Volume 1, Spring Lock in the Garden, Chapter 14: Winter Snow's Advice
Two more days passed in a flash.
When I woke up in the morning, it was drizzling outside the window, the raindrops tapping softly on the banana leaves.
The tea girl placed a plate of golden chive dumplings, a plate of braised pork with cistanche, and a bowl of plain porridge on the table, and said with difficulty, "Miss, I'm late today, this is all I have..."
Ruan Bi glanced at the food and knew it wasn't too late; the food had been getting worse over the past few days. She was already an unloved girl, and now she was confined… She could imagine the faces of the people in the kitchen. She didn't care about the mediocre food, but she was afraid it would affect the attitudes of the hot water bottle and Huaihua. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do; she was too far away to intervene.
"Tea Girl, have you encountered any winter snow?"
Tea Girl shook her head and said, "Perhaps it's because of the rain today that she arrived late. I waited for a while, but it didn't look good with so many people coming and going, so I came back first."
"You can go down and eat too. You don't need to serve me."
"Yes, young lady."
After the meal, the old woman came in again and asked eagerly, "Miss, may I send the calligraphy practice sheet to the second young lady today?"
"It's raining today, so we don't need to."
The old woman's sparse eyebrows twitched, and she said, "Young lady, I can't keep things to myself. If I've offended you, please forgive me. This second young lady clearly promised you, and it's been four days now, yet you haven't sent her a note. Aren't you going against her good intentions?"
Ruan Bi said slowly and deliberately, "Second Sister is the legitimate daughter. She usually interacts frequently with the daughters of various families. She also has to learn how to manage a household from Mother. She is always busy with trivial matters. How could I possibly bother her so often? My handwriting these past few days has been terrible. I don't even like it myself. Why should I trouble Second Sister? Granny Tang, don't worry. I'll have you send it over in a few days."
Granny Tang said, "If the young lady isn't in a hurry, then this old woman isn't in a hurry either. I'm just worried that the second young lady might be thinking about it."
Ruan Bi smiled and thought to herself, "I just want her to remember me."
Meanwhile, after finishing her breakfast, the second young lady was practicing calligraphy when she suddenly remembered her promise to Ruan Bi and asked Chunyun, "Has the fifth young lady sent anyone to deliver calligraphy these past few days?"
Chunyun shook her head and said, "I haven't heard the old woman guarding the gate mention it."
"Go and ask."
Chunyun responded and went out, but quickly returned to the inner room and said, "The old woman guarding the gate said she hasn't come even once."
The second girl was surprised, her hand holding the pen trembled, and the character she wrote was crooked. She frowned, lost all interest in practicing calligraphy, put down the pen, and said, "I can't understand her anymore."
Chunyun asked in bewilderment, "Why don't you understand again, Miss? Didn't you just tell me a couple of days ago that Fifth Miss sent the letter to use you? You would never fall for her trick."
The second young lady said, "I knew her purpose, which is why I don't understand why she stopped sending it."
Chunyun said, "Perhaps she didn't have any reward money, so she couldn't get that hot water bottle to work."
This reason didn't convince the second young lady. She was extremely stubborn; if others always went along with her wishes, she would quickly lose interest. But if things went against her expectations, she would become concerned and want to get to the bottom of it. "Let's go, let's go take a look."
Second Miss, accompanied by Chunyun, walked along the covered corridor to the east wing of Liaoyuan Garden. Granny Tang fawned over her, lifting the curtain and loudly announcing, "Fifth Miss, Second Miss is here."
This girl is indeed impatient. A smile flashed across Ruan Bi's lips as she greeted the second young lady at the door of the inner room, lifting the curtain to invite her in. The second young lady was wearing a light green embroidered gold branch top and a beige silk skirt today. She had already developed and had a graceful figure; she was indeed a beauty.
The second daughter asked, "Didn't you say you were going to send over calligraphy practice sheets? Why didn't you send them?"
