Chapter Fifteen Situation

  The main hall has a three-foot square shrine, enshrining a statue of Guanyin sitting cross-legged. In front of the statue is a small tripod incense burner made of mud and gold, burning three sticks of agarwood incense.

  In the wafting incense smoke, Guanyin Bodhisattva is gazing at the multitude of sentient beings with a compassionate and sorrowful expression.

  Ying'er reported that Eleventh Sister had come in person to see off Luo Zhai, and the two aunts arrived together.

  The big aunt's round face wore a warm and intimate smile, as she loudly instructed Cai Xia: "Quickly, quickly serve tea to Eleventh Miss!"

  The thin face of the second aunt also showed a few smiles, pointing to the side of the armchair: "Sit down and talk!"

  The eleventh girl smiled and paid respects to the two aunts, half-sitting on the armchair, gesturing for Amber to hand over the box to the two aunts, humbly saying: "I don't know if it's satisfactory or not?"

  The elder aunt personally received the box and smiled without looking: "It's satisfactory, it's satisfactory, how can it be unsatisfactory!"

  The maids brought in the tea, and Big Aunt smiled brightly: "I went to Green Twig Tower early this morning. I heard you were playing with a shuttlecock, so I didn't disturb you. I went to see Tenth Miss instead."

  Since you personally brought the gift, it's an opportunity to clarify some things. The other party doesn't seem to mind, and there's a sense of opening a window to speak frankly.

  It's just being pretentious if you keep beating around the bush.

  Eleventh girl smiled slightly: "I heard you went to tenth girl's place, I asked Dong Qing to invite you, who knew you had already left. I thought that since the linked silk was finished, it should be sent over, so I didn't let her go after you."

  The elder sister-in-law smiled kindly: "I went to the fifth young lady's place."

  The eleventh girl couldn't help but feel surprised, her mouth slightly ajar, thinking about what to say next, when the big aunt sighed and said: "You young people don't know some things from before.

  Your elder sister's husband's family, Xu, was originally from Hebei Province. Because of their contributions to the founding of the dynasty, they were granted a hereditary title that would not be taken away. They were also ranked among the top ten generals who founded the country and were honored in the Temple of the Gods. During the Zheng'an reign, the Xu family was implicated in the "Zheng An Wang's rebellion case" and had their title revoked. Although they regained their title during the Yan'nian reign, their influence was greatly diminished compared to before. When your grandfather was an official in the capital, he became friends with the old marquis of the Xu family, so he betrothed your elder sister to the Xu family.

  At that time, the young lady of the XU family was just a powerless and insignificant Concubine Jian. Her husband didn't read much, and he had an older brother and younger brothers above and below him in the Imperial Guard, holding a seventh-rank position as a camp guard, which the madam wasn't too pleased about.

  Who knows, fortune will turn around.

  First, the elder brother of my maternal uncle passed away, and my maternal uncle was granted a noble title. The eldest sister became the Madame of Yongping Marquis. Later, Emperor Jian ascended to the throne and appointed Xu's eldest daughter as Empress. My maternal uncle then successively quelled the Miao clan rebellion and the Northern Border uprising, and was conferred with the title of General-in-Chief and made a third-rank official as Commander-in-Chief. Such boundless wealth and honor are not something that everyone can enjoy."

  At this point, there was a hint of coldness in Da Yiniang's eyes.

  "The eldest lady had a miscarriage, and the old lady of the Xu family took charge. First, she stopped the medicine for the two concubines, Qin Shi and Tong Shi, who were in the house before the eldest lady entered. Later, she also took in Yangzhou Wen's eldest lady as a concubine for her son-in-law. The next year, Qin Shi gave birth to a son and was promoted to be a secondary wife; although Wen did not have Qin's good fortune, she also gave birth to a daughter. As for our family's eldest lady, however, there was no news of her pregnancy for several years. She then took in the personal maid Autumn Luo as a concubine. After much difficulty, Autumn Luo became pregnant and gave birth to a son the next year, but unfortunately, the child died prematurely."

