Prince Jin had been watching off to the side the entire time. The corner of his lips twitched. After bearing with it for a long moment, he gave in and spoke up. “This prince will send some men to escort you back to Prince Wei’s estate.”
It was only then that Royal Princess Duanjia turned around and noticed Prince Jin there. She wiped away the tears in her eyes before asking, “Fourth Brother, are you alright?”
“Just some minor wounds, they’ll heal soon. This prince has to continue investigating with the city guards, so Longcheng will escort you back with some men.”
“Mm, Fourth Imperial Brother, please be careful.”
The maidservants waiting at the side brought over a cloak and covered Royal Princess Duanjia with it. With Chu Lian supporting her, the two of them boarded a carriage driven by one of Prince Jin’s bodyguards.
The carriage went all the way into the main entrance of Prince Wei’s estate and even passed the screen at the entrance. There, it stopped.
Chu Lian alighted before Royal Princess Duanjia, so she was the first to notice the middle-aged woman anxiously waiting next to the carriage with a group of maidservants and senior servants. The moment Royal Princess Duanjia got off the carriage, she charged right into the arms of the noble lady.
“Mother!”
“My good child! You’ve scared Mother to death today!”
The group of servants flew into a flurry of activity when the princess alighted from the carriage. Some of them brought clothes, while others brought over warm braziers. In this panic, Chu Lian didn’t forget her manners. Although she couldn’t move forward, she made a perfect bow to Princess Wei.
Although Princess Wei was concerned with her daughter’s condition, she still kept an eye on Chu Lian from the corner of her eye. Noting that Chu Lian hadn’t shown a single shred of panic or fear, she inwardly gave a nod of approval.
After a moment, when Royal Princess Duanjia was warmed up again, she remembered that Chu Lian was still waiting at the side. She quickly pushed aside the servants surrounding her and tugged Chu Lian closer. “Mother, the only reason I’m still standing before you today is all thanks to Chu Liu.”
Princess Wei raised an elegant eyebrow. “Oh?”
One of Princess Wei’s most trusted servants saw that Royal Princess Duanjia was about to continue speaking, so she hurriedly spoke up and suggested, “Royal Princess and House Jing’an’s Third Young Madam have just narrowly escaped calamity. Why not drive away the bad luck first by stepping over these braziers? If there are things to say, surely it can wait until later in Princess Wei’s room, after a nice warm bath? “
Princess Wei nodded and called someone to bring a small brazier in front of the two young ladies. Royal Princess Duanjia insisted on holding Chu Lian’s hand as they stepped over the braziers together, so Chu Lian had no other choice but to follow. After that, the two of them were sent to the bath in Princess Wei’s courtyard.
Princess Wei sent a handmaid over to serve Chu Lian. The handmaid thought ahead and prepared a set of clothing for her to change into after her bath.
When the two young ladies had changed into a fresh set of clothes, they came out from behind the changing screens supported by some maidservants. They took one look at each other and burst out into laughter.
The servants wiped their hair dry as they sat together in front of the dressing table. Royal Princess Duanjia turned to look at Chu Lian, then at herself, before pointing at a set of accessories on the table. “This, this, and this. Put them on this princess and Chu Liu.”
Chu Lian glanced at the accessories and quickly tried to put a stop to it. “Princess, I can’t do that. That’s a phoenix tail hairpin.”
Royal Princess Duanjia wasn’t happy. “Why can’t you wear that? It’s not like it’s a special five-tailed phoenix hairpin. Even a titled noble wife can wear one.”
The corner of Chu Lian’s lips twitched. She didn’t even have a noble title, so how could she wear that hairpin!
Royal Princess Duanjia harrumphed. “That He Sanlang is really useless. What good is he other than being a little handsome? He’s like an embroidered pillow. He couldn’t even get a noble title for his wife. How were you so blind as to choose him? Don’t worry, Chu Liu. Just put this hairpin on first. This princess will get you a noble title later on!”
This sounded really strange, regardless of the context. For one, the people here believed in having their parents choose their marriage partners, so she hardly had a choice in who to marry. If she had known earlier that He Sanlang had such a crazy personality, she wouldn’t have wanted to marry him!
