Fate Trading System – Chapter 387

Plan B

Mandarin Ducks 17

The General’s wife and Su Xin were both contemplating what kind of outfit Su Xin should wear to the invitation.

The assertive type? Su Xin could pull it off, but her temperament was growing increasingly lazy, and it didn’t fit the persona; Xu Jinyan would absolutely not be the kind of person who exuded an air of nobility.

The General’s wife planned to have Su Xin dress in a more elegant and refined manner, to triumph over that group of pretentious women with sheer class.

Lin Suhuai was also offering her opinion from the side, but not knowing much about it, she thought everything looked good.

No matter the clothes, she felt her wife could wear them with a special flair.

The General’s wife laid out a room full of jewelry and garments, letting Su Xin pick her favorites to match. But after choosing and choosing, she was still not quite satisfied. It wasn’t that she thought the clothes were unattractive, but rather that they weren’t special enough, not unique enough, and couldn’t possibly measure up to her daughter-in-law’s beauty.

The General’s wife: “I don’t think this set will do. It seems like the young lady from that one family has a similar outfit. Although there are some minor differences, what if she wears it too?”

Lin Suhuai: “This dress is also extremely beautiful.”

Su Xin rubbed her temples. Lin Suhuai had clearly become a wife-booster¹; everything looked good, and she offered all sorts of compliments, but none of it was practical advice.

“Why don’t I have someone rush to make a new one now? It might be too late, though.”

The General’s wife put down the dress in her hands, somewhat frustrated.

She, of course, already had an idea of what she herself would wear, and it certainly wouldn’t be bad. After all, when she went out, she was one of the faces of the General. Moreover, she paid close attention to exercise; she had been lively and active since she was young, the type who could never stay idle. Even now that she was older, it was the same, though she hadn’t been out and about as much since her foundation² was damaged that one time.

“Mother, let’s just go with this one. This one is quite nice.”

Su Xin picked up a piece she rather liked.

“Alright, this one it is. The style and color are particularly good. Jinyan’s taste is just so excellent. Come, let’s pick out some jewelry.”

Just a short while ago, she had been holding this very dress, sizing it up and feeling it wasn’t worthy of Su Xin. In her eyes, none of the clothes in the entire room were.

“Don’t be afraid. If you’re wronged in any way, just come back and tell me. I’ll help you put them back in their place.”

Lin Suhuai kissed Su Xin’s forehead. Although she felt her wife was the best in the world, others certainly didn’t think so. And since those people knew this person was her wife, they would definitely try every possible way to dig up her background. Those who were hostile towards her would surely want Su Xin to be humiliated.

Even knowing her wife might face aggravation, she still had to let her mother and daughter-in-law go to the appointment.

One day, she would let her do whatever she wanted, as her heart desired.

The next day, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo went out, dressed dazzlingly.

A layer of snow covered the tree branches, making the red plum blossoms appear exceptionally enchanting.

All the plum blossoms in the garden had already bloomed. The wind blew coldly. Su Xin, wrapped in a brocade fur cloak³, took her mother-in-law’s hand and walked over with delicate steps. A servant trotted a few steps ahead to present their invitation card⁴.

Many people had already arrived. Those chatting and laughing in the small pavilions looked towards the newcomers, their curious gazes all falling upon Su Xin.

Su Xin was dressed brightly and beautifully today. She had done her own makeup. The original plan was to have a maid do it, but after some thought, she decided to do it herself, creating a look that did not yet exist in this world. She also did the General’s wife’s makeup. Of course, this was all thanks to the great Master Fourteen. Although Su Xin knew how to apply makeup, she wasn’t very knowledgeable about which styles would fit the current aesthetic.

Su Xin’s lack of skill was limited to the kitchen and painting; she was quite adept when it came to makeup. After all, she had undergone specialized training that required her to use whatever materials were available to disguise herself in a crowd at any time.

This body’s face was not the most outstanding among all those present, but that didn’t matter. Su Xin wasn’t here for a beauty contest.

Those people were whispering among themselves, marveling at her beauty.

Su Xin’s attention was focused only on the woman surrounded by the crowd.

That woman was undoubtedly the most strikingly dressed of everyone present. Her face was pretty, her presence formidable, and she exuded a sense of confidence. Her red sable cloak was exceptionally eye-catching against the vast white snow, and it complemented the red plum blossoms outside the pavilion.

The moment Su Xin saw her, she knew who she was: Princess Yuyuan.

It was also correct that she was one of the most honored women in the current imperial dynasty; she was currently the only princess remaining in the Imperial City.

The other princesses had all been married off to other places; only Princess Yuyuan remained.

There was no other reason than the fact that she was the Empress Dowager’s only daughter. The other princesses had all been married off under the Empress Dowager’s arrangements. The Emperor had no way to interfere in these matters, as his power was still weak at the time. Furthermore, none of those princesses were his full-blooded sisters. His mother had given birth only to him. He didn’t care that those princesses were married off; it wasn’t as if any of them would have stood in the same camp as him anyway.

