The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 82 Immersive Movie Viewing Experience

After the body was kept for 49 days, with the monks and Taoists playing music, the people carried Jia Zhen's coffin out of the city and stored it in the Tiekan Temple tomb. This was considered the end of the funeral.

However, everyone in the palace still had to wear mourning cloth, and they were not allowed to see drums and music, or have weddings or funerals, for a period of one year.

Of course, this kind of thing is not something that the government will investigate unless the people report it. Even if families secretly break the rules, no one will care.

In fact, almost no one really follows this rule completely.

Although Chinese people believe that the dead are the greatest, they also say that when a person dies, it is like a light going out, and the living should look forward.

For example, Master Zhan took good care of Brother Zhen’s wife and daughter-in-law, and never let them suffer any hardship, so that Brother Zhen would not worry about him in the underworld and be unable to be reincarnated.

So righteous!
But it’s a pity that Brother Zhen’s second-year sister Xichun doesn’t appreciate good intentions and has been on a hunger strike for many days.

How is this possible?
So after finishing the funeral arrangements, Mr. Zhan rode back to Ningguo Mansion as fast as he could and personally made something delicious for Sister Xichun.

The kitchen had already prepared everything that Master Zhan needed. When he came back, they brought it up and sent it to Xichun's courtyard like water.

"There are so many rooms out there, why do you have to eat in mine?"

Xichun was so angry that her face turned pale and her whole body was shaking. She glared at Zhan Ershisi, wishing she could bite him hard.

Zhan Ershisi relied on his thick skin and was not angry. Instead, he laughed and pointed at the grill and the meat slices, saying:

"That's what Sister Xichun said!"

"I prepared this barbecue purely for Sister Xichun!"

"If we don't eat in Sister Xichun's room, that would be a real waste of food!"

Xichun was furious and turned to leave, but was pushed back by the maids.

"You... are shameless!"

Xichun couldn't struggle, so she could only hold up her pants and jump up and down and curse, but no one paid any attention to her.

The reason why she was holding up her pants was to prevent her from hanging herself, so she let Xiren take her belt away.

But in fact, even with the belt, she couldn't reach the roof, and the tables and chairs in the house were replaced with low tables and stools.

In addition, all pointed or bladed hairpins, scissors, needles and thread and other items were taken away.

There were at least two maids watching her around the clock, and even when she went to the toilet there was someone watching her.

Even if you want to die by ramming your head against a wall, you can't speed up.

The only way to commit suicide was to go on a hunger strike. As a result, Master Zhan came and brought all kinds of delicious food, and had dinner with a group of people in front of her every day.

Mr. Zhan was a kind gentleman. He never forced her to eat. He just let her eat in front of him to train her spirit and will.

We had barbecue today.

Northerners have always lacked resistance to barbecue. A friend from Northeast China once said that there is nothing in this world that cannot be solved by a barbecue meal. If there is, then have two meals.

Nowadays, maritime trade in the Daqing Dynasty is well developed, and the Xue family is the imperial merchant. With this convenience, all seasonings are prepared very comprehensively, such as cumin, chili powder, etc.

At Master Zhan's order, Xiren put the snowflake smokeless charcoal into the grill, lit the fire, placed the iron net on top, put the barbecue on it, and used a small brush dipped in the sauce to brush it on layer by layer.

Under the roasting of charcoal fire, the fat in the pork belly was roasted out and dripped onto the red charcoal below. The aroma of fat filled the air, making everyone around drool.

It is not easy for people these days to eat meat. Unless you are a landlord or a wealthy person, you may not be able to see meat once a month.

Even though these servants working in the Ningguo Mansion could occasionally have some leftover food and wine from the master and mistress, the amount of remaining meat was very scarce, which could only ensure that the gluttons in their stomachs would not starve to death, but it could not satisfy their cravings at all.

