Volume One, Spring Lock in the Liao Garden, Chapter Three: Morning and Evening Worship
Returning from the old lady's courtyard, Ruan Bi sat at her desk, organizing her thoughts. This was a habit she had developed from her previous work, almost becoming subconscious. Xie Mingyue of the Marquis of Yanping's mansion—the original owner of this body had fallen seriously ill and died because of him, but she didn't know what kind of person he was?
Dongxue brought over the tea, and upon seeing the words "Xie Mingyue of the Marquis of Yanping's Residence" written in bold ink on the paper, she immediately panicked, put down the tea, snatched the paper, and tore it up. "Miss, why haven't you learned your lesson? The Old Madam and the Doctor just lifted your confinement, and you're already thinking about this again? What if someone with ulterior motives reports you?"
Ruan Bi stared at her expectantly, thinking to herself, "Keep talking, keep talking."
“That’s right, he did help you once. But he’s the second son of the Marquis’s family. Even if you keep thinking about him, it’s no use. You’ll only hurt yourself for nothing.” Dongxue tore the paper to shreds. Still not satisfied, she took the brazier and burned it clean. Then she clapped her hands, stood up, and let out a long sigh.
Looking up at Ruan Bi staring at her with pleading eyes, she assumed Ruan Bi was heartbroken and came over to comfort her, patting her head and saying, "Qi Da is not a good match for you, Miss. Take it easy. With the status of our Ruan family, your future marriage will not be bad, so please don't worry." Though she said this, she secretly doubted whether the old lady and the first lady, who disliked Ruan Bi, would actually put effort into planning her marriage.
"Also, Miss, you should stay away from the Second Miss in the future. Never believe anything she says. Last time, she suddenly wanted to take you to the Marquis of Yanping's residence. I felt it was inappropriate at the time and advised you against it, but you wouldn't listen. If she hadn't tricked you, why would you have stood under the red plum tree for an entire afternoon? If she had taken some responsibility when she came back, the First Madam and the Old Madam wouldn't have been so angry, scolding and beating you and confining you to your quarters. The Second Miss is clearly just making fun of you..." Seeing Ruan Bi lost in thought, she frowned and asked, "Miss, are you listening?"
Ruan Bi nodded and said, "I'm listening."
"You're all grown up now. By next year at the latest, the Old Madam and the First Madam will arrange a marriage for you. Whenever you have free time, go and listen to their teachings; it will always be beneficial..." Dongxue began her usual spiel. Ruan Bi pretended to listen, but her mind wandered elsewhere. This was a trick she'd practiced in university. For classes she didn't like but couldn't skip, she'd pretend to be attentive while her mind wandered, fooling many teachers.
I'd been in bed all month and had no idea how complicated my environment was. Everyone was unwelcoming, and there was even a scandal that went against traditional feudal ethics. Was God trying to play a cruel joke on me because I was thriving in the 21st century?
The next day, at three in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, Dongxue woke Ruanbi up. After getting ready, they first went to pay their respects to Madam Wang, the First Madam, and then to the Old Madam's room.
When they entered, the old lady's room was crowded with wives and maids. The old lady was talking to a boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old: "Although the weather is warmer, it will still fluctuate in the morning and evening. Xuan'er, you should wear more clothes."
This must be Ruan Jiaxuan, the eldest son of the Ruan family. He has a rather handsome appearance, with a high nose and small, single eyelids. He doesn't resemble the second young lady; he probably looks more like the eldest master.
"Grandmother, don't worry, I'll have Shun'er take it. He can wear it when he gets cold."
"That's good then." The old lady straightened his collar and said, "Remember to be friendly with your classmates at the Imperial College, and don't cause trouble."
The second wife, who was sitting on the left, chuckled and said, "Mother, really, Jiaxuan has been admitted to the Imperial Academy for many years, yet you are still so worried."
As soon as she finished speaking, the First Madam entered with the Second Miss, saying, "Sister-in-law, you don't know, but the Imperial Academy is full of princes and nobles, and they're all young and hot-blooded. They've gotten into fights and caused trouble quite a bit. Take last time, for example, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Dingguo, Gu Xiaobai, broke the leg of Du Chun's son, the Minister of Revenue of Guangdong. The case even went to the Emperor. But because of the reputation of the eldest son of Huiwen, the Emperor only made the Duke of Dingguo pay compensation to settle the matter."
The second wife disliked her tone and said with a smile, "I am not as well-informed as my sister-in-law, who grew up in the capital."
The First Madam sensed the hidden meaning in her words, but she couldn't lash out. She pretended not to hear and pulled Ruan Jiaxuan aside, saying, "It's getting late. Hurry up and have breakfast, or you'll be late again and get a beating from the Doctor."
"Yes." Ruan Jiaxuan bowed to the old lady. "Grandmother, I will take my leave now."
"Go, go," the old lady waved her hand.
Immediately afterward, the eleven-year-old third young master Ruan Jiayao and the seven-year-old fourth young master Ruan Jiake also left, leaving behind an all-female army. The old lady waved to everyone and said with a smile, "Sit down, everyone, I have something good to show you." Then she turned to her head maid, Manyun, and said, "Go to the inner room and bring out those shoes."
Manyun responded and saw a pair of shoes brought out from the inner room. The shoes were dark blue satin with several lotus flowers embroidered on them, the colors were elegant and the stitches were dense. The second madam took them first, looked at them carefully, and praised, "Who embroidered these? They are almost as good as those of He Si Niangzi from the Tiangong Embroidery Studio."
