Chapter 840: Clues in the Side Room

Rongguo Prefecture, Inner Court, Covered Corridor.

It was near noon, the sky was bright and beautiful, and outside the corridor, the evergreen shrubs in the flower garden emitted a pleasant, grassy fragrance under the shining sun.

Baoyu came out of the side room, his terror still not gone; he didn't know if it was from excessive fright or some other reason.

He only felt his whole body was empty, his heels were soft, and his energy seemed to have been drained away.

Even the dazzling sunlight made him feel a bit dizzy, and he wished he could hide back in the dimness of the side room.

That absurd and blissful scene in the Mengpo Study that day, broken into by his father Jia Zheng, the shame of joy turning into sorrow, and the fear that went deep into his soul—

when those three nannies broke into the side room, it seemed to descend upon him again, pressing heavily on his heart, making him feel suffocated and wanting to die.

At this moment, he was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, in a state of terror and anxiety; suddenly encountering someone head-on, even if it was the familiar Sister Xi Ren, he was still badly frightened.

Early this morning, a message came to Rongqing Hall saying that Miss Baoqin from the palace had arrived at the prefecture to present New Year's gifts to the Eldest Young Lady on her behalf, and invited Bao Er Ye Bao to go over to meet her.

Sister Xi Ren and Caiyun helped Baoyu put on new clothes and sent the maid Chunyan to follow Baoyu over.

But not long after he left, the little maid came back with news that Mother Xia and Xia Gu Niang had come to pay a New Year's visit, and now they were about to enter Rongqing Hall.

Sister Xi Ren asked clearly if Miss Daiyu and the other young ladies were also in the hall; she had always known Baoyu's heart disease best, as he had never given up on Miss Lin and was also annoyed by the engagement with the Xia family.

In the past half year, Baoyu had often caused trouble, his words were often absurd and reckless, not only offending many people but also often making himself lose face.

Sister Xi Ren still had lingering fears about such things; with Miss Lin and Xia Gu Niang bumping into each other, she was worried that Baoyu would talk nonsense again, and then everyone would be unable to step down.

She couldn't sit still in her room, so she got up to go to Rongqing Hall to inquire about the situation; if Baoyu caused trouble again, she could intervene and stop it.

She hadn't expected that just as she arrived near the corridor, she happened to see several nannies carrying a large table out of the side room.

Just after the nannies left, Sister Xi Ren saw Baoyu and a maid coming out of the side room in a panic and looking suspicious.

Although this maid had a somewhat unfamiliar face and was not a maid of the Jia Prefecture, Sister Xi Ren had seen her twice in the East Courtyard; she was exactly Xia Gu Niang's personal maid, Baochan.

When Baoyu had contracted the ailment of impotence, Sister Xi Ren had once whispered to him at night, probing his tone.

She knew he had been fooling around with Baochan and was caught by Jia Zheng in a rush; Baochan, in her anxiety and shame, had kicked Baoyu hard, and it had kicked exactly the right spot.

Although the two of them didn't understand the reason, it was from that time that Baoyu gradually began to fail.

Baoyu was afraid that the secret of his impotence would leak out, making it impossible for him to be a person in the Jia family, so he strictly ordered Sister Xi Ren not to let the wind leak out.

Later, when Baoyu and Xia Gu Niang got engaged, Sister Xi Ren dared not reveal a word, and even Lady Wang didn't know about this.

But every night when Sister Xi Ren recalled that the Bao Er Ye had become a useless person and she would have to live as a widow for the rest of her life, her resentment had nowhere to vent.

She attributed all the blame to that Xia family maid; if it weren't for that cheap girl seducing the Bao Er Ye, how could such a disaster have occurred?

If Sister Xi Ren had someone she hated most, it was undoubtedly Baochan, Xia Gu Niang's personal maid, who had caused her to live as a widow.

She hadn't expected that today, when she went to look for Baoyu, she would run into Baoyu and Baochan coming out of the side room; even if she were a fool, she would know what the two of them had been doing.

The Bao Er Ye, with her and Caiyun, was useless at night, yet he could still fool around with this cheap girl.

Even though Baoyu was now pathetic in bed, Sister Xi Ren still did her best for him, but at this moment, resentment arose in her heart.

