Chapter 49: Jiang Shiyuan Meets the Pei Family for the First Time

Old Madam Wang wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and Marquis Madam Pei and sister-in-law Madam Xiang did so even more. Furthermore, Concubine Yang and the third young miss also began to weep. The genuine emotions displayed by the people in this room contrasted sharply with Old Madam Jiang and second aunt Madam Zhang, who were left out in the cold, not knowing whether they should cry or not.

Jiang Shiyue had no interest in any of this. Her eyes were filled with greed as she looked at the mountain-like piles of betrothal gifts outside, her heart consumed with envy. How wonderful it would be if she could experience such a triumphant and glorious moment when her own engagement was settled.

In the end, it was Jiang Huaishan who offered a self-deprecating smile to ease the atmosphere, saying, "I am getting older and find it somewhat difficult to part with my daughter as she marries. I hope Madam Pei will forgive this unseemly display."

"Jiang Zongzheng loves his daughter deeply; I quite understand."

"Very well, since the betrothal list has been accepted, we need not drag out the other superficial formalities. Madam Yang, go and invite the eldest young miss out to meet the Pei family."

"Yes, Master."

With those words, Concubine Yang stepped away toward the back rooms of the inner courtyard. Jiang Shiyuan, waiting there, had naturally heard the conversation outside, so the moment she saw Concubine Yang, she stood up and followed her out.

She had also dressed with meticulous care today. She wore a cloud-haze-colored silk skirt embroidered with golden-leafed happiness-flower patterns, with a light goose-yellow long-sleeved gauze robe draped over it. This attire made her look as though she were enveloped in a halo of glowing rosy clouds, strikingly eye-catching.

Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, and a single cinnabar dot adorned her brow. Her hair was half-coiled, secured with a hairpin featuring blooming happiness flowers inlaid with eastern pearls. With just a light dusting of powder on her face, she possessed a peerless, devastating beauty. Even the members of the House of Marquis Wenyuan, who were accustomed to seeing her, were momentarily stunned by her presence, let alone the Pei family members who had never met her before.

Her posture was light and graceful, her every step evoking blooming lotuses.

The distance from the back quarters to the inner front hall was a mere dozen steps, yet it rendered Pei Ziqi unable to tear his eyes away. Beside him, Pei Ziyao recovered from her astonishment, smiled brightly, and said, "I had no idea my future sister-in-law was actually a celestial fairy descending from the jade terrace. Truly, this is the immense fortune of the Pei family."

Her words sounded supremely comforting to everyone from the Jiang family and the House of Marquis Wenyuan. Hearing this, Jiang Shiyuan felt a slight blush of shyness, yet she stepped forward gracefully and steadily, curtsying to Madam Pei and the Pei siblings before saying, "Jiang Shiyuan, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, pays her respects to Madam Pei, the eldest young miss of the Pei family, and the third young master of the Pei family."

Madam Pei had met Jiang Shiyuan once when she was very young, but back then the girl had been frequently and severely ill, so Madam Pei had not realized her beauty was so breathtaking. Seeing her now, however, she could tell the girl had been impeccably raised by the marquis's estate. Had she not known the truth beforehand, she truly would not have been able to tell that the girl possessed a congenital frailty.

Thus, wearing a rare upturned smile, Madam Pei deliberately removed two mutton-fat white jade bracelets from her own wrists, slipped them onto Jiang Shiyuan's wrists, and said, "From now on, we are one family. There is no need for such formalities; simply call me aunt."

"Greetings, Pei Auntie. Anian pays her respects."

Her tone carried a hint of coquetting charm, and she showed no timidity whatsoever. Remaining perfectly calm and poised even as her future mother-in-law bestowed gifts, her demeanor satisfied the Pei family to no end. Pei Ziyao stepped forward and bantered playfully, "Right now I can still call you Cousin Anian, but in a little while, you will be my sister-in-law. Cousin, I pay my respects to you here."

In contrast, Pei Zimu made fewer elaborate remarks. Deeming his future sister-in-law poised, dignified, and magnanimous, he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Zimu pays respects to Cousin Anian."

"Greetings, Pei Cousin, and third Pei Cousin."

Jiang Shiyuan deliberately added the word "third" before "cousin." This wording made the standing Pei Ziqi raise an eyebrow in surprise. With his eyes fixed entirely on Cousin Anian, he naturally minded her addressing others by the general title of cousin.

Meanwhile, her specific reply pleased Pei Ziqi immensely. He gazed at her with a smile, unwilling to miss even a single glance.

