Chapter Forty-Seven: Only Troubles My Heart
The prominent families in the capital, who were on good terms, exchanged gifts during festivals. Although the Ruan family had no prior relationship with Princess Huiwen, their previous gift to Ruan Bi was a token of gratitude. The fact that the gift was returned clearly indicated Princess Huiwen's extreme dissatisfaction. Ruan Bi secretly wondered how the First Madam, with her excellent social skills, could have fallen out with the Princess.
Little did she know that Princess Huiwen was a woman of her word, and any hesitation from others was seen as disobedience. Moreover, the First Madam dared to directly state that Ruan Bi was engaged—let alone just engaged, Princess Huiwen felt that such an engagement should be called off…
The First Madam knew she had messed things up and would be scolded if she reported it to the Old Madam. Therefore, upon returning to the Ruan residence, she sent the two young ladies back to their respective courtyards and went to see the Old Madam alone.
Ruan Bi returned to Liaoyuan and wrote for half an hour. Then Granny Tang arrived with a big smile on her face.
"Grandma, what is it?" Ruan Bi continued writing.
"Young lady," Granny Tang leaned closer and whispered, "I heard that the old lady just scolded the first lady."
Ruan Bi had anticipated this, and said calmly, "Oh, is that all?"
Tang Pozi noticed that this young lady's appetite was becoming increasingly discerning, and she was no longer satisfied with ordinary news. She forced herself to say, "After scolding the First Madam, the Old Madam ordered the steward to prepare the carriage and went to the Dongping Marquis's residence."
Ruan Bi was taken aback. She glanced at the water clock and saw that it was already past 4:40 PM. By the time they arrived at the Marquis of Dongping's residence, it would be 5:00 PM. What was the matter that made the old lady so anxious? Couldn't she wait until tomorrow? Completely baffled, she had no choice but to give up. She still asked Xiuzhi to give her a hot water bottle.
The next day, the steward returned the painting of the Queen Mother of the West with auspicious clouds, which had been fitted with bearings and placed in a wooden box. The old lady unfolded it and examined it closely, and was extremely satisfied. She then suggested that Ruan Bi accompany the fourth young lady to visit Aunt Lin at the Red Leaf Nunnery.
Hongye Nunnery is located on the edge of a maple forest about ten miles outside Beijing, and it is neither too big nor too small. It is said that the nunnery was originally built by a prime minister for his concubine who had made a mistake. Later, it gradually became famous, and concubines of wealthy families who had made mistakes or had grown old and lost their beauty were sent here, ostensibly to pray for blessings, but in reality, they were left to fend for themselves.
Aunt Lin lived in a small, low house in a corner of the backyard. When Ruan Bi entered, she was immediately hit by a nauseating smell of medicine mixed with the stench of urine. Looking down, she saw that most of the chamber pot had spilled onto the ground. A wave of nausea rose in her chest, and she reached out to open the window, but Fourth Sister stopped her, saying apologetically, "Auntie can't be exposed to the wind yet. Sister, go outside and wait for me."
Ruan Bi knew the mother and daughter would be whispering to each other later, and since she was going to avoid them anyway, she didn't insist and nodded. She stepped forward and curtsied to Aunt Lin, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed): "Greetings, Aunt."
Aunt Lin's face was thin, and she no longer had her former beauty. She forced a smile and said weakly, "Thank you for coming to see me, Fifth Miss. This place is pickled, so please go sit outside and don't get dirty."
Seeing that her temples were starting to turn gray, Ruan Bi felt a pang of sadness and said, "Don't worry, Auntie. Take good care of yourself and you'll be fine in the future." With that, she left the room and stood in the sun outside, finally catching her breath.
Xiuzhi also withdrew, quite shocked. "No wonder every time I go home, my mother repeatedly tells me, 'You must never become a concubine.'"
"Your mother is a smart woman."
Xiuzhi nodded and said, "Mother said that when she was a cook in the Liang Prince's mansion, the concubines in the mansion came and went like a revolving lantern."
