Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 13 Godbrother Baochai
Early in the morning.

Magpies were chirping and the rustling sounds of sweeping came from the courtyard.

Chen Siyuan suddenly woke up, feeling a tingling sensation on the right side of his arm. Turning around, he saw Xiangling, like a cat, curled up in his arms, one hand resting on his chest, her right leg pressed against his abdomen.

Chen Siyuan endured the numbness and smiled, thinking to himself that this girl was indeed a happy-go-lucky person. She was so awkward sleeping even though she had just arrived. Then he thought, maybe she really believed that he was a good person, so she was no longer restrained and defenseless?
After traveling through time, I only remembered bits and pieces of my past life, except for this Red Mansion, which I remembered clearly. Thinking about it this way, could it be that in my past life I fell in love with the charming and beautiful women in this Red Mansion, and in the end, thousands of beauties cried and mourned with me?
After this trip, I can't end up with "a vast expanse of white and clean" as usual, right?

As Chen Siyuan pondered, his arms twitched slightly, and Xiangling in his arms suddenly woke up. She glanced at Chen Siyuan in confusion, and when she saw his face clearly, Xiangling suddenly cried out "Ah!" and climbed up. Her pretty face seemed to be covered with a red cloth, and she stammered, "Master... I... How could I have fallen asleep?"

Chen Siyuan pretended to frown and swung his arms, saying, "It's still the same. Half of my body is sore and numb because you've been squeezing it. Stop talking about other things and massage me first."

Xiangling agreed hurriedly, and when Chen Siyuan sat up, she quickly stretched out a pair of white hands to massage him.

The numb half of his body recovered slightly. Seeing Xiangling's sullen expression, especially the fiery red dot between her eyebrows, Chen Siyuan looked at the sky outside and asked, "What time is it?"

Xiangling glanced back and said, "It's probably past mid-morning. After I help you wash up, I'll go to the kitchen and get you breakfast."

"No hurry." After a pause, Chen Siyuan said, "Come back early after you get it. Go find a nanny to rub the hair off your face."

"Ah?" Xiangling exclaimed in surprise.

Squeezing out facial hair is also called "opening the face". This is what a personal maid would do after being taken into the master's room.

Although she was naive, she had long seen Xue Pan and his maids having affairs, so she was quite familiar with human affairs. Xiangling blinked and couldn't help but think to herself, it seemed like they had only slept next to each other yesterday, without any physical contact, so why was she so angry?

Chen Siyuan pondered and said, "That Xue Pan is a scoundrel. I'm sure he'll be unhappy and there might be more trouble."

I was afraid that Uncle Xue would snatch it away again.

Xiangling couldn't help but feel a small surge of delight. She glanced at Chen Siyuan, his handsome features stirring in her heart. She was about the same age as Chen Siyuan, and her heart was already budding. In the past few years at the Xue family, she'd been drawn to filthy men like Xue Pan, and she'd been completely absorbed in the idea of ​​following her husband wherever he went, never once thinking of anything else.

Now, if she follows Chen Siyuan, Mr. Xue is far superior to him in terms of appearance and character alone, and he treats her very well, so Xiangling can't help but feel excited.

Xiangling murmured a response and said casually, "Is Master feeling better?"

"I've lost a lot of blood, but I feel even more numb and sore."

"Then I'll knead it some more."

Xiangling said no more, but she would secretly glance at Chen Siyuan from time to time.

It would have been fine once or twice, but when he glanced at her again, Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "Why are you always looking at me?"

Xiangling chuckled and said, "Master's smile isn't as aggressive anymore. It seems to embody the saying 'the beauty of the clouds and the rhythm of the moon.'"

Chen Siyuan laughed heartily. Having lived two lives, how could he not understand a girl's feelings when seeing this? He reached out and lightly tapped the rouge between Xiangling's eyebrows with his index finger, saying, "How you were born depends entirely on your parents, not me. I'm feeling much better now. I'm really hungry now."

