Chapter 78 Part 3: Entering the Palace
Jiang Li said: “There are people like these, whose family background isn’t good but still restless. All day long thinking of jumping onto a higher branch, thinking that everything on earth is unfair and feeling unreconciled in their hearts. These kinds of people could do everything.”
Several servant girls nodded, half understood.
Jiang Li thought, it seems that in reality, Jiang Yu’e and Shen Yurong are the same kind of people. The lower the ident.i.ty of the person, after tasting the feeling of being in a high place, they yearn to climb even higher. Growing an obsession of wanting to climb even higher by hook or by crook. However, Jiang Yu’e still doesn’t know how to conceal her own unwillingness while Shen Yurong knows how to cover up very well.
His mask covered himself so well that even his own wife couldn’t detect it and thought that he was full of pa.s.sion and ambition.
Truly laughable.
Jiang Li’s smile slowly receded as she recalled the way Jiang You Yao looked at her while they were in Wan Feng Hall. That familiar sight still made her uneasy even until now.
She had to be vigilant.
Jiang Li pondered for a while before she spoke: “Tong’er, bring my box over.”
……
The disputes on the first day didn’t affect everyone’s joy of entering the palace on the second day.
When Jiang Yu’e saw Jiang Li, she wasn’t being cold or frowned at Jiang Li due to yesterday’s thing and remained as she was before, a smile hanging on her face. She even complimented Jiang Li’s skirt for looking very nice.
Jiang Li replied: “Fifth sister also looks very good.”
Jiang Yu’e almost reached marriageable age. Though she was younger than Jiang You Yao and was the youngest girl in the Jiang residence, she was tall and was only a bit shorter than Jiang Li, her childishness wasn’t visible at all. She was wearing a honey colored eight pleated skirt with embroidery of crab-claw chrysanthemums. Her long hair was pulled into a hanging cloud bun, adorned with a crab apple green pearl jasper hairpin.
Actually, this style of dressing emanating riches and honor had instead drowned Jiang Yu’e’s bearing of a pretty daughter in a humble family. However, Jiang Yu’e herself was very happy. Probably because the clothes and jewelry for entering the palace was all prepared by the old madam and it was seldom for Jiang Yu’e to be able to dress in these precious clothes and jewelry, she not only felt it wasn’t good. On the contrary, she was very satisfied.
Ji Shuran was evidently glad to see this scene. Jiang Yu Yan looked ordinary, Jiang Yu’e was dressed too heavily, naturally, in contrast, only Jiang You Yao looked outstanding.
Jiang You Yao had indeed spent a lot of thoughts. Without mentioning anything else, that rose red gown with double tailed golden mythical bird was enough to attract the sight of any person. The gold sparrow hairpin, eight jewels bracelet, cherry red waist twisted belt, and a specially applied make-up. Usually, Jiang You Yao rarely applied heavy make-up. This time entering the palace, her eyebrows were drawn and she put on powder and a bit of rouge. Her facial features were dainty and exquisite and was able to wear such heavy make-up. Standing in the middle of the cl.u.s.ters of flowers, she appeared more delicate than flowers with colorful lights all around.
Entering the palace like this, she was indeed able to attract the attention of n.o.ble sons. But Jiang Li was puzzled, since Jiang You Yao already had a marriage arrangement with Zhou Yan Bang, why did she still want to dress herself so splendidly?
It should be known that other people didn’t enter Jiang You Yao’s eyes at all, much less for her to take the initiative to attract other people.
When Jiang Li was sizing up Jiang You Yao, Ji Shuran was also sizing Jiang Li up. Lu-shi exaggeratingly covered her mouth and laughed as she said: “If I didn’t know these two girls, I really couldn’t recognize Li girl.”
Jiang Li wasn’t fond of rich attire. Perhaps old madam Jiang had perceived her habits, the clothes she asked the tailor to make this time around were not red colored. But since they were going to enter the palace, the color couldn’t be too plain and required a bit of brighter color. Jiang Li wore a clear cyan green magnolia double embroidered skirt with a jasper cloud brocade skirt inside. Her hoisted up hair made her seem especially fresh and neat. There weren’t any accessories adorning her hair, just a pair of white round jade hanging on her ears, looking refined against her skin, making her face look spotlessly white as jade.
She didn’t smear heavy make-up like Jiang You Yao, just lightly traced her eyebrows. Her eyebrows were dark brown like snails, her eyes like drops of paint, and her lips were faintly colored. However, there’s an immortal feeling.
Standing together with Jiang You Yao, it was similar to green bamboo and safflower, deep valley and fireworks. Though the latter admittedly made people fond of, yet the former was easy to be remembered.
Ji Shuran turned and lightly pressed Jiang You Yao’s shoulders. Then Jiang You Yao put away the hatred in her eyes.
On the contrary, old madam Jiang who was at the side couldn’t help looking more at Jiang Li. Among these few daughters in the Jiang residence, the third branch was concubine born and their daughters couldn’t enter her eyes. The second branch had no daughters. While with the two daughters in the main branch, at first she thought Jiang You Yao was a pearl in the palm of the hand and made people fond of. Nowadays, it seemed that Jiang Li, who had always been raised outside, was like an unpolished jade that washed ash.o.r.e, possessing graceful and elegant manners.
Which was good, which was bad, at the moment, it was really difficult to distinguish.
Jiang Yuan Bai saw his two slender and elegant daughters and felt satisfied. He immediately said: “You can set off now.”
Each branch rode in a carriage. In the carriage Jiang Li rode on, Jiang You Yao acted like a spoiled child towards Jiang Yuan Bai. Perhaps it was to provoke Jiang Li.