Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with winning over Daiyu's favorability

Faced with the sudden death of Madam Wang, the Rongguo Mansion, after the initial chaos, quickly returned to order under Wang Xifeng's command.

Although Lady Wang's funeral was held in a very simple manner due to the national mourning period, nothing major went wrong in the end.

After grieving the sudden death of her elder sister, Lady Wang, Aunt Xue rallied and began to plan for her daughter, Xue Baochai.

The mother and daughter closed the door and discussed what would happen next:

"Oh dear, how did this happen out of the blue? You finally made it through the primary election, what are we going to do now?"

Aunt Xue looked worried and stressed. She had been under a lot of pressure lately, and was reluctantly stalling for time under the pressure from the Rongguo Mansion.

Originally, I thought that no matter what, I should wait until Xue Baochai passed the selection of concubines before making any plans.

However, with the emperor's death, the selection of concubines was cancelled, completely ending this path.

In contrast, although Xue Baochai also had worries, she was much calmer:

"There's always a way out. Although the path to becoming a concubine is blocked, there's still room for maneuver in the current situation."

With the passing of the Rongguo Mansion's mistress, Jia Baoyu, as her son, was obligated to observe mourning, which undoubtedly gave Xue Baochai some time to adjust.

Aunt Xue understood what her daughter meant after hearing her words, and felt both sad and confused.

"What will you do if you lose this opportunity to be chosen as a concubine?"

You're not young anymore; delaying things for too long isn't a good thing.

"As long as it's still in the capital, it's always better than Nanjing."

Let's get through this period first, then we'll see. We'll have my brother get some exercise before making any further plans.

Aunt Xue sighed:

"Well, that's all we can do for now."

Your brother has always been a good-for-nothing who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun. The managers and employees took advantage of his youth and naivety, and started to swindle him. As a result, his businesses in the capital gradually declined.

Once we've sorted things out, we can give you more leverage.

"I think my brother has made a lot of progress recently, so Mom doesn't need to worry too much."

My brother doesn't play around with those idle young men in the manor much anymore.

Aunt Xue had been unable to keep a close eye on Xue Pan lately, and when she heard Xue Baochai's words, she simply assumed she was trying to comfort herself.

"As long as he doesn't keep going out fooling around, that's fine."

……

After confirming that many unidentified people were secretly watching his home, Deng Zechen made several attempts to probe, but he still couldn't find any concrete evidence.

With the country currently in mourning, and remembering Sun Sanzhu's reminder, Deng Zechen had no choice but to maintain this superficial balance with them.

Until tonight, this man sneaked in under the cover of darkness and was discovered by Deng Zechen.

The two immediately began to fight. Deng Zechen was no longer the same as before; he had already mastered the boxing techniques that Du Feng had given him.

With the added strength, Deng Zechen dominated the uninvited guest throughout the fight. After only about ten moves, Deng Zechen broke two of the man's ribs.

After confirming that he was no longer able to resist, Deng Zechen tied him up tightly and threw him on the ground.

"Tell me, what were you doing sneaking into my house in the middle of the night?"

The man remained silent, his chest heaving violently from his injury, making his breathing sound extremely heavy.

Seeing this, Deng Zechen didn't say anything more. He squatted down, pinched the man's shoulder joint and applied slight pressure, resulting in a teeth-grinding "crack" sound.

His joint was dislocated by Deng Zechen, and the intense pain spread from his shoulder to his whole body. He shuddered, but remained silent.

Looking at the silent man, Deng Zechen dislocated his other shoulder joint in the same way.

Even so, instead of revealing the information Deng Zechen wanted, he gave Deng Zechen a provocative smile.

Deng Zechen showed no anger, found a dirty rag, and roughly stuffed it into his mouth:

"If you want to talk, just blink. After all, I'm a very easy person to talk to. As soon as you tell me to stop, I'll stop immediately."

This move was learned by Deng Zechen from Du Feng. When he first started learning martial arts, Deng Zechen inevitably got injured. A few times, he even dislocated his shoulder after practicing too hard.

To teach him a lesson, Du Feng deliberately pinched the acupoints on his back while resetting his bones, causing him considerable suffering.

The process of repositioning was both sore and numb, accompanied by intense pain. The dislocated joint felt like countless ants were crawling and biting at it.

After two visits, Deng Zechen finally learned his lesson and never again dislocated his shoulder due to extra practice, requiring treatment from Du Feng.

Following Du Feng's technique, Deng Zechen found the acupoints and pressed them. With another crisp "crack," the man's dislocated right shoulder was put back in place.

The man, who had a rag in his mouth, let out a painful groan. Before the provocative smile on his face could disappear, beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.

After his left shoulder was reset in the same way, the man could no longer hold on and kept blinking.

"Oh, not planning to hold on any longer?"

Just as Deng Zechen was about to dislocate his newly reattached right shoulder and start another round, he couldn't take it anymore and began to beg for mercy.

After pulling the rag out of his mouth, the man, panting heavily, spoke intermittently:

"I...I didn't come here to see you...The girl in your house is someone our sect leader is looking for...I'm just here to investigate under orders..."

Before Deng Zechen could ask any more questions, a dark figure silently entered the courtyard. Deng Zechen's alarm bells rang, and he immediately became alert.

Upon seeing who it was, Deng Zechen's heart stirred slightly:

"Why is it you?"

The newcomer was none other than Song He, the bodyguard who had always been by Sun Sanzhu's side. Song He glanced at the man bound to one side, a murderous glint in his eyes:

"Our master knew that someone would be watching you, so he specifically ordered us to keep watch nearby."

This group couldn't find an opportunity, so they took a desperate gamble, sending many skilled men to tie down our people, which allowed him to sneak in.

Song He's words answered many of Deng Zechen's questions: "So, those people near my house who are doing unprofitable businesses were sent by you?"

Song He nodded. "That's right, they're all our people."

After hearing Song He's words, Deng Zechen became even more curious about Qin Keqing's identity. What was Qin Keqing's background?

Since Sun Sanzhu cares so much about Qin Keqing, why didn't he take action to protect her sooner?

Based on the power that Sun Sanzhu has demonstrated so far, it shouldn't be difficult for him to do so.

"I'm taking him away." Song He pointed at the man.

When the man saw Song He suddenly appear, even though he was in so much pain that he was completely exhausted, he still stared intently at Song He, wishing he could bite a piece of flesh off Song He.

Unfortunately, being controlled by others, he couldn't do anything. After recognizing this reality, a resolute look flashed in his eyes.

Seeing the change in the man's eyes, Song He suddenly attacked, kicking the man in the face and sending his face flying to the side.

He then squatted down, grabbed the man's throat, and pulled a small piece of black stuff out of his mouth.

After a thorough examination, still not satisfied, they removed his jaw.

Song He held the poison he had pulled from Deng Zechen's mouth and waved it in front of him, saying earnestly:

"See? You're still too green."

It's best to leave it to us to handle. There's no way you can guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days.

It's unclear how many remnants they still have in the capital. Even if they don't pose a threat to you, there will always be times when you let your guard down.

"These tongues will be most effective when they're in our hands. Only when we uproot them can you live in peace, right?"