The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 173 Aunt Zhao Becomes Suspicious

Ping'er and Qingwen also realized that Tanchun came to Baoqin to discuss something, so they tactfully said goodbye and left.

Baoqin took Tanchun to eat first, and then they returned to the courtyard hand in hand, saying with a smile:
"I've already told the other sisters that the master won't be coming over tonight. If there's anything, we can talk slowly."

The incident with the dancer was too embarrassing, so Tanchun couldn't tell Baoqin about it, so she avoided the main point and said that she had offended the wife and might be married off to a distant place. She picked out the details of her current situation and finally asked:
"Now my aunt wants me to marry Brother Zhan as a concubine. After all, knowing someone well is better than marrying a strange man with bad character."

"But being a concubine is just to entertain people with your beauty. If you grow old and lose your beauty, or if Brother Zhan gets tired of the old and loves the new, I'm afraid you'll have a miserable old age."

"Of course, Sister Baoqin, I don't mean to look down on you because of this. I came here this time purely to ask for your advice. I want to know how you got through this hurdle in your heart before."

Baoqin listened and smiled:

"My sister and I are different."

"My family was in great trouble, and we were fortunate to be saved by you. Our family was in a precarious situation, so we didn't have many opportunities to choose. When I saw you reaching out to me, I immediately jumped over and hugged you. There was no question of whether I was willing or not."

After hearing this, Tanchun's face suddenly darkened, but she heard Baoqin continue:

"But now I am very glad that I made the right choice. If I were given another chance to choose again, I would still be willing to be your concubine."

"Of course, it would be better if I could be the legal wife, but that is obviously impossible."

Tanchun was stunned after hearing this, "Why is that? Could it be that Brother Zhan has already decided to marry Sister Lin?"

"Hehe..." Baoqin pursed her lips and smiled coldly, with a hint of jealousy in her eyes, "This has nothing to do with Sister Lin. The position of the legitimate wife in the Zhan Mansion has always been..."

She said halfway, her eyes flickered, and she refused to continue, and just changed the topic:
"If you believe me, then you can listen to Aunt Zhao and marry into the mansion. We can be sisters."

"When the time comes, you will know that you will never lose out!"

Hearing Baoqin's words were not entirely true, Tanchun suddenly became anxious, stepped forward, held her hand, and pleaded:

"Good sister, at this juncture, please don't keep me in suspense any longer!"

"If there is any trick in it, you might as well tell me directly, so that I won't make a wrong judgment."

Baoqin hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said:
"No, this is a secret of the mansion. Only the concubines in the mansion know it. After you enter the mansion, I will naturally tell you."

Tanchun asked anxiously, "How could I rashly agree to come into the mansion if you didn't want to tell me?"

"Oh, sister, just believe me!" Baoqin rolled her eyes and said angrily.

Tanchun became even more anxious, "Sister, of course I believe you, but this is a big matter of marriage, a matter of a lifetime, you have to let me have confidence in it!"

"Then sister must first promise me that after listening to my secret, she will marry into the mansion as a concubine."

"Sister, you have to clear my doubts first. Once I am sure that I will not be miserable in my later years, I will naturally agree to become your concubine."

The two of them talked back and forth, each trying to get a promise from the other. After a long while of hesitation, Baoqin sighed and said:

"It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that this secret is of great importance. If outsiders knew about it, I'm afraid it would cause great disaster."

Tanchun raised her finger to the sky and swore:
"Okay, I swear to you, sister, if you tell me this secret, if it can solve the doubts in my heart, then I... I will marry into the mansion, and it won't be considered that you have violated the rules of the mansion."

"Even if I still can't solve the mystery, I will never tell this secret to anyone else. If you break this oath, you will be punished by heaven!"

Baoqin hesitated for a while, and considering that Tanchun was such a heroic beauty, and was her master's favorite, she would not be able to escape from the master's palm, so she took the lead in compromising:
"Forget it, anyway, no woman in this world can withstand the temptation of the master. You will be my sister sooner or later, so I'll just tell you."

"But you have to remember clearly that this matter has come to an end with you and you must not disclose it to anyone else."

"Don't worry, sister. You know my temper. I'm not a gossipy person."

Tanchun then made another solemn promise, and Baoqin pulled her to her side, leaned close to her ear, and whispered:

"Our master is not an ordinary mortal, but a star from heaven who has descended to earth. He possesses many magical powers. If you follow him, not only will you be free from illness and disaster, but you will also stay young forever. Who knows, you may even ascend to heaven and become a god in the future!"

