The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 116: My wife is also very unhappy now

As the mastermind behind everything, Mr. Zhan is very concerned about the movements of Lin Daiyu and Li Wan.

Relying on his wealth and numerous "little lovers", Mr. Zhan monitors the whereabouts of these two people in almost all directions.

After the party that day, Mr. Zhan got all the details of the entire party from Xichun.

After thinking carefully about every word, Mr. Zhan was convinced that everything was going exactly according to his plan.

Then, it’s time for Master Zhan to appear.

Dreams must become reality!

Mr. Zhan immediately invited Baoyu to his house for a meeting.

Baoyu had long been moved by Mr. Zhan's great sentiment of "sacrificing himself to save his sisters from danger", and he worshipped Mr. Zhan as a saint.

Of course he would accept any invitation from Mr. Zhan.

When they sat down at the table and had three rounds of drinks, Baoyu began to complain drunkenly.

"Brother Zhan, I'm having a hard time now!"

"My master forces me to study all day long!"

"As for studying, I naturally love it, but the saints told us to study, not to take those stupid exams for the imperial examinations!"

"Once good things are involved with those termites, they become dull and tasteless, and simply stink!"

"I don't know what's wrong with my wife lately. It's as if she wants to lock me up. I'm not allowed to go here or there!"

"Sister Lin is the same. Her temper has become even more petty. I just said a few words to Miss Qin, but she turned her face away and ignored me for several days!"

"Ah...it's so painful..."

After hearing this, Mr. Zhan said with a smile:
"Brother Bao, you don't know that once a woman gets older, she will enter menopause."

"Women in menopause often experience mood swings, such as irritability, anxiety, bad temper, moodiness, or low mood, depression, and loss of self-control."

"There may also be symptoms such as insomnia, dreaminess, palpitations, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating."

"It can be said that once this woman enters menopause, her life will become miserable and she will only become increasingly haggard."

"Didn't you say before that women would eventually become 'fish eyes' when they get old?"

"Then menopause is the main reason why women become 'fish eyes'!"

When Baoyu heard this, he was immediately startled and cried out:

"broken!"

"No wonder I always feel that my wife has become increasingly hideous, even worse than a dead bead!"

"What should I do?"

Mr. Zhan put his arm around Baoyu's shoulders and said with a smile:

"Not afraid!"

"Brother Bao, have you forgotten that I, your elder brother Zhan, am good at nourishing women. I can make dead pearls shine again, and naturally I can also turn fish eyes back into priceless gems."

Baoyu was moved at first, but he had not drunk enough wine, so he could not accept such an avant-garde approach, so he shook his head repeatedly and said:
"No, no, I dare not tell my wife about this. If my master knew that I had such an idea, he would beat me to death with a big stick!"

Hmm...it turns out that you are afraid that your father will know, rather than your mother will know!

Mr. Zhan carefully understood the meaning of Baoyu's words and decided to continue to add burdens to him in the future.

However, the current main target is still Li Gongcai, so he didn't want to make any more trouble. He just smiled and changed the subject:
"Brother Bao, last time you asked me to help 'nourish' Sister Wan, how is it going?"

Ok?
Baoyu shook his dizzy head and felt a little numb in his brain.

"Did I say that?"

"Of course I did!" Master Zhan poured another glass of wine for Baoyu and said nonsense: "You said that when we were drinking in the East Palace last time!"

"Sister-in-law Wan became a widow at a young age. She lives a boring life all day long. It makes you feel sad when you see her. It's not worth it for her!"

"You asked me for help at that time, asking me to go and nourish Sister Wan, but you know me, I have always been a kind gentleman, and I don't want to force others, so I declined."

After hearing what Master Zhan said, Baoyu felt as if, as if, perhaps, this had indeed happened. Suddenly, his mind flashed back to what Sister Wan had said at the previous gathering. He slapped his head and shouted:

"If Sister Wan also has this intention, then Brother Zhan is not forcing her to do anything!"

Master Zhan shook his head and said:

"Brother Bao, you are joking. Sister Wan is a well-known chaste woman. How could she allow such a thing?"

Seeing that he didn't believe it, Baoyu slammed the table and shouted:
"I heard what Sister Wan said with my own ears, how could I lie to you?"

Master Zhan just shook his head in disbelief, "Brother Bao must be drunk, otherwise how could Sister Wan tell you about such a secret matter?"

