Volume One, Spring Lock in the Garden, Chapter Nine: Pearl Earrings
Life under house arrest was not much different from before, except that the daily morning and evening greetings were no longer required.
Ruan Bi spent her days reading, writing, and embroidering, just as bored as before.
The first two days were fine; the hot water bottle and the others treated her very politely.
On the third evening, Tea Girl brought in the meal: three dishes and a soup, but the portions were almost half the size. Ruan Bi glanced at Tea Girl, who lowered her head nervously and said, "Miss, please eat."
"Okay, you should go eat too."
Tea Girl breathed a sigh of relief, as if granted a pardon, and walked out of the inner room. Hot water bottle and locust flower surrounded her.
Huaihua asked in a low voice, "What happened? Did she say anything?"
Tea Girl said, "She didn't say anything."
Tang Pozi said, "I told you, it's okay, we can just share her food from now on."
Tea Girl asked hesitantly, "But what if she tells the First Madam?"
Huaihua said, "Tea Girl, are you crazy? Can she still see the First Madam? Besides, everyone knows that the First Madam and the Old Madam don't like her, otherwise they wouldn't have locked her up. Oh, by the way, Granny Tang, do you know why she was locked up?"
"I don't know the specifics, but it's definitely not a good thing. Otherwise, why would they lock up a young girl? It's always the concubines and mistresses who get locked up."
Huaihua said triumphantly, "I guessed right, didn't I? So, Tea Girl, don't be afraid."
Tang Pozi said, "I wonder if she has any money? If she does, we can get some out of her."
Huaihua's eyes lit up, and she asked, "How do we do it?"
Hot water bottle owner said, "There are many ways. For example, with Locust Flower, if she asks you to fetch water, just say there's no water and ask her for a tip before you fetch it. The same goes for Tea Girl..."
Ruan Bi stood behind the door, listening to the old woman instigating Huaihua and the tea girl to swindle money from her. A chill ran down her spine. Not from fear, but from disgust. Although she had her share of scheming and backstabbing in the company, she had never resorted to such despicable methods.
She walked back to the table and sat down, silently finishing her meal. A little while later, Tea Girl came in to clear the dishes, still avoiding eye contact. "Tea Girl, there's much less food today. What's the reason?"
The tea girl's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the bowl and chopsticks. "Miss, because... because I spilled some on the road, I'm sorry, miss."
Ruan Bi chuckled and said, "Go ahead and ask Granny Tang to come in and talk to me for a while."
The tea girl hurried away, and a moment later, the old woman lifted the curtain and came in, her triangular eyes gleaming with wariness. She bowed to Ruan Bi and asked, "Did you look for me, young lady?"
Ruan Bi said politely, "Yes, Granny Tang, please sit down. I don't want to write today, I'd like to hear you talk about things outside."
The old woman was a little surprised, but she sat down on the stool as instructed and asked, "What would you like to hear, young lady?"
“I’ve been living in this courtyard since I was born, and I’ve hardly ever been to the front yard. I know nothing about what’s happening outside. My mother-in-law just picks out some strange and interesting things to talk about, and I just listen.”
Granny Tang slapped her thigh and said, "If you want to hear these things, then you've come to the right person. I'm not bragging, but in this household, when it comes to eloquence, Granny Tang is second to none. However, I do have something that you might be interested in..."
Ruan Bi turned to look at her, and asked with a slight smile, "What is it that you're talking about, Mother-in-law?"
"It's about Dongxue, the young lady's former maid..."
"Oh, then tell me, Grandma."
But the hot water bottle remained silent, looking at Ruan Bi.
Ruan Bi understood what she meant, but she didn't point it out and waited patiently for her.
Old Woman Tang waited a while, and seeing that she didn't react, she assumed she didn't understand. Feigning embarrassment, she said, "Young lady, this old woman is fifty-one this year. She should be enjoying her retirement. Alas, this old woman has a disobedient son who's always causing trouble outside, drinking and gambling. My monthly allowance is pitifully small; I usually earn a little extra by running errands for my master. Now that I've been assigned to guard the gate, that errand work is gone..."
Ruan Bi quickly calculated in her mind, stood up, and said, "I am stupid, Mother-in-law should have said so earlier." She walked to the money box, took out two hundred coins and handed them to the hot water bottle, "But you know my identity and my current situation. I don't have much, so please make do with this."
The woman in the hot water bottle weighed the two hundred coins in her hand. It was a little less than nothing, but better than nothing. She stuffed the money into her pocket and said, "Oh, not at all. I think the girl is refined and generous. She's sure to be a lucky person in the future."
Ruan Bi scoffed inwardly at the idea of buying a refined and elegant man for two hundred coins, and asked, "What happened to my former maid, Dongxue?"
"You know, young lady? Dongxue is Zheng Mama's goddaughter. A couple of days ago, Zheng Mama was very ill, so the old lady kept her here. Now she works as a laundry maid in the old lady's courtyard."
After all, Granny Zheng listened to her, and Ruan Bi felt relieved. If only she could contact Dong Xue, but she couldn't get out, and no one could get in, unless… Ruan Bi looked at the hot water bottle, then immediately dismissed the idea. This hot water bottle was too cunning and ruthless; she absolutely couldn't trust her.
After recounting some interesting and amusing stories from the capital, seeing that it was getting late, the old woman withdrew.
