The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 143: Harmony of the Qin and the Hairpin
Hongye was also a bad-hearted woman. Even though it was very close from Aunt Xue's courtyard to Baochai's place, she chose to go around in circles, leading Baoqin to walk around the corridors in the backyard.

Zijing, Luliu and others had known the news for a long time, so they deliberately ran over to watch Baoqin's fun, following Baoqin all the way forward, talking and laughing, and provoking Baoqin with all kinds of words.

"Hey, isn't this the daughter of Master Xue Er? Why does she look like a dog?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Dogs have tails, but Miss Xue doesn't."

"That's easy, just watch me!"

Zijing ran to the yard, pulled out a piece of dogtail grass and put it behind Baoqin.

"Yes, it looks like a dog this time!"

Everyone immediately applauded and cheered, Baoqin was so embarrassed that her whole body turned red, and tears kept welling up in her beautiful eyes, streaming out.

Although she had guessed that this journey would not be easy, the humiliation she encountered was still far beyond Baoqin's imagination. She really wanted to just give up and walk away, and no longer suffer such humiliation.

But the red leaf kept reminding her in her ear, "You really want to give up, right? Think about your father and brother, think about your future, and think about the price you have paid. If you give up now, all your previous efforts will be in vain."

Baoqin buried her head deeply in her chest, trying her best to ignore the laughter of the crowd, but she kept reminding herself in her heart.

"Since we are going to sacrifice ourselves anyway, why should we save face? We just need to lower our bottom line a little bit, and there will be no difficulty that we cannot overcome!"

"A tree without bark will surely die, but a man without shame will be invincible!"

"Just bear with it a little longer, just bear with it a little longer..."

"Don't think about how shameful you are now. Think about the future and think about how miserable you will be without the protection of your family..."

As the daughter of a merchant, Baoqin had also witnessed families that went bankrupt in business, and examples of daughters of wealthy families ending up as prostitutes. At the time, she had just listened to them as stories, but now when she thought about them again, she felt particularly empathetic. She shivered involuntarily and crawled even faster.

Lixiangyuan is not big to begin with, and even if Hongye wanted to go around in circles to give Master Zhan enough time to switch maps, she would soon reach Baochai's bedroom.

After pushing the door open and entering, Baochai saw Baoqin's hands and knees, which had been rubbed raw and bleeding. She immediately frowned, stood up, helped her up, and helped her sit down at the table, saying with concern:
"Sister Baoqin is a daughter of a rich family after all. She has been clothed in fine clothes and fed with delicious food since childhood. How can you treat her so badly?"

Hongye didn't know what script Master Zhan had put in, so she apologized hastily:
"I am just venting my anger on the girl. It was her family who wanted to snatch her good marriage away before!"

Baoqin was deeply moved when she saw Baochai's thoughtfulness, but she did not dare to offend Hongye and the others, so she wiped away her tears and said with a smile:
"It's because my family used to be so overbearing in Jinling, and we still acted recklessly in the capital, which is why we have committed such evil deeds."

"Good deeds will bring good results, and evil deeds will bring retribution. This is inevitable."

"My family has ended up like this because of our own fault. It is only natural that we are being punished now."

"I was spoiled before, and now I have to bear the consequences to atone for my past behavior. I have to thank Sister Hongye and the others!"

After hearing this, Baochai sighed:
"There are many ways to atone for your sins, but there's no need to damage your skin like this. What if you end up with a scar?"

As she spoke, she ordered Hongye to get some medicine and personally cleaned the wound and applied medicine to Baoqin.

Seeing that Baochai seemed easy to talk to, Baoqin shed tears and thanked her:
"I have offended you so much before, but now you not only don't blame me, but you are so kind to me. I am really ashamed and don't know how to repay you."

Baochai carefully wrapped Baoqin's wound with a clean handkerchief and comforted her:

"Let the past be the past, and we still have to look forward to the future."

"Not to mention that you and I are cousins, if you marry into the Zhan Mansion as a concubine in the future, we will still be a family, and you will have to call me sister."

"Don't worry, sister. I will inform my brother about the situation with my second uncle and ask him to help lead people to capture the thieves and rescue the people. I will definitely not let anything happen to my second uncle."

