She fell asleep and became a lowly concubine.
I learned from Hanrong that the concubines in this country are also divided into four ranks: noble concubine, good concubine, lowly concubine, and maid concubine. There are also concubines who are not even considered concubines, such as side concubines, attendant concubines, and maid concubines.
The concubine held the highest status, second only to the principal wife. She could participate in family activities and even represent the principal wife at some events. She was usually a daughter of a concubine from a good family.
A concubine of good quality is of the second rank. She is usually a relative of the principal wife, such as a maid who was part of the principal wife's dowry and was promoted to concubine. This was to facilitate the principal wife's bearing of children or to secure her favor.
The concubines who followed were not worth mentioning.
According to the original text, Jiang Yinjin arranged for Shen Mianmian to be a noble concubine, but now she is a lowly concubine.
Shen Mianmian strongly suspected that Jiang Yinjin's actions were intended to provoke her, make her act up, and then use a scheme to deal with her.
Why would she give Jiang Yinjin a chance?
...
In the afternoon, Hanrong rushed into Aunt Shen's room, looking utterly dejected.
After entering, he knelt down before Aunt Shen without saying a word.
Shen Mianmian instantly knew what was about to happen, and she made preparations in advance.
Hanrong's face was pale, and tears streamed down her face. "Auntie, please save me!"
Knowing full well what had happened, Chen Mianmian asked, "What happened?"
Hanrong kowtowed three times and then said, "This servant...this servant's younger brother is seriously ill and urgently needs money to find a doctor, but...but this servant's family really...cannot afford any money. Please help me, Auntie, lend me some money. I will repay you with my monthly allowance. Please, Auntie."
As he spoke, he began to kowtow again.
One strike after another, making a loud banging sound!
It pained Shen Mianmian to see her fall, but there was nothing she could do about it.
There are three reasons:
First, in order to pave the way for the female lead Jiang Yinjin, the author gave her a lot of advantages. Hanrong's younger brother had a terminal illness that was incurable by medicine, but Jiang Yinjin took action and found a famous doctor who cured him instantly, which can be described as a medical miracle!
Jiang Yinjin can perform medical miracles, but she only gives a few taels of silver for her services.
She didn't know where to find a renowned doctor.
If Hanrong's younger brother, who could have been cured, cannot be cured because of her, wouldn't that be doing more harm than good?
Secondly, she suspected that Jiang Yinjin believed she had also been reborn, and might be using Hanrong to test whether she knew the plot and whether she had been reborn.
Third, the female lead definitely bribes her informants; if she doesn't bribe Han Rong, she'll bribe someone else.
If she could bribe Hanrong, it would be like having the enemy in the open while she remained in the shadows, making everything easier to guard against. She could also use a counter-espionage strategy, employing Hanrong to leak false information she wanted to release.
But if Jiang Yinjin doesn't bribe Han Rong, but instead bribes the others in the courtyard, it's like I'm in the open while the enemy is in the dark, making it impossible to defend against.
Chen Mianmian scoffed, "Lend it to you? This concubine doesn't even have enough money to spend."
Hanrong looked up in shock, “Auntie…you…you really don’t care about me? You…you said you wanted to be my sister, and you wouldn’t let me kneel down, but now…you really don’t care about me…”
Shen Mianmian feigned disdain, "Sisters? Ha, what makes you think you can be my sister? Please, I am the mistress, and you are my servant. There is a difference between mistress and servant. Besides, those words you said before were just our 'skinny horse's' rhetoric to attract the young master. Now that I am the mistress, who would call a lowly servant like you 'sister'? Do you even deserve it?"
Hanrong stiffened for a moment, then her face turned ashen.
Chenmianmian deliberately spoke in an unpleasant tone.
Because Hanrong harbored resentment, she was able to betray her master with a clear conscience and reduce her sense of guilt.
...Well, that's all she could do for Hanrong.
Chen Mianmian waved her hand dismissively, "Go away, go away, go cry outside if you want to. You're ruining my good mood."
Hanrong's eyes darkened. "...Yes, this servant... knows her mistake..."
After saying that, he struggled to his feet and left in a daze.
Chen Mianmian watched Han Rong's departing figure for a long time before pulling herself out of her thoughts and continuing to ponder the question she hadn't finished thinking about: After everything is over, will she be able to leave?
If we consider the context and perform "reading comprehension" on this sentence, then "leaving" should mean transmigrating into the book. "The end" should mean the end of the story within the book.
This novel is a romance novel.
The main theme of romance novels is falling in love.
In other words, the romance is the main storyline; once the male and female leads fall in love, get married, or even have children, the story will likely end.
Moreover, the author of the original work has a unique characteristic: once the male and female protagonists get together, the story ends immediately. He never writes about having children or any side stories!
Could it be interpreted as: once the romantic subplot ends, the answer to whether she can transmigrate out of the book will be revealed!?
Of course, it's also possible that it was all just her own imagination; even after the romantic storyline ended, she still didn't wear it out.
In that case, there's no point in keeping this life. Let's see if we can just die and get out!
...
Peony Courtyard.
Seeing that Chu Xue had brought back the dazed and confused Han Rong, Jiang Yin Jin finally felt relieved.
She didn't press Chen Mianmian about it, but immediately set about dealing with Hanrong's younger brother.
Not only did he provide the money, but he also personally took Hanrong out of the Marquis's mansion to find a famous doctor in the capital who was on good terms with the Jiang family to treat Hanrong's younger brother.
The renowned doctor cured the patient's illness miraculously, bringing Hanrong's younger brother out of danger.
Hanrong's entire family knelt and bowed before Jiang Yinjin, vowing to repay the young mistress's life-saving grace even if it meant working like cattle and horses.
It was already evening when they returned to the Marquis's residence.
Hanrong recounted everything that had happened to Aunt Shen since the young master left Mingyue Courtyard in a huff.
Little did she know that when Aunt Shen spoke to the young master, she deliberately made her stay so that Han Rong could overhear and relay the words to Jiang Yin Jin.
Jiang Yinjin listened quietly, her brows furrowing slightly. "The sales pitch used in 'skinny horse' training? You mean, 'one love for life, one partner' is a sales pitch?"
Hanrong replied earnestly, "Young Madam, I don't know what kind of rhetoric the slender horse used, but I remember clearly that's what Concubine Shen said! And afterwards, Concubine Shen and the young master never met again."
Jiang Yinjin asked, puzzled, "So what did she do?"
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