"...That's it?" After hearing this, Tanchun's face suddenly turned wooden. She looked at Baoqin with pity in her eyes.

"Could it be that my sister was deceived by Brother Zhan?"

"I did hear that Brother Zhan has some extraordinary skills and once fought with someone in the street, but there are so many extraordinary people in this world, even in the Jockey Club there are people who make money by frying in oil pans, so he can't really be considered an immortal descending to earth, right?"

When Baoqin heard that Tanchun dared to slander her own master, she immediately became unhappy.

"Tsk!"

"What did you say, sister?"

"Do you think I am just such an ignorant country woman?"

"Is my master a real immortal or a fake liar? Is it possible that I can't tell the difference?"

"That..." Tanchun hurriedly smiled and said, "That's not what I meant. It's just that the immortals coming down to earth is too unbelievable. What's more, eternal youth can't be seen in a short time. And becoming an immortal seems even more unreal."

"Haha..." Baoqin sneered, "It's true that eternal youth is not easy to detect, but you can always feel whether your own body is good or bad!"

She stretched out her hand, gently lifted up the rosewood table, shook it casually, and placed it in front of Tanchun. She raised her chin and gestured:
"Feel the weight of this thing and see if you can lift it."

Seeing that she could lift the table with ease, Tanchun also reached out to try. However, after using both hands and exerting all her strength, she could only lift the table a little higher before she felt exhausted.

With a clang, the table fell from her hands, and the teapot, bowls and dishes on it fell to the ground with a clang.

Baoqin was quick-eyed and quick-handed. She grabbed the air with her hands in a daze and grabbed all the porcelain bowls and plates and put them back in their original places.

Tanchun was stunned and could hardly believe her eyes.

"How is it? Did you feel it?" Baoqin smiled proudly, with a look of boasting in her eyes and eyebrows. "I used to be a weak woman, but after being nourished by the master, my body has been reborn and is no longer the same as before."

"Since I entered the mansion, I have never had a headache or fever, and my body has been in peak condition every day. I eat well, sleep well, and have a lot of energy. I think it won't be difficult for me to live to be a hundred years old."

"This...is this Brother Zhan's magical power?" Tanchun asked with a giggle.

"That's right. Our master is just like the meat of Tang Monk in Journey to the West. Although it can't make people immortal, the essence of it has such a miraculous effect."

"Curing all diseases and maintaining eternal youth are the basics. Maybe even rejuvenation and becoming an immortal!"

Tanchun was stunned for a moment and slapped her face hard with her hands, trying to clear her overheated brain. Baoqin watched with a smile on her face.

"How about it, are you interested?"

"Then why are you still hesitating? Hurry up and listen to Aunt Zhao's arrangements and marry me!"

"I...I..." Tanchun's heart was pounding and her mouth was dry. She wanted to agree, but suddenly a doubt popped into her mind and made her jump.

"wrong!"

"If Brother Zhan can really cure all diseases, then what about Sister Baochai? How could she be so ill for so long that she could not be cured?"

The smile on Baoqin's face froze. Facing Tanchun's doubtful look, she hesitated for a moment and could only sigh:
"Ugh!"

"Forget it, forget it. Anyway, I've already told you the biggest secret. It doesn't matter if I say a little more!"

"Who told you that Sister Baochai would die of illness in the future?"

"Uh..." Tanchun tilted her head to think carefully, then said hesitantly, "It seemed that at first the imperial physician said that the disease could not be cured, and later it seemed that Aunt Xue said that Sister Baochai would not live long."

"Yes, that's what Aunt Xue and the others said." Baoqin curled her lips in displeasure and snorted, "Why did I say just now that it's impossible for others to become the legitimate wife of this Zhan Mansion?"

"It's because the first wife in this mansion has already been decided. The first betrothed person has always been Sister Baochai. No one else can snatch her away!"

"Eh?" Tanchun was shocked. "But, isn't Sister Lin the one who is predicted to become the wife of the Zhan family in the future?"

"Humph! Miss Lin is lying!" Baoqin said disdainfully.

Previously, in order to compete for the favor of "Brother Bao", Baoqin and Lin Daiyu had become enemies.

During that period, in order to maintain her open-minded and considerate personality, she suffered a lot from Lin Daiyu.

Although she no longer cares about "Brother Bao", the hatred continues and there is no sign of improvement in their relationship.

"Lying?" Tanchun never thought that the predictive dream could be faked!
"What else?" Baoqin raised her eyebrows and counted on her fingers one by one.

"How can a weak woman like her, who has no father, no mother, no brothers, no sisters, no family, and no property, replace Sister Baochai, the fiancée?"

