Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 442 A Clever Escape from the Cage
What a wonderful Lin Daiyu! Thinking of her tragic death in the original novel, leaving behind the image of "a jade belt hanging in the forest," Chen Siyuan felt an intense hatred for that good-for-nothing Baoyu!

"Husband?"

Chen Siyuan snapped out of his daze and realized that he had unconsciously gripped Daiyu's shoulder, causing Lin Daiyu to frown slightly.

Chen Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Sister... a girl as intelligent and beautiful as Sister Yun should live a carefree life and not be confined to a secluded mansion."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu smiled playfully and said, "Although I have a wild mind, I still know proper etiquette. My husband, please don't corrupt me!"

Chen Siyuan adored Daiyu's cute appearance and couldn't help but hug her and caress her, which made Daiyu playfully complain before he finally stopped.

To his surprise, when he let go, Daiyu nestled into his arms, a smile playing on her lips. She was always perceptive; how could she not know the tenderness and affection her husband held for her?

Daiyu had already harbored a secret affection for Chen Siyuan, and she was usually the type to repay kindness with kindness. Moreover, the two had not been intimate for several days, so Daiyu couldn't help but draw circles on Chen Siyuan's chest with her hand.

Chen Siyuan felt a strange sensation and was about to tease her when Daiyu sighed softly and said with a smile, "When you were chosen as the third-ranked scholar, I was worried that you would follow in my father's footsteps. Now it seems that I was worrying too much."

"Why are you overthinking it?"

Daiyu teased, "My father is a king who doesn't hesitate to sacrifice himself, but you're someone who only cares about your own enjoyment. Naturally, your future prospects will be worlds apart."

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "I can't compare to my father-in-law."

Daiyu shook her head and said, "On the contrary, I think your personality is the best. It saves me, Second Sister, and Sister Bao from having to worry about you every day."

Chen Siyuan chuckled and said smugly, "I earn my living through my own abilities. Since you can just offer a suggestion, why should I be the one to charge ahead?"

"Yes, yes, yes, my husband is the most cunning."

Chen Siyuan whispered in her ear, "I'm cunning, but my sister isn't cunning, though she is very slippery..."

Daiyu blushed deeply, lightly patted him a few times, and then reached out to pull his ear. Chen Siyuan pretended to be unable to bear it and begged for mercy, but took the opportunity to grope him. So the carriage was filled with chatter and laughter.

At noon, Chen Siyuan returned to Zhuanxiangfang. After seeing off his second sister and Lin sister, he headed towards the East Road Courtyard.

As soon as he entered the main courtyard, he saw Baochai coming to greet him along the covered walkway. Chen Siyuan hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Baochai's soft hand, and led her to the main room, scolding to himself, "Why did you come out to greet me so politely? Have you had lunch yet?"

Baochai smiled and shook her head, saying, "This morning I was playing cards with Xiangling and the others, and we got so caught up in the fun that we forgot the time. Now we're about to have some to eat."

Chen Siyuan knew Baochai's personality all too well. This was just an excuse; in reality, Baochai had been waiting to have dinner with Chen Siyuan.

"You."

They pulled him into the room, where they found a food box on the table in the hall. Ying'er and Wenxing helped the two wash their hands, and the young couple sat down behind the table to eat together.

Young couples don't usually have many rules, so during the meal, Chen Siyuan briefly recounted the situation at the Rongguo Mansion.

When Jia She suffered a stroke, Baochai only expressed a few words of concern. But upon hearing that Jia Zheng had sent a servant to deliver a message, Baochai immediately frowned and said, "Uncle, are you here to ask for money again?"

Chen Siyuan asked in surprise, "Why do you say that?"

There was no point in hiding it, so Baochai said, "My lord, you don't know, but before Second Sister got married, Uncle sent a servant back. I heard from Mother that he took two thousand taels of silver."

Chen Siyuan asked in surprise, "Master doesn't have many people around him, why spend so much money?"

