Chapter 114 : The Pure-Hearted Xiao Shao (Part I)
After returning to Ruan Ju, Jiang Ruan had all the maidservants withdraw. Even Lian Qiao and Lu Zhu did not know what had happened; the only one with any knowledge was Tian Zhu and since she was quite a taciturn person it was difficult to ascertain anything from her expression. So although they were a little bewildered, all of the maidservants still obediently withdrew and left the room, and Jiang Ruan was left alone.
Jiang Ruan sat before the study desk without thinking of anything, and in the blink of an eye, the sky had already darkened. She only felt a slight sting of moodiness as she stood and then left the room. The courtyard in Ruan Ju could not be considered to be large so she walked along the small yard towards a wall of the courtyard and sat leaning against it.
The moon of the summer night was big and round as if it was a massive pearl and it lit up the courtyard very clearly. Jiang Ruan lightly sighed as Xia Yan’s words abruptly resurfaced in her mind once more.
It was Jiang Dan, Jiang Dan was the one who had doctored Zhao Mei’s tonic daily with poison.
She thought about how prior to her death, back then Third Yiniang had entrusted Jiang Dan to Zhao Mei. Zhao Mei was in charge of the household as the matron of the family, therefore she had felt distressed for Jiang Dan losing her mother at a very young age. Thus, she had indeed treated Jiang Dan as her own biological daughter to dote upon. Although, at the time Jiang Quan had long since treated Zhao Mei quite coldly- Xia Yan seemed to be more like the matron of the family. However, Zhao Mei and the other wives and children in the family had all gotten along harmoniously.
As for Jiang Dan, when she was younger, Jiang Ruan had only thought that this fourth sister of hers was a little too timid. Occasionally, Jiang Dan would be overly clingy towards Zhao Mei that even she(JR) would look over and be a little jealous. However, as she had pondered over it, she reconsidered and assumed that it was just a little girl without her own mother who wanted to rely on her di mother.
But now that she reflected upon the past, she felt a chill all over. Back then, all those poisons that Zhao Mei had ingested were Jiang Dan’s doing and not only that, Jiang Dan had also drugged her(JR) too. At this moment, Jiang Ruan finally understood why her body had always felt inefficient; in her early years, she had unknowingly ingested food that had been methodically adulterated with poison. Thinking back, Jiang Dan acted rather timid-like at that time, which meant that in their everyday life, she could not find many opportunities to get close enough to lace her refreshments and snacks with poison. Then later, she had gone to the rural residence otherwise she wasn’t sure if she’d still be alive.
Jiang Dan, Jiang Ruan grimaced internally. Although she had long been aware that there was another person well hidden within the fu, she had not expected it to be someone this cruel and unscrupulous. Upon reflecting on her mother’s life, it felt like such a joke, and Jiang Ruan could not decide if she felt anger or grief.
She wasn’t aware how long she had been leaning against the courtyard wall until she felt her whole body begin to ache. As such, she stood up intending to return to the room, but when she turned her head, she was taken aback. Standing quietly not far away under a tree was a young man dressed in black, silently watching her. It was obvious that he had been there for quite some time.
“You…. have returned,” Jiang Ruan stated. Xiao Shao had disappeared a few days ago, and now out of the blue he had randomly surfaced. With so much weighing on her heart, she did not bother to even lash out and rebuke him for his unannounced visit this late in the night.
Xiao Shao raised his brows as he walked towards her, “What’s the matter with you?”
Upon his return, Tian Zhu had updated him on what had happened over the past few days, and so he had been quietly observing Jiang Ruan by the courtyard wall looking frustrated and disappointed. It was a desolate and melancholic posture that caused the observer to feel aggrieved and while he wasn’t sure what she had been thinking about, he felt that she was very lonely.
Jiang Ruan looked as Xiao Shao made his way to her with his hand outstretched towards her as if to caress her face. However, just as his hand was about to touch her, it stopped, “How come it’s still not recovered?”
It had already been quite a few days yet the handprint from the slap could still be seen distinctly on her face. The swelling redness was glaringly obvious against her pale fair face.
Jiang Ruan was taken aback and instantly averted her face, “Tomorrow I’ll be going into the palace.”