Princess Yuyuan’s appearance was quite remarkable. Her features were lovely, and her beautiful face held a hint of a smile. A group of people surrounded her.

There were also others not by her side, scattered about. Some stood under the trees admiring the flowers. The relationships of closeness and distance were clear at a glance, from which one could also discern the relationships between their husbands or fathers.

“Madam Lin has arrived. Come, have a seat.”

Yuyuan beckoned with a friendly attitude.

The General’s wife’s expression did not change as she walked over.

She could not slight the princess, because the princess could charge her with the crime of disrespect. Even though the General’s wife hated the Empress Dowager to the bone, and by extension hated Princess Yuyuan as well, she had to maintain a pleasant facade at this moment. She walked over with a beaming smile, though in her heart she wished she could tear this person to shreds.

But then, the General’s wife’s thoughts shifted elsewhere.

The entire capital city had heard of the loving relationship between Princess Yuyuan and the Prince Consort. The General’s wife naturally knew about the entanglement between her own daughter-in-law and the Prince Consort, but she didn’t feel Xu Jinyan was unclean or unruly because of it. On the contrary, she was secretly delighted that the Prince Consort didn’t know what was good for him, leaving this wonderful wife for her daughter. She had silently picked up a great treasure.

Thinking this, the General’s wife’s expression became somewhat subtle. She really wondered if Yuyuan knew what a faithless and ungrateful person her husband was. Tsk, tsk. Princess Yuyuan seemed quite good-tempered on the surface, but anyone slightly familiar with her knew what her personality was really like.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

Madam Lin curtsied, and Su Xin bowed along with her.

“This must be General Lin’s wife. Your appearance is indeed very likable. And this makeup is rather novel; This Palace have never seen it before.”

Yuyuan had originally intended to say something else, but when her eyes fell on Su Xin’s face, her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

There isn’t a girl who doesn’t love beauty, especially Princess Yuyuan, who paid great attention to her own appearance. Although she disliked the two people before her and knew there was a hatred between them as if they could not share the same sky⁵, it didn’t stop her from asking Su Xin other questions.

Princess Yuyuan’s intention today was to lead this group of young ladies and madams to see what the General’s wife was really like. Moreover, Princess Yuyuan was determined not to let that person have an easy time, to absolutely make her so embarrassed she couldn’t get off the stage⁶, and preferably to mock her to the point where she would be looked down upon in this circle. But unexpectedly, this woman had some skill. Just this makeup alone was something Princess Yuyuan had never seen. It made her skin look fair, tender, and breakable by a puff or a flick⁷, and her eyes spirited, causing Princess Yuyuan to raise her guard. This might not be someone easy to fool, but she would have to see what happened next to know for sure.

A group of young ladies gathered around, also looking at Su Xin’s face and letting out gasps of admiration.

Those seated here were all young ladies. It was naturally inconvenient for the General’s wife to remain here, but she was worried about leaving her daughter-in-law, who had just arrived in the capital not long ago, all alone. Everyone here was on the princess’s side. Leaving Su Xin here was like placing a little lamb before a pack of wolves; it was simply too dangerous.

Su Xin smiled at the General’s wife and gently tapped her palm, signaling for her to go ahead without worry; she could handle it.

The General’s wife left hesitantly, her gaze turning back to Su Xin, who was surrounded by a group of women.

Su Xin didn’t feel awkward or suffocated; she even handled it with more than enough blade to spare⁸.

It wasn’t as if she were truly someone from a small place who had never seen the world, who would be afraid of this and that, afraid of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. Su Xin was perfectly calm, ready to see a move, dismantle a move⁹.

Her thoughts were actually focused mainly on Princess Yuyuan.

When Fourteen gave her the file on Princess Yuyuan, she knew this mission would not be easy to complete and that she had to stick firmly to her previous plan.

Princess Yuyuan had a very strong personality. She was the Empress Dowager’s most doted-on daughter, and she wasn’t the brainless type. She was beautiful, scheming, and had a spoiled and arrogant temperament, somewhat flying and domineering¹⁰, but she was very good at keeping up appearances. Her private affairs were never known to others.

Her jealousy and possessiveness were especially strong, but she didn’t achieve her ends by directly threatening Liu Yunyi, but by another method.

Liu Yunyi once took an interest in a pretty maid in their residence. Princess Yuyuan neither scolded the maid nor Liu Yunyi, carrying on as if nothing had happened.

Just as Liu Yunyi was in bed with the maid, rolling on the bedsheets¹¹, and something was about to truly happen, the maid suddenly pushed him away, knelt before him, and, crying, took out a prepared pair of scissors and slashed her own face again and again.

This scared Liu Yunyi so badly he was stunned and almost went limp.

Only then did Princess Yuyuan leisurely walk in. The maid kowtowed fiercely to her.

How could Liu Yunyi not understand what Princess Yuyuan meant? He hurriedly admitted his fault as well.

Getting Liu Yunyi to tell Princess Yuyuan what he and Xu Jinyan did without distorting the facts was nearly impossible.

It wasn’t just for the sake of benefits, but also out of fear of Princess Yuyuan.

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