Chapter Thirty-Two: The Guest (Part Two)

  Miss Qiao looked like she was only fifteen or sixteen years old, with smooth skin, bright eyes, red lips, and a gentle smile. She sat quietly there, like a delicate flower bud that was about to bloom.

  Feeling the gaze of Eleven, she slightly turned her face and revealed a sweet smile.

  The eleventh girl nodded slightly towards her with a friendly attitude.

  Everyone listened to Mrs. Qiao's chatter for a while, and then chatted for a few more sentences. The old lady invited everyone to stay for dinner, but the second lady declined: "I just arrived, things at home are in disarray, and I still need to visit my two uncles' homes. It's rare for me to come to Yanjing, so I won't be leaving soon. After a few days, when things settle down, I'll come back to see you."

  The old lady thought that since she hadn't seen her relatives and daughter-in-law for over a decade, there must be some personal things to discuss, so she didn't keep her today. She said: "Today is the 14th, come home on the 16th, I'll treat you to a meal."

  "Alright!" Before Madame Dai could say anything, Mrs. Qiao spoke up, "Those who see it have a share, when the time comes, I'll also come to join in the fun." She said, pulling on Madame Dai's sleeve, "Sister can't not agree."

  The elder lady looked at the elder lady and smiled at Mrs. Qiao: "You can come to help me accompany my relatives, I thank you, how can you decline?"

  Mrs. Qiao smiled like a flower: "Let's just say it that way."

  Old Lady Wang saw off Eldest Lady and Fifth Daughter, Eleventh Daughter at the gate, while Mrs. Qiao and Miss Qiao stayed behind.

  Madam Wang looked at Mrs. Qiao's back and smiled to Wen Niang, who was accompanying them to bid farewell to Yuan Niang: "This Mrs. Qiao is really enthusiastic."

  The madam's eyes swept around, and she smiled: "Those people from the Fu family are eloquent, that's a well-known fact in the entire capital of Yanjing. Otherwise, why would they be nicknamed 'the unshakeable ones'?"

  The lady raised an eyebrow.

  Madam Wen smiled and said, "Our mansion has been in trouble before, but the Cheng Guo Gong Mansion is smooth sailing, having gone through six dynasties without falling. Especially this generation's Duke, since the 41st year of Jianwu, he has successively served as the Governor of Gansu, Ningxia, Baoding, Xuanfu and Datong, with a deep foundation in the northwest military. Not to mention our Hou Ye, even the Emperor himself holds him in high esteem."

  The lady seems to be lost in thought.

  The aunt smiled and helped the old lady into the carriage: "Madam is probably worried about things here, let's go back and tell Madam, and also help sister to dispel her boredom."

  The big wife nodded and got on the car with Wen's mother, but Wu's wife stared blankly at the gate of Taifu's house.

  When they arrived at Yuan Niang's place, Da Tai Tai immediately asked Qiao Fu Ren: "....are you familiar with her?"

  The lady smiled and nodded, but asked Erge: "Where did Madame Tai stay?"

  "Uh-huh." The madam replied somewhat absent-mindedly, "I saw him having a great time playing with those little maidservants, and since the mistress was being sincere, she didn't bring him back."

  I think there's something you don't want to say in front of your brother!

  Yuanniang smiled slightly.

  The woman on the side smiled and said: "Sister, guess what? We met several young ladies from the Qiao family at Old Madame's place."

  Yuanni smiled and said, "Your family and the Gong family are sworn enemies. The Gong family has a daughter married to the Jiang family. Who would know more about this Qiao family matter than you?"

  The woman covered her mouth and smiled.

  The big wife listened with a confused expression.

  "My aunt smiled and explained: 'In my grandfather's generation, the Gong family of Yangzhou was a rival of our family, both families started with salt industry. Being in the same business made them enemies. We two families have been fighting for so many years, we know each other inside out. The Gong family had a daughter who married into the Jiang family of Jian'an as a daughter-in-law, and the Jiang family of Jian'an is actually Mrs. Qiao's natal family. That's why sister said that.'"