Baoyu then shouted:
"You didn't say that to me. There are many sisters here. It was Sister Wan who said that. I definitely didn't hear it wrong."

Mr. Zhan didn't believe it and provoked him:

"Then what was said in public is even more impossible. It must be that you, Brother Bao, misunderstood what Sister Wan said."

"Brother Bao, you saw clearly that I couldn't confront her, so you deliberately lied to me, right?"

Baoyu immediately became angry, threw the wine glass in his hand, stood up and walked out, shouting:
"I'm going to ask Sister Wan right now to see if she's willing!"

Mr. Zhan tried to stop him, but he was too slow and was rushed out of the living room by Baoyu.

But as luck would have it, there was a car parked at the door, so Baoyu got in directly and shouted back home.

The coachman immediately whipped his horse to speed and sent Baoyu back to Rongguo Mansion as quickly as possible. Then he half-supported and half-forced him out of the carriage and strode into the mansion.

Baoyu's head was in a daze. As he walked, he found himself standing in front of the door of Mrs. Wan's courtyard.

The driver gently nudged Baoyu and whispered in his ear:

"Second Master, we are here with Sister Wan. You want to ask her in person, so hurry up and make the most of your time!"

When Baoyu was reminded of this, he immediately remembered his previous promise and walked towards the yard staggeringly.

When the gatekeeper saw Baoyu coming over, drunk and staggering, he hurried over to support him, shouting:

"Second Master, you have come to the wrong courtyard. This is Madam Wan's courtyard, not your Jiang Yunxuan. I will help you back now."

Baoyu pushed him away, mumbling:

"This is where I came from!"

"I'm here to look for my sister-in-law!"

As soon as he made a noise in the front yard, the people in the backyard were immediately alarmed.

When Su Yun saw Master Bao coming, she was surprised and delighted. She was afraid that someone would ruin her plans, so she hurried over and waved her hand, saying:
"Since the Second Master wants to see the Grandmother, then just come in. Why are you trying to stop him?"

"Everyone go down, I'll be there to serve Grandma!"

When the others saw Suyun come out, they didn't dare to meddle in other people's business and they all retreated.

Suyun supported Baoyu and staggered into the backyard, then closed the door tightly, fearing that what they said next would be heard by outsiders.

When Li Wan saw that Baoyu actually came, she was extremely excited, but she also became inexplicably nervous. She stood there, twisting her handkerchief with both hands, looking at Baoyu, her lips trembling, not knowing how to start the conversation.

Fortunately, Baoyu was already drunk at this time, so he didn't want to beat around the bush and asked directly:
"Sister-in-law, you said before that you wanted someone to help you rejuvenate your life and let you live again. Is that true?"

Li Wan's heart started beating wildly when Baoyu asked her this question. She took a few deep breaths, swallowed her saliva, and finally said in a hoarse voice:
"Not bad!"

"Sister-in-law, I plan to live my life again. If uncle can help me, I will be forever grateful!"

When Baoyu heard this, he clapped his hands and laughed, shouting:
"I said I heard it right!"

"Sister-in-law, Brother Zhan is a saint-like figure in the modern world. He is the most compassionate and kind to women. I will introduce him to you later, so that you two can achieve good things!"

After hearing Baoyu's words, Li Wan's heart was finally relieved. She was overjoyed and fell to the ground, thanking him:

"Thank you for your help, uncle!"

"But this matter is too serious, so please keep it a secret, uncle, and don't let the master and his wife know about it."

When Baoyu heard the words "master and mistress", he was immediately startled and even sobered up a little. He waved his hands and said:
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I know the pros and cons of this and will never tell the master and his wife about this."

Li Wan was relieved at this moment, and hurried over to help Baoyu to the bed beside her, and helped him lie down to rest, saying with a smile:
"You are drunk now, so you can't walk around like this. If you fall or get hurt, that would be bad. If you say something nonsense, that would be even worse. Why don't you sleep here for a night? It won't be too late to leave tomorrow after you sober up."

Baoyu was also very drunk at this time. He lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

Li Wan took off his coat, shoes and socks, laid him flat on the bed, pulled the quilt over him and covered him.

They helped me to make the marriage and did such a big favor, so it’s no big deal to take care of them.

But not long after, she heard a noise outside. She asked Suyun to go out and see that it was Madam Wang who came to kill her.

