For all the patient readers, good news - the ML returns! Do we finally learn his name? Let's dive in and find out. Enjoy the chapter! :)
P.S. - 'Youth dressed in black' count : 4
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Translated by : Irisu-san
Edited by : Anks & Ely
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In her previous life in the palace, the one thing she did not lack was the endless time. She had diligently tried to pass her days a little more meaningfully. But whenever Jiang Quan and the Eighth Prince told her things, she would willingly and repeatedly ruminate over those words during those sleepless nights. The Shen fu's structural layout was exactly identical to the one in her memories, therefore, today she was able to walk around without the least bit of effort.
Turning round and passing the long corridor, she took a detour through a path by herself and approached a small room which was at the side, behind the garden. She then pushed the door open and entered.
The room was decorated very simply, almost as if it were an abandoned study that had not been used for a very long time. There were a few bound volumes of travel notes haphazardly placed on a study table. Jiang Ruan moved around to the front of the study table. Hung overhead on the wall was a drawing of a bamboo forest in the breeze. She stared at it for a short while and then reached out to lift it up. What was revealed behind the picture scroll was a smooth wall.
Jiang Ruan reached out her hands and traced her fingers along the snow-white surface of the wall as she slowly searched. Not too long after, her hands somehow pressed onto something. Hearing a crisp noise, the central wall in the room then gradually hollowed in, revealing a tiny hidden compartment.
She paused for a bit and then extended her hand into the hidden compartment and took a cloth bag out. The cloth bag in her hands had quite a bit of weight, and from a rough estimate, it seemed to be something like a book. Jiang Ruan smiled slightly, this was definitely the Shen fu's special account book that Assistant Minister Shen kept in his home.
For any official in the officialdom, it would definitely be unavoidable that they would have to often use bribery in their daily activities and dealings to help smooth various relationships. In peacetime, for an official to give an incentive to one's superiors, inevitably, there must be a source of that silver money.
Assistant Minister Shen had handed these matters over to Shen furen to organize. As for Shen furen, to have this account book hidden in any random place would not suffice, therefore, she had simply placed it inside this abandoned study room. Thus, to have hidden it so recklessly and negligently behind the picture scroll, but of course who would naturally think that it was hidden in such a place.
However, in her previous life, at the time when the Eighth Prince had met her in private, he had actually briefly touched on this subject. Assistant Minister Shen was also someone who was in the same camp as Jiang Quan, however, due to some unknown reason, they later came to have some divergent opinions. Furthermore, Jiang Quan did not seem to mind this at all since he possessed some information that could be used against Assistant Minister Shen. She had no idea how this account book had fallen into Jiang Quan's hands. If all these accounts were to be revealed, the high ranking officials who would be implicated were plenty, and it would undoubtedly lead to a huge upheaval in the capital.
Nonetheless, with this book now in her possession, today's trip was not in vain.
Jiang Ruan safely hid the cloth bag inside her clothes. However, as soon as she turned around, she was immediately startled.
Before the horizontally erect screen in the room, stood a person, who was presently staring at her. In the depths of his eyes, there were some inexplicable emotions.
As she earnestly looked over, she noticed that the person was dressed in black and possessed exceptionally cold and distinct facial features. However, his appearance also seemed unexplainably familiar. He looked precisely like that youth dressed in black whom she had accidentally met that day at the temple while she was on her way back to the capital. Yet, she had never imagined that today, she would meet him here once again. She was unsure if this was a blessing or a curse for her.
Jiang Ruan cautiously looked at him, yet, the other person simply stared at her chest. Jiang Ruan began to feel slightly annoyed when she suddenly heard her counterpart speak up, "Account book."
So, he was staring at the account book in her bosom. Jiang Ruan was a little stupefied and frowned, "You want the account book?"
This young man who appeared out of nowhere, for him to actually want the account book too, he might probably not get along with the Shen fu as well. Jiang Ruan's heart stopped for a bit. Then, taking the account book out from her bosom, she flung it far away in his direction. The youth dressed in black raised a hand to catch it and thoughtfully glanced at her. His expressions remained the same as before, cold and cheerless, which made one unable to decipher his emotions.
In her heart, Jiang Ruan felt free and relaxed. Originally, she had merely intended to add a blockage to the Shen fu and coincidentally, cause Jiang Li to get into some trouble. However, if it truly came down to it, with this sort of thing kept in her hands, it was just a hot potato. At present, with her immature wings, stepping forth into many matters would be inconvenient. Since this person wanted to deal with the Shen fu too, then, why not grant him a favor. To be able to see the Shen fu not have any good days in the future, she would still be happy to see that from a near distance.
