Chapter 135 : Meeting Pei’er Again

After departing from Dong fu, both Lu Zhu and Tian Zhu did not dare to utter a word. Earlier, Jiang Ruan had been extremely callous towards Dong Yinger, as if any past signs of friendship between them no longer existed. In the end, Dong Yinger’s complexion had become extremely unpleasant and one feared that from this time forward, she would be estranged from Jiang Ruan.

However, Jiang Ruan did not seem to take this matter to heart; afterall, towards Dong Yinger, she had no obligation to do so. Therefore, she could only direct her(Dong Yinger) to think things through for herself. As for the matters between Jiang Xin Zhi and Dong Yinger, she would naturally place more importance on Jiang Xin Zhi.

After leaving Dong fu, it was still early. Upon reflection, she had not entered the palace in a while to visit Empress Dowager Yi De. A few days ago, Yang gugu had sent someone to deliver a letter to tell her to come over to the palace for a walk. Seeing as it was still the early hour, she had the horse carriage make a turn and head directly towards the palace.

These days, the palace was abuzz with the matters of imperial consort selection[1] and as she walked along, she took in the training gugus who were selecting candidates from the names on the list. Jiang Ruan’s lips curled up as she thought of how Jiang Dan’s name would also be on it and without anyone’s leave, she headed towards Ci Ning Palace.

[1] 选秀女的 (xuǎnxiù nǚde) – to select talented individuals/women. The palace harem selection – as readers of light novels with historical themes should know – is often referred to the selection of talented ladies called xiu nu, it is used to select palace maids or replacements of imperial concubines, concubines/wives of princes etc. Each dynasty has different standards for choosing and purposes of this selection. For example, the selection for concubines: more importance would be placed on looks, disposition and family background, for palace maids, the standards would be lower. This was started in the Qing dynasty for ladies above 14 years old in an every three year cycle.

As she walked towards a corner in a long corridor, her eyes fell upon a familiar figure that was standing by a flowerbed nearby. It was Princess He Yi.

Following Princess He Yi were a few young palacemaids and she was leaning over to speak to someone else. As she walked closer, she then heard the words from Princess He Yi’s lips, “To think a lowly despicable child borne from a lowly palace maid could actually think that they are part of the royal family? Hmph, it is still unknown whether they are even able to be raised safe and sound. This princess has already given him a beating today. What of it?”

The little person silently had his head lowered before Princess He Yi who pointed and scolded him. Clearly he was extremely frightened and hid behind a palace maid. That maid was also timid and was persistently nodding and bowing her head to apologise.

Jiang Ruan’s gaze narrowed slightly as she took a look at that tiny figure, and she couldn’t help but shiver as she stiffened in place.

It was rare for Jiang Ruan to have such a moment where her emotions were stirred up like this, and so when Tian Zhu and Lu Zhu saw this they were puzzled and looked towards the little person.

Yet what they saw was just a three to four years old young boy who was dressed extremely plainly. Moreover, if one were to take a careful look at the details of his clothes, one could see that although the clothing material was gorgeous, it was not made of fine material. A child’s skin was tender and could very easily have abrasions due to this sort of rough stitches. That child’s complexion was pale as if he was undernourished, still, he was extremely delicate and adorable. Though, while he was tightly clutching onto the corner of the palace maid’s clothes, his expression was extremely timid.

At a glance, his status was definitely not low on the ladder, however, that expression of his did not seem like that of an honourable noble son. Furthermore, if this really was the son of a minister, it would definitely be too discourteous of Princess He Yi to scold and insult him like this. Earlier, Princess He Yi’s words of “part of the royal family” had fallen on the ears of all those present and Lu Zhu was puzzled, could this possibly be one of the young princes? But for a young prince to be treated like this, it was as though he could not even compare to one of the royal family’s slightly more dignified servants.

Jiang Ruan stared at the young child without blinking, and it felt as if raging waves were surging in her heart. That child was not anyone else, it was Pei’er!

In her last life, not too long after she had entered the palace she had been conferred the title of Meiren. Then, she had inadvertently caught sight of Pei’er. The Emperor had been present as well, thus, he had simply handed over Pei’er to her to raise. In the vast, empty and deep depths of the palace, this child’s background was too pitiful. Yet, he was extremely sensible and so, the mother and son relied on each other for survival, finding pleasure in hardship. Thinking of it now, that period was the happiest in her past life after she entered the palace.