After hearing this, Baoqin felt relieved and finally at ease. But when she heard Baochai say that she would marry into the Zhan residence as a concubine in the future, she hesitated again. But the atmosphere was harmonious at the moment, and she did not dare to speak carelessly and anger Baochai, which would cause trouble. So she just lowered her head and said nothing.

Seeing that Baoqin was still naked, Baochai told Hongye to get a few sets of her own clothes for Baoqin to wear temporarily.

Although Baoqin's clothes were in Hongye's arms, Hongye still obeyed and went to the back to get the prepared clothes.

What surprised Hongye was that the clothes prepared were actually just ordinary clothes, and the shoes were also ordinary embroidered shoes, not the sexy high-heeled sets that Master Zhan usually wore.

After putting on her clothes again, Baoqin finally felt a little safer. Baochai asked someone to bring some snacks and fruits, and handed them to her, saying:

"You look so haggard. Obviously you haven't had enough rest these days. Eat something and rest here with me."

Baoqin took the cake, ate a few bites, and looking at the caring sister Baochai in front of her, she suddenly remembered the cold eyes and humiliation she had suffered before. She couldn't help but feel sad. She threw the cake away, threw herself into Baochai's arms, and burst into tears.

"Okay, okay, don't cry, your sister is here, it's okay."

Baochai hugged Baoqin and wiped her face a few times with her sleeve.

Baoqin choked up as she looked at the beautiful face so close to her.

"Sister..." Baoqin called.

"Good sister, you will live with me from now on."

As she spoke, Baochai led Baoqin towards the bed, "Come, dear sister, I will take you to rest."

“……”Baoqin.

Although this sister Baochai did not humiliate her in various ways like her previous aunt did, in her heart, it would be better to just humiliate her!
How can this be a good thing?

But now she had to ask Sister Baochai for help, so she didn't even dare to resist. Otherwise, if she was really unhappy, she only needed to mention it to Xue Wenlong and the rescue would be postponed indefinitely, and all her previous efforts would be in vain.
-
After Mr. Zhan collected the interest, he could no longer detain Wang Xifeng, so the plan to rescue Lian's sister-in-law officially began.

Master Zhan prepared the ransom and had someone deliver it to the forest where the ransom was to be paid. He then asked Xue Wenlong to lead his men in an ambush around the area.

Although in principle these Jinyi Tiqi are the emperor's private army and cannot do private work for outsiders, but principles are principles. In reality, everyone has some selfish motives. As long as they don't go too far, no one will pursue the matter.

Master Zhan gave enough money, and with the credit for catching the kidnappers in front of him, the people in the Hundred Households Office were in high spirits and had the will to be trusted. Even if they had to guard there all the time, they would not complain.

Of course, they definitely won’t be able to catch anyone.

Mr. Zhan had already arranged everything. The kidnappers had given him seven days, and only half of the time had passed. There was no need to rush, and he could continue to play with Wang Xifeng for a few more days.

The reason why the people in the Hundred Households Office are asked to guard there now is purely to let them keep an eye on the gold and prevent outsiders from taking advantage of the opportunity to get it.

As long as the kidnappers show up on the last day, take the gold away, and then the Jinyiti cavalry will go straight to Huanglong to destroy the stronghold, catch the thieves and rescue the people, then everything will be fine!

For this purpose, Mr. Zhan specially selected a colleague nearby, waiting to give Xue Wenlong another credit.

If anyone is to blame, blame this colleague for not giving face, not only refusing to be won over by Master Zhan, but also recruiting powerful people everywhere in an attempt to build a career.

Mr. Zhan is such a kind-hearted gentleman that when he sees a thief who is about to cause misery to the people, he will of course enforce justice.

Mr. Zhan was extremely good at civil engineering. He built a huge dungeon under the stronghold silently, and even the leader of the stronghold was unaware of it.

After everything was arranged, Mr. Zhan returned home and took Ping'er with him to continue having fun with Wang Xifeng.

Although Wang Xifeng is also one of the Twelve Golden Hairpins, Mr. Zhan is not in a hurry to eat her now.

