Chang'an was unbearably hot in July, with swarms of mosquitoes and flies along the open drains on both sides of the streets. Ruan Yuewei felt like she was sitting in a big steamer when she sat in the carriage, but she didn't dare to lift the curtain to get some fresh air.
This is Chengtianmen Street, and nearby are the residences of the rich and powerful. Who knows if she will run into any old friends? What she fears most right now is running into someone she used to know.
Ruan Yue was a little annoyed, and raised the handkerchief covering her mouth and nose: "Chang'an stinks in the summer, it's really not a place to live."
Shu Zhu used a silk fan to fan her intermittently, his wrist limp, "Fortunately, my wife is going to Luoyang soon, and she doesn't have to endure the stench of Chang'an anymore."
Ruan Yuewei could hardly feel any wind, but she couldn't say much. She was no longer the Crown Princess of Gaozu, and her personal maid had also worked in vain. She was full of resentment and didn't serve her as wholeheartedly as before.
On any other day she would have been furious, but now they were heading south to Luoyang, and everything had to be taken care of by the two maids along the way, so she was the one who suffered when she got angry.
As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles reveals the true character of a horse. This time, she finally saw the true colors of these servants. Ruan Yue thought to herself that when she arrived in Luoyang, she would definitely send these two servants who flattered the powerful and looked down on the weak to the farm, and select two more who were honest and loyal.
The carriage traveled along Chengtianmen Street from west to east. When it came out of Tonghua Gate, she finally couldn't help but lift the curtain and look back. The city tower was getting smaller and smaller, and gradually disappeared in the hot dust.
Ruan Yuewei's face was covered with tears. Shu Zhu's face flashed with impatience. He said perfunctorily: "Don't be sad, my lady. Luoyang is so close to Chang'an. It's not like she won't come back. Besides, didn't the lady say that she would go to Luoyang to see you when she is free?"
Ruan Yuewei grew up with Queen Mother Ruan when she was little, and her relationship with her parents was not as strong as that with her other brothers and sisters. It would be more accurate to say that she felt sorry for her life rather than being reluctant to leave her relatives.
The period after Huan Rong's rebellion was like a long, dark nightmare to her. At first, she was frightened day and night, afraid that she would be implicated. Fortunately, Huan Rong did not believe her and her mother's family, and did not tell them anything about the rebellion, which saved them from disaster.
Thanks to her diligence in serving the empress dowager, after Huan Rong was dismissed, the empress dowager showed mercy and allowed her to continue to go to the Buddhist temple to keep her company.
Then the previous emperor passed away and Huan Xuan ascended the throne. She knew that the empress dowager intended to have her enter the palace as a concubine under a different status. In order to avoid attracting attention, her position could not be too high, which was far from her original goal of being the mother of the country. However, it was better than spending her whole life with a green lamp and an ancient Buddha.
Moreover, she still had some hope for Huan Xuan in her heart - although he was angry with her because of Zhao Qinghui's incident, Xiao Ling was alive and well after all, so this matter could be put aside. They had the friendship they had when they were young, and after a while, when his anger subsided, she could use all her tricks again, and she was not afraid that he would not be soft-hearted.
She secretly made plans for herself, and then served the empress dowager even more diligently, taking care of her in every possible way.
But who could have imagined that Huan Xuan would place the Queen Mother under house arrest and kill her trusted eunuchs as soon as he ascended the throne.
Ruan Yuewei regretted it at this time. It was impossible for her to sever her relationship with the Queen Mother. Besides, who else could she rely on except the Queen Mother? From then on, she could only temporarily give up the idea of renewing her relationship with Huan Xuan. However, as long as she was still in the harem, she would always find opportunities to meet him by chance.
She had made up her mind to be patient and take things step by step, but Huan Xuan died one month after he ascended the throne.
The cause of his death was strange. Ruan Yuewei didn't know the inside story, but she vaguely guessed that it was related to the Queen Mother, because after the Queen Mother was placed under house arrest, Huan Xuan never showed up in the court, and the news of his death was reported soon after.
