Chapter 419
The wedding of Mrs. Xiao's second daughter has been prepared and the ceremony will be held next week.
Xiao's sister and her boyfriend counted which classmates they wanted to invite that day, and mentioned that they wanted to invite Wang Jiazhi to their home as well.
Her boyfriend was so angry when he heard this: "Why invite her? It's so unlucky to have a woman like that in the house."
"Why do you say that?"
"How could such a grand wedding require a whore to accompany the bride? A married woman, greedy for power and wealth, becomes an old man's mistress, neither wife nor concubine. And yet she still shows up in public, so proud of herself, not ashamed but proud."
"No one has that. I actually like her very much and think her literary attainments are very impressive."
"Those accomplishments you mentioned are just some pretentious little love affairs. They're too petty, and ultimately, they're just like a concubine. You should avoid associating with someone like her; it'll only damage your reputation. People say it's better to marry a good prostitute than a woman who has been married off. A person like her wouldn't be wanted by ordinary people, even if they paid her dearly. Only that vicious old man treats her like a treasure."
"I think she's a good person. She might have had an unhappy marriage. She seems to really like Uncle Yi."
"This kind of woman is the most cunning, full of lies. She must make up a miserable story for herself, throw dirty water on her husband, and justify her infidelity. No matter what, cheating is wrong for her. Do you believe that a young woman likes an old man?"
But Xiao's younger sister still invited Wang Jiazhi home that day. It was Wang Jiazhi's first time entering the boudoir of a young lady like them. Xiao's younger sister loved aqua, and many things in the room were aqua. The curtains were aqua with small light yellow flowers, and the quilt and pillows were aqua with white lilies and ruffles. The rest of the furniture was white with gold trim. A large bouquet of white lilies stood in a crystal vase at the head of the bed. The fragrance of lilies filled the room.
It was exactly the same as the eldest lady's room in the novel and the movie. This aqua-green room reminded her of Lin Daiyu's green gauze cabinet.
Wang Jiazhi also had a cozy little house of her own, but it was nothing compared to the other rich girls. Her house was a little small and had always lacked a large bookshelf.
My dream has always been to have my own study room with a large bookshelf to store lots of books. But later on, I even lost my home, let alone a study room.
Because it was a happy occasion, the room was filled with colorful candies. The sunlight shining through made the candy wrappers sparkle like colored crystals. The aqua-green ruffled quilt spread flat on the bed, covered with candies, looked like it was strewn with dazzling jewels.
This was also what she had imagined her home would look like when she was a child, on her wedding day, before leaving home. It was no longer possible.
Wang Jiazhi felt a little disappointed. It was impossible. She didn't deserve a wedding in her lifetime. Even standing in the boudoir of the beautiful girl who was about to get married, she felt unworthy, as if she was desecrating the room.
Xiao's wedding dress was incredibly beautiful, with a thick layer of white tulle on the bodice and large white roses adorning the hem. It was truly beautiful and lavish. Mrs. Liao, fearing the Xiao family's wedding would outdo her own, spent all her money and went into debt. But everyone knew the Xiao family's financial resources could easily surpass hers. It was precisely because of Mrs. Liao's deliberate attempt to outdo her that the Xiao family's wedding was even more lavish. Everyone thought Mrs. Liao was ridiculous, tackling a challenge with an egg, not only failing but also wasting money.
He turned his head to peek, and she seemed fine. But she was always pretending to be strong, and she was suppressing her unhappiness in front of others.
Having attended so many weddings, I've found that happy matches are rare. Past weddings have always had unhappy beginnings, but this one is a rare happy couple, and it's inevitable that the scene brings back memories.
He felt very sorry for her. He was much older than her, but he could only keep her from seeing the light of day like this.
Old Xiao's official position is similar to Old Yi's. There are so many people coming to his house to do things, and this auditorium is more than twice as big as Mrs. Liao's.
One of the classmates glanced at that table and said with a smile, "Whose young wife looks like Lin Daiyu?"
People said, "Whose family is this? Old Yi's family. You should punish yourself."
The man was there because Old Xiao was marrying his daughter, and he had never met Wang Jiazhi before. He smiled and bowed to him, saying, "Lan Jie, it's my fault. I deserve to die."
He laughed and said, "She doesn't look like Lin Daiyu at all. She doesn't like Lin Daiyu."
Although it is customary for women to avoid wearing bright colors at weddings, so as not to steal the bride's limelight, most of them dress up to vie with each other, hoping to steal the bride's limelight.
The Xiao family's prominence fueled these ladies' competitive spirit. They wore what they considered the most luxurious and beautiful clothes and the most valuable jewelry. Their heads, ears, necks, hands, and wrists were covered in rings. If their toes could be shown, they would have worn rings on all ten. The table was ablaze with jewels, the brilliance of the gems almost blinding.
