Ruan Xi was currently in the Main Courtyard learning how to read the ledger. As she looked at the clear and coherent records, her acknowledgement of Zhang shi’s abilities heightened.
The noble wives who were capable of steadying their positions as the matriarch would always have an aspect of household management that they were proficient in.
Last night, the Earl had made a trip to Limpid Heart Garden after dinner to show her some concern, while asking how her lessons in household management were going. She did not expect that early this morning, she would receive word from her legitimate mother Zhang shi, asking Ruan Xi to learn how to read the ledger with her, and then learning how to calculate using the abacus with the Accounts Office.
Silently, Ruan Xi gave her Earl Father a thumbs-up.
His effectiveness was second to no one; judging from her legitimate mother’s thick make-up alone, she reckoned she must have lost sleep last night because of her anger.
“I’ve already taught you how to read and record this ledger. You can take a look at this ledger first to see if there are any problems, if there is something that you don’t understand, you can ask me later.”
After Zhang shi uttered those words, she handed Ruan Xi the ledger for a cloth business.
Ruan Xi accepted the ledger before she hung her head down respectfully and said: “This daughter understands, thanking Mother.”
Zhang shi hummed faintly in response.
Holding the ledger, Ruan Xi went to the side to look over it. In a very sensible manner, she chose not to bother Zhang shi again.
Truthfully speaking, she had already seen the bookkeeping account book in the needlework room, and she had asked Mama Lin about things she did not understand.
Zhang shi was evidently clear about this, because she was probably only conducting these lessons for appearance’s sake in front of the Earl.
Ruan Xi did not mind. They could perform together.
Unfortunately, this morning was fated to be disquiet.
Just as Ruan Xi sat down and started flipping through the ledger, the runner older woman-servant came in to report.
“Furen, Marquis Huaiyang Residence’s Qi er gongzi has come to visit the Third Young Lady.”
The hand that Ruan Xi was holding the ledger with stilled, and her lips raised slightly. The fact that Qi Yue An was visiting the broken-legged Ruan san niang, would probably be a cause of happiness for Ruan san niang in a short while.
Once Zhang shi heard that Qi er gongzi was here to visit the counterfeit, her expression distorted a little instantaneously, before she revealed a joyous smiling expression.
“Quickly invite Qi er gongzi inside.”
With how anxious Ruan san niang was for Qi Yue An, Ruan Xi started having a shred of curiosity towards the husband who had pampered the original owner in the original novel.
A few moments later, Qi er gongzi stepped in, and a young male servant clad in black clothes and hugging a wooden case trailed after him.
In the instant where Ruan Xi saw Qi er gongzi, astonishment spread across her face, and she thought she had seen wrongly.
The young man wearing brightly coloured and gaudy clothes, with rouge and powder so thickly applied and white on his face that it made for terrifying sight, and bringing in an extremely pungent and greasy smell of cosmetics once he stepped into the reception hall, was Qi Yue An, the man who had doted on the original owner for her entire life?
Ruan Xi’s expression was extremely subtle.
She stole a look at Zhang shi, only to realise that Zhang shi was stunned at first, and then she started smiling with extreme enthusiasm.
“You must be Qi er gongzi, truly a person of striking appearance.” Zhang shi’s tone was filled with absolute sincerity as she praised him.
Ruan Xi: “……”
‘A person of striking appearance’ could actually be used like this?
Zhang Shi was a talent as well.
一表人才 (pinyin: yi biao ren cai) – the wordplay here is that ‘person of striking appearance’ is usually meant to be a compliment, but Zhang-shi is saying his appearance is obnoxiously bad. Whereas Ruan Xi makes use of the ‘人才’ part, which can also mean ‘talent’, or if you look at the four characters as two separate parts, it can mean ‘exhibiting talent with one performance’.
Mama Gao and Mama Sun had already become wide-eyed and dumbstruck after seeing Qi Yue An’s appearance.
Qi er gongzi stiffened briefly. He did not expect that he would still enter Earl Chengyi Furen’s eyes despite being in this get-up. It was highly likely that there was a problem with Earl Chengyi Furen’s sense of aesthetics, he thought in his heart. On the surface, however, he was smiling with crinkled eyes as he said: “This person is precisely Qi Yue An, one has seen Furen.”
The satisfaction in Zhang shi’s eyes were on the verge of overspilling. The counterfeit clearly deserved such a husband. Brimming with smiles, she said: “We will be a family in the future, no need for such courtesies.”
Ruan Xi: “……”
She really wanted to see Ruan san niang’s expression right now.
