The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 84 Pushing the envelope
"did you see it?"

"You followed her around all day long, treating her like your own mother, and what happened?"

"Now you understand, people don't take you seriously at all. You are just a joke in their eyes!"

When Aunt Zhao heard that Tanchun had left, she hurried to her daughter's courtyard to find out what had happened, and then pointed at Tanchun and started scolding her.

Tanchun looked gloomy, she sat there with her head down, not saying a word.

Seeing her daughter like this, Aunt Zhao felt distressed. She thought that it was Madam Wang who was behind it, so she ran to find her husband angrily, wanting her husband to support her. When she came back, she was depressed.

"Hey, how did this happen? Why did Mr. Zhan get along with Prince Zhongshun?"

Aunt Zhao's skills were all focused on men, and when Jia Zheng became useless, all her abilities were wasted.

Just as he was sitting there, Musk Moon came in with the news that Miss Baochai had arrived.

Aunt Zhao hurriedly invited him in, "After all, she is a god-relative. Let's see what she has to say."

After Baochai came in, she was surprised to see Aunt Zhao there, so she felt awkward to speak.

She was originally ordered to come and give Tanchun some chicken soup. Although Tanchun was smart, she was locked up in a deep courtyard and had little experience, so she was relatively easy to fool. But Aunt Zhao was over 30 years old, and she might not be so easily fooled.

She quickly changed her strategy in her mind, but remained calm and went over to greet him first.

Aunt Zhao was now anxious and didn't care about etiquette. She hurriedly pulled her up and asked:
"Baochai also heard the news and came here specially?"

"Now that Mr. Zhan has violated a taboo, this marriage may not be possible. What do you think?"

Baochai glanced at Tanchun first. Although Tanchun was sitting aside, her eyes were full of anticipation. It was obvious that she was reluctant to ruin this good marriage.

This attitude is very good. As long as you are unwilling to give up, it will be easy to fall into the trap!

However, Aunt Zhao's attitude is rather ambiguous. Judging from her tone, she is probably not optimistic about Mr. Zhan's future.

It seems that I have to convince Aunt Zhao first.

She immediately waved her hand to let Sheyue and other maids go out, and when there were only three people in the room, she smiled and said:
"What can a woman like me understand about the things between men?"

"Everyone is saying that Master Zhan may not have a good future, but why do I see people from these two mansions rushing to curry favor with him?"

"If it weren't for the old lady's order, I'm afraid that half of the people in this mansion would rely on Master Zhan for their livelihood."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao indeed began to hesitate. The reason why she felt that Master Zhan was not a good enough was entirely because Jia Zheng said so and she believed it. However, the fact that people around her were admiring Master Zhan was also an objective reality. She herself also knew about the recent events in the two mansions, and there was no falsehood in her words.

Baochai smiled again and said:
"This king, that king, I'm not a local in Beijing, so I don't understand. Could it be that the Prince of Beijing is more powerful than the Prince of Zhongshun?"

"Even if Prince Beijing doesn't think highly of Master Zhan, won't Master Zhan still try to curry favor with Prince Zhongshun?"

"I heard that Prince Zhongshun is the emperor's younger brother. Could it be that this prince with a different surname is more powerful than the prince with the same surname?"

After hearing this, Aunt Zhao became more and more worried and was no longer sure about her previous opinion.

Baochai continued to instigate:
"Actually, there's no point in talking here. I heard that Auntie's brother is now working for Master Zhan. Why don't we just call him over and ask him?"

"Yeah, how could I have forgotten about this!"

Aunt Zhao immediately slapped her thigh and asked someone to go out and tell Zhao Guoji to come over to meet her in the evening.

Zhao Guoji was quite capable and was a relative of his family, so Mr. Zhan placed him at the construction site of the Jockey Club.

Before this, many people in the mansion gave gifts to Aunt Zhao, hoping to use Zhao Guoji's relationship to get a job, which made him very proud for a few days.

Now, because of Lady Jia's ban, he will definitely no longer be sought after. It is easy to imagine where he will stand.

Aunt Zhao soon realized this and said hesitantly:

"He is just a small leader, how can he know those big things?"

Baochai then said:
"If he doesn't know, we are just ladies in the boudoir, how can we know what the future will be like?"

"If the Zhan family really declines in the future, there is nothing to say. I can't let sister Tanchun jump into the fire pit."

"But if the Zhan family does not decline in the future, and Miss Tanchun has cut off all ties with us because of these rumors, what will Master Zhan think?"

"When that day comes, even if my family wants to push for Sister Tanchun, we won't be able to open our mouths."

