Chapter 25: Adaptation (Part 2)

  Mrs. Cai hurriedly smiled and said, "I suppose the lady of the house can't get used to the wine in the mansion, let the eldest sister-in-law accompany her to rest for a while, fortunately this wine is easy to wake up from, after a while, the alcohol will also dissipate."

  The lady smiled and said, "All the ladies are here, how can I go rest by myself?"

  Mrs. Cai said: "Mother-in-law is treating me like an outsider."

  The lady smiled and then left.

  Shu Hua supported the old lady to her room, had her lie down on her own imperial bed, then dismissed the maids and personally poured a cup of tea for the old lady.

  The old lady's half-closed eyes suddenly opened wide, "I'd like to ask you, what's the story with Miss Jia San?"

  Shu Hua knew that her mother would ask about this matter. "A few days ago, she followed her mother to the mansion as a guest, and her mother-in-law kept her to watch the play."

  The madam's eyes suddenly became sharp, and she propped herself up with her elbow, "Are you really unaware or just pretending to be? Do you think Miss Jia is simply visiting the Hou residence?"

  Shu Hua's face immediately showed a disappointed expression, "Does Mother think I'm heartless? I can see it clearly, but...I've been quiet all along. Although my mother-in-law doesn't say anything, she...Now she's even called Second Madam to bring her sister over, and has been keeping her by her side every day." The implication of Mrs. Cai's words was clear to anyone with discerning eyes.

  "She only has two sons, both of whom are now married. What else can she do but think about someone else's daughter? The second wife gave birth to a son at the most auspicious time, and it was nothing more than to humiliate me."

  Mrs. Cai knew that kind of person, whether good or bad, would not say a word, but when it came to doing things, she would show no mercy. The matter of the fifth young lady back then, Mrs. Cai spoke of it in a calm and collected manner, which also gave her a fright. But Mrs. Cai seemed to be joking, without being bothered by it at all.

  Mrs. Cai, although she didn't make any statement about Shu Hua's matter, today she called the third miss to attend the meeting... It's not just for show in front of Shu Hua, but also to let her see. If she had any other thoughts, Mrs. Cai could make Shu Hua lose her position at any time and place.

  "Mother," looking at the big wife's worried look, Shu Hua smiled slightly, with a hint of deep meaning in her smile, "As long as you can bear it for a little while, maybe... there will be a turning point."

  The big wife seemed to have heard something, looked at Shu Hua again, lowered her voice and asked tentatively: "Could it be... you're pregnant?"

  Shu Hua smiled and nodded, "My period is late, whether it's true or not, I'll know in a few days."

  The old lady clasped her hands together, a smile spreading across her face. "Heaven bless you, if you give birth to a son, life in the Zhao household will be easier."

  "So no matter what she asks for now, I can only try to agree to it. Once I give birth to the child safely, I'll have something to rely on in the future."

  The old lady nodded, "This is not bad, I'm not reluctant to part with the few maids by my side, what I fear is that others will point and whisper behind our backs, saying your father is willing to sacrifice his own daughter for the sake of making connections... but now, for your sake, we can only take this step first, and once the marriage is settled in the future, it won't matter."

  The old lady sighed, "If your uncle could speak up for you..."

  As soon as Zhao Xuanhuan was mentioned, Shu Hua's heart suddenly darkened.

  The old lady didn't say anything good again, thinking of what happened earlier, and said: "Go see if Autumn Lotus and Winter Bud have returned?"

  Shu Hua drove her personal maid Miao Tong out of the house.

  After a while, Gongfu brought in Autumn Lotus. Autumn Lotus greeted the mistress and then said: "Just now, the maid Yuan Shuang from the mansion was close to those two ladies, whatever they said, she listened carefully."

  The two ladies said, "Our Eighth Miss's temperament and appearance resemble those of Cai Furen's younger sister."

  Mrs. Tai thought of Mrs. Tsai's expression when she saw Ronghua today and her heart skipped a beat, "Which sister of Mrs. Tsai was that?"

  Shu Hua suddenly remembered, "I remember now, she's the twin sister of Imperial Consort Hua."

  The old lady caught her breath and sat up straight from the imperial couch, "You're talking about Princess Honghui?"

  Cai's third sister was conferred as Princess Honghua and married off to a foreign country, but she died of illness less than two years after the marriage. The Emperor also thought of this and conferred Cai's second daughter, who had been quietly unknown in the deep palace, as Pin, which can be considered as compensation for the Cai family. It can be said that Cai Shi was able to have her current noble position as Huagui Fei also because her third sister made such a sacrifice.

  "I heard that it was because of Huagui Fei's lack of favor when she first entered the palace, so the Cai family came up with this idea."

  It's really a hundred feet of worms dying but not stiffening, the high ancestor Gaozong Emperor spent all his heart and blood to eliminate the door threshold corrupt politics, although the Cai family was affected by the waves, it did not hurt the vital part, just a few decades of work, and now it has reached this point, behind this brilliant scene, I don't know how many people were sacrificed.

  "It's said that Princess Honghui and Consort Huagui are extremely good. After all, sisters share a heart, let alone being twin sisters." Although the old lady had never met any of Cai's biological sisters, she had also heard others say that Consort Huagui and Princess Honghui, this pair of twin sisters, although they didn't look alike, one was delicate and beautiful, one was elegant and refined, one was luxurious, and one was gentle and lovely, were famous as the two beauties from a noble family.

  "It's not just me, Guifei, but every time my mother-in-law mentions Princess Honghua, she also sheds tears."

  Enough to move Mrs. Cai's emotions.

