The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort

Chapter 41: Young Lady Lisa of the Jiang Family

On the second day, at the first flush of the morning, Lian Qiao had awoken Jiang Lisa to
get out of bed. Jiang Lisa had instructed Bai Zhi to tend to Zhou momo, therefore, Lu Zhu and Lian Qiao would accompany her on today's journey. Lu Zhu waited upon Jiang Lisa as she had her breakfast while Lian Qiao was already impatiently waiting to assist Jiang Lisa with changing into her clothes. Lu Zhu giggled, "Lian Qiao Jiejie has such an anxious appearance, that those who aren't in the know would think that the guest today was going to be Lian Qiao Jiejie."

"Damned wench. Keep spouting nonsense, and see if I won't tear your mouth into pieces." Lian Qiao added, "Our Miss has not adorned herself well in a long time. I had already mentioned long ago that our Miss is a bourgeoning beauty[1] and when I think about how these people's eyes will drop out of their sockets after our Miss appears in front of them, I can't help but be quite cheerful."

[1] Měi rén pēi zi ( 美人胚子 ) - This adjective often refers to women or girls that are equipped with the potential to become beauties. Often, this phrase refers to the aesthetic appeal and harmony/symmetry with all of a woman's body parts such as her figure, physiognomy (face shape) and their five facial features (nose, eyes, lips, tongue and ears).

Jiang Lisa smiled, "The beauty in the Jiang fu isn't me."

"Miss is talking about the Second Miss?" Lian Qiao was a straightforward person, thus heedless and unconcerned, she continued, "The Second Miss' natural appearance is good, however, it is excessively light. At her youthful age now, it is still alright. However, once she has grown, to then continue to have such a plain and fresh look will appear rather dull. She is nowhere near our Miss who has a stunning countenance."

Jiang Lisa broke into laughter, "You are aware that nowadays, here in the capital, the prevalent style is this sort of elegant, attractive and refined beauty. Meanwhile appearances such as mine are gradually becoming gaudy."

Originally, Lu Zhu had been tidying up the things on the table. However, once she heard this, she could not help but chime in, "Miss is definitely wrong here. The scholars and the poets all assert that they themselves are fond of principled, unsullied and incorruptible lotuses (beauties). However, the people of this world will often fritter away thousands to seek one pot of the tree peony from Luoyang[2]. Yet, would anyone spend thousands of gold to look for a pot of lotus flowers that can be generally found in the pond?"

[2] T/N note: Peony flowers and particularly, tree peony flowers are held up as the ideal that is unsurpassed by any other flowering plant in China and to a lesser extent, Japan. The tree peony is known as the king of flowers and was once appointed as the national flower during the Qing Dynasty. The flower was highly revered by Chinese literati, poets and painters for hundreds of years and therefore, the flower has become part of the cultural lore. In our current times, whole gardens in China are devoted to tree peonies, in places, especially like Beijing, Shanghai and Luoyang.

Moreover, the reason why tree peonies from Luoyang are considered desirable and ornamentally valuable since ancient times till now is due to the difficulty in cultivating it. It is also the city's flower with a Peony Culture Festival that is held annually with millions of visitors every year.

Lian Qiao too nodded, "This is exactly the truth."

Jiang Lisa shook her head and did not speak further. Once Lu Zhu cleaned her hands, she then had Jiang Lisa sit before the dressing table, "What kind of hairstyle does Miss want?"

"Anything is fine." Jiang Lisa stated, "As long as it isn't improper, then it will be fine."

With the bustle of the transformation, in the span of the smoulder of an incense stick, time passed swiftly. The carriages outside the gates of the Jiang fu had long since been prepared. There were a total of two carriages: Jiang Nancy with Jiang Lisa and Xia Yan in one carriage and Jiang Tzuyu and Jiang Yeri in another. Ultimately, the two carriages were supposed to depart together for the Shen fu.