An Yuan'er wasn't too surprised; it had been so long, her husband at home must be getting restless by now.
“Miss, the old lady has never liked you. Should we wear something simple and understated? Something less flashy,” Guoguo suggested.
An Yuan'er scanned the clothes in the wardrobe and picked out a sky-blue long dress, the latest style of the season. The gauze skirt extended all the way to her ankles, and the edges of the skirt were embroidered with delicate silk thread. Small bells hung at her waist, making a crisp sound when she walked.
The girl was naturally beautiful, with light makeup, her hair styled in a high bun, delicate eyebrows and a pretty nose, pearly teeth and red lips. Every gesture she made captivated people's hearts.
An Yuan'er's outfit was anything but low-key.
"Guoguo, no matter how low I keep a low profile or hide myself, people who dislike you will still dislike you. There's no need for us to wrong ourselves. Just be yourself and don't try to please yourself."
"Your daughter has the right to be envied and jealous of others. Let them be envious."
After tidying herself up, An Yuan'er took Guo Guo to Ci'an Hall.
The Litingyuan Garden was quite far from the Ci'an Hall. By the time An Yuan'er arrived, the other female relatives had already arrived and were sitting around An Piao'er chatting.
"Sister Piao'er's earrings are so pretty, they sparkle in the sunlight! Where did you buy them, Sister? Mo'er wants to buy some too."
“These are the best white jade and pearl earrings sold at the Treasure Pavilion, costing a full 500 taels. With your meager allowance, how could you possibly afford them? Besides, you don’t have the beauty of our Piao’er sister. It would be a waste for you to wear such fine things on your ears.” An Xia’er flattered An Piao’er.
An Piao'er smiled and said, "These earrings were a gift from my grandmother. If Mo'er and Xia'er like my jewelry, I'll pick out some other ones for you another day."
An Mo'er said excitedly, "Sister Piao'er still loves us the most. But Grandmother really dotes on Sister Piao'er the most. She is willing to give such good things to her. It makes us younger sisters very envious."
An Yuan'er watched them flatter each other for a long time and felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
"Ahem." She coughed twice, interrupting their conversation.
All eyes were on her. As An Yuan'er moved, the bells jingled like silver bells. An Yuan'er found her place and sat down.
It wasn't that An Yuan'er was deliberately showing off; this outfit was what she usually wore when she was in Chenyang Palace.
Although they were all women from the An family, An Yuan'er's attire was far superior to everyone else's, making An Piao'er's white cloud pearl earrings seem rather inadequate.
Compared to An Yuan'er, the young ladies were like plucked peacocks, unable to flutter.
An Piao'er secretly clenched the handkerchief in her palm, feeling the earrings on her ears burning hot.
With An Yuan'er around, An Piao'er is nothing.
"What's so great about it? Sisters should share things, unlike some people who always keep things to themselves."
"Yes. She's so selfish, no wonder none of us sisters like to be close to her."
The sarcastic remarks became more and more frequent.
An Yuan'er smiled and said, "I'm sorry! I'm just that stingy."
"My things will always be mine, and I don't like your things."
An Yuan'er didn't tolerate them at all. She didn't believe in the old saying that older sisters should always give way to younger sisters or that older sisters should always act magnanimous. She never believed in such pretense.
She paused for a moment, then said, "There are some things I think you haven't figured out yet?"
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