In the distance, Ruan Hong was waving at her, prompting Madam Ruan to glare at him.
She walked over and discovered that the tea room next to the front hall was also filled with boxes - the betrothal gifts from the Gong Prince's Mansion.
"Why so rushed?" she muttered to herself.
A nanny beside her said sarcastically, "After our Princess Consort left your esteemed residence, she went straight to the palace to see the Empress Dowager and asked if the Empress Dowager knew about the Ruan family having two daughters. And guess what? Heh, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was also baffled. It turned out the Ruan family had two daughters! Master Ruan, Madam Ruan, you really kept this well hidden."
Uh...
Who would have thought the Gong Princess Consort could be so audacious.
At the time, Master and Madam Ruan had said that the Empress Dowager knew the Ruan family had two daughters and that the imperial decree for marriage was for the other daughter. However, she actually barged straight into the palace to verify this with the Empress Dowager.
It turned out the Empress Dowager had no idea about this. She had only listened to the Imperial Observatory who specifically requested a daughter from the Ruan family.
These words were quite a slap in the face, weren't they?
Master and Madam Ruan offered forced smiles, wanting to explain something but not knowing how to begin. They could only nod and bow awkwardly to apologize with forced smiles.
The nanny, who was the managing nanny from the Gong Princess Consort's side, didn't give them a pleasant look at all and said directly, "Since your esteemed residence has two daughters, I hope you won't favor one over the other. Tomorrow, both daughters' weddings must be equally grand."
Ah? Tomorrow?
Now it was Ruan Xinchen's turn to be stunned.
Ruan Hong and his wife continued to nod and bow obsequiously.
"Rest assured," Ruan Hong said, "Definitely mama. Both daughters are equally precious to us, we won't favor one over the other."
(T/N :,嬷嬷 : Nanny (Mama, Madam/Esteemed One)
"Alright, stop with the pleasantries and hurry up," the Nanny instructed impatiently.
"Alright, stop with the pleasantries and hurry up," the Nanny instructed impatiently.
Ruan Hong and Cui Yun became whirlwinds of activity, directing servants to inventory the betrothal gifts brought by both families.
Ruan Yihe was jubilant, showing no sign of worry about marrying into a family for chongxi (to ward off bad luck through marriage).
"By the way, Mother, will Ziyi be back?" Ruan Yihe asked.
"He won't be back. You're marrying for chongxi, and it's so rushed. His study place is far away, how could he possibly make it back in time?" her mother replied.
"It just feels like something's missing if my younger brother can't see me off when I get married."
"Enough with that. If it were Zhan Prince..." Madam Ruan's voice abruptly stopped, then she lowered her voice and asked, "Mother is asking you one more time, is your information reliable?"
"Rest assured, it's reliable," Ruan Yihe affirmed.
Madam Ruan sighed, ceasing further questions.
Ruan Xinchen, on the other hand, stood blankly to the side. In the eyes of the servants, she appeared more like the one going to marry for chongxi.
"What's wrong with the Second Miss? She's marrying into the Gong Prince's Mansion, why isn't she happy?" a servant wondered aloud.
Ruan Yihe glanced at Ruan Xinchen, also puzzled in her heart.
Why is this little bitch wearing such an unlucky, deathly face? Could it be she knows the Gong Prince's heir is a madman? Ruan Yihe thought to herself.
"Go, ask her what's wrong," Ruan Yihe ordered a servant.
"Second Miss, are you not happy about marrying the Heir of the Gong Prince's Mansion?"
Ruan Xinchen glanced at Ruan Yihe in the distance, and replied, "It's all too rushed. It seems the Gong Princess Consort isn't very happy. They originally thought they were going to marry my elder sister; I'm like a last-minute replacement. Do you think they will treat me well?"
Hearing her say this, Ruan Yihe felt relieved.
In her heart, she thought, 'Well, aren't you just a replacement? What I didn't want, I let you have.'
In my previous life, even I, when I married into the family, suffered endless torment, let alone you.
Just watch, I'll see if you can even last three years in the Gong Prince's Mansion.
***
That night, Ruan Xinchen's usually quiet little courtyard became bustling with activity.
Everyone was busy decorating the bridal chamber, sorting out the dowry, and so on.
Time was limited, so the servants were working under the light of lanterns.
