Fierce Consort

Chapter 35

After arriving, the old madam saw that her son was travel-worn and had him bath and change before returning. The others remained within the Rongan Hall. A reception banquet would be held for Yan Ting later.

Xue-shi had always been a discerning person. Seeing the old madam happily smiling, she flattered her generously. She told her everything she wanted to hear, making her smile even more splendidly. Yan Zhi was raised by the old madam and naturally knew what his principal mother wanted to hear. He also added his wit to the conversation, causing laughter all around.

The couple coaxed the old madam into smiling repeatedly. It was clear there was good reason that the two were able to remain within the Weiyuan Marquis Estate despite being concubine borne.
The third lord Yan had always been one of few words, and merely watched with a slight smile without speaking. The third madam Chen-shi had a very disdainful expression at the eldest branch's flattery. However, she had never been good with words and didn't know how to cut in.

Of course everyone maintained a pleasant expression regardless of what they felt inside. At least everyone maintained a smile. Yan Ting had taken Shen Yi Yao with him as he left earlier. Although Concubine Pei didn't show anything on the surface, her lack of conversation showed that she definitely had thoughts about it.

Yan Yan's current mood was very profound. She merely pulled Yan Mo to sit in the chairs against the wall and watched everything from afar.

The reception west of the main hall was extremely large. Three large round rosewood tables engraved with immortal peaches and clouds were arranged in a triangle. The maids and grannies continuously placed various dishes on the table. They used jade plates and silver chopsticks. Everything looked delicious and extremely extravagant.

Before long, Yan Ting returned wearing new clothes. He wore a set of dark blue round collared robes embroidered with cloud patterns. Around his waist was a gold-plated jade belt. In his everyday clothing, his appearance changed once again. He had a few more traces of genteel elegance, and appeared even more handsome.

Shen Yi Yao walked behind him with a reddened face. What was different was that she wore a different set of clothing and her hair was also pinned differently. The old madam had Yan Ting take a seat the moment she saw him, and everyone's attention became focused. No one noticed Shen Yi Yao's weird appearance.

The only two exceptions were Concubine Pei and Yan Yan. Yan Yan merely felt it was strange her mom had changed. Concubine Pei thought even further and couldn't help but grit her teeth.

The younger generation all approached and saluted. Yan Ting examined Yan Mo for a while and asked in concern: "Mo'er's health has been good recently?"
Yan Mo smiled bashfully and lowered his eyes. "Your son's health has been pretty good and not too sick."
Yan Ting nodded and then asked Yan Yan. "Has Ah Yan been naughty? You didn't anger your mom, right?"

Yan Yan said: "Mom never gets angry when she sees me anymore."

Her words could be interpreted in multiple ways, but unfortunately Yan Ting merely took them at face value.

Then, Yan Ting paid some attention to Yan Hong and Yan Qian. Compared to the reserved Yan Yan, these two were much livelier. Yan Qian put on the charm of a young daughter and said she hadn't seen her dad in so long and missed him a lot. Yan Hong pulled naughtily on Yan Ting's hand and asked if he brought back a large horse as he promised.

It wasn't like she didn't know this, but many things could be seen when viewed from a different perspective. For Yan Yan, fatherly affection had always been a show of concern. It looked very nice, but had a sense of distance and a lack of warmth that should be present between father and daughter. Instead, what he showed towards Yan Hong and Yan Qian was probably what fatherly affection should look like.