Chapter 21, Making a fortune!
"What a show! I want to see it too! Ruan Ruan, why didn't you call me? You're going to make me sad!" Li Yunzhi looked like a pitiful little dog.
"Okay, okay, I'll take you with me!" Ruan Ruan happily pulled a black dreamcatcher along.
With two people by his side, they avoided the servants in the mansion and arrived at the door of Zhang's room.
It wasn't dark yet, and Zhang was writing furiously with her pen in hand.
"I've never written this carefully even when I was a young lady. Why is Granny Yun making things difficult for me? I haven't done anything since I married into the Marquis's mansion, so why does my mother-in-law hate me so much!"
Zhang was not as humble and polite in front of Granny Yun.
She could also see that Old Madam Jiang was holding a grudge because of Jiang Ruanruan's mistreatment, and was deliberately making things difficult for her.
The copying of the legal code is finished, but Granny Yun still needs to stay here and watch over it.
This was absolutely terrible. She felt even worse off than the maids. At least the maids had time to go out and about, but she had to be watched all the time.
“Zhang Shi, write properly and don’t slack off. Look at your handwriting, it doesn’t look like the demeanor of a matriarch. How can the old lady feel at ease entrusting the Marquis’s mansion to you if you write like this!”
"That won't do. There are calligraphy practice books here. Besides copying the legal code, you also need to practice your handwriting every day. Otherwise, you won't be able to explain your messy handwriting to the old lady!"
Granny Yun didn't answer the questions directly at all.
"Me? Like a chicken scratching or a dog digging?" That can't be that bad, can it? Everyone says it's hard to be the mistress of a noble family. Is it really her fault?
“Zhang Shi, you come from a humble background and are not good at any of the arts, such as music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. You are not qualified to marry into the Marquis’s mansion at all. If you want the old lady to accept you, you will have to work hard!” Granny Yun sighed.
Jiang Ruanruan gave a thumbs up, saying, "This Granny Yun is a real talent, a master of PUA."
"Is that so? But I can dance, so I'm not completely useless, am I? The Marquis loves watching me dance!" Madam Zhang was almost convinced and tried her best to highlight her strengths.
“Mrs. Zhang, dancing is only for men. Now that you are married, do you still want to show your face and flaunt your charm? This trick won’t work in the ladies’ circle. You need talent and refinement to be accepted by the ladies of the capital.”
"The old lady has put in a lot of effort, hoping that you will soon be able to stand on your own and not disgrace the Marquis's mansion. Zhang, you must not let the old lady down!"
"If you weren't the master's second wife, given the old lady's temperament, she wouldn't have bothered with you at all. Why would she have servants specifically watching you write and study? She truly hopes you will become successful and not disgrace the Marquis's mansion." Granny Yun's words were so convincing that even she herself believed them.
"Alright then, Granny, you don't need to keep an eye on me anymore. I'll practice my calligraphy and copy the legal code diligently!" Madam Zhang nodded, feeling that Granny Yun's words made a lot of sense.
"At 9 PM tonight, this servant will come to collect the calligraphy practiced and the copied legal texts!" Granny Yun said as she left.
Of course, their gaze also fell upon several shadows cast by the pillars outside the door.
However, she dared not interfere in her master's affairs. Besides, the young prince had both overt and covert guards around him, so nothing would happen.
Watching Granny Yun leave, Jiang Ruanruan took out a small piece of paper from her pocket and secretly slipped it into the small seashell on top of the black dreamcatcher.
Then, taking advantage of Zhang's inattention, he tiptoed into the bedroom and dropped the dreamcatcher on Zhang's bed curtains.
"Let's go eat. Just wait and see what happens tonight..." Jiang Ruanruan pulled the two people who looked completely clueless about what was going on and they left.
No matter how the two asked her questions on the way, Jiang Ruanruan remained silent with a smile.
Lord Jiang finally returned home that night, dragging his weary body.
Suddenly I heard a strange sound.
"I am a seaweed, seaweed, swaying in the wind...!"
"Like seaweed, seaweed, dancing in the wind..."
"What's going on? Why are there people making a commotion in the manor at this hour?" Lord Jiang asked the steward who came to greet him at the door.
The butler bowed his head and stammered, "It's Madam Zhang. The old lady has taken her sleeping pills and fallen asleep. This servant dares not interfere in my mistress's affairs..."
Not only do they dare not interfere, they don't even dare to glance at it.
"We don't dare to interfere, so let's just let her embarrass herself there!"
When Jiang Hou saw Zhang Shi, dressed like a butterfly, fluttering her sleeves like flapping wings, his eyes turned red.
"Well... she herself called out to come and watch me dance, and it's been half an hour already!" the butler said, feeling very aggrieved.
He kept his distance and didn't dare to get close to look.
"Wow, not bad, not bad, you danced very well!" Jiang Ruanruan, Jiang Huai'an, and Li Yunzhi watched secretly from an inconspicuous corner.
The small garden was too lively, with quite a few people around.
The maids and nannies, along with a few servants who were hiding and trying to avoid getting too close, were present.
Zhang stood in the small fish pond, which reached above her knees. Her fluffy, obviously soaked pajamas were partially concealed by her arms, which she used to wipe away the water droplets.
I dance like a waterweed, swaying in the wind.
"Don't look! Don't look!" Jiang Huai'an covered Jiang Ruanruan's eyes.
"Brother, I'm a woman, a woman...you can't look at me!" Jiang Ruanruan said speechlessly.
Jiang Huai'an blushed. In this closed dynasty, Zhang's act of showing off her arms and legs was far too advanced.
He's only six years old, and he already knows how to be shy.
On the contrary, Li Yunzhi remained very calm.
"Nonsense, I wasn't looking, I was staring at you..." Jiang Huai'an wanted to say he wouldn't look, but he really wanted to see what kind of fool Zhang would make.
"Look at Brother Pear, how calm he is..."
"Oh, I'm deep in thought... Look, what are you looking at..." Li Yunzhi realized that this was a compliment. In fact, in the palace, it was quite common for dancers to expose their arms, legs, and even their navels when they danced.
But perhaps he acted too nonchalantly, making himself seem knowledgeable and worldly-wise. That's not good; he still needs to put on an act.
"Master, Master, let's go back inside quickly, it's so cold outside!" Qiao'er, the maidservant beside Zhang, was almost crying.
"That won't do. I'm seaweed, I have to sway with the wind. How can I sway when it's calm inside?"
Zhang swayed arrogantly, acting like a seaweed, oblivious to what being a master meant, what entering the house meant, and what being cold meant.
"Then, Master, let's go inside. Qiao'er can fan you!" Qiao'er saw the master's face, which was as black as ink, from afar, and her heart trembled.
“No, that won’t do. I’m seaweed, I have to dance in the water, no, no!” Zhang said, and then started singing again.
"Sea breeze, sunshine... I am seaweed waiting for the sunshine!" She held a pink object in her hand, swaying it back and forth.
"That's a bellyband!" Jiang Ruanruan exclaimed in surprise.
Who says people in ancient times were conservative?
"Little sister, what are you doing? Dad seems to be about to die of anger..." Jiang Huai'an whispered in his little sister's ear as he looked at Jiang Hou, who was leaning on his cane and looking furious.
"How was I supposed to know? I just wrote a few lines of lyrics, and I never expected that the internet would drastically alter them!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com