Chapter 11: The Most Favored Concubine in the Six Palaces
On the other hand, the meeting between Zhang and Lady Pei was not so harmonious.
On the way, Zhang saw the Duke's wife walking in front with her eldest daughter-in-law Li and Jiang Yao, so she hurried forward to greet them warmly, leaving Jiang Lan behind.
It's a pity that I got nothing in return.
The Duke's wife ignored Zhang with a cold face.
When Jiang Yao was feeling embarrassed, she saw Jiang Lan coming over and she was immediately furious. She glared at her fiercely, as if she wanted to dig a few bloody holes in her body.
Jiang Lan pretended not to see it, which made Jiang Yao even angrier.
Then Zhang asked Jiang Lan to apologize to the Duke's wife in person.
The Duke's wife glared coldly at Jiang Lan as she stepped forward and said sarcastically, "It's a good thing my son didn't marry a vicious woman like you, otherwise the Duke's Mansion would have suffered as well."
Zhang and Jiang Yao watched Jiang Lan being humiliated with great pleasure.
However, Li, the eldest daughter-in-law who was a complete stranger to Jiang Lan, spoke a few words for her, but was scolded by the Duke's wife and told to shut up.
"Lan'er is narrow-minded and unworthy of the Second Young Master who is so courageous and responsible. Lan'er would like to thank the Second Young Master for not marrying her." Jiang Lan replied generously.
The Duke's wife was choked to the point of turning pale, unable to speak. Zhang hurriedly advised, "Mother-in-law, calm down. She has had this temper since she was a child. She is always ruthless when she speaks, and doesn't care whether the other person is an elder or not." She was openly and covertly belittling Jiang Lan for being disrespectful to her elders and not taking anyone seriously.
As soon as she finished speaking, tears welled up in Jiang Lan's eyes. She lowered her head and covered her hands with a handkerchief, looking so aggrieved that she was about to cry.
"Why are you crying? Daddy is not here. Who are you crying for?" Jiang Yao was so angry that she pointed at Jiang Lan and wanted to poke her in the face.
The Duke's wife cursed with a dark face: "You vixen, you have only learned some unpresentable tricks. You are indeed born of a mother but not taught by her."
Hearing this, Jiang Lan raised her eyes coldly, staring at the Duke's wife with eyes like knives, which scared the Duke's wife.
"Madam, as an elder, you should know that the dead are the greatest. How can you sleep peacefully at night if you talk about the dead behind their backs?"
Hearing the last sentence, the Duke's wife was shocked. A shadow of ghosts and gods shrouded her heart. Her face looked a little pale. She didn't say anything to Jiang Lan anymore and hurried away with her people.
Li, Zhang and Jiang Lan bowed and said goodbye, and Jiang Lan also returned the greeting.
Although it was their first meeting, the young lady left a good impression on her.
"Mother, I'll go first." Jiang Yao glared at Jiang Lan again and left with Li.
Seeing Zhang looking at her suspiciously, as if she didn't know her, Jiang Lan said that her sister-in-law Li seemed to be a kind person and would probably not make things difficult for Jiang Yao in the mansion. These two sentences diverted Zhang's attention.
"Yao'er has been well-behaved and sensible since she was young. She is proficient in everything, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She was married to him in a formal ceremony. Who dares to look down on her?"
"If the Second Young Master can pass the imperial examination like his elder brother in the future, I'm sure no one will look down on the Third Sister anymore."
Zhang always felt that these words were a hidden needle, which made people uncomfortable. She found another excuse to blame, "It's a wedding. What were you crying like just now? Don't embarrass our Shangshu Mansion when you see the princess later."
Jiang Lan nodded.
On the opposite corridor, someone was observing with a telescope.
"She cries as soon as she says she's crying. She's definitely not a pushover. It seems the rumors out there are true." Cui Jingshu put down her telescope and asked her maid, Qiu Tong, "Is everything ready?" Qiu Tong nodded and replied, "Don't worry, Miss. Everything is ready."
Jiang Lan followed Zhang to pay a visit to Princess Pingyang. All the female relatives are here.
