Chapter 203: Winner (1) (2/2)
Lady Pan was trying to put the blame for He Changdi’s leaving on this newlywed wife of his. Although she hadn’t finished her sentence, anyone with a brain could tell what she was trying to get at.
Madam Zou lowered her head. Although Lady Pan was provoking House Jing’an right now, she didn’t feel anger at all. Actually, it was the complete opposite- she felt delighted!
Lady Pan happened to cross gazes with Chu Lian and was abruptly stunned by what she saw. Chu Lian’s wide, clear eyes were looking right back at her without any hint of anger, as if she wasn’t the subject of her provocation at all. What Lady Pan had done was akin to tossing a bucket of icy water into a bamboo basket. The icy water didn’t affected the basket one bit, and had actually slipped through the seams like the basket was no more than a sieve, making Lady Pan feel like she had failed to do any damage at all.
The two-faced Lady Pan hadn’t made Chu Lian angry, but had conversely suffered some frustration herself. She stared at Chu Lian as she continued to say, “Now that He Sanlang has joined the army at the northern border, if he doesn’t accrue some sort of achievement, he’ll only be able to return in five years. What a waste of Honoured Lady Jinyi’s best years.”
Chu Lian found all this rather funny. What was going on? Why was everyone targeting her? This was the first time she had ever met Lady Pan. The Pan Estate was also ranks above her, so she couldn’t have possibly encountered them before marriage either. Why was Lady Pan suddenly at odds with her?
Could it be because of Chu Qizheng’s visit to the Pan Estate?
When she thought of this, Chu Lian’s expression turned dark.
She didn’t ask for her father’s love, but he shouldn’t be dragging her down, either!
“Many thanks for Lady Pan’s kind thoughts. My husband is extremely fortunate, so he’ll surely have a lucky turn of events.” Chu Lian threw her neutral reply back at Lady Pan. She was too lazy to beat around the bush with this Lady Pan and couldn’t be bothered to form a more politically correct response. That Lady Pan was already trying to bully her, wasn’t she allowed to throw something back?
Chu Lian wasn’t someone who liked to hold grudges. She would rather give as good as she got on the spot.
Lady Pan choked on that response. That everlasting smile on her face also slowly disappeared. She tossed one last cold sentence at Chu Lian. “I didn’t expect Honoured Lady Jinyi to be so open-minded!”
Chu Lian tilted her head to one side and gave a dazzlingly bright smile to Lady Pan.
Lady Pan’s tempo had been completely messed up by Chu Lian’s unexpected reply. She suddenly gave a furtive smile. “Matriarch He, I haven’t seen your estate’s round cakes. What’s going on? Are you trying to deceive the Empress Dowager?”
Matriarch He sent a look at Chu Lian, who held up an exquisite container and showed it off to Lady Pan. “Thank you for reminding me of the round cakes, Lady Pan. I have to present them now, please excuse me.”
After she said so, Chu Lian took the round cakes and her maidservants with her to greet the Empress Dowager.