Yet, now what surfaced in her mind was her final predicament when she had been forced to become a human swine that was placed in a wooden basin and had to personally witness Li Dong taking liberties with Pei’er. Those mournful cries of Pei’er still seemed to resound in her ears. Jiang Ruan closed her eyes tight, and when she opened them again, there was clarity. It would not happen again. In this life, Li Dong had long since died and the Grand Councillor fu no longer existed. She had not entered the palace and Pei’er, too, would not need to accept such a miserable ending anymore.

She slowly walked forward with a slight smile, “What is Princess He Yi doing?”

Princess He Yi had been scolding Xuan Pei and naturally, had not paid attention to Jiang Ruan’s presence. When she saw her, she was startled at first. This was soon followed by the flash of anger and hatred that appeared in her eyes. Today, Princess He Yi had worn a red outfit and this hue of red was exactly the shade that Jiang Ruan liked to wear the most. Princess He Yi had been blessed with a somewhat exotic bearing and dressed as such, she exuded a rather ardent and brazen air. However, due to Jiang Ruan still observing mourning for her grandmother, she was unable to dress in bright and colourful clothing. Thus, she had only adorned herself in a plain pastel green gown. Although her clothes were plain and lightly coloured, in contrast, it made her beauty become richer and splendid. She was lovely and gorgeous to her core, a sort of natural charm that was an eyeopener and made one alter their course for her.

However, for any lady, upon seeing such outstanding good looks on another woman, they would always want to do a comparison, and this was especially so for Princess He Yi who was already at odds with Jiang Ruan. Seeing that her own dressing was unable to match up to Jiang Ruan’s, at once, she felt a peal of resentment as she spoke, “Jiang Ruan, could it be that you too want to interfere in other people’s business? There is nothing here for you to be concerned with.”

The palace ladies around them had all lowered their heads; everyone knew that Princess He Yi and Hong’an Junzhu had always been at loggerheads. Moreover, these two junzhus were both masters who were not to be provoked.

Xuan Pei, who was still hiding behind the palace maid, seemed shocked by the sudden appearance of Jiang Ruan and peered at her unblinkingly.

Jiang Ruan did not even look at Xuan Pei as she laughed, “Naturally, I would not interfere in this; I was on my way to greet Imperial Grandmother.” She lightly floated a glance over Princess He Yi, “These affairs- Imperial Grandmother will obviously manage them.”

“You–” Princess He Yi roared, “You dare to threaten me!” Jiang Ruan’s meaning, of course, was that she would report everything that had happened here to Empress Dowager Yi De. If one could say that Princess He Yi received no small measure of doting, regardless of any laws or morality from the Emperor, then Empress Dowager Yi De happened to be one existence that she had always feared. That was only because Empress Dowager Yi De had always had a cold and aloof personality that was not close to anyone. Yet, Jiang Ruan’s relationship with Empress Dowager Yi De was even closer and deeper than hers as the biological granddaughter of Empress Dowager Yi De. Every time she thought of this, Princess He Yi’s stomach was filled with anger. Empress Dowager Yi De was someone who was a stickler of rules, and if it was found out by Empress Dowager Yi De that she had scolded Xuan Pei, then she would punish her ruthlessly.

“This is not a threat.” Jiang Ruan smiled, “I was merely thinking. Princess is not afraid, right?”

“You—” Inwardly, Princess He Yi could not help but want to tear Jiang Ruan into shreds with hatred. If this was like her usual course of action, based on her personality, she would naturally not bother to mind the location before she would cause a big ruckus. However, ever since Imperial Consort Chen had lost her momentum and power and was consigned to the Cold Palace, apart from the Empress, who didn’t pose a threat at all, the remaining Imperial Consorts had all exerted their efforts as they began to vie over the Emperor’s doting. In addition to that, with the new batch of beauties that were about to enter the palace, Imperial Consort Shu wanted to win the Emperor’s favour and had constantly admonished Princess He Yi not to cause trouble. This was especially so towards Jiang Ruan, she(Princess He Yi) was to remember at all costs that she was not to have any conflicts in front of her(JR).

Today, she was not in a great mood and in walking along this area, she had just happened to encounter this Thirteenth Prince, Xuan Pei – he was the least favoured – who had been brought out to be in the sun by his palace maid. Xuan Pei had been clasping onto a bunch of mud in his hands and had accidentally fallen in front of her. That mud had dirtied the corner of her skirt and in a fit of anger, Princess He Yi had slapped Xuan Pei but whilst she was in the midst of scolding him, she had never imagined that she would encounter this unlucky calamity, Jiang Ruan.