Since then, the Queen Mother stayed indoors all day and did not see anyone. She went to ask for an audience several times but was blocked outside by palace servants.
She listened secretly and found out that the queen mother had been crazy since Huanxuan's death. She was awake less and less often, and even when she was awake, she would not speak or see anyone.
Her heart sank when she heard this. The Queen Mother was busy taking care of herself, so how could she think of doing anything for her
Ruan Yuewei felt as if she had been forgotten by the whole world. This Buddhist temple was like a tomb. Although she had no worries about food and clothing, how could she be willing to be buried in a place like this at such a young age!
People are all like this. When Huan Rong was in trouble, she only hoped to save her life, and once she did, she wanted to live a better life.
She was depressed and gradually became ill. Winter was the season when her old illness was prone to relapse, and this time it was more serious than in previous years. She wanted to take this opportunity to leave the palace, and even pretended to be dying. The Queen Mother finally responded this time, calling her to her side and asked, "I will go to the imperial mausoleum after the New Year, what do you think?"
Ruan Yuewei then realized that it was a blessing to be able to stay in this royal Buddhist temple to practice meditation. Following the empress dowager to the imperial mausoleum would be the end of her life. Besides, the food, clothing and other expenses in the imperial mausoleum were not as exquisite as those in the palace.
She lowered her head and remained silent, just biting her lips and shedding tears.
The Queen Mother was sober at this time, and immediately knew what she was thinking: "Life in the Imperial Mausoleum is hard, and it is understandable that you don't want to go. Then ask your family to take you back."
Ruan Yuewei had thought about going home, but she had been so glorious when she got married, but now she had nothing. It was a world of difference. Although the Ruan family was not involved in the conspiracy case, they were the in-laws of the deposed prince after all, and it was impossible to completely clear themselves of it. Her father, Ningyuan Hou, was transferred from the Ministry of Personnel to the Imperial Household. His rank remained the same, but his status plummeted. The family had originally hoped that she could rely on her old relationship to get close to the new emperor, but now it was all in vain. She, the deposed crown princess, had completely become a disgrace to the Ningyuan Hou family.
If she went back to her mother's family in such a situation, she could imagine how much cold stares she would face. But now she had no other way to go, so it would be best for her to go home to the imperial mausoleum.
When she returned to the Ruan family, it was just as she expected. From her grandmother to her half brothers and half sisters, although they didn't say anything, they could not hide their contempt and complaints in their eyes. Only her mother Su was concerned about her, but she, a woman in the harem, could do nothing. The Ningyuan Marquisate had been in decline for a long time, and relied on Ruan Yuewei to marry into the Eastern Palace to survive. Who knew that her position as the Crown Princess was just a flash in the pan, and now the situation of the mansion is even worse than before.
When Ruan Yuewei was in her prime, her family had benefited a lot, and everyone in the mansion was extravagant. But now it was difficult to live frugally. The worse the mansion was, the more the men in the Ruan family had to show off outside. As a result, they even had to secretly sell their land and shops, and even secretly took out Su's dowry to subsidize Ningyuan Hou.
The family was financially tight, so they naturally couldn't waste money on a useless person like Ruan Yuewei. Before she got married, her family relied on her for everything, but now her food, clothing and other expenses were not even as good as those of a concubine's daughter.
Ruan Yuewei was furious and resentful but she had no choice but to shed tears all day long, hoping that things would suddenly turn around so that she could be proud - she was destined to be a phoenix as confirmed by the old national teacher, and no matter what others said, she firmly believed it in her heart.
However, before she could wait for a turning point, a disaster struck the Ruan family: an imperial censor impeached the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion for breaking the engagement and forcing the concubine's daughter to death, and then for abusing power for personal gain and tampering with performance appraisals. The imperial censor was Ruan Qinniang's fiancé Wei Qizheng.
At first they didn't take this poor boy seriously at all, and when they sent him to Lingnan they thought he would never have a chance to turn things around. However, he quietly hooked up with the new governor of Huaixi and worked as a staff member in the governor's mansion. A few years later, he was recommended by the governor to enter the court, and as soon as he came back he entered the Censorate. In less than half a year he was appreciated by the Grand Censor Cui and was promoted to Palace Attendant Censor.
