Chapter 113: The Beloved Wife in Sight (Middle)

  Tao Zhengan's birthday is June 21st.

  Rong Hua nodded, "I'll report to the madam and return tomorrow."

  Madam Chen smiled, sat for a while and got up to bid farewell. Before leaving, she took another look at the colorful coronet and magnificent clothes on the table. She didn't expect that Eighth Miss was the one with the best prospects among all the young ladies of the Tao family. At first, she thought Eighth Miss was timid and inexperienced, but today, seeing Eighth Miss's calm demeanor in the face of prosperity and adversity, she realized she had misjudged her.

  Madam Chen left, and Jinxiu stepped forward and said: "How did you know Madam Chen was coming?"

  She was always the first to receive the imperial edict from the Tao family, and Old Lady and Eldest Lady would not have missed this gift. This was also a reminder to her that even though she is now a First Rank Imperial Edict Lady, she is still a daughter of the Tao family.

  Chun Yao put away the gifts sent by each house, along with Rong Hua's imperial edict, colorful coronet and magnificent clothes.

  Ronghua called Hongyu and asked her to take out the materials from the warehouse for Xue Mingrui to choose two pieces of fabric to make a single robe.

  Hong Yu finally got this errand and naturally wanted to make a good show, so she came forward enthusiastically with suggestions, "In the summer, light green and dark blue are better."

  Ronghua shook his head and still chose sky blue and primary cyan.

  The sky blue and dark blue are colors often worn on formal occasions. Hong Yu reminded him, "Master Hou has many robes of these colors."

  Ronghua said: "I see that what you wore in summer are all a bit old."

  Hongyu didn't say anything else and just left those two pieces of fabric behind. She took out Xue Mingrui's single-layer robe to prepare for making clothes.

  Ronghua was cutting clothes on this side, while Xue Er's wife had already received the news on that side.

  "Madam called Hongyu to make clothes for Master Hou."

  Mrs. Two didn't mind this kind of thing at all.

  The second lady asked: "A gift given by the old lady, packed in a sandalwood box, what's inside?"

  The maid said: The handwritten version of this article was first published on 55ab community "I quietly opened the box and took a look, it's just a seal."

  The second mistress's face changed suddenly, but she didn't say anything else. She only let someone take the reward money to give to that servant girl and said, "She is someone your family brought back from her hometown. Whatever happens, she won't do anything behind your backs. If there's any news, you must tell me. I will definitely not treat you unfairly. Until the future..." The words didn't need to be said again.

  The maid naturally went out with a thousand thanks and ten thousand apologies.

  Mrs. Xue said, "As soon as I saw that box, I guessed it was a seal, which I had seen at Old Lady's place before. When Ming Bai got married, I asked for one several times, and Old Lady only gave me one after much persuasion. Those seals may not look impressive, but they were all bestowed by the previous emperor, and each one is very precious to Old Lady."

  Madam Ren raised an eyebrow in surprise, "This gift is not light, when the old madam was granted the title of 'Great Lady', she only received some jewelry and calligraphy."

  Mrs. Xue said, "Don't underestimate those calligraphy and paintings, they are all masterpieces of famous artists. At first, the old lady still had hopes for the eldest branch."

  "Anyway, it's also something that can't be helped. After all, it's a formal appointment letter, and we have to save face."

  In the end, it's still going to be a disappointment no matter how much hope there is.

  "Xue's wife's face slightly cleared up, 'How is everything on the Zhuangzi?'"

  "Mother smiled and said: 'The crops are all growing well, but only at harvest time can you see the results.'"

  Madam Xue finally smiled and said, "It's only fun when Chang Fang loses out."

  Ronghua had not yet finished arranging the fabric for her dress when Hong Xiang came in and said: "Li Mama has arrived."

  Mrs. Li was the most capable mother beside the old lady, and Rong Hua hurriedly put down what she was doing and came out to welcome her.

  Mrs. Li saw Rong Hua and smiled slightly, came forward to pay her respects, Rong Hua hurriedly returned the courtesy, invited Mrs. Li into the house, and ordered Ants to quickly bring tea.

  Mrs. Li was amiable and unassuming, without any airs about her. After drinking the tea, she smiled and said, "I don't know what the young mistress is busy with."

  Ronghua smiled, "Nothing much, I wanted to make two single robes for Master Hou, and just as Mother arrived, she can help me with the fitting."

  Mrs. Li's face lit up with joy. Every time she came to the main house, the madam was either perfunctory or defensive towards her, never as gentle as the young mistress.

  Hongyu took out the fabric and pattern, and Li's mother looked at it. It was a sky blue and dark blue fabric. Li's mother smiled, "This fabric is good, looks steady."

  Rong Hua smiled with pursed lips.

  There's no use trying to keep anything from the old lady, so it's better to let people go freely.

  After reading the material, Li's mother said: "The person in charge of Zhuangzi has arrived. The old lady means to let the young lady go over and let the slaves recognize her."

  Ronghua nodded slightly and smiled faintly, "Mrs. Li, please sit down for a moment, I'll go change into some clothes and come right out."

  Hongyu brought a yellow goose-colored jacket, Ronghua shook her head and took that peach-red satin jacket.

  A few days ago, Old Lady said she wanted to let her manage the estate, and Second Madam's face revealed a hint of mocking smile. Eldest Sister Qian was an honest person, avoiding eye contact with her, today when receiving the imperial edict, Eldest Sister congratulated her and sat for a while as if there was something to say, but in the end only thanked her for Rongge's matter.