"Are we people so worthless? Can that cheap girl from the outside be so good?"

Baochan had come with the new young mistress to pay a New Year's visit; at such a critical and face-saving moment, the Bao Er Ye still wouldn't let go of fooling around with her.

Even if Sister Xi Ren had the temperament of soil, she couldn't take it anymore...

"Bao Er Ye, how can you be so absurd? You don't even look at what day it is today. In broad daylight, you are fooling around with this cheap girl again. Have you forgotten that she is the one who harmed you!"

Baoyu's face was awkward, and he said: "Sister Sister Xi Ren, don't think wrongly; Baochan and I didn't do anything."

Sister Xi Ren frowned slightly, her eyes filled with resentment, and she walked up with a handkerchief, wiping Baoyu's mouth, rubbing off a bright red stain.

"Bao Er Ye, you don't need to cover it up; the rouge on your mouth hasn't been wiped clean yet. Caiyun and I don't use this kind of stuff."

Baoyu's face stiffened, his expression extremely awkward; when he left just now, Baochan had helped him wipe off the rouge, but it hadn't been cleaned up...

Seeing Baoyu's face turn red and his expression shy, Sister Xi Ren felt a sour pain in her heart; it was truly a mix of five flavors, an indescribable discomfort.

She pulled Baoyu to a place where no one was around and said in a low voice: "Bao Er Ye, how can you be so muddled? You know your illness hasn't healed yet."

"If you are intimate with that Xia family maid, won't she discover that you are impotent? If she reveals this to Xia Gu Niang, that will be a great disaster."

"The engagement between you and Xia Gu Niang will be ruined because of this. In order to clear themselves, the Xia family will definitely spread the word about your ailment everywhere, using it as an excuse to break off the engagement."

"When that time comes, how will you be able to be a person? The Second Branch will never be able to lift its head again. You are too reckless, only caring about your own pleasure; you are too absurd!"

Hearing this, Baoyu's face turned pale, but recalling his romantic encounter with Baochan just now, she didn't seem to have noticed that he was impotent...

He said softly: "Sister Sister Xi Ren, I know you are thinking of me with all your heart, and I will definitely not let you down."

"Just now, Baochan and I were a bit intimate..., but those nannies happened to come in looking for something, so we didn't, we didn't, she didn't discover any clues."

Hearing this, Sister Xi Ren couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but Baoyu's saying he wouldn't let her down made her feel a bit disgusted, which had never happened before...

Sister Xi Ren thickened her skin and asked a few more questions, confirming that Baoyu hadn't been seen through by Baochan, and only then did she put down the heavy stone in her heart.

If Baochan had seen through the flaw and revealed it to Xia Gu Niang, a great event would definitely occur between the Jia and Xia families.

If Jia Zheng knew the reason and wanted to use family law to kill Baoyu, even Sister Xi Ren wouldn't have a good ending; her disappointment in Baoyu had become a minor matter...

Sister Xi Ren hurriedly pulled Baoyu back to the courtyard and said: "Bao Er Ye, you had better go back to your room and tidy up first, so as not to let people see any flaws."

The two returned to the main room of the courtyard, and Sister Xi Ren personally fetched water for Baoyu to wash his face and changed all the clothes on his body.

While tidying up the clothes, she suddenly asked: "Bao Er Ye, why is your purse missing? I personally put it on you this morning."

"You haven't left the outer courtyard today, and those shameless little servants didn't have time to ask for your things. Did you lose it somewhere?"

Baoyu thought carefully for a while, but how could he remember? It was just a purse, and he didn't take it to heart at all.

At this time, footsteps sounded at the door, and they heard Chunyan say: "So it's Sister Feicui, are you here to pass a message for the Old Matriarch?"

Then they heard Feicui say: "The feast has just been served over at the Old Matriarch's, and Xia Gu Niang has also returned from the Ningguo Prefecture; everyone is waiting for the feast to start."

"The Old Matriarch asked me to invite the Bao Er Ye over."

Hearing this, although Baoyu told Sister Xi Ren that he hadn't been seen through by Baochan, impotence was his greatest heart disease, so he was naturally very guilty.

Just now, he had caused the side room incident and was almost broken into; now that he thought about it, he was truly terrified.