CH 49

Wen Ting Zhou stared at Ruan Ruan’s dewy and amorously red cheeks and her bright red ears, feeling an intense urge to nibble it, but because he was afraid of scaring Ruan Ruan, he steadied his mind, choosing to graze the tip of her nose instead.

“Ruan Ruan, I’ll bring you to greet zu mu.”

Red-faced, Ruan Xi loosened her hands and pushed him away gently. She mumbled, “Okay.”

Wen Ting Zhou chuckled lowly, shifting from a hug to holding her soft and smaller hand before they left the small flower garden.

When they stepped out of the small flower garden, the pair saw Zhang Qing and two tall guards in black clothes standing guard at the small pathway entrance.

Upon seeing his gongzi and Ruan si xiaojie coming out, Zhang Qing went up to them with quick strides.

“Zhang Qing, why are all of you here?” Wen Ting Zhou felt slightly strange when he saw Zhang Qing and the two guards.

Zhang Qing replied swiftly, “Gongzi, si xiaojie, it was Furen who told nucai to come over.”

奴才 (pin yin: nu cai) – a form of self-address for a slave/servant.

“Mother is looking for me for something?” Wen Ting Zhou was surprised.

Zhang Qing shook his head, his words interspaced with pauses, “No, Furen was simply afraid that gongzi would forget the time.”

Wen Ting Zhou: “……”

Ruan Xi pursed her lips into a furtive smile.

On their way to the Main Courtyard, Ruan Xi asked Zhang Qing about gossip relating to Mu Qing Ci’s aftermath.

“Si xiaojie, the incident yõu are asking about has spread everywhere. Everyone knows that this Mu xiaojie spared no means to ruin her own innocence to deliberately hang on the Fourth Prince, and her reputation has been utterly ruined. Hence, Mu xiaojie only has two choices before her, first being that the Fourth Prince consents to her admittance as a concubine, the second being that the Fourth Prince disagrees, to which Mu xiaojie can only twist her hair and become a nun.”

Zhang Qing said everything he knew.

Silently, Ruan Xi pitied the female protagonist that had been pitted by Ruan san niang. Her reputation could be considered as ruined.

Truly, Ruan san niang was a sin.

“The Mu Family is Mu taifei’s parental home. For the sake of the Mu family’s exterior appearance, that Mu xiaojie will be entering the Fourth Prince’s back courtyard even if she’s an illegitimate daughter, she won’t be twisting her hair and becoming a nun.” Wen Ting Zhou suddenly remarked.

“Mn, I’m of the same opinion.” Ruan Xi naturally knew that the female protagonist Mu Qing Ci was going to enter the Fourth Prince’s back courtyard, and she trusted that as the male protagonist, the Fourth Prince would not take his anger out on Mu Qing Ci for no apparent reason.

The Mu Family was an exception.

The pair tacitly agreed not to bring up Mu Qing Ling. With Mu Qing Ling’s inappropriate behaviour during Wen lao-furen’s longevity feast, Wen Ting Yi – whose heart belonged to someone else – would definitely borrow this chance to break off this marriage agreement.

Zhang Qing quietly watched as his gongzi and Ruan si xiaojie became increasingly natural and intimate in their gestures, feeling incomparably happy in his heart.

“Right, Qin furen said that Ruan san xiaojie had pulled on Mu xiaojie’s arm, which led to Mu xiaojie accidentally bumping into the Fourth Prince’s embrace, but no one believed her. Ruan san xiaojie and Mu xiaojie are on friendly terms, so everyone assumes that Mu xiaojie inspired it.” Zhang Qing continued to speak.

Ruan Xi was stunned, the main culprit Ruan san niang was actually washed clean.

Whereas the female protagonist became a deep schemer who resorted to unscrupulous means.

Sure enough, rumours were just rumours; they were honestly beyond reasonable limits.

