Chapter: 031 out of 513 – The malicious mother-in-law has returned (2)
The secondary female characters in novels were always talented individuals, with powerful backgrounds and that was why they were able to frame the female leads. Nie Sangyu wasn’t an exception. Ji Man remembered that the reason Nie Sangyu was able to execute all of her schemes was because Marquis Moyu’s mother was supporting her. As a malicious mother-in-law, Marquis Moyu’s mother, Old Madame Ning, was Nie Sangyu’s perfect partner. One would frame the female lead and the other would punish her. They had horribly tormented the female lead.
And now, Ji Man’s long awaited savior, Old Madame Ning, was finally returning home after staying at Foshan for two months!
Marquis Moyu had woken Ji Man early this morning and ordered Muxu to change her into her best set of clothing. Look at her complexion. It had improved a lot. At least, she didn’t look too ill and could leave her room to meet people.
Muxu was put into a difficult position and she looked through Nie Sangyu’s wardrobe for a long time. She only found one slightly expensive-looking long blue dress. What else was there left? The other expensive clothing and jewelry had all been sold. There were only a few silver hairpins in Nie Sangyu’s jewelry box.
However, Ji Man generously said words to help her, “This servant is only a concubine. It wouldn’t be proper for me to wear glamorous clothing. Simple clothing would be more suitable.”
Original translation is from fuyuneko dot org. If you’re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.
Marquis Moyu glanced at her jewelry box. He didn’t say a word and seemed to be tacitly agreeing. Ji Man changed into a white sleeves top and wore the long dress over it. After Muxu brushed her hair into a simple duoma hairstyle, Ji Man went with Ning Yuxuan to Qiangwei Courtyard.
(T/N: Below are picture of duoma hairstyle.)
![Ch 031 - duoma hairstyle.png]()
Several eyes had turned red from worry over the marquis staying at Feiwan Courtyard for two days. He hadn’t taken a single step out of the courtyard during those two days. Countless eyes had looked over the walls of Feiwan Courtyard. They saw the courtyard being planted full of wild roses, and they also saw the marquis inviting Nie Sangyu’s older brother over to see her. Even Wen Wan’s heart felt slightly uncomfortable after knowing about this.
Furthermore, Mu Shuiqing had strangely spent the last two days telling Wen Wan that Nie Sangyu was only pretending to be a good person and how she had framed herself. Even if Wen Wan didn’t believe Mu Shuiqing’s words, these ideas still lingered in her mind. When she looked at Nie Sangyu today, her gaze was more reserved than before.
As a result, when Ji Man stood behind Honored Concubine Xue, several eyes fell on her.
“Sangyu, have you recovered from your cold?” Wen Wan asked.
“Thank you Madam for your concern. It’s not a hindrance anymore.” Ji Man slightly saluted. “It was all thanks to the marquis’s care. Sangyu will fondly remember this.”
Qi Siling lightly smiled and said, “This can be considered as something good coming from a disaster. I presume that the marquis won’t be focusing on younger sister’s previous actions. In the future, we should all get along as a family.”
Qing Lianxue smiled and echoed Siling’s sentiment, “Yes, the family that lives in harmony will be prosperous together.”
Mu Shuiqing also smiled. Next to her, Liu Hanyun had her head lowered and didn’t show any response.
Ji Man thought, were they saying that once they finished off Nie Sangyu, this family would be harmonious and prosperous?
Truly a wonderful group act in sarcasm and derision.
Wen Wan looked a bit nervous, but Ning Yuxuan didn’t seem to be in a good mood. He was sitting on the side and hadn’t said a single word to her. He even didn’t turn his head to glance at her.
Ji Man watched Wen Wan as she bit her lip and looked toward Marquis Moyu. He was probably having a fit of pique. Although Ning Yuxuan was usually quite astute, he still acted very childish sometimes. If he felt that you went against him, he would have a sullen expression and give you the cold shoulder for a long time. Besides, Wen Wan had pushed him out of her room. And, now she wanted him to greet her with a smiling face?
Compared to the women in ancient times, Ji Man was better at understanding the inner thoughts of men. Although she never had a serious relations.h.i.+p, she already had abundant theoretical knowledge from interacting with people on Tianya.
T/N: Tianya used to be a very popular Internet forum in China.
And so, compared to Wen Wan, who didn’t know what to do, Ji Man knew what the crucial thing to do at this moment was. She should be providing the man a way out of this awkward situation. She should be flattering and coaxing him instead of acting proud and reserved.
But, she was the secondary female character. Her role was to destroy the relations.h.i.+p between the male lead and female at all costs. So, how could she be willing to give Wen Wan this opportunity? On the contrary, she had to break them apart so that she could fulfill Nie Sangyu’s wish.
Kindness? That was something that the female lead should have. It had nothing to do with the secondary female character.
And so, she said, “When the marquis was with this servant, he spent the entire time missing Madam and worrying if you were eating and sleeping well. Old Madame hasn’t come back yet. Madam, you and the marquis can speak to each other. We’ll all just pretend to not hear.”
These clever words made it seem as if she was trying to help them. Even Ning Yuxuan raised his head to look at her when he heard these words.
After Wen Wan heard that the marquis had been worried about her, her anxieties lessened. But, when she turned to look at him, she saw that he was looking somewhere else. Slightly angry, she said, “How is the marquis worried about me? Look at him right now. He’s not even willing to look at me. What’s there for us to say to each other?”
Marquis Moyu coldly harrumphed.
In front of so many people, Wen Wan couldn’t act unsuitable for her status by acting cutely spoiled. She could only look at the side of his face and become more worried. Even Nie Sangyu had tried to help him by saying those words. Why couldn’t he soften his stance? She hadn’t done anything wrong!
Since Ning Yuxuan wasn’t speaking, the atmosphere in the room was slightly awkward. Wen Wan couldn’t step down from her position and her face looked very tense.
Ji Man didn’t say anything else and just quietly waited. Eventually, a servant came inside and reported that old madame’s carriage had already entered the city.
By chance, a person from the palace had come at the same time and said that the emperor wanted to see Marquis Moyu to discuss something. Ning Yuxuan hadn’t been able to wait until Old Madame Ning had arrived at residence’s entrance before he hastily mounted a horse and left for the palace.
As a result, Wen Wan was completely panicking.
Translator Ramblings: I wonder if n.o.ble Consort Nie was behind the emperor suddenly summoning Ning Yuxuan right before old madame returned. Also, compared to the other women, including Ji Man, Wen Wan feels like a baby white lotus.