The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort

Chapter 48: Father and Second Brother

In the garden's reception pavilion, Xia Yan was dressed in a primly-coloured short-sleeved satin lined jacket and a cyan woven silk pleated flare skirt. The garments were tightly fastened around her waist without any ease to spare. Although she was already a mother of two, she appeared to remain slender; just like the young girls in the cusp of their spring. Her glistening, moist and supple skin was highlighted with the slightest adornments, bringing the main focal point to her beautiful hair accessories. When compared to the many concubines in the residence, she was precisely like a slender and elegant silhouette of a pure white lotus. On top of that, she had a faint image of a scholarly, literary lady and hence, seemed like an extremely rare, and beautiful woman.

As Jiang Quan's gaze fell upon her, it became rather gentle. As he said to her, "It's been hard for you," his gaze was completely filled with tenderness. Left in the lurch as she saw this, the Second Yiniang could not put up with this scene any longer. As her shapely eyebrows, that had been meticulously drawn, rose, she deliberately cleared her throat softly, "Laoye[1], we can finally welcome you home."

[1] Laoye ( 老爷 ) - (respectful) lord / master.

In fact, the Second Yiniang was also a beauty. Only, her beautiful features were somewhat sharp and with a slimmer than average face, it only made her appear somewhat shrewd, unlike Xia Yan who seemed sentimental and tender. Moreover, with her attempt at acting submissively in order to ingratiate herself, Second Yiniang's actions seem rather forced. Therefore, Jiang Quan seemed to reveal a rather impatient visage and merely replied distractedly. Upon seeing this, Second Yiniang's hands artlessly wrapped around and clenched onto the hems of her clothes.

Dressed in a faint blue coloured straight-cut decorative skirt, at the corner of First Yiniang's lips was a smile filled with humbleness as she quietly retreated to a corner. In stark comparison to the two servant girls beside Xia Yan, who seemed as delicate as flowers and as refined as precious jade, the First Yiniang, in contrast, had an appearance that seemed more like a second-tier servant girl. Jiang Quan did not even glance at her. Jiang Nancy then stepped forward with a smile, "Father[2] has returned."

[2] Die ( 爹 ) - informal way of saying 'father', like Dad in modern lingo.

On normal days, as he went about his official business, Jiang Quan would constantly be stern, however, in front of Jiang Nancy, he had never shown such a visage. On his face, a trace of a smile seemed to have emerged as he reached out to pat her head, "I brought some playthings for you; later, I will have someone bring them to your courtyard."

Standing at the side, a flash of resentment, hatred and jealousy flared in Second Yiniang's eyes. Among the four daughters in the Jiang fu, the only one that would receive this sort of special privilege was Jiang Nancy.

Jiang Mingyu, who was talking with the Old Jiang Madame, suddenly thought of something as he said, "Didn't Lisa meimei just return home too, why have I not seen her person yet?"

Jiang Nancy's smile became heavy as Jiang Quan too suddenly recalled this. His smile faded and his brows furrowed. Seeing this, Xia Yan smiled and was about to speak when she suddenly heard a light girlish voice that came from the hall, "Jiang Lisa greets Esteemed Father[3]."

[3] Fuqin ( 父亲 ) - formal way of saying 'father'. This is in stark contrast with the way Jiang Nancy addressed him earlier, revealing the level of closeness each of them share with their father.

Simultaneously, both Jiang Quan and Jiang Mingyu directed their gazes toward the direction of the voice, and then saw a young girl with beautiful demeanour, dressed in a crimson hemstitched double layered jacket, move forward. At the bosom, there were large rounded embroidery designs of eight flowers and plants colourfully embroidered, and her crow-black tresses were coiled up with a multi-coloured bead hairpin. Her clothes seemed simple yet extremely vibrant. Inversely, what seemed even more vibrant was her features. Snow-white skin and cherry red lips, her limpid and beautiful eyes appeared to contain a countless amount of passion. Yet, contrary to expectations, from the corner of her raised hoods, a faintly discernible aloofness and coldness welled forth. Therefore, her beautiful, calm looks were akin to both, the fiery fire as well as the icy cold. If Jiang Nancy could be said as one who possessed exquisite beauty that was found in the human world, then the extremely vibrant and charming young girl before their eyes was like the unearthly beauty that could not be found in the human realm. Her every movement made one unable to shift their gaze away from her.