The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 81 Framed
Ever since the wet nurse who had accompanied Xichun since she was a child was driven away, Xichun no longer had any one of her own around her. All the maids and servants were driven to the opposite side by her own hands.

At first she didn't care much and just wanted to protect herself, but later she found out that she had been put under house arrest in disguise.

In the past, whenever there was something going on outside, the maidservants around her would naturally come over and chatter in her ears, whether she wanted to hear it or not.

She still felt annoyed at that time, but now, the talkative maids have been sent away by her sister-in-law Youshi, and the remaining maids have become silent around her. They will not speak unless she asks, and it is useless to ask, as no one will tell her the truth.

Only Xiren dared to say a few words to her, but after being warned several times, she dared not say any more.

If you don’t want to say it, then don’t say it!

She has a cold and indifferent personality and doesn't care about the disturbances in the outside world. She is happy to be alone when no one talks to her!
But then she discovered that her movements in the mansion were restricted.

Even the things that used to happen, such as being constantly asked to get close to Brother Zhan, no longer happen now.

She originally thought that after returning to Ningguo Mansion this time, Rong Ge'er would urge her even more!
Who would have thought that now, not only did she stop urging him, but it even seemed as if the people in the mansion had forgotten about the matter. They locked her up in the small courtyard of their residence all day long and did not let her go out.

She used to be able to go wherever she wanted, but now that's no longer possible.

If she wanted to go out, she had to ask someone to inform her sister-in-law, Mrs. You, first, and only after Mrs. You's approval could she go out.

But in fact, most of the time, she would not be approved, even if she wanted to go to Xifu.

Now she couldn't even figure out whether it was really because Mrs. You didn't approve her to go out, or if the servants around her didn't report her request at all.

Without anyone close to her, it would be impossible for her to pass on a message even if she wanted to.

These servants joined hands and deceived her in any way they wanted.

This made her feel a little anxious.

But after a few days, she found that although she was under house arrest and cut off from information from inside and outside, her food, clothing, housing and transportation were not affected at all, so her anxious mind calmed down again.

It doesn't matter!
As long as you can live a good life, why should you care about the affairs of others?
Everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own door and doesn't care about the frost on other people's tiles.

This is what she thought and did until You came to her.

After You came in, she waved her hand and drove out the maids and servants on both sides. Then she slowly sat down on the chair, crossed her legs, raised her plump and slender legs, swayed her toes, and asked with a smile:

"How's your sister doing lately?"

Xichun said indifferently with a cold face:

"Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law. I have been reading Buddhist scriptures in my room these days. No one is bothering me. I eat well, sleep well, and it is very quiet."

"Really? That's good!" Yu said with a smile.

"Sister-in-law came here this time because she wanted to discuss something with my sister."

Xichun didn't even raise her eyebrows, and said calmly:
"Sister-in-law, you are joking. If there is anything, you should go and discuss it with Rong Ge'er. He is the head of the family. At the very least, you should discuss it with Rong Da Madam. I don't have the ability to help you."

When Youshi heard this, she started to giggle and her body shook.

"Sister, you are wrong. They are the ones who can't help with this matter. Only you can do it."

Without waiting for Xichun to refuse again, Youshi spoke up:

"My sister may not know the situation in the mansion."

"Your brother was a lavish spendthrift during his lifetime. I don't know how much foreign debt he borrowed."

"Now that he's gone, it's all over, but it's hard for those of us who are still alive. We have to find a way to pay off his foreign debt."

"Otherwise, we would have to beg for food on the streets."

After hearing this, Xichun frowned and sneered:

"I didn't borrow the money, and I didn't spend it on myself, so what does this have to do with me?"

"Even if I have to beg for food, I can go to the West Palace and ask for it. The old ancestor will always give me something to eat."

Yu raised her eyebrows and sneered:

"Since my sister is so ruthless, then you can't blame me, your sister-in-law!"

"I'll tell you straight!"

"The biggest creditor in the mansion now is your elder brother Zhan, so your brother tried every means to get you married into the Zhan family, but he thought that once you got married, the debt would be forgiven."

"But now that your brother is gone, Rong'er and Master Zhan don't have a very close relationship. And looking at your character, you don't seem suitable to be a wife, so the mansion doesn't expect you to be able to successfully arrange a marriage."

"In this case, the government will have to think of other ways to forgive this debt."

"We discussed it and decided that since you are not suitable to be the principal wife, forget it. It would be better for you to be a concubine for Master Zhan."

"Whether it's a wife or a concubine, isn't it a marriage of convenience? This account can definitely be written off."

