Les beautés de la dynastie Song

Chapitre 3

"Alright, now you can help me walk around a bit."

"Is the eldest young mistress going out?"

Go out? What a joke! She can barely stand, let alone go out. "No need, I'll just walk around inside first."

Life as a young mistress of a wealthy family in ancient times was truly difficult. Look at what she's doing now? Sitting on the doorstep, she stares at a large swarm of ants surrounding a dead fly, seemingly planning to carry it into their hole. She's incredibly bored. But what can she do?

Embroidery? She only knows how to use a gun, not a needle!

Playing the zither? She's never even touched a single string of the guzheng!

Reciting poetry? She can only recite poems that others have already written!

All she does now is eat!

"Forget it, let's go for a walk. I've been practicing walking for several days, so let's put it to practice now!" She called Xiao Fei and Du Juan over. They said that Green Jade Manor was very big, and she didn't know much about the place yet, so it would be better to have someone lead the way.

The three of them, mistress and servants, were strolling in the garden when they ran into Qin Yue, who was walking towards them. She walked up to Su Yuyin, gave a slight bow, and smiled kindly: "Greetings, sister-in-law!"

"Who are you?" I asked, puzzled.

“My husband is Ouyang Tianji, the second son in our family,” she said softly, cleverly avoiding mentioning Su Yuyin’s amnesia. “My maiden name is Qin, and my given name is Yue. If you don’t mind, you can call me ‘Yue’er’.”

Oh, so she's the second young mistress here! What a gentle and intelligent woman!

"Hello, Yue'er." Su Yuyin greeted her cheerfully. She noticed that Qin Yue also had "three-inch golden lotuses." Good heavens, how could this era be like this?

"How is your health, sister-in-law?"

They entered the pavilion, where the maids had already laid out refreshments and tea.

"Thank you, it's all better now." She suddenly thought, "Calling me 'sister-in-law' feels too formal, you can just call me Yuyin."

"Sister-in-law—etiquette must not be disregarded."

"Forget about etiquette, as long as we address each other affectionately, that's fine," Su Yuyin waved her hand dismissively. In her eyes, all talk of "etiquette" was utterly meaningless.

"Well... alright, Yu Yin." Qin Yue said with a smile.

"By the way, Yue'er, what do you usually do?"

"Me? I usually do embroidery, play the zither, and sometimes make clothes for my husband..."

As expected—boring!

Qin Yue recounted all the things she had done, while Su Yuyin's face scrunched up in dismay. Why were they all things like this? Was there nothing fun to do?

Unable to bear Qin Yue talking about these "boring" things, she looked into the distance and saw a tall man carefully supporting a woman. They were chatting and laughing along the way, and seemed to have a very good relationship. She guessed that it must be her unfulfilled husband and his... beloved concubine.

"They have a good relationship." It was none of her business; her tone was so calm that there was no jealousy or sadness.

"This..." Qin Yue looked at Su Yuyin. How could she speak so calmly, as if it were none of her business?!

Su Yuyin knew what Qin Yue was thinking, and she chuckled, "Yue'er, why are you looking at me like that?"

Aren't you jealous?

Would you do that to him?

"Huh?" I don't understand.

“You have no feelings for him, so you don’t care who he’s with, and neither do I.” Su Yuyin smiled faintly. “I just really want to know what kind of romance they have?”

"Romance?" What's that? I don't understand.

"I mean, how did they meet?" Su Yuyin picked up an apple. She took a big bite, which looked quite uncouth.

Qin Yue stared at her in surprise, not only because she couldn't understand what Su Yuyin was saying, but also because her unladylike eating was unbelievable for a lady from a respectable family. She felt that her sister-in-law seemed to have changed. Although they hadn't had a deep relationship before, they had met a few times, and she wasn't like this.

"Yue'er, what's wrong?" Su Yuyin waved her hand in front of her eyes to bring her back to her senses.

"Ah... I'm sorry! I heard that Sister-in-law Xiangmei is my eldest brother's cousin, that is, my mother-in-law's niece. They grew up together, so they have a very deep relationship." Qin Yue told the truth, not knowing if this would hurt her sister-in-law's feelings.

"Cousin? My own cousin?" Su Yuyin asked.

"It seems so."

Su Yuyin had a strange expression on her face. No way? Consanguineous marriage?!

Qin Yue thought her sister-in-law couldn't handle the blow. After all, her sister-in-law was a woman too, and she could understand her feelings. She herself had a happy family and a loving husband, and she really hoped that her sister-in-law could also find happiness.

"Second Young Mistress, the Second Young Master is looking for you everywhere!" a maid called out from not far away.

"Go tell him I'm going back now." Qin Yue stood up and said apologetically, "Yu Yin, I'm sorry, I have to go back. I'll come and keep you company next time."

"Okay, take care!"

After Qin Yue left, Su Yuyin finished the remaining half of the apple and planned to go back for a nap. Just as she turned around, she bumped into a chest. Ouch! She covered her nose where she had been hit and glared angrily at the owner of the chest, only to be met with a pair of mocking eyes...

"Third Young Master!" Du Juan called out softly. Although he was the eldest young mistress's savior, he was a notorious playboy. The eldest young mistress would suffer if she were with him.

So he was the third son. Rumor had it he was a playboy and spendthrift, with a terrible reputation according to the servants, spending his days indulging in debauchery and neglecting his duties. But she felt this was just a facade; her intuition told her he wasn't that kind of person.

"Someone, pour tea for the Third Young Master."

"yes."