The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 172 Sisters unite
Aunt Zhao came out of Mrs. Wang's room and moved back step by step.

Perhaps it was because she bowed her head and admitted defeat, but the pain she felt physically was far less than the humiliation she felt in her heart.

She herself suffered humiliation and was filled with hatred.

But when you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. She didn't even dare to complain. She had to smile and please Mrs. Wang in order to avoid disaster.

Because she had compromised and surrendered, this time Mrs. Wang did not ask anyone to see her off. She just threw her out the door and let her go back by herself.

Walking on the way back to Jia Zheng's bedroom, Aunt Zhao only felt the bleak night wind and the dim surroundings. Even the bright moonlight felt piercing.

She walked back with one foot deep and one foot shallow, cursing in her heart.

"Old hag, you deserve that the master doesn't like you, your eldest son deserves to die early, and your second son deserves to be a waste..."

As she cursed, her steps became slower and slower, and suddenly she stopped. She stood in the darkness, frowning and thinking carefully, and a doubt suddenly arose in her mind.

How could this old hag do that?

It might have been passed down from the Zhan Mansion, but it couldn't be that the way to play was also taught to her by Master Zhan, right?
Just like herself, she had no idea at all, but after today, she would definitely understand and would be familiar with everything.

But who did Mrs. Wang learn this from?
As Jia Zheng's favorite woman, Aunt Zhao knew her master's habits very well. She knew which tricks were most commonly used and which tricks her master disliked the most.

There is no doubt that it is not what my master likes.

So the question is, who did she play these with before tonight?

Zhou Rui’s?

How can it be!

As a woman, she knew very well that even for her own amusement, she could not be happy with an ugly guy.

Impossible!

It's impossible to have that experience.

Could it be... an outsider?

Aunt Zhao suddenly perked up, her heart aching, and she began to recall some of Mrs. Wang's recent abnormal behavior.

If she could find evidence that Madam Wang was having an affair with someone, that would be a great success. It would surely overturn everything in the mansion in one fell swoop, and maybe she could even get a taste of what it was like to be the legitimate wife.

But when she thought about it carefully, it seemed that apart from the fact that Mrs. Wang firmly opposed Tanchun's marriage to Mr. Zhan, there was nothing unusual about her!
Hmm... I seem to be more energetic lately. Does this count?
Maybe it was moisturized by a man!

After the old lady left, it seemed like she stayed at Lixiangyuan more often. It seemed like this never happened before. Does this count?
Could it be that they were having an affair in Lixiangyuan?
Perhaps it was because of her suspicion. When she thought about it carefully, she always felt that many things seemed to indicate that Mrs. Wang was having an affair with someone else. But if she looked into it carefully, it seemed reasonable and logical. Maybe she was just being too suspicious.

Mrs. Wang is becoming more and more energetic. Perhaps it is not because she has been nourished by a man, but because the old lady has died and she has taken over as the mistress of the household, so she is in high spirits because of the happy event.

She always stayed overnight at Lixiangyuan, perhaps to complain to her younger sister, and the sisters stayed together in bed and talked at night to express their feelings.

Or there is another possibility... that is, there is no adulterer at all, and it was Aunt Xue who taught her these tricks!
This last possibility is also the worst case scenario, and my master will definitely not care.

If you want to overthrow Mrs. Wang, the only way is to have an affair between a man and a woman!
I have to say that Aunt Zhao and Madam Wang really thought of the same thing. Madam Wang had wanted to catch her adulterer before, and now it is Aunt Zhao's turn to catch Madam Wang's adulterer.

This is almost Aunt Zhao's last chance to turn things around, so even if the chance is slim, she has to give it a try.

After making up her mind, she changed direction halfway, endured the pain and trotted back to her own yard to find Huan Saner.

He quietly entered the courtyard and woke Jia Huan up from his bed.

Jia Huan got up in a daze and was shocked to see Aunt Zhao in a disheveled state with red marks on her face.

"Mom, did that old hag bully you again?"

Aunt Zhao waved her hand and said, "Don't worry about it. I want to tell you something. You should pay more attention to it later."

"I suspect that the old hag has a playmate outside, but I don't know whether it's a boy or a girl, and I don't know where she is. Go back and investigate carefully."

"If we can find any clues, we'll try to figure out whether that person is a man or a woman."

"If it's a girl, then that's fine, just pretend you don't know about it. But if it's a boy, then don't alert the enemy, just come and report to me secretly."

