Chapter 108 Ruan Lan Returns
That day, the old lady got up early and summoned the steward, giving him detailed instructions. She told him to send men to guard the dock and both banks of the river, and to report back as soon as there was any news. Therefore, as soon as Ruan Lan's boat arrived at the shore, the news reached the Ruan family. All the women gathered in the old lady's hall, chatting and waiting for Ruan Lan to arrive.
Led by Granny Zheng, a group of elderly nannies who had watched Ruan Lan grow up had an extraordinary bond with her and came to talk about Ruan Lan's past. The young ladies sat to the side, unable to get a word in edgewise and finding it uninteresting, so they started chatting amongst themselves.
As they were talking, the second young lady gave Ruan Bi a meaningful look and said, "Fifth sister, have you heard? Young Master Gu fell off his horse during a riding and archery competition a couple of days ago, and I heard he was seriously injured."
Before Ruan Bi could answer, the Seventh Sister exclaimed loudly, "I've heard about it! I've heard about it!"
The third sister slapped her hand and frowned, saying, "How old are you? Always spreading rumors and gossip."
The seventh girl pouted and said unconvinced, "Where did I gossip? Wasn't it just that when we went to Xiuzhen Pavilion the day before yesterday, several ladies from the Dongping Marquis's family were buying cloth, and we heard them talking about it? You were even grumbling to your mother at the time, saying that even though Young Master Gu was injured, they didn't come to our mansion to report it?"
The third young lady was extremely embarrassed. She glared at the seventh young lady and then glanced at Ruan Bi. The fact that she had visited the Prince of Jin's residence had already spread throughout the mansion, and there were even rumors circulating outside.
The second sister chuckled and said, "Yes, Fifth Sister, why didn't you come to our mansion to report the news?"
Ruan Bi realized that she was deliberately trying to cause trouble, rolled her eyes, and ignored her.
The second young lady opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something. Then, the sound of footsteps echoed outside, followed by the shouts of a young maid: "Coming, coming! Miss Lan is back!"
The once noisy hall fell silent instantly, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and everyone craned their necks to look towards the door.
A moment later, a flurry of footsteps approached. The curtain was lifted, and Granny Sun helped Ruan Lan, dressed in plain white mourning clothes, in—or rather, half-carried her. The old lady abruptly stood up, took a few steps forward, and wrapped her arms around Ruan Lan, saying, "Lan'er, my Lan'er, you've finally returned." Before she could finish speaking, tears streamed down her face.
Ruan Lan was also sobbing, saying, "Mother, your daughter... is unfilial, and has caused you... worry again." She broke off her breath twice while saying this, which showed how bad her health was.
The old women, including Granny Zheng, who had served her, also had tears in their eyes and pulled out handkerchiefs to wipe them away.
For a moment, the hall was filled with sorrow and grief, shrouded in gloom.
Ruan Bi took the opportunity to secretly observe her.
Noblewomen, pampered and accustomed to luxury, generally appear younger than their actual age; for example, the First Madam, though nearing forty, looked no more than thirty-five. However, Ruan Lan was different; she appeared older than the First Madam. She was thin, her eyes lifeless. Perhaps due to her long residence in Guangzhou, her skin was neither fair nor dark, but slightly yellowish. Her features were delicate, bearing a six-tenths resemblance to the Second Miss, yet lacking her arrogance. Her eyes and mouth drooped slightly, exuding an air of melancholy and resentment.
This is a woman whose back has been broken by the cruelty of life.
Although she had no feelings for her, Ruan Bi felt a pang of pity for her, thinking of how this frail woman had spent half her life wandering, marrying again and again, yet never finding happiness in it. Lost in thought, she suddenly heard the old lady shout, "Lan'er, Lan'er, what's wrong?" Startled, she looked closely and saw Ruan Lan lying limply in the old lady's arms, her eyes closed, a trickle of saliva at the corner of her mouth.
After a brief silence, the room erupted into chaos. The First Madam directed the maids to move Ruan Lan to the heated platform in the inner chamber, where they pinched her philtrum and bled her. Manyun and Granny Zheng helped the Old Madam to a seat, offering gentle words of comfort. The steward then sent someone to fetch a doctor…
The others remained in the hall, sitting upright and not daring to speak loudly.
Half an hour later, Physician Xu arrived in a hurry, carrying his medicine box.
He had barely stepped inside when the steward rushed in, his face full of surprise, and said, "Madam, First Madam, people from the Imperial Hospital have arrived. They say..." He hesitated slightly, then said uneasily, "The Prince of Jin sent them to treat Miss Lan."
The old lady, who had been leaning back in her chair, opened her eyes wide upon hearing this, sat up straight, and turned to look at Ruan Bi. Everyone else looked at her as well, their expressions varied. The hall was eerily quiet; you could hear a pin drop. After a moment, the old lady gave a cold snort and said, "Just say they're fine and let them go home."
The First Madam coughed lightly and gave the steward a look, signaling her not to move. Then she walked to the Old Madam and said in a low voice, "Mother, my aunt was already frightened by her husband's passing, and then she traveled all the way north, which exhausted her and caused her to become weak and anemic. Although Physician Xu's medical skills are excellent, he is still slightly inferior to the Imperial Physician. Besides, Prince Jin kindly sent the Imperial Physician over here. Even if we don't use him, we should at least welcome him into the mansion and offer him tea. If we don't even let them in the door, won't people say that our Ruan family is too arrogant?"