Although she fiercely hated Jiang Ruan to the very depths of her heart, Princess He Yi had learnt from the past lectures and experiences, therefore, she did not dare to continue scolding him in front of Jiang Ruan and only cursed, “What bad luck!” Then, as if to maintain her menacing bearing, she growled at Xuan Pei, “Hmph! She can’t always remain in the palace to protect you!” After saying this, she left in a huff of anger with her palace maids.

After waiting for Princess He Yi to disappear from sight, Jiang Ruan turned to look towards the child behind the palace maid. Xuan Pei’s fair face had an astonishingly bright red hand imprint and one wouldn’t have to think hard to know who the culprit was. Perhaps Xuan Pei had been terribly frightened by Princess He Yi earlier as his eyes were filled with a puddle of tears and reddened enough to make one feel distressed for him.

Lu Zhu was such a person who felt tenderness towards children; she immediately crouched before Xuan Pei and took out a handkerchief to clean the stains on his face. “Is Young Prince alright?” She was not sure which prince this was but only felt that Xuan Pei seemed very pitiful and adorable. Therefore, she decided to address him as a young prince.

“Ranked thirteenth, Thirteenth Prince.” Jiang Ruan answered.

“How does Miss know?” Lu Zhu asked in astonishment.

Nevertheless, Xuan Pei glanced at Lu Zhu and seeing this, that palace maid hastily tried to curry favour and spoke up, “This servant sees that His Highness, Thirteenth Prince seems to like Junzhu a lot.”

Jiang Ruan coldly swept a look at her as her tone abruptly turned cold with a snap, “Kneel!”

The palace maid jumped in fright and Jiang Ruan’s gaze that landed upon her made her feel as if she had fallen into the ice. Thus, without a word, she knelt down.

Lu Zhu looked at her in disdain. Earlier, they had all seen it clearly, at a glance one would understand that this palace maid was the personal maidservant of Thirteenth Prince. However, she did not know how to protect her master at all. It was fine not to bring up the matter of allowing that unruly and overbearing Princess He Yi to have slapped her own young master, she had even constantly nodded her head and bowed in obedience to gain her favour! One feared that she had never put her own master in her eyes[2]; as a personal maidservant this was truly a huge offence.

[2] 放在眼里 (fàngzàiyǎnlǐ) – to pay attention to / to care about / to attach importance to. Here it means that her young master has little worth to her.

Jiang Ruan spoke to her with indifference, “This is how you have attended to the Thirteenth Prince?”

The palace maid froze in shock and immediately knocked her head down on the floor, “Junzhu, please spare me. This servant does not dare to do so anymore, this servant knows her mistakes. Junzhu, please have mercy!”

Lu Zhu looked at her curiously with wide eyes- for her to fear Jiang Ruan in such a manner, it was as if Jiang Ruan was truly a horribly terrifying person.

“I will not punish you.” Jiang Ruan replied duly, “However starting from today, should Thirteenth Prince suffer any mishap, you do not need to live anymore either. There is a palm imprint on his body, then there ought to be a thousand of those on yours too. If he suffers one injury, similarly, you should receive a thousand fold.”

In spite of her light tone, the palace maid, for some unknown reason, could not help but shiver and felt that from her words, she could even hear the voices that came from the depths of hell. After staring blankly, she startled and understood. She immediately and vigorously kowtowed in front ofJiang Ruan, “This servant thanks Junzhu for the reminder.”

Jiang Ruan then glanced at the child who had constantly been sneaking glances at her. Xuan Pei stared and shyly gave her a smile. Those moist and bright eyes made her heart soften and she wanted to rush forward and pull him into an embrace, just like how she had done in her past life. However, in the end, she merely took out a small, green porcelain bottle from her robe- this was the medicine given to her by Xiao Shao the last time she had been hit by Jiang Quan. She stuffed the medicine bottle into Xuan Pei’s hands and instructed the palace maid beside him, “Remember to apply this to His Thirteenth Highness once daily.” She then paused and reminded, “Remember what I just said.”

Hastily, the palace maid nodded whilst her heart was filled with misgivings and rejoicing. She did not know why Hong’an Junzhu would be this broken-hearted for Thirteenth Prince. Though if she had taken an interest in him, she had never initiated any intimate gestures towards Thirteenth Prince before. In fact, it looked as though they were strangers.

