Chapter 209 – A charmingly picturesque rainy day (2)
Ji Man was currently chatting with Old Madame.
Looking at Nie Sangyu’s plump belly, Old Madame was very happy. She kept going back to the same topic. “If you can give birth to a boy and a girl this time, then it’ll be the best possible good luck you could have.”
“How can it be that easy?” Ji Man smiled and said, “I’m slightly taller than the average woman, so it’s only natural for my pregnant belly to bigger than average. Old Madame, don’t set your hopes on this. Otherwise, Sangyu will be on the edge every day and worried that I’ll fail to meet your expectation.”
“Oh, look at you and your clever mouth,” Old Madame turned her head and looked at Liu Hanyun as she said, “She says her words so cleverly. I can’t even say any other words to refute them.”
Liu Hanyun was the same as before. Her sitting posture was reserved, with a hand protectively placed over her stomach. She faintly smiled and said, “Madam is the only one capable of managing this household so that’s its peaceful.”
As Old Madame smiled in delight, she raised her head and saw Ning Mingjie and her son coming into the room to pay her respect. Her smile widened, and she said, “Oh, is today a special day? Look, Mingjie is here.”
Ji Man followed Old Madame’s line of sight. Both men walked into the room with smiles and took their turns greeting Old Madame and asking after her health. However, for an inexplicable reason, Ji Man felt that Ning Yuxuan’s smile seemed a bit fake.
Old Madame was cheerfully smiling as she said, “It’s so rare to see the two of you together. Let’s all eat together at noon. I’ll have the servants start preparing lunch now.”
Ning Mingjie agreed.
Ning Yuxuan turned his head to look at Nie Sangyu as he said, “It’s a charmingly picturesque rainy day. Let’s go write poems and paint paintings with Ning Mingjie.”
Ji Man raised her eyebrows, then she nodded. She felt as if Gancao and Dengxin had been keeping her confined indoors almost every day. It would be good for the baby if she went out and got some fresh air.
—
Once again, the pavilion in the garden came in handy. Ji Man was practically carried over there by Gancao and Dengxin. Since it was raining, the paths were slippery, and the two servants were over-the-top careful. When they arrived at the pavilion, they doubled checked everything before she could sit down on a cushioned chair they had brought over for her.
Ji Man didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Still, her heart felt warmed by their concern. These two young servant girls didn’t know anything, but they treated her better than anyone else.
The pavilion wasn’t big, so only Gancao stayed with them to grind ink. The other servants all withdrew to various places.
Ji Man watched as the rain fell down on the pavilion’s roof and took a deep breath. She was in a pretty good mood too.
Marquis Moyu set up his table and started to paint.
Ning Mingjie had picked up a brush, but instead of writing something, he looked at her. “Madam, please bestow me another poem.”
Ji Man felt somewhat embarrassed. Other people had written those poems. She was blatantly plagiarizing. So immoral, so immoral.
“I remember a poem that was composed by someone else. It’s not long, but it’s very creative.” Ji Man smiled and said, “Young Master, I’ll recite it and you can write it out.”
“Alright.” Ning Mingjie nodded with a smiling face.
Marquis Moyu’s back was a bit stiffed. His lips were tightly pursed, but he stayed silent.
Ji Man recited the poem in a head-nodding student’s cadence,
“In spring, I sleep, unaware morning is here,
From near then far, I hear trilling songbirdsm.
In the night’s pitter-patter of winds and rains though mild,
Who know how many petals have fallen? Know not, I fear!”
(T/N: Poem’s translation is taken from here.)
Ning Mingjie penned down her words. Each word was like a flower, full of elegant springtime feelings. He looked at the flowers that had fallen onto the ground and sighed, “This poem is really suitable. One night of rain and wind, who knows how many petals have fallen?”
Ji Man glanced at Ning Yuxuan. Something seemed off. This person had always been very possessive. No matter how you looked at it, it was slightly impertinent for her and Mingjie to share such a charmingly picturesque moment in front of him. However, Ning Yuxuan hadn’t said a single disapproving word. Ning Mingjie, who was pure-minded and low in emotional intelligence, didn’t notice anything.
Ning Mingjie had finished writing the poem. On Marquis Moyu’s side, he was only half-done with his painting. The rain was already gradually starting to stop.
Ning Mingjie looked at the sky and smiled. “There’ll definitely be a splendidly sunny day tomorrow. It really makes a person feel delighted to have received such a wonderful poem.”
With a blushing face, Gancao put down the grinding stone and quietly said, “Young Master’s writing is really beautiful.”
“Really?” Ning Mingjie lightly smiled. He dried the ink on the paper and handed the poem to Gancao. “Then, I’ll give it you.”
Gancao’s entire face flushed red. Her hand was slightly trembling as she accepted the paper from him. She was so excited that her words were slightly unclear as she said, “T-Thank you, Young Master. This servant will definitely have it framed.”
Ning Mingjie burst out into laugher.
Ji Man stood up. She wanted to see what Marquis Moyu had painted. He had been silent this entire time. From time to time, he had been looking over here at them with an expression that proclaimed, “This great lord is in a very bad mood”. Ji Man didn’t know what she had done to anger him, but his expression looked a little better than before, so she wanted to get closer to him to talk about it.
However, that jerk suddenly crumpled his painting and said in a dissatisfied tone, “It didn’t turn out good. Doesn’t count.”
Ji Man curiously asked, “My lord, what did you paint?”
“A flower.” Ning Yuxuan tucked the scrunched up paper into his sleeve, stood up, and indifferently said, “A flower that’s being rained upon looks too ugly. It’s too difficult to paint well.”
Translator Ramblings: “Ji Man glanced at Ning Yuxuan. Something seemed off. This person had always been very possessive. No matter how you looked at it, it was slightly impertinent for her and Mingjie to share such a charmingly picturesque moment in front of him. However, Ning Yuxuan hadn’t said a single disapproving word.”
When I read this for the first time, I felt quite confused. At the beginning of the story, he choked Nie Sangyu at the mere idea that she liked someone else, so why isn’t he showing any reaction now? It’s only later, when a similar scene happens that we can guess what he’s thinking now. Posted the spoiler in the comments below.