The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 147 Falling into the Abyss
Wang Xifeng slowly opened her eyes and looked around blankly. Wherever she looked, she saw only an empty room, strange walls, and flickering flames. This was clearly...

"Snapped!"

A heavy whip hit her back, causing her to shiver and cry out in pain.

"Little bitch, what are you doing there? Come over here and serve grandma!"

Almost subconsciously, Wang Xifeng turned around quickly, crawled forward a few steps, took the raised jade feet, placed them on her chest, and massaged them gently.

Why am I back?

Am I kidnapped again?
Wasn’t this mountain stronghold wiped out by government soldiers?

Wang Xifeng's mind was in a mess. Her subordinates were a little slow and were kicked down again. The nine-tailed whip was lashing at her head.

"Grandma, please stop hitting me. I know I'm wrong and I won't be distracted anymore..."

Facing danger, Wang Xifeng had no time to be distracted, nor did she dare to hide. She knelt at the feet of the thief, holding her head with both hands, begging desperately, but she only felt a weight on her head, and the thief stepped on her head, crushing her into the mud, and scolded her coldly:

"Little bitch, now that you know someone in your family wants to redeem you, you don't want to serve grandma anymore, right?"

"Don't you think about it? How can a wealthy family like Rongguo Mansion allow a woman who has lost her virginity like you to exist?"

"Even if you go back, you will be marginalized sooner or later. When the limelight is over, you will be sent away with a cup of poisoned wine."

"If you are smart, you should stay in the village and be a happy wife with me!"

Wang Xifeng huddled on the ground, silent as a cicada. She wanted to continue the conversation, but was afraid that she would be forced to stay, so she changed the subject and said:
"I know I was wrong. I will serve you well and make you feel comfortable."

The thief was distracted by what she heard. She reached out and took a two-headed horn from the table and shouted at her:
"You're smart, why don't you lie down on the table and pose!"

"Whether you can go home or not depends entirely on your performance!"

Wang Xifeng's mind was muddled, and she didn't have time to think too much, so she instinctively climbed onto the table, leaned forward, hugged her knees, and spread her arms and legs. She cast a charming glance and said delicately:
"Grandma, we're already prepared!"

The thief woman laughed, put Mr. Horn in his arms, and pounced on him.

Under the manipulation of that cunning woman, Wang Xifeng did this, then that, then turned over and lay down, and changed this several times. She ate and drank, and finally woke up from her dream with convulsions all over.

"Haha, it turned out to be a dream!"

Wang Xifeng breathed a sigh of relief, asked the maid to get her another set of dry and clean clothes, changed into them inside the bedding, and threw the clothes she had taken off to the maids to wash.

Unlike a little girl like Lin Daiyu, she is already an adult woman. She has no taboos about such things and can throw it to the maid openly without fear of people around her knowing.

After waving her hand to drive the maid out, Wang Xifeng couldn't help but think of Ping'er again.

When Ping'er was around, she and Jia Lian would often quarrel after they had conflicts, and neither of them would pay attention to the other. If she had desires, she would often play some fake tricks with Ping'er and would never bow to that dead man.

Now, the couple has completely broken up, Jia Lian will never come to sleep with her again, and she will never have the chance to enjoy the taste of a man again in this life.

But Ping'er had been sent away. If she were asked to hang out with other maids again, she would always feel uncomfortable. After all, she and Ping'er grew up together and had a close relationship and were very familiar with each other, which was not something an ordinary maid could compare to.

Thinking about having to train another young and beautiful confidant in the future, Wang Xifeng couldn't help feeling annoyed again.

She closed her eyes and emptied her mind, wanting to let her tired body fall asleep again. In drowsiness, when she was about to fall asleep, suddenly, a voice rang in her ears again.

"Even if you go back, you will be marginalized sooner or later. When the limelight is over, you will be sent away with a cup of poisoned wine."

"Ah..." Wang Xifeng suddenly woke up from her dream again, holding her chest and breathing rapidly, her heart pounding.

