A stew of the Red Chamber

Chapter 58 Shoot Whoever You Want?

Jia She glared at Madam Xing and said in a pretentious tone, "Look what you've done! You've completely disgraced your master!"

Grandmother Jia was well aware that Madam Xing was merely being used as a scapegoat by her son, and she couldn't bear to scold her. Instead, she complained, "If your brother and sister-in-law are in trouble, even if they are short of money, would the family just sit idly by and do nothing? Why did you have to be so clever and cause such a misunderstanding?"

She glanced at Wang Qing and saw that his expression was still not very good, so she quickly said to Wang Xifeng, "Feng girl, go to my room quickly and get the old Duke's magic crossbow from the wall."

When Wang Xifeng laboriously brought the bow over, she said leisurely, "This divine bow was originally used by the old Duke. Keeping it here is just a way for me to reminisce about him. Qing-ge'er is exceptionally brave, so why don't you take it?"

Wang Qing did not reach out to take it, but instead said coldly, "Once or twice is a misunderstanding, but Brother Lian made a fuss twice before. I did not take him to the yamen, but came to find the old lady, just because I was worried about causing a misunderstanding. But the master did not ask about the facts, but instead accused me of failing to guard against the thief."

"You can't guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days. This is such a big accusation. If it happens again one or two more times..."

The reason he caused such a scene with Grandmother Jia and even confronted Jia She was because of this.

Aside from extorting money and getting some benefits, the main goal was to put a tight rein on the Rongguo Mansion.

From now on, whether Jia She and Jia Lian are blind to the truth, or Wang Xifeng has any ulterior motives, he can simply throw a hat in Jia Mu's face.

Grandmother Jia assumed he was worried that Jia She would cause more trouble, and quickly assured him, "Don't worry, Qing-ge'er, now that we've cleared things up, there won't be any more misunderstandings in the future."

Only then did Wang Qing grab the longbow held by Wang Xifeng, secretly thinking to himself, "With this bow, can I walk around the Rongguo Mansion with impunity? I can shoot Jia She and Jia Zheng above, and Jia Lian and Baoyu below—whoever I want!"

With a forced smile, he said insincerely, "How could I possibly accept the old Duke's precious bow?"

As he spoke, he grasped the bowstring, and the muscles in his right arm bulged out, like dragons coiling around his arm. With a creaking sound, the bow was fully drawn.

Wang Qing nodded with satisfaction and slowly drew back the bowstring.

Grandmother Jia, Jia She, Jia Zheng, and Lady Wang all suddenly changed color.

Even Jia Daishan would have to warm up his muscles before he dared to pull the bow, but Wang Qing not only pulled it open with ease, but could also slowly restore it to its original state. This effortless skill truly amazed them.

Madam Xing married into the family late and was unaware of the bow's strength, so nothing had happened yet.

Although Wang Xifeng entered the room later, she had personally weighed the items. Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, she quickly shook her arms and laughed, "Sister-in-law, my arms are already sore after holding them for only a short while. Brother Qing is truly blessed with superhuman strength."

As she spoke, she gave Wang Qing a charming and reproachful look.

Although the Rongguo Mansion was in the wrong, Jia Mu did not turn her back on Wang Qing despite his unreasonable behavior. Instead, she treated him with kindness and presented him with a precious bow.

With Wang Qing's status suddenly elevated, Wang Xifeng naturally had to curry favor with him.

Wang Qing feigned shyness and said, "Sister-in-law, you flatter me!"

He thought to himself, "If my hands get sore just from holding a bow, I'm afraid that if I ever experience the old man's incredible strength, it won't just be my hands that are sore, but also my mouth and legs."

As she spoke, Grandmother Jia swallowed hard to calm herself down before slowly saying, "Family scandals should not be aired in public. We will have to trouble Qing-ge to tell everyone that this servant attempted theft and that we must cover this up."

"Hmm!" Wang Qing didn't refuse and nodded in agreement. He then looked at Qin Fu and the other two and said, "Then I'll have someone take the three of them back to the yamen and we'll see how to handle them later."

He readily agreed verbally, but inwardly he thought, "Although I am a man of my word and will not reveal this matter, how Nie Chong reports to the emperor is none of my concern."