Chu Lian was helpless. She couldn’t win over Royal Princess Duanjia, since the princess had a much higher status. Not to mention, she was the guest here! In the end, Chu Lian couldn’t say anything.
Princess Wei was still waiting in the parlour outside. When the two young ladies were done dressing up, they walked into the parlour holding hands. Princess Wei was stunned for a moment.
In her eyes, two young ladies, around the age of fourteen or fifteen and about the same height, had just entered the room. The girl on the left was wearing a light pink dress made out of soft silk with wide sleeves and a translucent overcoat. The girl on the right was dressed in the same style, but with a different colour: light purple.
The two of them had similar figures and had adorned themselves with the same hairstyle; even the hairpins and accessories on their heads were exactly the same. Only their expressions and features were different. However, they were both tender young ladies in the bloom of their youth; no one could shift their gazes away.
In an instant, everyone in the room was dazed from the sight.
Royal Princess Duanjia tugged Chu Lian forward with her a few steps. She tilted her head to one side and asked, “Mother, what do you think? Do we look pretty?”
It was only then that Princess Wei came to her senses. Her gaze still seemed misty, and she hurriedly tried to hide the trace of pain in the depths of her eyes. One of her senior servants noticed that something wasn’t right and quickly poured a cup of tea for Princess Wei to help her hide her sorrow. The senior servant then smiled happily and replied, “Royal Princess and Third Young Madam, you both look beautiful dressed like this. This old servant is almost blinded by how pretty you look!”
“Senior Servant Lan usually has high standards. Since she thinks that we’re pretty, then we definitely must be! Chu Liu, see, this princess made a good choice, right?”
Chu Lian’s heart was almost in her throat. How was this good in any way? Royal Princess Duanjia was way too oblivious. If she were to dress in the same clothes as her host in any other estate, it would be considered very disrespectful towards her hosts. In this case, that would be the two princesses before her. Luckily, it seemed like Princess Wei hadn’t taken it badly, so Chu Lian heaved an inner sigh of relief.
Senior Servant Lan didn’t have the time to care about what the two young ladies were thinking. She glanced at Princess Wei’s expression from time to time, her hands had also travelled to Princess Wei’s back at some point and were patting the princess’s back gently, as if comforting her.
Senior Servant Lan sighed in her heart. Who would have expected Royal Princess Duanjia’s careless gesture to have pierced right into Princess Wei’s most painful spot?
No one knew of this other than Prince Wei and the old servants who had served at Princess Wei’s side back then, not even the two young princes. At the birth of Royal Princess Duanjia, Princess Wei had given birth to twins.
Both of the twins were daughters, but only one survived. They weren’t able to save the other. To prevent others from using this event to claim that Prince Wei’s estate was unlucky, Prince Wei made the decision to cover it all up.
Even now, Royal Princess Duanjia didn’t have the slightest idea that she had a twin sister who had passed away.
Other than their looks, Chu Lian was similar to Royal Princess Duanjia in age and figure. Now that she was dressed in the same set of clothes as Royal Princess Duanjia and standing in front of Princess Wei, didn’t they seem like a lovely pair of sisters? To Princess Wei, it was like she was looking upon the daughter who had passed away so early in life; how could her heart have possibly remained unmoved?
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Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator
Chapter 133: Twins (3)
This chapter has been stolen from volarenovels. Please read from the original source!
Princess Wei took in a deep breath. By the time she set down her teacup and raised her head, she had already calmed the turbulent emotions in her heart. She cast a careful, measuring gaze over the two young girls in front of her, before reaching out to pull them closer. She stroked Royal Princess Duanjia’s forehead and patted Chu Lian’s little hand gently. When she caught sight of the phoenix tail hairpin in Chu Lian’s hair, her eyes narrowed and she sent an admonishing glare to Royal Princess Duanjia.
“Good, good. This princess ordered these two bolts of fabric a few days ago, it looks like the dresses turned out well. Look at these two girls; they look like sisters dressed in the same outfit.”
Royal Princess Duanjia’s reply was a bright smile, like her mother’s reaction was only to be expected. On the other hand, Chu Lian was shocked. But she managed to hide it well, not forgetting to issue a standard polite reply as she said, “It’s Royal Princess Duanjia who has good taste.”
