Chapter 107: Wishful Calculations
Li Chang Le was the most prominent figure amongst the misses of the aristocratic circles. Because of her outstanding appearance, it was impossible to not hear news about her. However, ever since the coming of winter, Li Chang Le seemed to have disappeared from all social gatherings. Not only Li Chang Le, but also everyone from the Li family had appeared less in public occasions and were very secretive. And because of this, people became more curious since other families look forward to bring their misses out. What was going on with the Li family, they have quite a few exquisite beauties yet they have all been locked at home. If it were back then, others would have thought the Li family were being reserved because they were preparing their daughters to be married into the royal family. But afterwards it didn’t seem like that anymore; if they want them to marry into the royal family, then why did they even avoid attending a banquet held by the royalties?! This was very odd!
Li Wei Yang smiled. Ever since Li Chang Le’s incident, everyone in the family didn’t dare to breath a word to a soul. Especially Lao Furen, she didn’t even permit anyone to mention Li Chang Le at all. The opportunities for misses of the family to leave the residence were reduced and so, Second Furen was extremely anxious about her daughter’s future marriage plans and secretly brought Li Chang Ru out once. Consequently, after returning, she was punished by Lao Furen to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days. After this incident, everyone became more mindful of the severity of this matter. Even Jiang Yue Lan, who had established a position amongst the capital’s prominent ladies, had to restrained herself and according to Lao Furen’s mood, she would invite a few Furens to their house to watch plays. If someone asks about Li Chang Le, she would answer with Li Chang Le not feeling well and had been resting. So, when Li Chang Le was told to have been resting in bed from winter to spring, everyone began to feel suspicious. Was she really resting in bed or did she committed a grave mistake that she was locked up? This gossip had been spreading wildly that even Sun Yan Jun couldn’t help but expressed concern.
Li Wei Yang could only reply: “Eldest Sister is not feeling well so she had been resting in bed.”
Li Wei Yang smilingly replied: “Originally, it was a common cold. But once it was spring, it became much more serious. Now her entire face has become swollen, it’s very terrifying. Eldest Sister likes to be pretty, so it’s natural that she doesn’t want to see anyone.”
So it’s a skin disease. Sun Yan Jun rejoiced in her heart and said: “Your Eldest Sister had always been looking down on others. Now that she has this skin disease and can’t let others see her, this is called karma!” After she finished, she realized she lost her manners and immediately apologized, “Sorry, I’ve always spoken without much thoughts, my mother had scolded me many times. In front of strangers, I am able to hold back but in front of someone I like is hard.”
Even though Li Wei Yang was reserved, she was clever and genuine, so Sun Yan Jun couldn’t hold back her thoughts.
Li Wei Yang was amused by her candidness: “No worries, I also think Eldest Sister is a bit too arrogant. I only hope she can learn something this time, after all, no one can survive in this world with just a beautiful appearance.”
Sun Yan Jun agreed: “For sure! It’s time she gets punished! In the past, she had always act nice to me in front of others but behind my back, she had mocked my chin ugly. This kind of person has two faces, how despicable!” As she spoke, she subconsciously touched her chin, “Is my chin ugly?”
Sun Yan Jun smiled: “You are so articulate!” She continued to speak as she pinched Li Wei Yang’s face and smiled with joy, “Your mother’s mourning period will soon reach two years, one more year and then you will be able to discuss your marriage.”
Li Wei Yang smiled towards Bai Zhi: “Look here, Miss Sun is desperate to get married yet she is using me to entertain herself.”
Sun Yan Jun pinched her again and then spoke: “What are you saying! I am just worried for you! If you continue to live a secluded life, His Majesty will casually choose a suitor for you, then we’ll see what you can do then!”
Li Wei Yang was stunned and then she outwardly smiled: “We’ll speak when the time comes!”
It was obvious that Jiang Yue Lan happily chatted with Sun Furen, even Second Furen had a face filled with joy. After the steward came in to announce that Lao Ye had dinner plans tonight and would not being come home for dinner, Jiang Yue Lan specifically asked Sun Furen to stay for dinner. During dinner, Lao Furen was in a great mood and chatted happily with Miss Sun. Li Wei Yang noticed Second Furen’s fervent expressions towards Miss Sun, they were very warm that it made her felt goosebumps.
