Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 3 Such a Distant Relative
Qin Xian's wife did not mention going back to report the news. Ping'er led people to supervise it personally. It was not until nearly 3:00 that the house was tidied up. Then she hurried to the east wing to report.

Hearing that the house had been cleaned up, Madam Xing pretended to go and see him off in person, but Chen Siyuan said, "It would have been a bother to you, aunt, but how dare you come and see him off now? You've been tired all day, so you should rest soon. I will go by myself."

Mrs. Xing agreed and told Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, "Madam, take Brother Yuan and settle him down."

Wang Shanbao agreed, and everyone followed Ping'er out. They exited through the blackened gate and entered the mansion through the corner door. After a long, winding path, they arrived at a neighborhood near the back street. Ping'er said, "Brother Yuan, look, this is the place."

Chen Siyuan took a closer look and saw that the house was just one entrance with a door in the middle. There were two side rooms on each side, and a main room with three rooms in the middle. Even though it had just been swept, it still looked dilapidated.

Ping'er smiled and said, "The tiles in the east corner of the main house are a little short. I've asked someone to note it and they'll fix it tomorrow. It's inevitable that things won't be done properly in such a hurry. If there's anything missing or lacking tomorrow, just send someone to let me know."

Chen Siyuan hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you for your help, Miss Ping."

Perhaps it was because of Chen Siyuan's rosy lips and white teeth, and his handsome appearance, that Ping'er smiled and said, "You don't deserve the word 'trouble'. I'm just a maidservant by the Second Madam's side. Isn't that what I should do?"

Chen Siyuan remained silent on the surface, but secretly resented it. Ping'er spoke humbly, but in fact, it was not easy for her to become Feng Lazi's maid.

Ping'er then gave some instructions and took the two maids to leave. Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, who was taking advantage of her age, was also given some warnings and refused to leave. Chen Siyuan understood what was going on and winked at the maid Liu Yan'er. Liu Yan'er glared at him and then reluctantly took out a piece of silver from her purse. She smiled and handed it to Wang Shanbao, saying, "Madam, you are the concubine's companion. We are new here and don't know the rules of the mansion. We will need your help in the future. This money will be used for a drink with you. I hope you will take good care of it."

Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, was so happy to receive the silver that he burst into laughter and said, "Oh, what are you talking about?"

After some push and pull, Wang Shanbao accepted it and said with a smile, "Don't worry, my dear. Madam is the wife of the principal wife after all, so she will always have the final say. You can live in the mansion with peace of mind. In three to five years, when my dear has made a career, our madam will have done her duty as a concubine."

Chen Siyuan nodded repeatedly, thanked Wang Shanbao profusely, and cautiously sent her out the door. Seeing Wang Shanbao turning the corner from a distance, Chen Siyuan and the maid Liu Yaner looked at each other, and the two of them closed the door together and walked towards the main room together.

The main house had three rooms, the eastern one being the study, but the antique shelf was empty, save for a few newly brought-in vases. Liu Yan'er entered the room and went to the eastern one, touching and glancing at the vases.

Chen Siyuan lost his previous cautiousness and casually pulled a chair to sit down. He looked towards the western end of the room and saw a bunk bed inside and a warm room with a kang by the window. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the maid Liu Yan'er put down the vase with a pout, saying disdainfully, "I thought the Rongguo Mansion was incredibly wealthy, but it turns out several of the vase are from the current dynasty, and one is even from a private kiln! Even if I sold them all, how much would they be worth?"

Chen Siyuan turned around and said with a smile, "All those nice things are in the master's room. How can they be placed here? Go see where the water room is and get some water to serve."

Liu Yan'er's eyebrows shot up, and she walked closer with gritted teeth, but she sat down, crossed her legs, and squinted her eyes. "Oh, you've been the master for a few days, don't you think you are the master?" Chen Siyuan pointed around and said with a smile, "It's hard to say outside the Rongguo Mansion, but if you don't want to fail, you are a maid in the Rongguo Mansion, and I am the master."

