Chapter 144 Beauty Lamp

Here we come!

Meng Yan's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained calm as she lowered her head to tidy up Doukou's clothes.

Empress Dowager Jiang glanced at her vaguely and nodded, saying, "Let them in."

The palace maid passed the message out, and soon a mother and daughter came together.

Mrs. Anguo is now over fifty years old. She wears a snake-like bun, a gold filigree ruby-inlaid double phoenix holding a pearl crown on the front of her head, a kingfisher peony tassel inserted diagonally, a pair of jade pendants on her ears, and a robe of a second-rank imperial lady, with jingling jewelry and luxurious clothes.

This Lady Anguo was a famous beauty when she was young. Although she is old now, she still looks like she was in her youth because she takes good care of herself. Only the occasional silver strands can be seen in her hair. Even the Empress Dowager Jiang has more white hair on her head than she does.

Meng Yan didn't look at her, her eyes fell on the girl who was holding her arm.

The girl was 28 years old, just like a flower just beginning to bloom. She was fresh and tender, with fair and delicate skin. Her appearance had inherited all the advantages of her mother, and she was born beautiful and charming.

Today, she wore a peach-pink double-breasted blouse embroidered with peach blossoms, a pine-colored six-panel skirt embroidered with hundreds of butterflies, and her hair was styled in a hibiscus bun. A woman of no rank, naturally, could not wear tassels or other ornaments, so she wore a peony-shaped velvet flower in her hairpin and a red gold hairpin inlaid with a magpie. While her attire wasn't as elegant and splendid as Madam Anguo's, it was still a true expression of aristocratic family. She clung to Madam Anguo, delicate and fragile, like a beauty lamp, ready to break at the slightest breeze.

This girl is Zheng Fangchu.

Meng Yan looked at her coldly, and her gaze stopped on the gold hairpin she was wearing.

The gem embedded in the hairpin was a deep green color. When the sun shone on it, it emitted a golden glow. It turned out to be a cat's eye stone!

The so-called cat's eye stone is a kind of gemstone. It grows naturally and emits different luster depending on the brightness of the sunlight, just like a cat's eye, hence the name cat's eye stone, also called cat's eye.

This gemstone is extremely rare and therefore extremely valuable. When Meng Yan was still in the Marquis' Mansion, she only heard her brother talk about its existence in the world, but she had never seen it. Later, when she entered the palace and was favored by Lu Haozhi for many years, she was awarded many pearls, jades, rubies and sapphires, but she only got one cat's eye stone.

The Duke of Anguo's Mansion is so generous that they can afford to buy such luxurious headwear for their daughter and let her wear it out to show off!

Meng Yan suddenly felt a headache. Why didn't she realize in previous years that the Anguo Mansion had such a family tradition?

The current situation is not good and the court is in trouble. Even if families are rich, they have to be frugal.

The women of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion are so good that they even show off in front of the Empress Dowager. Are they afraid that people don't know that her Duke of Anguo's Mansion is extremely luxurious?

No matter how dissatisfied she was with Zheng Fangchu, the Duke of Anguo's Mansion was still her Noble Concubine Meng's in-law. If she acted like this in the eyes of the world, people would think that the Duke of Anguo's Mansion was relying on her Noble Concubine Meng to act so high-profile.

Furthermore, Meng Yan was somewhat puzzled. Ever since the old Duke's passing, the Anguo Mansion had actually declined significantly, seemingly languishing in a state of impatience. The Anguo wife had intended to use this marriage to revive the family fortune, so why had she suddenly become so generous?

There seems to be something fishy going on here.

The wife of Duke Anguo brought her daughter and paid her respects to the Queen Mother.

The wife of the Duke behaved like a lady from a wealthy family, but Zheng Fangchu was a bit shy and when she spoke, her voice was as soft as a mosquito.

To put it nicely, this look is gentle and shy. To put it bluntly, it is not presentable.

Meng Yan just kept shaking her head in her heart. For a woman like this, let alone the incident in her previous life, even if there was no such thing, she would not be willing to have such a sister-in-law.

Meng Changyuan is the eldest son of the Yiyang Marquisate. In the future, he will set up his own household and take charge of the entire Meng family.

His wife must be a dignified, steady woman who is sensible and understands the overall situation.

How could Zheng Fangchu be the headmistress of the Meng family with such behavior?

This marriage was actually arranged by Meng's father and the Duke of Anguo in their early years, when their children were still young and it was difficult to tell whether it was good or bad. Later, Meng Yan entered the palace and became even less aware of what was happening outside. She only vaguely remembered meeting this woman a few times when she and her brother accompanied their mother to visit the Duke's Mansion.

At that time, I only thought she was a beautiful woman with a delicate complexion and a gentle and docile personality, and that she was a perfect match for my brother. But who would have thought that after not seeing her for several years, she would have become like this.

I wonder how the Duke of Anguo raised his daughter!

Meng Yan lowered her eyes and thought quietly for a moment. She heard the mother and daughter above pay their respects to the Queen Mother and then turn to her.

"Your humble servant greets the Imperial Concubine. May Your Majesty be well and safe."

The old lady's slightly hoarse voice mixed with the young girl's soft voice brought Meng Yan back to her senses.

She raised her eyes to look at the mother and daughter who were bowing in front of her, and smiled slightly, "Madam, Miss, you are polite, please stand up."

Hearing the sound, the two men stood up straight again.

After greeting, Empress Dowager Jiang ordered him to take a seat.

The old lady hurriedly declined, "How dare a humble servant and my daughter presume to overstep our bounds in front of the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine? It's better for you to stand and answer."

Empress Dowager Jiang smiled faintly. "We've known each other since the time of the late emperor. Now we're old sisters meeting again, so why use such awkward words? I told you to sit down, so please do. Even if you're Concubine Meng, you'll all be family sooner or later."

After hearing the Queen Mother's words, the old lady thanked her and sat down with her daughter.

When Meng Yan heard the Queen Mother's words, her heart suddenly skipped a beat and she felt a little uncomfortable.

Empress Dowager Jiang asked, "Even I can't remember. How long has the old Duke been gone?"

The old lady replied, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for your concern. It has been three years since my husband passed away."

Empress Dowager Jiang nodded slightly and sighed, "Time flies! It's already been three years in the blink of an eye. It seems like just yesterday that I ordered someone to deliver the funeral gifts to the Duke's Mansion. Have you and your mother been doing well these past two years? The young master is old enough to get married. Which girl do you have in mind?"

The old lady replied one by one, with a faint smile on her lips and a cheerful look on her face.

The Anguo Mansion had been in decline for years, and the old Duke's illness and death had only exacerbated the situation. The couple had only one son and one daughter. Their eldest daughter, Zheng Fangchu, was delicate and unsophisticated, while the youngest Duke was a dissolute playboy. Now, the family had completely depleted their savings.

Today she was in high spirits and brought her daughter to Shanghe Garden. One reason was that the Queen Mother invited her to a banquet, and the other was because of Concubine Meng, who was her strong backer.

She wanted to let everyone in the capital know that the Duke of Anguo's Mansion was still powerful and would marry into the Imperial Concubine in the future!

At that moment, the old lady smiled and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty the Queen Mother. My son is naughty, and I dare not delay the life of a good girl. But my eldest daughter is really old enough. Let her get married first, and then we can talk about her brother." As she spoke, her eyes fell lightly on Meng Yan.