"Anyway, Master Zhan is a man who cherishes women. Look at Aunt Xing and my second sister. Now the concubine is doing very well. You have done well."

When Xichun heard this, she became so angry that her face changed color. She stood up suddenly, pointed her spear at Youshi, and cursed:

"You black-hearted maggots!"

"Do you think I don't know about your dirty deeds?"

"The reason I didn't say it was because I didn't want to dirty my mouth!"

"There is no clean person or place in Ningguo Mansion. I will go back to Rongguo Mansion and never come to this filthy place again!"

Xichun angrily opened the door and tried to go out, but was stopped by the servants at the door. They refused to let her go and pushed her back.

Youshi was still sitting on the chair with her legs crossed. When she saw Xichun being pushed back, she didn't even raise her eyelids. She just stretched out her green jade-like fingers and pointed at the stool. Then the servants pushed Xichun back to her seat.

"My dear sister, what stupid things are you talking about?"

"Is this Ningguo Mansion a place where you can come and go as you please?"

"From now on, you can only move around in this small courtyard. You are not allowed to leave at all."

"Don't even think about Rongguo Mansion."

"Don't worry. Although you can't go out, the maids and servants around you will continue to spread your "trivial matters" so that everyone in the two mansions will know how comfortable your life is."

"You don't have many friends anyway, so there won't be any visitors. People will naturally believe whatever the people around you say."

"As for behind closed doors, whether you are going crazy or seeking death, it is up to you. Outsiders will definitely not know."

"You can try to win over the maids, servants and servants around you and ask them to pass on the news for you to see if they will believe that you have suddenly changed your personality."

"You can also try to convince them that you can protect them from my anger."

Looking at Xichun's dark face, Youshi smiled even more proudly.

"Sister, don't you always look down on us shameless people? Don't you want to stay out of this dirty world and not get involved with us?"

"Now sister-in-law will give you this opportunity."

"As long as you are obedient in the future, sister-in-law will never let anyone disturb you."

"You can have whatever you want to eat and drink, and you will be able to live a happy life."

"As long as you listen!"

"You, you, you..." Xichun's fingers, which were pointing at Youshi, began to tremble. She was really a little nervous.

Yu stood up and looked down at her former master's noble sister. She held Xichun's wrist and pressed it down gently, saying in a cold voice:
"Then Master Zhan is a kind and gentle man who is kind and gentle to women. He doesn't like to use force. Otherwise, I would have washed you and stripped you clean and stuffed you directly into Master Zhan's bed."

"Anyway, in this small courtyard, you can't get any help from heaven or earth. How can you escape from my clutches?"

"Don't blame your sister-in-law. This is all your brother's fault. You are his sister, so you have to pay it back."

Finally, Youshi lowered her head, put her lips close to Xichun's ear, and spoke word by word:

"I will invite Mr. Zhan to come over as a guest tomorrow night. It's up to you to decide."

"But I'll make it clear to you. If you don't satisfy Mr. Zhan, I'll be very unhappy. Don't blame me for being cruel then."

After saying these harsh words, Youshi did not stay any longer and just pushed the door open and left.

Seeing that Youshi had left, the maids and old women who had been as ferocious as wolves and tigers just now also retreated quietly, leaving Xichun alone in this secluded room, with no one paying any attention to her.

Xichun sat there in a daze, feeling that this room, which usually seemed quiet and simple, was now frighteningly empty and cold, without any human presence at all, which made her shiver uncontrollably. For the first time, she felt regretful.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a sound from the door and Xiren pushed it open.

"Miss, it's getting late, it's time to rest."

Xichun slowly raised her head, looked at Xiren intently, and suddenly asked:
"Xiren, are you really not going back to Brother Bao?"

Xiren shook her head firmly and said, "Miss, I am a maid in the mansion. I will do whatever the master tells me to do. I dare not go beyond my duty."

Xichun's eyes lit up and she asked again:
"Well, since you are my maid, you should obey me when I tell you to do something, right?"

Xiren hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said:
"If the young lady has something to tell me, I will certainly do it. I would never dare to disobey her."

Xichun immediately sat up straight, stared at Xiren with sharp eyes and said:
"Well, then you can go to Brother Bao and pass on a message for me, asking him to come to my place."

After hearing this, Xiren couldn't help but frown and said with a bitter smile:
"Miss, you don't know that the rules in this mansion are much stricter than those in the West Mansion. I am only responsible for taking care of you and cannot pass on any information to the outside world."

"If the young lady wants to pass on the news, you can only ask the outer courtyard manager of our courtyard to do it. Otherwise, it will be that I have exceeded my authority and will be driven out of the house by the madam."