Baochai lowered her voice and said, "Isn't it that Aunt Fu again?"

Baochai recounted in detail that Fu Qiufang had pestered Jia Zheng to pull strings for her brother, Fu Shi, and eventually secured him a position as a prefect.

Shuntian Prefecture was the most virtuous place. The magistrate was a sixth-rank official, and the prefect was a sixth-rank official. According to the system of the Great Shun Dynasty, the officials in the capital were always half a rank higher than the local officials. Being transferred from the magistrate to the prefect seemed like a lateral transfer and a loss, but in reality, it was a transfer from a subordinate official to a full official. The future prospects would be completely different!

Chen Siyuan thought to himself, "Jia Zheng is like an old tree sprouting new buds; he's lost his mind over Fu Qiufang!"
What kind of person is Fu Shi? A sycophant. It's one thing if he's just an assistant official, at least he has to watch his superior's face. But if he were the official in charge of a region, who knows how many misdeeds he would commit.

After discussing this matter, the young couple exchanged a glance, both realizing that the other despised Jia Zheng's actions. They smiled knowingly at each other and made no further mention of Jia Zheng's character.

After lunch, the two relaxed for a while before snuggling together on the daybed.

Baochai was delighted that her husband doted on her so much, but alas, she was powerless to do so. Remembering the rumors she had overheard in the garden that morning, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "If my husband is willing, why not have Ying'er come to serve you tonight?"

"Really?"

Baochai smiled stiffly and said, "Of course it's true."

Chen Siyuan chuckled, reached out and pinched Baochai's nose, saying, "Little jealous girl, how can you say such insincere things with such a straight face?"

Baochai immediately pouted and asked, "How did you figure that out, husband?"

"What do you think?" Chen Siyuan asked instead of answering.

Baochai felt secretly discouraged, then pressed her rosy cheeks against Chen Siyuan's chest and said, "Has my husband ever considered that I am a jealous woman?"

Chen Siyuan said slowly, "I knew it from the beginning... My sister just cares about me too much, that's why she doesn't want to separate me from her family."

In an instant, her almond-shaped eyes flashed with autumn water, and Baochai gave a soft hum in agreement, a smile playing on her lips, as she pressed herself even closer to Chen Siyuan.

In reality, Baochai has many thoughts. First, she is utterly enamored with Chen Siyuan and dislikes sharing his wealth; second, for the sake of the family line, she wants to have a child herself first; and third, Ying'er is a cunning woman. Now that Ying'er has the status of a concubine and can be at Baochai's beck and call, it's hard to guarantee that she won't develop other thoughts after having a child.

As for Ying'er, we must both use her and guard against her. Wenxing is rather shrewd and useless, but unfortunately Chen Siyuan has never given her a second glance, and probably has no intention of getting involved with her.

The young couple spent the afternoon cuddling together, but by nightfall, Baochai realized she couldn't take it anymore and finally sent Chen Siyuan off to find Xiangling.

Silent all night.

The next afternoon, Chen Siyuan was playing chess with Baochai when Ying'er suddenly entered and said, "Master, Vice Minister Liao has sent a letter."

"Oh?" Chen Siyuan put down the chess piece, took the letter, and unfolded it.

After a quick glance, Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "Sister, please put the chessboard away. I'm going to talk to my second sister about something."

Baochai obediently agreed, but inwardly she was quite puzzled.

Chen Siyuan stood up, glanced at Bao Jie, and quickly leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Good news, Sun Shaozu is dead."

Baochai covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise, then laughed and said, "That's good, so Second Sister won't have nightmares again."

Chen Siyuan smiled and nodded, bid farewell to Sister Bao, and quickly walked through the passageway, arriving at the main house of the central courtyard in no time.

Yingchun had just woken up from her nap and was sitting on the bed in a daze. Seeing Chen Siyuan arrive, she quickly slipped on her shoes and got up to greet him.

