Chapter 21: Visiting the Bride’s Family (5)
He was probably waiting for Chu Lian to make the slightest hint of a mistake, so that he could toss her into a ditch without any mercy and make her into the laughingstock of the entire capital!
“Sixth Miss, we just have to pass through that arched doorway and make a turn, and we’ll reach Anxiang Court. Please walk slowly, the path isn’t very smooth here!” Xiyan reminded her. She was Sixth Miss’ personal maidservant and had served by her side since they were young, taking care of every aspect of Sixth Miss’ life. She had spent the same amount of time in Anxiang Court as Sixth Miss had.
Now that Sixth Miss had returned to her maiden home after marrying out of the household, Xiyan’s memories of the past had been awakened. She completely forgot about calling Chu Lian Third Young Madam.
Xiyan’s eyes were full of nostalgia, as if even a blade of grass could trigger her memories. She carefully helped Chu Lian slowly walk along the tree-lined path of the Ying Estate.
However, Chu Lian’s mood was completely different from Xiyan’s. She knew nothing about this place. All she knew was from that book, and that was her sole advantage here.
After passing under the quaint doorway and walking past a garden full of azaleas, greenery came into sight. Chu Lian’s eyes widened in surprise. This… this was Anxiang Court?
An exquisite little residence sat in front of her, hidden in a dense bamboo forest. Only the corner of the eaves peeked out from the lush greenery.
There was a small lotus pond with a decorative mountain inside the water, right in front of the residence. Based on the features of the land and the scenery, it was indeed a nice place to live.
However, since this courtyard was covered in bamboo, could someone tell her exactly which bamboo patch Xiao Bojian was hiding in?
Where had the original female lead met him?
Xiyan looked extremely happy; she pointed to a part of the bamboo forest and said, “Sixth Miss, look at this! The shoots by the mottled bamboo have already grown out! It’s just been a few days, and they’ve grown really fast! You were even saying that we could dig them out and make pan-fried bamboo shoots to eat just a few days ago!”
Chu Lian was completely speechless. Could she not talk about bamboo? This garden was full of it and she wasn’t a botanist. How was she supposed to know which ones were the mottled bamboo she was talking about?
All she wanted to do now was leave this damn place.
Chu Lian purposely sucked in a breath at the right time, coupled with a grimace. Xiyan heard the sound and checked the burn on her hand anxiously.
“Sixth Miss, does it hurt? This servant will look for some burn salve for you right now! This servant still remembers that the salve was in the cabinet by the parlour in the outer hall!”
Madam Rong’s servant also quickly supported Chu Lian as they headed towards that residence.
However, just as they reached the hallway of the residence, they spotted two unfamiliar maidservants eating melon seeds while skiving.
The two maidservants heard the sound of conversation, and then noticed the dressing of the senior servant by Chu Lian’s side. They immediately became so frightened that they hurriedly fell to their knees in unison and wailed, “Steward, please forgive us!”
Chu Lian was preoccupied with her own thoughts, so she didn’t really take notice of the lazy maidservants.
However, Xiyan frowned and coldly asked, “Who are you? Why are you here in Sixth Miss’ Anxiang Court? You even had the guts to skive off!”
When they were still living in the Ying Estate, Senior Servant Gui and Xiyan had been the ones managing Anxiang Court. They were Chu Lian’s personal maidservants, so they held themselves with an air of command around these little maidservants.
Seeing that Xiyan wasn’t too friendly and that the woman by her side, Chu Lian, was dressed like a wealthy young madam, the two maidservants suddenly recalled that it was the day of Sixth Miss’ visit to her maiden home. They abruptly realised who the people before them were.
Both of them started trembling with fear, and their faces paled.
“This… this servant is called Shanqin–”
“–And this servant is called Suiqin.”
“We’re just petty servants here in Anxiang Court! We… we serve under Eighth Miss…” When the two maidservants finished speaking, they remained prone on the ground, trembling, not daring to move.