Xiangling stopped, stood up and said, "Then I will help you wash up."

"Ah."

............................................................

Lixiangyuan.

Liu Yan'er was lying on the table, sobbing, with a bright red slap mark on her left cheek. Baochai sat nearby, whispering soothing words.

In the hall, Xue Pan was barefoot, his undershirt open, revealing a palm-sized patch of pubic hair. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were glaring, his eyes brimming with anger.
"Why?" Xue Pan hummed. "Mom, I had a huge fight with Feng over Xiangling. We were supposed to take her in a few years ago, but Mom stopped us, saying the time wasn't right. Now the time has come, and the duck that was about to be mouthed flew away. Why?"

"You—bastard!"

Xue Pan stiffened his neck and said, "That Chen guy is just a distant relative. Our family has been connected to the Jia family for generations. I just stole a maid. The worst that can happen is that I have to pay him a hundred or eighty taels of silver. How can I use Xiangling to pay off the debt? I can't understand it!"

Aunt Xue was so angry that she was shaking all over. She pointed at Xue Pan and said, "You evil creature, if you hadn't caused trouble everywhere, why would I have to bow my head and beg for mercy? Now that we can't stay in Jinling anymore, are you going to make it so that we can't even stay in the capital!"

Xue Pan choked and said, "What Mom said doesn't even make sense. How does it connect?"

Aunt Xue was about to scold her again when she heard Baochai say, "Mother, why don't I talk it over with my brother?"

Aunt Xue knew that she was getting into a tangle with her silly son in her anger, and since Baochai was always clever and good at reasoning, she simply stood up and pointed at Xue Pan and said, "Listen carefully to what your sister says. If you act like a donkey again, you'll have to watch your back!"

With that, Aunt Xue led Tongxi and Tonggui, and had Ying'er help Liu Yan'er out. Only Baochai and Xue Pan were left inside. The foolish Xue feared nothing except his sister, who was calm and collected but spoke with such stern words. Seeing Baochai's glance coming towards him, Xue Pan uncomfortably gathered his inner garments. When Ying'er brought him his outer garment and shoes, he quickly put them on. Then, standing there, he muttered, "What are you going to say, sister?"

Baochai sighed, "Brother, please sit down and talk."

Xue Pan sat down reluctantly, and could not help thinking of Xiangling again. He said, "Xiangling has become more and more promising in the past two years. That Chen guy might have done something bad to her last night. How hateful!"

At this moment, Baochai whispered, "Brother, you know, there are countless nobles in Jinling City. Not to mention others, the Zhen family alone is much stronger than our Xue family. But why do outsiders only mention the four great families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue?"

Xue Pan said, "What's the big deal? Our four families have been related by marriage for generations, and we stand together and support each other. Therefore, we are called four families, but in reality we are one."

"Brother, you're right."

"hey-hey……"

Before Xue Pan could say anything else, Baochai continued, "Brother, you've been educated since childhood. Do you know the saying 'Attacking the city is inferior, attacking the heart is superior'?"

“I vaguely remember.”

"Brother, do you know the reason?"

Xue Pan blinked and said, "That's not a problem for me. Let's not talk about Nanjing. Just the outer city of the capital is 40 to 50 feet high and 70 to 80 feet wide. There are countless soldiers stationed inside. If we really want to attack it, I'm afraid even if we fill it with tens of thousands of people, we still can't take it down."

Baochai smiled and said, "They say that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Brother has indeed made great progress."

Xue Pan smiled innocently and said, "As you learn more, you will definitely gain something. Why are you talking about this, sister?"

Baochai suppressed her smile and said, "Take the capital as an example. The Ming and Yuan dynasties conquered it with ease. Taizu, the pseudo-Qing dynasty, and Taizong all conquered the capital three times without bloodshed. Brother, do you know why?"

"I haven't read about the Yuan Dynasty, but I do know a thing or two about the former Ming Dynasty. It seems people's hearts were broken, and all the civil and military officials only wanted to surrender, with no desire to resist at all."

