Chapter 218 – Don’t look down on a woman for being fat (1)
After the traditional one-month recovery period following childbirth had ended, there were many things that had to be done. For example, Old Madame had agreed to give Gancao to Ning Mingjie after Nie Sangyu gave birth. But, Old Madame had fallen sick, and many things had also happened in the household since his request. And so, Gancao looked at her master and said that she wanted to serve her for a couple more months. Ji Man agreed.
—
After taking a bath and putting on the clothes that had she worn while pregnant, Ji Man discovered that all of the clothes in her wardrobe felt a bit too tight. She had done her best to improve her health during the past month. It was her most precious asset. That was why, no matter how unhappy she felt, she still worked towards making this body healthy again. However, after this postnatal period of eating and drinking nourishing supplements, this body had become as round as a ball. She squeezed the excessive fat on her belly. In order to slim down, a lot of energy and effort would have to be exerted.
—
After working through the night, the estate’s seamstress servants made a new wardrobe for her.
Wearing a dress that was clearly three sizes larger than her previous ones, Ji Man dryly laughed. Then, she pushed opened the doors and went outside.
It was already autumn outside. The weather was cool and refreshing. When a gust of wind blew by, her body felt noticeably more at ease.
A couple of servant girls passed by here and were shocked by what they saw. They hurriedly saluted her, then they left with their heads lowered.
Ji Man pretended that she didn’t hear their stifled laugher and continued walking to Old Madame’s courtyard.
What’s wrong with being fat? Haven’t they heard of not looking down at a teenager for being poor or a woman for being fat? A teenager’s future and a woman’s figure were the same. No one could successfully predict how it would change.
—
Qian Lianxue and Qi Siling were in Old Madame’s Courtyard attending to her. They were both surprised when they heard a servant girl announce that Madam had arrived. They hurriedly stood up and looked towards the doorway.
Ji Man passed through the doorway and smiled at them. “Ah, you’re all here.”
Qian Lianxue briefly froze in surprise.
Qi Siling was so shocked that her body was trembling. She hastily turned around and covered her mouth. It was if she was looking at two completely different people. Who could have expected that the previously stunningly beautiful Nie Sangyu would become so ghastly looking?
Old Madame was leaning against her headboard for support. Seeing Nie Sangyu coming inside, she closed her eyes.
Ji Man very properly kneeled down by the bed. “Old Madame, Sangyu has come here to pay respects.
Old Madame’s mood was complicated. She had placed too much of her expectations on Sangyu. Now that all of her hopes had been dashed, it was hard to hide her disappointment. But, it wasn’t Sangyu’s fault that the baby had been lost. It was her sin for not doing a better job protecting her. Now that Sangyu had changed to this form after her one-month recuperating period, she really didn’t know what to say to comfort her. “Stand up first.”
Ji Man stood up. Not acting awkward at all, she sat down on Old Madame’s bed and looked at her complexion. As expected, it was slightly worse than before. She couldn’t help feeling worried. “Old Madame, have you been regularly eating your medicine?”
Old Madame nodded. “I did. But, it doesn’t have much effect. It can only delay the inevitable.”
Ji Man sighed. After she massaged Old Madame’s legs, and they had only exchanged a few words, Old Madame felt tired and said, “You can all leave.”
Qian Lianxue and Qi Siling followed after Nie Sangyu as they withdrew from the room and left the main courtyard.
Ji Man turned her head and said with a smile, “When you have time, come over to Feiwan Courtyard and sit for a awhile. It feels quite lonely there.”
In the past, they couldn’t stand watching Nie Sangyu receive favor. But now, looking at her current state, Qian Lianxue and Qi Siling felt it would be wrong to give her a hard time. After saying a few polite words, they departed to their respective courtyards.
Right now, there wasn’t much of a difference between Feiwan Courtyard and the confinement courtyard. At most, it had more expensive furnishings. But, it was just as lacking in receiving favor.
Ji Man wasn’t even the slightest bit upset by the loss in favor. Supported by Gancao, she would stroll around the entire estate. As a result, everyone thought that Nie Sangyu’s good days had come to end.
—
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chen-shi brought Nie Chenyu with her to visit Old Madame. Nie Chenyu was sixteen years old, a very suitable age to be married. She hadn’t been engaged yet. She also had a petite and lovely appearance and was talented at sweet-talking.
Chen-shi’s intention was very obvious. She didn’t need her daughter to become the main wife right away. Nie Chenyu was Nie Sangyu’s half-sister. If she married into this house as a secondary wife, she wouldn’t suffer. If one day Nie Sangyu couldn’t bear to live anymore, then wouldn’t Marquis Moyu give his favor to Nie Chenyu?
Chen-shi’s mental abacus was loudly clacking away the advantages she would gain, but Old Madame didn’t agree. Sangyu had recently lost her baby as well as Xuan-er’s favor. If she gave Sangyu’s younger sister to Xuan-er, wouldn’t Sangyu feel even worse?
Seeing that she wouldn’t be able get what she wanted from Old Madame, Chen-shi had Errong bring Chenyu to visit Nie Sangyu by saying that Chenyu wanted to take care of her older sister during this difficult period.
Ji Man sneered. Why hadn’t Chenyu hurried over here to take care of her during the month when she had been recuperating? Chenyu was probably more concerned that her dear older sister would damage her reputation by association. Now that she had already passed the traditional one-month recuperating period, why would she need more people to take care of her?
Still, after thinking it over, Ji Man didn’t refuse this offer. She arranged for Chenyu to live in a courtyard that was next to Feiwan Courtyard.
—
Nie Chenyu was a clever girl. As soon as she entered the household, she went over to curry favor with Wen Wan. She would incessantly called Wen Wan “older sister, old sister” and flattered her to the point that Wen Wan was bursting with joy. It was as if Chenyu’s last name was Wen instead of Nie.
Translator Ramblings: I’m glad that Old Madame continues to support Sangyu, and I like the how the author gives us a glimpse from Old Madame’s POV when Ji Man/Nie Sangyu initially visits her. Plus, this is one of the moments where we see definite proof that Old Madame genuinely cares about Nie Sangyu as a person. If she only cares about Nie Sangyu because her relationship with Imperial Noble Consort Nie, she would have agreed to Chen-shi’s suggestion.