The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 157 Conquering Demons
It is still unknown how Little Twelve served Little Eleven, but Little Eleven was very satisfied.

The only regret is that no secret medicine was produced last night, which made Xiao Eleven as tired as a dead dog and he didn’t want to get up in the morning.

"My dear sister, is it difficult to get the materials needed for the secret medicine? Why haven't you had any for two consecutive days?"

Mrs. Wang lay lazily on the bed, her hands wandering around Mrs. Xing's body. She turned her head to ask Aunt Xue at the other end of the bed.

"It's really hard to make it..." Aunt Xue giggled over there, her eyes full of spring, "Why, sister, have you thought about it?"

"What you said, who wouldn't want such a good thing? It's okay if you haven't experienced it, but now that you have tasted such benefits, only a fool would be willing to give it up!"

Seeing Mrs. Wang's anxious expression, Aunt Xue smiled and slapped her on the buttocks, saying meaningfully:
"Hehe... Sister, you'd better remember what I said now. Don't be lazy when I ask you to get the medicine later."

After chatting and laughing for a while, the sisters got up, dressed, and began to help Mrs. Xing prepare for the funeral.

Jia She's body has been transported back from outside the city. No one knows where the coffin was found, but the material looks quite high-end.

Upon asking, he found out that the local magistrate had looted the money from the homes of the gentry in order to curry favor with the Rongguo Mansion, a royal family. He also sent someone to bring a rich funeral gift in an attempt to shirk responsibility. After all, Jia She died in the area under his jurisdiction, and the powerful and wealthy would not be unreasonable.

It’s a pity that the magistrate is far away and doesn’t know that the brothers Jia Zheng and Jia She have been at odds for a long time and are now fighting each other to the point of losing their brains.

Jia She died, and no one mourned for him, so naturally no one would bother the county magistrate.

Jia Lian’s wounds had not healed yet, but since his father had died, he had to force himself to kneel there and cry.

Yingchun also came and knelt beside Jia Lian, also shedding tears silently.

No matter how close your father is to you, if you don’t cry at this time, you will be considered unfilial and will be criticized.

Even Jia Lian's daughter Qiaojie, who was only about ten years old, was still beside him, crying like a tearful person. But I don't know if she was crying for her grandfather or for her divorced mother.

The news of Jia She's death was also sent to every household, but compared to the previous time when Jia Mu passed away, there were overwhelming visitors and the entire street was blocked by carriages and horses. This time, apart from relatives and friends, there were basically no one else who came to mourn Jia She.

He has lost his title, is a bad person, and his son is a useless waste with no future. It seems impossible for him to make a comeback. The fact that he is willing to come and give some money is already a gesture of friendship. What else do you want?

Others may not feel anything yet, but Jia Lian has already clearly realized the warmth and coldness of human nature.

Recalling the bustling scene of people coming to visit and give gifts during the Chinese New Year every year, and comparing it to the deserted and empty mourning hall now, how tragic it is!

How could the direct descendant of the Rongguo Mansion fall into such a state?

Jia Lian knelt on the ground and thought hard. After thinking over and over again, he realized that it was all the fault of his own master!
If the eldest master had not been so greedy for money that he insisted on demanding the usury, the second master, Zheng, would not have found his flaws and ordered the censor to impeach and attack him in the court, and he would not have died at the hands of the thieves.

But this usury was caused by his ex-wife Wang Xifeng, so if anyone is to be blamed, it should be her.

Unfortunately, this person has already divorced and returned to the Wang family. Even if he wants to vent his anger, he can't find anyone to vent it on. After thinking about it, he can only sulk by himself.

If he had no official position and no one to support him, how could he have allowed the second master to do bad things?

Oh, it seems that Lin Daiyu once said that if she practices martial arts hard in the future, she will become an official!
Because of this, the jealous girl got angry and sent Ping'er away.

