Chapter 14 Uncle's Broken Leg
The evening's welcome-home banquet was held in a pavilion by the lotus pond. Because there were few people, only one table was set up, and everyone, regardless of gender, sat together. The concubines had no place to sit and stood by to serve.
The Third Master was absent from his post, and the Second Madam was also absent due to illness—she had been unwell ever since her quarrel with the First Madam a few days ago. The Fourth Young Master and the Seventh Miss were also absent because of their young age.
The old lady sat in the main seat, with the eldest master, Ruan Hong, seated to his left, and Xu Chuanyang, a guest from afar, seated to his right. Following him were the eldest son, Ruan Jiaxuan, and the third son, Ruan Jiayao. Normally, they were expected to remain silent even while sleeping or eating, but at banquets, the focus was on creating a lively atmosphere; eating and drinking were secondary. After several rounds of drinks, everyone clamored to hear Xu Jieyuan compose a poem.
Xu Chuanyang also wanted to show off his talent in public. After a slight refusal, he stood up, waved his folding fan, and recited a poem aloud.
Although Ruan Bi couldn't write poetry, she could still tell the quality of a poem. She couldn't help but admire her quick wit and genuine talent.
The master applauded enthusiastically, his eyes filled with excitement as he looked at Xu Chuanyang. After the banquet, the master took Xu Chuanyang's hand and led him to his study for a late-night chat, which lasted until the wee hours of the morning before they finally returned to their room to sleep. The first wife was already exhausted, but because her husband hadn't returned, she dared not go to sleep, lying down fully clothed. Hearing the noise, she quickly got up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and complained, "Why did you talk for so long?"
The master said excitedly, "Madam, Xu Chuanyang is a talented man. I plan to marry our second daughter to him."
"What!" The First Madam's eyes widened, all sleepiness gone. "No way! How can a commoner like him be worthy of our Qi'er? Besides, his hometown is in Lingnan, a remote and malaria-ridden place. Look at how many times our aunt has come back after all these years since she married there! Our eldest daughter was married off to Zhejiang, and she hasn't come back for two years. I feel so sad every time I think about it. And now you want to marry our second daughter off to Lingnan? No way!"
The master patiently said, "Xu Chuanyang is a man of great vision and brilliant writing skills. He will surely win the imperial examination next spring. With his dual degree in the imperial examinations, I can pull some strings and get him appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy without any problem. Then Er Yatou won't have to go back to Lingnan with him."
“Nothing is absolute in this world. He might fail the imperial examination.” The First Madam said disdainfully. “Besides, even if he does pass, he’ll only be a sixth-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy. How much will that be? He won’t even be able to afford a small courtyard house in the capital, let alone support a large family. You’re willing to let Qi’er suffer, but I’m not. Our Qi’er is destined to marry a duke or a prince.”
The old man frowned and pursed his lips, saying, "That's a woman's opinion. Xu Chuanyang has the talent of a prime minister."
The First Madam remained silent, thinking to herself, "When I married you, my father praised you for having the talent of a prime minister, but now you're just a third-rank vice minister."
When the master saw that she disagreed, he paced back and forth for a while and said, "Fine, since you don't agree with Qi'er, then let's marry Fourth Sister to him."
Without a second thought, the First Madam said, "No."
The old man frowned and said, "Why not again?"
The First Madam hesitated, unable to come up with a reason for a long time. She wasn't stupid; she could see that Xu Chuanyang was talented. If she married Fourth Sister to him, wouldn't Aunt Lin be overjoyed? Of all the Master's concubines, she hated her the most because the other concubines were just playthings, while she alone had occupied the Master's heart for more than ten years.
The magistrate pondered for a moment, understood her meaning, and sneered, "Narrow-minded. I've made up my mind about this matter, so you shouldn't interfere anymore." With that, he turned and left.
The First Madam stomped her feet in anger and winked at Baoli. Baoli understood and followed her out, returning a moment later to say, "She's gone to Xiaozhu Courtyard."
The First Madam, knowing he had gone to inform Consort Lin, gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, fine, he's off to present his treasure without even trying." Remembering his scolding of her for being narrow-minded, she felt increasingly resentful. She lay on the bed, pondering how to sabotage the marriage. After thinking for a long time, she couldn't come up with a feasible plan and fell asleep, full of resentment.
The next morning, with swollen eyelids, he led a group of younger relatives to the old lady's room to pay their respects.
She had only been sitting for a short while when the master of the house also came in. The first lady was surprised at first, then remembered that today was her ten-day rest day.
When the old lady saw the eldest master arrive, she waved for the others to leave. After having breakfast with the eldest master, she sat in the side hall, dismissed all the servants, and then asked in a low voice, "How is the matter concerning Jiaxuan going?"
"We've already sent people to search everywhere, and that old hag has indeed run away with the girl."
"Run away? How did he run away?" The old lady looked at him with suspicion.
The master felt slightly uncomfortable and said, "When I went over with Steward Luo, there was no one in the house."
The old lady stared at him with eyes like a hawk for a long time before asking sternly, "Hong'er, are you hiding something from me?"
The old man's face paled slightly, and he dared not utter a sound.
The old lady gave a low, sharp command: "Kneel down."
The master knelt down in response.
"Honestly, what exactly happened?"
"Mother, the person did run away, but... but that girl is Manhua."