The youth dressed in black was slender and graceful, and even while standing in the room, he seemed to add an ineffable layer of splendor to it. Yet, unexplainably, his handsome and bold facial features seemed to have an indescribable air of nobility. Drooping her head in ponderment, Jiang Ruan wondered. She was unsure of what sort of status this person had, yet innate elegance emanated from his head to his toes, making his identity really mysterious. Still, it was great that he did not have that murderous air he had had that night. In addition, it appeared that he did not have any ill intentions towards her, thus this was actually the merciful silver lining among all her misfortunes thus far.
In any case, to have met him twice in these sort of circumstances, he could actually be considered as an acquaintance of hers then. Only, to appear whenever she was doing something ill-intentioned, she did not know what kind of fate this was.
Seeing that the account book had already fallen into the other person's hands, it was not beneficial for Jiang Ruan to remain here any longer. She then prepared to leave while the other party remained unmoved and silently stood on the spot. Jiang Ruan suddenly remarked before she pushed open the door, "On the beam of the firewood storage room behind the Shen fu's inner courtyard kitchen, under the locust tree of Shen Ming Zhen's backyard, under the rock garden beside the fu's garden pond, all these places contain good things. Below the wooden floorboard under Assistant Minister Shen's bed in the study, there is a hidden passage. There are many valuable things inside; I hope that this will be of assistance to your distinguished self, sir."
The expression on the black-clad youth's face faltered, however, Jiang Ruan had already unhurriedly pushed the door open and left. Once Jiang Ruan had left, a person leaped down abruptly from the beams of the ceiling and walked in front of the youth and bowed his head in reply, "Master, that girl's[1] words cannot be trusted."
[1] T/N: Here, he says' that girl' deprecatingly.
"The di daughter of the Jiang fu." With droopy eyes, his long lashes hid all of the emotions in the youth's eyes as he coldly stated, "Investigate thoroughly."
After Jiang Ruan had left the room, only then did she take a deep breath as she relaxed. The identity of the person inside the room was overly dangerous. Although she did not truly know what kind of person he was, with her many years of experience in her past life being immersed in the palace, she knew that a person's identity could be concealed but their magnificent mannerisms would remain unquestionable. For instance, even after her rebirth, all the maids and others around her would remark that she seemed like a noble lady that came from the palace. But, that was merely a habit, a learned behaviour cultivated from her past life. That individual in the room certainly must have lived like a prince, since from the depths of his bones, he revealed an inherent gracefulness. If she had not presumed wrongly, he should be a member of the heavenly family[2].
[2] T/N: Heavenly family here refers to the class of royalty; the emperors of China were said to be the human embodiment of the gods sent down to Earth, which is part of the rites and Mandate of Heaven; i.e. the right to rule.
To have an ambiguous relationship with this sort of person would be unwise, however, Jiang Ruan still did so and had even deliberately divulged the Shen fu's secrets to him. She knew that in her heart, she was unwilling. Even though she frequently admonished herself daily that she must remain steady and patient at all times, still, when all was said and done, her grievances from her previous life had been apparent through her every conduct and action, which was filled with resentment and anger. The enemy of her enemy would be her friend. Since that person wanted to deal with the Shen fu, afterwards, he would deal with Jiang Quan too. Whatever the case was, everything that would fall upon them would be something she favourably looked upon.
Shaking her head, Jiang Ruan then pushed all of her wild imaginings in her heart aside. In short, she should first handle the matters before her anyways, since they had not reached a troublesome point yet.
She then moved forward smoothly on her path as she returned without a hitch to the banquet hall. Shen Ming Zhen could not help but be alarmed once she saw Jiang Ruan. She cried out involuntarily, "How come you are back?"
Jiang Su Su timely hid the surprise in her eyes, followed by standing up and looking baffled, she asked, "Why did Da Jiejie come back alone, what about Third Younger Sister?"
Jiang Ruan smiled slightly, "Li niang urgently needed to go to the powder room, so she had me wait first. However, I was waiting for a long time and by some fortunate coincidence, I bumped into a young maid who then brought me back here first."
"A young maid?" Shen Ming Zhen hastily asked, her voice was a little high-pitched and attracted sidelong glances from the surrounding furens and young ladies one by one. However, at this moment, she paid no heed to that and continued to question, "Which young maid, what was her name? Perhaps you are trying to frame me?"
Jiang Ruan asked in astonishment, "What kind of words are those, Ming Zhen meimei? If she isn't a young maid from your residence, then how could I return back here, perfectly fine on my first visit to the Shen fu? Moreover, I am unfamiliar with the grounds here."
Jiang Su Su's eyes flashed, "That's true."
Jiang Ruan chuckled too, "However, I forgot to ask that young maid's name, I only know that she looked lovely and clever. After she sent me ahead, she left."