Dream of the Red Chamber: I can see the hidden labels of the beauties.

Banmei's screams echoed throughout the Ningguo Mansion. Even You Shi, who was resting in her courtyard, heard them and was immediately startled. She quickly called her maid to inquire.

Upon learning that Jia Zhen was beating and scolding the maid again, his expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly got up and went to Jia Zhen's residence.

As Jia Zhen's legal wife and the mistress of the Ningguo Mansion, she couldn't ignore such a matter that had occurred in the household.

Arriving at the door of the main room, he cautiously stepped inside and saw that Jia Zhen had already lay back on the kang (heated brick bed) and was resting with his eyes closed. He then asked softly:

"Master, what's wrong this time? What girl did she do wrong that's making you so angry?"

Jia Zhen opened his eyes, glanced at You Shi, and waved his hand, saying:

"You don't need to worry about it, this is none of your business, go back."

Upon hearing this, Madam You's expression froze slightly. She opened her mouth, but hesitated, wanting to ask a few more questions. However, seeing Jia Zhen's impatient expression, she swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Knowing Jia Zhen's temperament well, she knew that if she asked any more questions, it would only make him angry. In the end, she said nothing, but simply bowed slightly and turned to leave.

Stepping out of Jia Zhen's main room, You Shi stood under the eaves, listening to Banmei's mournful cries in the courtyard, each cry weaker and more pitiful than the last, a trace of pity flashing in her eyes.

He closed his eyes, sighed softly, shook his head, and walked away from his residence, pretending not to have heard.

Beating maids and servants was a frequent occurrence in the Ningguo Mansion. Jia Zhen was licentious and capricious, beating people when he was happy and beating them even more when he was unhappy, often resorting to beatings.

The servants in the mansion were all angry but dared not speak out. After all, Jia Zhen was the king of Ningguo Mansion. In this mansion, his words were law, and no one dared to disobey him in the slightest.

Sitting in the room, Jia Can also heard Banmei's mournful screams and turned a page of his book expressionlessly.

The candlelight flickered in the room, casting shadows on his young and handsome face, the interplay of light and shadow revealing no emotion whatsoever.

An antique and a rumor were all used by Jia Zhen to finally teach Banmei, the traitor who had always been arrogant and sarcastic in front of her predecessor, a lesson she learned the hard way.

This also allowed Jia Zhen to personally eliminate the spies planted around him.

Jia Zhen probably never imagined until his death that the so-called two antiques were, from beginning to end, just a trap set by Jia Can.

After leaving Baoguzhai today, Jia Can keenly sensed that someone seemed to be following him, and that they followed him all the way back to Ningguo Mansion.

Jia Can then realized that this was most likely someone arranged by Jia Zhen to keep an eye on his every move.

Given Jia Zhen's temperament, he would only know that Jia Zhen went to an antique shop and bought an antique; he would never guess that Jia Zhen went to meet a key figure who could turn the tables on him.

Moreover, Jia Can knew that Jia Zhen held him in utter contempt and disdain. In Jia Zhen's eyes, he was nothing but a useless piece of trash who couldn't cause any trouble.

Jia Zhen was also very greedy. He would want to possess anything good he saw. If anyone knew that he had bought an antique, they would definitely send someone to demand it back.

Jia Can then decided to play along and had his servant Chang Lin spread rumors in the mansion that he had bought two antiques that day, one of which was a priceless treasure that he had discovered with his discerning eye and gotten a great bargain.

Chang Lin was his servant, who had been by his side for many years. Naturally, no servant in the mansion doubted what he said.

Moreover, the servants of Ningguo Mansion were fond of gossiping, always stirring up trouble even when there was nothing to do, let alone having ready-made fodder for conversation.

As a result, the rumors spread quickly, becoming more and more fantastical and outrageous.

In the end, the story went that Second Master Can suddenly had great luck and discovered a rare treasure in an antique shop. In order to avoid attracting attention, he bought two of them.

These words spread like wildfire throughout the mansion, embellished and exaggerated, making them sound more and more true.

The rumors quickly reached Jia Zhen's ears. Jia Zhen was greedy for money and lustful, and when he heard that Jia Can had found a treasure, he became greedy and wanted to keep it for himself.

This is also the main reason why he instructed Banmei to fetch Jia Can's antiques.

In Jia Zhen's view, everything in Ningguo Mansion belonged to him, and the antiques that Jia Can bought back were naturally his as well.

With just a word from him, Jia Can would obediently hand over the goods, daring not to utter a single dissenting word.

To his surprise, what Banmei brought was just a wooden box that he thought was worth little money. It was empty inside, and the priceless antique that was rumored to be there was nowhere to be found.

Jia Zhen instinctively felt that Banmei was deceiving him and keeping the treasure for herself, never imagining that there was more to it than met the eye.

At this moment, the old woman who had searched Banmei's residence returned, trembling with fear, carrying a pile of things in her hands. After entering the door, she respectfully reported:

"Reporting to your Excellency, we have searched all of Banmei's residence. These are the only valuables we found. Please take a look."

Jia Zhen glanced at the items and saw that they were just ordinary silver hairpins, bronze mirrors, a few strings of copper coins, and half a bolt of silk—all worthless items, totaling no more than a few taels of silver.

He slammed his hand on the table and said sternly:

"Search! Keep searching! That bitch must be hiding somewhere. You haven't searched carefully enough, but turn this place upside down and find her for me!"

In Jia Zhen's view, since the servants in the mansion were spreading the word and saying it in great detail, he completely believed it and thought that Jia Can had really bought a rare treasure. The saying "three men can make a tiger" is just like that.

The old woman was so frightened that she trembled all over. Without the slightest hesitation, she hurriedly replied "Yes," and scrambled out to search again.

After the old woman left, Jia Zhen called out again:

"Beat her! Beat her hard, beat her to death! Let's see if she dares to hide anything again, dares to deceive me!"

Hearing this, the servants who were outside punishing Banmei knew that Jia Zhen was truly angry. They dared not disobey him in the slightest, so they increased the force of their blows, making the sound of the cane hitting the ground even louder.

By this time, Banmei had been beaten until her skin was torn and her flesh was mangled, a gruesome sight. Her clothes were soaked in blood and stuck to her body stickily.

He lay on the ground, letting out piercing screams, calling out intermittently:

"Injustice...Master, I'm innocent...It must be...Second Master Can...he framed me..."

As the servants increased the force, the paddle fell one after another, and her voice gradually weakened, becoming softer and softer, until it finally stopped completely. Her head lolled to the side, and she fainted.

Seeing this, the servants quickly stopped, fearing they might have killed someone and would have a hard time explaining themselves. They scurried to the door of the main room and cautiously informed the servants:

"Master, Banmei...she has fainted."

Jia Zhen lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), his eyelids not even twitching, and gave a faint hum:

"Beat her, keep hitting her! She's such a despicable woman, daring to deceive the master and even hiding valuables. Beat her to death!"

"Just take him out of the city and bury him after he dies; there's no need to come back to me."