Similarly, Tian Zhu and Lu Zhu both held suspicions in their hearts but Jiang Ruan did not give them any time to ponder over it as she commanded the palace maid, “Take Thirteenth Prince back.”

The palace maid hurriedly bid farewell to Jiang Ruan as she brought Xuan Pei with her to leave. Xuan Pei had been holding onto the palace maid’s hand as he walked further away but he could not resist looking back at Jiang Ruan with his tiny figure seeming exceptionally pitiful.

“Since you helped him, why did you treat him in such a cold and indifferent manner?” A deep and low male voice emanated from behind her.

Jiang Ruan turned around and saw Liu Min dressed in green court robes. She did not know how long he had been standing there but it seemed as though he had only waited until this moment to appear and speak up.

Tian Zhu frowned imperceptibly. She was someone who studied martial arts and Liu Min’s efforts to remain hidden was not particularly brilliant. She had long since noted his presence, but as he was slow to reveal himself, she had assumed that it was either one of the palace eunuchs or a maid eavesdropping. Thus, she had never thought it could have been him. Liu Min and Jiang Ruan’s relationship was rather delicate and Tian Zhu was naturally inclined towards her own family’s young master. Thus, she was not very welcoming towards Liu Min.

However, when Liu Min saw Jiang Ruan turn around, he was slightly startled. His impression of Jiang Ruan had always been bright red clothes that were lively and spirited, yet, what he saw her dressed in today was an unprecedented outfit in green. Liu Min himself was fond of the colour and moreover, with Jiang Ruan dressed in a similar shade, it seemed like they were dressed the same……

Liu Min did not know where his thoughts were going before Jiang Ruan spoke, “It was just something I did in passing, there is no need to talk about having affection.”

This was to save herself the trouble of explaining to anyone why she had helped Thirteenth Prince, Xuan Pei, today: it was just something she had done unintentionally and conveniently. It was not something she had deliberately done, therefore, when she saw Xuan Pei in the future, there would be no particular meaning behind it. While these words of hers were rather too cold, Liu Min had already seen the state of affairs earlier so he had already determined that Hong’an Junzhu was a good person who showed an outwardly cold exterior but had a warm heart. Thus, he assumed that these were comments she spoke in embarrassment.

He replied, “Not everyone would be willing to offend Princess He Yi for an unfavoured prince. Even if it was done in passing, Hong’an Junzhu is truly very righteous.”

Liu Min had long since heard news of Xuan Pei’s status in the palace. Thirteenth Prince had a lowly family background and his mother had only been a palace maid who had accidentally copulated with the Emperor. Moreover, whilst giving birth to Thirteenth Prince, she had passed away on the very same day due to complications and thus, he had been abandoned to be raised without care. To have such a timid bearing whilst growing up, this was completely natural. The servants in the palace were not very respectful to this Thirteenth Prince and had even humiliated him as they wished in the shadows. No one would have thought that Jiang Ruan would stick a limb out for this Thirteenth Prince who was entirely unacquainted with her. To the depths of his bones, Liu Min was someone who carried the scholarly bearing of being noble and virtuous and he was absolutely full of admiration towards Jiang Ruan’s conduct.

Jiang Ruan lightly smiled, “Perhaps Grand Tutor Liu regards me too well, after all, Thirteenth Prince is my nominal young brother too. Even a shu son in the fu cannot be beaten or scolded as one wishes. If this is the custom in an ordinary family, then the imperial household should pay special attention to the rules as well.

Even if Thirteenth Prince was a commoner son of royalty, he was still being beaten or scolded by any person in the imperial palace. In Jiang fu, whilst Zhao Mei was still around, Jiang Chao and Jiang Su Su were born from a concubine, and they had led their lives more comfortably than her, the di daughter of the household. The fate between people were naturally different, and as she reflected on this, Jiang Ruan’s gaze darkened.

Sensing the sudden flash of viciousness that had abruptly appeared and left Jiang Ruan, Liu Min felt somewhat astonished. Rather, recalling the past, when Jiang Ruan had been accused of poisoning Old Jiang Madame to death and had entered the prison, in spite of being her biological father, Jiang Quan did not visit her even once. At the time, he felt anxious for her and had called upon the Emperor once. At the time, Liu Min still remembered the gaze that the Emperor had whilst looking at him. Half teasing, the Emperor had earnestly looked at him, “Beloved subject Liu, since you have such care towards Hong’an Junzhu, how about zhen promise her to you?”

