TL Note *very important!*: This chapter is a repet.i.tion of the previous chapter with only the two lines at the end making it different. Apart from those 2 sentences, this chapter will be the same as Chapter 12!!
Her gesture in covering her mouth to giggle made her looked extremely graceful.
An Qing and An Jin were twin sisters and had identical appearances. But their personalities were completely different. Hence, it was very easy to clearly identify who was the eldest Miss, An Jin, and who was the second Miss, An Qing.
An Jin was a very lively girl and loved novelties. Once she opened her small mouth, she would not stop talking for a long time. Today, being her auspicious birthday, she wore an apricot-yellow skirt, decorated with lots of small flowers. It looked quite charming. Draped around her shoulders was a peach-colored shawl. She appeared very lively and happy, and with her narrowed peach blossom eyes, she looked incredibly lovable.
On the other hand, An Qing had a rather calm and collected air. Although she was the younger of the two, she was more mature and sensible than An Jin. Even the gesture of lifting her hands showed the graceful mannerisms of an aristocrat lady. Today, she was dressed in a white-colored Chinese gown with a pure white-colored fur short coat. There were very few decorations on her dress, with only a thin design of bamboo leaves on the cuffs of her dress. Her accessories were also as simple as it could get. Yet, her appearance was delicate and elegant.
Simply standing there, she appeared very pure and unpolluted, attracting the hearts of many n.o.blemen.
One must know that these two twins of the prime minister's house were well-known beauties of Jing City. Many n.o.ble youths wanted to be the one to marry one or both of them.
"Sister-in-law wasn't teasing Jin-er. In two months, Jin-er will get married. At that time perhaps Jin-er will be jubilant." The sister-in-law, Feng Yuewei, was Qi Country's second princess. She married An Shuo, the eldest son of the prime minister, this past September.
Born with good looks and an alluring figure, she was also very bright, but she couldn't change some habits learned from the imperial palace. She wanted to overcome Rong Xiu to become the main Madam of the manor.
Although Rong Xiu was not the main Madam of the manor, she still held the supreme position within the manor. Even if Feng Yuewei wanted to usurp that position, it was impossible. The only thing she could do was hold tightly onto those that had the highest position in the manor, the main branch heirs.
The birthday celebration today had been arranged by this eldest daughter-in-law precisely for this reason in order to win over the people's hearts.
"An Jin will definitely inform eldest brother that eldest sister-in-law teased Jin-er!" An Jin kept her head down and stamped her foot in shyness. From time to time, her eyes still shot glances at that man wearing dark red robes. Her fiance was the oldest son of Grand Tutor Wei, Wei Zhi Lan.
"Your eldest brother would be of no help to you," said Feng Yuewei with a charming laugh. An Shuo, who was not far off and was interacting with the other aristocratic youths, couldn't help but to come over and lovingly embrace his wife.
The whole family was happy and harmonious. An Jin and An Qing happily received their birthday gifts that had formed a huge pile.
When An Yan arrived at the gate of the courtyard, she could hear all the lively chatter going on within. An Yan thought, That kind of liveliness was the kind that she had thought she would never be able to partic.i.p.ate in. Her personality was cold and solitary. Could she really join in?
"Third Miss has arrived. Please follow this servant. The First Miss, Second Miss, Second Madam, and other Madams are all at the front." Zi Yi closed the umbrella, the snow falling to the side, before informing An Yan who just stood by her side without moving a step forward.
"En."
An Yan clasped and unclasped her tight fists under the cover of her sleeves before finally putting a foot forward. She believed this step would be the most important step in her life.
An Yan was a beauty, especially after donning those beautiful clothes. She was now like a lotus blossom upon the calm lake. She was slender and elegant, but she emanated a dense aura of coldness, preventing anything from approaching her.
As she walked on, she lifted her head and plastered a sweet smile on her face. Then, when she saw her second aunt coming from the room, the dread in her heart was completely dispersed.
An Yan's arrival caused this lively and bustling with noises birthday celebration to become completely still and quiet.
Chapter 14: You have not been invited (4)
An Yan's steps came to a halt. She lowered her head and listened to all of those unpleasant whispers that flew through the air. Nevertheless, she did not get angry and, when she lifted her head, only a big smile could be seen on her face.
In the midst of the confusion, someone slyly stretched out their leg — the intention behind that action was understood by all.
An Yan smilingly avoided that leg, but her eyes flashed daggers at the culprit.
"It is better to be careful with your legs. After all, poison can even affect your bones!" Her voice was sharp and the people gathered trembled before her imposing manner.
"Aiyo!" An Xi, who only knew the good in the world, tripped over the outstretched leg and fell heavily in front of An Yan. Her old habits were hard to break and her tender face scrunched up, reflecting how wronged she felt. Still, she did not let her servant help her up, but instead nimbly climbed to her feet and stood in front of An Yan.
"Who dares to scold my Yan jiejie? Whoever it is, I will not let you off!"
An Yan looked at the small girl standing in front of her, angrily scolding the crowd. She sighed, pulling her to stand behind her, and said, "All of you present here are from aristocratic families. Speaking like this, are you not ashamed of lowering yourselves? You are all losing your families' face!"
After these words were uttered, the few young ladies who were enthusiastically gossiping about her all stopped and looked at her. They were at a loss for words.
But An Yan had not yet finished her speech.
"While it is true that I, An Yan, use poison, have I even poisoned any of you? Today is the first time you have seen me and yet you are already speaking poisoned words. This is the prime minister's mansion, and I am still the Third Miss here. Today is my elder sisters' birthday, so why can't I come? Hehehe, this is such a farce! "
Inside, she was quaking with nerves. This was the first time in her life that she had faced down so many people. But outwardly, she maintained a lofty manner — what I am doing is not a mistake!
"Yan meimei, Jin jiejie and I have not invited you at all."
An Qing spoke softly. Her words, however, immediately tore down the strong front and imposing manner An Yan had put on, shattering her dignity.
When others spoke rudely, it did not bother her. But they were her own sisters, the stars of the banquet today. A few words from them were sufficient to embarra.s.s her and make her feel awkward.
An Xi, who was beside An Yan grasped An Yan's hands, feeling sorry for her. An Yan took a deep breath and then glanced in the direction of Aunt Rong. But when she saw that Aunt Rong was on the verge of stepping forward with a distressed expression, An Yan restrained herself from going over to her.
She could not let her Aunt Rong also be mocked at by others.
After all, over the years since her birth, what manner of insult had An Yan not already faced? What sort of contemptuous glances had she not already endured? She did not wish to see her Aunt Rong also dragged into such muddy waters.
There was an indifferent smile plastered on An Yan's face, her phoenix-shaped eyes glistening with unshed tears. Yet this made her rather alluring and enchanting to look at.
"I, An Yan, remembered that today was her two elder sisters' birthday. And since I haven't seen you both in a long time, I had decided to pay you a visit on such a wonderful occasion so that I would no longer feel the pain of missing you."
An Yan spoke out bravely, not appearing to be the least bit nervous. Instead, she looked natural and at ease. It was unknown whether her confidence stemmed from the dress she was wearing, or if was her natural ability. But with her dress and style, when compared with any of these spoiled princesses, she appeared wealthier and more graceful.
But she would not speak of the origin of these clothes, naturally because she knew that, to the people here, her clothes were not worth any attention. In their eyes, it was but an ordinary dress, and the valuable hairpin, in these rich daughters' eyes, was only a common hairpin, hardly expensive.