Chen Siyuan stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder, saying, "We are husband and wife, there's no need for such formalities."

Yingchun smiled and said, "I just heard Xiuju say that my husband and Baochai were playing chess. How come the outcome has been decided?"

"Let's not rush the game; I have some good news to tell Second Sister. Here you go~"

Chen Siyuan smiled and presented the letter. The second young lady was very surprised. After taking the letter and glancing at it, she suddenly breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

The second daughter believed in Taoism but not Buddhism. Taoism emphasizes "revenge is a must, otherwise the mental obstacles will not be cleared." Since Sun Shaozu was her nightmare, the second daughter couldn't wait for him to die and be reborn.

She was slightly pleased for a moment, but fearing that she might displease Chen Siyuan, the second young lady quickly bit her lip and said, "Husband... I feel relieved and secretly delighted at the sight. Am I being too unkind?"

Chen Siyuan lifted Yingchun's chin and laughed, "If you're not virtuous, then what am I, the instigator,?"

"what?"

Seeing that Yingchun was confused, Chen Siyuan pulled her to sit on the edge of the bed and then explained the whole story.

Yingchun's heart softened upon hearing this. She hugged Chen Siyuan tightly while pleading with the Dao Ancestor, asking him to take responsibility for any future transgressions and not to implicate her beloved husband.

Then, without realizing it, she touched her lower abdomen, hoping that this child would be a boy so that the Chen family could continue its lineage as soon as possible. After a while, Yingchun suddenly said, "Husband... Hongyu, Xiuju, and the others don't need to be avoided all the time. The Chen family is small, so it's better to have more children as soon as possible."

Chen Siyuan laughed and said, "How old am I? There's no rush." ​​He paused, then added, "Second sister, are you grateful and always thinking of doing something for me?"

Yingchun nodded shyly.

Chen Siyuan's eyes darted around, and he leaned closer to whisper something in Yingchun's ear, instantly making her cheeks flush. Although it was somewhat absurd and embarrassing, who could blame him for liking it?
Seeing Chen Siyuan staring at her expectantly, the second young lady couldn't bear it and reluctantly agreed.

"As expected?" Chen Siyuan was overjoyed and immediately embraced Yingchun in a very flirtatious manner.

It wasn't until Yingchun reminded him to be mindful of the child that Chen Siyuan reluctantly let go.

When he excitedly returned to the East Courtyard, he was stopped by Baoqin as soon as he passed through the hall.

Before Chen Siyuan could say anything, Baoqin squinted her almond-shaped eyes and said sweetly, "When will Brother Yuan come to my room to stay for a while?"

One night's stay? That book would be reduced to ashes!
Chen Siyuan shuddered and frowned, scolding, "How old are you? Stop talking nonsense."

Baoqin smiled and said, "I know that Brother Yuan cherishes me because I am young..." As she spoke, she naturally took Chen Siyuan's arm and whispered, "...but Xiaoluo and Xiaodian have already come of age."

Thinking of Xiao Luo and Xiao Dian's appearances, which were still three points less attractive than Miao'er and Tiao'er, Chen Siyuan immediately lost all interest. Instead, he reached out and ruffled Baoqin's little head, saying, "Be good, we'll talk about it when you come of age."

Having said that, he walked with his hands behind his back, heading straight for the main room.

Baoqin was dumbfounded. When she came to her senses and tried to chase after him, she saw that Chen Siyuan had already entered the main room. Baoqin couldn't help but pout angrily. After thinking for a moment, she couldn't help but say with a wicked grin, "Does he think Xiaoluo and Xiaodian are not pretty enough? I'll ask my brother to send over a nice-looking maid later!"

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

Leaving aside Chen Siyuan's entanglement with beauties, let's talk about the situation in the Rongguo Mansion.

