Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 39 The wind blows

Since Feng Jieer asked this, Chen Siyuan naturally told the truth. At the end of his speech, Chen Siyuan pondered, "I was far away at the time, and I only vaguely heard Qiang'er mumbling 'Ke'er Ke'er'. Could it be one of the maids in the mansion?"

Wang Xifeng's face froze. As Qin Keqing's close friend, she naturally knew her nickname. The East and West Mansions were only separated by a private alley, so how could all the rumors about Ningguo Mansion not reach Sister Feng'er's ears?

Wang Xifeng's face was frosty, and she gritted her teeth. In her heart, she cursed Jia Qiang bitterly. She said casually, "Yes, she seems to be a little maid serving in the back."

After saying this, she raised her eyes and met Chen Siyuan's gaze, only to see his stern gaze fixed upon her. Wang Xifeng was a shrewd and ruthless person, so how could she not know that what Chen Siyuan had just said was a deliberate cover-up?
He then mused, "Brother Yuan, this is such a mess..."

Chen Siyuan hurriedly said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. I'm not the kind of person who gossips."

Wang Xifeng breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced around and saw that the carriage had already arrived in front of the Rongguo Mansion. She said, "It's inconvenient to go around at night. I'll have Ping'er take Brother Yuan to the back. Oh, there's no need for Brother Yuan to supervise tomorrow. Just wait for him to come back in three or five days."

Chen Siyuan thanked him in a deep voice.

The carriage entered the Rongguo Mansion, and Wang Xifeng, accompanied by her maid, went to the back. Ping'er, holding a lantern, led Chen Siyuan through the corner gate, Mengpo Pavilion, and the alley, and accompanied him all the way to the front of the courtyard before returning.

Entering the courtyard, Yunxiang and Hongyu heard the noise and came out from the side room to greet him. Chen Siyuan was in a very good mood at this time. He glanced at the sullen little maid Yunxiang and said, "The weather is getting colder. Why are you still wearing so little?"

Without giving Yunxiang a chance to reply, Chen Siyuan ordered, "Hongyu, take the money tomorrow and buy two sets of clothes for everyone."

Yunxiang had been feeling down after being scolded by Hongyu, but upon hearing what Chen Siyuan said, she suddenly became elated. She bowed and said, "Thank you for your consideration, sir!"

Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "You have done your best, so I can't treat you badly. I don't need you to serve me anymore, so go back and rest."

Chen Siyuan stepped into the main room. Xiangling greeted him at the door with a gentle look in her eyes. Her face turned red when their eyes met.

"uncle."

Chen Siyuan went over and pulled Xiangling's hand, saying, "Is your arm still sore?"

Xiangling was so embarrassed that she covered her pretty face with a whimper and turned away. Chen Siyuan laughed heartily, teased her a little, and then let her go.

Silent all night.

The next day, at noon, Chen Siyuan went to the stables to get his horse. Just as he was leaving the mansion, he ran into Xue Pan. He was riding with a few servants, and his face froze when he saw Chen Siyuan.

Thinking of what his sister Baochai said, Xue Pan bowed awkwardly and said, "So it's my distant brother."

Chen Siyuan frowned slightly and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Big Brother Xue."

Xue Pan scratched his head and said, "Well... there's a big business deal coming to us, and I really can't wait any longer. I'll be with you for now, and we'll talk again tomorrow."

"Oh, then please go first, Brother Xue."

After watching Xue Pan leave, Chen Siyuan finally mounted his horse and headed straight for the outer city. After more than an hour, Chen Siyuan arrived at Bajiao Hutong and, seeing no one around, knocked on the door.

After knocking on the door for a long time, no one answered. A neighbor heard the noise and poked his head out to ask, "Sir, are you looking for someone?"

"That's right," the neighbor said, "You're a little late, sir. The two people who rented this room a few days ago gave up their lease and left."

Gone? Even if Sun Guangcheng stayed at the Zhejiang Guild Hall, there should have been someone left to handle transportation, right? Why did that Hu Mang guy go with him?

