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

The two remained silent, simply standing with their swords drawn.

Wang Xifeng gave a wink, and Ni Er came to the window and made a gesture towards the outside.

Several veiled men in black disappeared into the smoke and dust.

Qin tugged at Xin Like's clothes, and Xin Like sighed softly.

"Fine, fine, in the end I still have to deal with this bunch of filthy bastards."

Xin Like brought a long bench and came to Feng Ziying and the other person's side.

Cao Shaoqin's face tightened, his eyes darting around, unsure of what to do.

The wind howled, the moon shone like frost, and for a moment there was silence, only a chilling atmosphere.

But then, from the fourth floor of the Cloud Tower, Liu Rushi let out a playful laugh.

"The high officials formed factions to exclude Zong Ze, and no one in the inner circle employed Yue Fei."

"Looking at this damned imperial court now, there are plenty of Zong Ze and Yue Fei, but even more of them are Qin Hui and Yan Song!"

"Your Highness, Brother Feng, Brother Liu, why bother with such troubles for a mere courtesan like me?"

"I did not follow Jiao Lang to the top of Plum Blossom Mountain because I wanted to vindicate him."

"The one who slew the Japanese pirates at Plum Blossom Mountain was Jiao Si!"

After saying that, he went to the window and looked at the shimmering blue waves of the Qinhuai River.

"I'll settle down on the Qinhuai River and see when those barbarian donkeys with their iron hooves and Japanese pirates with their long swords will finally reach Nanjing!"

Having said that, he made a move as if to jump.

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."

A violent, muffled cough came from the main entrance of Yunlou.

"It's so lively?"

"Is that so? Didn't we agree to prepare a warm welcome? Why have you invited so many guests?"

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The cough was hoarse and intermittent, yet it resounded like thunder in everyone's hearts.

"It's Master Jiao!"

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

With this exclamation, everyone in the Cloud Tower stood up.

The story of resisting the Japanese pirates was sung throughout Nanjing for a long time, and everyone who heard it felt proud of it.

Now that the heroes from the folk tales have come to life, how can we not show them respect?

How can one not be envious?

"Jiao...Jiao Si?!" Feng Ziying exclaimed, his tiger eyes wide open.

"Brother Jiao!!" Xue Pan waved his fist. "Heaven has eyes! I knew it! Even the King of Hell wouldn't dare take a hero like you!"

Liu Ting's body trembled violently, and he clenched his fists tightly. "Good! Good! You're back!"

Wang Xifeng leaned against the window, unconsciously crushing a grape in her hand, the juice staining her fingertips red.

Her phoenix eyes widened slightly, and her chest heaved rapidly.

The calm and composed demeanor he had displayed just moments before vanished, leaving only a sense of bewilderment and disbelief.

The girl's face was covered by a white veil, obscuring her expression, but her exposed eyes instantly became misty.

She instinctively raised her hand to cover her mouth, her shoulders trembling slightly.

At this moment, the most stunning sight among those present was the graceful figure leaning against the railing on the fourth floor of the Cloud Tower.

Liu Rushi had just resolved to die, her mind was withered, and she was utterly despondent.

When she heard that hoarse cough, she thought it was a hallucination.

But when those familiar eyes met her, it felt as if all the blood in her body rushed to her head.

She gripped the window frame tightly, her knuckles turning white, her clear eyes fixed on the man as if trying to etch him into the depths of her soul.

It's him...it really is him!

It's not a dream, not a phantom of the underworld!

Ecstasy surged like a tidal wave, instantly overwhelming all her reason.

The repression and despair that had been held up for days, along with the fierce determination and resolve that had just been maintained, all crumbled at this moment.

Suddenly everything went black, the world spun around her, and Liu Rushi was thrown out of the fourth-floor window and fell to her death!

"Miss Liu!" the crowd downstairs exclaimed.

In the blink of an eye, Jiao Si stirred.

He grabbed a heavy white gauze curtain hanging beside him with one hand and flicked his wrist.

The soft gauze curtains instantly stretched taut, like a white ribbon, swiftly rolling upwards!

Swish!

The gauze curtain precisely wrapped around Liu Rushi's drooping waist, rotating to relieve the pressure.

Liu Rushi's delicate body fell gently down the spread-out gauze curtain and finally landed in Jiao Si's arms.

"You...it really is you..."

He smiled wryly.

