Translator: Storm in a Teacup
As very upset as Lady An was, she signaled Mo Zhu who, taking the hint, left in a hurry. Lady An turned to comfort her husband, “Lord, Rushuang has always been well behaved and polite to the seniors. Since the dinner isn"t prepared for her, you can take the meal first before the dishes turn cold, or Lingshan will be disappointed.”Holding his head high, An Yipei was too stubborn to take his wife"s advice. “Lingshan had been standing outside Liuxi Pavilion for two hours until her elder sister agreed to attend the dinner. Why shouldn"t we wait now? We must wait until she comes!”
“Daddy... Actually, I am not afraid of waiting for elder sister...” An Lingshan bit her lower lip, pearl-like tears keeping dripping to the table. “What I am afraid is elder sister is unwilling to wait for me.”
“What do you mean by that?” An Yipei asked in a low-pitched voice with a frown.
Under the table, Lady An seized her dress fast with her finger, turning more worried.
Mo Zhu hurried to Liuxi Pavilion before asking Silver standing inside the room, “Has Miss An come back?”
“Not yet,” Silver answered as shaking her head.
Suddenly, there came a shout, “Mo Zhu?”
Upon hearing the familiar sound, Mo Zhu turned around, discovering a figure clad in man"s clothes. Observing the seemingly familiar face closely, she shouted then in surprise, “Hong Yu?!”
The other uncollected woman also clad in man"s clothes behind her was n.o.body but An Rushuang. There was another girl with mud all over, lowering her head thus unable to discern her face, who, in Mo Zhu"s opinion, must be the maid of Liuxi Pavilion.
“Miss An, what, what happened to you?” Mo Zhu asked in worry.
An Rushuang looked up, the back side of her head stinging severely, her shoulder also swelling. All the pains seemingly started to strike her together once she returned home.
As weak as she was, An Rushuang said calmly after a long period, “You go to tell my mum that since I have to sleep earlier today, I can"t take dinner with her. Don"t say more than these, or she will be worried.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Xiaotao began to whimper. Knowing she was thinking of her own mother, An Rushuang sighed in her heart. Having no idea how to comfort her, An Rushuang merely exerted herself to raise her arm before patting Zhao Xiaotao"s lean shoulder.
“It will be okay,” she then turned to Mo Zhu, “Has my father gone to bed? There is something I have to tell him.”
In great worry, Mo Zhu had so many things to tell An Rushuang, but not knowing where to start.
“My good lady! Lord An has just crashed the tea cup for your lateness, while Lady An was worried about you and asked me to find you at Liuxi Pavilion. Have you forgotten second Miss"s dinner party tonight?”
Staring at her blindly for a moment, An Rushuang turned to look at Hong Yu in sudden enlightenment. “I almost forgot the dinner party.”
Learning about what reason her father might be angry for, An Rushuang couldn"t help getting upset. “It doesn"t matter. I will visit him and tell him the truth,” she said after a moment.
As soon as she intended to go to the main chamber, Mo Zhu suddenly stopped her.
“Lady, change your clothes first.” Staring at the man"s clothes, Mo Zhu felt helpless. Lord An must be angrier once seeing her dressed like that.
Looking at her clothes, An Rushuang slightly curled her lips. This was obviously a long dress of a simple style both suitable for men and women. Thinking it quite fas.h.i.+onable, An Rushuang asked the tailor to make one for her. As for the man"s clothes mentioned by Mo Zhu, she merely meant the man-style bun on top of her head.
“Hongyu, comb my hair into a simple bun for women, and try your best to make it disheveled. Remember to do the same thing to yourself then.”
Following her order, Hongyu comb a single bun for An Rushuang. An Rushuang caught a glimpse of the jade hairpin, her hand suddenly feeling a little pain.
“Sorry”, she said as she crashed it to the ground. With a crisp clang, the hairpin was broken into two pieces.
Picking them up, An Rushuang inserted one of them into her own hair, while throwing the other to Hong Yu before saying, “Done.”
When everything was ready, An Rushuang took Zhao Xiaotao, Mo Zhu and Hong Yu to the main chamber.
Though evening, the chamber was ablaze with light.
As soon as they stepped into the room, all the people fixed their eyes upon the uncollected Rushuang and her maid. Zhao Xiaotao was a stranger to them, but why would An Rushuang, such an elegant and n.o.ble lady, look like a drowned mouse?
Even as enraged as An Yipei, he couldn"t help feeling confused. “What happened to you?”
An Rushuang looked up at her father before kneeling down with Zhao Xiaotao abruptly. “Daddy, I got into a big trouble, but there is something I want to beg you.”
Frowning heavily, An Yipei looked at his daughter and then the stranger Zhao Xiaotao, both of them hurt seriously and poor enough.
Even before he spoke, An Lingshan said at first, “Has elder sister visited somewhere? Are you wearing man"s clothes?”
An Yipei hadn"t noticed An Rushuang"s clothes until now, a light blue dress of strange style. He frowned before slamming the table beside him. “Where did you go wearing such a strange clothes! As a n.o.ble lady, how did you get hurt so seriously?”
Gazing at her father in calmness, she asked after they finished speaking, “Does father want to interrogate me first or listen to my request?”
“Elder sister, don"t be so rude... Daddy is worried about you. I didn"t mind whether you care about me, but you just make daddy sad by saying that...” Always adept at fanning up the flames of trouble, An Lingshan pretended to be weak and caring about An Yipei.
“Shut up! I am talking with father. It"s not your turn to cut in!” An Rushuang scolded her coldly with a sneer.
As infuriated as she was, An Lingshan, seemingly in great grievance, sobbed. “Does elder sister mean I am ill-bred?” She bit her lower lip, so delicate and touching.
Madam Zhang, upon seeing her daughter at a disadvantageous position, began to whimper. “Lord, you must be on our side. Lingshan is also your daughter. It"s so unfair for her to live as a maid at home!”
An Lingshan,standing aside, began to shed tears in silence.
Greatly incensed, An Yipei pointed to An Rushuang who was holding her head high. “Apologize to your little sister!”
An Rushuang rose to her feet slowly with a sneer.
“Father, I can apologize, but I must know what mistakes I have made at first.”