The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 132 Admiration for Women
The first rays of dawn pass through the curtain of night, through the carved window lattices, and cast mottled light and shadows in the room.

Baoqin got up from the bed, washed and had her meal with the help of her maid, then sat alone in front of the dressing mirror, staring at the beautiful face in it in a daze.

These days she has been looking for opportunities to get closer to Baoyu, but she doesn't know what's going on. Baoyu always seems to be distant towards her. Although they are very close, there is always a feeling of estrangement between them.

At first Baoqin suspected that Baoyu and Daiyu had reconciled, but after careful observation, she found that Baoyu and Daiyu often laughed and joked together, but they clearly did not feel like lovers, but more like siblings.

On the contrary, when Mr. Zhan and Daiyu were together, Daiyu's beautiful smile made her look more like she was in love.

It's really inexplicable!
A few days ago, Baoyu was in a desperate state because of a broken heart. Even the imperial doctors couldn't save him, and he almost had to be buried. But just a few days later, both parties are fine!

What’s even more surprising is that the three of them can often play together!

She saw with her own eyes that Mr. Zhan was teaching Daiyu to paint in the courtyard in an intimate manner, while Baoyu was following him foolishly, not showing any sign of jealousy at all.

The relationship between the three is extremely harmonious!
She also tried to get closer, but always felt that she was out of tune with them, as if there was some invisible thick barrier isolating her outside.

What a hell!

Baoqin thought about it and felt that it was probably because she had never been open to Baoyu.

She couldn't keep being excluded like this, otherwise she would not be able to win Baoyu's heart and there would be no chance of their marriage in the future.

So after thinking it over carefully for a few days, she decided to go to Baoyu in private, talk it out clearly, and clear up all the misunderstandings.

After making up her mind, Baoqin carefully put on beautiful makeup, then went out, got in the car, and headed straight to the Jockey Club.

Now Baoyu is working for Mr. Zhan. He has to go out at noon every day and come back in the afternoon.

But in fact, she had already asked her master to find out clearly that Baoyu would take Li Gui and Mingyan to the workshop for a walk every day, and then leave Li Gui to work in the workshop and take Mingyan to run around and play wherever they wanted.

The so-called learning to do things is actually just an excuse to share the credit in the future.

This is mostly the case when it comes to what the powerful and wealthy do.

But this kind of thing can be done but not said, and she certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to reveal it, so she could only follow Baoyu's schedule and meet him outside.

Fortunately, Baoyu's whereabouts are easy to track, as he spends most of his time at the Jockey Club.

Normally, Baoyu is strictly controlled by Master Zheng at home and is not allowed to run around outside all day. Now that he has a sufficient excuse, he almost wants to live in the Jockey Club.

Today, the Jockey Club is truly the number one entertainment venue in the capital. For the wealthy, it is a den of money. Whether it is food, drink, entertainment, or fun, you can find whatever you want here. You can stay here for days or even months without getting bored.

For the poor, the Jockey Club is not only a place for free leisure, but also a place to make a living by doing small business. In addition to the various businesses within the Jockey Club, there are also side businesses outside the Jockey Club that are several times larger than the Jockey Club itself.

Mr. Zhan looked down on the poor man's money, so he had been allowing the scale of the business outside the Jockey Club to expand. It seemed that he had lost a lot of business, but in fact he had attracted and consolidated the flow of people.

After all, according to our Chinese customs, since we are here, we have to go in and take a look, right?

As a result, the scope of the Jockey Club expanded larger and larger, almost like a small town.

Baoqin rode in a carriage, went out of the city gate, walked along the main road, and soon arrived at the Jockey Club.

After entering here, there are more merchants and hawkers around, all kinds of stalls, carts, and noisy voices, but no one dares to block the front of the carriage. After all, those who can take the bus are basically not poor people, and they usually won't buy their peripheral goods, so they can't afford to offend them.

Following the driveway that had been specially opened for the Jockey Club, Baoqin and her group successfully entered the gate of the Jockey Club.

After passing through this gate, there is still a lot of traffic inside, but the good planning of shops and stalls makes this place orderly and not chaotic at all.

After getting off the car park, Baoqin saw the man sent by the Xue family to follow Baoyu. She followed the man all the way and soon arrived outside a theater box, where Baoyu was.

She waved her hand and asked the guide to leave first. Then Baoqin smiled and pushed open the door, saying in a teasing tone:

"Well, Brother Bao actually skipped his job and sneaked out here to listen to the opera. Now I've caught him. That's..."