Jia Huan was surprised and delighted, and asked hurriedly:

"Why don't you just get the evidence and bring it to the master to file a complaint?"

Aunt Zhao rolled her eyes and said angrily:

"Silly boy, the master can't move now. She has the final say in the mansion. Even if you capture someone, whether you can enter that small courtyard and send him to the master is still uncertain!"

"Even if we want to file a complaint, we have to wait until the master recovers and can move freely. Then we can take the master with us to catch the adulterer. We won't be afraid of her denying it again."

The mother and son were discussing something when Musk Moon was also alarmed.

Although she was only Jia Huan's concubine in name and they slept in separate rooms, the courtyard was not big and their rooms were next to each other.

Aunt Zhao was familiar with her own yard, so she came here carefully without disturbing anyone. However, Musk Moon had been nourished by Master Zhan's secret medicine, so her hearing and eyesight were sharper than others. She woke up as soon as Aunt Zhao came in, and now she got up to check.

"Hello, Auntie." Musk Moon bowed politely to Auntie Zhao, who smiled and waved her hand, saying, "The master asked me to take care of him during the day, so I had to sneak over at night. I'm sorry to have startled you. There's nothing to do here, so go back to sleep. I'll talk to Huan'er and then leave."

Musk Moon is a smart person and knows what to do to benefit herself, so Aunt Zhao does not hide many things from her.

Musk Moon was also involved in the previous dancer plan. After Tanchun came to his house, she would be sent to Master Zhan by Jia Huan.

When she moves into the mansion, she will have the support of Madam Tanchun, and her status will naturally be different from that of an ordinary concubine, so she can definitely surpass her.

But as fate would have it, things went wrong for no apparent reason and a huge disaster ensued.

However, this incident had no negative impact on Musk Moon, as she had already been Master Zhan's person.

On the contrary, Tanchun couldn't send her away even if she wanted to. Even if she was sent away in the future, her status might not be much higher than that of Sheyue. Of course, Aunt Zhao had to be polite to Sheyue to prevent her from whispering in Master Zhan's favor in the future.

Musk Moon was also capable of doing things, so of course she couldn't really go back to sleep, so she smiled and said:
"Aunt, why don't you sit down and talk slowly? I'll go get you some tea."

Aunt Zhao didn't want her son and Musk Moon to notice anything unusual with her body, so she had to sit down and endure the pain in her buttocks and continue discussing with Jia Huan. Musk Moon then turned around and went out to prepare.

There is always hot water available in this mansion. Even at night, there is a small honeycomb coal stove with a kettle in the outer room.

She took some hot water to make tea and brought it up on a tea tray. She heard Aunt Zhao whispering:

"...Don't let your sister be idle. It's useless to hide in the yard and pretend to be dead. Now that the situation has come to this, you might as well be straightforward and take the initiative."

"You ask her to go to Master Zhan's house and tell him the truth honestly, then cry and say that the master and his wife want to send her to be a nun."

"I tell you, a woman's greatest weapon is her tears."

"Then Master Zhan is the most compassionate to women. As long as Tanchun cries like that, he will definitely feel distressed. Then she won't have to worry about anything and will let Master Zhan arrange everything."

"Whether to marry her formally or just make her a concubine is entirely up to Master Zhan to decide."

"Anyway, he definitely won't want to let your sister become a nun!"

"Tell her that if she doesn't want to, the mistress will probably arrange a scumbag who is equally matched with her as her husband. The master is in his current state, and there is no way he can stop it."

"Let your sister decide for herself!"

Jia Huan nodded repeatedly in agreement. Aunt Zhao hesitated for a moment and added:

"As for the identity of that playmate, I suspect that he might be in Lixiangyuan. Recently, that old woman has been going to Lixiangyuan and staying there at night. There must be some secret place there."

"But it seems that there are no other men there except Xue Wenlong, and Xue Wenlong doesn't often stay at Lixiangyuan, so I'm not sure."

"It would be fine if the playmate was Xue Wenlong, but I'm afraid it's Aunt Xue. Then there's no point in investigating. The master won't care about it."

"Alas!" She sighed and said in frustration: "Just check it out first. If you find something, that's great. If not, that's fate! Just let her be!"

In fact, in her heart, she didn't really believe that Mrs. Wang would do such a thing, she was just trying to give it a try.

Apart from this possibility, she had no chance of turning things around.

Jia Huan probably thought the same thing, so he agreed silently.

After the story was told, Aunt Zhao struggled to stand up, covered her hips with one hand, and staggered out, with Jia Huan and Sheyue following behind her.