Xiao Shao paused, then understood her intention and after some thought, took out a porcelain bottle from inside his clothes and gave it to her, “Use it after you’ve entered the palace.”
Jiang Ruan accepted the jar and softly said, “Many thanks.”
Today, her mood had been so downcast that even an ordinary person would be able to see. Not to mention a perceptive person like Xiao Shao. As he gazed at Jiang Ruan, suddenly his hands grasped hold of her shoulders, lifting her up. Jiang Ruan did not have a chance to react before finding herself up in the huge pear tree that was in the middle of the courtyard.
“What are you trying to do?” While sitting unsteadily on a branch, to steady herself all she could do was grab hold of Xiao Shao’s hand. However, she was still unable to settle, and her heart unexpectedly reacted simply by her reaching both arms around Xiao Shao’s waist.
Xiao Shao had taken Jiang Ruan up into the tree because from experience, the Jin Yi guards- Jin Yi and Jin Er- would usually climb up a tree when they weren’t happy and indulge in some wine. Since there wasn’t any wine available, Xiao Shao had thought maybe Jiang Ruan would enjoy gazing at the moon and it would soothe her mood. What he had not expected was for Jiang Ruan to reach out and embrace his waist. Immediately his body froze and his heart began to race with a peculiar emotion. The young lady’s unique fragrance penetrated his nose, the moon shone down on her jade-like fair hands that were resting upon his black clothes, and Xiao Shao’s heart welled up with an unfamiliar impulse that made him want to envelop and set fire to that gentleness.
Meanwhile Jiang Ruan also realised that she had wrapped herself around Xiao Shao’s waist and upon recovering her wits, she could not help being annoyed at her impulsive action and hastily released her hands. Subconsciously, she raised her head to observe Xiao Shao’s reaction, only to find him sitting stupefied. His beautiful and galant features, and his usual graceful cool detachment was arrested in a foolish look, with a hint of witlessness, which actually appeared rather adorable.
“Hey,” She strived hard to modulate her voice to sound calm, “take me down.”
Xiao Shao collected himself, pursing his lips, “So are you feeling better now?”
“Not at all,” Jiang Ruan hurriedly stated, “not even a little bit better.”
Xiao Shao looked at her baffled, as Jiang Ruan was usually calm and easy going, so he felt it was rather interesting to see her exasperated and flustered. So he simply stretched out his long legs and pillowed his head with his hands as he leaned back onto a branch as if taking a breather.
From afar, Jin Yi and Tian Zhu widened their eyes at the same time. When did those two who were usually calm and cold, and sinister and cunning suddenly became so juvenile? One could even say they were like toddlers.
Jiang Ruan glared at the reprobate who was lounging leisurely, hating herself for not making an effort to learn martial arts before, thus being unable to kick this person out of the tree. That said, being up in the tree with the gentle summer’s night cool breeze blowing did cause her gloomy mood to lift.
Daily, within the Jiang fu, there was conflict and internal strife, and being surrounded by crafty machinations and backstabbing plots made it hard to find the time to quiet down and unwind. So to be able to be in this position, with nary a thought- this was actually a kind of luxury. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Shao’s head was facing her. This young man had been born with exceptional features, and though the capital gossiped that the Jiang family’s daughters were all beautiful, Jiang Ruan felt that this was true only because Xiao Shao was born a man, rather than a woman. For example, as she looked upon him, Xiao Shao’s thin lips were pursed, his long eyebrows were inclined as if flying on his temple, and his nose was straight. Though his features were elegant and beautiful, it bore a manly aura. However the most enchanting of his features were his pair of onyx black eyes, currently closed but with extra long lashes draping down. As Jiang Ruan inspected more closely, she could not help her heart from despising. Why would a man be bestowed with such long lashes? Yet, her hand seemed to suffer an itch and reached out wanting to touch….
Jin Yi nervously jabbed Tian Zhu, “What is she trying to do? She is trying to accost our master?”
“How would I know?” Tian Zhu replied in annoyance, “Just look at Master, isn’t it obviously his intention to welcome such actions?”
