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Mother and Daughter Secret Talk
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
When Lu Qi Yang was putting the hairpin on for Shen Lan Chi, he even casually brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Shen Lan Chi’s crow-black hair, like water, slid through his fingertips landing back on her shoulder.
Precisely at this time, a faint shocked cry sounded from behind Lu Qi Yang.
“Second miss……….”
Shen Lan Chi lifted her eyes and saw Shen Tong Ying’s servant girl, Hong Xiu, leading in a few palace maids holding clothes in their hands, standing not that far away with a astonished look on her face.
She inwardly said to herself: ‘Came as expected.’
Although, the person she was being intimate with here wasn’t Lu Zi Xiang, but rather Lu Qi Yang, this still can somewhat be considered to be going along with Shen Tong Ying’s wish. Presumably, after Hong Xiu goes back, the entire palace will all start spreading rumors about her and Lu Qi Yang.
Just what she wanted.
Shen Lan Chi’s gaze swept over those palace maids, calmly saying, “Asked you all to fetch the clothes, yet took this long, is this how you all serve the masters? Could it be that I, Shen Lan Chi, can no longer enter your eyes, and must let my empress paternal aunt come in to give orders to you all?”
When those palace maids holding the clothes heard this, their faces instantly turned pale, immediately kneeling down to beg for forgiveness. “Asking Miss Shen to please forgive, we servants had gotten called over by Kunfu Palace’s Eunuch Liu midway……….” The servant girl in the lead had her head kowtowed onto the ground, her voice extremely nervous.
“Forget it, get up.” Shen Lan Chi said, “Don’t get the clothes dirty.”
After Hong Xiu greeted the two of them, she started nervously looking left and right, seemingly looking for someone. Without waiting for her to find the person she was looking for, Lu Qi Yang just appeared in front of her.
“You’re called Hong Xiu, Shen Tong Ying’s servant girl, right?” Lu Qi Yang hooked his lips into a smile as he asked.
“This servant is precisely Hong Xiu.” Hong Xiu lowered her head, carefully replying.
“After going back, what you should say, and what you shouldn’t say, do you have an understanding inside?” Lu Qi Yang’s smile deepened, raising his right hand and taking out a light apricot-colored women’s sachet from his sleeves, quickly flashing it by in front of Hong Xiu, “Your eldest miss’s sachet is in my hands. If you were to say some nonsense, ruining Shen second miss’s reputation, you should know the consequences, right?”
Pausing for a moment, Lu Qi Yang added, “Not allowed to tell anyone, not even your family’s eldest miss.”
Hearing Lu Qi Yang’s threat, Hong Xiu’s complexion turned green, then pale.
She was Shen Tong Ying’s personal servant girl. She knew that her master seemingly has such a sachet. Unfortunately, Lu Qi Yang waved it by too quickly. She simply wasn’t able to see clearly whether or not that sachet was Shen Tong Ying’s. If by chance, that sachet really is Sheng Tong Ying’s, and Lu Qi Yang, this kind of lawless and out of control little demon lord, uses this to ruin Shen Tong Ying’s reputation……..
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
When time comes, the one out of luck will still be her, Hong Xiu.
Shen Tong Ying’s temper wasn’t considered gentle at all.
“This servant understands.” Hong Xiu hurriedly responded, “This servant didn’t see anything at all.”
“Hey, wait.” On the other side, Shen Lan Chi, who was leaning on the window frame with her hand propped up against her cheek, revealed a bored expression, saying, “That won’t do. Hong Xiu, after you go back, this young miss wants you to have this matter spread out, best if it becomes known throughout the capital. Let everyone all know that this young miss and the Zhennan Wang Manor’s little heir are in love with one another.”
Once these words came out, Hong Xiu and Lu Qi Yang both blanked.
Lu Qi Yang very quickly came to realization, saying with a bit of anger, “You don’t want to marry Lu Zhao Ye, so even start putting ideas on this young master? Want to let this young master block the marriage arrangement with the crown prince for you? Not allowed! You hear? Hong Xiu, not allowed to say anything!”
“Hong Xiu!” Shen Lan Chi was unwilling to be outdone, “Say it! Immediately say it when you get back! And say it loudly!!”
“Not allowed to say!”
“Say it!”
“Not allowed to say!”
“Say it!”
