Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 8: A Passionate and Diligent Care

Before Chen Siyuan could finish, Aunt Xue laughed and said, "Brother Yuan, it's really ungentlemanly to address me like that. Why not just call me Auntie, like Baoyu does?"

Chen Siyuan was now thinking, thinking to himself that the previous loss had already been suffered, and the benefits were just around the corner, so it was only right for him to take advantage of the situation now.

But... if I just keep silent like this, even if Xue Pan can bully me today, who knows, anyone can bully me in the future.

The servants in the Rongguo Mansion all had eyes for wealth and status, eyes that seemed to be growing on the top of their heads. As a distant relative with no power and influence, I was already unwelcome. If I continued to endure this, I could only imagine what my future would hold!
Chen Siyuan said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid you don't know, Madam. I was born in Yangzhou. My family isn't rich, but it's better than most. Unfortunately, my mother died young, and my stepmother bullied me because I was young. She kept me fed and clothed me, and was extremely harsh. After my father passed away, she even framed me and kicked me out of the house."

Yan'er has taken care of me since I was a child. If it weren't for her constant support and care, I'm afraid I wouldn't be alive today."

"This... Brother Yuan'er's words make sense, but things have already happened..."

Chen Siyuan waved his hand and said solemnly: "Madam, please listen to me! I am also grateful for Yan'er's protection. I have vowed that if I have any future, I will not let her down!
Even if Xiangling has a hundred good qualities, how can she compare to Yan'er in my heart? Ha——"

Chen Siyuan laughed bitterly and said, "Yan'er is right. Kind people are often bullied, and kind horses are often ridden. In this world, if you don't ruthlessly hit him and make him bleed, I'm afraid no one will look at you with respect! Madam, take him back. Tomorrow I will go to ask my aunt for justice! If my aunt is in trouble, I will go to the old lady! If the old lady is in trouble, then I will go to Shuntian Mansion!"

Those powerful words scared Aunt Xue!
She had been trying to make things right overnight, hoping to minimize a major issue and make a minor one disappear altogether. If this really became a major uproar, how would the Xue family be able to continue to deny it? If it really came to a point where it ended up in court, not only would their reputation be ruined, but the fact that Xue Pan had faked his own death would also be exposed!
Aunt Xue was so frightened that she quickly stood up and said, "Why would Brother Yuan do this? We are all relatives, we can discuss everything!"

Chen Siyuan sneered, "Discuss? Did Xue Pan discuss this with me when he abducted Yan'er? This humble room is shabby, and I'm new here, so I won't entertain any concubines. Yunxiang, wait for me to see you off!"

Yunxiang, the maidservant beside him, was frightened by Chen Siyuan's sudden outburst and her heart was pounding. Upon hearing this, she quickly agreed with a trembling voice, walked to Aunt Xue, and whispered, "Aunt... Aunt, please."

“This…this…ah!”

Aunt Xue blushed with embarrassment and tried to argue a little, but Chen Siyuan looked determined. She thought the boy was being stubborn and wouldn't listen to anything she said.

Aunt Xue couldn't help but regret it. If she had known this would happen, she should have gone to talk to Madam Xing first. With the help of an elder like Madam Xing, the situation wouldn't have reached the current stalemate.

As the saying goes, 'It's never too late to mend'. There's no point in saying more now. It would be better to go and ask Madam Xing to plead for her. No matter how much benefit she has to give up, she must first appease this stubborn Chen Siyuan.

Having made up her mind, Aunt Xue sighed, stood up, and left with her two maids, Tongxi and Tonggui. Xiangling, carrying her bundle, hesitated for a moment, thinking that her kowtow had been in vain, and then followed Aunt Xue out.

Arriving in the courtyard, Aunt Xue paused briefly, glancing at Chen Siyuan, who was sitting in the dim hall, and then at Xiangling, who looked bewildered. After some thought, she said, "Since I have given you to Yuan'er, from now on you will stay with Yuan'er and there is no need to return to Lixiangyuan."

Xiangling was puzzled and didn't know what to do, but she had always been submissive. Seeing Aunt Xue's instructions, she could only respond with a "yes" and stood still in the middle of the courtyard.

Aunt Xue and her group left in a hurry. The little maid Yunxiang turned around, glanced at Xiangling who was standing in the yard, and quickly walked inside to answer.

"Master, the concubine has left."

Chen Siyuan responded, thinking about putting on a complete show. Aunt Xue might go to ask Madam Xing for help, so he had to create momentum before Madam Xing came.

Chen Siyuan frowned and ordered, "Go to the east room and find the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in the bag!"

"Oh." Yunxiang responded without daring to breathe. She took light steps and went to the east room to find the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and started to grind them.

Suddenly, Chen Siyuan picked up his pen and thought for a moment before writing directly on the snow-white wall:
I would spend a fortune to buy a precious sword.

It is a great honor to exchange a sable fur for wine.

A heart full of passion and diligence,
When it is scattered, it can still turn into blue waves.

After finishing his writing, he threw down his pen, stood with his hands behind his back, sighed, and said, "Yunxiang."

"Master?" Yunxiang hurried forward.

Chen Siyuan hesitated and said, "I'll have to trouble you to pack my luggage... I'm afraid I can't stay in Rongguo Mansion any longer."