Thinking of this, Jia Lian couldn't help but cheer up, and the pain in his body was relieved a lot. He began to secretly resolve that after his injuries healed, he would start to study hard and practice diligently, and he must make some achievements to revive the family.

He was just there encouraging himself when he suddenly heard a commotion at the door. Seeing that everyone had stood up and went out to greet them, he looked up and saw Master Zhan striding in.

Wang Shanbao, who was at the door welcoming guests, bowed and invited Master Zhan in, then he stretched his neck and shouted loudly:
"Loyal and good son Zhan Jue has been rewarded with a thousand taels of silk and gold..."

Upon hearing this number, Jia Lian was immediately cheered up and quickly stood up to return the greeting.

Master Zhan took the incense, lit it, bowed to the spirit tablet, and inserted the incense into the incense burner in front of the spirit tablet. Then he turned around and took Jia Lian's hand, saying with great emotion:
"Alas, I was planning to be the father-in-law and son-in-law of Master She in the future, but who knew that we would be separated by the Yin and Yang and never see each other again."

"Master She is really a fool. If he needs money, he can just ask me. How can I not lend it to him?"

"You insist on oppressing those poor people, and end up losing your life."

Jia Lian also shed a few tears, and then said enthusiastically:

"Although my master is gone, the things he has decided will not be changed."

"As soon as the funeral of the old master is over, Brother Zhan can come and take Sister Yingchun to marry into the family."

"Since it is the mourning period, we should keep everything simple and not make a big fuss."

"Invite relatives and friends over, set up a simple banquet, and have a few drinks to liven things up, that's all."

Mr. Zhan hesitated and said:
"This is too crude. I'm afraid I'm treating Sister Yingchun badly."

Jia Lian then pulled Yingchun over, handed her hand to Master Zhan, and pretended to be moved, saying:

"Sister Yingchun has long been in love with Brother Zhanxian. If it weren't for the master stopping her, they would have been together long ago."

"All ceremonies are just external appearances, performed for outsiders to see. We will all be family members in the future, so there is no need to be bound by conventional etiquette."

"As long as Brother Zhan is nicer to Sister Yingchun in the future, that will be enough. There is no question of whether he treats her badly or not!"

Yingchun only felt the warmth of Master Zhan's big hands, and that warmth soothed her heart. Her head felt numb and she could only nod continuously.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll take Sister Yingchun home after the funeral."

"Alas, Second Brother Lian, please accept my condolences and recover from your injuries as soon as possible, so as not to leave any root of illness."

"Sister Yingchun and I are going to talk for a while."

As he spoke, Master Zhan took Yingchun's hand, walked around the spirit tablet and went to the back of the mourning hall. Everyone turned a blind eye to this, as if nothing had happened.

Arriving at the backyard, Master Zhan found a small pavilion, sat on a stone bench, took Yingchun into his arms, gently bit her ear, and asked with a smile:
"My dear sister, you will soon become the master's concubine. How do you feel now?"

Yingchun was held in Master Zhan's arms. She was so embarrassed that her face turned red. She could only bury her head in Master Zhan's arms and could not utter a word.

Master Zhan liked the shy look of girls the most. He was very happy at the moment and lowered his head to kiss Yingchun's cherry lips. His big hand slipped directly under the hem of her clothes. The place where he touched felt as smooth as cream and extremely comfortable.

"Don't……"

Yingchun pushed him away subconsciously, but her strength was almost zero, and it made her feel more like she was reluctant but willing to give in.

Master Zhan first took a sip, and then let Yingchun go when she was almost out of breath. He looked at her gasping for breath and laughed.

"My dear sister, your master's funeral hall is not far ahead, and there are many people guarding the body there. Do you think it would be very exciting if I, the master, ate you here?"

Yingchun was shocked when she heard this, but she was used to being submissive, so even though she was so embarrassed, she did not say a word of refusal.

"Ha ha……"

Mr. Zhan was immediately delighted and said deliberately:

"It looks like Sister Yingchun is willing, so let's get closer to them so they can hear what's going on here and feel a little more involved..."