Wen Ting Zhou squeezed Ruan Xi’s hand, “Which is right and which is wrong, the Fourth Prince knows it clearly in his heart.”

Zhang Qing: “……”

His gongzi seemed to have a pointed meaning.

Along the way, Ruan Xi chanced upon several noble daughters and young masters from prominent families, and all of them avoided them tactfully.

please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com

The Main Courtyard that Wen lao-furen resided in was low-profile and refined, but tasteful and exquisite in all respects.

Ruan Xi saw Mama Yang, Su Yu, and Su Zhu standing at the large doors to Wen lao-furen’s main courtyard, idly chatting with the door-guarding older woman-servants and several maidservants and Mamas she was unfamiliar with. Once the three of them saw Ruan Xi and Wen Ting Zhou, they quickly bowed.

Smiling slightly, Ruan Xi nodded at her, not conversing with them over much before she was brought into the main courtyard.

Zhang Qing and the two reticent guards in black clothes remained at the large doors.

Wen lao-furen had been resting for a time, and she was presently sitting on the short couch as she flipped through the scripts. She looked like she was in a great mood, and upon hearing the curtain rustle, she raised her head, only to see her grandson and his fiancée walk in, then she revealed a smile on her face.

Without giving a pause, Ruan Xi stepped forward to give a respectful bow, “Ruan Xi pays her respect to Lao Furen.”

Wen Ting Zhou followed in paying his respect to his paternal grandmother.

Wen lao-furen smiled, beckoning Ruan Xi and Wen Ting Zhou forward as she uttered, “Ruan yatou, Ting Zhou, come over here and sit. Mama Lin, serve the tea.”

“Yes, Lao Furen.” Mama Lin was full of smiles as she served tea to the pair.

Upon hearing Wen lao-furen addressed her intimately with ‘Ruan yatou’, Ruan Xi felt overwhelmed by the favour from a superior. After thanking Wen lao-furen, she sat on the drum-shaped stool beside the short couch in a calm manner. Her gaze carelessly grazed past the scripture in Wen lao-furen’s hands, and she faltered momentarily.

It was actually the Avatamsaka Sutra she copied.

Seeing that Ruan yatou had noticed the scriptures in her hands, Wen lao-furen smiled slightly as she praised her. “The scripture copied by Ruan yatou is quite decent, it looks pleasant, the effort can be seen.”

The handwriting on the scriptures was beautiful, graceful, and subdued, and a sense of serenity and auspicious peace could be perceived between the words and lines, without a trace of restlessness.

It could be discerned that Ruan yatou was elegant by nature and peaceful at heart. Wen lao-furen had a good impression of Ruan Xi to begin with, but now it was even better.

Ruan Xi accepted the teacup that Mama Lin was offering, wearing a slightly bashful smile on her visage. “Lao Furen is mistaken in her praise, Ruan Xi is ashamed and dare not accept this honour.”

Wen Ting Zhou sipped on the tea, his expression conveying that he felt honoured as well. His paternal grandmother had studied scriptures for more than ten years, and it was unknown how many scriptures she had seen. The fact that Ruan Ruan could earn his paternal grandmother’s evaluation was incredibly hard to come by on its own.

“Zu mu, I’ve said early on that Ruan Ruan was a good girl, do yõu believe me now?”

Ruan Xi’s face went red, and she lowered her head to drink her tea. Who would praise their fiancée in front of their elders like this?

However, she was starting to realise that Wen Ting Zhou had another appearance in front of the elders he was close to.

She found it all the more novel in her heart.

He was like this in front of Wen furen, and he was also the same in front of Wen lao-furen.

Wen lao-furen looked at her grandson, then looked at Ruan yatou who had lowered her head bashfully, feeling inwardly amused. How could she be unaware of his small intentions? With crinkled eyes, she smiled and nodded her head in approval.

“Your vision isn’t bad, Ruan yatou is indeed a good young lady.”