But these days, because of Xichun's hunger strike, they have benefited from it. They have been treated to all kinds of delicious food every day, such as hot pot, teppanyaki, etc., and they are so happy that they hope their young lady can hold on for a few more days!
When there are more people around, the food tastes better. Xichun feels deeply touched by this.

She had originally made up her mind to die, wanting to leave a clean record even in death, but she eventually discovered that this kind-hearted man was not something that ordinary people could do.

It's only been a few days since she started fasting, but she's already feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Looking at the group of people in front of me who were having fun there, eating with smiles on their faces, and smelling the tempting aroma lingering in my nose, it felt like something was crawling in my stomach, and my saliva began to flow out unconsciously.

"Gulu..."

Xichun's stomach growled, and she swallowed again. Her eyes were almost red, and she spat fiercely at Master Zhan and cursed:

"You deserve to be cut into pieces, you bastard!"

"My brother still treats you as a brother, and this is how you repay him?"

"you eat!"

"Eat hard!"

"I curse you to go to the hungry ghost hell after you die, and never be able to eat enough for the rest of your life!"

Everyone present suddenly fell silent, not even the sound of swallowing was heard. They held their breath and glanced at Master Zhan, who was sitting at the table, enjoying barbecue and wine, being served by Youshi and Keqing. They were afraid that he would fly into a rage and cancel the feast.

Mr. Zhan was so magnanimous that he would never argue with a little girl. Not only did he eat the barbecue without changing his expression, he also said to Xichun with a smile:

"Sister Xichun, you may have some misunderstandings!"

"You always thought that I took your brother's property after he died, but you see Rong'er and your sister-in-law didn't resist at all."

"Could it be possible that, in fact, when your brother was alive, the house was like this, and it was you, the sister, who was the one who was out of place?"

Jia Rong, who was also eating meat and drinking, came over and said:

"That's right, little aunt, you don't know that when my father was still alive, Master Zhan was the boss of this family. Otherwise, why do you think Master Zhan would hand over all these great businesses to us?"

"My aunt is still young, so she doesn't understand. This is a powerful family, and there are so many secrets inside that they are just kept secret from outsiders."

"You are just too well protected. You don't know anything. You only see the glitz and glamour of the rich and powerful, but you don't know at all that underneath all the splendor, everything is dark!"

"Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about the West Mansion. The story between Baoyu and Grandmother Li Gongcai has been made into a pornographic story. It's a hardcover version with pictures and text, but you little girls don't know about it."

"If you don't believe me, I'll show you a copy later."

Xiren, who was grilling meat nearby, heard this and subconsciously wanted to refute it. But when she raised her eyes, she saw that the person spreading the rumor was her future master. The words came to her lips, but after turning them around a few times, she swallowed them back into her stomach.

One is her former master, and the other is her future lifelong support. Xiren certainly knows how to make a choice.

It would be extremely foolish if, because of a momentary bad mouth, Mr. Rong suspected that he still had feelings for his former master and gave up the concubine he was about to get.

After realizing this, Xiren lowered her head again and continued to grill the meat obediently without saying a word.

But she didn't say anything, and Master Zhan didn't let her go.

When expressing one's position, not speaking means that the position is not clear. How can that be possible?

I only heard Master Zhan say with a smile:
"What Rong Ge'er said is absolutely right."

"Sister Xichun, have you ever wondered why the four maids around Baoyu can no longer be kept?"

"Before, the West Mansion had banned the spread of rumors and drove many people out of the mansion. At that time, Madam Wang also drove many people around Baoyu out of Jiangyunxuan and replaced them with a new group of people. Do you know why?"

"Xiren is here now, you can ask her."

Mr. Zhan is a kind gentleman who never lies, but you can't blame him if others lie.

Xichun didn't believe that Brother Bao would do such a thing as "stealing his sister-in-law". Upon hearing this, she looked at Xiren and asked:
"Xiren, why were you driven out by the Second Wife?"

