The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 356 Aunt Xue's Unhappiness
Xue Pan's two followers had been waiting outside the house. Suddenly, they saw Xue Pan running out dripping wet and looking panicked. They were startled and hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "Master, did you fall into the well?"

As a result, as soon as the two of them approached, they smelled a foul odor and subconsciously covered their noses. This was not falling into a well, but clearly into a pit toilet. It was so damn smelly and had a strong fishy smell.

It turned out that there were a few carp in the stone jar, but they died because no one had taken care of them and changed the water for a long time. Their rotten bodies were deposited in the mud at the bottom of the jar. Xue Pan fell into it, and naturally the sediment floated up. You can imagine how he felt.

--vomit!

Xue Pan probably saw the reactions of his two followers, so he subconsciously lowered his head and smelled it, and immediately felt nauseous and retched again. However, he almost vomited out all the yellow bile before, and his stomach was empty, so there was really nothing to vomit out. He only burped out two mouthfuls of sour and smelly food, and squeezed out two tears.

"Damned Huan Lao San, fuck your uncle, I'm just a slave, if you don't want to change me then don't. Why do you treat me like this? If I don't take revenge, I'm not a stupid bully. Just wait for me - vomit!" Xue Pan cursed angrily, and then started to dry heave.

The two followers looked at each other in bewilderment. Xue Pan cursed, "What are you still standing there for? Bring the horse over here. Do you want to freeze me to death? Ha—sneeze!"

The two followers quickly brought the horse over. Xue Pan was so exhausted from vomiting that he could not even climb onto the horse after trying several times. He even fell down. He was so angry that he cursed, "Even animals dare to bully me. I will kill them and eat their meat later."

Two followers hurriedly helped Xue Pan onto the saddle by his buttocks, and the master and his servants hurried home in a panic.

At this moment, in the inner house of Xue's family, Aunt Xue was chatting with Baochai and Baoqin. Both of them were beautiful, but their temperaments were very different. Baochai was dignified and elegant, gentle and generous, while Baoqin was more lively and lively, with twinkling eyes. The two sisters sitting together looked like a peony and a snow lotus in full bloom, each with their own strengths.

At this time, Aunt Xue said in shock, "Precious girl, have you read today's court bulletin? On the night of the Qiqiao Festival, a horrifying incident occurred in Yangzhou City. A group of thieves actually besieged the Salt Inspectorate Office and tried to kill Lin Ruhai, the governor of Yingtian, and Yi Hong, the commander of the Jinyiwei. Fortunately, they were thwarted. The mastermind behind the scenes turned out to be Zhang Yidong, the Yangzhou Salt Transport Commissioner, Hong Wenxuan, the prefect, and Ji Jinxiao, the comprador eunuch of Prince Yi Zhong's mansion."

Xue Baochai nodded and said softly, "I have also read the court newspaper."

Aunt Xue patted her chest and said, "It's really scary. It is said that among these three people, Yangzhou prefect Hong Wenxuan was shot dead on the spot, the salt transport envoy Zhang Yidong, and the comprador eunuch Ji Jinxiao of Prince Yi Zhong's mansion committed suicide out of fear of punishment. There is also a person who seems to be the great-grandson of Prince Yi Zhong who was also beaten to death. He is a member of the royal family. I wonder who is so bold as to dare to kill a member of the royal family without authorization."

Xue Baochai and Xue Baoqin looked at each other thoughtfully, both in silence, but they thought of the same person in their minds.

Aunt Xue said worriedly, "Now most of the Yangzhou officialdom has been involved in this case. Even several high-ranking officials from the six ministries in Nanjing have been arrested. I'm afraid that even Prince Yi Zhong's mansion will be in danger this time. I hope your uncle (Wang Ziteng) and uncle-in-law (Jia Zheng) will not be implicated."

Today is July 17th, and ten days have passed since July 7th. Although Jinling is not far from Yangzhou, transportation was inconvenient in ancient times and the spread of news was seriously delayed. In addition, Aunt Xue lived deep in the backyard, so she did not learn about this big news that shocked the whole country until she read the court's bulletin.

Since Xue Baochai often went out to take care of business, she heard some rumors earlier. Moreover, she witnessed with her own eyes that Jia Huan searched an account book from the bandit leader Kang Dayong. Brother Huan also said at the time that with this account book, the Yangzhou smuggling salt case could be solved. After that, Jia Huan even used a trick to escape and secretly rushed back to Yangzhou. Soon after, the siege of the Salt Inspectorate's Yamen took place.