"What!" The old lady sat up straight, her shock followed by anger. She slammed her hand on the table and said, "Jiaxuan, he's so muddle-headed! Manhua is our servant girl, and he didn't even say a word when he found her. Could it be... could it be... that he kidnapped Manhua?"
“Mother, you’ve watched Jiaxuan grow up since he was a child. He’s a well-behaved and honest boy. How could he do something so rebellious? I find this whole thing very strange. There must be a mastermind behind it all doing this on purpose.”
Why didn't Jiaxuan tell us?
"Jiaxuan... Jiaxuan is probably afraid that once the person is brought back, they will be sent back to Yangzhou."
The old lady kept saying, "Foolish, foolish, what's so good about Manhua?" In her haste, she caught her breath and coughed violently.
The old man got up from the ground and gently patted her back, saying, "Mother, don't get upset over such a small matter."
The old lady took a sip of tea, her breathing calming slightly, and said resentfully, "Is this a small matter? Your daughter-in-law must have known, no wonder she didn't let the second son's wife bring anyone in. Very well, very well, you've really got some tricks up your sleeve, so self-righteous, deceiving your superiors and subordinates. If it weren't for the second son's wife making a scene this time, who knows how long you would have kept it from me?"
"Mother, I've already scolded her."
The old lady sneered and said, "You forgetful thing, even if you scold me eight or ten times, you still won't change your ways." She paused, then raised her voice and said, "Manyun, come in."
Manyun responded and entered, saying softly, "Madam."
“Go to the First Madam’s courtyard yourself and tell her to kneel before the ancestors in the ancestral hall. If she makes a fuss about coming to see me, just go back.”
Kneeling before the ancestral hall and memorial archway is a severe punishment. Manyun was shocked and only agreed after a moment before retreating.
The old lady said again, "Hong'er, this matter has a strange air about it. It's most likely that bastard is behind it. Send more people to search around. You must find that old hag and Manhua."
"Mother, I know the truth."
The old lady said, "Go and do it quickly, I'm tired too."
The master originally wanted to discuss with her the idea of betrothing the fourth daughter to Xu Chuanyang, but seeing her tired face and listless expression, he had no choice but to give up.
After he left, the old lady collapsed onto the couch, feeling utterly exhausted, and closed her eyes to rest. She didn't know how much time had passed, but in her hazy state, she heard voices outside. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the water clock; it was just past 9 AM. Looking around, she saw that Manyun was gone, only a young maidservant was there. "Who's talking outside?"
The maid said, "It was Fifth Miss who came over. Seeing that you were asleep, she was talking to Manyun outside."
The old lady straightened her hair and said, "Let her in."
The young maid lifted the curtain, peeked out, and called out.
A moment later, Ruan Bi and Manyun walked in together, their faces beaming with smiles.
Ruan Bi placed the six copies of the Diamond Sutra she was holding on the low table beside the couch and said, "Grandmother, these are the Diamond Sutras I just copied. I had some free time lately, so I copied three more copies."
The old lady nodded slightly and said, "Good child, that's thoughtful of you. You'll come with me to Tianqing Temple on the first day of the lunar month."
Ruan Bi nodded, noticing that her brows were furrowed and she seemed to be in a bad mood, and asked, "What's wrong, Grandmother? Are you feeling unwell?"
The old lady shook her head, intending to send her back, but then remembered that if she were to marry her off to Xu Chuanyang, she would have to teach her some household management skills. So she beckoned her to sit by the bed and asked, "A couple of days ago, your aunt and your mother had a fight, and you were there. Tell me, whose fault was it?"
"This is a test for me," Ruan Biwei pondered for a moment, then said, "In my opinion, both Aunt and Mother are at fault. That old woman was indeed malicious, and Mother was not wrong to have the servants stop her, but she was ultimately put on the defensive. When faced with someone who comes to extort money, whether you report it to the authorities or have the servants beat her up, you must stop her from doing so from the start. Mother's mistake was that she didn't act decisively when she should have."
The old lady nodded slightly.
"As for Auntie's mistake, she shouldn't have argued with the servants at the gate. She made trouble for herself for no reason and made herself a laughing stock in front of outsiders," Ruan Bi said, downplaying the issue.
"Good, good, good." The old lady's spirits lifted slightly, and she looked at her approvingly. Then she asked, "What about those servants who blocked your aunt? What should be done with them?"
Ruan Bi asked in surprise, "Didn't Mother already send them to the estate?"
"So, I'm asking if your handling of this matter is appropriate?"
This stumped Ruan Bi. To be honest, it was unreasonable; the servants were merely following orders. But usually, when something went wrong, these servants were the first to suffer. She had seen many employees take the blame for their bosses in her previous workplace, and she was used to it.
I was in a dilemma. Suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps approaching from afar.
The old lady frowned and said to Manyun, "Go out and see who this is? Why are you in such a hurry? What kind of behavior is this?"
Manyun went out and quickly returned, saying, "It's the Third Steward who's here. He says something's happened to the Third Master."
The old lady straightened up and asked in astonishment, "What happened?"
"They say his leg was broken by a horse..."
Ruan Bi noticed a glint of light in the old lady's eyes at that moment.
"...He was brought back by the eunuch and the imperial physician together..."
The old lady and Ruan Bi were both stunned. Imperial physicians were only responsible for serving in the palace; if a duke, marquis, or prince wanted to summon them, the emperor had to appoint them by imperial decree. How could Ruan Chi, whose leg was broken by a horse, be brought back by the eunuch and the imperial physician together?
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