Coming out of the Capital Magistrate’s residence, both Lu Zhu and Tianzhu dared not ask a single question. Jiang Ruan had been utterly cold toward Dong Ying’er just now, as if all their past friendship meant nothing. By the end, Dong Ying’er’s expression had turned quite ugly—there would probably be a rift between them from now on.
Jiang Ruan, however, didn’t take this matter to heart at all. She had no obligation toward Dong Ying’er. She could only teach her to think things through herself. Between Jiang Xinzhi and Dong Ying’er, she naturally prioritized Jiang Xinzhi.
After leaving the Capital Magistrate’s residence, it was still early. She hadn’t visited Empress Dowager Yide in the palace for quite some time. A few days ago, Nanny Yang from the Empress Dowager’s side had also sent word, asking her to visit the palace. Seeing it was still early, she had the carriage turn around and head directly to the palace.
The palace was currently busy with the selection of court ladies. Along the way, she could see teaching nannies distributing names from the flower registers. Jiang Dan’s name was probably among them. Jiang Ruan smiled slightly and walked directly toward Cining Palace.
Just as she reached a corner of a long corridor, she saw a familiar figure standing by a flower bed beside the walkway—it was Princess He Yi.
Princess He Yi was accompanied by several young palace maids, leaning down to speak to another person. Drawing closer, she could hear Princess He Yi saying continuously: “Just a lowly spawn born by a lowly palace maid—do you really think you’re imperial nobility? Hmph, whether you can grow up safely is still unknown. Even if this Princess beat you today, so what?”
The small person being pointed at and scolded by Princess He Yi kept his head down silently, seeming extremely frightened, cowering behind a palace maid. The palace maid was also timid, constantly bowing and apologizing to Princess He Yi.
Jiang Ruan’s gaze sharpened slightly. When she saw that small figure, she couldn’t help but tremble, almost freezing in place.
She rarely had moments of emotional agitation. Seeing her like this, Tianzhu and Lu Zhu were puzzled and followed her gaze to look at the small person.
They saw a boy of only three or four years old, dressed quite plainly. A careful observer could see that while his clothing was made of luxurious fabric, the workmanship wasn’t very refined. A child’s skin was delicate and could easily be chafed by such rough stitching. The child was pale, appearing malnourished, yet quite delicate and adorable. He was just tightly gripping the palace maid’s clothing corner, his expression extremely timid.
Looking at his status, it should be quite high, yet his demeanor wasn’t like that of proper nobility. Moreover, if he were truly a minister’s son, Princess He Yi’s beating and insulting him would be far too discourteous. Princess He Yi’s mention of “imperial nobility” had fallen into everyone’s ears. Lu Zhu wondered—could he be some little prince? But for a little prince to be treated this way was worse than even a reasonably respectable imperial servant.
Jiang Ruan stared unblinkingly at the child, her heart surging like stormy waves. That child was none other than Pei’er!
In her previous life, shortly after this she had entered the palace. After being granted the title of Beauty, she had accidentally encountered Pei’er. The Emperor had been present then and simply entrusted Pei’er to her care. The deep palace was lonely, and this child’s background was pitiful, yet he was very sensible. Mother and son depended on each other, finding joy in hardship. Looking back now, those were the happiest days after entering the palace in her previous life.
What surfaced in her mind, however, was the final scene from her previous life—when she was made into a human swine and placed in a wooden basin, personally witnessing Pei’er being violated by Li Dong. Pei’er’s shrill cries seemed to still echo in her ears. Jiang Ruan closed her eyes deeply, and when she opened them again, her gaze was clear. Not anymore—in this life, Li Dong was already dead, and the Prime Minister’s residence no longer existed. She hadn’t entered the palace, so Pei’er wouldn’t have to face such a tragic fate.
She slowly walked forward with a smile: “What is Princess He Yi doing?”
Princess He Yi had been scolding Xuan Pei and naturally hadn’t noticed Jiang Ruan. Seeing her now, she first started, then a flash of hatred crossed her eyes. Princess He Yi wore red clothing today—a color Jiang Ruan most loved to wear. Princess He Yi had some exotic features, and wearing this also showed a certain passionate boldness. But Jiang Ruan, still in mourning, couldn’t wear bright colors and today wore a light azure plain robe. The plainer her clothes, the more they accentuated her deep beauty—graceful and alluring, with a charm that made people unable to look away.
