Volume 1, Spring Lock in the Garden, Chapter 13: Past Events
I had so many dreams that night.
Ruan Bi dreamt she was back in her original world, in an office on the top floor of a skyscraper, drinking coffee and basking in the sunlight… When she woke up, sunlight streamed through the window, and she stared at it for a while, lost in thought. It wasn't until Huaihua brought in water that she got up, changed into a narrow-sleeved green silk shirt and a thin white silk long skirt.
Huaihua tested the water temperature with her hand and said respectfully, "The water temperature is just right, young lady, please wash your face." She then kindly handed over a towel.
After washing up, Huaihua didn't take the basin of water out, but instead glanced at a stack of papers on the table and asked, "Miss, should I send the calligraphy I wrote last night to the Second Miss?"
Ruan Bi shook her head and said, "Not for now."
Huaihua, feeling uneasy and indignant, asked, "Does the young lady not trust me? Do you insist on having Granny Tang deliver it?"
Before she could finish speaking, a soft cough rang out, and the old woman lifted the curtain and came in, glaring unhappily at Huaihua.
Huaihua frowned and said, "Grandma Tang, the lady told you to guard the gate. How can you, an old woman, keep running into the young lady's room? What kind of behavior is this?"
The old woman said stiffly, "It was the young lady who allowed me to come in."
Huaihua glanced at Ruanbi, who remained indifferent, as if she hadn't heard a thing. Knowing Ruanbi wouldn't speak up for her, Huaihua glared at the old woman and took the washbasin out. As soon as she left, the old woman immediately put on a smiling face, came over, and bowed to Ruanbi, saying, "Good morning, Miss. Should I take the calligraphy you wrote last night to the Second Miss?"
Ruan Bi shook her head and said, "Not for now."
Tang Pozi paused, having just seen Ruan Bi refuse the locust flowers, and had assumed she was waiting for her to deliver them, secretly pleased with herself. She wanted to ask why, but seeing Ruan Bi's indifferent expression, as if she didn't want to speak, she didn't dare to be presumptuous and said, "Then, if the young lady wishes to deliver them, please just let me know."
"Yes, don't worry, you'll be the only one delivering it."
Having received this remark, the woman withdrew with peace of mind.
After breakfast, Ruan Bi sat down at the table and wrote a letter to Dong Xue, still in the purse she had put in yesterday. When Cha Mei brought in lunch at noon, she handed her the purse and gave her three hundred coins as a reward. Practice makes perfect, and this time Cha Mei didn't hesitate much.
In the evening, when she went to the cafeteria to get her meal, she waited for a while at a side road. Dongxue came over with a food box, and the two held hands and chatted affectionately for a while. Then, the purse was put into Dongxue's sleeve.
Dongxue is currently living with Granny Zheng in a covered shed in the old lady's backyard. She had just finished serving Granny Zheng her meal when a maid called from outside, "Granny Zheng, the old lady wants to talk to you."
Granny Zheng responded and quickly followed the maid.
Dongxue took the purse out of her sleeve and unfolded it to examine it closely. She had only read half of it when Granny Zheng suddenly returned, her face displeased. Dongxue quickly hid the note under her pillow, stood up, and said, "Godmother, you're back?"
Granny Zheng looked at her for a while and said, "Tell me honestly, have you been seeing Tea Girl from Fifth Miss's room lately?" Dongxue hesitated and nodded.
Granny Zheng stamped her foot angrily and said, "You're being foolish again. How many eyes are watching this courtyard? They've only come to tell me now. What if they tell the old lady directly? What will you do then? If I had known you would act so recklessly, I shouldn't have saved you last time."
Dongxue knelt down with a thud and said, "Godmother, Fifth Miss is so pitiful. Besides, it wasn't Fifth Miss's fault that time."
“Girl, I told you before, regardless of whether it was her fault or not, she has disgraced our Ruan family and caused the eldest young master to lose face among his classmates. These are exactly the things that the old lady and the first lady hate the most. The old lady and the first lady have always disliked her, and it is already merciful of them to just put her under house arrest.”
“If it were the old lady who was placed under house arrest this time, I think my godmother would definitely not stand by and watch her die.”
Granny Zheng paused, her anger subsiding slightly. "I really can't do anything with your stubbornness. I'm not a heartless person, but the best way to protect yourself in this mansion is to mind your own business, especially the affairs between the masters. Have you ever thought about why the old lady dislikes Fifth Miss so much?" Dongxue shook her head.
Granny Zheng then asked, "Do you know the Fifth Miss's birthday?"
Dongxue shook her head again. The Fifth Sister never celebrated her birthday because she herself didn't know it.
"No one in this mansion dares to mention the Fifth Miss's birthday, simply because the Fifth Miss's birthday is the anniversary of the Old Master's death."
Dongxue was taken aback, suddenly remembering that on the anniversary of the old master's death, only the fifth daughter was forbidden from attending. "Godmother, why is that?"
Granny Zheng pulled her up and said, "Girl, this is something that cannot be mentioned in our Ruan family. The old lady has also issued a prohibition. Anyone who dares to mention it will have their tongue cut out." Dongxue trembled in fear.
"I will handle Fifth Miss's matter slowly for her. You can stay in the old lady's courtyard with peace of mind. After a while, I will ask the old lady to arrange a steward for you. Although you may not become rich and powerful, you will be able to live a life free from worries about food and clothing."
"Godmother," Dongxue called out shyly.