"In my opinion, we should continue to maintain contact between the two families. After all, we are already relatives and have not violated any etiquette. What's wrong with just daily interactions?"

"Who knows how things will develop in the future? Maybe after some time, the two masters will reconcile again?"

"We are just women, so what if we do something short-sighted?"

Both of them were very excited by these words, but the only thing they were worried about was Jia Zheng's attitude.

Aunt Zhao said worriedly:

"But my master has already said clearly that the third girl is not allowed to have any contact with Master Zhan. If the master finds out, then..."

"That depends on your decision." Baochai said calmly, "If we can't date openly, can't we date in secret?"

As she spoke, Baochai glanced at Tanchun. Seeing this, Tanchun knew that she could no longer hide anything, so she told her everything about the secret meeting place outside the mansion.

When Aunt Zhao heard that her daughter had secretly done such a big thing without telling anyone, and even lost her two maids, Shishu and Cui Mo, to Master Zhan, her face immediately changed, and she pointed at Tanchun's nose, jumped to her feet and started cursing.

"Confused!"

"You little girl, when you encounter such a thing, why don't you discuss it with me, an old lady!"

Tanchun knew she was in the wrong, so she blushed and lowered her head in silence, but she heard Aunt Zhao continue to scold:
"What's the point of sending two maids?"

"Then Master Zhan needs two maids from you?"

"Since there is such an opportunity, you should offer yourself to me and make it a done deal!"

"If you had done this earlier, I would have told the master, and with the Xue family's help, your marriage would have been settled long ago. Why would it have been delayed until now and made the master change his mind?"

Tanchun originally thought that Aunt Zhao disliked her for secretly meeting with her lover and being too shameless, but she didn't know that Aunt Zhao was quite experienced in these matters and didn't care about shame at all. It was obvious that she disliked her for walking too slowly. Her face turned red with shame and she protested:

"Aunt, please don't talk nonsense. Brother Zhan and I act out of love and courtesy. How could we do such an rude and shameful thing?"

"What's polite or not?"

"Which family is missing again?"

Seeing that her daughter still didn't understand, Aunt Zhao jumped up in anger.

"I shouldn't have taught you to read in the first place. You've been fooled by that corrupt teacher."

"Even if you do something shameful, what can we do? Will we, who know about it, spread it?"

"If no one knows about this kind of thing, it won't be shameful!"

"I'm telling you, you can't say everything, but you have to do everything."

"You can either stay at home and let the master and mistress make the arrangements, or since they have already met outside, you should just get things done as quickly as possible so that the master and mistress have no choice but to agree."

"What you did was insignificant. You only sent two maids over. What good did that do?"

"The master is your biological father after all. If something like this happens, is it possible that he won't help you cover it up?"

"Now that the two families are at odds, it's too late to do anything."

"Alas..." Aunt Zhao shook her handkerchief and sighed, "You usually pretend to be smart, but in fact you are a fool and can't tell the difference between the important and the unimportant!"

Although these words were harsh to hear, they made more and more sense the more she listened to them, and Tanchun was suddenly silenced.

Baochai, who was standing by, looked at Aunt Zhao in a different light after hearing what she heard, but she knew very well that this plan would not work at all. Master Zhan would not eat Sanchun without knowing the truth!

If Tanchun really acted like Aunt Zhao, Master Zhan would definitely behave like a kind and gentleman, and no matter how she seduced him, she would still be like Liu Xiahui.

Well...but it's limited to not eating it. As for the fancy things like hands, mouth, and feet, they are absolutely indispensable.

Don’t ask Baochai why she knows!
Seeing that Tanchun had fallen silent and Aunt Zhao was grumbling about her daughter's sulking, Baochai quickly interrupted:
"If you ask me, this is my fault."

"These were all my random ideas, but I didn't expect there would be so many loopholes, which hurt Shishu and Cuimo's health in vain."

When she told Baochai her original idea, Aunt Zhao couldn't get angry with Baochai, so she said in a low voice:
"You two are in different situations."

"You are engaged, so of course you have to hold on to the last hurdle."

"But the most important thing for Tanchun is to find a way to tie up Master Zhan and make this marriage agreement."

"Alas, it's because you two little girls have no experience in matters between men and women that you acted so recklessly."

"If you have any ideas in the future, please remember to tell me first. After all, I have lived a few more years than you have, so I can think things through more carefully."

Baochai thanked Aunt Zhao and asked:
"So, are we going to continue this private meeting in the future?"

Aunt Zhao frowned and thought carefully for a long time, finally gritted her teeth and said:
"Do!"

