The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

9. About Lao Jiang

Translator: Iris Guo

The guard with dark skin frowned. Along the way, he had spent a lot of time with A’Chou, and he had ordered her to do the laundry or cook for him. Therefore naturally, he began to have a good opinion of her. Further, he and his companion had to rely on A’Chou to stay alive, so he didn’t want her to suffer much. However, when he was about to retort upon Lao Jiang, the pale guard pinched his skin in secret, and he held his tongue immediately.

“You are absolutely right! The chores are not for us men!” the pale guard chimed in with Lao Jiang and patted his shoulder, “We haven’t met for years, and we must have a few good drinks later!” “That’s for sure! No one’s leaving tonight before drinking up five kilograms of liquor!” Lao Jiang laughed evilly and pointed to the carriage, “Send the bride to the bridal chamber right away, so we could go downhill for drinks!”

The guard with dark skin went over and opened the door of the carriage. He whispered to A’Chou: “Come down now.”

A’Chou jumped out of the carriage holding on to the door, but her body swayed and she was about to fall. At that time, the sharp-eyed guard with dark skin gave her a hand, and A’Chou nodded to him with gratitude.

It was so dark that A’Chou could see nothing but the three vague figures in front of her. She was very nervous and scared, biting her lips with her head down. A’Chou had no idea what was waiting for her. While A’Chou was still panicking, she heard a striking of the flint. Afterwards, the fire lit up the muddy ground in front of her and her embroidered shoes stuck in the mire.

She was wearing Miss Duan’s shoes. Miss Duan was a girl from a noble family and her feet were bound, and her shoes were way too small for A’Chou. Along the way, A’Chou had been wearing her own shabby cloth shoes. This afternoon, the pale guard forced her to change. Indeed, no one would wear the open-toe shabby cloth shoes on the wedding day.

A’Chou’s feet hurt so badly. Thus, she almost fell when she got out of the carriage earlier.

“Let me see the noble girl from the capital! I wonder what the great beauty is like.” said Lao Jiang rascally while waving a torch in front of A’Chou’s face.

The torch was so close to A’Chou’s face that she felt her face was almost burnt. Her bangs were already singed, and there came a pungent burning smell. A’Chou recalled her horrible experience being surrounded by a sea of fire. She backed away, but the shoes she wore were indeed unsuitable, so she fell awkwardly in the mud with a thud.

“I imagined that her beauty would overshadow everything else, but it’s just so-so!” said Lao Jiang with a smack. He seemed to be very satisfied seeing A’Chou’s frightened and embarrassed face, so he withdrew the torch, turned, and inserted the torch in the knocker behind him. Then, he turned around and looked down at A’Chou. “At best, you are a bride; but bluntly, you are just a maid. From now on, the paralytic in that room will be your master, and you must take good care of him. If he dies young, so would you. Clear?”

Half of A’Chou’s body was soaked in the mud. She got up in panic, trembling and nodding. She was so scared that she couldn’t say anything with her mouth open.

It seemed that Lao Jiang was contented with her reaction. He immediately pushed open the door behind him and shouted at A’Chou: “Just go in there.”

It was dark inside. A’Chou could only see the vague outline of the courtyard which was not far away, and there seemed to be a kitchen.

A’Chou licked her lips in confusion. She wanted to ask Lao Jiang where she should live; however, terrified by his fierce look, she dared not ask.