The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

"Qiuwen, what's wrong?" Xiren rubbed her eyes.

"Sister, I'll secretly beg the Second Master to find you a doctor later." Qiuwen reached out and touched Xiren's forehead. "Oh dear, it's burning hot."

How did I get sick?

"Second Madam mustn't find out, or she'll beat me to death. Oh, if only you could have given Second Master a son or daughter all these years. That Ying'er, she only became a concubine after giving birth to a son." Qiuwen poured water for Xiren and brought it over.

Just as Xiren fetched the water, Ying'er stormed in angrily.

"Well, well! You still dare to come see her! Second Madam already gave the order that such a shameless servant should be dragged out and beaten to death!"

"Drag her out and sell her! You slut who seduced her master!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, so many old women poured in, each with a fierce look in their eyes and an ugly face.

"No, no... I wouldn't dare..."

The sudden sensation of falling made Xiren open her eyes abruptly.

It was all a dream. She stared at the mosquito net, a genuine fear creeping into her heart. For some reason, she thought of Qingwen, who had died a few days after being kicked out.

Is this retribution?

Will she suffer an even worse fate than Qingwen?

Now, what should she do? Ever since Bao Er's wife entered the family, she has been very polite to her, but when it comes to doing anything, it seems that she relies more on Qiuwen and Sheyue.

Second Madam seemed kind and never scolded the servants, but the more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became. What would Second Madam do if she knew that she and Baoyu had already been intimate?

But when she thought about how Second Mistress and Second Master Bao hadn't consummated their marriage yet, for some reason, a subtle sweetness welled up in Xiren's heart, along with a feeling of having won over Second Mistress.

Fortunately, it's the current Second Madam. If it were Miss Lin, the Second Master would probably have stopped caring about her long ago.

But Miss Lin's anger was written all over her face, unlike this Second Madam, whose emotions were hard to read.

What should she do? Xiren looked at the pale window paper and was no longer sleepy. Lost in thought, she heard Baoyu get up and hurriedly put on her clothes to serve him.

"What's wrong, sister? Why have you been crying?" Baoyu asked with concern when he saw that Xiren's eyes were red.

"It's nothing, just some sand in my eyes." How could Xiren express her worries and anxieties, since they were all unfounded?

"Why bother lying to me? It's not even dawn yet, and you haven't gone out. Where did the sand in the house come from?" Baoyu sighed. The current situation was truly a mess. He knew he was useless. Looking at Xiren and thinking of Qingwen who had passed away, he felt even more heartbroken.

"Second Master knows it's still dark, so he should sleep a little longer." Xiren mixed some warm water for Baoyu to drink, then got up and put the cup away.

Baoyu took her hand and said, "I can't sleep anyway, lie down with me for a while and we'll talk."

As she spoke, she pulled Xiren down to lie down, but then she heard Baochai cough from the room next door.

Xi Ren was startled.

During the day, he served Baochai, but he couldn't see any reaction from her. It seemed that the cough was unintentional, as if Baochai was asleep.

But Xiren became increasingly anxious.

When Xiren secretly went to see Aunt Zhou, she saw that she was so thin that she was skin and bones and barely had a breath left. Xiren was even more frightened and lost her composure.

Chapter 29 Baochai Uses a Scheme to Drive Xiren Away (Part 2)

Xiren drifted aimlessly until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Upon hearing that Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, and others had all gone to the palace, Xiren became even more worried.

Back then, Madam gave me two taels of silver and a string of cash, but now she ignores me. Moreover, now it's all Bao Er's wife who's in charge of the household. Not only Xiren, but even the maids and servants outside say that Bao Er's wife is even more capable than Lian Er's wife.

At noon, Baochai instructed Ying'er to tell the kitchen that the maids serving the Second Master had worked hard and should be rewarded. She suggested that the kitchen prepare some good dishes, with the cost of which she would pay, and send them over to the maids, as a way of celebrating the festival together.

Baochai and Baoyu certainly wouldn't be with these maids, so Ying'er came looking for Xiren.

"Sister Xiren, since Second Madam said we should celebrate the festival together, Sister, could you tell me where we should set it up? I also asked Second Madam for some good wine, osmanthus wine. It's been a long time since we've had a proper get-together." Ying'er said with a smile.

