The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Ningguo Prefecture.

When Jia Zhen returned home, he locked himself in his room and flew into a rage, smashing all the furnishings and utensils in the room until they were scattered all over the floor.

The more he thought about it, the more resentful and angry he became, but now that the die was cast, there was no stopping it.

Jia Zhen gritted his teeth and, in a fit of rage, pushed open the door and went straight to Qin Keqing's place, intending to take advantage of the fact that his daughter-in-law hadn't received any news yet and force the issue to become a fait accompli.

Although it would be easy for news to leak out if he acted rashly in broad daylight, Jia Zhen was now blinded by lust and didn't care about such things.

However, when he rushed to Qin Keqing's place, he found that there were many more servants and maids outside.

Jia Zhen recognized several of them as people close to Lady You, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.

Could it be that Lady You has already leaked the information to Lady Qin?!

Qin Keqing was only reluctantly prepared to submit under his coercion and enticement. But if she knew that she could move to Rongguo Mansion to recuperate soon, how could she be willing to obediently comply?

Jia Zhen secretly resented You Shi for ruining things. After hesitating for a moment, he still couldn't bear to part with his angelic daughter-in-law. So he braced himself and barged into the room, intending to send You Shi away first and then force himself on her.

To their surprise, as soon as they entered the outer room, they ran into Laiwang's family.

Laiwang was Wang Xifeng's personal steward, and his wife was naturally also Wang Xifeng's stewardess.

Upon seeing her, Jia Zhen felt a chill run down his spine and blurted out, "What are you doing here?"

"In response to Grandpa Zhen's question."

Jia Zhen is the master of Ningguo Mansion, but people in Rongguo Mansion only call him "Master". However, when Lai Wang's wife respectfully replied, "Our mistress was afraid that something might go wrong in the rush, so she specially ordered me to bring people over to prepare in advance."

That wretched Feng, why is she deliberately going against me today?!

Jia Zhen cursed under his breath, hesitated for a moment, and then went into the inner room.

Under these circumstances, forcing himself on Qin Keqing was definitely out of the question, so after entering the room, he put on a kind face and asked her about her well-being.

He then instructed, "Stay there for a few days. Once you've recovered, I'll have Rong-ge'er bring you back."

This was in the hope that Qin Keqing would not go back on her word and would return to Ningguo Mansion obediently to comply.

How could Qin Keqing not know what he was thinking?

She was extremely disgusted, but she could only suppress her resentment and pretend to be sickly, saying, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, sir. It's all because your daughter-in-law is useless."

"What are you saying!"

Jia Zhen tugged at his beard and said, "Everyone in this mansion knows how virtuous and capable you are. There's no one in the entire household who can compare to you. I love you like my own daughter. Once you recover and return to the mansion, you can have whatever you want. Anything that the Ningguo Mansion has, I will grant you!"

These words were clearly out of line, crossing the line between father-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Madam You couldn't bear to watch any longer and carefully advised, "It goes without saying how good Master is to Madam Qin, but there are many people in the mansion, and gossip is the most common. If these words get out, they might cause unnecessary rumors and ruin the harmony in the family."

"What do you know?!"

Jia Zhen glared fiercely at You Shi, but with people from the Rongguo Mansion still outside, he couldn't lash out.

He gave Qin Keqing a few more earnest words of advice, and then reluctantly left.

Once outside...

Jia Zhen grew increasingly angry, and suddenly turned around, demanding, "Where's Jia Rong?! That little brat went out to play this morning, why hasn't he come back yet?!"

He had nowhere to vent his anger, so he couldn't help but take it out on Jia Rong.

If this unfilial son hadn't been absent at the crucial moment, there might still have been a chance to salvage the situation with his beloved daughter-in-law.

"Replying to your question, sir."

The attendants behind him said tremblingly, "Master Rong did not explain his whereabouts when he left home, and we really don't know where he went."

"What use are you to me?!"

Jia Zhen kicked the attendant to the ground, angrily shouting, "Send someone to look for him! If you can't find that little beast, I'll skin you alive!"

After the attendant fled in terror, Jia Zhen turned his unfriendly gaze toward another attendant.

The attendant shuddered in fright. Remembering the news he had heard earlier, he quickly said, "Master, I heard that yesterday afternoon, Master Rong secretly went to the Second Mistress Lian's place in the West Mansion."

This morning, Second Master Lian just woke up and came to our mansion to speak with our eldest master. Perhaps Second Mistress Lian sent our eldest master to do something; who knows?

It's connected! Now everything is connected!

Jia Zhen suddenly realized that Qin Keqing had received the jewelry in the morning, and Jia Rong had secretly gone to find Wang Xifeng in the afternoon.

In the morning, Jia Lian came to talk to Jia Rong. In the morning, Feng Qi and Bao Yu worked together to insist on taking Qin Keqing to recuperate.

Okay, okay!

It turns out that the little beast colluded with outsiders to stage a series of schemes for his father!

Jia Zhen was beyond furious.

He never imagined that Jia Rong, after having his wife stolen, would dare to stroke Wang Xifeng's beard.

It is assumed that Jia Rong, seeing that Qin Shi had relented, desperately sought help from Wang Xifeng, which led to the subsequent series of events.

To put it bluntly, that unfilial son was the one who started it all!

"Go find him! Go find him! Even if you have to turn the whole capital upside down, bring that little beast back to me!"