Any woman, upon seeing someone of outstanding beauty, would inevitably compare herself, especially Princess He Yi who already didn’t get along with Jiang Ruan. Seeing her own dress and appearance overshadowed by Jiang Ruan, she immediately felt annoyed: “Jiang Ruan, do you want to meddle in others’ affairs? This matter isn’t for you to worry about.”
The surrounding palace maids all lowered their heads. Everyone knew Princess He Yi and Princess Hong’an never got along, yet both princesses weren’t people to provoke lightly.
Xuan Pei, who had been hiding behind the palace maid, seemed startled by Jiang Ruan’s sudden appearance, hiding behind the palace maid while staring unblinkingly at Jiang Ruan.
Jiang Ruan didn’t look at Xuan Pei, only smiled: “I naturally wouldn’t interfere in such matters. I’m going to see Imperial Grandmother.” She glanced lightly at Princess He Yi: “Imperial Grandmother will naturally handle these matters.”
“You—” Princess He Yi said angrily: “You dare threaten me!” Jiang Ruan meant she would tell Empress Dowager Yide everything that happened here. While Princess He Yi was lawless due to the Emperor’s favor, Empress Dowager Yide was someone she had always feared. This was because Empress Dowager Yide was naturally aloof and didn’t get close to people, yet Jiang Ruan’s relationship with the Empress Dowager was even closer than her own granddaughter’s relationship with her. Every time she thought of this, Princess He Yi felt furious. Empress Dowager Yide was someone who insisted on proper behavior—if she learned Princess He Yi had beaten and scolded Xuan Pei, she would certainly punish her severely.
“This isn’t a threat,” Jiang Ruan smiled. “But I think the Princess isn’t afraid either, is she?”
“You—” Princess He Yi wished she could tear Jiang Ruan apart. Normally, given her temperament, she would make a scene regardless of consequences. But since Consort Chen fell from grace and was sent to the Cold Palace, aside from the Empress who posed no threat, the remaining three consorts were all striving to compete anew for the Emperor’s favor. With a new batch of beauties about to enter the palace, Consort Shu wanted to gain the Emperor’s favor and had been warning her not to cause trouble, especially not to openly conflict with Jiang Ruan.
Today she was in a bad mood. Passing by this place, she happened to encounter the palace’s most unfavored Thirteenth Prince Xuan Pei being brought out by a palace maid to get some sun. Xuan Pei was holding a handful of mud and accidentally fell in front of her, soiling her skirt hem with the mud. In anger, Princess He Yi struck Xuan Pei and was in the midst of scolding when she unexpectedly encountered Jiang Ruan, this jinx.
Though she hated Jiang Ruan bitterly, Princess He Yi had learned to be somewhat wiser after several lessons and ultimately didn’t dare continue scolding in front of Jiang Ruan. She cursed: “Bad luck!” Then threatened Xuan Pei: “Hmph, she can’t always protect you in the palace!” With that, she stormed off with her palace maids.
After Princess He Yi left, Jiang Ruan smiled as she looked at the child behind the palace maid. On Xuan Pei’s pale little face was clearly a red handprint—no question who had done it. Xuan Pei had probably been badly frightened by Princess He Yi earlier; his eyes held pools of tears, red in a way that tugged at one’s heart.
Lu Zhu was someone who pitied children. She immediately crouched in front of Xuan Pei, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the dirt from his face, saying: “Is the little prince alright?” She didn’t know which prince this was, only finding Xuan Pei pitiful and adorable, so she simply called him little prince.
“He’s ranked thirteenth—the Thirteenth Prince,” Jiang Ruan said.
“How does Miss know?” Lu Zhu asked in surprise.
Xuan Pei looked at Lu Zhu while the palace maid quickly flattered: “This servant sees the Thirteenth Prince seems quite fond of the Princess.”
Jiang Ruan coldly swept her with a glance, her tone suddenly turning cold: “Kneel down!”
The palace maid was startled. Meeting Jiang Ruan’s gaze, she felt as if falling into an ice cellar and knelt down without saying anything.
Lu Zhu looked disdainful. They had seen everything clearly just now—this palace maid was supposedly the Thirteenth Prince’s personal attendant, yet didn’t know how to protect her master. Not only had she allowed the domineering and willful Princess He Yi to beat her little master, but she had also kept bowing and scraping to curry favor. She probably didn’t take her own master seriously either. As a personal servant, this was truly a grave offense.