That day, Baoyu went to the private school for a stroll, and Baochan was summoned to Lady Wang's courtyard. Lady Wang immediately sent Tanxin and Yuchuan away, leaving only Baochan to talk.

After the small talk, Madam Wang suddenly brought up the seven thousand taels of silver and asked, "I've heard... that Musk Moon is always close to Amber?"

Having spent so long by Xia Jingui's side, Baochan was full of cunning. With just a slight mention from Madam Wang, Baochan knew that Madam Wang was eyeing the old lady's private treasury.

Baochan then said, "Madam doesn't know, but Amber is stubborn. Even though she's close to Musk Moon, she rarely speaks more than a few words to her. Amber is completely unyielding and only listens to the old lady's orders. Before, when Second Master Lian pleaded with her several times, Amber just gritted her teeth and refused to agree."

Besides, Musk Moon is also one of the old lady's people... If Madam wants to win over Amber, she'll probably have to find another way.

Madam Wang said, "My child, I'm at my wit's end. If you have any good ideas, just tell me!"

Baochan said, "Second Master Lian has tried to win Amber over several times, but she hasn't paid much attention. This is because Second Master Lian already has many concubines, and Second Madam is ruthless. Everyone knows that Second Master Lian's side is not a good place. But Second Master Bao is different... If things are fait accompli and Madam promises her the position of concubine, I think Amber will definitely be tempted."

Madam Wang remained silent, her brows furrowed in deep thought.

Baochan glanced at Madam Wang and said, "There's only one thing... The whole household knows that Xiren, who serves the Second Master, has caught Madam's eye. Now that we want to win over Amber, we need to give Xiren some explanation."

Yes, Xiren now receives a monthly allowance of two taels of silver, equivalent to that of a concubine. If Lady Wang wants to win over Amber, she would have to personally intervene. To say it so rashly is futile; if Amber thought of Xiren and Baochan, how could she possibly believe Lady Wang's nonsense?

If we want to win over Amber, we might have to deal with Xiren first. But how should we deal with her? Should we just find some excuse and carry out a big show of it? Anyone with eyes to see would probably criticize Madam Wang for being unfaithful and heartless.

Lady Wang frowned and pondered for a while. Xiren was a good person, but now she was not as useful as Amber, and she was not as considerate as Baochan.

Looking back now, I realize I had no choice but to give it up.

Madam Wang made up her mind, but said to his face, "Good child, I will think about this matter."

Baochan bit her lower lip, thinking to herself that such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was right in front of her, how could she easily give it up? She then offered a suggestion: "Xiren is always meticulous in her work, I'm afraid she won't be able to find any mistakes for a while. Why don't you relieve her of her duties and let's wait and see?"

Lady Wang had another plan in mind, so she gave a vague answer. Baochan was unwilling, but had no choice but to leave for the time being.

As soon as she left, Madam Wang called Zhou Rui's wife over and whispered some instructions in her ear.

Zhou Rui's wife received the order and left. In the afternoon, she asked Physician Hu for a packet of medicine powder, and then she went to find an old woman in the main kitchen.

The next day arrived in the blink of an eye. Early in the morning, after answering Baoyu correctly, they went to the Prince of Beijing's residence. Only then did Xiren and Sheyue take the food box and start eating breakfast.

For some reason, after finishing her meal, Xiren felt dizzy and extremely tired.

She struggled to her feet, grabbed a feather duster, and swept the dust around. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and collapsed, clutching her forehead. Luckily, Mushe was quick-witted and caught her, preventing her from hitting the chair.

Seeing that Xiren's face was pale and her forehead was covered in cold sweat, Musk Moon hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? You didn't even stay on night duty yesterday... Could it be that your period is about to start?"

Xi Ren shook her head and said, "The dates are off, I don't know why."

Just then, Baochan, who had been tidying up the bedding, noticed the situation and hurried over to ask with concern, "Sister Xiren, are you having an attack? We can't be careless. Quickly, two of you, help her back to the side room."

