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

Night had fallen, inside the Rongguo Mansion.

Having grown accustomed to the wildflowers of the outside world, Jia Lian rarely missed the fiery, spicy woman at home.

Little did the Second Master know that while he was interested, Wang Xifeng was not. Several times he tried to be intimate with him, but she pushed him away each time.

Seeing that her husband was relentless, Wang Xifeng sighed softly.

"Second Master, we have been husband and wife for many days, and now we have a girl, which can be considered a fruit of our labor. However, I have been feeling increasingly uneasy lately, and there is something I want to ask you."

"If the Duke's mansion were to fall one day, would it be the two of us who continue living together, or would you rather go off and mingle with those wild bees and butterflies?"

Jia Lian was taken aback, his eyes darted around, and then he burst out laughing.

"What kind of talk is that?"

"We are a proper married couple, so naturally it's just the two of us living our lives together. Besides, the Duke's mansion has been favored by the Emperor for generations; how could it possibly fall so easily?"

"What's wrong? Has your vaginal bleeding gotten worse lately? Should we ask Physician Wang to take another look?"

Wang Xifeng did not answer.

It's "the two of us," not "there are no wild bees or butterflies around."

The last glimmer of hope I had vanished in an instant.

"Second Master is right, he has indeed fallen ill again."

Jia Lian smacked his lips a few times, finding it rather boring, and turned over to lie down.

Wang Xifeng lay in bed, listening to her husband's snoring, and smiled self-deprecatingly.

She closed her eyes, and that page of tragic love story appeared in her mind.

Several lines of small print were clearly visible above.

"Task 1 (Completed): Give your personal handkerchief to Jiao Si."

"Mission Reward: One Bai Feng Wan (White Phoenix Pill)".

"Task Two: Seduce Jiao Si so that he willingly joins the two mansions as a slave."

"Mission Reward: Personally Taking Action: 10,000 taels of silver, one White Phoenix Pill."

"Assigning to others or using bribery: One Bai Feng Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine)."

The mess of debts incurred due to usury... amounted to exactly ten thousand taels.

During the day, under the pretext of apologizing, he had given Jiao Si the handkerchief he kept close to his body, and this "ill-fated love affair" had indeed bestowed upon him a white pill.

Immediately after swallowing, I felt a significant relief from the bloating in my lower abdomen, and there were faint signs of recovery.

She had a premonition that if she could swallow two more Bai Feng Wan pills, her lower genital ailment might truly be cured.

Now, her husband Jia Lian is cheating on her every day, and the opportunity to obtain a second Bai Feng Wan is right in front of her.

If he personally took action, he could earn ten thousand taels of silver to settle the bad debts of usury.

Should this red apricot branch bloom or not?

Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth, her face contorted with conflict.

In the small cradle beside her, her baby daughter, only a few months old, suddenly seemed to be startled from a dream, kicking off the blankets and crying loudly.

Wang Xifeng quickly got up, took her daughter into her arms, patted her repeatedly, and it took a while to soothe her.

Wang Xifeng gently placed her daughter back into her sleeping basket.

Fine, for the sake of the girl, I'll give him another chance.

Silver isn't the most important thing right now; what's truly crucial is Bai Feng Wan (White Phoenix Pill).

As for Jiao Si, that's easy to handle too.

A young scholar, full of vigor and vitality, is at an age when he is most susceptible to temptation.

If you can't even resist gambling, how can you resist the temptation of beauty?

All you need to do is find a sensible, frivolous woman who knows a few tricks, and you can easily get him under your thumb.

Coincidentally, there was such a person in the Rongguo Mansion.

Having made up her mind, she shook Jia Lian awake and looked intently into his eyes.

"Second Master, I know you have a lover outside, and you have some complaints about me trying to stop you from having affairs."

"But you have a family and a daughter. If you really fancy someone, just take her as a concubine. Why bother stealing a woman of dubious origin?"

"I won't dwell on the past. But if I find you sneaking food again..."

Wang Xifeng didn't continue, but the sharpness in her eyes said it all.

Jia Lian was startled and horrified.

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

The next morning.

In Fengping Courtyard, Jiao Si sat shirtless at a stone table, sweat pouring down his back.

Several books were scattered in front of him;

In his hands, two stone locks tumbled.

On the Book of Love and Sorrow, the second task has yet to be generated, waiting for some unknown opportunity.

However, the Tiger Fetus Bone Strengthening Pill from yesterday did have some effect.

Although they don't have the immense strength described in the novels of my previous life, these two stone locks, each weighing twenty or thirty pounds, are now easy to throw.

This is a good thing.

If one truly wants to establish oneself in this world, one must rely on a strong physique and a wealth of knowledge about the future.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, any power, money, or sex I seek in the rest of my life will be inseparable from these two fundamental elements.

Speaking of money...

Tomorrow is the day the tax officials will come to my door, and I still need to pay road tax, watchman's tax, and so on. I need to hurry up and get some money.

Jiao Si grunted and swung the stone lock in his hand around a few times.

The Great Yi Dynasty collects far too many miscellaneous taxes!

Wine tax, vinegar tax, market stall tax, salt tax, tea tax, mining tax.

When the barbarian donkeys attacked, an additional tax was levied to quell the resistance.

Japanese pirates provoked trouble and harassed the border, so additional taxes were levied to suppress them.

Taxes on childbirth, coffins for the dead, weddings, divorces...

Damn it, why don't you collect a tax on pooping, a tax on peeing, or a tax on farting?

