Chapter 84 Xiaobai is Rejected
After Gu Xiaobai and the others left, not only was Gu Jingyi listless, but the second young lady also immediately lost interest in playing the zither. She also remembered that when her marriage proposal to Xie Mingyue failed last time, her mother had mentioned Pan Shunmei when comforting her. She asked curiously, "This young master Pan looks quite old. Is he still unmarried?"
Gu Jingyi said, "She just got engaged last month to a relative from her mother's family."
The third sister asked curiously, "Jingyi, how come you're so familiar with Young Master Pan?"
"His mother's surname is also Gu. She's from the same clan as us, but not the same branch, and we've always kept in touch. He and my cousin Xiaobai grew up together, and we had the same teacher. He often visited our residence, and I've known him since I was little. But he's just as annoying as Xiaobai; he's always teasing me. My cousin is much better. No matter what I do, he never laughs at me and even gives me lots of interesting things. A few days ago, I told him I wanted to learn archery, and he gave me a small bow painted with lotus flowers. It's so pretty." Speaking of Prince Jin, Gu Jingyi immediately became happy again, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
Although she felt that Prince Jin treated Gu Jingyi like a child, Ruan Bi still felt a little annoyed when she heard her mention him so sweetly. She then chuckled, realizing that she was actually starting to feel jealous.
The third daughter asked curiously, "By the way, Prince Jin is already in his mid-twenties, so why is there still no news of him getting engaged?"
Gu Jingyi's smile faded, and she said sullenly, "I pestered my mother for half a day just a few days ago, and she said it would be soon, but she wouldn't say whose sister it is."
Soon? Ruan Bi was startled. No wonder Prince Jin was in such a hurry a few days ago, cutting off his own escape route. Thinking about it, it made sense; he was indeed not young anymore, and most men of that age were already fathers. She wondered who the Empress Dowager had taken a liking to.
As she was lost in thought, she caught a glimpse of a maid waving at her from outside the waterside pavilion, so she gestured for Xiuzhi to go and see. A moment later, Xiuzhi returned and whispered in her ear, "Master Ziying has arrived and is waiting for you in the Osmanthus Garden in our back garden."
Ruan Bi nodded slightly and said, "Sisters, Jingyi, my master is here to talk to me. Please sit for a moment, I'll be right back."
Gu Jingyi exclaimed "Ah!" and said, "Master Ziying has arrived. Fifth Sister, you should go quickly and not neglect her."
If the guest didn't mind, the other girls certainly didn't mind either.
Ruan Bi guessed that Master Ziying had something to say to her, so she didn't let Xiuzhi come with her and went to the Osmanthus Garden alone. There she saw Master Ziying, dressed in a five-colored feathered robe, standing among the osmanthus trees, one hand gently pressing a branch of osmanthus, lost in thought, her face somewhat ashen, her brow furrowed with a deep gloom. Having known her for so long, this was the first time Ruan Bi had seen her like this. Startled, she stepped forward and softly called out, "Master."
Master Ziying had actually heard her footsteps long ago, but due to his fluctuating emotions, he pretended not to hear them. At this moment, he slowly raised his head, looked her up and down, and then stared straight into her eyes, saying coldly, "My good disciple, you are truly capable." After saying that, he suddenly released his grip, and the osmanthus branch sprang upwards, causing the half-withered petals to fall one after another.
Ruan Bi looked at her, puzzled.
"I just came from the Prince of Jin's residence..." After a pause, Master Ziying smiled sarcastically, "No wonder you always seemed reluctant whenever I talked to you about the marriage with the Duke of Dingguo's family. It turns out you had already planned to marry into the more powerful and prestigious Prince of Jin's family..."
Scheming? The words sounded grating, and Ruan Bi frowned in displeasure.
"...It's laughable that I was so eager to introduce you to Gu Xiaobai, even swallowing my pride to speak well of you in front of Princess Huiwen—did you think the princess would favor you based on your background? It's all because you're my disciple. And now you've outmaneuvered me again. How am I supposed to face the princess now?" By the end, his voice had grown louder, his anger evident.
Hearing her constant scheming, Ruan Bi was annoyed and unwilling to pretend to be her teacher. "Master, I don't understand. Wouldn't having the Prince of Jin's support be more beneficial for Empress Zhao to consolidate her position?"
"With his support, the Empress's position can indeed be secured. But his support comes with conditions: he must help you become the Princess Consort of Jin. But what makes you qualified to become the Princess Consort of Jin? Is it your declining Ruan family or your less-than-illustrious background? The Empress Dowager is not Princess Huiwen. I am a close friend of the Princess, but only a fellow Daoist with the Empress Dowager. Her respect for me is only because of my Daoist cultivation and because I am the abbot of the Royal Jade Void Temple, personally appointed by the late Emperor." After speaking such a long speech, Master Ziying was a little out of breath. He leaned against a tree trunk, panting. After a long while, he took a deep breath, looked at Ruan Bi with anger at her lack of ambition, and continued, "Who is the Empress Dowager? Yes, she is the mother of the Prince of Jin, but she is also the Empress Dowager of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Her first consideration must be the country, the nation, and the royal family. She will not be like Princess Huiwen, who selected a girl for her grandson with great care. She will choose a Princess Consort of Jin who will not disgrace the royal family and will not be the subject of gossip among the people."
Ruan Bi had thought about these things before, but hearing her say this made her feel as if a heavy stone was sinking into her heart.
