Chapter 74.2 - Great Master Hui Jue (Part II)

Lu Zhu said, “It’s all thanks to Fifth Yiniang for raising this topic. That this Yan Hua Yuan’s pair of mother and daughter could think of such a despicable scheme is really too evil!”

Previously, on the evening they returned to the fu, Hong Ying hurriedly made a trip to Ruan Ju, saying Jiang Quan wanted to invite a Taoist priest to Old Madame’s longevity birthday celebration in order to expel all the evil spirits and negative energy in the fu. Though she didn’t explain everything explicitly, she casually mentioned that the Taoist priest was the same wandering priest who divined Jiang Ruan’s future five years ago.

Finally, Hong Ying said, “Old Madame’s longevity birthday celebration is a big event, nothing can go wrong, Eldest Miss should also prepare in advance.”

Jiang Ruan thanked her with a smile, and repaid her kindness by accidentally mentioning the crack in the relationship between the Xia fu and the Jiang fu. Jiang Quan wasn’t completely satisfied with Xia Yan, and there was Hong Ying waiting to provide comfort.

Jiang Ruan only spoke a little but Hong Ying was a smart person, and with a thin smile, she easily thought of ways to take advantage of the situation. Five years ago – actually, it should be said to be in her last life – because she(JR) was stupid, she was like putty in Xia Yan’s hands, but if Xia Yan wanted to repeat the events of that time it wouldn’t be so simple anymore.

Lu Zhu looked ahead, “Miss Lin’s carriage has arrived.”

Jiang Ruan turned around and indeed saw a carriage stopped at the gates. Lin Zi Xiang hopped down from the carriage, saw Jiang Ruan and sternly said, “Why are you so slow, making me wait.”

Jiang Ruan laughingly replied, “I wasted some time on the way over, let’s go in to take a look.”

Old Jiang Madame’s longevity birthday celebration was imminent, but Jiang Ruan had no desire to personally make a gift. After greeting Xia Yan, she left again with Lin Family’s Lin Zi Xiang. Xia Yan naturally had no way of rejecting Lin Zi Xiang’s invitation on behalf of Jiang Ruan, and when she thought of how Jiang Su Su’s face was scarred and couldn’t leave the house, her heart was filled with resentment yet had no way to vent it.

As soon as they stepped inside the rouge shop, they heard a crisp voice ring out, “Hey, Zi Xiang, Ruan meimei, I’ve waited for a long time for you to arrive.” Dong Yinger greeted them warmly, whereas Zhao Jin on the side was a bit helpless, “The smell of perfume is so strong I almost puked, let’s get out of here.”

Dong Yinger pulled on Zhao Jin’s hand. “Didn’t you just arrive. I say Jin’er, you’re almost an adult, but you still don’t know how to dress yourself up. Acting like a child, I’m worried your future husband won’t like it.”

Zhao Jin was born into a military family, so naturally she looked down on the ladies with makeup caked on, but Dong Yinger was being annoying again. Jiang Ruan smiled, “We’ve already shopped at so many cosmetic stores, but I heard a new jewelry store that opened in the city has a lot of exotic treasures. In addition to gold and silver jewelry, they have a collection of high grade swords and weapons. Does Zhao jiejie want to take a look?”

Zhao Jin hurriedly replied, “Ruan meimei, is that true? You better not be messing with me.”

Jiang Ruan smiled in reply. “How would I dare?”

Dong Yinger was curious, and upon hearing the news she said, “Then, Ruan meimei, let’s go take a look. I want to buy a pair of pretty bracelets.”

Lin Zi Xiang also thought it was a good idea, so the group boarded a carriage and went into town.

When the carriage stopped, Dong Yinger was the first to jump down, followed by Jiang Ruan and the others. They saw a pagoda of stone, with a plaque reading “Yi Bao Pavilion” in large characters.

As the group entered the building, a pretty maidservant led them in, explaining, “The first floor has precious jewelry, and the second floor has precious weapons. I wonder what these misses are looking for.”

“Jewelry!”

“Weapons!”

Dong Yinger and Zhao Jin shouted at the same time, making Dong Yinger pin Zhao Jin with her stare. “You have to go against me, huh?”

“You know I normally don’t look at that stuff. Why don’t we split up and meet up later,” Zhao Jin suggested.