Thinking of this, Jiao Si couldn't help but curse aloud.

"The Duke's mansion can collect interest at four or five percent without any problem, but ordinary people are not only subject to all sorts of taxes, but if they make soap, they can be flogged thirty times and exiled for three hundred miles."

"A gleaming magic sword, yet it only cuts through lowly grass. This can't be a good world!"

"You little rascal, complaining about the Emperor now! When I get to Yingtian Prefecture, I'll accuse you of slandering a prince!"

A loud laugh and curse came from behind, not loud, but it still startled Jiao Si.

The stone lock slipped from his hand and smashed hard against his foot.

"Ouch!"

Damn it, people who walk the Silent Step should be turned into soap!

Jiao Si turned around angrily and saw a servant woman from the Jia family standing not far away.

The woman was about thirty years old and was carrying a mahogany box.

Although her looks were only average, the flirtatious air she exuded and the overflowing desire in her eyes made even the top courtesan in the brothel feel inferior.

When the woman saw that he had hurt his foot, she exclaimed in surprise and approached, swaying the large millstone.

She took off Jiao Si's shoes and, seeing that they were only slightly scratched, patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It really scared my heart out!"

"I'm just a servant; I have nothing but this body. If I were to break your foot, I truly wouldn't know how I could possibly compensate you!"

As the woman spoke, she pretended to cry and then collapsed to the ground, accidentally pinning Jiao Si's injured foot beneath her.

Where did this incredible good fortune come from?

You can't accept a woman who comes to you on her own!

Women who actively pursue you are like ditch ditch, the first ones to get caught are all trouble!

Jiao Si jolted awake and struggled to break free.

But as soon as he struggled, he felt the woman's muscles and bones go limp, as if cotton had melted, and she collapsed onto him.

The woman clung tightly to him, her hands, wrapped around his waist like water snakes, through her leather coat, her fingertips gently scratching his waist.

"Brother Si, to be honest, your body is so muscular, it makes my heart flutter."

"I wish I could be that stone lock, so you could hold it in your hand and knead it thoroughly~"

"Anyway, I caused you injury and put you through a lot of trouble, so it's not like I've let you down. I'm not bragging, but every man who's left Duo Gu Niang's place has been incredibly impressed!"

How many girls?!

This is incredibly famous!

Duo Guniang, who took her husband's surname, was a lowly servant in the Rongguo Mansion.

As for why an ordinary maid became so famous, it's simply because she... was just too promiscuous.

I once read a saying in a past life.

If you were to ask who in *Dream of the Red Chamber* truly succeeded in establishing a harem, it would undoubtedly be Duoguniang.

I welcome all who come; as for those who don't... I'll come to you myself.

This slut, in an era without protection... she was definitely a drug queen.

Jiao Si was startled and struggled to get up from the ground, hiding behind the stone table.

"Miss Duo, men and women should be kept separate; please respect yourselves!"

Duo-guniang didn't answer, but gave her a reproachful look and remained sprawled on the ground.

Although she was a slut, she was by no means a fool.

Before leaving today, Second Madam Lian had privately promised that if she could entice Jiao Si into the mansion as a slave, she would be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver.

One hundred taels!

You should know that your monthly salary is only one tael of silver!

Jiao Si, Jiao Si, don't even mention seduction, I'll take this hundred taels of silver by force today!

Thinking of this, she gave a coquettish sigh and slowly spoke.

"Naturally, I've come to apologize to you for what happened to Second Madam Lian. Who knew you would be so oblivious to my feelings, wasting all my affections..."

"Jiao Si, I'll only ask you one question: the string is already taut and ready to be plucked, are you going to go or not?"

"If you accept, I'll recommend you to work as a servant in the Rongguo Mansion—a secure, stable job! Once you're in, we can visit each other often and be a happy couple. If you don't accept... hmph."

Hmph, what a load of rubbish!

Asking me to become someone's servant is absolutely out of the question!

Just as Jiao Si was about to refuse, he heard Duo Guniang mutter softly.

"'The law only cuts down short grass,' 'This isn't a good world,' wow, young people really have big mouths!"

Since ancient times, only the tyrant has forced himself upon the bow. Today, is this bow about to force itself upon the tyrant?

Jiao Si was having a headache when suddenly an idea struck him.

Duo Guniang was neither a descendant of the Dukes Ning and Rong, nor was she a shrewd or capable person. She was just an ordinary servant woman, whose only commendable quality was her flirtatious and unrestrained nature.

How could someone like that have the ability to "recommend" himself to become a slave in the Duke's mansion?

There must be someone she's had contact with, someone with considerable power in the Rongguo Mansion, stirring up trouble behind Duoguniang's back.

Such a person...

Who else could it be but Wang Xifeng, the second wife of Lian?

Damn it, you're coming again?

Jiao Si frowned slightly, a plan forming in his mind.

If I remember correctly, in the original book, Jia Lian and this girl also had some disagreements, but it happened later in the story.

Fine, let me give this vicious phoenix a push and let it taste what it means to "ask for trouble"!

Thinking of this, Jiao Si suddenly understood and looked at Duo Guniang with a firm gaze.

"Miss Duo, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that I'm on good terms with Master Lian in private, and he has expressed his affection for you several times after drinking."

"If I were to do that with you, wouldn't I be taking away what my friend desires?"

Ok?

Second Master Lian?

Duo's eyes lit up.

A master of the Duke's mansion is worth far more than a hundred taels of silver!