Chapter 98.1
Chapter 98 : Choosing a Concubine (Part I)
As if compensating for the intense rains of the past, the weather was bright and sunny for several days. The sky was blue, the clouds were a pale color, fresh green leaflets sprouted on branches, and spring color quietly covered the capital of the Great Jin dynasty.
Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi got up early in the morning to prepare food for Jiang Ruan as they were afraid that even after entering the palace there would be a long wait for the feast to begin. Since she would be unable to eat a lot, they’d readied a variety of small light dishes such as steamed eggs and ham, congee, and hibiscus cake.
Steamed egg and ham
Round-grain rice congee: a porridge made with a type of rice from Hebei
Hibiscus cake
Once Jiang Ruan had eaten, Lu Zhu brought over a small rattan box. Smiling, she said, “The palace has many rules. This slave has prepared some small snacks for Miss, but they won’t ruin your make-up when you eat.”
Lian Qiao said, “That’s good.”
As she brushed Jiang Ruan’s hair, Bai Zhi commented, “Anything else that needs to be prepared, don’t forget it later.” She skillfully twisted Jiang Ruan’s hair into a beautiful coiled bun, and picked out a light red dangling rose ornament from the jewelry box to gently insert into Jiang Ruan’s hair. She smiled. “It’s done.”
Coiled bun
Jiang Ruan raised her eyes and looked into the mirror. Although she was naturally charming and lovable with clear and profound features, after her past life’s experiences, she now carried an air of maturity beyond her years. But after she added a cute coiled bun, she showed a bit of innocence not usually on display. Her gaze slightly deepened. In the palace of her past, the regulations required heavy and complicated hairstyles, with several dangling hair ornaments placed in the hair. Thus, where would you see such a simple and refreshing style?
Lian Qiao was surprised and spoke up: “Miss also looks pretty like this.”
“When does Miss not look pretty?” Lu Zhu retorted. “For an ensemble to be as refreshing as this, it’s all because of her natural beauty.”
“You actually know the phrase ‘natural beauty’.” Lian Qiao smiled until her eyes squinted. “You really know how to talk.”
The group cheerfully bantered for a while, until Cai Que, Old Jiang Madame’s maidservant, came to inform Jiang Ruan that it was time to depart.
Parked at the Jiang fu’s gates was a carved and gilded sandalwood carriage which emitted a faint fragrance. The interior was even more exquisite, with light blue curtains and small fragrance sachets hanging from above.
Old Jiang Madame was standing at the gates speaking to Jiang Xin Zhi. Upon seeing Jiang Ruan approach, she said to him, “Eldest Girl is entering the imperial palace today, you must be extremely careful. Don’t say anything you shouldn’t.”
In Old Jiang Madame’s eyes, Jiang Xin Zhi had made meritorious efforts for the Jiang fu and given them a lot of face. He was their glory. As for the conflict between him and Xia Yan, it was only because he was temporarily muddleheaded. They were all from the Jiang family in the end. Even if bones were broken, the tendons still remained connected, so in the end, they must still consider the Jiang fu’s welfare.
Jiang Su Su stood near them, still wearing white from head to toe as usual. She had donned a pale white cross-collared beizi* with narrow sleeves, embroidered with an auspicious cloud pattern on the brocade. It was paired with a floor length full skirt, as well as a thick white satin cloak decorated with flowers of tulle. She also had a refined flying immortal hairstyle[6], accompanied by a blue phoenix crown inlaid with pearls. A fine mutton jade bracelet rested on her wrist. Her dainty demeanor made her seem like a pure and celestial fairy, but when one walked closer, the thick powder pasted on her skin was obvious- it was probably to cover up the scars leftover from the thorny thistle bush from that past event.
* Beizi – the cream outerwear below. Typically at least knee-length with decorative collars and side slits.
Flying immortal hairstyle
Even so, she was also going to enter the palace. This made people deeply really ponder.
Jiang Su Su was still beautiful and refined. Jiang Li had chosen a lotus-green wide-sleeved top with standing collars and a light purple circle skirt embroidered with twin lotuses. Although she carried a noble air, her complexion wasn’t as fair as Jiang Su Su or Jiang Ruan. She could not even match the extravagance of her own clothes but instead seemed a bit out of place.
Jiang Dan wore a bright yellow round-collared jacket made from tulle and embroidered with cranes. With a stylish high bun, she looked like a lovable little animal next to Jiang Su Su and Jiang Li. Although not outstanding, there was also a special kind of exquisite feeling.
Seeing that each girl had her merits, Old Jiang Madame couldn’t help but frown upon seeing Jiang Ruan. “How come you’re dressed like this?”
In Old Jiang Madame’s eyes, it didn’t matter how the shu daughters dressed as long as it wasn’t too outrageous, but di daughters were different. They represented the family every time they went out. But this time it was only Jiang Su Su who was beautiful and refined, wearing high quality materials all over her body. Entering the palace was no different from visiting other noble residences, one needed an air of dignity. Although Jiang Ruan had good looks, her clothing was so plain that she couldn’t even compare to Jiang Li.
The more she examined Jiang Ruan, the more dissatisfied she became. Just as she was about to instruct Jiang Ruan to change her clothes, she heard Jiang Xin Zhi say, “It’s getting late. Younger sisters should head off now.”
Old Jiang Madame could only give up. After giving a few more instructions, she coldly turned to Xia Yan. “Today I’ll hand these girls over to you. You better be careful, don’t let anything go wrong again.”
Xia Yan grumbled in her heart. Old Jiang Madame scolding her in front of everyone like this made her lose a lot of face. Only after clenching her fists and taking a deep breath could she let out a warm smile. “Daughter-in-law will heed mother’s teachings.”
Old Jiang Madame looked at Xia Yan with undisguised dissatisfaction. She’d long disliked this particular daughter-in-law, and though Zhao Mei was overly naive and lacking in brains, Xia Yan had always been petty, jealous and calculative. Recently Jiang Su Su and Jiang Chao always had problems, making her even more displeased with Xia Yan. Two perfectly good children were raised by Xia Yan into this mess. Just thinking about it made Old Jiang Madame feel irritated.
Jiang Su Su smiled. “Zumu, Mother isn’t a child, she naturally understands these things. You love Mother so much, if you say anything more, granddaughter will be jealous.”
Usually, if Old Jiang Madame heard her rescuing Xia Yan she would let it go, but this time she didn’t soften. “As long as she knows!” She stalked away without even turning her head.
Xia Yan was so enraged that her face turned pale. Jiang Xin Zhi smiled and with a small leap mounted his horse. Jiang Su Su’s expression froze for a moment before nonchalantly saying, “Mother, let’s go.”
All the females rode in the same carriage. Jiang Li would not take the initiative to talk to others, and Jiang Dan was also timid. Normally Jiang Su Su or Xia Yan would say something to smooth over the atmosphere, but today Xia Yan couldn’t be bothered, especially after being angered by Old Jiang Madame, and Jiang Su Su was also silent. Jiang Ruan was even less likely to pay attention to this matter, only propping up her chin on a hand and looking at her embroidery in a daze.
Xia Yan’s expression stiffened- she was wearing the crescent moon shaped amber earrings. Furthermore, as she thought about how Jiang Xin Zhi would receive the Emperor’s reward at the imperial court with boundless glory, yet Jiang Chao could only lie in shock, she felt nothing but frustration.