Chapter 342: Red Dowries (XV)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Although she was disturbed by Xu Ke, Jiang Pengji’s quality of sleep had always been superior. At daybreak, when the rooster crowed for the first time, Jiang Pengji woke up on time due to her biological clock. The footsteps of the servant girls were heard outside her bedroom.
With the service of her servant girl, Jiang Pengji washed her face with warm water to get rid of the sleepiness. She felt energetic.
Her servant girl served the food table after she had washed up.
Putting the taste of the breakfast aside, it looked nice and was beautifully and exquisitely decorated like piece of artwork, which gave people an appetite.
However, it was not a very calm morning. Disgusting things had just happened.
Just as Jiang Pengji was about to start her streaming, Taxue came to inform her that her step-sister wanted to see her.
“Tsk. Why can’t a dowry list shut her up?” Jiang Pengji smacked her lips somewhat dismayingly. Her tone was filled with ridicule. She did not conceal her maliciousness towards her step-sister at all.
“Let her come in. She has come to look for me when she hasn’t even finished her breakfast. She must be hungry. She’s a gentle and demure aristocratic lady. How can she withstand hunger? If someone else sees her, they may say that I’m not kind to her as her brother.”
Taxue smiled and chimed in, “You’re so gentle towards your servants. How can you be hard upon your step-sister? I’ll call her in.”
Jiang Pengji did not make a comment. She still looked indifferent.
Not long after, Jiang Pengji and the audience in the streaming room clearly heard a series of heavy footsteps, full of anger, coming near. With a bang, the hall door was opened. Cold wind came rushing in.
“Brother Xi, what are you trying to do?” Sitting in front of Jiang Pengji, her step-sister glared at her. Due to her anger, her young face became a little sinister.
The camera shot in the streaming mischievously did a close-up on her step-sister’s face. Her black nostrils were flaring as she breathed heavily.
Many viewers were shocked by this, and suddenly felt that the streamer’s step-sister was not cute anymore.
Jiang Pengji stole a glance at the bullet screens on the virtual screen. There were many comments that said, “That surprised me,” or “Her nostrils are big,” or “I was so shocked by the sudden close-up that my sleepiness is gone.” She did not make any reaction upon seeing the comments. She just lifted her eyelids lazily.
“What do you mean?” Jiang Pengji stared into her eyes coldly and asked, “It’s early in the morning… You haven’t even fixed your make-up properly, and you come to disturb me bare-faced. Is this a virtue that a woman of the Liu family should have?”
Her step-sister was taken aback. She felt a bit more awake, but she still looked mad. “I should be asking you about this…” Her stepsister twisted her scarf angrily, and her eyes looked a bit bloodshot. She lamented bitterly and furiously, “I’ve just managed to marry into the royal family. It’s okay if you don’t help make plans for me, but why do you make things difficult for me on purpose?”
What she said was deep! Was there a viewer in the streaming room who had not read countless novels on romance, court, and family intrigue? She obviously needed a beating for speaking to her brother in such a manner.
Sannian Buxizao: “Wow. I initially thought that this girl was cute. Looking at her now, I recognized her potential for becoming a vicious and evil woman. Did the streamer actually do anything wrong to justify her criticizing her to her face? Who is she to do that?”
Niangkou Sansan: “Actually, she did not blame him wrongfully. The streamer indeed has evil intentions. However, for now, all the arrangements that the streamer has made are for her good. No one can even find a single fault. I remember that in ancient times, daughters born of mistresses have a very low status. It’s good that she can get married without having to pursue their interests, not to mention that she has red dowries for her marriage from tens of miles away… Sigh. She gets to marry a prince, and she’s received so many dowries, but the streamer still gets the blame.”
Koujiao Shouzhuamian: “Don’t argue. Listen to her reasons.”
Jiang Pengji agreed with that viewer. She asked her step-sister with an icy look on her face, “I made things difficult for you on purpose? Do you mean that the dowries aren’t generous enough, or that your husband’s family isn’t prominent enough––or is it that your wedding dress isn’t exquisite and perfect enough?” Jiang Pengji’s words shut her step-sister up. She immediately sneered. “Remember your identity. The daughter born of a mistress of the Liu residence isn’t that precious.”
Her step-sister’s face suddenly turned pale. The twisted scarf in her hands made a hissing sound. It was being torn into two. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She had yet to get married, so she really should not have a falling out with her brother. However, thinking about the news she had just received, she suddenly felt wronged.
She bit her lower lip and said sorrowfully, “You should know that the palace is as deep as the ocean. Most of the women on earth are pitiful. Why do you want to poke at my wounds? I know that you and Father are my support while I’m in the royal family. However, if I wish to stand firm. Having children and being loved by the prince are a must… If I can beat someone else and give birth to a royal child first, you can share in the honor too, right?”
“So?” She listened to her patiently, but she was still dragging her feet and did not mention the key points. That made Jiang Pengji very unhappy.
However, the audience in the streaming room came to their senses and reminded Jiang Pengji of some things.
Kouzhejiao Chifan: “Holy crap. I get it. Is she complaining about the servant girl that the streamer arranged to accompany her step-sister to her husband’s home?”
With that bullet screen posted, many viewers came to their senses. They could not help but think of Huijun, who was a dazzling beauty. If so, they could understand her. Every legal wife would feel uneasy with having such an exceedingly beautiful servant girl as their dowry. Who knew if the bridegroom would have his heart stolen by the servant girl and leave his wife to stay in the room alone on their wedding night? It was not honorable for a woman to stay a virgin.
Sure enough, her stepsister mentioned Huijun. “If you’re really doing this for my good, then why did you make the bewitching Huijun my servant girl for my marriage?”
Jiang Pengji asked her rhetorically, “Would you want an ugly woman instead? She has matchless beauty. I don’t want to reproach you, but you’re only 12 years old. I know Wuma Jun. He’d rather not have meat for three days, but he can’t live a day without having a woman by his side. How are you going to strive for the love of such a man, and how are you going to keep a foothold in the harem? Huijun is someone whom Father has specially chosen and prepared carefully. She can totally win Wuma Jun over before you reach the age of 15. By then, when you’ve really grown up, could Huijun still hog your husband’s love?”
Her step-sister’s facial expression was like a really colorful, broken palette.
Upon seeing her reaction, Jiang Pengji added, “Father wrote me a letter a while ago. He wants me to tell you that… a woman’s body is delicate. Childbearing is too taxing on your body. You’re still young. You don’t have to rush to give birth to a child. It’s not too late to consider it after you turn 17 or 18 years old.”
Her stepsister’s face turned charcoal-black. She understood that there was no room for compromise on the matter of Huijun. What was more disgusting was that she could not even chase Huijun away or mistreat her. She took a deep breath and forcefully swallowed her anger.