Part 1: A Dream Within A Dream / Rebirth of Ill Fated Concubine

Chapter 027 Before Leaving

"Zi Su," Jiang Ruan nodded at the two boxes: "Except for what my mother left behind, take all the other things to the pawnshop and pawn them all. It's best to convert them all into silver notes."

"Miss," Zi Su was a little surprised: "All? Those are all yours..."

"What do you want with used things?" Jiang Ruan sat down at the table and slowly poured herself a cup of tea. Since Zhang Lan's accident, the maids in the farm are very afraid of Jiang Ruan, and the tea they sent is all new tea this year.

"You have to keep a few clothes," Zi Su said: "We will return to Capital in a few days, and it's not good to wear like this."

"If I don't dress like this, how can my father feel sorry for me?" Jiang Ruan said lightly, her face still expressionless, but her eyes were a little cold.

Zi Su was speechless for a moment, and didn't know how to answer. Just as she was hesitating, Lian Qiao came in with a basket of washed fruits and vegetables. 

Hearing the conversation between the two, she said, "That's right. If you wear the original clothes, it would be just for the sake of appearance. Wouldn't it be uncomfortable for the girl to wear them? Besides, Zi Su, don't forget that the girl can't wear those clothes now. Didn't you see that Chen Fang wore them?" 

Zi Su thought so too, so she didn't hesitate any more. She squatted down and carefully picked out Zhao Mei's belongings. She asked a few people to carry the remaining things out and exchange them for silver at the pawnshop. 

After Zi Su left, Lian Qiao put the previous books into the box and said hesitantly: "Miss, I heard something outside today."

Before she finished speaking, she heard the door being kicked open with a "bang". Chen Fang rushed in aggressively from outside and asked: "Miss, why did you do this to my mother?"

"How dare you!" Lian Qiao stood up and said angrily: "Who gave you the courage to yell in front of the young lady!"

Chen Fang did not show any weakness and said loudly: "Miss, I respect you as a young lady. My mother has been providing for you well in the past few years since you came to the manor. If it weren't for my mother, how could you be here today! My brother also treats you well, why did you frame him and put him in jail, young lady, you are so cruel!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Lian Qiao was so angry: "What frame-up? It is obvious that Chen Zhao brought it upon himself. He wanted to frame our young lady!"

"Lian Qiao," Jiang Ruan stopped her, looked at Chen Fang, and suddenly smiled: "Miss Chen, are you mistaken? It was you who put Chen Zhao in jail, wasn't it you?"

"What do you mean?" Chen Fang frowned.

"Miss Chen, have you forgotten that pot of moon beauty you invited me to see more than ten days ago." Jiang Ruan picked up the teacup, blew away the tea foam floating on it, and took a sip: "Speaking of which, your brother and Chun Ying's relationship started with that pot of moon beauty."

Chen Fang didn't understand what Jiang Ruan was saying at first, but when she heard the last sentence, she was shocked and said in disbelief: "Did you do it on purpose? Chun Ying went there, was it your fault?"

"What do you think?" Jiang Ruan asked back.

"Impossible, this is impossible..." Chen Fang looked at her with some fear: "Even if you led Chun Ying there, how do you know what happened later? You can't have planned to this extent. Are you a demon..."

"Maybe I am a demon. You harmed your brother, and your brother harmed your mother, so you can't blame me." Jiang Ruan smiled at her, and the hot tea moistened her lips bright red. Her black hair and snow-white skin, the smile on her lips was as charming as a spirit. 

Chen Fang took a few steps back and shook her head: "No, I don't believe it, no..." It seemed that she was extremely frightened and turned around and ran away.

Lian Qiao frowned and said, "What's wrong with her? What she eats and wears on a daily basis belongs to the girl. How dare she said those words to the girl? She is really blinded by greed. Disgusting!"

Jiang Ruan said, "Hasn't she already suffered retribution? Everything in the world must have cause and effect. The bad consequences of Zhang Lan's family today are the cause they planted in the past."

Lian Qiao smiled and said, "The girl is still smart. Look how scared she is. Our girl is as good as a god."

Jiang Ruan laughed. In her last life, she learned to endure from the people who harmed her, in the palace, and when she was miserable and helpless. If you have a plan, you should take it slowly and use everything you can. 

Now, all of this is easy to use. Thinking of what happened just now, she asked, "What did you want to say to me just now?"

"This..." Lian Qiao bit her lip, "There are rumours about the master everywhere outside, saying that the master is not strict in managing the family and allows the eldest daughter of the Shangshu Mansion to be bullied on the farm." 

After saying that, she carefully looked at Jiang Ruan's expression, but saw that Jiang Ruan smiled faintly: "Really?"

The farm was so popular, and naturally the capital would talk about this matter as a topic of conversation after dinner. Everyone said that Shangshu Jiang was kind on the outside but cold on the inside, and then lamented that the eldest daughter of the Jiang family was righteous and intelligent. The door of the Jiang family mansion was closed, and even the servants and maids who went out to buy things could not be seen.

Inside Jiang's house, Jiang Quan slammed the memorial in his hand onto the desk, and said with a sullen face, "Asshole!"

"Master," the woman who pushed the door in was wearing a pink silk embroidered lily skirt, the hem of which was like a petal when she moved, and her hair was combed into a horse-like bun decorated with South China Sea pearls, which was neat and tidy, with beautiful eyebrows and almond eyes. 

Although she was dressed like a woman, she was extremely gentle and graceful, with a strong scholarly air. She put down the food basket in her hand, walked forward and held Jiang Quan's hand, and whispered: "Master, calm down, don't get angry and hurt yourself."

When Jiang Quan saw her, the gloom on his face dissipated a little, but his tone was still full of anger: "Look at what these memorials say! They say that I, Jiang Quan, am not strict in managing the family, harsh on my legitimate daughter, and have ignored my children for six years. I am cold-blooded and ruthless, and a hypocrite! The emperor has ordered me to go home and reflect, and now I have become a laughing stock in the court! Zhao Mei, you raised a good daughter!"

"It's none of my sister's business." Xia Yan urged anxiously: "Ruan'er must not have done it on purpose, but now it's like this, master, why don't you take Ruan'er back to calm the emperor's suspicion, I will ask someone to prepare it now."

"No need," Jiang Quan raised his hand, his eyes full of gloom: "Censor Wang has personally prepared a vehicle to send her back to Capital."

The journey from Zhuangzi to Capital takes two days at the fastest and three days at the longest. Wang Yushi advocated frugality, so he did not use the sedan chair that Qian Wanli had arranged, but only ordered two carriages. 

Two of Jiang Ruan's three boxes had been sold for silver notes, and the remaining box of books was moved to the carriage, saving a lot of space.

In addition to Zi Su and Lian Qiao, the accompanying maids also brought Lu Zhu. Before leaving, Lu Zhu took the initiative to ask to serve Jiang Ruan. 

Jiang Ruan originally planned to let Xiao Yuan follow. The two girls were smart and clever, and they were rare to be brave. However, Xiao Yuan was a family child and did not want to leave her parents, so she politely declined Jiang Ruan's kindness. 

Jiang Ruan did not force it, and left a sum of money for her, just as a way to repay her for her help.

(End of this chapter)

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