Second Furen was not a warmhearted person towards anyone, let alone the Eldest Household’s guests. But today her ardent behavior was peculiar …… Li Wei Yang couldn’t help but think of a possibility. Second Furen’s eldest son was at a marriageable age. For the past two years, Second Furen had been running around and arranged countless marriage proposals. She even had her eyes on Marquis of Zuo Chang’s concubine-borned granddaughter and got Lao Furen to help her speak. Marquis of Zuo Chang’ power was unlike two years ago but in the end, he still had a marquis title and Li Family’s Second Lao Ye was simply a third-ranked official. He might not think highly of this but with Li Xiao Ran here, Marquis of Zuo Chang agreed. Ordinarily now that things have reached this point, Second Furen would set her mind at rest but who would have expected her to continue on the search and then had her eyes on Marquis of Liu An’s legitimate daughter …… this got spread to Marquis of Zuo Chang’s ears and infuriated him to come over and scold Li Xiao Ran. Afterwards, he went to Marquis of Liu An’s residence to ruin the marriage plan. She couldn’t become in-laws with either party, became a laughingstock in the capital and delayed Second Brother’s marriage. Speaking of this Li family’s Second Brother, he was an actual erudite; in comparison to the scheming Second Furen, he was an entirely different. In the past year, he had been dwelling in the academy and hadn’t come home often. Even for her, she had only seen him a few times. But they have met each other and he treated her and Li Chang Le the same and didn’t regard her as an outsider. Li Wei Yang was conflicted whether to remind this Miss Sun but when she turned back her head, she noticed Miss Sun dining happily and so she held back her words. The Li Family is certainly a puddle of muddy water but even though Second Furen treated others harshly, she wouldn’t be able to commit vicious things with her intelligence and capabilities. As for Miss Sun’s valiant personality, although Li Wei Yang really liked it, she knew it wouldn’t be easy for her to marry someone. If they are able to get along, this might not be a bad marriage. Moreover, in Li Wei Yang’s past memories, this Second Brother of hers was a well-conducted person. She can’t guaranteed that he will be a considerate husband but at the very least, he would be able to respect his official wife and treat his children well. To a woman, this would make him the best prospect. So in the end, she decided to not make a move and understand Sun Yan Jun’s thoughts first.
The smile on Li Chang Ru’s face could have blossomed a flower. She ardently ordered the maids to serve Sun Yan Jun, she said: “Sister Sun and I feel like old friends, from now on, you must come visit often.”
Sun Yan Jun smiled and revealed two beautiful pointy teeth. Li Wei Yang gently coughed and Sun Yan Jun immediately remembered that she can’t reveal her teeth when smiling. She closed her lips and said: “Thank you Sister Ru.”
She referred to Wei Yang by her name but she referred Li Chang Ru as a sister. It sounded much more sincere but in actuality, this was alienation. Luckily Li Chang Ru couldn’t tell and a much more delightful smile was formed on her face: “No need to be polite, I’ve been bored at home, the more you come to play, the happier I will be!”
Sun Yan Jun smiled and said: “I wonder if you all are going to the banquet held by the Empress?”
Li Chang Ru’s smile froze and then looked at Lao Furen. Awkwardly, Li Wei Yang smiled: “How would we dare to reject the Empress’ invite. Once time comes, I will also bring the book you wanted to you.”
The awkwardness on Li Chang Ru’s face didn’t diminish and instead grew. In this family, only Li Wei Yang dared to step out and only she could step out. After Li Chang Le’s incident, Lao Furen became much more reliant towards Li Wei Yang and always asked for her opinion on everything. In this family, the Third Miss had already supersede the Second Furen as well as the misses.
Li Chang Ru secretly felt admiration and jealousy at the same time. On the other side, Li Chang Xiao had her head down and didn’t speak a word. From time to time, she would look at Miss Sun, reveal a good intentioned smile.
After the second dish of fish was bought out, Sun Yan Jun, who sat to the right of Li Wei Yang suddenly noticed a shadow standing near the door. The night skies have settled and in the room, this person was purposely standing in the dark, making one felt unease.
This young girl was dressed in magnificent attire, her body slim, and on her head was a exquisite hat with a veil falling over the hat, covering her entire face. Sun Yan Jun continued to stare at the person and everyone at the table also placed their chopsticks down and looked towards the doorway. Li Chang Ru even turned her entire body to look over.
