Sun Yi Jia looked over each and every drawing. Because the ones Jing Wan previously drew were mostly all plants and flowers, when Luo Jing Bo first started, he pretty much also started from this angle. However, once he more or less grasped the technique, he would also draw animals, and mountains and such into the painting. Although few, the result of every finished product were all very good. The animals were spirited, and the mountains and rocks imposing. The more Sun Yi Jia looked, the more she liked them. “Unfortunately, I don’t have time, and after marrying, it’ll further be impossible. Else, I would also like to properly learn too.”
Jing Wan’s eyes flashed. If Jin Qinwang keeps his promise, then big sister Jia, you, will probably become an ‘old disaster’ that’s unable to marry. Seeing Sun Yi Jia holding her older brother’s drawing, loving it too much to part with it, she suddenly thought of an idea. Big sister Jia previously had kept wanting to let her become her sister-in-law, so why can’t she have her(SYJ) kidnapped back to be her sister-in-law instead?
Even if Sun Yi Jia’s face was damaged, in Jing Wan’s eyes, she’s still a hard to come by good girl. Being belittled and stepped into the mud just because her beauty was ruined, how unfair is that? Could it be that she couldn’t even compare with an idiot beauty? Moreover, her older brother, how to put it, really wasn’t one that cared very much about a person’s appearance. Just the day before yesterday, she even heard that her older brother didn’t have too many demands towards a wife, just needing to have a good temper, and not the kind to stir up trouble in the family. And as long as it’s not those coarse and vulgar type, or ugly to the point of unbearable, he for the most part could all accept. To say it pleasantly, he was open-minded, and to say it unpleasantly, he was just thick-skinned.
If it was prior to big sister Jia ruining her beauty, she wouldn’t have thought of this, but if big sister Jia were to also have her engagement annulled by Jin Qinwang, then afraid, on the matter of marriage, it’ll be even harder for her. No one would be willing or even dare to take her as a wife. And as for her, having participated in this ‘engagement breaking’, if her older brother were to take her as his wife, then Jin Qinwang perhaps won’t do anything. Then, that way, things will be much easier, and the entanglement of benefits between the two families will also, because of Sun Yi Jia not having any ‘value’, become much more diluted.
Although thinking like this might be a bit mean, or even seeming to be taking advantage of someone’s situation, but this was also the truth.
Carefully thinking about it, their family was actually quite fitting for big sister Jia. How to put it, her father was someone who didn’t bother with anything, and her mother was a gullible young maiden at heart. In this branch of theirs, the yiniangs also can be said to know their place. Big sister Jia’s temper was not bad, having grown up in the Ding Duke Manor, and even raised according to the standard of a wangfei, so her abilities most likely weren’t bad either. She was more than capable of protecting her mother in the Luo family rear court. The more she thought about it, the more she felt there wasn’t a better candidate than her.
However, even so, letting her work out this matter was still very difficult. Furthermore, she still needed to wait until Jin Qinwang gets rid of the engagement. Before that, she can’t even mention this matter to grandmother. Of course, most importantly, she needed to know big sister Jia’s wish.
Just as she was thinking about this, a servant girl came in to report, “Miss, third young master is looking for you.”
“What did he come here for at this time? Doesn’t he know that I have a guest here?” Jing Wan casted a glance at Sun Yi Jia, seeing her blank for a moment.
“Is it that full-blooded older brother of yours? Why don’t you quickly go see, perhaps it’s something urgent.” Not waiting for Jing Wan to speak, Sun Yi Jia reached out and pushed her, appearing to be even more worried than her, this actual younger sister.
Jing Wan was slightly dumbstruck. Could it be that just as she thought of wanting to play matchmaker for the two of them, this one actually produced such intentions?
“Fine, I’ll go see. I’ll be back shortly.”
“No need to rush, it’s fine if I wait a little longer.”
Jing Wan very much wanted to roll her eyes. After stepping out, she saw Luo Jing Bo holding a large roll of paper in both hands. “Third brother, what’s this for?”
“Quick, quick, quick, let me borrow your study.” Luo Jing Bo impatiently rushed towards Jing Wan’s study.
Puzzled by this urgency, Jing Wan hurriedly followed over.
Jing Wan’s study was spacious, and there was a place specially arranged for drawing.
Even a ten feet long roll of paper, after randomly tidying up, could be completely spread out. “Little sis, quickly come help me look this over. I keep feeling something’s off.”
Before Jing Wan even walked in, she already saw the half complete ‘hundred birds facing the phoenix’ drawing.
The composition was just perfect, and overall, imposing and majestic. The details of every bird were all vivd and lifelike in thousands of poses. And the main subject, the phoenix, could further be said to be true to life. Never mind the background having that fantasy dream-like aesthetic of hers, this was still just a simple solid color only. Jing Wan never thought that in such a short period of time, Luo Jing Bo was able to achieve such accomplishments in gongbi painting.
“Little sis, this phoenix’s color, I’ve blended several times now, but all feels not too right.”
