Chapter 538: Meeting Miss Su (1)

Chapter 538: Meeting Miss Su (1)

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At the Eighth Miss’ request, the maidservant recounted all the details regarding Chu Lian’s arrival.

Her narration was so detailed that she even reported that Chu Lian and He Changdi had worn the same colour.

The maidservant’s report stirred up the hornet’s nest in Miss Yuan’s heart. The one thing she couldn’t stand the most was to see Chu Lian living better than she was.

In the past battles she had with Chu Lian in the Ying Estate, Miss Yuan had always been able to come out on top. She had also caused ‘Chu Lian’ to suffer much in secret. However, the gap between them seemed to have widened incredibly fast after Chu Lian had gotten married.

Chu Lian had the extremely profitable Guilin Restaurant in her pockets, yet Miss Yuan still had to ask for her parents’ permission to buy an accessory. It wasn’t even a given that her request would be approved, either.

Although Chu Lian was already married, Brother Xiao was still thinking about her. He couldn’t forget her.

Even her husband’s family was superior to House Ying. Her husband had gained merit at the northern border and had been bestowed the title of Marquis Anyuan. They were clearly both daughters of the second branch, but Chu Lian had already become a marchioness without any warning while Miss Yuan was still a nobody!

Miss Yuan couldn’t accept this massive gap between them.

They had come from the same roots, so how could Chu Lian be doing so much better than her! Even Prince Wei’s Estate held her in high esteem!

She had invited Chu Lian over today with the intention to humiliate her. There was a huge difference between their coming-of-age ceremonies, after all.

Upon seeing the grandeur of her ceremony, Chu Lian would definitely recall how her own had been so plain and half-hearted.

Even with this, however, Miss Yuan was still unsatisfied in her heart.

He Changdi had official business to take care of, yet he had still personally escorted Chu Lian over to the Ying Estate. Wasn’t Chu Lian trying to show off her position in House Jing’an and He Sanlang’s current merits?

Miss Yuan wrung the handkerchief in her hand with a wretched expression on her face. Her heart was filled with resentment.

The only advantage that Chu Lian had over her was her looks alone!

Xiaoqin noticed the grim expression on Eighth Miss and how she was silently biting her lip, obviously deep in her thoughts. She waved her hand to signal the reporting maidservant to retreat.

“Eighth Miss?” Xiaoqin probed with a call.

Miss Yuan came back to her senses and took in a deep breath to suppress the monstrous jealousy building inside of her.

Chu Yuan sent a look at Xiaoqin, who immediately understood what she wanted. The handmaid stealthily left the courtyard while no one was paying attention.

Chu Yuan stared at her reflection in the mirror. A corner of her lips curved upwards, forming a sinister smile on her young face.

Chu Lian, so you think you’re living better than me? I’ll destroy your reputation and completely ruin you!

He Sanlang was known to be an upright, honest man who was also crazily devoted to his wife. She really wanted to know if he would still want Chu Lian once he saw what she was really like!

Chu Lian was invited into the inner court by one of the old madam’s handmaids.

All the womenfolk of the Ying Estate were currently there.

When ‘Chu Lian’ had been a young miss of House Ying, she had rarely met the old madam. Now, however, the old madam was currently holding Chu Lian’s hand and asking about her life in a warm and caring manner.

The aunts from the other branches who had looked down on House Ying’s Sixth Miss in the past were also acting thoughtful and attentive towards her.

It had already been more than half a year since Chu Lian had married into the Jing’an Household. The question that these two-faced relatives asked the most was whether there had been any news from her belly.

Amongst them, a particular aunt-in-law’s words were the most unpleasant to hear.

“The women of our Chu family are all very fertile. Miss Lian, take a look at how your married sisters have fared. All of them have given birth to sons, so you mustn’t bring shame to our Chu family.”

While it sounded as if she was urging Chu Lian to become pregnant as quickly as possible, it was actually a sarcastic remark about Chu Lian having been able to marry into the Jing’an Estate due to this absurd stereotype. Furthermore, she had only managed to turn her life around all thanks to that enviable windfall.

In addition, she was also mocking her for not being pregnant yet.

This group of women were definitely mad with jealousy over Chu Lian’s current status, so it was inevitable that they would say such unpleasant words.

However, they only dared to do so because Chu Lian’s position wasn’t high enough. If Chu Lian’s status reached a certain level, then these women wouldn’t dare to speak up at all.

A good example would be the eldest princess royal of the previous dynasty, the sister to the Emperor, Princess Royal Chaoyang. Though she had never borne any children in her lifetime, she was considered a heroine. She led a hundred thousand elite soldiers to defend against the rebellion of Prince Huai’an and protected the position of the imperial family. Chaoyang was then bestowed the title of Protector Princess Royal.

Princess Royal Chaoyang and her husband, Princess Consort Qu, never had any children throughout their lives, but the Qu family had never dared to have any complaints. Matriarch Qu had even advised her son not to take any concubines.

Although the people now were uncertain about whether Princess Consort Qu and Princess Royal Chaoyang truly loved each other, it remained a fact that Princess Consort Qu had never taken a concubine despite Princess Chaoyang being barren. That was enough to prove his love for her.

Chu Lian sat beside the old madam with a faint smile. She didn’t deign to reply to the rude aunt-in-law’s words.

The old madam held her hand with a kind expression on her face. “Miss Lian, your aunt’s words may be somewhat unpleasant, but they’re true. You’ve been married to Marquis Anyuan for nearly half a year. Why hasn’t there been any news? This isn’t good!”

Chu Lian hadn’t thought that the entire House Ying would be eyeing her stomach.

She was only sixteen; technically speaking, it was still considered to be too early for her to get pregnant!

Her third aunt-in-law, seated further down on the right side, seemed to have thought of something. Her eyes flickered from side to side, full of suspicion. Then, she smiled at Chu Lian and said, “Miss Lian, our Miss Fu is turning fourteen this year. Her coming-of-age ceremony will be held the very next year. You should also know that your Third Aunt-in-Law is very fertile. Miss Fu has three older brothers! If there’s still no news from your belly a few months from now, it wouldn’t be good to let things drag on!”

TL Note: A 'Princess Royal' is not the same as a 'Royal Princess'!

Princess Royal is an actual English title for the eldest daughter of the queen. Chaoyang's Chinese title is something like 'eldest imperial princess of the previous generation', so she was the Empress Dowager's eldest daughter and the Emperor's sister. I borrowed this title as it gave the closest meaning in English. She was only mentioned in this chapter anyway, so you won't see this again XD

For 'Royal Princess', I had to come up with a system for the different ranks of princess early on, based on their degree of relation to the Emperor. Here's a reminder of the ranks:

Imperial = Emperor's daughter

Royal = Emperor's niece

Feudal = daughter of a highly ranked noble, may not be related to the Emperor

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