger generation! So virtuous, I wonder which young master she'll be with in the future, enjoying a life of luxury!"

"Tan Chun's wooden Buddha carving is quite impressive. Just look at the plane marks; you can tell she made it herself. But you little girl, you don't like needlework and prefer men's work. These blisters on your hands, are they from the plane? Come, let your grandmother take a look!"

"Great! Little Xichun also copied the Heart Sutra! You have such a Buddhist heart. When you grow up, you can also worship Buddha with your grandmother, okay?"

Grandmother Jia chatted and laughed, admiring the gifts while playing with her grandchildren.

"It's my fault, it's my fault!"

"Yesterday, while preparing for my birthday, I drank a few too many glasses of cold wine and got an upset stomach. I almost missed the chance to please my grandmother!"

A sweet laugh came from outside the door, and Grandmother Jia's eyes lit up. She saw Wang Xifeng, dressed in a bright red dress and heavily made up, walking briskly towards her.

The pomegranate-red handkerchief swayed with her waist, exuding a captivating charm;

The bright red rouge on her lips made the already beautiful woman even more alluring.

Upon approaching Grandmother Jia, Wang Xifeng bowed slightly and lowered her head.

"My granddaughter-in-law is late. If she upsets the old lady, feel free to give me a couple of slaps!"

Grandmother Jia laughed heartily, poked Wang Xifeng's head with her hand, and looked at everyone.

"That fiery Feng, she's the one who started this, putting me on my toes!"

"Look at her! Today is my birthday, and she's dressed all red and green. It's so embarrassing that I suddenly remembered to let her sit here as the birthday girl!"

Grandmother Jia's words made everyone burst into laughter.

Seeing that the laughter of the crowd had subsided, Grandmother Jia continued to speak, making sarcastic remarks.

"What's this? Usually, if you're late for a drink, you're punished with three cups. Today, you're bringing a gift late, and if the gift is too cheap, I won't stand for it!"

Wang Xifeng's eyes flickered, and with a radiant smile, she stood up.

"Not at all! Madam, I personally picked out this gift, and it cost a full hundred taels of silver!"

As she spoke, Wang Xifeng took out the scroll and held it in her hand.

"The illustrations of the Buddha preaching are painted with extremely fine brushwork, depicting a dignified and solemn appearance."

"If this still doesn't satisfy you, then I'm truly at my wit's end!"

The younger generation, seeing her boasting, all clamored for her to open it and take a look.

"Alright, alright! Stop nagging!"

"I'll open it now, so you can all see for yourselves!"

Unable to resist the urging of the crowd, Wang Xifeng untied the scroll's binding strap, shook it slightly, and slowly unfurled the scroll.

A picture of "Buddha preaching, with dazzling and colorful words" slowly appears.

First, at the top of the scroll, there were countless ceiling flowers painted on it;

Then, the majestic Tathagata appeared in everyone's sight;

The scroll continued to roll downwards...

Dozens of slightly yellowed slips of paper suddenly fell, fluttering like butterflies, landing in various places around the venue.

At this moment.

On the stage, the actor playing "Jing Ke" held a map in his hand and spoke in a high-pitched voice.

The song is titled "Where the map is unrolled, the dagger is revealed; a rainbow pierces the sun."

In the crowd, Jia Lian and Steward Lai exchanged a glance, unable to hide their smiles.

The matter is resolved.

Wang Xifeng was taken aback. The note looked familiar, and she immediately sensed something was wrong.

She tried to snatch it back, but with everyone watching, how could she possibly succeed?

Grandmother Jia smiled and asked what a clever little idea it was, urging everyone to "quickly pick it up and let me see it."

The crowd who had picked up the note exchanged glances and looked at each other, none of them daring to step forward and hand it to Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia found it increasingly strange.

But then they heard Baoyu laugh.

"What's the big deal? Why did everyone shut up after Second Madam Lian threw out a few notes?"

"You're scared, but I'm not! Quick, give me a sheet, I'll read it to the old lady!"

He slashed a card away from the servant's hand and slowly spoke.

"I borrow two hundred taels of silver today... with an agreed monthly interest rate of five percent..."

"Debit: Li Si... Credit: Lai Wang..."

