Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 10 Spread
Seeing that everything was settled, Mrs. Xing didn't want to stay any longer, so she said, "Yan'er is waiting outside. Brother, please talk to her. Auntie won't stay any longer. We must first decide on the shop for you, brother."

Chen Siyuan stood up and said, "Please, Auntie, I'll see you off."

He stood up and escorted Madam Xing and her group out the door. Sure enough, he saw the neatly dressed Liu Yan'er waiting nearby. Madam Xing spoke a few words to Liu Yan'er before quickly leaving. It was approaching evening, and the area was bustling with people. Chen Siyuan exchanged a glance with Liu Yan'er, clearly sensing the woman's resentment. He couldn't say much, so he simply waved, "Never mind. Come in and talk first."

Liu Yan'er agreed and followed Chen Siyuan inside, crying. When Chen Siyuan sent Yunxiang and Xiangling away, Liu Yan'er's face suddenly changed. She gritted her teeth and cursed, "You idiot! You spent all day hunting geese and ended up getting your eyes pecked by them! Once this matter is settled, I'm going to give Xue a good son!"

Chen Siyuan was secretly delighted, but with a look of empathy, he said, "Alas, if you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet. I never thought that Xue Pan would be so vile and reckless... This is in Rongguo Mansion, so you can imagine how rampant this guy was in Jinling back then."

Liu Yan'er looked at Chen Siyuan and squinted her eyes, saying, "Oh, brother, I'm afraid you're still gloating over my misfortune right now. This is really what I want from you!"

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "How can you be so ridiculous? When we agreed on the plan, it was for me to go to the Rongguo Mansion by myself and buy a maid or something. It was you who was worried that I would take the money and run away, so you begged me to follow you. Why are you blaming me now?"

Liu Yan'er gritted her teeth, her anger surging with nowhere to vent. She said bitterly, "Just wait! Sooner or later, the Xue family and the Xue family will be in trouble!"

Chen Siyuan taunted her, "You're just saying it in front of me. Tsk, not everyone can be the concubine of the Xue family. If you ask me, it would be better for you to turn over a new leaf and become the concubine of the Xue family. That way, you can have hope for the rest of your life."

Before Liu Yan'er could lose her temper, Chen Siyuan waved his hand and continued, "Besides, the Xue family is a royal merchant family. Although their foundation cannot compare to the Jia family, their inner strength is not necessarily inferior to the Jia family. Xue Pan is reckless and lacks wisdom. Sister, with a little trickery, it will be easy to control him. When the time comes, find an opportunity to plot against him, and who knows, you may even gain something great."

Chen Siyuan's words moved Liu Yan'er's heart. She thought to herself, Xue Pan is the only son of the Xue family's eldest wife, and the imperial merchant family has fallen into the hands of the Xue family's eldest wife. The family's financial resources are very rich. If he really took away the huge fortune and ran away, then retired from the business world and married a handsome scholar, wouldn't it be wonderful?
After understanding this, Liu Yan'er felt a little relieved and said, "I'm afraid it's not easy for me to leave the house now. From now on, if I want to interact with the outside world, my brother will have to go in person."

"Just rest assured." Chen Siyuan thought to himself, that Hu Mang from the Guazi Sect was fine, he could always deal with him with some tricks, but Sun Guangcheng was a cunning old man, so he had to think of a comprehensive way to get rid of him.

At this time, Liu Yan'er stretched out her hand and looked at Chen Siyuan with burning eyes.

Chen Siyuan shouted, "What?"

Liu Yan'er rolled her eyes and said, "As for a dowry? Since we have a deep bond as master and servant, I'm getting married now, so my brother should give me a dowry."

This was understandable, but Chen Siyuan hated Liu Yan'er's death, so how could he be willing to give her a dowry? After secretly complaining for a while, Chen Siyuan gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, okay, now you're plotting against me. Sister, you're really good at this."

Liu Yan'er snorted, "Whether to give it or not depends entirely on my brother's feelings."

How could Chen Siyuan refuse? This deep affection between master and servant must be maintained. If it were exposed, what would the Xue family, who had suffered a great loss, think?

He cursed inwardly, and finally found two hundred-liang silver notes from his bag. He frowned and said, "I'll deduct these two hundred liang from my sister's share tomorrow."

Liu Yan'er reached out and snatched the banknote, saying with a smile, "We'll talk about it another day."

At this moment, footsteps were heard outside. Yunxiang must have already settled Xiangling. Liu Yan'er suddenly became dramatic, her eyes reddened, and she knelt and kowtowed, saying, "Yan'er will be leaving now. Brother... take care!"

After kowtowed three times, Liu Yan'er stood up, covered her face with her hands, and said goodbye with tears in her eyes.

