novelraw Chapter 460 - 0438 A Not-So-Simple Woman (1)
Chapter 460 - 0438 A Not-So-Simple Woman (1)
She carefully observed the woman.
The woman’s figure was plumper than Fifth Miss Zhao, the kind of woman that others see and want to lose weight, but men find irresistibly alluring.
She had a waist, a bust, a neck, just a little too much flesh overall.
She wore exquisite Su Embroidery, her skin tender as cream, hair thicker than Fifth Miss Zhao’s, a massive chignon piled on her head, with an extremely thick golden hairpin inserted among the chignon, dangling with a three-inch-long, two-finger-wide golden tassel.
If discussing beauty, Fifth Miss Zhao was a lily, serenely and calmly beautiful. Then this woman’s beauty was like a trumpet vine, fiercely bold and overbearing.
Actually, a single trumpet vine flower is rather plain, while the beauty of a trumpet vine is in the whole, especially when full branches cling across a wall; when the wind blows, it’s boldly beautiful.
This woman was the same, if you looked only at her hair, or just her eyebrows and eyes, or her figure, nothing stood out, but combined, she was pleasing to the eyes.
"Which Qian family?" Li Yuzhu asked, "I only remember that the family marrying into Zhao Bank’s main branch is also named Qian. Is it that family?"
The County Magistrate’s concubine, Aunt Qing, said, "It is exactly the Qian family you mentioned. The Qian family is scholarly and has some dealings with Zhao Bank."
"Oh, it truly is that Qian family." Li Yuzhu nodded slightly to Fourth Miss Qian as a gesture of greeting.
She thought to herself, isn’t Fourth Miss Qian pregnant? Why is she still going around everywhere?
Fourth Miss Qian was not pleased with Aunt Qing’s introduction.
She smiled, "My husband has already divorced Mrs. Zhao. The Zhao family has nothing to do with the Qian family; we’re merely acquaintances."
Aunt Qing looked embarrassed, not knowing what to say.
Li Yuzhu only smiled slightly and said, "I’m going to see the County Magistrate’s Wife, farewell Fourth Miss Qian."
She glanced at Fourth Miss Qian and left with Li Xing’an.
Aunt Qing watched them walk away and let out a long breath.
Fourth Miss Qian glanced slightly towards Li Yuzhu’s direction and asked Aunt Qing, "Hong Ye, who is that little girl? Why is she so arrogant? And her dress, it doesn’t seem all that, either."
Aunt Qing was startled, her eyes widened, and she waved repeatedly, "Oh my, my Fourth Young Mistress, you should only tell me that privately. Don’t let the people in the County Magistrate Mansion know that she and the boy earlier are important guests of the County Magistrate Mansion."
Fourth Miss Qian blinked and asked in confusion, "Important guests? What important guests?"
"She is Miss Li, the one who found the young master, and she also cured the County Magistrate’s Wife’s illness," Aunt Qing hurriedly said.
Fourth Miss Qian curled her lips, "So it’s her. She’s also the benefactor of Old Mrs. Zhao. Just a little girl who knows some medicine, what’s so special?"
Aunt Qing looked around, pulled the sleeve of Fourth Miss Qian, and said in a low voice, "Don’t underestimate Miss Li. The Lord and Lady County Magistrate never treat her as an ordinary doctor. The Li Family’s siblings come and go in the County Magistrate Mansion as they please. Didn’t you notice that they arrived earlier without being escorted by any servants?"
Fourth Miss Qian said, "I saw, they came by themselves. By the way, why do your Lord and Lady look so highly upon those siblings?"
Besides her looking pretty, I can’t see anything special.
The young man, well, he’s just good-looking.
Aunt Qing continued to say in a low voice, "Why do they hold them in high esteem? The Lord and Lady haven’t said, but I’ve observed. They treat the Li Family’s siblings with the respect due to nobly born young nobles, not just them, but also their companion, Young Master Mu, is treated the same way."
"..."
"They can meet with the Lord and Lady at any time, and they can move about freely in the mansion. They’ve even accompanied the Lord on outings to handle cases and meet guests. Because we’re relatives, I’m telling you this; in any case, don’t offend the siblings."
Aunt Qing mentioned the Li Family’s siblings with a serious expression.
Fourth Miss Qian gave a light curl of her lips, still indifferent in her heart.
Because she’d heard that when the County Magistrate’s Wife was ill, she’d sought doctors everywhere, even prayed to gods.
It showed her desperation for a cure.
The Li Family’s little girl cured the County Magistrate’s Wife’s illness. Out of gratitude, of course, the County Magistrate’s Wife would treat the Li Family’s siblings differently.
As for their origins, they might not be noble. How could a young lady from a noble family go around treating people?
Besides, she never heard of any noble family surnamed Li in town or outside.
"Look at you, always so timid and afraid, no wonder you’re only a concubine." Fourth Miss Qian reached out and tapped Aunt Qing’s head, "Can’t you have a bit of ambition, always so fearful?"
Aunt Qing didn’t argue with her, for everyone has their own aspirations.