"Just because she's pretty?"

"If we really talk about beauty, I am not inferior to her!"

This is true. Even Tanchun has to admit that when it comes to beauty, Baoqin is definitely one of the most outstanding concubines in the Zhan mansion. The only one who can be compared with her is probably Aunt Xiangling.

However, although Aunt Xiangling is beautiful, she is silly and simple-minded. She is simply a good person and has no talent as a housekeeper. She is not as smart and capable as Baoqin.

If beauty could be considered an advantage, Baoqin would be the strongest contender for the position of the Zhan family's legitimate wife.

"That is to say, from the very beginning, it was impossible for me to become the legitimate wife of the Zhan family?"

Tanchun opened her eyes wide, thinking of the effort and price her family had paid for such an illusory goal for such a long time, and she felt a little choked up for no reason.

She took a deep breath and trembled with anger.

"Why give people hope when there is no chance at all?"

"Oh, the master seemed to have said that it was because..." Baoqin tapped her cheek with her finger and tilted her head to think for a while, "Oh, that's right, he came down to earth to deal with the calamity of love. Any woman who took the bait had a destined marriage with him and was destined to enter the mansion to become his concubine."

"…What the hell is this love calamity?" Tanchun became even angrier. "Shouldn't the immortal who is in the calamity be the one who suffers? Why are we the ones who have to suffer?"

Baoqin didn't know what Tanchun had done. Seeing her angry, she covered her mouth and giggled, trying to persuade her:

"Oh, oh, sister, don't be angry!"

"This is a true immortal fate. If you encounter it, you gain something. How can it be considered a loss?"

"Not to mention my sister, there are countless people who have been hooked by this bait. Even I, your sister, came to Beijing for this position!"

"Look, it was destined that I would become the master's concubine!"

Tanchun was still angry and wanted to curse again, but suddenly Xiangyun's words jumped out of her mind, and an idea flashed into her mind like a bolt of lightning, and she couldn't help but cry out:

"and many more!"

"Brother Zhan's essence can strengthen people's bodies and cure all diseases. Then, then Sister Xichun's martial arts suddenly improved greatly. She can use a hard bow and wield a big sword. Could it be..."

"Uh..." Baoqin smiled bitterly, covering her face, "Why is my sister so smart?"

"I only leaked a little information to you, and you guessed so much!"

"Alas, I won't let you leak secrets like this again in the future!"

"Forget it!" Baoqin said desperately, "Since you already know so much, I'll just tell you everything!" "That's right, it's just as you think. Sister Xichun was eaten by our master a long time ago, so she made rapid progress, as if she had divine help."

"It's just ridiculous that Master Lian has picked up martial arts again. I heard that he wants to make meritorious deeds and become an official, so as to regain the lost title."

"He doesn't know that without the help of the master's essence, even if he practices until death, he will probably be nothing but a waste."

“……”Tanchun was also speechless.

It was not until today that she realized that her sister Xichun, who was said to have inherited the bloodline of her ancestors and practiced hard to achieve great skills, had become strong in this way!

When Xichun had mastered martial arts, the old lady asked all the men in the Jia family to practice with her. She also practiced secretly for a few days, but finally gave up because she couldn't bear the hardship. As a result, she admired her sister Xichun even more.

As a result... the truth is so cruel!
Thinking of her former envy and admiration for Xichun, she couldn't help but recall her aunt's evaluation of her.

She is so childish and naive!
There are already so many secrets between the sisters. How many truths are hidden beneath the many apparent realities of the two governments?
Seeing Tanchun in a daze, Baoqin smiled and pushed her, encouraging her:
"Now that you know all these secrets, is that enough for you to make a decision?"

"What you are worried about is simply impossible to exist in our house!"

"Let's not talk about the possibility that we may follow the master to ascend to heaven in the future. Just the fact that we will be forever young is enough to make me wonder how many women would risk everything to get in."

"As for whether he will become an immortal in the future, that depends on the future of our master."

"In the past, if one person achieved enlightenment, all his family members would ascend to heaven. If one person achieved enlightenment, all his family members would ascend to heaven. So, shouldn't we concubines be able to do the same?"

After hearing this, Tanchun could only nod silently.

This kind of temptation is indeed hard for anyone to resist. Even she herself was completely moved at this moment.

What about a wife and concubine? Is it more tempting than ascending to heaven and becoming an immortal?
"Thank you for telling me the truth, sister. I now know what to choose."

"I will go back to my aunt and listen to her instructions. I will marry into the mansion no matter what."

Baoqin smiled happily and patted her chest and said:

"It's okay, it's okay. If you still can't figure it out, then I'll be in trouble."