Right at this moment, a maid nervously rushed over and pulled back the young lady at the door. She quietly whispered something and then the young lady turned around to give her a slap, then quickly stepped into the dining room.
Never before had they seen such a ghastly expression on Lao Furen’s face. She forcefully smiled and spoke to the young lady: “Chang Le, you have been resting in bed, so I didn’t want to bother you today. Look, this is Sun Furen and Miss Sun, you’ve met before ……”
Lao Furen didn’t finish explaining, Li Chang Le had already coldly replied: “Lao Furen, I haven’t been feeling well but my ears are not deaf. I can hear the laughters coming from here. But I can’t believe no one thought of calling me, am I not a member of this family?”
Lao Furen opened her mouth but didn’t move and only felt anger. Li Chang Le coldly said: “I’ve heard Miss Sun came over so I want to take a look at my future sister-in-law.”
After those words were out, everyone’s expressions changed. Sun Yan Jun was so enraged that her face reddened. She turned her head to look towards Sun Furen yet saw that Sun Furen was also enraged. Which family wasn’t like this, because it might not be successful, so they used these ways to arrange meetings. Who would say it aloud, this was humiliation!
Lao Furen’s chopsticks dropped to the table, she furiously voiced: “Chang Le, what rubbish are you saying?!”
Under her veil, Li Chang Le’s expressions couldn’t be seen clearly. Her voice sounded like she was laughing, coldness could be heard from her voice: “Lao Furen, perhaps today wasn’t a matchmaking session?” As she spoke, she actually walked towards the table.
This distressed scene made Sun Furen felt very embarrassed. She almost wanted to immediately leave but recalling what her husband asked her to do, she must endured this embarrassment. To be honest, she looked down on Second Furen as her in-laws! Originally she wanted to wed her daughter to Jiang’s Fourth Young Master, but her husband believed the Jiangs attract all sorts of trouble and Jiang Fourth Brother is prepared to be sent to the battlefield, at that time, what will happen to his wife? As a result, an only daughter cannot be wedded into such a family. Racking one’s brains, General Sun think that since they are a military family, then they should match with a civil official, and so they set their eyes on Li Xiao Ran. He felt that the Li Family was very reserved but Li Xiao Ran was certainly a prominent figure. Having been in court unmoved for years, he had His Majesty’s trust, his nephew was also a scholar, sooner or later, he would have a career. This was why he would consider this marriage. Besides, based on his military title, they would be seen as out marrying their social class. If it wasn’t Second Furen who delayed her son’s marriage, this good opportunity wouldn’t even fall to the Sun family. Even more, the officials’ valuations were going to begin soon, to grow closer to the Li family is beneficial for everyone.
Luo Mama smilingly blocked Li Chang Le: “Eldest Miss, you are not well, you should stay in your room, why run out?”
“When has it that a servant dare to block me!” Li Chang Le coldly laughed as she pushed her hand away. She directly walked over as she spoke.
Sun Yan stood up and then told Sun Furen: “Mother, we’ve eaten enough here, we shouldn’t stay any longer, let’s leave.” An unclear expression flashed across Lao Furen’s face. She looked at Jiang Yue Lan and the latter quickly said: “That is a good idea, I will come visit you another time.”
Second Furen was upset about ruining her son’s marriage last time. She thought Miss Sun’s life was good and she had a great family background, so she wanted to try matchmaking them. But she didn’t expect Li Chang Le to ruin it that she wanted to use a knife to cut her apart. It was only because she didn’t want to act in front of everyone that she only smiled and said: “Yes, we will come visit next time.”
Sun Furen’s countenance returned to normal and said: “Then we’ll being leaving.”
Li Wei Yang smiled as she rose and spoke: “Lao Furen, I will walk Sun Furen and Miss Sun out.” She only took a step but Li Chang Le had already rushed over and grabbed her arm, startling Sun Yan Jun.
In the hall, everyone only saw Li Chang Le holding onto Li Wei Yang’s arm, as if she wanted to stare holes out of her face.
Li Wei Yang’s face revealed an astounding expression: “Eldest Sister, what are you doing?”
