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

Chapter 052 Hongying

Hongying blushed: "Miss, you are really joking. You are embarrassing me."

Jiang Ruan smiled more cordially. Hongying was a sensible person and smarter than expected. At least she didn't know how to reject her advances. She reached out and held Hongying: "What I said is absolutely true. It's no wonder that my father dotes on Fifth Aunt with such demeanour." 

She lowered her voice: "Now I have just returned to the Jiang Mansion. I am unfamiliar with the affairs of the mansion. I just happened to have a kind of cordial feeling when I saw Fifth Aunt. In the future, please Fifth Aunt take care of me. If I do something wrong and make my father angry one day, I hope Fifth Aunt can say a few words for me." 

After that, she stared at Fifth Aunt without blinking.

These words were really meaningful, as if hinting at something. Hongying was stunned for a moment. She looked up and saw Jiang Ruan's smiling eyes. Hongying felt that the eyes were like a layer of fog. It was clear and transparent, but it was hard to tell what was in her mind. After thinking for a while, she showed a panic expression on her face: "Miss, what are you talking about? If I can help you, I will do my best."

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: "Then thank you first, Fifth Aunt. I think the only person I can rely on in this mansion is someone like Fifth Aunt. Fifth Aunt's appearance and demeanour are really incomparable to the main wife."

Hearing this, Hongying's heart was startled. She looked at Jiang Ruan tentatively and smiled: "Miss, don't make fun of me like this. Madam is a golden branch and jade leaf, and I am born in a humble family. There is a world of difference."

"Feng Shui turns around, thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, Aunt, have you heard this?" Jiang Ruan said: "Who can predict what will happen in the future, Fifth Aunt, don't belittle yourself. Kings, princes, generals, and ministers are all born with different species. Being born in a humble family does not necessarily mean that you will not have a good future."

Hongying paused, lowered her head and said softly: "The Lantern Festival will be in three days. Has the eldest lady been to the old lady?"

She emphasized this, and Lu Zhu, who was following behind her, couldn't help but be a little surprised. She heard Jiang Ruan say: "Yes, several sisters together."

"The eldest lady is kind-hearted, but you should pay more attention to some things. The lady and the second lady have been a little strange in recent days. The eldest lady... must take care of yourself." 

After Hongying finished this sentence, she did not stay and left in a hurry without looking at Jiang Ruan's face. Lu Zhu behind her was thoughtful: "Miss, the words of the fifth aunt seem to have other meanings."

"She is a smart person." Jiang Ruan said: "If she could have reminded me like this in my previous life, it would be great."

The latter sentence was very low, and Lu Zhu didn't hear it clearly. She was stunned for a moment: "What?"

Jiang Ruan smiled: "Nothing, go back."

When they returned to Ruanju, as Xia Yan said, the newly sent maids had already arrived in the house. Seeing Jiang Ruan coming back, they stood in a row.

Zi Su and Lian Qiao were first-class maids who served her personally, and Lu Zhu was a second-class maid. 

Every young lady in the Jiang Mansion had two first-class maids, four second-class maids, and six third-class maids. Yan Huayuan sent four, and said that Jiang Ruan would personally pick the rest in a few days.

The four maids were in a row, all of them were beautiful girls in their prime years. Jiang Ruan came in but didn't even look at them, and went to the soft couch on the side to flip through a book.

Lian Qiao and Zi Su said nothing, standing quietly behind Jiang Ruan, handing her hot tea from time to time, really treating the girls in the room as invisible people.

After more than half an hour, someone finally couldn't bear it anymore, and one of the maids took the lead to come forward and whispered, "The servants have met the young lady."

Jiang Ruan then slowly raised her head, seemingly extremely lazy, and glanced at the maids, but the light in her upturned charming eyes was sharp, and finally fell on the face of the maid who came forward.

The maid had a beautiful face and some bookish air, which made her look even more beautiful. She lowered her head and looked humble.

"What's your name?" Jiang Ruan smiled slightly.

"My name is Shuxiang." The maid replied softly.

Shuxiang, Jiang Ruan slowly sipped the tea. The maid who accompanied her into the palace in her previous life looked humble and obedient, kind and amiable. She was kept by her side because she could read. The last impression of her was the close maid who followed Jiang Susu who came to see her in the prison before she was turned into a human pig.

Now, she was sent back to her side.

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month is the annual Lantern Festival of the Dajin Dynasty. It is a grand festival for young people. A few days ago, the clothing and jewellery stores with a little fame in the capital were very lively, and the cosmetics shops were in short supply. On that day, young scholars gathered in the tavern early in the morning to discuss who would win the first prize in the Linglong Boat this year.

Early in the morning, Jiang Ruan was woken up by Zi Su and Lian Qiao, who were busy choosing what clothes to wear and what jewellery to wear for her. Lu Zhu regretted that she couldn't go with them, and said angrily: "The young lady must be very beautiful tonight, but it's a pity that I don't have the pleasure to see her. I don't know how many people will be stunned by her."

Lian Qiao heard the sourness in her words and laughed and scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about? Why don't I give this position to you and let me stay in the mansion."

"How can that be possible," Lu Zhu pouted: "I'm not doing things for the young lady. Besides, the newcomers in the yard are not easy to deal with. Today, you are not here, so I can kill their prestige."

"Sister Lu Zhu, please take it easy," Zi Su also joked rarely: "Don't scare these delicate girls."

"They’re just a servant anyway, what's the point of being delicate?" Lu Zhu showed a trace of contempt in her eyes: "And they are all black-hearted. Today, I saw that Shuxiang was looking for something in the inner room several times, so I followed her. Do you know what I found? That Shuxiang actually stole a handkerchief from the young lady."

"What!" Lian Qiao, who was combing Jiang Ruan's hair, trembled and shouted in surprise, and stopped immediately: "Why didn't you stop it?"

Jiang Ruan paused and looked at Lu Zhu, but she didn't look as anxious as Lian Qiao, but she was calm and composed.

Lu Zhu said: "The young lady told me to keep an eye on the girls, especially Shuxiang, and act according to circumstances when necessary. As long as I know that the girl is on the same side as Yanhuayuan, that's it. I have been following the traffickers since I was a child, and I have seen a lot." 

"If Shuxiang is just dirty, it's fine. What I am most afraid of is that she has dirty thoughts. This handkerchief is not a small thing. If it falls into the hands of others, it may ruin the girl's innocence and ruin her life. The girl was asleep at the time. If I reported it to the girl, it would be too late, so I took the initiative."
 
Jiang Ruan looked at her: "How did you do it?"

Lu Zhu's eyes flashed with a hint of pride: "I took advantage of her going out and replaced the handkerchief she hid under the pillow with the second girl's."

Zi Su was shocked: "Why did you do this?"

(End of this chapter)

*If you like the translation, please vote and share it with your friends. Thanks for your support!*