"Grandma, what's wrong?" The little maid was awakened by her cry and hurried over to check.

Wang Xifeng gasped a few times, waved her hand to send the maid away, and sat on the bed, still in shock.

A glass of poison...

Yes, she had heard this word from that thief before she was rescued. She had forgotten it after she was rescued, but why did she suddenly remember it now?
It turns out that the key to tonight’s dream was not returning to the dungeon, but this sentence!

A cup of poisoned wine... If Lian Er doesn't want to return the dowry, but wants to get rid of this trouble of his family, then the final choice is probably a cup of poisoned wine!

In this large mansion, even if a few people died, who would care?
The only ones who might ask a few questions would be the relatives of the Wang family, but with a legitimate aunt standing in front to back it up, if someone died of illness, then that's it, and most of the family members wouldn't have any doubts at all.

Jia Lian avoided the trouble of divorcing his wife and became a widower directly, swallowing up all the dowry. Besides, he was not too old, so he could marry another noble lady and get another dowry.

As long as she died, no one would speak ill of the dead. Even if some rumors were leaked in the future, they would not spread and would not affect the reputation of the Jia family. This would truly make the old lady feel at ease.

There is no need to be nervous all day long like we are now, worrying that a captured kidnapper might talk nonsense, or even more worried that some kidnappers might escape during the encirclement and suppression.

Wang Xifeng tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, and the more she thought about it, the more scared she became.

Wang Xifeng waited in a daze until dawn, but she was not sleepy at all. She got up in a hurry, washed up simply, and rushed to Mrs. Wang's side.

She thought about it carefully for a whole night and felt that a useless guy like Lian Er didn't have the guts to poison her. The old lady was cruel enough, but her status was there, so it was impossible for her to dirty her hands. So the person who carried out this matter was most likely her own aunt.

And after all, the two of them are aunt and niece. If her aunt doesn't agree to let her die, then no one else in the mansion can kill her. Otherwise, there will be no one from the Wang family to help deal with it, and it will be difficult to explain.

For the first time in her life, Wang Xifeng realized that her aunt actually held the life and death of her family in her hands. She was shocked but also relieved.

She only needs to confirm one person's attitude to know her current situation. There is no need to test everyone one by one and be suspicious.

With a lot on her mind, Wang Xifeng came to Mrs. Wang's courtyard, pushed the door open, and saw Mrs. Wang scolding Baoyu there, so she hurriedly smiled and said:
"Hey, Brother Bao, where did you get into trouble again? Why did you make your wife so angry?"

She knew that her aunt was reluctant to blame her beloved son, so she went over to help and pretended to hit Baoyu twice, scolding him:
"When you rescued me before, I thought you had finally grown up and could do things for the family. But today, I found out that you are still like a monkey, teasing cats and dogs everywhere. I don't know how much your wife is worried about you."

Baoyu had just been receiving the scolding with his head bowed, not daring to say a word in reply. But now that he saw his saviour coming, his face immediately lit up with joy, and his whole face came to life. He rubbed himself against Wang Xifeng with a smile, and said coquettishly:

"My dear sister-in-law, you are finally safe and sound. You don't know how worried I was about you during those days."

"I know I was wrong. Please ask my wife to forgive me. I will never do it again next time."

Wang Xifeng covered her mouth and began to giggle. She then slapped him a few more times with her handkerchief, cursing:
"You've been making Madam angry all day long, so you should be beaten with a big stick. And you still want me to beg for mercy for you. What a nice thing you're dreaming of!"

Baoyu cried out in pain, "Ouch, ouch," and begged for mercy, making a grimace, which made Wang Xifeng laugh again. Then she kicked him lightly and shouted:

"I'll give you a break today. I have something to discuss with my wife. Please get out of here and don't waste our time."

After hearing this, Baoyu felt as if he had been pardoned. He immediately stuck out his tongue, turned around and ran away.

