Chapter Eleven: The Building Is About to Collapse
Two days later, Yu Qing came to propose marriage.
The deafening sounds of gongs and drums, the harmonious melody of sheng and xiao, and the long procession of thirty-six loads of betrothal gifts stirred up the entire Xinghua Lane. People crowded around the Lu residence in layers to watch the spectacle, and even the young ladies who couldn't leave their homes stood on the walls to peek at the chests adorned with bright red satin, feeling quite envious and eager.
The Lu family, who already lived a secluded life, had aroused the curiosity of the surrounding residents. Now, seeing them arrive and immediately arrange a marriage with the Chief Steward, they were even more astonished and began inquiring about each other's backgrounds. Ruan Bi was prepared, and had Granny Liu and Zhou Zhuzi secretly spread the word that they were originally from Yaojia Village in Caizhou, that their parents had died and they were left with only three siblings, that their elder brother, Lu Quan, lived in the capital and had many friends, and that the marriage between Miss Lu and the Chief Steward had been arranged in the capital.
The common people suddenly realized why the Lu family had moved here as soon as the Grand Steward took office; it all made sense now. Remembering that there was a second young lady in the Lu household, families with handsome young men in their clans were all tempted. Therefore, a few days after the betrothal gifts, several groups of matchmakers came to the door, wanting to arrange a marriage for the second young lady. Ruan Bi was both amused and exasperated, and had Liu Mama turn them all away—the second young lady was already betrothed to a family in the capital and would be getting married in two years.
Those families were inevitably a little disappointed, but still wanted to curry favor with the Chief Steward, so they had to think of other ways, such as sending their wives or daughters to visit. However, Liu Mama turned them away again, saying that there was no mistress in the house, and the two young ladies were both unmarried and it was not appropriate for them to show their faces in public.
She had previously worked for the Lu family in eastern Zhejiang, and later for the Ruan family. Both were first-rate families with countless rules and regulations, and they were very particular about how they conducted themselves. Having been exposed to these traditions, she developed a composed demeanor, behaving more gracefully and speaking more elegantly than the ladies and young women who came to visit. Everyone felt ashamed of their own appearance, thinking that if even an old nanny was so refined, the young ladies would certainly be even more so. They held the Lu family in even higher esteem and dared not act presumptuously again.
Therefore, this whole commotion completely subsided after March 20th.
As dusk fell that day, a thin layer of blue mist rose. Ruan Bi and the others were having dinner in the front hall when they suddenly heard a knocking sound at the door, which puzzled them. It was already dark, and it was dinnertime; who would be coming to their door? Just as they were wondering, the door knocker rang again, sounding rather anxious.
"Zhou Zhuzi, go and take a look."
Upon hearing Ruan Bi speak, Zhou Zhuzi hurriedly put down his bowl and chopsticks, quickly walked out of the hall, crossed the courtyard, and headed towards the gate.
The others continued eating, when they heard the door creak open, followed by Zhou Zhuzi's surprised "Ah!" and then a series of indistinct, babbling voices. They couldn't make out what he was saying, but the voices sounded very familiar.
Ruan Bi, Granny Liu, and Dong Xue exchanged glances, then quickly stood up and walked to the entrance of the hall to look.
Lanterns were not yet hung at the main entrance, and only a sliver of daylight remained. A thin mist hung in the air, making everything hazy and indistinct. However, lanterns hung at the entrance to the hall, so people outside could clearly see Ruan Bi standing under them, and several calls rang out.
"Fifth Sister..."
"girl......"
"girl......"
Ruan Bi shuddered; the voice was all too familiar. She quickly walked over. As she approached, she could see clearly that it was indeed Granny Zheng, Han Xing, and Cha Mei. The three women stepped across the threshold and surrounded her, some holding her sleeves, others taking her hands, all with tears in their eyes.
"Aunt Zheng, what brings you here?"
"It's a long story, young lady, it's a long story." Old Granny Zheng wept, pulling at her handkerchief from her waist. Just then, Dongxue arrived, tugging at her sleeve and calling out "Godmother," tears streaming down her face. Old Granny Zheng hugged her, and the two wept together.
Their arrival was abrupt; they were only focused on crying and wouldn't explain why. Ruan Bi was displeased and felt a headache coming on. She quickly glanced at the gate. There was a carriage parked outside, and a strong young driver was carrying boxes and trunks inside. Clearly, Zheng Mama and the others had come prepared; did everyone already know about her place?
After unloading the goods, the coachman clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhou Zhuzi, then jumped back onto the carriage and whipped it away.
Ruan Bi was even more confused and pulled Han Xing aside, asking, "How did you get here? Where's Xiao Ju? What happened after I left?"
“Xiao Ju serves…that Fifth Miss at Yuxu Temple.” Seeing that Ruan Bi wasn’t surprised, Han Xing understood that she already knew, so she stopped explaining and continued, “After the young lady left, the old lady was very angry and locked us in the woodshed for three whole days without food or water. After releasing us, she put us in the backyard to take care of the flowers and plants and forbade us from talking to anyone. Five days ago, she suddenly had Zheng Mama take us to a carriage. At first, I thought I had been sold, but I didn’t expect it was to see the young lady.” Tears welled up again, and she sobbed, “Young lady, I missed you so much.”
Upon seeing them, Ruan Bi was both surprised and delighted, but the surprise overwhelmed her joy. She patted her head and said to Granny Liu, "Mama, take Hanxing and Chamei downstairs to wash their faces, and then heat up some food for them."
Granny Liu agreed.
Although the two maids were reluctant to part, they could tell that the young lady did not seem very happy about the reunion, so they did not dare to act rashly and obediently followed Granny Liu away.
