Chapter Thirty-Nine: Taking the Initiative to Invite
After the master left, the old lady ordered the servants to serve the meal and invited Ruan Bi to eat with them. During the meal, she repeatedly instructed her to be careful and not leave any future troubles. She had to dispel the Prince of Han's improper thoughts without offending him or causing resentment, since she was still hoping that the second master would speak well of her when he was taken to the Censorate in the future.
Ruan Bilian nodded repeatedly.
A day later, Mr. Yang, the master's advisor, learned from the chief clerk of the Prince's residence that it was one of his advisors who had encouraged the Prince to take Ruan Bi as a concubine. This man had never met Ruan Bi and had only believed the rumors circulating in the streets. Ruan Bi breathed a long sigh of relief, as long as no one around the Prince had ever seen her.
Two days later, the master sent out an invitation to the Prince of Han to visit the Ruan residence to appreciate calligraphy, paintings, and ancient books.
Over a century of management, the Ruan family's book collection was vast, including numerous calligraphy and paintings from both the previous and current dynasties. The Prince of Han, who also enjoyed indulging in refined pursuits, naturally accepted the invitation. That afternoon, he arrived at the Ruan residence with five or six advisors and retainers, surprisingly without his usual entourage, arriving in a simple, unassuming manner.
The master brought out all his treasured calligraphy, paintings, and ancient books, and the group spent an hour discussing them in the outer study. Afterwards, they decided to stroll in the back garden. The Ruan family's back garden also had flowing water, artificial hills, winding corridors, and pavilions, but compared to the Prince's mansion, it seemed cramped and small. Moreover, the season was wrong; the osmanthus blossoms were just beginning to bloom, and the lotus pond was half-withered. After walking only a few steps along the winding corridors by the water, the Prince of Han, exhausted from his nightly revelry, yawned.
Suddenly, the master said, "That's my fifth daughter over there."
The King of Han's spirits lifted, and he followed the direction of the gaze. About five or six zhang away, by the pond, stood a young girl in a honey-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with her hair styled in two low buns. Beside her squatted a woman in a blue ruqun with her hair styled in two low buns, reaching out to pick water chestnuts. Perhaps sensing the gazes of others, the girl in the honey-colored ruqun turned her head…
Although she wasn't bad-looking, she was only about the average appearance of the maids in the Prince's mansion. The rumors were truly unreliable, and the Prince of Han, feeling utterly bored, yawned again.
The official asked with concern, "Is Your Highness tired? Why don't you rest for a while in the waterside pavilion? I have prepared some wine." As he spoke, he gestured for him to enter.
The group continued walking forward, never glancing at the "Five Sisters" by the water again.
Hanxing withdrew her gaze and said, "Miss, the master is in the garden with a male guest. We'd better hurry back to avoid running into him."
Ruan Bi continued picking water chestnuts, saying, "No rush, tell me after they enter the waterside pavilion."
"Girl, take a rest. Let me pick the water chestnuts."
"No need, you can just stand there."
Han Xing stood awkwardly, her eyes drooping, and said, "Miss is acting very strangely today."
"What's strange about it?"
"The girl made me wear your clothes, left Sister Xiuzhi in the house, brought me out, and made me stand while she squatted down to pick water chestnuts..."
Ruan Bi downplayed the issue, saying, "What do you mean, my clothes? They were too small, so I gave them all to you and Xiao Ju. If you don't like them, just give them back to me."
"I love it, of course I love it!" Hanxing said happily, stroking the clothes. "I've never worn such nice clothes before. If I wore this home, my parents definitely wouldn't recognize me."
Hearing this, Ruan Bi felt a pang of sadness. She had never been favored in the past, and the fabric and workmanship of her clothes were of average quality, but for poor children like Han Xing, these were fine clothes that they had never worn before.
"Miss, the master has brought his guests into the waterside pavilion."
Ruan Bi glanced up quickly and, sure enough, the group had already entered the waterside pavilion. Looking at the Prince of Han's back, he was quite tall, but his waist was bloated and his steps unsteady; clearly, years of indulgence had emptied his body of wine and women. She sighed, stood up, wrapped the water chestnuts she had picked in a handkerchief, and said, "Let's go, we should go back too." Turning around, she saw the Third Master, Ruan Chi, standing behind a willow tree not far away, leaning on his cane, a sinister smile on his lips.
Ruan Bi stepped forward to greet him and said sarcastically, "Third Uncle is truly elusive; he walks without making a sound."
Ruan Chi sneered and said, "How can you compare to my substitution?"
Judging from his tone, he seemed to know what he was doing. Ruan Bi remained calm, handed the water chestnut to Han Xing, and said, "You should go back first."
Sensing the tension between his two masters, Hanxing nodded and quickly left.
Ruan Chi looked Ruan Bi up and down, raised an eyebrow and said, "You are indeed much better than when you were a child. You played the substitution trick quite well. Even if the King of Han finds out in the future, he won't be able to find fault with it."
The King of Han's desire to take Ruan Bi as a concubine was not a good thing. The old lady, fearing the servants would spread rumors and ruin the Ruan family's reputation, limited the information to only a few masters. Naturally, this did not include Ruan Chi, who was recuperating in a secluded corner. How did he find out? Did he eavesdrop, or was he already an insider?
Ruan Bi thought for a moment and decided to trick him. She looked straight at Ruan Chi and said with a sudden realization, "So it was you."
Despite the seemingly nonsensical remark, Ruan Chi understood it and laughed arrogantly. "So what if it is me?"
It was indeed him. Ruan Bi clapped her hands, a smile playing on her lips, and said, "Third Uncle, what a brilliant plan! Killing three birds with one stone."
