Chapter 155: Reborn and Transformed

A night passed.

The next day, Lu Ying acted as if nothing had happened yesterday and went about her business as usual. Not only did she need to meet the servants of the Yuan clan who came looking for her, but she also had to use various indirect means to investigate and figure out these people's character, past deeds, and overall capabilities.

Afterward, she needed to inspect the Yuan clan's properties. Naturally, she only looked at what interested her; things like iron mines could be left alone.

What interested Lu Ying the most were various types of ships.

Amidst her dizzying and frantic busyness, the noble person was evidently equally busy, resulting in the two of them not crossing paths at all over the past few days. Seven days later, when Lu Ying felt she had a firm grasp of these matters, she arrived outside the Yuan clan's chambers.

Before long, Yuan hurried out, smiling timidly, "Eldest Brother, is this good?" People in Wuhan had unrestrained personalities, and the nuns and women there also placed great emphasis on makeup. Yuan's makeup was precisely the currently popular style: "pale white face, yellowed forehead, and kingfisher-green eyebrows." This meant applying a thick layer of white face powder, painting the forehead yellow, and drawing the eyebrows in kingfisher green. Yuan had always dressed according to this trend. Her face tended to be round, with slight horizontal wrinkles on her forehead. That yellow forehead made her face look exceptionally large and accentuated those forehead wrinkles. Her skin had a natural tan, a normally healthy complexion, yet it was caked with a thick layer of lead powder. Combined with her flat facial features, it practically highlighted every single flaw she possessed.

Lu Ying looked her up and down before turning to the handsome middle-aged man and saying, "Go help her restyle." Then, she turned to the maidservants recalled over the past two days—those who had served Yuan since childhood and had been driven away after her engagement to Young Master Yang—and instructed, "Watch how he styles your mistress, learn it well, and do it this way from now on."

"Yes." The maidservants crowded around Yuan and escorted her back inside.

Two quarters of an hour later, Yuan emerged once more.

The moment Yuan stepped out this time, everyone's eyes lit up simultaneously.

Seeing that Lu Ying said nothing, Yuan widened her doe-like apricot eyes, which had been intentionally emphasized and outlined, shimmering with a hint of moisture and timidity. "Eldest Brother, does it not look good?"

"It looks good. Very good."

If the former Yuan possessed not an ounce of charm and was as thoroughly ordinary as one could possibly be, her current appearance made it completely impossible to tell she was wearing makeup. Instead, she exuded the vibrant liveliness of a youthful maiden, suddenly acquiring a threefold charm. Her naturally tanned skin radiated a flush of color, looking so healthy that it instantly brought comfort to the viewer. Her black eyebrows were slightly elongated, making her eyes exceptionally captivating. Her nose was petite, her lips moist and colorful, and coupled with a gown that made her waist appear remarkably slender and completely concealed her slightly plump figure, Lu Ying thought that even without wearing a veil, if such a Yuan were to walk outside, Young Master Yang and the others might not necessarily recognize her.

Upon receiving Lu Ying's verdict that "it looks very good," Yuan pressed her lips together and smiled happily. With that smile, her fluttering eyes appeared even more timid and endearing.

In contrast, Lu Ying, dressed in a flowing white robe and looking every bit the dashing young gentleman, seemed somewhat sensitive to the cold; she had a square silk wrap draped over her shoulders, which covered her neck. Combined with her slightly pale complexion, the entire ensemble gave her an aura of decadent elegance and sickly aristocracy.

Looking at Lu Ying, Yuan asked cautiously, "Eldest Brother, are you unwell?"

"No." Lu Ying's peripheral vision caught sight of a few guards and maidservants glancing their way, and she thought to herself: This is what I call showing weakness... Look at how anxious and frightened she had been these past few days! And that injury from the other day still hadn't let her fully recover her vitality. Since she was already this pitiful, that person's anger should subside just a little bit, right?

Withdrawing her gaze, Lu Ying smiled and turned to leave. "Let's get on the carriage. If we delay any longer, we'll be late."

"Mm-mm."

Yuan quickly followed her and climbed onto the carriage.

Watching Yuan periodically steal glances at herself in the bronze mirror, Lu Ying curved her lips, suppressed a smile, and said, "It looks very good. Yuan-niang should do her makeup like this from now on."

Yuan nodded vigorously.

She was a truly ordinary person. This ordinariness manifested in every aspect: no matter how she studied the zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting, she never excelled; in embroidery, even now, the mandarin ducks she embroidered still looked like ducks; no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't understand the subtext in people's words. If she had any specialty, it was spacing out, sleeping, and fine food. Yet she wasn't someone who could eat without gaining weight, and the inevitable result of this was a figure far rounder than most...

Seeing Yuan unable to resist looking at herself in the mirror once more, Lu Ying smiled and closed her eyes.

She had been quite tired lately herself.

After a moment, Lu Ying said, "We are heading to the Jiang residence now. Have you heard of it?"

Yuan withdrew her gaze from the mirror and nodded honestly. "I've heard of them. In the past, during festivals and holidays, some of them would come to visit me." Taking advantage of Lu Ying's inattention, she stealthily popped a piece of honey cake into her mouth and hurriedly swallowed it in two or three gulps.

Lu Ying did not notice her petty action and continued with her eyes closed, "When your parents were alive, they had the closest relations with the Jiang and Yang families. People from the Yang family will also be attending this banquet."

Yuan fell silent, and her hand, which had been stealthily reaching for another candied fruit, dropped powerlessly.

