Chapter Fifteen: Promotion and Ennoblement
After the old lady got off the bed, Ruan Bi and Manyun helped her to the door.
The third steward, in his thirties, with an ordinary appearance and a short beard, was pacing anxiously back and forth. Upon seeing the old lady emerge, he hurried forward to greet her.
The old lady asked in a deep voice, "What exactly happened?"
The third steward said, "It's still unclear, but I heard it was to stop the mad horse for the sake of the officials..."
The old lady's heart tightened.
"...It was brought back by the eunuch and the imperial physician, who said they brought the Emperor's decree. The head steward asked them to serve tea in the South Hall. The master just took young master Xu to Lord Hu's house at the Imperial Academy, and has already sent a servant to look for him. The madam is in the ancestral hall... The head steward means that you, madam, should go and deal with her first."
"Alright." Although the old lady was reluctant, she could only agree, pushing away Ruan Bi's hand that was supporting her arm.
Ruan Bi tactfully let go of her hand, watching the third steward lead the way, while Manyun helped the old lady toward the passageway.
Ruan Chi has stopped the mad horse for the official; it seems he'll be promoted. "That kid's got real luck," Ruan Bi thought to herself, before leading Xiu Zhi back to Liaoyuan. Upon entering the east wing, they saw a table in the hall laden with items: pastries, tea, dried fruit, silk fabrics, and a small brocade box. Han Xing peered around the table, counting the items.
"Where did it come from?" Ruan Bi asked in surprise.
Granny Liu said, "It was delivered by an old nanny from the Xu family. She said it was a gift from Miss Lan to the young lady. She sat for a long time but didn't see the young lady and just left." She paused and then added, "All the young ladies will receive one."
"Why didn't you call me back?" Ruan Bi complained. She had been sitting there waiting for her for a long time; if she wasn't mistaken, this old nanny was most likely Ruan Lan's confidante.
"I didn't think it was anything serious..." Seeing Ruan Bi's face darken, Liu Mama knew she was blaming her for acting on her own initiative, so she didn't dare to say anything more. "It was my oversight, please don't blame me, Miss."
Ruan Bi waved her hand and said, "Forget it, it's not a big deal. Xiuzhi can go and make the trip another day, and then ask that old woman to come and sit down." After saying that, she carefully examined the items on the table. The tea was Luokeng tea, and the cloth was Xiangyun yarn, all of which were precious items. She then told Xiuzhi to put them away and record them in the book. As for the pastries and dried fruits, she picked out the ones that wouldn't spoil easily and put them away for future use when entertaining guests. The perishable ones were divided into four portions. One portion was wrapped up and given to Liu Mama to take back to her grandson. Another portion was wrapped up and given to Hanxing to deliver to the two old women guarding the gate. Of the remaining two portions, one portion was kept for herself, and the other portion was given to the four maids to divide among.
Standing to the side, Granny Liu admired her for her methodical and thorough approach.
Hanxing and Xiaoju were young, and when they saw the delicious food, their eyes blinked with excitement.
After finishing with the food, Ruan Bi told Xiuzhi to take the small brocade box back to the inner room. She opened it and looked inside; it contained silk flowers, hairpins, bracelets, and other jewelry—not particularly valuable, just fashionable designs. She then searched the innermost compartment and, sure enough, found a hidden compartment containing four five-tael silver ingots. There was also a note with a few words, essentially saying that she had seen Dongxue and knew her situation, and that she should relax and wait. It also said the silver was for emergencies, and that the servants in the mansion were very snobbish, so she should be generous with rewards and not let them look down on her.
Ruan Bi glanced at the silver, then at the note, and sincerely sighed that her mother was the best. She took out the jewelry, put the silver back into the brocade box, and placed it at the bottom of the cabinet. Thinking that she now had thirty taels of silver in savings, she felt a surge of security. Then she chuckled to herself, realizing how narrow-minded she had been; thirty taels of silver was only about 18,000 yuan in today's currency.
Seeing her laughing alone, Xiuzhi asked curiously, "What are you laughing about, young lady? Tell me so I can have a laugh too?"
"This is a secret, I can't tell you." Ruan Bi said, taking out six silk flowers for her, "Two for you and Cha Mei each, and one for Han Xing and Xiao Ju."
Xiuzhi refused to accept it, frowning as she said, "Such a beautiful flower, you should keep it for yourself."
"You know I don't like pink flowers." Ruan Bi shoved the silk flowers into her hand, and her expression darkened slightly when she saw that she was about to speak again.
Xiuzhi stuck out her tongue and hurriedly went out. A moment later, cheers rang out from the outer room from two maids.
As Ruan Bi listened, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips. She stood up and opened the window.
Outside the window, at the main house entrance, the Fourth Miss saw Concubine Lin off. They stood under the eaves and chatted for a while, both with joy on their faces. Then Concubine Lin descended the stone steps and walked towards the courtyard gate, her waist swaying gently like a willow in the breeze. She was in her early thirties, but whether viewed from the front or from behind, she appeared as a flamboyant young woman; no wonder the master had been infatuated with her for over a decade. The Fourth Miss resembled her closely, but in terms of charm, she was worlds apart.
"I've given them the silk flowers. Is there anything else, Miss?" Xiuzhi turned back again.
Ruan Bi nodded, leaned against the window and said, "Yes, go to the front yard and get some paper and ink, and while you're at it, check on how the Third Master is doing."
Hearing the music, Xiuzhi understood the meaning and nodded in agreement. Half an hour later, she returned and told Ruanbi everything she had found out.