When she reached the door, Aunt Zhao suddenly stopped, looked back at Sheyue, still a little unwilling, and said after a moment of hesitation:

"Muyue, Madam Wang has never wanted Tanchun to marry Master Zhan. I don't know why."

"If you have the chance, try asking Master Zhan in his ear to see if you can get some information out of him."

Musk Moon thought about it and felt that this would not anger Master Zhan and would not affect her, so she smiled and nodded in agreement. Aunt Zhao then turned around and walked out the door, disappearing into the night.

The next morning, Jia Huan got up early, washed up simply, and ran to find his sister Tanchun without eating.

Tanchun is now obviously much more haggard. When her identity was exposed before, she was totally unprepared. She had no idea that her master and mistress were actually present at the scene. While she was confused, everything was revealed by Zhou Rui's wife, and she was deeply shocked.

If before this, she still hoped to marry Master Zhan legitimately, after that day, she completely gave up this idea.

Seeing Jia Huan coming over, she glanced indifferently at this brother whom she had always looked down upon, and said coldly:

"Don't come to me again in the future. I don't care what plans my aunt has."

"From now on, I will be a good girl in the boudoir and wait for the master and mistress to arrange a marriage for me."

"By the way, don't expect me to become someone's concubine to pave the way for your future!"

"I have seen with my own eyes what kind of status Auntie holds in the mansion, and I will never repeat her mistakes."

"Uh..." Jia Huan held back all the words, but he thought about it and changed his words: "This time it's not for mother's matter."

"I heard some news about my sister's marriage."

"Madam intends to introduce the sons of her uncles and brothers from the Wang family to your sister, so that the two of you can get married."

Tanchun's spirits suddenly lifted, and she said happily:
"Madam is really generous. She always puts the interests of the family first. Not only did she not blame me, she also issued a gag order to save the family's reputation. Now she has introduced a young man from the family to come for a blind date. She is really a lady of great character."

"Humph!" Jia Huan snorted coldly and sneered, "No wonder mother always says that sister looks smart, but is actually childish and naive."

"Do you really think your wife is that kind of a person?"

"I went to ask about that person before. That prince is a little over five feet tall, but weighs nearly two hundred kilograms. He is a person who is good at eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. Although he is not a bad person, he has often used his family's influence to bully men and women."

As soon as these words were spoken, Tanchun's face turned pale and her whole body felt as if it were sieved by a sieve.

"How, how could this be?"

"Haha, sister, you still haven't realized it after all these years!" Jia Huan folded his arms and sneered, "You have been respecting her like your own mother for so many years, but has she ever really regarded you as her daughter?"

"The master and his wife only consider you as a tool for marriage in the mansion. As long as you are of equal status, it's fine. As for other things like character and appearance, they have never been within the master and his wife's consideration scope."

"It's not just you, I'm the same too."

"Nominally, I am the Third Master Huan of the mansion, but before I passed the imperial examination, who really regarded me as their master?"

"Empress Yuanchun is Madam's real daughter, and Master Bao is Madam's real son!" "Why do I keep wanting to cling to Master Zhan's thighs?"

"It's because Master Zhan is the only one who treats me as a human being!"

"Everyone else treats me like a fool, but Master Zhan is the only one who is willing to pay real money to hire a famous teacher to teach me how to study and take exams!"

"If I could choose my father, I would love to worship a different master!"

"You only thought that my mother encouraged you to seduce Master Zhan for my future, but you didn't know that my mother had already seen through the Master and his wife's thoughts. She would never let you find a good son-in-law. She could only find you a scumbag who was well-matched with you to exchange for the support of other powerful families in the mansion."

"This is the fate of a concubine's daughter!"

"Wake up, sister!"

"For us bastards, if we want a bright future, it's useless to rely on the master and his wife. We can only try our best to find ways to seize it ourselves!"

"You don't know how to make progress, so only your mother can find a way to help you. If you think this is to harm you, then I have nothing to say."

"We have been friends with Brother Zhan for many years and know each other well. You have also met the concubines in his mansion, and there are many who have a good relationship with you. In your daily interactions, have you ever heard them complain about the hardships they suffer in the mansion?"

"If you would rather marry a fat pig scum as your legal wife than be a concubine to Brother Zhan, then just pretend I have never been here today. Everything is up to you."

After Jia Huan finished speaking, he patted his butt and left, without even having the chance to finish what Aunt Zhao had told him to do.

