Red Mansion: Holding Space and Marrying Like the Sea

Inside the Rongguo Mansion in the capital, Old Lady Jia was dining with Jia Baoyu in her arms. It was almost 9:00 PM, but Lady Wang still hadn't come to pay her respects. Grandmother Jia was deeply displeased. Frowning, she directed Yuanyang, a waitress beside her, "Send someone to see what the Second Lady is doing. She's already late even for a visit."

After dinner, Mrs. Jia and Jia Baoyu talked about various interesting things in the capital, and from time to time she would ask how he and Lin Daiyu were getting along recently, or what books he had read recently. The two chatted happily and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

At this moment, a maid ran over in a hurry, her face full of anxiety, and she shouted: "Old lady, old lady, something bad has happened."

Seeing this, Yuanyang glared at her fiercely and scolded her, "The old lady is here, why are you yelling? Didn't anyone teach you the etiquette when you entered the mansion? How can you be so flustered!"

The maidservant looked a little frightened after being scolded by Yuanyang, and hurriedly explained, "I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing in my haste. Actually, Master Zheng is ill. He has a high fever and a rash on his body. He is now completely unconscious."

After hearing this, a trace of anxiety appeared on Old Lady Jia's face, and she hurriedly said to Jia Baoyu, "Baoyu! Your father has a rash on his body. You are a weak child, so you'd better go and play by yourself!" After that, she hurried to Jia Zheng's study.

When she entered the study, Mrs. Jia saw at a glance that the maid was kneeling on the ground with disheveled clothes, several buttons of her shirt were undone, her face was flushed, and she lowered her head and did not dare to look directly at Mrs. Wang who was sitting in the main seat.

Mrs. Jia was knowledgeable and immediately understood the whole story. This maid had such a bold behavior, even daring to seduce her master. She sighed in her heart, such a maid must not be allowed to stay in the mansion.

Madam Wang was so angry that she was shaking all over. She pointed at the maid and cursed, "You bitch, how dare you do such a shameless thing!"

Old Lady Jia quickly consoled her, saying, "Don't be angry. Your health is more important." Then she turned and ordered, "Find this slave's indenture and send it to the human trafficker later. We in the Jia family won't tolerate such unruly servants."

After dealing with the maid, Old Lady Jia hurried to Jia Zheng's bedside and saw a horrifying rash covering his entire body, from head to toe. Concerned, Grandmother Jia asked, "Have you called a doctor? What's going on?" The maidservant beside her replied, "We've sent for one, but we don't know the details yet."

Grandmother Jia frowned and prayed silently in her heart, hoping that Jia Zheng would be safe and sound.

The doctor hurried over, carrying his medicine box, and bowed to Mrs. Jia. Then, urged by Mrs. Wang, he came to Jia Zheng's bedside. The doctor first felt Jia Zheng's pulse and examined the rash on his body. After doing all this, he turned around and said, "Madam, according to the lady, Master Zheng probably has venereal disease."

Mrs. Wang frowned after hearing this. "Venereal disease?! The master and I eat and sleep together a few days every month. Come and see if I'm infected?"

The doctor hurriedly said, "Madam, don't worry too much. Although this disease is an infectious disease, it also depends on the individual's physical condition. It is not necessarily contagious." After that, he carefully checked Mrs. Wang's pulse and confirmed that Mrs. Wang was not infected.

After hearing this, Madam Wang felt relieved. But then she remembered something and her face darkened. She glared at the maid with a sharp gaze and said through gritted teeth, "It must be you, a vixen, who brought the master's illness upon him!"

When the maid heard this, she was so frightened that she trembled all over and quickly knelt down and begged, "Madam, please spare my life! This servant is innocent! This servant has always been serving the master dutifully and has absolutely not done anything to let the master down!"

Mrs. Jia, who was watching from the side, also felt that something was amiss, so she said in a deep voice, "We don't know the situation yet. Let's lock this maid up for now and make a decision after the master wakes up."

Everyone responded in unison, and someone immediately stepped forward to take the maid away. At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside the door, announcing that Jia Lian had returned.

Jia Lian rushed into the room with an anxious look on his face. Seeing his second uncle lying unconscious on the bed, he pretended to be very worried. He asked everyone about Jia Zheng's condition. When he learned that it was syphilis, his eyes flickered, and then he looked like he had expected it.

He glanced at Lady Wang, Lady Jia, and the others beside him, wanting to speak but stopping himself. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "How did Second Uncle get this disease?"

Everyone was silent, and the scene fell into an awkward situation for a moment. Jia Lian carefully examined everyone in the room, and finally his eyes fell on the maid. He couldn't help but mutter in his heart, could it be that this maid had hooked up with his second uncle?

At this moment, Mrs. Wang asked, "Lian'er, where did you go just now? Why did you come back only now?"

Jia Lian quickly replied, "Aunt, I just went out to do something. I heard that my second uncle was sick, so I hurried over to see how he was doing. Aunt, my second uncle is in such a state now, we must find a good doctor to treat him as soon as possible!"

Grandmother Jia sighed helplessly and said, "I've sent for a doctor. I hope your uncle can recover soon. But how could a healthy person suddenly get such a strange disease?"

Jia Lian rolled his eyes and suggested, "In my opinion, we should check all the maids in this mansion first. If other people are also infected with the disease, they can be treated earlier." As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at the maid, thinking to himself that if other maids were really found to be sick, it would prove that Jia Zheng defiled these maids because of his lust for women, which led to his own illness.