The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 170: Erotic Punishment

When Jia Zheng woke up again, he was already lying in his own bedroom in Rongguo Mansion.

He struggled to get up, but his body couldn't move at all.

"Someone come..." he shouted weakly.

"Master, you're awake." There were disordered footsteps, and Mrs. Wang's shadow appeared in front of him.

"Water..." Jia Zheng said vaguely.

"Quick, bring some warm water."

Caixia hurriedly brought a bowl of water over. After Wang Fu-ren took it, she sat down at the head of Jia Zheng's bed and used a spoon to pour the water into Jia Zheng's mouth little by little.

After drinking a bowl of water, Jia Zheng closed his eyes and shook his head, indicating that he should not drink any more. Mrs. Wang then put down the bowl and asked about his health, saying:
"Are you hungry, sir? There's porridge in the pot. Would you like some?"

Jia Zheng took a few breaths, felt his limbs become numb, opened his eyes and asked:
"What's wrong with me?"

"Master, don't worry. It's just a stroke caused by anger. The imperial physician has prescribed medicine for him. He will be fine after taking good care of himself."

"Stroke?" Jia Zheng coughed a few times, and finally recalled what happened before he fell into a coma. He suddenly became excited again.

"Beast!"

"How dare they?"

"Where is that bitch?"

Seeing that Jia Zheng was really angry this time, Mrs. Wang was delighted, but she did not add insult to injury. Instead, she said with a worried look:
"The master is not feeling well now, so let's get better first."

"I have asked Aunt Zhao to go back and reflect on her actions, but I dare not let her appear in front of the master again and make him angry."

Jia Zheng was so angry that he wanted to bang the table and smash the bowls, but now he could only move his head slightly and his limbs were completely out of control, so he became even angrier.

"What's the point of self-cultivation?"

"You've done something so shameless, you might as well just piss me off to death!"

"Master, please don't say that." Madam Wang hastily comforted him, "I have issued a gag order on this matter. Apart from those people that day, no one else in the mansion knows about it."

"Regarding the master's stroke, I will only tell others that he was too sad and that no one will doubt me."

"I will urge my family to arrange for someone to come for a blind date and marry Tanchun off quickly, and then the matter will naturally be settled."

"Why marry her?" Jia Zheng felt dizzy when he thought of what he saw that day. He gasped and cursed, "Look at how immoral her clothes are. Master Zhan has seen everything. How can she marry someone else? She might as well give in to their wishes and become my nephew Zhan's concubine!"

How can this be done?
Mrs. Wang would not allow such a good thing to happen to Aunt Zhao's daughter, so she immediately stopped him and said:
"Master, please don't say such angry words. After all, Tanchun is the concubine's younger sister. How can she marry someone else as a concubine?"

"If we really do this, how will our family maintain its reputation?"

Jia Zheng took a few deep breaths, and felt something was wrong, so he closed his eyes and sighed:
"Forget it, I am too lazy to care about it anymore. You should pay more attention to the blind date and settle the marriage first. We can talk about marriage after the mourning period is over."

Mrs. Wang nodded in agreement. She watched Jia Zheng fall asleep again out of exhaustion. During the whole process, he did not mention a word about punishing Aunt Zhao. She suddenly felt a chill in her heart and a surge of anger for no reason.

That bitch has hurt him so much, but he is still protecting her and doesn't want to punish her!

It turned out to be a good idea not to give him the secret medicine right away, otherwise he would have treated this matter as if it had never happened.

In that case, sir, you should taste the bitter fruit of your own making!

When you realize your mistake and order Aunt Zhao to be beaten to death or driven out of the house, it will not be too late to give you the secret medicine!
Mrs. Wang walked out of the room with a cold face, waved her hand and called Zhou Rui's wife over, and said:
"You have someone guard here day and night to serve the master well."

"Besides that, arrange for a few more maids to guard the yard. Do not allow that bitch to enter the yard, let alone see the master!"

"Not only is she not allowed to come in, but Huan San'er and Tan Chun, as well as the people around them, are all blocked outside and are not allowed to come in!"

"Also, you have to tell the maids that no one is allowed to mention anything about that bitch in front of the master. Anyone who violates this will be severely punished!"

Zhou Ruijia's spirit trembled, and he quickly assured:
"Don't worry, Madam. I will be here to guard the place myself and ensure that no word of this will reach the Master's ears."

"But...if the master asks, what should I do?"

"It's easy. You just say you don't know. Let the master ask me."