Once those words were uttered, the young and old maidservants immediately attached more importance to Ruan Xi.

With Lao Furen’s single utterance, Ruan si xiaojie’s position within the Wen Family was akin to a boat floating up with the rising tide.

Wen Ting Zhou glanced at Ruan Ruan as she continued to keep her head down and sip her tea, happiness brimming in his eyes. His paternal grandmother had already said Ruan Ruan was a good young lady; who would dare to pick on Ruan Ruan’s moral conduct in the future within the Wen Family?

Ruan Xi only needed a moment to understand the earnest considerations that Wen Ting Zhou was making for her, and her heart spouted sweet bubbles.

Although there was no ambiguity between the two, the flowing ambience made the surrounding people feel like they were extraneous.

Wen lao-furen shook her head silently. Old, she was getting old. In the past, she was still worrying about whether her grandson Ting Zhou would remain alone until he was old, but it seems like she had worried for nothing.

“Ruan yatou, come and sit by my side.”

Ruan Xi quickly handed the teacup she was holding to the maidservant at the side before she stood up and went to Wen lao-furen’s side.

Wen lao-furen took off the string of red sandalwood Buddhist prayer beads that was wearing on her wrist. She pulled over Ruan Xi’s left hand which was free of wrist accessories before she wrapped the prayer beads around her fair wrist.

“Ruan yatou, this string of prayer beads has been blessed by a senior monk, and has accompanied me for more than ten years, I will be giving it to you today.”

Wen lao-furen had originally prepared another precious gift for their first meeting, but after seeing Ruan Xi, she changed her decision at the last moment, thus giving Ruan Xi the prayer beads she had worn for the past decade.

The surrounding maidservants and Mamas could not conceal their shock; Lao Furen actually gave away those prayer beads.

Ruan Xi scrutinised the resin-coated, glossy roundness of the red sandalwood Buddhist prayer beads that was on her wrist, and promptly understood that this was a first meeting gift with a special significance. Natural and unrestrained, she gave her thanks.

“Many thanks for Lao Furen’s profound affection, Ruan Xi will definitely protect and properly care for this string of prayer beads.”

Wen lao-furen was quite fond of Ruan Xi’s intrinsic nature, so she patted her hand as she said with an ever-present smile: “Good child, good child.”

Wen Ting Zhou was first surprised and then full of delight when he witnessed the meeting gift that his paternal grandmother gave to Ruan Ruan. He knew that his paternal grandmother would like Ruan Ruan’s personality, but he did not anticipate that his paternal grandmother would like Ruan Ruan more than what he had imagined.

Subsequently, Ruan Xi and Wen lao-furen chatted merrily. Under Wen lao-furen’s guidance, Ruan Xi unintentionally revealed her erudition and self-cultivation.

Wen Ting Zhou listened with a smile, occasionally tossing in a comment or two. His eyes glittered time and time again as regarded Ruan Xi with a gentle and proud gaze.

please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com

After one incense’s worth of time, Wen Ting Zhou and Ruan Xi departed from Wen lao-furen’s courtyard.

Mama Yang and Su Yu trailed after them, with Zhang Qing following closely, and their group of people returned to the main hall.

Quite a few gazes swept over when the pair stepped in, and among them was the Fourth Prince.

Ruan Xi noticed the Fourth Prince’s ice-cold handsome face at a glance, and that estranging aura that was oozing out of his whole body.

Secretly, she found the entire matter strange. To her puzzlement, the Fourth Prince had yet to leave, but he did not have any intention to form connections with the other cabinet ministers either, and he was sitting there alone to savour the tea.

It was truly inconceivable.

Wen Ting Zhou evidently grasped what she was thinking as he lowered her voice to issue a word of explanation beside her ear.

“Zu mu is an elder who ranks highly in terms of seniority within the imperial clan. Even if the banquet has ended, it’s not the auspicious time for the dissolution of the banquet yet, and it’s best that he doesn’t leave in advance.”