It turned out that today was a horsemanship competition between the Imperial Guards and warriors from other regions sent to the capital. The Emperor, on a whim, went to watch. Unexpectedly, one of the horses suddenly went mad and charged straight at him. Ruan Chi, who was attending the Emperor, bravely rushed forward, grabbed the reins, and even after his leg was broken by the horse, he still refused to let go, holding onto the mad horse tightly and being dragged a long way... In short, he saved the Emperor.
It is said that his bravery and unwavering loyalty greatly pleased the Emperor, who ordered his personal attendants and imperial physicians to escort him back. He also issued an imperial edict instructing the Old Madam and the First Master to take good care of this "meritorious official." A servant in the South Hall said that when the Old Madam came out, she was a little pale, probably because she was too worried about the Third Master's leg injury. Later, after returning to Chunhui Hall, the Old Madam, still shaken, accidentally broke a yellow teacup with a gold-painted design of longevity and good fortune.
At noon, I was so worried that I couldn't eat, so I skipped the evening greetings. Dinner was even simpler; no meat dishes were allowed, just some vegetarian dishes and plain porridge, to ward off bad luck and bring good fortune to the Third Master.
The next day, the Emperor issued a formal imperial edict, greatly praising Ruan Chi for his loyalty and protection of the Emperor, awarding him two hundred taels of silver, thirty bolts of silk, and promoting him to the rank of Imperial Palace Attendant, a sixth-rank official. Throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, very few officials at the age of twenty were granted such a high rank.
The third master of the Ruan family in western Beijing was a very famous figure.
Perhaps sensing something unusual, in the following days, many high-ranking officials from the capital visited the Ruan residence to offer their congratulations. Ruan Chi was bedridden and unable to receive them, while Ruan Hong had to work at the yamen and was too busy. This left the three stewards to frantically run around. The First Madam and the Old Madam also had a hard time, busy receiving official matchmakers and other noblewomen who came to probe the situation.
It is said that the old lady was so tired that her hands trembled, and she broke an entire set of yellow-ground gold-painted tea set with auspicious and longevity patterns within a few days.
After three busy days, it's finally coming to an end.
However, visitors continued to flock to see him, only now it was the former officials from the capital who had come upon hearing the news that were now Ruan Chi's subordinates and colleagues from the Imperial Guard. They were all as strong as iron towers, with voices as loud as bells, and they were all clamoring and demanding to see Ruan Chi. If the steward said that the Third Master was staying in the inner courtyard and that it was inconvenient, he would immediately slam his fist on the table and glare, and some even drew their knives.
The three stewards, skilled at dealing with scholars and literati and having only ever interacted with them, were terrified and reported to the old lady and the master. After discussing it, the two instructed the craftsmen to open a side gate on the north side, leading directly to Ruan Chi's courtyard. If any rude and noisy men came, the gatekeeper would simply lead them in through the side gate, out of sight, out of mind.
This flurry of activity has finally come to an end.
The maid in charge of tea utensils in the old lady's room also confidently brought out another set of yellow teacups with gilded auspicious and longevity patterns. The young ladies could finally stroll around the garden without worrying about encountering the Imperial Guardsmen with their stubble and indiscriminately peering eyes.
Ruan Bi took Xiuzhi for a leisurely stroll along the willow-lined bank of the pond. Afterward, they went directly to the Fourth Sister's embroidery room. Watching her thread the needle with fluid and graceful movements, Ruan Bi exclaimed in admiration, "Watching you do needlework is truly a delight to behold."
The fourth sister looked up and smiled, saying, "I find my sister standing here quite pleasing to the eye, like a painting." She then looked at her more closely and said, "Has my sister grown taller again? She's almost as tall as me now."
"Maybe," Ruan Bi said casually. Since her diet improved, her body has changed in many ways.
Xiuzhi, standing to the side, said proudly, "My daughter has grown taller again. She herself doesn't know, but I know best. I'm the one who always lets down the hem of her skirt. This summer, I've done it twice."
Seeing her smug expression, Ruan Bi couldn't help but laugh and said, "So what if you've grown taller? Showing off like it's a treasure. Don't you think everyone else has grown taller?"
Everyone laughed.
Ruan Bi walked over to the Fourth Sister and looked at her. She saw that the painting of the Queen Mother of the West with auspicious clouds was about half completed, with dense and even stitches and delicate and bright colors. "There's still more than a month left. Will you have enough time, Sister?"
"Huangmei embroidery is very simple and not tiring to do, so there should be enough time," the fourth sister said confidently.
Ruan Bi nodded, and seeing that she never mentioned embroidering the Queen Mother of the West as the Empress Dowager, she didn't bother to ask.
After sitting for only a short while, Hanxing called from outside: "Miss, Sister Xiuping has come to our room."
Ruan Bi bid farewell to the Fourth Sister, then came out with Xiuzhi and asked, "What is she doing here?"
"I don't know, I'll wait for the girl inside."
Ruan Bi returned to the east wing. Xiuping was sitting in the hall drinking tea. When she saw her, she quickly stood up and said with a big smile, "Fifth Miss, I have to trouble you with another matter."
"Hmm?" Ruan Bi looked at her with wide, wary eyes.
"Your third uncle is lying in the house, feeling bored, and asked me to bring him a copy of the Zuo Zhuan, but I can't read..."
Ruan Bi chuckled and said, "Sister Xiuping, why does this reason sound so familiar to me?"
"This...it's all my fault for being illiterate." Xiuping smiled awkwardly and said heavily, "This time I really need to read."
"Sister Xiuping, I'm sorry, I'm busy right now and don't have time to help Uncle San. You can go to the front yard and ask my third brother for help; he can read."
"Miss," Xiuping called softly, her eyes pleading.
Ruan Bi seemed not to notice and said indifferently, "Xiuzhi, take Sister Xiuping to the Third Young Master's courtyard."
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