Chapter Twenty-Five: Concubine Lin
Chunliu went into the inner room and came back a moment later, carrying a lacquer tray with three small gold ingots inside, which were the ones that the eldest princess had given to the second young lady last time.
Ruan Bi chuckled, understanding that the second young lady wanted to embarrass her, but she really looked down on such petty tricks. "Thank you for your kindness, second sister. Xiuzhi, please accept it."
The second girl stared at her for a long time, and seeing that she was not only not angry, but also laughed, she cursed inwardly what a shameless person she was.
Xiuzhi stepped forward and accepted the gold ingot.
Ruan Bi then said, "Second sister, please continue with your work. I won't disturb you any longer." With that, she turned and left with Xiuzhi.
When the second daughter saw her about to leave the side hall, she finally couldn't hold back anymore and said angrily, "Have you no shame?"
Ruan Bi turned around and said with a grin, "Second sister can't bear to part with it?"
"I..." The second young lady was speechless. She thought the princess would be angry, that she wouldn't dare to accept it, but to her surprise, the princess not only wasn't angry, but also accepted it generously. "...This is a gift from the eldest princess."
Ruan Bi said with a grin, "Second sister, don't lie to me. If it really was a gift from the Princess, how could you bear to give it away to someone else?"
The second girl snorted coldly and said, "I was just joking with you. I didn't expect you to be so shameless as to accept it."
"You are my sister. If I don't accept your gift, wouldn't that be disrespectful to my elders?"
The second girl was speechless, her face turning pale and then red.
Then Ruan Bi said, "Actually, the younger sister was just joking with the older sister. Xiuzhi, return the gold ingot to the second sister."
Xiuzhi stepped forward and put the gold ingot back into the lacquer tray.
The second young lady looked at Ruan Bi, feeling utterly dejected. She no longer knew how to deal with this fifth sister. She couldn't win arguments with her, and her attempts to reason with her were met with indifference and disregard. Her little tricks were all exposed, ultimately backfiring on her. In Ruan Bi's presence, she felt like a grasshopper; no matter how much she jumped around, Ruan Bi only watched her with a mocking expression. At this moment, the second young lady desperately missed the Ruan Bi of the past—the timid, indecisive girl who would throw tantrums over trivial matters, whose emotions would flare at a single word from her, as if she had been exposed to a madman. How had she become this cunning, shrewd fifth sister before her?
After leaving Shaohua Courtyard, Ruan Bi took Xiuzhi to Fangjing Courtyard, the residence of the Second Madam, and presented gifts to the three young ladies of the Second Madam's household. The Third and Seventh Young Ladies were playing chess together and politely invited Ruan Bi to have a cup of tea, then returned the favor with several packets of "Shiquanji" pastries. The Sixth Young Lady, after accepting the gifts, kept talking at length about how beautiful the Suzhou embroidery her Aunt Sun from Yangzhou had sent her was, even having her maid rummage through the bottom of her trunk to show her. She only let go after Ruan Bi herself admitted that the Suzhou embroidery was more beautiful than the Shu embroidery bestowed upon her by the Eldest Princess.
After leaving Fangjing Courtyard, Xiuzhi frowned and said, "Miss, you say Sixth Miss is so annoying, why doesn't Second Madam teach her a lesson?"
Ruan Bi smiled faintly and remained silent. Seeing that both the Third and Seventh Misses were well-mannered and poised, she guessed that the Second Madam was intentionally neglecting to teach the Sixth Miss, letting her be boisterous and disliked by others. Speaking of which, the Sixth Miss was the daughter of her rival in love; it was impossible for her not to harbor resentment, especially since the Sixth Miss was also quite formidable.
Back in the east wing of Liaoyuan Garden, Ruan Bi asked Xiuzhi to bring a bolt of brocade with hibiscus blossoms, preparing to go to the Fourth Sister's room.
Xiuzhi was very reluctant and said, "Miss, this is the finest Shu brocade. The Princess only gave you two bolts... Besides, you gave the other girls ordinary quality brocade, but you gave the Fourth Miss such a good one. What if the other girls find out and get angry?"
Ruan Bi sighed and said, "You're becoming more and more talkative, you're turning into a housekeeper."
Xiuzhi stuck out her tongue shyly and carried the hibiscus-scat brocade to the Fourth Sister's embroidery room.
The fourth sister's eyes lit up, and she suddenly stood up, asking incredulously, "This is the finest brocade with scattered flowers. Is Fifth Sister going to give it to me?"
Ruan Bi nodded and said, "I think the color of this fabric is most suitable for you, sister. It's perfect for making an autumn shirt."
The fourth daughter stroked the fabric, its warp and weft delicate and its colors bright. When had she, a concubine's daughter, ever worn clothes made of such fabric? She was delighted and said, "That's right, it's perfect for making autumn clothes..." She paused, then said somewhat sadly, "It's just a pity that even if it were made, I wouldn't be able to wear it out."
Ruan Bi knew that she was afraid of wearing it out and making the First Madam and the Second Miss jealous, so she said with a smile, "Sister, you can only wear it indoors, because the Princess only gave me two bolts of this fabric. The ones I gave to the other sisters are not as good as this."
Hearing this, the Fourth Sister felt happy even wearing it indoors. Thinking of how much the Princess favored Ruan Bi, she felt a pang of envy. She stroked the fabric for a while, then told Qiu Lan to carefully put it away. Smiling, she said to Ruan Bi, "I'm a poor man and have no gift to give you in return. Perhaps, once the 'Queen Mother of the West and Auspicious Clouds' painting is finished, I can make a late-night shirt for my Fifth Sister?"
