Chapter Ninety: The Overbearing Little White
After lunch, Ruan Bi lay on the tatami mat for a short rest, but because she had something on her mind, she tossed and turned.
Xiuzhi was dozing off by the bed with her eyes closed, but every time she was just drifting off, she would hear her turn over violently. After this happened several times, her sleepiness vanished, and she couldn't help but push her away, saying, "What are you doing, young lady? Are you having a tantrum over this bed today?"
Ruan Bi sighed, then sat up and said self-deprecatingly, "I can't compete with people, so I can only compete with the bed."
Xiuzhi laughed, smoothed her hair, and said, "In my opinion, you're overthinking things. Didn't you always say that you'd face whatever comes your way? If all else fails, you can just marry Young Master Gu. Although he's a bit reckless, he cares about you quite a bit."
Ruan Bi dismissively said, "What do you mean by caring or not caring? He's still just a kid, it's just a passing fancy."
Xiuzhi gave her a shove and said, "Girl, you're kidding me. How old are you? You're calling Young Master Gu a kid."
Ruan Bi realized she had spoken out of turn and gave a wry smile.
“Although you haven’t told me many things, I can guess. Last time, Young Master Gu kicked over that artificial hill, and he was injured because of it. It must be because you said something he didn’t like to hear.” Xiuzhi paused, then continued, “If he truly only had a fleeting affection, he would have told the Grand Princess long ago, and there wouldn’t be a marriage between you and him. The fact that he didn’t say anything shows that he likes you.”
What troubled Ruan Bi was his affection. She lay on the couch and sighed sadly, "Xiuzhi, why am I so useless? I can't make any decisions." Sometimes she thought it was really sad that her fate was controlled by others. She couldn't decide whether to acknowledge her ancestors or to marry. She had no say in either the old lady or the princess.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Cui Jiu's voice rang out from outside: "Fifth Miss, are you up yet? Would you like to go horseback riding?"
Ruan Bi was in a bad mood today and had no desire to ride a horse. But then she thought that if she wanted to preserve the reputation of the Ruan family and the Duke of Dingguo's family, and also to prevent the marriage from going through, she would have to wait until Gu Xiaobai disliked her. So she raised her voice and said, "I'll get up now. Please wait a moment, Eunuch Cui."
She jumped off the bed, changed into riding clothes, and went to the racecourse. Cui Jiu still found her a gentle mare. Ruan Bizhi was not there; she was just slowly walking around, glancing at the road every now and then.
Seeing this, Cui Jiu asked with a smile, "Is Fifth Miss waiting for the Eldest Young Master?"
Ruan Bi shook her head and said, "No, I'm afraid he'll suddenly appear and throw stones at my horse's rear end again."
"Please don't worry, young lady. The Imperial Guards are holding their routine martial arts competition today. The young master must have gone to watch it and won't be back until tonight."
Ruan Bi gave an "Oh," sounding slightly disappointed.
He continued, "My eldest son just turned sixteen last month. He's full of youthful vigor and loves to play with weapons. He associates with brave and unruly young men who are used to being unrestrained and carefree. As a result, he sometimes acts without thinking—like last time when he taught the girl to ride a horse. He meant well, but he ended up hurting her instead..."
Ruan Bi looked at him in confusion, not understanding why he would say such things out of the blue.
"...I've been in the Princess's residence for decades. I've watched the eldest young master grow up since he was a child. Although he's a bit unruly and impulsive, he has a good heart and isn't someone who just makes trouble all the time..."
Ruan Bi was even more surprised and interrupted him, asking, "Why is Father-in-law bringing up these things all of a sudden?"
Interrupted by her, Cui Jiu remained calm and continued with a smile, "...The eldest princess only has one grandson, the eldest young master, who is truly her precious darling. She cherishes him dearly, afraid he might break if she held him in her hands, afraid he might melt if she kept him in her mouth. She would even pluck the stars from the sky for him. A few days ago, for some unknown reason, the eldest young master suddenly threw a tantrum, going around looking for people to provoke and cause trouble. When asked, he refused to say anything, which made the eldest princess so worried that she couldn't eat or sleep. She even beat and scolded several of his servants..."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Bi suddenly realized that these words must have been spoken by the Eldest Princess. She probably suspected that Gu Xiaobai's temper tantrum was related to her, so she had Cui Jiu give her a warning—meaning that the eldest young master was very precious, and Fifth Miss Ruan should not neglect him, otherwise… She was outwardly gentle but inwardly strong, and upon hearing these words, she felt displeased, and her expression subtly changed.
Seeing the change in her expression, Cui Jiu knew she understood, so he chuckled and said, "Oh dear, look at me rambling on and on, I've been bothering you while you were riding your horse, my apologies, my apologies."
Feeling annoyed, Ruan Bi suddenly had a bold idea and said, "No rush, there's plenty of time. What you said is interesting, Father-in-law. I also have something I'd like to tell you."
"I would like to hear the details."
"My father-in-law knows that the first time I met Young Master Gu was at..."
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Xiaobai's voice rang out: "What are you talking about me about?" He then rode over at breakneck speed on his horse, Saluzi, before reining it in. Saluzi neighed loudly and circled in place. Cui Jiu was startled, then quickly stepped forward to take the reins, saying, "Oh dear, my young master, don't run so fast. If the Princess sees you, she'll say we didn't stop you."
