Chapter Thirty Chen Jiao, You're Just a Concubine's Daughter
Most of the abandoned houses had collapsed, and Pei Xuan finally found an intact one. He excitedly returned to Chen Qing's side to report: "Sister Qing! The house over there isn't drafty, I'll go and tidy it up for you right now!"
Chen Jiao, with her sharp ears, heard this and immediately sent a servant to the house Pei Xuan had found, shouting loudly, "This house is mine!"
"You!" Pei Xuan glared at her. He had never seen Chen Jiao so shameless in his life.
Chen Jiao immediately changed her attitude and said pitifully, "Pei Xuan, I've always been thin and can't stand hardship. Unlike my sister, look at her, she has so much fat on her body, she wouldn't be in any trouble even if she lived in a drafty house."
"You're talking nonsense!" Pei Xuan roared in fury. "You skinny, ugly freak!"
"What!?"
Chen Jiao was utterly stunned. What did Pei Xuan say about her? Ugly freak? And skinny as a ghost?
In his previous life, he clearly preferred thin women! He especially loved her slender waist, and fearing she was too thin, Pei Xuan would always coax her to eat more.
But in this life, Pei Xuan actually scolded her for being too thin?
No, absolutely not.
The wind was strong and the snow was heavy; perhaps she didn't hear clearly.
Chen Jiao forced a pitiful smile: "Okay, since you feel sorry for my sister, then I'll give the house to her. In case I get sick, it might delay my journey home."
Pei Xuan looked straight at her, showing no remorse whatsoever. "I think the Third Miss is very lucky; she'll be fine."
After all, he had been beaten so badly, but he became energetic again in just a few days.
"Sister Qing, wait in the car, I'll fetch water and clean up the house right away."
Hearing Chen Jiao trying to gain favor with Pei Xuan by playing the victim outside, Chen Qing's face showed a hint of amusement. Why did Chen Jiao seem a little strange ever since she was sent to Liu Shoubei's residence?
She went to great lengths to please Pei Xuan, in particular.
Could it be that she was also a time traveler?
Yinhe dislikes cleaning. While sitting in the car with Chen Qingtong, she watched intently, her expression like that of a little fox.
When Chen Qing came to her senses and noticed his gaze, her eyes turned cold again. "Why do you always look at me like that?"
Yinhe said, "It's beautiful."
He didn't tell Chen Qing that she looked remarkably like a doll from his childhood.
Chubby cheeks, adorable eyes, and even when they're angry, their expressions are exactly the same.
Chen Qing looked incredulous. She was pretty? She admitted that she was fair-skinned and beautiful, but given her weight, no man with eyes would fall in love with a tank.
It's important to understand that men have very strict standards for women's beauty. Even if a woman is 1.7 meters tall and weighs over 100 pounds, it's still considered something to be ridiculed.
They contemptuously refer to women who are overweight as "tanks," and if they can't carry a girl in a princess carry, they say the girl is too fat.
Chen Qing looked down on those men and would never have anything to do with inferior men in her life, but that didn't stop her from knowing exactly what men's aesthetic standards were.
However, there is another possibility.
"You like chubby girls?"
People's preferences are always strange.
Chen Qing couldn't help but overthink things.
Yinhe looked bewildered again. Chen Qingpang was not even in his mind, so he couldn't understand Chen Qing's meaning at all.
Seeing his blank expression, Chen Qing felt a little annoyed. Was this guy pretending to be stupid?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She couldn't help but lean over and pinch Yinhe's cheek with gritted teeth.
It feels great... Men's skin is different from women's. Although Yinhe's skin is very good, there are still some bluish stubble on his face if you look closely. He doesn't move, his eyes are rolling downwards, as if he wants to see Chen Qing pull him.
Chen Qing said angrily, "Idiot, are you stupid? I think you should stop calling yourself Galaxy and start calling yourself a fool instead."
Yinhe blankly replied, "Okay."
He seemed to have no idea what a fool was; he agreed with everything Chen Qing said.
"Pfft..." Chen Qing finally couldn't help but laugh, her smile bright and her rosy cheeks flushing. "You're such a silly goose!"
The Milky Way smiled.
Women care about their appearance, and Chen Qing was no exception. She asked Yinhe, "Do you think I'm fat?"
A fool wouldn't lie; he'd only ask, "What is fat?"
Chen Qing raised her arms and said, “Look, my arms are thicker than other women’s, my waist is also thick, and so are my legs. That’s what you call fat.”
“Not fat.” Yinhe repeated very seriously, “Looks good.”
Well, it seems it really is a matter of the Milky Way's orientation.
Pei Xuan and Wang Zhong finally finished tidying up the room, and Chen Qing and his group also found a place to stay. Not far from the room that Pei Xuan found, there was a collapsed house in between.