“Not allowed to say!”
Seeing how the two of them were about to start arguing, Hong Xiu slightly retreated a few steps. With a pale little face, she said, “This servant didn’t see anything at all, this servant didn’t see anything at all……”
After saying this, she turned and ran off.
Hong Xiu although left, Shen Lan Chi and Lu Qi Yang were nevertheless still glaring at one another.
In the end, Lu Qi Yang surrendered.
“Forget it, have it your way.” Lu Qi Yang snorted, saying, “If when time comes, there’s rumors and gossip all over the city, you better not secretly cry your eyes out.”
With that said, he turned and left.
Shen Lan Chi was unconcerned, beckoning over the palace maids to help her change into the clean clothes. After coming out from the side hall, Bi Yu who got sent by Shen Lan Chi to guard the side door also returned. Upon seeing her master, she said in astonishment, “Miss really does have incredible foresight. Today, that side door was actually opened. The second prince nearly mistakenly intruded this place. Fortunately, he got persuaded away by this servant.”
Shen Lan Chi nonchalantly nodded.
Of course, she had foresight. After all, this was something she’d experienced before in the past life.
Once she returned to the imperial gardens, Shen Lan Chi just sat down next to her mother. Lu Qi Yang also returned to his companions. As soon as those Lu family youngsters saw the flower in Shen Lan Chi’s hair, they just started laughing for no reason. They clicked their tongues and sighed for quite a while, making Lu Zhao Ye who was nearby entirely furrow his brows and cast over a slightly confused look.
“What is it that’s this lively?” Even Empress Shen all curiously asked.
“Nothing! Nothing!” They answered as such.
On the other side, Shen Tong Ying had a dark expression, fixedly staring at Shen Lan Chi, as if wanting to dig a hole in her face. Hong Xiu had her head lowered, a withered look, pitifully standing behind Shen Tong Ying.
Presumably, because Hong Xiu didn’t complete Shen Tong Ying’s orders, she thus got reprimanded by her master.
When Shen Lan Chi came back, there was an extra half-withered flower in her hair. This flower truly didn’t suit her, to the extent that the madams and young ladies in the surrounding all couldn’t help but repeatedly size up her hair, secretly guessing whether or not this flower was bestowed by some noble personage.
“Lan’er, this flower……” Shen first madam asked.
“Oh, this daughter saw that this flower was pretty, so plucked it to wear on one’s head.” Shen Lan Chi calmly answered, “Does it look good?”
“Good.” Shen first madam swept a glance at that wilted flower, carrying a trace of a deeper meaning in her eyes.
On the other side of the imperial garden, Noble Consort Liu was currently chatting with a few noble young ladies. Noble Consort Liu was pleasantly charming, and moreover, adept in music, and extremely favored. Although already over thirty years old, in front of his Majesty, she still had the delicateness of a young girl. When sitting together with those young ladies, in terms of appearance, she didn’t lose out in the slightest.
This banquet today had another purpose, and that was letting Noble Consort Liu pick a daughter-in-law to her liking.
Just, picking left and right, Noble Consort Liu felt that these noble young ladies in front all didn’t suit her liking. This Miss Shi of an illustrious clan, her appearance was truly too mediocre. That Miss Yan whose appearance was outstanding, her temperament was too weak, not suited to be a daughter-in-law of the imperial family. And this Miss Jin was just somewhat sickly and weak………
Thinking of daughter-in-laws, Noble Consort Liu just became somewhat jealous of Empress Shen.
She knew that Empress Shen had long picked the future crown princess candidate for Lu Zhao Ye, and that was the Shen family first branch’s di daughter, Shen Lan Chi. That Shen Lan Chi not only had beauty that surpassed the mass, she further had the enormous An Duke Manor behind her. Lu Zhao Ye obtaining such assistance was like adding wings to a tiger. In the future, he will certainly be even more difficult to deal with.
And on her side, picking back and forth, there was just her own third niece, Liu Ru Yan, who was more pleasant to the eyes.
Just, this girl’s temperament was prideful, very tricky to deal with. Not only so, when Liu Ru Yan was seven, she once stated that she absolutely won’t marry into the palace like her paternal aunt Noble Consort Liu, and absolutely won’t share her husband with other women, insisting being ‘a pair for a lifetime’.