“I originally thought you were a smart person, which is why I went to great lengths to arrange a good marriage for you. The benefits of marrying into the Duke of Dingguo's family are numerous, not to mention your intelligence; you'll be adept at navigating social situations in the future. Such a bright and sunny path, yet you insist on taking the narrow bridge.” Master Ziying shook his head repeatedly, saying disappointedly, “It seems I overestimated you. You're just one of those petty, opportunistic people, unable to resist the allure of high-ranking officials, single-mindedly focused on climbing higher, without considering your own worth…”
“Real man,” Ruan Bi said sharply, her voice filled with anger, “What high place? What scheming? Do you think I’m so worthless? Do you think I don’t know which path is the right one and which is overgrown with thorns? But… but… we just happened to meet, we just happened to meet. If I could, I would rather we hadn’t met, but there are no ifs.” As she finished speaking, her eyes became slightly moist, and her voice faltered.
Hearing these words and seeing her tearful eyes and indignant expression, Master Ziying was deeply moved. He couldn't help but think of himself many years ago, and his heart ached. He sighed and said, "Young lady, it's better not to meet someone of such a different social standing."
Ruan Bi felt depressed and speechless, and lowered her eyes.
"Besides, how much do you know about the Prince of Jin? He's a commander on the battlefield, walking over corpses everywhere. How can you imagine how cold-blooded he is?"
These words sounded strange, and Ruan Bi was slightly taken aback, looking up at Master Ziying. She was completely unaware, her gaze fixed on the osmanthus blossoms, her eyes vacant, as if lost in thought.
"Do you know that during the Battle of Zhenrong, the Prince of Jin ordered the massacre of 20,000 Northern Rong prisoners? Men, women, and children of the Northern Rong all grit their teeth at the mention of him, wishing they could skin him alive, eat his flesh, and drink his blood."
"War...is inherently cruel."
"Then let me ask you again, that day at Wanmiao Residence, do you know who he climbed over the wall to see?"
For some reason, Ruan Bi suddenly felt a terrible headache, and even her temples started throbbing. "Who?"
Master Ziying did not answer, but stared at the branches for a long time before saying, "Do you know? Princess Huiwen has already taken your birth certificate and had someone match it. A few days ago, when she asked me to discuss the Dao, she also mentioned that she would invite the Lady of Dongping Marquis to come over in the next few days to formally discuss the marriage. She wanted to arrange the engagement for you and Xiaobai on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, saying that it was the best day of the year."
Ruan Bi was speechless.
"I just told Prince Jin that Princess Huiwen is a close friend of mine, and I strongly advocated for your marriage to Xiaobai. I cannot go back on my word. I cannot interfere in your affairs with him. If the Empress Dowager asks, I will speak politely. If she doesn't ask, I will never bring it up." Master Ziying looked at Ruan Bi. "My good disciple, I will be in seclusion starting tomorrow. You'd better take care of yourself, lest you end up with nothing." With that, he turned and walked away.
Ruan Bi felt unusually heavy-hearted and sat down under the artificial hill next to Dan Gui Garden.
The sun was shining brightly today, warming her body, but it couldn't warm her heart. Master Ziying's choice surprised her, but upon reflection, it wasn't without reason. Prince Jin's willingness to support the Empress was certainly a good thing, but if her marriage to Prince Jin didn't go through, the Empress Dowager's wrath would turn into a disaster. She couldn't afford to offend any of the three: the Empress Dowager, Prince Jin, and Princess Huiwen, so she preferred to go into seclusion.
Suddenly struck on the head, Ruan Bi turned around in surprise, only to see Gu Xiaobai walking out from behind the artificial hill with a tree branch in his hand. It seemed that the blow to her head had come from that branch.
"Hey, they're all in the waterside pavilion, what are you doing sitting here?"
"Take a break. Didn't you just leave with my older brother?"
"I told Jiaxuan that I needed to talk to Master Ziying about something," Gu Xiaobai said casually. In fact, Ruan Jiaxuan was yelling and refusing to agree, so Gu Xiaobai ran away in a flash.
"My master just left, go after her."
Gu Xiaobai glanced at Ruan Bi and, noticing her pale face, asked, "Just now... were you two arguing?"
Ruan Bi was startled, then thought, "It's good that he heard." "What did you hear?"
"I didn't hear anything. I was standing far away, but I saw Master Ziying looking very fierce." After a pause, she asked cautiously, "Are you alright?"
"It's alright," Ruan Bi shook her head and said, "You should go back now, it wouldn't look good if someone saw us."
Gu Xiaobai hummed in agreement, but didn't leave. He casually flicked the artificial rockery with a twig. After a while, he said, "Um... I've never been to the Red Leaf Nunnery, nor have I followed your fourth young lady all the way."
"I know."
How did you know?
"Jingyi just told me."
Gu Xiaobai hummed in agreement again and continued to whip the artificial rockery with the twig. After a while, he said, "Um... when will you stay at my grandma's house for a few days again? I'll teach you how to ride a horse."
"I won't go again."
Gu Xiaobai opened her eyes wide and asked, "Why?"
Looking into his bright eyes, Ruan Bi hesitated for a long time before gritting her teeth and saying, "I don't like you... teaching me to ride horses."
Gu Xiaobai was simple-minded, but not stupid. Hearing this, he immediately understood. However, it was the first time he had ever had a crush on a girl, and the first time he had ever been rejected. He felt it was inexplicable and was stunned, standing there dumbfounded for a long time. Then he muttered "Damn it!" and kicked the artificial hill next to him.
The artificial hill, porous and weathered, collapsed halfway down, filling the air with dust. Ruan Bi closed her eyes, feeling an indescribable sense of guilt. When she opened them again, Gu Xiaobai was gone. Silence reigned all around, the sunlight warm and inviting, carrying a faint hint of early spring, though the nearby ginkgo trees were now bare.
Winter is just around the corner.
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