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

Jiao Si knew that Lai Er and Jia Rong had a falling out, but he had already prepared a countermeasure. When Lai Er came to ask him, he pretended to be confused.

"Reporting to Steward Lai, I just went to the Qin residence to deliver something to Miss Qin... oh, to Madam Rong."

His tone was simple and direct, and his face was expressionless, as if he were simply stating a routine task.

Lai Er was overjoyed, but he pretended to be surprised and raised his voice a few decibels.

"The Qin residence? Sending gifts to Master Rong's fiancée?"

He looked Jiao Si up and down, his eyes gleaming with ill intent.

"Jiao Si, that's the future Madam Rong! She's the mistress! What are you, a mere servant, doing delivering things to her?"

Jiao Si lowered his head, pretending to be speechless and caught in a dilemma.

He rubbed his hands together, lowered his voice, and sounded somewhat embarrassed.

"I am merely following orders. Whatever my master tells me to deliver, I deliver. If my master forbids me to speak, I dare not utter a word."

Lai Er was overjoyed to see his "honest and simple" appearance, as if he was "suffocated by his master's orders".

That silly boy!

They got ripped off and are still helping to count the money!

And they said they "couldn't tell anyone after receiving an explanation"?

Jia Rong confessed, and you really treated it like a treasure, hiding it away?

Lai Er sneered inwardly, but outwardly he put on the air of an elder who was "earnest and considerate" and "thinking of you".

He sighed, reached out and patted Jiao Si on the shoulder, his tone earnest and persuasive.

"Jiao Si, I'm not trying to be mean, but..."

"You've only been in the household for a short time, so there are some rules you might not know yet."

"The most important thing for us servants is to know our place."

"The master is the master, and the servant is the servant. There is a line between them that cannot be crossed."

He deliberately lowered his voice, leaned closer, and gave a warning look in his eyes.

"Especially... matters concerning the mistress of the inner quarters."

"That's a huge taboo!"

"You absolutely must not... have any improper thoughts, or do anything... against the rules."

"Otherwise, no one can protect you then!"

His words, seemingly admonishing, were actually all pointing to the idea that "Jiao Si harbored improper intentions towards Qin Keqing."

Jiao Si listened, a cold smile playing on his lips.

That old dog, he's quite the actor.

He looked panicked.

His eyes darted around, he dared not look Lai Er in the eye, and his voice was somewhat weak.

"Manager Lai... you're joking. How could I... how could I dare to have such improper thoughts?"

"I was merely... simply following orders."

After saying that, he seemed unable to stay any longer and hurriedly cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Lai Er.

"If Steward Lai has nothing else, I... I shall take my leave now."

Then, without waiting for Lai Er's response, she turned and left, looking preoccupied and with slightly unsteady steps.

In Lai Er's eyes, that back view was the best proof of "a guilty conscience" and "panic".

Lai Er stood there, watching Jiao Si's "hasty" departure, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips.

"Hmph, you silly boy, let's see how long you can be so smug!"

He didn't linger, turned around, and walked briskly towards Jia Rong's courtyard.

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

In Jia Rong's courtyard.

Jia Rong was half-lying on the couch, being served by a maid who was applying a face mask to reduce the swelling.

My face still hurt, but the thought of putting Jiao Si to death soon made the pleasure in my heart outweigh the pain.

Upon seeing Lai Er enter, he waved for the maid to leave and asked impatiently.

"How's it going? That silly boy's back? How did things turn out?"

Lai Er's face was full of a fawning and smug smile. He walked a few steps to the bedside and bowed.

"They're back! They're back! Uncle Rong, guess what?"

"That Jiao Si is indeed a fool!"

He vividly recounted how he had encountered Jiao Si at the side gate, how he had managed to extract information from him, and how Jiao Si appeared to be "unable to speak" and "deeply troubled."

He especially emphasized Jiao Si's words, "Once you've received the confession, you can't say anything," and Jiao Si's "panicked and guilty" appearance when he "admonished" him.

As Jia Rong listened, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and finally he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The movement aggravated the injury on his face, causing him to grimace in pain, but he couldn't stop laughing.

"Hahaha! Good! Good! This silly boy! We really fooled him!"

"You 'can't tell' after getting instructions? That's hilarious!"

Lai Er also smiled in accompaniment, his tone full of sarcasm.

"That's right! Uncle Rong, Jiao Si got tricked himself, and he's still foolishly helping you hide your 'secret'!"

"Look at him, he probably really thinks that you sent him to deliver the hairpin on some important 'secret mission,' and he's afraid that if word gets out, it will ruin your important plans!"

"That's incredibly stupid!"

Jia Rong laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.

"Yes, yes, yes! It's incredibly stupid!"

After laughing for a while, a hint of malice flashed in Jia Rong's eyes.

"Simply giving a hairpin isn't enough."

"We need to add more fuel to the fire!"

"They need to have a chance to be alone together! Preferably outside, in a crowded place!"

Lai Er's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood Jia Rong's meaning.

"Grandpa Rong is brilliant!"

"Sending the hairpin is only 'physical evidence'; we also need 'witnesses'! We need to have evidence of their 'secret meeting'!"

"It would be best... to have Jiao Si make another trip to the Qin residence, or to arrange for Miss Qin to come out under some other pretext."

"Then, we 'coincidentally' stumbled upon..."

He made a "caught in the act" gesture, a lewd and sinister smile on his face.

Jia Rong nodded repeatedly.

"Yes! That's what we'll do!"

"Go and fetch Jiao Si here!"

"I'll give him another 'good job'!"

Lai Er quickly replied, "Yes! I'll go right away!"

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

Before long, Jiao Si was brought before Jia Rong.

He still stood with his hands at his sides, his face expressionless, but his eyes seemed more "submissive" than usual.

Jia Rong sized him up, trying to maintain a "gentle" smile, though the smile looked somewhat comical because of the injury on her face.

"Jiao Si, you're back."

"How's the errand going?"

Jiao Si raised his head, glanced at Jia Rong, and then quickly lowered his head again.

His tone carried the air of an "honest report after completing a task," even deliberately tinged with a foolish "seeking praise."

"Reporting to Master Rong, I...I have delivered the items to Miss Qin as you instructed."

"What you confessed to... cannot be said to be a gift from you, I... I didn't mention a single word!"

"The entire process was carried out secretly, without anyone noticing!"

He spoke earnestly, as if he had accomplished some arduous and secret mission.

Jia Rong and Lai Er exchanged a glance, both seeing undisguised sarcasm in each other's eyes.

This idiot, does he really think he's done something good?

Jia Rong hummed in agreement, feigning satisfaction.

"Good job, well done."

"I knew you were useful."

Jiao Si seemed encouraged, and a "simple and honest" smile appeared on his face.

Then, as if remembering something, he hurriedly pulled out the one hundred tael silver note from his pocket.

He held it with both hands and presented it to Jia Rong.

"Uncle Rong, there's also this... silver note."

"I...I'm of no use."