Xiren's face turned pale and blue, and she was very reluctant to throw dirty water on Baoyu, but even with her head down, she knew that her future master was staring at her with burning eyes. If she did not make her position clear, she was afraid that the matter of being a concubine would be in jeopardy.

With no other options, Xiren lowered her head and said vaguely:
"When the Second Madam came to inspect the rooms that day, she found the pornographic album in Baoyu's room, so she was furious and drove many people out of Jiangyun Pavilion."

"The reason why the four of us were separated and sent away was probably because of this reason."

Before Lady Jia ordered the silence that day, Xichun had also heard those rumors, including the two that "Li Wan raised a younger brother-in-law" and "Baoyu has always liked other people's wives". She just didn't believe them at the time, but now when she thinks about it again, her face turns pale.

All along, she always thought that Second Brother Bao had a pure heart and noble character. He was not moved by worldly fame and fortune, nor did he look down on her because she was a woman. He treated everyone with sincerity regardless of gender, status, and kept himself clean. He did not follow the crowd and was a blue lotus in this mundane world.

But now...

She still felt it was hard to accept, so she continued to ask in a trembling voice:

"That was just looking at pornographic pictures. Is the thing between him and the grandmother true?"

Xiren lowered her head further and further, brushing peppers on the barbecue repeatedly and whispered:
"You know how Master Bao behaves. He loves to throw himself into a woman's arms and eat the rouge on her lips. As for what happened between him and Grandma..."

"It's groundless!"

Following Yue Wumu, Bao Erye also followed in his footsteps and became a victim of "false accusations".

Although Xikou said that it was a false accusation, but looking at her depressed expression and the fact that she was one of Baoyu's four most favored maids, everyone would think that this was probably the truth. However, after all, she was once Baoyu's maid, so it was not convenient for her to say bad things about Baoyu.

Xichun’s face turned pale instantly, she staggered two steps, and fell to the ground.

She was first hit by her nephew's verbal attack, and then shocked by the secrets of Rongguo Mansion. Now she felt that her three views were shattered, and even the hunger in her stomach became much lighter, and the fragrance at the tip of her nose was not so tempting anymore.

Mr. Zhan didn't care about her and just ate and drank to his heart's content. After he had eaten and drunk his fill, he had the grill cleaned up and only left a plate of barbecue in the room to keep Xichun company.

Jia Rong took the appearance fee and went out to sleep with the prostitutes.

Jia Rong was so happy that he could get money just by saying a few nice words to his aunt.

After packing up their things, Youshi and Keqing went back on their own. Master Zhan stayed in Xichun's courtyard tonight.

Xiren asked someone to prepare a bathtub, changed into some light clothes, and went to help Master Zhan take a bath.

Now everyone in the courtyard knows that the eldest lady has promised Xiren to be Master Rong's concubine in the future, so she naturally looks at Xiren differently.

Master Zhan lay in the bathtub, letting Xiren rub his body gently. He looked at Xichun, who was staring at him with eyes wide open, and said with a smile:
"Sister Xichun, if you feel uncomfortable sleeping in the small bed, you are always welcome to sleep on the big bed."

"Your bed is so spacious that even Xiren and I can sleep comfortably. With you in the bed, we can still sleep comfortably."

Seeing how shameless Mr. Zhan was, Xichun cried out in shame and anger:
"shut up!"

"You shameless couple!"

"You have to do so many filthy things in front of me, which makes my eyes dirty!"

Xiren was quite shy at first, but now she has gotten used to it and just turns a deaf ear to Xichun's scolding.

Mr. Zhan cared even less about it and instead regarded it as a kind of interest.

"Sister Xichun, what you said is wrong!"

"The Book of Rites says that food, sex, and love are the greatest desires of human beings." "This is what a saint said, so it can't be wrong."

"Look at you. You don't eat. You think sex is dirty. This is totally wrong!"

"Now, I am trying to make you realize the beauty of these two things and save you from the wrong path, so that you can embark on the road to happiness and joy!"