"Don't..." Yingchun finally couldn't hold back any longer, and shook her head repeatedly. With a red face, she threw herself into Master Zhan's arms, and hummed softly: "Master, if you want to enjoy yourself, you can do so at any time, but please don't wait here."

"Haha...don't worry, dear sister, I was just teasing you!"

Master Zhan kissed Yingchun's face several times and was very fond of this gentle and obedient new girl.

It turned out that killing her father was the right thing to do!

Although Jia She was exiled, maybe one day when there is a general amnesty, he will be able to come back.

Given his temper, he will definitely suck blood from his own daughter.

Mr. Zhan didn't care about that little bit of silver, but he didn't want his woman to worry about these trivial matters all day long, so he simply let Yang Yougong instigate her. After a few glasses of wine and some silver as an inducement, the desperate woman would be willing to take the risk.

In fact, Jia Lian is also a bad person, but compared to Jia She, he still has some conscience, so let's keep him for the time being and see what happens!
Anyway, he has already divorced Wang Xifeng and can no longer be of any help to Mr. Zhan, so it doesn't matter whether he stays or not.

Mr. Zhan teased Yingchun for a while, making her little face blush, then he helped the weak-legged little beauty back to the mourning hall and handed her over to Madam Xing.

"Sister Yingchun is a little weak, so Madam Xing will have to take care of her."

Mrs. Xing knew that the person in front of her was a big money sponsor, so she immediately nodded and said:

"Originally, the mourning work should be done by my son. The second young lady just needs to come to the mourning hall every day to show her filial piety. In fact, there is no need to stay here all the time."

"Her brother is there to mourn at night, so she doesn't need to stay up late."

Jia Lian, who was assigned a difficult task out of nowhere, twitched his face, but he didn't dare to say anything and had to smile and go along with the others.

"Yes, sister, since you are too sad, you should go back and rest. It would not be good if you fainted in this mourning hall."

"I'm here to keep watch, so you don't have to worry about it."

Yingchun blushed and thanked the two of them. With the help of Siqi and others, she went back to her room. Before leaving, she looked back at Master Zhan. She wanted to invite him to come over in the evening, but she couldn't open her mouth. So she had to lower her head and leave quietly.

Master Zhan had seen many women, and he understood Yingchun's meaning at a glance, but he had no intention of moving on.

He has a date with a beautiful lady tonight!
Xiao Eleven has always wanted to taste the secret medicine again, so Master Zhan decided to bless Xiao Eleven and Xiao Twelve tonight.

Since we have already fallen, we must fall more thoroughly.

The ugly daughter-in-law will have to meet her parents-in-law sooner or later. The sooner these two are accepted, the plan of taking over the Rongguo Mansion will be completed faster.

The reason why Ningguo Mansion was able to be cleaned out so smoothly and the servants replaced with their own people was all thanks to the help of Youshi and Keqing, who worked together from inside and outside and made everything go smoothly.

Once the two ladies in Rongguo Mansion are our own family, we can simply repeat the same method we did that day. Wouldn't that save a lot of trouble?
After all the people have been eliminated, the only redundant people left are Jia Zheng and Jia Lian, which will be easier to deal with.

The worst that can happen is, “Zhenglang, it’s time to take medicine.”

Mr. Zhan left a message for Aunt Xue and came to Lixiangyuan that night.

As soon as we got into the devil's cave, we saw a group of monsters fighting there. Their flesh was shiny and it was very pleasing to the eyes.

Little Eleven and Little Twelve were blindfolded, covered with magic weapons, and sealed in mid-air, swinging back and forth, making comfortable and seductive sounds from their mouths.

Master Zhan picked up something and blocked Xiao Twelve's voice, then took off her blindfold.

Little Twelve's soul was leaving his body and floating in the sky, discussing Buddhism with the Buddha, when suddenly a light appeared in front of his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he saw Master Zhan. He was so shocked that his whole body began to twitch violently.