Wang Xifeng smiled as she watched Baoyu leave, then turned back to look at Mrs. Wang. However, she saw that her face was as gloomy as water and she looked very angry. She could not help but be stunned.

Little did she know that Mrs. Wang was not extremely angry at the moment, but she was so mad that she was about to explode!

Mrs. Wang had always suspected that her beloved son was having an affair with Wang Xifeng, and she was even more certain that it was Wang Xifeng who seduced her son first, but she had no concrete evidence.

In Wang Xifeng's eyes, the singing, reciting, and fighting between the two of them just now was an excuse that she had done countless times before. It was an excuse to save the mother and son and to prevent Mrs. Wang from losing face. She was in a dilemma whether to beat them or not.

In the past, Mrs. Wang did not take this kind of thing seriously. After all, they were siblings, and it was normal for them to be close to each other. But now, to Mrs. Wang, it seemed that they were clearly flirting, and they were openly exchanging glances in front of her, their mother.

She didn't lose her temper on the spot, which showed how cunning she was. If there hadn't been so many maids and servants present, she would have pounced on Wang Xifeng and torn her seductive face into pieces.

For a moment, Mrs. Wang felt her hands and feet trembling, and she kept muttering in her heart.

Great, no wonder I didn’t notice it, it turns out they never carried anyone on their backs!
Even if the two of them were a little affectionate, others would just think of them as brother and sister and would not think too much about it, which gave the bitch Feng Yatou an opportunity to take advantage of them... No, Li Gongcai is not a good guy either!

Just looking at her radiant appearance during this period, even a fool would know that there was a problem, but due to Baoyu's status and the fact that Li Gongcai has always been low-key and rarely goes out, she has never said anything.

But this Feng girl is too abominable. She has no intention of avoiding people at all. Now she is becoming more and more arrogant. She doesn't even hide anything in front of her family. What does she want to do?
Seeing that Mrs. Wang looked unhappy, Wang Xifeng also felt a little uneasy.

She didn't doubt that she was being taken out on Baoyu. After all, that's how she had been living for so many years!
What she was most worried about was that her aunt had already discussed with the old lady and others and decided to give up on her, so she forced a smile and tried to test him:
"Baoyu is still young, Madam, there is no need to be angry with him all the time. In two years, when Baoyu is older, he will naturally become sensible. Then he can marry a wife, start a family, and then there will be no more things to worry about."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang raised her eyebrows, drooped her face, and first drove out the servants around her, and then snorted coldly:
"Am I worried about him?"

"Am I angry with him?"

"My son is mine. If I don't worry about him, who will? Should I worry about him for you?"

"Baoyu is still young and ignorant. If he is seduced by some unfaithful woman, wouldn't he be at a disadvantage?"

"Our Rongguo Mansion is the home of a noble, a place with rules. We cannot tolerate the activities of thieves and prostitutes, and we will never allow such a fickle woman to enter!"

Every word Mrs. Wang said was about Wang Xifeng and Baoyu, but in Wang Xifeng's ears, it sounded like every word was about her and Jia Lian.

Especially the words "unfaithful to one's husband" and "fickle" that Mrs. Wang said, to her it was clear that they were talking about her, but she didn't know whether Lian Er told her that or she noticed it herself.

At this point, Mrs. Wang's attitude was very clear. Wang Xifeng was suddenly struck by lightning, her face turned pale, her body was shaky, and her heart was in a panic, but she still held on to a last glimmer of luck, and with trembling lips, she forced a smile and said:

"Baoyu will definitely find a noble lady of equal status in the future, so he won't encounter the things that Madam has described."

Seeing Wang Xifeng's panic, Mrs. Wang knew that she must have understood. She wanted to solve the problem at once. Seeing that the servants were not around, she simply stared into her eyes and said word by word:
"Not all of the ladies in this wealthy family are noble ladies. There are always some who are the scum of the family who bring disgrace to the family!"