"Good, good, good! The ceremony is complete. Brother-in-law, shouldn't we set the date for this joyous occasion now? That way we can free up our hands to make the preparations. This wedding must be celebrated with utmost splendor!"

Marquis Madam Pei possessed an impatient temperament; now that the betrothal gifts had been formally exchanged, attending to the principal business was paramount.

Her interjection spared Madam Pei the trouble of speaking first. Consequently, Madam Pei instructed the senior wet nurse behind her to present another gold-stamped scroll and said, "I have already had someone calculate the birth characters of the two children. Both the eighth day of the tenth lunar month this year and the twentieth day of the third lunar month next year are supremely auspicious dates. I wonder what Jiang Zongzheng thinks?"

According to Jiang Huaishan's nature, naturally the later the better.

Yet he was also well aware of his future son-in-law's temperament. Even if he chose the date for next year, he suspected it would ultimately be pulled back to October. Rather than that, it was better to settle on October right from the start. Stroking his chin-beard and pondering briefly, he fixed the date as the eighth day of the tenth lunar month.

As soon as he spoke, everyone else felt the date might be somewhat rushed, except for Pei Ziqi, who gazed at his future father-in-law with satisfaction and immediately declared, "Uncle Jiang, rest assured. I will certainly handle this matter with the utmost grandeur and splendor."

"Good, good. Ziqi, you have a good heart."

The entire engagement process was handled mostly by the Pei family, Jiang Huaishan, and the House of Marquis Wenyuan. They discussed the details warmly and happily. Old Madam Jiang tried to interject a couple of times, but no one paid her any mind, so she eventually had no choice but to keep quiet.

Watching everyone without missing a single expression, she desperately wanted to say something, yet no one was willing to listen. It was not until the whole affair concluded and the people from the Pei family and the House of Marquis Wenyuan were seen off that she erupted in towering rage within Tai'an Courtyard.

She wished she could smash everything within arm's reach just to dissipate the fury in her heart!

Jiang Shijin's heart was likewise intensely dissatisfied, but at a time like this, stepping forward personally to take the lead would appear rather foolish. Therefore, pretending ignorance, she stepped forward to comfort Old Madam Jiang and said, "What is wrong with Grandmother? On such a joyous day, with Eldest Sister's marriage officially settled, shouldn't we be happy?"

"Settled? Happy? Didn't you just see how insufferably arrogant those people from the House of Marquis Wenyuan were? It is nothing short of a joke. Clearly, it is a daughter of the Jiang family getting married; why did it feel as though the House of Marquis Wenyuan stole all the spotlight? Especially that old madam and the marquis madam—talking over each other until they left no room for me, a proper grandmother, to interject a single word! Do they still regard me with any respect at all?!"

Old Madam Jiang cursed and railed, longing to smash a few more bowls and dishes to vent her spleen. Yet glancing at the floor full of shattered porcelain, she suddenly felt a sharp pang of heartache, prompting her to beat her chest and stamp her feet in profound frustration.

Seeing this, Jiang Shijin seamlessly remarked, "Perhaps Eldest Sister is simply more attached to her relatives from the marquis's estate, seeing as she grew up over there. We cannot entirely blame Eldest Sister for that. But why did Eldest Uncle favor them so excessively? I noticed he seemed somewhat intimidated by the Pei family."

"Who is to say otherwise? Our Shijin is marrying the heir of Prince Chun—a proper member of the imperial lineage—and we never saw Eldest Uncle behave like that toward them. Why adopt such a subservient posture toward a mere minister's household like the Pei family? If word of this gets out and people say our Jiang family cowers before the Pei family's authority, it will only become fodder for gossip, Mother-in-law."

Second aunt Madam Zhang loved adding fuel to the fire; regardless of the situation, she always managed to drop a few caustic remarks into Old Madam Jiang's ears. At first, Old Madam Jiang's grievances had been directed mostly at the House of Marquis Wenyuan, but as her resentment brewed, she began to look down even upon her own son.

Wiping away her tears with an expression of bitter disappointment in his failure to measure up, she unleashed a fierce torrent of abuse:

"A spineless creature! In the past, he was afraid of his father-in-law's family, and now he has grown terrified of his son-in-law's family as well. I suppose before long, anyone will be able to walk all over his head and trample the Jiang family's dignity into the dirt! How could I have given birth to such a worthless wretch? He isn't even half as good as the second son! If the second son were still alive, you mother and daughter, and our entire Jiang family, would never have had to endure this humiliation!"