“Of course we have to keep doing it!”

"But we must keep it a secret within the mansion and not let anyone know."

She actually still had some selfish thoughts in her heart.

Recently, her beloved son Jia Huan goes out early and comes back late every day. From time to time, he picks up a book and recites it with his head shaking. She doesn't know how much progress he has made compared to before, which makes her overjoyed.

She didn't expect her son to surpass Baoyu or pass the imperial examination, but she would certainly be happier if he could achieve some success.

But all these changes came from Master Zhan. If the relationship between the two sides was terminated abruptly, what would happen if Master Zhan took his anger out on his son?
Of course, her daughter is the flesh and blood that fell from her belly, but her son is her true treasure.

So even for Jia Huan's sake, she could not sever the relationship between the two families.

Anyway... my daughter didn't lose her virginity, so it's not a loss, right?
Seeing that Aunt Zhao had made up her mind, Baochai and Tanchun agreed. Aunt Zhao was afraid that her daughter would give herself away in a moment of impulse, so she reminded her again:

"The situation is still unclear. When we meet in private in the future, you can only let Mr. Zhan take advantage of you verbally and physically, but you cannot give your body to him."

After hearing this, Tanchun blushed and said in protest:

"Brother Zhan has always been polite to his daughter and has never done anything that is beyond the rules."

Aunt Zhao snorted coldly:
"Humph, men are all the same, they are the best at deceiving women!"

"You may seem smart and rational, but you are a woman after all. If you are fooled by sweet words, how can you still be rational?"

"You are too young and ignorant. Just remember my instructions and don't be alone." "As long as there is someone by your side at all times, even if he goes berserk, you have a substitute to protect you."

Seeing that Aunt Zhao's words were becoming more and more outrageous, Tanchun could not help but start arguing with her again.

Baochai hurriedly tried to stop the fight. Aunt Zhao glared at her ungrateful daughter and repeatedly reminded the two of some important points. Only then did the three of them disperse.

Soon, the news that Master Zhan stayed overnight in Master She's courtyard reached Tanchun's ears. Tanchun, who was already depressed, became even more sad and upset. She hurriedly asked someone to find out whether the two had committed adultery or not.

Soon the news came back that it was Qiu Wen who slept with Master Zhan.

After hearing the news, Tanchun immediately cheered up.

Sister Yingchun only sent one maid, but our family has already sent two.

She felt more and more that what her own mother said was right. As long as the person who offered herself to her was not a young lady who was engaged to be married, no matter how many maids she gave to him, it would not have the final say.

Now that the news of the feud between the two families has spread, in order to avoid misunderstanding from Brother Zhan, she decided to make her attitude clear as soon as possible and maintain the relationship. So she immediately sent someone to send a message to Baochai, asking her to find time to go out of the house for an outing.

But when Master Zhan woke up the next day, he hugged Qiu Wen and did some morning exercises before asking someone to bring in the bathtub.

As soon as the door opened, Siqi brought in the bathtub and then took people to make the bed.

Looking at Qiu Wen, whose face was filled with satisfaction and laziness as she lay on the bed, all the maids were extremely envious.

There are so many maids in the mansion, how come she, an outsider, gets to take advantage first?
Feeling the envy and jealousy in everyone's eyes, Qiu Wen felt proud. She struggled to get up with a smile on her face. She didn't care about the soreness in her body. She washed herself casually, put on a thin shirt, got out of bed and helped Master Zhan take a bath.

Bah, what a vixen!
When everyone saw that she was only wearing one piece of clothing, it was the same as if she was wearing nothing at all. They couldn't help but secretly despise her, but they silently learned from her and waited for a chance to try it out in the future.

After Mr. Zhan finished his bath, he came out of the tub, took some green salt and brushed his teeth, then went out to say goodbye to Jia She, but saw Yingchun standing at the door, her pretty face flushed, but her eyes only dared to stare at her toes.

Zhan Ershisi smiled and asked:

"Did Sister Yingchun have a good rest last night?"

Yingchun's face turned even redder. She didn't dare to say that she had had an erotic dream. She just nodded randomly and replied in a low voice:

"I slept well last night, thank you for your concern, brother Zhan."

Zhan Ershisi smiled, took her hand and walked towards the front yard.

Now that the hostility between the four kings and eight dukes' families has been revealed, the attitude of the Rongguo Mansion has become crucial. Naturally, he does not mind making a clear gesture of goodwill to Master She and giving him reassurance.

Anyway, Baochai is still alive, so even if Jia She wants to get married, he can't do it so quickly.

