Chapter Thirty-Eight: Eloquent Debate

"The King of Han has never seen me, so he must have believed the rumors circulating in the streets and thought that I was incredibly beautiful. As long as he sees me and knows that it is not true, he will give up the idea."

"To see you?" The old lady frowned, scrutinizing Ruan Bi. In her younger days, Ruan Bi was timid and hesitant, seemingly devoid of any beauty. Now, as she grew older, her demeanor became more open and confident, her manners more graceful. Though not yet fully blossoming, she already possessed a certain charm. She feared that once the Prince of Han saw her, he would be even more unwilling to give up. Therefore, she resolutely said, "No, what a terrible idea."

"Grandmother, don't panic, let me explain." Ruan Bi stepped forward and explained her plan in detail.

After listening, the old lady pondered for a moment and said, "It sounds feasible, but this time the King of Han specifically asked for you. It may not be because he believed the rumors in the streets. It may be because someone else instigated him. Who knows if that person has seen you before. If the King of Han confronts him, wouldn't he find out that he has been deceived? This matter also involves your second uncle, so we cannot act rashly."

Ruan Bi was taken aback and asked, "Grandmother, could you tell me the whole story in detail?"

"Very well." The old lady then recounted the whole story in detail.

After listening, Ruan Bi suddenly realized what was going on. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I'm not afraid. I live in seclusion and not many people have seen me. Even if someone tries to persuade me, they've probably only met me once. Seeing is believing, and the King of Han will surely trust his own eyes more."

The old lady thought it made some sense, but because the matter was so important, she couldn't make a decision right away.

Ruan Bi then asked, "Grandmother, why did you ask Prince Han to mediate for Second Uncle's matter?"

"It's just that the Censor-in-Chief and Prince Han have quite a connection, and your father's advisor, Mr. Yang, is from the same hometown as the Prince's Chief Secretary."

The Censorate of the Great Zhou Dynasty was headed by the Vice Minister of the Censorate. The Censorate was somewhat similar to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in later times, specifically responsible for investigating, supervising, and impeaching officials. Ruan Bi thought for a moment and said, "This time, the Yangzhou students' riot, although they were clamoring for severe punishment of my second uncle, was actually an opposition to the hereditary system of selecting officials. In my opinion, this time things might be..."

The old lady looked at her in surprise, not expecting that with just a few words, she could figure out the ins and outs of the matter, and that her judgment was almost identical to what the master and his advisors had discussed. "Go on."

Ruan Biwei pondered. The Yangzhou scholars wanted to use the Ruan family, a prominent official family in the capital, as a starting point to oppose the hereditary system of selecting officials through family connections. With public sentiment boiling over, the government would have to make concessions, inevitably sacrificing the Ruan family to appease public anger. Therefore, she judged that the Ruan family's ten thousand taels this time was a waste. However, she didn't know much about the court and might be wrong. Should she speak boldly or tactfully? After a moment's thought, she decided to take the risk and said, "I am just a young lady from a humble family and don't understand the court. I just... I just feel that this matter is not a personal grudge, but concerns the imperial court. Even if the Censor-in-Chief tries his best to protect it, he probably can't overcome public anger. Only if the government restricts the hereditary system of selecting officials through family connections will the scholars give up. The struggle between the two sides rests entirely on my second uncle's shoulders. I'm afraid... I'm afraid our family's ten thousand taels will be wasted."

As she finished speaking, Ruan Bi's voice trailed off as she watched the old lady's expression. Sure enough, her face changed drastically, her brow furrowing in displeasure. Ruan Bi hurriedly knelt down, saying, "Granddaughter has spoken rudely; please forgive me, Grandmother."

The old lady looked at her lowered head and was really displeased with her words. She said with a dark face, "I'll let you off this time because you're young and don't know any better. But don't talk nonsense like that again."

"Yes, Grandmother."

"Go downstairs. Let me think about what you said first."

Ruan Bi acknowledged and withdrew.

The old lady reclined on the couch, her eyes closed, her heart filled with turmoil. Ten thousand taels of silver given away for nothing meant there was nothing that could be done about Tao'er's situation. Bah! She was just a young lady from a humble background; what did she know about the intricacies of court politics? She was surely just spouting nonsense. But why did she feel so uneasy?

Manyun quietly entered and called out softly, "Madam."

The old lady opened her eyes, sat up straight, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"The First Madam sent someone over to ask if we should send the steward over since Bi Gui and Qiu Lan are both dressed up."

After hesitating for a long time, the old lady said, "Let's wait until the master comes home from work at noon to discuss it."

Manyun responded and was about to leave when she heard the old lady say, "Send a little maid to guard the hanging flower gate. When the master returns, have him come to my place first."

"yes."

The old lady lay back on the couch, waiting impatiently for half an hour until she finally heard the little maid guarding the door announce: "Old lady, the master has arrived."

"Quickly, call him in."

The old lady sat up, smoothed her hair, and gave a wink, signaling all the maids serving in the room to leave. Hearing the master's footsteps approaching, and then the curtain moving, he entered from outside, his brow furrowed. Seeing his expression, the old lady's heart sank, and she asked anxiously, "Hong'er, what happened?"

The master's eyes flickered, and he said, "Mother, there's no need to rush. This matter will take some time to become clear."

The old lady looked straight at him and asked, "Hong'er, is there something I'm hiding from you?"

"Mother, how could I hide it from you?" The master said, but he didn't dare to look the old lady in the eye.

