Volume One, Spring Lock in the Garden, Chapter Ten: Two Dogs Biting Each Other
The old woman went to sit in the outer room, growing angrier with each passing thought, silently cursing Huaihua's ancestors for eighteen generations. Then she considered that Ruan Bi might still have something good, and she needed to coax it out first. So, she went to the door of the inner room and softly called out, "Miss?"
"Come in, Grandma."
"Has the young lady found the earring?"
Ruan Bi shook her head, looking troubled, and said, "I can't remember where I put it for a moment."
The old woman leaned closer and whispered, "Girl, it might really have been stolen."
"They changed their tune so quickly, it seems they couldn't get a share of the loot," Ruan Bi thought to herself, secretly amused, but said in surprise, "Does Grandma know who stole it?"
"It must be Huaihua. She is the daughter of Xu Baoshu, a maidservant of the First Madam. Now Xu Baoshu is the manager of the estate in the suburbs, and everyone looks up to him. Huaihua has become increasingly bold and often bullies other maids and servants in the outer courtyard."
Ruan Bi said in a panic, "What should I do? Mother-in-law, you have to help me."
The old woman said reassuringly, "Of course I'm on the young lady's side." She paused, then tentatively asked, "Does the young lady have anything else of value? Quickly put it away, lest she steal it again."
"No, those are all ordinary items." Ruan Bi said, twisting her handkerchief awkwardly and looking nervously at the hot water bottle, appearing guilty for lying.
The old woman, increasingly certain that Ruan Bi was still holding some valuable items, felt a surge of desire. Having often looked after imprisoned concubines and mistresses, she was adept at flattery. So, she leaned closer to Ruan Bi, adopting a seemingly confidant demeanor, and said, "Miss, if this old woman may be so bold as to ask, I think you're a sensible person. How did you... end up in this state?"
Ruan Bi sighed deeply and said with a sorrowful expression, "Grandma, you don't know, I was truly wronged." She then recounted the incident of encountering a group of noble youths during her purification ritual.
Tang Pozi suddenly realized and said, "So that's how it is. Miss, you really had a terrible time meeting the young master of the Duke of Ding's mansion."
Seeing Ruan Bi's puzzled expression, he continued, "Miss, do you not know? Gu Xiaobai is the eldest son of the Duke of Ding's mansion, the direct grandson of the former princess. He has been unruly since childhood, and it is common for him to ride his horse and injure people in the capital. With the former princess protecting him, the Duke of Ding's mansion can't do anything about him. Even the emperor has to give the princess face."
Ruan Bi's face grew increasingly distressed, her brows and eyes drooping. "Mother-in-law, what should I do?"
Granny Tang glanced in the direction of the door and whispered, "Miss, why don't you write a letter to Miss Lan? After all, she's yours... and the old lady has always doted on her."
Miss Lan? Ruan Bi thought for a moment, and seemed to have heard Dong Xue mention her. She was the old lady's only daughter, Ruan Lan, who had married far away in the south.
How can you say she's yours too? Could it be that I'm Ruan Lan's daughter? For so long, Ruan Bi has never understood who gave birth to her, but it's clear that she wasn't born to the First Madam and the two concubines. It's quite possible that she was born to the Old Madam's daughter's daughter, and was placed under the First Madam and the Master's name due to some accident.
Ruan Bi lowered her eyes sadly and said, "Where can I send letters now?"
The old woman patted her chest and said, "Girl, just write. I'll take care of mailing the letter."
Ruan Bi raised her eyelids and looked at her in surprise, saying, "Grandma, are you serious?"
Hot water bottle nods vigorously.
Ruan Bi stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then said with a grateful expression, "Thank you, Grandma. I will never forget your kindness."
The old woman glanced at the door again, then lowered her voice and said, "I'm going out now, girl, hurry up and write it, I'll have someone mail it out tomorrow."
Ruan Bi nodded, and after the hot water bottle left, she quickly opened the drawer of the table, but found no letters. She then went to rummage through the drawers of the wardrobe...
Huaihua came in when she heard the noise, looked around for a while, and asked, "What are you looking for, young lady? Do you need my help?"
Ruan Bi was secretly pleased. This girl was really bold, actually trying to find out about her family background. So she said, "I'm looking for the pair of pearl earrings I wore yesterday."
Huaihua felt a little guilty and said, "Then take your time looking, young lady. I'll go to the outer room and help you look." After saying that, she left.
After checking the last drawer, Ruan Bi couldn't help but feel disappointed; the original owner and Ruan Lan had no correspondence whatsoever. Was she really the original owner's birth mother? If so, why had she remained silent for so many years? Lost in thought, Cha Mei entered carrying a lacquer tray.
"Girl, lunch is ready." She said, placing the food on the table.
Ruan Bi glanced at the food and noticed that although the portion was smaller than before, it wasn't too noticeable, and she smiled inwardly. She immediately sat down to eat, and the tea server standing beside her whispered a reminder: "Miss, don't burn yourself." The subtle concern in the tea server's voice made Ruan Bi look up at her in surprise.
Tea Girl rubbed her hands nervously and said, "Miss, I just ran into your former maid, Dongxue, in the kitchen."
So that's how it is; Dongxue has finally taken action.
Ruan Bi was in a great mood and ate all the food.
The next morning, just after Ruan Bi finished breakfast, the hot water bottle sidled in and asked in a fawning tone, "Has the young lady finished writing the letter?"
Ruan Bi handed her the letter she had written the night before, saying with deep gratitude, "I will never forget my mother-in-law's great kindness."
