Chapter 20 - Imprisoned

A picturesque beauty, yet in the light of the day, she was like a bewitching black

widow[1],speaking gentle phrases with an eerie aura. In the heat of broad daylight, Chen Zhao unwittingly reeled back, his back breaking out in a cold sweat.

[1] Hóng fěn kū lóu  红粉骷髅 – ‘hong fen’ means rouge and powder, figuratively, it refers to women. ‘Ku lou’ means human skeleton/skull. This is an ancient Chinese phrase with two meanings: 1. A woman with a beautiful appearance and a terrifyingly venomous heart,   2. A woman who uses her beauty to charm men and feeds off all their physical, mental and material means until he dies. In this context, ‘black widow’ spider refers to the second meaning.

In response to this, Zhang Lan chuckled, “This fool doesn’t know how to speak. Miss Jiang, don’t worry. If anything happens, there is still Master to rely on, Miss just needs to stay put.”

She spoke such malicious words, as if it was certain that Jiang Ruan was the mastermind behind this murder. In a few words, she was convicted of the crime, and so eliminated any chance for one to retort back. Jiang Ruan faintly smiled, “Lan mama, to speak like this and declare with such confidence, is it possible that Lan mama also coincidentally saw me killing someone?”

Startled, Zhang Lan gave a dry laugh, “This… old servant actually did not.

“That is true,” Jiang Ruan said softly, “Lan mama, please take heed as to how you speak. For those who aren’t aware of this matter, it would seem like Lan mama is deliberately putting the blame on me.”

Zhang Lan’s heart tensed as she lifted her gaze towards Jiang Ruan. Jiang Ruan was looking right at her with a smile, yet it did not reach her eyes. Her pupils resembled a dark abyss, bearing a sense of mocking indifference.

At that moment, they heard a few officers dash over to the brooding head bailiff, exclaiming, “Leader[2], a female corpse was found in the well.”

[2]  Tóu er  头儿 – Leader ; Chief

With such shocking words, all the servants immediately retreated from Jiang Ruan’s side, looking at their Miss and her two servants with alarm and contempt.

Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi were utterly shocked and could not stop themselves from glancing at Jiang Ruan. However, seeing her steady countenance with its unchanging faint smile, as well as her delicate yet unyielding frame, calmed one’s anxieties.

The head bailiff could not help but admire the trio of this young Miss and her maids. During such a misfortune, it was rare for someone to not show their emotions and remain unperturbed.

Sweeping his gaze across the courtyard, he noticed that besides the trio, everyone else had formed a faction. This seemed a little unreasonable. These servants addressed Jiang Ruan as Miss, yet their attitudes were disrespectful. Moreover, this dilapidated courtyard did not seem like the home of an influential family’s young lady. The head bailiff was slightly more aware of the situation. Any young miss that made a mistake would be sent off to live in a county estate to reflect on their past errors. However, this family’s young lady seemed to be quite unlucky- not only was her life an abyss of suffering, but she was even being framed by someone.

The subordinate officers enquired, “Leader?”

The head bailiff recovered and looked towards Jiang Ruan, “Miss Jiang, please pardon me. As the female corpse was found in your courtyard, we need you to follow us and stay in prison for a period of time.” After this statement, he tried to read Jiang Ruan’s expression.

She calmly accepted his stare and even gave a respectful bow, “One shall comply and obey.”

With no fuss or tears, it did not seem like she was being dragged off to be imprisoned, but rather being escorted to attend a banquet. With no crack in her unfailing poise, the head bailiff could not help but admire her, and declared, “Don’t worry, Miss Jiang. I, Li Mi, will definitely ensure that the truth comes to light and will not let the villain slip away.”

After hearing this profound statement, Jiang Ruan faintly smiled, “Thank you, Daren[3].”

[3]  Dàren  大人 – a title of respect toward superiors; sir

All the surrounding officers were somewhat surprised. This leader of theirs, Li Mi, had always been impassive. Being inflexible and harsh by nature, he had never shown any solicitude, much less kindness towards criminals. It made one feel disconcerted to see his hospitality today toward this silly little girl.