Wang Jiazhi was wearing a pine-colored cheongsam with broken branches of sycamore flowers today. Her hair was straight and tied low. She took a strand and wrapped it around the bun, which looked very much like the topknot worn during the Qin and Han dynasties. She didn't wear any makeup today.
A true lotus flower emerging from clear water, naturally free from all sculpting, stands out even more among a crowd of vulgar women.
When I was little, I read about Lady Guoguo's charm and allure in movies and novels, how she seduced Emperor Xuanzong and drove Concubine Yang Guifei so mad she returned home. I imagined she must have worn heavy makeup. But then I read, "But she disliked the color of her rouge and powder, and with her eyebrows brushed lightly, she met the Supreme Emperor." I was so shocked.
That's the way it is. Most of those who write novels are poor scholars. Those who have truly experienced the pinnacle of power wouldn't have the time, nor would they bother to write erotic fiction. Kings, princes, generals, and ministers have seen all sorts of looks, but ordinary women probably wouldn't even glance at them, let alone be favored. Only poor scholars who can't even afford a wife and have never seen a woman would fantasize about a seductive woman like the one that would make a powerful figure fall in love with her.
Of course, Wang Jiazhi had nothing to do with him.
After going through so much, she became more and more simple in her dressing style. She also felt that beautiful women who put on too much makeup and jewelry were overshadowing the beauty given by God and wasted it.
He had never done anything fancy since he was young, and his clothes were always very simple. There was no way around the two rings on his fingers, one was a wedding ring, and the other was a ward off evil spirits.
When I was in school, the girls talked about the meaning of wearing rings on different fingers. They said that wearing it on the little finger meant being single or celibate.
She was surprised and said, "Isn't it to ward off evil spirits and villains?"
Because of this, everyone had a small argument, and neither she nor they had listened to the other's side.
Actually, both are correct, but the interpretations differ between the East and the West. Oddly enough, according to Western tradition, he wears a wedding ring on one hand to signify marriage. According to Western tradition, he wears a ring on the other hand to signify singleness (according to Chinese tradition, it's to ward off evil spirits). It's quite fitting.
Clothes were also a problem for Wang Jiazhi for a long time.
Wang Jiazhi never paid much attention to her appearance or her appearance. She believed that academic excellence was the truest skill. However, with her mother's meticulous care, she remained a dazzling beauty wherever she went.
It was after her mother passed away that she started paying attention to her clothes.
At the time, she was still growing, and her old clothes quickly outgrew. Money was tight, so she could only buy cheap fabric. While other girls her age wore bright, fashionable clothes, she wore only cheap cloth. The strange looks from others made her realize for the first time that some things aren't necessarily respected simply because you've done something well. For example, poverty was a case in point.
Not to mention girls, even boys dress more fashionably and brightly than her.
At that time, the ladies at the card table mocked her openly and covertly for being unworldly, but she had long been accustomed to it. But it brought back heavy memories, memories that were not so far away. A month or two ago, she was still a poor person wearing shabby clothes.
But Wang Jiazhi still had her own pride. She never thought that Lai Xiujin and Kuang Yumin looked down on her because she was poor. In Lai Xiujin's eyes, how could a poor guy wearing shabby, washed-out white clothes compare to her?
The same is true for Kuang Yumin. Like Lai Xiujin, he comes from a wealthy family. They have been poor since childhood, and in their eyes, the poor are like disabled people.
Lai Xiujing never admitted that Wang Jiazhi was prettier or better than her. She always felt that Wang Jiazhi was unworthy of her position and inferior to herself, but she stole her things.
Kuang Yumin believes that no matter how beautiful a disabled person is, he is still a disabled person.
There was one rare thing: Kuang Yumin's idea was the same as Wang Jiazhi's. That was, if Wang Jiazhi took off her disguised fancy clothes and was exposed as her original form, becoming the Wang Jiazhi wearing a blue cloth shirt, with a sallow complexion, dry hair, and queuing up for relief rice, Lao Yi would not even look at her.
This is perhaps also the narrow-mindedness of the humble scholar's imaginary view of the upper class. Gao E's sequel to "Dream of the Red Chamber" in which Lin Daiyu was given braised pork and cabbage soup was a tragedy that ordinary people could not change, while Kuang Yumin's was absurdly narrow-minded.
It's no wonder he said "encouraging resistance against Japan" instead of "advocating resistance against Japan." He wanted to kill that man's subordinate, Lao Yi, but he was so engrossed in reciting that man's poems that he mobilized semi-illiterate people. Can we expect him to read history? Anyone who has read a few history books knows that the women that kings and generals fell deeply in love with were often of commoner origins, or even poorer than commoners.
