The other residences were all delighted to receive Liuzheng’s return gift.
They almost immediately changed their tune, saying that Liuzheng was sensible, intelligent, virtuous, and deserving of the title “General Zhaoyong”.
Liuzheng lived as a ghost for ten years, utterly bored.
Therefore, when he had nothing to do, he liked to observe the people and affairs of the capital.
She roughly knew what the people in Wuyi Lane liked, and which servants in her mansion were acquainted with servants from another mansion.
Therefore, she bribed a minor steward who knew the head maid of the Yuan family and asked him to gossip about her to the head maid.
Of course, this is not limited to the Yuan family.
There were also the residences of the Grand Tutor and the Marquis of Yongxin, among others, all of whom sent gifts.
They praised Liuzheng, but privately said that Song Shi didn’t distinguish between relatives and friends and didn’t understand etiquette.
Liuzheng’s reputation, which had just been established, was even higher than before.
The Song family’s reputation plummeted.
Ruan Yunzheng was also criticized as a result.
“The daughter of a merchant, in order to get a bit of scholarly air, disregarded the life and death of her old grandfather and eagerly came to the Ruan family to be their daughter. Her heart is despicable.”
“Luckily, they went to the Ruan family. If they had gone to our house, our entire household would have been in chaos.”
“An ominous person.”
They can say whatever they want to insult you.
But in the past, Ruan Yunzheng had an excellent reputation in the original alley.
Many of the students who came to study at Ruan’s father’s Dufeng Academy admired her, including some noble children.
However, the nobles in Wuyi Lane were all cursing in their respective courtyards, and the cursing had not yet spread out, so Song Shi and Ruan Yunzheng were completely unaware of it.
The two were still sitting at the stone table in Tingzhu Courtyard, making a peace charm for Ruan Changzheng, who was bedridden.
Ruan Changzheng has woken up, but he is too weak and often falls into a deep sleep.
But every time he wakes up, he curses Liuzheng.
Ruan Changzheng fell asleep again, so the Song mother and daughter decided to make some peace charms for him and hang them at the four corners of the bed curtains.
“Have the return gifts been sent yet?” Madam Song asked Granny Liu.
Granny Liu had already asked Song Shi.
“I personally delivered them all, not one was missing.”
Song’s smile became even brighter.
Ruan Yunzheng smiled gently, revealing dimples on her cheeks.
“Is Mother feeling any better now?”
It seems that this idea was made entirely for the sake of the Song family.
Mrs. Song let out a soft breath and said, “My head doesn’t hurt so much anymore.”
“Mother, please take good care of yourself. My elder brother is bedridden, so I won’t worry about you.”
Hatred resurfaced in Song’s eyes.
“If it weren’t for Ruan Liuzheng, your elder brother wouldn’t be bedridden!” she said, biting her lip.
“What’s done is done, we can only accept it.”
“Why should your elder brother suffer like this? I still feel it’s not enough to vent my anger!” She looked at Ruan Yunzheng and asked, “Yun’er, do you have any good ideas that can make your mother feel even better?”
Ruan Yunzheng bit her lip and pondered for a while before saying, “I just remembered that Xinniang told me the other day that the Princess invited her to her birthday celebration, and Xinniang also invited me to go with her.”
Xinniang was the wife of the top scholar.
The top scholar was a student from their Dufeng Academy, and the two families had a close relationship.
The top scholar’s wife, Xinniang, had an especially close relationship with Ruan Yunzheng; they were best confidantes.
Madam Song tightened her grip on the tassel and said, “Take her with you!”
The nobles of Wuyi Lane, having received the jujube paste cake as a return gift, are probably now worried about how to vent their anger.
If Liuzheng were to appear at the Princess’s residence, they would surely attack her en masse.
Only then did she feel a little better.
“Okay.” Ruan Yunzheng nodded: “I will talk to my elder sister, but I don’t know if she will be willing to go.”
“Leave this matter to me; she has no choice but to go.”
Ruan Yunzheng was waiting for this sentence.
She had already begun planning for that day, just waiting for Madam Song to speak.
Not long after, Master Ruan, Ruan Hanmo, returned.