"If you want to keep it a secret, then you must be able to keep it a secret. Do you think you can keep it a secret forever?"

"The Wang family's tradition cannot be tarnished by anyone. If anyone dares to damage the Wang family's tradition, I will personally clean up the mess!"

After saying this, Mrs. Wang stood up and walked out.

After being hit hard by Mrs. Wang's words, Wang Xifeng was completely heartbroken. She collapsed on her seat, her limbs sore and she couldn't move. She could only barely raise her head and look at Mrs. Wang's back with expectant eyes, begging, "Aunt..."

"What do you mean aunt?"

Without even turning her head, Mrs. Wang shouted, "Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. You have to call me Second Madam!"

"You have to figure out your identity!"

"You are now the Second Madam Lian, and are no longer the willful young lady of the Wang family!"

"The Wang family doesn't have a daughter like you who is immoral and shameful!"

After being reprimanded like this, the last glimmer of hope in Wang Xifeng's eyes was completely extinguished, and she could not help but fall over the desk and cry bitterly.

Mrs. Wang paused for a moment, looked back, then pushed the door open and left with a smile. She felt that she had solved a major worry, and believed that this little girl Feng would not bother her precious son again in the future.

As for whether her precious son would bother this Feng girl, she had never thought about it carefully.

But in her eyes, flies don't bite seamless eggs, and one hand can't clap. As long as a chaste and virtuous woman keeps herself upright, she will never get entangled with other men.

In the final analysis, no matter who takes the initiative, as long as a woman has a conflict with her precious phoenix egg, it must be that woman's fault!

She was happy and satisfied, but she had no idea that her previous words had completely pushed Wang Xifeng into the abyss of despair.

Originally, she still had some hope, thinking that others might not know the truth, that the old lady might not be so cruel, that the second wife might not be so heartless, and that having the Wang family as her backing would always make the Jia family more cautious. However, after Mrs. Wang's scolding that was almost a hostile response, she no longer had any hope of hope.

Mrs. Wang has made it clear, "The Wang family's family tradition cannot be tarnished by anyone. If anyone dares to damage the Wang family's family tradition, I will personally clean up the mess!"

Although the cup of poisoned wine has not yet arrived, it is probably only a matter of time.

Wang Xifeng was very clear about the behavior of these wealthy and noble families. She was just waiting for the storm to subside and people were no longer paying attention to this matter. That would be the time when she would fall seriously ill and die suddenly.

As for whether it will be a cup of poisoned wine or three feet of white silk, it doesn't matter anymore.

After returning to her room in a daze, Wang Xifeng lay stiffly on the bed like a dead body, not moving at all, staring blankly at the ceiling, her mind in a mess, as if she was thinking about a lot of things, and yet it seemed as if she was thinking about nothing.

In the following days, Wang Xifeng lost her appetite, couldn't sleep at night, and stayed in her bedroom all day long and didn't go anywhere. Whenever she heard any noise outside, she would sit up in shock and look outside the door nervously, worried that someone was coming to kill her.

She didn't even dare to trust the maids and servants around her. She was afraid that they would poison her food or hang her while she slept.

Such a life of fear and anxiety is really not a life for a human being. In just two or three days, Wang Xifeng had become emaciated and her face became haggard.

There is great terror between life and death. There are only a few people in ten thousand who can face death calmly, and all of them are legendary figures who can leave their names in history. But Wang Xifeng is not such a heroine. She cannot accept death, and counting the days waiting for death is the most torturous thing.

After repeated suffering, her sanity finally returned a little and she began to seek a way to survive.

The matter itself is not very complicated, everything is very clear. If she doesn't want to die, there is only one path she can choose, and that is - divorce!
It was called a divorce, but in fact it was a divorce, but it could only save some face for herself and the Wang family behind her.

The Jia family has always attached great importance to face. As long as she finds a good reason, the Jia family will definitely be willing to give her a decent treatment.

However, it was impossible for her to take the dowry with her, so she could only leave the house with nothing.

