Chapter 70.1 - Without Any Sense of Shame (Part I) (1/2)

At noon on the second day, Xia Yan had Jiang Su Su accompany her to Ruan Ju.

Jiang Su Su wore a white veil which completely covered the lower half of her face so that only her eyes were visible.

Xia Yan had said, “Ruan’er, tomorrow we will visit your maternal grandparents’ fu. You ought to tidy yourself up. Your maternal grandmother[1] has not seen you both for a long time, and I fear she misses you terribly.”

[1] Waizumu ( 外祖母 ) – maternal grandmother.

Behind her back, Lian Qiao eyed Xia Yan with disdain. Xia Yan spoke so affectionately, but in the end, these were Jiang Su Su’s maternal grandparents who had nothing to do with Jiang Ruan.

“Of course. Second Younger Sister and Second Elder Brother have so much going on, it would ease their hearts to go out,” Jiang Ruan said with a slight smile. On hearing her words, Jiang Su Su and Xia Yan’s faces immediately froze.

“Then, let us not trouble Ruan’er any further,” Xia Yan said gently. “I’ll visit your Second Elder Brother. I’m afraid this situation is the result of someone’s entrapment, and he was also born under an unlucky star.”

“Mother must advise Second Elder Brother well. He has been beset by setbacks after failing the examinations, which is a great cause for worry,” Jiang Ruan said concernedly.

Xia Yan froze once more and forced herself to smile. “Second Elder Brother will be gratified to hear of Ruan niang’s concern.” After saying this, she stood up. “Mother will not tarry any longer; Su’er, let’s go.”

When the mother-daughter pair left, Bai Zhi looked at their backs and said, “Miss, why would you suddenly want to visit Marquis Xia’s fu for no rhyme or reason? I’m afraid that some unforeseen mishap may occur.”

Although Bai Zhi’s way of thinking was upright and proper, she was by no means stupid. Jiang Ruan shook her head and said, “I merely want to take advantage of the influence and power of Marquis Xia’s fu, that’s all.”

As she said this, Lu Zhu entered the room and said, “Miss, Master Gu has sent you a letter by way of his servant to say that General Guan will be returning to the capital next month. It may be that the resolution of Young Master’s situation is just a matter of waiting.”

Jiang Ruan’s eyes lit up. She smiled slightly as she said, “This is indeed good news. Next month is not too late.”

“If Young Master returns, Master will presumably not treat you this way.” The manner in which Jiang Quan treated Jiang Ruan was due to her only being a daughter, while Jiang Xin Zhi was the eldest di son. At present, Jiang Chao had wasted his slight advantage. It was to be assumed that Jiang Quan would once again give prominence to Jiang Xin Zhi, who would also protect Jiang Ruan from being bullied by others.

“That’s not definite,” Jiang Ruan smiled coldly. “My eldest brother and I are thorns in the side of those in this fu. You must not divulge the slightest hint of the news about him to anyone outside.”

Bai Zhi and Lu Zhu looked at each other in dismay, but they saw that Jiang Ruan was already frowning slightly, and her expression was more severe than they had ever seen before.

In her previous lifetime, she had been in the countryside residence when she received news of Jiang Xin Zhi’s death on the battlefield. That time just so happened to coincide with the Xia family’s rise in status. If one thought about it carefully, at present there were ulterior motives and hidden secrets everywhere. If Xia Yan had done some ruthless pruning for the sake of Jiang Chao’s status, it was not improbable that she had secretly eliminated Jiang Xin Zhi. Perhaps Jiang Quan had even known about it, but, first, he had never had any fatherly affection for Jiang Xin Zhi and, second, he had to rely on the power of the Xia family. Thus, it was highly likely that he had given his tacit approval.

Thinking of her gentle and kind eldest brother, Jiang Ruan clenched her fists. If Jiang Xin Zhi was still alive, she would expend all her energy to protect her beloved flesh and blood, no matter what the cost.

What about Marquis Xia’s fu? Her eyes turned cold; there were some people there that she had not seen for a long time.

“Lu Zhu, for the next few days, you and Bai Zhi stay in the fu and keep watch on the activities and movements here, especially pertaining to Fifth Yiniang,” Jiang Ruan said. “Lian Qiao, you stay with me. Ask Shu Xiang to come here.”

“Shu Xiang?” Lian Qiao frowned. “Miss, that girl does not have good intentions, she may cause us some trouble.”

“If so, it will be her own trouble.” Jiang Ruan smiled faintly as she said, “Go on, I have made my own arrangements in these matters.”

Early the next day, Shu Xiang and Lian Qiao were waiting outside. Compared to before, Shu Xiang had clearly lost some weight, and when she looked up at Jiang Ruan, her eyes contained a hint of fear. When Jiang Ruan looked at this servant girl kneeling before her with her head bowed, she found it very difficult to associate her with the gentle and self-confident palace maid in her memory, who always appeared before Jiang Ruan with concern upon her face.

She put on her outer coat, smiled and said, “Let’s go.”

Jiang Su Su and Xia Yan had already been waiting in the horse carriage for some time. When Jiang Ruan entered, she discovered that Jiang Li and Jiang Dan were also there. Jiang Chao was in another carriage. Jiang Li looked at Jiang Su Su’s veiled face with derision, but, since Xia Yan was present, she did not dare to say anything. Jiang Dan was sitting right in the middle of the carriage and looked extremely uncomfortable. When she saw Jiang Ruan arrive, she smiled timidly at her. Jiang Ruan returned the smile and sat down next to Xia Yan.

Xia Yan looked at her and smiled. “This is Ruan’er’s first visit to your maternal grandfather’s[2] residence. The last time he saw you was five years ago. In the blink of an eye you have become a young lady.”

[2] Waizufu ( 外祖父 ) – maternal grandfather.

Jiang Raun smiled faintly. “Ruan niang also misses maternal grandfather very much.”

The first time she had met Old Marquis Xia was when Zhao Mei died. As she knelt in the mourning hall in her white silk mourning robes, she had seen that elderly man with an amiable face move forward to chat with Jiang Quan. Not long later, Xia Yan became the legal wife.

Later, when she entered the palace, she often saw Old Marquis Xia and his womenfolk at the palace banquets. The Xia family’s utter lack of shame was vivid in her mind. At that time, the granddaughter of the Xia family, Xia Jiao Jiao, had entered the palace together with her. She had been conferred the title of ‘Mei Ren’[3], and had tripped up Jiang Ruan many times, both covertly and overtly. Ultimately, Xia Jiao Jiao had received the Emperor’s favour, and even though no one knew whether this ‘favour’ was authentic, Xia Jiao Jiao used her power to humiliate Jiang Ruan continually. She could only remember, at the end, when she was disgraced and imprisoned, that Xia Jiao Jiao had emerged unscathed, and had been sent back to the fu by Old Marquis Xia.

[3] Mei ren ( 美人 ) – lit., beautiful lady, one of the ranks of the imperial concubines. Depending on which dynasty this story is set in, mei ren could be a fairly high rank.

As soon as Jiang Ruan said those words, Xia Yan felt an inexplicable chill seize her. She examined Jiang Ruan’s expression carefully, but was unable to decipher the meaning behind her words. She thus smiled and said, “Then, has Ruan’er already decided what present to give?”

“Present?” Jiang Ruan looked at her in puzzlement.

Xia Yan broke into laughter. “This child, don’t you know that you must offer a token gift when you visit your maternal grandfather’s residence? However, you are not to blame; you were at the countryside residence for so long without anyone to teach you the ways of the world.”

Jiang Li seemed to be smiling mockingly at her from the side, while Jiang Dan remained silent.