Baoyu came back drunk and went straight to Li Wan's courtyard. Naturally, someone passed the news to Mrs. Wang.

Outsiders didn't think anything strange, but Mrs. Wang was anxious.

She had originally suspected that her daughter-in-law was being harassed by Baoyu, which was why she was so withdrawn and hiding.

Add to that Li Wan’s suspected “morning sickness” and the rumors about Baoyu being a “good wife,” and her suspicions grow even greater.

Now, when he heard that Baoyu had drunkenly broken into his daughter-in-law's yard, he was immediately worried. Not daring to delay, he hurried over with his men to stop him.

As the saying goes, family disgrace should not be made public. She was afraid that the two of them were really having an affair and that too many people would see it, so when she reached the door, she asked everyone else to stay outside and rushed in alone.

Then he saw his beloved second son sleeping soundly on Li Wan's bed, and his eldest daughter-in-law taking care of him by the bed.

Mrs. Wang already had a prejudice in her heart, but now looking at her eldest daughter-in-law's careful and considerate attitude, she always felt that there was no difference between her and the younger daughter-in-law serving her own master.

So she felt more and more that Baoyu and Li Wan were secretly having an affair, but this time she arrived quickly and they had not yet joined together.

"Humph! Shameless thing!"

Mrs. Wang cursed in a low voice, then stepped forward, grabbed her precious son's ear, twisted it hard, and shouted:
"You little bastard, wake up!"

Baoyu felt pain in his ears and uttered a low cry. He opened his eyes, but his head was still fuzzy and he thought he was in his own Jiangyun Pavilion. He subconsciously opened his arms and hugged Mrs. Wang, mumbling:

"Good sister, stop making trouble and let me sleep a little longer!"

Hearing Baoyu call her like this, Mrs. Wang became even more furious. Her suspicion became more certain, and she slapped him in the face right away, showing no trace of her usual loving attitude towards him.

"Who are you calling sister?"

"what?"

"You've really become very capable. You've even learned how to have a hangover!" "If you're capable of drinking, why don't you have the ability to stay away from getting drunk?"

"Don't you see where you are? Is this where you should sleep?"

Baoyu was startled by the beating and his mind became a little sober. Before he could get angry, he recognized who the person in front of him was. The drunkenness immediately turned into cold sweat that broke out from his pores. He quickly rolled off the bed, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly to admit his mistake.

"Madam, calm down. It's my son's fault!"

"Wrong?" Madam Wang was still furious and slapped him again. "You know you were wrong now, but why didn't you know you were wrong when you came here before?"

Baoyu covered his face with his hands, trying to protect his handsome appearance, and said with a smile:

"My son was drunk. He came to see his sister-in-law because he had something to ask. But he got drunk right after he finished talking, so he had to lie here for a while."

"You're talking nonsense again!"

Madam Wang withdrew her slap, pointed at him and shouted:

"What can you do if you're idle all day long?"

"Your sister-in-law is famous for not caring about anything. What do you want to see her about?"

"Uh..." Baoyu was much more sober now, and realized that he must not mention the previous things, so he could only say hesitantly: "It's not a serious matter, I just... I just came to chat and play with my sister-in-law."

His hesitation made Mrs. Wang even more certain that they were having an affair, and she became even more angry.

She glanced coldly at Li Wan, who was standing beside her with her head lowered and silent, and couldn't help but vent her anger on her.

Nowadays, whenever there is an affair between a man and a woman, the woman is often blamed more, as people think that she is being immoral and seducing the man into making a mistake.

What's more, Baoyu is Mrs. Wang's favorite, so she is even more biased and puts all the responsibility on Li Wan.

It was because of Li Wan, the daughter-in-law, who was not faithful to her husband, that her innocent and kind-hearted precious son made a mistake.

"Humph!"

Mrs. Wang snorted angrily, stopped beating her son, and turned around to scold Li Wan.

"Gong Cai, I'm not saying anything bad about you!"

"Baoyu is young and ignorant, are you also ignorant?"

"He came here drunk like this, and instead of trying to persuade him to go back, you let him into the house and even let him sleep on your bed..."

"What are you thinking, huh?"

"You are a widow yourself, don't you know it?"

"This widow has a lot of gossip around her. If you want to be a chaste woman, then you must act like one. You must be careful with your words and actions on a daily basis, and you must not leave a frivolous impression on outsiders!"