"Ah?" Yunxiang was shocked, but then she was overjoyed! She had previously thought that Mr. Chen was a weak and easy-to-appease person, but his powerful words just now made Yunxiang realize that she was wrong. This man usually looked good-tempered, but when he really got angry, he was so reckless!
She didn't even give the concubine any face, and seeing how determined she was now, I'm afraid she wouldn't give the eldest and old wives any face either! How could a little maid like her offend such a bold person?

Let's go, it's better to go, at least I can go back to Master Bao... Master Bao is only twelve now, maybe in a few years, after he lets a few of the maids go, I will have a chance to move into the house.

Thinking of this, Yunxiang agreed and hurried to the east end to pack her bags.

Without going into details about the situation here, it is said that Aunt Xue left the small courtyard and was going to the east wing to ask Mrs. Xing for help in pleading for her. However, when she passed by Lixiang Courtyard, she felt uneasy and went in to ask Baochai for advice.

Mother and daughter sat side by side. Aunt Xue, frowning, recounted the story. Then she said, "I think Mr. Chen is really furious. I'm afraid this matter won't be easy to resolve. I'll go and speak to the eldest lady. My son, do you have any other ideas?"

Baochai was distressed by this, but she also understood why Chen Siyuan was so angry. He had lost his mother at a young age, his stepmother was harsh, his biological father ignored him, and only the maidservant around him was protective of him. How could this relationship between master and servant be ordinary?
If I put myself in their shoes, I would probably be furious too.

Baochai pondered for a moment, then relaxed her brows and said, "Brother has made an outrageous mistake this time, so it's no wonder that I'm angry..."

Aunt Xue said anxiously, "My son, what's the point of saying all this now?"

Baochai said, "Don't worry, Madam. It's only right that the first lady should plead her case, but as the saying goes, the person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. Chen Siyuan is so angry because of what happened to Yan'er. I think it would be better if Madam could persuade Yan'er first, and then ask the first lady to come and plead her case with her. We can then make some compensation, and the matter can be put to rest."

Aunt Xue's eyes lit up after hearing this, as if the clouds in the sky had dispersed. She heaved a sigh of relief and said, "My son has a solution. This is it!"

When the mother and daughter arrived at the west room, they saw Ying'er talking to the dazed Liu Yan'er.

Aunt Xue stepped forward, took Liu Yan'er's hand and comforted her, "Poor girl, you've suffered so much."

Liu Yan'er sobbed uncontrollably, and Aunt Xue said gently, "Now that things have come to this, we must think about the long term."

Baochai sat down on the other side and asked, "I wonder how old you are, sister?"

Liu Yan'er cried and said, "Seventeen."

"Are your parents still alive?"

Liu Yan'er had met Chen Siyuan earlier and immediately shook her head and said, "I don't have any parents at home. I was bought into the Chen family when I was young."

Baochai exchanged a glance with Aunt Xue upon hearing this, and Aunt Xue said, "He's quite pitiful. My daughter Pan'er can be a bit of a jerk when she's drunk, but she's not a bad person at heart. Now that things have come to this, we can't just take Pan'er to the yamen to be punished. It's said that men should marry when they're old enough, and women should marry when they're old enough. At your age, it's time for you to get married."

I know what you're thinking, but I'm afraid you're still thinking about your brother. But if you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you follow the dog. Now that you've ended up in this situation, I think it's better to make the best of it."

After a pause, Aunt Xue said, "I'll give you a promise now. I'll let Pan'er take you in one day. Is that okay?"

Liu Yan'er wiped her tears as her mind raced. She'd already cursed Chen Siyuan's entire ancestry, and then she'd also cursed Xue Pan, Jia Rong, Jia Qiang, and the others to bits. As for chastity... she came from the Yan family, specializing in setting fire to trap people into marriage and money, so chastity was out of the question for her!

At this time, Ying'er said with envy, "Sister, this can be considered a blessing in disguise. Although our family may not be as wealthy as the Rongguo Mansion, our ancestors were at least Ziwei Sheren. Now, they are blessed with the royal family and manage the royal business. They are not comparable to those small rural families."

"If you marry me, you won't have to worry about your life anymore. To be frank, even if your brother becomes a phoenix in the future, you don't know how much hardship he will have to endure along the way. It's nothing like what's going on now, where all it takes is a nod from you and you're in a good place!"

What a shitty home! Being a servant to a bastard like Xue Pan, you don’t even know how you’ll end up in the future!

But then he thought, now that things have come to this, he has been forcibly taken away by Xue Pan, and it is not possible to go back. The only thing he can do now is to take advantage of the situation. The Xue family is a royal merchant, so they must be very wealthy. Why not find an opportunity to take it away? This way, not only can he vent his anger, but he will also have hope for the rest of his life.

Thinking of this, Liu Yan'er sobbed and said, "I'm completely hopeless now. I'm completely out of ideas... From now on, I'll leave it all to Madam."

Aunt Xue was immediately overjoyed. She embraced Liu Yan'er and said, "My child, don't worry. I will never let Pan'er bully you again." After soothing her for a while, she added, "Brother Yuan is still very angry. I might need your help to talk him down later."

Liu Yan'er whimpered in response, and Aunt Xue said no more, rising and hurried off to look for Madam Xing. Arriving at the door, she suddenly remembered that Madam Xing was a money-grubber, so she hesitated and nodded to Tongxi. She found a gold filigree, pearl-inlaid, and white jade fertility-delivering Guanyin headpiece from her box, and then hurried off to the east wing.

(End of this chapter)