Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 180: The Gatekeeper Guards the Beauty

The old women were about to step forward to pull them apart, but they saw Master Cong Sanye standing in front of the nun with a gloomy face and staring at them like knives, as if he wanted to skin them alive. They all shuddered.

It is said that this Third Master Cong is a scholar, but the way he looks at people is so creepy.

We all heard about how ruthlessly he punished Wang Shanbao's wife. That old woman had been beheaded two years ago, even her bones had melted into dust.

Just thinking about it made their hearts turn cold. At this moment, they did not care about Zhou Ruijia's urging and their steps froze in place.

When Zhou Rui's wife saw this scene, her expression changed a little, but she had the old lady's order and Mrs. Wang's support, so she was very embarrassed if it ended in such a disgrace.

She has embarrassed the old lady and the madam. How can she survive in this inner house in the future? All the servants in the house will laugh at her behind her back.

Also, she was the one who hinted to Madam Wang Ziteng in secret, which led to the other party's vicious plan to sue Jia Cong. Although she had received secret instructions from the madam, she could not escape the connection.

I heard that this matter later alarmed the imperial court and many people suffered. It has become a big deal. Although she was not implicated for the time being, Zhou Ruijia was always worried.

This matter has become a thorn in her heart, and it has made her more and more wary of Jia Cong. He is unlucky and restrained in the mansion, and is controlled by the old lady and the lady, so the threat he poses to her is less, which is naturally what she wants most.

Thinking of this, his tone became stiff. He just wanted to suppress Jia Cong's arrogance so that he could get the job done.

"Third Master, we have received the old lady's order, please don't make things difficult for me. If the old lady blames us, no one can afford to offend!"

"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and take this woman away. The old lady is still waiting for a reply!"

Jia Cong didn't say anything either, but just walked forward slowly.

Seeing him approaching step by step, with an indescribable chill in his eyes, Zhou Ruijia suddenly felt flustered.

There was a crisp "pop" sound, so loud that it seemed to echo outside the entire second gate.

Without any warning, Jia Cong slapped Zhou Ruijia hard in the face.

He practiced swordplay every day, and this blow was extremely powerful. Zhou Ruijia staggered twice, but he couldn't stop his momentum and fell to the ground like a rotten tree stump, splashing dust all over the ground.

This scene stunned everyone present.

Zhou Ruijia was Lady Wang's companion and her most trusted confidant. Lady Wang was the housekeeper of the Rongguo Mansion, and Wang Xifeng was just her assistant who helped her manage the household affairs.

Mrs. Wang's trust in Zhou Rui's wife is probably even greater than that in Wang Xifeng. For example, if there are some private matters, she would let Zhou Rui's wife do it, but would never ask her niece from her own family to do it.

Relying on Mrs. Wang's power, Mrs. Zhou was a very respectable person among the servants in the mansion. Even Baoyu, Sanchun and other sisters had to respectfully call her Aunt Zhou when they saw her.

No one present could have imagined in their wildest dreams that such a respectable servant of Zhou Ruijia would be slapped in the face and beaten so hard.

The maids brought by Zhou Rui's wife were intimidated by Jia Cong's power, and none of them dared to help Zhou Rui's wife.

Jia Cong slapped Zhou Rui's wife in the face, causing half of her face to become red and swollen, with blood oozing from her mouth. She looked extremely miserable.

He pointed at Jia Cong with an incredulous look on his face: "You dare to hit me..."

"I'm going to hit you! I call you Auntie Zhou for the sake of my wife. Wu'er has already told you that she is my maid Zhishao, but you still take advantage of her power and dare to take my person.

You think you can act arrogantly just because you are the lady's companion. You are just a servant of the Jia family. How dare you show off in front of your master? If I don't teach you a lesson, it will be the ruin of the Jia family's reputation!

If you dare to come in front of me again, beware of your life!"

Jia Cong looked up at the deep and winding inner courtyard of the second gate and said, "Since the old lady can't tolerate my people, I won't go into the mansion to annoy her."

Although Jia Cong slapped Zhou Rui's wife, it actually hit Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang on the face.

According to his previous temperament, he would not have done such an extreme thing because he was afraid of the filial piety and etiquette of this world.

But when he lived in the East Courtyard, he was oppressed and abused. He was unable to protect even his most beloved maid, who was forced to jump into the river and suffer so much. He always blamed himself deeply.

Now Zhou Ruijia had hit him in the sore spot again and was trying to humiliate Zhishao. How could he not be furious? If he had not still retained his rationality, he would have even wanted to kill someone.

As for the consequences of doing so, he didn't care. Even if Lady Jia disliked him, she would not accuse him of any crime for beating a servant, otherwise it would be a joke if it got out.

Because in the eyes of people like Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang, servants are servants. No matter how close their relationship with their masters is or how prestigious they are, they cannot change this fact.