Lin Zi Xiang said, “Let’s do that, I’ll stay and look at the jewelry as well, it’s not like I understand weaponry. Ruan meimei, what about you?”

“Of course Ruan meimei will stay with us,” Dong Yinger interrupted.

However, Jiang Ruan shook her head, “I want to take a look at the weapons.”

“The weapons?” Not to mention Dong Yinger and Lin Zi Xiang, even Zhao Jin was shocked. With a disbelieving tone, she said, “You don’t practice martial arts, why are you interested in weapons?”

Jiang Ruan smiled sadly. “Ever since my eldest brother went missing after joining the military, and with no further news about his return, I thought that if he could come back, he would be a valiant and strong young man and it would be appropriate to match him with a good weapon.” Carelessly she continued, “But it’s only taking a look.”

The others were all moved when they heard her words. Zhao Jin said, “I know a bit about weapons, thus, once we go up I may be able to give some advice.”

Jiang Ruan smiled back. The two arrived on the second floor, and as the maidservant had said, there were many high grade weapons. Some were polished to the point that they shined radiantly while some showcased many years of history, that as soon as one entered they would be blinded by the magnificence. Zhao Jin soon exclaimed, “There are actually so many treasures!”

Jiang Ruan glanced at her. Zhao Jin touched a sword placed on a pedestal and instantly felt shock. She hurriedly stepped back and said excitedly, “It really is special!”

Though Jiang Ruan wasn’t nearly as excited as Zhao Jin, she looked around, spotting a Fire Cloud Moon Shield that looked particularly suited to Jiang Xin Zhi. If he had such armour, he would be much safer on the battlefield. However, when she looked at the price marked below, she instantly had a headache. Don’t mention how all her money was used to buy up the capital’s grain, even if she had the funds on hand it still wouldn’t be enough.

She continued onwards, and her eye was drawn towards a blue thing that turned out to be an exquisitely made bracelet. The blue light emitted was beautiful. When Jiang Ruan placed it on her wrist, the bracelet made her white hands look even more delicate. Zhao Jin walked over and said in a confused tone, “How come this floor also has jewelry?”

The maidservant of the jewelry shop who followed them explained, “This is the Blood Moon Bracelet, it’s used for…” Before she could get her words out, she saw Jiang Ruan skillfully press on the protruding flower pattern while aiming at her.

“Young miss?” The servant girl exclaimed, her face white.

“I won’t press on it.” Jiang Ruan took off the bracelet. “How many needles are inside?”

“Nine needles,” the maidservant stiffly explained, “but they are all coated in deadly poison.”

Zhao Jin was a bit shocked when she saw Jiang Ruan’s actions, only when the maidservant explained did she understand. “So it has hidden mechanisms!” She turned to Jiang Ruan. “Ruan meimei normally doesn’t see these things, even I didn’t know how to use it. How did you know?” Judging by how precise Jiang Ruan’s actions were, it didn’t seem like her first time seeing it.

Jiang Ruan smiled thinly. “This sort of bracelet was mentioned in one of the books that belonged to my mother’s collection.”

Zhao Jin nodded her head. “So it’s like this. But these things can only be counted as hidden weapons, I’m still more interested in that sword.”

Jiang Ruan stretched out a finger to stroke the table’s polished surface, her eyes suddenly deep. In her past life, Jiang Quan sourced a similar bracelet for Jiang Su Su, and at the time Jiang Su Su wore it day in day out. Jiang Ruan was so envious, but she could never pluck up the courage to ask Jiang Quan for another one. She could only pretend that the silver bracelet on her wrist had the same function, touch it occasionally, and lie to herself that it also had a hidden mechanism.

Today seemed like a dream. The Blood Moon Bracelet in her hands was even more beautiful than the one Jiang Su Su had and could also hold more needles. The maidservant further explained that the needles could be pulled back with thin silk thread after being shot, and when adding on the poison, it would be very suitable to keep by her side. However, Jiang Ruan shook her head and put the bracelet back.

“Miss doesn’t like it?” The maidservant had observed that Jiang Ruan liked the bracelet a lot, so it was surprising that she had put it back.

“I don’t have that much silver.” Jiang Ruan smiled reluctantly. She could only endure this pain.

“Me too.” Zhao Jin couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sword. “Hopefully I can convince my father.”

The two shared a smile. After looking around for a while more, they headed downstairs to find the others.

