Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 5 Seeking Justice
Although Chen Siyuan couldn't remember everything from his past life clearly, he could only vaguely recall the book "Dream of Red Mansions". So when Chen Siyuan saw the scene in the distance clearly, and saw the man holding Liu Yan'er, who was about twenty years old and had a rough build, he immediately had some guesses in his mind.

Because he couldn't help but think to himself, just now he was still thinking about how to get rid of these people from the Thousand Gates. Otherwise, it would be like a bomb buried next to him, and he didn't know when it would explode, which was not good after all... Unexpectedly, now he had an opportunity! At that moment, he was secretly delighted, but pretended to be panicked on the surface. He hurriedly took a few steps and shouted tremblingly, "You... who are you? Why are you stopping Yan'er? Let go!"

Xue Pan just glanced back and then pulled Liu Yan'er towards Lixiangyuan. The brothers Jia Rong and Jia Qiang looked at each other, and without waiting for Chen Siyuan to come forward, they stepped forward from the left and right to stop them.

Jia Rong said with a smile, "But Uncle Yuan is here? After all, we are relatives. Your nephew Jia Rong lives in the East Mansion." He raised his chin towards Jia Qiang and said, "This is Brother Qiang. We two brothers should both call him Uncle Yuan."

Chen Siyuan was still struggling forward, calling out "Yan'er!" "Let Yan'er go!" But he was thinking to himself, "So those are Jia Rong and Jia Qiang, those two rotten fish and shrimps. The one who's hanging around with them, and who looks so rough, must be Xue Pan, the one holding Liu Yan'er."

Sure enough, Jia Rong, who had stopped Chen Siyuan, pointed at Xue Pan with his folding fan and said, "He is also a relative of our family, a descendant of Ziwei Sheren. Uncle Yuan might also call him Brother Pan."

At this time, Jia Qiang continued, "Well... Uncle Pan drank a few more cups, please forgive me, Uncle Yuan."

Jia Rong said, "Haha, Uncle Pan is a true man. He took a liking to Uncle Yuan's maid at first sight. It is said that a gentleman helps others to achieve their goals. I think Uncle Yuan should fulfill Uncle Pan's wish and give this maid to Uncle Pan."

Chen Siyuan was startled, then shook his head repeatedly: "No, no..."

Jia Qiangquan said, "Why not? She's just a maid, how much can she be worth?"

"That's right," Jia Rong said, suddenly realizing, "it's not right for relatives to talk about money all the time. I think it would be better if Uncle Pan could compensate Uncle Yuan with a maid when he sobers up tomorrow. That's right, since we've just met today, we brothers feel that Uncle Yuan is so kind and friendly, and we feel like we've known each other for a long time. Brother Qiang, why don't you invite Uncle Yuan to chat with you?"

Jia Qiang pushed Chen Siyuan toward the courtyard. Chen Siyuan's heart was filled with joy, and he shouted eagerly, but his body retreated smoothly, and in a moment he was back inside the courtyard. Then he pretended to stumble, cried out in surprise, and retreated several steps, falling backwards.

Chen Siyuan's face was filled with anger. He pointed at the two people in front of him and said, "You, you are going too far!"

Jia Rong stood at the door and sneered, tilting his head and saying to Jia Qiang, "Brother Qiang, it seems that Uncle Yuan doesn't appreciate his kindness."

Jia Qiang said with a smile, "Perhaps he's a little awkward since he's just arrived? I think we brothers should come back tomorrow to chat with Uncle Yuan."

"Ah, Brother Qiang is right. It seems we brothers were reckless just now." He nodded as he spoke, and said with a forced smile, "In that case, Uncle Yuan, please rest for now. I will come to visit you another day."

With that, the two brothers sped off. When Chen Siyuan finally found his way out, he could find no sign of Xue Pan and Liu Yan'er. He caught a glimpse of two women watching over them, and Chen Siyuan couldn't help but jump up and down, shouting, "What a sin! Where is justice? Where is the law?"

He took a quick step, but soon realized that his clothes were dirty, so he quickly turned back into the courtyard. Once inside, he suddenly walked leisurely, with a smile on his face.

Having suffered such humiliation upon entering the Jia residence, she naturally had to file a complaint, but she had to wait until the matter was settled. Her step-aunt, Lady Xing, was a selfless person who only cared about harming others and not benefiting herself, and Aunt Xue was Lady Wang's sister, so upon hearing about such a thing, she would inevitably humiliate herself in front of Lady Jia.