"You—" Liu Yan'er gnashed her teeth in anger. Suddenly, she suddenly smiled charmingly, "Since you've given me the order, I'll serve you."

As he stood up and walked out, Chen Siyuan gave another instruction: "There are many rules in the Rongguo Mansion, and we have to take care of everything. Yan'er, don't be reluctant to spend money."

Liu Yan'er paused, turned around and said with a smile, "You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your child. Don't worry about this matter, brother."

After Liu Yan'er left, Chen Siyuan put away his smile and began to ponder. He wasn't supposed to be here. He vaguely remembered that in a past life, he'd been working in marketing, and things had been going smoothly. But then, he'd been laid off, and his life had suddenly become extremely difficult. He'd been forced to work as a rider.

One day, when the road was slippery and dark, he fell and lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was a beggar outside Yangzhou City. A few years ago, he met an old man on the road and was adopted by him. He taught him a lot of skills and he became a legitimate successor of the "Quezimen" school.

What is the Que Gate? Que means missing. At that time, transportation was difficult, and officials had long journeys to take up their posts. The people of the Que Gate were bold and cunning. Upon receiving any information, they would impersonate officials or the sons of nobles, either taking office immediately and extorting the officials, or blackmailing lower-level officials. Once they succeeded, they would flee thousands of miles away, making them virtually impossible to guard against.

Two months ago, his master passed away. Chen Siyuan had just buried him when an old friend of his master came to visit him, claiming he had received a great opportunity and that immense wealth and prosperity were within his reach. This was partly due to instigation and partly due to coercion, which led Chen Siyuan to pretend to be Madam Xing's nephew and seek refuge with him.

That's right, Liu Yan'er wasn't a proper maid, but rather a member of the Yan Sect, one of the Thousand Sects. Yan Tongyan, to put it bluntly, was a honey trap, a honey trap, and a fire trap. Rather than a maid, it was more like she was brought in to monitor him.

Chen Siyuan and his companions entered the Rongguo Mansion with the assistance of two others: Sun Guangcheng, a master from the Pingzi School, who had appeared out of nowhere, and Hu Mang, a master from the Guazi School, who looked like a pill seller. The former was in charge of the overall situation, while the latter provided the threat of force.

On his way to the capital, Chen Siyuan searched for an opportunity, but the guards were too strict and he could not escape. As soon as he entered the Rongguo Mansion, Chen Siyuan vaguely recalled his past life, and slowly remembered that this place seemed like "Dream of the Red Chamber".
The more he thought about it, the more it matched, causing Chen Siyuan's mind to become confused. He couldn't help but think to himself that no matter what, the Rongguo Mansion was a powerful force at the moment, and if he wanted to find an opportunity to clean up his name, it would have to be the Jia family.

As the old saying goes, "Don't watch the thief eat the meat, don't watch the thief get beaten." These days, there's no such thing as "justice." Especially if you offend a wealthy family, you might be killed before you even have a chance to appear in court.

Chen Siyuan's master had been exposed and had his back broken, leading to his death on his sickbed. Furthermore, in those days, everything was inferior except for education, and Chen Siyuan, fed up with being treated as inferior, began to think about finding a better life for himself.

However, Liu Yan'er, Sun Guangcheng, Hu Mang and others are well aware of my background, and their intentions are not good. If I really know my background, I will be questioned by them again... I have to find a way to get rid of these people.

While he was thinking, he suddenly heard a noise outside. Chen Siyuan withdrew his thoughts and thought about it. Liu Yan'er had been gone for two quarters of an hour and had not come back yet. Could it be that she was unfamiliar with the place and got into trouble?
She stood up, straightened her clothes, and walked out. As she walked out the door, she looked up and saw a group of people gathered at the corner of the archery path. A pretty face inside was looking around anxiously. Suddenly, she caught sight of Chen Siyuan and shouted hurriedly, "Brother Yuan, save me!"

(End of this chapter)