She had just said half of her words when she discovered that Baoyu was not alone in the box. There was also a gentle and charming actor. The two of them were pulling and laughing together. Mingyan was not in the box.

Seeing such an embarrassing situation, Baoqin swallowed back the words she had not finished saying. She was furious and secretly cursed the person in charge for being so useless as to not remind her of such a thing.

She didn't know that recently, because of Xue Ke's investigation, many old people had suspended their work and let some new people take over, so their ability to do things was naturally much worse. And the person who delivered the message didn't expect that after he left for a while, there would be an extra actor in the box.

Seeing Baoqin suddenly appear, Baoyu could not help but panic. He quickly let go of the actor's hand, stood up and smiled awkwardly:
"It's Sister Qin. You're here at the Jockey Club to listen to opera today too..."

"Good sister, you have to help me cover up this. If my master knew about this, he would break your legs!"

He saw Baoqin's eyes flickering over the actor, so he introduced him:
"This is Qi Guan, a famous actor here, who is good at playing the role of a female lead. I have never heard him sing before, but his voice is so lingering and touching, like weeping and complaining. It is very moving."

Then he introduced the officer:

"This is the younger sister of the Xue family. She is cheerful and enthusiastic, and she is also very talented in writing. She is not inferior to any man at all."

The Qi official also stood up and bowed, saying:

"Jiang Yuhan has met Miss Xue."

Baoqin saw that although he looked charming, he spoke politely and had an Adam's apple in his throat, so he was clearly a man. Thinking of the two of them pulling and tugging at each other just now, her heart sank, but she relaxed at once.

If Baoyu's "quirk" is that he is homosexual, then she can accept it!

After all, many young men these days are bisexual, and homosexuality is even considered a refined thing.

She was very sure that Baoyu was not misogynistic, and that was enough.

He is just a male dan, he can't even enter the house and can never threaten her position.

After figuring it out, Baoqin relaxed and nodded to Jiang Yuhan with a smile.

Baoyu invited Baoqin to sit down and drink and listen to the opera together.

With Baoqin around, Baoyu and Qi Guan could no longer fight with each other as they did before, but their attitude was still very intimate.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Qi Guan stood up and said goodbye.

"I have to go on stage soon, so I can't sit here for long. If you come again, you can find me here."

Baoyu took his hand and said goodbye to him tenderly, and they exchanged handkerchiefs.

Baoqin, who was standing next to him, saw it clearly and became more and more certain, but she just pretended not to see it.

After Jiang Yuhan left, Baoqin said jokingly:
"Brother Bao, everyone thought you were working hard outside, but who knew you were just here to listen to the opera? This way of doing things is really eye-opening!"

Baoyu came over with a drooling face and begged:

"Sister Qin, you know my personality. I hate all those worldly affairs and economics the most. If you ask me to do these things, you might as well kill me."

"I have discussed with Brother Zhan that Li Gui will be in charge of the matter. I will not be involved in anything. This is just an excuse to deal with my master."

"No one else knows about this, so you have to keep it a secret for me, or I'm afraid my life will be in danger!"

Seeing Baoyu acting so pitiful, Baoqin pursed her lips to smile at him and deliberately asked:

"No wonder you have such a good relationship with Master Zhan, it turns out he is the one who is willing to help you keep it a secret from the Second Master!"

"But why is Mr. Zhan willing to do this for you? Could it be because you gave Sister Lin to him?"

This was a bit rude to begin with. When Baoqin said this, she was worried that Baoyu would get angry and was ready to apologize. But after hearing this, Baoyu smiled and said:

"Brother Zhan is a rare person of high moral character in the world. He is also my lifelong confidant and the most righteous man. What's so great about helping me keep it secret?"

"That box of gold sand was so precious in the eyes of outsiders, but Brother Zhan gave it to me without even frowning."

"Since Sister Lin is destined to be Brother Zhan's wife in the future, it is only natural for me to hand Sister Lin over to him!"

"Besides, even if Sister Lin becomes Mrs. Zhan in the future, she is still my Sister Lin!"

"Now, the relationship between me and Miss Lin is still the same as before, it has not been damaged at all, and Miss Lin has become much more reasonable and no longer loses her temper with me. I don't know how great it is!"

Baoyu spoke eloquently and praised Mr. Zhan highly. It seemed that he was sincere and did not have any grudges at all.