After showing them out, the maidservant who followed them walked to the rear wall of the room and pressed on a porcelain lion’s head. A small hidden door opened, leading to an elegant side room. Being so close, it was easy to hear the conversations from the other room clearly.

“Young Master,” the maidservant respectfully greeted, “Eldest Jiang Miss picked out this Blood Moon Bracelet.” Saying so, she presented the tray.

The young man sitting in the side room grunted in reply. Without even turning his head, he ordered, “Pack it away.”

“Yes.” The servant girl silently withdrew.

The young man sat before the window. Soft rain caught the capital in a haze, yet it couldn’t obstruct people’s sight. A moment later, Jiang Ruan’s group boarded a carriage and slowly left.

Coming out with Dong Yinger and others was to choose a present for Old Madame’s longevity birthday celebration, but in the end Jiang Ruan didn’t buy anything. Dong Yinger curiously asked, “You’re going back empty-handed?”

“I don’t have the silver.” Jiang Ruan smiled gently.

Dong Yinger never thought the daughter of a minister would suffer like this. The three girls sympathised with her and wanted to lend some money but worried it would hurt her self-esteem, so they could only comfort her with words. But looking at Jiang Ruan, remembering how her mother died young and her father treated her coldly, the pity in their hearts deepened.

Jiang Ruan didn’t care how the three looked at her, calmly returning to the fu with Lu Zhu. On the road back, Lu Zhu asked, “Miss, you’re really not going to buy anything?”

“Where would I find the silver?” Jiang Ruan added, “We’re penniless. Rather, buying something cheap would only make people laugh their heads off.”

“Miss shouldn’t have bought that much grain, it was way too much,” Lu Zhu complained, lifting the carriage’s curtain to look outside. “It’s strange, the rain hasn’t stopped for over ten days.” She thought for a while and said, “This servant thinks it would be good if the rain doesn’t stop because then we can get a good price if we sell the grain Miss bought. But on the other hand the capital will have a lot of refugees.” Lu Zhu lamented, “It really makes people worry.”

Jiang Ruan silently laughed. As there were no plans to sell the grain, she was afraid Lu Zhu’s hope for a windfall would fall to pieces. However, she wouldn’t inform Lu Zhu of this just yet. She said, “I have no gifts to give for zumu’s longevity birthday celebration. Hui Jue is the best present.”

Lu Zhu rolled her eyes, chuckling. “Miss is right. This gift is bigger than any other, this servant can’t wait for that day.”

When the two returned to the fu, the fu’s servants saw Jiang Ruan returning empty-handed, and some chatterboxes soon reported the matter to Yan Hua Yuan. Jiang Su Su was talking with Xia Yan, when she heard the news she said, “What a pauper, she went to buy things without any silver.”

Xia Yan frowned. “No matter what, you have to finish writing a hundred longevity scripts. When you make your zumu happy, your father’s heart will also be more comfortable.”

“I know,” Jiang Su Su said impatiently. “We just don’t know what Jiang Ruan is going to give. If nothing is prepared then we’ll have a good show to watch.”

Xia Yan smiled slightly. “It doesn’t matter what gifts she prepares. Expending all her effort, it’s impossible for her to receive Old Madame’s favour.”

“Why?” Jiang Su Su asked.

“Who would like a person bearing the cursed star?” A flash of hatred revealed itself in Xia Yan’s eyes. Furthermore, Old Jiang Madame had always believed in spirits and ghosts; every year she would fork out a huge sum of money just to burn offerings. This sort of person considered all things spiritual to be sacred.

Especially now that the Jiang fu had recently experienced so many strange events one after another, even if Jiang Quan wasn’t Old Jiang Madame’s blood-related son, they still had some affection for each other after so many years, and as Old Madame of the Jiang family she couldn’t just sit back without doing anything. This time, Jiang Ruan wouldn’t be able to escape so easily.

Jiang Su Su observed Xia Yan and felt a little excited. She couldn’t help but ask, “Mother already has an idea?”

Xia Yan lovingly embraced her daughter, stroking her head. “You only need to know that everything your mother does is for you and Chao’er, so don’t disappoint me.”

Jiang Su Su snuggled up to Xia Yan and her beautiful eyes widened, the hate in them was enough to make people shudder in fear. “I know, Mother, I really can’t wait for the day of zumu’s longevity birthday celebration.”