The torrential rain drumming against the blue tiles of the Marquis's Mansion sounded piercingly loud. Jiang Rou stared at the dark, bruised skin beneath her eyes in the vanity mirror and slammed her gilded rouge box onto the table. "How dare she! She has only read a few more books than I—by what right does she hold herself above me?"
"Rou'er!" Madame Li set down her teacup, her jade nail guards scraping a sharp sound against the sandalwood table. "Do not forget what your father said—if you continue this tantrum, he will cut your dowry in half."
At the mention of her dowry, Jiang Rou’s fingernails dug deep into her palms. A fortnight ago, during her father’s birthday celebration, Jiang Wan’s presentation of the "Hundred Longevity Scroll" was praised as the work of a "gifted woman," while the jade screen that Jiang Rou had painstakingly prepared was dismissed by her father as "vulgar."
Chapter 60