Jiang Ruan said flatly: “Is this how you care for the Thirteenth Prince?”
The palace maid’s body trembled as she began kowtowing desperately: “Princess, spare this servant’s life! This servant will never dare again! This servant knows her wrong! Princess, spare this servant’s life!”
Lu Zhu stared wide-eyed in curiosity. To fear Jiang Ruan this much—it was as if Jiang Ruan were some terrifying person.
“I won’t punish you,” Jiang Ruan said flatly. “But from today onward, if the Thirteenth Prince suffers any more mishaps, you need not continue living. He has one handprint on his body—you’ll have a thousand on yours. He receives one wound—you’ll receive a thousand of the same.”
Her tone was calm, yet the palace maid shivered inexplicably, feeling as if she heard a voice from hell. After a moment of shock, she understood and desperately kowtowed to Jiang Ruan several more times: “This servant thanks the Princess for her discipline.”
Jiang Ruan then looked at the child who had been stealing glances at her. Xuan Pei stared at her and smiled timidly. Those bright black eyes nearly melted her heart, making her want to step forward and embrace him—as in her previous life. But in the end, she only pulled out a small azure porcelain bottle from her bosom—it was the spiritual medicine Xiao Shao had sent when Jiang Quan had beaten her before. She stuffed the medicine bottle into Xuan Pei’s hands and instructed the palace maid: “Remember to apply this to the Thirteenth Prince once daily.” After a pause, she added: “Remember my words.”
The palace maid nodded repeatedly, feeling both puzzled and fortunate. She didn’t know why Princess Hong’an cared so much about the Thirteenth Prince, yet if she cared, she hadn’t made any particularly intimate gestures toward him—even seeming somewhat distant.
The same puzzlement existed in Tianzhu and Lu Zhu’s hearts, but Jiang Ruan didn’t give them time to speculate. She told the palace maid: “Take the Thirteenth Prince back.”
The palace maid quickly bowed to Jiang Ruan and left with Xuan Pei. As the palace maid led him away by the hand, Xuan Pei couldn’t help but look back at Jiang Ruan repeatedly, his small figure appearing particularly pitiful.
“Since you helped him, why treat him so coldly?” A low male voice came from behind.
Jiang Ruan turned around to see Liu Min in azure official robes. She didn’t know how long he had been standing there before stepping out to speak.
Tianzhu frowned slightly. As a martial artist, Liu Min’s hiding skills weren’t very sophisticated—she had discovered him long ago. But since he hadn’t emerged, she had thought he was some eavesdropping eunuch or palace maid, not expecting it to be Liu Min. Liu Min and Jiang Ruan’s relationship was delicate, and Tianzhu naturally sided with her young master, so she didn’t welcome Liu Min.
Seeing Jiang Ruan turn around, Liu Min was slightly stunned. He had always seen Jiang Ruan in bright red clothing, radiant and spirited. Today she unusually wore azure robes, and Liu Min himself favored azure. Moreover, with Jiang Ruan dressed this way, they wore the same color…
Liu Min didn’t know what he was thinking until Jiang Ruan spoke: “Just a casual gesture—why speak of sentiment?”
This meant her intervention for Thirteenth Prince Xuan Pei today was merely something done in passing, not intentional, and there would be no special bond if they met again in the future. Such words seemed too callous, and Liu Min, having just witnessed that scene, had determined Princess Hong’an was a kind person who was cold on the outside but warm within, thinking Jiang Ruan’s words were spoken out of shyness.
He said: “Not everyone would be willing to offend Princess He Yi for an unfavored prince. Even if it was just a casual gesture, Princess Hong’an is truly righteous.”
Liu Min had long heard of Xuan Pei’s position in the palace. The Thirteenth Prince was born lowly—his mother was merely a palace maid the Emperor had casually favored. She died in childbirth the day she bore the Thirteenth Prince, and he had grown up essentially abandoned in the palace. Growing up so timid was natural. Palace servants weren’t very respectful to this Thirteenth Prince and even secretly bullied him. Liu Min hadn’t expected Jiang Ruan to stand up for the Thirteenth Prince, a complete stranger. With his scholarly pride, Liu Min greatly admired such behavior from Jiang Ruan.
Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “Grand Tutor Liu thinks too highly of me. The Thirteenth Prince is my nominal brother after all. Even a concubine’s son in a household cannot be beaten and scolded at will. If common families are thus, the imperial family should emphasize proper behavior even more.”