  For this matter, the old lady prayed to countless gods and worshipped numerous Buddhas, while the elder sister searched for many secret remedies and took many doses of medicine. Finally, in the eighth year after marriage, there was good news. Who would have thought that when the child was seven months old, it was premature, giving birth to a weak son who didn't even have the strength to cry loudly, named Duan Ge.

  The eleventh girl let out a soft "ah".

  In the eyes of the female servants in the Rong family, among these sisters of the Rong family, Rong Yuan's mother had always been a god-like distant existence.

  She was exceptionally beautiful, talented and married to a powerful nobleman, giving birth to his legitimate son... All the happiness one could think of in this world seemed to be within her grasp. But little did she know... What's more, the Wen family, one of the four most influential families in Jiangnan, unexpectedly agreed to let their daughter become a concubine of the Marquis of Yongping.

  She thought of what Erniang had said that day, "Rong'er is the eldest son but not the heir", could it be that this was the inside story?

  The eleventh girl felt her throat and eyes were dry, she wanted to ask, but didn't know how to start.

  "After all, it's not that the child is premature, but rather like a ginseng-fed swallow, no worse than Qin Shi's son. Not to mention being lively and clever, at three years old he could recognize characters, at five years old he could read aloud, at seven years old he could write compositions, and now at nine years old, it's said that next year he'll be taking the imperial examination for xiucai...". As she spoke, Big Auntie gave Eleventh Lady a deep glance. "So our eldest lady has been unable to rest or eat well these past few years... her body naturally couldn't possibly be good."

  Xu's family is really complicated...

  The eleventh girl smiled bitterly in her heart. She sank into thought and said, "Wen's family, how could they agree to send their daughter to someone else as a concubine... isn't this also too humiliating?"

  The second aunt, who had been silent all along, let out a cold "hmm" and said sarcastically, "What's the point of having a good reputation? Can you eat it or drink it? The Wen family only got the ceramics business from the Imperial Household Department this year because of this relationship. Compared to the profits from ceramics, what's the value of having a good reputation?"

  The eleventh daughter wanted to speak but hesitated.

  As the second aunt said, face can neither be eaten nor drunk, but at critical moments, it can make people straighten their backs and overcome the embarrassment of having nothing to eat or drink.

  But she didn't come to argue with the two bridesmaids, nor did she have any intention of changing others' minds.

  She smiled faintly and said: "In that case, our autumnal Luo has Miss Wen's company, so it's not too lonely!"

  Actually it was a tactful inquiry about Ah Rou, the concubine of Yongping Marquis who had borne him children.

  The elder sister-in-law was also a clever person, and immediately smiled: "Qin Shi is from a young age trained by the old lady of the Xu family, Wen Shi is the eldest daughter, our Autumn Luo is beautiful, but if this woman only relies on beauty, then how can there be the saying 'door to door'?" As she spoke, she covered her mouth and smiled, and the corners of her eyes and eyebrows actually had a few shares of charm.

  That is to say, even Qiu Luo couldn't get her hands on a single one of those concubines!

  The eleventh girl's face changed slightly.

  Although these two aunts have lost their youth and look haggard, the elegance that inadvertently reveals itself in their every move still allows her to guess how beautiful they must have been in their younger years. If even they ended up like this, isn't it the best evidence for the argument "women can't just rely on being pretty"?

  She couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

  "Our Luo family is a family of officials, with a long history of literary elegance. Our old master held the position of Grand Secretary in the Imperial Cabinet, it's not comparable to your family's merchant background." The eleventh daughter further asked for confirmation, "The lanterns that prolong one's life, aren't they more than just ordinary Buddhist affairs?"

  "I didn't expect you to know something about the Long Life Lantern." The Second Madam, who had been keeping a straight face all along, now had a thick layer of smile in her eyes. "When Marquis Ma Zifu was serving as the Governor of Shaanxi, he also had a concubine and son return from outside. The previous emperor still praised him saying 'he is doing well in his official position and has excellent talent'. How can you three be compared to that when none of you have any noble ancestry?"

