The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 142: Asking for forgiveness
In the Zhan Mansion, underground, in the prison.

Ping'er was lying on the bench with her legs crossed, holding a plate of fruit in her hands and enjoying it leisurely.

In front of her, Feng Lazi, who was praised by Mrs. Wang as "a person with a strong character who would commit suicide to preserve her innocence", was not wearing a single piece of cloth, but had many decorative items on her body. She was kneeling on the ground obediently, suppressing all kinds of restlessness in her body, and reaching out to carefully pinch Ping'er's pair of white and tender feet.

"Haha... I didn't expect you, a bitch, to have such good massage skills. I wonder how many times your master has enjoyed such caring services."

Ping'er raised her foot mischievously, lifted Wang Xifeng's chin with her toes, and tickled her swan-like neck with her toes.

Feeling the itch in her throat, Wang Xifeng didn't dare to dodge, and had to put her hands on Ping'er's heels to make Ping'er feel more comfortable.

But even so, Ping'er was still not satisfied. She put down the fruit plate, pulled out the whip from her waist, and shouted:

"Turn around and stick your butt up!"

Seeing this, Wang Xifeng trembled all over, her face turned pale, and she kept kowtowing and begging for mercy:
"Grandma, please spare my life!"

"I know I was wrong, please stop beating me, ma'am!"

Ping Er ignored her pleas for mercy and just sneered:
"Oh, really? Then tell me, where did you go wrong?"

"I..." Wang Xifeng had no idea what she had done to anger this moody old woman again. She stammered and guessed randomly, "Your servant, your servant pressed a little too hard and made Madam uncomfortable!"

"Nonsense!" Ping'er kicked Wang Xifeng to the ground, whipped her several times on the head, and cursed:
"You don't even know where you went wrong. It's obvious that you don't learn your lesson!"

"Go kneel over there and let grandma teach you some manners!"

Wang Xifeng knew that she could not escape the beating, so she had to get up and kneel down crying, and put her round breasts in front of Ping'er. Ping'er then raised the nine-tailed whip and continuously whipped the key position where the magic weapon was installed, causing Wang Xifeng to tremble all over and her eyes to roll back.

Ping Erh whipped and cursed:

"Grandma was talking to you, but you dared not say a word. Are you insulting me in your heart?"

"No, no..." Wang Xifeng begged breathlessly, "How dare I insult you, grandma? The truth is, the truth is, I have never massaged my master's feet, and I don't know how to answer your question."

Ping Er knew all this a long time ago, and was just looking for trouble. Now, after hearing what she said, she smiled and stopped, letting her take a break, and said deliberately:

"As a woman, you don't know how to serve the master. Then you don't have to serve him anymore. Just stay in this village and serve me, your grandmother."

After hearing what Ping'er said, Wang Xifeng immediately felt very aggrieved. Thinking of her past life of luxury and fine food, and the bleak days ahead, she immediately fell to the ground and burst into tears.

"Why are you crying? You don't want to, right?"

"Then grandma will just send you to the underground to meet Na Laishun and the others!"

After being frightened, Wang Xifeng panicked immediately, and hastily stopped crying, begging for mercy:
"Grandma, please spare my life. My family will definitely pay the ransom to save me. Grandma, please give me another chance and don't kill me..."

Ping'er sneered when she heard this.

"Do you think we have never paid attention to the situation in your family?"

"Rongguo Mansion reported to the authorities that day, and Shuntian Mansion prepared hundreds of yamen runners and soldiers to capture us."

"Does this look like a ransom is required to save you?"

"You are not a fool. You might as well put yourself in their shoes. If someone else were in your position, would you be willing to pay money to save them?"

Wang Xifeng's face turned pale in an instant, bloodless, her lips trembled, and she kept muttering:
"No, it's impossible..."

"I am the young mistress of Rongguo Mansion, and I am the daughter of the Wang family. They can't do this..."

Seeing that Wang Xifeng was greatly hit, Ping'er felt even more relieved. She took out the rope again, tied her up again, placed her on the table, activated the many magic weapons, and went out to take a rest.