The emperor didn't care about birth and so-called chastity, but he, a commoner, took them as important as anything else.
At first, Wang Jiazhi imitated the ladies in her attire, decked out in jewelry. But she soon realized it was pointless, and she didn't need to worry about what others thought. Living for others was too tiring; she was tired of trying to please others. She just wanted to be herself.
Old Yi also admired this about her. In other words, he liked her no matter how she dressed. She wasn't that ambitious. If he said he still liked her to look more coquettish, she would definitely start putting on makeup again.
There is no way, love makes people humble.
The colleague who had just spoken said, "You are really something. When you were young, a bunch of girls were vying for your attention. Now at this age, you have a beautiful woman at home and a stunningly talented woman outside. How come all these good things belong to you?"
Everyone also felt that compared to that group of noisy and vulgar people, it was no wonder that he liked such an extraordinary and beautiful person.
He is very troubled by the comments from the outside world.
"Old Yi's family is so strict that even the little actor disappeared because of drinking. How could they tolerate him and that female writer?"
"She also has to take Lao Yi's temper into consideration. As long as he's not at home, she'll just turn a blind eye. This is a smart move that shows she understands the ways of women. Otherwise, she'll be just like the one in the countryside."
He couldn't say that these two were actually the same person.
Old Yi felt sorry for her first, and then for his daughter. If it were Kitty getting married right now, the ceremony would surely be even grander than theirs. He'd worked so hard his entire life, only to have them suffer instead of enjoying happiness.
When the newlyweds came to toast, Mr. Xiao brought his daughter and son-in-law to this table, fearing that the young people would not be able to entertain them well.
"This is your Uncle Yi."
Old Xiao held his son-in-law's back and introduced him.
"Uncle Yi, I always hear my father mention you. Uncle Yi is a role model for our generation. We younger generations can hardly compare to you."
"How dare I accept it." He then said to Lao Xiao, "This son-in-law is a good choice. He must have a bright future."
"Your Uncle Yi is always right in judging people. You must borrow his good words."
"Thank you, Uncle Yi. How could I dare to accept this?"
The toasts at that table lasted almost an hour. There was no other way, as all the top dignitaries were there.
Ms. Qiao said, "Look at them. They haven't finished talking for so long. Mr. Yi has been talking for quite a while."
No one else said anything, and Wang Jiazhi felt that the atmosphere at this table was different from before. She then realized that none of their husbands were at that table.
It was no wonder they usually fawned over Mrs. Yi. It turned out that the husbands of those who played with Mrs. Yi, except for Lao Xiao, were not qualified to sit at that table. The wives of the people at that table were different from Mrs. Yi. They were born into wealthy families and had worked hard with their husbands to make it. They had at least one of the two qualities. Of course, they looked down on those who spent all day shopping, playing mahjong, and competing with each other.
At first, Wang Jiazhi felt that as a poor, hungry soul, she had no right to say that their lives were empty and worthless. But then she thought, even the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor had no problem judging them in her mind, so why shouldn't she judge a bunch of boring, wealthy ladies who left no trace in history?
Today's wedding had Wang Jiazhi's mind racing. She was thinking, "It's really despicable of me not to tell him, but if he knew, he wouldn't be able to accept it. If I couldn't handle it, how could he handle it?" But she couldn't just hide it from him because she didn't want him to, but she had no other choice.
At this time, the newcomers came to the table.
Before she could react, Xiao's sister, wearing a red dress, smiled and said to her, "Aunt Yi~"
Wang Jiazhi felt extremely embarrassed after hearing this, even though she knew she meant no harm.
"Stop joking."
The groom also smiled and said, "Hello, Aunt Yi."
None of the ladies at that table laughed, but the people in his group did.
Mrs. Ma and Mrs. Liao's faces were so hideous that they couldn't be more terrifying.
They watched Wang Jiazhi walk along, a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, the one they had laughed at and teased at the card table. Now, she had been made a lady, more prestigious than them all.
Although it's said that face is just a superficial thing, few people can let it go. They had to flatter and win over Wang Jiazhi, but it was a private matter. Today, in such a gathering of dignitaries, Wang Jiazhi seemed more noble than the rest of the imperial family.
At this time, a middle-aged woman came over, took Wang Jiazhi's hand, and said, "Why don't you sit with us instead of coming here?"
Wang Jiazhi was surprised at first, but she immediately reacted, lowered her head and smiled shyly.
"We all want to get to know you. Come sit with us for a while."
Wang Jiazhi smiled as the lady pulled her to another table. The lady only nodded to Ms. Qiao and didn't even glance at the others. It was obvious that the official positions of the other people's husbands were not worth her greeting any of them.