Ruan Xi understood immediately.

Emperor Shengde was more than fifty years old, and the matured princes beneath him were getting restless and their clandestine struggles were intense. Needless to say, the Fourth Prince would not allow his brothers to denounce him as disrespectful to the elders just because of an inconsequential thing, and rile Emperor Shengde’s displeasure.

At the present moment, the high-spirited Earl Chengyi was conversing with the court counsellors, and all of this was brought by his good daughter. Upon seeing his fourth daughter returned, he beckoned them over with a wide smile.

“Wen gongzi, si yatou, come over here for a bit.”

Ruan Xi: “……”

She gave Wen Ting Zhou a sidelong glance.

In response, Wen Ting Zhou gave Ruan Xi a smile before he went over with her. Earl Chengyi squinted happily at his outstanding fourth daughter and his handsome and elegant future son-in-law. Relying on his identity as their elder, he introduced them to the influential officials in front of him.

Truth to be told, Wen Ting Zhou was already well-acquainted with them and Earl Chengyi’s introduction was redundant. While it was clear that the wine-lover’s heart was not in the cup, Wen Ting Zhou still cooperated with him.

Ruan Xi was not stupid, how could she possibly be blind to her Earl Father’s intentions? As for Wen Ting Zhou’s unfaltering cooperation, it did not require much thought. He was definitely doing it because of her, which made Ruan Xi feel secretly moved in her heart.

The old foxes in officialdom were all keen-sighted. When Ruan Xi was offering her congratulatory gift, her left hand did not have any accompanying accessories, but now there was an additional familiar-looking string of prayer beads. Who the sender was could be discerned with one guess; all of them sighed in admiration about how Earl Chengyi had raised a good daughter who could claim ties to the Wen Family. Shortly after this, they were afraid that the ‘stand-in’ prefix in Earl Chengyi’s official post as the stand-in Assistant Minister of Works was going to be removed.

There was barely concealed joy in Earl Chengyi’s modest remarks.

Just like this, Ruan Xi and Wen Ting Zhou were brought along and paraded by Earl Chengyi.

As for the obscure laughter within the eyes of his surreptitious good friend, the Fourth Prince, Wen Ting Zhou ignored it directly.

Since Ruan Xi had been brought around in a circular fashion, Duke An and the members of the Wen Family evidently noticed the red sandalwood prayer beads on Ruan Xi’s wrist, and their reactions varied.

Minister Wen and Wen furen were naturally elated.

It was hard to say for the others.

please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com

On the other end, Earl Chengyi Furen Zhang shi was listening to a few noble wives – who were a grade higher than her – compliment and chat amicably with her, but behind her joy, she was actually feeling regretful and flustered in her heart.

She did not expect that si niang would enter Wen lao-furen’s sights. Wen lao-furen and Minister Wen’s furen was different, what if the infertility medicine was exposed…

Her son’s future road would be ruined.

Fortunately, besides Mama Sun and Mama Gao, of whom she trusted and were aware, the only remaining person who knew of the infertility medicine was the counterfeit.

Zhang shi genuinely regretted telling the counterfeit about this matter.

Who knew if the counterfeit would accidentally blurt it out?

Presently, Zhang shi had a deep and profound understanding of the counterfeit’s troublemaking capabilities, because the incident that occurred in the small flower garden had spread outwards.

The counterfeit’s annoying interference had also travelled outwards, but the disadvantageous rumours were targeting Mu xiaojie, whereas the counterfeit pulling on Mu xiaojie’s arm had been construed as part of Mu xiaojie’s incitement.

However, Zhang shi was exceedingly aware of the circumstances in her heart.

She had seen that Mu xiaojie before; she would never do such a thing, it was definitely the counterfeit who implicated her and ruined her good name.

This was the first time Zhang shi felt murderous intent towards the counterfeit in her heart, and any intention to retain her to torment her slowly were gone.