“Let me see.” Jing Wan went forward.
The base color Luo Jing Bo used on the phoenix was a light yellow. This was wanting to have the phoenix made into a gold color, and this color was relatively hard to master. If the color is too light or too thick, then it’ll appear stiff. And if it’s too bright, it’ll feel gaudy, not fitting the dignified air of the ruler of all birds. Jing Wan contemplated for a moment, standing before her shelf that displayed her dye colors, and momentarily fell silent. Afterwards, she took out few colors and began mixing.
This time, she completely forgot that there was still a guest in this courtyard.
Sun Yi Jia although didn’t mind waiting for a bit, wasn’t this a little too long? Little sister Wan really didn’t treat her like an outsider?
After asking for Jing Wan’s whereabouts, and learning that the Luo family’s third young master was still present and that they were painting, Sun Yi Jia hesitate for a moment, but in the end, still entered the study. Just, once she saw that painting, and also the person diligently painting with his head lowered, Sun Yi Jia’s heart uncontrollably sped up. And seemingly in order to not disturb him, Sun Yi Jia even slowed her breathing and slowly approached.
Luo Jing Bo finished applying color to the tail feathers, and vaguely sensing someone in front, he thought it was Jing Wan, “Little sis, what do you think?” Following which, he lifted his head, and then met eyes with Sun Yi Jia. Luo Jing Bo blanked, and then apologized, “Greetings Miss Sun. Sorry, to have actually forgotten that you were still here. Having neglected you, I beg you to please forgive.”
Sun Yi Jia however instinctively covered her face instead. With her complexion somewhat flushed, she softly spoke, “Not at all.”
“The injury on Miss Sun’s face still hasn’t recovered, right? Don’t use that much strength, otherwise you’ll hurt yourself.” These words came out very naturally, and were also very pure. There wasn’t astonishment, nor sympathy, and further lacked disgust.
Hearing this, Jing Wan lifted her head and looked to the two of them. Say, for a man like you to casually comment about an injury on a girl’s face, is it really okay? However, judging from big sister Jia’s appearance, it didn’t seem to have jabbed her wound, instead more like having jabbed her heart.
Sun Yi Jia however didn’t put down her hand, “Does Gentleman Luo not feel it’s ugly?” Right now, she strangely felt unprecedentedly self-conscious of her own face, even having a shred of remorse that even she herself wasn’t aware of.
“There’s nothing ugly or not about it. The harm has already been done. Even if it’s ugly, that’s all there is to it.”
Seeing Sun Yi Jia’s eyes reddening, tears forming in her eyes, Jing Wan who’d previously felt that her older brother being thick-skinned wasn’t all that bad, right now, wanted to violently beat him up instead. He was practically just a lump of elm wood[1]. Dumbass, how can you say it like that?
Luo Jing Bo had his head lowered, looking down at his own painting, and didn’t see Sun Yi Jia’s expression. “However, this kind of thing, you girls might care very much about, but I actually feel there’s no need to. No matter how beautiful of a person, if they have a malicious heart, no one would be able to like them. In contrast, even if one’s appearance is damaged, as long as they have a kind heart, even if for the time being others aren’t able to accept them, as time goes on, they will still genuinely come to like them.”
“Really?” Sun Yi Jia asked back, somewhat pleasantly surprised.
Well, seems he succeeded by dumb luck. She worried for nothing.
“Yea.” Luo Jing Bo responded very casually, yet wasn’t aware that he might have already stirred up a pond of spring water. “Little sis, why don’t you go accompany Miss Sun. I’ll keep pondering over this myself.”
“No worries, you two can continue, I’ll just watch. Watching you two draw is actually quite enjoyable.” Sun Yi Jia hurriedly waved her hand.
Luo Jing Bo was precisely a ‘since you’re content, just do as you please’ type. It’s not like it was just a lone man and woman alone in one room, and he didn’t want to deliberately avoid either. He always felt there wasn’t the need to. When one should avoid, one needed to keep away, but since they already ran into one another, then just act naturally. He believed himself to be upright and proper, so why be that uptight?
Soon after, it was just one person painting, one person mixing colors, and one person watching. It was a very quiet and very harmonious scene.
[1] Phrase used to describe someone who’s stupid and inflexible because elm wood is very rigid and hard.
T/N: In a way Luo Jing Bo is quite similar to Jing Wan, they both tend to value family more than romance. I guess you can describe him as someone with very little interest in romance……..technically I guess similar to their father, or their grandfather. Well, Jing Wan also has very little interest in romance for herself as well, she tends to think more for the benefit of her family.
Also I kinda forgot about this but there’s an audiobook of this novel in Chinese. I came across it on my audiobook app, there’s actually multiple recordings, but I like this version best. My translations match the recording chapters for the first chapter, but chapter 2 the recording splits into two parts and so on. Personally I prefer listening to multiple VA readings of Cnovels, kinda like a drama cd, but this one’s not bad. You can listen to it for the pronunciations of the names.
Click Here for the Audiobook.
