The splendor of the Red Chamber, the power that reigns supreme.

Chapter 66 Xue Baochai's Letter

The tyrant's words were like a thunderbolt, stunning everyone in the room. Madam Xue's mouth hung open, her previous anger still frozen on her face, but the shock and anger in her eyes melted away like ice meeting boiling water, quickly replaced by an unbelievable, ecstatic joy. Her voice trembled as she said, "Pan'er! My son! You...you've really figured it out? You want to study hard?"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, her eyes shining brightly. She clasped her hands together and bowed repeatedly towards the sky, saying, "Amitabha! Amitabha! The Bodhisattva has appeared! Our ancestors have blessed me! I have finally seen the light!" Tears of joy welled up in her eyes.

Xiangling was utterly terrified by the words "given away." Her body went limp, and if Xue Pan hadn't been holding her wrist, she would have collapsed to the ground. Helplessly, she looked at Madam Xue, but received no response. Tears streamed down her face like a burst dam, yet she dared not cry out loud. Her eyes were glistening with tears, and she looked frail, delicate, and pitiful.

Xue Pan dragged Xiangling out of the courtyard.

"and many more!"

With a soft rustling of the beaded curtain, Xue Baochai, supported by Ying'er, slowly emerged. She wore a casual honey-colored jacket and a pale yellow silk cotton skirt, her hair loosely tied in a bun with a plain silver hairpin. Her expression remained as serene and composed as ever, without the slightest ripple.

Her originally fair and jade-like cheeks were now covered with a very light, yet exceptionally beautiful, blush, like a touch of rouge spreading on the first snow, which made her exquisite face appear somewhat delicate and shy.

She forced down her turbulent emotions, took out the tightly sealed letters with elegant paper from her sleeve, and handed them over with both hands.

“I’ll trouble you, brother,” Baochai said, her voice trying to remain calm, but still revealing a hint of tension. “If you go to see Master Ximen, please pass this letter on. It was originally a thank-you note I… drafted on behalf of my mother, just to express my gratitude.”

When "Master Ximen" was mentioned, the light blush on her cheeks suddenly deepened, like splashed cinnabar, quickly spreading to her delicate earlobes and slender neck, even making her honey-colored collar seem to be tinged with a layer of rosy light.

Xue Pan was completely captivated by his sister's unusual behavior and the letter. He abruptly released Xiangling's hand, which he had been holding tightly. Xiangling, freed from her restraints, felt her legs go weak and staggered, barely managing to steady herself by grabbing onto the rosewood table beside her. She was still sobbing, clearly shaken.

Xue Pan ignored her, grabbed the letter, weighed it in his hand, and his gaze was fixed on Baochai's beautiful face, which was as lovely as a peach blossom. His smile, which was both enlightened and mischievous, widened instantly. He was certainly naive, but he wasn't stupid.

"Hey! Little sister!" He deliberately dragged out his words, his voice surprisingly loud and reeking of alcohol, "This thank-you note of yours... it's probably no ordinary thank-you note, is it? Your face is all red! Tsk tsk tsk, like a peach blossom in March!"

He glanced sideways at Baochai, trying to appear nonchalant, but the blush had already spread from her cheeks to her neck, and her breathing had become slightly rapid. Suddenly, his playful smile vanished, and a rare, clumsy earnestness appeared on his face, which was somewhat swollen from the alcohol: "Good sister, we're siblings, you know me, and I know you too! You're usually so pure and innocent, keeping everything to yourself! But today, even I, your brother, can see through you a bit!"

He leaned closer: "What's the point of life if not to be carefree and do whatever you want? Rules and regulations are all meaningless! What matters most is being able to feel at ease!"

"Why bother with other people's gossip! My brother is a scoundrel, irresponsible, but I hope my wife lives a long life, and I hope you are well, that you can be happy and content every day! It's all from the bottom of my heart! If you want to do something, then do it!"

