The Rebirth team wishes a very Happy New Year to all our readers.Wish this new year brings you lots of happniess, good health and fortune. Have a rocking year and keep smiling (and supporting us)!
Also, starting from this chapter we’ll be dividing the chapters into since the chapters have suddenly become extremely long, upto three to four times of its original size. And it’s not just the flowery descriptions, there’s a lot happening. So without further ado, here’s the chapter...enjoy!
The Lantern Festival held in the Great Jin Dynasty’s fourteenth year had passed in a more lively fashion than in previous years. Within the space of a night, Jiang Ruan’s name was known throughout the capital. For a time, everyone in the capital was talking about the newly returned Eldest Miss of the Jiang fu, her stunning appearance, her incomparable talent, her regard for etiquette, and her noble manner. In fact, she was not inferior to the Jiang fu’s Second Young Lady.
When Jiang Su Su awoke early the next morning, she saw an exquisite white rabbit lantern on the carved wood cabinet by her bed. She stared blankly at it for a moment before she suddenly burst forth in fury and called out in a shrill voice, "Servants! Qing Ting, Hu Die!"
Hu Die ran into the room swiftly. "Miss, what has happened?"
Jiang Su Su pointed at the white rabbit lantern and said, "Who put this here?"
Hu Die was also shocked to see the lantern. "I did not see it this morning; how did it suddenly appear like that?"
Upon hearing this, Nuo Nuo, a third-ranked servant girl who was standing behind Hu Die, came forward to say, "It was the personal maid of Eldest Miss, Bai Zhi, who sent it here. This servant saw that the lantern was adorable so i put it here."
"And who allowed you to act on your own initiative?" Jiang Su Su sneered. "Take her away."
Two elderly yet robust maidservants immediately entered the room, seized the servant girl and dragged her out. In great alarm, that servant girl pleaded for forgiveness. "Second Miss, this servant was at fault. Second Miss, forgive this servant, this servant does not dare to do it again!"
The sound gradually faded away. Hu Die carefully placed a cup of tea in Jiang Su Su’s hands and said, "Miss, drink some ginger tea to warm yourself."
Jiang Su Su flung off Hu Die’s hand. With one move, she grabbed the rabbit lantern off of the bedside cabinet and fiercely ripped it to pieces. In a fit of anger, she threw the remains onto the ground and stomped on them until nothing could be discerned of the lantern’s original shape or appearance.
"Jiang Ruan, that slut, clearly she’s doing this deliberately. Does she think that she’s so high-and-mighty now that she has achieved the lantern? Still, this is something that should not be disclosed to others." Jiang Su Su sat on the couch and said, "There will come a day when she will be just like this lantern, bullied and humiliated by my hand."
With the charged atmosphere, Hu Die did not dare make a sound or movement. At this moment, Jiang Su Su seemed like a devil, nothing at all like her usual gentle and innocent self.
It was precisely at this time that a greatly agitated Qing Ting ran in and said, "Miss, bad news!"
Jiang Su Su was already in a bad temper, so she said in annoyance, "Why are you being so careless and haphazard? What is it now?"
"This servant heard that the talk in the capital, early this morning, was all about that Zhou Da; that he was an assassin hired by furen to deliberately besmirch the reputation of Eldest Miss, but yesterday, he accidentally caused trouble for Second Miss instead!"
"What?" Jiang Su Su immediately stood up, unable to take it all in. She queried, "Where did this talk originate from? Did Zhou Da confess? That’s impossible!"
"This servant is also not sure," Qing Ting said hurriedly. "Now, the entire capital is talking about this as if it is the truth."
Jiang Su Su’s face turned white. "Mother clearly said that the matter of Zhou Da would not be a problem. Who on earth has spread such talk? This is not good, I must see Mother." After speaking, she donned her coat. "Let’s go, quickly, Mother will think of a way to help me."
In comparison with Mei Qing Yuan’s chaotic[1] situation, Ruan Ju was an oasis of leisurely calm.
[1] Ji fei gou tiao ( 鸡飞狗跳 ) – lit., the chickens are flying and the dogs are jumping (because they have received a shock).
Lu Zhu carefully placed a bowl of pearl and crystal jade tang yuan[2] on the table, and took out a small dish of rose cakes from the basket. "These dianxin[3] are a reward from the Old Jiang Madame. She says that Miss did very well last night, and bid Cai Que jiejie to send them over."
[2] Tang yuan ( 汤圆 ) is a Chinese dessert made from a dough of glutinous rice flour mixed with water, rolled into balls, cooked and served in either sweet syrup (e.g. sweet ginger syrup) or boiling water with fermented glutinous rice, or deep fried. Tang Yuan can be in different colours, and have different fillings (such as sesame or peanut paste). 珍珠翡翠 (zhen zhu fei cui, literally pearls and crystal jade) tang yuan are green and white balls. For more information see here.
[3] Dian xin ( 点心 ) is a style of Chinese cuisine featuring bite-sized portions of food served on small plates or in small bamboo steamer baskets. The food can be sweet or savoury. Examples of common dianxin items are fried radish cake, barbecued pork buns, shrimp dumplings. See here for more information.
Jiang Ruan smiled slightly. The Old Jiang Madame had made no mention of the matter concerning Jiang Su Su. This attitude was certainly food for thought, and it appeared that Xia Yan had not been able to give a satisfactory explanation for the situation in front of the Old Jiang Madame.
