Volume 1, Spring Lock in the Garden, Chapter 18: Xiang Zhuang's Sword Dance
The old lady opened the door, and a large group of people rushed into the east wing. The one in the lead was naturally the old lady, followed closely by the first lady.
Ruan Bi struggled to get out of bed to bow, but Zheng Mama quickly stepped forward and pressed her down, saying, "Miss, you're so sick, there's no need for you to get up. We're all family, it's no big deal to make a fuss."
Seeing that she was so thin and frail, the old lady, though unable to feel any affection for her, felt sorry for her and, unusually, spoke kindly and gently. "Poor thing, this fine young lady is no longer human. You should rest well, and Grandmother will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly for you."
Ruan Bi still managed a half-bow, panting as she said, "It's all because of my granddaughter... I'm useless, I've caused my grandmother so much worry."
The old lady waved her hand, signaling her to stop talking.
Ruan Bi was happy to remain silent. After all, she wasn't the main character this time, and it was easier to see the whole story from the sidelines.
The maids brought over chairs, and the old lady sat down, her sharp eyes sweeping over everyone as she asked, "Where are the servants who attend to the Fifth Miss?"
Hot water bottle and tea girl quickly stepped forward and knelt down.
"Tell me, how did you manage to treat such a perfectly good girl like this?"
Tea Girl was timid and tongue-tied to begin with, and she lay prostrate on the ground, too frightened to speak. Granny Tang was also trembling with fear, but fortunately, she was old and experienced, so she remained calm and carefully chose her words, saying, "Madam, it is all my fault for being careless and not seeing that little girl Huaihua harbored evil intentions, which allowed her to harm the young lady."
"Who is the locust flower?"
"Huaihua was originally in charge of the girl's grooming in her room. A few days ago, she insisted on helping the girl get her meals. I thought it was strange at the time, but I didn't think much of it. I never imagined that she was determined to kill the girl..."
Where is she?
"I just had the old servant tie him up, and he's in the side room now."
The old lady gave a signal, and two or three strong female servants went to the side room. A moment later, they brought back Huaihua, who was tightly bound and had a handkerchief stuffed in her mouth, and pressed her down in front of the old lady. Huaihua was terrified and kowtowed desperately. Another strong servant came in a little later and handed over a packet of Gelsemium elegans pollen, saying, "Old lady, this is what she hid under her pillow."
The old lady took it, sniffed it, and said, "Take the handkerchief out of her mouth."
As soon as the handkerchief was taken out, Huaihua cried out incoherently, "Madam, spare me! Madam, spare me! I never intended to harm you, Miss. It was all that Granny Sun who lied to me. It has nothing to do with me. Madam, spare me..."
The old lady asked sternly, "Which Granny Sun? Which courtyard?"
“I don’t know.” Huaihua shook her head, sobbing as she said, “She only said her surname was Sun. She lied to me, saying that the medicine wouldn’t harm anyone, it would only make the girl sick again. Madam, I really didn’t mean to harm the girl. Even if I had the greatest courage in the world, I wouldn’t dare to harm the girl…”
The old lady snorted coldly and said, "You insolent servant, you knew this medicine would make the young lady sick again, yet you still administered it. And you still say you're not harming the young lady?"
Huaihua was speechless, only saying repeatedly, "Madam, Huaihua never intended to harm the girl. It was that old hag who lied to me. Madam, Huaihua never intended to harm the girl."
"Tell me honestly, what benefits did Granny Sun promise you?"
"She gave me ten taels of silver, and she also said... that afterwards, I would be transferred to work in the Third Miss's courtyard."
The First Madam beside her raised an eyebrow. "Did she really say that?"
Huaihua nodded vigorously.
The First Madam leaned closer to the Old Madam and whispered, "There is indeed a nanny surnamed Sun in my sister-in-law's room; she is her personal attendant."
The old lady said, "Someone, go and invite the second mistress and Granny Sun."
A young maidservant responded and left.
A moment later, the Second Madam and Granny Sun rushed over.
The old lady pointed at Granny Sun and said to Huaihua, "You rascal, look closely, is that her?"
Huaihua looked at it, shook her head, and said, "She's younger than this mother."