After Xue Pan finished speaking, he shoved the heavy letter haphazardly into his arms, not caring that it was crooked. Then, he reached out again and grabbed Xiang Ling's arm, who was still trembling and tear-stained, as if he were picking up a piece of merchandise.

"It's done! That's it!" The rough laughter and Xiangling's suppressed, soft, animal-like sobs, mixed with the strong smell of alcohol on his body, swept through the corridor, and the kicked-open partition door was still shaking on its own.

Baochai stood rooted to the spot, motionless. She slowly raised her eyelids, gazing in the direction Xue Pan had disappeared outside the door, her expression complex. However, these turbulent emotions eventually subsided, transforming into a silent, bitter smile on her lips.

She sighed silently in her heart: "My dear brother... 'We are siblings, you know me, and I understand you just as well'... What you said is absolutely true."

“Every time you come back from trouble, don’t you swear that you will ‘learn to be good’? Don’t you pat your chest and point to the sky every time? ‘I will never misbehave again,’ ‘I will definitely learn to do business,’ ‘I will put my mother’s mind at ease’… Which of these words is new?”

"This time, he probably incurred another debt of love outside, ran out of money from visiting prostitutes, and thus desperately sent Xiangling to Ximen Da Guanren as payment, using 'repaying a debt of gratitude' and 'learning to be good' as excuses to appease his mother!"

Xue Baochai sighed, "If only I were a third as naive as you."

Looking back.

Madam Xue was still immersed in the immense joy of her son's "sudden awakening," and she clasped her hands together, murmuring "May the Bodhisattva protect you."

Baochai felt a profound sense of powerlessness grip her heart, a hundred times greater than the embarrassment she had just felt. To expect her wayward brother to turn over a new leaf and restore the Xue family's honor? It was nothing short of a pipe dream! This vast family fortune, this crumbling wealth, this foolish mother…

"The future of the Xue family..." Baochai's eyes suddenly cleared, the shyness and panic of a young woman instantly suppressed by a deeper resolve, leaving only an almost cold clarity. "In the end, it all depends on... whether I can be chosen as a lady-in-waiting in the palace, a companion to the princess." She thought of the upcoming palace selection, and of all the things her mother had secretly entrusted to her uncle, Prince Teng, to arrange. Only that path was the right way to support the crumbling Xue family.

Meanwhile, Master Ximen returned to his mansion, dismounted, tossed his riding whip to the stable boy who came to greet him, and strode to the front yard.

As I strolled to the entrance of the side hall, I immediately spotted Xue Pan's impatient and smug expression, like a broker who had just closed a big deal. Glancing behind Xue Pan, I saw, sure enough, a young woman named Xiangling, dressed in a plain-colored shirt, huddled up with her head down. I couldn't see her face clearly, only a slender, delicate white neck and slightly trembling shoulders, like a little sparrow with wings wet from the rain.

Upon seeing Ximen Qing, Xue Pan immediately reacted as if he had seen his own father. He rushed forward and yanked Xiangling, who was cowering in the corner, in front of him, his movements so rough that he almost made her stumble. Pointing at Xiangling, he spat almost onto Ximen Qing's face: "Brother! Look! I kept my word and brought her to you! This is her, Xiangling! She's beautiful and has a wonderful temperament!" He turned to Xiangling and said, "Did you hear that? From now on, Master Ximen is your master! Serve him well!"

Xiangling swayed as he pulled her, her head drooping even lower, almost burying itself in her chest. Her thin body trembled even more violently, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white, but she dared not utter a sound.

After Xue Pan finished speaking, he seemed to remember something important and suddenly slapped his shiny bald head: "Oh dear! Look at my memory!" He hurriedly pulled a crumpled envelope from his pocket and handed it to Ximen Qing with both hands, his face full of fawning smiles: "And this is a letter from my sister Baochai to you, brother! Hehe, brother, take a look?"

A letter to me?

Ximen Da Guanren was taken aback.

He took it. He tore open the seal, pulled out the letter, and glanced at it. The handwriting was neat and elegant, exuding a refined and understated charm.

(End of this chapter)