As long as she doesn't want money, Jia Lian will not stop her and will cooperate with her to finish the rest of the scenes.

Losing one's virginity to a thief is something that cannot even be mentioned. So what reason can be used to allow Master Lian to divorce her with a legitimate reason?

Wang Xifeng has to find this reason herself.

Thinking of this, Wang Xifeng felt so angry that her teeth were itching.

He had tried every possible means to keep his position, but now he has to actively beg others to kick him out, and even take the initiative to make up reasonable excuses for others to divorce his wife. What a humiliation!

But when you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Compared to being divorced, she is more afraid of dying inexplicably.

In the current situation, it is already a blessing for her to be able to escape back to her parents' home safely.

The "Book of Zhou" stipulates that there are "seven reasons for divorce" and "three reasons for not divorcing".

"Seven Reasons for Divorce", also known as "Seven Removals" or "Seven Abandons", are the seven situations in which a husband can divorce his wife as stipulated in the Zhou Li. They are: unfilial piety, childlessness, adultery, jealousy, serious illness, talkativeness, and theft.

In order to prevent the "Seven Reasons for Divorce" from being abused, Zhou Li also stipulated "Three Reasons for Not Divorcing", that is, under three circumstances, even if the wife met the conditions for "Seven Reasons for Divorce", the husband could not divorce her.

They are: the wife has no parents' home to return to, she has observed three years of mourning for her parents-in-law, and the husband was poor when he married his wife but became rich later.

But in actual application, these situations are as "flexible" as all the rules in the world.

If it really comes to the point of divorcing one's wife, then the relationship must have completely broken down. Why would one care about rules or not? It's just something he does for show to others.

As for excuses, you can always find them!
Let’s not talk about anything else, just the idea of ​​being unfilial, how do you measure this?

We have to use witnesses to prove it!

No matter how filial a daughter-in-law is, her parents-in-law will still accuse her of being unfilial, and no one can refute her.

But Wang Xifeng certainly could not choose this reason. In those days, being unfilial was a very serious crime, even more serious than "lust".

She would not accept any reasons for divorce that would have a negative impact on herself, otherwise she would not be able to marry again in the future.

Now she is only about thirty years old. Although a little older, she is not old. In addition, she has a beautiful face, a slim figure, and a Wang family background. It will not be difficult for her to marry a minor official who is willing to curry favor with power in the future.

She pondered for a long time and found that she could accept any three of the "Seven Reasons for Divorce": childlessness, jealousy, and talkativeness.

Those who wanted to curry favor with her Wang family valued the power of the Wang family and most of them would not care about her jealousy or her love of stirring up trouble in the family. As for her childlessness, it was even simpler. She had given birth to a daughter, proving that there was no problem with her fertility, and there was still a chance for her to give birth to a son in the future.

But these reasons are somewhat insufficient when used to describe the Jia family.

Jealousy and gossip are actually common problems among many wealthy and noble ladies. In practice, they are not used as reasons for divorce.

When these two reasons actually appear, it often means that these two reasons are used as excuses, and the actual real reason for divorce is difficult to say.

Although having no children is indeed a reasonable reason for divorce, it is not the first day that she has no children. If he wanted to divorce her, he would have done so long ago and would not have waited until now.

Combined with the previous incident of Wang Xifeng being kidnapped, most people will probably associate it with certain things, which is not good.

So after thinking carefully for a while, Wang Xifeng finally decided to start with lending money at high interest rates on her own.

Lending money at high interest is something that everyone does in private, but no one will talk about it openly.

Everyone knows that lending money at high interest rates is unscrupulous, immoral, and a serious moral issue, but in reality, in powerful families, no one really cares about this issue.

If this matter had not been exposed, if the Jia family used this as a reason to divorce his wife, it would be the same as "jealousy" and "talkativeness", all of which were excuses to cover up the real reason. But now that this matter has become a hot topic in the city and almost everyone in the capital knows about it, it makes sense to use this reason to divorce his wife.

