Chapter 233
House Fight (1)
The sudden arrival of Xie Xuanchen and Mu Mingtang at Jin Palace shocked the people there.
As soon as the servants of the Jin Palace found out Prince An and Princess An had come, they were so frightened that their souls almost left their bodies. After recovering, they hurriedly rushed inside to inform their master.
After getting the message of the arrival of Xie Xuanchen and his wife, Jiang Mingwei hurriedly put some makeup powder on her face and came forward to welcome them as the Madam of Jin Palace. No matter how much she tried to hide, she could not cover her current appearance. She looked stiff and pale.
Xie Xuanchen and Mu Mingtang came without any warning, and they didn’t even have a greeting card.
To be honest, it was actually a bit rude to visit someone so abruptly, especially on the New Year. However, what could be done since Xie Xuanchen was not a guest, but an elder brother.
Jiang Mingwei’s complexion was not good. Seeing her pale face, which she had tried to cover with makeup powder, anyone could guess that she was not in good shape to meet people.
Other people would have probably left after seeing Jiang Mingwei like that, but who was Mu Mingtang? The more inconvenient it was for Jiang Mingwei, the more happy Mu Mingtang would be to be here.
“My lord and I were having leisurely conversations when I suddenly felt an urge to see the younger sister. So, we came here without an invitation. I hope that younger sister will not blame us for our sudden arrival.”
Although Jiang Mingwei was smiling at them, her expression betrayed her inner feelings. “What are you talking about sister-in-law? We are a family and also neighbours. You can visit us anytime, so how can it be abrupt?”
“That’s good.” Mu Mingtang nodded. “We are relieved. I almost thought that we came at the wrong time. By the way, why didn’t we see King Jin?”
Jiang Mingwei’s facial expressions became more rigid after hearing My Mingtang inquire about Xie Xuanji.
“The lord has some other business to attend to so he is not at home right now. I’ll send someone to call the lord.”
Jiang Mingwei did not know what information Xie Xuanji heard yesterday, but he seemed suspicious of her. Xie Xuanji clearly seemed very disappointed with her at the banquet, but he didn’t question Jiang Mingwei because the emperor and others were present there. When they came back from the palace, he didn’t even look at her and directly went to his courtyard.
Last night, the servants of the Jin palace also celebrated the New Year. Because of this, Jiang Mingwei had to stay alone in her own courtyard. Even today, when Xie Xuanji came back to the palace, he went directly to Lianhan’s yard and never came to see her.
(TL Notes: Lianhan is one of Xie Xuanji’s concubines whom he favoured a lot recently.)
In addition to the conflict that happened between Xie Xuanji and Jiang Mingwei at the banquet, there were also some problems with the management of the mansion. As Jiang Mingwei had the final say about the household matters, Xie Xuanji was even more unhappy with her. He even said in front of Lianhan and many servants, “Since the princess doesn’t have the energy to manage the household, you can leave the kitchen and household purchases to Lianhan in the future.”
After Xie Xuanji’s order, Jiang Mingwei cried a lot all night yesterday.
No, to be more precise, even before Xie Xuanchen and Mu Mingtang came, Jiang Mingwei was crying while dowry maids were trying to persuade her to coax Xie Xuanji into staying in her yard for the night.
Today was the first day of the New Year. The tradition of the husband staying in the main wife’s yard could not be broken by a concubine.
When Jiang Mingwei was in a dilemma about it, she suddenly heard that King An and Princess An had come to pay a visit. Jiang Mingwei was so frightened that she hurriedly asked the maid to put makeup powder on her face to cover up the tears. She quickly came out to greet them when it was done.
As for why Xie Xuanji was not here… wasn’t it completely predictable?
After Jiang Mingwei sent the maid to invite Xie Xuanji, Mu Mingtang did not dare to mention Xie Xuanji again. She clearly felt that when she mentioned him, the ancestor beside her became very unhappy, and if she mentioned Xie Xuanji again, Xie Xuanchen would become angry.
While Jiang Mingwei sent someone to deliver the message to Xie Xuanji, Mu Mingtang was deep in thought. When she was in the Mu mansion, her father lived in her mother’s room all the time. She also lived with Xie Xuanchen after she got married. In her impression, the place where the wife lived was also the husband’s living place by default.
However, Jiang Mingwei’s situation seemed to be different. When the guests came to the main courtyard of the house, Jiang Mingwei had to send someone to invite Xie Xuanji. This was the first day of the New Year so Xie Xuanji would not be out to attend court affairs. Then, where was Xie Xuanji?
Although she was curious, Mu Mingtang didn’t want to ask for more details. It might be Mu Mingtang’s illusion, but she felt that the atmosphere in Jin palace was also a bit gloomy. It was not s.p.a.cious and bright enough. It was also far less comfortable than Yulintang.
After some time pa.s.sed, Xie Xuanji arrived hurriedly with a graceful young woman following behind him.
“I was negligent. I didn’t know second brother was here. Please forgive me.” As soon as Xie Xuanji saw Xie Xuanchen and Mu Mingtang in the room, he immediately apologised.
“Do you and your wife live far away? Why did it take so long to get here?” Xie Xuanchen asked Xie Xuanji.
After Xie Xuanchen asked that question, Jiang Mingwei’s face stiffened while Xie Xuanji bowed his head and apologised: “It’s my fault. I’ve made my second brother wait for a long time.”
As the atmosphere became unpleasant, the woman who came with Xie Xuanji stepped forward and bowed: “The concubine Lianhan greets King An and Princess An.”
Xie Xuanchen looked at the woman, who was wearing a long pink dress with hair made in a bun. He then outright ignored her.
Jiang Mingwei also deliberately pretended as if that woman didn’t exist, making the woman who just greeted not long ago look embarra.s.sed.
However, Mu Mingtang seemed to have other thoughts as she asked: “Who is this?”
Although Jiang Mingwie was dissatisfied and hated the woman that Xie Xuanji favoured recently, she could not express her dissatisfaction in front of Xie Xuanji. So she reluctantly introduced her: “This is the concubine of the palace, named Lianhan, who has done a good job in serving the prince. Not only that, she now also manages the household matters. So she is a great hero in our mansion.”