After leaving the dungeon and changing back into her original attire, Ping'er went to find her master to share the joy of training play and report on the results, but she saw Master Bao coming and talking opposite Master Zhan. The one with a blushing face next to them was Xue Baoqin.

Seeing Ping Er coming in, Master Zhan smiled and waved for her to come over, then pointed at Baoyu and said:

"Look at Ping'er. You've only been here for a month, but your spirit and energy are obviously different from before, right?"

Baoyu looked intently and saw that there was indeed a little more spirit in Ping'er's eyes. That was the light of freedom, the spirituality that radiated from the inside out after being nourished by Master Zhan's magical medicine and breaking free from mental constraints.

Ping'er, who used to be very cautious and fearful in everything she did, had never seen these things.

Even his smile was less polite and seemed more sincere.

After seeing this, Baoyu immediately became excited, pointed at Ping'er, and shouted to Baoqin beside him:
"Look, look!"

"I never lied to you!"

"This is the vitality and vigor that a woman can exude after being nourished by Master Zhan."

"Although I have seen it many times before, I am still deeply moved every time I see it."

"Just to see these women breaking free from their shackles and embracing freedom and happiness, I would rather take the risk of others misunderstanding me and introduce more women to Brother Zhan!"

"Brother Zhan is a role model of morality in this world, a saint reborn, a deity from heaven, you are so blessed, sister Qin!"

This conversation is so exciting!

Ping'er, who was standing next to them, widened her eyes when she heard this, and her gaze kept moving between Baoyu and Baoqin.

Although Baoqin had already made up her mind and decided to sacrifice herself to Master Zhan in order to save her father and brother, she originally thought that this kind of thing could be done secretly, without anyone knowing except the three parties involved.

In this way, even if she lost her virginity here, as long as she could rescue her father and brother in the future, it would not be difficult for her to marry into a good family with the financial strength of her family. Then she would naturally have the means to fool her husband in the bridal chamber.

Who would have thought that Baoyu would reveal everything in front of so many people.

There are many things in this world that cannot be talked about, especially those things that are done by thieves and prostitutes and are done in a hypocritical manner.

If we don't say it out loud, we can still pretend to be stupid and pretend that this incident never happened. But once it is exposed, we will lose face.

Baoqin's face immediately turned red with embarrassment. Her little head drooped tightly, almost shrinking into her chest, and her hands were about to tear the handkerchief into pieces.

When Master Zhan saw this, he rebuked Baoyu and said:
"Brother Bao, what you said is too much. I am just a little more compassionate to women. The reason why I can nourish women is purely because God has mercy on me and gave me such a talent."

"It is God who wants to help me, so that I can save these sisters from the sea of ​​suffering and bring them happiness and joy."

"This is God's will!"

"Back then, Sister Lin had a prophetic dream in which she saw that Sister Baoqin would become a concubine in my mansion in the future. But later, because of a change in fate, there was no follow-up."

"I originally thought that Sister Qin and I were just not meant to be together, and that our fate had ended there, but who knew that after all the twists and turns, Sister Qin would automatically come to me again."

After Mr. Zhan consoled her, Baoqin's embarrassment was slightly reduced, but her face was still flushed. At the same time, she couldn't help but doubt in her heart, could it be that all this was really destined by God?
But... before she came, she only planned to sacrifice herself in exchange for Master Zhan's help in saving her father. She was going to use her own body as a condition, but she didn't plan to deliver herself to Master Zhan to be eaten so soon. She also never thought about marrying into the Zhan Mansion as a concubine. What she was thinking about in her heart was to find a man of equal status to be her wife in the future.

Unless... Master Zhan can't save his own father and brother.

If that day really comes when her family completely falls, then rather than being given away as gifts by other uncles of the Xue family, she would rather enter the Zhan Mansion as a concubine. At least Master Zhan is of good character and appearance, and can guarantee her a life of wealth and worry-free.

So Baoqin didn't care about being shy and said quickly:

"I already know all about how good Brother Zhan is, and I am willing to devote myself to him. No, I am asking Brother Zhan to help nourish me so that I can also get some of the blessings."

"It's just that my family is in trouble right now. I'm so worried that I can't calm down and serve Brother Zhan."