"When I was burning incense just now, I ran into some old ladies, and they all asked about Prince Jin and you... Some common people were also gossiping about it. Miss Lan didn't know anything about it before, but when she heard about it just now, she almost fainted from anxiety."
She turned to look at Ruan Bi, a trace of sorrow and helplessness flashing in her eyes. She closed her eyes briefly and said wearily, "Never mind, never mind, let them in."
Ruan Bi lowered her eyelids, feeling as if a huge rock was pressing down on her heart.
The second girl next to her glanced at her sideways, her eyes gleaming with schadenfreude.
"Everyone, disperse. Let Lan'er rest for a while." The old lady waved her hand listlessly, then thought for a moment and said, "Fifth girl, stay."
Soon, everyone left, leaving only Ruan Bi.
The old lady gazed at her for a long time, then sighed and said, "You chose this path yourself. Take care of yourself from now on."
Ruan Bi nodded silently, curtsied to her, and withdrew. Stepping out of the dimly lit room and into the warm sunlight, she felt invigorated and couldn't help but smile at the clouds high in the sky. Xiuzhi, who had been waiting outside, came forward, unfolded the cloak she was carrying, and draped it over her shoulders, asking with a puzzled look, "What's making you so happy, Miss?"
Ruan Bi said casually, "Such nice weather, shouldn't we be happy?"
Xiuzhi glanced at the sky, frowning dismissively. These past few days, Ruan Bi had been giving her strange tasks, such as taking the gold bestowed by the Empress back to her home in Sanshiqiao and storing it there. She was also instructed to dismantle the pearl necklace given to her by the Empress Dowager and sew all the pearls into the lining of her brocade jacket. Meanwhile, she herself was spending her days embroidering handkerchiefs according to the "Chronicles of the Nine Provinces."
As they walked out of the alleyway to the west of Chunhui Hall, they saw Yunying sitting in the covered corridor. Upon seeing them, she stood up and greeted them with a big smile, saying, "The old lady has been waiting for this day and night, and finally Miss Lan has returned. Mother and daughter are reunited, which is truly a joyous occasion."
With a double entendre, Ruan Bi smiled slightly and continued walking forward.
Yunying quickly followed, looked around, and handed her the letter she was holding, jokingly saying, "Miss, write back when you have time. Someone is eagerly waiting, their neck is about to break."
"I understand," Ruan Bi replied indifferently.
She said the same thing when the letter came yesterday. Yunying's steps faltered slightly, and the smile on her face faded. The prince wrote to her every day, but she refused to reply to a single one. When Youde delivered the letter earlier, he scolded her for being heartless, and he was absolutely right. She cursed inwardly, suppressing her anger, and said, "Miss, the prince's heart is sincere towards you, and heaven and earth can bear witness."
"Your heart is sincere, heaven and earth can bear witness, yet you want me to be your concubine? If that's the case, what use is this sincerity?" Ruan Bi smiled mockingly, said no more, and left with Xiuzhi. Back in the east wing, she opened the letter and read it; it was still full of tender affection, but she couldn't bear to let it make her heart race. She tore it to shreds and threw it into the brazier to burn.
In the following days, Prince Jin sent imperial physicians to examine Ruan Lan daily and bestowed upon her a large quantity of precious medicinal herbs. The news spread like wildfire. Many prominent families sent invitations, saying they wanted to visit Ruan Lan, but the old lady politely declined, citing that "the patient is weak and needs quiet."
Perhaps it was because she was at home and felt at ease, or perhaps it was because of the miraculous healing skills of the Imperial Hospital, but Ruan Lan recovered quickly. By the third day, she was able to get out of bed and walk. She called Ruan Bi over and talked for most of the day. Although her clothes were wet with tears, her emotions were not as intense as they were on the day they first met.
From then on, she would call Ruan Bi over to talk every day, and would often stare at her blankly, lost in thought, before tears would fall.
Ruan Bi wanted to ask her about that old story several times, but she was afraid of upsetting her, so she didn't dare.
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, it was once again the day the old lady observed a vegetarian diet and burned incense. This time, she didn't take Ruan Bi with her, but only Ruan Lan to Tianqing Temple, saying that she wanted to fulfill a great vow. Ruan Bi sat in the old lady's warm chamber doing needlework with Manyun, while waiting for them to return.
They returned in less than an hour, all of them with ashen faces.
Ruan Bi and Manyun exchanged a glance and quickly put down their needlework to go to greet her. Unexpectedly, the old lady flew into a rage as soon as she saw her, stomping her feet and cursing, "It's all because of you, you jinx and spendthrift!" Ruan Lan, who was following her, burst into tears and ran into the inner room, covering her face.
Ruan Bi stood frozen in place, and asked softly, "Grandmother, what happened?"
"You still dare to ask? How dare you ask!" The old lady pointed at her nose and said, "I should have strangled you back then, wiped you clean. You really infuriate me!" With that, she turned and went into the inner room.
Ruan Bi looked at Zheng Mama with a puzzled expression.
Granny Zheng shook her head and sighed, "Miss, how could someone as clever as you end up like this?" She paused and said, "When we were burning incense just now, we met some old ladies, and they all asked about Prince Jin and you... Some common people were also gossiping about it. Miss Lan didn't know anything about it before, but when she heard about it just now, she almost fainted from anxiety."
"I see," Ruan Bi smiled wryly, about to speak. Suddenly, she heard hurried footsteps outside the door, followed by the second steward's voice: "Madam, Madam, an imperial edict has arrived from the palace, ordering Fourth Miss to receive it."
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