The Thirteenth Prince was essentially a concubine’s son, yet in the imperial palace he was beaten and scolded by anyone. When Zhao Mei was still in the Jiang residence, Jiang Chao and Jiang Susu were also concubine’s children, yet they lived more comfortably than she, the legitimate daughter. People were just so different. Thinking of this, Jiang Ruan’s eyes darkened.
Noticing the hostility that flashed across Jiang Ruan, Liu Min was somewhat surprised. He remembered previous events—when Jiang Ruan was wrongfully accused of poisoning Madam Jiang and imprisoned, her biological father Jiang Quan hadn’t visited even once. He had been anxious then and had also approached the Emperor once. He still remembered how the Emperor looked at him then. Half-jokingly, half-seriously, the Emperor had said: “Beloved Liu, you care so much about Princess Hong’an—shall I bestow her upon you?”
Liu Min had panicked and refused without thinking, but reflecting on it later, he couldn’t help but think deeply. It seemed that since learning that person was Jiang Ruan, Liu Min would think of this special woman from time to time. Even the Crown Prince would occasionally see his appearance and ask: “Is Grand Tutor not eating or drinking properly because he has someone in his heart?”
Now seeing Jiang Ruan standing right before him, Liu Min felt a sour sensation in his heart—an indescribable feeling. He said somewhat hesitantly: “This subject greatly admires the Princess.”
“Grand Tutor Liu flatters me,” Jiang Ruan’s attitude remained warm yet kept people at a thousand li distance. Liu Min felt suddenly disappointed. He could write beautiful essays and produce excellent national policies, yet didn’t know how to converse with this woman he had once considered a kindred spirit. No matter how much he said, Jiang Ruan’s attitude remained indifferent.
Lu Zhu’s eyes rolled as she looked Liu Min up and down, thinking this person was a Grand Tutor—how could he look like such a bookworm? So silly.
Tianzhu frowned. She was quite clear that her young master disliked Liu Min approaching Jiang Ruan. The Jinyiwei was still hoping for another young mistress—how could they let a Grand Tutor steal her away? Moreover, from a personal maid’s perspective, Jiang Ruan’s temperament definitely wasn’t something a Grand Tutor who only knew policies and essays could handle. How could the powerless Grand Tutor Liu protect Jiang Ruan? Tianzhu said softly: “Miss, much time has passed. The Empress Dowager’s side…”
Jiang Ruan nodded and smiled at Liu Min: “Grand Tutor Liu, I still need to visit Cining Palace, so I’ll take my leave first.”
A flash of disappointment crossed Liu Min’s eyes: “In that case, farewell.”
Jiang Ruan turned and followed Tianzhu in the opposite direction. Liu Min stood behind for a moment before somewhat annoyedly slapping his forehead and leaving dejectedly.
Upon reaching Cining Palace, Nanny Yang sighed with relief seeing Jiang Ruan. She glanced inside and said: “The Empress Dowager is somewhat unhappy today. Please comfort her more, Princess.”
“I understand,” Jiang Ruan nodded. Entering the room, she indeed saw Empress Dowager Yide reclining on a warm, thick Nine Sons Continuous Fortune soft couch, her long ruby nail guards absent-mindedly scratching the couch’s edge. The couch’s edge was made of sandalwood, and the nail guards produced slight scratching sounds as they passed over it. Empress Dowager Yide frowned tightly, appearing melancholy.
Jiang Ruan smiled as she walked over, her steps extremely light. Hearing the sound, Empress Dowager Yide turned back. Seeing Jiang Ruan, she was slightly stunned, seeming to fall into distant memories, unconsciously whispering: “Yuanrong…”
“Imperial Grandmother,” Jiang Ruan spoke.
Seeming awakened by Jiang Ruan’s words, Empress Dowager Yide suddenly came to her senses, helplessly patting her forehead: “Truly getting old—even my eyes are failing.”
On the small table before her lay an open painting. The scroll depicted endless grasslands and desert, with a setting sun slowly descending from the horizon, blood-red sunset illuminating the entire scene. In the distance, a caravan of camels passed leisurely, as if one could hear the gentle tinkling of camel bells.
Jiang Ruan raised her eyebrows slightly—the painting showed the Southern Border?
Empress Dowager Yide noticed Jiang Ruan’s gaze and sighed, seeming utterly exhausted with no energy for extra words: “Hong’an, sit with me for a while.”
Jiang Ruan warmly agreed: “Yes.”