Baoqin was stunned by Baoyu's carefree attitude, and felt that Brother Bao was indeed a rare man who could take things as they came, so she smiled and said:
"It's just my little sister's mean thoughts. I hope Brother Bao won't blame me."

"As for Master Zheng, I am not a talkative person, so I will not gossip about him. Brother Bao, don't worry."

Baoyu was overjoyed and bowed to express his gratitude to her. However, Baoqin turned aside and refused to accept his greeting. She just smiled and said:

"You don't have to say some empty words to thank me. If you really want to thank me, just answer one of my questions honestly."

Baoyu patted his chest and said:
"Don't just ask one question, even if it's ten or a hundred, just ask me, and I will tell you everything I know."

"You said so!" Baoqin looked at Baoyu's eyes and asked solemnly, "I heard from Sister Lin that you have a 'quirk' that even she couldn't accept, so she broke up with you. Tell me the truth, what is this 'quirk'?"

"Uh...this..." When Baoyu heard this, his body suddenly stiffened and he was speechless, not knowing how to answer.

Baoqin saw that his eyes were wandering and he was speechless. He hesitated for a long time and refused to say anything. So she stopped waiting for his answer and asked directly:

"Brother Bao, are you a man of many years?"

“Uh…” Baoyu’s face froze again. He compared his own situation, shook his head stiffly, and forced an explanation: “I’m not a man-loving person. It’s just that I admire the beauty and tenderness of women, and I yearn for it…”

He gave a long explanation, but Baoqin simply peeled off the surface to see the essence.

It turns out that Baoyu is not a homosexual, but he admires women.

This time, Baoqin's bottom line was lowered again!

"Haha... So that's how it is."

Baoqin laughed dryly, her thoughts racing, and she decided to accept Baoyu like this, so she smiled and took Baoyu's hand, trying to be sincere and said:
"Don't worry, brother Bao. No matter what kind of hobbies you have, I can accept them." "Huh?" Baoyu was stunned and looked at Baoqin in surprise, as if he couldn't believe it.

Although he is a simple person, he is not a fool. He has long known that he is incompatible with this world and everything he says and does is difficult for outsiders to accept. That is why he respects Mr. Zhan who can understand and recognize him and regards him as a close friend.

Now, hearing Baoqin actually clearly stated that she would accept her "hobby", he couldn't help but be surprised and felt it was extremely hard to believe.

But Baoqin held his hand tightly and said very seriously:

"I already know what kind of person Brother Bao is. There is no one in the world who is more kind than Brother Bao."

"Of course I know that Brother Bao always has a lot of weird ideas and quirks, many of which are against etiquette and law."

"But there is no perfect person in this world. I firmly believe that you, Brother Bao, are a good person, and I am willing to believe in you forever."

"I like you as a person, Brother Bao, so naturally I have to accept all of you. In addition to your strengths, I also have to accept your weaknesses."

"So, even though I may not approve of Brother Bao's 'quirks', I can accept them all!"

After hearing Baoqin's sincere confession, Baoyu was immediately moved.

There are very few people in this world who can understand him. Even if Baoqin cannot understand him, he will not compromise with this world and will not make any changes. But if Baoqin can really accept him, even if she still doesn't understand him, he will feel that he has gained an extra confidant besides Master Zhan.

He excitedly hugged Baoqin in his arms, looked into her eyes expectantly, and asked in a trembling voice:

"My dear sister, everything I say and do is unorthodox and against the rules of the world. It is not tolerated by etiquette and laws. Are you really willing to accept me like this?"

Baoqin knew that this was the key to success or failure, so she looked at him firmly and answered very solemnly:
"Yes I do!"

After getting Baoqin's affirmative answer, Baoyu was overjoyed. He hugged Baoqin and started spinning around on the spot, cheering and shouting, extremely excited.

"Good sister, it's great that you can accept me!"

"I used to think that others would never be so tolerant of me. If they knew what I did, they would definitely hate and despise me. Who would have thought that you, my sister, would be so open-minded. Your vision and knowledge are much better than that of a filthy man like me!"

Baoqin could clearly sense Baoyu's closeness to her, and she was delighted. She twisted him in a reproachful manner and scolded him with a smile:
"It is my fate to have you. I was a good person normally, but after I met you, my brain went crazy. You are the only thing on my mind all day long. Even if you do many unbearable things, I can only endure it!"

After hearing this, Baoyu was even more moved, so he became more careful and tried to make Baoqin happy.

