Chapter 195 Are you a man?
ah?
Mu Jianjian was taken aback by what Yun Rong said.
In the book, after the female protagonist arrives at Duyunfang, the narration clearly mentions the second young master, Baili Mochen.
"Young Master, Young Master, there is only one master, how can there be two?" Yun Rong stared intently at the ink spots spreading on the white paper, gently placed the scrap paper aside, picked up a new one, and slowly spoke as he glanced at the girl's stunned expression.
“What I mean is, if,” Mu Jianjian hurriedly tried to find a reason for herself, “maybe I misheard something the people in the courtyard said earlier.”
Why has the original plot gone wrong again... or is the timing wrong?
"What if there is a second young master?" Yun Rong said, following the girl's words, seemingly unaware of her nervousness.
"That's right, if there is a second young master, beautiful sister must stay away from him, as far away as possible!" Mu Jianjian recalled that the first thing Baili Mochen did after becoming the head of the workshop in the original book was to burn down the Red Mansion, and felt a sense of unease.
Although the Dream of the Red Chamber is despicable, the women inside are utterly innocent.
Baili Mochen is cunning and scheming, while the beautiful lady is kind-hearted and beautiful; I definitely need to stay far away from her.
"Since there is no second young master in Duyunfang, why is Yuanyuan so worried?" Yunrong looked at the girl's concerned eyes.
"I'm just worried about you, beautiful sister. If Baili Yicheng is a bad guy, then his brother must be no better." Mu Jianjian clenched her right fist and tapped the table, her expression serious.
The girl's eyes were clear, and Yun Rong saw herself reflected in them.
She couldn't help but laugh, her usually indifferent and aloof expression suddenly becoming vivid and beautiful. "Yuanyuan, don't worry about such unfounded things."
"I'm worried about you!" Mu Jianjian was very anxious as she looked at the other person who didn't seem to care despite her repeated emphasis.
If Baili Yicheng and Yun Rong are related, then when Baili Mochen is vying with him for the position of workshop leader, he might use Yun Rong as a scapegoat. Moreover, Yun Rong is not mentioned in the original book, so could she have been killed before the two were fighting for the position?
Moreover, when reading the original book, Mu Jianjian felt that among the five male protagonists, Baili Mochen was a deep and unfathomable man. She even felt that Baili Mochen's confession to Sang Wanyue was more for his own sake.
"Okay," Yun Rong agreed with a smile.
She thought she would be angry, but when she asked herself honestly, she wasn't angry at all; instead, she found it amusing.
"That's good," Mu Jianjian said, relieved to see that the other party was finally serious. "Anyway, we'll just stay far away from that person."
Yun Rong's hand, still dipped in ink, didn't stop. She parted her thin lips slightly and said, "What a pity."
The words were scattered between his lips and teeth, so much so that even he could hardly hear them.
——
During the two weeks that Yun Rong was recuperating, the news that Mu Jianjian had been taken in as the courtesan's apprentice spread throughout the entire Dream of the Red Chamber, and naturally, this news also reached Zhuang Mei's ears.
So one day, while Mu Jianjian was eating watermelon and sunbathing, she was provoked by someone who came to her door.
"What a rare guest." Mu Jianjian spat out a watermelon seed.
"So what if you become the courtesan's apprentice? It won't change your status," Zhuang Mei sneered, looking at the girl's dejected state as she lay on the rocking chair. "You don't think that becoming the courtesan's apprentice means you can rest easy, do you?"
Mu Jianjian perked up at this. After swallowing the last bite of watermelon, she sat up straight from the recliner, tilted her head, chuckled, and looked at Zhuang Mei again, "Hmm... how does that not count?"
Zhuang Mei: ?
It was like punching cotton; the other party's weak attitude annoyed Zhuang Mei. She continued, "Any woman in the Red Mansion who hasn't yet performed in the front courtyard has to be taught every day. If you do nothing, you'll be reprimanded by the steward."
"Then tell the steward to punish me, okay?" Mu Jianjian lay back on the rocking chair, swaying gently in the sunlight, feeling quite content.
"You!" Zhuang Mei was speechless.
In truth, she knew that once the other party was taken in as an apprentice by Yunrong, the courtesan, she was no longer under the management of the stewards, but seeing her still filled her with resentment and jealousy.
