Chapter 28: Heart-pounding (Part 2)

  Everyone got up and went to the banquet without mentioning it again.

  The banquet ended and when they were admiring the flower lanterns, Mrs. Cai suddenly remembered, "There are a few good artificial flowers at home, quickly bring them out for the young ladies."

  The maids brought in one by one coral and gold decorated boxes, which were gifts for the young ladies.

  Miss Jia San, the young ladies of the second house have all taken theirs. The maid brought a box of piled flowers to Ronghua and handed it over. Mrs. Cai smiled and instructed, "Take two more, bring them to Miss Liu of the Tao family."

  The maid hurriedly opened the box and added two more flowers to it.

  Mrs. Cai smiled and praised Yan Hua to the ladies beside her, "The Tao family's young ladies are all lovely, especially the sixth miss, I took a liking to her at first sight, it's a pity that Mrs. Qin didn't bring her today."

  Mrs. Tai laughed and said: "Yan Hua hasn't been feeling well for the past two days, so I didn't bring her over."

  Mrs. Cai was concerned, "Miss Six is ill? Is it serious?"

  The lady said: "Nothing much, just caught a bit of cold."

  Mrs. Cai nodded, "That's good, next time when Auntie comes, be sure to bring Sixth Miss along." She continued, "It just so happens that Mrs. Chen brought many nourishing dishes today, I'll also make an offering to the Buddha and take some over to share with the young ladies in your household."

  Madam Chen smiled and said, "This is very good."

  There are many varieties of flower lanterns, and many are styles that Ronghua has never seen before. Ronghua weaves in and out among the flower lanterns.

  Those two ladies who were close friends of the Cai family whispered to each other, "With so many lanterns lit up, it seems that thing is true after all?"

  "So many lanterns, it's impossible that they were made and placed in the Hou Mansion. The Empress's preferences, Mrs. Cai is the most clear about them, and it's inevitable that some things are done by her."

  "It seems like the date is almost set."

  The two ladies lowered their voices again.

  Ronghua only heard a few words, "Noble Consort... filial piety..."

  Ronghua's eyes suddenly lit up, and the imperial concubine visited her relatives.

  The madam walked forward while looking at the flower lanterns, gradually leaving the crowd behind. Shu Hua followed her, and the madam looked at the patterns on the lanterns, the delicate wooden framework, and the intricate designs of flowers, birds, and people on the silk gauze. "Is there a distinguished guest coming to our mansion?"

  Shu Hua said: "It's not in the mansion either, these flower lanterns are going to be taken to Auntie's house."

  The Empress's eyes lit up, "So the Imperial Concubine's return home is true?"

  Shu Hua nodded, "Although it hasn't been officially said, judging from the busy scene in the mansion, it's probably settled."

  The old lady said: "How come you suddenly arranged a family visit at this time?"

  Shu Hua said in a low voice: "Last time I heard Auntie and Cai's family say that the Emperor's body doesn't seem to be very good."

  The old lady's face turned pale with a hint of fear, afraid that others might hear, and she scolded Shu Hua, "Don't talk nonsense like this."

  Shu Hua said: "It was only when Mother asked me that I told her."

  The old lady asked again, "Your eighth sister brought back a broken Begonia, I see that your expression seems to be dissatisfied."

  Shu Hua thought of this, and couldn't help but feel a wave of tension. "Those sea pinks were planted by Princess Honghua in her mother-in-law's garden before she got married. After Princess Honghua passed away, her mother-in-law had two sea pinks transplanted from the maternal home to here. They are taken care of meticulously every day, and no one dares to touch them."

  The big wife didn't think of this layer either.

  After watching the flower lanterns, Yizhong Houfu sent away the guests and Cai Furen saw them off at the Huadeng Gate. The Houfu had arranged for a sedan chair as usual, but the elder lady insisted on declining it, "No need to go to so much trouble, I'll just ride with Ronghua in the carriage."

  Mrs. Cai saw that Mrs. Lian was firm in her tone and so she went along with her, "After we've taken the things... I'll have Big Nainai come back to visit you another day."

  Mrs. Cai specially mentioned the medicine she gave to Yaohua, and the big wife's smile showed gratitude.

  Shu Hua stepped forward to help Madame get into the carriage, but Madame patted Shu Hua's hand and called Rong Hua over instead. Rong Hua then helped Madame into the carriage.

  The carriage left the Hou Mansion, and Madame Wang sat quietly inside for a long time before asking Ronghua, "Why did you suddenly think of picking a few branches of begonia flowers?" She didn't ask Ronghua about the matter of Jia San Niang losing her earrings either.

  Ronghua picked up the cushion from the carriage and placed it behind Madame Wang's waist. "Helping Miss Jia find her earrings, she walked over there and saw that the begonias were blooming beautifully, so she casually plucked two branches. After plucking them, she regretted it, realizing that this was the Hou Mansion, not her own home."

  The lady sighed, "After all, he's just a child and still has a playful nature. Just pay more attention in the future."

  Rong Hua nodded and said, "Yes."

  The old lady closed her eyes in the carriage, as if she was about to fall asleep.

  Ronghua hastily called over a coarse servant girl who was following them, and told the one in the carriage behind to pass over Madame's silver fox fur cloak.

  Dong Ruo got off the carriage and personally handed the silver fox fur cloak to Rong Hua, who carefully covered it over Madame's body.

  The horse carriage stopped at the entrance of Tao's mansion. Rong Hua waited for Madame to get off, and Chen Mama was already waiting in front of the Huahua Gate.