The two chatted and laughed, and their relationship became closer. They walked out of the theater hand in hand and strolled around the Jockey Club, from east to west, from south to north, trying all kinds of fun in the Jockey Club and tasting all kinds of snacks and delicacies.

It was not until the sun was setting that the two of them left the Jockey Club together and took a car back to Rongguo Mansion, agreeing to come back to the Jockey Club to play tomorrow.

When they entered the mansion, Master Xue naturally saw the two people holding hands. He didn't say anything, but was satisfied with his daughter's efficiency.

But compared with his daughter's efficiency, his son Xue Ke seems like a loser.

During these days, Xue Ke mobilized a lot of resources, investigated the whereabouts of many people, and even found some problems, big and small, but they were all common internal malpractices of businesses, and the investigation on gold sand did not produce any results at all.

Just when he was feeling annoyed, he suddenly heard someone tell him that Master Zhan Niansi was here to visit him.

Master Xue Er didn't know why Master Zhan came, so he scolded his son a few words and hurried out to greet him.

After entering the courtyard and sitting down to serve tea, Master Zhan did not exchange pleasantries with him and went straight to the point:
"I heard that Master Xue has been conducting an internal self-examination recently. I wonder if there are any results?"

"Uh..." Master Xue hesitated for a moment. He didn't understand the purpose of Master Zhan's question, so he said vaguely: "Everything is in progress. I'll trouble Master Zhan to ask about it."

"Oh, I see." Master Zhan said in a pretentious tone, "I originally thought that I knew the chief constable Jiang Dairong of Shuntian Prefecture and knew that he was good at criminal investigation and solving cases, so I wanted to introduce him to Master Xue. Since everything went well, maybe I was just meddling."

After hearing this, Master Xue Er was moved. He thought that the person who could become the chief constable must be a local tyrant. With his help, things would be much easier. He apologized repeatedly in a hurry:
"Ah, I am old and confused. I can't speak clearly. Please don't blame me, Mr. Zhan."

"Although everything is going on here, I am still in need of capable experts to come and help. If Lord Zhan can help introduce one or two, my Xue family will certainly be grateful."

Mr. Zhan was here to stir up trouble, so how could he be offended? He immediately waved his hand generously and said with a smile:

"This involves ten thousand taels of gold, so we should be cautious. We are all friends, so is it weird to say anything?"

After hearing this, Master Xue Er felt even more grateful, "Everyone says that Master Zhan is a public-spirited person, and it's true."

Mr. Zhan immediately asked someone to take a letter to invite Jiang Dairong, and they agreed to meet at a restaurant outside.

After the three met, Mr. Zhan praised Jiang Dairong highly.

"Mr. Xue, you don't know that Wenlong has also encountered collusion between insiders and outsiders to rob his family before. At that time, it was Chief Constable Jiang who stepped in and caught the thief with his skillful hands."

"It was during that case that I first met Chief Inspector Jiang. I know that Chief Inspector Jiang is a top-notch criminal investigation expert and a man of great ability. Nothing in the capital can escape his ears and eyes."

After hearing this, Master Xue became even more delighted. He politely filled the glass with wine, clinked his hands over Jiang Dairong's, and said:
"I have heard of Chief Constable Jiang's great name for a long time, but I have never had the chance to meet him. Now that I have met him, I find that his reputation is well-deserved. I hope Chief Constable Jiang will drink this cup."

Jiang Dairong has always been a cautious person. Now that he heard Master Zhan praising him, he hurriedly took the wine glass respectfully and said politely:
"That case was solved thanks to the prefect's keen eyes and keen observation. With the full support of Lord Zhan and Master Xue, who mobilized people to help track down clues, we achieved the final result. Jiang doesn't dare to take credit for it."

When Mr. Xue heard Jiang Dairong mention the prefect, he suddenly thought of the current prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Jia Yucun, and felt a little puzzled. Since he had such a powerful subordinate, why didn't Jia Yucun call him over that day?

This was at a banquet, so it was not convenient for Mr. Xue to mention these things. He just kept it in mind and urged people to drink with a smile on his face.

The three of them had a feast, and after eating and drinking, they decided to investigate the case.

Mr. Xue had no shortage of money, so he gave a thousand taels as a gift for the meeting. If the case was successful, he would also give an additional token of thanks.

Master Zhan first had Master Xue II sent back home. After watching the carriage go away, he glanced at Jiang Dairong and asked calmly:

"Do you know what to do?"