Puzzled, he mounted his horse and headed back. Just as he left the alley, he heard a loud cough from a burned-out shop on the side of the road. Chen Siyuan turned his head to see who the man was, if not Hu Mang.
Chen Siyuan remained calm and continued riding forward, finding a secluded alley and entering it. After waiting for a while, he saw Hu Mang coming towards him.

When the two met, Hu Mang said with a cold face, "Why did you come so late? Why didn't I see you yesterday?"

Chen Siyuan sneered, "You think the Rongguo Mansion is yours, so you can come and go as you please? The master assigned me an errand. I was busy all day yesterday, and I'm just free today."

Hu Mang snorted coldly and said, "Old Sun has entered the Zhejiang Guild Hall and has made quite a splash. I'll send you a message this afternoon."

Chen Siyuan pondered, "Is it the same old routine again?"

Hu Mang said in a muffled voice, "Why ask so many questions? You'll know the answer when you meet Master Sun tomorrow."

After explaining everything clearly, Hu Mang did not stay any longer. He glared at Chen Siyuan, then hurriedly passed by him and walked away.

Chen Siyuan gritted his teeth. He was now completely on his own, and there was no one to keep him under surveillance. If this continued, he would be the prey on the chopping block sooner or later. Then he thought again, he wondered where those three heroes were now. If they had just left the capital, wouldn't all his previous friendships have been in vain?
Before noon that day, he returned to his own courtyard. With nothing to do, he simply accompanied Xiangling to read.

Sure enough, at about 3 p.m., a maid came to the door and said that an invitation had been sent from the front.

Chen Siyuan took the invitation and knew it was from Sun Guangcheng at a glance. Seeing the woman's inquiring face, Chen Siyuan said nothing more, just smiled and said, "So it's an old friend."

He then called Hongyu, gave the old woman a hundred coins, and leisurely returned to his room. Chen Siyuan unfolded the invitation, which was mostly filled with polite words, and finally invited him to the Zhejiang Guild Hall for a chat the day after tomorrow.

Putting down the letter, Chen Siyuan thought about how he would have to tell the maid Yunxiang about this. This girl was like a megaphone, and she would spread everything she heard, big or small.

While he was thinking, Yunxiang called out from outside, "Master, Aunt Qu is here to deliver another letter."

Why are you here again? Do you really need to send two invitations?

Chen Siyuan came out from inside with a puzzled look, and thanked Aunt Qu. After receiving the letter and reading it, he was immediately delighted!
The person who delivered the letter was none other than the person he had been thinking about, Ma Panlong!
Chen Siyuan suppressed his excitement and asked Madam Qu, "Is the messenger here?"

Aunt Qu said, "Tell Master Yuan that he is waiting at the gatehouse."

Chen Siyuan raised the letter and laughed out loud, "A few days ago, I met a few heroes who killed the enemy and served their country. We only met once, but who knew we would meet again today."

He immediately strode out with the letter in his hand, and in a moment reached the front of Rongguo Mansion. Sure enough, he saw Ma Panlong, who had delivered the letter, in the gatehouse at the corner gate.

Ma Panlong was sitting awkwardly in the gatehouse. When he saw Chen Siyuan, he quickly stood up and bowed, "Mr. Chen!"

Chen Siyuan laughed heartily, stepped forward, shook his hands, and said, "I thought Brother Ma had run into trouble and left the capital. Why did you only come to see me after all this time?"

Ma Panlong had spent a long while wandering around the Rongguo Mansion before mustering the courage to deliver the letter. He was filled with anxiety as he waited. He had only heard of the Jia family's wealth, but he had no idea they were this wealthy! Now, seeing Chen Siyuan as warm and welcoming as ever, his heart warmed. Then, blushing with embarrassment, he said, "This... To be honest, we had originally planned to wait until the escort agency was open before inviting Master Chen to come. Who knew things would go awry right after we got started?"

(End of this chapter)