Yingchun was unaware of all this mess. There was only one voice shouting in her head.

"Brother Zhan held my hand, Brother Zhan held my hand..."

This was different from last night when my thighs were touched under the table. This happened in public, with everyone in the yard watching!
I have to say, people who talk less are often introverted.

Under the table where no one was watching, Yingchun dared to let Brother Zhan touch her thighs at will, and was afraid that Brother Zhan's touch was not comfortable enough. But now under the eyes of everyone, she became timid instead.

Zhan Ershida walked in front with big strides, Yingchun was holding the hand and following in small steps behind. From a distance, she looked like a young wife.

When Jia She and his wife saw the two of them like this, they immediately smiled with joy. They didn't feel at all that their daughter was being molested by a man. Instead, the more the mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, the happier she was.

Zhan Ershisi loosened his hand and stepped forward to bow and ask for his leave. Jia She did not try to keep him, but just laughed and said:

"Haha... Nian Si, come sit here more often when you have nothing to do."

"Don't worry, the Rongguo Mansion will always support you. You don't need to pay attention to the second brother's thoughts."

The two chatted and laughed for a while, and then Jia She asked Yingchun to see Zhan Ershi off.

The two of them walked out of the door one after the other, and walked slowly towards the outside of the yard. Just as Siqi and her maids were about to catch up, they were stopped by Qiu Wen.

"They are a young couple who want to talk about their true feelings, why are you following them?"

After what happened last night, Qiu Wen is no longer the same person she used to be, so Si Qi had to give her some face. She snorted coldly, turned her head away, and did not follow her anymore.

Qiu Wen knew that Siqi was jealous, so she just smiled and didn't say much.

Si Qi was very tall and strong, and Qiu Wen never considered her a competitor. Now she was only thinking about how to make this marriage happen as soon as possible so that she could marry him as a maid.

Master Zhan took Yingchun out of the door, looked around, and saw that it was a very secluded place with no one around, so he hugged Yingchun in his arms and bent down to kiss her.

Yingchun felt a sudden "boom" in her mind, as if there was a big explosion. Everything went blank in an instant and she didn't know how to react.

Master Zhan kissed Yingchun until her whole body was burning and her cheeks were flushed before he let her go.

When I looked down again, I saw that Yingchun's soul had flown into the sky and had not returned yet.

Master Zhan chuckled, put his lips close to Yingchun's ear, and whispered:

"Good sister, you and Qiu Wen should learn how to serve the master. The next time we meet, the master will test you."

Yingchun's body softened and she fell into Master Zhan's arms.

Mr. Zhan lowered his head again and ate to his heart's content.

Hearing footsteps in the distance, Master Zhan let Yingchun go, said goodbye with a smile, and left.

Yingchun stood there weakly, staring at Master Zhan's receding back, her little face rosy and extremely attractive.

Just as he was lost in thought, a nasty person suddenly appeared nearby and shouted from a distance:
"Good sister, Qiu Wen is here with you, please help me call her and tell her I'm looking for her."

When Yingchun came to her senses, she saw Jia Baoyu running towards her, panting, and she couldn't help feeling a little unhappy.

Ever since Qiu Wen came to her side, Baoyu has often come to see her. She didn't think it was a big deal before, but now Qiu Wen has been taken in by Brother Zhan, and she can't let her have any connection with Baoyu anymore.

However, she was weak in character and did not want to say harsh words, so she turned around and went back to the courtyard. She only told Qiu Wen that she would sleep with her at night from now on, but she did not mention a word about Baoyu coming to see her.

Poor Baoyu waited outside the courtyard for half an hour, but Qiu Wen didn't come out. He thought that Qiu Wen was also angry with him, so he had to leave in disappointment.

As for Mr. Zhan, as soon as he returned home, he received the message from Baochai. Knowing the attitudes of Aunt Zhao and Tanchun, he happily asked someone to send a message to Baochai, asking her to make an appointment to meet them.

Mr. Zhan first took another walk around the construction site, secretly called out those of his own people who were secretly monitoring the quality of the project, and took stock of the people who had gone too far, and made them an example of him, ordering them to pay back the money and start over.

Anyway, he and Jia Zheng have already fallen out, so if the people in Rongguo Mansion have any dissatisfaction, they can just resent Jia Zheng.

After a round of inspection, he went off work and went to the villa to have a massage while humming a little tune.

As soon as we entered the courtyard, Tanchun came out with her attendants, saying apologetically:

"Brother Zhan, what the master said before was just what he said impulsively in anger. It cannot be counted. Please don't take those words to heart."

