She looked up and called outside: “Nong’er, call Sanlang here.” (1)
Sanlang = third son, same naming convention as Wulang and Qilang of the Wang house, except this is Sanlang of the Chen house.
“Aye.”
While Chen Rong was in bewilderment, a young man’s raspy voice soon called in: “Mother, have you asked for me?”
Lady Ruan was delighted to hear his voice. “Sanlang, come in,” she lovingly called to him.
A young man about 18 or 19 stepped in.
He involuntarily paused at the unexpected sight of Chen Rong.
However, he withdrew his gaze quickly enough to bow to Lady Ruan and respectfully greeted her.
“Sit down, my son.”
“Aye.”
After he took his seat, the young man turned his attention to Chen Rong and asked, “Mother, she’s…?”
“Her? She’s Ah Rong.”
“Pardon?”
Surprised, the young man curiously stared at Chen Rong and exclaimed, “The Ah Rong who played ‘The Phoenix’s Love Song’?”
Lady Ruan patted his hand in admonishment: “Don’t say that about your meimei.”
“Ah Rong,” she smilingly said, “this is your third cousin. Treat him like your elder brother from now on as Ah Wei does.”
“Aye.”
Chen Rong stood up, curtsied to the man and said, “How do you do, third brother?”
Chen Sanlang got up at her words and also bowed in return. “Let’s not stand on ceremony, Ah Rong.”
Gratified, Lady Ruan smiled and warmly said, “Ah Rong, your third brother is also a very accomplished man. You should spend more time with him in the future. As for those with careless manners and speech, it’s best to limit your interaction with them.” She could see that Chen Rong was a little slow. Her words had been said very bluntly.
She had put it so bluntly, but Chen Rong still didn’t understand.
The younger girl looked up in puzzlement and asked her aunt, “Careless manners and speech? Who do you mean, aunt?”
In Chen Rong’s memory, except for herself, she honestly didn’t know anyone who would deserve this evaluation.
Lady Ruan stared at her confused look while impatience flashed in her eyes.
Sitting beside her, Chen Sanlang had finally discovered that Chen Rong’s looks were rather attractive. He kept staring at her.
In this awkward atmosphere, the young woman stood up and sweetly smiled. “All right, all right. Ah Rong, your aunt is feeling tired. I’ll see you out.”
Chen Rong almost heaved in relief. She quickly got up and answered, “Aye.”
The woman sashayed out in front of Chen Rong.
When they got to the steps, she leaned into Chen Rong and whispered, “Ah Rong, we’ve always loathed those other people in the estate. Hmph, even if they are legitimate daughters, how can their learning and beauty compare to yours?”
Realization suddenly dawned on Chen Rong. So Lady Ruan had meant Chen Qian and Chen Qi. Nay, Chen Wei was also close to her. Lady Ruan’s words were probably meant for her too.
Once she saw that Chen Rong had finally caught on, the young woman’s stiff smile lifted from her face. She glanced toward the room and again said to Chen Rong, “Wang Qilang has asked you out for a lake excursion tomorrow, hasn’t he?”
Chen Rong nodded in surprise.
The woman’s smile stiffened again seeing that Chen Rong still didn’t manage to follow. She whispered helplessly: “Let your third brother take you to the lake excursion tomorrow.”
Realization dawned on Chen Rong once more.