"The young lady's wet nurse was unruly and complained a few times, so she was driven away."

Xichun's face darkened and she regretted it even more.

The attacker asked:
"Miss, do you need me to call the outer courtyard manager?"

Xichun shook her head in frustration, "It's no use. The outer courtyard manager will definitely not listen to me. I don't even know who he delivered the message to."

She hesitated for a moment, then tried to persuade him:
"Now this mansion wants to lock me up and raise me as a concubine. I would rather die than do this. If you dare to take the risk to save me, I will definitely not forget your kindness when I am saved, and I will not let the mansion drive you out."

After hearing this, Xiren began to hesitate.

On the one hand, she originally wanted to be a good maid. Since her mistress had asked for it, she naturally preferred to work for her.

But on the other hand, this young lady of our family is really a heartless and ungrateful person. The wet nurse who raised her since she was a child just drove her away without any change of expression. It is really hard to predict whether working for her will bring good or bad luck.

Seeing Xiren's hesitation, Xichun gritted her teeth and said:
"If you are not willing to do these things, then you are certainly not doing me a favor, so why would I care about you?"

"You were originally sent here to be a maidservant. If I become the mistress of Master Zhan, I will definitely drag you down with me and will never let you go!"

When Xiren heard this, she was immediately shocked and became more aware of the cold-bloodedness of this young lady.

After weighing it over and over again, she finally sighed and agreed.

"Well, I'll just go on this trip!"

"Miss, please remember your promise today. If you are saved in the future, you must help me and don't let me be kicked out of the mansion."

Xichun was overjoyed and quickly patted her chest and promised:
"After this incident, I dare not continue to keep to myself. I must gather some trusted people around me and I will definitely not let you down."

Xiren was relieved, and said goodbye to Xichun, left the room, found a gap, quietly left the courtyard, and headed towards the West Mansion. She acted cautiously and carefully, thinking that no one would notice her, but she didn't know that Master Zhan had already assigned someone to guard the gates of various places to prevent anyone from sneaking around.

And this small corner gate connecting the Ning and Rong mansions is of utmost importance.

Just as Xiren arrived here, before she even reached the door, she heard a shout and a group of people surrounded her and stopped her.

Just as she was about to say a few words to explain, these people rushed over, tied her up, and brought her to Youshi.

Now that Master Zhan has taken over Ningguo Mansion, he has also infiltrated some of his own people here.

These people were all brought down from the mountain by him. They only recognized Master Zhan and ignored what others said. After entering Ningguo Mansion, they neither fought for power nor were greedy for money. They were only responsible for some key defense matters in the mansion.

Xiren bumped into their hands.

When Youshi saw Xiren being captured and heard that she was captured at the corner gate connecting the two mansions, she immediately knew what she was going to do. She immediately took out silver to reward the guards and asked them to go back to wait. Then she sat in front of Xiren and asked with a smile:

"At this late hour, Xiren, why are you running to the West Mansion instead of resting in the courtyard?"

Xiren forced a smile and said:
"The Second Master secretly sent me a message during the day, asking me to go to him at night. If Madam doesn't believe it, you can ask the Second Master to ask."

She knew Baoyu's character well, and once Youshi asked, Baoyu would definitely agree.

Who knew that Youshi would not play by the rules? After hearing what she said, she nodded with a smile and said:

"letter!"

"Of course I believe it!"

"Since the Second Master wants to meet you in private, I can't stop him. Come on, I'll take you to see the Second Madam and let her decide what to do with you."

Seeing Youshi's face full of watching the fun, Xiren suddenly panicked.

She wanted to use Baoyu's name to let Youshi let her go, but she didn't want to implicate Baoyu.

If she were asked to choose between Xichun and Baoyu, there is no doubt that she cares about Baoyu more.

If Mrs. Wang knew that her beloved son had made an appointment with Xiren for a secret meeting in the middle of the night, she would be furious. Not to mention whether she would scold Baoyu, just the fact that she was a seductive woman who seduced Baoyu would make it clear that no one could protect her, not even Xichun.

"No, Madam, please go easy on me. Actually...actually, I miss Baoyu, so I want to go back and see him." Xiren quickly changed her words.

Yu Shi sneered after hearing this:

"I never realized you were so nostalgic!"

"What benefit did Sister Xichun give you that made you take such a risk to help her?"

Seeing that she couldn't hide it anymore, Xiren simply kept silent and didn't say a word.

"Haha, since you are so loyal, then be loyal to the end!"