Gu Xiaobai glanced at him, then turned to look at Ruan Bi, asking warily, "What are you talking about me about?"
Seeing his nervousness, Cui Jiu and Ruan Bi were both stunned. They exchanged glances, and Cui Jiu said, "Young Master, I was just talking casually with Fifth Miss. Just now, Fifth Miss asked you where you went, and I said you went to watch the Imperial Guards' martial arts competition."
When Ruan Bi asked about his whereabouts, Gu Xiaobai's expression softened slightly.
Cui Jiu looked up at the sky; the sun was just beginning to set. He asked, "Young Master, you're back so early today. Didn't you go to watch the martial arts competition?"
"I went there just now, but it seemed rather boring, so I came back," Gu Xiaobai said, leaning over to take Ruan Bi's horse reins. "Fifth Miss, let me teach you how to ride." Before Ruan Bi could react, he spurred the horse, leading it to the side, away from Cui Jiu and the others. He then turned to look at her, a hint of displeasure in his bright eyes. "Why are you suddenly bringing up our first meeting with Cui Jiu?"
He could hear everything clearly from this distance, and Ruan Bi couldn't help but admire him; martial artists truly had sharp eyes and ears. She flattered him, moved a little further away, and said, "Just chatting."
Gu Xiaobai looked at her back in disbelief, spurred his horse to catch up, and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense to Cui Jiu, he'll tell Grandma everything. If Grandma doesn't like it and gets angry, you'll be in trouble."
Ruan Bi was stunned.
Gu Xiaobai glanced at her sideways, annoyed at her lack of self-confidence, and said, "You're so stupid. You didn't even realize that Cui Jiu was testing you? Luckily, I suddenly felt something was wrong while watching the martial arts competition and rushed back, otherwise you, you blockhead, would have said something nonsense."
Being called stupid by a sixteen-year-old boy left Ruan Bi somewhat amused and exasperated, but she was also secretly surprised by his intelligence. In her anger, she had indeed considered taking a desperate gamble, implying to Cui Jiu that she held Gu Shao Ye in high esteem and had no intention of getting close to him.
Thinking about it now, I feel a bit scared. What kind of temperament does Princess Huiwen have? Just because the First Madam said something wrong, she directly kicked her out of the manor. If she heard me say those words, she would probably be furious. In her mind, Gu Xiaobai is perfect in every way; he's the one who has the right to choose others, not the other way around.
"Fifth Sister..."
"Hmm?" Ruan Bi turned to look at him.
Gu Xiaobai didn't look at her. He looked up at the bright red sun on the horizon, his jaw clenched tightly, as if he were angry. After a while, he said, "I know you hate me, but..." He paused and said, "I have a strange temper. Whoever hates me, I like to play with them." With that, he spurred his horse, Sa Lu Zi, and galloped away in an instant.
Ruan Bi stood frozen in place, speechless.
After a long pause, she sighed deeply. What kind of mess was this? Each one was more forceful, more domineering, more arrogant, and more unreasonable than the last. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She lost all interest in riding and went straight back to Qiuhua Garden. Fortunately, the next morning, the Ruan family sent a carriage to pick her up, saying that the old lady was ill.
Ruan Bi was overjoyed that the illness had come at such a timely time. She quickly told Xiu Zhi to pack her clothes and then go to say goodbye to the Princess.
The eldest princess seemed a little unhappy, her face was sullen, and she didn't say anything. She waved her hand to signal Cui Jiu to see her out of the mansion.
Ruan Bi was quite surprised to see that it was Granny Zheng who was picking her up. After getting into the car, she couldn't help but ask, "Mom, what happened to Grandmother?"
Granny Zheng looked around, patted her hand, and whispered, "Don't worry, Miss. The old lady is fine; she was just upset."
"Hmm?" Ruan Bi blinked. Who could possibly make the fierce old lady angry?
"Young lady, you don't know, yesterday the Princess sent someone over and scolded the Old Madam, saying she acted without considering the bigger picture and only cared about her own momentary pleasure... The Old Madam was unhappy and sulked all night. She originally wanted to bring you back last night, but I persuaded her not to, so she sent me to pick you up this morning." Granny Zheng sighed and said, "Although the Old Madam went a bit too far this time, the Princess is also being too arrogant. We're still in the marriage negotiation stage, and she's already interfering in our household affairs. Who knows what will happen in the future?"
Princess Huiwen is truly domineering. Ruan Bi was startled and secretly glad that she hadn't said anything out of line yesterday.
"Besides, the old lady deliberately made a big fuss to secure a good reputation for the girl. Even if the Shen family doesn't accept you back, after all this, who would dare say you have an unknown background? Why doesn't the Princess understand?"
Ruan Biwei was taken aback. She had always thought that the old lady wanted to make a scene so that everyone would know about it in order to vent her anger, but she did not expect that she had such a purpose.
Upon returning to the Ruan residence, they naturally went to Chunhui Hall to visit the old lady. She was fine, though she seemed a little listless. Perhaps because she was still angry with Princess Huiwen, she didn't ask Ruan Bi how she was doing at the princess's residence. Ruan Bi was happy to be at ease, and after exchanging a few casual words, she took Xiuzhi back to the east wing of Liaoyuan Garden.
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