After saying this, Mrs. Wang stormed out of the house, heading straight for Aunt Zhao's misfortune.

If the master doesn't punish you, I will do it myself!
Now that you don’t have your master to protect you, it is only natural for me to punish you. Let’s see if you dare to resist!
After she arrived at Aunt Zhao's courtyard, she did not see any trace of Aunt Zhao. The maids in the courtyard were also clueless and had no idea where Aunt Zhao had gone.

Mrs. Wang went to Huan San'er and Tanchun's courtyard again, but still did not see Aunt Zhao. When she asked, neither of them knew where Aunt Zhao was.

Seeing Aunt Zhao's strange whereabouts, Mrs. Wang's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could it be that she has hooked up with Master Zhan?
It is not impossible that he can do it himself since his daughter has not been sent away!
She hurried back to Lixiang Courtyard. When Aunt Xue heard that she had arrived, she brought people out to greet her and said with a smile:
"Why is sister here?"

"I heard my brother-in-law is sick, is it serious?"

"Do you want to... bring some secret medicine back to treat him?"

Mrs. Wang blushed when she heard this. She did not comment on Aunt Xue's suggestive words. She just winked behind her, indicating that there was a maid around, so she should not talk nonsense.

Aunt Xue smiled and said nothing, inviting her into the courtyard to serve tea. Mrs. Wang did not exchange pleasantries with her, but simply waved her hand and refused, asking directly:

"Is Aunt Zhao here?"

"Aunt Zhao?" Aunt Xue was stunned. "Why did Aunt Zhao come to my place for no reason? Besides, my brother-in-law is sick. With her personality, shouldn't she be busying around my brother-in-law's bed at this time?"

"Oh!" Mrs. Wang slapped her thigh and realized that she was too concerned about the veil society and was suspicious in her heart, but she forgot the most basic situation and had to rely on Aunt Xue to remind her.

She quickly got up and ran back in a hurry.

She finally guessed the whereabouts of Aunt Zhao. It turned out that Aunt Zhao had been guarding outside the door, but was afraid of running into Lady Wang, so she hid in the dark and dared not come out. After seeing Lady Wang go out with her own eyes, she hurried out and wanted to go into the courtyard to see Jia Zheng.

At this time, Mrs. Wang had just finished giving instructions on the task, and Zhou Rui's wife had not yet had time to arrange for a maid to guard the gate. As a result, she rushed all the way and directly arrived in front of Jia Zheng's bedroom.

Mrs. Zhou Rui had just finished arranging the maids' shifts and was explaining the precautions when she saw Aunt Zhao's shadow out of the corner of her eye. She was so scared that she quickly dropped what she was doing and ran out to stop them.

"Hey, hey... stop, don't go any further!"

"Hey, Sister Zhou, why are you arranging those maids to serve the master? Let me do it..."

Aunt Zhao was smiling and walking without stopping, and was about to go in. Mrs. Zhou Rui hurriedly grabbed her arm and dragged her out.

"You are not needed here, you should just go back and wait for news."

Aunt Zhao flipped her hand and took out a banknote and stuffed it into Zhou Ruijia's arms, "Sister, please help me. I am worried about the master. I came to take a look so that I can feel at ease."

Zhou Ruijia looked down and saw the one hundred taels. She was immediately tempted, but when she remembered her wife's instructions, she did not dare to agree.

"No, no, my wife has specifically instructed that you cannot see the master. Please don't make it difficult for me."

Aunt Zhao then stuffed another hundred taels into the bag and whispered:

"The Madam is not here now. I will take a look and leave. I will definitely not embarrass you. How would the Madam know?"

Zhou Ruijia swallowed her saliva and was extremely greedy for the silver. However, when she saw the maids in the room staring at this side with gossipy eyes, she suddenly sobered up and did not dare to take the money carelessly.

"No, no, I can't let you in."

Seeing how determined Zhou Ruijia was, Aunt Zhao knew that the silver money method would not work, so she sighed, took back the banknote, stuffed another ingot of silver in it, and asked in a low voice:

"Then I won't embarrass my sister and won't go in."

"It's just that I'm concerned about the master, and I'm worried. Sister, tell me the truth, has the master woken up? Is he still conscious?"

Zhou Ruijia hesitated for a moment, and thought that it was understandable for Aunt Zhao to ask such questions, and since the mistress had never told them to keep their mouths shut, it would not matter if the news leaked out. She took the silver, put it in her bosom, and whispered:

"Don't worry, the master has just woken up. Although his limbs are weak and he can't move, his mind is very clear. He even talked to his wife and drank some water before falling asleep again."