There is no way, Master Zhan is gifted. Any woman who has tasted Master Zhan will never forget that taste.

If he ate Wang Xifeng at this time, when Wang Xifeng entered the mansion in the future, as long as she tasted Mr. Zhan's flavor again, she would immediately know who the person was that day.

So Mr. Zhan just let Wang Xifeng play with Ping'er, and he was there to provide technical guidance at any time.

Ping'er knew, of course, that time was short, so she seized the moment and played more and more excessively. The specific details are too difficult to describe, so we will not go into details here.

In a flash, several days passed and the seventh day arrived in a flash. Ping'er came to the dungeon. When Wang Xifeng heard the door open, she hurriedly got up, came forward, knelt on the ground, lined up various props in front of her, and greeted her respectfully.

"Feng'er meets grandma. What do you want to play today?"

Ping Er lifted up Wang Xifeng's chin with her foot and exclaimed in amazement:

"You've adapted quickly. You're indeed the daughter of a wealthy family. You're very different from the daughter of an ordinary family who's desperate!"

Wang Xifeng replied vaguely:
"I grew up in that deep mansion and have seen countless dirty things. Even if they didn't happen to me, I'm no longer surprised."

"It is said that a man who knows the current situation is a hero. Now that I have fallen into grandma's hands, there is no chance for me to escape. Instead of crying and wiping tears, and suffering, I still have to obey your orders in the end. It is better to be obedient from the beginning, make grandma happy, and make myself feel more comfortable!"

Seeing the master she once served now in such a lowly state, Ping'er chuckled, "What an obedient dog you are! Grandma really can't bear to part with you!"

After hearing this, Wang Xifeng's face suddenly changed and she cried out in panic:

"I will be obedient and never leave grandma's side. Please spare my life and don't chase me away!"

Seeing Wang Xifeng's misunderstanding, Ping'er laughed even more happily, her eyes rolling, and she said with a smile:
"Do you really mean what you say?"

Wang Xifeng raised her right hand high and swore:
"Every word I say is from the heart."

"Haha..." Ping'er laughed so hard that her body shook. She teased her intentionally, "That's great. Your family has paid the ransom, and the people in the stronghold are discussing letting you go back!" "But since you don't want to leave, I'll tell the people in the stronghold and just keep you as a concubine. After you go back, you'll probably be served a cup of poisoned wine anyway."

This sudden good news made Wang Xifeng's face change and she almost screamed out.

She looked at Ping'er in surprise and doubt, not knowing whether the news was true or whether this vicious old woman was playing a trick on her.

He wanted to continue to flatter the emperor by saying a few more words, but he was afraid that he would be self-defeating and end up in trouble. That would be terrible.

Fortunately, Ping Er stopped teasing her and told her directly:
"I will send you up tomorrow, and after I get the ransom, I will let you go home."

Wang Xifeng was now sure that it was correct. She was so excited that she trembled all over, tears streaming down her face. She kowtowed to Ping'er and kept saying:
"Thank you grandma for your kindness, thank you grandma for your kindness..."

Seeing that this wonderful toy was about to fly away, Ping'er waved her hands in dismay and ordered:
After the indescribable content, Wang Xifeng was too tired to get up, but Ping'er slapped her a few times and told her to take a bath, change clothes, and wash and dress again. After some tidying up, she looked the same as when she was tied up that day.

Then Ping'er took out another sleeping pill and fed it to Wang Xifeng, watching her fall into a deep sleep. Then Master Zhan appeared, took her away, and imprisoned her in a designated dungeon in the mountain stronghold, waiting for Xue Pan to come and rescue her.

On the other side, Xue Pan led the Jinyiti Cavalry to guard there for several days, but no one came.

If they had not checked the gold every day to make sure it was still there, they would have begun to suspect that the thieves had used some covert means to take the gold away.

Until today, when it was getting dark, Xue Pan asked someone to check the gold again.

I thought I had waited another day in vain, but a moment later, the scout who had gone to investigate came running back in a hurry, shouting from afar:

"Oh no, Master Baihu, the gold is gone!"

When everyone heard this, they were shocked and hurriedly ran into the woods, only to find that the gold was gone.

