Xiao Ye nodded. "Yes, I used some military interrogation techniques. Nanny Wang confessed everything. She said that day Mother only wanted to arrange a meeting between you and me—it was Xiao Tianci who interfered and caused what happened afterward."
"The spreading of rumors afterward was also entirely his doing."
Ruan Nanxi let out an "Oh," and though she already knew the answer, she still pretended to be angry and asked:
"What was he trying to gain by doing all this?"
Xiao Ye answered expressionlessly: "Probably couldn't stand to see me doing well."
"…In any case, I'm sorry for misunderstanding you all this time. If there's any compensation you want, you can tell me."
Ruan Nanxi waved her hand dismissively. "No worries, no worries. As long as you don't misunderstand me again in the future, that's enough."
Thinking of something, she asked: "Have you told Mother about these confessions?"
"Not yet."
Because he didn't want to see the scene where, even with irrefutable evidence laid before her, Mother still favored Xiao Tianci.
Ruan Nanxi let out a sigh of relief. "Good!"
"Isn't Father-in-law visiting friends in Luocheng? Why not wait until he returns, then bring Nanny Wang and the confessions to the main courtyard."
[If we give this to Mother-in-law now, she'll summon Xiao Tianci for questioning. That green-tea bastard will sweet-talk her, then fake fainting and shed a few tears—Mother-in-law will definitely soften, and in the end, it'll probably just be dropped.]
[Once Father-in-law brings Xiao Qing back, combined with these confessions, even if Father and Mother's hearts are biased to the point of being in their armpits, they should still drive Xiao Tianci out.]
[I wonder if Xiao Ye will listen to me…]
Just as this thought settled, Xiao Ye across from her nodded.
"Alright, I'll listen to you."
Ruan Nanxi: "…"
After finishing their business, the two sat in silence. The carriage swayed gently, and Ruan Nanxi leaned against the carriage wall, lulled into drowsiness by the motion. She glanced at Xiao Ye, who sat across from her with his arms crossed, perfectly still.
[So sleepy… I want to lie down and take a nap…]
Xiao Ye nervously clenched his fists, his heart in turmoil.
Combined with the look she'd just given him—could Ruan Nanxi be thinking of leaning on him to sleep?
No, no. Since he didn't like her, he couldn't do anything that would make her misunderstand. Otherwise, Ruan Nanxi would only sink deeper, and it would be bad for both of them.
The young man irritably ran his hand through his hair. But if Ruan Nanxi brought it up, how could he refuse tactfully?
After all, he'd just said he wanted to compensate her.
Just then, Xiao Ye's personal attendant Zhufeng rode up and knocked on the carriage window, hesitating as he said:
"…Young Master, Miss Jiang sent someone saying she has urgent business and needs to see you."
Ruan Nanxi's eyes lit up. She sat up straight and looked at Xiao Ye, speaking with great understanding:
"Husband, you should go quickly!"
Xiao Ye shook his head. "Today is your return visit. Mother instructed me to accompany you back. Anything else can wait until we return this afternoon."
If this had been before, he would have turned and left without a second thought. Whether Ruan Nanxi had dignity or was mocked by others—what did it have to do with him?
But now that he knew he'd wronged her, he couldn't be so heartless anymore.
Ruan Nanxi said: "It's fine, it's fine. Go quickly, don't keep them waiting. I'll be fine on my own."
[Hurry up and go, don't delay my nap.]
Xiao Ye was pushed and shoved out of the carriage by Ruan Nanxi, feeling somewhat puzzled. Didn't Ruan Nanxi love him so much she'd "bang her head against a wall"?
Now that he was going to see Ruoyu, how could she still be thinking about sleeping?
…
As soon as Xiao Ye left, Ruan Nanxi couldn't wait to turn the chair back into a long couch, took off her cloak, lay down, and stretched comfortably.
Her two personal maids came up. The round-faced one, Xiaoman, spoke up for her:
"The young master is too much. Today is Miss's return visit day."
