Chapter 6
Rou’er finally came to pay her respects early the next morning.
One hand supporting her belly, she looked languid.
“My pregnancy has grown so tiring. Moving yesterday wore me out, and I missed the hour for greeting you. Please don’t hold it against me, my lady.”
Every word was a boast and a challenge.
Li Ruolan looked at her quietly and said nothing.
Without the mistress’s word, no one else dared move.
An awkward silence settled over the room. Rou’er began to lose her nerve.
All at once, she seemed far less bold.
After a long while, Li Ruolan gave a slight nod.
An older servant brought over a cup of tea.
“The mistress has excused you from kneeling because of your pregnancy, Concubine Rou. Aren’t you going to thank her?”
Rou’er bit her lip, resentment in her eyes.
When she lived outside, she had enjoyed all the privileges of a household mistress. When had she ever had to abase herself like this?
She wanted to protest, but Li Ruolan kept her lashes lowered, giving nothing away.
She could not even find an opening to speak.
“What are you waiting for? The mistress is a busy woman. She has no time for your dawdling. Until this ceremony is completed, you have no place in this household. Do you want to be sent back?”
Rou’er looked around. Xie Bi was absent. With no one to support her, she could only take the teacup, looking aggrieved.
“Thank you, my lady. Please accept this tea.”
Li Ruolan touched her lips to the rim and finally said, “Reward her.”
Nothing more.
Rou’er—or rather, Concubine Rou—had prepared a whole bellyful of speeches. Not one proved useful.
As Li Ruolan rose to leave, she glanced at the disgruntled concubine and remarked,
“That hairpin of yours is rather unusual.”
Concubine Rou perked up at once.
“The master had it specially made at Qianjin Jewelers for my birthday. It cost five hundred taels of silver…”
Before she had finished, Li Ruolan had entered the inner room.
She was left standing there, nearly twisting her handkerchief to shreds.
Why was Li Ruolan so different now?
Last time, a few provocative words had made her lose all composure and incur Xie Bi’s displeasure.
She had come today intending to provoke her again. Even a quarrel or a little mistreatment would have given Concubine Rou the upper hand.
She could go back and weep to Xie Bi about the mistress’s cruelty. He would dislike Li Ruolan all the more.
Instead, Li Ruolan had scarcely looked at her. It left her feeling humiliated as never before.
“Why are you still here, Concubine Rou? Hoping to scrounge a meal off the mistress?”
The woman sweeping the room made no effort to hide her mockery.
Concubine Rou flushed with anger, stamped her foot, and turned to leave.
What a humiliation today had been.