The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 362 Special Care
In the prison of the Nanjing Pacification Office, Xue Pan was completely sober now and was fidgeting in the cell, half because of anxiety and fear, and the other half because of the "old fleas" in the prison. Master Pan was raised in a noble family, so how could his white and tender fat body withstand the itch? So he kept scratching, as if he was performing a monkey show.

There were several other prisoners in the same cell with Xue Pan. Seeing that this man was dressed luxuriously and must have a lot of valuables on him, they couldn't help but feel greedy, but they didn't know his identity for the time being, so they didn't dare to act rashly.

Although Xue Pan was a muddleheaded fellow, it is the instinct of all animals to sense danger. So when these prisoners looked at him with ill intentions, he also realized that something was wrong. However, this fellow was always domineering and not afraid. Instead, he rolled his eyes and scolded: "What are you looking at? I'll dig out your eyeballs carefully. You don't even ask who in Jinling City dares to provoke me, your uncle Pan. You are a dog-like thing, and you dare to covet me. Do you believe it, I'll beat your dog brains out?"

Several prisoners looked at each other with resentment in their eyes, but most people in the world tend to bully the weak and fear the strong. Seeing Xue Pan being so arrogant, they were afraid that he must be someone powerful, so they dared not act rashly.

At this moment, the dark prison suddenly became a little brighter. It turned out that the prison door was opened. The prison head led a man in and shouted, "Xue Pan, someone is here to visit."

Xue Pan was overjoyed. He held the iron bars with both hands, tried to stick his head out, and shouted, "I'm here."

The man who came was Xue Ke. He hurried to the front of the cell and said, "Brother!"

"Brother Tad, why did you come just now? I don't want to stay in this damn place for a moment. Hey, who's there, open the door quickly and let me out." Xue Pan pointed at the jailer who was leading the way and said in a commanding tone.

The jailer couldn't help but laugh. He grinned and said, "Letting you go is just a daydream. Damn it, you won't cry until you see the coffin."

Xue Pan was startled for a moment, and quickly asked: "Brother Tad, aren't you here to pick me up?"

Xue Ke hesitated and said, "Don't worry, Brother Pan. I'll talk to you later." Then he turned to the prison boss and said politely, "Can I have a private chat with you?"

The jailer, who had just received benefits from Xue Ke, snorted coldly and said, "It will only take a stick of incense." Then he turned around and left.

Seeing the jailer leave, Xue Ke whispered, "Brother, I'm afraid you'll have to stay here for a few days."

Xue Pan's face immediately fell when he heard this: "Why? Didn't you send someone to deliver a letter to my uncle and aunt?"

Xue Ke said helplessly: "I have sent someone, but distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. I can only inconvenience you for a while."

Xue Pan said anxiously, "Then go find Jia Yucun. He is the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture. He was able to settle the murder case I committed a few years ago. There will definitely be no problem this time."

Xue Ke said bitterly, "Of course I did. If it weren't for Lord Jia's help, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to get into this cell. Brother, tell me the truth, who did you sell those old ships to?"

Xue Pan said innocently, "You ask me, who should I ask? I don't know the people I met in the entertainment place well. I only know that the guy is called Sixth Master."

Xue Ke could not help but complain: "Brother, you are too foolish. You sold the boat without even knowing the man's name. Now you have caused trouble."

Xue Pan rolled his eyes and said, "I just sold a batch of old boats. What's wrong with that? There are so many people doing business in the world. Do they all ask questions of their customers?"

Xue Ke was speechless for a moment, knowing that he would not get anything out of him if he continued to ask, and might even make his cousin angry, so he could only say, "I brought a blanket and some clothes, so you won't be cold at night. You can stay here for a few days, and we'll find a way to rescue you later."

After Xue Ke finished speaking, he asked his followers to take the bedding, clothes, food boxes and other belongings they had brought into the cell and leave them there.

Xue Pan said angrily, "What do you want to see? Do you think this is a place for people to stay? Let Jia Yucun find a way to get me out."

Xue Ke frowned and whispered, "That Lei Zhenfu was very tough. The prefect had to talk his head off before he agreed to visit. I'm afraid he won't release my brother easily."

Xue Pan was both shocked and angry, and cursed in a low voice: "I just sold a batch of old ships, but Lei made a big deal out of it. It's clearly revenge."

Xue Ke immediately understood the hidden meaning and asked hurriedly, "Brother, have you ever offended Lei Zhenfu?"

Xue Pan hesitated and said, "It's not a big deal. The Lei family has raised a child. She is good-looking, light and gentle, and can serve people..."

Xue Ke understood immediately, and didn't know what to say. His cousin had just been severely punished for coveting Jia Huan's foreign maid and had been ill for nearly half a month. As a result, he had just recovered and went to provoke the Jinyiwei to pacify him. He complained: "Brother, you have a lot of people serving you, why bother to provoke that Lei guy."

Xue Pan defended himself, "I never tried to provoke him. He was the one who was too greedy and threw himself into my arms. I thought we could just have fun once and then stop having any contact, but I didn't expect to be caught. That Lei guy is too narrow-minded. He is just like Huan Lao San. He is just a servant, so why would he take it so seriously?"