"Not only wine, but Second Madam also had mooncakes delivered—double egg yolk lotus seed paste, jujube and rose paste, sesame and ham, and mixed nuts. They look so tempting." Qiuwen was carrying mooncakes, with a little maid behind her carrying another; there seemed to be quite a lot.

Xi Ren put aside her worries and got up to help. She was always praised for her virtuousness, and naturally she couldn't spoil everyone's fun at this time.

With their master absent, all the maids in the courtyard were delighted, and with Ying'er's deliberate guidance, they ate and drank to their hearts' content.

Whether it was because she had been thinking too much lately, or because they were allowed to offer her a toast, Xiren unknowingly became somewhat drunk.

"No, I can't drink anymore, sisters, please spare me." Xiren waved her hand hurriedly when she saw Ying'er wanting to have a drink with her.

"Alright, Sister Xiren, you're looking down on me. All those old 'sister' and 'brother' greetings were just for show." Although Ying'er was joking, she was still the most trusted servant of Bao Er's wife, so Xiren couldn't refuse her and had no choice but to drink the cup.

By the end, Xiren could hardly tell them apart anymore. Seeing this, Ying'er asked Qiuwen to help Xiren back to rest.

Xiren lay on the bed, her drunkenness making her drift off to sleep. In her half-awake state, Baoyu entered.

"Why are you asleep so soon, sister? Are you feeling unwell?" Baoyu asked as considerately as ever, lying down next to Xiren.

Xiren reached out to push him away, but couldn't budge him: "Good Second Master, stop it. How could you come to my bed? It's not good. If Second Mistress finds out, it will be terrible."

The second half of the sentence successfully displeased Baoyu.

"What could she be unhappy about? She's become the second mistress, and I think she's overjoyed. What 'golden and jade marriage'? I was too naive when I was young. Now I understand, it's just a lie to fool people." Baoyu also drank some wine today, but only two cups. His pent-up frustration from the past few days made him want to go against others.

"Second Master, you mustn't talk nonsense. It wouldn't be good if Second Mistress heard you." Xi Ren felt weak and quickly covered Bao Yu's mouth with her hand.

Unfortunately, she was too weak to hold on and fell into Baoyu's arms.

With a soft, warm body in his arms, and the aroma of sweet osmanthus wine wafting from his lips, Bao Yu momentarily forgot all about love.

Xiren was already weak all over, and after being rubbed by Baoyu, she was as soft as a noodle. Thinking that it wasn't the first time with Baoyu, she let him do as he pleased.

Ying'er, who had been waiting in the shadows, heard the commotion and quickly went to report to Baochai.

Upon hearing from the maid outside that the old lady and madam had returned, Baochai immediately gave Ying'er a wink, and the two of them hurried to the old lady's room to pay their respects.

Grandmother Jia was getting old, and going to the palace was already a very tiring thing for her. She soon began to doze off, and Lady Wang and Baochai hurriedly took their leave.

Baochai escorted Lady Wang back to her room. Lady Wang was in a bad mood after being scolded by the Empress in the palace that day, and seeing Baochai's sad expression, she couldn't help but ask what was wrong.

Baochai shook her head and said it was nothing.

"Judging from your expression, you don't seem to be alright. Now that you're married into our family, what can't we say to each other?" Madam Wang originally thought it was about the Xue family.

Ying'er knelt down behind Baochai: "Please, Madam, do justice for our grandmother."

Baochai quickly turned around and scolded Ying'er: "What are you doing? Get up quickly, don't make Madam sad."

Don't let yourself get sad; that seems like a big deal.

Madam Wang immediately said to Ying'er, "Tell me what happened, and I will make a decision for your grandmother."

While kowtowing, Ying'er embellished the story of Xiren and Baoyu: "This servant should not have spoken up, but I heard from Sister Qiuwen that this has been going on for many years, not just once or twice. Our mistress was terrified when she heard about it, thinking that the Second Master was only a child back then. She didn't dare to tell Madam."

“These days, our grandmother hasn’t been eating or sleeping well. If we don’t tell you, it would be a waste of your love for our grandmother, but if we do tell you, wouldn’t it make you sad?”

"This servant sees our mistress growing thinner and thinner every day and can't bear to look at her. Today I dare to beg Madam to discipline Sister Xiren properly."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang felt a wave of dizziness. Fortunately, she was sitting down, otherwise she might have collapsed.

Lady Wang couldn't help but recall that day two years ago when Xiren came to suggest moving Baoyu out of the garden, and said many things.