Xichun was furious, and knew she couldn't win the argument, so she turned her head to the side. Then the two maids behind her reached out, held her head, and turned her head back.

Xichun closed her eyes and began to chant Buddhist scriptures silently in her heart.

Mr. Zhan waved his hand and asked someone to bring the erotic painting that Jia Rong had sent over and handed it to Xiren.

"Come on, Xiren, read the words out loud."

"..."Xiren was stunned for a moment, then obediently reached out to take the erotic album, opened it, and began to read aloud.

"But it is said that among the heavens and myriad worlds, there is a world, and in it there is a dynasty called Qing. Because it was founded by barbarians, rituals and music have collapsed, and men are promiscuous and women are licentious..."

"Wait." Master Zhan suddenly interrupted her, "You don't need to read these brief introductions, just pick out the key points and read the key points!"

Xiren then silently flipped through a few pages, found some "key" paragraphs, and read in a trembling voice with a red face:
"... Jia Sheng reached out to take off Li's clothes, saying, 'Sister-in-law, you and I...'"

"Wait." Master Zhan suddenly interrupted again and ordered: "This plain reading is wrong, you need to express your feelings!"

Xiren coughed dryly, swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva, carefully brewed her emotions, and then continued to read with emotion:
"...Mrs. Li had already... immediately... and then... she... reached out her hand again... and smiled coquettishly..."

Mr. Zhan lay in the bathtub, closed his eyes and enjoyed the gentle female voice audio reading, as if he had opened the Qidian APP again.

Look, who says that we couldn’t enjoy the joy of technology in ancient times?
Nowadays, if Mr. Zhan wants to watch a short video, he will ask the girl group to come for the live broadcast. If he wants to listen to a novel, he will open the Xiren version of the Qidian APP. Except that there are fewer programs, the quality is absolutely excellent. There is no need to worry about censorship and you can expose yourself as you like.

He was enjoying himself here, but Xichun opposite him was finding it increasingly difficult.

She silently repeated in her heart, "emptiness is form, form is emptiness," but her heart could not calm down. The gentle and charming voice of Xiren drilled into her ears bit by bit, making her thoughts involuntarily go astray.

She tried to be sincere and honest several times, but the stories in the book were so alluring that she couldn't help but be led astray.

Moreover, the characters in the book are often very consistent with some people in the Rongguo Mansion in reality, which makes her involuntarily associate them with the real people, and she feels very involved.

As she listened, her breathing became rapid.

They are all young girls at the age of love, who doesn’t have some physiological needs?

But on weekdays, these thoughts are restrained by etiquette and I can only suppress them.

Although what Xiren was reading now was not about talented men and beautiful women, it was even more alluring and made it harder to control herself.

Xichun suddenly opened her eyes and began to breathe heavily.

She didn't dare to keep her eyes closed any longer, otherwise she would be misled by Xiren's voice, and if she continued to let her wild thoughts run wild, she would make a fool of herself.

When I open my eyes like this, although I will still be affected by the strong muscles of Master Zhan in the bathtub opposite, the visual stimulation is much smaller than the psychological stimulation.

What you imagine is the most deadly!
Seeing Xichun open her eyes, Mr. Zhan laughed and stood out of the bathtub naked.

Ho!
This time, the visual stimulation increased tenfold.

Xichun's heart was beating fast and she quickly closed her eyes again. Then Xiren's evil voice piercing her ears came again.

Xichun hurriedly opened her eyes again, but turned her head away. However, the maid behind her would not allow her to do so. She really could not escape or hide, and could only watch Master Zhan hold Xiren in his arms.

This manuscript was written by him, so the content is of course based on reality and is as detailed as possible. Even if it is not non-fiction, it is not far from it and can definitely stand up to verification.

He did whatever Xiren said.

