The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 432: Stopping the Road for Help
Jia Huan and his servant Mandarin were walking along a winding path when they suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the dense bushes beside the road, like the sound of clothes being scratched by tree branches.

Jia Huan and Mandalin looked at each other, and stopped at the same time, looking carefully towards the place where the sound came from. They vaguely saw a corner of a dress sticking out from behind the tree, and it was obvious that someone was hiding there.

Jia Huan's heart moved, thinking that maybe some mischievous girl was hiding here to scare him, so he smiled and said, "Which sister is hiding behind the tree? I can see you, come out quickly, be careful there are snakes in the bushes..."

This trick really works. As soon as the words were spoken, two women came out from behind the tree in a panic, their faces pale with fear. In fact, anyone with a little common sense would know that snakes would not come out in the middle of winter.

Jia Huan took a closer look and was secretly surprised, because the person who came out from behind the tree was Jia Rong's wife Qin Keliao, and her personal maid Ruizhu.

"Brother Rong and daughter-in-law, why are you hiding here?" Jia Huan asked in surprise.

Qin Keqing's appearance and temperament are indeed similar to Lin Daiyu in some respects, but Qin is more charming and timid, lacking Lin Daiyu's melancholy, aloofness, talent and elegance. In one word, it can be described as "pure desire". Yes, Qin Keqing is the kind of woman that people want to possess as soon as they see her, and her delicate and timid appearance means that she would probably not dare to speak out even if she was bullied. She is simply the best target for anyone to pick. No wonder Jia Zhen dared to have evil thoughts, because possessing such a woman would not bring any negative consequences, and even if she resisted a little, it would only add to the interest.

Qin Keqing was so frightened just now that her face turned pale, but now her pretty face turned red with embarrassment. She patted her chest and asked, "Why did Uncle Huan scare me?"

Wow, this action and this delicate and gentle voice can really melt people, and you can tell that she is not pretending, but is born that way.

Mandarin got goosebumps all over her body. She was so competitive that she straightened her back and tried her best to show off her pear-shaped figure. She only regretted not wearing women's clothes today.

"Well... I thought it was that girl hiding here and playing a joke on us, but I didn't expect it to be Brother Rong's daughter-in-law. Sorry!" Jia Huan said apologetically.

Qin Keliao said, "It turned out that I was reckless."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Brother Rong, has your daughter-in-law come to play in the garden?"

Qin Keliao nodded and said, "I just came from the fourth lady's place."

Fourth Miss Jia Xichun is Jia Zhen's sister, and Qin Keqing's aunt, so it is reasonable for her to go into the garden to visit Jia Xichun. But why did she hide when she saw me? It's not necessary, I'm not a stranger, could it be...

Jia Huan couldn't help but think of Jia Zhen who had just left. Qin Keqing was probably hiding from her beastly eunuch.

It turned out that Jia Huan's guess was correct. Qin Keqing was indeed avoiding Jia Zhen, and she had seen the confrontation between the two sides just now.

"Would Rong's wife like to stay at Yueweiju for a while?" Jia Huan asked politely while pondering, but he didn't expect Qin Keqing to agree.

Sure enough, Qin Keqing shook her head and said, "No, thank you Uncle Huan for your kindness. I just came back from Nuanxiangwu and I'm a little tired. Besides, my mother-in-law is still sick. I have to go back to serve her medicine. Maybe next time."

"Hey, is Grandma Zhen sick?" Jia Huan asked with something in his mind.

Qin Keqing nodded distressedly and said, "I have been ill for a while, and the medicine has not helped. Sigh!"

Jia Huan quickly withdrew his gaze. This girl was really too charming. Her worried look was even more touching. What’s more, she looked so natural without any trace of affectation.

"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Rong and his wife. Please give my regards to Grandma Zhen. I will visit her another day when I have time." Jia Huan bowed slightly, turned around and walked away.

Qin Keqing hesitated as she seemed to be struggling internally. Ruizhu, the maidservant next to her, gently pushed her and whispered, "Grandma, seize the opportunity. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again."

Qin Keqing looked at Jia Huan's half-shadow walking away, her expression changing, and she still couldn't make up her mind. Seeing that Jia Huan was about to disappear at the bend of the winding path, Ruizhu couldn't help but get anxious, and didn't care about being rude, and shouted loudly: "Master Huan, wait a minute!"

Jia Huan stopped and turned around in confusion. Ruizhu pulled Qin Keqing to Jia Huan without saying anything and said urgently, "Master Huan, our grandmother has something to say to you."

Qin Keqing's face turned red and her eyes were flustered, as if she had something to hide.

Seeing this, Jia Huan was moved and said with a smile: "Brother Rong, your daughter-in-law can tell me what you want to say. It's just that it comes out of your mouth and enters my ears."

Qin Keqing glanced at Mandalin sheepishly, and Jia Huan immediately understood and ordered, "Mandalin, wait for me in front."

"Oh!" Mandarin pouted, walked away with her long legs in dissatisfaction, and kicked a stone on the ground away.

Qin Keqing watched Mandarin walk away, and asked Ruizhu to go to the other end of the winding path to keep watch to see if anyone was coming. She was so cautious that Jia Huan felt a little embarrassed, as if the two of them were having a tryst.

thump!
Qin Keqing actually knelt down in front of Jia Huan and said with a trembling voice: "Uncle Huan, save me!"

