TL Corner: Managed to squeeze some time out, will do a double chapter release for this week.
In a tranquil and serene courtyard within the Chen family residence, a young lady with fair, delicate hands was playing a Chinese lute instrument.
She had a beautiful pair of eyes and graceful eyebrows. Her skirt fluttered with the gentle breeze, painting a picturesque scene when viewed from a distance.
A maid named Xiu Tao was approaching in a hurry, but suddenly halted to observe her young lady from afar, afraid of causing a disturbance.
Her young lady had outstanding talents, especially her remarkable ability to compose and recite poems that could leave even the top scholars in awe. She had been hailed as the most talented woman in the entire capital by prominent literary figures.
Chen Xinyue raised her head and looked at the maid with a slight frown.
Xiu Tao immediately came to her senses and stepped forward to give her report, “Miss, your humble servant had asked around. None of the servants had seen the eldest young master around the mansion recently. Some of them mentioned that the young master had gone on a trip for official business.”
“Did they elaborate on the details?”
Chen Xinyue asked casually as she continued playing the lute, not particularly concerned about her distant elder brother. Instead, she was only curious about the nature of his ‘official business’.
She intuitively felt that there was more than meets the eye as his urgency on that day seemed abnormal, but she could not find anything out of place. The gnawing feeling in her chest grew as days passed.
She had full faith in her intuition. On several occasions in the past, the premonitions she had were completely on point.
While Chen Xinyue was distracted, a tiny cut appeared on her delicate fingers and blood started dripping from the wound. Her expression turned dark.
“Dispose of it!”
The lute was hurled to the ground.
After a slight tremble, Xiu Tao obediently complied.
Hastily picking up the broken pieces of the damaged lute, the maid left the scene without delay. This lute used to be one of her young lady’s most beloved instruments, yet she did not even hesitate for a moment.
Although she felt that it was a waste to simply discard it, Xiu Tao did not dare to go against the wishes of her young miss. She subconsciously quivered whenever she thought of what happened to her predecessors.
Chen Xinyue gritted her teeth. After brooding about it, she decided to approach her father to enquire about the matter.
Making her way straight to the main courtyard without stopping, the servants on duty did not even have the time to announce her arrival. Everyone in the mansion had long grown accustomed to this behaviour of hers.
Knocking lightly against the door, the voice of a mature man came from the study room.
“You may enter…”
Chen Hengjing glanced at the unannounced visitor and placed his brush down, asking in a doting tone, “What brings you here, my dear daughter?”
His daughter, who was both talented and beautiful, was his greatest pride.
“I wanted to ask about the whereabouts of my elder brother. The scar on his face had just healed, and I am slightly worried.”
Patriarch Chen had a pleased look, as he reaffirmed himself that his daughter was excellent in all possible aspects. Even if she were to be shortlisted as a consort candidate for royal family, no one could match her worth.
Setting aside his thoughts, he answered calmly.
“Beiqing mentioned that he was going to thank the person who provided the medicine, but did not elaborate much about his destination. But…”
His words paused as his expression turned slightly awkward.
“Your… mother should know more details. You might be able to learn more if you ask her personally.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Xinyue’s body stiffened up, forcefully maintaining her smile as she replied curtly, “Thank you, dear father. I shall await my elder brother’s return then. It shouldn’t take much longer anyway.”
Chen Xinyue had an amicable expression, but her heart was filled with feelings of disdain.
Could she even consider a woman who had never looked at her straight in the eye as a ‘mother’?
Definitely not!
Patriarch Chen did not force her to make a concession or reconcile with his wife, and both of them tacitly avoided this issue.
“I still have to pay my respects to grandmother in the evening. I shall take my leave first, father. Take care of your health and please do not overwork yourself.”
Chen Xinyue bowed slightly.
“Alright, my little Yue1TL note: nickname for Xinyue is so thoughtful. Father had managed to get my hands on an authentic piece of art by master Dongqing. I know you are a collector of valuable masterpieces, so I will have someone send it to you later.”
Chen Hengjing was relieved. Ever since his daughter’s talent had blossomed three years ago, it felt as though she had transformed into a completely different person. She gained eloquence in her speech, and even made fame for herself in the literacy world, now recognized as an extremely educated young lady in the capital.
Countless suitors from various families had sent proposals to request for her hand in marriage in the past few years, but they were all left hanging without a reply.
While the noble families might appear to be thriving on the surface, the reality was that their authority and influence were waning rapidly due to the consolidation of power under the imperial family. In due course, their status as nobles would erode and gradually become a mere shadow of its former glory.
In order to protect the future honour and glory of the Chen household, he had to be ahead of the game. This talented daughter of his raised his hopes of achieving that.
