Chapter 24: Seeing Each Other
It was just dawn when Tao Li pulled Jiang Ran out of bed.
Knowing that the young lady was coming to see her today, Taoli put all her effort into it. She fumigated her clothes with perfume, put rouge and powder on her face, and even made a very complicated bun.
"That's enough. My neck is so sore. If I keep going, I won't be able to walk."
Jiang Ran couldn't stand it any longer, and when Tao Li wanted to put on another hair crown, he refused.
After packing for over an hour, Taoli finally let her get up. She was wrapped in layers of clothes, but none of them kept her warm, and it was a hindrance when she walked.
Jiang Ran stumbled as she stood up, and before she reached the hanging flower gate, she was tripped by the shawl again. She was so angry that she picked up her pile of skirts and walked away.
It takes too long to put on makeup.
Not to mention Jiang Ran was getting impatient, even Jiang Huan, who was usually quite patient, could not sit still and leaned against the corridor waiting for her to come out.
Looking at the angry Jiang Ran, his eyes lit up. Although he knew that his sister was naturally beautiful, he had never seen her dress up so carefully.
He dared to say that there was no man in the world who could not be moved by her. Today, he must protect his sister every step of the way.
"Second brother." Jiang Ran put down her skirt and greeted him politely.
Jiang Huan nodded lightly and said calmly, "It's okay."
It was very close to the agreed time, and Jiang Ran had no time to have breakfast. He also took a few cakes with him, intending to eat them on the way.
Unexpectedly, the carriage stopped after only half a quarter of an hour.
"Are we there yet?" Jiang Ran looked out and saw Fuxingju.
"No need, second brother, I'm not hungry. I brought some food." Jiang Ran wondered when her second brother became so considerate and even noticed that she didn't have breakfast.
It turned out that she was overthinking it.
There was a huge mahogany round table in the private room on the third floor. She and Jiang Huan sat on one side, while the Prince of Yongqing sat alone opposite.
This wasn't a meeting, it was more like an interrogation. Jiang Ran sat there feeling uncomfortable, staring up at the sky in silence.
People only meet each other at banquets or while burning incense in temples. They understand each other tacitly and may only glance at each other from a distance, but they may not necessarily talk to each other.
I heard Xu Roujia say before that there was a wicked guy who made an appointment to meet the groom at the horse farm. Her distant cousin was deceived. On the wedding day, she found out that the groom was half a head shorter than her. She was so angry that she wanted to go back to her parents' home that day.
How come she's here? They're talking so directly to each other, it's more like a business negotiation than a visit.
"Prince, this is my sister."
"Aran, this is the prince."
Jiang Huan spoke a few words and then stopped talking. He just sat there with his arms folded across his chest, with a few big words written all over his body - Start your performance.
Jiang Ran was too tired to complain. Looking at the prince's awkward smile, he smiled back.
Seeing that she was reserved, the prince spoke first and told the servants to serve the dishes.
"I heard that Miss Jiang is very proficient in food appreciation."
"Today's chef is someone I found from Jiangnan. I asked him to prepare some fresh southern dishes. Miss Jiang, please do me the honor of trying them."
Jiang Ran perked up after hearing this. "Jiangnan cuisine? I haven't eaten it in a long time."
When the dishes were served, she tried them one by one and found that they all tasted authentic. The restaurants in Chang'an could not make such delicious dishes. Only by going to her grandparents' house could she taste such amazing delicacies.
Jiang Ran enjoyed the meal and started talking a lot, and even the round-headed, square-faced prince sitting opposite him looked much more pleasing to the eye.
He has an ordinary appearance and a square face, and seems a bit honest and simple. He occasionally makes a few witty remarks and is quite humorous.
Jiang Ran thought he was not obsessed with looks. To be fair, he was not ugly.
But there were only three people in this huge room. After she looked at the prince, she looked at Jiang Huan. The contrast was really tragic.
“Stunning, delicious!”
Jiang Ran ate two bowls of rice, ended the battle, and gave her highest praise for the food.