Qi Yue An was amazing in his own right as well; noticing that he did not frighten Zhang shi, he maintained his smile as he said: “Furen, I heard that the Third Young Lady accidentally broke her legs in a fall so I came over to visit her specifically. May I ask how the Third Young Lady is right now, and what did the physician say?”
Zhang shi pretended to feel touched as she took out her silk handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes. She allowed herself a moment of disgust as she looked at Qi Yue An’s horrifying white face before she sighed: “Good child, you have the heart. I’ll call you Yue An to sound more familiar. San niang’s condition isn’t the best, the physician said that she needs to recuperate for a few months because she has injured her muscle and bones. I’ll ask someone to bring you over to visit her later, she should be very happy to see you.”
Without missing a beat, Qi Yue An smiled and gave his thanks. Behind him, the lips of his young male servant Qian Gui twitched.
His Young Master had become addicted to this act.
Fortunately, the Marquis did not know that his Young Master had gone out dressed like this, or else his Young Master did not even have to think about leaving his courtyard entrance.
Inside his heart, Qian Gui secretly celebrated.
“Si niang, bring Qi er gongzi to san niang’s courtyard.” Zhang shi was close to puking because of the dense and pungent cosmetic fragrance on Qi Yue An’s person. It goes without saying that she would not go looking for abuse by personally bringing him over to visit that counterfeit.
It just so happened that si niang was here, thus she promptly handed this arduous task to her.
The corners of Ruan Xi’s mouth jerked. Placing down the ledger, she stood up and agreed, her voice pleasant to the ear.
“Yes, Mother.”
please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com
Qi Yue An had fixed his attention on Zhang shi’s person once he stepped into the room, and he did not notice Ruan Xi as she was sitting at the side.
It was only when he heard Zhang shi call for si niang that he realised that Ruan si xiaojie was also present. His entire body went rigid, his gaze snapping towards the beautiful image of the fair and graceful woman.
Ruan Xi turned her head to give Qi Yue An a smile. “One has seen Qi er gongzi.”
In the instant where the elegant lady with a breath-taking countenance and pleasing temperament landed in his eyes, a smear of shock and conflict flashed past the depths of his eyes.
He had not seen wrongly back then, Ruan si xiaojie had deliberately hidden herself.
An unfathomable taste emerged in Qi Yue An’s heart again.
How great would it have been if Ruan san niang hadn’t reneged? Ruan si xiaojie would have been his fiancée right now.
Had that been the case, he wouldn’t have to defile himself by making himself into this ghostly appearance and disgust himself as well.
“It turns out you’re the Ruan si xiaojie with unmatched beauty from the rumours. You truly have a wonderful appearance, Wen gongzi is truly fortunate.”
Qi Yue An said with a crinkle-eyed smile as he concealed his true thoughts.
“Yue An, I reckon you must be anxious to see san niang so I won’t retain you here. Si niang, do not neglect Qi er gongzi later, do you understand?”
Zhang shi’s satisfaction only increased every time she looked at Qi Yue An, and her demeanour was full of smiles. She wondered if that counterfeit would vomit blood after being stimulated by the sight of his appearance.
Of course, no matter how satisfied she was, Zhang shi still felt that it was better to urge him towards that counterfeit’s courtyard. The smell was too fumigating; she could not handle it any longer.
Ruan Xi nodded. “This daughter knows.” Then she turned towards Qi Yue An, shifting her feet to walk towards him. With a respectful and courteous tone, she said: “Qi er gongzi, please.”
Despite being confronted by Qi Yue An’s current visage, whose original features could no longer be discerned, and having her nostrils assailed by the cosmetic fragrance, Ruan Xi’s expression did not change at all.
All the subtle changes in Qi Yue An’s expression did not go unnoticed by her.
Dimly, Ruan Xi found this interesting in her heart. As it turns out, Qi Yue An was playing the pig to eat the tiger. It was highly likely that he had dressed himself in such a fashion on purpose when he was coming to their residence to visit Ruan san niang today. His personality should be unchanged; he just wanted to make people believe that he had the hobby of prettifying himself.
When Ruan Xi and Qi Yue An finally left the reception hall, Zhang shi spat out a long breath. She was going to choke to death soon. She quickly asked her servants to open all the doors and windows in the reception hall to ventilate the air.
Ruan Xi did not know about Zhang shi’s actions. Presently, she was leading Qi Yue An – whose entire body was fumigated in smells – towards Ruan san niang’s courtyard, while Qian Gui followed behind them with a wooden case in his arms.