"If possible, please help me think of a way to save my father and brother."

"After things at home are settled, I will clean myself up and take a bath, and serve Brother Zhan well."

After Master Zhan heard this, he immediately understood her little thoughts, but he didn't care. He just frowned and sighed:

"This matter is rather complicated, not as simple as you think!"

"Jia Yucun had a grudge against your family before, so he took the opportunity to frame Master Xue and wanted to pin the crime on him."

"However, as a mere prefect, how could he have the guts to disregard Second Madam Lian's life and only care about finding a scapegoat to take the blame?"

"The key to this matter is that the people in Rongguo Mansion do not want Second Madam Lian to come back alive."

"Jia Yucun only follows the orders of the Rongguo Mansion. He dared to do this after discovering this secret."

Baoqin was fine, as she had already guessed what was going on, and was not very surprised. However, Baoyu, who was standing next to her, became extremely frightened and asked in surprise:

"How is this possible?"

"Why wouldn't the Madams want Second Sister-in-law Lian to come back?"

"And Brother Lian, are you also going to sit back and watch your wife die?"

Master Zhan sighed and said:

"Brother Bao, you are too naive and think people are too kind."

"Of course, Second Brother Lian doesn't want his wife to die, but he doesn't want to be pointed at and accused of being cuckolded by the kidnappers, and he doesn't know how many times he has been cuckolded."

"The old lady, the first wife, the second wife, and the others all want a loyal and virtuous woman, not a second wife like Lian who has lost her chastity."

Although Baoyu was simple, he was not stupid. He was just a bit foolish. Now that Master Zhan had reminded him, he immediately realized what a dangerous environment a woman who had lost her virginity would face. He immediately walked around the hall in anger, his face flushed, waving his arms and shouting:

"This isn't Lian's sister-in-law's fault. Why is everyone blaming her?"

"Etiquette is all dross. No one has learned the good stuff. All they do is dwell on those useless things. This is not allowed, that is not allowed. There is no humanity, no humanity!"

Mr. Zhan let Baoyu vent his anger there, and then said to Baoqin, whose face was pale:
"If we want to break Jia Yucun's frame-up, it's actually not difficult. As long as we can catch those thieves and rescue Lian's second sister-in-law, the problem can be easily solved."

"But if I do this, the people in the Jia family will hate me in the future and will definitely blame me for being nosy."

Baoqin hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should just become Master Zhan's concubine, so that Master Zhan would have a legitimate reason.

Before she could open her mouth, Baoyu beside her couldn't help it and jumped out to plead:

"Brother Zhan, I know you are a saint-like figure in the world. You will definitely not leave my second sister-in-law alone. Please help save her."

"As for Rongguo Mansion..." Baoyu hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "If the old lady wants to blame me, you can say it was my idea. The master will never beat me to death because of this matter."

It was clearly just a beating, but Baoyu portrayed it as a heroic sacrifice.

Seeing Baoyu's heroic expression, Mr. Zhan couldn't help laughing.

"Haha...Brother Bao, there's no need to be like this. I am responsible for my own actions. Even if the people in your house are angry, it's just another severance of ties. It's not like we haven't severed ties before."

After laughing, he turned to look at Baoqin and said with a smile:
"I can help you with this matter, but it's not enough just for me."

"If even Shuntian Prefecture can't catch this thief, then most people certainly can't catch him either."

"In today's world, there is only one group of people who can surpass Shuntian Prefecture in terms of intelligence information, and that is the Jinyi Tiqi."

"If there is anyone in the capital who can find the traces of those thieves, arrest the kidnappers, and rescue Sister-in-law Lian, it can only be Jinyi Tiqi."

"Xue Wenlong is now a captain in the Jinyi Tiqi. Asking him to help will definitely solve the problem."

Baoqin had always known the name of the Jinyi Tiqi. She knew that they were the royal henchmen, with a great reputation that could terrify all officials. Normally, she would avoid them when she heard the name, but now, when she heard the name from Master Zhan's mouth, a flame of hope burst out in her heart.

"That's right, there is no one that Jinyi Tiqi can't catch. If it were them, they would definitely be able to bring the kidnappers to justice!"

