Chapter Forty-Five: Each Has Their Own Path

When Ruan Bi entered the Fushu Hermitage where Master Ziying resided, she was sitting cross-legged on a futon. She was slightly surprised to see Ruan Bi enter and said, "Why are you here?"

"Didn't you send someone to say you were sick?" Ruan Bi said, carefully examining Master Ziying. She looked a little haggard, with a hint of illness between her brows, but her spirits were still good, so it seemed that her illness was not serious.

"Ahem." Master Ziying coughed a few times, covering his mouth, and said, "You're talking nonsense again. When will I send you a letter?"

Ruan Bi said with a smile, "I heard you were sick and wanted to come see you, but I was afraid my mother wouldn't allow it, so I sent someone to deliver a letter to your residence. Please don't tell me."

"You're full of cunning." Master Ziying rolled her eyes at her, but she believed her words. She had long known that the First Madam disliked her; otherwise, why would a lady from a prestigious family seek refuge under her tutelage?

Is the illness serious?

Master Ziying shook his head and said, "It's nothing serious, just a slight cold and occasional cough. It will get better in a couple of days."

Ruan Bi smiled and said, "It's alright, I'm not good at taking care of the sick."

"You're not good at anything serious; all you know are crooked tricks." Master Ziying, having become familiar with her, couldn't help but tease her a few times.

Ruan Bi wasn't angry at all, and said with a smile, "No one understands me better than my master."

"Come on," said Master Ziying. "Tell me what you said to the Empress when you went to the palace last time. She seemed very satisfied and even asked me to take you in again next time."

"I only mentioned a few of my mother's methods for disciplining the concubines. The Empress is intelligent and understood immediately." Ruan Bi couldn't help but flatter her, implying that the Empress was capable enough and didn't need her as an assistant.

Master Ziying was not so easily fooled. He nodded and said, "Alright, then tell her more about it in the future. But don't forget your promise to me. The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, and after the Mid-Autumn Festival is the Empress Dowager's birthday."

Ruan Bi inwardly groaned, but still had to feign confidence and say, "Don't worry, Master." She paused, then hesitated before asking, "Master, what kind of person is the Empress Dowager?"

Master Ziying knew that she had always kept her distance from the palace, so he was slightly surprised that she suddenly asked about the Empress Dowager. He said, "Haven't you met her before? Why do you need to ask me?"

"It was just a brief encounter, nothing compared to your decades-long friendship with her." Recalling their two meetings, she was always gentle and kind, especially the last time when she picked dates at Cining Palace and distributed them to everyone. Ruan Bi knew she was no ordinary person. Normally, whether someone was ordinary or extraordinary was irrelevant to her, but things were different now.

Master Ziying thought for a moment and said, "She was originally just a concubine. She gave birth to the third prince and the sixth prince. One of them became the emperor, and the other became a war god who defeated the Northern Rong. What kind of person do you think she was?"

Ruan Bi felt a great headache coming on; it seemed she had embarked on a thorny path.

After exchanging a few more casual words, as dusk settled, Ruan Bi returned to her residence at Xichen Mountain. The next day, Master Ziying was in good health, so Ruan Bi bid her farewell and asked Yuxu Temple to send a carriage. However, when she went down the mountain, she saw Zhu Zi and the other two standing there dumbfounded, with the bearded man who had smashed the carriage the day before and his two henchmen standing beside him. Behind them was a blue-draped carriage.

The bearded man's face was solemn, completely unlike his jovial demeanor from yesterday. Upon seeing Ruan Bi, he respectfully clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "I was impolite. Yesterday, I damaged your carriage and beat your servant. My master has already punished me and provided a new carriage as compensation. Please forgive me, young lady."

The blue-curtained carriage was made by the carriage company. Apart from looking newer, it was exactly the same as the original. Once back at the manor, no one would know that a new carriage had been used unless they were paying close attention. However, it was now 1:45 AM, and the bearded man didn't know when he would return. Was he waiting all this time? After thinking for a moment, he said, "It was originally a misunderstanding. Since you've already given away a new carriage, let it go."