Hearing this, Ruan Bi felt as if a heavy stone was weighing on her heart, an indescribable sense of unease. After a while, seeing Qiu Lan come out carrying a bucket of water, she guessed that she was going to clean, and said to Xiu Zhi, "Why don't you go and help?"
Without any hesitation, Xiuzhi nodded, rolled up her sleeves, and went into the inner room to help.
Half an hour later, she came out and whispered, "It was terrifying. The quilt was full of fleas, each one sucking its fill of blood."
Ruan Bi felt a chill run down her spine.
After standing there for a while, Qiulan came out with red eyes and said in a low voice, "Fifth Miss, your aunt invites you in to talk."
When they entered the room again, the nauseating smell from before was gone, and the sheets and blankets had been changed. Aunt Lin was sitting against the back of the kang (a heated brick bed), looking much better than before. Fourth Miss was standing at the head of the kang, combing her hair.
"Fifth Miss, Fourth Miss told me that it was you who pleaded with the Old Madam to allow her to come see me. Thank you so much."
"Auntie, please don't be so polite. I was just asking for a word."
In a large mansion, speaking up isn't easy. Often, not only will you not get the answer, but you'll also get scolded. This Fifth Miss, from being imprisoned in the east wing of Liaoyuan to now daring to speak up, what has she done to deserve this? Although Aunt Lin doesn't know, she knows she's better than the Fourth Miss. "Fifth Miss, please don't be modest. I hope you'll take good care of the Fourth Miss in the future."
“My fourth sister and I live in the same courtyard, so we should take care of each other.”
The fourth young lady raised her head, glanced silently at Ruan Bi, and busily styled a bun for Aunt Lin. She took the bronze mirror and held it up to her, saying, "Aunt, take a look, is it satisfactory?"
Seeing her sallow face in the mirror, Aunt Lin quickly looked away and nudged Fourth Miss's hand, saying, "Heyi, Heyi, you've stayed with Fifth Miss long enough. Hurry up and go back, lest the First Madam scolds you."
The fourth sister looked out the window, knowing it was getting late, and said reluctantly, "Auntie, take good care of yourself, I'll come to see you again next time."
Aunt Lin was also reluctant to part with him; a hint of dark red flashed in her eyes as she nodded.
On the way back from Red Leaf Nunnery, the Fourth Sister didn't say a word, just stared blankly.
It wasn't until she entered the moon gate of Liaoyuan that she came to her senses. She took Ruan Bi's hand and said firmly, "Fifth Sister, thank you so much this time. I will remember you for the rest of my life." Without waiting for Ruan Bi's reply, she let go of her hand and strode towards the main house.
Ruan Bi glanced at her retreating figure and walked towards the east wing. Just as she took a step, the curtain of the east wing was lifted, and Xiuping came out, smiling and saying, "Miss has finally returned. The Third Master would like to invite you over for a chat."
Ruan Bi's heart skipped a beat, and she said to Xiuzhi, "You go back first, I'm going to Sister Xiuping's place, I'll be back in a little while."
Following Xiuping to Xiangmu Xiaozhu, we saw Ruan Chi squatting by the pond in the courtyard, feeding the goldfish. He wasn't using a cane, so it seemed his leg was almost fully recovered.
Ruan Bi stepped forward to greet her.
Ruan Chi looked up at her, let go of her hand, scattered all the bait in his hand into the water, slowly stood up, squeezed out a cold smile, and said, "What a clever trick, Fifth Sister."
Ruan Bi replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "My third uncle is only twenty years old, yet he has already become a sixth-rank official. There are very few like him in the Great Zhou Dynasty. How dare I presume to talk about methods in front of my third uncle?"
Ruan Chi said fiercely, "I earned everything through my own abilities, unlike you who curry favor with the powerful."
"That's ridiculous. If you hadn't gotten close to Prince Jin, could you have risen so quickly?"
"I share a bond with him, and we've been through thick and thin together."
"What does Uncle San think I am to him?"
Seeing her expressionless face, Ruan Chi was truly puzzled. How could a thirteen-year-old girl be so calm when talking about men? "Shameless."
Ruan Bi was slightly annoyed and turned to leave.
"stop."