  Mrs. Tai was moved: "The Jiang family of Jian'an? Is it the 'one door four jinshi, two generations of grand councilors' Jiang family of Jian'an?"

  Wen Yiniang nodded, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes: "It's indeed the Jian'an Jiang family of the two elders Jiang Rong and Jiang Cuo."

  The lady was taken aback.

  "It's a family of officials, with ancestors who were once glorious, but there isn't a single successful candidate for the imperial examination among their descendants. Their decline is also imminent." Yuan Niang glanced at Wen Niang with a faint smile and said, "Speaking of which, the Jiang family has already gone two generations without producing a successful candidate, not even as good as our family."

  The lady's smile went from her face all the way to the bottom of her eyes: "Your younger brother is a real scamp."

  "Who says it's not?" Wen Niang laughed with a hint of pride, "A 22-year-old juren is already quite an achievement. Even in the entire province of Dazhou, you can't find many like that. Wait until next year when the imperial examination takes place and he passes the palace exam, then he'll be a young jinshi scholar! Madame, you are indeed a blessed person!"

  "Thanks for your kind words," said the old lady, her delight unable to be concealed. "I hope Xing Ge can bring glory to our family."

  "It will definitely be!" Wen Niang smiled and promised, but Yuan Niang suddenly asked her: "Which branch of the Qiao family is their sixth young lady from?"

  The bride's body trembled slightly, and the smile on her face was somewhat forced.

  Yu didn't mention which Miss Qiao was coming, but Yuan Niang could say in one breath that it was the sixth Miss Qiao...

  She didn't dare think deeply and hastily smiled: "It's the eldest daughter of the third house, however, the third house only has this one daughter. Her father and the Duke are brothers born to the same mother."

  Yuanniang nodded slightly.

  The aunt's face showed a hesitant expression.

  Yuanniang glanced at her, slightly raising the corner of her mouth. Pretending not to notice Wen Niang's unusual expression, she smiled and looked at Wu Niang and Shiyi Niang: "I can't get up to entertain guests, both of you are still young and love to play, it would be boring for you to sit here listening to us talk. Wen Niang, please take Wu Niang and Shiyi Niang to the back garden to take a look! The butterfly orchid that the Empress Dowager gave me before the New Year should have bloomed!"

  The fifth daughter hastily said, "Sister, don't worry about me. I enjoy listening to Mother and sister's conversation. At home, I often chat with Mother too. Besides, I'm a person who likes quietness and dislikes noise!"

  She was speaking when Eleven Maiden had already stood up and saw Five Maiden sitting down, her face inevitably showing a few points of embarrassment.

  The two ladies-in-waiting could only smile and say, "Let's just go take a look then. I heard that the two pots of butterfly orchids given by the Empress are tributes from Fujian, and there are only thirty plants in total. The Qianqing Palace, Cining Palace, and Kunning Palace each have ten pots. Our family is quite lucky, the Emperor gave one pot to the Duke, the Empress Dowager gave one pot to the Elder Lady, the Empress gave one pot to the Second Lady, one pot to the Third Lady, two pots to our Lady, and one pot to the Fourth Lady... a total of seven pots! They are all being kept in the greenhouse in the back garden, I haven't seen them yet!"

  The fifth daughter suddenly came to her senses.

  The young lady is about to take them aside and have a heart-to-heart talk with the mistress.

  For a moment, she blushed all over her face, stood up and bowed to Yuan Niang and Da Tai Tai with Shi Yi Niang, then followed Wen Niang to the warm room in the back garden.

  The maid who had been by Yuanniang's side all along made a gesture to the servants in the house, and then led a group of maids and daughters-in-law to quietly withdraw.

  The madam saw that there was only her mother and daughter in the house, and her eyes immediately became moist. She pulled her daughter's hand: "Is Lord Hou treating you well?" Her tone was a bit cautious.

  Yuanniang smiled and nodded: "Master Hou is a man who values old relationships, he treats me very well."