Mr. Zhan said very considerately:
"What did you say, sister?"

"There are only some minor disagreements between my uncle and I. Once we talk it out, things will go back to the old ways. My dear sister, don't take it to heart."

"It's just hard for you, my dear sister. You must be very embarrassed to be caught between the two of us, right?"

"If it's inconvenient for my sister, let's stop having these private meetings in the future!"

When Tanchun heard this, she was delighted at first, and her eyes lit up with joy. But when she heard that Mr. Zhan wanted to stop the secret meeting, her heart skipped a beat. She thought that he still had some resentment in his heart, so she hurriedly stepped forward and expressed her opinion:

"Brother Zhan, please don't talk like that!"

"Originally, this time, my family broke our promise first and let Brother Zhan down. If I don't make amends, I won't be able to enter the Zhan family in the future."

Baochai also came up from behind and joined in:
"Now that things have come to this, we'd better talk it out, to avoid misunderstandings and embarrassment in the future."

"I'm afraid my illness is incurable. I intend to let my adopted sister Tanchun marry into the Zhan family instead of me and become their new wife..."

As Baochai spoke, she took Tanchun's hand and placed it in Mr. Zhan's palm.

Feeling the scorching heat on Master Zhan's big hand, Tanchun subconsciously wanted to retract her hand, but she knew that this was a critical moment and she couldn't retreat, so she forced herself to hold it back. Not only did she not retreat, she also clasped Master Zhan's five fingers with her backhand and crossed her ten fingers to hold it tightly.

Little did she know that with Baochai as the traitor, Master Zhan had already figured out her bottom line, and this time he was going to push her even further.

Before Baochai could finish, Master Zhan interrupted her:

"What is Baochai talking about?"

"I have asked people to look for a suitable medicine in the south. If you give me some time, I will surely be able to prepare a new Lengxiang Pill to cure Baochai's illness."

"Baochai and I are in love, and she is so virtuous, how can I marry someone else?"

Baochai sighed and said:

"Medicine cannot cure fatal diseases. If this medicine is so easy to obtain, my family wouldn't have taken so many years to prepare just a little bit."

"If my illness is really cured, then of course it would be great. Naturally, I would not randomly match you up with someone else and force Sister Tanchun to marry you. But... there is always a chance of something happening. It is better to be more prepared than to rush after something happens."

As she spoke, she reached out her hand again, pushed Tanchun from behind, and pushed her directly into Mr. Zhan's arms, continuing:

"If you really want me to feel at ease, then get along well with Sister Tanchun, so that I won't be thinking about it all day and my condition will get worse."

Mr. Zhan had no choice but to raise Tanchun's hand, swear, and sigh:
"Well, well, well, I'll promise you now. If you are really unfortunate in the future, I will marry Sister Tanchun."

After finishing speaking, Master Zhan looked at Baochai with an expression that he couldn't do anything to her, and asked:
"Are you satisfied this time?"

When Baochai saw this, she smiled and pursed her lips and said:
"You are speaking so reluctantly. Are you dissatisfied with Sister Tanchun?"

"What's there to be dissatisfied about?" Mr. Zhan started to cry out, "Sister Tanchun is so generous and sophisticated, she is just like you, Baochai, I can't tell how satisfied I am!"

"If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you!"

Having said that, Mr. Zhan lowered his head and kissed Tanchun on the mouth to prove it with his heart.

Tanchun subconsciously wanted to push him out, but when she had pushed him halfway, she couldn't bear to do so, so she opened her arms again, hugged him back, and started to study hard with her mouth.

Mr. Zhan was now like Tang Monk's meat, so delicious that Tanchun wanted two more after taking one bite, and wanted a third after taking two bites. As she was eating, she felt a heat on her chest and a big hand came in without her knowing.

Tanchun's eyes suddenly widened, and she wanted to push him away, but her body was soft, and the hands that were pressing on Master Zhan's chest had no strength at all.

Fortunately, Baochai was still nearby. When she saw Tanchun wake up, she stepped forward and pushed Master Zhan away, saying angrily:
"Who asked you to prove it like this?"

"Go away, if you really want to prove it, you can slowly prove it to Tanchun later when I'm not around. Don't do this in front of me!"

Master Zhan chuckled and went straight to the backyard. Lvliu waved to Shishu and Cuimo, who were already blushing and their hearts were beating fast, and followed them over.

Next comes the overtime time. I won’t go into the details, you can just go to a nightclub and try it yourself and you will find out.

Thanks to "Book Friend 20221224193125557" for the reward of 200 coins!
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(End of this chapter)