Lu Ying continued, "Young Master Yang will be there." After uttering these four words, Lu Ying slowly added, "When we get there, if you don't want to speak, don't say anything at all. Just stay close to me. This is your first public appearance after your falling-out with the Yang family. As long as you don't announce in public that you are unwilling to seek a separation, nothing will happen."

Yuan quickly said, "I won't. I want a separation."

Lu Ying gave an acknowledging "Mm" and added, "By now, they have already splashed dirty water on you and used your female confidantes to suppress and persuade you. I expect their next move will be to use soft words and plead with you. Do not soften your heart."

"Mm." After thinking for a moment, Yuan said, "I will stay close to Eldest Brother and simply say nothing at all."

Lu Ying nodded.

Soon, the carriage drove through a tall main gate and entered an expansive plaza.

It was currently afternoon, and the glaring sunlight beat down upon the earth. The Jiang residence had invited a great many guests, and people could be seen coming and going through the main entrance from time to time. The plaza designated for parking carriages was similarly packed to the brim with carriages.

At this banquet, both Yuan and Lu Ying were the focal figures. Therefore, the moment their carriage came to a halt, numerous gazes turned in their direction, and the surrounding clamor even quieted down slightly.

Amidst the sea of watchful eyes, Lu Ying alighted from the carriage first.

This was also Lu Ying's first appearance before the aristocratic clans of Wuhan. As soon as she stepped out, the surrounding crowd drew in a collective breath of air. Faint expressions of astonishment could be heard: "How is it such an aristocratic gentleman?" "With such looks, it truly shouldn't be wasted on a woman..."

The exclamations drew an increasing number of people to look over.

Under the fixed gaze of countless pairs of eyes, Lu Ying—possessing the demeanor of a noble scion and the ethereal grace of jade—turned around and gently called into the carriage, "Younger Sister Yuan, you may come down now."

"Mm."

Yuan-niang placed her hand in Lu Ying's and slowly descended from the carriage.

Compared to Lu Ying's breathtaking appearance, Yuan-niang was far more ordinary. Yet even so, quite a few people were asking, "Is that the Yuan woman?" "That doesn't seem right." "She looks quite pleasant, though; that little face is endearing. I wonder what Yang Sheng was thinking, marrying her and never even touching her?" "They said she wasn't much to look at and would make people dislike her at first sight. Turns out Yang Sheng simply has no eye for beauty."

Yuan had never been the center of attention for so many people before, and her body instinctively shrank back behind Lu Ying.

Lu Ying did not reprimand her; she simply held her hand and walked forward with effortless grace.

...Technically, being paternal cousins, holding hands and walking together on such an occasion appeared slightly improper. However, Lu Ying had once publicly declared, "I favor male beauty and care nothing for female charms." What did men value most above all else? Face and pride. For this Lu Wen to dare utter such words, she certainly couldn't be spouting nonsense or treating her own reputation as a joke. Therefore, everyone believed her words—believed that she truly held no interest in women.

Since she had no interest in women, holding Yuan's hand like this was slightly improper, but not excessively so. Thus, no one jumped out to accuse the two of them of being ambiguously intertwined or of having an unclear relationship.

After walking a short distance, a burst of laughter drifted over from ahead.

Amidst the laughter, a young maiden was heard telling the others, "First Son Lan's words are quite mistaken. Since you've known my brother for many years, you should know he isn't a bad person. He simply enjoys looking at beauties, and as for that Yuan woman—you haven't seen her. She's both unrefined and plump, and she shrinks back after barely three words. One look and you can tell she's incapable of handling social settings... If you brought a woman like that home, forget my brother—if it were any of you, would you dare guarantee you'd have any interest in touching her?"

The young maiden's voice made no effort to conceal itself, and across a grove of bamboo, it clearly reached Yuan-niang's ears.

As Lu Ying tightened her grip on her hand, Yuan-niang whispered softly, "She is my younger sister-in-law, Yang Mei."

Seeing that Yuan-niang had not been crushed and could still introduce people to her with such composure, Lu Ying couldn't help but smile at her approvingly.

The young maiden was still chattering away, "Yes, this matter was my brother's fault. After all, she is his wife brought home through proper match-making; he should have treated her better... But my brother is still young after all, not even crowned yet. Even the sages say, 'Who among us makes no mistakes? The greatest virtue is to mend one's ways upon realizing them.' He knows he was wrong now; why must everyone still scold him?"

Pausing briefly, the young maiden raised her voice slightly, adding quite cheerfully, "In a moment, you all will get to see that Yuan woman. Everyone here comes from a background of wealth and status, surrounded by beauties since childhood. See for yourselves when you look at her—if it were you who had married her, would you have any interest in touching her?"

This time, the moment Yang Mei's voice trailed off, Yuan-niang actually stepped forward. Tugging Lu Ying along, she hurried a couple of steps and emerged from the bamboo grove.

With this exit, Lu Ying and Yuan-niang ran right into Yang Mei and the group of young men and women accompanying her.

The surroundings fell completely silent.

Amidst the silence, Yuan curtsied to the crowd. Forcing back her grievances, she kept her head up, blinked her doe-like eyes, and called out to Yang Mei, "Young Sister-in-law..." Her voice was extremely soft, and her eyes shimmered with uncontrollable moisture.

—A Yuan like this, even if not an absolute beauty, was at the very least timid, endearing, and captivating.

In the silence, everyone's gazes snapped toward Yang Mei.

Yang Mei stood frozen, facing Yuan. After a long moment, she blurted out, "You—Sister-in-law? Yuan-niang?" First calling her name in sheer disbelief, Yang Mei suddenly remembered what she had just said to the crowd, and her pretty face twisted slightly with mortification... (To be continued)