Xiangling's heart was probably troubled, and seeing this, she couldn't help but have tears in her eyes. She looked at Chen Siyuan again and saw that he was frowning. He looked at Liu Yan'er's back, reached out his hand and opened his mouth, but for a long while, he said nothing. His sorrow turned into a long sigh.

Xiangling wanted to persuade him, but she was stupid and didn't know how to start the conversation.

The maidservant Yunxiang's eyes darted wildly. Although she was slightly disappointed that her new master didn't leave, she was very satisfied to have eaten such a big piece of melon from beginning to end. The only flaw was that the new master had just picked up a pen and wrote a poem, but she couldn't read, so she didn't know what it was about.

No one spoke in the hall for a long while. Chen Siyuan thought, "I can't continue the performance, right?" He looked at the two maids and said, "I'm in a very bad mood right now. You can go down and take care of me."

Yunxiang hurriedly asked, "Master, how are you going to accommodate Sister Xiangling? You always need someone to watch over her at night." Chen Siyuan glanced at Xiangling, their eyes briefly meeting, and Xiangling quickly lowered her head. Chen Siyuan thought, Xue Pan is still drunk, and who knows what trouble he'll cause when he wakes up tomorrow. Now that this silly Xiangling is by his side, how could he let her go?
This girl has a pitiful life experience, and she is a person who goes with the flow and accepts everything. If she really falls into the hands of Xue Pan again, she will probably end up dying.

Because Chen Siyuan said: "Just follow the rules."

Yunxiang agreed and said, "It's almost late, so I'll go get some for you later."

Chen Siyuan responded, stood up and walked towards the eastern end.

Yunxiang pulled Xiangling out of the main room and quickly entered the side room. After they closed the door, Yunxiang said to Xiangling, "Sister Xiangling, I just saw you keep glancing at the poem written on the wall by the master. Could it be that you have read books and can read?"

Xiangling said, "I learned a little from my aunt in my early years, but I can only read a little bit."

Yunxiang clasped her hands together and praised, "Sister, you are really capable!" Then she continued to encourage him, "Then take a look at the poem that Master wrote. Is it good?"

Xiangling suddenly brightened up and said, "Although I can't write poetry, I can tell that yours is very good."

"Really?" Yunxiang pursed her lips. "It's a pity I can't read, so I don't know what the master wrote... Eh? How about you read it to me?"

"Hmm," Xiangling read the poem twice without thinking too much.

Yunxiang, though illiterate, was intelligent. She memorized the poem after just two readings. Her mind was brimming with excitement, and she eagerly stood up and said, "Master, since you write such beautiful poems, maybe you'll pass the imperial examination someday. Sister, you're waiting in the room, and maybe you can become a concubine to the Jinshi master."

Xiangling blushed instantly and tried to defend herself, but Yunxiang had already stood up and walked out: "I'm going to get some snacks for Master first, you can rest now, sister."

After saying that, he disappeared in a flash, leaving Xiangling alone.

But Yunxiang was reciting the poem silently all the way into the East Courtyard, where she was immediately stopped by a nanny.

"Isn't this Yunxiang? What about Mr. Chen? I saw the eldest wife went there just now, but what does she say?"

Yunxiang raised her eyebrows, looked around with her round eyes, and pulled the old woman to a corner and said, "Madam, you don't know that the Xue family has suffered a great loss this time! That Mr. Chen looks kind, but who would have thought that when he really got angry, he could silence the concubine with just a few words.

As soon as the concubine left, Master Chen told me to pack my luggage and then wrote a poem on the wall. Later, when the eldest wife came over and saw it, she was so frightened that she could only offer gentle words of comfort and didn't dare to say a single extra word.

The old woman was amazed and gloated for a moment, then turned to talking about Chen Siyuan, saying, "Your master looks weak and frail, but I think he must be a talented scholar. Who knows, he might pass the imperial examinations and have a bright future."

Yunxiang narrowed her eyes and smiled. "It's hard to say, but my master's poetry is excellent. Ma'am, do you know what my master wrote on the wall?"

"What did you write?"

"Mammy, listen carefully—" Clearing her throat, Yunxiang whispered back the poem. The mammy didn't know many words, but she found the poem catchy and beautiful in Yunxiang's crisp voice. She couldn't help but praise it again after Yunxiang finished.

Yunxiang, a showy girl, said goodbye to the nanny and then turned around to chat with a familiar maid. She had only come to pick up something for later, but the little maid kept gossiping all the way, and it took her half an hour before she finally left, contentedly carrying her lunch box.

Thanks to him, the situation of Chen Siyuan and the Xue family spread throughout the mansion in an instant, and the poem also reached the ears of the masters.

(End of this chapter)