He was excited to invite Chen Qing to get out of the car and rest, but Chen Jiao, undeterred by the cold, waited for him on the road where he was looking for Chen Qing.
"Pei Xuan~" Chen Jiao called out sweetly, her eyes sending a flirtatious glance.
Pei Xuan looked at her with a righteous expression, puzzled, "Third Miss, what's wrong with your eyes?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiao was so angry at his lack of romantic understanding that she stomped her feet.
"Thank you for your concern, Xuanlang. My eyes are fine; I'm just worried about you."
Pei Xuan got goosebumps all over. "Why is Miss San concerned about me? You should go back and rest. I need to go find Sister Qing."
After saying that, he turned and left without any hesitation.
Chen Jiao quickly called out to him, "Pei Xuan! Do you like Chen Qing?!"
Pei Xuan was struck dumb: "What nonsense are you talking about! How could I like Qing..."
Wait, so this is what he likes? Pei Xuan seemed to realize it only now.
Chen Jiao beamed with delight, "That's wonderful! My sister is no good woman. You cleaned her room, but no sooner had you left than that man climbed into her carriage. They were talking and laughing non-stop. Humph! What a pair of scoundrels!"
Pei Xuan was still reeling from the shock of realizing he had feelings for Chen Qing. Hearing Chen Jiao slander his Qing-jie, he immediately retorted angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about! He's just a bodyguard in place of Li Yi! It's not what you think at all!"
"Why not? They're alone in a room, a man and a woman. If she were a chaste and virtuous woman, how could she tolerate being with a man from another family? If it were me, I wouldn't do that!"
Chen Jiao straightened up triumphantly, wanting to move closer to Pei Xuan.
Pei Xuan glared at her, his chest heaving with anger. As she got closer and closer, he pushed her away with all his might!
Chen Jiao fell hard on her bottom in the snow, and Pei Xuan turned and ran.
"Pei Xuan! You heartless bastard!"
Pei Xuan ran out of the carriage, panting and feeling somewhat guilty.
So he liked Sister Qing after all. No wonder he felt so bad when he saw Li Yi being close to her.
"Xuan Nu, is the room ready?"
Hearing the commotion outside, Chen Qing asked.
"Sister Qing, everything's ready. Let me help you down."
"No need, I can do it myself. What did Chen Jiao say to you when she stopped you earlier?"
Pei Xuan's eyes flickered, not daring to speak directly, and he stammered, "She...didn't say anything."
Chen Qing felt a chill run down her spine and frowned slightly. Could it be that Pei Xuan had been persuaded by Chen Jiao again and was starting to hide something from her?
Yinhe, standing to the side, remained expressionless. With his keen hearing and sharp eyesight, he had clearly heard the entire conversation between the two.
Pei Xuan wanted to help Chen Qing off the carriage, but Yinhe beat him to it. He opened his arms, and Chen Qing, who was about to jump off the carriage, was swept up in his arms.
In an instant, Chen Qing's eyes almost popped out!
She weighs over 200 pounds now!
Yinhe picked her up so easily?
"You! Who gave you permission to hug me! Let me down!"
The hand gripping her waist was like iron; no matter how much Chen Qing struggled, she couldn't shake Yinhe's determination to hold her.
Pei Xuan was left behind. When he saw Yinhe holding Chen Qing, he felt like ants were crawling on a hot pan. He hurriedly chased after her.
"Sister Qing, let me carry you!"
"I don't need you."
"I was here first!" Pei Xuan said angrily.
Chen Qing was extremely embarrassed and angry. She wished she could kick these two people away. "Idiots! Put me down right now! Or I'll get angry!"
Yinhe stopped and said to her earnestly, "I can carry you, you're not fat."
He actually listened to what she just said!
Chen Qing was put down, her face flushed red, feeling completely ashamed!
Although she knew she would lose weight eventually, she still felt ashamed when someone carried her like a princess when she was overweight!
Doesn't that let the Milky Way know how much I weigh?
How embarrassing!
Chen Qing felt like he was going to explode whenever he thought about it!
No, she has to lose weight quickly, she needs to get thin!
Chen Qing's desire to lose weight intensified even further.
These past few days, perhaps due to lack of exercise from sitting in the carriage all day, Chen Qing has entered a weight plateau, losing weight very slowly, with almost no progress in the last couple of days.
This can't go on any longer!
"Miss, why is your face so red? Are you cold?" Wang Zhong came up to greet Chen Qing and asked with concern when he saw her flushed face.
Pei Xuan untied the carriage and led the horses over as well. The horses needed to rest inside at night, otherwise it would be too cold and the horses wouldn't be able to stand it.
Chen Qing steadied himself and regained his usual composure: "It's alright, just warming myself by the fire will do."