He still returns to teach at Dufeng Academy in the Ruan family mansion every day, and on his way back, his former neighbors congratulate him.
People are in high spirits when they have good news, and he entered Tingzhu Courtyard with a smile on his face.
But the First Madam had a dark and gloomy face, and turned to go find her concubine, Su Niang.
When Madam Song saw Master Ruan’s figure flash by, her expression turned even more unpleasant.
“Spending all day in that vixen’s room, aren’t you afraid of what outsiders will say!”
Ruan Yunzheng offered some words of comfort, then whispered, “Aunt Su has been unable to conceive since she miscarried five years ago. Why bother getting angry with a hen that can’t lay eggs? Father is just looking for something new. He’ll come back when he gets tired of it.”
Song managed a forced smile.
“That’s right. I have to thank you for your idea. But changing locations… I hope you don’t get pregnant again?”
“Mother, don’t worry, I’ve already taken care of everything.”
“You’re the only one who knows how to care for your mother.”
“This is what a daughter should do.”
Song felt that Ruan Yunzheng was far superior to Liuzheng.
…
Meanwhile, in Liuzheng’s Tinglan Courtyard, she received some homemade pastries that Aunt Su had sent over by her nanny.
“You’re so skillful. Please thank your aunt for me.”
The nanny curtsied and said, “The madam said that if the young lady likes it, she will send it to you every day from now on.”
It was all about flattery and sycophancy.
Since Aunt Su was not favored by the First Madam, she could only exert her influence on Liuzheng.
“good.”
Liuzheng nodded, and just as the nanny was about to take her leave, she suddenly spoke up: “My aunt has been unable to conceive for so many years, perhaps it’s a matter of feng shui. I’ve heard that if you want to get pregnant, it’s best not to plant any trees in the courtyard, lest they block the child coming to be reborn.”
The old woman immediately replied, “Thank you for your concern, Miss. I will go back and tell your mistress right away.”
Liuzheng nodded and watched the old woman leave.
The old woman beside her, Jiang, asked in confusion, “When did Miss learn about feng shui?”
Liuzheng smiled and said, “I overheard someone mention it when I was at the border.”
He then said, “Nanny, please go find Doctor Chen for me. I have something to say to him.”
“yes.”
…
The old nanny had already returned to Aunt Su’s room.
She relayed Liuzheng’s words.
Aunt Su laughed: “This young lady even knows about feng shui?”
He didn’t seem to take Liuzheng’s words to heart.
“Let’s go for a stroll in the garden.”
“yes.”
Just as the master and servant were about to leave, they happened to run into Doctor Chen, who was passing by.
Doctor Chen bowed, glanced into the courtyard, and seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
“Doctor, is there anything wrong?” Aunt Su asked.
Doctor Chen bowed again before speaking, “Does Aunt Su have a particular fondness for peach trees?”
“Yes, I like looking at peach blossoms. There used to be peach trees planted in our courtyard. Why do you ask that, Doctor?”
“Peach tree roots always grow deep and are very good at absorbing the earth’s energy. I heard that my aunt has been unable to conceive for many years, which may be the reason.”
Aunt Su’s expression changed instantly.
When Liuzheng mentioned the peach tree, she didn’t pay much attention, but Doctor Chen mentioned the peach tree again.
She knew that Doctor Chen was one of Liuzheng’s people.
Could it be that there is really something wrong with that peach tree?
After seeing Doctor Chen off, Aunt Su quickly turned back to the two peach trees in the courtyard.
The peach trees were there before, but the soil around one of them was new.
Aunt Su circled the tree twice, then suddenly threw away the handkerchief in her hand, squatted down, and dug the soil with her slender fingers.
“Master, what are you doing? Be careful not to hurt your hand.” The nanny quickly tried to stop her.
Just then, Aunt Su dug a jar out of the ground.
“Go and close the courtyard gate.”
The nanny agreed and immediately went to close the courtyard gate.
When they returned, they saw that Aunt Su’s face was pale and she was trembling all over.
“Master, are you alright?!” the nanny exclaimed in alarm.
Aunt Su slowly came to her senses and uttered the name of a medicine.