“Hong’er, look me in the eyes and say it.”

The master was always filial to the old lady, but because of his filial piety, he was also always afraid of her. Hearing this, he knew that she had become suspicious, so he could only look into her eyes and say, "Mother, I really didn't hide anything from you, but today there was an urgent report from Huizhou that the students in Huizhou are also staging a sit-in at the Education Bureau..." His voice trailed off at the end.

Upon hearing this, the old lady felt her head buzzing and her body began to sway.

The master stepped forward to steady her and said, "Mother, don't worry, I'll take care of things for my second brother..."

The old lady interrupted him: "Let me ask you, was our family's ten thousand taels of silver wasted?"

The master hesitated slightly and said in a low voice, "The students from the four regions are sitting in silence, and we are once again in the eye of the storm..." Before he could finish speaking, the old lady slapped his arm, and although she didn't have much strength, she stopped him from speaking.

The old lady glared at him, angrily saying, "You're such a useless thing, you don't even see things as clearly as Fifth Sister."

Why bring up Fifth Sister out of the blue? Ruan Hong was taken aback. Before he could think it through, he quickly comforted the First Madam: "Mother, don't worry, let me finish. As long as Second Brother is sent to the Censorate in the capital for trial, he will be under the influence of Prince Han. If we delay for a while, once the storm has passed, everything will be fine."

"Last time, you said the same thing, and even after sending out the money, nothing came of it."

The master was silent for a moment, then said, "Is the maidservant to be sent to the Prince of Han ready? I'll have my advisor, Mr. Yang, send her over later, and at the same time, inquire about her situation."

"Why bother sending it over? It's a waste."

"Mother, the King of Han has spoken..."

The old lady glared at him fiercely and shouted, "Manyun, go and call Fifth Miss over."

The master asked, puzzled, "Mother, why did you call Fifth Sister over?"

“This concerns her, and I want to hear what she has to say.”

"What would a mere maid like her know about important court affairs?"

The old lady said in a curt tone, "I think she knows more than you do."

The master took it as mere anger, gave a slight smile, and dared not say anything more for fear of upsetting her. After waiting patiently for a while, Ruan Bi came in.

The old lady beckoned to her and said, "Fifth girl, sit down and talk." After she sat down, she asked again, "Tell me, the scholars from Huizhou have also joined in the riots, what do you think?"

The master was surprised that the old lady actually asked Ruan Bi in such a serious manner, and looked at her suspiciously. She hesitated for a moment, raised her eyebrows, and said, "In my opinion, it's not a bad thing that the scholars from Huizhou are also causing trouble."

The old man scoffed dismissively in a low voice, "What does this little girl know?"

Ruan Bi said neither arrogantly nor humbly, “Father, please listen to me. This matter only started with a fight between students, resulting in one death. The Guo family brought in Uncle Guo's name, which led to this trouble. It is only natural for the Yangzhou students to stage a sit-in to seek justice for the deceased student. It is also reasonable for Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, which are close to each other, to support the deceased student. But now it has spread to Huizhou, and they have lost their original stance, showing signs of a mob disrupting the government. This trend cannot be encouraged, and this trend cannot be allowed to continue. The Emperor will surely punish them severely. Otherwise, in the future, even for the smallest matter, students will stage a sit-in to threaten the court. How can this be tolerated?”

After hearing these words, the magistrate no longer held any contempt for the students. Earlier during the court assembly, an official had pointed out that the students' violent interference with state affairs must be severely punished.

The old lady found this reasonable and then asked, "Fifth girl, in your opinion, what will your second uncle do?"

"Granddaughter doesn't understand politics and can only speak nonsense," Ruan Bi said. "In my opinion, the court will slap both sides and severely punish the leading students to prevent them from disrupting the government. They will also punish Second Uncle and give justice to the students who lost their lives. With such a tense situation, no one will dare to agree to our efforts. It's better to wait until things calm down before thinking of another way."

The old lady then turned to look at the eldest master, noticing that he seemed lost in thought, the disdain in his eyes earlier completely gone. She asked, "Hong'er, what do you think?"

The magistrate was unwilling to admit that Ruan Bi was right, saying, "It's rare that a young lady like her has some knowledge. But commoners don't talk about politics, let alone women. Fifth daughter should put more effort into needlework in the future."

Upon hearing these words, Ruan Bi scoffed inwardly and lowered her head, saying, "Father's words are wise; I will keep them in mind."

Hearing the master's words, the old lady became even more convinced that what Ruan Bi said was reliable. After thinking for a moment, she asked Ruan Bi again, "In your opinion, how should this matter be resolved since Prince Han wants to take you as a concubine?"

Ruan Bi hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the master and said, "In my opinion, we don't need to pay any more attention to the King of Han's demands. But the King of Han is arrogant and domineering, and it's hard to guarantee that he won't take advantage of our misfortune in the future. The method I mentioned earlier can prevent future troubles."

The old man asked curiously, "What method?"

Ruan Bi explained the solution in just a few words.

The old man frowned and said, "Isn't this deceiving the King of Han? How can this be allowed?"

The old lady pondered silently for a moment, then decisively said, "Let's do as Fifth Sister says."

The master exclaimed in surprise, "Mother!"

The old lady waved her hand and said, "Hong'er, this time you listen to your mother."

The old man nodded helplessly.

Ruan Bi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This old man was so steady and methodical; no wonder he hadn't accomplished anything in his six years as a vice minister. Fortunately, the old lady had some courage.