Ruan Chi snorted dismissively, but his eyes betrayed his smugness.
When he heard that the eldest master had spent ten thousand taels of silver to curry favor with Prince Han on behalf of the second master, he instructed his men to bribe an advisor in Prince Han's household to persuade the prince to take advantage of the situation and take Ruan Bi as a concubine. He knew perfectly well that the old lady, who valued the Ruan family's reputation above all else, would never agree. In this way, Prince Han would not get what he wanted, harbor resentment, and naturally would not genuinely help the second master.
"What should Third Uncle do next?"
"Why should I tell you what I'm going to do?" Ruan Chi looked at her warily. He had dealt with her several times and found that she was more shrewd than most adults. She always appeared calm, cheerful, and unhurried. Most of the time, he couldn't understand what she was thinking, and he often found himself getting information out of her without realizing it.
Ruan Bi smiled and said, "Because I'm curious."
Her innocent and naive appearance sent chills down Ruan Chi's spine. He said, "Little girl, stop pretending. I'm not the Prince of Jin. I'm not buying your act."
"Let me guess, Third Uncle will send someone to tell King Han that he has been tricked, that the one squatting there is the Fifth Sister, and that she did it on purpose. Isn't that right, Third Uncle?"
Ruan Chi said calmly, "Yes, so what?"
“It’s nothing, Uncle, go ahead.” After a pause, Ruan Bi said, “By the way, a few days ago, I saw Prince Jin in the palace. He told me that if there was anything, please ask Uncle to pass on my message to him. I’m asking you to tell Prince Jin that I would like to see him.”
Ruan Chi stared at her for a while, then burst into laughter and said, "Little girl, you want to threaten me with the Prince of Jin? Humph, do you think the Prince of Jin is like the Prince of Han, unable to resist a woman? I fought alongside him on the battlefield, sharing life and death, and we have a bond of brotherhood. How can a little girl like you destroy that bond with just a few words? To be honest, you're quite clever; you haven't said a single bad word about me in front of him yet."
Ruan Bi frowned and shook her head, saying, "Oh dear, Third Uncle, what are you thinking? I really liked the Spring Water Green Waves he gave me last time, I just wanted to thank him in person."
Ruan Chi hesitated for a moment, thinking to himself, if he didn't deliver the letter for her, it would be his fault if she told the Prince of Jin about it when she met him elsewhere in the future. "Fine, I'll deliver the letter for you. I want to see how you react when you see him." Leaving behind these harsh words, he turned and left.
He actually agreed, and Ruan Bi felt a little regretful. She stood there in a daze for a while before turning around and going to the old lady's courtyard.
After sitting for half an hour, the master came over, gave a wink to dismiss the servants, and said, "King Han is tired and has already returned home. I gave him a painting by Sun Wei of the previous dynasty, and he was very happy and did not say anything else."
The old lady, who had been on tenterhooks, let out a long sigh and said, "Amitabha."
"But what if he finds out in the future..." The master was still a little guilty.
Ruan Bi said confidently, "Father, there's no need to worry. I rarely go out, and I always wear a veil when I do, so it's unlikely I'll see him. Besides, even if he does find out, it's not our fault; he'll just mistake a maid for me. We'll just wait until Second Uncle comes out. If he brings it up again, I'll have my master intervene." The reason they weren't letting Master Ziying appear now was because a direct confrontation would create animosity and be detrimental to Second Master.
The old man glanced at her, clearly disliking her boldness, but also knowing that she was right.
The old lady waved her hand and said, "The matter has been done, so stop thinking about it. Go and rest, I'm tired."
This day, like a battle, has finally come to an end.
Ruan Bi returned to Liaoyuan Garden, had dinner, and took a bath. It was already past 7 PM. Feeling a bit tired, she told the maids to lock the door and prepare for bed. Just as she finished making the bed, she suddenly heard someone knocking on the door, followed by Xiuping's voice: "Why are you closing the door so early?"
Ruan Bi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be...?
Thinking about it again, it seemed unlikely, since it was already evening.
Xiuzhi opened the door and brought Xiuping in. Seeing that Ruanbi had already changed into her pajamas, she exclaimed, blinked, and said, "What bad luck! Fifth Miss is about to go to sleep. I was just thinking of asking you to come and help me. I just knocked over the bookshelf in Third Master's study, and he's furious, demanding I clean it up immediately. But I can't read..."
Seeing her winking and gesturing, Ruan Bi felt uncomfortable all over. To see him or not to see him? She had indeed threatened Ruan Chi by saying she wanted to see the Prince of Jin, but deep down, didn't she also long to see him? But now that he had actually come, she hesitated. If she took this step, would there be no turning back?
Xiuping couldn't help but urge, "Fifth Miss..."
After all, it was her own promise, and she couldn't break it. Ruan Bi came to her senses and said, "Let me change my clothes."
After changing my clothes, I went to Xiangmu Xiaozhu. The courtyard was quiet, and there wasn't a single maid in sight.
Xiuping said ingratiatingly, "I've already sent them to rest, so you don't need to worry, young lady."
Ruan Bi didn't like what she said. She wanted to say what I was worried about, but she felt that she wasn't being assertive enough, so she remained silent.
Upon arriving at the study, Ruan Chi was not there, nor was the Prince of Jin; books were scattered all over the floor.
Xiuping said, "Miss, please help me tidy up first, and I'll go get you some tea."
Ruan Bi nodded, squatted down, and picked up the books one by one, putting them back in their original categories. After a while, she heard soft voices outside, followed by footsteps approaching, each step seeming to pound on Ruan Bi's heart.
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