"Silly girl, what's there to be shy about? Every woman goes through this." Granny Zheng looked at the long, shallow scar on her cheek. Though it was faint and not very noticeable, it still marred her appearance. "I originally wanted you to go to Third Master's courtyard, but now that your face is ruined, there's no way..."
Dongxue said softly, "But godmother, I still can't help but worry about Fifth Sister."
Granny Zheng stared at her for a moment and asked, "Girl, tell me honestly, what did Fifth Miss ask you to do?"
"Godmother, how did you know?" Dongxue asked guiltily.
Granny Zheng sighed and said, "With such a small amount of thought, you can't hide it at all, which is why I don't let you do anything reckless. And your fifth daughter is completely different from before. Her mind is like a living thing, able to penetrate other people's hearts... By the way, there's that line from the opera about Zhuge Liang—'So wise she's almost demonic, the east wing of Liaoyuan can't contain her.'"
"Godmother, the girl is ultimately outnumbered and can't make a difference."
Granny Zheng shook her head and said, "You've become possessed by a demon. If you insist on helping her, then tell your godmother what it is about first."
"Fifth Sister asked me to ask you... who is her father, and who is her mother?"
Granny Zheng stared at the flickering candlelight for a while, then said, "Very well, if she doesn't understand this matter, then she won't understand why the old lady always dislikes her." Looking at Dongxue, she said, "But you must swear that you will not tell anyone else except Fifth Miss."
Dongxue nodded, raised her hand and said, "If Dongxue breaks this oath, may she be struck by lightning."
"This is a shameful affair in our Ruan family. The old lady said that anyone who mentions it will have their tongue cut out, and anyone who talks about it to outsiders will be beaten to death with sticks," said Granny Zheng. "Fifth Miss's mother is Miss Lan, and her father... Father... Let me tell you from the beginning."
"More than ten years ago, the old master was the Minister of Rites in the imperial court. He was very close to the Right Chancellor Shen Mi. Miss Lan married Shen Mi's son, Shen Yun. After three years of childlessness, they divorced. Two months after returning to the mansion, she discovered that she was pregnant. She told the Shen family, but the old lady of the Shen family said, 'Who knows where this bastard child came from?'"
Dongxue couldn't help but interrupt her: "Then the fifth young lady's father is Shen Yun?"
After a moment's thought, Granny Zheng said, "The Shen family vehemently denied it... In a fit of anger, the old master coughed up blood and fainted, and that's how he developed this ailment. On the day the fifth daughter was born, the servants reported to the old master, and he only said 'good,' before suddenly fainting again. Everyone says that the fifth daughter is bringing bad luck to the old master..."
Dongxue was shocked, as matters of misfortune and death were considered extremely taboo. When she was young, there was a woman in her hometown whose mother-in-law died on her wedding day. Everyone said that she was the one who caused the death, and her husband's family divorced her on the spot. After that, her family and neighbors avoided her, and less than a month later, the woman hanged herself.
"...At the time, the old lady was afraid that the fifth daughter would bring bad luck and kill the old master, so she told me to throw her into a basin of water and drown her..."
Dongxue couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!" again.
The candlelight flickered, and Granny Zheng's expression shifted between light and shadow. "...I couldn't bear it, so I kept dragging my feet, hoping the old master would wake up. Perhaps heaven truly heard my voice, for at dusk, the old master did indeed wake up and said he wanted to see Fifth Miss. When I carried Fifth Miss there, the old master was barely breathing, but upon seeing her, he was overjoyed, saying that 'the most beautiful stone is green,' and specially named Fifth Miss Ruan Bi, remembering that she was named after the eldest master, and instructing the eldest master to raise her well. Only after the old lady nodded did the old master finally pass away. With the old master's dying instructions, Fifth Miss's life was saved, but the old lady and the eldest master hated her for taking the old master's life and considered her an unlucky person, so naturally they despised her."
Dongxue silently shed tears. She had noticed before that the old lady was particularly harsh on the fifth young lady, and she thought it was because she didn't like the fifth young lady's temperament, but it turned out there was another reason.
Looking at Dongxue, Zheng Mama said, "If it weren't for your godmother's procrastination, Fifth Miss's life would have been lost long ago. Even now, when the old lady thinks about it, she still questions me again and again, asking if I did it on purpose. So, Dongxue, your godmother isn't a heartless person, but I'm afraid the old lady will take her anger out on you. Selling you is a small matter; if she finds any excuse to send you to the authorities, you'll have no future."
“I know, my godmother loves me.”
Granny Zheng nodded casually, the seal on her memories breaking, flooding back. This old matter, she'd found many suspicious points back then. Looking back after more than a decade, it still seemed shrouded in mystery. Given the relationship between the Shen and Ruan families, how could they divorce after three years without a child? When the old lady suggested aborting the fetus, why did the old master insist on refusing? And then, before his death, he gave her a special guarantee?
After thinking for a moment, Granny Zheng continued, "The old lady was afraid that the fifth young lady would ruin the life of the eldest young lady, and coincidentally, the eldest master's concubine, Fang, died in childbirth. So she said that Fang was the mother of the fifth young lady and silenced the servants in the mansion. A year later, the eldest young lady married Xu Yongruo, the prefect of Guangzhou, as his second wife. Prefect Xu was nineteen years older than the eldest young lady and did not know that she had a daughter..."
After saying this, Granny Zheng closed her eyes wearily and let out a long sigh.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