“Alright, the two of you must have suffered much shock today. This princess has arranged for some guards to send Chu Liu home. On another day, this princess will personally send an invite for Chu Liu to come and spend time with this princess and Royal Princess Duanjia.”
She hadn’t realised that time had passed so quickly that it was already evening. Royal Princess Duanjia knew that it wasn’t appropriate to keep Chu Lian any longer, so she could only agree to sending Chu Lian home with the estate’s guards. Royal Princess Duanjia even escorted her all the way to the entrance. Even when Chu Lian was boarding the carriage, she still seemed reluctant to let her go. “Chu Liu, don’t forget, you promised to cook roast duck with me.”
Chu Lian patted Royal Princess Duanjia’s hand in comfort. “Princess, you should return quickly. Don’t let Princess Wei worry. I won’t forget about our promise. I’ll even bring cat head shaped cookies with me the next time I come, too.”
It was only after Chu Lian’s carriage had departed that Royal Princess Duanjia returned to her estate, accompanied by her maidservants.
One of Royal Princess Duanjia’s handmaids, Jinxiu, had already explained the whole course of events today to Princess Wei.
Senior Servant Lan shared her thoughts. “It really was all thanks to House Jing’an’s Third Young Madam that our young princess made it back safely today. No wonder the young princess is unusually close to her and treats her like a sister.” Even to the point of reliance, went unsaid.
Princess Wei’s gaze was a little darkened. She suddenly stood up and entered her bedroom deeper within the building. When she pressed a certain spot behind a table, a small door appeared on one of the walls of the bedroom with some calligraphy hanging on it. Princess Wei passed through the door and walked right up to the incense table filled with offerings. She took up the small memorial tablet on the table and wiped it gently with her handkerchief.
When she heard the soft footsteps behind her, Princess Wei could no longer hold back her tears.
She asked, “Momo, do you think it’s Little Ni’er who has come back? Back then, that lady doctor told me, Little Ni’er passed on the moment she was born because she wanted to protect her little sister. She gave all the nutrients she had in her mother’s womb to her little sister, so she couldn’t survive. Now Duanjia has been saved by her again…”
Senior Servant Lan’s heart ached for Princess Wei, but she noticed that the princess looked a little off. Princess Wei’s body had been injured during the birth of the twins, and she could never have any more children. The firstborn young princess hadn’t taken her first breath after leaving her mother’s womb. Thus, Royal Princess Duanjia became even more precious to Princess Wei, and she showered her with all the affection meant for two children.
That lost little princess became a sore spot in Princess Wei’s heart. Although she had never mentioned it before, she had prepared this altar for the lost princess. However, it was clear that Princess Wei’s heart had never recovered from the loss, and it seemed like her mental state was deteriorating.
Senior Servant Lan had also taken a good look at House Jing’an’s Third Young Madam today. If that Third Young Madam had been someone with impure motives, she would have definitely persuaded Princess Wei out of her dangerous mindset. However, Sixth Miss Chu had saved Royal Princess Duanjia without caring for her own life.
Senior Servant Lan sighed with emotion and went along with Princess Wei’s belief. “Perhaps that Sixth Miss Chu really does share some fate with her! Although she’s already married, she’s the same age as our young princess. Even her figure and looks are somewhat similar. If they had gone out in those dresses today, perhaps they might have been mistaken for sisters! Since she saved the young princess, it’s perfectly normal for Princess to treat her well.”
Princess Wei seemed to be reassured by Senior Servant Lan’s words. She caressed the small tablet in her hands and placed it back onto the altar, her eyes a little misty. “Momo, you’re right. That child deserves better. Furthermore, she saved my Duanjia today.”
Senior Servant Lan saw that Princess Wei had recovered her usual calm, so she finally relaxed.
Meanwhile, Chu Lian had gone through a roller coaster of emotions today. It wasn’t until she boarded the carriage that she could truly relax.
As Wenlan fanned her from the side, Chu Lian leaned against the carriage window and shut her eyes to rest. After a short moment, she asked, “Where are the clothes and accessories I changed out of?”