Chapter 55 The Little White Rabbit is a Black Hole
Ruan Tianxin was quite surprised. She looked up and saw that it was Song Yiqiu. Her eyes lit up, and she obediently took a small bite of Song Yiqiu's hand. She immediately squinted her eyes in satisfaction and mumbled:
"So delicious!"
Song Yiqiu found it somewhat strange:
"These are just ordinary snacks made by the cooks in the manor. You're in the manor..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear: with Ruan Tianxin's family background, what good things hadn't she eaten?
Ruan Tianxin swallowed the pastry, sighed, and her little face fell.
"Oh, don't even mention it. All the good ingredients for desserts at home are given to Jiawen first, and the ones sent to my yard are all inferior."
“I’ve been making a lot of mistakes lately and have been confined to my room by my mistress. I’m eating nothing but bland food every day, and I’m lucky if I don’t starve. I had to beg my father for a long time to get me out of here today.”
Looking at her pitiful appearance, Song Yiqiu understood and said:
"After the banquet, I'll take you to Zhentian Pavilion at the South Gate. Their pastries are absolutely amazing."
Ruan Tianxin immediately cheered:
"Yay!"
With her sharp eyes, she leaned closer to examine Song Yiqiu closely, then suddenly lowered her voice and asked:
"Sister Yiqiu, have you encountered any difficulties lately?"
Song Yiqiu tilted her head slightly:
Why do you say that?
Ruan Tianxin pointed to her clothes:
“The fabric you’re wearing is an old style from last season, even worse than what you wore to the last poetry gathering. The jade hairpin in your hair is also an old style from several years ago. As someone of your status, you shouldn’t be so plain.”
Seeing that she was thoughtful, Song Yiqiu didn't hide anything and whispered:
"Something came up, and I'm having some cash flow problems. Luckily, my sister gave me some gold coins last time, which helped in the emergency."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Tianxin immediately waved her hand:
"Oh, you should have said so earlier! That's exactly what I need!"
She glanced around nonchalantly, then pulled a small, softly wrapped pouch from her bodice. Inside were several gold ingots of varying sizes.
She casually took out the two largest pieces and stuffed them into Song Yiqiu's hand without saying a word.
"Take it, take it! Why are you being so polite with me? Aren't we friends?"
Song Yiqiu: "..."
This is incredibly extravagant... inhumanly extravagant!
"This... I can't accept this."
Ruan Tianxin, however, didn't care at all:
"Oh, sister, just take it. You can pay me back when you have more money later. What I'm most worried about is not having a chance to spend these things. You're helping me spend them, which is a favor. Besides, I might need your help someday!"
Her eyes crinkled when she smiled, like a little fox.
Looking at the heavy gold in her hand, and then at Ruan Tianxin, Song Yiqiu no longer refused and accepted it readily, thinking to herself:
Money talks... This guy really hooked up with a cash cow.
Ruan Tianxin continued to look at her with a smile, and Song Yiqiu could only temporarily comfort herself that she was overthinking it.
"Oh, who do we have here? It's Sweetheart hiding here, sneaking a snack. Well, you never get to eat the good food in the manor, so you can only treat yourself to something like this at banquets."
Suddenly, Ruan Jiawen, leading several noble ladies who were on good terms with her, gracefully walked over.
Her gaze swept over the ordinary chestnut cake in front of Ruan Tianxin, then deliberately scrutinized the incomparably luxurious veil Ruan Tianxin wore, and she said sarcastically:
"No matter how well-dressed someone is, their tastes and mannerisms can't shake off that petty, uncouth air. It's such a waste of such good material."
The noblewoman beside her immediately chimed in:
“Sister Jiawen is right. Some people, even if they wear dragon robes, don’t look like princes.”
"Sweetheart, I'm not trying to criticize you, but since you've come to this birthday banquet, you should learn some manners instead of just focusing on the food. You're just making a fool of yourself and making people think that our Ruan family has mistreated you."
"That's right, look at Jiawen, she would never be like you."
When they arrived, Ruan Tianxin quickly dropped her naive and innocent expression and reverted to her usual submissive demeanor.
She lowered her head slightly, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, and whispered:
"Sister's reprimand is right... Sweetie knows she was wrong..."
Seeing her timid and submissive demeanor, Ruan Jiawen became even more smug and wanted to say something more.
Just then, Ruan Tianxin suddenly raised her eyes, her eyes slightly red:
“Sister, I…I know I shouldn’t have been greedy. But…but recently Father checked the accounts and found that the accounts of the newly opened Ningxiangzhai Rouge Shop in the city seem a bit unclear, as if…as if there is a significant deficit.”
"Father is troubled by this matter and has ordered a reduction in the expenditures of all the courtyards... My courtyard hasn't had any meat for several days, so..."
Her words were broken and soft, yet they struck Ruan Jiawen like a thunderbolt.
Ningxiangzhai was a shop secretly opened by Ruan Jiawen's biological mother in Ruan Jiawen's name.
This involved a significant amount of embezzlement of public funds from Feizhige and falsification of accounts, which could not withstand scrutiny. Most of Ruan Jiawen's extravagant spending came from this.
Ruan Jiawen's face turned deathly pale instantly, and her previous arrogance vanished without a trace.
She never expected that her seemingly timid younger sister would know so much, and even dare to reveal it subtly in this situation.
"What...what nonsense are you spouting!"
Ruan Jiawen rebuked him in a flustered manner, showing a guilty conscience.
Ruan Tianxin immediately seemed startled, abruptly lowering her head, her shoulders trembling slightly, her voice even softer, tinged with tears:
"Yes, I'm sorry, sister! I was lying! I didn't say anything! Father didn't check the accounts, and Ningxiangzhai didn't have any deficits... I was just guessing... Sister, please don't be angry..."
The more she denies it, the more it confirms the matter.
The ladies around her weren't fools either. Seeing Ruan Jiawen's sudden change in expression, they exchanged glances, their eyes becoming subtle, and they dared not speak up for her anymore.
Ruan Jiawen was so angry that she was trembling all over, but she dared not investigate further, fearing that Ruan Tianxin might be pushed to the limit and reveal more deadly things.
She glared fiercely at Ruan Tianxin and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth:
"You...you'd better watch yourself!"
Having said that, he no longer cared about maintaining his composure and practically fled with the noble ladies.
What seemed like a humiliation for Ruan Tianxin was actually easily resolved by her skillful maneuvering, leaving the provocateur speechless and forced to flee in disarray.
A hint of surprise flashed in Song Yiqiu's eyes as she watched the whole thing.
She watched as Ruan Tianxin picked up another piece of pumpkin cake and ate it in small bites, her face innocent and naive, as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, she felt a sense of relief.
So... the Crown Prince was right.
This is hardly a helpless little rabbit.
These are clearly sesame-filled glutinous rice balls: the outside is white and soft, but the inside... is black.
Qingzhu's eyes were red: "Oh, Miss Tianxin is so pitiful, she's been bullied all the time."
Bai Mei almost spat out her water:
"No? Sis, are you serious? Isn't it obvious that Jiawen or Jiawu is the one who got the short end of the stick?"
Qingzhu looked up in confusion: "Really?"
Song Yiqiu smiled and flicked Qingzhu's head. "Let's go, the feast is about to begin."
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