Ruan Bi then said, "Mother Zheng, come with me to the backyard to talk."
Hearing the gravity in her voice, Granny Zheng quickly stopped her tears, wiped her face, and said, "I'm really getting old; I cry so easily. Please don't laugh at me, young lady." Just as she lifted her foot, she suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, "Oh dear, young lady, wait a moment." She turned and walked to a chest, took out a key from her purse, unlocked the brass lock, and took out a knee-high black lacquered and gilded pencil case, which she held in her arms. "Young lady, you can go now."
Ruan Bi walked alongside her and asked in a low voice, "Mom, how did you find this place?"
Granny Zheng sniffled and said, "The Prince of Jin sent someone to take us to the Grand Steward's residence, and then the Grand Steward sent a carriage to bring us here."
It seemed that her place wasn't widely known, which made Ruan Bi feel a little more at ease.
Entering the main house in the backyard, Ruan Bi gestured for Dong Xue to close the door and asked, "Mom, what happened? Why did you suddenly come?"
Granny Zheng glanced at her, remained silent, placed the black lacquered and gilded pencil case on the table, then fumbled around her neck for a while before pulling out a red string with a small key hanging from it. She took the key, unlocked the brass lock, pulled out the first drawer, and said, "These are the young lady's jewelry."
Ruan Bi looked down and saw that it was indeed her jewelry, including several sets that the old lady had redesigned when she and Gu Xiaobai were about to get engaged.
Granny Zheng pulled out the second drawer and said, "This is Miss Lan's dowry from before. She asked me to bring it to you. She said she felt sorry for you and told you to take good care of yourself."
Ruan Lan's dowry was naturally much better than Ruan Bi's jewelry: a gold bracelet, a jade headdress, and several pieces of paper underneath. Ruan Bi took them out and looked at them; they were several plots of land in the suburbs of Beijing, about three hundred acres in total.
Granny Zheng then pulled out the last drawer, which was immediately filled with a dazzling golden light that dazzled Ruan Bi's eyes. She shielded her eyes with her hand and waited for them to adjust to the light before looking again. The drawer was neatly arranged with many gold bars, which she roughly estimated to be about two hundred taels.
"This is the old lady's private money. She wants you to keep it for her. She said that she only trusts you now."
"Mom, what happened?"
"Don't mention it, young lady, don't mention it." Granny Zheng waved her hands and shook her head, her eyes reddening. "A few days ago, our eldest master was dismissed from his official post, and ever since then, our household has been in chaos. First, several officials who were engaged to our second young lady took back their marriage proposals. Then, our third master accused our first wife of embezzling funds and demanded an audit and a division of the family property. Our second wife joined in the commotion. Later, the maternal uncle from the Guo family in Yangzhou came, pointing his finger at our eldest master and accusing him of abandoning us in our time of need, and demanding that our second wife divorce him..." ...And that willow catkin, do you remember her? She was originally a maid in Aunt Lin's room, but later became the master's concubine. She went to the yamen to accuse Aunt Lin of being cruel and cruel, harming her unborn child. A whole bunch of neighbors came to watch the spectacle, saying that our supposedly scholarly family was nothing but a bunch of thieves and prostitutes, a fraudster. All the maids and servants with a bit of wealth flocked to her. Just the other day, two servants even stole paintings and antiques from the master's study in the middle of the night and ran away..."
Ruan Bi was stunned. In just a few months, the Ruan family mansion had been turned into this state.
"...The old lady was so angry that she vomited blood, but she had to pretend not to notice. Later, she had no choice but to go to the Prince of Jin's mansion to see him. I don't know what she said, but the Prince of Jin agreed to send me to the young lady's side. Originally, the old lady planned to send Miss Lan to the young lady's side, but Miss Lan refused, saying that she wanted to stay with the old lady and not go anywhere else."
So that's how it is. Looking at the black lacquered and gold-painted pencil case, Ruan Bi felt a little sad. The so-called century-old family of upright officials had rotted to the core. At the slightest sign of trouble, instead of working together to overcome difficulties, everyone was using their own means to seek personal gain.
Granny Zheng then took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to Ruan Bi, saying, "This is a letter that the Fourth Miss wrote to you from the palace."
Ruan Bi took the letter, pulled out the letter paper and looked at it. The letter was filled with descriptions of the court's dynamics and her situation, but it could be summarized in just one sentence—Prime Minister Shen, the Marquis of Yanping's mansion, and the Empress Dowager had joined forces.
As expected, the Prince of Jin did not come without a reason.
Sure enough, Yu Qing's proposal to Dong Xue wasn't without reason.
Her fate may have been decided, either openly or covertly, by the powerful figures in the capital, and only the dramatic collapse of the Ruan family mansion in western Beijing could slightly alleviate their resentment. Although this century-old family had long since decayed, she herself was undoubtedly one of those who had contributed to its downfall.
This chaos and turmoil is something I can't escape even if I go to the ends of the earth.
The Prince of Jin sending over Zheng Mama and the others was a subtle hint at her situation and his own stance. The Old Madam sending over her private savings, while seemingly the safest place for her at the moment, was also a reminder that she shouldn't forget she was the Fifth Miss Ruan. As a member of the Ruan family, even if the entire clan collapsed, she would have to rebuild it.
A smile flickered across Ruan Bi's lips. Disappointed, Dong Xue took Zheng Mama away to rest, ground the ink, spread out the paper, and began to write a letter.
After a while, Dongxue returned and looked at her with some concern, asking, "Is Miss replying to Fourth Miss's letter?"
"No, it's for my second sister."
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