Translator: Barb
Editor: WhitesRabbit
Chapter 23: Part 1 — In a sense, Jiang Jingchuan"s trust was his way of expressing his feelings.
Before Jiang Jingchuan arrived at the mansion, Father Jiang, Mother Jiang, and the long absent Jiang Jingjing came home.
Su Yan had heard that Jiang Jingjing was still a student and was at that free age. She didn"t want to live in the inst.i.tute"s dormitory; therefore, Jiang Jingchuan had gifted her condominium as a coming of age present. Jiang Jingjing would stay in that apartment till she left to study abroad.
Her perception of Jiang Jingjing wasn"t bad. The Jiang Family was like this; their upbringing was very good. She was the sole girl in the family, although she was extremely pampered, she wasn"t a spoiled child. As Jiang Jingjing"s sister-in-law, at least on the surface, Su Yan respected her.
On looking at Venerable Madame Jiang sitting beside Su Yan and enquiring after her well being, a gleam flashed in Mother Jiang"s eyes. She asked with a smile: "Were you tired yesterday?"
Before Su Yan could reply, Venerable Madame Jiang buoyantly answered: "This child is very filial. I only called once- she didn"t ask anything and came over to eat with me."
Jiang Jingjing was already used to these types of scenes. She sat on the other side of Venerable Madame Jiang and, like a spoiled child, pulled her arm to say, "My friend told me that yesterday sister-in-law looked so, so beautiful."
Frankly speaking, Jiang Jingjing didn"t have any views on Su Yan. She didn"t have a brother complex. Her relationship with her elder brother was very normal so, when her elder brother got married, she didn"t even feel a bit like her brother was s.n.a.t.c.hed. Su Yan was loved by grandma and grandpa and was also beautiful. Jiang Jingjing had no conflict of interest with Su Yan.
The most important thing was that she had no thoughts or patience to go and meddle in her elder brother"s life.
Su Yan liked and appreciated people who had knowledge of current events. In light of Jiang Jingjing"s compliment, Su Yan displayed a modest face, "I don"t dare. The other ladies were much more beautiful."
Father Jiang wanted to ask a few more questions, but father-in-law and daughter-in-law must keep some distance in order to avoid raising suspicions. In addition, he wasn"t willing to ask questions from east to west like a woman, hence he could only endure it. He would ask his son when he came back.
"Thanks to the shoes Mother gave me, I felt extremely comfortable yesterday. Even Jingchuan said that I looked pretty." Su Yan displayed just the right amount of a couple deeply in love with each other and flattery. The shoes and the dress were uncomfortable but that was secondary. And as is true for women of all age groups, they loved to be praised for their good taste.
Sure enough, Rao-shi1 Shi is a honorific ending to a married woman"s name. I have intentionally not written it as Mrs. as not sure whether the "shi" is in her given name or not. Will change it later after confirmation.(Jiang Jingchuan"s mother) upon hearing those words let out a smile. Although it was just a pair of shoes, Su Yan pointed it out and said it, which made Mother Jiang feel very good in her heart.
Venerable Madame Jiang"s eyes also softened a lot when she looked at Mother Jiang, "That was very kind of you."
When Venerable Madame Jiang said that, Mother Jiang felt a bit overwhelmed. When she had just arrived in the Jiang Family after marriage, though father and mother2Father and mothere here refer"s to Mother Jiang"s in-laws. weren"t opposed to her, their att.i.tude towards her in these years wasn"t particularly warm.
Jiang Jingjing, afraid that her mother would lose her cool, promptly made a joke, "Mother is very good to sister-in-law. I never got any shoes from mother; I am very angry."
Su Yan softly laughed hearing those words. She had the demeanor of a sister-in-law doting on her husband"s sister, "Jingjing, some other day we will go shopping together. Whatever you like, you can purchase it with your elder brother"s card, okay?"
She always inadvertently dropped her husband"s name when talking with her husband"s family to cement her existence.
Concerning the usage of Jiang Jingchuan"s card, Su Yan had no shame. She absolutely wouldn"t refrain, after all, she had no way to make money. And since the Jiang Family was like this, they wouldn"t take offense at all.
Jiang Jingjing"s eyes shone like pearls. She immediately went to sit by Su Yan"s side and affectionately pulled her arm, "That"s great! If that time elder brother says something then, sister-in-law, you must be on my side."
She absolutely didn"t mind having a good relation with this sister-in-law. Living in such a family, she wasn"t less sensitive than others in regards to benefit. She knew that the Jiang Family was now her elder brother"s. Her married life depended on her relations with her maiden home.
Su Yan thought that it was not easy to maintain a good relationship with one"s in-laws, whether Jiang Jingjing liked her or not. While living in the Imperial Harem, she had heard lots of gossips. That it was not peaceful within the Clan members of a Minister"s family. There were conflicts between the sisters-in-law, disputes between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. It was not too much. Recently, she was watching too many family dramas but they were still ordinary households. In families like the Jiang Family, it was extremely hard to preserve a friendly atmosphere. She had to say that, in the Jiang Family, everyone"s EQ and IQ were online. It provided a lot of comfort to Su Yan.
