Chapter 10: Looking for a Soft Target to Take It Out On

Su Ruan flushed a little at the praise and was about to offer a modest reply when Qiu Wanrou spoke, tone flat.

"Don't encourage her. The girl already doesn't know her limits. Praise her and her tail'll be in the clouds for a week."

Her gaze flicked across Su Ruan, then settled back on Yu Qinghe. The comparison was implicit but unmistakable.

"If you ask me, Qinghe's understated, elegant style is the better look. For a young lady, the true value is in a composed, quiet presence."

Madam Wen clicked her tongue and gave Qiu Wanrou a light swat. "Wanrou, you're too biased!"

"Qinghe is wonderful, of course. But is our Ruan Ruan lacking? I think she looks splendid—a bright, lively young girl. Utterly endearing!"

She draped an affectionate arm around Su Ruan's shoulders. "Ruan Ruan, if your own mother doesn't want you, Auntie Qin does! Come home with me, how about it?"

Qiu Wanrou laughed, her tone impossible to read.

"Perfect. Take her home today, Sister Qin. Save me the headache of looking at her every day."

"If I were taking her, it wouldn't be today."

Madam Wen tapped the back of Su Ruan's hand, a meaningful smile in her eyes.

"If I'm taking her, I'd pick a proper day. Fetch her in style, with drums and banners. Do it right."

Su Ruan was bewildered by Madam Wen's warm yet pointed teasing. There seemed to be layers beneath the words, but she couldn't quite parse them.

She glanced at Qiu Wanrou, but her mother only smiled and said nothing.

Madam Wen didn't press further. She linked arms with Qiu Wanrou and laughed. "Enough—we can't stand in the doorway like a pair of statues. Let's go in. Half the ladies are already inside, asking after you."

The group passed through the flower-gate together, walking deeper into the blooming estate.

Inside Xiefang Garden, the main hall was spacious and bright.

The Duchess of Mu, nearing fifty, wore a sapphire-blue gold-woven robe and a grand red-gold forehead band set with gems. She sat at the head of the room, radiating wealth and authority.

Qiu Wanrou led the three girls forward to pay their respects.

The Duchess's gaze lingered on Yu Qinghe a moment longer than the others, praising her "grace and propriety." Then, with the air of someone fulfilling a social obligation, she complimented Su Ruan on being "a striking girl."

"You young things don't need to sit here keeping an old woman company. The grounds are at their best. Go explore."

Qiu Wanrou turned to the three girls. "Go on. Be careful. Don't bump into anyone."

Her gaze paused on Su Ruan's face. "Especially you. Behave. Don't cause trouble."

Su Ruan kept her eyes down and murmured, "Yes."

The moment the three exited the hall, Shi Shuyu seized Yu Qinghe's arm, all sugary warmth.

"Qinghe jiejie, there's a crabapple grove to the east in full bloom! Let's go see! I wrote a new poem about crabapples the other day—I'd love your thoughts on it."

Her eyes flicked to Su Ruan with a derisive little sniff. Then she pulled Yu Qinghe away, quick-footed, clearly intent on leaving Su Ruan behind.

Yu Qinghe hesitated, glancing back at Su Ruan. "Ruan Ruan, do you want to come along—"

"You go ahead."

Su Ruan cut in immediately. The last thing she wanted was to stare at Shi Shuyu's face or sit through a crabapple poem.

Shi Shuyu was thrilled. "Let's go then, Qinghe jiejie! Second Miss Su's feet still hurt—let her rest."

Before the words had finished, she'd dragged Yu Qinghe around a moon gate and out of sight.

Su Ruan exhaled.

She looked around. Not far away, beside a rockery, a small hexagonal pavilion nestled behind a stand of weeping crabapple trees—secluded and quiet. Perfect for hiding out.

She walked over and sat down, rubbing her ankle through her skirt. The relief was immediate.

"Good. I'll just wait here until the banquet starts."

But before she'd finished a single cup of tea, footsteps approached—accompanied by the bright chatter of young women.

"Sister Jingmo's dress is stunning today! That fabric's the new 'sunset purple' from Cloud Brocade Pavilion, isn't it?"

"With Sister Jingmo at today's poetry gathering, first prize is as good as hers."

A group of well-dressed girls swarmed around a woman in a pale purple dress embroidered with gold butterflies. She was pretty, with a scholarly air—but her expression carried an unmistakable hauteur.

She spotted Su Ruan in the pavilion immediately.

"Well, well. Look who it is. Su family's 'famous' Second Miss."

She bit down hard on the word "famous." The girls behind her covered their mouths and giggled.

An oval-faced girl chimed in with a sneer. "Second Miss Su's outfit today... what, not playing at being a proper lady like your dear cousin anymore?"

Su Ruan frowned. She didn't want to engage. Bracing herself against the pavilion pillar, she stood, intending to leave this mess behind.

"Hey, don't go."

The woman in purple stepped forward, blocking the exit. She looked at Su Ruan with a half-smile.

"Second Miss Su sees us and wants to leave? Did we interrupt your solitude?"

Su Ruan inhaled, pushing down her irritation, and pasted on a fake smile. "You're joking. I've just been sitting too long. I wanted to stretch my legs. Please, carry on."

"Who's your sister?" The woman in purple scoffed, brow arching higher. "I wouldn't presume."

Another girl, in a water-green dress, laughed and pointed toward the distance—where Yu Qinghe stood talking with Shi Shuyu at the edge of the crabapple grove. Her tone dripped with mockery.

"That pretentious, fame-hungry one over there is your sister, isn't she? Our Jingmo is the capital's reigning literary champion. She doesn't associate with the likes of you."

Jingmo?

A bell rang in Su Ruan's head. She had a match.

Qiao Jingmo. Daughter of Qiao Yuan, the Censor-in-Chief.

The original novel had mentioned her—the most celebrated poetess among the capital's young ladies, fiercely proud and competitive.

But ever since Yu Qinghe's arrival in the capital, Qiao Jingmo had been outshone at every poetry gathering and banquet. The resentment had calcified into hatred. She'd engineered no shortage of schemes behind the scenes.

Eventually, at a palace banquet, she arranged for Yu Qinghe to "fall" into a lake—only for Shen Zhaoye to happen by and rescue her. The protective male lead went into full attack mode, marching straight to the Censorate to demand justice.

In the end, the Qiao family, desperate to placate Shen Zhaoye's fury, packed Qiao Jingmo off to a nunnery outside the city to "cultivate herself."

Su Ruan's mind went crystal clear.

She couldn't get at the heroine, so she came to bully the heroine's known "dim-witted cousin" instead.

Looking for a soft target to take it out on.

See? See?!

The little Jiang Luyi in her head was rolling around, flailing.

What did I say? Making an enemy of the heroine gets you killed. Getting too close to the heroine makes you cannon fodder!

Even a background extra like me, just minding my own business, gets targeted by the heroine's haters by association! This protagonist halo has a ridiculous blast radius!

Su Ruan silently reinforced her resolution: stay far, far away from the eye of the storm.

"Your eyes are darting all over the place. What are you thinking?" Qiao Jingmo's voice turned colder. "Plotting how to insult us in your head?"

Su Ruan snapped back, all innocence.

"I was just thinking—if someone's been overshadowing you and making you unhappy, you should take it up with her directly. Why block the path of a dim-wit like me?"