Chapter 455: Returning Home (2)

At the five kilometre mark out from the capital, Chu Lian bid goodbye to He Changdi and followed He Erlang back into the capital.

As for He Sanlangs party, they would have to head straight to the palace to attend the ceremony before they would be allowed to return to their estates.

In the afternoon, Chu Lian finally reached the entrance of the Jingan Estate.

They had already sent some of their familys soldiers ahead to report their return. Just as Chu Lians carriage stopped, the sound of excited female voices carried in from outside.

Third Young Madam, youre finally back! Xiyan had been trying to put on the steady air that a handmaid should have, but who could have thought that she would lose control of her emotions even before seeing Chu Lian in person? Her voice was almost close to a sob.

Wenqing, who had been seated in the carriage with Chu Lian, leaped out to lift the curtains covering the entrance of the carriage. She shot a speechless look at Xiyan before teasing her, You missed Third Young Madam that much? What are you blanking out for? Come and help Third Young Madam out!

It was only then that Xiyan came to her senses and looked up into the carriage. As expected, she was met with the sight of Chu Lian trying to hide a warm smile.

She quickly wiped away the tears in the corners of her eyes and reached out to hold Chu Lian steady, Third Young Madam, please excuse this servant.

Chu Lian let Xiyan help her out of the carriage before speaking with affection, Alright, thats enough. Ill forgive you this time.

Once she was out of the carriage, Chu Lian spotted the group of people standing at the entrance.

The one in the lead was the kindly Matriarch He. Her mother-in-law, Countess Jingan, was standing right next to her with the help of Miaozhen. Chu Lians gaze slid down to Miaozhen and she noticed that her clothes were loose, while her belly seemed to have swelled a little.

A brief wave of emotion passed through her. She hadnt expected Miaozhen to have gotten pregnant with her brother-in-laws child so quickly.

Her gaze shifted again, only to be met with two strangers.

A middle-aged woman was standing to Matriarch Hes right. Her face was rounded and she was dressed richly. However, that unbridled measuring look she had on her face only drew dislike. If she looked a little closely, the middle-aged womans features were a little similar to Matriarch He.

Standing behind the middle-aged woman was a tall young lady.

The young lady seemed to be about her age. She was dressed in a bright pink dress with a vest on top. An exquisite fox fur-lined cloak was wrapped around her. The strings of pearls on her golden hairpin shook gently in the breeze.

Her outfit seemed strangely familiar to Chu Lians eyes.

The girl seemed a little timid as she shied away from meeting Chu Lians eyes directly. She darted glances at Chu Lian from underneath her lowered lashes from time to time.

Xiyan noticed the misgivings in her masters eyes and whispered behind her, Third Young Madam, those two are Eldest Madam and Miss Pan. They returned to the estate right before the New Year.

Eldest Madam? Miss Pan?

Chu Lian thought back to the events described in the story, but it seemed like those two had never been mentioned at all. However, she had heard her mother-in-law mention that the matriarch had a daughter who had married far away.

Why had they suddenly been brought back to the capital?

Although Chu Lian had some doubts in her heart, she didnt show them on her face.

She smiled sweetly and quickly walked towards Matriarch He.

When she was right in front of the matriarch, she curtsied respectfully before saying, Granddaughter-in-law hopes Grandmother is well. Granddaughter-in-law has returned.

Following that, she bobbed towards Countess Jingan and the rest.

Matriarch He held on to Chu Lians arm, Its good that youre back. Good, good. Quick, come into the estate. Look at how thin youve gotten, you must have lost so much weight.

In the time it took to enter the estate, He Ying had already spoken up, Mother, this must be Ah-dis wife. Why dont you introduce us? Its my first time meeting this child!

Matriarch He smiled, What are you in such a hurry for? Lianer has just returned. You have to let her take a sip of hot tea first at the very least. Youll have all the time in the world to chat with your niece later on.

Since the matriarch hadnt acquiesced to her demand, He Ying pouted and followed Matriarch He closely.

Pan Nianzhens eyes hadnt left Chu Lian once, even as she continued following behind her mother.

Now that Chu Lian was in front of her, she didnt have to meet those piercing eyes that made her feel ashamed. She could rest easy and look her over all she wanted.

She hadnt expected Chu Lian to be so young. She looked about the same age as her, although she was much shorter. Chu Lian was also dressed very casually. There was only a single dark green jade hairpin on her head and a lovely jade ring on her left thumb. She wasnt even wearing a single bangle.

Pan Nianzhen felt that her looks werent that bad and could be considered above average even in the capital. In the past, her face had been her pride. However, upon seeing the unadorned, fine features of Chu Lian, she suddenly felt inferior.

Even though Chu Lian wasnt wearing any makeup at all, her face was still as beautiful as a flower. Pan Nianzhen trembled at the thought of comparing her looks with Chu Lian now.

Pan Nianzhen crumpled the handkerchief in her hands and took in a deep breath. A thread of dissatisfaction wound around her heart.

When she had heard that Chu Lian and He Sanlang would be returning to the estate today, she had specially ordered her maidservant to pick out the best outfit and accessories to dress her up. However, she couldnt even match up to Chu Lian in her plain and simple clothes.

What Pan Nianzhen didnt understand was that some things couldnt be earned with outer appearances alone.

The jealousy in her heart built up until it was showing in her eyes. She had visited Chu Lians Songtao Court before. When she had inadvertently glanced at the book that one of the servants had been writing in, there had been lines of accessories recorded there that were all more valuable than whatever she had on now. However, Chu Lian hadnt worn any of those beautiful and lavish accessories and had dressed so simply. Was she trying to humiliate her and her mother?