  The lady was somewhat skeptical: "That, that thing..."

  Yuanniang smiled and said: "I'm already in this state, if it wasn't for his help, then Wen Niang wouldn't be so humble in front of me. Niang, the Marquis is a very good person. Don't suspect anything. It's just that I have bad luck and can't grow old with him..."

  The old lady listened, already in tears: "Don't say that. Isn't the empress helping you find a cure among the people? This world is vast, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and extraordinary talents emerge one after another. You're also a lucky person, nothing bad will happen to you. You'll definitely turn misfortune into good fortune, and calamity into blessings..." But she didn't notice her daughter's sighs about not being able to grow old with her son-in-law, nor did she see any hint of sadness on her face.

  Yu Niang smiled slightly, her expression extremely calm: "As Mother said, I will definitely get better. Mother, don't be sad either." It was unclear whether she was comforting herself or comforting her mother.

  The lady cried for a while, then fearing that she would sadden her daughter, she forcibly held back her tears and smiled: "That's right, what did Mrs. Qiao mean? I heard from Wen Niangniang that the Qiao family is not simple. What did the Duke say?"

  Yuanniang smiled and said: "Mother, you don't believe in your daughter, do you still not trust grandfather's vision? Houye is not that kind of person. Otherwise, why would there be only a few people at home?"

  The old lady was just worried about it. After listening to her daughter's words, she couldn't help but smile: "As long as he treats you well, I'm at ease."

  "Mother," Yu Niang seemed reluctant to discuss this further and changed the subject, "Why did you bring Eleven with you? She's too young this year."

  The lady suddenly remembered her purpose for coming here.

  Her face suddenly turned cold, and she said: "You came to me saying that I should bring two of my sisters to Yanjing to take a look. Although the words were vague, I understood your meaning. However, there are some things that you don't understand as clearly as I do. Among our family's eligible daughters, only Wu Niang and Shi Niang remain. That Yang Shi is a reckless and unscrupulous person who would stop at nothing to get what she wants. If by any chance the Xu family were to choose her, she would be capable of doing anything, including harming herself or others... At that time, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing face, but also creating a powerful enemy... Don't forget, if by any chance... she is indeed the legitimate mother of your son!"

  Yuanniang didn't make a sound, her eyes cast down, unable to discern her emotions.

  "Five Niang is a good choice, after all. And she has an old fourth on her side. In recent years, I've spent a lot of silver on him, and before leaving, I found something for him to do. I think it's almost enough. Even if she wants to help in the future, she'll have to be able to do so. Ultimately, it still depends on your brother. Eleven Niang doesn't have any brothers, and Qingtong is timid. Although he's a bit young, look at his eyebrows, they're so delicate. Moreover, being young has its advantages...". As she spoke, the old lady's voice dropped, "Their bodies aren't fully developed, it's common for them to not be able to keep their offspring safe. Once it becomes a habit, it'll be even more difficult... I've thought about it and feel that Eleven Niang is better than Five Niang, so I took charge and brought both Five Niang and Eleven Niang here." The old lady smiled, "Of course, this matter still needs you to make the decision. Whether the Xu family agrees or not is also a hurdle!"

  "My daughter's insight I naturally trust." Yuanni raised her eyelids and smiled, "Besides, I'm not very familiar with the younger sisters at home. This matter, it's only because I didn't explain clearly to Mother. However, this might be even better!"

  The lady was stunned.

  Yuanniang then spoke in a low voice with her mother.

  The Fifth Daughter and the Eleventh Daughter followed Madame Wen to the backyard, chatting as they went.

  All the way, Wen Niang's mouth was unstoppable and her words were endless. She told them what kind of flower this was, what kind of grass that was, when the pavilion was renovated, who wrote the inscription on the waterside pavilion... She spoke with relish, telling every detail, making 11th Lady admire her greatly.

  Tour guides are nothing special!

  She listened with relish.

  (Another power outage... don't know when the electricity will come back on! At work, I'll send out a draft first and then revise it later when the power is back on. Sisters can only make do for now!)