Chapter 40 I thought I could please someone with my beauty, but it's not that simple

After hearing what the Duke's wife said, the Marquis's wife gave her a flattering smile, then turned to look at Qin Xiaoning and asked, "Miss Ning, what do you think?"

What could she think?
Could it be that the mistress can't tolerate her, so she insists on staying here and not leaving?
Even if she could be tolerated, she was unwilling to be subservient to others.

Although she thought so in her heart, Qin Xiaoning still looked docile. She bowed slightly to the Marquis' wife and said softly, "I lost my father when I was young, and I was able to grow up thanks to the protection of the Duke's Mansion. All matters concerning Ning are decided by the Duke's wife."

After saying this, she looked at the Duke's wife who had been holding her, and said in a gentle tone, "A Ning will listen to you, Madam."

To be honest, this child, although he had a difficult life, is a very sensible person.

The Duke's wife looked at Qin Xiaoning lovingly, then turned to look at Jiang Fu, who was sitting below and listening with her ears perked up, with obvious jealousy in her eyes. She thought to herself, Madam Marquis: In terms of appearance and temperament, your daughter is really not as good as my son's concubine.

"Good boy, mother will take good care of you."

The Duke's wife ignored Jiang Fu's jealous look, patted Qin Xiaoning's hand, and said, "Go and have a drink and enjoy the flowers with the girls."

Qin Xiaoning calmly asked the Duke's wife and the Marquis' wife for the return gift, then slowly returned to her seat.

Jiang Fu sat below the Marquis's wife, her eyes fixed on Qin Xiaoning. Qin Xiaoning naturally felt Jiang Fu's unfriendly gaze, but she pretended not to notice and did not look at Jiang Fu. She sat there quietly, sipping the fruit wine from time to time.

It was as if what had just happened hadn't caused any ripples in her heart.

Jiang Fu also knew that she shouldn't care about Qin Xiaoning, as she was just a concubine, which made her seem petty. But she couldn't help but look at her. The more she looked, the more uncomfortable she felt.

This woman is so beautiful.

She is so beautiful that any man in the world will fall for her and any woman will pale in comparison to her.

Lu Ji actually has such a beauty.

In the future, even if he could get rid of her, with such a gem in front of him, would Lu Ji still look down on him?
When I think about it, I can’t help but feel jealous.

The Marquis's wife saw through her daughter's thoughts and secretly blamed her for losing her temper. She tried to smooth things over, "I heard that the mansion has invited a zither player from the palace to teach the girls how to play the zither. Our Fu'er also likes to play the zither. With such a beautiful scenery ahead, why not let the girls play the zither to add to the fun for the peach blossoms in my cousin's garden."

The Duke's wife laughed and agreed, "Our fifth daughter plays the zither well, but my sixth daughter is not. She follows me in that she is only so-so in playing the zither and doing needlework."

Then, he turned to the Fifth Girl and said, "Fifth Girl, follow your sister Fu and play a song for us."

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Lady put down her wine cup and replied with a smile, "Since the two aunts are interested, I will show my ugliness."

The maid brought the zither, and the Fifth Miss played a piece of music called "High Mountains and Flowing Water" with her bare hands.

The Fifth Lady's piano skills were indeed superb, and her piano music was melodious and smooth, making people intoxicated. Even after the song ended, everyone was still intoxicated by her piano music, and it took a long time for them to come back to their senses.

"This fifth girl is truly a talented lady." The Marquis's wife took the lead in praising.

The Duke's wife was naturally pleased that her daughter was outstanding, and she did not pretend to be modest. She smiled and said, "The fifth girl is very hardworking, and she is very good at everything from playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting."

Hearing the praise, the fifth girl blushed slightly and said shyly, "My two aunts are too kind. My level is just average, and I still have a long way to go."

The Duke's wife looked at the Fifth Miss lovingly and said angrily, "We're not going to take this to take the imperial examination, so this is already very good." The Fifth Miss smiled sweetly and looked at Jiang Fu beside her, "Sister Fu, come here. I've heard that the sisters in the Jiang family are all good at playing the piano and chess. I've always wanted to learn a thing or two from them." After saying that, she slowly stood up and gave her seat to Jiang Fu.

As a lady of noble family, Jiang Fu was naturally proficient in playing the zither, but the Fifth Lady's skill was much better than hers, and she was older than the Fifth Lady, so secretly, she was afraid of being outdone.

It wouldn't matter if it was any other time, but today, in front of the Duke's wife, she wanted to show off herself.

She was determined to marry into a noble family. Although she had not seen Lu Ji for several years, Lu Ji had enjoyed a high reputation in the capital when he was young. She had met Lu Ji before, a banished immortal-like man, and once you met him, you would never forget him.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Seeing her daughter's hesitation, the Marquis's wife saw what she was thinking, winked at her, and said, "Fu'er, why don't you play a song for us? There's no outsider here, so don't be restrained."

After listening to the Fifth Girl's piano performance, the Marquis's wife knew that her daughter's piano skills could not match others. However, as the future wife of a noble family, this was not the key.

Be steady and prudent, and have a shrewd mind.

This is the most important thing.

Being so coy seems so petty.

Glancing at her mother's eyes, Jiang Fu understood what her mother meant. She then slowly stood up, bowed dignifiedly to the Duke's wife, and nodded slightly to the other girls, "Then Fu'er will perform poorly, but my piano skills are not very good, please forgive me."

Just as Jiang Fu was about to stand up, the Sixth Miss beside her said, "I've heard that all the teachers in the private school of the Marquis' Mansion are hired with a large sum of money. Sister Fu is really too modest. A good teacher produces a good student. With the guidance of a good teacher, your piano skills will definitely be better than that of the Fifth Sister."

Jiang Fu frowned upon hearing this, and forced an awkward smile: "Sixth sister, you are joking. When it comes to piano skills, I am really not as good as your fifth sister."

"That's OK. My piano skills are just mediocre." The Sixth Miss smiled cheerfully and said, "But so what? It doesn't affect my status as the eldest daughter of the mansion."

"That's right. Our daughter from a rich family is not that into this at all." Jiang Fu echoed, emphasizing the phrase 'our daughter from a rich family' and glancing at Qin Xiaoning out of the corner of her eye.

Qin Xiaoning pretended not to know, but the Sixth Miss had already disliked Jiang Fu.

Hearing this, the Sixth Miss smiled faintly and said, "The arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting require natural talent. Take my brother's sister Qin for example. Although she also studied in the private school with us, we didn't see her studying very hard on weekdays, but she was outstanding in everything, such as music, chess, calligraphy and painting."

Qin Xiaoning looked at the Sixth Miss and said, "That's impossible."

The Sixth Miss ignored Qin Xiaoning's expression and continued, "If Sister Qin says that she has no talent, it is because she has a famous teacher to guide her. In fact, if we talk about these things, who can compare to my second brother? Sister Qin has inherited my second brother's true teachings, so she can naturally learn these things better than us."

This statement contains too much information.

How could a concubine enter a private school in a government mansion?
Can Lu Ji still give her personal guidance?
I thought it was just about using beauty to please men, but it turns out it’s not that simple.

After Jiang Fu heard what the Sixth Miss said, her face suddenly became uncontrollably ugly.

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(End of this chapter)