The old woman took the letter and tucked it into her bosom, looking at Ruan Bi with difficulty, and said, "Miss, this post station usually only handles correspondence between government officials and private individuals. For other people to send letters, you have to... bribe them..."
Ruan Bi nodded and took out two hundred coins from her dressing case and handed them to her.
The old woman refused, saying, "Young lady, you're really putting me in a difficult position. This little bit of money isn't enough to get the people at the post station to help."
Ruan Bi took out another two hundred coins, and seeing that she still looked troubled, she took out another two hundred coins and said with distress, "Grandma, I don't have any income, you see..."
Old Lady Tang was secretly overjoyed, but she pretended to be reluctant and said, "It's a bit little, but I'll have to swallow my pride and beg them." As she spoke, she took the six hundred coins and put them in her pocket. "Fifth Miss, I'll go and ask someone to mail the letter right away."
Ruan Bi nodded and said expectantly, "I'm leaving everything to Grandma."
"Miss, wait for my good news." Granny Tang, with the letter and money tucked into her bosom, was overjoyed. She rushed out of the garden without a second thought, heading straight for the First Madam's courtyard. Upon arriving, she saw the Second Miss standing under the eaves, feeding a myna bird with a silver spoon. She quickly went over, her face beaming with smiles, and bowed respectfully: "Good morning, Second Miss."
Seeing that she was a stranger, the second young lady asked, "Which courtyard are you from?"
Tang Pozi said, "My surname is Tang, and people call me Tang Pozi. I currently work in the east wing of Liaoyuan Garden."
The second girl's face showed disdain, and she said, "Why are you here instead of working there?"
"Fifth Miss asked this old servant to send a letter to Miss Lan. I've come to inform the First Madam."
The second daughter became curious and asked, "Where's the letter?"
The old woman took the letter from her bosom and respectfully handed it over. The second young lady handed a silver spoon to her head maid, Chunyun, took the letter, glanced at it, and said to Chunyun, "Give her a reward." With that, she turned and went into the house. The first lady was looking at accounts in the side hall when she saw her enter with the letter and asked, "Whose letter is this?"
"This was written by Xiao Wu to his aunt."
The First Madam was surprised and said, "I've never seen her write letters before, but she's started writing them now? Let's take a look and see what she's written."
The second young lady took out the letter, glanced at it quickly, and handed it to the first lady, saying, "It's quite ordinary."
The First Madam took the letter and glanced at it. It contained only a few words, just the most ordinary greetings. She couldn't help but wonder, "I wonder how much silver was slipped into the letter to send this, and all it says is this? What is this Fifth Girl up to?"
"Who knows?" the second young lady said casually. "She's always been so unpredictable."
The First Madam smiled and said, "Indeed." She casually tossed the letter into the drawer and ignored it.
Granny Tang was delighted to receive the two young ladies' reward of five hundred coins. She thought to herself how clever she was, getting the best of both worlds. The only downside was not seeing the First Madam. But if it didn't work out this time, there would be another time, Granny Tang thought. She would urge Ruan Bi to write another letter in a few days.
Back in the east wing of Liaoyuan, he went into the inner room, greeted Ruan Bi with a smile, and said, "Miss, the matter has been settled, but Guangzhou is far away, so it may take a while before we hear back."
Ruan Bi said, "It's alright, thank you, Grandma Tang."
Suddenly a cold laugh came, and Huaihua lifted the curtain and walked in. She looked coldly at Tang Pozi and said, "The First Madam told you to guard the gate, but you're always running into the inner room. Should I go and tell the First Madam that I'll go with Chamei to guard the gate and let you serve Fifth Miss instead?"
The old woman glared at her and said, "If you want to go, who's stopping you?" With that, she bowed to Ruan Bi, lifted the curtain, and went out.
Huaihua spat at her retreating figure, then turned to look at Ruan Bi and said disdainfully, "You actually believed her? Let me tell you, she just went to the First Madam's courtyard."
The old woman hadn't gone far when she heard this and immediately panicked, worried that Huaihua would ruin her money-making career. She yelled through the curtain, "Huaihua, you little bitch, don't talk nonsense!"
"May whoever spouts such nonsense be struck by lightning."
"You little bitch, get out here and stop spouting such vulgarities in front of the girls."
"Come out if you want, I'm not afraid of you." Huaihua lifted the curtain and went out, continuing to curse, "You old hag, don't think I don't know what you're up to. Let me tell you, I, Huaihua, won't let you have your way."
"You despicable thief, I'm only letting you off the hook because of your father. Don't push your luck."
Upon hearing this, Huaihua flew into a rage and said, "You low-life swindler, do you believe I'll pull out your dog teeth?"
With her hands on her hips and her neck raised, the woman said, "You little slut, come at me if you dare."
Huaihua immediately rolled up her sleeves to hit the hot water bottle, but Chamei grabbed her and said, "Oh, my good sister, what are you doing? Have you forgotten that Fourth Miss lives in this courtyard? If she reports this to the First Madam, we'll all be in deep trouble."
Granny Tang was trembling with anger. She said, "Tea Girl, let her go and let her hit me. I, Granny Tang, have been in this mansion for over thirty years, and even the Old Madam has never given me a hard time. Today, I have to put up with the attitude of a little maid? Bah! Huaihua, if you have the guts, come and hit me. We can go and talk to the Madam. I'd like to ask the Doctor how one should be punished for sneaking into the master's room to steal in the middle of the night?"
Just as things were getting out of hand, there was a loud banging on the door, followed by someone shouting, "Open the door!"
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