Volume Two, Step by Step to Victory, Chapter 15: A Game Within a Game

Suddenly, the second daughter's voice rang out: "I'm the youngest every time, it's no fun, I'm not playing anymore."

Xie Mingzhu said anxiously, "No, no, there's no one left. If you lose all your money, I'll lend it to you."

The second girl said, "It has nothing to do with money. I just had a bad hand and lost interest. Why don't you call someone else? Let me rest for a while."

Wei Zi said, "Didn't Miss Ruan get up? Just let her come over."

The second daughter glanced at Wanbi, thinking that she was poor and would run out of money if she lost a few rounds, which would be a disgrace to the Ruan family. She shook her head and said, "She's no good. She can't even read the cards very well."

Ruan Bi quickly replied, "I really can't, you guys play."

Xie Mingzhu asked in surprise, "Why not? Didn't you play with me last winter?"

Fifth Sister then remembered that when Xie Mingzhu visited the Ruan residence last year, they were short of players for playing cards and had asked Ruan Bi to join them. After thinking for a moment, she said, "That time, she was also short of players and asked her to join. She doesn't know much about cards and played them randomly. How about..." She looked at Ruan Bi and said gently, "...Fifth Sister, why don't you play with them for a while? I'll watch the cards for you."

Having said that, Ruan Bi had no choice but to sit down and join the game.

Whether it's mahjong or any other card game, they're generally good for beginners. Ruan Bi didn't know how, but the cards she drew were very high. With the Second Miss's guidance, she won money in several rounds. At the same time, she figured out the trick. Leaf cards were the prototype of later playing cards, a total of forty-eight cards, divided into four suits: "Coins," "Strings," "Ten Thousand Strings," and "Ten Thousand Strings." The current way of playing was the simplest—comparing the highest and lowest. She had studied numbers and her mental arithmetic was better than anyone else's. If she wanted to, winning big wouldn't be difficult. But after thinking it over carefully, she pretended not to understand and let the Second Miss continue to guide her.

The second girl was also quite skilled, and she had a good hand. After about ten more rounds, most of the money on the table belonging to Xie Mingzhu, Shen Zhen, and "Wei Zi" had ended up in front of Ruan Bi. These three women came from wealthy families and didn't care much about money, but they couldn't help feeling a little annoyed that Ruan Bi always had the upper hand.

Looking at Ruan Bi's hands, Wei Zi said, "Fifth Miss, have your hands been blessed at a temple? They're practically money-grabbing masters."

The people around covered their mouths and laughed.

Ruan Bi smiled and said, "Sister is truly witty."

Wei Zi raised her eyebrows and said, "What sister? I have a name and I'm not meeting you for the first time. Why are you acting like you don't know me?"

Ruan Bi didn't know what to say for a moment, so she pretended to look at the cards carefully.

Seeing that Ruan Bi didn't respond, Wei Zi looked at her in surprise and asked, "You really don't recognize me?"

Ruan Bi had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "My sister was seriously ill and had a high fever for several days. She has forgotten most of what happened before."

Wei Zi looked at her, then at the second young lady, and asked, "Really?"

The second young lady was puzzled, but with so many people around, she could only try to smooth things over. "It is true, my fifth sister is shy, perhaps too embarrassed to ask... Fifth sister, this is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, her surname is Han and her given name is Lu."

Ruan Bi said, "So it's Miss Han. I'm so sorry for being so rude."

Han Lu suddenly realized and said, "No wonder it's different from before. Uh... how come I lost again?" She threw the last string of coins on the table in front of Ruan Bi and said, "This time I've lost everything, so I have no choice but to call it quits."

Xie Mingzhu generously said, "I'll lend it to you."

Han Lu said, "No need, I'm not interested in playing anymore, and besides, I'm tired and need to rest for a while. You guys have fun." After saying that, she stood up and walked towards the side room with her maid.

Shen Zhen put down the leaf cards in her hand and said, "I'm tired too. Sisters, take your time playing."

Although Xie Mingzhu still wanted to play, seeing that everyone was losing interest, she reluctantly said, "Let's call it a day then."

The two left together, and in an instant, only Ruan Bi and the second young lady remained.

Ruan Bi looked at the pile of copper coins and about ten taels of silver on the table, and was at a loss. She asked the second young lady, "Second sister, what should we do with this money?"

The second young lady didn't care much about money and said, "Since you won it, keep it. If you find it inconvenient, I'll ask Mingzhu to help you exchange it for silver."

Ruan Bi's mind raced. She had won quite a bit, amounting to about twenty taels of silver. In that era, one tael of silver was equivalent to about 600 yuan in today's currency. For her, this was a huge sum, especially since she was currently short of money. However, accepting the money would ultimately damage her reputation.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up a piece of silver worth about five taels and threw it to Xiuzhi, saying, "This is a reward for you. You can take the rest and distribute it to them." He pointed to the group of servants standing in the room.

The second young lady was even more surprised, staring intently at Ruan Bi.

Ruan Bi felt uncomfortable under her gaze and quickly changed the subject: "Second sister, why haven't I seen third and fourth sisters?"

The second young lady thought for a moment and said, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. It's been a while since I've seen them. Perhaps they haven't come over here. Why don't we send a servant to look for them?"

"No need, Second Sister, they're all in this garden anyway. I've rested and I'm full of energy now, so I'll go find them."

The second young lady nodded and said, "I saw them go to the Waiting Snow Pavilion earlier; they'll probably rest there."

"Which direction is the Waiting Snow Pavilion in?"

The second sister stared at Ruan Bi for a while, then asked, "That's the place where we admired the plum blossoms together at the beginning of the year. Fifth sister, you've even forgotten that?"