On the way, the second madam had already heard some things from the maid. She said, "Mother, if you intend to harm someone, you should either cover your face or frame someone else. Why would you reveal your true identity? Why not call all the nannies over and let her identify them one by one?"
The old lady nodded and said, "That's right."
Immediately, several maids were dispatched to spread the word. Soon, more than thirty old women arrived, and since there wasn't enough room for them all, they all stood in the courtyard in front of the east wing. The First Madam took Huaihua out to identify the women, and the Second Madam followed to keep an eye on them. After a short while, the First Madam returned with Huaihua, shook her head at the Old Madam, and said, "They all say it's not them, but we only have this many old women in our household."
The second wife, who followed her in, said, "It's probably just something that this cunning servant made up to deceive us."
Huaihua was startled and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly, saying, "Old Madam, First Madam, Second Madam, Huaihua didn't lie to you, there really is a Granny Sun, there really is..."
"Alright," the second madam interrupted her. "All the old women in our household are here. You've seen them all just now. You'd better tell the truth: who instructed you to poison her, and who taught you to tell this lie to frame the third young lady."
Huaihua was speechless, only repeating, "There really is Granny Sun, there really is. She asked me to poison her. I'm not lying..."
The second wife turned her head away in annoyance and said to the old lady, "Mother, I think this unruly servant won't shed a tear until she sees the coffin. Let's send her to the authorities."
As if struck by lightning, Huaihua froze on the ground, her face filled with disbelief.
The First Madam frowned and said, "Sister-in-law, let's not rush to send it to the authorities. If we don't get to the bottom of this, it will eventually become a source of trouble."
The second wife said, "Where should I even begin to ask, sister-in-law? She insists she's some kind of old nanny, but we can't conjure up a living person in our household."
The First Madam said, "Perhaps some outsider has infiltrated under false pretenses. Let's investigate thoroughly..."
The second wife interrupted with a laugh: "When did our Ruan family mansion become a marketplace where just anyone can come in? If you want to protect her, you don't need to come up with such a ridiculous reason."
The First Madam frowned and said, "What my sister-in-law is saying is very strange. Why should I protect her?"
The second wife said, "Don't think I don't know, isn't she the daughter of your maid Xu Baoshu?"
The old lady paused for a moment, then said, "What, still a servant born into the household?"
The First Madam nodded and said, "It is indeed the daughter of Xu Baoshu, my maidservant. She has been doing rough work in the outer courtyard since she was a child. She is a simple-minded girl. I don't think she has the guts to harm Fifth Sister. Someone must have instructed her. If we don't investigate thoroughly and just send her to the authorities, wouldn't that be letting the cunning servants hiding behind the scenes benefit?"
The old lady said, "Go and call her father and mother over."
The first wife said, "Her father and mother work on a farm in the suburbs."
The old lady asked again, "What kind of job did you do?"
The First Madam hesitated for a moment before saying, "Manager."
There was a brief silence in the room. After a moment, the old lady glared at the young lady and said, "You've managed this household very well. Someone, take this insolent servant to the authorities."
After their conversation, Huaihua thought the Madam was trying to protect her, so she rushed forward and hugged her leg, saying, "Madam, save me! Madam, save me..."
The First Madam was annoyed. The Second Madam's sarcastic remarks made the Old Madam suspicious of her. Wouldn't Huaihua's pounce confirm it? She kicked Huaihua in the chest and said, "You lowly thing, you dare to beg for mercy after doing something like poisoning your master? You think I'm going to save you? I just don't want things to end up unclearly, letting some wicked people benefit for nothing."
Huaihua was kicked to the ground, clutching her chest, unable to catch her breath for a long time.
Ruan Bi felt a pang of pity, yet she knew that all of this was her own fault. If she hadn't been greedy and foolish, if she hadn't been blinded by greed, how could she have ended up like this?
The First Madam flicked her handkerchief, suppressing her irritation, and said, "Mother, why don't we lock her in the woodshed first and wait for the Master to come home from work?"
"Even if my elder brother comes back, how could he possibly find out about a fictitious Granny Sun? Why won't my sister-in-law send her to the authorities?"
The First Madam retorted sharply, clearly displeased: "Why is my sister-in-law in such a hurry to send her to the authorities?"
