Volume Two, Step by Step to Victory, Chapter Thirty-Two: Settling Past Affairs
In the side hall of the Second Miss's Shaohua Courtyard, the window was half-open, two basins of ice were placed there, and several maids were fanning the air with large round fans. As a result, it was cool and refreshing as soon as you entered, and the summer heat disappeared completely.
The treatment of legitimate daughters is indeed different, Ruan Bi couldn't help but sigh.
The second and third daughters and Xie Mingzhu sat around a round table, talking about something, all with smiles on their faces.
Ruan Bi went over to greet them, but the Third Miss pulled her up and said, "Sit down quickly, you're the only one left."
The second young lady then said to Chunyun, who was standing to the side, "Shuffle the cards."
Looking at the brightly colored playing cards, Ruan Bi was a little confused. She had initially thought it was a trap, but it turned out to be a gambling game. In her past life, she had always lost at gambling, so she was always afraid of it. Besides, she didn't have much money to begin with, and if she lost it all, she wouldn't even be able to reward her servants, which would be a real problem. "Sisters, I'm so sorry, I've come to apologize. I haven't finished the needlework Mother asked me to do. Should I go and call Fourth Sister for you?"
Xie Mingzhu shook her head repeatedly and said, "No, no, your fourth daughter is like an old scholar, not fun at all."
"Then I'll go call Sixth Sister."
Xie Mingzhu shook her head again and said, "No, no, it's you. You can sit down." As she spoke, she winked at Ruan Bi.
Was she giving her a meaningful look? Ruan Bi was completely confused.
“Mingzhu rarely comes here, so don’t make excuses. Can’t you do your needlework tonight?” The second young lady said, glancing at Ruan Bi with a complicated look in her eyes. Ever since Ruan Bi scolded her a few days ago after she returned from the palace, her gaze towards her had become more than just disdainful; it also held a hint of apprehension and scrutiny.
The third sister disliked the sixth sister and quickly chimed in, "Yes, fifth sister, don't refuse. The sixth sister is only twelve years old, and Mother forbids her from getting involved in gambling."
“Alright then.” Ruan Bi sat down with a forced smile and said to Xiuzhi, “Go back and get me some silver.”
The second girl waved her hand and said, "Don't run around in this hot weather. If you don't have enough money, I'll take it here first." She really didn't care much about money; as long as she had fun, she didn't care about anything else.
This time it was still a game of comparing sizes. Ruan Bi really had little interest in this kind of low-intelligence game, but the cards she got were pretty good, and after about ten rounds, she won quite a bit. The second girl won a little, the third girl lost a little, and Xie Mingzhu lost the most. She didn't seem to be focused on the cards either; her eyes kept darting back and forth between Ruan Bi, and no one knew what she was up to.
The third young lady threw down a card and asked, "Little Five, I heard you won quite a bit at the Marquis's mansion last time. Miss Han even gave you a nickname, 'The Money-Grabbing Master.' Is that true?"
Ruan Bi smiled and said, "It's just good luck."
"I've never seen you win before," the third sister joked. "It seems that when Master Ziying said you were fully awake, your luck turned around too."
Xie Mingzhu asked curiously, "What do you mean by 'all seven orifices are open'?"
The second daughter said sourly, "The sage has all seven orifices open."
Xie Mingzhu didn't understand: "What saint? What seven orifices? Qi'er, explain it clearly."
Ruan Bi drew a card and threw it on the table, saying, "Miss Xie, I've taken your card again."
Xie Mingzhu paused for a moment, checked the size of the cards, frowned and said, "You're really lucky, you took five of my cards this time." She counted out five hundred coins and pushed them in front of Ruan Bi, "I'm not interested in playing anymore, let's stop."
"Alright, let's have some watermelon and chat." The second young lady beckoned, signaling a maid to bring up the watermelon from the ice basin. "I heard the Emperor is choosing a consort for Prince Jin. Does Mingzhu know which family it is?"
"How would I know about this?" Xie Mingzhu blushed slightly and said shyly, "Let's not talk about this. If others hear about it, they'll laugh at us."
The second young lady was slightly taken aback. Xie Mingzhu had a fiery personality, and the two of them had discussed even more intense topics in private. Why did she become so hesitant just because she was asked a question today?
The third girl took a slice of watermelon from the silver plate, took a small bite, and asked, "Mingzhu, have you seen Prince Jin?"
Xie Mingzhu blushed even more and nodded, saying, "I've met you once."
The second and third daughters weren't stupid. Seeing her unusually shy demeanor, they vaguely guessed what was going on and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Afraid they would ask more questions, Xie Mingzhu waved her fan and said, "It's so stuffy, I'm going out for some fresh air. Fifth Miss, will you come with me?"
Looking at the bright sunshine outside, everyone in the room was speechless.
Xie Mingzhu was still unaware of what was happening, and blinked at Ruan Bi again.
The second young lady frowned. Xie Mingzhu had never liked Ruan Bi, and it was she who suggested inviting Ruan Bi to play cards today. Now she wanted to drag her out for a stroll. What was she up to? But as a lady from a respectable family, although she had her suspicions, she could only let things go. So she said to Ruan Bi, "Fifth sister, why don't you accompany Mingzhu out for some fresh air? It's hot today, don't go too far."
Ruan Bi nodded and walked out of Shaohua Courtyard with Xie Mingzhu, following the covered walkway to a clump of green bamboo.