The first time she saw Princess Pingyang, Jiang Lan knew clearly from her judgmental and arrogant eyes that she didn't like her, and even hated her.
The ladies present also disliked her and looked at her with more or less contempt.
She had anticipated facing such a scene. It would be a lie to say that she didn't care. After all, who would like to be looked down upon by everyone? But she was not so ashamed that she couldn't even raise her head. She came here today to behave gracefully in front of everyone. She didn't expect people to change their opinion of her all of a sudden. As long as no one could find any fault with her, it would be fine.
Princess Pingyang also looked down on Zhang. She just nodded to her lightly and turned to talk to the wife of Marquis Changxing beside her.
Zhang went over and sat next to the Duke's wife. When Jiang Lan followed, the Duke's wife's face darkened again. Li nodded to her as a greeting, but Jiang Yao acted as if she didn't exist.
At this time, a maid came to report that the young lady had arrived.
Jiang Lan thought it must be Miss Cui Er.
Princess Pingyang and General Cui had a son and a daughter. They loved their daughter very much and would grant her any request.
A noble lady like this who is the center of everyone's love is either taught to be well-educated and well-mannered or spoiled to become unruly and unreasonable.
When Jiang Lan saw Cui Jingshu for the first time, she felt that she was somewhat similar to Jiang Yao, both of them seemed to have two faces. When her eyes fell on the shimmering and gorgeous dress she was wearing, her eyes dimmed and drooped.
"A daughter pays her respects to her mother." Cui Jingshu bowed to all the ladies present. Her words and actions were impeccable and set an example for a lady from a noble family.
"Jingshu has been a beauty since she was young, and now she is getting more and more beautiful." Lady Changxing Hou praised.
Then all the ladies present began to praise the man, praising his good looks, the beautiful jewelry he wore, and the beautiful clothes he wore.
"Could this material be the Tianshui yarn sent as tribute from Jinzhou?"
I don't know which lady mentioned it, but the others all looked envious.
The clothes made of this Tianshui gauze look like flowing water and sparkling when worn, which is very beautiful. However, because it is a tribute, it cannot be bought even with money. Even the favored concubines in the palace may not be able to get a piece of it to make clothes.
Even Jiang Yao, who had always worn fine materials, showed an expression of surprise and envy when she heard that it was Tianshui gauze.
But Jiang Lan kept her eyes down and never looked at the clothes again.
"I heard that His Majesty gave all the tribute materials to Concubine Zhen."
Her heart seemed to be suddenly tightened by a hand, and she still heard the name:
Concubine Zhen.
"He took you in simply because you looked a bit like me."
This sentence followed her like a curse in her previous life. Now when she heard this name, it still lingered in her mind. It was ridiculous.
She laughed at herself, but her nails were tightly digging into her palms. The pain was better than the heartache...
"The emperor dotes on Concubine Zhen so much. Marquis Jin'an must have done a lot of work behind the scenes." The wife of Marquis Changxing said, revealing a hint of disdain for Concubine Zhen in her words.
Everyone knew what was going on, but no one dared to speak the truth like the wife of the Marquis of Changxing.
Everyone knows that Concubine Zhen could sit in the position of the most favored concubine in the six palaces now thanks to the support of Marquis Jin'an. Every time Marquis Jin'an wins a victory, Concubine Zhen's favor increases. The victory of Marquis Jin'an over the people of Beimo made the emperor make an exception and confer the title of concubine on Concubine Zhen, who had no children.
It can be said that all his military achievements were earned for her.
Jiang Lan suddenly tightened her palms. She would never have anything to do with the two of them in this life. It was none of her business if he found eight hundred substitutes.
"Dear sisters, the flowers in the garden are blooming. Let's go and see them."
Cui Jingshu invited the young ladies from various families to the garden to enjoy the flowers. Seeing that Jiang Lan didn't come, she asked her maid Qiu Tong to invite her over. Jiang Yao watched the group leave with envy. She also wanted to enjoy the flowers and didn't want to stand here and serve her mother-in-law. Especially when she saw that Jiang Lan was able to go, she became even more angry and cursed Jiang Lan to be stung by wasps all over her body.
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