"If I hadn't come quickly, Baoyu would have stayed in your room tonight, and there might have been some rumors spread later."

"If there are gossipers who spread rumors, there will be no way to verify past events. There will be no way to explain these rumors, and they may even ruin Baoyu's reputation!"

Li Wan's face was as gloomy as water. She just lowered her head and accepted the criticism from her mother-in-law without saying a word. It was not until Mrs. Wang finished scolding her that she bowed and admitted her fault:

"The palace judge knows she was wrong. She will be more careful with her words and actions in the future and will never let Baoyu be misunderstood again."

Seeing Li Wan's expressionless face, as if she were a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, Mrs. Wang became more and more angry.

But she also knew that Li Wan always looked dead, and no matter how much she scolded, she would not be moved. So she simply saved her saliva, stood up and shouted at Baoyu:

"Hmph, you evil creature, why don't you get up quickly and come back with me!"

Baoyu got up from the ground timidly, his eyes swept across his sister-in-law's expressionless face, and he felt more and more sorry that such a beautiful girl in her prime years had become a dead pearl just because of this damn moral constraint.

Sure enough, the right choice was to introduce my sister-in-law to Brother Zhan and let him help "nourish" her so that she could regain her vitality.

He followed Mrs. Wang out, turned back secretly, and mouthed something to Li Wan, indicating that he remembered what he had said before and would definitely help her make the introduction.

When Li Wan saw this, she was overjoyed. A glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes and her expression became much more lively. Baoyu saw this and immediately felt that the trip was worthwhile and that he had made the right choice in tying the red thread this time.

His gaze lingered on Li Wan's blooming beautiful face for a little too long. Inadvertently, Mrs. Wang turned around and saw him looking into Li Wan's eyes. She immediately became furious again, glared at Li Wan fiercely, grabbed Baoyu's ear and dragged him out of the door.

"Ahhhh..." Baoyu screamed miserably, half bent over, and was pulled out of the door by Mrs. Wang. His ridiculous and pitiful appearance made Li Wan cover her mouth with joy.

As for Mrs. Wang's threatening look, Li Wan no longer cared about it at all.

I'm about to commit adultery, why would I care about a wicked mother-in-law like you?

Mrs. Wang took Baoyu out of the door and said to the servant beside her:
"Send this evil creature back to Jiang Yunxuan. Let everyone around him remember this. If Baoyu gets drunk like this again next time, everyone around him will be punished!"

Everyone thought that Mrs. Wang didn't like Baoyu's drinking, so they didn't think much about it and hurriedly bowed their heads in agreement.

After scolding Baoyu a few more times, Mrs. Wang flicked her sleeves and left with her people.

Baoyu bent his body and watched Mrs. Wang and her people leave. Suddenly, he remembered what his elder brother Zhan had said.

My wife seems to have entered menopause, otherwise how could she be so irritable and angry in the past?

She is so irritable, I am afraid that the symptoms of menopause have also appeared in her wife?

It seems that my wife is not very happy now!

Who knows, in a few years, my wife will also become that lifeless "fish eyes".

He rubbed his red ears, feeling the lingering pain, and began to hesitate. If Brother Zhan could really make Sister Wan regain her vitality, should he find a way to let his wife be "nourished" as well?
Let’s not talk about how Baoyu plans to have a loving mother and a filial son, just talk about Mr. Zhan. He actually already knew the answer, but he just needed Baoyu to go through the formalities.

When the news came from the Jia Mansion that Mrs. Wang was furious about Baoyu's drunkenness and had brought him back from Li Gong's courtyard, Mr. Zhan knew that the matter was settled.

So that night, Hongye ran to Li Wan's courtyard to ask for a meeting.

Nominally, Hongye was a member of the Xue family and was Aunt Xue's maid. Li Wan thought that Aunt Xue wanted to talk to her about something, so she let her in to talk.

Who knew that after Hongye came in, she asked her to dismiss the people around her, and then said with a smile:

"My master said that if Li Gongcai wants to have an affair with him, the safest place in the mansion is Lixiangyuan."

"So I came here this time to tell Li Gongcai that we can invite the master over at any time. When Li Gongcai is ready, he can stay at Lixiangyuan for the night."

Li Wan was surprised at first, but then all her worries disappeared.

What Lin Daiyu said was indeed right. When it comes to matters like extramarital affairs, all one has to do is follow the man’s arrangements, and women don’t need to worry about it at all!
You see, Master Zhan not only arranged the venue, he also found an excuse and even someone to spread the word.