Jiang Dairong bent his body into the shape of a big shrimp and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, sir. We will definitely catch the perpetrators red-handed, and that Master Xue will not be able to find any fault with them."

Only then did Mr. Zhan nod with satisfaction, get into the car and leave.

Jiang Dairong bent over like that, and looked respectfully at Master Zhan's carriage disappearing at the end of the street. Then he straightened up, sighed, and felt secretly moved in his heart.

He was just a small businessman from another place back then, but now he has become a viscount. It is really enviable!
He had been in Shuntian Prefecture for a long time, and was able to firmly hold the position of chief constable, not because of his ability to investigate cases, but simply because he could judge the situation and knew who to listen to, who to bully, and who not to touch.

There is no doubt that this Mr. Zhan is someone he cannot afford to offend, and as for that Mr. Xue from outside the area... hehe!
Therefore, how to investigate this case and what the results should be, all depends on Mr. Zhan!
Those who had robbed the gold sand before had secretly hidden it away, waiting to spend it after the storm had passed.

But they didn't know that the gold sand was conjured up by Master Zhan, and they had a unique sense for it. Within the range of Master Zhan's mind cave, it could not be hidden even if they dug three feet into the ground, and Master Zhan could easily find it.

The reason why Mr. Zhan has been hiding this news is to prepare it for Jiang Dairong.

He has already told Jiang Dairong where the gold sand is hidden and who hid the gold. As long as Jiang Dairong wants, he can catch the person red-handed and get the gold sand back at any time.

But that's not how it works. Even if you want to catch a thief, you have to do it step by step.

If you arrest a thief directly at his door without a complete investigation, you are not a chief constable, you are a charlatan!

Mr. Xue has been doing business for many years and has seen a lot. If there are any mistakes in his work, people will inevitably suspect that someone is framing him, which is not good.

Of course, the most important thing is that if all the thieves are caught in one go, wouldn’t that be detrimental to squeezing money out of them?

The emperor has plenty of hungry soldiers!

Master Zhan spends money like water and is always generous to his subordinates. Since Jiang Dairong has contributed, whatever he gains from it will be his. It all depends on how capable he is.

Jiang Dairong has been the chief constable for so many years, and he is very good at extorting money.

Under normal circumstances, these clerks would often eat both the plaintiff and the defendant, not letting either side go, but this time, Master Zhan was too powerful and he could not afford to provoke him, so he had no choice but to give up.

Anyway, Mr. Zhan just wants to watch the fun, and he doesn't have too high requirements for the specific process. As long as the result satisfies him, it's fine.

Therefore, Jiang Dairong did not rush into the Jia Mansion, but started investigating outside first.

He was waiting patiently, waiting for the first person who could not help but take out the gold sand to use.

If there is no opportunity, he will take the initiative to create it.

Knowing the list of thieves in advance, his choice would be much easier.

After a careful investigation, he chose a gambler, and then found an opportunity to have his men call over Drunken King Kong Ni Er.

This Ni Er was a scoundrel who lent money at high interest rates, spent his spare money in the casino, and loved drinking and fighting. He usually lived near Ningrong Street and was familiar with the people in the Ning and Rong mansions.

Ni Er usually had to avoid the constables when he saw them, and now that he was called by the chief constable Jiang Dairong, he was nervous and knelt down and kowtowed when they met.

"Master Jiang, what do you want me to do?"

Jiang Dairong threw a name to him and asked:

"Do you recognize this person called 'Li Shi'er'?"

"I recognize him. He is from the Rongguo Mansion. He has no future and just works around in the mansion to make some money."

"He loves gambling by nature. Whenever he has some money, he will send it to the gambling house. Once he loses it all, he will use the Rongguo Mansion's brand to cover it up."

"The people in the gambling house knew that he was working for Rongguo Mansion and would be able to pay back the money sooner or later, so they were happy to get more interest and didn't rush him."

After hearing this, Jiang Dairong nodded with satisfaction and ordered:
"Find a way to make him lose big."

Ni Er didn't dare to ask more questions, for fear of bringing trouble upon himself, so he obediently agreed and went out to do his work.

Within two days, Li Shier lost a large sum of money. He could no longer suppress his urge to take out the hidden gold sand to pay off his gambling debts.

Jiang Dairong had already made preparations and had set up a trap for him. He watched him use gold sand to pay off his gambling debts and leave with a lot of silver, but he did not catch him. Instead, he turned around and reported to Master Xue Er.

(End of this chapter)