Just as Jiang Ruan’s hand was about to touch Xiao Shao’s lashes, unexpectedly Xiao Shao’s eyes opened. Jiang Ruan was stunned as her eyes met with that pair of pitch black mysterious eyes. Xiao Shao’s eyes were beautiful, and whilst his expression was usually cold and detached, and his moods clearly written in his eyes, at this moment, those eyes glittered brightly like a scattering of a multitude of small diamonds with a hint of intoxication and fascination. Even a person with a heart of stone would feel his heart move when they encounter these eyes.
Jiang Ruan was somewhat stunned, while Xiao Shao was mildly distracted as he looked at Jiang Ruan staring at him transfixed. The usual pursed lips and sneering gaze were now filled with perplexity, her eyes limpid, unwittingly displaying a young woman’s bewitching charm.
Xiao Shao suddenly felt itchy in his heart like an ant was crawling all over it, while Jiang Ruan remained dumbfounded as her gaze strayed to Xiao Shao’s blushing red ears.
Was this person really that pure hearted and innocent?
She chuckled out loud, “pfft.” This chuckle caused Xiao Shao to be vexed, and he immediately wanted to roll over to stand up. However, he had forgotten that he was atop a tree. Inadvertently the movement caused the tree branch to groan and creak as it broke, and the two of them began to freefall.
Jiang Ruan squealed in fright as Xiao Shao quickly reached out to grab hold of her waist. By the time that both of them had finally regained their wits, one was atop and the other below. Xiao Shao was astride Jiang Ruan and one of his hands was cupping her head as the shaken tree leaves fell on the two of them.
Lu Zhu and Bai Zhi rushed out when they heard the ruckus and chanced upon this scene. Jin Yi covered his own eyes while Tian Zhu lost her normal stoic manner as she emotionally swallowed her saliva, “Master…. Master has such a fiery passion.”
Lian Qiao was afraid to alarm others, but as her heart wavered between anger and hate, she immediately pushed Xiao Shao off and helped Jiang Ruan up. As she shielded Jiang Ruan behind her, she cautiously pinned Xiao Shao, “Did Xiao Wangye sneak into the fu in the middle of the night just to take advantage of our young miss?”
Lian Qiao had always been shrewish and her words were straightforward, thus she wasn’t conscious of the incongruence of her words. Xiao Shao creased his brows.
Lu Zhu on the other hand was quite pleased. She had hailed from the marketplace, and was not too particular about etiquette and proper decorum like Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao. Moreover, just looking at Xiao Shao, she knew that he was an ambitious man and would achieve much. Such a cold remote person, to only treat Jiang Ruan differently from all others, it would be awesome to have him as their guye*. Lu Zhu felt in her heart that it would be a great thing if Jiang Ruan could become the mistress of the Jinying Wang fu. Then all the filthy matters of Jiang fu and all the nasty people would not dare find trouble for Jiang Ruan.
* 姑爷 (gūye) – son-in-law (used by wife’s family).
Jiang Ruan was suffering from a headache in the midst of Lu Zhu and Lian Qiao misunderstanding the situation, but considering that the issue was actually caused by Xiao Shao’s late night visit to the Jiang fu, she could not help glaring at him. However, she didn’t realise that she had dropped her usual facade of being gentle and detached, and had reverted to her real self which was usually reserved for those close to her. When Lian Qiao and Lu Zhu noticed her actions, they were completely shocked speechless, and so they began to infer that there was more to their young miss and the young Jinying Wang.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Shao’s eye flashed with a hint of humor. However he did not cause any further trouble for Jiang Ruan as he stated, “Should there be any problem, just come to Dong Feng Lou to look for me. It’s already quite late, you should go rest early.” After he finished speaking, he turned and leaped onto the wall before disappearing into the night.
The Great Jin dynasty’s master of three hundred thousand Jin Yi guards, had just looked like he had learnt from a ‘flower thief’ to scale over walls. Whilst Xiao Shao had left gracefully, he was not aware that his parting words had left those listening to find their imagination running amok. And in that moment, the hearts of Jiang Ruan’s two personal maids were churning up into a huge storm.
However, because of Xiao Shao’s random disturbance, Jiang Ruan no longer felt any further desire to mull over the day’s conversation with Xia Yan, and even the matter of Jiang Dan was pushed to the back of her mind. Her mind and mood felt much better. Upon returning to her room, she had nary a thought as she blew out the lights and went to bed.
