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

"Pfft!"

The blade pierced through, and blood splattered everywhere.

Jia Zhen never imagined that he would not only suffer from poison, with his internal organs feeling as if they were being burned by fire, but would also be stabbed in the back in the end.

Staring wide-eyed at the crazed Jiao Da and the calm Jia Can standing to the side, his mouth was covered in blood. He whimpered a few times and then breathed his last.

His bloodshot eyes were wide open, filled with resentment, unwillingness, and astonishment; his eyeballs were almost bulging out, clearly indicating that he died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

Upon seeing this, Jiao Da abruptly released the hilt of his knife, collapsing to the ground with a thud. The short knife in his hand clattered to the ground. He stared blankly at Jia Zhen lying in a pool of blood, his expression dazed, as if he couldn't believe what he had done.

In a moment of anger and impulsiveness, he only wanted to kill Jia Zhen to vent his anger, and he didn't care about the consequences.

But after he actually killed Jia Zhen, he realized he had committed a terrible crime.

A life for a life is a matter of course. He was just an old servant who killed his master, so he was doomed.

He was trembling all over, his face was pale, his lips were quivering, and he didn't know what to do.

Seeing this, Jia Can quickly stepped forward, helped Jiao Da up, and whispered:

"You'd better run, or you won't be able to escape when the people come."

Jiao Da finally came to his senses, looked at Jia Can hesitantly, his lips trembling, his eyes filled with fear and confusion:

"Run? I... can I still run?"

Jia Can nodded solemnly:

"Of course! Hurry up, go as far as you can. Once you get outside the manor, someone will meet you. I'll hold them off here for now, quick!"

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of light flashed in Jiao Da's fearful eyes, like a drowning man grasping at a last straw. Without thinking twice, and without even asking Jia Can why he was helping him, he turned and rushed out.

This was driven by his subconscious instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, coupled with Jia Can's urging and encouragement, making him feel that running away was the only way to survive.

Just as Jiao Da ran out, the maids and servants who had been guarding the courtyard gate also came in to check on the situation.

They had just witnessed Jiao Da rushing in madly with a knife, but they were too late to stop him. After a moment, they realized something was wrong and hurriedly followed him to the main room.

The group arrived at the door and looked into the house. They saw Jia Zhen lying in a pool of blood, with a bloodstained dagger next to him. Blood was everywhere. Jia Can stood to the side, his face pale and his expression panicked.

Suddenly, a maid screamed, piercing the night sky above Ningguo Mansion, while an old woman was so frightened that her legs went weak and she had to hold onto the door frame to avoid falling.

As for Jiao Da, who ran away again, they didn't notice him at all, let alone realize they should stop him.

Jia Can feigned panic, his face full of alarm, and waved his hands repeatedly, giving orders:

"Someone, quick...quickly go and tell Sister-in-law Zhen that Brother Zhen has been in trouble, hurry!"

Upon hearing this, the maids and servants snapped out of their shock and hurriedly turned and ran off to deliver the message.

One old woman even tripped at the threshold, fell face-first into the mud, and scraped her knees, but she didn't care about the pain. She quickly got up and limped on, afraid that being a step slower would bring bad luck.

Chaos erupted in the courtyard, and the news quickly spread to other courtyards, gradually causing unrest throughout the entire Ningguo Mansion.

As Jia Can looked at Jia Zhen's corpse, the panic on his face gradually faded, and he regained his composure, muttering to himself:

"From this moment on, the Ningguo Prefecture will be completely transformed!"

...

At this moment, Madam You was resting on the kang (a heated brick bed) in her room, leaning against a large pillow and closing her eyes to relax.

After playing cards with Wang Xifeng all day, he was already quite tired, with a sore back and weak hands and feet.

Hearing the news of Jiao Da's drunken rant and Jia Zhen's severe punishment of Jiao Da just now made him even more exhausted, and he felt his temples throbbing.

Although his eyes were closed, he was pondering repeatedly whether Jiao Da's claims about incest and keeping a younger brother-in-law were true.

If it's true, it's absolutely outrageous. If word gets out, where will the Ningguo Mansion put its face?

To be honest, Lady You had long been aware of Jia Zhen's covetousness of Qin Keqing. Having been the mistress of the Ningguo Mansion for so many years, she knew almost all the secrets of the mansion, not to mention the thoughts of her husband.

But she was ultimately just a second wife, and couldn't say much to Jia Zhen, so she could only pretend not to know.

They also felt that Jia Zhen would eventually have some reservations and wouldn't actually lay a hand on his daughter-in-law, and they figured he wouldn't dare to do something so beastly.

Unexpectedly, even an old servant like Jiao Da now knows about it and has even shouted it out in front of everyone in the mansion.

It seems this is most likely true, and Madam You is filled with mixed feelings and finds it difficult to calm down.

They were both shocked that Jia Zhen actually dared to do such a thing, committing such a heinous and immoral act, and worried that if this matter were to spread, it would inevitably have a huge impact on the Ningguo Mansion.

They were even more worried about their own situation. Faced with this matter, what should they do? Should they persuade Jia Zhen to stop, or pretend not to know and protect themselves?

As a second wife, she had no real power in the household. If she offended Jia Zhen, her life would probably be even more difficult.

As for Jia Zhen's severe punishment of Jiao Da, Lady You didn't take it to heart.

After all, it was common for Jia Zhen to severely punish his servants. Moreover, she felt that Jiao Da deserved to be punished. He had talked nonsense in front of the guests. A few lashes and kneeling in the ancestral hall were already too lenient for Jiao Da.

Just as Madam You was lying down to rest, lost in thought, the noise outside suddenly broke the silence in the room and startled her awake.

Madam You snapped out of her daze, frowned, and was about to call someone to ask when a maid stumbled in, her face deathly pale. She didn't even bother to lift the curtain, and practically crawled to her side.

"Madam... Madam, something terrible has happened... Master... something's happened to him!"

Upon hearing this, Madam You's heart skipped a beat. She quickly sat up straight, concealing the surprise on her face, and adopted the authority of the matriarch, gently reprimanding her:

"What's with the panic?! Speak slowly, what happened?"

The maidservant quickly composed herself, took a deep breath, lowered her head, and said tremblingly:

"Reporting to...Reporting to Madam, Master...Master was in Second Master Can's room, and...he was killed by Jiao Da!"

These words struck like a bolt from the blue. Upon hearing them, Madam You was utterly shocked and stood up abruptly, her eyes fixed on the maidservant, filled with horror.

"What?! What did you say?"

The maid trembled with fright and could only lower her head and repeat what she had just said.

Upon hearing this, Madam You trembled all over, her legs went weak, and she sat heavily back on the kang (a heated brick bed), her face full of astonishment and her eyes filled with horror, sitting there dumbfounded.

After a long pause, she finally reacted, abruptly stood up, and hurriedly gave the order:

"Quick, help me to Second Master Can's room!"

The maids didn't dare hesitate and quickly stepped forward to help her up. The group hurriedly left the house and headed towards Jia Can's courtyard.