The old woman stared wide-eyed for a long while before saying, “Five years ago, the First Madam renovated our courtyard and planted two trees there as well…”
Aunt Su nodded, confirming the old woman’s guess: “After that, I was unable to conceive again.”
The old woman immediately said, “I’ll go tell the master right now!”
“Don’t go!” Aunt Su clutched the nanny’s skirt tightly and said, “Don’t tell anyone until I get pregnant again.”
Even if the master finds out, he will at most scold the first wife; he would never divorce her because of it.
Therefore, it would be better to pretend nothing happened and quietly dispose of the jar.
As long as the First Madam believes the jar is still there, she will remain safe.
Granny: “Yes…”
…
An hour later, while Liuzheng was having lunch, Aunt Su arrived.
This time, I brought six kinds of pastries, all of which were extremely exquisite.
“Young Miss.” She knelt down to express her gratitude: “Thank you for your guidance, Young Miss. I am now… If I become pregnant in the future, if you command me to go east, I will certainly not dare to go west!”
Liuzheng smiled slightly and said, “Auntie, why are you so polite? Please get up.”
They then summoned Doctor Chen, who prescribed a remedy for Aunt Su.
Fang Ziming’s purpose was to regulate the body, but in reality, he was detoxifying.
Only when the poison is gradually neutralized can Aunt Su become pregnant.
“I would gladly die for you!” Aunt Su took the prescription, knelt down and kowtowed again before leaving.After Aunt Su left, Liuzheng saw that Granny Jiang was confused, so she told her about Aunt Su’s situation, hoping to make her more aware of the situation.
Granny Jiang was so shocked that she clutched her handkerchief tightly.
“In our Great Jin Dynasty, even if a concubine gives birth to a child, it must be registered under the name of the principal wife… How can she not tolerate this? Is the First Madam really not afraid of being exposed and having her reputation ruined?”
“If she were afraid, she wouldn’t have done it. Nanny, this inner court… it’s ruthless. From now on, we must be even more careful.”
Granny Jiang nodded solemnly.
After lunch, Pan Hong came in.“General, the return gift from the Crown Prince has been sent, but the gatekeeper said that the Crown Prince and Prince Su went to Yueyang City and will not return for three days.”
Liuzheng asked, “What are you going to Yueyang City for?”
The gatekeeper naturally wouldn’t tell Pan Hong about this, but Pan Hong had already investigated it for Liuzheng beforehand.
He knew that Liuzheng was very interested in Prince Su.
“Investigate the smuggled salt trade. Smuggled salt has been discovered in Yueyang City, and His Majesty is furious. He has sent Prince Su to investigate personally and has given him five days to find out the truth.”
Liuzheng remembered this matter.
In her previous life, the smuggling of salt was a big deal, and even though Liuzheng was bedridden, she heard about it several times.
Prince Su was reprimanded and fined a year’s salary for failing to investigate within the deadline.
She thought for a moment, then turned and went to the desk, where she wrote a note.
“Go to Yueyang City and personally deliver this to Prince Su. Tell him that this is my return gift.”
The Prince of Su sent gold, and since he didn’t have any particular preferences, she was worried about what gift to give him in return.
Now she knows.
“Yes!” Pan Hong went out.
It only takes half a day to get to Yueyang City by horseback, and Pan Hong can return before dawn.
Granny Jiang knew that Liuzheng was hesitant about which side to take after taking office, so when she saw her instructing Pan Hong like this, she asked, “Has Miss made up her mind?”
Liuzheng nodded.
She didn’t know what Prince Su’s temperament was like, nor did she know whether he would achieve great things in the future…
What is certain is that Ruan Yunzheng is in cahoots with the princelings.
She had no other choice.
She can’t very well declare herself empress, can she?
Leaving aside the fact that her status as a woman is illegitimate, her very identity as a woman… destined this path to be a dead end.
Just as Granny Jiang was about to say something, Granny Liu, who served the First Madam, arrived and said that the First Madam wanted her to come over.
“Okay, tell Mother I’ll be right there.”
After Granny Liu left, Granny Jiang looked worried.
“I wonder what the First Madam is up to now…”
“When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.”
Liuzheng changed her clothes, hung her sword at her waist, and went out.