Zhuang Mei stood in the courtyard, looking down at her bruised and battered wounds. Then, as if remembering something, she spoke, her voice brimming with undisguised pride, "I met a manager a few days ago. He's a Foundation Establishment Level 6 cultivator, and he's been taking good care of me..."
As Mu Jianjian listened to the woman recount her encounter with the steward, she began eating grapes from the stone table beside her.
That's great.
Enjoying the sunshine and fruit, while someone tells stories nearby.
"...He's a Foundation Establishment cultivator. I bet you've never even seen a sixth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator in your entire life, right?" Zhuang Mei chuckled, looking at the motionless girl with a delighted tone. "How about I bring him to meet you next time?"
Mu Jianjian: ...
The true colors are revealed! They were waiting for her here!
"Wow!" Mu Jianjian interlocked her fingers, tilted her hands to the side of her face, and her expression became affected and exaggerated for a moment. "A cultivator at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment is really amazing. There are probably only a few on the continent. I'm sure I've never seen such a powerful person before."
After Mu Jianjian finished her three sentences, she added three affected interjections. She looked at Zhuang Mei's bewildered expression after her actions, but her smile remained exceptionally sweet.
She didn't return to her previous state until the other person left, unaware that Zhuang Mei had taken some wrong medicine to come here looking for trouble.
When Yunrong returned from the front yard in the afternoon, Mu Jianjian hurriedly went to greet her and helped her up, as she looked tired.
"Beautiful sister, I've prepared the meal. Shall we have dinner together?"
Recently, Mu Jianjian has been going to the kitchen to cook for the three of them whenever she has free time. Today, Yun Rong is making her first appearance since recovering from her injury, so she naturally cooked a lot of dishes.
"I have to go out to entertain guests tonight, so I won't eat, Yuanyuan." Yunrong interrupted the girl as she was about to say something, "No, I'll go by myself."
Mu Jianjian gradually loosened her grip on Yun Rong's hand. "But your back injury has just healed. You have a performance this afternoon and another one tonight. How can your body handle it? Bringing me along can help you share some of the burden."
"Yuanyuan, I know your feelings, but I don't want you to step into the front yard even more." After saying this, Yunrong went to change clothes with her maid, leaving Mu Jianjian standing blankly in the yard.
Mu Jianjian lowered her eyes.
She had been looking for an opportunity to go to the front courtyard, not only for Yun Rong, but also to pass on the news of her presence in the Red Mansion to her senior brother Yueyue.
More than a month has passed since she was abducted and disappeared, and I wonder how things are going on their end.
——
As night falls and the moon rises, the lights and incense of the Red Mansion are hung high above the eaves, and the sounds of music drift from the vast courtyard and pavilions, captivating passersby and making them linger in a trance.
On a high platform inside the Red Mansion, a woman dressed in a revealing red dress was dancing barefoot on a wooden board, holding a zither. Her graceful figure and beautiful face drew applause and laughter from the audience.
Upstairs in the elegant room, a woman was holding a porcelain cup and raising it to the man beside her. She was dressed in luxurious brocade but was kneeling on both knees to serve him.
"Miss Yunrong seems even more beautiful than I have in the past two weeks." The middle-aged man took the porcelain cup, laughed heartily, and drank the wine inside in one gulp.
Yun Rong's eyes flickered, and she continued to pour wine without replying.
She glanced casually at something outside the private room window, a slight smile playing on her lips. She stood up and bowed slightly to the man, saying, "Yunrong takes her leave."
"Where are you going?" The middle-aged man's face turned hostile, and he tried to stop the woman. "I bought you for the night!"
Yun Rong walked slowly to the wooden door and stopped, but did not turn around. "If Lord Qian has any objections, he can speak with the steward or Young Master Baili."
"What are you pretending for!" Lord Qian threw the porcelain cup in his hand to the ground, pure white shards shattering and scattering everywhere. He pointed at the woman's back and cursed.
"You shameless bitch, you think you're something special just because I call you 'Miss'? You're nothing but a prostitute! You think you can get away with anything just because you've hooked up with Young Master Baili? Wait till Young Master Baili gets tired of you and see how I deal with you!"
"Then Yunrong will wait until this moment." Yunrong said coldly and turned her head, but unexpectedly, Lord Qian pointed at her throat and was shocked.
"How come there's something on your neck... Are you a man?"
Seeing the shocked look on Lord Qian's face, Yun Rong touched her neck and indeed found a bulge there.
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