The Rebirth of an ill-Fated Consort
chapter-25-2

The crowd burst into a hubbub of discussion, the noise filling the entire court. No one could have imagined that this young lady, whose situation was immeasurably worse than any misfortune that could befall an ordinary person, was actually the daughter of a high-ranking government official. A man who could take pride in his position, at the height of his career, someone considered to be fair and impartial, he would not have thought that his own daughter would be bullied like this at the residence. Everyone looked at Jiang Ruan with eyes full of sympathy and compassion. Now, none of Jiang Ruan’s denials would be believed. Everyone would simply think that this pitiful little lady from a wealthy family was only attempting to safeguard her father’s reputation, thus causing her to swallow all her grievances and conceal all the outrageous actions against her.

At this turn of events, quite a few people praised Jiang Ruan’s actions, as they were both filial and virtuous. Even if her own father was too indifferent to make a fuss, and constantly worked to maintain the reputation of his family, this kind of situation would even be difficult for an adult shoulder. She was only a young girl. What kind of astonishing sense of righteousness was this?

In contrast to Jiang Ruan’s high sense of righteousness stood Jiang Quan’s reputation. The reputation of this high-ranking government official was excellent. From the imperial court to the common people, no one could say that he was not fair, and had always appeared to be incorruptible and impartial. However, from today’s revelations, which portrayed him to be so indifferent towards his eldest daughter so as to allow her to be bullied by servants, and to have his household matters in such a mess, other officials would, in all likelihood, not see him as completely clear of blame.

Jiang Ruan seemed a little uncomfortable to be at the receiving end of sympathetic glances of the bystanders. She lowered her head slightly, revealing the pale back of her neck. She looked like a swan whose wings had been broken. Her posture was weak, yet she gave off the aura of one who was fighting hard to protect her pride. Her jet-black hair obscured her side profile, only revealing the delicate angles of her lower jaw. Her pale lips, due to her having bitten them hard, showed a little bloody colour, and were strangely appealing.

No one noticed the mocking laughter in her eyes, concealed by her long eyelashes.

One should not wash one’s dirty linen in public. She would naturally never do this of her own volition, but there are many ways to ensure a matter becomes common knowledge. One way was to have people guess at it. Jiang Quan should have long had the hypocritical veneer of his reputation ripped away. In his previous life, he must have caused himself to be cast into prison, and so lost his good name and the possibility of being seen as one who would value righteousness over his family. Thus, in this lifetime, he was being allowed to exterminate his own family. This was the only reason he could have ended up in such a state! In this world, it was impossible to have a good name last forever so cheaply when one has committed cruel and unscrupulous acts. Today, she had taken advantage of this wave of public opinion, and starkly exposed the filth within the Jiang family!

The sound of quarrelling had become too loud, so Imperial Censor Wang struck the table with his wooden gavel. “Silence!” It was only when silence resumed that he looked at Jiang Ruan and said, “You’ve been at the residence for several years, and Official Jiang has never come to take you back?”

“My father is very busy with his official duties,” Jiang Ruan said as she lifted her head, then quickly turned away once again. “As his child, I ought to share his burdens. I do not wish to add to his troubles.”

As soon as she said this, the buzz of conversation started up again. Now, the more Jiang Ruan expressed charity towards Jiang Quan, the more the people were disgusted by him. What was so troublesome about having his daughter, his own flesh and blood, live at home?

Imperial Censor Wang frowned. “I have heard that you have stayed at the residence for five years. I want to know – five years ago, why did you come to the residence?”

“My birth mother died of an illness, and Jiang Ruan* had to observe the period of mourning for her.” She spoke in a pleasant and captivating manner, and the people around her could not help but sob when they heard her. No wonder this little girl had been abandoned at the residence. Her own mother was dead, and her stepmother must indeed be a vicious lady to put her through this kind of torment. That Official Jiang was really a beast with a human face to go so far as to favour his concubine and neglect his wife.

*T/N: Jiang Ruan refers to herself in the third person when speaking here. This is known as ‘Illeism’ (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illeism) and is employed for various purposes (think Gollum in ‘The Lord of the Rings’). Here, it is probably to show humility and deference as she is addressing someone superior to her in status and age (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_honorifics).

Imperial Censor Wang struck the table with his wooden gavel. “According to our illustrious imperial laws, the period of mourning ends after three years. As of today, you have long fulfilled the period of mourning. You do not have to be detained here. I will make the decision on your behalf, return home immediately!”

Jiang Ruan was startled for a moment. Very carefully, she asked, “Really?”

Her upward-tilting eyes were full of joy. At that moment, she looked like a butterfly fluttering its wings in flight- so beautiful that people could not tear their eyes away from her.

She was indeed incredibly happy. After such a long and circuitous route, she had finally achieved her final objective – to return home!

Translated by : shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely