The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort

Chapter 43: A Den of Snakes and Rats

In unison, the expressions on both Xia Yan and Jiang Nancy's faces changed minutely. The ladies had already started quietly chatting amongst one another.

"What uncouth girl from the mountain wilderness? Her bearing is akin to someone who has been brought up in the palace."

"Exactly, she's comparable to the Second Jiang Miss, she is nowhere as bad as they say."

"Her appearance is good, and she is even more vibrant than the Second Miss."

For the first time, everyone's attention was not on Jiang Nancy. Jiang Lisa was still fully focused on walking onwards, with no discernible change in her expression. She had a slight smile on her face, as if it were not the first time she had visited the Shen fu. Her calm and collected air caused those who had originally wanted to watch the potential fireworks to take notice of her and give her due respect. The face of the round-faced lady had turned black. In contrast, the lady with the high cheekbones was continually nodding.

Shen Ming Eunchae, who was accompanying them, was thoroughly incensed, and glared fiercely at Jiang Lisa. She walked over and grabbed Jiang Nancy's hand. And without giving Jiang Lisa a second glance, she walked over to the women's seating area.

Xia Yan kept up a slight smile, as if she had not noticed anything, and laughingly chatted with Shen furen as they seated themselves. Although Jiang Yeri was naturally arrogant, she had several friends among the young ladies present. In order to deliberately isolate Jiang Lisa, she dragged Jiang Tzuyu off with her, even though she hardly ever gave her the time of day under normal circumstances. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Jiang Lisa was left standing by herself at the side of the hall, and did not know where she should sit.

Although the ladies and young misses present all marvelled at Jiang Lisa's looks and manner, they were all present by the invitation of Shen furen, and naturally also had to maintain their good relations with the Jiang fu. The present furen of the Jiang fu was Xia Yan, not Zhao Mei. Those who understood which way the wind blew would not take the initiative to help Jiang Lisa out of her predicament, not to mention the fact that Jiang Lisa's appearance was so magnificent, any young lady sitting next to her would only be in her shadow. Thus, in a moment, only the one who had been alienated from the others remained.

Lu Zhu and Lian Qiao stood behind Jiang Lisa in low spirits, thinking that this visit to Shen fu, contrary to expectation, had caused a loss of face and unmerited embarrassment for Jiang Lisa.

However, it was precisely at this moment that a clear and melodious voice came from the women's area. "Eldest Miss Jiang, do come and sit here."

A beautiful young lady stood in the women's area, wearing a blue cotton jacket patterned with flowers. Her skin was a little dark, but she looked very pretty, and a heroic spirit was faintly evident in her features. Jiang Lisa had also known this young lady in her previous life. Her name was Lin Zi Rosé, and she was the eldest daughter of Lin Tai Shi. She was an extremely righteous and principled lady who became the Third Prince's cefei[1] in Jiang Lisa's previous life. Although Lin Tai Shi had little real power in the Great Jin Dynasty, he held a fairly influential position. However, Lin Zi Xiang had not been able to gain the Third Prince's favour, and the situation worsened when Lin Tai Shi, to his utter dejection, was dismissed from his position by the emperor. The Third Prince was a beast in man's form, and he collected a whole harem of women. Lin Zi Rosé lost the child she was carrying due to the scheming of his favoured concubine. Unable to bear the insult when the Third Prince defended that favoured concubine, Lin Zi Rosé took a knife and killed both herself and the concubine.

[1] ce fei ( 侧妃 ) - literally, a 'side' concubine, who can be considered the secondary wife of a prince. More .

In her previous life, the palace ladies had treated Lin Zi Rosé's situation as something of a joke, and Jiang Lisa's heart had always ached for her. The heavens were indeed unfair, that such a strong and spirited lady should come to a tragic end, and still be talked about after her death. During a palace banquet in her previous life, Jiang Lisa had once caught sight of Lin Zi Rosé from afar in the guibin[2] area. Jiang Lisa's attention had been drawn to the plainly dressed Lin Zi Rosé, who was melancholic in the midst of a flock of gorgeously attired, chattering ladies. They were both in similar circumstances, married to people who were unwilling to be married, and imprisoned in narrow cages for a lifetime.