Ruan Bi led her to the table, asked her to sit down, and then picked up a stack of calligraphy practice sheets and handed them to her. "Please take a look, sister."
The second daughter took it, looked at a few pages, frowned slightly and said, "Why is it getting worse and worse? It's not as good as the previous one."
Ruan Bi said with a wry smile, "That's why the younger sister was too embarrassed to give it to the older sister to look at."
"Practicing calligraphy requires single-minded concentration. Your mind must be filled with too many distractions, which is why you can't write well."
Ruan Bi looked at her with admiration and said, "Sister, you are truly amazing. These past few days, when I write, I always think that these words are for you to see, so I must write them well. I get nervous, and the more nervous I am, the worse I write."
The second girl shook her head and said, "Why bother? Just relax and write, I'm not going to eat you."
Ruan Bi stuck out her tongue and said, "Sister is right."
The second sister then pointed to each word on the post and commented on them one by one. Ruan Bi listened intently, occasionally glancing at the second sister with admiration. If anyone had seen this scene, they might have thought the two sisters were very close.
After about half an hour, Chunyun whispered a reminder: "Second Miss, this morning the First Madam is going to reconcile the accounts with the accountant, and she wants you to learn from her..."
"Ah, I almost forgot! Why didn't you remind me sooner?" the second young lady complained, standing up and hurrying out. As she stepped out of the east wing, the rain hit her face, and she suddenly became a little more alert. She felt a vague sense of regret, but didn't know what she was regretting.
Chunyun then asked, "Miss, if Fifth Miss sends someone to deliver the letter, should we send them away?"
The second girl thought for a moment and said, "Never mind, let the old woman guarding the gate accept it."
After lunch, Ruan Bi was about to take a nap when Cha Mei winked at her and said, "Miss, I heard from Granny He in the front yard that it's not good for your stomach to go to sleep right after eating. Why don't you read for a while first?"
“Alright.” Ruan Bi nodded, took a book and lay down on the couch. The rain outside was getting heavier, pattering on the banana leaves with a rhythmic cadence.
After cleaning up the dishes, Tea Girl took the lacquer tray outside. A moment later, you could hear her talking to Locust Flower and Hot Water Bottle: "...With this heavy rain, no one will come. Why don't we all go and rest?"
Then Huaihua said, "Nobody comes anyway. It's so boring that we're just sitting here every day. We might as well stay in the outer courtyard and go out to play from time to time. Never mind, I'm going to sleep now."
"Mother, you should go back to your room and sleep. I'll lie down on the tatami in the side hall for a while. If anyone knocks on the door, I'll hear them."
Who wouldn't want to be lazy? The hot water bottle smacked its lips as it headed toward the side room.
A moment later, Ruan Bi faintly heard the door open, followed by soft footsteps entering the inner room. The curtain was lifted, and Dong Xue entered, her hair and shoulders slightly damp, her eyes reddening before she even spoke. "Miss," she said, kneeling down, tears streaming down her face.
Ruan Bi helped her up, feeling deeply moved, and was speechless for a moment.
"Sister Dongxue, Miss, please speak to me. I'll go stand guard outside the door."
Watching Tea Girl's figure disappear behind the curtain, Ruan Bi asked curiously, "Why is Tea Girl so convinced of your worth?"
“I knew her when she was in the outer courtyard. She’s not stupid, just a little timid.” Dongxue wiped away her tears. “Girl, time is limited, this isn’t the time to talk about this. Are you alright, girl? Granny Tang is a master at disciplining people, she’s nicknamed ‘Granny Yama.’ Has she mistreated you?”
"Nothing's wrong for now."
Upon hearing this, Dongxue burst into tears again.
"Stop crying. Have you asked me who my father and mother are?"
"I've already asked my godmother." Dongxue wiped away her tears and briefly recounted what Granny Zheng had said that night.
Ruan Bi suddenly realized, could the original owner be so cowardly and timid? How could she have developed such a noble and upright character when she was born with the reputation of being the one who caused the death of her grandfather and was discriminated against by others?