As Lu Zhu watched Jiang Ruan sample the dianxin, she said, "Miss, today, a lot of wild rumors are circulating outside. They are saying someone intended to frame Eldest Miss, but caused misfortune for Second Miss instead." She paused and looked at Jiang Ruan, saying "I should think Mei Qing Yuan must be under a lot of pressure[4] at the moment. Miss, after doing this, you must feel a great sense of relief after all that oppression."
[4] Jiao tou lan e ( 焦头烂额 ) – lit, to be badly burned around the head (while trying to put out a fire).
Lian Qiao was sitting to the side, embroidering. On seeing Lu Zhu’s face, she could not stop herself from saying, "It is a relief, however, Lu Zhu, make sure everything that you do is absolutely safe. Just don’t cause Miss any more trouble."
"Jiejie, you can rest assured," Lu Zhu said, pleased with herself. "All I did was to find thirty children in the market, as well as some beggars at Dongcheng Gate. What’s more, I used copper coins. There is no way they will be able to trace the source."
Jiang Ruan sipped at the tang yuan soup and said, "You have done very well. Apart from this, did you say anything else?”
"How would this servant dare to forget Miss’s commands?" Lu Zhu’s face held a trace of hesitation. "However, was phrasing it this way really good? That person’s status . . ."
"Whoever helps Jiang Su Su is my enemy; how can I not make him pay the price. In any case, I was merely returning a little courtesy. He did cause me some unhappiness." Jiang Ruan smiled slightly as she replied.
The storm of rumours swirling around the capital had not only reached the Jiang fu, but also the Jinying Wang fu as well, where the elderly Steward Lin tugged at his long beard until it was standing in all directions. "What do we do? This rumour is getting more and more outrageous. Who on earth started spreading it? If I find out who it is, that person will have to pay the consequences."
The person standing opposite him was Ye Feng. He moved his lips as he pondered, but still remained silent.
Within the span of a night, about the same time the rumours started spreading regarding Xia Yan having hired people to tarnish Jiang Ruan’s reputation, another rumour had sprung up. This one was claiming that Jinying Wang, Xiao Shao, had a deep affection for Jiang Su Su, which is why he had unhesitatingly lied the previous evening to help her out of her predicament.
This rumour was so vividly and realistically detailed, describing clearly how Jiang Su Su and Xiao Shao were each other’s sunshine, that when Steward Lin heard it he was so agitated he almost lost his head. He knew exactly what kind of person his master was as he had watched him grow up. He had never heard Xiao Shao mention Jiang Su Su before; if it had not been for this rumour, Steward Lin would probably not even know who Jiang Su Su was.
"Just who is it that wants to sully wangye’s pristine reputation? What kind of person is this Jiang Su Su, what deep affection? Go to hell!"
Steward Lin had always been known for his explosive temper. Although he was getting on in age, he was still like a child, saying what he thought without hesitation. Ye Feng was used to him by now and simply looked to the heavens, feigning ignorance. It was at this time that they heard Xiao Shao calling from within the residence, "Ye Feng."
Ye Feng hurriedly replied, in a grave tone, "Master," before dodging into the residence. He saw Xiao Shao standing in front of a table, playing with the elaborate dagger in his hand as he asked, "Did you find out who it was?"
"It seems as though it was a servant girl from the Jiang fu, but the Jin Yi guards are still checking. Or, it could have been the Second Miss of the Jiang family?" Ye Feng tentatively asked. From his point of view, Xiao Shao was good looking, charming, and outstanding. Jiang Su Su may have been spreading the rumour herself, hoping that it would strengthen her possibility of marrying Xiao Shao. If the rumour did get around, then Jiang Su Su would have no choice but to marry her.
"It’s not her," Xiao Shao said.
"Master thinks it is . . . ?" Ye Feng had his misgivings, and could not help asking the question.
The memory of the previous night’s scene played out once again in front of Xiao Shao’s eyes, and he remembered the young girl clad in red who looked at him with such deep resentment in her eyes.
He collected himself and said, coldly, "Investigate the Eldest Miss of the Jiang family."
The winds of rumour swirling around the capital reached many places, but naturally, there were also places that could not be reached. For example, Liu Min in the Imperial Academy, had no clue about what had transpired the previous night. He had spent the past few days preparing for the preliminary rounds of the imperial examination that would take place in a few days’ time, and that person who never revealed his name was still in contact with him. Every day, he would place his reply on the table, and the other party would never take it, but another letter would appear. It was as if the person did not have to look at his reply to know what he would say. Over the short period of time of their interaction, Liu Min had discovered that this person was exceptionally talented, and that even when they had contrasting opinions, this person was always able to persuade him, one step at a time. Moreover, the grounds for justification were sufficient, which caused him to have confidence in this person.
Liu Min had no other friends in the Imperial Academy so he had started to view this anonymous person as an intimate friend. Today, there was another letter on the table, as was customary, but it did not discuss academic issues with him. Instead, there were only two characters: Good Luck.
This was offering him best wishes for his success in the upcoming round of the imperial examination. Liu Min smiled, and kept the letter safely. He turned and walked out of his room. Just as he stepped over the doorstep of the Imperial Academy Library, he heard people talking.
"I never could have imagined that the recently returned meimei of Jiang xiong’s family would be such an amazing person, and of such high calibre. Last night, with one dance, she dethroned the Second Jiang Miss."
Liu Min kept silent, walked to his seat and sat down. Of course, he knew that they had to be discussing something that had happened on the Ling Long Boat during the Lantern Festival. He himself came from an impoverished background and so did not qualify to participate, therefore he had no idea what exactly had happened, nor did he care to know.