Wang Zhong had already set up a fire, and Xiao Wu was helping Chen Qing make up the bed.
It's much warmer inside now.
Chen Qing sat on the bed while Pei Xuan continued to chatter incessantly to Yinhe, making a headache.
Chen Qing could only tell him to shut up, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and cook."
They decided to eat instant noodles to warm themselves up.
Pei Xuan set up a stand to put the pot on, then found some clean snow outside and put it in the pot. Soon the snow melted, and the water began to steam.
Chen Qing was enjoying a peaceful and tranquil time, but overhearing from next door, Chen Jiao was making a ruckus, asking why the fire hadn't been lit yet, and then yelling that she was starving to death.
The charcoal they carried was damp and couldn't be lit; the ones that could be lit filled the room with thick smoke, making it unbearable to stay.
The maid Zhuyue was ordered to find Chen Qing, hoping to get some firewood from her.
As soon as Chen Qing let her in, Zhu Yue knelt down beside Chen Qing's legs, sobbing and pleading, "Miss, I know I was wrong, please let me follow you!"
Yet another traitorous lackey.
Chen Qing remained silent, about to refuse, when Zhu Yue lifted her sleeve, revealing the blue and purple scars on it.
"Young Miss, please save me! The Third Miss beats and scolds me all the time. I still have my mother, brothers, and sisters at home. They are all waiting for me to go back. I don't want to die!"
Zhu Yue cried so bitterly that it saddened all who heard it and brought tears to their eyes.
Chen Qing frowned. Although she disliked those who betrayed their masters, Chen Jiao had gone too far. She couldn't just stand by and watch a life be lost.
"Alright, get up. I can't keep you here, but I will make sure you get back to the Chen family safely. Then you can leave the manor."
Zhu Yue was overjoyed upon hearing this.
In order to allow Zhu Yue to complete the task assigned by Chen Jiao and avoid a beating, Chen Jiao asked Pei Xuan to let her take the collected firewood back with her.
As for the gold-threaded charcoal she brought?
Why should the Chen family use it?
Seeing Zhu Yue return carrying a pile of firewood, Chen Jiao frowned in disgust: "I told you to borrow charcoal, and all you bring back is firewood! Useless stuff!"
Seeing Zhu Yue screaming in pain as her daughter pinched her, Zhang Shi spoke up to stop her: "Jiao'er, bear with it for now. If you hurt her, where will I find you another maid?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiao stopped hitting the person.
She quickly tried to sow discord between Chen Zhenyan and his sister: "Father, my sister really doesn't respect you at all. We are her family. If she treats us like this, do you really think she will speak well of you in front of the Zhao family, as you wish?"
Chen Zhenyan went to great lengths to marry into the wealthy Zhao family, and he must be doing it for money. If he marries Chen Qing into the family, it might even create enmity!
It must be said that Chen Jiao's words really struck a chord with Chen Zhenyan. In his heart, his daughter was not important, but the marriage alliance with the Zhao family was very important.
The heavy snow fell for three consecutive months, affecting many of the Chen family's shops and causing losses of over 100,000 taels of silver. Not to mention that Liu Wei had further plundered the business, leaving Chen Zhenyan severely weakened.
He was hoping to form a marriage alliance with the Zhao family as soon as possible so he could recover his losses!
“Jiao’er makes a good point. What do you think we should do?”
Chen Zhenyan, that old fox, already knew the truth perfectly well, so why bother asking Chen Jiao?
They just wanted to shift all the blame onto Chen Jiao for instigating it.
Chen Jiao's face revealed a sinister look. "What's so difficult about that? When we get home, Father will say that my sister's dowry is long gone. Then we'll send her portrait to the Zhao family. I don't believe that the Zhao family's young master would still be interested in her."
Chen Zhenyan frowned and immediately said, "No!"
If Chen Qing's engagement is called off, what will happen to the marriage between the Zhao and Chen families? How will he recover his losses?
Chen Jiao's eyes darted around.
"Father, I know you're afraid the Zhao family will break off the engagement. I haven't finished speaking yet. You can also send my portrait to the Zhao family at the same time. Just say that I'm willing to marry into the Zhao family in place of my elder sister. With my looks, I'm sure the young master of the Zhao family will be willing."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhenyan immediately shook his head and said, "No, no, you are a daughter born out of wedlock. How could the Zhao family possibly look favorably upon you! If I were to say that, the Zhao family would laugh at our Chen family for not knowing the proper etiquette!"
Chen Jiao's expression froze, and she secretly gritted her teeth.
A concubine's daughter, yet another concubine's daughter! In his past life, Pei Xuan used the name of a concubine's daughter to suppress her request to become empress.
Are illegitimate daughters really looked down upon like this?
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