Obviously, this was not a coincidence. It was probably that Brother Huan rushed back to Yangzhou with the account books to close the net. The officials involved in the case were desperate and attacked the Salt Inspectorate's Office, but they ended up falling into the trap and were caught by Brother Huan.

Although Jia Huan was not mentioned in the description of the "July 7 Incident in Yangzhou" in the court's official reports, Xue Baochai knew that the matter must be related to Jia Huan. It was even possible that Jia Huan was the one who manipulated the entire process, just as Kang Dayong and his gang of thieves were actually wiped out by Huan's brothers, but he was rarely mentioned in the court's official reports.

However, Xue Baochai thought that this was a good thing for Jia Huan. After all, Jia Huan was too young and still a commoner. It was not appropriate for him to be too prominent. As the saying goes, the protruding rafters rot first. Moreover, this case was very serious and involved major issues, even related to the power struggle between the emperor and the emperor emeritus. If Jia Huan was the first to be affected, the young seedling that had not yet grown up would be crushed into powder in an instant.

Therefore, Xue Baochai guessed that the reason why Jia Huan was not mentioned in the court's bulletin was that someone was secretly protecting Jia Huan, and this person was most likely Lin Ruhai.

At this time, Xue Baochai glanced at her worried mother and consoled her: "As the saying goes, good fortune comes easily, but disaster is inevitable. It's useless for you to worry about these things, mother. Besides, we can't help them. On the contrary, our family often has to trouble our uncle and aunt-in-law. It's better for us to live our own lives and cause less trouble to others, which will be considered as helping them."

Aunt Xue smiled bitterly and said, "What Bao-ya-tou said is true. It's just that your father died early. As a woman, I can't read a single word, and I didn't discipline your elder brother well. If your elder brother had half the ability of Huan-ge'er, you wouldn't have to work so hard for this family like you do now. In the future, I will have the face to meet the ancestors of the Xue family. It's a pity that your elder brother is a useless person. Not only can he not be relied on, but you, his sister, have to worry about the aftermath. Did I do something wrong in my previous life?"

Aunt Xue's eyes turned red after she finished speaking. Xue Baochai regretted it and said, "Forget it. It's all my fault for talking about this. It only made me sad. I think you should just let it go. Your children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Now you should eat what you have and wear what you have. It's important to take good care of yourself."

Xue Baoqin smiled and comforted him, "Brother Pan is like a horse without a bridle now. He has not yet settled down. He will naturally become more stable when he gets married and has a family. Besides, our family is not short of money. We don't care how Brother Pan will succeed. It's enough for him to maintain his success."

Aunt Xue smiled bitterly and said, "That would be fine if it were true, but with your eldest brother's reputation, who would be willing to push their daughter into that fire pit? Unfortunately, if your eldest brother doesn't get married, it would be difficult for Bao to get married first, which would delay your younger sister's future. Auntie is really worried!"

Xue Baochai blushed and said, "Mother was fine, but you took the blame on your daughter."

Aunt Xue smiled and said, "Men should get married when they are old enough, and women should get married when they are old enough. This has been the case since ancient times. There is nothing to be shy about. Bao girl, you are old enough to consider marriage."

Xue Baoqin smiled and covered her mouth, "Auntie, you don't have to worry about my sister. With her appearance and character, I'm afraid she won't be able to find a good husband. Maybe she already has someone in mind... Ouch!"

Before Xue Baoqin could finish her words, the embarrassed and anxious Xue Baochai pinched her arm. She cried out in pain, laughing and begging for mercy.

Aunt Xue felt a little troubled as she looked at her daughter with rosy cheeks. As an experienced person, how could she be ignorant of her daughter's thoughts?

Logically speaking, Huan'er is undoubtedly excellent, both in character and appearance, as well as in talent and learning. Not long ago, he even offered himself as a hostage to save the lives of his entire family. Aunt Xue was very moved, but Huan'er was born out of wedlock after all, so it didn't matter. After all, a hero's origins are not judged by their status. As long as a person is outstanding, he will sooner or later be successful and bring honor to his family.

But the key is that Huan'er is still her sister's illegitimate son, and their mother-son relationship is not harmonious. If they want to marry, it is reasonable to choose Baoyu, the legitimate son. If she abandons the legitimate son and chooses the illegitimate son, where will her sister's face be? I'm afraid that Grandmother Jia will not agree. "Forget it, let's wait and see. After all, Bao'er is only sixteen years old. It's not too old to wait a few more years. If Baoyu gets married, Bao'er will choose Huan'er, and then there will be nothing to say." Aunt Xue was just thinking about things in her heart, but her eyes were always on Baochai, which made the latter feel even more embarrassed.