Xie Mingzhu looked around and saw no one. Xiuzhi was being dragged behind by her maid. She quickly took off the purse from her waist and stuffed it into Ruan Bi's hand.
Ruan Bi warily pushed it back to her, saying, "Miss Xie, what do you mean by this?"
Xie Mingzhu said in a low voice, "There's a letter my second brother wrote to you inside. Take a look and give me a reply."
Ruan Bi's eyes widened in surprise. Could it be that the original owner's feelings for Xie Mingyue weren't one-sided?
"Take it quickly."
Ruan Bi took a step back and said, "Miss Xie, you should understand that men and women cannot exchange gifts privately."
Xie Mingzhu said impatiently, "Alright, alright, stop talking to me about this. I gave it to you. What does it have to do with men and women? Hurry up and read it. I can go back and report to my second brother."
"Miss Xie, please give everything to my mother for her review first," Ruan Bi said, turning to walk back.
Xie Mingzhu stomped her foot in exasperation and whispered, "Because of you, my second brother has been locked up in the ancestral hall by my mother. How can you be so heartless?"
Ruan Bi stopped in her tracks, completely bewildered.
"...I don't know what's wrong with my second brother. He insists that my eldest sister ruined your reputation and wants my mother to come to your Ruan family to propose marriage. Now my mother has locked him up. He has no choice but to force me to come and apologize to you on his behalf..." Xie Mingzhu muttered, "I really didn't want to come."
So that's how it is. I didn't expect Xie Mingyue to be such a kind-hearted young man, though a bit simple-minded and somewhat bookish in character. Ruan Bi tried hard to recall, but she really had no impression of Xie Mingyue at all, only vaguely remembering that he was beautiful... Perhaps there was another story between the original owner and him, not what she had heard. However, the original owner is gone, and the truth will never be known.
"...Don't just stand there like an idiot without saying a word! My second brother is waiting for your reply."
Very well, it's time to put an end to the original owner's past. After carefully considering her words, Ruan Bi said, "Thank you, Second Miss. Ruan Bi only knows the bright moon in the sky, not the moon on earth."
"What do you mean by that? How can you say you don't know someone you clearly know? And he specifically asked me to come and talk to you, so why aren't you happy at all..."
Ruan Bi interrupted her: "Thank you, Second Miss. I was seriously ill and have forgotten everything that happened before."
Xie Mingzhu stared at her blankly for a while, then said angrily, "My second brother... he's so good, how could you forget him? Arrogant, conceited, heartless! My second brother was even worried about ruining your reputation and making you unable to get married. Humph, in my opinion, it's better if you never get married." After saying that, she clutched her purse and turned away angrily.
Ruan Bi was speechless. She was the one who said that someone as pretty as her wouldn't even be good enough to carry my second brother's shoes, and now she wouldn't allow her to dislike her... This Second Miss Xie, is she just naive or stupid? Does all the intelligence and shrewdness of the Xie family go to Consort Xie, and she hasn't gotten any of it?
Xiuzhi walked over, looking at Xie Mingzhu's angry departing figure with surprise, and asked, "Miss, what's wrong with Second Miss Xie?"
"It's nothing, let's go back too."
They returned to Shaohua Courtyard. Just as they arrived at the gate, Xie Er-guniang, along with her second and third daughters, came out together.
Upon seeing Ruan Bi, Xie Er Guniang awkwardly turned her head away.
The second young lady looked at Xie Er with a puzzled expression, then at Ruan Bi, and said, "Fifth sister, Mingzhu is going back now, let's call it a day."
"Yes, Second Sister." Ruan Bi then said to Xie Mingzhu, "Take care, Second Miss Xie."
Xie Mingzhu ignored him, her nostrils flaring.
The second and third young ladies took Xie Mingzhu to bid farewell to the First Madam and the Old Madam. Ruan Bi, with Xiuzhi in tow, slowly walked towards Liaoyuan Garden, feeling an indescribable sense of relief. The original owner's fate and her own had been intertwined because of Xie Mingyue, and now that matter was finally settled. From now on, the world was hers to live.
"Why are you so happy, young lady?" Xiuzhi asked, looking at her. "Is it because you won money just now?"
"yes."
"Girl, do you know how much you won in total just now?" Xiuzhi asked, clutching her heavy purse.
"Six taels and three hundred coins."
Xiuzhi looked at her with admiration and said, "You're a really smart girl."
"I've dealt with so many numbers before..." Ruan Bi smiled and said, "When we go back inside, give them three hundred coins as a reward, and keep five hundred coins for yourself."
"Should we give it to Aunt Liu too?"
"Um."
Xiuzhi pouted unhappily and said, "Miss, it must be that she told the Madam that you weren't doing embroidery, and you still wanted to reward her?"
Ruan Bi was well aware of this and had considered getting rid of Granny Liu, but if she left, another nanny would come, all sent by the First Madam, and certainly wouldn't favor her. She'd just keep her on for now, paying her off; it wouldn't be long anyway.
Originally, she planned to wait and see if she could receive news from Miss Lan. Judging by the time, if the winter snow hadn't delayed her journey too much, she should have arrived in Guangzhou a month ago, and a letter from Guangzhou would arrive within half a month. However, she was too fed up with her current situation and didn't want to wait any longer.
She thought of a solution in her dream last night, but it's not perfect and could easily leave behind problems... Oh well, she'll just have to take it one step at a time.
"Xiuzhi, go ask Granny He for leave tomorrow and go home."
(After settling the past, the female lead is about to turn things around, oh la la~~~~)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