…………

Wei Shi (2 PM)

Jia Rong had not yet been found, but Wang Xifeng and Li Wan had already arrived.

Upon entering Qin Keqing's boudoir, Wang Xifeng smiled at You Shi and said, "Sister-in-law Zhen, I won't interfere with the handover. You and Sister-in-law Zhu can go outside to discuss it. My daughter and I need to have a private chat in this room."

Everyone knew that Wang Xifeng and Qin Keqing were very close, so You Shi and Li Wan didn't think much of it. They teased Wang Xifeng for a bit and then went to the outer room.

After they left, the room fell silent.

Wang Xifeng remained silent, only staring at Qin Keqing and scrutinizing her.

Qin Keqing felt uneasy under her gaze, so she quickly smiled, got up, went to the table, poured a cup of tea, and placed it next to Wang Xifeng, saying, "Auntie, have some tea."

"Hehe~"

Wang Xifeng scoffed, saying sarcastically, "I should have a cup of tea, but perhaps your way of addressing me is inappropriate?"

Why do these two always get so hung up on how they address each other?

Qin Keqing secretly complained that she felt Wang Xifeng probably knew something, but it was hard to say exactly how much she knew.

So he deliberately probed, "I heard that I was able to go to the Rongguo Mansion to recuperate this time entirely thanks to your help, Aunt. It is only right that I offer you a cup of tea, but as for how to address me... I would appreciate your guidance, Aunt."

"Teach me something? Alright, I'll teach you a lesson today."

Wang Xifeng slowly stood up, and suddenly reached out with her hand hidden in her sleeve, holding a gleaming pair of scissors to Qin Keqing's throat.

"what!"

Qin Keqing gasped in fright.

"Shh~"

Wang Xifeng made a shushing gesture and said calmly, "Don't worry, of course I wouldn't dare kill you, but if I'm in a crucial place where no one can see me..."

As he spoke, the scissors slowly moved downwards, pressing against Qin Keqing's chest: "I'll make a few cuts, leaving ugly, centipede-like scars, and then threaten you with the fact that we had an affair to keep you quiet. What do you think?"

Qin Keqing was terrified and her face turned pale. Feeling the pressure of the sharp blade, she didn't even dare to breathe loudly, and her usual eloquence was nowhere to be seen.

Wang Xifeng, growing impatient, slapped her on the chest with the back of her knife and snapped, "Speak!"

"what!"

Qin Keqing trembled violently and quickly begged for forgiveness, "Auntie, please calm down. I... I... at least let me die knowing the truth."

Even at this point, she still harbored a sliver of hope and was unwilling to give others cause for criticism.

"Haha~"

Wang Xifeng chuckled twice, then her face suddenly darkened: "You still want to play dumb now? Fine, fine, I'll just lay it all out on the table!"

I will settle Rong-ge'er's score with him myself; there's no need for you to rush in and add to it!

If your uncle wants to rescue you, I won't stop him. Considering our past friendship as women, I'm willing to lend you a hand.

"Once you arrive at our residence, if you behave well and behave properly, I will protect you—but if you touch someone you shouldn't, don't blame your aunt for being ruthless!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Keqing knew that the truth could no longer be concealed.

Her eyes immediately reddened as she cried out in grievance, "Good aunt, how could I not want to be an innocent woman, like you, a heroine among women? It's all those men's fault..."

"I don't care about that!"

Wang Xifeng interrupted her sobbing and sneered, "If you dare to seduce your uncle, I will not let you off; if your uncle comes looking for you—I still won't let you off, I'll ruin this lowly body first, and then I'll settle accounts with him!"

As he spoke, he placed the scissors against the tip of Qin Keqing's left heart, snipped it with a sharp sound, and demanded, "Did you remember that!"

"I've got it."

Such an outrageous clause exists in the world!

Qin Keqing wanted to cry but had no tears, and could only obediently submit.

Fortunately, although she was somewhat attracted to Jia Lian that day, she was mostly forced by circumstances to choose the lesser of two evils.

Now that I'm forced to give up this ill-fated relationship, I'm bound to feel some regret and reluctance, but not to the point of being heartbroken or devastated.

First, she was coerced and bribed by Jia Zhen, and then she encountered the unreasonable Wang Xifeng. Qin Keqing couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in her heart.

Why should I?!

I haven't done anything wrong, so why are they all humiliating me?!

Moreover, although she was threatened by her father-in-law in Ningguo Mansion, she was still the legitimate eldest daughter-in-law, and apart from Jia Zhen, who did not treat her with respect?

Now that I'm living under someone else's roof at the Rongguo Mansion, not only have I lost my wealth and prestige, but I'm also being threatened, humiliated, and manipulated by this fiery woman, Feng.

This is like escaping one wolf's den only to fall into another tiger's lair.

If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to...

Wang Xifeng was a very shrewd person, so she naturally saw Qin Keqing's resentment and unwillingness.

However, Sister Feng didn't take it to heart at all.

What threat could a vulnerable woman forced to live under someone else's roof pose when she is being deliberately wary?

Unless Qin Keqing gives up and chooses to return to Ningguo Mansion and collude with Jia Zhen, it is unlikely that she will cause any trouble.

But it's just a bit of trouble.

Wang Xifeng felt that she held the key to Jia Zhen's incestuous relationship, and that Rong Ge'er had been spying on her first. It should be Jia Zhen who was afraid of her, not the other way around.