“It’s a pity that we can’t eat it often.”
The prince smiled innocently, "If Miss Jiang likes it, just let me know and you can have it anytime."
"Didn't he say he came from Jiangnan? I thought he was... a traveling chef, a chef who travels around the world." It's similar to a traveling doctor, so I think you can say that.
"That's not the case. This master has already signed a death contract with the Marquis' Mansion."
When Jiang Ran heard the good news, he was just happy and thought about how popular it would be if his master opened a Jiangnan restaurant.
And the look in Jiang Huan's eyes when he looked at him was more meaningful.
It was obvious that the prince was well prepared for today's event. Not only did he understand his sister's preferences, he also went to great lengths to find a chef with such excellent cooking skills, which immediately brought the two closer together.
And this understanding is not ordinary understanding.
There were twelve dishes on the table, and Jiang Ran didn't dislike any of them. One of them, fish soup, traditionally required ginger slices, but she never ate ginger, so whenever she ordered this soup, she would always ask the kitchen to omit the ginger. When they arrived, the dishes were already ready, and she hadn't reminded them, so when the fish soup arrived, there was no ginger.
When the Marquis's Mansion proposed a marriage, Jiang Huan did not find it strange at first. No matter who his sister married, the other party would be marrying above his station.
It was natural for two families to attach importance to each other. But this prince took it too seriously, even going to great lengths to plan for it. After just one meeting, he had already planned the next one.
Facing Jiang Huan's scrutiny, the prince was very calm and responded appropriately without showing any sign of fear.
Jiang Ran was completely unaware of the confrontation between the two. He drank a small bowl of dessert before signaling Jiang Huan that he could leave.
The prince naturally followed and invited Jiang Ran to go shopping.
Somehow, the three of them walked side by side, Jiang Huan standing in the middle, Jiang Ran on the right, and the prince on the left.
He didn't say anything, and just stood in the middle like a moving pillar. When they talked, they had to tilt their heads to see each other.
Jiang Ran was already dressed formally, with his head tilted, his neck aching. He seemed disrespectful when he spoke without looking at people.
After walking for a while, she could no longer bear it and really wanted to find an excuse to get rid of them and ask Jiang Huan what was going on.
Looking up, he saw a vendor selling candied haws. Jiang Ran quickly said, "I haven't eaten candied haws for a long time. Prince, can you buy me one?"
The prince readily agreed and walked towards the vendor.
"Brother, what are you doing? Can't you take a step forward or a step back? My neck is cramping from talking so much."
While complaining, Jiang Ran raised her hand to take off the necklace around her neck, then fumbled around and pulled out a few hairpins, putting them all in Jiang Huan's hand and asking him to keep them.
Jiang Huan glanced at her and refused without hesitation: "No, let's go home."
My sister broke out in a little sweat after walking a few steps, which made her look even more lively and vivid. How could she walk alone with other men? It was too dangerous and was absolutely not allowed.
The prince happened to come back and said regretfully, "I didn't buy it. The vendor said it was sold out and he won't sell it."
"Why don't we go a little further? There should be more for sale up ahead."
Jiang Ran didn't want to eat, it was just an excuse. She waved her hand and was about to say goodbye to him.
"Hey, isn't that Lord Lu?"
"I'm quite acquainted with him. Miss Jiang, please wait a moment while I shamelessly ask him for two candied haws."
Jiang Ran looked over and saw Lu Weiqing carrying a straw target filled with candied haws on his shoulder. There was a girl next to him, holding his hand and chatting and laughing.
She felt an indescribable bitterness in her heart.
No wonder I haven’t seen him for more than half a month. It turns out he was busy coaxing other girls.
"No need. Thank you for your hospitality today, Prince. It's getting late, I'll go back home first."
Jiang Ran finished speaking like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube, bowed, and left without looking back.
Eleven peeked in for a few times, then lay on the eaves and wrote down in his little notebook: On the third day of the twelfth month, at the hour of Si, Miss Jiang went out to see me, and at the hour of Wei, they parted on bad terms.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