Seeing Baoqin's surprised expression, Master Zhan poured a basin of cold water into her.

"But your family colluded with Jia Yucun to set a trap for Xue Wenlong in Jinling City and almost caused him to lose his identity. The hatred is not small."

"After entering the capital, your father and Aunt Xue fell out again because of many disagreements regarding the handover of the imperial merchant business. To this day, the imperial merchant business has not been taken over."

"Although your two families are from the same clan, you have never had any contact in the past year. I'm afraid it won't be easy to ask Wenlong for help now!" The smile on Baoqin's face froze again.

Just when she was confused and at a loss, Baoyu jumped out again and volunteered to pat his chest and guarantee:
"Don't worry, Sister Qin. Wenlong and I are as close as brothers. I will go and ask him for help. I will definitely not let him embarrass you."

Baoqin felt even more grateful to Baoyu for helping her many times. Looking at Baoyu's expression, she felt that she was almost willing to give herself to him.

However, a licker cannot get the house. The more Baoyu licks, the further Baoqin moves away from him and the closer she gets to Master Zhan.

Seeing Baoyu repeatedly jumping out to ruin his plans, Master Zhan knew that it would not be so easy to control Baoqin with Baoyu around. Fortunately, Baoyu was going to find his "good brother" Xue Wenlong, and Xue Pan listened to Master Zhan, so everything was still under control afterwards.

"Well, since Baoyu said so, I'll trouble you to come."

"As long as Baoyu can convince Wenlong to help, this matter will be simple."

"I can prepare the ransom. When the time comes, we can use the ransom to lure the kidnapper out, and then have Jin Yiti ride out. There is no reason for failure."

So Baoqin and Baoyu left happily, and Mr. Zhan turned around and went to find the Xue family members and explained everything to them.

The Xue family had long since learned bad things from Master Zhan and were used to playing double roles with him. When Baoyu came over to talk, Xue Pan pretended to be embarrassed and said:
"I don't really care about what happened back then, but it frightened my mother and sister so much that they still feel bad about it."

"If you want me to help, that's fine, but you need to let Baoqin go to my mother and sister alone and apologize to them sincerely to satisfy them."

This request is very reasonable!

And it seems quite simple.

Baoyu agreed on Baoqin's behalf and told Baoqin about it when he came back. Baoqin didn't know that this was Mr. Zhan's arrangement, so she agreed generously and went to Lixiangyuan, the monster's cave, alone to apologize to the Xue mother and daughter.

The back door of Lixiangyuan is on the side of the road. In the past, people could enter and exit freely. However, the Grand View Garden is being built here and the road has been closed for a long time. She can only go through the main gate of Lixiangyuan with the guidance of Baoyu.

When they arrived at the door, Baoqin asked Baoyu to go back first, took a deep breath, and went forward to knock on the door.

Soon, there was the sound of light footsteps, and then someone came out to open the door. She recognized it clearly, and it was Hongye, Aunt Xue's personal maid. She hurried forward to salute and said:

"Sister Hongye, Xue Baoqin has come here today to apologize to Aunt and Sister Baochai. Please help report this to them, Sister Hongye."

Hongye looked Baoqin up and down with a smile on her face. Knowing that this was a piece of beautiful meat delivered to her door, she did not embarrass her and just smiled and said:

"Wait a minute. I'll pass on the message to you."

Not long after, Hongye came back, but not empty-handed. Instead, she was holding a cane. When she reached the door, she threw the cane on the ground and said with a smile:
"My young lady said that since you are asking for forgiveness by carrying a thorn stick on your back, then how can there be no thorn stick? This is prepared for you. It is up to you to decide whether you want to carry it or not."

Looking at the brambles on the ground, Baoqin couldn't help but be stunned.

Her "carrying a thorn stick to ask for forgiveness" was just a figure of speech. She didn't really intend to go in with a thorn stick on her back.

But since the other person said so, no matter if he was actively making things difficult or quibbling over words, she had to continue, because she was the one begging for help now!
Baoqin sighed inwardly, bent down to pick up the bramble, put it behind her back, tied it with a belt, then knelt in front of the door of Lixiangyuan and crawled forward on her knees.