Ms. Qiao smiled and said, "This is ***'s wife."
Looking at the expressions of the others, I felt such a horrible low pressure that I decided to just lower my head and eat.
Both sides knew that Mrs. Yi had no marriage certificate and had been sent back to the countryside, and that her past was a thing of the past. Old Yi, in order to please his current prodigal son, had completely abandoned all the women in his life (there was no concrete evidence for the scandal involving the female writer, so we could ignore it for now).
He hadn't thought of this either, and he kept glancing over there, worried she wouldn't be able to handle it. He had no choice but to go over and take a look. The women at that table weren't the same ones at the card table back home, but he couldn't help but go.
***'s wife smiled and said, "Don't worry, we are having a good chat. No one will eat your food."
She gave him a look that meant: Don't worry.
He could only smile and go back.
Old Xiao's official position is slightly lower than his. If there is really a wedding in his family, *** and *** must come with their wives. Even if *** cannot come, he must send someone.
As soon as Ms. Qiao left, Mrs. Ma and Mrs. Liao whispered, "What a thing! She's become such a hot commodity! They treat her like a human being."
Mrs. Liao said, "I just don't understand the world. You think something is worthless, but others treat it like a treasure."
Mrs. Ma sneered, "Just wait and see! She's corrupting the morals. Seeing someone like her get lucky, how can the others keep quiet? She's corrupting all decent women. She's ruining morals."
Wang Jiazhi realized later that whenever Mrs. Ma appeared in public, she had to dress up too elaborately. It was so troublesome that it was tiring for others to see her. She thought that Mrs. Ma wanted to regain her lost dignity, but it was not the case. Old Ma was getting worse and worse to her, and she was trying her best to appear in public at her best, hoping to hook up with someone more powerful than Old Ma. She was still very confident in herself. She was so beautiful, and although her family background was not prominent, it was also a family of scholars. Anyway, she was much better than Wang Jiazhi. Wang Jiazhi could hook up with Old Yi and drive Mrs. Yi back to the countryside, so it was not impossible for her to do so.
This time, he didn't have the luxury of leaving early like before. Unlike usual, he seemed to be entertaining the guests at that table seriously, not leaving until they had all dispersed.
Wang Jiazhi then realized that, let's just say this wasn't the Xiao family's daughter's wedding, but rather a gathering of their top brass, and he had to attend properly. She was afraid she'd done something wrong and embarrassed him. Embarrassment would be fine, but if she said something wrong and caused a big mess, that would be terrible. Fortunately, just as she thought this, the table had dispersed, and the wives at this table were also leaving with their husbands, so of course they did too. Everyone said goodbye to her warmly, and she finally got through it.
When she got back, she was like a jumping kitten, telling him what the ladies had asked, what she had answered, and what she had said to them.
"What should I do? I must have embarrassed you. I must have said something wrong."
He just smiled and said, "Really not, they said very good things about you."
"You're clearly lying, and you can't hear what they're saying."
"They must say you're fine. Don't worry."
He picked up the child and held him high up to play with him.
Seeing him look so relaxed, Wang Jiazhi felt a lot more relieved, knowing at least that she hadn't said anything wrong.
No, he didn't know what he said at all. He might not even know that he had caused a big disaster.
"What should I do?"
"There's really nothing wrong, don't overthink it."
He put the kitten down, held her in his arms, and smoothed her fur.
"Mrs. Yi will definitely be able to handle it well. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone. Why didn't you tell me that so many important people would be there?"
He laughed and said, "She wouldn't. She hasn't been able to speak since she was young and always offends people. Otherwise, no one would want to play with her."
"You mean, others think I'm stronger anyway."
"That's not what I meant."
"ah!!!"
She was like an anxious and excited kitten that day, and there was nothing he could do but to find a way to distract her.
The next day, he was out, and she turned into the Pink Panther again. Looking at the red marks on her body, she remembered that yesterday was Xiao's wedding night. It must have been incredibly romantic and beautiful. She felt a surge of sadness.
To reassure her, he asked his family to tell her the feedback as soon as possible.
"Those ladies all said that the lady is so gentle and generous, and that the gentleman has finally found a good person," said the mother.
"I heard that Mrs. Ma was so angry that she died. I heard everyone say good things about her," said the little girl.
"I went out to buy groceries and met the cook of ***'s family. He said that his wife told someone that Minister Yi finally found a good person this time." said the cook.
Wang Jiazhi didn't know that this might be his intention, but if you tell a lie a few times, people will believe it. Besides, they were telling the truth.
The real feedback was indeed like this. The ladies had a very high opinion of Wang Jiazhi. When he heard this, he was of course even more proud.
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