  At this moment, Shiyi Niang could no longer conceal the turmoil in her heart, and her face suddenly turned pale.

  "Isn't it in the family tree?"

  She never knew she didn't have an ancestral record.

  The old lady sighed and looked at her with a few more sad eyes: "When you just came back from Fujian, the second master and third master also brought their families back from their posts. There were already many things to do at home, and it was just right that you fell down... Can't the big mistress forget about it?"

  The eleventh girl returned to the Green Building with a complicated mood.

  The tenth girl has not come back yet.

  She had Dong Qing go and investigate the news a bit. Bai Zhi said that Shi Niang hadn't come back since she went out in the afternoon.

  Eleventh Sister listened and remained silent for half a day, letting Amber unfold the words written by Fifth Sister for Dong Qing to see.

  "When I give you one night, you draw a picture with bright paper."

  Although he didn't know what Eleven wanted to do, Dong Qing still respectfully agreed as before.

  The eleventh girl didn't say anything else and was served by Amber as she rested.

  The next day early in the morning, Dong Qing, with a black eye circle, handed over the errand she had been entrusted with.

  The eleventh girl brought it over and looked at it carefully for half a day, then nodded and smiled: "Dongqing's painting skills are getting better and better. You worked hard yesterday, go rest now!"

  Dong Qing retreated at the sound, and Shiyi Niang wrote a letter. She then put the letter and the Ming paper together in an envelope and handed it to Qiu Ju: "You take this to Jian Shi Fu's place in Hangzhou Prefecture." She also gave Hupo five taels of silver, saying "Absolutely do not let anyone else know."

  After entering the winter month, Jian Shifu returned to Hangzhou for the New Year and didn't come back to Luo's house until March of the following year.

  Chrysanthemum took over the letter and put it in her bosom: "Miss is asking Master Jian for advice on embroidering a screen, right? I won't tell anyone else."

  She had an elder brother who was a servant in Ma Yuan's household and got along very well with the boatmen who transported goods for the Luo family.

  The eleventh girl didn't make any further explanations and smiled as she went to the wife of the big master.

  "I had a good sleep last night, and when I get back, I'll start embroidering the screen."

  She tried her best to come earlier than yesterday, but she still met with Wu Niang.

  The old lady immediately had someone bring her goat's milk, and after she drank it, she let her embroider the screen peacefully. She didn't need to come and pay respects at night anymore, and emphasized: "Only when you finish embroidering that screen on time can you be considered truly filial."

  The last time Mrs. said so too, it seems that Mrs. is not pretending.

  The eleventh girl thought for a moment, then smiled and responded. After chatting with the mistress for a few words, she returned to the Green Bamboo Building and began to concentrate on embroidering the screen.

  After several days, the lady sent someone to make spring clothes for Eleventh Sister.

  Wintergreen was shocked.

  Making spring clothes has a fixed time, which is after February 2nd.

  It's still New Year's isn't it?

  The eleventh girl knew and just raised her head to ask: "Is it only for me? Or does everyone have one?"

  The tailor smiled and said: "Of course, everyone has them. However, Mrs. Dai said that Miss Eleven grew taller this year, so let's make a few more sets."

  Eleventh Girl listened and nodded slightly absent-mindedly, then lowered her head to continue embroidering the screen.

  Amber felt uneasy after hearing that, and pulled Binju: "Take advantage of Miss Dongqing's service by her side, let's go to the fifth miss - I didn't get along with Ziwei and Ziyun much when I was in Madame's place. Now I'm in the 11th miss's room, it's better to be more close to the people in several miss's rooms."

  Binju still supported her words and went with Huopo to Wu Niang's place.

  (Haven't been online for two days, PK results... ⊙﹏⊙ sweat... busy with these two days and then update, please ask friends who have votes to support more!)