Chapter Ten
Ruan Bi was still half asleep when she heard Granny Liu ask from outside, "Miss Dongxue, are you up yet? Breakfast is ready." She immediately woke up completely, sat up, lifted the curtain and glanced at the window. The paper window was brightly lit, so it was already quite late.
"He wasn't up yet, I didn't know he was up now, I'll go in and check."
Ruan Biyang said loudly, "I'm up, fetch a basin of water." With that, she rolled out of bed, slipped on her shoes, picked up the dress that was lying on the bedside table, and put it on.
Dongxue brought in a basin of water, placed it on the washstand, and said with a smile, "Mother, you got up really late today."
"I don't know what happened, but I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason last night, and it took me a long time to fall asleep again." Ruan Bi buried her face in the water for a while, and immediately felt refreshed, with every pore feeling cool and refreshed.
Dongxue handed her a handkerchief and said, "Fortunately, we are outside now. If we were still in the mansion, this morning greeting would be a real hassle."
Mentioning the Ruan family, Ruan Bi's expression shifted slightly. It had been over four months since she left the capital. She wondered how Xiuzhi, Fourth Miss, Hanxing, Granny Zheng, Xiaoju, and Chamei were doing? And what about him? Had he fully recovered?
After washing my face, brushing my teeth, and combing my hair, I went to the outer room.
Granny Liu had already taken the porridge, steamed buns, and assorted meat and vegetables from the lunchbox and placed them on the table. She was setting out the bowls and chopsticks when she looked up and smiled, saying, "Mother, did you hear any noise last night that woke you up?"
“No, I just woke up for no reason.” Ruan Bi shook her head, sat down at the table, and picked up her chopsticks.
Granny Liu said "Oh" and didn't say anything more, but her expression was rather strange.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Ruan Bi took a spoiled bun, slowly tore off a piece, and ate it with meat sauce.
"Nothing much, it's just that when I went to the vegetable market this morning, I heard people in the alley talking about it. They said that last night there was a group of people standing at the entrance of our alley, about twenty or thirty of them, all riding tall horses. They didn't know what they were doing, they just stood there without saying a word. The old night watchman said they stood there from the second watch until after the fourth watch."
I had already heard Dongxue mention this last night, but hearing it again this morning gave me a strange feeling. Ruan Bi put down the steamed bun, got up and walked outside.
Dongxue was stunned for a moment, then chased after her to the door and called out, "Hey? Where are you going, young lady?" But she seemed not to hear her and walked all the way to the middle of the courtyard before stopping. She tilted her head slightly and looked at the roof as if searching for something.
Granny Liu also came over and, supporting herself against the door, asked in bewilderment, "What's wrong, Mother?"
Dongxue tilted her head and thought for a moment, then asked, "Mother, did we say something unpleasant just now?" Granny Liu thought carefully, then shook her head and said, "Nothing unpleasant. Besides, the young lady is proud; she wouldn't take trivial words to heart."
A gentle breeze stirred outside, swirling apricot blossoms that danced among the white walls and black tiles, fluttering in the air above the courtyard. Ruan Bi's spring dress billowed in the wind, revealing her thin frame and a hint of melancholy. Dong Xue, feeling uneasy, picked up a thin cloak from the hanger and draped it over Ruan Bi's shoulders. She casually plucked an apricot blossom from Ruan Bi's hair, saying, "Miss, it's windy this morning; be careful not to catch a cold."
Ruan Bi gave a soft "hmm," withdrew her gaze, lowered her eyes sadly, stood for a while, then turned and walked back to her room without saying a word, saying, "I'm not eating, you guys eat." After saying that, she went straight into the inner room and closed the door behind her.
Dongxue and Granny Liu looked at each other in bewilderment.
After Dongxue finished her breakfast, Granny Liu put the chopsticks back into the food box and carried them back to the front yard. She saw Dongge'er pestering Zhou Zhuzi to "fight cocks" and scolded him in a low voice: "Dongge'er, stop bothering your brother Zhuzi. He has important business to attend to."
Dongge immediately stopped acting recklessly and stood there with his head down. Zhou Zhuzi patted his head and said with a smile, "Mother, don't scold him. It won't interfere with important matters in a short while."