Ruan Bi turned a deaf ear.
Ruan Chi had no choice but to quickly block her way, saying reluctantly, "He has a letter for you."
Ruan Bi glared at him and said, "Give it back to him, and next time tell him to send a polite person to deliver the message." After saying that, she walked past him and went straight out of the courtyard gate.
Ruan Chi stood frozen in place, his face turning pale and then flushed. He recalled the tender look in Prince Jin's eyes when he handed him the letter, and his head was spinning. After a while, he went into the study, stuffed the letter into the "Xingping Guangji" book, called Xiuping over, and said, "Give this book to Fifth Miss. Remember, if she doesn't accept it, don't come back."
Xiuping dared not accept the book. She knelt down with a thud and sobbed, "Third Master, you might as well just kill Xiuping. You know what kind of person the Fifth Miss is. Last time, even though Prince Jin invited her so earnestly, she still refused to turn back. What can I do to make her change her mind?"
Ruan Chi threw the book at her feet and said coldly, "If you want to die, die there." With that, he turned around, lay down on the couch, and opened the book with his back to her.
Xiuping knelt on the ground, sobbing for a long time. Seeing his motionless back, her heart turned cold. How could she have been so bewitched to follow this Third Master? Although the First Master was old, at least he was more considerate than the Third Master.
Knowing that crying was useless, Xiuping took out her handkerchief, wiped away her tears, picked up her book, and walked to Liaoyuan. She also had her pride; having been rejected by Ruanbi time and again, yet envying her good fortune, she felt both fear and disgust towards her. After hesitating at the door for a long time, she gritted her teeth, forced a smile, and entered the east wing.
Upon seeing Ruan Bi, he knelt down without saying a word, held up the "Xingping Guangji" above his head, and said, "Fifth Miss, Third Master said that if you don't accept this book, he will let me die here with you."
Seeing her red eyes and slightly disheveled temples, Ruan Bi felt a pang of pity. But she was unwilling to let Ruan Chi off so easily, otherwise he would threaten Xiuping's life every time. After thinking for a moment, she picked up her book, pulled her up and said, "Come with me to see the Third Master."
Upon hearing this, Xiuping shook her head vigorously. "Please, young lady, have pity on... Xiuping."
Ruan Bi thought for a moment and decided not to make things difficult for her. She said, "Xiuzhi, why don't you let Sister Xiuping stay here for a cup of tea?" After saying that, she took the book and went to the Third Master's courtyard. She went into the study, threw the book at the Third Master, and said to his nose, "You are such a coward. When something happens, you push your woman out."
Ruan Chi sat up abruptly, sneering, "What woman! She's just a lowly servant that someone forced upon me."
Ruan Bi choked with anger and said, "You're trying to wash your hands of this completely. If you didn't want it back then, no one would have dared to force you to accept it."
Ruan Chi picked up the Xingping Guangji and threw it back at Ruan Bi's feet, saying, "I'll let her come back if you accept the letter."
"If you want me to receive your letters, apologize to me first."
Stop dreaming.
“Okay.” Ruan Bi picked up the book and took out the letter. “Apologize to me, or I’ll tear the letter up.”
Ruan Chi stared straight at her, knowing he was doomed to lose this time. He gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I apologize. I shouldn't have called you shameless just now."
Without saying a word, Ruan Bi stuffed the letter into her sleeve and walked out.
"Fifth Girl".
Ruan Bi stopped and turned to look at Ruan Chi.
"I'll wait, wait for the day you can't fly high and crash to your death."
"Third Uncle, you won't live to see that day. I won't try to climb the social ladder; I'll grow my own wings." With that, Ruan Bi quickly walked out of the Fragrant Wood Cottage. As she walked, the letter rubbed against her sleeve, causing a slight itch on her skin, and her heart stirred with anticipation. Once back in her room, after sending Xiu Ping away and instructing Xiu Zhi to guard the door, Ruan Bi eagerly opened the letter.
Who is responsible for this calamity, that has troubled my heart?
Only eight characters, which is quite in line with his personality.
Ruan Bi smiled gently and looked up at the green waves of spring water on the table.
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