Chapter 240
Plot (3)
Mrs. Jiang was also feeling distressed after listening to her daughter’s plight. It seemed that they only saw what Xie Xuanji wanted them to see and didn’t know what was hidden in the depths of his heart.
In the past, every time they saw Xie Xuanji, they only felt that he was well-mannered, gentle and always considerate towards Jiang Mingwei. That’s why they thought that he would take good care of their daughter. But who knew that, in the end, he would turn out to be someone like that.
“If he insists on favouring a concubine and neglecting you, then our family is not a soft persimmon, who would let him bully our daughter without any retaliation. Mingwei, you must remember that your father is now the third envoy, who is in charge of the finances of the whole Ye dynasty. How dare he not take the Jiang family’s reputation into consideration and mistreat you? It’s good that he has also come with you today, don’t worry I will let your father talk to him. He will definitely think before letting you suffer injustice again.” Mrs. Jiang tried to coax Jiang Mingwei with such words.
[TL Notes: soft persimmon – which means they are easily bullied and don’t stand up for themselves]
‘Letting father talk to Xie Xuanji?’ Thinking so, Jiang Mingwei immediately panicked. She felt that if words of this matter reached her father’s ears, she would definitely be found out for deliberately misleading her mother.
Besides, if her father got to know the actual reason for her and Xie Xuanji’s cold war… Jiang Mingwei didn’t dare to think about the consequences.
Jiang Mingwei hurriedly stopped Mrs. Jiang: “Mother, Father has to deal with all kinds of official work on a daily basis and meet so many people. He already has a lot on his mind. I think it’s not good to disturb him with such trivial matters, lest it further irritates him.”
Jiang Mingwei observed Mrs. Jiang’s expression before continuing, “Although Prince Jin said at the beginning that Lianhan would be in charge of the kitchen and household purchases, he didn’t actually let her handle more important tasks. Mother, let me tell you something good, that vixen actually pretended to be the mistress of the house in front of Mu Mingtang, but instead she was put in her place by Mu Mingtang.”
Taking the pleasure in Lianhan’s misfortune, Jiang Mingwei gleefully continued, “Because of her misconduct, Prince Jin even grounded her last night. Even though she cried and begged for a long time with dishevelled hair, the prince still ignored her pleas. Because of the commotion caused by her, everyone in the mansion knows what happened to Lianhan, now, no one will dare to volunteer themselves to take the household management from me.”
‘It turned out that this matter has already been resolved.’ Mrs. Jiang felt relieved but she couldn’t stop frowning secretly. From Jiang Mingwei’s previous tone, she felt that Xie Xuanji’s favoured concubine was still causing trouble, but now Jiang Mingwei was telling her that the matter was already solved by Prince Jin himself.
However Mrs.Jiang didn’t voice her doubts and casually asked: “Anyway, how did Mu Mingtang get involved in this matter? What is going on with her?”
“Yesterday, she and Xie Xuanchen unexpectedly came to pay the New Year’s visit. Xie Xuanji was not at the mansion, so as the mistress of the house I kept them company and had a small talk. However, when Xie Xuanji finally arrived, he actually brought Lianhan along with him. How stupid of her, she actually spoke to Mu Mingtang as though she were some high class lady, but Mu Mingtang rebuked her coldly right then and there. Xie Xuanchen was also upset about this and advised Prince Jin to better handle his household relationships.”
Thinking of that incident again, Jiang Mingwei frowned and sourly complained, “I had tried to talk with Xie Xuanji about Lianhan’s matter many times, but he didn’t budge in the slightest. However, when Lianhan made Mu Mingtang unhappy, I don’t know what went through his mind, he actually admonished Lianhan right away and even went as far as to take back the stewardship from her. Mother, actually, whatever he did to Lianhan wasn’t because of me.”
‘So it turned out to be the cause’, Mrs. Jiang finally understood. She couldn’t help but remember that when Jiang Mingwei ran away, the Jiang family tentatively proposed to let their adopted daughter, Mu Mingtang, replace Jiang Mingwei in the marriage. Until Mu Mingtang greeted him from the room divider, Xie Xuanji had been feeling hesitant to accept her as his fiancee.
These events that had transpired in the past gave Mrs Jiang a bad premonition. She quickly stopped thinking about the previous connection between Mu Mingtang and Xie Xuanji and tried to comfort Jiang Mingwei: “Prince An and Princess An are just outsiders, but you are the family of Prince Jin, how can this be the same? In front of the outsiders, the prince will naturally have to show his might and set some rules. At the end of day, family is family and outsiders are outsiders. How can they compare?”
As Jiang Mingwei felt that what her mother said was reasonable, she ignored the buzzing voice in her heart.
“Yesterday, your father sent a servant to ask Mu Mingtang to return to the Jiang family today, but they refused saying that Prince An was not feeling well. Is he bedridden again?”
“No.” Jiang Mingwei sneered. She didn’t even bother to hide her feelings anymore, “When he came to our mansion yesterday, he looked very healthy. How can he be sick?”
‘How can they…’ Mrs. Jiang felt humiliated. ‘Since, Xie Xuanchen was not sick, Mu Mingtang should not have any inconveniences in coming here, that is to say, she did not want to come to Jiang family mansion?’
The second day of the New Year was said to be a big day, when people usually pay visits to their direct family. However, Mu Mingtang did not give them any face, humiliating their Jiang family.
However, Jiang Mingwei had different thoughts from her mother: “This is my home, why should Mu Mingtang come here?”
Mrs. Jiang studied her daughter, who was frowning, and understood that Jiang Mingwei did not like Mu Mingtang.
Since Jiang Mingwei was her own daughter, Mrs. Jiang could not bear to criticise her harshly so she tried her best to persuade: “Your mother knows your character. You are a very high spirited girl and always like to compete for a complete domination of your stuff. But if you deliberately keep getting angry with Prince Jin, you will only push him further and further away from you. On the contrary, Mu Mingtang seems to get along very well with Prince An. Mother is not blaming you, but if you want to live a good life, you really should learn from Mu Mingtang.”
When Jiang Mingwei heard her, she was instantly put in a foul mood and retaliated by saying, “You’re telling me to learn from a girl from a merchant family. With her background and teaching, how can she compare to me?”