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Yun Ran arrived a few steps earlier than Yun Kexin and walked up to the Jin Wang family and Fu Yihang's family.
Prince Jin Li looked quite young, dressed in a royal blue silk robe adorned with purple floral patterns, his hair styled in a bun secured with a Purple Gold Crown, exuding an air of royal authority. Princess Jin Zhao was a gentle woman, wearing a pink palace dress embroidered with silver threads featuring plum blossoms, her hair styled in a falling horse bun, adorned only with a phoenix hairpin. She had delicate makeup and a graceful figure, her eyes and brows slightly smiling. Although she was not tall, she looked well-matched standing next to the similarly heighted Prince Jin.
This was the first time the Jin Wang family visited the Duke's residence, so they did not recognize the Third House sisters. They had only heard of a simple-minded "silly girl" named Yun Kexin and assumed that the first person to approach them was her. Thus, Zhao looked at Yun Ran and smiled, saying, "This must be the Seventh Young Lady..."
"In response to Princess Jin, I am Yun Ran, the Eldest Sister of the Third House," Yun Ran tried her best to win over those present with her charm, smiling flatteringly. "Seventh Sister is right here..." Yun Ran pointed at Yun Kexin beside her and introduced her in an elder sisterly tone, laced with sarcasm, "Don't be fooled by her silly demeanor; she's quite clever usually."
Yun Kexin pretended not to hear and smiled at the four people before her, saying, "Greetings to Prince Jin, Princess Jin, and my uncle and aunt. Welcome to the Duke's residence for Third Uncle's birthday celebration."
"Oh, such sweet words," Wang Ling remarked with an appreciative tone but added a hint of provocation. "The legitimate daughter and the concubine daughter are indeed different; perhaps it's due to bloodline."
Sure enough, Yun Ran was furious. Realizing that this was not the time to lose her temper, Fu Lianyin shot her a warning glance from the side, which made her temper down.
"Sister-in-law. Look at you," Fu Lianyin said with a smile. "Aren't both legitimate and illegitimate daughters just as good? Both are flesh and blood; I teach them equally," she quickly glanced at Yun Ran. "Ran'er, why don't you step back?"
Yun Ran silently lamented. She had finally managed to avoid Fu Lianyin and arrived earlier than Yun Kexin. She wanted to make a good impression on Fu Yihang's parents but found herself having to step back just as the show was beginning. Feeling somewhat unwilling but knowing she had to obey her mother's orders, she turned around only to hear Princess Li Yurong coldly command, "Wait."
Yun Ran turned back and met Princess Li Yurong's gaze. Knowing beforehand that she was a princess, she felt no fear and smiled broadly. "Greetings to Princess."
Li Yurong scrutinized Yun Ran as if observing a curiosity and then examined Fu Yihang with the same gaze. The two felt as if they were being pricked by needles under her stare. Fu Lianyin certainly knew what Li Yurong had noticed and wanted Yun Ran to leave quickly. However, her mind was not as quick as Li Yurong's tongue when Li Yurong furrowed her brows and said:
"Are you two golden boys and jade girls? Dressed exactly alike for whom?" Her words were sharp, piercing directly at Fu Yihang and Yun Ran's hearts.
Fu Yihang was taken aback; before he could explain himself, Yun Ran nodded slightly and spoke softly with a gentle smile. "Princess, this outfit was actually made by Second Aunt in two sets—one for Brother Fu and one for Seventh Sister—to wear for Third Uncle's birthday," Yun Ran paused briefly, casting a sidelong glance at Yun Kexin with a hint of vindictive pleasure before continuing, "It's just that Seventh Sister found Second Aunt's gift unattractive and threw it at me, really! I'm practically becoming her trash can."
Yun Kexin frowned: This despicable Yun Ran never misses an opportunity to embarrass her! But she wasn't someone easy to provoke either! Meanwhile, Yun Ran eagerly awaited seeing Yun Kexin being reprimanded by Fu Lianyin.
"So you're just a concubine daughter; no wonder you look like that," Li Yurong's merciless mockery came as expected. "Such beautiful clothes on you are truly wasted—putting beautiful saddles on a donkey won't turn it into a horse; it's still just a donkey."
If it weren't in front of everyone, Yun Kexin would have laughed out loud: this Li Yuyong is really sharp-tongued and amusing! Although she still couldn't quite grasp what kind of person she was, at least she had vented some frustration on her behalf. Looking again at Yun Ran, her nose was so twisted with anger that it seemed like she had hit her own leg while trying to flatter someone, only to be kicked away by the remark "a donkey is still a donkey."
"Rong'er, you've been wild at home for too long; how can you be so rude when you're outside?" Prince Jin couldn't help but chide softly, "We're guests at someone else's house, do you understand?"
Li Yuyong pouted and carelessly replied, "Yes, Father." Then she looked at Yun Kexin with a hint of arrogance, "Second Matriarch... why did you make two identical outfits for you and Fu Yihang? And why don't you like them?" Her tone carried a bit of accusation.
Fu Lianyin nervously glanced at Yun Kexin, unsure of what she would say.
"I don't dislike them," Yun Kexin replied calmly and politely with a light laugh. "I just think it's inappropriate for my cousin and me to wear the same outfit at Third Uncle's birthday celebration."
"If you don't like it, then don't wear it. Why give it to the concubine sister?" Li Yuyong sneered as she shot a disdainful glance at Yun Ran. "That outfit doesn't suit her!"
"Rong'er!" Princess Zhao couldn't help but interject.