Baoyu scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

"Second Madam Lian, why would you put Wang'er's IOU in the old lady's gift for no reason?"

"And you lot, it's just a few IOUs, why are you too scared to say a word?"

While they were still pressing for answers, Wang Xifeng in the room had already changed her demeanor.

The eyes that were looking around just a moment ago are now filled with panic and helplessness;

Her lips trembled slightly, and even the thick layer of lip rouge couldn't hide their paleness.

She looked at Grandmother Jia, only to find that the usually kind Grandmother Jia now had a face full of frost, and even her usually smiling eyes were now flashing with an unusual light.

She looked to Madam Wang for help, but only received a warning look and an indifferent face.

"Wang'er, our Great Yi Dynasty has a law that all lenders must not charge more than three percent interest per month. If it exceeds three percent, it is a violation of the law and the person will be taken to Yingtian Prefecture for questioning."

"You've worked for Second Madam Lian for so long, how could you have made such a grave mistake?"

Looking in the direction of the sound, Wang Xifeng saw that Jia Lian appeared surprised, but the gloating hidden in his eyes could not be hidden from her.

Wang Xifeng suddenly realized.

No wonder Jia Lian wasn't angry when I made sarcastic remarks to him a few days ago. He even said something like, "If a big thunderbolt were to explode, wouldn't you be furious?" It turns out that he had already made a plan back then!

So that's how it is!

A good husband to his own wife, a good father to his own daughter!

He had to expose his bad debts and loan sharking in front of the four kings and eight dukes and the entire government, pushing himself into an abyss and towards the government office of Yingtian Prefecture!

Wang Xifeng swayed for a moment, then collapsed to the ground with a thud, her face pale.

Yingchun panicked and tried to help.

Grandmother Jia stretched out her cane to block her, and forced her back with a fierce look.

"Yingchun, I always say you're too gentle and not the type to manage a household."

"In retrospect, a gentle nature isn't necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, some heads of households are too rigid and prone to breaking, easily becoming embezzlers!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng's face turned even paler.

The crowd fell silent, their expressions varied.

How could Laiwang, a mere servant, dare to engage in such a thing as lending money at exorbitant interest rates?

Even if he dared to do it, where would he get so much capital to support him in writing dozens of IOUs?

Judging by the quantity alone, even ten thousand taels of silver might not be enough!

Everyone's smart enough to know who's really lending money at exorbitant interest rates.

In the crowd, the veiled girl lowered her head slightly and whispered.

"Uncle Xin, could this be Jiao...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xin Like stopped him.

He nodded, his face showing a mixture of surprise and satisfaction.

I thought this trip was a waste of time, but I was pleasantly surprised!

However, according to the investigation results of Erlang Society, Jiao's gambling addiction and absurd behavior some time ago were not false.

Why do you seem like a completely different person these past few days...?

Just as he was pondering this, he heard Wang'er shudder and suddenly bite his lip hard, his face resolute.

"Reporting to the old lady and gentlemen! The matter of the usury was entirely my doing, and the money used was secretly misappropriated from Lian Er's dowry!"

"Having been exposed, I have no face to face Second Madam and the Wang family; I only wish for death!"

After saying that, he slammed his head heavily on the ground and fainted.

Wang Xifeng's face lit up with joy.

Good lackey!

As long as Wang'er insists that he did it, how can others prove it even if they don't believe him?

What can they do to me?

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

Meanwhile, at the gate of Rongguo Mansion.

A gaunt woman in a cloth dress looked down the steps and gazed at the plaque of the Rongguo Mansion.

"I didn't expect you to be back so soon."

"I just hope that kid doesn't try to trick me, otherwise, I'll really be doomed here in the Rongguo Mansion."

She walked up the steps and headed straight for the main hall.

The two gatekeepers at the entrance tried to stop him, but the newcomer laughed.

"Zhou Cheng, Zhou He, are you trying to stop me?"

"Both of you have been on my stomach. Guess what would happen if I revealed this, that you two were 'fellow sufferers' with Master Lian?"

The two gatekeepers were taken aback. Taking advantage of this moment, the woman in the cloth skirt slipped into the mansion.

It was indeed Miss Duo.