Maybe I can get some benefits from this in the future... Even if there are no benefits, it is good to get rid of Liu Yan'er who is following me day and night.

After entering the hall, finding her bag and changing into moon-white clothes, she came out from the east room and saw a very pretty little maidservant about ten years old, holding a bag and standing in front of the door with a pouting face and looking angry.

When she caught sight of Chen Siyuan, the maid was slightly surprised. The anger on her face faded a little, and she gave a curt bow, stood up and said, "Greetings, Master Yuan."

Is this a maid arranged by the mansion? Ping'er just said that she would arrange two people to come, so why is there only one here now?
Chen Siyuan asked knowingly, "Who are you?" The little maid replied crisply, "I was sent here by the Second Madam. My name is Yunxiang."

"Yunxiang?" Chen Siyuan frowned in thought, but for a moment he couldn't remember who Yunxiang was. Come to think of it, Dream of the Red Chamber was a massive novel, with countless famous characters. It was a good thing Chen Siyuan could remember the golden hairpins in both the main and supplementary volumes, so how could he possibly remember a little maid like this?

Chen Siyuan nodded and said, "Since you were sent by my second sister-in-law, please find a wing room for me to stay in first. I have something else to do right now, so I need to go talk to my aunt."

Yunxiang responded, looked around, and couldn't help but wonder, "Didn't they say that Master Yuan had a sister with him? Why is she nowhere to be seen?"

Chen Siyuan frowned and sighed, then left without saying anything, leaving the little maid Yunxiang behind.

Seeing Chen Siyuan disappear, Yunxiang wrinkled her nose and snorted softly, "If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me. Who are you trying to scare with that expression?"

After a quick glance around, Yunxiang carried her bag into the west wing. She dropped it, threw herself down on the kang, and said in a distressed voice, "It's true that when you sit at home, disaster strikes. I was serving Master Bao for no reason, and how could I be sent away? Yes, that vixen Qingwen must have been gossiping in front of Master Bao again!"

Let's not talk about the maid Yunxiang's complaints, but rather Chen Siyuan rushed all the way, bypassing Mengpo Zhai and arriving at the corner gate in a flash, where he was stopped by a daughter-in-law who said that this corner gate didn't allow outsiders to pass. Chen Siyuan argued with her, and the daughter-in-law said, "If you want to go to the east wing, why not exit through the back door and go around through the private alley between the east and west mansions? That would be more convenient for both of us. Otherwise, I would have to report to the mistress before she would let me pass."

Chen Siyuan secretly complained about the many rules and regulations of the Rongguo Mansion. He turned around and circled back, following the daughter-in-law's instructions. He finally reached the black oil gate in front. After speaking to the doorman, he immediately waited in front of the ceremonial gate.

This so-called ceremonial gate, in small and medium-sized households, is the so-called second gate... That's right, the second gate that you can't go out of the main gate or step out of. This gate separates the inside and the outside, and servants and outsiders are not allowed to enter without permission.

When Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, was about to come out, he saw Chen Siyuan and said, "Brother, have you had your meal yet? The mistress is waiting on the old lady now."

Chen Siyuan said anxiously: "Ah? What should I do..."

Wang Shanbao's wife asked curiously, "Brother Yuan...did something happen to him?"

Chen Siyuan said with red eyes: "Yan'er has been kidnapped. Please, Ma'am, save Yan'er!"

Wang Shanbao was shocked and said, "It's broad daylight... Could it be that Yan'er has left the house?"

Chen Siyuan said, "No, he was forcibly taken away from the mansion! Please go and talk to my aunt quickly, I'm afraid it will be too late... I'm afraid it will be..."

Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, was even more puzzled and asked, "Brother, you are talking nonsense. Where did this powerful man come from?"

"It's Xue Pan from the Xue family."

Wang Shanbao blinked, thinking to herself, "If it were anyone else, it'd be hard to say, but who was that Xue Pan? He was known as the Dumb and Powerful King, and had once been involved in a murder case in Nanjing, so he and his family had come to the Rongguo Mansion to escape the calamity. Such a scoundrel, after consuming half a pound of cat urine, what absurd things could he not do?"
Then he thought, this matter must be reported to the eldest wife as soon as possible - the Xue family and Madam Wang are in cahoots, and they have been making the eldest wife lose face in front of the old lady for the past two years. If anything, this time, the Xue family and the wife will also be embarrassed!
Having made up his mind, Wang Shanbao said with a stern face, "Ridiculous! The Xue family has bullied me! Don't worry, I'll go find Madam right away and seek justice for you!"

(End of this chapter)