His daughter was destined to reach the pinnacle.
While the first prince’s influence might be expanding rapidly, the Emperor had yet to formally appoint him as the Crown Prince.
Patriarch Chen, who has always acted with caution, understood that the imperial family’s will was tough to fathom with accuracy and decided to wait for further developments before committing his moves.
With a stellar chess piece like his daughter at his disposal, he did not have to make a rushed decision which might ruin his advantageous position.
He felt glad that he had disregarded all opposition in the past and registered Chen Xinyue under the Yan family’s register, officially making her the legitimate daughter of the main family.
If only that other daughter who had gone missing was still around, she could even be groomed as a sidekick to support Chen Xinyue. It truly was a pity.
Setting aside his stray thoughts, he looked fondly at his daughter, whose radiance seemed to intensify with every passing second, and made up his mind.
……
“Will we ever return to this place, Mommy?”
Dabao asked as he tugged the hems of Su Jin’s dress with a reluctant expression on his puffy cheeks.
Erbao silently lowered his head, seemingly to be in low spirits as well.
Su Jin crouched down and hugged the both of them on each side, consoling them with a smile, “We can always come back for a short vacation whenever we have time. Besides, Guaibao is waiting for us in the capital.”
Hearing their little sister being mentioned, the two little ones immediately shifted gears from hesitation to eagerness.
They missed Guaibao so dearly that they toddled towards the carriage with quick, baby steps, urging Su Jin to cease her dilly-dallying and to hasten their departure instead.
Su Jin bade goodbye to everyone who was staying back in the Fengyuan County.
For unrevealed reasons, old man Xuanyuan had declined to accompany them on this trip, as if he was trying to avoid the capital. He did mention that he would find them in the capital at a later date.
Su Jin had her own speculations, but did not worry too much since with the old man did have his own guards to protect him in the shadows.
With this, her preparations were complete and Su Jin was ready to depart for the capital with her family. Their luggage alone had taken up several carriages.
Qin Shi hugged Niu Niu and patted Su Yan’s head, reassuring them before boarding the carriage.
They would soon reunite again at the capital anyway.
Su Ce watched for some time as the carriages drifted further away. It was almost time for him to return to the academy too.
“Ah… please wait.”
A clear voice came.
Jiang Wan had been staying at the Su family’s estate for some time. Now that Su Jin had departed for the capital, she could only return home no matter how reluctant she was.
Without any need to maintain her facade, her stay at the Su family’s estate was extremely comfortable.
She could indulge herself in reading novels and eating spicy snacks whenever she wanted. Best of all, her mother could not force her to attend any matchmaking sessions!
Why did her dream lifestyle have to come to an abrupt end so quickly?
As she caught sight of Su Jin’s second brother, who remained in place to see Su Jin off, a bold idea was generated in her mind.
The more she thought about it, the more feasible the idea seemed to her.
If… she got married with Su Ce, wouldn’t she be able to stay as long as she wanted at the Su family’s estate? Furthermore, her mother would not be able to force her to attend anymore matchmaking sessions either. It was a move that could kill multiple birds with one stone!
Besides, Su Ce possessed a pair of discerning eyes. Not only did he praise her latent talent, he could even notice her innate personality!
For the sake of securing her lifestyle as a sloth… she had to give her all now!
Jiang Wan lifted the hems of her skirt slightly and walked up to Su Ce, tilting her head as she asked without any reservations, “Would you come over to my house and propose?”
Her eyes were sparkling as she fixed her gaze on Su Ce.
Seeing the young lady approaching him, Su Ce subconsciously lowered his head and took a step back to show courtesy.
After hearing her abrupt suggestion, he was so shocked that he almost tripped himself. His head jolted up to look at her in astonishment.
The young lady’s cheeks were flushed pink and her eyes were shining brightly, looking at him with great anticipation.
Su Ce felt his heart stir and his throat contracted slightly. He quickly lowered his head, took half a step back and clasped his fist.
“Surely you jest, Young lady.”
Obviously slightly panicked, Su Ce turned around without waiting for her response and walked away with increasing pace, eventually progressing to a running pace.
Jiang Wan looked at the panicked departing figure, initially stunned, before bursting into a round of laughter without any concern for her own image.
Did that man think of her as some kind of ferocious man-eating beast?
With both hands cupped around her mouth, she yelled towards his departing silhouette.
“Hey! If you are willing, come and propose! I will be waiting for you!”
That way, she could sloth at Su family’s estate for the rest of her life!
(The perfect dream…)
The distant figure tripped a little and began sprinting even faster.
TL Corner: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do let me know in the comments or discord if there are any errors or mistakes.
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Thank you!
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