After he left, Tanchun sat dejectedly on the chair, her expression changing several times in an instant, and she was hesitant in her heart.

The maids beside her, Shishu and Cuimo, could not hold back any longer and came over to persuade her:

"Miss, what the Third Master said makes sense!"

"Madam has never been so nice to Miss in all these years. There must be something wrong this time!"

"If it's a marriage, then it's fine. But if the one being married is this kind of person, then wouldn't it be very miserable for the young lady?"

"It's over 200 pounds. I don't know if your frail body can handle it!"

Whether or not to be the legal wife is Tanchun's business and has nothing to do with the two maids. However, as dowry maids, they have a great influence on who her future husband will be.

No one wants to sleep with a 200-pound pig!

Moreover, Shishu and the other two had already lost their virginity to Master Zhan a long time ago. If Tanchun married someone else, their value would certainly be greatly reduced.

So from all aspects, the maids would rather their daughters become concubines in Master Zhan's house.

Although Ai Guan, Xiao Chan and other maids were not eaten by Master Zhan, they only needed to think about the sisters Jin Chuan'er and Yu Chuan'er, who received five taels of silver per month, and they knew what to choose.

A group of people surrounded Tanchun and tried to persuade her. Even though Tanchun had a strong character and good ideas, her thoughts were disturbed and she began to hesitate.

Do I really have to become Brother Zhan's concubine?
But the status of a concubine is really not high, and she relies entirely on her beauty to entertain people. If Brother Zhan changes his mind in the future, or forgets the old one and finds a new one, what should we do then?

Tanchun paced back and forth in the room, hesitating for a long time, and couldn't make up her mind.

The maids were so exhausted from trying to persuade Tanchun that they couldn't move her. They couldn't help but become anxious as they saw that they still couldn't move Tanchun.

They gathered together and discussed in low voices for a while, then came back to persuade Tanchun:

"If you have any doubts, you may go and talk to the concubines in the Zhan Mansion and tell them your problems to see what they think. Maybe they can help you resolve your doubts."

After listening to it, Tanchun thought about it and felt that it made sense.

Partial listening leads to ignorance, while listening to both sides leads to enlightenment. It is always good to listen to other people's ideas. As for whether to adopt them in the end, isn't it her own decision?

After thinking about this, Tanchun stood up suddenly and said:

"Get ready and come with me to visit the Zhan Mansion... um, Sister Baoqin."

She tilted her head to think for a moment, and finally chose Xue Baoqin.

Among the many concubines in the Zhan Mansion, there are many who have a close relationship with Tanchun, such as Shi Xiangyun. However, Shi Xiangyun has a delicate and generous personality, but is not known for her wisdom. Only Baoqin is the smartest and wisest. If you talk to her, you will definitely get a lot of good advice.

Shishu and others hurriedly prepared a car and escorted their young lady to visit the Zhan Mansion.

As soon as they revealed their identity at the door of the Zhan Mansion, the guard hurried in to report the news. Soon, Baoqin came out with a smile and a few sisters to greet them.

The one jumping behind her was obviously Xiangyun, and the ones walking out hand in hand behind her were obviously Qingwen and Ping'er.

"Good sister, how come you have time to come here to see me today?"

Baoqin came forward with a smile, helped Tanchun down from the carriage, and walked inside hand in hand with her.

Tanchun held Xiangyun with her other hand and said with a smile:
"I was bored at home, so I came to chat with my sister."

"Why are all of you here so well-organized? Are you all here to welcome me?"

Xiangyun smiled and said:

"We were playing cards, and I was killing everyone just now. If my sister hadn't come over, I would have won all their skirts today!"

Ping Er also came over and spat unhappily:

"Pooh!"

"Tanchun, don't believe this girl's nonsense. I don't know who she learned this cheating trick from. She stole the cards and changed them. Next time I catch her, I'll hold her down and spank her!"

Xiangyun burst into laughter and was not afraid at all.

Qingwen just smiled and nodded to Tanchun without saying a word.

Tanchun glanced at her again and said teasingly:
"I also heard in the mansion that Qingwen has become a gourd with a sawed mouth after her wound healed. It turns out to be true."

Qingwen smiled and said, "Trouble comes from the mouth, silence is golden."

"Oh my, you really seem to be very frugal with your words. I wonder what nonsense Brother Bao will say when he finds out?"

Qingwen was not annoyed by Tanchun's teasing, but just shook her head and said:

"Mr. Bao, that's all in the past. Now I'm a maid in the Zhan Mansion and have no relationship with the Jia family anymore."