Venerable Madame Jiang beamed at Su Yan, "That"s right. Usually, I go shopping with Jingjing or come eat here when free. Jiangchuan is usually very busy with work so you must be bored alone."
"Yes, I understand3Venerable Madame Jiang is hinting Su Yan to come over and eat or shop with them when she feels bored.." Su Yan cutely nodded.
After a while, Mother Jiang and Jiang Jingjing went upstairs to change their clothes. Mother Jiang went to her daughter"s room after changing and whispered "Su Yan is a very discerning person. You should spend more time with her and learn the way she talks and the way she conducts herself. It would be beneficial to you."
Mother Jiang was very strict regarding the education of her two children. There was no problem regarding her son; he had the ability to undertake any responsibility and succeed. She had full confidence in him. Mother Jiang"s family was very ordinary, but she didn"t dare to compromise on her daughter"s education. Her daughter"s starting point was higher than hers, so her temperament had always been slightly arrogant. She didn"t want her daughter to become crooked therefore she never slacked off in guiding her daughter.
When Mother Jiang was young, she had gone to all sorts of occasion with Father Jiang. She saw many arrogant, willful daughters of rich families; therefore, after Jiang Jingjing was born, she had made up her mind to absolutely not spoil her daughter and let her change into that sort of person.
Over the years, Mother Jiang"s teachings had proved to be very successful. Jiang Jingjing was more mature and had a much clearer view of things compared to her peers. Sometimes, while looking at her grown daughter, Mother Jiang would feel a bit melancholy. She didn"t wish for her daughter to be naive. In the future, her daughter would marry some household with the same status as that of the Jiang Family. In a different household Jiang Jingjing would be no different from an average woman. While living in the Jiang Family, people still were very good to her. However, in the other household they might make little allowances for her due to the Jiang Family but if their character wasn"t good then in the future, there would be no good feelings between the husband and wife. The person with an unhappy life would end up being her daughter.
Jiang Jingjing nodded while listening to her mother"s words, "I know. Sister-in-law is pretty good. I want to spend time with her."
A girl from a relatively well off family with extraordinary beauty could marry her elder brother, but to be also able to build a good relationship with him? This person was a walking textbook model on behavior.
Previously she didn"t have any contact with Su Yan; she felt that this person was cold-blooded. Now Jiang Jingjing discovered that, as long as Su Yan wanted, she could live the life she desired in the Jiang Family. She admired such a person of ability.
When it was almost nightfall, Jiang Jingchuan hurried back. Before anyone could ask, Jiang Jingchuan explained: "Today was rather busy. I am sorry to keep you all waiting."
He shouldn"t have been that busy but, keeping in mind his honeymoon trip with Su Yan, Jiang Jingchuan made his a.s.sistant prepone his work to be completed early.
Jiang Family would naturally not ha.s.sle him over it. Being tactful, Su Yan followed suit and only laughed lightly. Afterall, mother-in-law and father-in-law didn"t scold him.
While taking his seat, Jiang Jingchuan chanced a look at Su Yan. Finding that there was no change in her expression, he felt a bit relieved.
Her complexion truly looked rather bad when he went out this morning; her face looked blue-green.
Venerable Sir Jiang, as the head of the family, smiled in satisfaction seeing the whole family sitting together to eat, "Truly, when the whole family eats together, I can eat an extra bowl of rice."
"If Grandpa says so then we can also have dinner here in the future." Jiang Jingchuan said with a smile.
"But then Xiao Yan will get even more tired. What should be done?" Although Venerable Madame Jiang also wanted to see Su Yan everyday, the Villa was a considerable distance away from the Ancestral Mansion. She was afraid that travelling to and fro daily would be very hard, "Xiao Yan has become so thin."
Father Jiang intentionally sighed aggrievedly: "People say that when we have a daughter-in-law we forget our mother; we only have a granddaughter-in-law and forget that we have a son and grandson too."
These words made Su Yan"s heart rise to her throat. It seemed that she wasn"t the only one who noticed this oddity. She carefully glanced at the expression of her mother-in-law, father-in-law, and sister-in-law and found no change. Did they not think it was strange?
Su Yan kept in mind to indirectly ask Jiang Jingchuan next time.
Jiang Jingchuan didn"t feel strange. He lowered his head to eat and looked up to see Su Yan looking at him. He asked: "Do you want soup?"
Regardless of Su Yan"s answer, in front of many people"s astonished gaze, he naturally placed the filled bowl of hot soup with the soup spoon in front of Su Yan, "I haven"t tried it. You can drink it."
Venerable Madame Jiang and Venerable Sir Jiang felt very pleased seeing this scene.