After being transmigrated to this world, she hadn't had a good bath in a long while. So Jiang Ning took her time to relax in the hot water.
Before her fingers began to prune, the maidservants swiftly got her out of the tub. They aided her to sit by the edge as they gently wiped the water off her skin, combed her hair, and helped her into her new clothes.
In a blink of an eye, Jiang Ning had changed into a round-neck robe and a Willow-flower dress. She tied her hair up in a simple bun with a small pearl hairpin, revealing her smooth forehead and slender neck.
Zhou Mama was almost stunned. "Seventh Lady... You looked exactly like Madam when she was young." She whispered in awe. Despite seeing some of the traces of similarities before, the older woman still couldn't believe it.
Just before Jiang Ning could respond, a burst of undignified laughter rang outside her quarters. The young girl looked a little confused at the frown on the head maid's face.
Zhou Mama left her to greet whoever was outside her room. "Fifth Lady and Sixth Lady are here." She announced.
"We heard that Seventh Sister is back, so we came to welcome her," Fifth Lady, Jiang Yuan, said as she strolled straight into the room without waiting for Jiang Ning's permission.
Seeing this disrespectful behavior, Zhou Mama tried to stop them, but she was slapped in the face, "Zhou Mama, who are you? You dare to stop me?"
"
"
As they walked further into the spacious room, they saw the back of a young girl sitting in a wheelchair. From their vantage point, they could see a cat sitting on her lap, eating from a bowl in her hand.
Even from behind, they could tell that the young girl was elegant. She had a slender figure as she sat with her back straight. If they hadn't known their youngest sister had been raised in the slums for the past twelve years, they wouldn't be able to tell from how poised she sat.
But…
"So she really is a cripple?" The moment Jiang Yuan saw the wheelchair, she felt relieved.
Even if she were the first wife's daughter, she would have no use with a useless leg like that.
No matter what, this girl couldn't surpass her.
Recently, she heard that the Emperor was going to choose a concubine for Prince Yu.
The daughters of the noble families in Chang'an City were all waiting eagerly for the event. At this critical moment, the Jiang family announced that they had found their legitimate daughter. It was as if they were deliberately adding fuel to the competitive fire.
When they heard that Seventh Lady was back, the other girls of the Jiang family couldn't wait to meet this mysterious girl. They wanted to know what this Seventh Sister, who was said to be living among the common people for twelve years, looked like.
Who would've thought that she would turn out to be a cripple!
This really made the two girls cheer over their youngest sister's misfortune.
They had nothing to worry about.
No matter what criteria or tests the royal family would put out, it was impossible for them to choose a disabled woman to be Prince Yu's princess.
Fifth Lady was immensely relieved, and now she was in an excellent mood to tease Jiang Ning.
When Jiang Ning heard the whispers, she turned her wheelchair to face the two guests that had entered her room.
When Jiang Yuan and Jiang Yan finally saw her face, they both were stunned speechless.
Seventh Sister was beautiful, and her face looked similar to the madam.
There was no doubt about it. Nobody could question the girl's legitimacy. Her face was enough to prove her identity. Everyone could see it.
Jiang Ruobai's wife had been the most beautiful woman in Chang'an City when she was young. At the sight of Jiang Ning's face, Jiang Yuan's heart was filled with mixed feelings.
"You are Seventh Sister, correct?" Jiang Yan asked as she unconsciously walked closer to the girl in the wheelchair. She was still in shock, that it didn't register to her that she was even walking. "Seventh Sister, you look like Madam. Where have you been living all these years?"
"Didn't you hear? They found her in a broken thatched house," Jiang Yuan laughed. "Seventh Sister, we don't lack anything in our residence. You can bring your dirty cat, but why would you bring a broken bowl? You're not here to beg for food."
Jiang Ning raised her bowl, "Oh, you mean this?" She asked. "I heard that Lady Jiang is very knowledgeable, talented, and sensitive, how can you not even recognize something so priceless?"
"Isn't this just a broken bowl? There's nothing priceless about that thing."
"This is a bowl left behind by an eminent monk who went to the West to collect Sutras. It's very valuable!" Jiang Ning bluffed, not willing to be looked down on.
With her past experience, it would be child's play for her to lie to these two little girls.
Jiang Yuan was skeptical. Even though she didn't want to believe it, she couldn't help but take another glance at the "monk's bowl". Seventh Sister looked at her with such honest eyes, and her words did not even waver once, so full of certainty. Could the younger girl really be lying?
She looked at it again, a little closer this time, more careful too.
'That's strange.' They both thought.
'Why is it that the more I looked at it, the more real it became?' Jiang Yan muttered lowly to herself.
Then Jiang Yan and Jiang Yuan looked at each other.
As if they were thinking the same thing, they both reached out to grab the bowl. "Let me see it!" They demanded.