Chapter 39 Fill in the Blanks (Part 1)
Eleventh Sister followed Fifth Sister behind Eldest Young Mistress, heading north, and saw a patch of plum blossoms on the other side of the mountain. However, the plum blossoms had already wilted, leaving only green shade.
The old lady pointed and smiled: "That is Xiangyu Building. Two months earlier, you can enjoy plum blossoms."
Walked a few steps forward, saw the half-slope welcoming spring flowers.
A cluster of bamboo, a bundle of green, shining like gold foil, sparkling like stars, blooming to the end of the mountain slope.
"How beautiful!" muttered Wu Niang beside her.
The eleventh girl softly said "uh-huh" in agreement.
She wasn't unfamiliar with peach blossoms, the Luo family's home in Yuhang had planted over a dozen trees, but like this, covering the entire mountain and fields, it was no longer just beautiful, but resplendent.
The old lady took the second lady's hand and went forward - beside the mountain slope, there was an octagonal black lacquer pavilion, on which two gilt large characters "Spring Beauty" were written.
"Let's go into the pavilion and sit for a while, have a cup of tea!" The third madam called out to the people behind her.
Everyone followed into Chunyanting, where an old woman brought out a large red cloud dragon birthday tray with a brocade cushion on the railing chair. Everyone sat down after dispersing, and the maidservants served a clear white tea in turquoise cups.
After walking for a long time, drinking some tea with a light and refreshing taste makes one feel invigorated all over.
Eleventh Sister held the tea and saw Madame Wen carefully serving on one side, then looked for Amber in the crowd - didn't see her, nor did she see the one called Autumn Silk.
She smiled faintly.
Sipping tea and chatting, Wu Niang secretly pointed to the half-moon-shaped lake across from the pavilion and the three thatched cottages by the lake: "Isn't that 'Half Moon Bay'?"
"Maybe!" Xi Shi smiled in response, but when she looked up, she saw Qiao family's sixth young lady leaning over with her ears perked up...
She smiled faintly.
Or, it's not just Mrs. Qiao who is interested in Xu Lingyi!
After resting, Lady Wang led them on another stroll through the garden. There were four waterside pavilions with verandas for fishing; a beautiful pavilion surrounded by pear trees, peach trees, apricot trees and Chinese parasol trees; a hall covered in begonias; an institute with yellow mud walls; a valley where one could sail, and finally they reached Lingguan Manor along the back mountain's green stone steps, taking in all the scenery of the Xu family's rear garden. On their way down the mountain, there were already small sedan chairs waiting at the foot of the hill by the Gathering Fragrance Pavilion, and everyone got in to return to the Flower Hall - where lunch was already laid out.
After dinner, a group of people went to Tai Furen's place.
The two brothers were having a great time playing together, holding hands and not wanting to let go for a moment. Sister Zhen was watching from the side with a smile on her face.
Everyone sat for a while, teased the children a few times, and Madame got up to bid farewell.
Old Lady Wang invited Eldest Lady: "Come back home in two days and sit for a while!"
Mrs. Lai smiled and agreed, taking Lady Rou, Wu Niang, Shiyi Niang, Wen Yiniang, Xiang Ge, and Yun Ge to Yuan Niang's place. Mrs. Qiao, Miss Qiao, the Sixth Young Lady, and the Second and Third Madams remained in the Dowager's chambers chatting. Jing Jie followed her nurse and maidservant to the warm pavilion of the Dowager's bedroom.
The eleventh girl couldn't help but take another glance.
The woman beside her explained: "She has been following the old lady since she was a child..." with an expression that had a few parts of pride and a few parts of sadness.
When Brother saw his mother, he immediately ran over with a patter.
Yu Niang's smile was full of doting love: "Gently, gently, don't touch it."
"Brother's movements have indeed become much lighter, he chattered to his mother about today's events at the old lady's place: '...ate a rice cake, sister even gave me a handkerchief to wipe my mouth, Wei Zi sister took us to see the goldfish, brother wanted to go down to the pond to catch fish, but was pulled back by sister...' "
His mother listened carefully to his brother's words, without a hint of impatience.
After waiting for her brother to finish speaking, the lady again repeatedly reminded Yuan Niang "not to overwork" and "I am in Yanjing, if there is anything, let someone send me a message" and so on, then got up to bid farewell.
Seeing them leave, Jun Ge looked at Xiong Ge with eager eyes: "When are you coming again?"
Old Lady Luo let out a soft sigh.
The old lady smiled with relief: "After all, we are relatives, even if the bones are broken, they are still connected by tendons. Having seen each other a few times, it's like being close brothers." She patted Tongge's head again, "Grandma will come to see you in two days!"
Unlike the first time, this time Uncle didn't dodge Mrs. Dai's hand, not only standing there letting her touch his head, but also obediently nodding his head.
The lady-in-waiting carefully sent off the elder madam, but was stopped by Yuanniang: "Let Taomama send her off, you sit down and chat with me!"
She respectfully answered "yes", and Mrs. Tao also didn't think much of it, and accompanied by Tao's mother, they left the Xu residence.
Back in Gongxian Hutong, Hang Mama was already waiting at the gate: "Madam, you're back!"
After strolling around the garden for a day, Madame was somewhat tired. She nodded slightly and Mother Zhang had already said: "The second master and third master have arrived, they are with the eldest master in the study."
The lady was taken aback for a moment.
"Your front foot just left, and the second and third masters came right after, they've been in the study for an entire afternoon and still haven't come out!"
"Understood!" The mistress responded in a low voice and hastily stepped into the flower-hung gate.