Ruan Bi called Huaihua in. "Go to the kitchen and bring over a basin of warm water."
Huaihua, standing on her left foot, said, "Miss, I twisted my ankle while hanging clothes to dry today, so I can't go to the kitchen or fetch water. There's still some cold water in the bucket in the house, please make do with it."
Ruan Bi looked at her for a while and said, "Alright, have the tea girl bring it in, and you go make the bed."
The tea maid brought in a basin of cold water and placed it on the shelf, standing nervously to one side. Fortunately, it was already past March, and the weather was warming up, so the water wasn't too cold. However, cold water wasn't suitable for washing feet, so after Ruan Bi washed her face, she told the tea maid to take it out and throw it away.
"Girl, the bed is made."
Ruan Bi said, "Okay, Huaihua, come and help me comb my hair."
Huaihua paused, taken aback. Having come from a background of manual labor, she was clumsy and awkward. After combing Ruanbi's hair once, she refused to let her do it again. Ruanbi glanced back at her and said, "What are you standing there for? Come and help me undo my hair." As she spoke, she took off the pearl earrings hanging from her ears and casually placed them on the dressing table. The pearls in these earrings weren't large, but they were of excellent quality, round and lustrous, and shaped like a beautiful crescent moon. Ruanbi liked them very much. When she packed up her valuable jewelry and entrusted it to Dongxue to bury, she kept only these earrings, and wore them every day.
"Oh." Huaihua walked over, first untied Ruan Bi's hair bun, then picked up a comb and slowly combed it.
Ruan Bi looked at her in the mirror and saw her gaze slowly move from the comb to the pearl earrings on the dressing table, gleaming with a burning light. It was that kind of gaze. She remembered it; when she first started working, the wages were low, and the place she rented was a bit unsafe, with many pickpockets. Their eyes looked just like that.
"Oh dear, Huaihua, you're going to rip my scalp off."
The locust flower awoke with a start. "Ah? I'm sorry, young lady."
Ruan Bi glared at her feigned annoyance, put the pair of earrings on the dressing table into the mirror case, took off the key hanging around her neck and locked it, walked angrily to the bedside, kicked off her shoes, saw that Huaihua was still standing there dumbly, and said impatiently, "Why are you always standing there dumbly today? Aren't you going to come and help me to bed?"
Huaihua paused for a moment, a surge of anger rising within her. Reluctantly, she walked to the bedside and pulled back the covers. Ruan Bi crawled under the covers, casually taking the key from her neck and stuffing it under her pillow. She shouted, "Alright, alright! Look at you, you look like a dead man! Lower the curtains, put out the candles, and get out. Don't hang around in front of me anymore!" With that, to further express her anger, she rolled over heavily, turning her back to Huaihua.
A moment later, everything went dark, and the sound of Huaihua's footsteps, filled with barely concealed anger, faded into the distance.
About half an hour later, Ruan Bi was almost asleep when she felt someone slowly approaching her bedside. She tried to make her breathing even, and felt the bed curtains being lifted, letting in a little breeze. Then she felt the pillow under her head move slightly.
The locust flower has taken the bait.
Ruan Bi couldn't tell whether she was happy or unhappy. She had known all along that the girl was greedy, so she deliberately tempted her with things and then shouted at her to provoke her and make her lose her mind... She herself had become bad too, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
The sound of a key unlocking the door could be heard.
The curtain was lifted again, and a wisp of wind leaked in.
The pillow under my head moved slightly again.
I sensed someone gradually drifting away.
Ruan Bi breathed a sigh of relief; finally, she could go to sleep.
I slept without any dreams.
The next day, after breakfast, Ruan Bi called in the hot water bottle. Before she could speak, her eyes reddened, and she said, "Grandma, there's a thief in my room."
The old woman was shocked. Who dared to eat alone? She hurriedly covered Ruan Bi's mouth and said, "Miss, you can't say such things. What's missing?"
Ruan Bi pointed to her ear and said, "These are the pearl earrings I wear every day."
Tang Pozi had long coveted the earrings, and upon hearing this, she was filled with rage. But she only said to Ruan Bi, "Miss, you probably just put them there carelessly. Look for them carefully again."
Ruan Bi nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "That's possible. Let me think about it some more."
"Then the girl should look around some more; the old woman still has to go and guard the door."
Tang Pozi rushed out and went to the side hall. She grabbed Huaihua, who was lying on the couch cracking melon seeds, and asked, "Did you take those earrings?"
Huaihua shook off her hand and said, "Grandma, don't touch me. How would I know anything about earrings or pendants?"
"Tea Girl is a coward, who else could it be but you?" Granny Tang said relentlessly. "Those earrings are worth at least ten taels of silver, you can't keep them all to yourself."
Huaihua glared at her and said, "I said no, and I said no. Don't think you can whine just because you're old."
"You little pagoda tree flower, if you don't throw it up today, I, Tang Pozi, will never let you off the hook."
Huaihua stood up, rolled up her sleeves, and said, "Old hag, if you keep nagging, I'll beat you up."
Tang Pozi felt a chill run down her spine. She was thin and small, with hardly any flesh on her bones. If a fight broke out, she would only suffer a loss. However, she wouldn't lose face even if she lost the fight. She pointed at the locust flower and said, "You just wait, you'll get what's coming to you sooner or later."
Huaihua spat at her retreating figure and continued to lie back on the couch, cracking melon seeds.
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