She felt her life now was good. A concubine was fine; having a place to live was enough.
Fourth Miss Qian had the nerve to bring down the legitimate wife and rise to that position. That was Fourth Miss Qian’s pursuit, nothing to do with her.
She didn’t want to learn.
She always believed that actions against divine principles would be punished.
Not to mention distant matters, just the recent events at the County Magistrate Mansion.
Lord County Magistrate had few offspring, and while his wife was ill, he took two concubines, one was her, and the other was Aunt Hua.
Aunt Hua, proud of her beauty, always wished to ascend in status. Upon learning that the County Magistrate’s wife had a terminal illness, she blatantly provoked the County Magistrate’s wife with arrogance.
Who would have thought that the usually gentle County Magistrate’s wife suddenly erupted, and the County Magistrate, who always sided with the concubines, unexpectedly stood with his wife.
The couple jointly sold Aunt Hua into servitude.
Thus, one can see, it’s unwise to be too presumptuous.
The Qian family favors concubines over wives, but other families might not do the same.
Aunt Qing advised Miss Qian for quite a while, but Miss Qian still wouldn’t listen, so she stopped persuading.
The two then chatted about other trivial matters. When their maids came with the things, Aunt Qing escorted her out of the County Magistrate Mansion.
.
Li Yuzhu and Li Xing’an entered the courtyard of the County Magistrate’s wife.
The maids and old servants, upon seeing them, all greeted them with smiles, "Miss Li, Third Young Master Li."
"How is your lady recently?" Li Yuzhu nodded and smiled at them.
"The lady has been very well recently. She even mentioned you this morning, didn’t expect to see you so soon." Chun’er, feeding water to a bird in a cage under the porch, laughed and greeted them as they approached.
Li Yuzhu and Li Xing’an followed her into the main house.
Inside, a brazier was burning; the County Magistrate’s wife was sitting in a rocking chair, reading a book.
Her face was flushed, and she looked in very good spirits. Even the County Magistrate they saw earlier was vibrant. It seemed that the couple was living harmoniously.
"How have you been, madam?" Li Yuzhu exclaimed with a smile.
The County Magistrate’s wife put down her book and beckoned Li Yuzhu and Li Xing’an with a smile, "You’ve been away from the town for so long, it’s been dull here. Come, have a seat." She then called for the maids to bring in tea.
Li Xing’an also greeted her and said, "My father took over a teacher’s school in the neighboring village, built new facilities, settled the students, which took some time, so we came late."
They originally planned to open a shop in the town after a month at home, but unexpectedly it took over two months before they arrived.
The County Magistrate’s wife smiled and said, "Mr. Li is a scholar; with him managing the school, the scholars in the nearby villages can look forward to more successful exams."
Li Yuzhu laughed, "Father was idling at home anyway, so he just found something to do to pass the time."
Maid Xiaxia brought in tea, and Li Xing’an took the tea cup and drank.
Li Yuzhu held her cup, not drinking, just warming her hands.
She thought of Fourth Miss Qian whom she had seen earlier, and was curious to inquire, so she asked the County Magistrate’s wife, "Madam, I saw a lady I didn’t recognize in the back garden earlier. Aunt Qing was with her. Who was she?"
The County Magistrate’s wife chuckled lightly, "She’s a distant relative of Aunt Qing. She was initially just a concubine, but was recently elevated to the position of the main wife, hoping to make my acquaintance, so she asked Aunt Qing to bring her to visit me."
Li Yuzhu feigned a realization and casually responded with an "oh."
Seeing them discussing domestic affairs, Li Xing’an put down his tea cup and went outside to look at the parrots.
The County Magistrate’s wife leaned closer to Li Yuzhu and whispered, "Miss Li, that Fourth Miss Qian is no weak woman, she’s quite something!" After saying this, she sneered.
The person the County Magistrate’s wife most despised in her life was the concubine!
Because she had been unwell, with only a ten-year-old son, and an elder sister with the same illness who had passed away early, the County Magistrate feared she wouldn’t live long and took several concubines in succession, hoping to expand his lineage.
When the County Magistrate took office here, she found reasons to dismiss them.
Unexpectedly, on the journey to his post, the County Magistrate took in two more.
One doomed herself by planting witchcraft to harm her and was discovered by the County Magistrate, who, in anger, sold her off. This Aunt Qing had always been well-behaved, not causing trouble, and dressed appropriately, so she found no reason to expel Aunt Qing and let her stay in the mansion for the time being.
Unexpectedly, Aunt Qing’s distant relative, also a concubine, managed to topple the main wife and ascend to her position.
After becoming the main wife, Fourth Miss Qian immediately came to find her distant relative Aunt Qing.
On the surface, Fourth Miss Qian appeared to be visiting her, but who knows if there are ulterior motives behind the move? Perhaps instigating Aunt Qing to play out a scheme to topple the main wife?
The County Magistrate’s wife was filled with disdain when she thought about how Fourth Miss Qian managed to ascend to the position of the main wife, and she didn’t bother to hide her expression.