Watching box after box, each sealed with red paper, being carried in, Ruan Xinchen felt a sense of unreality.
This was because at least a third of the dowry, originally prepared by Cui Yun for her daughter Ruan Yihe over more than a decade, was now being moved into her courtyard.
The servants worked diligently, none daring to slack off.
The Gong Prince's Mansion was determined to marry a Ruan family daughter on this very day of chongxi, and everyone could see that the Gong Prince's Mansion was making a point. Who would dare risk offending this couple?
Moreover, the Gong Princess Consort's trusted Nanny was still stationed in the Ruan family residence, personally overseeing everything.
With people filling the entire courtyard, there was no way for her to run.
"Miss, what should we do?" Caiyu gently tugged at the corner of her sleeve, asking in a low voice.
What to do? She didn't know what to do either.
Ruan Xinchen softly shook her head and said, "We'll talk about it later."
"Then are we still buying the household registration? I asked Liu Si, and that Zhou family girl is still clinging to life."
"Buy it, of course we must buy it."
She knew the Gong Prince's Heir had mental issues.
From the Ruan family to the Gong Prince's Mansion, it was just jumping from one fire pit into another.
The plan remained unchanged; she still had to run away.
Nanny Feng approached Ruan Xinchén with a beaming smile and said, “Miss, go to sleep quickly; you’ll only have two more shi to sleep. In two shi, I’ll have someone wake you up so you can dress and prepare.”
(t/n : 1 shi = 2hours)
Ruan Xinchen acknowledged her and returned to her room.
She did not immediately go to sleep but instead, together with Caiyu, dug out a box from under the bed. This contained things her grandmother had left her before her death.
She was only five or six years old when her grandmother passed away. Had she not been shrewd enough to bury these items, they would never have been kept safe.
Luckily, she was young at the time, and Cui Yun never imagined that a five or six-year-old child could dig a hole and hide valuable things.
After her grandmother passed away, Cui Yun sent people to her courtyard for a cursory search and then left.
Over the years, Cui Yun knew about her growing vegetables in the yard, and Cui Yun always thought she survived by growing vegetables.
"For the moment, it seems we won't be able to run away in a short time, so we can only try to suffer as little as possible. Caiyu, this is our entire fortune, I won't be able to keep it on me tomorrow, so you must keep it safe."
"Miss, rest assured, I will definitely keep it safe."
In fact, there weren't many things, just a few pieces of jewelry that were her grandmother's favorites, and some silver notes.
It wasn't a lot, probably because her grandmother considered she was just a child, giving too much would be impossible to keep safe. The silver notes given were roughly enough for her to use until adulthood.
She handed everything over to Caiyu, who carefully wrapped them up and sewed them into her clothing with needle and thread.
The next day, Ruan Xinchen was drowsily pulled up from sleep, washed, and dressed. Then, a matchmaker carried her out of the door.
She and Ruan Yihe were carried out of the main gate one after the other, and separately placed into the bridal sedans of the Zhan Prince's Mansion and the Gong Prince's Mansion.
Madam Ruan first bid farewell to her eldest daughter with genuine heartfelt emotion. Then, under the gaze of everyone present, she came over to bid farewell to Ruan Xinchen in a feigned display of affection.
Ruan Xinchen lowered her head and, from under the red veil, saw Madam Ruan's hand tightly gripping hers.
Madam Ruan spoke words of how loath she was to see her married off, uttering the very same platitudes she had just recited to Ruan Yihe, without even altering a single word. However, her hand was forcefully pinching Ruan Xinchen’s.
Ruan Xinchen herself had personally dug the soil in her courtyard. Someone like Madam Ruan, who required servants to assist her even when using the outhouse, could not possibly possess strong hands.
Dare she pinch me?
Ruan Xinchen, feigning tears and repeating the same lines Ruan Yihe had just used, forcefully pinched back in retaliation.
The pain caused Madam Ruan to yelp and cry out, leading onlookers to believe she was weeping from heartache at marrying off two daughters on the same day.
People rushed to console and comfort her, offering words of sympathy.
Fearing that Madam Ruan might lose control and start screaming if she continued to pinch, Ruan Xinchen released her hand.
As the sounds of gongs resonated, she once again left the Ruan Mansion, the place that had confined her for fifteen long years.
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