Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 155: Jia Family Scandal
A few months ago, Jia Zhen's wives and concubines moved out of Ningguo Mansion, and Jia Rong and his wives and concubines also moved out, and many servants followed them.

It is naturally inconvenient for such a large group of people to live in Rongguo Mansion.

Not to mention that Mrs. Wang was unhappy, even Lady Jia was unhappy about this.

Although the Rongguo Mansion was large, there were already many people living in it, and there was no room available for Jia Rong and his group to live in.

Besides, Grandmother Jia was also worried that the women who moved out of Ningguo Mansion would disrupt and corrupt Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Rong and his large group moved into two houses near Ningrong Street.

The two houses are adjacent to each other. One of them is used to house Jia Zhen's wives, concubines and maids, and the one next door is used to house Jia Rong and his wives, concubines and maids.

This was specially arranged by Jia Zhu.

Jia Zhu knew Jia Rong's character very well. He knew that Jia Rong was as lustful as his father Jia Zhen and was a lewd and shameless person. Jia Zhen's wives, concubines and maids were almost all beautiful. If these women were allowed to live with Jia Rong, something unethical might happen.

Jia Zhu really worked hard for the rise and fall of the Jia family and the honor and disgrace of the Jia family.

Ever since Yuan Qingbai ascended the throne and vigorously promoted Jia Zhu, the pillar of the Jia family is neither Jia Zheng nor Jia She, but Jia Zhu.

Ever since Jia Zhen was severely punished, there was a woman who had a hard time.

She was Jia Zhen's concubine Xie Luan.

Jia Zhen was severely punished for taking her as a concubine in violation of filial piety, so that in the eyes of Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang, she was a beauty that brought disaster and a star of doom, and Jia Zhen's second wife hated her even more deeply.

Jia Zhen really loved Xie Luan. Although his severe punishment was related to this concubine, before he was sent to serve in the frontier, he specifically informed Jia Mu and Jia Zhu not to drive Xie Luan away or force Xie Luan to commit suicide, and let Xie Luan live with his second wife.

Jia Zhen felt that his being exiled to the frontier to serve was only a temporary hardship. With the current prosperity of the Jia family, he might be able to return to the capital soon, and Xie Luan would still be able to serve him then.

Both Jia Mu and Jia Zhu felt that if they drove Xie Luan away and allowed her to hook up with other men, it would not only make Jia Zhen a cuckold but would also bring shame to the Jia family. Neither of them had the heart to force Xie Luan to commit suicide.

So, Xie Luan followed Jia Zhen's second wife and moved into a house near Ningrong Street.

At the instruction of Lady Jia, Xie Luan was confined in a shabby room in the back chamber. Her living environment was similar to that of a servant, with no maid to serve her and only a nanny to guard her.

Grandmother Jia also asked Xie Luan to fast and chant Buddhist scriptures to pray for Jia Zhen and the Jia family.

That’s not all. Jia Zhen’s second wife hated Xie Luan deeply and had been treating him harshly for several months.

Even Jia Zhen's other concubines and maids mostly hated Xie Luan, believing that it was Xie Luan who harmed them, and these concubines and maids also disliked Xie Luan.

From this, we can imagine how tormented Xie Luan's life was during those months. If she hadn't been afraid of death, she would have committed suicide.

And just recently, there was a ray of light in Xie Luan's dark days.

This dawn was brought by Jia Rong.

Jia Rong had long been infatuated with Xie Luan's beauty. Now that Jia Zhen, whom he feared, had been exiled to the frontier and Xie Luan was in misery, he felt that he had an opportunity.

Moreover, Jia Zhen had cheated on his wives and concubines, so he harbored hatred towards Jia Zhen and thought that having an affair with Xie Luan would be his revenge on Jia Zhen.

Jia Rong is not a coward. In the original novel, he dared to have an affair with You Erjie, and even dared to instigate Jia Lian to violate filial piety to the country and family and secretly marry You Erjie as his second wife.

So, recently Jia Rong found an opportunity and secretly instigated Xie Luan to escape!
Xie Luan was persuaded by Jia Rong. She had long had a crush on the young and handsome Jia Rong and also wanted to escape her current life which was worse than death. Jia Rong also promised her that he would treat her well in the future and that they would love each other and stay together.

Today, a good opportunity to escape came.

On this day, Jia Zhen's second wife went to Rongguo Mansion to curry favor with Lady Jia, and the security of the house where she lived was lax.

At this time, Xie Luan took the opportunity to slip out from the back door of the mansion, and then got on a carriage prepared in advance by Jia Rong. The carriage quickly rushed to Dongzhimen in the east wall of Shenjing City and arrived at a courtyard house in the eastern suburbs.

This courtyard house was also prepared by Jia Rong in advance.

According to Jia Rong's speculation, the Jia family would not search for Xie Luan in a high-profile manner. In this case, this courtyard house in the eastern suburbs would be his and Xie Luan's love nest in the future. If the Jia family searched for her in a high-profile manner, he would secretly arrange for Xie Luan to live in a farther and more secret place.

Not long after Xie Luan escaped, she was discovered by the nanny who was guarding her. The nanny was horrified and hurried to Rongguo Mansion to report to Jia Zhen's second wife.

When Lady Jia learned about this, she was shocked.

Jia Zhen’s concubine Xie Luan actually ran away?

Outrageous!

Grandmother Jia was furious and wanted to launch a massive search to bring Xie Luan back, but she also knew that if she did so in a big way, the matter would spread widely, bringing shame to the Jia family, affecting the reputations of Yuanchun, Jia Zhu, and Jia Zheng, and might even affect Jia Yun, who had just reported to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for his new post today.

