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Chapter 6: Qian Xiaoqi, Wait
Xiaoqi felt a familiarity with Qian fu that came from the bottom of her heart. The moment she jumped down from the carriage, she impatiently ran inside. She could not recall who the manservant that ran off with a smile to notify everyone was, but the moment a gorgeous woman – dressed in a dark red dress, with her hair pinned up completely with pearls and flawless, natural looking makeup look – swayed her way over, Xiaoqi threw herself over with a cry. It was just that… she didn’t know what to call her.
The woman was very delighted. Hugging Xiaoqi, she jumped with her wildly for a spell.
“Alright, alright, calm down now. If mei fu(younger sister’s husband) sees, it wouldn’t be good.” The woman pushed the pearl hairpins that had loosened back into place. Sweeping a glance towards the Song Liangzhuo who walked in soon after, she smiled. “You two are only just doing the first return now? Yesterday we waited for you two since the morning, yet all we got in return for waiting was just a little message.”
The woman cupped Xiaoqi’s face to take a look, then cried ‘yo-’ before asking, “How come this half of the face looks swollen?”
Qian Xiaoqi pried off the woman’s hands and said, “I have a toothache so there’s severe swelling.”
“Ya-, have you seen a doctor?”
“I did, I did. See, isn’t it already pretty much better?”
Qian Xiaoqi scratched her forehead, still at a loss as to how she should address her. Looking at the woman, it didn’t seem possible that she was her mom, so she laughed with a ‘heehee’ and said: “Jie(older sister), why are you living at home?”
“Pshaw! If I don’t live at home where would I live? If you let your Second jie fu(older sister’s husband) hear, he’ll probably get angry!” The woman lifted her brow as she delicately scolded.
Qian Xiaoqi went over with a spoiled and cute little attitude to hug her arm as they walked in, “Where’s da jie(eldest sister)?”
“Yesterday she came over but several naughty eggs caused a load of trouble at home so she went back again later in the afternoon.”
The woman turned around to address Song Liangzhuo who was following behind them with a mild smile on his face. “Younger Sister’s Husband should head to the hall first. You shouldn’t follow us two women, lest your dignity drops.”
Song Liangzhuo smiled as he said, “Let’s go together, I’ll greet Father-in-Law and Mother-in-Law with Xiaoqi.”
“Oh alas, you seriously are a good guye. Xiaoqi didn’t chase all these years in vain.” The woman laughed, causing the pearl hairpins on her head to jingle.
Xiaoqi pouted and felt a bit wronged. It seemed like it was her, Qian Xiaoqi, that always ran chasing after him. But who was it that told her, that regarding affection, the one who acts first is preordained to lose? Is she, Qian Xiaoqi, preordained to be the pitiful, bullied around one? Xiaoqi scratched her head. Who was it that told her this?
A round and plump middle-aged person came out from inside the house. At one side was a graceful and alluring, magnificent without end, beautiful missus. The fat old man smiled like a Buddha and walked over with his belly proudly bulging forward. Xiaoqi’s eyes were bright and sparkling as she stretched both arms wide. The fat old man winded around a bend, then stretched out his hand and clapped Song Liangzhuo’s shoulder, seeming rather gratified.
Xiaoqi, who still had her arms lifted, felt a bit jealous. She couldn’t hold back and just flung a hit at the fat old man next to her. Only at this did the fat old man turn around happily and stretch out an arm for Xiaoqi to hug. Xiaoqi gave an annoyed humph and ran to the beautiful missus’ side to hug her arm and walk in.
“Hehe, you little lass, to even bicker over things with your own family’s husband,” the fat old man chuckled as he lightly scolded.
The beautiful missusT/N looked as if she was very protective of Xiaoqi. Patting Xiaoqi’s hand, she smiled. “Ignore your dad. Let’s go. Come take a look at what good things Mom found for darling Xiaoqi! Eh, why don’t I see Lu Liu?”
“Lu Liu is at home helping hang up the laundry. The last couple days were really humid,” Qian Xiaoqi casually replied.
The beautiful missus didn’t ask more about it and pulled Xiaoqi inside.