The Jia family is now relatives of the imperial concubine, so it is time for them to cherish their reputation. However, when the imperial concubine was about to come to visit, such an indecent incident happened, causing countless people to laugh at them secretly. However, it greatly damaged the reputation of the Jia family, so it was reasonable for the two families to divorce.

After figuring this out, Wang Xifeng didn't dare to delay any longer, fearing that if she was too slow, the poisoned wine or white silk would be delivered, so she hurried out to find Jia Lian.

Because the family had no money, Jia Lian's spending had returned to its original level. He could no longer go out to have fun, so he could only stay in the house and enjoy himself with Qiu Tong.

When Wang Xifeng arrived, she saw Jia Lian drunkenly burying his head in Qiu Tong's arms and arching his back and forth. She couldn't help but frown, but then she realized that the two of them no longer had feelings for each other and that this person would have nothing to do with her in the future, so she smiled and said:

"It seems that I came at the wrong time?"

Hearing Wang Xifeng's voice, Jia Lian subconsciously pushed Qiu Tong away, stood up, and said with a smile:
"I just……"

As soon as he said this, he realized what was happening and immediately felt that his face was greatly damaged. He immediately sat down, hugged Qiu Tong into his arms again, and snorted coldly:
"What do you want grandma to do?"

Wang Xifeng glanced at Qiu Tong and saw this stupid woman trembling there, with an expression of hatred and fear towards her, so she gave up the idea of ​​driving her away.

With such an idiot helping out, it might be easier to achieve the goal.

"Second Master, I've thought about it carefully these days. We are a good couple, but it's really wrong for us to end up like this."

"Instead of the two of us fighting each other, it's better for us to just part ways amicably and go our separate ways."

"The gold and silver that came as a dowry will be given to the Second Master. I will only take back the shops and land that came as a dowry."

"I wonder what you think, Master?"

"Huh?" Jia Lian, who had been depressed for several days because he could not divorce his wife, suddenly heard such good news from heaven. He could not believe it. His first reaction was that this woman was up to something bad again.

He rubbed his drunken eyes and looked carefully. He immediately saw Wang Xifeng's haggard appearance. He couldn't help but feel a little distressed, but then he hardened his heart, looked her up and down and asked:

"What the hell are you planning?"

Wang Xifeng sighed:
"Don't worry, Master. I'm not playing any tricks on you this time. I just think that we can't live together anymore, so let's just break up and each take a step back so that we can live in peace."

After hearing this, Jia Lian still felt a little uneasy, and was reluctant to return the shop and the land, so he opened his mouth and tried to test the waters:

"You can divorce me, but I won't return your shop and land to you!"

Qiu Tong, who had been serving carefully, was stunned by the sudden news. She only realized what was going on now. She was overjoyed and didn't care about anything else. Without waiting for Wang Xifeng to speak, she began to shake Jia Lian's arm and urged:
"Second Master, it's just some money and property, just give it to her!"

"As long as this evil woman is at home, we won't have a good day. Let's just think of it as spending money to avoid disaster and send away the plague god!"

Jia Lian had drunk a lot of wine, and now his head was dizzy. Qiu Tong shook him, and he felt a little dizzy. Fortunately, he still had some rationality, so he managed to bargain:
"You can only take back half at most. This is my bottom line!"

Originally, Wang Xifeng had not expected to take away any dowry and was planning to leave the house with nothing. But after seeing Qiu Tong, she suddenly had an idea and offered a high price. Unexpectedly, she actually made a large sum of money.

Seeing such good conditions, Wang Xifeng did not hesitate and immediately nodded and agreed:
"Okay, half is half, let's go find the old lady and the mistress and settle this matter now!"

Thanks to the book friend "GWPS寰" for the reward of 500 coins!
Thanks to “Book Friend 20240214225410530” for the reward of 200 coins!
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(End of this chapter)