"Thank you, young lady. I'll take my leave now." The bearded man said, then walked to the side, untied the reins from the horse's harness, mounted his horse, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and galloped away with his two men.

Ruan Bi glanced at the new carriage, then at the puzzled expressions on the faces of Zhu Zi and the other two, and gave Liu Mama a wink.

Liu Mama winked knowingly and said to Zhu Zi and the other two, "In my opinion, since the carriage has been returned, why don't we just pretend this never happened?"

Since the horse had gone mad, rushed into the wheat field, and damaged the carriage, Zhu Zi and the others would be scolded when they returned to the mansion. Hearing Liu Mama's words, they were naturally happy and said, "We'll listen to Liu Mama."

Granny Liu looked at Ruan Bi again and said, "Miss, what do you think?"

Ruan Bi said, "I was young and didn't understand things, so I listened to my mother in everything."

The words "young and ignorant" sent chills down Liu Mama's spine. She thought to herself, "My good girl, if you are still young and ignorant, then there is no one in the world who is sensible." "Then let's do as I say."

"Yes," everyone responded in unison.

Once inside the carriage, Ruan Bi leaned against the side and said, "Granny Liu, you've done a great job these past two days. I'll reward you handsomely when we get back to the manor."

Suppressing her joy, Granny Liu said, "You're too kind, young lady. It's just my duty."

Xiuzhi, standing to the side, was a little unconvinced. She pouted and turned to look at the carriage curtain.

Ruan Bi knew she was upset, but she couldn't offer advice in front of Granny Liu, so she pretended not to see it.

The journey was smooth sailing, but as they approached the city gate, they suddenly heard the sound of horses galloping rapidly behind them. Curious, Xiuzhi lifted the curtain to peek and saw a bearded man with two men galloping past the carriage, both glancing sideways at it. Xiuzhi quickly pulled Ruanbi over to look, saying, "Strange, they clearly left earlier than us, yet they're returning to the capital later."

Ruan Bi knew they must be guarding her from behind, so she pressed the curtains shut and said, "We're just strangers, why do you care about them?"

Xiuzhi looked at Ruan Bi, smiled knowingly, and gave her a knowing look.

Back at the Ruan residence, after meeting with the First Madam and the Old Madam, he had to explain in detail about Master Ziying's illness before returning to the east wing of the Liao Garden. Upon entering the inner room, he first saw the pot of spring water on the table, its lush green leaves adding a touch of vitality to the entire room. He went over and counted; nine buds had already formed.

A few days ago, this potted plant was placed on the table. Although she would glance at it from time to time, she never actually handled it. Xiuzhi couldn't help but tease her, "This pot of chrysanthemums is truly beautiful, isn't it, young lady?"

Ruan Bi glanced at her sideways and saw that she was smiling with her lips pursed. She said, "You, come and sit down. I have something to tell you."

Xiuzhi opened her eyes wide in surprise when she saw that she was speaking so seriously.

"Xiuzhi, Granny Liu is a senior maid from the Lu family. She is poised and knows how to behave properly. You should learn more from her."

Xiuzhi's face fell, and she pouted as she asked, "Does Miss think Xiuzhi didn't do a good job?"

Ruan Bi shook her head and said, "It's not that you're bad. You were originally a maid who managed the utensils and didn't interact with people. Now that you're my head maid, you'll have to deal with people all the time. How to speak, how to behave—these are all things you need to learn. You're smart, so I think you'll learn them in no time."

Xiuzhi nodded and said, "I understand what you're saying, Miss. It's not that I can't stand seeing others do well, it's just that sometimes when I see you praising others, I feel jealous."