But she soon saw that several sisters were kneeling in front of Master Zhan, being as respectful as possible, and she immediately realized that the man in front of her must be the real master behind this "Veil Society".

Her eyes flickered, and she saw her sixth and tenth sisters who were constantly fawning on her, and her eleventh sister who was having her feet tickled by Master Zhan and was giggling and begging for mercy. She immediately realized the situation, stopped struggling, and instead cooperated.

Since Little Twelve was so docile, Master Zhan reached out and removed the seal on her, releasing her.

As soon as Little Twelve landed on the ground, she bowed down, hugged Master Zhan's thighs, and put her face close to him. Seeing that Little Twelve was so well-behaved and obedient, Master Zhan patted her buttocks twice with satisfaction.

Xiao Twelve was indeed a married woman. She knew what was going to happen as soon as she heard the sound of her butt. She immediately turned around, fell to the ground, and pried up the plump thing. The big furry tail was spinning around, brushing against Master Zhan's legs.

Master Zhan was no longer polite to her. He played with Little Eleven in his hands while enjoying Little Twelve.

Little Twelve was a little hesitant at first, but soon he grasped the essence of the monster, forgot who he was, and began to pursue the monster's instincts.

Master Zhan played with Little Twelve's big tail like he was petting a cat, attacking him from the front and back, causing Little Twelve to soon purr like a cat.

Monsters like Xiaoliu, Xiaoshi and others kept pouncing on Xiaoyi, using the double-rest method. Soon, Xiaoyi ignored the abnormality in his body and began to pursue happiness.

In the midst of his trance, Xiao Shiyi suddenly heard someone remind him:
"Good sister, it's time to make the medicine, open your mouth quickly."

Xiao Eleven subconsciously opened his mouth, and then felt a rush of hot air rushing towards his face, going straight in and squeezing his tongue out.

"Sister, suck quickly..." a voice urged in my ear.

Xiao Shiyi then wrapped his cheeks and tried hard to create negative pressure, starting his first career in alchemy.

Fortunately, she was very talented. Although she had never done it before, had no famous teacher to guide her, and lacked experience in medicine making, she quickly mastered the relevant essentials with her natural instincts as a monster. She used her flexible tongue to reconcile the dragon and the tiger, and to straighten out the yin and yang, and successfully made this secret medicine.

Feeling that familiar smell and his body quickly getting rid of fatigue and recovering strength, Xiao Eleven was very sure that this was what he had always wanted.

Just as she was wondering what materials this secret medicine was made of and why the process was so strange, her eyes suddenly lit up and her blindfold was taken off.

Little Eleven squinted his eyes and stared at the big insect that was jumping around very close in front of him. He tasted the saliva spit out by the big insect and his eyes were a little dull.

This big bug... looks so familiar, as if I have seen it somewhere before.

He subconsciously swallowed the last bit of the secret medicine, then stuck out his tongue, licked his lips, and rolled some of the residue into his mouth without wasting anything. Then Xiao Eleven's gaze finally moved away from the big insect's head, extended upward along the insect's body, crossed the forest, and saw the entire terrain.

"Ah...how could this be..." Little Eleven's pupils constricted and he cried out in shock.

Xiao Jiu came over with a smile, hugged Xiao Shiyi from behind, activated the magic weapon again, and whispered in his ear:

"Why are you so surprised, sister?"

"This is not the first time my sister has tasted this secret medicine. With my sister's intelligence, she should have guessed it long ago."

"There's no point in playing dumb like this!"

"But I said it before..." Little Eleven tried to argue, but Little Nine pulled his tail off and let the big bug in.

"What's the point of a fake phoenix?"

"With so many female monsters, there must be an Elder Tang to coordinate and bring everyone together!"

"Anyway, now that it's done, it's too late for me to regret and quit. I might as well just enjoy myself."

"Sister, remember, once you put on the veil, you are Little Eleven, a demon from the Veil Society, and you cannot be fickle!"