“Girl, my godmother told me that the old lady has given a 'no-talking' order about this, so you absolutely must not tell anyone else.”
Ruan Bi nodded and said, "I know." Although she knew about her background, it seemed to be of no use. Miss Lan was thousands of miles away, and correspondence would take at least three months, not to mention that she might not even be able to send a letter. She had asked Granny Tang, and she knew that there were post stations, but they only delivered letters to and from government officials and their families. Ordinary people, if they didn't have connections, could only send letters through acquaintances. Moreover, letters were often lost in the mail, or it would take several years to receive them.
Lost in thought, Dongxue suddenly knelt down again and said, "There is something I would like to ask you for help with."
“Just say it, why kneel down?” Ruan Bi pulled her.
Dongxue did not get up, but said, "I would like to ask you, young lady, to help me redeem myself."
Ruan Bi was taken aback.
“I told you before, my father was a county official under Jizhou Prefecture. He was implicated by his superiors in the Liang King case and was dismissed from office. On his way back to his hometown, he fell ill on a boat on the Bian River. He ran out of money, but my father had nothing left…” Dongxue choked up. “I was only ten years old at the time, and I had no choice but to sell myself into slavery. When my father was dying, he told me to bring his ashes back to my hometown. Six years have passed in a flash, and every time I think of him, my pillow is wet with tears. But I am worried about you being a minor, and I don’t have enough money to redeem myself. Now you are in a difficult situation, and I am powerless to help you. I am restless every day. Girl, I have thought about it carefully, and the only one who can save you is Miss Lan Da… Please help me redeem myself so that I can go to Guangzhou to find Miss Lan Da and fulfill my father’s dying wish.”
Where is your hometown?
"Xiangtan, Hunan".
"Are you planning to go back to Xiangtan first to bury your father's ashes, and then go to Guangzhou?"
"Yes, young lady."
"You are just a frail woman, and Guangzhou is a thousand miles away. What if something happens to you on the way?"
"Dongxue has traveled to some places with my father when he took office, so she is not completely ignorant about the outside world. Moreover, the Second Madam's family has a merchant caravan that goes to Hunan. I will ask her for help, and she should agree. After arriving in my hometown in Hunan, I will ask a cousin of mine who grew up with me to accompany me to Guangzhou."
Judging from what she said, she had clearly thought it through carefully. It wasn't a bad idea, but could she trust her? Ruan Bi thought to herself. The one who was loyal and devoted to her was the original owner of this body, while she had only known her for a little over two months and hadn't even had a single honest conversation with her. She didn't believe that Dong Xue truly couldn't sense the distance between them after she recovered from her illness.
Moreover, her eloquent speech suggests she's a bold and assertive person, the kind who's hardest to control. It's quite possible she'll gain her freedom, living a carefree and expansive life. Meanwhile, I'll remain confined to this deep courtyard, either dying silently or enduring until my wedding day…
Her current situation is a temporary respite from danger, a respite she obtained through cunning means. Because it's still early, Tang Pozi and Huaihua dare not go too far. However, as time passes, if the First Madam and the Old Madam never inquire about her, then the situation where she has to pay for food and even for a wash will inevitably occur sooner or later… She'll be squeezed dry, subjected to cold stares, and barely survive until her wedding day. Perhaps she'll be overshadowed by her husband, or perhaps her First Madam will be a shrew, or perhaps she'll have a set of yellowed, protruding teeth… No, no, no, in this era where a woman obeys her husband after marriage, if she cannot control her marriage, she cannot control her destiny; she might as well die.
Seeing that Ruan Bi remained silent for a long time, staring at her absentmindedly, Dong Xue asked sadly, "Miss, do you... not believe Dong Xue?"
Ruan Bi looked at her and slowly shook her head. Time was running out; although it was a risky move, there was no other way. "Everything I told you to bury is yours now. Have a safe journey."
With tears welling up in her eyes, Dongxue kowtowed three times to Ruan Biduan.
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