"Oh, all right."

Aunt Zhao nodded expressionlessly, took a deep breath, exerted her strength suddenly, broke free from Zhou Ruijia's hand, and rushed into the room, screaming loudly:

"Master, I came to visit you, but they wouldn't let me in!"

Zhou Ruijia was stunned at first, then realized that she had been tricked. Her eyes were bloodshot and she screamed hurriedly, "Stop her!" and chased after her.

When Aunt Zhao rushed to the door, several maids stopped her and refused to let her in.

She started to throw a tantrum, with her ten fingers raised, and she pointed her sharp nails at the maids and started scratching them all over the heads and faces.

"Anyone who stops me will die!"

"Ah..." The maidservant in front of her was the first to suffer, and her face was immediately disfigured. When the other maidservants saw it, they were immediately frightened and quickly got out of the way, not daring to use their faces to show their loyalty to the lady.

Aunt Zhao would kill gods and Buddhas if they stood in her way, and she fought her way through and rushed directly into the bedroom.

But because of the delay caused by a few maids, Zhou Rui's wife also rushed over.

She was different from those weak little maids. She was a strong old woman. Having been a housekeeper for so many years, she had seen all kinds of shrews. Aunt Zhao's tricks had no effect on her at all.

After she stepped forward, she grabbed Aunt Zhao by the waist and dragged her out.

Aunt Zhao held on to the door frame tightly with both hands and screamed continuously.

"Master, help me... They are going to beat me to death..."

Mrs. Zhou hastily freed a hand to cover her mouth, but Aunt Zhao's head shook from side to side and her voice grew louder and louder.

"Bitch, what are you still standing there for? Come over and help!" Zhou Ruijia, sweating profusely, shouted loudly to the little maids who were hiding far away.

The little maidservant whose face had just been scratched was crying with her hands covering her face. The other little maidservants were scared but dared not disobey, so they came over tremblingly, bypassed Aunt Zhao's hands, and tried to pull her out.

"Get out of here, or I'll scratch you to death!"

Aunt Zhao had a ferocious look on her face and she screamed at the maids, which frightened them so much that they became weak in the arms and legs and could not use any strength.

Zhou Ruijia was so angry that she had to take back her hand covering her mouth and concentrate on shouting to the maids:
"You go and shut her up, I'll come and get her!"

The maids hurriedly tried to cover Aunt Zhao's mouth, but Aunt Zhao changed her approach, opened her mouth, showing her sharp white teeth, and bit the slender little hands that were stretched out to her with a few "clicks".

Now it was a matter of life and death, she made up her mind, and with that bite, blood splattered everywhere.

"Ah..." The unlucky guy who was bitten was already frightened, and now he saw blood, he immediately screamed, and his tone was even louder than Aunt Zhao's. With everyone working together, Jia Zheng was finally awakened. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw a room full of women, screaming and crying. He was immediately frightened and angry, and shouted:

"Stop it all!"

"What are you doing!"

He was weak at the moment, and his voice was barely perceptible, but it was like thunder to Aunt Zhao's ears. She was overjoyed, and she put away her ferocious and terrifying look, and replaced it with a gentle face, crying with tears in her eyes:

"Master, you finally woke up!"

"If you don't wake up, Madam will drag me away and beat me to death!"

Seeing her master awakened, Zhou Ruijia felt a chill in her heart, knowing that she had messed up what her mistress had asked her to do.

At this point, there was no point in pulling Aunt Zhao away, so she let go of her hand and let Aunt Zhao throw herself in front of Master Zheng's bed, kneel on the ground and cry loudly.

Mrs. Zhou Rui had been tricked by Aunt Zhao. She hated Aunt Zhao so much that she would not allow her to spread rumors. She hurriedly explained to Jia Zheng:

"Master, please don't believe Aunt Zhao's rumors. The rumor about being beaten to death is totally untrue!"

"Madam is a very kind person. The most she can do is to punish Aunt Zhao."

"Master, tell me, shouldn't Aunt Zhao be severely punished for what she did before?"

She deliberately poked Jia Zheng's trachea and put eye drops on Aunt Zhao. Sure enough, after hearing this, Jia Zheng immediately remembered the bad things that Aunt Zhao and her daughter had done, and became angry again.

"You bitch, you actually did such a shameless thing, what else do you have to say?"

In response to Jia Zheng's scolding, Aunt Zhao immediately kowtowed, honestly admitted her fault, and cried:
"Master, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have secretly given my daughter to Master Zhan as a concubine!"