Which girl doesn't love beautiful clothes? Besides, the craftsmanship of the Fourth Miss's clothes is unmatched by any of the embroiderers in the manor. Ruan Bi said happily, "Fourth Sister, it's settled then."
"Look how happy you are with this. It's nothing special, a far cry from what you gave me." The fourth girl said, sitting back down by the embroidery frame and picking up her needle and thread again.
Ruan Bi leaned closer for a look. The Queen Mother of the West's robes were mostly finished in the auspicious cloud painting, but her face was still completely blank. "Is your embroidery going well, sister?"
The fourth sister kept saying with her hands still moving, "Huangmei embroidery is not difficult at all, it's even easier than usual, and it doesn't strain my eyes. I didn't know before that when embroidered into a large picture, Huangmei embroidery has a unique vividness." She turned to look at Ruan Bi and said, "Sister, you are really clever, you even noticed this."
Ruan Bi smiled and said, "A lazy person like me naturally thinks of lazy ways to get away with things."
The fourth sister smiled slightly and said no more.
Ruan Bi sat down beside her, looked around, and vaguely sensed that something was amiss. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a new ink painting among the embroideries hanging on the wall. The painting depicted a graceful lady sitting by a window, her chin resting on her hand, with hibiscus flowers blooming like brocade beneath the window. There was no signature or inscription, and the lady vaguely resembled the Fourth Sister.
Ruan Bi asked curiously, "Where did you get this painting, sister? It's really beautiful. It reminds me of a line of poetry: 'Hibiscus-like flesh and green cloud-like hair.'"
The fourth sister looked up at the painting, a soft, alluring light appearing in her eyes, captivating Ruan Bi for a moment.
After a while, she lowered her eyes and said softly, "Sister, don't laugh at me. I just drew it randomly."
She was skilled in embroidery and had also worked on her drawing skills to suit the composition requirements. But Ruan Bi knew she absolutely lacked that skill, let alone that delicate brushwork. Besides, how could her own drawing evoke her deep-seated allure?
Looking at the painting of court ladies, Ruan Bi felt a little uneasy. She returned to the east wing of Liaoyuan Garden and asked Granny Tang for information, but only heard about trivial matters such as Aunt Lin and Liu Xu arguing again.
A few days passed quickly. One afternoon, she woke up and was doing needlework with the Fourth Sister in the embroidery room. Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from afar. She rushed into the embroidery room with Qiuyan, shouting loudly, "Miss, Miss, something bad has happened!"
The fourth sister frowned slightly and scolded softly, "What's the big deal? Why are you making such a fuss?"
"Something happened to Aunt Lin..."
The fourth young lady suddenly stood up and asked anxiously, "What happened to my aunt?"
Qiu Yan swallowed hard and said, "I was passing by Xiaozhu Garden just now when I heard a commotion inside. I stood aside and glanced over, and I saw several women dragging Aunt Lin to the First Madam's courtyard. They said that Aunt Lin deliberately pushed Liu Xu, causing her to miscarry..."
The fourth sister turned pale and was about to rush outside.
Ruan Bi grabbed her and said, "Fourth sister, where are you going?"
The fourth sister said sadly, "I must go save my mother..."
"Fourth sister, have you forgotten? Your mother is the First Madam."
Children born out of wedlock all recognize the principal wife as their mother, and their status is higher than that of the concubine who gave birth to them; this is the patriarchal system and etiquette. The fourth daughter, of course, understood this, and tears streamed down her face as she choked back sobs, unable to speak.
Ruan Bi waved her hand, signaling the maids to leave. The Fourth Miss didn't speak, and Qiu Lan and Qiu Yan hesitated, but when they saw Ruan Bi glare at them, they were startled and hurriedly retreated.
"Besides, Fourth Sister, how are you going to save her? Kneel before Mother and beg her to spare Concubine Lin? If you really kneel before Mother, I'm afraid Concubine Lin's crime will be added to the list—sowing discord between a concubine's daughter and the legitimate mother. Also, don't you find this strange? Liu Xu is pregnant, how could there be no news at all? Even if others don't know, doesn't she know herself? She's just a servant girl, carrying Father's child, which is a great thing for her. How could she possibly keep it a secret?" After a pause, Ruan Bi said in a low voice, "Sister, let me remind you, the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty stipulate that a scholar-official can only have two concubines. If a servant girl wants to become a concubine, she must first get rid of one. And harming an heir is enough to get rid of a concubine."
The fourth sister was shocked and stared at Ruan Bi in disbelief, her lips trembling for a long time, unable to utter a word.
"If no one was supporting her, Liu Xu would most likely have given birth to the child to try and get ahead, so why would she have lost the child?"
The fourth sister wiped away her tears, took a deep breath, and said firmly, "Fifth sister is right. I will go and beg Grandmother."
This fourth young lady has a rather strong character, but unfortunately, she hasn't experienced enough trials and tribulations to be tempered. Ruan Bi had no choice but to continue to coax her gently: "Fourth sister, is being a concubine more important, or is the offspring of the Ruan family more important? Is the dignity of being the mistress of the household more important, or is the fate of a concubine more important?"
The fourth sister clenched her teeth, unable to utter a word.
Ruan Bi continued to nag, "Sister, you must remember one thing: Aunt Lin's current predicament is inextricably linked to you. If you hadn't acted on your own initiative, Liu Xu would still be her trusted maid, and none of this trouble would have arisen."
"I know, it's all my fault." Tears welled up again, but the fourth sister tried her best to hold them back. She took Ruan Bi's hand and said, "Sister, I know you are a woman of great wisdom. I hope you can save Auntie this once. In the next life, I will repay you with my life."
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