Ruan Bi really liked her lively and cheerful personality, and said, "Alright, don't you know how I treat you? If you have this kind of little mood again, I'll punish you by making you read the 'Admonitions for Women' ten times a day to Hanxing and Juzi." When the two little maids heard that Xiuzhi was learning to read, they also clamored to learn, so Xiuzhi took them on and taught them the words she had learned recently.

"Oh dear, young lady, you can't do that. There are so many words I don't recognize. You'll make a fool of yourself."

As the two were chatting and laughing, they suddenly heard a knock on the window, followed by the Fourth Sister's voice: "I heard that Fifth Sister has returned. Is she inside?"

Ruan Bi hurried to the window, opened it, and saw the Fourth Sister standing outside, backlit, looking somewhat forlorn. "I just got back, Fourth Sister."

She stood bathed in sunlight, her brows radiant with a clear and bright spirit, as if she had been cleansed by pure water. The Fourth Sister scrutinized her closely and said in surprise, "Fifth Sister, you are radiant! Is there some good news?"

Was she really that impatient? Ruan Bi touched her cheek and said, "No, what do you need me for, sister?"

The fourth sister remained silent and glanced at Xiuzhi.

Xiuzhi tactfully said, "Miss, I'll go pour some tea."

After she left, the fourth sister leaned against the window and stood silently for a while before saying, "To be honest, I received a letter from my aunt yesterday..." She paused, "I don't know how much silver she spent to send it in."

"What did the letter say?"

"Just say you're fine, just say you miss me and my third brother," the fourth girl said, looking longingly at Ruan Bi.

Ruan Bi already understood her purpose. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I just returned from Yuxu Temple today. If I mention going to the temple again, Mother will definitely not allow it. The Mid-Autumn Festival is in a few days. Why don't you ask your third sister to ask Grandmother to let you accompany her to Xiangguo Temple to pray for Second Uncle? Grandmother will definitely agree. When the time comes, Mother will send a servant to accompany you. After arriving at Xiangguo Temple, your third sister will just say that she is tired and needs to rest for a while. Then, she will go to Second Madam's shop. You can disguise yourself and go out through the back door, take a sedan chair to Hongye Nunnery, secretly visit Aunt, and then come back."

The fourth sister's eyes lit up, and she said, "I'll go ask my third sister right away."

She and the third young lady were already on good terms, and both had recently suffered misfortune—one's father and fiancé had fallen on hard times, and the other's mother had met with disaster. Feeling a sense of shared misfortune, the third young lady readily agreed. That evening, during the greetings, the third young lady suggested that the fourth young lady accompany her to Xiangguo Temple to pray for her father's well-being. The old lady noticed that she had lost a lot of weight, embraced her, and repeatedly said, "Heaven has mercy on you," before granting her request.

The next day at noon, Ruan Bi woke up and heard that the Fourth Miss had returned. She hurriedly combed her hair, straightened her clothes, and went to her embroidery room. The window was open, and she was sitting in front of the embroidery frame, staring blankly at the painting of a beautiful woman with hibiscus, her eyes slightly red and swollen, clearly having cried.

"Fourth Sister."

The fourth sister woke up with a start, turned to look at Ruan Bi, forced a smile, and said, "Fifth sister, you've come at the right time. I have something to ask you. Please come in."

Ruan Bi entered the embroidery room and asked in a low voice, "Sister, how is Auntie?"

The fourth sister shook her head with drooping eyes and said, "I haven't gotten better yet. I still can't get out of bed. I've lost so much weight that I'm almost unrecognizable."

"Sister, don't worry, let's think of another way. You said you needed to talk to me earlier, what is it?"

Fourth Sister nodded, took Ruan Bi's hand and said, "Fifth Sister, the embroidery of the Queen Mother of the West's auspicious clouds is about to reach the face. I have already painted the face, but I have only met the Empress Dowager once, and I am afraid that the painting is not realistic enough. Fifth Sister, please take a look for me."

Ruan Bi felt a mix of emotions. After a moment of silence, she nodded and said, "Okay."