"In fact, they have been in love for a long time, but the old lady passed away and they couldn't get married. So I thought of changing my identity to make the relationship a done deal, and then officially marry her after the mourning period is over."

"Master, now that things have come to this, Master might as well go with the flow and let the two of them settle this matter. Isn't that a good thing?"

Jia Zheng said angrily:

"Nonsense!"

"Tanchun is the concubine of Empress Yuan. How can she be a concubine of someone else? How can the family maintain its reputation?"

Aunt Zhao then climbed up the pole and said:

"Then why not just send someone over to discuss the marriage with Master Zhan? Master Zhan is a viscount of the current dynasty, and his character is upright and honest. It is a perfect match for our two families to get married!"

"Anyway, everyone knows that Miss Baochai doesn't have much time left. Since Miss Lin can become a Viscountess, why can't our Tanchun do the same?"

When Mrs. Wang and Jia Zheng discussed the matter before, they had never mentioned this possibility. After Jia Zheng had suffered a stroke, his brain functioning had obviously slowed down, so naturally he had never thought about this matter. But now, after being reminded by Aunt Zhao, he suddenly became tempted.

Mr. Zhan is rich and powerful, and is favored by the emperor. He is definitely a rare and wealthy son-in-law. Marrying Tanchun is definitely not considered marrying up.

"No!" A stern shout came from outside the door. Mrs. Wang finally rushed back at the critical moment and expressed her attitude.

She glared at Zhou Ruijia fiercely, stepped into the door, and shouted with a gloomy face:
"Master, everyone in the mansion now knows that Daiyu is the future legitimate wife of the Zhan family. If you intervene at this time, you will be indulging your own daughter to snatch the marriage of your niece."

"This kind of thing is really too disgraceful, it's not nice to talk about it!"

"Tanchun is a girl with a generous personality and decisive actions. She is a good candidate for a legitimate wife. Her parents are still alive and her family background is extraordinary. She will not have trouble finding a good in-law family that is equal to her."

"But you know Daiyu's character. She is too petty, in poor health, and both her parents are dead. If she misses this opportunity, I'm afraid it will be difficult for her to get married in the future!"

"Master, if you do this, I'm afraid you will ruin Daiyu's happiness for the rest of her life!"

She understood her master's character. If she gave any other reasons, Jia Zheng might not agree. So she identified his pedantic side and kidnapped him from a moral perspective.

As expected, Jia Zheng's ears softened again and he began to hesitate.

But Mrs. Wang knew that the moral gentlemanly behavior displayed by her master was just an illusion. In fact, he was still a powerful and wealthy man who put his own interests above all else. So she continued to persuade him:

"I know that the master wants to befriend Nian Si, but Miss Lin is also your niece. If she marries Master Zhan, we are also relatives in the Jia family, so it will not be affected at all."

"Why not let Miss Lin marry Mr. Zhan, and let Tanchun marry into another powerful family? Then our family will have two more strong allies, isn't it better than just keeping one family?"

Jia Zheng was deeply moved by these words, and he immediately took advantage of the situation and said:
"Madam, you are right."

"Daiyu is now alone and helpless. As her closest relatives, how can we ruin her happy marriage?"

"Since the old lady passed away, we have been busy with the funeral and have neglected Daiyu. Please pay more attention to her in the future. If there is anything missing, please make up for it as soon as possible. Don't let her suffer any grievances in the mansion."

Mrs. Wang knew that he was trying to win over Daiyu and improve their relationship. She also knew that Tanchun's affairs had been messed up by her, so she smiled and nodded in agreement.

Seeing his legitimate wife flying away like that, Aunt Zhao, who was crying beside him, hated Madam Wang to death in her heart. If she hadn't made trouble here, maybe the master would have really gotten carried away and sent someone to propose marriage.

However, ever since the concubine ceremony was exposed that day, Aunt Zhao no longer had much hope for the legitimate wife, so she quickly changed her tone and settled for the second best.

"Master, Tanchun is deeply in love with Master Zhan and is willing to follow the story of the second young lady Yingchun and marry into the Zhan mansion as a concubine."

"No!" Without waiting for Jia Zheng to object, Mrs. Wang shouted, "Yingchun was sold by her father for money. How can Tanchun be like her?"

"The Empress Yuan is about to return home to visit her family. Will her concubine come out to greet her as a concubine?"

"Do you still want to save the reputation of our mansion?"