After much deliberation, Grandmother Jia decided to send someone to inform Jia Zheng and Jia Zhu of the news to see what decision the two masters of the family would make.

Upon hearing the news, Jia Zheng and Jia Zhu both thought that the matter should not be made public, so they just sent people to search quietly.

Jia Rong, who was originally quite nervous, relaxed a little and even felt a little proud.

That afternoon, Jia Rong could no longer bear the heat in his heart, so he rode quietly to the eastern suburbs and came to the courtyard where he had settled Xie Luan.

Although this courtyard is located in the eastern suburbs of Shenyang, it is remote and sparsely populated. There are fields and orchards nearby, and there are rolling hills not far away.

Jia Rong dismounted at the gate of the courtyard and knocked on the door himself.

A maid named Zhuang'er hid behind the door and asked nervously, "Who is it?"

Zhuang'er was a maid that Jia Rong had recently bought, specifically to serve Xie Luan. Zhuang'er was not a beauty, but she was tall and strong, and quite powerful.

Jia Rong thought that for the sake of secrecy, he should not send too many maids and old women to serve Xie Luan, and only arrange one maid. Zhuang'er could serve as both a maid who did menial work and a personal maid.

Jia Rong originally wanted to name Zhuang'er "Zhuang'er", but because "Zhuang'er" was indecent and not suitable as a maid's name, he chose the homophonic "Zhuang'er".

At this moment, in response to Zhuang'er's question from inside the door, Jia Rong said, "Your Master Rong is here!"

Zhuang'er heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the voice, then opened the gate and respectfully welcomed Jia Rong in.

Jia Rong asked Zhuang'er, "Where is the person?"

Zhuang'er said, "Inside the house."

Jia Rong nodded and walked impatiently to the main room. As soon as he reached the outside of the main hall, he saw Xie Luan inside.

Looking at Xie Luan's beautiful and graceful figure, Jia Rong was so excited that his heart was bursting with joy. He walked faster and stepped over the threshold.

"Uncle Rong!"

Xie Luan was also excited when she saw Jia Rong, a man with a handsome face, charming figure, light fur coat, precious belt, and beautiful clothes and crown. She bowed to Jia Rong first, then raised her head and gazed at him with eyes full of water.

Jia Rong was so eager that he took out a silver ingot of five taels and handed it to Zhuang'er: "This is a reward for you. Remember to keep it strictly confidential and serve the young lady wholeheartedly in the future."

Jia Rong previously addressed Xie Luan as "Auntie", but he no longer does so now.

Zhuanger happily took the silver ingot and said, "Don't worry, Master Rong. I saved it."

Jia Rong waved his hand and said, "Go and guard outside the house."

Zhuang'er smiled knowingly and walked out of the main room.

Jia Rong hurriedly grabbed Xie Luan's hand and led Xie Luan into the bedroom.

As soon as they entered the bedroom, Jia Rong hugged Xie Luan tightly in his arms and whispered into her ear, "My dear, I miss you so much!"

Xie Luan admired Jia Rong, and was about the same age as Jia Rong, with a somewhat innocent personality. She had anticipated the situation, so she did not refuse. She just timidly muttered, "Master, I... I'm afraid that if this gets out, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive."

Jia Rong let Xie Luan go a little, looked Xie Luan in the eye, and said solemnly, "Don't worry. I told you that this matter is not easy to leak out. Even if it is leaked, I will risk my life to arrange for you to escape to a farther and more secret place. From now on, I will love you well, and we should stay together for a long time."

After saying this, Jia Rong kissed Xie Luan impatiently. Xie Luan was a little reserved at first, but soon he could not help himself and responded enthusiastically. The two of them made love for a while and went to Wushan together.

At the moment, Rongguo Mansion has sent many people to secretly search for Xie Luan, and Jia Mu, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhu and others are all worried about this...

In the frontier far away from the capital, Jia Zhen is working to atone for his sins...

……

……

That day, Jia Zhu did not work overtime. After getting off work on time, he hurried back to Rongguo Mansion and then hurried to the house where Jia Rong lived.

"Brother Rong has been missing for nearly two hours?"

Jia Zhu learned that Jia Rong said he was going out to search for Xie Luan this afternoon, but he had been gone for nearly two hours and had not returned yet. This made Jia Zhu suspicious.

Jia Zhu deliberately waited for a moment before he saw Jia Rong coming back.

When Jia Rong saw that Jia Zhu was waiting for him at his house, he couldn't help feeling a little flustered.

Jia Zhu asked in a deep voice: "Rong'er, where have you been?"

Jia Rong pretended to be calm and said, "I'm going to look for that aunt."

Jia Zhu asked again in a deep voice: "Why did you take so long? Have you found his whereabouts?"

Jia Rong said, "I went to search outside the city, but I haven't found it yet."

Jia Zhu asked: "How do you know she fled out of the city?"

Jia Rong said, "I thought that since she fled, she must have fled out of the city."

Jia Zhu stared at Jia Rong with eyes as sharp as torches: "Where did you go to search outside the city?"

Jia Rong became increasingly flustered: "I... I went to the eastern suburbs."

Jia Zhu asked: "How do you know she fled to the eastern suburbs?"

Jia Rong said, "I don't know either. I'm just guessing. Instead of waiting at home, why not go and search?"

Jia Zhu asked: "Why did you guess that she fled to the eastern suburbs instead of the northern, western or southern suburbs?"

Jia Rong was speechless...

Next, Jia Zhu continued to ask a few more questions, and Jia Rong's responses became more and more vague.

After questioning him, Jia Zhu sighed inwardly, "It seems that Xie Luan's escape this time is most likely related to Rong Ge'er! If this is true, my Jia family has been scandalized again, alas!"

(End of this chapter)