At the time, Liu Min had frenetically refused without any further thought. However, when he thought about the matter later, he could not help but consider it more. Ever since he knew that that person was Jiang Ruan, from time to time, Liu Min would think of this unique lady so much so that even the Crown Prince would occasionally look upon him and ask as well, “All day long, Grand Tutor has no thought for tea or rice[3], perhaps there is someone in your heart?”

[3] 茶饭不思 (cháfànbùsī) – no thought for tea or rice (idiom); melancholic and suffering / to have no appetite.

Now that he saw Jiang Ruan standing before him, a sour feeling welled in Liu Min’s heart. However, he was unable to pinpoint what exactly this feeling was. Whilst somewhat hesitant, he continued, “This official truly admires Junzhu.”

“Grand Tutor Liu has truly overpraised me.” Jiang Ruan’s demeanour remained gentle yet there was a refusal in her words that would keep others at a long distance from her. Unexpectedly, Liu Min felt disappointed at his own conduct. He could produce magnificent essays and come up with outstanding national policies, yet, he did not know how to converse with this lady before him who was once someone he considered as an intimate friend. It was as if no matter what he said, Jiang Ruan would remain indifferent and unfazed.

Lu Zhu rolled her eyes as she made a sweeping glance over Liu Min’s appearance and thought to herself: to think this person was the Grand Tutor, why was he blessed with the looks of a bookworm and seemed foolish.

Yet, Tian Zhu furrowed her eyebrows. Her master did not like this Liu Min getting close to Jiang Ruan. Of this matter, she was absolutely certain. In the Jinyi Guard, many were hoping for Young Furen to be part of their family, how could she just be taken away by a mere Grand Tutor. Moreover with the insight of a personal maidservant of her mistress, she could tell that Jiang Ruan’s personality was one that a Grand Tutor who only knew of national policies and essays could not handle at all. How could Grand Tutor Liu, who was lacking the strength even to truss a chicken, a weak man, possibly protect Jiang Ruan. Finally, Tian Zhu mumurred, “Miss, much time has already passed. Over at the Empress Dowager’s palace……”

Jiang Ruan nodded and smiled towards Liu Min, “Grand Tutor Liu, I still have to go to Ci Ning Palace, I will bid my leave first.”

A flash of disappointment appeared in Liu Min’s eyes, “Since this is so, I will take my leave as well.”

Jiang Ruan turned around in the opposite direction of where Tian Zhu was facing and walked forth. Standing behind her, Liu Min stood there for a while as he somewhat vexedly swatted his head. Then, he left moodily.

When she reached Ci Ning Palace, once Yang gugu chanced upon Jiang Ruan’s figure, only then did she let out a sigh of relief as she looked inside, “Empress Dowager is somewhat unhappy today, Junzhu, please do console her a little more.”

“I understand.” Jiang Ruan nodded. As she entered the room, sure enough, she saw Empress Dowager Yi De leaning against the warm, thick divan that was engraved with an auspicious unbroken carving of all the nine sons of the dragon whilst her long ruby nails perfunctorily glided along the edges of the divan. The edges of the soft divan were made of wood from the agarwood tree and as her nails scratched along it, it produced a light screechy sound. Empress Dowager Yi De furrowed her eyebrows as she seemed somewhat melancholic.

With a light smile, Jiang Ruan walked forward with extremely light strides. Upon hearing the sounds of her footsteps, Empress Dowager Yi De turned around and was imperceptibly startled upon seeing Jiang Ruan. As if she had been immersed in a memory from long ago, her eyes hooded over in recollection as she spoke softly yet unconsciously, “Yuan Rong… …”

“Imperial Grandmother.” Jiang Ruan called out.

As if she was snapped out of her reverie from Jiang Ruan’s address, Empress Dowager abruptly collected her thoughts and helplessly patted her forehead, “I have truly gotten old, my eyes are a blur as well.”

On the small table before her was a painting that had been spread out. At a glance the painting scroll depicted boundless prairies and the desert; the setting sun was gradually sinking into the horizon as streaks of blood red sun rays shone all over the painting. There was also a group of camels leisurely passing in the distance and one seemed to be able to hear the light hoof steps of the camels walking by.

Jiang Ruan lightly frowned, this painting was actually of South Xinjiang?

Empress Dowager Yi De noticed Jiang Ruan’s gaze and let out a sigh as if she was weary to her bones without much strength to speak of more, “Hong’an, accompany me and sit for a while.”

Jiang Ruan gently assented, “Yes.”