Aunt Zhao glanced at Mrs. Wang's face, confirming that her attitude was real and not fake. She became more suspicious. Seeing that Jia Zheng also firmly opposed letting Tanchun become Mr. Zhan's concubine, she gave up the test.

Anyway, it is very difficult to make Tanchun the wife of Mr. Zhan, and many aspects need to be considered. But if you just want Tanchun to be a concubine, then it is simple. You just need to ruin your daughter's reputation so that no one else wants her. That's it.

As for the negative impact this incident would have on Tanchun, Aunt Zhao was very open-minded.

In her eyes, for a woman, all fame and so on are false, and the most important thing is to have a good man who truly loves a woman.

Of course, this man must be rich and powerful, and it would be best if he is loyal and not fickle.

And Master Zhan perfectly met her imagination of a good man, even exceeding his expectations, because he was younger, more handsome and stronger.

Jia Zheng had been ill for a long time and was already exhausted after being in such a mess for a long time. He slowly closed his eyes and whispered:
"It's settled now. Don't worry about it. You all can go out. I need to have a good rest."

Aunt Zhao pleaded again hurriedly:

"Master, Madam has not allowed me to come visit you before, and she wants to use my mistake this time to beat me to death."

"Master, help me..."

Jia Zheng sighed, closed his eyes and cursed:
"You bitch, you've caused me so much trouble, you deserve to be beaten to death!"

"But considering that you have served me for so many years, I will punish you to come and serve me every day, feed me water and food, wipe my body and give me massages, take care of my excrement and urine... You will have to do all the dirty and tiring work until I recover!"

Aunt Zhao was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed to thank him:

"This is what I am supposed to do. I will definitely serve you by your bedside every day and I won't dare to slack off or complain."

Only then did Jia Zheng fall asleep peacefully.

Mrs. Wang, who was standing by, heard this order, which was called punishment but was actually for protection. She clenched her fists in anger and her fingernails dug into her palms.

Aunt Zhao also knew that Mrs. Wang was angry at the moment, so she obediently got up from the ground, lowered her head and looked submissive. She was as well-behaved as possible, without any trace of her past arrogance and domineering attitude.

"Hmph!" Mrs. Wang snorted angrily and ran away.

Aunt Zhao bowed respectfully and watched Madam Wang leave, then she breathed a long sigh of relief.

Finally passed this level!
As long as she hid in her master's bedroom, Mrs. Wang would not be able to find an excuse to punish her, and her life would naturally be safe.

But why is this lady so opposed to Tanchun becoming Mr. Zhan’s concubine?
This is very unreasonable!

Aunt Zhao sat on a small stool beside the bed, thinking hard and pondering the secret.

However, she lacked the most important information and couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried.

She waited on him in the bedroom for a whole day. Jia Zheng woke up once, took the medicine and went back to sleep. This first day of accompanying him was not hard at all.

She didn't leave until night fell and after dinner, she rested on the bed in the small room.

She originally thought that everything was fine, but when she was sleeping soundly, someone suddenly rushed over, blocked her mouth with a cloth, tied her up, and carried her away.

Aunt Zhao was immediately awakened by the fright and began to struggle hard.

But this time, two strong women came with strong arms that were thicker than her thighs. One of them carried her body and the other carried her legs. She couldn't even move. Her mouth was blocked again, so she couldn't shout even if she wanted to.

broken!

Madam still won't let her go!

Who else but my wife would dare to do this in the middle of the night?
But how dare she?

Isn’t she afraid that after she disappears, the master will be angry because he won’t be able to see anyone tomorrow?

Or was she certain that the master's stroke would never heal?

Aunt Zhao was terrified, her mind full of wild thoughts, fearing that she would not see the sun tomorrow.

The two strong women carrying her went around in circles and finally entered Mrs. Wang's courtyard. After entering the house, they put her on the ground and turned to leave.

Aunt Zhao's arms and legs were tied. She squirmed on the ground and wanted to turn over, but suddenly a pair of embroidered shoes appeared in front of her. She raised her eyes and saw that it was Madam Wang.

"Uh...wuwu..."

Aunt Zhao groaned and struggled to kneel down and kowtow for mercy, but Mrs. Wang grabbed her hair and pulled her forcefully to the other end of the room.

"Woooo..."

Aunt Zhao felt pain and fear, and tears were streaming down her face. She felt that she was being picked up by Mrs. Wang and tied to an iron rack, and was being scolded as she was being tied.

"Bitch!"

"Do you think that if the master doesn't let me beat you, I can't do anything to you?"

"I will let you see what a woman's punishment is!"

(End of this chapter)