"Don't spoil him. This little rascal is the type to take advantage of others. If you agree to his request once, he'll definitely pester you again. Besides, he's learning calligraphy from Miss Dongxue now, so he should put in more effort. Although we don't expect him to become literate and pass the imperial examinations in the future, we don't want him to be completely illiterate."
Zhou Zhuzi agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "That's right, I've suffered because I can't read. Just the other day, the young lady even suggested that I learn to read from Miss Dongxue."
"I've told you before, young ladies are most considerate of servants, aren't you right? You're still young, you can learn, so hurry up and learn," said Liu's mother with a hint of pride, carrying the food box into the kitchen. Then she thought of how she had been so worried a few days ago that she had harbored doubts about Ruan Bi, but Ruan Bi hadn't blamed her afterward, and she felt a little guilty.
Zhou Zhuzi followed her in and asked, "Has the young lady finished eating? Why didn't you come to the front yard today? I went to look at a few plots of land yesterday, and some of them were quite suitable. I wanted to talk to her about them." Every day after breakfast, Ruan Bi would sit in the front yard for a while and listen to him report on the tenants' affairs and explain various matters that needed to be handled.
"Wait a minute. The young lady suddenly turned gloomy and didn't even eat her meal or say when she would come to the front yard."
Zhou Zhuzi agreed, left the kitchen, and went to the courtyard outside. He saw Dong Ge'er writing in the sand tray with a twig, so he sat down to watch. The sun was getting higher, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his back. Just as he was thinking of asking Dong Ge'er to go and see what the girl was doing, he heard a knocking sound at the door.
Zhou Zhuzi walked over, pulled the bolt, and opened the door halfway.
A woman in her forties stood outside the door. She was quite plump, with a round face and smiling eyes. She wore a simple silk blouse, but the purple sash she wore over it was rather eye-catching. She asked with a smile, "Young man, is your master home?"
Zhou Zhuzi said politely, "My master has gone to the capital to visit relatives and friends, and now there are only two young ladies at home."
The woman seemed unsurprised and said, "Young man, please tell the two young ladies that Sister Yao requests an audience."
Just as Zhou Zhuzi was about to ask her about her identity and purpose, Granny Liu came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands with her apron as she walked. "Zhuzi, who's here?" Approaching her, she recognized the woman's purple brocade and exclaimed, "Oh dear! Is this lady the matchmaker?"
The woman smiled and said, "Mother has a good eye. I am Yao, a matchmaker. People call me Sister-in-law Yao. I was asked by the newly appointed Chief Steward to come and arrange a marriage."
These words struck Liu Mama and Zhou Zhuzi like a thunderbolt, leaving them both stunned.
The woman took out the betrothal certificate from her bosom and said, "The head steward said to give this betrothal certificate to your master, and he will understand." Granny Liu, regaining her composure, felt a little flustered. She took the certificate, looked at it, but couldn't recognize a single word. She didn't know if it was good news or bad. "Zhu Zi, invite Sister Yao to sit in the hall. I'll go inform the young lady." With that, she turned and hurried towards the backyard. Just as she reached the passageway, she saw Ruan Bi leading Dong Xue. She quickly rushed to greet her, saying, "Young lady, a matchmaker has arrived. She says she's been entrusted by the head steward to propose marriage, and she brought his betrothal certificate."
Ruan Bi paused for a moment, took the birth chart, opened it, saw the name, and understood immediately, suddenly feeling dazed.
Seeing that she was just staring at Geng without saying a word, Dongxue became curious and leaned over to look. Before she could see anything else clearly, she saw the words "Yuqing" and was slightly stunned. Then she realized what it meant, and her heart pounded several times. She quickly pulled her head back, her cheeks flushed.
Seeing one staring blankly into space and the other with a flushed face, Granny Liu was extremely puzzled, but dared not ask.
After a moment, Ruan Bi slowly closed the marriage certificate and handed it back to Granny Liu, saying, "Mother, tell the matchmaker to go back and tell the Chief Steward that this marriage was originally agreed upon, and it would be best to bring it up again now." She then turned to Dongxue and said, "Take out your marriage certificate and have Granny Liu give it to the matchmaker to take back."
Dongxue nodded haphazardly and led Granny Liu to the main room to retrieve the betrothal papers.
Ruan Bi walked to a stone bench in the courtyard and sat down. The sun was bright, but she felt no warmth. He had indeed come.
But they never came to see me.
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