Xiao Eleven was still a little resistant in his heart, but after a moment, he tasted the sweetness and immediately didn't care about anything else. He just burst into tears and yelled wildly.

After Master Zhan conquered the demon, he let Little Eleven go and allowed her to do whatever she wanted.

Xiao Eleven looked around and felt that he was surrounded by enemies. His legs and feet were weak and he could not escape. After a little hesitation, he simply gave up his human body and completely transformed into a monster. He pounced on Master Zhan and turned on the full automatic mode.

At this point, Master Zhan could officially announce that he had subdued another monster.

This is really cause for celebration. This is really cause for celebration!

Master Zhan always treated prisoners well and provided unlimited supply of secret medicine to surrendering monsters. Because of this, although the monsters played until dawn that night, those who had not slept all night were still energetic and did not look tired at all.

With the help of the girls, Master Zhan took another bath together in the big bathtub, and then went to have breakfast with his girlfriend hugged by both of them.

Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Xing sat on his left and right, serving him porridge and dishes with somewhat embarrassed looks on their faces.

After all, after the veil was taken off, reason once again took over the high ground, which was somewhat embarrassing.

Master Zhan pretended not to notice the two's behavior and gave instructions while eating and drinking:

"Your fool master has offended the emperor, and Rongguo Mansion is doomed to fall."

"Your family's attempt to seize the title this time was foolproof, but because your master had been against the emperor and insisted on protecting the Marquis of Baoling, the emperor was angered and the title was given to Jia Rong."

"Now you are my person too. I have always been kind to women, so I will remind you."

"If you don't want your family to fall into ruin and live a miserable life in the future, you'd better persuade Jia Zheng that as a noble, he must curry favor with the emperor, otherwise he will not end well."

"Even if he doesn't do it for himself, he has to think about your daughter!"

"Even though your family still has a daughter who is a concubine, the emperor can remove her at any time if he is unhappy."

Mrs. Wang was shocked when she heard this. She only then knew the inside story of the failure to seize the title. She also heard that it was related to her daughter's future. She didn't care about being shy anymore. She hugged Mr. Zhan's arms with both hands, squeezed them into her broad chest, and said with a smile:

"Master Zhan must have some connections in the palace, so he knows this kind of news, but I don't know what the situation of my queen is in the palace. Is there anything he needs us to do outside?"

Master Zhan then held her in his arms, breathed in her sweet breath, and then said:

"The eunuchs in the palace love money the most, and I have a lot of money, so naturally I have a lot of friends in the palace."

"The people in the palace are all flatterers. They flatter whoever the emperor likes."

"If you want to help Empress Yuanchun, then you should ask Master Zheng to stop going against the Emperor all the time. Only by following the Emperor in everything can you gain benefits!"

Mrs. Wang hurriedly took these words to heart. After finishing her meal, she hurried over to find her master, told him what she had heard, and advised him:
"I think this news should be true, otherwise why would the emperor randomly give the title that we are about to obtain to Jia Rong?"

"Those four princes and eight dukes said nice things, but when they really did something, they made such a big mistake. It's obvious that the power of each family has declined over the years. It's better for our family to follow the emperor in the future."

After Jia Zheng heard this, he frowned and shouted:

"Where did you hear this rumor?"

"I can't even get any information from the palace, so how can outsiders know?"

Of course, Mrs. Wang didn't dare to say that she had exchanged her body for it, so she said with a chuckle:
"Then Mr. Zhan told the Xue family about this matter, and I heard it from my sister."

After Jia Zheng heard this, he hesitated for a while, but still shook his head and said:
"You are just a woman after all, with long hair and little knowledge."

"Do you think you can change your affiliation just like that?"

"Those who have worked for our Jia family have been working for the Supreme Lord for these years. If they want to join the current Lord now, they will have to give up most of the benefits they have received. Who would be willing to do that?"

Mrs. Wang hesitated and said:
"We can't even protect ourselves now, why should we care about their lives?"