"General Lin, you are the best at finding traces. Check it out quickly. Are there any traces of the thieves?"

A general flag officer hurried out, carefully checked the surroundings, and reported back with a grim expression:

"Master, the traces around here have been cleared, and there are no clues left."

Everyone suddenly became anxious and said:

"We have taken Lord Zhan's money, so we can't mess up this mission, otherwise it will be difficult to report to the emperor!"

"We boasted a lot before. If we can't catch the thief, it will be a great loss of face for our Jinyi Tiqi. What should we do?"

"But the thief's trace has disappeared. How can we investigate?"

Xue Pan was not in a hurry, and waved his hand and said:
"Don't panic, everyone!"

He waved his hand behind him, and Master Zhan came out from the darkness with a smile on his face, followed by someone leading a few hunting dogs.

Master Zhan smiled and bowed to everyone, pointing at the dogs and saying:

"Those thieves took the silver away silently before. Since we knew about it long ago, how could we not be on guard?"

"Captain Xue and I have already made a plan in secret. We sprinkled some special potions on the gold for tracking purposes right now."

"People can't smell that scent, and the thieves certainly can't find it either, but this hound can easily smell it, and can definitely track it and find the thieves' lair."

"Before, Captain Xue didn't tell you about this in order to prevent the news from leaking out. Now that the operation is about to begin, there is no need to hide it from you anymore."

There are many wealthy and powerful families who keep hunting dogs, but most of them use them as aids in hunting. Very few people use hunting dogs to investigate cases, but that doesn't mean that people don't understand this principle.

Everyone was delighted upon seeing this and came up to flatter him.

"My Lord, you are very wise. This plan is better than ours!"

"If this succeeds, the credit will all go to you, Sir. We are just following you and taking advantage of you."

"Not bad, not bad. You got so many benefits for nothing. It really makes us ashamed!"

"Haha..." Master Zhan didn't care about these small achievements at all. He was happy and generous. He waved his hand and boasted to each other: "If it weren't for you brothers waiting here day and night, the gold would have been taken away by others, and I wouldn't have the chance to show off!"

"Besides, we have to sneak into the village to rescue people later. I can't do anything by myself."

"Today's event is entirely the work of the Hundred Households Office. I, Lord, was just lucky enough to come across it."

"Come on, let's rescue the hostages first, then report to the higher authorities and mobilize the army to suppress the bandits."

Everyone responded loudly, assigned tasks to each of them, and arranged for people to go back and apply for troop deployment. Then Master Zhan took out the potion and let the hunting dogs smell it, and led them forward.

The smell of medicine on this road was left by Mr. Zhan in advance, it’s so fresh!
So the hunting dogs didn't take any detours and went straight to the designated stronghold.

When they arrived at the outskirts of the stronghold, it was already half dark. There was not much entertainment in the stronghold and the thieves had already turned off the lights and gone to sleep. These bandits used their abilities and sneaked up the mountain with their dogs. Not long after, they successfully found the dungeon that even the stronghold leader didn't know about, and rescued the unconscious Wang Xifeng in the dungeon.

"Very good, now that the hostages have been rescued, let's go back and mobilize the troops to attack the mountain! Otherwise, the night is long and dreams are many. When the hostages are found missing in the mountain stronghold tomorrow, I'm afraid they will flee everywhere."

After Mr. Zhan finished speaking, he carried Wang Xifeng into the carriage and ordered them to go back. What happened afterwards had nothing to do with him.

His part has been finished!

He returned to the city smoothly. He first sent someone to Rongguo Mansion to inform the news in a high-profile manner, and then drove slowly there.

After arriving at the Rongguo Mansion, everyone here already knew that Second Madam Lian was rescued by Master Zhan and Xue Wenlong.

As a result, when they arrived at the door, only Baoyu was waiting anxiously there. Although Jia Lian was there, his face was so gloomy, as if he had been cuckolded.

As for the other people in the Jia family, no one came out to greet them.

Master Zhan sneered in his heart, got off the carriage first, stopped Jia Baoyu who was about to get into the carriage, pointed at Jia Lian next to him, and said with a smile:

"Brother Bao, Master Lian is here too. How can you get in past him?"