There is no difference at all, it is absolutely a perfect reproduction!
Only then did Xichun know what a real-life porn movie was. She watched it until her mouth was dry and her whole body was hot. But for some reason, her eyes were fixed on Master Zhan's iron frame. She couldn't look away even if she wanted to. She didn't know who else she was immersed in the movie.

Mr. Zhan is so considerate!
Seeing Xichun staring so intently, he was afraid that she couldn't see clearly, so he picked up Xiren, strode to the bed, and placed Xiren next to Xichun!
This is definitely a movie-watching experience that cannot be enjoyed even in the 21st century!
Seeing Master Zhan and his two companions approaching her, Xichun was startled and tried to run away, but her hands and feet were weak and she was gently pushed by the maid and sat back down. She could not escape and could only watch the two of them.

She had not eaten or drunk for many days and was already very weak. She was stimulated so violently that her eyes rolled back and she fainted.

Xiren cried out in surprise when she saw this, and hurriedly asked someone to come forward to rescue him with ginseng soup, but Master Zhan just laughed and said:

"What's the point of ginseng soup?"

"How can you be compared with me, Master?"

"Please get out of the way and watch how I save people!"

Xiren struggled to get up and gave up her seat, and then she saw Xichun slowly waking up.

Master Zhan then took Xiren back and said:
"Good Xiren, you should continue to study, but don't be lazy!"

Xiren immediately picked up the book again and continued to read, panting and pausing:

"...But, but, when the fourth young lady of the Jia family saw the gift, she had an idea in her heart, and wanted it, wanted it..."

Xichun had just woken up when she heard this. Her mind felt numb and she involuntarily stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.

There seems to be something left in the mouth, and it tastes delicious!
The manifestation was that she was even hungrier.

Her gaze involuntarily turned towards the barbecue on the table.

"Gulu..."

As if she smelled the aroma of the barbecue, her stomach started to growl.

The maids nearby had already been attracted by the fierce fight on the scene. They were staring at Master Zhan and Xiren with red faces and ears, and had no time to continue looking at Xichun.

However, Master Zhan was very sharp-eyed and observant, and had long noticed her movements. He immediately pushed a little maid and signaled with his eyes to ask her to bring the barbecue over.

The little girl then realized how inappropriate her previous behavior was. She immediately ran to the table with a blushing face, brought over the plate of barbecue, picked up a piece with chopsticks, and handed it to Xichun's mouth.

After experiencing all this ordeal, Xichun's hard heart softened. She realized that she didn't want to die as much as she had imagined. The so-called chastity and moral integrity were not as important as written in the books. In a daze, she subconsciously opened her mouth and ate the barbecue.

The aroma of the barbecue spread in her mouth, and Xichun could no longer hold it back. She immediately ate up the entire plate of barbecue in big and small mouthfuls.

Xichun knew in her heart that once this opportunity was opened, her hunger strike would fail immediately. But there was no way she could be as shameless as Xiren and be toyed with at will.

As she munched on the food, she swore to herself.

She can eat the meal, but she is determined not to do anything shameful!

Isn’t the man named Zhan known as a kind and virtuous gentleman?

Then let’s see who can’t hold on first!

Mr. Zhan didn't know what Xichun was thinking, nor did he care. The meat would rot in the pot sooner or later anyway, and it would be boring to be impatient.

As a man who knows how to have fun, Mr. Zhan always boils prawns in warm water and makes sure the prawns jump into the pot by themselves.

After the movie ended, Mr. Zhan hugged Xiren and lay down on the big bed, sleeping soundly. He ignored Xichun and let her sleep angrily on the small bed next to him.

In the following days, Master Zhan brought Xiren here every night for live broadcast.

Although no changes could be seen on the surface and Xichun was still as cold as before, information obtained from the maidservant beside Xichun revealed that Xichun changed positions frequently and was obviously not unaware of it.

Mr. Zhan did not expose it. He just treated it as a little fun between him and Xichun. He teased her every night, waiting for the right time to happen.