Seeing that she was resisting in her heart, Youshi stopped talking and turned around to leave.

After a while, Youshi came back with a group of people, stuffed a bunch of things into her arms, blocked her mouth with a rag, and then carried her away in the direction of Rongguo Mansion.

The group of people held torches high and followed closely behind, making a lot of noise. They soon alarmed the people in Rongguo Mansion and attracted everyone's attention, asking each other what had happened.

Youshi went straight to Jia's mother to ask for an audience. After a long while, she saw Yuanyang come out and asked angrily:

"What is Sister-in-law Zhen doing? She is not sleeping in the middle of the night and has to wake up the old lady?"

Yu asked everyone else to step aside, then stepped forward and whispered:
"It's not that I have to trouble you, ma'am. I just encountered some problems and it's not convenient for me to take charge of them, so I asked you to give me some advice."

Yuanyang first took a closer look at the tied person, recognized it as Xiren, and whispered:

"No matter what Xiren has done, why don't you just deal with it yourself? Why make such a fuss?"

Yu smiled bitterly and shook her head:

"If it was just Xiren's business, why would I dare to trouble the old lady?"

"This Xiren is just doing something for someone else, so it doesn't matter much."

"This matter involves people from both governments. My master is gone now. As a woman, it is not convenient for me to do many things. I have no choice but to use the old lady's tiger skin."

When Yuanyang heard this, she was shocked and hurriedly led her in first, leaving the others and Xiren outside.

When You came in and saw Lady Jia, she greeted her respectfully and apologized:

"It's all my fault for waking up the old ancestor in the middle of the night. If the old lady blames me, she will punish me severely later."

Grandmother Jia sat sideways on the kang, letting Yuanyang take the quilt and lean against her back. She rubbed her forehead and sighed:

"Don't say these words, just tell me what happened. What happened?"

Youshi sighed and began to tell stories to Lady Jia.

"Tonight, the patrol in the mansion caught a maid who was wandering around. She was originally Baoyu's maid, and later transferred to Sister Xichun. Her name is Xiren."

"I didn't take it seriously at first, I just wanted to teach you a lesson."

"But who would have thought that I would find some things on Xiren, including a purse embroidered by a woman for her lover, a lock of hair inside, and some other things, which were clearly the toys of a love affair between a man and a woman."

"At first I thought it was Xiren and Baoyu..."

When she heard about Baoyu, Grandmother Jia's eyes widened and she sat up straight. Then, she heard Youshi continue to say:
"But when I look at the material and stitching of the purse, as well as the appearance of the hair, it doesn't look like Xiren's. Instead, it feels... feels... like Sister Xichun's."

"Xichun and... and Baoyu?"

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia almost fainted. Yuanyang was so scared that she hurriedly stroked her chest and patted her back to help her calm down.

Yu Shi didn't dare to keep the secret any longer, and hurried on:

"It shouldn't be Baoyu, but it must be a man in Rongguo Mansion. I just don't know who it is."

When she heard that it was not Baoyu, Jia's mother felt relieved. But when she thought that Xichun was suspected of having an affair with a man in the mansion, her anger suddenly rose again.

"Can you confirm this?"

Yu smiled bitterly and said:

"As the saying goes, if you catch an adulterer, you catch both of them; if you catch a thief, you catch the stolen goods. So far, we have only caught Xiren, and she is a loyal person. She refuses to admit that she was a matchmaker for her young lady, and she knows nothing about anything."

"Now I am just suspicious. After all, the only one who can instruct Xiren to do something should be Sister Xichun."

"Besides...before I came here, I specifically asked everyone around Sister Xichun, and someone did see Sister Xichun embroider that purse."

"As for that lock of hair, I asked the maid who combed Sister Xichun's hair, and she said that Sister Xichun did cut off a lock of her hair, but she didn't know where it went afterwards."

"Although I have no idea who that man is, there are indeed many witnesses around Sister Xichun. If you are worried that I might make a mistake in my haste and misunderstand Sister Xichun, you can send someone to check."

At this time, Jia's mother actually believed it in her heart, but she still held on to the hope, waved her hand at Yuanyang, and ordered:

"Go and ask and take a look yourself, don't let there be any misunderstandings."

Yuanyang stood up immediately, and Youshi hurriedly reminded him:
"The servants don't know what happened. I only asked indirectly and didn't alarm Sister Xichun in order to avoid causing discord between the sister-in-law and the sister-in-law. Sister Yuanyang, please be careful and don't let the news spread."

Yuanyang nodded in agreement, went out, took the purse from Xiren's arms, and was led to the East Palace.