  "Today, Eighth Sister is dressed like this, and for a moment, I also felt familiar, but couldn't quite place where I had seen her before. Now it reminds me that in Mother's room, there is a portrait of Princess Honghua, which I once saw. Eighth Sister's makeup today indeed has some resemblance to Princess Honghua." Yan Hua paused, "So what if she does? There are many beautiful women in this world, and having similar eyebrows and eyes isn't unusual."

  The lady looked at Shu Hua and said, "You know what." During the banquet, she saw Mrs. Cai's gaze fall on Rong Hua several times.

  The old lady sighed after a while and said, "Ronghua, you have the demeanor of a noble lady." If she were to marry into a wealthy family, she would surely be meticulous in all matters. But marrying her as a concubine... what a pity.

  Today's gathering will soon spread far and wide that the Tao family has an Eighth Miss, who looks like the younger sister of the current noble imperial concubine, Princess Honghua.

  The two beauties of that year... attracted many young men from wealthy and aristocratic families.

  It's just a pity that one was deeply hidden in the palace, and the other died young.

  Madam Wang rested for a while and then went back to watch the play. Mrs. Cai hastily took out the playbill and asked Madam Wang to personally select a few acts. Madam Wang declined, but Mrs. Cai said: "This gathering was originally also for the sake of our relative's wife; if she doesn't make a selection, we won't be able to watch the play either." She seemed even more intimate than before.

  The lady couldn't push it away, so she ordered two more dishes.

  The two ladies who were on good terms with Mrs. Cai also took the opportunity to chat with the eldest lady, and everyone watched the play while chatting and laughing without mentioning it.

  The two ladies and the misses arrived at the back garden, the two misses of the second house often came to the Hou Mansion, they had long lost interest in the scenery of the Hou Mansion, so they found a place to drink tea and play chess.

  The second grandma only brought Zhen Shui and Rong Hua to stroll around, the three of them passed by the winding corridor, and the newly built garden was in sight. On the left side of the garden, there was a man-made lake with a pavilion in the middle, on the right side, artificial hills were piled up with Taihu stones, with a platform surrounded by railings, and some rare flowers and weeds remained around the railings, inside which an ancient well was hidden. Behind the rocks, there were several small houses that didn't look impressive, seemingly made of bamboo.

  Ronghua couldn't help but pause at this scene, fortunately Er Nainai was busy introducing the scenery, and San Xiaojie was gazing at that courtyard, so no one noticed.

  Ronghua's emotions slowly calmed down, and then she heard the second madam's voice.

  The two rooms were built according to Master Huan's wishes and are called Wu Wei Xuan. Although the exterior looks unassuming, the interior is elegant and refined.

  The third young lady curiously said: "I saw these two rooms before, but I didn't know what they were used for."

  It's not the first day or two that I've been to the Hou Mansion, but I still don't know what these two rooms are used for. Rong Hua smiled slightly, this is also too obvious, it seems that Shu Hua, as the legitimate wife, is not comfortable in her position either, and I don't know how many people have their eyes on her.

  Who isn't?

  All those who married well were like this, Zhao Xuan was humble and courteous outside, his reputation spread far and wide, whoever would include him in the best candidate for a husband, Third Miss had such thoughts, how could she not have had them.

  Even if Madam is clever, she can't stop Father from taking in concubines one after another. The calculations and coldness between husband and wife may also appear on her body one day. She has already fantasized about the love between husband and wife in novels once, but now she can't... won't easily fall deeply into it again.

  The second grandma seemed to have missed her sister's implicit meaning and smiled at her saying: "There are some books and paintings stored inside."

  As soon as she heard about the book and painting, Third Miss's eyes lit up, and she urged her sister to go take a look. Second Madam had no way with her, so she said, "My younger sister has been fond of reading books since childhood, would Eighth Miss like to go together?"

  Ronghua smiled and said, "I think the view over there is nice, I want to go sit in that pavilion up ahead."

  The second grandmother was naturally delighted, "That's good, I'll let the two maidservants accompany you." She arranged for two maidservants and two matrons to follow Ronghua, while she and Third Miss went straight to Wuwei Hall.

  Ronghua sat in the pavilion at the center of the lake, and her maid brought out fish food to feed the golden carp.

  As soon as the food was scattered, the koi in the lake rushed to grab it, and for a moment, fish heads and tails were intertwined.

  She said that she likes to build two simple houses in a quiet place in the garden, only placing a zither, chessboard, books and paintings inside. Outside, a small piece of land must be cleared to plant various flowers, with an ancient well in the middle. The water drawn from the well is just right for mixing ink and washing brushes. These two houses don't need any other name, "Wú Wèi" (Non-action) is just perfect.

  Doing nothing and having nothing to do is the way to have a leisurely and elegant spirit.

  He really has this carefree and proud demeanor.

  It's likely that Zhao Xuanhuan also came to this place, and would often sit here, otherwise the third young lady wouldn't be so enthusiastic, and the second madam wouldn't use the excuse of taking them out to play to make it convenient for her sister.

  Ronghua was thinking, when the second lady led the third young lady out. The third young lady's interest had not yet been satisfied, and she insisted on going to take a look at the artificial hill and strange rocks near the Weeping Flower Gate Tower, which one would necessarily pass by when entering the inner house from the outer house.

  Rong Hua's heart moved slightly, and she didn't object to following him in the past.

  Several people were hurrying to and fro under the arch of the artificial hill, when a sound of footsteps was heard, and Madame Wang saw Third Sister-in-law suddenly start, and then Second Lady Chia cried out in a loud voice: "The Old Master has come."

  Ronghua seemed to have not expected to meet Zhao Xuanhuan, and hastily led the blushing and flustered Miss Mengmen to hide behind a rock, trying to avoid him. However, in her haste, her hand slightly raised unintentionally, causing her outer cloak to accidentally get caught on the rock.

  Just went out and came back. Haha~