If they wanted to punish Jia Cong, they would only find excuses from other places.

Therefore, Jia Cong did not take Zhou Rui's wife seriously at all. He slapped her today just for show. Although this would lose face for Lady Jia and Lady Wang, and would cause a lot of private twists and turns, at least in the future, if someone wanted to do something to someone close to him, they would have to think twice.

……

Mrs. Zhou Rui was frightened by the slap from Jia Cong and saw Jia Cong looking at her with murderous intent.

She was afraid that he would get impulsive and do something out of line, which would cost her life. Now even her wife was too late to save her.

Now she thought of herself as a family slave. Even if Jia Cong beat her to death, he would not have to pay with his life. He was an official, and even the clan officials could not hit him with a stick. The most he would have to pay was some salary.

Originally, I thought that relying on the orders of the old lady and the lady, Jia Cong would have to surrender obediently, but I didn't expect that he would go against common sense and break off relations regardless of the consequences.

Take out the positions of master and servant and do it directly to yourself.

It had been many years since the Jia family had produced such a brutal and cruel person. Although they hated him very much, they did not dare to make a sound at this moment, for fear of suffering a loss at the hands of this madman.

Jia Cong was heard saying to the maids, "Tell the old lady and the mistress what I just said. If you dare to say a wrong word or exaggerate, and let me know, you must watch out for me!"

Even a respectable woman like Zhou Rui's was slapped like a dead dog by Master Cong Sanye. How could those old women dare to say no? They quickly agreed in a meek manner.

Jinghui had tears in her eyes and was excited as she looked at Jia Cong's back. Wu'er, Qingwen and Yinglian all had bright eyes. This was their Third Master who would protect them no matter what happened.

……

In Rongqing Hall, Zhou Ruijia's cheeks were swollen and her face was in a mess. She knelt on the ground and cried to Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang.

“Old lady, I have been loyal to my master all my life. I have served my master wholeheartedly in the Jia family for so many years. The old lady and the mistress have been kind to me and have never touched a servant.

Now I am doing things for the old lady and the madam, but he hits me. He is not hitting me, he is hitting the old lady and the madam in the face. Please ask the old ancestor and the madam to help me. "

When Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang saw her like this, they were also frightened.

The Jia family has always treated their servants kindly, especially towards maids like Lady Jia's chambermaid Lai and Lady Wang's chambermaid Zhou Ruijia, who had been with them since childhood.

In order to show their generosity, they even treat them the same as family members.

However, because he was too close to them, he failed to control his subordinates well, and over time, these old slaves became arrogant and extravagant.

The so-called "broken garden" in Lai Ma's house, with springs, rocks, trees, pavilions and terraces, is like half of the Grand View Garden. It is easy to imagine where a servant could get so much money.

It is with the help of these old servants that Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang are able to firmly control the power in the inner house.

Now seeing Zhou Rui's wife being beaten like this by Jia Cong, their faces were filled with shock and anger.

Grandmother Jia said angrily: "How can this evil creature be so lawless!"

He pointed at the women and cursed, "Didn't you go with us? Are you all dead? How could you make such a fuss? What's going on?"

One of the brave old women explained the situation and repeated Jia Cong's words.

Not a single word was wrong and no exaggeration was dared. They were all old people in the mansion, and they all knew that what was said in Rongqing Hall would spread out in no time.

If there is any falsehood or lie in the words and it gets to the ears of Master Cong Sanye, it will be no joke. He is the kind of person who would even beat Zhou Ruijia if he says so.

After hearing this, Jia's mother was stunned for a moment, realizing that something was wrong, and asked, "What did you say? The nun he brought back was his former maid Zhishao. Didn't that girl jump into the river and die?"

The old woman replied, "Madam, we have never seen Zhishao. It was Wu'er, the maidservant of the Third Master, who told us about her.

Aunt Zhou also said that the girl was dead, and that Third Master and his men had deliberately lied to us and asked us to take care of the girl first, which led to an argument with Third Master, so... "

After hearing this, Jia's mother probably guessed the situation. If the nun was really the maid from before, given the boy's behavior back then, he would never let anyone touch that girl.

Madam Wang said, "This Zhishao was originally a maid in the East Courtyard and has never been around in the West Courtyard. No one here knows her. Cong'er said that this nun is Zhishao, but I'm afraid it's hard to tell the truth."

Suddenly a voice said, "Madam, although not many people in the West Mansion have seen Zhishao, my second sister and I happened to have met her once in the past. If we just go over and take a look, we will know clearly. This cannot be fake."

A young girl came in from outside the hall. She had pretty eyes and thin eyebrows, a bright gaze, and was wearing a long coat with a cross collar and embroidered flowers on an apricot red background. She was talking as she walked, looking smart and capable. It was the third girl, Tanchun.

(End of this chapter)