Li Wan didn't care about being shy and said with a smile:
"It's a little late today, why not do it tomorrow?"

"I will take Suyun with me and stay at Lixiangyuan at night."

"Suyun also knows what I'm thinking. She will stand by me and help cover up a few things."

Hongye heard this and said with a smile:
"As long as there is no problem on your side, you can bring as many women as you want. The more the better. The master won't mind."

"Of course, those who are not pretty enough are not wanted."

This was also the first time that Li Wan had done such a thing and she was very unsure, so she asked Hongye to stay overnight and wanted to talk to her more.

Hongye knew that Li Wan would definitely be her sister in the future, so she didn't bother to be polite with her. She stayed here at night, chatting with her and Suyun in bed together, telling them about her master's romantic affairs to tease them.

After bathing and washing, the three of them lay down in bed and spoke frankly to each other. Li Wan smiled and said:

"I thought that since Baochai had never married, your Xue family and the Zhan family wouldn't be too close. Who would have thought that your family would actually provide a place for Master Zhan to have a secret meeting with someone? This is something none of us had expected."

After hearing this, Hongye hugged her and said with a smile:
"If you had known earlier, what could you have done?"

"Could it be possible that you could just come over here and tell my lady that you want to have an affair with my master?"

Li Wan's face turned red, and she said shyly:

"If I really can't find a way, I can only do it directly like this!"

"Thank goodness..."

Halfway through her words, Li Wan realized that she had said something wrong and stopped talking. Seeing this, Hongye rolled her eyes and said disdainfully:

"When you contacted my master through Master Bao, we already knew this information. Why are you hiding it from me now?"

Seeing that Hongye already knew the news, Li Wan hurriedly apologized:
"It's not that I'm too careful, it's just that this matter is too big and I have to be cautious."

The red leaves then said:

"My master said that you should show your breasts when you apologize. This is common sense!"

"Come on, let me see how sincere Grandma Wan is in her apology!"

While talking and laughing, Hongye stretched out his claws towards Li Wan.

Li Wan was quite shocked at this. Although she was interested and willing to have an affair with Mr. Zhan, it did not mean that her ideas were very open.

"No, don't do this..."

Li Wan murmured in a low voice and kept pushing Hongye away with her hands.

But Hongye had been strengthened by Master Zhan, and now her power was incredibly great, and Li Wan was simply unable to resist it.

Hongye took advantage of the fact that Li Wan was afraid of alerting outsiders and did not dare to make it public, so she acted very decisively.

In addition, Hongye's skills were first-rate, and she soon made Li Wan as soft as mud, allowing her to manipulate her.

Before Li Wan and Mr. Zhan committed adultery, Hongye took Li Wan's first soup!
Suyun observed for the first time with her own eyes how the dry towel on the bedside table turned into a wet towel. She shivered with fear, yet was also very interested.

But soon, Hongye threw Li Wan aside, turned his gaze to Suyun, and stretched out his evil hand with a grin.

"Good sister, go find grandma and don't bully me..."

Suyun was so frightened that her face turned pale and she backed away continuously, almost jumping off the bed. Unfortunately, due to Hongye's sharp reaction, she failed in the end and was easily caught.

So, Suyun soon made a wet towel herself.

Through this simple method, Hongye easily took the initiative among the three girls and successfully became the eldest sister of Li Wan's two girls. She said proudly:

"Don't worry, my two sisters. Once you get to Lixiangyuan, it will be my territory. I will definitely not let you suffer any loss!"

Li Wan agreed with all her might, but in fact she did not fully believe it in her heart.

For Li Wan, the reason why she was willing to give up her chastity and have an affair with Master Zhan was not to satisfy her own instincts and desires, but the most important thing was her son.

However, she always had to talk about this kind of things with Master Zhan in person, and she couldn't even talk to a maid like Hongye.

So even though Li Wan called Hongye "Sister", in her heart she still only regarded Hongye as a special maid favored by Master Zhan, and actually still looked down on her.

Hongye certainly knew this in her heart, but she didn't care.

As long as she goes to Lixiangyuan and sees the complicated and perverse master-servant relationship there, she will understand what "today I know the value of a maid" means!

Thanks to the book friend "Qi Qi Ka Ka Ka Xi" for the reward of 100 coins!
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(End of this chapter)