Where is there something like ‘just a pair’ in this world? Really a silly girl.
“Zi Xiang, are you not going to talk a bit more with your younger cousin Ru Yan?” Thinking to here, Noble Consort Liu said to Lu Zi Xiang, “The two of you don’t meet often. Don’t let the relationship become distant.”
The second prince Lu Zi Xiang had just returned to the garden, currently lost in thought. Hearing Noble Consort Liu’s words, he gently smiled, saying, “Heard third younger cousin will soon get engaged. This son, as the older cousin, should also avoid out of suspicion, so won’t go see third younger cousin.”
Noble Consort Liu was somewhat displeased.
Since when was Liu Ru Yan about to get engaged? Really just blindly spouting nonsense.
Lu Zi Xiang has always been like this. Whenever Noble Consort Liu revealed the intention of wanting to look over a consort candidate for him, Lu Zi Xiang will use ‘avoiding out of suspicion’, ‘busy with miscellaneous affairs’, and such excuses to turn down, actually not having the slightest bit of interest towards those noble young ladies that Noble Consort Liu picked, as if this matter of taking a wife had nothing to do with him, only needing Noble Consort Liu to take care of.
As such, Noble Consort Liu even felt that Lu Zi Xiang certainly must have someone he liked, but unwilling to tell her, this consort mother.
It really was ‘the son has grown up, no longer close with the mother’.
After Lu Zi Xiang finished talking with Noble Consort Liu, he just sat back down to the side. He poured himself a cup of wine and then pulled out something from his sleeve, carefully looking at it. Turns out, it was a moon white square handkerchief with a tiny ‘Lan’ character embroidered in one corner.
This palace banquet peacefully closed its curtains, not once having any problems occur. When Shen Lan Chi returned to the An Duke Manor, after resting for a while, her mother’s servant girl, Hong Que, came to her room to invite her, saying that the first madam has something to say.
Shen Lan Chi let Hong Que lead the way while she followed behind with her two servant girls.
When she arrived outside of Shen first madam’s courtyard, Shen Lan Chi caught glimpse of a ‘sky after the rain’ colored dress hem flash by in the corner of the corridor.
Today, only Shen Tong Ying who similarly attended the banquet wore a dress of this color.
“Eldest tang sister, having nothing to do, came to hang around the first branch again.” Shen Lan Chi smiled, softly saying to her servant girl, “Came at the perfect time.”
After saying this, she entered Shen first madam’s room.
Seeing her daughter come, Shen first madam first pretended to ask a few words such as ‘did you get tired out today’, and so on. Afterwards, her expression turned serious, entering into the main topic, “That flower on your head, was it really picked by you? When you went to the side hall to change, who did you run into? The second prince?”
Can’t blame Shen first madam for having this thought. After all, as soon as Shen Lan Chi went to change clothes, Lu Zi Xiang also immediately left the imperial gardens, completely disregarding the fact that the star of this banquet today was him, further having a bunch of noble young ladies waiting to say a few words with him.
“Why would mother think this?” Shen Lan Chi said, “This flower was indeed given to this daughter by someone else, but that person absolutely wasn’t the second prince. When this daughter went to change, this daughter didn’t even catch a glimpse of the second prince’s shadow. Mother can rest assured.”
Hearing Shen Lan Chi’s words, Shen first madam relaxed a breath.
“This flower……” But, Shen Lan Chi didn’t let her mother relax for too long, her face filling with a blush as she put on a rare bashful look of a young girl, shyly saying, “It was given to Lan’er by the heir of Zhennan Wang Manor. In the past, Lan’er has always thought that this was merely Lan’er’s one-sided feelings. However, today, just learned that the heir’s feelings are actually the same as Lan’er’s.”
As if fearing that Shen Tong Ying who was lingering outside couldn’t hear, Shen Lan Chi even specially inhaled a breath, very loudly shouting, “Mother! Don’t break apart Lan’er and the heir!! Lan’er and the heir genuinely love one another!!”
Shen Lan Chi’s words shocked Shen first madam to the point of changing in complexion.
Right now, Shen first madam just want to chisel through An Duke Manor’s wall to the Zhennan Wang Manor next door, having that heir that snatched away her precious daughter dragged out and ruthlessly teach him a lesson.
T/N: This is actually my favorite chapter.
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