Chapter 21 Part 1: Cousin

Inside the pavilion, three people that Jiang Li had just met yesterday were seated. Besides Jiang Youyao, there were also the shu daughters from the third branch.

On one side of Jiang Youyao, two servant girls were fanning her. It was a bit warmer outside than inside the Jiang residence, but walking around outside while still in the morning didn’t feel that hot yet.

On the table, there were a few rock sugar, fruits, and juice. Jiang Yu Yan and Jiang Yu’e were seated on the left and right side of Jiang Youyao, like stars cupping themselves around the moon1.

Jiang Youyao saw Jiang Li yet didn’t take the initiative to greet her. On the contrary, Jiang Yu Yan, who was sitting beside her, hesitated for a while before shyly shouted: “Second sister.”

Jiang Li ranked second in the Jiang family. Jiang Yuan Bai married Ye Zhen Zhen without any children for three years, yet his tongfang got pregnant. According to custom, this child shouldn’t be given birth to. However, Ye Zhen Zhen was kind and didn’t have the heart to harm the pair of human lives2, so the baby was born. The year after, Jiang Li was born. While that tongfang’s position was raised to a concubine.

According to Tong’er, this concubine used to be old madam Jiang’s servant girl and she was a well-behaved and sincere person. She didn’t fight or grab resources in the house. A pity, her fate wasn’t good. When Jiang Li was three years old, that would be two years after Ji Shuran entered the house, Jiang family’s first daughter fell to her death while playing on the rockery in the garden. Her mother, the concubine, grieved day in and day out and soon after she was also gone.

Jiang Li nodded to Jiang Yu Yan and spoke: “Fourth sister.”

Jiang Yu Yan had an ordinary appearance, and apparently, her guts were also small. She didn’t expect Jiang Li to nod towards herself and was surprised. Then very quickly lowered her head as if afraid of something.

Jiang Yu’e who had fixed her gaze at Jiang Li suddenly laughed and spoke: “Not meeting for several years, second sister has become much friendlier. No wonder it’s said that the temple could discipline a person’s temper.”

When she smiled, she had quite the manner of a somewhat delicate and swaying daughter from a small family. However, the words she said were actually stabbing people. Hearing her, a trace of disdain flashed through Jiang Youyao’s eyes.

Jiang Li understood, due to their status, the two shu daughters from the third branch aimed to curry Jiang Youyao’s favor. Jiang Youyao used these two people as tools to make her unhappy.

Jiang Li smiled slightly and replied: “The temple can really temper someone’s temperament. Fifth sister does not need to feel regret, perhaps someday in the future, you would have the opportunity to also experience it. There’s still time in the future.”

“Who wants to experience…….” Jiang Yu’e was instantly angered. As she was about to speak, Jiang Youyao, who had been keeping silent, pulled at her sleeve.

Jiang Li looked at Jiang Youyao.

Ji Shuran’s biological daughter, her appearance indeed resembled Ji Shuran, dainty and very delicate with an oval face, exquisite nose, and cherry lips. She also had large, round eyes and peach cheeks. Probably due to a life of luxury, while being raised in the chief assistant’s house, she looked tender and lovely. She was attired in a pink cotton skirt and as if she was Ji Xiang Lou’s3 most precious jewel, just a look, one would know she wasn’t the usual, common goods. She should have been carefully taken good care of and placed in the hollow of the palm since birth, with jade feet, no need to be polluted by the earth. Just a raise of her eyebrow immediately gave birth to numerous pampered, tender charms. Her look was different from Xue Fang Fei’s gorgeous appearance that was able to ruin cities. Jiang Youyao’s beauty was just like a young girl in bloom, a young and inexperienced kind of beauty.

Honestly speaking, it’s a given having people dote on her with such an appearance. Since Jiang Yuan Bai was a chief assistant, it was natural that he doted on this daughter even more.

Jiang Youyao was also sizing Jiang Li up. Jiang Li left when she was 7 years old. It had already been 8 years, Jiang Youyao could no longer remember Jiang Li’s appearance. In her mind, being brought up in a Buddhist nunnery for eight years, Jiang Lu must be very cautious with a humble look for people to trample on. Completely without any air of arrogance nor attitude, simply a lowly, vicious female not worthy of paying attention to.

Who would have imagined that after 8 years, on the first day Jiang Li returned home, she ruthlessly checkmated her mother and her at the doorway with one move? Jiang Li’s haughtiness did not disappear, instead, it had set deeper, concealed under her reserved attitude. This was not a good thing at all, Jiang Li had become sinister and cunning.

“simply a lowly, vicious female not worthy of paying attention to. ” oh well for not being worthy of paying attention to you really did pay a lot of attention to her, unable to forget and thinking about ruining her all day long for 8 entire years hmph

Footnotes:

1:众星拱月: lit. all the stars cup themselves around the moon, idiom meaning to view sb as core (revered) figure, to revolve around somebody.:leftwards_arrow_with_hook:

2: This refers to the mother and baby. Yes, the tongfang would be killed too >.< btw reminding everyone that tongfangs are merely bed servants.:leftwards_arrow_with_hook:

3: Ji Xiang Lou: a jewelry house in Yanjing.