At this time, an old woman came in in a panic and reported: "Oh no, the old man got drunk and fell into the water."

Aunt Xue and others were startled and rushed out to greet them, only to see Xue Ke walking in with the dripping Xue Pan, and they could smell a foul odor from afar.

Aunt Xue was both angry and distressed. She cursed, "You bastard, you didn't come home all night. You must have gone out to drink and have fun with your friends. Which cesspool did you fall into? You must have drowned."

Xue Pan was scolded by Jia Huan and was very angry. He was scolded as soon as he entered the door. His temper exploded and he turned around and left.

"You evil creature, you just came back, where are you going now?" Aunt Xue stomped her feet in anger.

"I'm going to die outside so that you, mother, can't see anything. I'm redundant at home anyway, so I might as well die." Xue Pan shouted with a stiff neck while trying to break free from Xue Ke's hand.

"You bastard, when did I tell you to die outside? You're so mad at me!" Aunt Xue was so angry that her face turned pale and her lips trembled.

Xue Baochai was also very angry and cried, "Brother, what nonsense did you say? You made mother so angry. You hang out outside day and night, and mother worries about you day and night. But you come home and don't ask about her well, but get angry instead. Well, I know you despise us, mother and I will go to Beijing to live with my aunt tomorrow, and we will let go of each other from now on. You can do whatever you want, and no one will care about you from now on. That's what you want!"

Seeing that he had made his mother and sister cry, Xue Pan's momentum weakened immediately, and he said angrily: "If I dislike you, God will strike you with lightning, but it is you who really dislike me, and you didn't even ask me if I was bullied outside, but instead blamed me!"

Xue Baochai was stunned for a moment, and Aunt Xue asked in confusion: "You are a bully, it's ok if you don't bully others, but how dare someone bully you?"

Xue Ke was surprised and asked, "Brother, did someone else give you this?"

On his way back, Xue Pan had originally planned to sue Jia Huan severely, but when he recalled how cruel Jia Huan had been at that time, he suddenly became a little scared. Moreover, since he was the one who had committed the disgrace first, he felt even more embarrassed to speak. So he said nothing and went back to the room with his head down.

Aunt Xue's eyes turned red with anger and she said, "You blamed me for not asking you, and now you won't tell me when I ask you. You are such a jerk. Sooner or later, I will be pissed off by you. This is the end of it all!"

Xue Baochai held her mother and advised, "Don't worry, mother. Just call the accompanying servant and ask him and we'll know the answer."

Aunt Xue came to her senses and said, "I am so angry that I am losing my mind. Call the people here quickly. I want to see who is the mean and wicked person who pushed me into the cesspool. Even if I have to sue the Yingtian government, I will seek justice."

Xue Baochai frowned slightly. Given her brother's domineering personality, he endured being bullied in silence. She was afraid that the man was not a simple person. At least, our Xue family could not afford to offend him.

Soon, Xue Pan's two followers were called in, and they knelt down cautiously and kowtowed to greet him.

Aunt Xue said coldly, "You little slave dogs! We treat you well at home, but you are so bad! When your master is bullied, you don't even come back to report. What's the point of keeping a dog that can only bark a few times when it sees a stranger?"

The two servants said with bitter faces, "Madam, you are wronged. I fell into the water tank by myself, but no one bullied me."

"Did he fall by himself? Then why did the old man say that someone bullied him?" Aunt Xue frowned.

The two servants looked at each other in bewilderment. Xue Baochai became suspicious and asked, "What's going on? Tell me in detail. If you dare to hide anything, I will ask the housekeeper to punish you."

The two servants then told the whole story of how they met Jia Huan. Finally, they said, "The master was like that when he came out of Master Huan's house. He said that he fell into the fish tank accidentally. We were not there at the time, so we don't know whether it is true or not."

Aunt Xue fell silent for a moment, her expression changing constantly. Could it be that Huan'er had beaten Pan'er?

Xue Baochai was very smart and had some guesses, but she didn't want to say it out loud, lest her mother be upset, so she said, "Since it was the master who made the mistake, it's really not your fault. You can go out now."

The two servants kowtowed and left as if they had been pardoned.

Aunt Xue sat for a while, then turned around and went back to her room. Xue Baochai sighed inwardly, knowing that her mother had become suspicious.

Xue Baoqin stuck out her tongue and whispered, "Auntie seems angry. It seems that Brother Huan beat up my eldest brother for some unknown reason. The key is that my eldest brother dared not say anything after being beaten up. It's really strange."

Xue Baochai remained silent. She asked the two servants to come in and asked them again carefully. She then roughly knew the cause of the incident.

(End of this chapter)