Wang Qing didn't care about the Jia family's life or death; in fact, the more the Jia family declined, the easier it would be for him to collect the gold hairpins.

The reason they made the suggestion to the emperor under the guise of leveraging the Jia family's influence was simply to get it done as soon as possible.

In addition, not wanting to leave any regrets for himself, he tried his best to save those ill-fated beauties who died before the Jia family fell into ruin.

Now that he has taken root in the Rong Mansion and has the opportunity to curry favor with the Emperor, Wang Qing is naturally happy to see this happen.

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia felt a weight lifted from her shoulders: "Then I'll have to trouble Qing-ge'er!"

Only then did Wang Qing grasp the bow, give a slight bow, and lead Qin Fu and the other two out of Rongqing Hall.

We left Rongqing Hall.

Wang Shanbao and Qin Fu both breathed a sigh of relief.

With Madam Xing taking the blame, they were simply following orders. Even if they couldn't avoid being made scapegoats, at least their family was saved.

Pan Youan, however, suddenly felt a jolt.

He was covered in urine, so naturally he couldn't just go in like that; it would disgust Grandmother Jia.

There was no way to be polite to such a wicked servant. Several female servants fetched several buckets of water and poured them over his lower body.

Inside Rongqing Hall, a brazier was burning and charcoal braziers were lit. Although it was uncomfortable, I could barely bear it.

Now, stepping out of the house, I immediately felt shivering from the cold.

Once outside the second gate, he could no longer hold on and hurriedly begged for mercy, "Sir...Master..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Qing shoved him away, his face full of disgust, and said, "I can't stand spineless bastards!"

He then glanced at Qin Fu and Wang Shanbao, and said to Nie Chong, "Those two are quite loyal. I'll give them an extra blanket in prison later."

"Thank you so much, Uncle Qing!" The two men immediately knelt down, deeply grateful.

Upon seeing this, Pan You'an immediately knelt down and crawled toward Qin Fu, wailing, "Uncle... Uncle... You'an knows he was wrong, please say a good word for me, Uncle."

Qin Fu himself is barely able to protect himself, so how can he be qualified to plead for him?

The more I looked at him, the more I realized I had been blind before. He had a cold face and didn't say a word.

……

Let's talk about Rongqing Hall again.

After Wang Qing left, everyone looked at each other in silence.

After a long while, Grandmother Jia said listlessly, "Although Qing-ge'er has agreed to help cover it up, the truth may not be hidden forever... If people misunderstand that he is deliberately hindering us, it will only make them think that we can't stand seeing our relatives doing well."

Fortunately, the Second Master's birthday is approaching, so I can take him to meet with old relatives and friends then, which will prevent any gossip from spreading. Since Lian Er is not in the capital, I'll have Bao Yu deliver the invitations.

"Yes! Yes!~" Madam Wang was overjoyed and quickly said, "Don't worry, old lady, leave this matter to your daughter-in-law. I will definitely handle it perfectly and make Qing-ge feel at home."

Grandmother Jia glanced at her and shook her head, saying, "Let Feng'er handle the banquet. Lian Er and he have some disagreements. If she handles things well, it will not only make amends for Lian Er but also refute the rumors of their discord."

Lady Wang was about to speak further, but Grandmother Jia waved her hand impatiently and said, "Eldest son, stay. You may all leave!"

Everyone quickly took their leave.

About an incense stick later...

A roar erupted from Rongqing Hall from Jia She: "Good! Good! No wonder the second son suddenly changed his ways, sending him horses and inviting him to drinks. Such a big thing, and Mother actually told him but not me!"

"Stop arguing!" Grandmother Jia shouted sternly, then softened her voice, "He didn't find out before you did, so it's not too late for him to know now. Your brother intends to marry Third Sister to him, and I think Second Sister is also a suitable age. I'll talk to him later, and you two can each rely on your own abilities!"

Even if the brothers' discord stems from their own issues, it's also inseparable from a biased and troublemaking mother.

Now that things had come to this, Jia She, though aware that he had lost the initiative, could only swallow his anger.

……