Volume One, Spring Lock in the Garden, Chapter Five: An Unexpected Turn of Events
After noon, the curtains were removed from the Ruan residence, and they returned to the city. Ruan Bi rode in the same carriage with the Fourth and Sixth Misses. The Sixth Miss, having apparently had her fill of fun, kept telling the Fourth Miss about what she had seen and heard. As soon as they arrived at the Ruan residence gate and got out of the carriage, they heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from behind, and a servant shouted, "The eldest young master is back!"
In the blink of an eye, Ruan Jiaxuan, accompanied by his attendant Shun'er, arrived at the mansion on horseback. A servant quickly stepped forward to stop the horse. Ruan Jiaxuan dismounted and rushed to the First Madam and the Old Madam, bowing and greeting them. The Old Madam took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead and asked, "Did you enjoy your gathering with your classmates from the Imperial Academy today?"
Ruan Jiaxuan's face immediately darkened, and he glared at Ruan Bi. Later, his classmates made fun of her again, using extremely offensive language that caused him to lose face completely.
When the First Madam and the Old Madam saw him suddenly glaring at Ruan Bi with a face full of anger, they also looked at Ruan Bi with a puzzled expression.
Ruan Bi had already guessed that this would happen, so she wasn't surprised or frightened. Dong Xue, on the other hand, was pounding her heart and her palms were sweating. The old lady quickly figured out what was going on, her face darkened slightly, and she took Ruan Jiaxuan's hand, saying, "Come on, let's go back to the room and talk." After saying that, she took Ruan Jiaxuan and left, and the maids and servants in her room hurriedly followed.
The First Madam glanced at Ruan Bi, then followed with the Second Miss. The Second Madam followed with the Third and Seventh Misses as well. The rest of the people looked at each other for a moment, then had no choice but to follow as well. Neither the Old Madam nor the First Madam said, "Let's all disperse," and no one dared to make a decision on their own.
Dongxue tugged at Ruanbi's sleeve, calling out in a low voice with trepidation, "Miss..."
Before she could finish speaking, the sixth girl, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around and laughed gleefully. "You troublemaker, you've gotten yourself into trouble again, haven't you?"
Ruan Bi ignored her, patted Dongxue's hand reassuringly, and thought of a way to deal with it.
After passing through the hanging flower gate, the First Madam stopped and turned back, saying, "No need to disperse yet, just wait in the hallway." With that, she led her maids towards the Old Madam's room. The Second Miss wanted to follow, but was stopped by her gaze and had no choice but to stop dejectedly. Four chairs were placed in the hallway. The Second Madam sat down, with the Seventh Miss beside her. The Second and Third Misses also sat down, but no one dared to sit on the remaining chair.
As soon as the First Madam reached the Old Madam's outer room, she heard a loud bang, faintly the sound of a teacup falling to the ground. Then she heard the Old Madam calling from inside the room, "Go and call the First Madam here."
The young maidservant guarding the gate called out loudly, "Madam, the First Madam is waiting at the door."
The old lady said, "Let her in."
The young maid lifted the curtain, and the First Madam told the maid to stay outside, then went into the inner room alone. She saw the Old Madam sitting there, her face full of anger, with only Ruan Jiaxuan standing beside her. A yellow teacup with auspicious and longevity patterns and gold trim lay smashed on the floor. "Xuan'er, what exactly happened?"
In a few words, Ruan Jiaxuan recounted how Ruan Bi had "spyed" on Xie Mingyue and how her classmates had ridiculed her. The First Madam's face immediately darkened, and she said angrily, "What a shameless thing!"
"It was my fault. I shouldn't have let Lan'er give birth to this troublesome child. It wasn't enough that she took the old master's life; she also ruined the reputation of our Ruan family..." The old lady became angrier as she spoke, her anger rising to her head. She coughed, phlegm choking her throat. The first lady and Ruan Jiaxuan quickly stepped forward and gently patted her back. After a while, the old lady stopped coughing and took the first lady's hand, saying, "You must quickly find someone to marry off that frivolous and lowly woman. I never want to see her again."
The First Madam doted on her son most of all, and upon hearing that he had been ridiculed by his classmates, she had already inwardly cursed Ruan Bi to a thousand pieces. Then, thinking of how Ruan Bi had damaged her own reputation and tarnished the Second Miss's honor—she knew perfectly well that Ruan Bi herself was mentally unstable, but those who didn't might have thought she had failed in her parenting, and that all the young ladies of the Ruan family were so frivolous and ignorant—she then had Ruan Bi ground to dust. Despite her hatred and anger, she was, after all, the matriarch of the household and knew what was important.