Baochai nodded and said, "Brother, you hit the nail on the head." After a pause, she looked deeply and said, "The four great families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue are like the capital city, with its walls high and steep. As long as the four families are united, even the strongest wolves outside will have their teeth broken if they want to take us down.

"So naturally, the jackal dared not act rashly. So he devised another plan, trying to split the four families apart so he could defeat them one by one."

Xue Pan said bewilderedly, "Sister, you are talking nonsense again. Mother and the concubine are sisters, and the Wang family is headed by my uncle. The Shi family also has many contacts with us. How can they not be united? I think you are worrying too much."

Baochai sighed and glanced at Xue Pan, her eyes filled with pity, but more so with self-pity. The four families worked together? Perhaps that was the case before the current emperor ascended the throne, but ever since the current emperor ascended the throne and casually threw away a piece of meat and bone, the four families have each had their own thoughts.

When the old Duke of the Jia family was alive, he was known as Jia Banchao. This was because Dukes Ning and Rong had made great military achievements, and half of the generals in the army were the personal soldiers of Dukes Ning and Rong.

When the current emperor ascended the throne, Wang Xifeng's father, Wang Zizhen, who was then serving as a minister, retired. However, her uncle, Wang Ziteng, stepped forward and took over the post of governor of the Beijing camp. The four families, believing Wang Ziteng to be one of their own, were determined to protect them. However, not long after Wang Ziteng took office, he turned his knife on the Jia family's personal guards in the Beijing camp.

After the Jia family's personal soldiers were completely wiped out, Wang Ziteng was transferred to the post of Governor of Nine Provinces. In name, he was inspecting the nine borders, but in reality, he was still clearing out the Jia family's personal soldiers. It can be said that Wang Ziteng's bright red official robe was stained red with the blood of the Jia family's personal soldiers.

Because of his uncle's behavior, not only the Jia family, but even Wang Xifeng's father, Wang Zizhen from the Wang family's eldest branch, had quarreled with him several times. Now they were even more embarrassed and could not have any contact with each other.

Even the Wang family is in chaos, how can the four major families in Jinling be united?
Moreover, in the case that Xue Pan faced that day, at most, Xue Pan allowed his slave to commit the crime, and he had never committed the crime himself. He could have just handed over a slave who pretended to be powerful to the government office and the case would have been settled. But who knew that a letter from his uncle Wang Ziteng would completely confirm the case and force the Xue family to flee to the capital.

It was also on the way that they came to their senses and made some calculations. Fearing that Wang Ziteng would wipe out their entire family, they sacrificed their dignity and sought shelter under the roof of the Jia family.

The past flashed before her eyes like fleeting images. Baochai said, "If I were really overthinking, why would our family have fled to the capital? With my uncle's ability, it would only take a word to save my brother from the lawsuit."

"what?"

Seeing Xue Pan's ignorance, Baochai sighed and said, "Brother, things are different now... Moreover, the capital is the emperor's home and the best place. If things really get out of hand, even if your uncle really wants to, he won't be able to save you. When the case in Jinling is brought to light, I'm afraid—"

Baochai didn’t say what she was afraid of.

Xue Pan's brow furrowed in shock. He blinked, then suddenly slammed the table and said, "That's not right. If that's the case, we can't let Xiangling go! Others may only know the whole story, but Xiangling knows everything clearly from beginning to end."

Baochai glanced at him angrily and said, "The Jinling case is just a louse on a bald man's head. Anyone interested would have known about it long ago. Why would Xiangling need to tell him to leave?" She stood up and paced a few steps, then turned away and said quietly, "Brother, just know that we are now staying at the Jia family. If the Jia family is safe, your past misdeeds will be nothing. If the Jia family collapses..."

As she spoke, Baochai turned around and looked at Xue Pan with a burning gaze, emphasizing each word: "...When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?"

　The deeper the love, the more severe the criticism. This book describes a different Baochai, probably the one imagined by fans of the drama.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)