Jia Huan was startled for a moment, then hurriedly gave him a helping hand and said, "What is Rong's daughter-in-law doing? Get up quickly!"

"I will only get up if Uncle Huan promises to save me!" Qin Keqing said pitifully. Jia Huan frowned, thinking this was just a rogue, and said in a deep voice: "If Rong's daughter-in-law doesn't get up, then I will leave."

Qin Keqing had no choice but to stand up and wipe her tears, saying, "Uncle Huan must help me, otherwise my nephew's wife will not be able to survive."

"What happened? You're making no sense. How can I help you?" Jia Huan shook his head.

Qin Keqing gritted her teeth, probably ready to go all out, and suppressed her shame to tell her about her father-in-law Jia Zhen's molestation of her. She finished with a tearful voice, "Originally, our family is not allowed to make this kind of thing public, but before, that person was still cautious, and only flirted with me when no one was around, and occasionally made some moves, but I avoided them. But recently, my mother-in-law has been ill, and that person has become more and more aggressive. He used the excuse of asking me to serve her medicine in the evening, and took the opportunity to make some moves. Last night... If Ruizhu hadn't seen it, I'm afraid!"

Although Jia Huan had known about this plot for a long time, he was still filled with righteous indignation when he heard Qin Keqing say it herself. He cursed: "Such behavior is worse than that of beasts. They are unworthy of being human!"

Qin Keqing wept and said, "I am now at my wit's end. I can only turn to Uncle Huan for help."

Although Jia Huan was angry, he did not let his anger get to his head. Although Jia Zhen had lost his title, he was still the patriarch of the Jia family, and he was also his cousin. He had to think of a foolproof plan to save him, otherwise he would be bitten back by the other party. Wouldn't that be terrible? The key point was that Qin Keqing was weak and cowardly. What if she changed her words when Jia Zhen put pressure on her? Then he would be in a difficult position.

So Jia Huan asked, "Does Rong know about this?"

Qin Keqing said with shame on her face: "Although he doesn't know, he must have been somewhat alert."

Jia Huan couldn't help but frown and said, "Then why don't you tell him that he is your husband and your support? Why do you come to me for help instead?"

Qin Keqing sighed and said, "Uncle Huan, you don't know. That person always has the final say in the family. Even mother-in-law obeys him in everything. Only he has the right to speak, not you. Our master is even more afraid of him. Even if we tell him about this, he dare not intervene.

Just now... I secretly saw Uncle Huan not backing down in front of the elder master and that person, and that person's title was originally stripped because of the Seventh Prince, so he should be very afraid of the Seventh Prince, so..."

"So you thought of asking me for help?" Jia Huan asked.

Qin Keqing nodded.

Jia Huan was speechless. What was the point of living if a man lived such a miserable life and couldn't even protect his wife?
Jia Huan paced back and forth for a while, and said in a deep voice: "I don't have any good ideas for the time being."

Qin Keqing was greatly disappointed when she heard this. She thought Jia Huan was unwilling to help her. She could only sigh and said, "Forget it. This is my fate. I hope Uncle Huan will not tell anyone about what happened today. Then your nephew's wife will remember your kindness for the rest of her life."

After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave.

Jia Huan hurriedly called out, "Wait a minute, Rong Ge and his wife. I have a plan. Although it cannot completely free you from this predicament, it will be no problem to temporarily get rid of that man's clutches."

Qin Keqing was delighted when she heard this and said, "Really? It would be better to solve the urgent problem first."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Isn't Grandma Zhen ill? Tomorrow you can go out and pray for blessings under the pretext of worshipping Buddha. That person won't be able to stop you. When you get to the nunnery and worship Buddha, you can refuse to leave and say you want to worship Buddha and chant sutras for 49 days to pray for Grandma and eliminate the disaster."

Qin Keqing's eyes lit up. This plan was indeed feasible, so she said happily, "That's a good idea. Thank you, Uncle Huan, for your advice."

Now Qin Keqing couldn't care less and decided to hide for as many days as possible.

Jia Huan reminded, "I suggest you communicate with Rong Ge'er in advance, because once Jia Zhen sees through your intention, he will definitely put pressure on Rong Ge'er. He is your husband. If he can't stand the pressure and takes you back from the nunnery, you can't disobey."

Qin Keqing's pretty face turned slightly pale, and she nodded, "I'll tell him when I get back, oh!"

Jia Zhen couldn't help but feel sympathy, and said, "Brother Rong, take care of your wife. If you really can't hold on any longer, you can report it to the old lady in private. I believe the old lady will handle it impartially."

"Well, Keqing thanks Uncle Huan!" Qin Keqing bowed to Jia Huan.

This time Jia Huan did not dodge. He waved his hand and turned away.

Qin Keqing looked at Jia Huan's back, feeling both happy and grateful, and glad that she had found the right person this time. At this time, Ruizhu ran back and asked nervously in a low voice: "How is it, did Master Huan agree?"

Qin Keqing then repeated Jia Huan's instructions. Ruizhu was delighted when she heard them and said, "That's great. Third Master Huan is indeed a child prodigy."

Qin Keqing nodded and said, "Uncle Huan is indeed extremely smart, but it's a pity that this is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution."

Ruizhu said hurriedly, "It doesn't matter. Let's get through this first. Master Huan San may come up with a solution later. We can ask him for help then."

(End of this chapter)