  "Once inside the courtyard, Madame turned around and kindly instructed Yonghua, 'Have the maid take the things brought back from the Hou estate to your place. As for Ranhua's share, have someone deliver it tomorrow. You've worked hard too, get some rest early.'"

  The last sentence was a confirmation of her? Rong Hua replied softly: "Yes."

  The lady returned to her room and let the maids attend to changing into a casual robe, before entering the green silk pavilion.

  Madam Chen ordered the maids to withdraw, leaving only Dong Rui outside, then went into the green silk room to reply, "The master has sent back his attendants and said that he wants to inform the madam that the second and third branches set out for Beijing yesterday."

  "Let me see... so it'll take about four or five days to get there?"

  "Indeed, it's all thanks to the mistress's thoughtful planning that we had those two courtyards cleaned up ahead of time. Otherwise, judging by previous years' schedules, there would still be some days left."

  The lady thought for a moment, "We need to add more furniture and decorations in the house. If there's not enough, we can move some from my room. This is Third Lady's first visit, we can't be lazy."

  Madam Chen knew the reason, had already made preparations, and hastily adjusted the objects to tell Madam Tai. Madam Tai was very satisfied: "I've always trusted you with things, now arrange a few reliable maids to go over there, you choose the people, they must be trustworthy."

  Madam Chen nodded again and stepped forward a few steps to massage the lady's shoulders. After a long while, she said: "Madam, this time you went to the Hou Mansion, were things all going smoothly?"

  The madam slightly revealed a playful expression, "When the Wang family sends someone to take a look, how can they say anything dissatisfying? In the Shangshu Mansion, with so many concubines, it's unlikely that every single one of them has a legitimate background." She paused for a moment, "It's just these past few years, compared to when the previous emperor was still alive, those were all proper and regulated. How could they let the Wang family take in so many? These years, the officials have taken advantage of the Emperor's kindness and leniency, and have gone ahead with marrying... how many people are secretly keeping mistresses outside?"

  All these years, the old master has been taking in one concubine after another, and the first wife has been suppressing a lot of anger about this. Today, she's taking advantage of the opportunity to vent her emotions, which is normal. Chen Mama just listened quietly on the side.

  "Unless I saw that there were no virtuous concubines in the Shangshu Mansion, and Madame Cai repeatedly said that she would be married with formal rituals, how could I have agreed?"

  Mrs. Chen said, "The mistress is right."

  "Although I am born out of wedlock, it is also the reputation of our Tao family."

  "Of course not, the young ladies in the mansion have their marriages carefully chosen by the madam. Moreover, even if it's going to the Minister's residence, that is still a first-class official's family, being a concubine is also a master, and having offspring in the future... That can be considered a good marriage."

  "Madam has made such arrangements for the young lady of the mansion, which is also their good fortune. However, the status of being born out of wedlock is something that no one can ignore, and Madam cannot do anything about it either."

  The lady sighed, "Still, you know my heart." She paused for a moment and then remembered that Mrs. Cai had specifically mentioned Yan Hua before she left, wondering if there was something...

  There's also Miss Jia San, and the old lady couldn't help but purse her lips in disapproval. "It's not impossible for Young Master to take a concubine, it's just that now Shu Hua's position is unstable, if she takes a concubine and gives birth to a son in the future, won't there be trouble? As long as Shu Hua has children, I can rest assured."

  Mrs. Chen has followed the madam for so many years, and she has a good understanding of the madam's every move. Now, seeing the madam's eyebrows raised and a hint of joy on her face, she hastily stopped what she was doing and looked at the madam with surprise and delight, "Madam, could it be that Miss is...with child? That would be wonderful."

  Mrs. Cai also burst out laughing, Mrs. Cai still didn't know that Shu Hua might be pregnant, if this were true, she would have to hold her head high in front of Mrs. Cai.

  The lady remembered something before leaving and asked Chen's mother, "Has that matter been cleared up?"

  "Alright, I understand," said Chen's mother. "It was Fourth Aunt who asked Xiao to plead with Second Miss on behalf of Sixth Miss, and since Eldest Miss gave her word, Second Miss vouched for Sixth Miss, which is why Eldest Miss had Madame take Eighth Miss to the Marquis' residence."

  The madam leaned on the soft couch, adjusted her clothes and thought of the fourth aunt's contemptuous smile. "She has this ability, it must be that the old master accidentally said something in front of her, letting her know that Yao Hua didn't help me with household chores, so she had this plan. The day Shu Hua came back I saw it, my own daughter is clear, Shu Hua usually doesn't have a mind of her own, how did she suddenly have someone in mind."

  "She was thinking of her daughter, so I didn't press the matter further. Before this is settled, we should still keep an eye on her and not let her cause more trouble. At a critical moment, I may still need to use her." The mistress got up, "Alright, you can go now, I also need to rest."

  Madam Chen busied herself serving the mistress until she lay down on her bed, then turned out the light and went out.

  In the darkness, Madame Dai opened her eyes again. She really didn't expect that Ronghua would be like Cai Furen's sister, Princess Honghui. The last time she went to the temple with Cai Furen to burn incense, she overheard a conversation between Cai Furen and her mother. In the capital city, there was a famous young master named Su Jing Gongzi who had been pursuing Princess Honghui's reputation. He ran to the Cai family to propose marriage, but the Cai family's daughter naturally refused him, politely declining the proposal. As a result, the Su family sent someone again to ask for her hand in marriage, but still failed to secure it.

  The Cai family has benefited a lot from the sisterly relationship between Huagui Fei and Honghua Gongzhu over the years. If only she could borrow some of that luck for herself...

  Try to write more and better.

  The wedding had some twists and turns hehe

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