The first thing Wei Qizhen did after his promotion was to impeach Ningyuan Hou.
Ningyuan Hou was so frightened that he was almost terrified. Losing his official position was a small matter at this time, but if the old matter was brought up again and it was linked to the case of treason by the deposed crown prince, he would probably lose his head.
He had to run around everywhere to seek help and smooth over connections. Money and gold flowed out like water, and most of his family wealth was wasted, and in the end he was dismissed from his post and demoted. He was fine, but the government was seriously injured and was stretched to the limit.
At this moment, Ruan Yuewei had been waiting for a turning point, but something happened - her aunt sent her old family from Luoyang to propose marriage.
Ruan Yuewei was naturally unwilling at first. When Zhao Qinghui was intact, he was not worthy of her. Now he was missing a hand. He had done such dirty things in Yangzhou that she felt sick whenever she thought about it. How could she be willing to marry him
Madam Su tried to persuade her for several days, but she still refused to give in. Finally, her grandmother called her over and said, "Your father got into trouble with the law, and it was your aunt who sold a piece of land to help your father without hesitation. Fortunately, he was spared from imprisonment. She has been very kind to our family. Qinghui has admired you since childhood, and your mother-in-law is your aunt, so she will naturally not make things difficult for you."
Ruan Yuewei knelt on the ground, leaning on her grandmother's lap and crying: "Grandma, I just want to be filial to you, please show me mercy..."
The old lady's face darkened: "Your father was dismissed and demoted because of you. Now you are asked to share the burden but you are making excuses..."
When Ruan Yuewei heard this, she guessed that her aunt must have promised a generous betrothal gift, so her family was in a hurry to marry her to Zhao Qinghui.
She wiped away her tears: "My granddaughter's marriage to the deposed prince was facilitated by my family, but now it's all my granddaughter's fault. My grandmother sold my granddaughter to a disabled man as his wife just for some money. My grandmother is so cruel..."
Before she finished speaking, the old lady sneered and said, "Qinghui has a flaw now, but don't you think about it? If he was all right, how could this marriage be yours?"
Ruan Yuewei was speechless. No matter how much Zhao Qinghui was made a laughing stock, he still had a hereditary title. And she was not only a second bride, but her previous marriage was to the deposed crown prince who was executed for treason. Who would dare to marry her at such a young age
The old lady continued, "If you really don't want to marry me, I won't force you, lest you end up hanging yourself and asking the censor to report you."
She paused and said, "I'll give you two options. You can either marry her in Luoyang and become the wife of the Earl of Yong'an, or become a nun in Kaishan Temple in Zhongnan Mountain and announce to the public that the Third Lady of the Ruan family is dead."
Ruan Yuewei was stunned, tears falling down: "Grandma is so heartless!"
The old lady said: "Don't blame grandma for being heartless. The mansion is no longer the same as it was before. You have several unmarried cousins..."
Ruan Yuewei understood immediately that the men in the Ruan family in recent generations had no prospects and relied entirely on married women to bring the family back. Now her grandmother was planning this, but if she, the deposed Crown Princess, was in the family, her sisters' marriages would be affected. If she married Zhao Qinghui, at least she would be an earl's wife.
Seeing the mocking look on her face, the old lady became angry and said, "I won't force you, but don't blame me for not reminding you. Kaishan Temple is not like the royal temple. You have been living a life of luxury since you were a child. You can't even dream of such a hard life."
Although Ruan Yuewei could not imagine how hard life was in the mountain temple, when she thought about not even having a maid to serve her and having to do all the rough work by herself, she knew that she could not live such a life.
The old lady noticed her expression softened, and said slowly, "Although this marriage may not be perfect, think about it. Qinghui is a handsome man, and he is so devoted to you. Your mother-in-law has raised you since you were a child, and she is your aunt. She will not make things difficult for you. Others' gossip behind your back is their business. After all, you have to live your life on your own."
Ruan Yue bit her lip slightly and slowly lowered her head.