Tanchun knew that what the Jia family had done to her in the past had caused her great harm. She sighed inwardly, but did not bring up the past anymore. She just chatted and laughed with a few people.

After passing through the garden and around the corridor, they arrived at Baoqin's yard. After entering, they saw the card game that had not been settled yet.

"Come on, let's continue playing cards and chatting while we play." Xiangyun sat back in his original seat first, rolled up his sleeves, and looked like he was going to win the game again.

"Ah! I didn't expect that Sister Xiangyun is actually a gambler!" Tanchun laughed and found a seat to sit down.

Qingwen did not sit down, but just smiled and said:
"You four can play. I'll go get you some tea, snacks, fruit, etc."

Ping Erh pulled her back and said with a smile:

"It's not like five people can't play mahjong. Why are you running away?"

Qingwen then said:

"You four masters are having fun here, but why is a maid like me interfering?"

Ping Er rolled her eyes and said:
"What do you mean by master and maid? Am I not also a maid now?"

"We were having fun just now, and I didn't hear you say anything about master or maid. Why did you suddenly become so mean?"

Qingwen was helpless, so she sighed and turned out her pockets, but found that there was nothing inside, not a penny.

The girls burst into laughter, and Xiangyun said without restraint:

"That's easy. Just keep playing and lose all your clothes, skirts and shoes. Then we'll call the master over. The master is the most compassionate and considerate of women. Seeing how pitiful you are, he will definitely reward you with several hundred taels of silver!"

Everyone laughed even harder, except for Tanchun, an unmarried woman, who blushed with shame and did not dare to interrupt.

Married women are indeed different from unmarried women. Even Xiangyun, a young girl who has just entered the mansion, is not ashamed at all when talking about these obscene matters. Instead, she is beaming with joy.

Seeing that Qingwen had no money on her, everyone stopped forcing her and started playing on their own. Qingwen prepared tea and snacks for everyone and gave Ping'er some advice from time to time.

As everyone was chatting and playing cards, Tanchun accompanied them carefully, always paying attention to the behavior of the people at the table.

But after three or five times, Tanchun had a general understanding of it.

Among them, Baoqin had the best card skills and was accurate in mental arithmetic, but she was very measured and never dominated the opponent. She would only win a big hand from time to time, and let others win the rest.

Xiangyun seemed to be the most generous, playing with big hands, slapping the cards on the table, as if relying entirely on luck and not calculating at all, but occasionally she would dribble around and then eat or wait for a card, and then everyone would shout that she was cheating.

Xiangyun did not deny it, but looked very proud.

Everyone couldn't catch her cheating methods, so after some laughter and joking, they had no choice but to admit it.

Only Ping'er and Qingwen were playing cards there honestly, nothing special.

Everyone played happily for a long time, and as it gradually darkened, Baoqin won several big hands and swept away all the silver in front of Xiangyun, then clapped her hands with a smile.

"Okay, okay, it's time to go to dinner. That's all for today. We'll continue another day."

Tanchun stood up to say goodbye, but Baoqin stopped her and said with a smile:
"We haven't seen each other for a long time. Let's stay here tonight. We can sleep together and talk about our farewells."

Xiangyun even grabbed Tanchun and said with a smile:

"Sister Tanchun might as well just marry me. The master is a lecher and will never refuse!"

Tanchun smiled awkwardly, not knowing whether to agree or refuse.

Ping Erh stretched out her finger and flicked Xiang Yun's forehead, scolding her with a smile:
"How can you be such a pimp?"

"Can sisters form gangs for something like this?"

"Do you think that sisters working together can help you to eliminate the evil spirit?"

Xiangyun rubbed her forehead and pouted unconvincedly:

"Why not?"

"Isn't Sister Yingchun coming soon?"

"With sister Xichun added in, wouldn't the three sisters be together?"

"Sister Xichun?" Tanchun was stunned. Why was Xichun involved here?
"Uh..." Xiangyun then realized that she had said something wrong. Xichun's affairs were only known within the mansion and outsiders were not aware of them.

"I'm going to eat." She stuck out her tongue, lowered her head and ran away.

"This little monkey!" Ping'er scolded with a smile, then turned around and said with a dry laugh: "Don't listen to Xiangyun's nonsense. She spends all day trying to get all the sisters she knows to come to her house so that she won't be lonely at home."

Tanchun was confused but it was inconvenient for her to speak, so she just smiled and didn't ask any more questions.

(End of this chapter)