Xiaoqi didn’t have the patience to stay and listen to Song Liangzhuo and the fat old man match wits, so she obediently followed the beautiful missus to the back courtyard.
The beautiful missus pulled Xiaoqi with a mysteriously sneaky attitude to the back. The second daughter, Qian Pandi also followed. The beautiful missus pulled Xiaoqi and walked directly into a room. Xiaoqi looked at the room and felt that it was both familiar and comfortable. The familiar feeling was so strong and hadn’t even faded yet when she saw that Qian Pandi had mysteriously closed the door of the room.
Qian Xiaoqi casually sat onto the table and smiled. “Mom, Xiaoqi misses you already. Can I come back and live here a while?”
The beautiful missus was also a person of many feelings and moods. Even though Xiaoqi was smiling brightly, in her eyes, Xiaoqi clearly wasn’t as childish and tender anymore as she was when she still lived in Qian fu. A burst of heartache squeezed and she opened her mouth, but before her words even came out tears had already dropped down.
Qian Xiaoqi was shocked and hurriedly jumped off the table to run to the beautiful missus’s side. She asked in a gentle and sweet voice, “Mom, I came back nice and well so why are you crying again?”
Qian Pandi smiled. “Mom’s feeling heartache for you. You should just let her cry. After crying a little she’ll be done.”
“Even if that’s so, you can’t cry. You’ll ruin your eyes from crying.” Xiaoqi wrinkled her nose. Her heart also felt a bit sad now and she said with a stuffy voice, “Mom, don’t cry anymore. If Mom keeps crying, Xiaoqi will feel like crying too.” As she spoke, the rims of her eyes really started to get wet.
The beautiful missus hurriedly wiped her eyes, then shot a glare at Qian Pandi. “It’s still Xiaoqi who knows me best and is closest to me.”
Qian Pandi smiled and followed along declaring agreement, “Xiaoqi indeed is thoughtful and clever.”
The beautiful missus held back her tears as she scolded with a smile, “Precisely. You’re not allowed to make sarcastic remarks.”
The beautiful missus pulled Xiaoqi and turned her around in a circle to take a complete look. Mysteriously lowering her voice, she asked, “Does that new guye treat Xiaoqi well?”
“Yes!” Qian Xiaoqi nodded. “Very well!”
The beautiful missus quickly glanced over at Qian Pandi before turning back again and asking softly, “Did Xiaoqi receive grievances that night in the bridal room? Did the new guye know how to pamper someone properly?”
Qian Xiaoqi blankly nodded her head. “Didn’t receive grievances. He’s really good, knows how to pamper properly.”
The beautiful missus sucked in a breath with embarrassment. “You’re grown up now, in the future you can’t be so plain-spoken. Even if he knows how to pamper someone you can’t tell other people.”
“Wasn’t it Mom that asked!?” Qian Xiaoqi was even more confused now.
The beautiful missus cupped Xiaoqi’s face to take a look. “And I was even worried you would eat suffering and starve, but from the looks of it, you’ve gotten a little chubbier.”
Xiaoqi pouted and got up. But then, recalling the agreement she settled with Song Liangzhuo, smiled and ran behind the beautiful missus to help her massage her shoulders while acting like a spoiled child. “Mom, Offi-, Song Lian-, ah, my family’s husband has need of money lately. Mom, talk to Dad a bit and have him first hand out a bit to spend, ok?”
The beautiful missus cast a sidelong look at Qian Xiaoqi, then turned to exchange a look with Qian Pandi. They curled their lips at the same time and the beautiful missus said, “How many days have you been married? And you’re already speaking on that little sesame official’s side?”
“Mom~~”
This call of mom was a thousand times lovable and a hundred times charming; it was sweet and pleasant to listen to. The beautiful missus smiled as she rubbed her ear. “I’ll talk to your dad about it. Whether it’ll be any use or not, I don’t know.”
“Dad doesn’t listen to what Mom says anymore?” Qian Xiaoqi was astonished. How come she vaguely remembered that Old Man Qian was henpecked?
