Chapter Thirty-One: Mutual Affection
The rain continued until the early hours of the next day before it finally subsided, turning into a persistent, incessant drizzle. The cicadas that had been chirping incessantly on the branches just two days prior had vanished, and even the lush summer foliage seemed a bit sparse, rustling and chirping in the wind.
It's autumn after all, and the weather gets cool after a rain.
Xiuzhi took an old thin ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) out of the wardrobe and helped Ruanbi put it on. She looked at it from left to right and said, "This dress is too small. How about we change her into the new autumn clothes made this year?"
Ruan Bi glanced at the water clock and said, "It's too late, let's talk about it when we get back."
As Xiuzhi left, the Fourth Sister and Qiulan waited at the courtyard gate. The Fourth Sister waved and said, "Hurry up, Fifth Sister, don't be late." Today, she was wearing a light red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), looking very delicate and lovely.
Ruan Bi hummed in agreement, quickly walked over, took the Fourth Sister's hand, and said, "Let's go, Fourth Sister."
Ever since Aunt Lin's accident, and after Ruan Bi gave her some pointers on how to conduct herself, the Fourth Miss treated her much better than before. Occasionally, when the kitchen was preparing something delicious, she would send a maid to call her over. She would also wait for her to join her in paying her respects every day.
The various courtyards of the Ruan residence were connected by covered walkways, so even though it was raining, it didn't hinder movement. The temperature was a little lower than expected, and a cool breeze was blowing, causing a few half-yellowed leaves on the bluestone ground to tremble. The rain mixed with mist, floating in clumps on the branches, rooftops, and eaves. At first glance, it had a somewhat ethereal, fairy-tale atmosphere.
The fourth sister whispered, "Fifth sister, I heard that something seems to have happened to Second Uncle."
"Who told you that?"
“She is my wet nurse. Her wife works in the Second Madam’s courtyard. She said that the Guo family of Yangzhou sent someone to deliver a message last night.”
Ruan Bi didn't want to hide it from her, and said, "Something did happen, and he has been dismissed and is under investigation."
"How did you know, sister?" Fourth Sister stared at her in surprise, her eyes wide. In the past, because of Aunt Lin, she had always been quite well-informed. However, since Aunt Lin was sent to the Red Leaf Nunnery, she hadn't heard much from outside. Besides, the steward's wife's attitude had worsened. A couple of days ago, she had Qiulan go to the storeroom to get needles and thread, and had Sister Luo give her a lecture.
“Yesterday I happened to be talking to Manyun in my grandmother’s room. My father came back and told my grandmother, and I overheard some of it.”
She spoke vaguely, but the fourth young lady was clever and understood that she hadn't been told by the old lady, which made her feel slightly better. "Do you know what happened? How serious is it?"
Ruan Bi shook her head and said, "Why would you tell me something like this? But our dynasty has never had the habit of killing scholars. I suppose it will just be imprisonment and physical suffering."
The fourth sister shook her head and said, "My sister doesn't understand. Our Ruan family has a tradition of scholarship and integrity. If we were to be imprisoned, it would be a disgrace to the family."
Ruan Bi was taken aback. She truly didn't understand. Yesterday, when the eldest master mentioned the charges against the second master, they didn't seem very serious. She thought it would be at most a year or two in prison. She forgot that for a prestigious family like the Ruan family, reputation was far more important than anything else, and imprisonment was unacceptable.
As they spoke, they reached the pavilion where they were resting. There sat Xu Chuanyang, dressed in white, holding a book and muttering to himself. Upon seeing him, the Fourth Miss paused, her expression becoming unnatural.
Ruan Bi glanced at the blush rising on her cheeks, then at Xu Chuanyang, who was pretending to read but whose eyes kept glancing this way, and sighed inwardly, "What a mess this is!" Last night, she had been thinking that the old lady was too old and frail; if something were to happen to her, she would be at the mercy of the eldest madam. Therefore, she had to find a way to get the old lady to finalize her marriage to Xu Chuanyang as soon as possible, lest things get complicated. She never expected to wake up to this distressing scene. Although she didn't like Xu Chuanyang at all, and didn't care who he liked, the fact that the fourth young lady was involved made the situation much worse.
Xu Chuanyang, who had clearly seen them long ago, was "fully focused" on his reading until they walked up to him. Only then did he "awaken from a dream," raise his head, stand up, bow, and say, "Good morning, my two cousins. Chuanyang greets you."
Before Ruan Bi could make a move, the Fourth Sister had already curtsied gracefully in return, and said softly, "Good morning, cousin."
Her voice was clear and crisp, with a hint of ambiguous sweetness. Even Ruan Bi's heart skipped a beat, let alone Xu Chuanyang's. He glanced quickly at the fourth cousin, his eyes overflowing with tenderness and affection. "Are you two cousins going to pay your respects to your aunt?" He said, referring to both cousins, but only looking at one.
The fourth sister whispered, "Yes, what is my cousin doing here?"
Xu Chuanyang said, "I like to read in the garden every morning, but it's raining today, so I have to sit in the pavilion."
The fourth sister pursed her lips slightly and smiled, saying, "Cousin is truly diligent."
Xu Chuanyang said, "Cousin, you flatter me. I don't have any other hobbies except reading..."
This is just like today's endless autumn rain.
Ruan Bi coughed lightly, tugged at the sleeve of the fourth sister, and said, "Fourth sister, if we don't go and pay our respects soon, it will be too late."
The fourth sister seemed to wake from a dream, her face slightly flushed, and said, "Yes, let's hurry up and go."
