Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 18 Losing his wife and losing his troops

Li Chen's unconventional sitting completely threw the two of them off balance. Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and bewilderment on each other's faces.

How should this play proceed?
"Sister Ping'er, I'm thirsty. Could you please bring me a pot of tea?"

"……Yes."

Seeing the current state of things in the room, Ping'er had no choice but to go along with her temper.

Li Chen slowly sipped his tea, still feeling unsatisfied, and gestured towards Wang Xifeng with his lip: "Sister Ping'er, pour a cup for your grandmother too, to soothe her throat. Judging from her condition, she's probably about to lose her voice."

Ping'er awkwardly agreed, and under the pretext of pouring tea, she stood between Li Chen and Wang Xifeng, and asked urgently in a low voice, "It's over, Madam, this big shot is hard to get rid of, what should we do?"

Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth and squeezed out a few words: "How should I know? Are you just going to let it go like this?!"

After drinking half a cup of warm tea, Wang Xifeng steeled her heart and started crying again, "Lin Daiyu is right here today, so if you have the guts, say those outrageous things again!"

Li Chen calmly put down his teacup, nodded slightly, and fanned the flames with interest, "Hmm, Second Brother Lian, why don't you tell me, can a mere woman like me really bankrupt the vast Rongguo Mansion?"

Jia Lian was caught off guard and immediately found himself in a very awkward situation.

Admitting it would be shameless, and if word got out, he would be severely punished. Even Grandmother Jia had already demanded that Lin Daiyu's allowance be increased, not decreased. Denying it would be too much for him to swallow his pride and act subservient.

He came to lend a helping hand, but unexpectedly the fire ended up burning him instead.
Enraged, Jia Lian decided to take the act seriously and went berserk.

Turning around, he drew the decorative sword hanging on the wall and angrily pointed it at Wang Xifeng: "You shrew! I was trying to reason with you, but you're throwing mud at me! Since none of us are having a good time, let's settle things once and for all!"

Having said that, he actually drew his sword and charged at Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng was so frightened by this scene that her face turned pale. There was no mention of this scene in the rehearsals. This fool must be serious, and the sword is really going to fall on her head.

Chaos erupted inside the room. Ping'er, terrified, rushed forward to stop them, while Wang Xifeng hid behind Ping'er. Feng'er, even more frightened, collapsed to the ground and tried to crawl out on all fours.

Zijuan and Xueyan were also quite frightened by this display of force.

Worried about his young lady's safety, he quickly leaned close to her ear and advised, "Miss, Miss, let's go quickly! What if Second Master Lian goes berserk and hurts you? We won't be able to explain to our ancestors then."

Li Chen remained unmoved, secretly harboring resentment in his heart.

"Is the Jia family's manic-depressive disorder hereditary? Baoyu smashes his jade when he gets agitated, and Jia Lian draws his sword when he gets agitated?"

"I think they're spoiled by Grandmother Jia; they're all ignorant and have quite a temper."

Jia Lian was now enraged, and the tip of his sword always landed on Wang Xifeng's face.

Ping'er struggled desperately to maneuver around the crowd, and her clothes were torn in several places.

"Second Master! Even if Madam has faults, she has served the entire household with utmost care and dedication. How could you resort to weapons? Feng'er, go and fetch someone!"

"You little bitch, you dare step out this door! Today, no one is allowed to leave!"

After saying that, Jia Lian pushed Ping'er aside and raised his sword to strike Wang Xifeng on the head.

Wang Xifeng was so frightened that she curled up and closed her eyes. Screams filled the room, but a moment later, there was a "clang" and the sword was blocked.

Wang Xifeng trembled with fear, and when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find that it was Lin Daiyu protecting her.
Li Chen, holding a candlestick, struck the belly of the sword, immediately causing it to veer off course.

Before awakening his memories, Li Chen had also trained with martial arts instructors at the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence. Although he wasn't particularly skilled enough to fight on the battlefield, he was still more knowledgeable in martial arts than Jia Lian, who had been corrupted by wine and women.

Given Lin Daiyu's physique, she didn't have that much strength, but it wasn't difficult for her to cleverly deflect a sword that had no sword path, especially since the sword wasn't even sharpened.

What was unremarkable in Li Chen's eyes was quite shocking to others.

Of all those present, who would have thought that Lin Daiyu could knock Jia Lian's sword away?
In terms of physique and strength, the two were not on the same level.

Zijuan and Xueyan were dumbfounded.

Ping'er and Feng'er both forgot to go out and call for help.

Jia Lian was completely taken aback when he saw that Lin Daiyu could stop him, and even successfully block him. He stood there dumbfounded.

Wang Xifeng felt as if her heart had skipped a beat. After regaining her senses, she immediately wrapped her arms around Lin Daiyu from behind, as if grasping at a lifeline, and cried out, "Sister, save me!"

Li Chen naturally didn't give Jia Lian a chance to breathe. He raised the candlestick and smashed it heavily on the back of Jia Lian's hand, knocking the sword out of his hand and leaving a red mark before the sword fell to the ground.

"Brother Lian is so impressive!"

Holding the candlestick upside down, Li Chen glared at Jia Lian, who was clutching his hand and groaning in pain, and sneered, "I've never heard of you having such a murderous aura outside. Why don't you join the army and use it on the battlefield? You only dare to show off your power in your own house. What kind of person are you?"

"Little sister, what's wrong?"

"Disgraceful! Should we invite the old lady and the old man over so you can pretend to be a hero again?"

Jia Lian was rendered speechless by the scolding, and his face turned pale.

The hand he was covering was still dripping blood, and the pain was excruciating.

"Fine, I won't stoop to your level!"

Having said that, Jia Lian fled.

Jia Lian backed down and left, and everyone in the room finally breathed a sigh of relief.

