Chapter 455 Miss Ruan's Kind Advice
Granny Ma replied, "I also suspected they were lying to me, so I specifically inquired about the magistrate's age and found that he was indeed a few years younger than the young master."
"A few years younger?" Ma Tao'er asked in surprise.
Granny Ma continued, "That's right. I remember the eldest son of the Zhou family was two years older than you, but now you are a year older than this magistrate, so naturally you are not the same person."
Ma Tao'er collapsed onto the bed and burst into tears, "Why is my life so miserable? I finally got a marriage arranged for me when I was a child, but the man died long ago!"
Granny Ma lowered her head, her face full of helplessness.
However, after a while, she suddenly thought of something, "I felt something was strange about the Zhou family today."
Ma Tao'er asked, "What's strange?"
Granny Ma said thoughtfully, "I've seen this child bride from the Zhou family before. Although I don't remember her appearance very well now, I remember clearly the small red mole at the corner of her eye. When I first saw her, I thought this little girl was a vixen. But today, I noticed that the red mole is gone."
Ma Tao'er thought for a moment and said, "Maybe she had the mole removed. I often hear people say that red moles are bad."
"That's true, maybe she already had the mole removed." Granny Ma comforted herself with her granddaughter's words, but she still felt a little strange.
She couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange about it.
Ma Tao'er wiped away her tears and comforted her, saying, "Grandma, don't worry, let's wait a few more days. I don't believe the Zhou family will abandon us."
Granny Ma advised, "Tao'er, let's go back to our hometown and farm. We still have land there."
Ma Tao'er clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth as she said, "No, the fortune teller said I'm destined to be a lady, I can't go back to farming."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, Granny Ma stopped talking and kept thinking about Aunt Zhou.
The two of them have been staying at the inn for the past few days and have been behaving themselves.
However, Du Wanchun did not relax and kept Xiao Liu sending people to keep an eye on things.
She herself has been staying at home most of the time these days and rarely goes to the shop.
Today, Miss Ruan came to my house specifically to find me, "Manager Du."
"Mr. Ruan, what brings you here?" Du Wanchun asked her.
Since the incident involving the Ruan family, Miss Ruan has been preparing to return to the capital to reclaim the land and property left to her by her father.
We should have set off today.
Miss Ruan thanked Du Wanchun first, then lowered her voice and whispered, "Manager Du, has a nanny come to your residence?"
Du Wanchun replied, "That's right, an old nanny from the capital."
Miss Ruan continued, "I've seen this old woman before; she's the cook in Lord Yan's household in the capital."
Du Wanchun was quite surprised, "So you know that old woman."
Miss Ruan smiled and said, "Yes, her granddaughter's affair caused a laughing stock in the Yan family back then, so I know a little about it."
As she spoke, she recounted in detail how Yan Tao'er had seduced the young master, intending to become his concubine.
Du Wanchun remarked, "This girl is truly remarkable."
Miss Ruan nodded, glanced around, and then said, "Manager Du, we used to have a stableman named Zhou."
"It seems that Zhou the groom's wife was bought from Cheng'an County."
Du Wanchun's eyes darkened. It seemed that Chen Yue'e's husband was the Ruan family's groom.
Knowing the gravity of the matter, Miss Ruan lowered her voice even further. "That Zhou groom had two sons and a daughter, but later they left the Ruan family to work for a security escort agency. After that, I don't know anything."
Du Wanchun remained silent and did not reply.
Miss Ruan continued, "Manager Du, you saved my life. I know that some things should not be said, and therefore should not be said."
Du Wanchun looked up at her, "What does Mr. Ruan mean?"
Miss Ruan replied, "I've seen that Zhou the stableman and his wife a few times. They don't have anything particularly striking about them, but his wife has a red mole at the corner of her eye, which is very eye-catching. Granny Ma has seen her before, and I guess she'll remember her in the future."
Upon hearing this, Du Wanchun understood that she had come to remind her.
Miss Ruan then added, "I also have a few things to give to Manager Du."
As she spoke, she took out a token from her bosom. Each servant in the Ruan family's backyard had one of these tokens, and the tokens varied depending on their assigned duties.
Miss Ruan happened to have the groom's in her hand; she had taken one when she escaped from the Ruan family.
"Manager Du, keep this. That Granny Ma knows that the Zhou family used to be grooms for the Ruan family."
Du Wanchun took it and thanked her, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Ruan."
In addition, Miss Ruan took out a small booklet, saying, "This is a list of our Ruan family's past food preferences. Zhou Mafu grew up in the Ruan family, so he naturally picked up some of those preferences as well. You might find it useful."
After she finished speaking, she placed the booklet in Du Wanchun's hands.
Du Wanchun glanced at the document in her hand and thanked Miss Ruan again.
Miss Ruan stood up and bowed deeply to her, saying, "Manager Du, it's time for our farewell today. If we are fortunate enough to meet again in the future, please be respectful."
Du Wanchun stood up and helped her up, saying, "Take care on your journey back to the capital."
Miss Ruan smiled and nodded.
Neither of them said much. Du Wanchun did not explain the identities of the Zhou family members to her, and Miss Ruan did not press for details.
Although the two had only recently become similar, they were able to tacitly suppress the matter.
For Miss Ruan, the Zhou family's status was unimportant; all she needed to remember was that the Zhou family were her saviors.
Du Wanchun knew Miss Ruan's character well, so he trusted her completely.
After the two parted, Miss Ruan did not return to the academy, but instead boarded a carriage and headed back to the capital.
That Taoist priest Zeng has indeed mastered real skills.
His divination was correct; Miss Ruan is indeed destined to be an imperial concubine.
But she was not a royal concubine of the Great Cheng Kingdom.
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