The First Madam already understood, and glanced sideways at the Fourth Miss.
"It was embroidered by Fourth Sister, isn't it nice?" the old lady said. "To be honest, they were all taught by the embroiderers from the Tiangong Embroidery Studio. Only Fourth Sister has truly mastered the craft; the others are just dabbling. Look at the colors, look at the stitching, and the soles are neither too thick nor too soft—they're the most comfortable to wear."
The second wife said with a smile, "Is it that good? Mother, what you said makes me want to buy a pair too. Fourth daughter, when are you going to make a pair for your aunt as well?"
The old lady shook her hand and said, "Not recently, I still have a task to assign to Fourth Sister." She paused and said, "Next month is the sixtieth birthday of the old lady of the Marquis of Dongping. My old friend of many years and I are worried about not finding a good gift. Now that I think about it, the shoes that Fourth Sister made are an excellent gift." She then said to Fourth Sister, "Fourth Sister, go back and make two more pairs. If you need any fabric, money, or silver thread, just tell your mother."
"Yes, Grandmother."
The second wife asked in bewilderment, "Giving two pairs of shoes as a gift for a sixtieth birthday seems a bit inadequate."
The First Madam said, "Sister-in-law, you don't know, but when the old lady of the Marquis of Dongping was young, she injured her foot and had very high standards for shoes. They couldn't be too soft or too hard. All the maids and servants in the Marquis of Dongping's mansion were working hard to make a good pair of shoes. As for the grand gift, the old lady had already instructed me to prepare it. The shoes are just a small gift."
The second wife smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is indeed very familiar with everyone. She even knows the thoughts of the maids and servants in the Dongping Marquis's mansion."
These words were not pleasant to hear. The First Madam's face darkened slightly. She wanted to refute them, but she couldn't find a way to do so.
Ruan Bi was secretly amazed. This second wife always had a smile on her lips and seemed to have a good temper, but the words she spoke always made the first wife feel awkward. She was quite a character.
The third sister held the fourth sister's hand and said, "Fourth sister, when you have time, please teach me how to make shoes so that I can also make shoes for my mother, so that she won't be so greedy."
The old lady said, "Third daughter should indeed learn from this. When the time comes, she can give a pair to Madam Guo. It would be both filial and respectable."
Upon hearing this, the third daughter blushed instantly. She was engaged to her cousin from the Guo family in Yangzhou. "Grandmother is so mean, always teasing me about mistresses."
Everyone in the house burst into laughter.
The greetings only ended there.
The second young lady and the first lady returned to the courtyard together. The maids and servants set out breakfast, and just as they finished eating, a young maid came in to report that the fourth young lady, Ruan, was requesting an audience. The second young lady frowned slightly and said, "She's probably here to deliver shoes."
The First Madam thought for a moment and said, "Just say I'm still eating breakfast and let her wait."
The maidservant left.
The second daughter said unhappily, "Mother, why are you still making her wait? Now that she's currying favor with Grandmother, she doesn't respect Mother at all. Just send her back; who cares about her shoes?"
The First Madam said, "That's unnecessary. Let's just let her cool off for a bit."
The second girl pursed her lips dismissively.
The First Madam dismissed everyone around her, poked her forehead, and said, "Silly child, if I send her away, it will sound like I'm petty when the Old Madam hears it. Wouldn't it be better if I let her cool off for a while and let her figure things out herself? Besides, she's just a concubine's daughter, how long can she cause trouble?"
The second daughter thought for a moment and said, "I heard that these days, Father has been staying at Aunt Lin's place every day."
The First Madam glared at her. "That scoundrel told you all this, and she's actually getting all worked up about the master's affairs."
The second daughter held her hand. "Mother, I asked around myself. I was worried about you..."
"Silly girl, I have your sister, brother and I, what is there to worry about?" Madam Wang patted Ruan Er's hand. "Go into the inner room first, I'll call Si Ya in."
Miss Ruan went into the inner room, but didn't go far, standing behind the screen.
A moment later, the Fourth Miss entered with her maid Qiulan, and sure enough, presented a pair of shoes, made of lake-blue satin embroidered with golden daisies.
The First Madam took it and praised, "Look at these chrysanthemums, they're embroidered just like the real thing. Fourth Miss is truly skillful."
The fourth daughter said respectfully, "Mother, you flatter me."
"It's just that the color is a bit too bright; I can't wear it out."
The fourth young lady was taken aback, clearly remembering that the first lady had several pairs of these lake-blue satin shoes.
The First Madam handed the shoes to the head maid who was standing to the side. "Baozhen, I remember your feet are about the same size as mine, you can take these shoes and wear them."
Baozhen knew her manners best, so she didn't refuse and said with a smile, "Thank you, Madam, thank you, Fourth Miss."
The fourth daughter's pretty face paled slightly. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Then, Mother, what color and pattern do you like? I'll make you another pair."
"Alright, but I don't have an idea right now, so you should think of one, Xiao Si. Oh, and Bao Zhen, could you get a few pairs of old shoes for Fourth Miss so she can take a look?"
"Alright, Fourth Miss, please follow me."
As soon as the fourth daughter left, the second daughter came out from behind the screen and said, "Mother is still the wise one."
The First Madam smiled.
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