Yun Ran lowered her head, her hair hanging down to hide her twisted face filled with anger. She bit her lip until it bled, her fierce gaze shifting to the beautiful embroidered shoes on Yun Kexin's feet, wishing her eyes could turn into daggers to stab Yun Kexin's feet.
"Enough of this, let's go to the main hall," Yun Yang, who had just arrived, called out without caring about the humiliation faced by Yun Ran. "Third Uncle wants us to go over."
"Oh dear, we almost delayed the children's important business," Wang Ling waved a green handkerchief in front of everyone and complained. "Hurry up! We can't keep the three old gentlemen waiting; he's an elder in the court."
The six adults led their respective children to the main hall. Before Yun Yang followed them, he thought of Yun Ran and felt a bit reluctant. He turned around and looked at her with pity. "Fifth Young Lady, go back to your room and change into another outfit. Also, bring out the gift you bought for Third Uncle."
Yun Ran coldly laughed and replied, "Yes, Father."
In the North Courtyard Hall, the host delivered birthday wishes filled with praise. Next came the presentation of gifts. Yun Jinxiu looked at the array of expensive birthday gifts before him. He stroked his graying goat beard with satisfaction, his eyes gleaming with greed. The desire was so unabashed that even Yun Kexin found it hard to bear.
Standing beside Yun Cheng, she felt unable to look directly at this scene. She wondered what Fourth Uncle felt; surely he would hate and despise Third Uncle even more now. Lost in thought, she looked up at Fourth Uncle but found that his gaze was directed towards the front of the hall—not at Third Uncle's position—and his eyes occasionally darted left and right as if avoiding something. In fact, by the end, he simply focused his gaze on the bluestone floor.
Yun Kexin was puzzled about what Fourth Uncle was avoiding. While wondering about this, she tried to look around at the crowd when suddenly her gaze landed on a man dressed like a dark guard who was staring intently at Fourth Uncle!
No, that dark guard's focus was on Fourth Uncle holding her hand. Yun Kexin's heart skipped a beat; what was going on? Was there something wrong with Fourth Uncle holding her hand? What kind of audacity did that dark guard have? How dare he spy on the Duke's residence?! But if he dared to do so, it could only mean that this person had a powerful backing.
“Fourth Uncle, Fourth Uncle.” Yun Kexin shook Cloud City’s arm and whispered, “There’s a man who has been staring at you. Who is he?”
“Just don’t think of him as a ‘good man’,” Cloud City replied with a frown, jokingly.
But it was clear that Cloud City knew more than he let on. He just didn’t want to reveal it.
Yun Kexin, however, was not in the mood for jokes. She felt that the gaze following Fourth Uncle was not just a casual one. It carried a sinister warning that was truly hard to decipher.
After the officials and Duke's Residence, First House, Second House, and Third House presented their gifts, it was time for the offspring from each house. Yun Kexin had been under house arrest at the time and did not buy a birthday gift, so Yun Yang filled in for her. Finally, it was Yun Ran’s turn. Dressed in new clothes, Yun Ran approached Yun Jinxiu at the head of the table with a delicate rectangular box in her hands. She stood still and placed the box on the table, smiling eagerly as she waited for Third Uncle to unwrap the gift and enjoy the praise.
Upon seeing the exquisite black lacquer box, Yun Jinxiu couldn’t help but smile widely and praised it repeatedly. However, when he opened the box, he was instantly left speechless, his face turning ashen. Yun Ran was puzzled by Yun Jinxiu’s reaction; she had chosen the gift herself and thought there couldn’t be any problems. But when she looked into the box, she was horrified and screamed in panic:
“A Dead Eagle! It’s a Dead Eagle! How could this happen? How could this happen?”
Everyone in the hall stared wide-eyed in shock, cold sweat pouring down their backs: The Fifth Young Lady from Third House actually gifted Third Uncle a Dead Eagle!
“No, no, it’s not this,” Yun Ran suddenly collapsed to the ground and cried out loud, “The gift I bought for Third Uncle was a set of tea utensils! How did it turn into a Dead Eagle? Boohoo…”
Before Yun Ran could finish her words, Yun Jinxiu spat out a mouthful of blood. Everyone gasped in shock as the masters and ladies from various houses rushed forward, saying, “Third Uncle! Third Uncle! Are you alright?”
“There must be someone behind this,” Yun Yang said angrily. “It can’t be Fifth Young Lady; Third Uncle…”
“Fifth Young Lady,” Yun Jinxiu took the towel handed to him by Sun Rulan and lightly covered his mouth and nose as he looked at Yun Ran with vacant eyes. “You… who made you do this?”
“Nobody, Third Uncle,” Yun Ran knelt on the ground, trembling like a dog shaking off water. She cried pitifully, “I bought the gift and left it in my room without touching it again. I really don’t know how it turned into this. Third Uncle, I’m wronged.”
“No, impossible! Someone must have taught you to do this,” Yun Jinxiu fixed his gaze on Yun Ran, determined to force an answer out of her. He coldly laughed in despair and said, “I just want to know how many people in Duke's Residence are wishing for my death…”
His unfinished questioning was interrupted by a violent coughing fit that followed. (To be continued)
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Author: Qian Nian Xue Shang
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So when she learns that Xiao Heng is still single, Yuan Fei decides that chasing the husband should be done early.
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Yuan Fei stares at her friend's bouquet with a hungry wolf's gaze. After catching the bouquet, she shoves it into Xiao Heng's arms. Before he can react, she loudly declares:
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