Baochan and Xiren had never gotten along, and normally, she would have become suspicious. However, her illness came on so suddenly that she didn't have time to think about such things before being helped back to her side room by two maids.

Once inside the side room, Xiren slept soundly until late afternoon before waking up in a daze. After a while, she felt a splitting headache.

Xi Ren was filled with unease, wondering if she had truly contracted a serious illness.
While she was pondering, she suddenly heard a commotion outside, and then a maidservant said, "Sister Xiren, Aunt Ping has come to see you."

Xiren endured her headache and got up. Just as she was about to step down to greet them, she saw a little maid first lift the cotton curtain, and then Ping'er, dressed in gold and silver, walked in.

Ping'er glanced at him and said, "I heard you were sick, so I came to see you on my way." After a pause, she instructed the little maid, "You go play in the courtyard, I'll say a few words to Xiren and then leave."

The maidservant agreed, pulled down the curtain, and turned to leave.

Ping'er wasn't in a hurry to get to the edge of the kang. Instead, she watched the little maid leave before quickly sitting down on the edge of the kang and pulling Xiren's hand, saying, "Xiren, have you offended someone? Why is the kitchen trying to harm you?"

"what?"

Earlier, because of Jia Lian's pastry incident, Sister Feng and her servants had been extremely attentive to the main kitchen. Even after Sister Feng lost power, she still kept her spies in the main kitchen.

Just as Zhou Rui's wife arrived to instigate the old woman to administer the drug, her spies noticed something amiss and informed Ping'er. Ping'er was startled, fearing that Madam Wang intended to harm her son, and hurriedly searched around.

It wouldn't have mattered if we hadn't investigated, but what we found was baffling... Ping'er really didn't know why Madam Wang would do something so malicious to Xiren!

Yuanyang, Ping'er, and Xiren entered the Rongguo Mansion around the same time, and all of them were head maids. If it were Yuanyang, who disliked Xiren, she would probably have kept quiet. However, Ping'er was kind-hearted, and after thinking it over, she still risked informing Xiren.

Xi Ren felt her headache getting worse and reached out to grab Ping'er, saying, "Good sister, what's going on?"

Ping'er pursed her lips and, seeing that he indeed knew nothing, began to explain what she knew.

Upon hearing this, Xiren felt utterly devastated... Everyone in the household knew that Zhou Rui's wife was Lady Wang's confidante. Now that Zhou Rui's wife had shown her face, it was clear that Lady Wang was about to take action against her.

Whether she felt useless or believed Baochan's slander, Xiren didn't care about the reasons now, only wanting to survive. At this point, the Rongguo Mansion was no longer a place to stay, and she would escape as soon as possible, even if it meant losing half her life.

Despite her headache, Xiren grasped Ping'er's hand and cried, "Good sister, Madam can't tolerate me anymore. I have no other request but to ask you to fetch the imperial physician for me."

Ping'er was about to refuse, but she couldn't bear to say it. Seeing her tearful appearance, she finally sighed and nodded.

Without delay, Ping'er got up to fetch the imperial physician, while Xiren struggled to her feet and rummaged through her trunk to find a small porcelain bottle. She uncorked it and, trembling, poured out three jet-black pills. Xiren gritted her teeth and, with a determined heart, swallowed all three pills!

After swallowing the medicine, Xiren hid the porcelain bottle and then lay back down on the kang (heated brick bed). In her dazed state, she didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly heard a commotion outside.

Then Baochan said, "It's just temporary fatigue, why call the imperial physician? Tsk, she is indeed a noble person, we can't compare."

Musk Moon said, "I think Xi Ren isn't quite right. It would be good to have the imperial physician take a look."

As soon as she finished speaking, the curtain was lifted, and Musk Moon's expression changed drastically after just one glance. She covered her mouth and exclaimed in shock, "Oh no! Xi Ren is bleeding!"

(End of this chapter)