The First Madam gently patted the Old Madam and said, "Mother, please calm down. Marriage is not something to be rushed. We have some standing in the capital, how can we marry off a thirteen-year-old girl, especially since she has three older sisters?"
The old lady was just talking nonsense in anger. After a moment of silence, she said, "It's all my fault. I gave her a proper status as a mistress back then, and now she's tied up."
The First Madam said, "The Old Madam is kind-hearted and originally wanted to give her a good status, but she herself is not up to par and is only vulgar and frivolous."
The old lady said, "I think she's here to collect a debt, and she'll take my life sooner or later. Send two trustworthy old women to guard her room. From now on, don't let her leave the courtyard again, and don't let me see her again. As for her maids, keep the honest ones, and send away the cunning ones quickly. Send a few more trustworthy ones instead."
The First Madam replied in a low voice, "Yes, I will take care of it right away."
The old lady pulled her aside again and said, "It's not a good thing after all, so let's not offend the other maids. Let's do it quietly."
The First Madam nodded in understanding, left the Old Madam's courtyard, went to the passageway, and said, "The Old Madam said that everyone is tired today, so everyone should go back and rest."
Everyone was a little surprised. But after playing outside all day, and being delicate young ladies, they were all exhausted and eager to go back so their maids could give them a break. So they left in twos and threes.
Ruan Bi led Dong Xue back to the east wing of Liaoyuan Garden. Dong Xue, who had been on tenterhooks, let out a long sigh. She poured Ruan Bi a cup of water, then poured one for herself, gulping it down in one go. She said, "I was so scared just now. I thought the First Madam and the Old Madam were going to scold you again, Miss. Thank goodness, this time it must be the Bodhisattva's blessing." Seeing Ruan Bi holding her teacup but not drinking, her face serious as if she were thinking about something, she couldn't help but wonder, "Why aren't you drinking, Miss? Are you still worried about being scolded by the Old Madam and the First Madam? I guess the Young Master probably didn't mention it."
Ruan Bi subconsciously shook her head. She saw naked disgust in Ruan Jiaxuan's eyes. It was fine as long as he didn't exaggerate; there was no way he would cover for her. When the First Madam returned to the hallway later, although her expression was normal, her gaze never met Ruan Bi's, clearly indicating inner resistance. She recalled a time at her former company when a subordinate embezzled funds. Because Ruan Bi was in charge of an important project, she couldn't take action immediately, waiting until the project was completed. At the time, although she pretended to be indifferent, she was still bothered and unwilling to make eye contact with him.
Thinking of this, Ruan Bi put down her teacup and said, "Dongxue, you should go find your godmother right now and beg her for mercy."
Dongxue looked at her in surprise. "Miss, why is that?"
Ruan Bi said, "Just listen to me, no matter what, you must make sure your godmother protects you."
Dongxue's face paled slightly, and she murmured softly, "Miss..."
Ruan Bi looked at the sky and said, "Hurry up, or it might be too late."
Dongxue nodded in confusion and turned to leave.
Ruan Bi thought of something else, so she pulled her aside and said, "Wait, open the money box."
Although Dongxue was puzzled, she still took out the money box from the wardrobe and opened it. Ruan Bi glanced at it and frowned. The money box only contained about ten taels of loose silver and some jewelry that wasn't particularly valuable. After thinking for a moment, she told Dongxue to put the ten taels of loose silver and the slightly more valuable jewelry into her bosom. "Before you go to find your godmother, find a secluded place to bury her."
Dongxue was frightened, her face pale, and asked, "Girl, what is the reason for this? You have to tell me clearly."
"You'll find out later. In any case, you must make sure that Granny Zheng agrees to protect you."
Dongxue thought for a moment, nodded, and hurried away.
Ruan Bi sat by the window. After a while, she heard a maid from Aunt Lin's courtyard come over and say that Aunt Lin was feeling a little unwell. Then, the Fourth Miss hurriedly left with Qiu Lan. After that, another maid came over and called Qiu Yue and Qiu Lan to go to the kitchen to help. She knew that the First Madam had deliberately sent them away.
After another short while, Ruan Bi heard hurried footsteps outside the courtyard, but no human voices. She guessed that the First Madam had arrived with her entourage, so she went to stand under the eaves of the east wing. The courtyard gate was wide open, and none of the old women who usually guarded the gate were there; they must have been sent away.
Ruan Bi smiled slightly.
When Madam Wang, accompanied by five old women and two maids, entered Liaoyuan Garden, she saw Ruan Bi standing under the eaves, looking at the fiery clouds on the horizon. The wind blew her clothes, and she exuded an aura that made people dare not look directly at her, causing Madam Wang to stop in her tracks.
Ruan Bi stood on the steps and bowed to her. "Mother."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