Chen Zhao was able to perceive the bailiff’s concern, and thus sneered, “Requesting

Daren to investigate the incident diligently to bring justice to the people.” He then turned towards Jiang Ruan, “Miss, after a few days, I will visit you. Miss, please don’t be too anxious.”

Lian Qiao snorted, “What a ploy! Framing and fawning over our Miss at the same time. Chen Zhao, do you believe our Miss to be a fool to play along with you? Remember this, you are only the son of a steward. In front of our Miss, you will never be qualified to mention yourself. Your name has but two words, and that is servant[1]! Hmph!” Lian Qiao flatly spat out everything she wanted to say to him. Upon hearing this, Chen Zhao’s expression flickered back and forth between fuming rage and pale ashen.

[1] Nú cai  ( 奴才 ) – slave or derogatively, flunkey.

Jiang Ruan giggled and addressed Li Mi, “Daren, since Chen Zhao’s statement about witnessing me kill someone has no relation with these two servant girls, I would like to request Daren for consent to allow these two girls to stay in the estate so that they can send a letter to my family.

Li Mi mused and nodded, “Alright, I will allow it.”

With her eyes gleaming with tears, Lian Qiao held Jiang Ruan’s hand, “Miss, please be careful not to be bullied by others.” After thinking about it some more, she still felt uncertain, “It would still be better to let this servant come along with Miss because this servant is not afraid of being locked up.”

Jiang Ruan could not help but laugh and squeezed her hand, “Silly, it is not a walk in the park, there is no need for a companion. I will be out soon. If you follow me, who would help me send word to my family?”

‘Send word’, Jiang Ruan enunciated these words a little stronger, and Lian Qiao was astonished. Bai Zhi approached Lian Qiao to pull her away, reassuring Jiang Ruan, “Miss, please take care of yourself. These servants will ensure that the letter is delivered.”

Jiang Ruan nodded and addressed Li Mi, “Let’s go.”

All the officers were bewildered as they had never seen one take such initiative to be incarcerated. With her actions, it seemed as if she were the master, and these officers were merely her entourage of bodyguards.

A sliver of dark intention flashed in Chen Zhao’s eyes. Initially, he wanted to see Jiang Ruan embarrassed and crushed. He never expected that she would still remain calm and collected, even glancing at him with a mocking smile. Her graceful demeanor remained unchanged, causing one’s heart to skip a beat.

After a while, Zhang Lan ruthlessly slapped him, “What are you looking at? Is there anything worth seeing? Truly wretched!”

Once Jiang Ruan reached the prison, Li Mi arranged a cell especially for her. There were several other people in the prison, and upon seeing such a lively young lady, their foul-mouths uttered every kind of filthy word. Nevertheless, Jiang Ruan looked on aloofly, without embarrassment or anger.

Thus, upon seeing her calm reaction, the person in the neighbouring cell was amazed. Curiously, the prisoner leaned forward against the grille to look at her. Seeing that Jiang Ruan had no intention of responding, the inmate began to query, “Hey, young lady, why were you locked up?”

Jiang Ruan looked towards the direction of the sound and saw an extremely filthy person staring at her. From head to toe, the person’s clothes were dusty and covered with mud. And although unkempt hair covered the person’s face, with a pure and sweet tone, it was clear that it was the voice of a young woman.

After glancing at her, Jiang Ruan did not respond.

This young woman was shocked and relentlessly persisted, “Hey, why are you ignoring me? Could it be that you are deaf? You look quite beautiful, yet it turns out you’re a master that cannot hear at all. Tsk tsk, how pitiful!”

Jiang Ruan stared at her, “How does that concern you?”

“Ah, so it turns out, you’re not deaf or mute.” The woman cried out in pleasant surprise, “I’m bored to death here so you came at the right time. The two of us can keep each other company.”