Ever since he knew the Jia family's attitude towards Lian's second sister-in-law, Baoyu had some opinions about everyone in the Jia family. But after all, those people were still his relatives. Although he believed what Brother Zhan said, he was still somewhat unbelievable in his heart and was always half-believing and half-doubting.

Now hearing what Mr. Zhan said, he subconsciously turned around to look at Jia Lian, only to see that Jia Lian's face was as gloomy as water, and he didn't look happy at all. His heart immediately sank.

Seeing that everyone was watching, Jia Lian had no choice but to step forward and get into the carriage, carry Wang Xifeng out of the carriage, and stride into the mansion.

But Master Zhan said loudly behind him:

"So that Mr. Lian can know that when Mrs. Lian was rescued, she was clean and tidy, with neat clothes, and there was no sign of being beaten or scolded. It is obvious that the kidnappers wanted money, not some personal vendetta that Jia Yucun said."

Upon hearing this, Lian Er hurriedly lowered his head to look, and indeed saw that Wang Xifeng was neatly dressed and showed no signs of being violated. He was immediately overjoyed, and he let go of Wang Xifeng's legs, hugged her with one arm, and turned to thank Master Zhan:
"I was so anxious to save my wife that I lost my composure for a moment. I haven't thanked you for saving me yet. Please don't blame me!"

Taking advantage of this opportunity to turn around, he showed Wang Xifeng's figure to the people watching around, so that everyone could see clearly that his wife was neatly dressed and had not lost her virginity!
He was afraid that others couldn't see him clearly, so he moved left and right while talking, turning half a circle to the left, then half a circle to the right. He was just about to lift Wang Xifeng up to expose her to everyone.

Mr. Zhan knew what he was thinking, so he cooperated with him and talked a lot of nonsense to him, which made Jia Lian feel even more grateful.

Even Jia Baoyu, who was watching from the side, felt grateful in his heart, and felt more and more that Brother Zhan was a man who was kind and considerate of women, and who was thoughtful and careful in his considerations.

After everyone around started talking, Jia Lian happily picked up Wang Xifeng again and strode back into the mansion.

Holding his wife in his arms, Jia Lian walked slowly towards his own courtyard, greeting everyone he met and saying with a smile:

"Thanks to our ancestors' protection, Feng'er was kidnapped by thieves but fortunately she was not injured. Her clothes are neat and tidy, just like when she first left the house."

When others saw this, they could only agree with a few words and thank the ancestors of the Jia family. They could no longer utter those sarcastic remarks because Second Madam Lian's clothes were not even messed up, so she must have never lost her virginity!

Noticing the change in people's eyes, Jia Lian felt more and more happy. The depression that had been hanging over his head for the past few days finally dissipated a lot.

Returning to the room happily, Jia Lian put Wang Xifeng on the bed. Looking at his wife's rosy face, he couldn't help but feel itchy. His eyes swept over Wang Xifeng, thinking that he would comfort her after she woke up.

Now that his wife has suffered such a disaster this time, her temper will surely be much better, and she will no longer treat her master the same way as before.

When the time comes, he will do this first, and then that... hehe...

Jia Lian laughed foolishly for a long time, then he stood up and planned to ask the maid to come and help Wang Xifeng bathe and change clothes. After all, she had been away for so many days, her body must be... huh?

He turned around abruptly, rushed to Wang Xifeng's bed, reached out and touched Wang Xifeng's face, which felt as smooth as cream, warm and pleasant.

How can it be so clean?
He was kidnapped by thieves and stayed in the mountain village for seven days. I guess he looked unkempt, but he shouldn't be so clean!
It's just like... I just took a shower!
Are the kidnappers' services so thorough these days?

They caught a hostage, but instead of beating or scolding him, they actually let him eat and drink well and even let him take a bath?

What a joke!

How is this possible!
Realizing the meaning behind this, Jia Lian immediately sat down on the ground with a pale face, and he felt that the color on his head had turned green again.

Thanks to book friend "qri2" for the reward of 600 coins!
Thanks to the book friend "xiaobaiztl" for the reward of 100 coins!
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(End of this chapter)