"As long as we can please the emperor, we can let those who refuse to follow us fend for themselves."

"Stupid!" Jia Zheng cursed, "The reason why the emperor is willing to win over our Jia family is because we have a large number of people behind us. Without their support, we will have no power and influence. How can the emperor continue to win us over?"

Mrs. Wang was now at a loss and had to keep these words in mind, planning to ask Mr. Zhan for advice next time when she wanted to subdue demons.

After the couple separated, Mrs. Wang went to the East Palace again. Someone had to take care of the funeral there. As soon as she reached the door, she saw a man coming over. He bowed to the ground and pleaded:

"Madam, I have something to ask of you."

Mrs. Wang stopped to look. The man was white-haired and wealthy. It turned out to be the housekeeper Lai Da. She asked curiously:

"Butler Lai, if you have anything to say, please speak frankly."

Lai Da bowed his waist and said very respectfully:

"Madam, my whole family has been serving you for many years. We thought we would follow you to the grave in the future, but God would not bless you. You passed away so early."

"I have thought about it and now I am old and my legs and feet are not very flexible. Instead of occupying the position of housekeeper and doing nothing, I might as well retire and give the position to someone close to my wife."

"It just so happens that Shangrong is also a good student who is determined to achieve success in the imperial examinations. So I, the old slave, put aside my dignity and came here to ask Madam for mercy, to return the indentures so that the three generations of us can leave the mansion freely and buy a few acres of thin land in the countryside to live out the rest of our lives."

"Oh, that's how it is!" Mrs. Wang then remembered that now that the old lady was gone, Lai Da had no one to rely on. No wonder he was so respectful today!
Thinking of the way Lai Da used to take advantage of his seniority in front of her family, Mrs. Wang suddenly felt angry.

In the past, he was protected by the old lady, so even Mrs. Wang had to be polite to Lai Da, and Baoyu had to call him Grandpa Lai.

Now the situation has changed, and it is time for this old man to bow his head!

He was planning to curry favor with his family and slip away at the same time!

There is no such beautiful thing in this world!
Mrs. Wang's face turned cold, and she wanted to teach this old man a lesson, but Lai Da was very cunning. As soon as he saw her expression, he knew what she was going to do. He immediately knelt on the ground, took out a stack of banknotes from his arms, held them up with both hands, and cried:
"I have been living frugally these years, hoping to save enough money to redeem myself for three generations of my family."

"The old lady knows what I am thinking, so she often rewards me because she wants to give me a chance."

"This is the money that the old lady has rewarded me over the years. I have never been willing to spend it, so I have kept it all."

"Now I am willing to return all the silver to you in exchange for the freedom of my whole family."

"If Madam doesn't agree, then at worst I will just hit my head against the old lady's spirit and die, and follow her into the underworld."

Mrs. Wang's heart trembled and her face changed suddenly.

The Jia family has encountered many twists and turns recently, and we can't let anything unexpected happen.

This old dog's life is worthless. If something really happens to him, it will be so embarrassing!
With a cold face, she took the stack of banknotes and briefly flipped through them. She was surprised to find that there were both small and large notes, and the total amount was as much as two or three thousand taels.

The mansion is short of silver now, and three thousand taels is not a small amount. Mrs. Wang's face immediately became much better, and she forced a smile and said:
"Since you have this intention, if I don't help you, it would make me look petty."

"Forget it. After all, you have served the mansion for so many years. Let's part ways in peace!"

"I will have someone find all your family's indentures and give them to you to take back with you."

"From now on, you are no longer the housekeeper of my Jia Mansion. If there is anything, don't do anything in the name of the mansion."

Lai bowed his head respectfully to express his gratitude, "Thank you very much, Madam, for your generosity. My whole family is very grateful."

Mrs. Wang put the silver in her bosom, waved her hand, and left the house.

Lai Da straightened his back, looked at Mrs. Wang's back with a deep gaze, turned around and left without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)