The second wife said, "This matter concerns the third young lady, how can I not be anxious? If it were concerning the second young lady, I'm afraid my sister-in-law would be even more anxious than I am."
The First Madam said, "I'm not sending her to the authorities precisely so that the truth can be uncovered."
The second wife said, "I didn't know that my sister-in-law's ability to solve cases is even better than that of the yamen officials."
The old lady frowned and said, "Alright, stop arguing. Someone, take this lowly servant to the authorities."
The First Madam called out softly, "Mother..."
The old lady glared at her and said, "What else do you want to say? Look at how well you've managed the household."
The First Madam said aggrievedly, "Mother, why do you say that? I don't understand."
"I ask you, I told you to find some reliable servants to take care of Fifth Sister, and what did you do? Look..." The old lady pointed to the kneeling hot water bottle, tea girl, and locust flower, "They're either old, ugly, or even a heartless wretch who plots against her master. What has Fifth Sister done to you that you dislike her so much? If anything happens to her, how can I face the old master in the future?"
The First Madam was both shocked and angry. She looked at the Old Madam and was speechless for a moment.
The old lady continued, "I originally thought you were a reliable and meticulous person, which is why I entrusted the entire Ruan family to you. When the second daughter bullied the fourth daughter, I just thought it was a quarrel between sisters. But now you've even caused such a thing as plotting to kill your master. Tell me, how exactly are you running the household?"
Ruan Bi finally began to understand.
The First Madam wanted to argue her point, but couldn't find the words, so she could only stand there, her face turning red and white in turns.
The old lady ignored her, her gaze sweeping over everyone's faces, and said sternly, "Why is no one listening to me anymore?"
Two or three strong women rushed forward, grabbed the locust flowers, and left.
As the cries of Huaihua faded into the distance, Ruan Bi felt a pang of sadness.
The old lady then looked at the hot water bottle and the tea girl and said, "Drive these two servants out of the mansion as well."
Tea Girl and Hot Water Bottle were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground.
Ruan Bi quickly pleaded, "Grandmother, they have always been distant from Huaihua, and their ways are quite different. They have always served me with utmost care. Although they have some responsibility for oversight, they are not guilty of this. Please forgive them this time, Grandmother, for the sake of their dedication to serving me."
She was both the person involved and the victim, so the old lady was willing to give her face and said, "Since Fifth Miss pleaded for mercy, I will let you off this time. The younger one will continue to stay and serve Fifth Miss, and the older one will go back to where she came from."
Tea Girl and Hot Water Bottle kowtowed in gratitude.
The old lady held Ruan Bi's hand again and said, "Fifth girl, it was my fault for not paying attention. I feel sorry for you. Later, I will send two maids from my courtyard to you. You should take good care of yourself and don't need to pay your respects to me every morning and evening for the time being."
Ruan Bi nodded and said, "Yes, Grandmother."
The old lady gave a few more instructions and left with Manyun and Granny Zheng. The First Madam and the Second Madam also left with their respective maids and servants. The once bustling east wing of Liaoyuan Garden suddenly became deserted, with only the hot water bottle and tea girl kneeling on the ground, and Ruan Bi lying on the bed.
Tang Pozi respectfully kowtowed to Ruan Bi and said, "Thank you for saving my life, Fifth Miss. Congratulations, Fifth Miss."
"Congratulations?" Ruan Bi laughed mockingly. She had thought she was the leading lady, but near the end, she discovered she was just a supporting character. As a pawn, she had almost lost her life, and the compensation she received was her freedom. Was that something to celebrate? If she wasn't mistaken, this poisoning incident wasn't targeted at her; it was ostensibly aimed at Huaihua, but ultimately, the finger was pointed at the First Madam. But the poison was real. If she hadn't discovered it in time, if she had died because of it, she would probably only have received a "thank you" in return.
Regardless of whether the mastermind behind this was the old lady, the second lady, or another concubine, in their hearts, Ruan Bi was someone who could be sacrificed at any time. At this moment, Ruan Bi felt sad, angry, and aggrieved for the original owner of this body. These were her family members; not only did they despise and trample on her, but they were also ready to use her life to gain benefits at any time.
It's alright, I will get everything back for you.
Ruan Bi made a silent vow in her heart.
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