The splendor of the Red Chamber, the power that reigns supreme.

Chapter 64 Jade Flute's Adulterous Lover

Yu Xiao looked around nervously, then, carrying the heavy food box, tiptoed out of the kitchen back door and headed straight for a secluded spot in the backyard.

She was originally the head maid in the Ximen mansion. She usually acted arrogantly and domineeringly, like a second mistress. She was also the leader among the servants, and even the steward had to bow and scrape to her.

Let alone the fact that everyone is busy right now, even if they were just carrying a food box in and out on ordinary days, Wu Yueniang would not ask or care, and no one would dare to speak up and inquire.

Jinlian, who was hiding in the crowd, was not about to let the opportunity slip by. She quietly got up and, like a ghost, followed on her tiny three-inch feet.

Twilight Quadruple.

The backyard of the Ximen mansion gradually sank into a dim light.

Jinlian watched as Yuxiao, carrying a food box, passed through several corridors, around the artificial hill and pond, and arrived at the most desolate corner of the backyard. There was an abandoned dog hole at the base of the wall, which had long been partially covered by a millstone-sized stone.

Yu Xiao walked to the millstone, put down the food box, and laboriously moved the stone. The millstone made a dull thud on the ground. After the stone had been moved about a foot, revealing a dark dog hole, a furry head with a few stalks of withered grass on it eagerly crawled out! It was a living, breathing man!
A furry head peeked out of the dog hole, revealing a face that was both slick and downcast—it was the former pageboy who had been kicked out of the manor by Master Ximen. He grinned mischievously and reached for the food box: "Good sister, I've missed you so much! Let me see what delicious treats you brought today?"

Yu Xiao's eyebrows furrowed, her almond eyes widened, and she shoved the food box behind her back. Lowering her voice, she said with a mixture of anger and determination, "Stop! Eat as much as you want, but this meal is the last one!"

The pageboy was taken aback, his playful smile freezing on his face: "The last time? Good sister, what are you saying? Don't tell me that crawling through this dog hole made your hands dirty?"

"What's the point of talking about such filth now!" Yu Xiao's voice grew even colder and harder. "Do you know what kind of place this Ximen mansion is? You've experienced the ways of the master! The last time he kicked you out, it was already a great favor that he didn't kill you. Now I live in constant fear, even smuggling this little thing out. If that sharp-eyed and vicious person sees it, you and I will both be beaten to death! This is the last time! Take it, leave quickly, and find a way to survive!"

Upon hearing this, the pageboy's slickness vanished, replaced by genuine panic and shamelessness: "Leave Qinghe County? Sister, you make it sound so easy! In this entire Qinghe County, who doesn't know I'm a pageboy from Master Ximen's household? Now that I've been kicked out, branded with the 'fault of disobeying my master,' I'm like a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone! Where can I go to make a living? Which shop would dare to take me in? Sister, you're trying to force me to my death!"

As he spoke, he leaned forward, his body reeking of sweat and dust, trying to get closer to Yu Xiao.

Yu Xiao retreated in disgust, her back pressed against the cold wall. "Pah! Stop playing the victim with me! Where are all your petty thievery and trickery skills? You've become a spineless crab since you left this mansion? I don't care! I can only control you for a while, not forever! I can't keep risking my life to feed you!"

As she spoke, she steeled herself, rummaged through her bosom and pulled out a heavy little cloth bag. Without even glancing at it, she shoved it into the pageboy's dirty hands. "Here! Take this! This is the dozen or so taels of silver I've saved up. Take it and go far away, find a county or prefecture where no one recognizes you, either set up a small stall or become a traveling merchant. At least that's a respectable business! It's better than crawling through a dog hole here and waiting to be beaten to death!"

The pageboy weighed the cloth bundle in his hand, and that annoying, knowing smile reappeared on his face. He quickly stuffed the silver into his pocket, his eyes darting furtively over Yu Xiao's chest, which was heaving slightly with excitement. "Hehe, sister, you really do care about me! You say such harsh things, but you still can't bear to part with me..." He suddenly lunged forward, opening his arms to embrace Yu Xiao. "Good sister! My darling! The Ximen mansion is currently hosting a grand banquet, not a soul to be seen, it's the perfect time! We haven't been close for so long, I've missed you so much! Let me give you a kiss..."

"You damned scoundrel!" Yu Xiao was terrified, both anxious and furious. She used all her strength to shove the page away, her fingernails nearly scratching his face. "In broad daylight, are you trying to kill yourself?! Take the money and get out of here! If you dare to cause any more trouble, I... I'll call for help right now!"

Her voice trembled, her face was deathly pale, and her chest heaved violently as she pointed at the dark dog hole. "Chen An, get out of here! Go back now! If I see you again, today is the last time we'll see each other. If you come back to bother me, don't blame me for not showing any mercy!"

"Get out? You're telling me to get out?" The pageboy, Chen An, lowered his voice, but it became shrill. Instead of backing down, he brought his face, which was covered in dirt and smelled of not having bathed for days, even closer. His filthy breath hit Yu Xiao's face. "Well, Yu Xiao, you're something else! Go ahead and shout! Do you dare?"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly reached out and his large, iron-like hand gripped Yu Xiao's slender wrist tightly. The force was so great that she cried out in pain, feeling as if her bones were about to crack. His other rough hand then viciously slammed her against the wall, making Yu Xiao see stars.

"Go ahead and shout! If you attract attention, I'll be dead!" Chen An's eyes flashed with a manic, murky light, his breath spraying onto Yu Xiao's face. "But what about you? My dear sister! Do you think you can get away with it? What does our father hate most? He hates betrayal and adultery!"

"Shout! Call everyone here! Look who's been living under the roof with this respectable maid in the old lady's quarters—she's a shameless harlot who's been sleeping with one of the men in the manor!" He looked at Yu Xiao's terrified face, his voice filled with cruel pleasure. "If I don't live, you won't get away unscathed either! When the time comes, the paddle, the finger-crushing torture, the water-soaked whip—none of those will your delicate skin withstand! With a single order from the master, strip her naked and drag her to the front yard, in front of the whole manor, and give her a good beating, beat her to death, you little harlot!"

He pressed the jade flute firmly against the cold wall, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls, blurring her vision. The boundless fear was like ice water poured over her head in the dead of winter, instantly chilling her to the bone, and she dared not utter a sound to call for help.

Seeing her unfocused gaze, her limp body, and her weakening struggles, Chen An felt an intense burning desire and a burning urge to control him, making him feel unbearably hot all over.

He grinned maliciously, his rough fingers then gripping her pointed chin tightly, forcibly lifting her delicate face and forcing her to face his filthy one.

"What are you pretending to be, all virtuous and chaste? Huh?!" Chen An panted heavily, his voice full of vulgar mockery. "Didn't you praise my good looks back then? You were so eager to die for me! You and I, in this backyard of the Ximen family, under the artificial hill, in the dark bamboo grove, by the lotus pond...where haven't we secretly enjoyed ourselves? Where haven't we 'stolen' ourselves? Ah?! My dear Yuxiao sister!"

He deliberately emphasized the word "steal," as if it were a poisoned needle stabbing straight into Yu Xiao's heart: "What? Now that I'm down on my luck, you're starting to despise me? Or have you taken a fancy to that brat Dai An in the manor?"

Before he finished speaking, his free hand suddenly reached for Yu Xiao's collar, and with a "rip," he roughly tore it open, revealing a dazzling moon-white undergarment.

(End of this chapter)