Chapter 19: Visiting the Bride’s Family (3)
“Sixth Sister, you’ve only just gotten married and you’re already looking so radiant! There are too many people in the outer court right now, so how about us ladies go to the inner court to talk? Your Brother Rong just brought back some new tea leaves from Yubei a few days ago, so we can all have some tea while we chat.”
Madam Rong helped Chu Lian out of the crowd, and in a short moment, a large group of young ladies, both married and unmarried, followed behind them.
The previous ‘Chu Lian’ actually hadn’t been too familiar with her older cousins from the main branch, let alone the current Chu Lian.
Tightly gripping her sleeves, Chu Lian tried to encourage herself. Going by the universal rules of this era, since she had married into the House of Count Jing’an, she was now considered a member of their household. Her actions no longer represented House Ying and were instead seen as the actions of House Jing’an. Thus, even though she was now back at the Ying Estate and mingling with the people of the Ying Household, she was here as a distinguished guest, rather than a lady of their House.
Although House Ying was long past its glory days, it was still a noble house. Furthermore, Old Duke Ying seemed to have taken a liking to He Sanlang. No matter how jealous or unhappy these ladies might be, they wouldn’t dare make trouble for her here and offend House Jing’an.
Anyway, in the original novel, these ladies hadn’t made any trouble for ‘Chu Lian’ when she had returned to her maiden home. There had only been two unhappy incidents and a meeting with a certain person, while everything else had gone smoothly.
After thinking it through, Chu Lian’s mind settled down, and her body relaxed as well.
The crowd of ladies entered the inner court of the Ying Estate in a cacophony of noise. Tea and sweets had already been prepared in a pavilion next to a flower garden.
“Sixth Sister, you must have gotten used to the sweets of the Jing’an Estate. Surely the sweets of our estate can’t be compared to those.” The speaker was covering her mouth with a fan, but it wasn’t enough to hide her sharp tone. It was the legitimate daughter of the main branch, the Fifth Miss of the Ying Household, Miss Su.1 She was only a month older than Chu Lian, and she should have been the one to marry the House of Count Jing’an’s He Sanlang… if they had gone in order of seniority.
However, when Matriarch He had made a request to her close friend, the Empress Dowager, for a girl from the Chu Family as a granddaughter-in-law, the Fifth Miss had been down with a serious illness. When an imperial physician had come to look at her, even the physician wasn’t sure if the Fifth Miss could be saved. Thus, the engagement had been given to the Sixth Miss, ‘Chu Lian’.
Right after the engagement had been decided, the Fifth Miss mysteriously recovered from her illness.
He Sanlang was famous in the capital, and there were very few ladies who would refuse an engagement with him. When the Fifth Miss recovered from her illness, she was jealous, of course.
Now, Chu Lian had come back to visit her maiden home, all radiant and dazzling, without any traces of the wretched appearance she had had when she was still living in the Ying Estate. She was clearly a beautiful little wife loved dearly by her husband. How could Fifth Miss hold back her anger? This rich, pampered life should have been hers!
Sometimes, she even wondered if her sudden illness had been Chu Lian’s doing.
If poor Chu Lian found out what Fifth Miss was thinking, she would have definitely rolled her eyes.
What the heck? If you want such a weird husband, I’ll give him to you for free!
Chu Lian didn’t take Miss Su’s words seriously. Even though she really wanted to speak the truth and tell them that the sweets of the Jing’an Household actually weren’t all that tasty, they definitely wouldn’t believe her.
Chu Lian just smiled. “Fifth Sister, you’re wrong there. No matter how delicious the sweets of the Jing’an Household are, they’ll never taste like the sweets I had in my maiden home.”
Madam Rong sensed the jealousy in Fifth Miss’ words, so she hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “Sixth Sister is right. The Ying Estate is Sixth Sister’s maiden home. We ladies of House Ying are united in our hearts. Even after marriage, you’re still a lady of House Ying. No matter how good it is outside, how could it compare to the home we grew up in?”
A lady standing by her side made sounds of agreement. That person standing by Madam Rong was most likely her daughter-in-law.
Fifth Miss snorted lightly and stopped chasing that line of talk.
Thus, the group of ladies settled down for tea.
1. Miss is meant as a title for unmarried young ladies of a noble estate. Su is her given name, and not her surname. Both outsiders and family members may refer to the Fifth Miss as Miss Su.