"Baoqin is very sincere in her apology. Please lead the way, Sister Hongye."

Hongye closed the gate of Lixiangyuan to block out the prying eyes of the outside world and led Baoqin forward.

After passing the outer courtyard and entering the inner courtyard, Hongye suddenly stopped and shouted in a surprised manner:
"Oh, I almost forgot, Lian Po was 'bare-chested and carrying a thorn stick on his back'. The correct way to do this is to be naked!"

After saying this, she crossed her arms and looked at Baoqin with a sneer.

Baoqin's face turned blue and red, she was extremely embarrassed and angry, and she wanted to just leave, but when she thought of the miserable situation she would face without the protection of her father and brother, she immediately forced herself to endure it.

She looked around the yard and realized that there were only maids in the yard, no male servants. After hesitating for a long time, she finally gritted her teeth, took off her top, then her underwear, and finally left only a thin piece of clothing before she put the thorn on her back again.

Hongye smiled, knowing that training the eagle would have to be done slowly, so she didn't want to be too aggressive and continued walking forward with a smile.

It was summer and the air was hot and humid. The breeze blowing on Baoqin's body should have been cool and refreshing, but now it felt extremely cold.

Baoqin wiped the goose bumps on her arms, lowered her proud head, and continued to crawl forward on her knees.

After a while, under Hongye's guidance, the two came to Aunt Xue's place. Hongye pushed the door open and gestured inside:
"Miss, you haven't been feeling well lately, so you should apologize to the lady first."

Baoqin crawled into the room on her knees, walked around the screen, and saw a large bed with a pink curtain hanging on it. She could vaguely see the graceful silhouette inside.

"Baoqin greets aunt." Baoqin knelt down in front of the bed and kowtowed.

"Hmm..." The person behind the curtain hummed softly, and his body swayed faintly. It seemed that a strange sound came from it, but the curtain was very thick and seemed to have a soundproofing effect. Even though Baoqin was kneeling in front of the bed, she still couldn't hear it clearly.

She didn't dare to look up, but just kept her head pressed against the ground. But out of the corner of her eye she noticed a pair of high-heeled shoes lying upside down under the bed. They had a red sole and a black satin surface, embroidered with hollow patterns, and the heels were three inches high, which made people blush and their heart beat fast just by looking at them.

Although Baoqin had never worn this kind of thing, as a girl from a merchant family, she actually secretly asked someone to get a few sets of Zhanfu suits for her to study, so she was not unfamiliar with these high heels.

Just by looking at the style of the shoes, you can tell that they are not ordinary models, but custom-made ones.

My uncle has passed away long ago, how come my aunt has such shoes?

Baoqin's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't dare to ask any more questions. She only apologized respectfully:

"Aunt, I was rude to you before and offended you. Baoqin came here today to apologize. Please forgive me."

"Humph!" Aunt Xue snorted, licked her dry lips, and cursed: "Is it just rude of you? You clearly want to kill my son!"

"I thought you were relatives before, but do you look like relatives at all?"

"My family can't afford such relatives!"

"Since you are so unkind, don't blame my family for being unjust. Your life or death has nothing to do with my family, so we don't care!"

Baoqin heard Aunt Xue's breathing becoming increasingly disordered and panting heavily, and it was obvious that she was very angry, so she kowtowed and apologized:
"I dare not argue with my aunt's accusations. These things are indeed wrong for my family."

"I dare not ask for your forgiveness, but I only ask you to show mercy for my uncle's sake. I will take full responsibility for my father's faults and let you punish me."

"Allow... uh... punishment?" Aunt Xue's breathing became heavier and heavier. It was obvious that she was so angry that her chest hurt.

"That's right. Baoqin will take any punishment from my aunt." Baoqin lay on the ground, staring at the ground, and said firmly.

"Then...then you should take the blame!" Aunt Xue ordered: "Hongye, you will execute the sentence for me. Give her a good punishment. Just start with a hundred lashes."

Hongye came up and pulled out the bramble, and clapped it on his hands, making a "pa pa" sound.