Ruan Nanxi yawned and shook her head carelessly. "It's fine. With him gone, aren't we more at ease?"
She looked at the other maid, Bailu, who kept her head lowered, not daring to meet her eyes, looking troubled.
Ruan Nanxi sighed inwardly. The original owner's two personal maids—Xiaoman was simple and guileless, but blessed with great physical strength, while Bailu was clever and meticulous.
She'd probably already figured out that Ruan Nanxi wasn't the original owner.
Since she held their deed of sale, she did have ways to ensure Bailu wouldn't talk.
What troubled Ruan Nanxi was that when she'd read the book, she distinctly remembered the original owner's personal maids being named Huashang and Taonong.
Had she misremembered? Or had the original owner later changed maids?
After all, in the book, the original owner was just a cannon fodder supporting character meant to advance the relationship between the male and female leads—there was no way she'd get detailed descriptions.
Forget it. Since she couldn't figure it out, she wouldn't dwell on it. Things would work themselves out.
Ruan Nanxi covered her face with her cloak, closed her eyes, and drifted toward sleep.
Ruan Nanxi's father was only a fifth-rank minor official who lived in the outer city, while the Jin Guogong Mansion was a super first-rank ducal residence, separated from the mansions of several princes by just one street—truly situated at the foot of the imperial city.
So the two places were quite far apart. The carriage traveled for another half an hour before slowly coming to a stop.
Ruan Nanxi lazily sat up, wet a handkerchief with water from the teapot, and washed her face.
She had just stepped down from the carriage and hadn't yet had a chance to look at the buildings before her when a gorgeously dressed woman with striking features swayed forward to greet her, waving a round silk fan.
"Oh, eldest sister is back! But where's brother-in-law?"
She half-covered her face with her fan and let out an exaggerated gasp:
"Oh dear! Brother-in-law isn't too busy visiting his sweetheart to accompany sister on her return visit, is he?"
Through the hazy memories in her mind, Ruan Nanxi vaguely recognized this person as the original owner's stepsister, Ruan Nanzhi.
Ruan Nanzhi was competitive by nature, always trying to outdo the original owner in everything since childhood.
Having accepted that she had transmigrated into a book, Ruan Nanxi remained quite composed in the face of this scene.
After all, in ancient romance novels, stepsisters and concubine-born sisters were always stirring up trouble and provoking others—she'd read no fewer than a thousand variations of these tropes, if not several hundred.
So she nodded calmly and said, "Mm, sister's information is quite accurate."
With that, she walked past the other girl and headed into the mansion.
Ruan Nanzhi clenched her round fan in fury. How could Ruan Nanxi still put on that prim and proper, unruffled act even after falling to such a state!
She gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and leaned close to Ruan Nanxi's ear, sneering:
"This time, it's sister who marries into a high-ranking family. Sister's good days are still ahead!"
Ruan Nanxi furrowed her brows. What did she mean by that?
Something flashed through her mind, but before she could grasp it, she heard Ruan Nanzhi crisply order, "Huashang, go fetch your master…"
At the sound of that name, Ruan Nanxi's brain nearly short-circuited. She stared hard at the maidservant called "Huashang" and blurted out almost involuntarily:
"Where's Taonong?"
Ruan Nanzhi was taken aback for a moment, then covered her lips with her round fan and let out a delicate laugh. "Sister, you're so upset you've gone muddled. Isn't Taonong right in front of you?"
A maidservant with apricot-shaped eyes and rosy cheeks stepped forward and greeted Ruan Nanxi.
"What instructions does the eldest young lady have for this servant?"
Ruan Nanxi was utterly stunned!
She was so furious she wanted to curse the author. Not only had she transmigrated into the book without the original owner's memories, but even her identity was wrong.
As it turned out, this young lady Ruan Nanzhi before her was the actual Consort of the Heir Apparent, Ruan, from the original novel.
And she herself hadn't even appeared in the book at all.
Damn author! Even if she was just a cannon fodder supporting character, at least give her a proper name! Calling her "Ruan" like that—wasn't that just misleading people?