No one expected that this farce would end like this.

Li Chen turned around and helped the still-shaken Wang Xifeng up. His tone was gentle, completely unlike his previous sternness, as if he were a completely different person. "Second sister-in-law, were you frightened? Don't take it to heart. If he bullies you again in the future, just come to my room and I will definitely protect you."

“If you go to ask the old lady, the madam can do it too, but it would be too much of a commotion and disturbance.”

Wang Xifeng nodded blankly, feeling strangely at ease as she was held in Li Chen's arms. She was a shrew and a down-on-her-luck woman, very shrewish in front of outsiders, and no one in the entire household was afraid of her.

But that was just a persona she put on to establish authority for the steward. When she actually faced Jia Lian, as a wife, she was already at a disadvantage. If things escalated, she would be criticized for the "seven grounds for divorce," and the fact that she didn't conceive a son was the biggest one.

Deep down, Wang Xifeng was still a woman, barely in her early twenties, the age of a college student, and not that strong.

"Today, I owe it all to my sister."

After taking another sip of warm tea, Wang Xifeng's complexion improved slightly, but she still occasionally drifted off into a daze, thinking about what had just happened.

Jia Lian raised his sword at the last possible moment.

In comparison, she felt that she was not as decisive and brave as Lin Daiyu, and Wang Xifeng seemed to have a deeper understanding of her.

Fearless in the face of danger, calm in the face of change.

What kind of woman is this? A man would be more like it.

Thinking of this, Wang Xifeng raised her eyes and looked at Lin Daiyu, and couldn't help but feel a little more admiration for her.

This doesn't seem to be the frail, sickly Lin Daiyu of old.

Could it be bird's nest porridge or pork knuckle?

Li Chen blinked at her, a smile on his face, "Sister Feng, I have something to discuss with you today."

Upon hearing this, all the admiration in Wang Xifeng's eyes froze, and the corners of her mouth trembled slightly.

"This is a little debt collector!"

But one is bound to be obligated to those who feed them, and one is obligated to those who give them gifts. Moreover, she had just been saved by Lin Daiyu, and she owed her a huge favor. How could one possibly stop her from speaking?

Wang Xifeng couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "Sister, please speak."

Li Chen strolled around the room with an air of nonchalance. Ping'er and Feng'er, who were cleaning up the broken porcelain jars scattered on the floor, couldn't help but step aside and stand with their heads bowed in respect.

"Sister Feng, you know me, I've never been in good health."

Li Chen also coughed lightly a few times, as if acting, and covered his mouth with a handkerchief.

"I was lucky today to knock the sword out of Brother Lian's hand. If I'm not so lucky next time, or if I hurt myself, things will get really out of hand."

As Li Chen spoke, he moved closer to Wang Xifeng, pushed her into the kang (a heated brick bed), and sat down intimately next to her.

With one arm around Wang Xifeng's slender waist and the other holding her wrist, he said earnestly, "Therefore, for our mutual safety, my consumption should not only not be reduced, but should be increased. From now on, bird's nest is unnecessary; let's have the finest blood bird's nest, which is more nourishing for qi and blood. I think Sister Feng will certainly not refuse me, will she?"

Sister Feng's eyebrows twitched, and her face instantly turned red and white.

This little brat, top-grade blood bird's nest costs dozens of times more than bird's nest, and she just asks for it like that?
What's most infuriating is that, given the current situation, Wang Xifeng is caught in a dilemma and has no choice but to agree.

Forced by Li Chen to the point of almost collapsing onto the kang (heated brick bed), Wang Xifeng forced herself to sit up, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Good...good sister! I'll do whatever you say! Ping'er, did you hear me! From now on, Miss Lin's allowance will be the same as the first one!"

Wang Xifeng's heart was bleeding. "I really tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead. I wanted to play the victim, but who knew I would invite a living ancestor!"

From now on, Wang Xifeng will have to subsidize Lin Daiyu's food, clothing, and other expenses herself, and she will probably have to pay back all the money she has embezzled from her over the years.

Having achieved his goal, Li Chen was finally satisfied. He jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) happily, waved his hand, and said, "Alright, then little sister can go back and wait. Sister Feng, take good care of yourself and don't overwork yourself."

In the blink of an eye, Li Chen disappeared without a trace, along with Zijuan and Xueyan.

Wang Xifeng sighed to herself, "It would be better to just continue providing her with bird's nest porridge."

Ping'er stepped forward helplessly, "Grandma, think about it on the bright side. Miss Lin really helped you."

"Her? She's supposed to be frail and sickly? Ugh, I'm so angry."

Wang Xifeng felt a persistent, sharp pain in her chest.

"That example?" Ping'er asked tentatively.

"The words have already been spoken, can they be taken back? If another commotion breaks out, it won't be Xueyan anymore, she'll probably be eating dragon liver and phoenix marrow."

Ping'er: "..."

……

The Zhenyuan Marquis's Residence

Lin Daiyu thoroughly rubbed her body to wash away the smell of alcohol, and now she was slumped in the chair, completely exhausted.

"That spoiled brat went out drinking and carousing yesterday and didn't even bother to wash up, leaving me to do it. Disgusting!"

"I...I want to strangle him!"

Flipping through the booklet left by Li Chen, Lin Daiyu frowned again and said, "As long as Xueyan remembers to remind him to read what I left, that should be fine. Once he reads it, he shouldn't cause any more trouble."

"In that case, I'll just have to bear with it for now..."

Lin Daiyu closed her eyes, unwilling to look at the stack of homework on the table that was half her height.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Young master, you should get some exercise and start lifting stone weights!"

Lin Daiyu's face froze. Holding the handbook, she murmured in disbelief, "Is what this playboy said really true?"

(End of this chapter)