Xu Chuanyang glanced unhappily at Ruan Bi, who was "disrupting a good time and showing no appreciation for romance," then looked at the fourth young lady gently and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I've delayed my two cousins. If it's late and my aunt scolds me, I'm willing to take full responsibility."
"What makes you think you can shoulder this responsibility? You're just talking big." Ruan Bi said irritably, then ignored him and quickly walked away with the Fourth Sister.
When they arrived at the First Madam's courtyard, it was indeed late; everyone else had already paid their respects. However, the First Madam was preoccupied, her brows furrowed, and she didn't bother to reprimand them. She waved her hand and said, "Go down."
As Ruan Bi was about to leave with the fourth young lady, she suddenly heard the first lady say again, "Fifth girl, the managers of the estate are coming today, and they'll be making a lot of noise. Don't go to the council hall."
Ruan Bi was taken aback, and quickly replied, "Yes, Mother."
Once outside, the fourth sister said in surprise, "The estate manager usually arrives at the beginning of the month, but it's only the end of the month now, why is he here?"
Ruan Bi was also surprised, particularly by the Fourth Miss's keen observation. She herself had only learned some of the household rules from the First Madam when she went to the council hall to learn household management, such as the stewards of the estates near the capital coming at the beginning of each month to reconcile the previous month's accounts. The Ruan family owned nearly a dozen estates of varying sizes around the capital, with hundreds of tenant farmers; rent was the main source of income for the household. Otherwise, how could the First Master, with his annual salary of less than two hundred taels, support such a large family?
Yesterday, news of the Second Master's accident arrived, and today the First Madam summoned back the managers of all the estates, clearly regarding financial matters. It must require a considerable sum; otherwise, the First Madam wouldn't have informed the managers so early.
Upon reaching the old lady's courtyard, the young maidservant guarding the gate stopped them and whispered that the old lady had been startled by the rain last night and had not yet gotten up. The two exchanged a glance and had no choice but to return to Liaoyuan Garden.
After breakfast, Ruan Bi leaned against the window, watching the raindrops drip from the eaves, a feeling of inexplicable irritation rising within her. She had previously thought that maintaining good relationships within the inner court would suffice, but now it seemed that wasn't enough. For an official family like the Ruan clan, any slight disturbance in the imperial court could escalate into a massive upheaval. If she remained ignorant of the outside world, completely in the dark, she might very well find herself in a dead end.
Confined within the deep courtyards, she remained untouched by the suffering of the world. Her limited outings were always spent in carriages or entering and leaving palaces and high-ranking gates, all amidst opulent extravagance. She knew nothing of the outside world. Was the Zhou Dynasty truly at its zenith? Were the people truly living in peace and prosperity? Perhaps this was merely a facade; the roots beneath the surface of this prosperity might already be rotting.
The fact that Yangzhou students would stage a student movement over the issue of hereditary official appointments indicates that the problem was already quite serious. The imperial examination system was the only way for scholars from humble backgrounds to advance into the bureaucratic class, while hereditary appointments meant inheriting official positions based on ancestral merits—meaning that if one or more members of a family had held official positions and achieved merit, then the problem would become increasingly acute. If this were the case, the Zhou Dynasty would inevitably descend into chaos sooner or later.
Lost in thought, he heard Manyun's voice faintly coming from outside, asking Hanxing, "What is your young lady doing?"
Having been trained by Granny Liu recently, Hanxing has become quite perceptive. Seeing that it was the old lady's head maid, she quickly said sweetly, "Hello, Sister Manyun. Miss has just finished eating and is probably digesting her food now." She then called out loudly, "Miss, Sister Manyun is here."
When Manyun asked Hanxing, Xiuzhi had already heard the commotion and went out to greet her.
A moment later, she pulled Manyun in and said, "Why did you have to make the trip yourself, sister? You could have just sent a little maid over."
"That prescription is important; I'm afraid they won't take it seriously."
Ruan Bi turned around and asked with a smile, "Is it the prescription you gave me yesterday?"
"Yes, the old lady just got up and started coughing again. She's already sent someone to fetch Doctor Xu. But I was worried this prescription might still be useful, so I came to get it. Is the young lady alright? Would you like a copy made?"
“No need, I was fine from the start. The prescription is in the first drawer on the left side of the desk, Xiuzhi, take it to Sister Manyun.” Ruan Bi said, walking to Manyun’s side and pulling her to sit down on the couch. “Sister, how is Grandmother?”
"It's nothing serious, just a bit of worry. I tossed and turned in bed for half the night before I could finally get a good night's sleep."
Ruan Bi noticed the slight dark circles under her eyes and knew that she was the one on duty last night. "Thank you for your hard work, sister."
Manyun smiled and shook her head.
Xiuzhi took the recipe out of the drawer and handed it to Manyun.
Manyun stood up and said, "I'll go back now, and come back another day."
Ruan Bi also stood up and said, "I'll go with you. It'll be a good opportunity to see Grandmother. I won't feel at ease if I don't see her."
"You're very kind, young lady."
Ruan Bi and Manyun walked out of Liaoyuan together and went to the old lady's courtyard. The little maid guarding the gate came up to them and whispered, "Sister Manyun is back. The second madam is inside."
Manyun paused for a moment, then said, "Here we go again?"
The maid nodded.
Manyun didn't say anything more, and pulled Ruanbi, saying, "It's windy outside, let's go inside and sit for a while."
Ruan Bi nodded, lifted the curtain and went in. She first heard several old coughs coming from the side hall, followed by soft sobbing, which must have been the Second Madam's.
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