GTB Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Miscalculation

Shí Qingya knew that Shí Yan’s words had made the Empress Dowager suspicious of her.

If she said Jiang Jiuchu was bad in every way, the Empress Dowager would definitely think the Jiang family and she looked down on Shí Yan.

She had no choice but to tell the truth, her tone even carrying a hint of praise, “Grandmother, my husband’s younger sister is very good, pure in character, and her talents are also excellent.”

“Oh! That good?” Hearing Shí Qingya’s praise, the Empress Dowager instantly dismissed her doubts, thinking that perhaps she had overthought things.

After all, to be Yan’er’s principal wife, what reason would a small Vice Minister’s household have to refuse?

“Of course, she’s good, but…”

Shí Qingya paused at this point, then said with an indifferent expression, “Oh! It’s not a big problem, after all, she grew up in An Yang County, thousands of miles away, so it’s normal for her to have some shortcomings. No one is perfect!”

The Empress Dowager nodded in agreement and was just about to speak when she saw Shí Yan put down the white jade cup in his hand, “Grandmother, now that you’ve made your choice, I’ll take my leave.”

“Hey… what’s the rush? Stay for lunch with me. And Ya’er, you stay too.”

The Empress Dowager was in a very good mood. A major event had finally been settled, and it was still Ya’er’s husband’s younger sister. With such a good opportunity to gather information, she naturally wanted to ask more questions.

But she was so curious about this Miss Jiang, yet why wasn’t Yan’er curious at all, and was even in a hurry to leave?

Shí Yan yawned and said somewhat drowsily, “Alright, then let Imperial Grandmother have someone bring me a recliner. I didn’t sleep well last night and feel very uncomfortable.”

The Empress Dowager was somewhat speechless, but she still had someone bring over a recliner, thinking that he was so sleepy so early in the morning, he must have been out fooling around with the Eighth Prince again last night.

She looked at the portrait in her hand and suddenly became a little impatient, thinking that once Yan’er married such a beautiful woman, he would definitely be reluctant to run around outside anymore.

Shí Yan got up, moved the recliner brought by the maid to the side, and lay down comfortably with his head facing them.

The Empress Dowager looked at Shí Yan on the recliner, not caring whether he had closed his eyes or not. As long as he could hear, that was enough. She didn’t believe he wasn’t curious at all.

She withdrew her gaze and continued to ask Shí Qingya, “Why don’t Ya’er tell Grandmother in detail what shortcomings or other hobbies your husband’s younger sister has? Let’s discuss whether she is suitable for Yan’er. After all, one is your Seventh Brother, and the other is your husband’s younger sister. We have to be responsible for both of them.”

Listening to the Empress Dowager’s words, Shí Qingya didn’t believe that her Imperial Grandmother would actually consider her husband’s younger sister. That was just a nice way of saying things. She just wanted her to tell her everything in detail.

Shí Qingya thought so in her heart, but she didn’t show it on her face. Instead, she nodded in agreement and then said, “Because my husband’s younger sister is the only daughter in the family, my parents-in-law, including my husband, dote on her quite a bit, so she is relatively…”

She paused, pretending to feel that it was not good to say this, and then restrained herself a little, changing her words, “She occasionally, occasionally likes to sleep in late, and also likes to play.”

After Shí Qingya finished speaking, she seemed to realize that something was wrong again and smiled awkwardly at the Empress Dowager, “Sometimes, sometimes she likes to run out to play all day, and my parents-in-law don’t care or ask.”

As Shí Qingya spoke, she seemed to get emotional, and she poured out all the things she couldn’t stand.

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager felt that Shí Qingya had been accumulating resentment towards her husband’s younger sister for a long time, so she was pouring it all out like beans.

And Jiang Jiuchu, in her words, was completely like a wild horse, with nothing but a kind heart and a beautiful face, and no other advantages.

Shí Qingya wasn’t afraid. Anyway, the things she said did exist. She just didn’t use the right words, and she only magnified things a little. No one could tell what was true and what was false.

After she finished speaking, seeing that the Empress Dowager’s expression had paused a little, she felt that her method was still somewhat useful.

She suddenly remembered something she had just learned a few days ago, and then her eyes flashed, and she gave the Empress Dowager one last trick.

“Also, my husband’s younger sister! She especially likes silver, so she hid it from her family and opened a dessert shop on the street. Oh… and don’t even mention it, it’s doing quite well, and the business is booming.”

After she finished speaking, she seemed to suddenly realize something and immediately instructed the Empress Dowager, “You must keep this a secret, Grandmother! The family doesn’t want me to say anything about it.”

The Empress Dowager nodded blankly, not doubting Shí Qingya’s words at all, because she had described every event in great detail and vividly.

She looked at Jiang Jiuchu’s portrait and felt that she didn’t like it as much anymore. Could such a mischievous and unrestrained girl be a good match for Yan’er? Could she be a good Seventh Princess?

She looked at Shí Yan on the recliner in front of her and wanted him to get up and choose again, but she was worried that it would backfire, and he wouldn’t even want the one he had already chosen.

Shí Qingya noticed the Empress Dowager’s tangled expression and felt a little secretly pleased in her heart.

Then she looked towards Shí Yan’s side again, thinking that her voice was not small, and Seventh Brother should be able to hear clearly!

Oh! No matter what the outcome, she really tried her best. If the plan failed, it was probably because Jiuchu’s luck was bad, so the timing wasn’t right, and there was nothing she could do.

But she couldn’t understand whether her Seventh Brother chose Jiuchu because of a random chance encounter, or because he saw through her intentions and was angry that she had deliberately done so.

And Shí Yan on the recliner, his lips slightly curved, but his lightly closed eyes made it impossible to see whether that slight curve was because he had seen through Shí Qingya’s intentions, or because of the girl in her words.

The Empress Dowager suddenly remembered something and flipped through the pile of portraits in front of her, and then found another portrait that had fallen out.

Thinking that since Yan’er said that finding one was fate, then the other girl couldn’t be treated differently, could she?

But when she looked at the portrait she had found in her hand, she silently put it back…

She had only taken a brief look at it before, but now that she took it out and looked at it carefully, oh! Never mind!

Although she was old, she still liked good-looking people. This girl was too ordinary-looking, and she clearly didn’t match her grandson when they stood together!

Shí Qingya seemed to see through the Empress Dowager’s intentions, and her heart rose and fell with her taking it up and putting it down, and finally she sighed in her heart, why didn’t she find a good-looking one to drop together!

It was all her fault. She originally thought that girls with ordinary appearances would not be selected anyway, so it would be okay to throw them away with Jiuchu to make up the numbers.

Now it’s all over, a miscalculation…

Jiang Residence

Jiang Jiuchu had been waiting for Shí Qingya to return all morning, but after finishing lunch, she still hadn’t seen her sister-in-law return to the residence.

She felt uneasy in her heart, more anxious than when her parents rejected Song Fuge’s marriage proposal.

Although one was a clear rejection from her parents, she still felt there was room for maneuver, so she wasn’t too flustered or discouraged.

But this portrait matter was the opposite. Although the chances were even smaller, and her sister-in-law had ways to resolve it, as long as there were no definite results, she was inexplicably anxious.

Only because she knew that once she was selected, there would be no room for retreat.