Chapter 9 - A Malicious Servant Dominating Her Master

On the journey home, Lian Qiao tried to hold it in before she finally snapped, “Miss, why did you gift those plum blossoms to someone else? In any case, they still costed us money. If you wanted to use them as a present, you should have kept a stalk so we could display it in the house. What is the logic in giving them away to strangers without anything in return?

“Lian Qiao, have you ever seen me fancying plum blossoms?” Jiang Ruan spoke.

“This- Indeed, you don’t favor them greatly,” Lian Qiao shook her head. When Jiang Ruan’s mother was alive, her lady still liked flowers. However, ever since her passing, Jiang Ruan had been living through hardships everyday and was not in the mood to lead a life of love and gaiety.

“Since I don’t like them, there is no use in keeping them.” Jiang Ruan spoke indifferently, “Why not do someone else a favor at little cost by gifting them to him?”

“But this favor is also made from money.” Anxiety led Lian Qiao to approach the subject bluntly, “That old man is neither our relative nor friend. What was the point of gifting them to him?”

Jiang Ruan walked forward in a relaxed fashion, “Of course, there is a benefit in doing so. In this world, everything has a price. Today, I gifted him a few stalks of plum blossoms. In the future, the price that he will have to pay will naturally be higher than these plum blossoms. It is just that for now, we are not able to see it yet.”

These words were too vague. Lian Qiao could not understand what she heard, while Bai Zhi trailed behind them silently. The both of them were very perplexed. Bai Zhi opened her mouth, “From your words, are you implying that we are going to meet the old man again in the future? But those plum blossoms were bought today in passing. If you already had an earlier plan, how could you predict that the old man would show up and argue with others?”

“I am not a deity, so how can I foresee the future?” Jiang Ruan replied calmly. Although her tone was light, Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao felt a few degrees of coldness within. Goosebumps rose on their skins.

In the end, they managed to return to the residence without a hitch. From a great distance, they saw a maid, who wore a brand-new, green double-layered jacket, walking towards them. Her lips were smeared in brilliant red. As soon as she set her sight upon the trio, she raised her voice exaggeratedly, “Aiya, my lady. The weather is bitter and cold out there. Your body is still unwell so how could you venture outside? Where did you go? I searched the entire residence but I could not find you at all.”

“Chun Ying,” Lian Qiao stuck her hands on her hips, “Why are you causing an uproar in broad daylight? Don’t tell me that wherever she goes, our lady has to report her whereabouts to you?”

“I am just worried about our lady. Miss, you barely recovered. As it is currently the year’s end, if there were any more unexpected accidents, what should I do?” With her mocking tone, Chun Ying was not easy to be dealt with.

Bai Zhi knitted her brows, “You are also aware that our lady has not recovered fully yet. Then, why are you so loud? Your noisiness is causing her headaches.”

Chun Ying flattened her mouth and spoke to Jiang Ruan, “Miss, I have the best of intentions. You are currently still sick, so you should not walk all over the place and allow outsiders the chance to gossip.”

Jiang Ruan looked at her quietly. Both Chun Ying and Qiu Yan were high-ranked maids. Hence, her position was relatively high within the residence. Throughout the year, Qiu Yan was busy with matters outside of the residence, so her opportunities to bump into Jiang Ruan were extremely rare. However, Chun Ying was mainly responsible for the matters within the residence. She had a close relationship with the Zhang Lan family. As she was eager to please Zhang Lan, she often made life difficult for Jiang Ruan; she probably acted upon her superior’s wishes. In front of Jiang Ruan, Chun Ying did not show a single shred of respect at all, as if she did not attach any importance to Jiang Ruan. Instead, she treated the Zhang Lan’s family with more respect than her.

Jiang Ruan remembered Chun Ying very clearly. In her past life, the gossip about how she seduced Chen Zhao had spread like wildfire because Chun Ying was involved in adding fuel to that fire. She recounted the incident amongst the servants, as if she had seen it with her own eyes. Because of this, the gossip worsened and led Jiang Ruan to her early ruin.

As Jiang Ruan did not reply for a long time, Chun Ying looked towards her in surprise. Her sight met Jiang Ruan’s. Her soft gaze was indescribably unnerving, as if she was scrutinizing a plaything that would soon be destroyed with detached pity.

“Miss?” Chun Ying creased her eyebrows.

“Who is the one that is gossiping?” Jiang Ruan stared at her, curving her lips lightly with a smile. The edge of her eyebrows rose flippantly, as if she was a different person. Immediately, her allure shone through. Although Chun Ying was a lady, Jiang Ruan’s charm captivated her to the point of speechlessness.

“Don’t tell me that you are the one who was making thoughtless remarks?” Jiang Ruan’s next sentence reined Chun Ying’s train of thought back on track. Stunned, she shook her head subconsciously, “Of course, it wasn’t me.”

“A dog is raised to bite outsiders and not the people it is supposed to protect. If the dog insists on causing a ruckus when it meets them, do you know what its ending will be?” Jiang Ruan asked her.

Chun Ying shook her head.

“Of course, it will be braised into a delicious delicacy.” Jiang Ruan spoke softly, slowly emphasizing over the last two words. Chun Ying pinned a blank stare on her. Under the sunlight, Jiang Ruan’s fair skin and beautiful facade seemed rather ghastly. Chun Ying unconsciously took two steps backwards, “M- Miss, Auntie Lan has been waiting in the house.”

Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao’s expressions twisted simultaneously. As a servant, she dared to use the word ‘wait’. She had no sense of respect at all. The Zhang Lan family acted too wilfully with their usual lip service. On the surface, their pretense did not allow anyone to raise any issues of their shortcomings but in private, they were extremely harsh towards Jiang Ruan.

“Is she waiting for me now?” Jiang Ruan raised her head slightly, “Let’s go then. I wouldn’t want to let her wait for too long.” She caressed her jacket’s dark green button.

In the house, two people sat in front of the brazier. A young girl of thirteen cuddled in a middle-aged woman’s embrace and spoke critically, “It is so cold in here. There is even an unpleasant stench wafting about. It is of no wonder that her body always smells so awful.”

“Fang’er, don’t speak nonsense,” the woman admonished, “Regardless, she is our master. You shouldn’t mistreat her too excessively. This might be used against us.” Although it was meant to reprimand, her tone was full of love.

The young girl straightened into a sitting position, “How can she be considered as our master? Look at her wretched and poor appearance. Our master has already given up and stopped caring about her. I know how to handle her. Mother, look at this golden hairpin on my head. Is it pretty?” She tilted her head, exposing its golden base inlaid with grain-sized pearls.

Slightly tanned, her facial features were common. She wore a brand-new, pink satin jacket with embroidered peony. A purple dress skirt with a red layer was wrapped around her lower half and a long string of multi-colored jade hung on her waist. A pair of eight treasures earrings dangled from her ears. There was a large, golden necklace looped around her neck. Although she was merely a daughter of a servant in the residence, her manner of dressing was on par with a wealthy household’s daughter.

“The quality is not bad. Fang’er wears it beautifully,” Zhang Lan praised.

Chen Fang laughed gleefully. She was about to say more when a soft voice spoke from outside, “Auntie Lan has waited in my house for such a long time; is there an important matter?”