"If the master knew that I had leaked these secrets, he would definitely punish me severely, and he might even call other sisters to punish me together!"

Tanchun ignored her dirty talk, got up and said goodbye, quickly returned to the Jia Mansion, went straight to Jia Zheng's courtyard, and went to Aunt Zhao for advice under the pretext of visiting her father.

It was just getting dark, but Jia Zheng had already taken his medicine and gone to bed. Aunt Zhao was just about to go to Lady Wang's secret room to serve her mistress, but when she saw Tanchun coming, she stopped, quietly pulled her aside, and asked in a low voice:

"What are you doing here?"

At this point, Tanchun stopped playing around with Aunt Zhao and told the truth directly:

"I just went to the Zhan Mansion and got some news from Sister Baoqin."

"Now my daughter has decided to marry Brother Zhan as a concubine. Aunt, please help my daughter again."

Aunt Zhao had already learned about Tanchun's attitude from Jia Huan. Now she was surprised to see that she had reversed her attitude. However, this was a good thing for her, so she did not ask about it. She only sighed and shook her head and said:
"The current situation is that the wife, for some reason, is determined not to let you marry Master Zhan."

"With her interfering, there's nothing I can do."

"We need to first figure out why my wife disagrees, and then we can solve the problem in a targeted manner."

After listening to this, Tanchun, for some reason, connected this matter with the secrets she had heard before in the Zhan Mansion.

She hesitated for a moment and said:
"My daughter has a suspicion that maybe the wife knows something about Brother Zhan, so she doesn't want to let her get away with it."

"Huh? What's going on?" Aunt Zhao asked in surprise.

After hesitating for a long time, Tanchun thought that if she didn't tell the secrets, she might not be able to explain the relevant matters clearly, so she looked around carefully, and when she saw that there was no one around, she whispered to Aunt Zhao:

"Aunt, I know some secrets and can tell you, but you must promise not to leak them."

Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly and patted her chest to make a promise.

Tanchun then told him that Mr. Zhan had a special physique and that his essence could cure all diseases, making people eternally young and rejuvenating.

Similarly, she also talked about Baochai's story to prove the effectiveness of Master Zhan's secret medicine.

However, Xichun's matter had nothing to do with what she wanted to explain, so she skipped over it.

She also skipped over the matter of the immortals descending to the earth. On the one hand, it was irrelevant to what she wanted to explain. On the other hand, this matter was too bizarre and hard to believe, and she did not have Baoqin's supernatural powers as evidence.

But these two things alone were enough to make Aunt Zhao dumbfounded.

"What? Is that so?"

"Yes, my daughter didn't believe it at first, but Sister Baoqin showed her some evidence, which made her believe it."

"My daughter thinks that the madam must have heard some rumors from some source, so she doesn't want my daughter to get any advantage, and that's why she is firmly against my daughter marrying into the Zhan Mansion, even as a concubine!"

Seeing her daughter's confident tone, Aunt Zhao felt that all her three views had been overturned.

Although I had heard that Mr. Zhan possessed extraordinary skills and was a hermit master, I never expected that his skills would be so advanced!
However, Aunt Zhao had not read much, so it was relatively easier for her to accept these strange stories.

She knew that her daughter was not a fool. Since her daughter was so sure, she would naturally believe it too.

"So that's how it is, no wonder!"

Aunt Zhao's eyes flickered and some ideas emerged in her mind.

However, this distant water cannot quench the immediate thirst. Even if she has some ideas, she can do nothing until her master recovers.

Just as I was about to pull my daughter aside to explain, I suddenly saw Zhou Ruijia appear again, coming over and saying with a fake smile:
"Is Auntie busy?"

"My wife asked me to come over to see why my aunt hasn't come over tonight."

Aunt Zhao hurriedly smiled and said:
"Tanchun came to visit the master. I just gave her a few words of advice. She will be there soon."

She waved her hand and asked Tanchun to go back first, and then she hurriedly followed Zhou Rui's wife.

After arriving at Mrs. Wang's secret room, Aunt Zhao went in obediently, knelt down in front of Mrs. Wang, and said with a flattering smile:

"I am a little late. I am sorry to have kept you waiting. Please forgive me."

Mrs. Wang had already changed into a tight leather jacket and was now lying on the couch, looking at her with a smile and teasing:
"I just thought you weren't coming tonight!"

"How could that be?" Aunt Zhao hurriedly said in a nice way, "Madam gave me a chance to atone for my sins, how could I be willing to give it up?"