Ruan Bi's heart skipped a beat, but she still said calmly, "I'm just not very bright, as Second Sister knows."

The second sister smiled mysteriously and said in a low voice, "Fifth sister used to be brainless, but now she is too smart. She is quick-witted, knows how to advance and retreat, and is generous with her money... Fifth sister, I have only heard of high fever damaging the brain, but I have never heard of burning a lump of paste into a clear black and white."

Ruan Bi blinked and looked at the second sister. "Second sister is right, I'm completely confused again."

The second young lady looked around. There were too many people and too much chatter, so it wasn't the place to talk. She patted Ruan Bi's clothes, tidied her hair, and raised her voice slightly to say in a gentle and kind tone, "Go ahead. Daixue Pavilion isn't far from here, it's to the north. Don't wander around for too long."

So her gentleness was only for public display. Ruan Bi smiled and nodded. Just then, Xiu Zhi finished distributing the rewards and led her away from the Rose Courtyard. No sooner had she left than a maid in blue, who had been standing in the corner, appeared. She watched Ruan Bi's departing figure with curiosity and then headed in another direction.

Walking out of the garden along the covered walkway, with courtyards every three steps and pavilions every seven, until reaching the main courtyard, several maids were sitting on the white stone rock eating apricots. Upon seeing her, they hurriedly stood up and chattered, "Greetings, Aunt Wan! Madam has mentioned you many times. Please come in." As they spoke, they lifted the curtain to let her in.

Then he announced inside, "Madam, Aunt Wan has arrived."

Madam Zhu was reclining on the chaise longue eating apricots when she quickly stood up, took a few steps to greet her, and said, "Aunt Wan, you've worked hard. Come and sit down." She then told the maids to make tea.

After they sat down to the side as host and guests, and drank tea, Madam Zhu asked, "Have you chosen a good person yet?"

Aunt Wan nodded.

Zhu asked curiously, "Whose daughter is she?"

"The daughter of the Minister of Revenue, Du, is beautiful, well-behaved, and has a personality that is neither weak nor strong."

Zhu frowned and said, "Doesn't the Du family have a son?"

Aunt Wan said, "Du Chun is getting old, and his son is a good-for-nothing. In the future, he will not only be unable to help, but he will probably be a burden."

Madam Zhu asked, "What about the fourth daughter of the Ruan family? I saw her at the birthday banquet of the Lady of Dongping Marquis. She was quite steady and honest. She was born out of wedlock, and her brothers were young, so she didn't have any help."

Aunt Wan shook her head and said, "That girl is only honest on the surface, but she is actually proud and arrogant, and she will not be content to be subordinate to others for long."

Madam Zhu said "Oh," and then said, "I didn't see it coming. Oh well, it's good that it's been chosen. It's one less thing to worry about. This time, I personally sent invitations to the young ladies from various families. The young ladies may not understand, but who knows what their elders are thinking behind their backs?"

Aunt Wan said, "Madam, there's no need to worry. Everyone just thinks you're looking for a match for the second young master. This isn't the first time a noble family has done something like this."

Zhu sighed and said, "That's all we can do. Even if I'm being presumptuous, there's nothing I can do."

Aunt Wan said, "With the status of a Noble Consort and the current position of the Marquis's mansion, it's not considered presumptuous. The Second Young Master is also young, handsome, and well-known. Which family in the capital wouldn't be happy about him?"

Zhu felt a little relieved, but then shook her head and said, "Speaking of Mingyue's marriage, it is another matter of concern. If she marries a noblewoman from a duke's or prince's family, I am afraid that the Imperial Censor will criticize her for associating with the powerful and wealthy, forming cliques, and causing trouble for the maternal relatives. If she marries a woman from an ordinary official family, I am afraid that she will not be able to keep order."

This was a family matter, and Aunt Wan didn't want to interrupt. But fearing that she would continue talking, she changed the subject: "By the way, I just met a very interesting young lady."

Zhu asked curiously, "Whose daughter is she? What's so interesting about her?"

"I've heard people call her Miss Ruan Wu, so she must be the granddaughter of Ruan Wenxiao, and quite different from her three older sisters..."

Zhu asked in bewilderment, "Miss Ruan the Fifth? I only invited the Second, Third, and Fourth Misses of the Ruan family. Where did this Miss Ruan the Fifth come from?"

The head maid standing on Zhu Shi shifted uncomfortably.

Aunt Wan paused for a moment, then said, "I didn't mishear. They really did call her Miss Ruan Wu."

Zhu's heart skipped a beat. She turned to look at the head maid, noticing her unease, and her mind cleared. She said, "Mingzhu must have stolen the invitation to invite her. That child, she clearly doesn't like her, yet she teases her every time. Speaking of which, this Fifth Miss is quite pitiful..." Seeing Wan Gugu's puzzled expression, she continued, "Do you remember what happened more than ten years ago, when Ruan Wenxiao and Prime Minister Shen fell out?"

Aunt Wan suddenly realized and said, "It's that child?"

Madam Zhu nodded and said, "Yes, she was originally the legitimate daughter of a prestigious family, but now she's ended up in a state of confusion and uncertainty. She's also born with a timid nature and doesn't know how to read people's expressions, which makes her annoyed by everyone..."

Aunt Wan asked in surprise, "Is Madam referring to Miss Ruan Wu?"

Madam Zhu nodded and said, "It is she."

“How could that be?” Aunt Wan shook her head. “That girl… is extraordinary.”

Zhu was taken aback, thinking to herself that Aunt Wan must have misread it.