  Even if the old lady's intention was to let her gradually get involved in the Xue family's affairs, with the second wife in between, she wouldn't give her any benefits for nothing. It's possible that the second wife did something to push her down.

  Inside the Zhuangzi there are usually older servants, or those who have followed an old lady, or those who have held a certain position in the government.

  Raising them in the Zhuangzi, these people are not only difficult to manage, but also take more benefits from the farm. If she can't let them get the due benefits, they will make trouble, and she will also get a reputation for being unable to govern the family. The second house will be even more justified in managing the household.

  At least on the first meeting, she can't give people a very weak impression. Red is a bold color, and she's newly married, so there's no need to worry about taboos. Why not wear red and make herself radiant?

  Ronghua had Hongyu change the jade on her head to the hollow pomegranate flower inlaid with gems that Old Madam had rewarded, and put on the armlet that Old Madam had given her yesterday, before heading towards Old Madam's courtyard.

  As soon as she entered the house, Ronghua saw two women sitting in the room, both of whom were over 40 years old.

  Ronghua stepped forward to pay her respects to the elderly lady, who smiled and called her over to sit beside her. With a kind smile, she said, "I was going to give you two estates to manage earlier, but today I've called them over so you can get acquainted with them. From now on, if there's anything you need, just ask them. If they don't handle things properly, come and tell me about it, and see how I deal with them."

  Rong Hua smiled slightly, and the two busybody women immediately said: "Look at what Old Madam said, how dare we?" As they spoke, they went to take a closer look at this young madam.

  They say she's a concubine's daughter, timid and gentle with no temper, but today it doesn't seem that way. This young madam has clear and bright eyes, they bowed humbly, and the young madam accepted graciously.

  The old lady was about to say something else when Xiangyu hastily came in and walked up to the old lady, "Someone has come from the Changning Bo's family."

  The old lady asked: "Where?"

  Xiang Yu said in a low voice: "Please enter the main room, Third Master has passed away." After a pause, he added: "The person who came brought an umbrella with them."

  The old lady's face changed instantly, stood up and said, "Let's go take a look."

  Ronghua quickly stepped forward and helped up the old lady. The old lady didn't avoid Ronghua at all, and asked Xiangyu in a low voice, "Do you know who it is?"

  Xiang Yu said: "The slave just heard the news and came over to report to the old lady, so I didn't ask around."

  The old lady thought for a moment, and a hint of sadness appeared on her face. "It's probably the eldest madam."

  The beauty is not clear at first glance.

  The old lady took a look at Ronghua and patiently explained, "Someone has come from the Changning Bo Mansion, and they've even brought an umbrella with them. They're probably here to report a death."

  Rong Hua was startled. Whenever reporting a death, one had to hold an umbrella, and after entering the house, the umbrella would be placed upright in front of the hall with its head facing downwards.

  The old lady also said it was a big milk, isn't it the legitimate wife of the young master? The age of the young master's legitimate wife should not be too big, how can...

  The old lady and Ronghua were walking in the hall when Mrs. Xue and the second wife came over, Mrs. Xue's face was a bit stiff, her eyes were red, she took a step forward and said in a low voice: "The eldest lady of the Changning Marquis' residence has passed away."

  The old lady had already guessed ahead of time, but still looked stunned for a moment, "Where is the person reporting the death?"

  Mrs. Xue said: "I was just waiting to pay respects to the elderly lady!"

  The old lady hurried forward, "Come on, let's go, don't keep people waiting."

  Everyone entered the main room, and the person reporting the death formally explained the situation to the old lady, "The eldest madam passed away last night at around 11 pm, she left peacefully."

  The old lady anxiously asked: "Has the child been born?"

  "He bowed and said: 'The young master has stayed behind.'"

  As the ants were talking, the servants of the Xue family had already brought out tea and paper money to give to the servant who came to report the death. The man thanked the masters and madams before taking his leave.

  After that person left, Mrs. Xue said: "I didn't expect the young mistress to be so... The most pitiful is the newborn child. Although he is the eldest son and heir, he is a child without a mother, and it's unknown how he will turn out in the future." She deliberately slowed down when saying the words "eldest son and heir".

  Mrs. Xue's eyes jumped heavily. The old lady said, "A few days ago, I heard that the eldest lady seemed to have some premonitory symptoms. I even asked someone to send some things to the eldest lady, and the person who went told me that the eldest lady's face was not very good. Yesterday, there was news that the eldest lady had a difficult delivery, and today I was just about to ask someone to go again, but then I heard this terrible news."

  Everyone in the house looked unhappy after hearing these words.

  The old lady said again: "Tomorrow you all go and take a look," saying that she went to see Rong Hua, "You also go, Mrs. Chang Ning Bo and the young lady are both people you have met."

  Ronghua nodded, thinking of what Chen's mother had said about letting her return to the Tao family the next day. She imagined that she could also get news from the Changning Bo Mansion at home, and after a while, she let someone take a message back, saying that she would return to her maternal home another day.

  Hearing this, Madame Wang also lost her appetite, and after chatting for a while, everyone dispersed.

  Inside the Changning Bo Mansion, there was a sea of wailing voices. The eldest son, Ren Yanfeng, quietly made his way to the back door and instructed the reliable maid, "Find a way to get news to Second Miss, tell her not to be too distressed, in a few days she'll hear my good news."

  Originally planned to go back home in a few days, but who knew that today's phone call urged me to return to Beijing tomorrow.