NABC Chapter 1297 - 1295: Meeting Faces 2
Chapter 1297 - 1295: Meeting Faces 2
Her whole body was still shrouded in all sorts of strong, pungent scents, and Ni Manxue had to fight the urge to sneeze several times.She cursed inwardly.
’So much perfume it’s practically smoking—does she seriously not feel dizzy?’
’And wasn’t this supposed to be an old merchant family? Why is she dressed like some vulgar upstart tycoon! Afraid people won’t know they’re rich?’
And that girl who had just come over to pay her respects was dressed exactly the same way.
On closer inspection, her features were very similar to Lady Tang’s; one look and you knew they were mother and daughter by blood.
Then she looked at the outfit and tsked.
Lady Tang was already over the top; this girl put her to shame.
Her not‑so‑large bun was crammed full of pearls and jade hairpieces, her wrists were circled with several layers of gold and silver bangles, and around her neck hung a string of jade beads.
You could say it’s nothing if a young girl dresses a bit brightly.
But her figure... she was even fatter than her mother, with not a shred of girlishness about her; she was clearly a fat lady.
With that figure and that get‑up—
If you only saw her from the back and not her face, people would believe you if you said she was forty.
Ni Manxue secretly pinched her own arm, desperately suppressing her urge to sneeze, and asked with a smile,
"May I ask Lady Tang, which one is the eldest young lady?"
Lady Tang hurriedly set down her teacup and pulled over the fat girl at her side to introduce.
"This is my eldest daughter, Tang Ying!"
The fat girl was in the middle of eating; hearing her mother introduce her, she hastily wiped the pastry crumbs from her mouth with her sleeve.
Without even swallowing the food in her mouth, she split into a grin.
"Lady Xia, I’m Tang Ying!"
As soon as she opened her mouth, bits of food sprayed out and shot straight toward Ni Manxue’s face.
Fortunately, Dong’er reacted quickly and raised a handkerchief to block it for her, otherwise it would have hit her full in the face.
Ni Manxue was so stunned she froze on the spot.
’This is... a young lady?’
’This is really a boudoir young lady?’
’Good heavens!’
Her expression was ugly and awkward; she forced out an even more awkward, ugly smile.
"The Eldest Young Lady is... truly something special!"
Lady Tang took it as praise for her daughter and immediately put on a broad smile to chime in.
"Isn’t she just!"
"You don’t know, Madam—this daughter of mine has been blessed with good fortune since childhood. The fortune‑teller said she was born to bring prosperity to her husband!"
"Whoever marries my daughter is guaranteed a smooth official career, blessings out of calamities, long life, and a house full of children and grandchildren!"
She piled it on, all sugar and flowers.
Ni Manxue gave a few polite replies on the surface, while frantically ranting in her heart.
’Whoever marries your daughter will probably be disgusted to death long before he lives to a ripe old age!’
She smoothed her expression and said blandly,
"Congratulations to Madam on having such a blessed daughter."
"However... since the other young ladies are here as well, won’t Madam introduce them?"
The smile on Lady Tang’s face faded a little, but she still patiently pulled over her second and third daughters.
"This is my second daughter Tang Wen and my third daughter Tang Xi. They’re twins; they’ve already turned seventeen this year. Come, hurry and pay your respects to Lady Xia!"
Two women, not quite so fat and dressed in lavish clothes, stepped forward to salute.
Ni Manxue only felt an even thicker wave of powdery fragrance rush at her.
She quickly raised her handkerchief to cover her nose a little and squeezed out a smile.
"Please, please rise!"
The two girls thanked her together and then returned to their seats.
Lady Tang laughed again.
"These two daughters of mine are much smarter and more clever than my eldest. They’ve loved reading since they were young, and they’re proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Even the governesses I hired for them never stop praising them!"
Ni Manxue forced out another smile and tossed a couple of casual compliments their way.
Although... the two of them were richly dressed and heavily perfumed, and not that fat, their looks were a lost cause.
Proficient in all the arts? Sorry, she wasn’t seeing that kind of temperament.
The naked greed and vanity in their eyes, though, she saw crystal clear.
With goods like this, they still wanted to marry Jingfeng? They could keep dreaming.
Her gaze shifted to Tang Xun, who had been sitting quietly in the corner without saying a word.
The others had all been introduced; this one had to be the Fourth Young Lady.
She began to scrutinize her carefully.
The Fourth Young Lady wore a plain cotton dress; her face was bare of any powder, and apart from two rather ordinary hairpins in her neatly combed bun, there was nothing else.
Her neck, ears, and wrists were all bare as well. Compared to her three elder sisters, she really did look like a maid.
And yet, even dressed like a maid, her delicate features and fresh, unworldly air were impossible to hide.
Especially those bright eyes of hers, filled with determination and stubbornness.
She sat there calmly, eyes half‑lowered in proper decorum, like a crane standing among chickens.
Her aura was outstanding and her bearing graceful; Ni Manxue couldn’t help but click her tongue in praise.
’She looks pretty good. If Jingfeng likes her, I could go along with it!’
Ni Manxue turned to Lady Tang with a smile.
"And this young lady is...?"
Lady Tang’s face immediately fell; she replied reluctantly,
"This is our household’s Fourth Young Lady."
"But Madam, she is not legitimate—she’s the daughter my husband had with some actress outside!"
"With such a status, how could she possibly be a match for the Prefectural Governor?"
Her tone was full of disdain.
When she said "illegitimate" and "actress," she deliberately stressed the words, afraid others wouldn’t hear clearly.
Ni Manxue smiled faintly.
"There’s a saying—heroes are not judged by their origins."
"No matter what the Fourth Young Lady’s birth is, the Tang Family is at least a proper household."
"As long as my younger brother likes her, there’s no reason it can’t be done, is there, Lady Tang?"
Lady Tang’s expression instantly turned ugly.
Her plump, double‑chinned face was written all over with reluctance.
"Is Madam truly certain?"
Ni Manxue smiled.
"Would I lie about such a thing?"
Lady Tang suddenly gave a cold laugh.
"But... what if we are unwilling?"
"Since Madam wishes to form a good match of equal standing, naturally only a legitimate daughter would be suitable!"
"Otherwise... if outsiders were to learn that the Prefectural Governor married such a girl, I’m afraid..."
Ni Manxue’s gaze sharpened at once, and she sneered inwardly.
’Utterly shameless.’
’She’s actually trying to use Jingfeng’s reputation to threaten me!’
’Most likely she’s already done her sums: if Jingfeng marries the Fourth Young Lady, she’ll immediately spread the word and smear them viciously!’
’Once the common folk start gossiping, there’s no telling what nasty rumors will appear!’
Too bad...
Ni Manxue narrowed her eyes; what she hated most was being threatened.
She swept her hand decisively and said with a smile,
"That’s something Madam need not worry about!"
"Since we dare to marry her, we naturally already have countermeasures in mind!"
The implication being: go ahead and do your worst—we’re not afraid.
Lady Tang’s face grew even darker.
She was just about to speak when Ni Manxue, not caring to listen, rose directly to her feet.
"The setting here is quite nice, and the opera is exquisite, but I have other matters to attend to and won’t stay to watch with Madam. I take my leave!"
Finished, she didn’t wait for Lady Tang to respond and walked straight out.
She left only Lady Tang and her daughters in the inner room, staring after her in impotent fury.