"Although we are sisters, we are still men and women. It is inconvenient for us to sit together day and night, which makes people worry."

"But then the Second Master's reputation and character would be ruined, and the Madam would also find it difficult to see the Master."

Back then, I thought she was a good girl, a girl who knew her place. But now, I'm being told that she had already seduced Baoyu.

"You lowly hussy!" Madam Wang was furious.

Baochai hurriedly advised, "Madam, don't be angry. This matter must not be publicized." But seeing that Madam Wang was already heading angrily towards her and Baoyu's courtyard, Baochai did not stop her. Instead, she glanced at Ying'er kneeling down, nodded to Ying'er, and followed Madam Wang first.

Ying'er waited a moment before following.

When Madam Wang arrived at the courtyard gate, she happened to see a little maid peeking around like a lookout. She was furious and slapped the maid, asking, "Which one is Xiren's room?"

"Sister Xiren serves the Second Master and now lives in the study." The little maid covered her face, kneeling with her head down.

Now Madam Wang was even more convinced that something had happened, and she stormed inside. When she reached the corridor and heard the ambiguous moans, she was so angry that she almost lost her balance.

Baochai, who arrived just in time, quickly helped up Madam Wang, who was about to fall, and whispered in Madam Wang's ear: "Madam, Xiren was given to Baoyu by the old lady. Even if you don't care about the monk, you should at least care about the Buddha."

Madam Wang immediately grasped the key point: Xiren was given to her by the old lady, so how could she be loyal to her? It was best to get rid of her while she had the chance.

Chapter 30 Zijuan and Daiyu Choose Maids

Lady Wang listened to Baochai's advice and did not lash out that day.

But the next day, he went to Grandmother Jia's room in person and told her the whole story. He ended by wiping away tears, saying, "Grandmother valued that girl highly, and I also thought she was good, which is why I entrusted Baoyu to her. Who knew..."

Grandmother Jia felt a mix of emotions upon hearing this.

At the time, she did think highly of Xiren, the maid. She was sensible and considerate, several years older than Baoyu, and capable of taking care of people.

But later, when she learned that the second son's wife had given Xiren a monthly allowance of two taels of silver and one string of cash, she realized that the girl had already sided with the second son's wife.

She was still very angry at the time, but looking back, she realized that the family would belong to them in the future anyway, and Baoyu liked the girl, so there was no need for Grandmother Jia to create discord over a girl.

Unexpectedly, today, the second son's wife would come to me and talk about such things.

Grandmother Jia already disliked Xiren, and upon hearing that the girl had acted so despicably, she immediately said indifferently, "In that case, just send her away. She wasn't born into the household, so let her parents come and take her back."

Lady Wang nodded hastily, but unlike Grandmother Jia, she was not kind-hearted. She had heard that Xiren's family had become quite wealthy, so she immediately summoned Baochai.

"We've already informed the old lady about Xiren's matter. You've only been married into the family for a few months, so it's not easy for you to handle this. It's better if I do it." Madam Wang's words were indeed for Baochai's sake.

Baochai was hoping that Lady Wang would handle the situation: if Lady Wang did it, firstly, if Baoyu was dissatisfied later, she wouldn't be blamed; secondly, no one else could say that Baochai, the second mistress, lacked tolerance.

Baochai sincerely thanked Madam Wang: "You are so kind to me, Madam. I will go and take care of other matters first."

After Baochai left, Madam Wang immediately summoned Zhou Rui's wife: "I can only feel at ease if this matter is handled by you."

As expected of Madam Wang's maid, Zhou Rui's wife immediately chided Xi Ren for her lack of propriety after hearing Madam Wang's instructions. Then she assured Madam Wang, "Madam, please rest assured, I guarantee it will be handled perfectly."

When Hua Zifang received the news, she was shocked. Mingyan had come in person and looked very unwell.

"Brother Hua, Sister Xiren has made a mistake, and Madam has ordered you to go and pick her up."

But just eight days ago, my younger sister came back happily, bringing with her many gifts from Grandma Bao Er, including food and household items. How did things suddenly change?

Hua Zifang grabbed Mingyan in disbelief: "How could this be?"

Mingyan was also unsure; he had no idea what had happened. He usually listened to Xiren, but now Zhou Rui's wife had suddenly come to him.

Mingyan looked at Zhou Rui's slender eyebrows and bright red lips and thought they looked like monsters from a mural, which startled her.