Su Yu and Su Zhu concealed the shock in their eyes as they followed along. Skies above, the young man with an appearance that was hard to put into a few words, which also made everyone want to retreat three days’ march away, was the rumoured silk clothes Qi er gongzi, who only knew how to eat, drink, and play.
The pair shared a look, shuddering. It was too scary.
Their poor Young Lady, she actually had to stay so close to Qi er gongzi.
Ruan Xi and Qi Yue An barely conversed on their journey.
While Ruan Xi did say a few lines for courtesy’s sake, Qi Yue An would fall silent after replying, because he was quietly observing Ruan Xi the entire time.
He had already mentally prepared himself when he decided to dress up like this, but he did not expect that Ruan si xiaojie would see him in this state. Immediately, he felt his face become scorching hot as he was filled with awkwardness and embarrassment. If it were not for the thick rouge and powder, she would probably be able to see his handsome face becoming completely red from shame.
His only worthy consolation was that Ruan si xiaojie had regarded with a bright and clear gaze instead of resentment and disgust, and she did not shy away from him because she felt smothered by the intense fragrance on his person.
“Qi er gongzi, san niang’s courtyard is right in front. We will be there soon.”
Hearing that they were going to reach his fiancée’s courtyard soon, Qi Yue An did not know why, but he gave a line of explanation as if demons and gods were at work.
“Ruan si xiaojie, I don’t actually dress like this on normal days, nor do I put on rouge and powder. Today is an exception.”
Ruan Xi smiled at him slightly, giving him a gaze that conveyed she clearly understood everything. “Mn, I understand.”
Qi Yue An: “……”
Suddenly, he felt a little guilty because he had been seen through.
please read this on yuulation dot wordpress dot com
When the well-informed servants in the Earl Residence saw this young man who was smeared with rouge and powder and wearing brightly coloured and gaudy clothes, they revealed a hint of bafflement. It was only when the group was a distance away that they started whispering, and some people could not wait to go to Ruan san niang’s courtyard to tell her the ‘good news’.
When Ruan san niang learnt of the fact that her fiancé was coming to visit her, a glint of (pleasant) surprise burst forth in her eyes. If it were not for the braces on her legs, she would have jumped out of her bed in excitement.
After being treated by her healing ability, the condition of the bones in Ruan san niang’s legs were mostly healed, but moving around errantly would still cause pain.
“Yao Hong, is the news accurate?” Ruan san niang’s eyes were teeming with excitement. She would finally get to meet Qi Yue An.
The image of Qi Yue An’s handsome countenance, and tall and straight figure came unbidden to her mind. Ruan san niang’s cheeks heated up, her eyes were so bright it was frightening, and happy bubbles started emerging in her heart.
When Yao Hong recalled the words that the young male servant had passed on, she trembled violently in her heart, and then she looked at her Young Lady’s excited and bashful appearance again as sympathy flashed past her eyes.
“Yes, Young Lady, the Furen instructed the Fourth Young Lady to bring Qi er gongzi over to visit you.”
Despite her initial excitement about the prospect of meeting Qi Yue An, Ruan san niang’s face immediately darkened once she heard that her fourth sister was also involved in this matter, and she exploded.
“What, Mother actually allowed si mei to bring Qi er gongzi over?”
She was really going to die of anger.
Did her Mother know that she was going to ruin her future happiness by doing this? What was she going to do if Qi Yue An fell in love with her fourth sister like his last life?
“Young Lady, please do not be angry at the Furen. Furen had matters to attend to and she could not walk away, and the Fourth Young Lady happened to be learning household management from the Furen back then, which is why she asked the Fourth Young Lady to bring him over.” Yao Hong quickly explained.
Ruan san niang was on the verge of dying out of anger. Since when she was concerned about that? This yatou Yao Hong was still so stupid.
If it wasn’t for her loyalty, she would have changed her for another a long time ago.
Forget it, now was not the time to be angry. Even if she was lying on the bed, she still had to look pretty when she was welcoming Qi Yue An.
Ruan san niang tried her best to suppress the churning fire in her heart as she issued her orders impatiently.
“Yao Hong, quickly call for a few maidservants to help me wash up and make up.”
When Yao Hao saw her Young Lady being so impatient because she wanted to be in her best appearance to see her fiancé, her sympathy and pity were on the brink of gushing out, but she quickly lowered her head to conceal those emotions.
“Young Lady, please hold on for a moment.”
She hoped that her Young Lady wouldn’t be frightened away by Qi er gongzi’s appearance later.
After being tidied up meticulously, Ruan san niang looked radiant from head to toe, and the smudge of bashfulness on her pretty face actually stained her countenance with more tenderness and beauty.