“He listens! Of course he must listen!” The beautiful missus arrogantly lifted her slender brows. “But back then it was already agreed upon, that only after Xiaoqi has a happy occasion will we…”
The beautiful missus suddenly held her tongue and snuck a glance at Xiaoqi. She smiled. “Anyhow, it’ll have to be a bit later.”
“But Mom, my family’s husband only needs it for doing something for the good of the citizens. Husband already told me all about it, he even told me about that matter.” Qian Xiaoqi blushed at just the right time. “Mom ah, giving birth to a baby isn’t like a hen laying an egg, being able to pop out one with just a ‘pu’.”
The beautiful missus smiled with closed lips, Qian Pandi laughed even more forthrightly and the pearl hairpins on her head also started to play music to celebrate the cheer again. Qian Pandi stopped laughing with great difficulty under Qian Xiaoqi’s angered glare. She lifted her hand and lightly pinched the corners of her mouth, as if she was trying to help her own mouth close.
Qian Pandi pinched her lips and was silent a while before she was able to keep her smile under control. Then, she opened her mouth to say, “That’s not necessarily true. Didn’t Eldest Sister start expecting right after joining her husband’s household? Xiaoqi should wait another month. Perhaps if you are expecting it’ll be detectable then.”
Qian Xiaoqi jutted out her lower lip and wrapped her arms around the beautiful missus’s neck as she whined, “Mom, I don’t care! If you don’t give my family’s husband money, my family’s husband will worry. Once he gets worried, I’ll also get worried. Once I get worried, my stomach will also get worried and it definitely won’t be able to conceive. Don’t care, I don’t care! Mom, have Dad give money, give money, give money, give money!”
The beautiful missus was a bit dizzy from being shaken around. She smiled as she gave Xiaoqi’s hand a light swat. “Alright alright alright! Later I’ll talk about it with your dad.”
“No, when I leave I’m taking it with me! If I can’t see the money I can’t sleep!”
The beautiful missus lifted a slender brow. “If there’s one thing our family has a lot of, it’s money. So we can’t let darling Xiaoqi be unable to sleep. Alright, later I’ll let Xiaoqi take some back.”
Qian Xiaoqi enthusiastically and diligently went to carry a cup of tea over for the beautiful missus and smiled. “Mom’s the best! Mom, you tell Dad that if there’s anything that So–, that my family’s husband can help with, he should get him to help without delay.”
The beautiful missus smiled. “Xiaoqi is just clever and lovable. Being so protective of your own family’s husband but still not forgetting your family. Haa, much better than that Eldest Sister of yours who grew an outside heart the moment she got married.”
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Proofread by Ocelot
[Chiyomira’s Corner]
T/N – Aaah! At this point it occurred to me that 美婦人 which I’ve always translated as ‘Mrs. Mei’, since I assumed Xiaoqi referred to her mother by a name… might actually be ‘beautiful missus’ since Xiaoqi lost her memories!! Since she wouldn’t know what her mother’s name is and her first impression of her again was that her mother was beautiful, that’s why she keeps thinking of her mother as a beautiful married woman! But.. then again, Song Liangzhuo’s mother’s name doesn’t seem to be introduced and she’s called Mother Song… In that case, Xiaoqi’s mother should be like Mrs. Qian rather than a possible Mrs. Mei??? Mmm, I’ll stick with ‘the beautiful missus’ and fix the later chapters accordingly, unless her name is introduced and clears things up. (mmm, still thinking right now…)
There’ll be quite a few inconsistencies going forward due to the fact that I didn’t reference the original raw but trungtnguyen’s translations when I first picked up this series, and because my style changed a little over the months. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go through and fix all the inconsistencies come summer.
Oh wait, did I say no more large chunks of text last chapter? Oops. Xp
7.30.17 Finished thinking. Going through the chapters and changing to the beautiful missus. Will also be fixing the other stuff up too~
Here at the Qian estate Xiaoqi puts up a good front She gets her mother to convince dad into giving up money so she can finalize her divorce.What will happen here?Thank you for this novel
She is a moron… I would totally spill a summary version of my wedding night alone, a woman in my house, being hit over that woman!!!! And just say he wont let me go unless he can fix the dam!! I want to come hoooome!