Xue Ke said helplessly: "Brother, just stay here for a few days." After saying that, he was about to leave.

Xue Pan asked anxiously, "How many days will it take?" How could Xue Ke be sure? He could only comfort him, "At the fastest, it will take three to five days, at the slowest, it will take ten to eight days. Anyway, we will find a way to rescue Big Brother as soon as possible."

Xue Pan had no choice but to watch Xue Ke leave helplessly. When he turned around, he found that the food box had been taken away by those inmates at some point and they were wolfing it down.

"You bastards, I fuck you!" Xue Pan got furious when he saw this. He rushed forward and tried to take back the food box, but was held down and beaten by the other party. All the valuables on his body were taken away, and even his outer clothes were stripped off. He fell to the ground groaning in embarrassment.

However, although Xue Pan was beaten black and blue, he still said submissively, cursing: "You bastards, how dare you hit me? Do you know who I am? I am Xue Pan, the eldest master of the Xue family. My uncle is the father-in-law of the current emperor, and my uncle is the Minister of War. You are dead."

"Bah, just keep bragging!" A prisoner spat at Xue Pan and sneered, "If you are so awesome, why are you locked up here?"

Another prisoner chuckled and said, "Don't pretend, we all heard it just now. Hehe, you are really brave. You slept with Lei Lao Hu's people. With Lei Lao Hu's temper, you will be skinned alive if you don't die."

The third prisoner said fiercely: "Why bother with him? Let's divide these clothes and quilts." After saying that, he snatched all the bedding and other items sent by Xue Ke and divided them among himself.

The cell was already cold and gloomy, and it was already the mid-autumn season. Xue Pan, who was only wearing his inner clothes, was shivering with cold.

After Xue Ke left the cell, he stuffed another twenty taels of silver into the jailer's pocket and asked him to take care of Xue Pan and move him to a separate cell.

The jailer accepted the money and readily agreed. However, after Xue Ke left, he immediately sneered, turned around and found Jinyiwei Captain Zhou Hua, respectfully handed over ten taels of silver, and said with a smile: "The Xue family has already visited, and they gave me ten taels of silver, asking me to take good care of Xue Pan and move him to a separate cell."

Zhou Hua tossed the silver ingot and said with a grim smile, "It is necessary to take care of me, but I heard that the Xue family has a fortune of millions, so it's really stingy to give them such a small amount of silver."

The jailer smiled and said, "That's right, but the Xue family's only child is in our hands, so we won't have to worry about not squeezing a lot of money out of him."

Zhou Hua smiled sinisterly and whispered something into the prison boss's ear. The latter nodded and said, "I won't bother with that."

Zhou Hua chuckled and said, "What a stupid bully, once you enter our Jinyiwei prison, no matter how strong you are, you will become a sheep. Master Xue likes male homosexuality, then find ten or so strong prisoners to serve him."

The jailer couldn't help but feel his back tense and laughed, "Great!"

That night, Xue Pan's screams like a pig being slaughtered were heard in the cell, and they continued almost all night long.

The next afternoon, Aunt Xue, Baochai and others were anxiously waiting at home. Finally, the doorman came in and reported: "The prefect has arrived."

Aunt Xue hurriedly asked the servants to open the front door and welcome him in. She then prepared wine and a feast for Jia Yucun in the living room. Xue Ke sat at the side, while Aunt Xue and Baochai sat at the other side, separated by a screen.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Jia Yucun, who was in casual clothes, stroked his beard and said, "Thank you, Madam Xue, for your hospitality."

"No, no, you are too polite, Lord Jia. I hope you will take more care of my son's affairs." Aunt Xue said across the screen.

Jia Yucun frowned and said, "I have already inquired about it. I am afraid that your son's crime this time is a bit tricky and complicated. I am afraid that he may be suspected of aiding the thief."

Aunt Xue trembled all over and said in a lost voice: "Thief?"

Jia Yucun nodded and said, "The old boat that your son sold last month eventually fell into the hands of the thief leader Kang Dayong. However, when Kang Dayong tried to escape on the boat, the boat exploded, killing some of the thieves on the spot, including Kang Dayong's brother Kang Dayi. It is suspected that the murder was to silence the witnesses. It should be related to the smuggling salt case. I believe Madam Xue also knows that the Yangzhou smuggling salt case involves a wide range of people. Even the Prince Yi Zhong's mansion was ordered by the emperor to be under house arrest and sealed off. If your son is involved, it may not be easy for him to escape."

Aunt Xue turned pale and asked in a trembling voice, "What should we do?"

"This..." Jia Yucun said with an embarrassed look on his face: "I'm afraid I can't do anything about it."

Aunt Xue was immediately as if she had drunk ice water, and her heart sank. Xue Baochai quickly reached out and held her mother's hand, saying, "Your Excellency the prefect, you can see clearly that although my brother is reckless, he would never do anything like supporting thieves. Moreover, my Xue family has never been involved in the salt business, and has absolutely nothing to do with the illegal salt case in Yangzhou."

Jia Yucun said in a deep voice: "Although what Miss Xue said is true, the case is handled by the Jinyiwei. Although I am the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, I cannot interfere."

(End of this chapter)