Several others followed in a hurry and saw the lady rushing into the old master's study.
Old Lady Luo and Mother Hang exchanged a glance, then smiled at Fifth Daughter-in-law and Eleventh Daughter-in-law: "Everyone's tired today, let's take a rest!"
The two of them bowed and returned to their respective houses.
When changing clothes, Amber hesitated and stopped.
Eleventh girl calmed down, finished her toilette, sat on the kang by the window, picked up the clear tea from the wintergreen and took a sip before asking Xiangyu who had been standing beside the kang: "How is it?"
Amber glanced at Wintergreen.
"'The people in this house,' said Eleventh Sister with a smile, 'don't have anything good to hide. Besides, even though nobody says it out loud, everyone understands it in their hearts.'"
Dong Qing stopped what she was doing and smiled: "Miss, I'll go to the kitchen to see if the white porridge you ordered is ready."
"Sit down and listen!" Shí yī niáng smiled and patted the edge of the kang, "Two fists can't defeat four hands, you think of a way too!"
Dong Qing replied with a "yes" and stood beside Amber.
Amber thought for a moment and carefully told the news she got from Autumn Swallow to Eleventh Lady: "...The Wang family has been pretending to be prosperous but is actually struggling financially. Their daily expenses, apart from their salary and the income from the two estates in Xin Zhou left by their ancestors, come from the profits of a rice shop they own at the East Gate."
The eleventh girl nodded slightly.
Wealth does not last for three generations. A hundred-year-old family being able to maintain this state is already quite good.
"The Duke of Moha has only one daughter and one son, his daughter is married to the Jiang family in Le'an, and his son is Wang Lang, the young master." Hu Po said, "This young master was born when the Duke was old, so he was extremely spoiled... therefore..." She paused for a moment, "It's said that he has a very violent temper... two years ago, he even killed someone..."
The eleventh girl was slightly surprised.
She suddenly froze in the midst of the flashing lights.
Unexpectedly, why would she feel unexpected? Or, in her heart, she hoped there was someone who could lead her out of the predicament... and coincidentally, Wang Luan appeared!
She suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
Is it because she has been longing for too long that even a little bit of hope will be infinitely magnified by her, ignoring the unease in her heart?
Amber saw Eleventh Sister bow her head in contemplation and also fell silent.
For a moment, the room fell silent.
After a while, Shíyīniáng finally let out a long sigh.
Her expression gradually became determined: "Apart from saying that Wang Gongzi had killed someone before, what else did he say?"
Amber shook her head: "In the past, Xu Jia's fifth master and Wang Gongzi had also played together. After this incident, Madame Tai issued an order, not allowing Xu Jia's fifth master and Wang Gongzi to come into contact with each other again. She even said that if Fifth Master dared to be with Wang Gongzi again, the Marquis would send Fifth Master to guard the border in Gansu for ten or eight years, never to see the walls of Yanjing again!"
The eleventh girl was somewhat surprised.
The lady's reaction is so big...
She had already asked: "Who did the eldest daughter of the Wang family marry in the Jiang family?"
"The one who married is Jiang Jie's sixth son, Jiang Gui." Amber told Eleventh Lady all the news she had heard. "Jiang Gui was a jinshi and is currently serving as the prefect of Taiyuan. He has an older brother named Jiang Bai, who is a shengyuan and serves as the chief academician of the Hanlin Academy. Another older brother, Jiang Song, was the zhuangyuan of the 46th year of Jianwu. After working in the Hanlin Academy for three years as a reviser, he resigned and returned to his hometown of Le'an, where he opened a school called 'Jinxi' that specialized in teaching poor children. It's said that Jiang Jie's grandfather was the emperor's teacher, which is why he became the chief minister. His great-great-grandfather was also the emperor's teacher during the Jingzong era."
The top scholar returned to his hometown to teach poor children how to read and write...
The Luo family is also an official and noble family that has passed down poetry and books, but looking at it this way, they seem to have less of the elegant and refined atmosphere than the Jiang family!
Eleventh girl's heart moved: "Amber, did you hear that clearly? Jiang Song is the champion of Jianwu 46?"
Amber hurriedly said: "I even asked Qiu Yan specially. How do you remember it so clearly? Qiu Yan said that because she was born in the year when the champion scholar wore red and toured the streets, her mother often mentioned it."
"In Jianwu 46 years," said the eleventh girl in a low voice, "the second master was also promoted that year... so to speak, they are of the same class..."
Amber didn't know these things, she stood there silently.
When one person does something, he must have a purpose.
What is the purpose of Yuanna?
What's the connection between them?
Eleventh daughter leaned softly against the back of her body, with autumn fragrance and color on her silk brocade pillow.
It's just like filling in a crossword puzzle, as long as you fill it in correctly, the answer will come out.
But what is missing in between?
Something flashed through her mind, wanting to grasp it, but couldn't...
A declining royal family, a renowned Jiang family!
Like a sudden enlightenment, she sat up abruptly: "Amber, Prince Wang killed someone, who helped him get away with it?"
"Is it Fifth Master Xu?"
"Xu Family's Fifth Master?" Eleventh Maiden's eyes flashed, "Xu Lingkuan!"
"Qiu Yan said it was Wu Ye's doing." Hu Po hastily added, "Because of this matter, Hou Ye even deducted a full year's allowance from Wu Ye, and it was all thanks to San Ye secretly helping him get through the days!"
"What about the Jiang family?" asked Eleventh Sister with a serious expression. "As relatives by marriage, what are they doing at this time?"