On this day, Prince Zhongshun sent someone to invite him and told him a good news.

The current emperor has approved the establishment of the Jockey Club. Without the intervention of the government, Prince Zhongshun will take the lead and find some officials and upstarts on the current emperor's side to jointly build this new thing.

This is a great joy!

Zhan Ershisi knew why Prince Zhongshun was looking for him, so he didn't hide anything and said directly:
"Your Highness, this location is easy to find nowadays. I have already selected a site outside the city. I will find someone to level the ground and start construction."

"I have already raised dozens of horses here, so we can set up the earliest batch of horse teams. When other families see the benefits in the future, they will naturally come to participate in the competition. It won't be difficult."

"What is lacking now is supporting businesses and shops."

"On my side, all the shops of the Xue family in the capital can be put in, including inns, teahouses, restaurants, clothing stores, rouge and powder shops, jewelry and jade shops...anything that can be used in this Jockey Club can be settled in."

"But apart from that, there are some important stores that the Xue family dare not participate in, so the prince has to come here to find someone to move in."

"They are mainly gambling houses, pawnshops, and brothels."

"Horse racing tickets must be controlled by the Jockey Club, which is the exclusive business. No other company is allowed to operate them. In addition to horse racing tickets, you can also run some welfare lottery and the like. I will write the details to the prince later."

"As for other regular casinos such as Pai Gow and Mahjong, the Jockey Club will not interfere, but can allow some of its own gambling houses to move in."

"But in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Jockey Club, the gambling house cannot be as rampant as the outside world. There must be rules, and it would be best to set some thresholds to only serve the rich. Those poor people can't even think of entering."

"Ordinary people who want to have a taste of the game can buy horse racing tickets or welfare lottery tickets from the Jockey Club. We can operate internally and come up with some gimmicks to attract a large number of people to enter the market. It is a sure win."

"To prevent gambling houses from becoming too numerous in the future and affecting our own profits, the Jockey Club can issue gambling house licenses within the venue. Those without licenses are not allowed to operate gambling houses within the Jockey Club."

"From now on, we will review it once a year. If someone doesn't follow the rules, we will revoke their license and kick them out."

"This is something that offends people. Ordinary people cannot control the noble families that run gambling houses. Only you, Your Majesty, can find a solution."

"The Zhan family and the Xue family have nothing to do with the gambling business, so as not to attract hatred."

"Since there is a casino, the pawnshop business is also very profitable."

"The Xue family also has a pawnshop in the capital, but they don't move in. The prince finds someone close to him to run this business, and they also operate with a license, and outsiders are not allowed to participate."

"Not to mention brothels. Wherever there is money, there are always women. And it's a business with no capital, pure profit!"

"The Zhan and Xue families only do other business and don't do exclusive business. If we do well, it's our ability. If we lose, we will just consider it bad luck."

Prince Zhongshun was delighted after hearing this and also promised:

"Don't worry, I will definitely be able to attract enough merchants and shops here, and I will definitely not let the horse club be empty."

"I, the Emperor, already know your loyalty. If there is any achievement, your contribution will certainly not be missing."

"You are the most familiar with the overall plan. I suggest that you take the lead in recruiting people and construction. You can make all the decisions on matters such as money and grain."

Zhan Ershicai was unwilling to do this hard work and quickly refused:
"This must never be done!"

"This involves money and grain, which is of vital importance. If it is handed over to me, I am afraid that the families will not accept it. The prince must personally appoint someone in the palace to take charge, so that others will not dare to complain."

"I just need to be an aide to you and give you some advice when something happens."

Prince Zhongshun tried to persuade him for a long time, and seeing that Zhan 24 really did not want to take on such great power, he felt more relieved, so he appointed a steward in the mansion to be in charge of money and grain, and only gave Zhan 24 some small power to recruit and arrange personnel.

Thanks to the book friend "Beiji Ziwei Shengxu" for the reward of 100 coins!
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(End of this chapter)