A Good Country Wife

This peasant woman is quite adept at social maneuvering, first ingratiating herself with Jiang Ziqi, and now even making connections with the Commandery Princess. I don’t see what’s so special about her, Chen Ruyu cursed inwardly, her jealousy and resentment growing. Zhang Peilan’s expression, however, was somewhat complex. The arrival of Lady Roujia had disrupted her plans. With her status, she was nothing but a servant in front of Lady Roujia. If Lady Roujia was protective of Lin Yue, she wouldn’t dare to cross the Commandery Princess.

So it’s really just a poetry gathering after all, with Lady Roujia not participating but simply sitting at the head, looking indifferent, occasionally glancing at Lin Yue, wondering what was different about this woman that made Jiang Ziqi view her so favorably.

Lin Yue had figured out Lady Roujia’s attitude and had her own speculations, which made her feel more at ease. She had thought that Chen Ruyu might make things a little difficult for her, just to embarrass her, but not too excessively. However, seeing that Chen Ruyu wasn’t thinking that way at all, and with Zhang Peilan as an accomplice, with every word and sentence targeting her, she was truly hard to deal with. Unless she was ready to completely fall out with Chen Mansion, she feared her face wouldn’t look good today.

But she couldn’t resign herself to this situation. She had seen all the effort Zhao Erhu had put in these past days, working so diligently to build a good relationship with the Chen family patriarch, who was also a good official and had taken an increasing interest in Zhao Erhu. She didn’t want to destroy the results of Zhao Erhu’s long efforts because of herself. To her surprise, at this time, Lady Roujia arrived, and openly stated she would look after her.

"Really, these people are just too bored to host such a ’poetry gathering.’ Listening to the poetry they recite, not only lacks literary grace but is also unbearably pedantic, it makes my ears hurt just listening to it," Lady Roujia complained to Lin Yue, rubbing her ears with a hint of impatience. If it weren’t for agreeing to look after Lin Yue on behalf of Jiang Ziqi, she would have left long ago, not staying here to let her ears suffer.

Originally, Lin Yue was seated below Aunt Chen, but when Lady Roujia arrived, she had Lin Yue sit by her side. Now, hearing Lady Roujia’s words, Lin Yue nodded in agreement, thinking of the phrase ’The youth doesn’t know the taste of sorrow, but composes new poems to describe it forcibly,’ and uttered it without thinking.

Lady Roujia’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, recognizing genuine literary talent. It seemed the person whom Jiang Ziqi viewed differently was indeed extraordinary. Just by hearing these two lines, one could tell Lin Yue was learned. It was truly curious how a peasant woman could possess such talent, and surely that wasn’t all there was to her. There might be more she hadn’t shown yet. She ought to discover more, and although their days seemed rather dull, she had now found something interesting and naturally wouldn’t let go of Lin Yue. Instantly, she warmly took Lin Yue’s hand and started an animated conversation.

Seeing that Lady Roujia, despite her high status, was not disdainful and had a forthright personality, and also didn’t look down on her for being a peasant woman, Lin Yue was naturally willing to chat with Lady Roujia. It was much better than listening to the young ladies recite insipid poetry. As the two talked more, they found they had a lot in common.

"Yueyue, you are truly remarkable. Although you grew up in the countryside, you know so much. It seems like you’re aware of everything under the heavens. It’s beyond my expectations. No wonder Jiang Ziqi looks at you differently. It’s rare that we have so much in common; we must visit with each other more in the future," Lady Roujia confided in Lin Yue as a close friend and spoke without reservation. Besides, Jiang Ziqi hadn’t warned her against telling Lin Yue. Many in the upper circles already knew of her close relationship with Jiang Ziqi.

Upon hearing Lady Roujia’s words, Lin Yue was certain of her own speculation; it was indeed Jiang Ziqi who had asked Lady Roujia to come. In the Capital City, aside from Jiang Ziqi, no one else would help her like this. Her family’s debt to Jiang Ziqi was growing by the day.