"Why, if it wasn't me, who else could it be?"

"Could it be that you're going back on your word, having promised to treat me to a warm welcome?"

Even the usually bold Liu Rushi was momentarily dazed and speechless.

The entire building was silent; you could hear a pin drop.

"Master Jiao!" someone called out first.

Then, more voices rang out.

Feng Ziying, Liu Ting, and Xue Pan.

Even the remaining guests who had heard of the legends of Plum Blossom Mountain clasped their hands and called out in unison.

This is a world of difference from the previous situation where Qian Qianyi was hailed as a "model scholar" but was despised by everyone.

Wang Xifeng watched from afar as Jiao Si, surrounded by a crowd and embracing Liu Rushi, pursed her red lips.

She went to great lengths to help Jiao Si restore his reputation, behind Old Madam Shi's back.

When she saw Jiao Si return, she almost couldn't resist going up to him. But she held back in the end.

At this moment, the barely concealed excitement and joy on his face had been forcibly suppressed, replaced by an indescribable bitterness and suffocation.

She snorted coldly, turned her face away, picked up another bunch of grapes, and began to tear into them without a care for her image.

Standing beside Xin Li Ke, Qin looked at Jiao Si and Liu Ru Shi with a complicated expression. In the end, she could only sigh softly, lower her eyes, and not step forward.

Amidst the joy and emotion of this reunion, a discordant voice rang out sharply, shattering the atmosphere.

"Jiao...Jiao Si! You...you're not dead?!"

Jiao Si looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qian Qianyi's trembling eyes.

"Young Master Qian, greetings!"

"How's it going with being a 'model scholar'? I dreamt of Sangdao last night; he said it's freezing down there and he wanted your help to send some paper money!"

"They even asked me to give you this Ding Tang sword as a gift!"

Although Jiao Si smiled, his eyes were filled with boundless killing intent.

Qian Qianyi's heart skipped a beat, and he took a few steps back.

Recalling the terrifying scene of his opponent fighting alone against a group of Japanese pirates atop Plum Blossom Mountain, his legs involuntarily went weak.

But after glancing at the eunuchs standing silently beside her, their subordinates, and her grandfather being severely suppressed, she regained her senses.

He was now the de facto head of the Qian family, with several eunuchs from the Eastern Depot supporting him.

My uncle, Qian Chou, is a high-ranking official of the second rank in the imperial court, and he is also here now.

No matter how skilled Jiao Si was, he was just a commoner. How could he possibly contend with the power of the Imperial Guard and the imperial court?

Thinking of this, he pointed at Jiao Si, his expression fierce but his heart was weak.

"Jiao...Jiao Si! What do you intend to do?"

"Today, all the heads of the Eastern Depot and various civil and military officials are present. Do you intend to act violently in front of all these officials?"

He then turned to the eunuch from the Eastern Depot and bowed obsequiously.

"Master, this Jiao Si has disregarded your dignity and dared to commit violence in front of you! Today, we should arrest him along with Qian Zheng and interrogate him thoroughly!"

Cao Shaoqin's gaze remained fixed on Jiao Si.

Upon hearing this, he neither responded nor even raised his eyelids, as if he were weighing his options.

All eyes immediately turned to Qian Qianyi.

Xue Pan then launched into a tirade of curses.

"Bullshit! Qian Qianyi, you spineless traitor who betrayed our friends, do you even deserve to slander Brother Jiao?!"

At this moment, Qian Qianyi simply tore off all pretense and embodied the word "shameless."

"Jiao Si, let me tell you, I am now the head of the Qian family!"

"If you know what's good for you, kneel down and confess your sins, and you might save your life!"

"And Liu Rushi, you shameless woman, how dare you refuse me time and again! I'll send you to Yingtian Prefecture..."

He hadn't finished his foul language.

Jiao Si, who had been silent all along, gently patted Liu Rushi's back.

Liu Rushi understood and released her grip, taking a half-step back, but her gaze never left him.

"The mighty city of Nanjing, now guarded by a single pass."

"In the wondrous cloud tower, he drew his sword in a fit of rage."

"Gentlemen, my apologies."

Having said that, he swung his Ding Tang broadsword and sent it hurtling out.

Qian Qianyi was still grumbling when he suddenly felt the world spinning around him.

Then he saw his own headless body.

The villain Qian Qianyi has fallen to the sword of Ding Tang!