Looking at Baoqin's face that turned pale in an instant, Hongye smiled mysteriously and suddenly said:

"Madam, this thorn is full of thorns. If it hits Miss Baoqin, I'm afraid her skin and flesh will be destroyed. It's really a pity. It's better to use a nine-tailed whip. It will be more effective."

Aunt Xue shook her body several times before responding:

"...Okay, I'll do as you say."

So Hongye went inside and took out the nine-tailed whip, stood behind Baoqin, and whipped Baoqin's smooth and white back.

"Snapped!"

Baoqin's body trembled, and she felt a burning sensation on her back. It was a little painful, but not severe. She couldn't help but feel grateful.

I didn't expect that although this girl Hongye looked fierce, she was actually kind-hearted. She clearly held back when she beat him.

Hongye didn't realize that she had already accepted the good guy card, and she still said with a smile:
"You have to keep count yourself. I've never learned arithmetic, but I can't remember how many I hit."

Baoqin had no choice but to count the number of times she was whipped herself, and each time she was whipped was counted as one.

"Snapped!"

"two."

"Snapped!"

"three."

As Hongye whipped her, Baoqin inexplicably felt that the pain on her back disappeared, and instead a strange numbing and itchy feeling appeared.

But the hundred lashes had not yet been completed, so she had to endure it and did not dare to reach out to scratch her back.

"Snapped!"

"thirty-seven."

"Snapped!"

"thirty eight."

The fight hadn't finished yet when Aunt Xue suddenly screamed.

"Ah... stop, stop for a moment, change some knowledge..."

Before Baoqin could figure out what was going on, Hongye had already pulled her up, pushed her down on the table next to her, and skinned her naked in a few seconds. Before she could react, he swung his big hand and aimed it at her half-moon peach.

"Snapped!"

If the whipping just now was a punishment, then this kind of beating was clearly an attempt to humiliate her.

Baoqin struggled subconsciously, but Hongye was so strong that the hand he pressed on her back was like a heavy burden, preventing her from moving at all.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt?" Hongye bent down, licked Baoqin's ear gently, and said with a smile: "Then I'll rub it for you..."

Hongye's next slap was raised high and landed gently, without any pain, but Baoqin would rather she used as much force as before.

"I..." Feeling Hongye's gentle yet powerful movements, Baoqin's face turned red and she was confused.

"Snapped!"

As if he had guessed what Baoqin was thinking, this slap was another loud one.

"Why don't you count?" Hongye asked in a low voice.

Baoqin bit her lower lip tightly, hesitated for a moment, and then continued counting in a hoarse voice.

“…Thirty-nine.”

Hongye chuckled and hit him again without making any sound, "Wrong, this is not a whip, it's a spanking, you have to recalculate the number."

Tears welled up in Baoqin's eyes, but she remained motionless, and continued to count while choking with sobs:
"one."

"This is right!"

Hongye slapped left and right, sometimes lightly and sometimes heavily, just like beating a drum, crackling randomly. If you listened carefully, it was actually in rhythm and very musical.

This kind of music obviously made Aunt Xue very happy, and the curtains on the bed began to shake even more violently.

Finally, after a sigh of satisfaction, Aunt Xue said with mercy:
"Okay, I forgive you. Next, go to Baochai and see how she wants to punish you."

Baoqin was in tears, but she quickly climbed down from the table, not caring that she was naked, and ran to Aunt Xue's bed, knelt down and kowtowed to express her gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Auntie, for your generosity. Baoqin will never forget your kindness."

This sudden movement startled Aunt Xue. She shrank back suddenly behind the curtain and said in a trembling voice:
"I see. Go over there quickly. Don't let Baochai wait anxiously."

Baoqin bowed again and again, said goodbye and left. Just as she turned around to find her clothes to put on, she saw Hongye had suddenly appeared and took her clothes away, making it clear that she didn't want her to put them on.

Baoqin hesitated for a moment, sighed, knelt down obediently, crawled out of Aunt Xue's room naked, and crawled on her knees towards Baochai's bedroom. Hongye followed behind her, holding her clothes with a smile, watching her twisting her round breasts as she crawled in front of her, and teasing her from time to time.

(End of this chapter)