"You're smart!" Mrs. Wang sneered, took out a collar from behind her and threw it over, "Put on this dog chain."

Aunt Zhao did as she was told and was led by Mrs. Wang to the back room.

In the past, she was always tied to an iron frame and had never been to the room at the back. This was her first time coming in.

After entering the back room, she saw a huge wooden shelf against the wall on one side of the room. It had grids of different sizes and was filled with all kinds of toys.

On the other side are the wardrobe and shoe cabinet, which are filled with various exhibition suits and different styles of high heels.

Mrs. Wang kicked lightly with her foot and ordered:
"You're in luck tonight, go pick something to wear."

Aunt Zhao actually also has several sets of these sexy suits to please her husband.

However, the Zhan Mansion set had very high requirements for identity and was only sold to the wives of powerful officials. Concubines with insufficient status would not sell no matter how much money was offered, so the sets she had were all pirated goods that Wang Xifeng had collaborated with other companies to make.

But wearing this kind of clothes to please your master and wearing this kind of clothes to please your wife are two different feelings.

Aunt Zhao didn't dare to say anything, so she had to get up and choose something to wear.

However, she is rather fair, thin and young. Mrs. Wang's clothes are all custom-made and tight-fitting. When she wears them, they are somewhat baggy, which greatly reduces her seductiveness.

But she was taller than Mrs. Wang, so her top exposed her belly button, and her already short skirt became even shorter.

As for the high heels, they were a bit tight, so she had to pick out a pair with a wide mouth. After putting them on with difficulty, she walked crookedly.

Seeing her strange look, Mrs. Wang burst into laughter and pointed at her and said:

"Look at your ugly appearance, I don't know why the master likes you!"

Aunt Zhao could only smile and say:

"Such luxurious clothes are of course only suitable for the madam. A lowly woman like me would look out of place in them. How does one put them on? It's like a monkey trying to learn how to wear clothes."

"Watch the monkeys and win the crown!"

"Yes, that's right, it's just a monkey in human clothing!"

"Even if I wanted to buy this suit from the Zhan Mansion, Master Zhan wouldn't sell it to me. Now that I'm wearing it, I'm just a monkey in a human costume!"

Mrs. Wang laughed heartily at Aunt Zhao's words and said sarcastically:

"You slut, you actually know that you are just a monkey, a thing to amuse the master!"

"Yes, that's right. The servant is the monkey, and the madam is the monkey trainer."

Aunt Zhao was very flexible and always supported Lady Wang in everything.

Mrs. Wang teased her for a while, then led her out again, sat her on the chair, and crossed her legs again.

This time, Aunt Zhao didn't need Lady Wang's orders, she learned her lesson, and quickly knelt down and crawled forward, took her feet, placed them on her plump chest, and lowered her head to begin to maintain her shoes.

Seeing the woman she hated the most doing these lowly things in front of her, the flame of desire in Mrs. Wang's heart became more and more intense. After both her feet and shoes were taken care of, she knocked her feet, took off her shoes, raised her feet, and said with a smile:
"My feet are tired, too."

"Let me help Madam relax her feet." Aunt Zhao understood the meaning of the music and immediately started to take care of Madam Wang's feet.

While she was maintaining herself, she carefully glanced at Madam Wang out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that Madam Wang closed her eyes and began to move her hands under her body, she extended the scope of maintenance from her feet, along her calves all the way up.

After a moment, the part she was maintaining entered the forbidden area and was tightly encircled by Mrs. Wang's thighs, unable to retreat.

After a long time, Mrs. Wang moaned softly and held Aunt Zhao's head.

"This is a reward for you, don't waste it!"

Aunt Zhao thought that after taking the initiative this time, she would be spared the physical pain, but who would have thought that Mrs. Wang had been nourished by Master Zhan's secret medicine, and her physical condition was much better than before. Although she was tired, she was not exhausted. She still refused to let her go and pressed her down on the table to continue the second half.

Aunt Zhao had no choice but to cooperate while thinking of other things to divert her attention.

Suddenly, she thought of what her daughter had just said, that Baochai's illness was fake, and that Mrs. Wang had been going to Lixiangyuan frequently recently. She couldn't help but connect the two pieces of information together.

Since Baochai's illness was fake, did Aunt Xue also know about Mr. Zhan's special situation? Did this lady learn the secret from Aunt Xue?
The reason why Baoqin was willing to tell this secret to her daughter Tanchun was entirely because Tanchun would become Mr. Zhan's concubine. So how could Aunt Xue dare to reveal the secret to the lady?

Could it be that...the Madam's playmate is Mr. Zhan?
(End of this chapter)