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

Chapter 043 Borrowing A Knife

Lin Zixiang glanced at Jiang Susu, who was talking to Colonel Lin's daughter-in-law, and snorted coldly: "Pretending!"

"Why do you say that?" Jiang Ruan asked, picking up the tea cup in front of him.

"On the surface, they are aloof, but deep down they are gaudy. Such people are not hypocritical. What they say about Qionglou Yaoxian is just a worldly view that is blinded by appearance." Lin Zixiang's words were not polite, and the dewdrops behind her made her laugh.

Lin Changshi was in charge of the palace's literature, history, and chronology, and he valued fairness in literature and history. Lin Taishi and Wang Yushi were generally upright people, and Lin Zixiang inherited Lin Taishi's upright temper to 10%. 

Lin Zixiang's straight temperament is naturally unpopular among the ladies, but Jiang Ruan thinks it's great. It is rare to find frank and forthright people in the world. Such people are much cuter than those who are talkative but mean-spirited. It is really depressing that someone with a temperament like Lin Zixiang's was married to a dissolute person like the third prince, and her whole life was ruined like that.

Lin Zixiang noticed Jiang Ruan's eyes and frowned: "Why are you looking at me like this? It's like you're looking at some pitiful person."

"Really?" Jiang Ruan smiled and changed the topic: "Miss Lin doesn't like my second sister so much, but she is willing to sit with me. I am really grateful."

"It has nothing to do with you." Lin Zixiang showed no mercy to Jiang Ruan: "I just don't want to see them bullying little girls. Like your second sister, you are also pretending, but you don't act like a spotless fairy like her. It makes people feel more comfortable."

Jiang Ruan admired Lin Zixiang in her heart and said: "I am not a fairy. I am too busy to deal with the worldly affairs every day. I do common things and eat all kinds of grains. I am just a common person."

After hearing her words, Lin Zixiang couldn't help but look at Jiang Ruan twice: "You are self-aware."

Lian Qiao hesitated to speak, but finally endured it. Jiang Ruan herself didn't care. She knew that this Miss Lin had no ill intentions and was just being unforgiving. Such a person was actually as wise as a fool, but her temper was a bit more lonely, and she had a soft heart.

Most of the time for tea and talking passed by unknowingly. Jiang Li stood up from her seat, walked to Jiang Ruan and whispered: "Sister, I want to go to the clean room, can you come with me?"

Jiang Ruan smiled: "But I don't know the way."

Jiang Li glanced at Shen Mingzhen: "It doesn't matter, Miss Shen's girl is leading the way, but I feel a little scared. I just reported it to my mother, and she agreed. You and I are both sisters, so I will take care of you for a while today. Big Sister" 

Her voice was neither high nor low, just enough to be heard by the ladies around her, which made it hard for Jiang Ruan to refuse. After all, accompanying her concubine sister to a clean house was not a big deal. Jiang Li was so humble. Now that she had just returned to Capital, she couldn't let any unfavourable remarks spread.

Jiang Ruan nodded: "What are you talking about? I'll just accompany you." 

After saying that, Luzhu and Lian Qiao wanted to follow. Jiang Li stretched out her hand to stop her: "We’re just going for a while. I didn't bring any girl with me. Well, these two girls can stay here. It would be nice to have Sister Shen’s girl."

Lu Zhu and Lian Qiao were a little worried, Jiang Ruan smiled at them: "Nothing, I'll be right back."

Jiang Li happily took Jiang Ruan's hand and left the table, waiting for them to leave the table. Madam Shen seemed to have noticed that two people were missing from the table, and said to Xia Yan, who was sitting next to her: "Why are the eldest and third girls in your house missing?"

Xia Yan glanced at the table with a smile, and said unintentionally: "Maybe they went to the clean room. There are so many people watching, so nothing happened."

Shen Mingzhen smiled proudly, took Jiang Susu's hand and said, "Sister Susu, just watch the show later."

Jiang Susu was a little uneasy and looked at her hesitantly: "Don't do anything extraordinary. Big sister, she is new here..."

"It's just that you have a good heart," Shen Mingzhen said impatiently, "It's just to give her some colour to see if she dares to be so arrogant in the future."

Besides, Jiang Ruan and Jiang Li were walking leisurely along the path in Shen Mansion's garden. At the front was Shen Mingzhen's personal maid Xiao Cui. 

Jiang Li glanced at Jiang Ruan from the corner of her eye from time to time, and saw Jiang Ruan smiling all the time, seemingly unaware of what was going on, so Jiang Li felt relieved.

When she walked to a deserted small corridor, Jiang Li put her hand to cover her stomach and looked at Jiang Ruan: "Sister, I can't hold it in any longer. Why don't I ask the maid to take me to the cleaning room first and come back to you later?"

"Can you do it alone?" Jiang Ruan asked worriedly.

"Nothing, I'll be out soon." Jiang Li frowned, as if she was really uncomfortable. 

Xiao Cui on the side also said: "Miss Jiang, I will send the second lady to the clean room. You can sit in the room next to it for a while. This is the room used to entertain guests in the house. There are fragrant tea and snacks in it."

Jiang Ruan glanced at the door, thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Okay, Li Niang, you have to hurry up."

"I know, sister, please go in quickly." Jiang Li said anxiously.

Jiang Ruan pushed the door open and went in. When Jiang Li and Xiao Cui outside saw this, they picked up their skirts and left in a hurry. When no more footsteps were heard outside, the door was pushed open again, and Jiang Ruan walked out. She tightened the big flamingo cloak around her body, and a sneer appeared on her face.

She didn't know who would come into this room in the future, but the person who came in was alone with her, and they would definitely be seen by Jiang Li, who was ‘worried’ about getting lost. Once she came and went, her reputation would be messed up.

This may be Shen Mingzhen's idea. Shen Mingzhen could come up with such a vicious plot to frame her just after meeting her for the first time today. Maybe Jiang Susu also contributed a lot to it. What Jiang Susu best at is killing people with a borrowed knife.

But Jiang Susu is not the only one who knows how to kill someone with a borrowed knife.

Jiang Ruan slowly walked along the deserted corridor. She walked leisurely and in high spirits. If Jiang Li were present, she would be surprised, because this skilled look clearly did not look like it was the first time she entered Shen's mansion.

It was indeed her first time to enter the Shen Mansion, but in her previous life in the palace, Jiang Quan and the Eighth Prince would always inform her of some confidential events. At that time, she thought that there were no secrets from her and she was doing this as if she were her own person. Therefore, she always kept this information in mind, hoping that it could help in the future.

Unexpectedly, she actually helped herself now. Those confidential things also included the secrets in Shen's mansion. Jiang Li's biggest mistake was that she thought since Jiang Ruan didn't know the way, she could only stay in that room and wait for someone to come. It's a pity that whether it was the previous life or this life, she kept the layout of Shen's house in mind.

In her previous life in the palace, the only thing she didn't lack was the long time. She tried her best to make her life more interesting. Whatever Jiang Quan and the Eighth Prince said to her, she was willing to take it out and chew it over and over again at night when she had no intention of sleeping. 

The layout of Shen's mansion is the same as in her memory, and walking around it is effortless now.

(End of chapter)

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