Seeing Yuanyang leave, Youshi sighed:
"I originally wanted to discipline Sister Xichun, but now my master is gone. If I rashly deal with Sister Xichun, I'm afraid people will gossip about me."

"Besides, the man involved in this matter involves the West Mansion, and we don't know who he is. If I rashly cut off Sister Xichun's relationship with the West Mansion, I'm afraid they will have some thoughts."

"For these two reasons, I have the audacity to disturb you late at night. Please give me some advice."

Grandmother Jia's face was gloomy. She went over all the lustful descendants in the mansion one by one in her mind. She felt that they all looked alike, especially her beloved Phoenix Egg.

Yu Shi was watching Lady Jia's changing expression from side to side, but she was not anxious at all. For something like a short essay, whoever finishes first wins.

As long as she throws out this basin of dirty water, no one will believe what Xichun and Xiren say in the future. They will just think that they are making random accusations to protect themselves.

Besides, this is a chain of schemes, one link after another.

First, throw dirty water on people to form a preconceived notion, and then use the name of privacy to limit the scope of the information's dissemination to prevent it from involving too many people and causing too many loopholes, and then use the witnesses around Xichun to prove something that doesn't exist in the first place.

As for the bunch of traitors around Xichun, Youshi had already colluded with them in their statements before she came. No matter who went to verify it, they would definitely get the same result.

As for whether Xichun would take the opportunity to complain to Yuanyang, haha, Yuanyang would not even ask her because she had to take care of Youshi's worry about the "discord between sister-in-law and sister-in-law".

If Lady Jia still doesn't believe it, the Xue family will use their "money power" to send a servant from Baoyu's room to surrender to Lady Jia, admitting that he and Miss Xichun are in love with each other, and with Xiren as the middleman, they will ask the old ancestor to help them become a loving couple.

If Lady Jia can remain seated by then, it would be considered that she has extraordinary concentration!

Fortunately, everything went smoothly and there was no need to use the following steps at all. It ended here with verification.

Yuanyang seriously asked many people around Xichun, and it turned out that some of them knew and some didn't, but in the end the results all pointed to the same answer.

Seeing this result, Yuanyang could only sigh, and quietly left Xichun's courtyard and returned to report to Lady Jia.

After hearing Yuanyang's report, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but sigh, with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"It's all because of me, an old lady, who failed to take good care of Xichun. This child has gone astray!"

"Youshi, just do what you should do. If someone talks nonsense, the old lady will make the decision for you."

After hearing this, Youshi suppressed the smile on her face and sighed:
"Since the old lady said so, I will go back and teach Sister Xichun a lesson."

"Sister Xichun is still young and naive now. When she gets older and gets married and starts a family, she will naturally remember our kindness."

This was said in line with everyone's wishes, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Youshi then stood up, said goodbye, and went out with everyone back to the East Palace.

From beginning to end, no one present suggested calling Xiren, who was tied outside the door, in to find out what was going on.

On the one hand, Youshi had already said that Xiren was just a matchmaker, and she was a loyal person who refused to say anything.

On the other hand, they did not feel that Xiren's testimony was more credible and convincing than Youshi's, and they did not want to listen to it at all.

When poor Xiren was tied outside, she was still thinking carefully about how to speak up for her young lady when she saw the old lady. As a result, she waited in vain for more than an hour and did not even see the old lady. She was then carried back and thrown into the room.

Yu-shi had her ropes untied, and had Xi-chun lifted up from the bed. She smiled and told them the details of what had happened before, then sneered:
"Now, in order to prevent you from doing anything that would bring disgrace to the family, the old lady has banned you from going to the West Mansion again."

"From today on, Sister Xichun is only allowed to move around in this small courtyard. Without my permission, you are not allowed to leave at all."

"Xiren, you don't have to be so strict. You are so beautiful, it would be a pity not to let Master Zhan enjoy you."

"I promise you here. If you serve Master Zhan well, I will let Rong take you as a concubine and give you a aunt."

These words left Xiren dumbfounded, and she didn't know what expression to express.

She had served Baoyu so devotedly and responsibly before, wasn't it just to escape from the abyss of being a maid, change her own destiny, and become Baoyu's aunt?
But who would have thought that even after trying my best, I still couldn't achieve my wish.

She originally thought that after being kicked away from Baoyu, she would have no hope of becoming a concubine in this life, but she never expected that now when her fate reached the lowest point, she would see the dawn of hope.

But here’s the thing…

She is clearly Young Master Rong's concubine, so why should she serve Master Zhan well?

(End of this chapter)