Li Chang Le coldly laughed and said: “You’ve become a master of this family now, happy? Delighted? But you must remember, I will always be the Eldest Miss in this family, you will forever be a bastard!” Saying this, she raised her arm and flung forward.
Who would have expected a “pong” sound and only saw Zhao Yue, who was close behind Li Wei Yang, was already by Li Chang Le’s side with one step. She pulled on her arm with Li Chang Le still in her slapping pose like a paper in the wind as her whole body flew up. Momentarily, she was far away from Li Wei Yang, landing onto the ground with her veil ripped apart. Her original arrogance and viciousness all vanished and she had become panic-stricken. Tan Xiang quickly rushed over, took off her outer jacket to cover her head and face.
Jiang Yue Lan noticed the momentum wasn’t right and hurried over to help Li Chang Le up. She didn’t expect her to push her away, causing her to fall onto the ground with bruises on her arm. Her face also paled yet she still had to smile and told Zhao Yue, who had rushed over: “Zhao Yue, quickly help Eldest Miss up!” She knew that this maid of Li Wei Yang knows martial arts!
Li Chang Le wanted to swing away Zhao Yue’s grasp but with Zhao Yue’s strength, how could she move, Lao Furen coldly said: “What are you all doing! Go help your Miss up!”
The maids and mamas immediately came over to hold Li Chang Le down. Right at this moment, Liu Mama appeared, paced over, pushed everyone away and said: “Eldest Miss is an honorable person, how can she let all of you lowly things touch her!” Afterwards, she clasped onto Li Chang Le and shield her from others seeing her appearance. Neither haughty nor humble, she spoke: “Lao Furen, Eldest Miss’ face is overly sensitive, she doesn’t feel good so she had offended the guest, please forgive her.”
Lao Furen stared at Liu Mama for a while, took a deep breath, and then waved her hand: “Go.”
As Li Chang Le was brought away, she suddenly looked back. Through the clothing’s stitch closure, her frightening eyes coldly stared at Li Wei Yang as if she wanted to pull out her tendons and tear her skin off. Sun Yan Jun, who was standing next to Li Wei Yang, also felt this eccentric chill that she involuntarily held onto Li Wei Yang’s held.
This Li Family’s Eldest Miss had become extremely terrifying!
Sun Yan Jun quietly thought she didn’t see Li Chang Le’s appearance or else she would have nightmares.
Why, why is it that she tackled Li Chang Le yet the Jiangs didn’t make a move, this was abnormal, really abnormal ……
“Wei Yang! Wei Yang! I have to leave!” Sun Yan Jun bid her farewell. She was very shocked today that she didn’t want to stay at the Li Family any longer, “We’ll see each other again at the Empress’ banquet.”
Li Wei Yang reacted and then tugged Miss Sun’s icy cold hands, she smilingly said: “Great, take care.”
Quietness lingered in the courtyard as Jiang Fifth Brother stepped into the room. He saw Li Chang Le was actually sitting in front of the mirror and involuntarily lowered his head and didn’t dare to look straight in her direction.
“Fifth Cousin, are you afraid of my appearance?” Li Chang Le coldly laughed.
Once Jiang Fifth Brother revealed his identity, Li Chang Le had been addressing him that way. But her tone didn’t make others think that she was taunting and jeering at him.
Jiang Fifth Brother consoled: “Cousin, I’ve told you already, your face will recuperate. The only ask is that you listen to my words and don’t step out in the wind.” He can only appeased her in this deceiving manner.
This will never be possible …… Jiang Fifth didn’t dare to say, he only obstinately said: “I’ve already thought of a way, I believe one day, not too long, you must be patient ……”
Li Chang Le raged: “But look at my face! I even have to wear a face veil when I step out, I rather die!”
If Li Chang Le died, the Duke’s Furen will scold him to death. Jiang Fifth hurriedly explained: “Don’t, what Li Wei Yang had done, is to force you onto the brink of death. You must not take your own life or else grandmother will be very heart-broken!”
“She doesn’t even care about me!” Li Chang Le turned as she inched towards Jiang Fifth.
“When!” Li Chang Le aggressively asked, she didn’t want to even wait a day!
Jiang Fifth promised: “Soon! In the coming days! I promise, from now on, you don’t have to see Li Wei Yang’s face ever again!”