Chapter Twelve: Luo Niang

  Every time it's the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, there would be a grand court assembly, and the New Year's Day grand court assembly was even more important. Therefore, Yang Ning Hou Chen Jue didn't sleep at all that night and left for court before dawn. The ladies in the house with titles also got up early to dress up and go to the palace to pay respects to the empress. Although the empress had no children, the emperor and empress had respected each other like guests for many years, and no matter how much favor the other consorts received, they couldn't surpass this national mother. As for the remaining young masters and misses, they could finally sleep in late, after all, everyone was exhausted from staying up late to celebrate the New Year's Eve.

  Chen Lan tossed and turned last night, not knowing how long it took before she fell asleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, she learned that it was already three o'clock in the morning. She hastily got out of bed and dressed, only to learn that Zhu Shi and Madam Xu had not returned from their visit to the palace. She couldn't help but think to herself, "Last night, Hong Luo said that only a few officials knew about this matter, so it shouldn't have happened on the first two days of the new year." But as the saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes," and no one knows what will happen in the end. As she thought about this, she didn't notice Yun'er bringing up food with Su Mu and Hu Jiao.

  The Chen family emphasizes the importance of healthy eating and savoring food, so even breakfast is a grand affair. Today's menu includes fish slice congee and red bean congee, accompanied by dishes such as radish strips, pickled cucumber, fragrant dried tofu skin, and plum blossom peanuts. Following that are eight-treasure buns, stuffed buns, steamed rolls, and date cakes for dessert.

  Yuner muttered to herself as she arranged things: "It's only been these few days that they've seen how the old lady takes care of Miss, so they're putting in some effort. Usually, not to mention being complete, they even dare to send over congee that's gone cold."

  If it were an ordinary day, Chen Lan would have just smiled and let it go, but thinking of last night's words, she couldn't help but wonder where Zhu Shi's sudden kindness came from. If what Zheng Mama and that person discussed was true, it could be seen that Zhu Shi had already known about Second Uncle Chen Jiu's affairs beforehand, and was even planning to replace the family title.

  It should be known that according to the rules of this dynasty, if it is not a crime of great irreverence, after the person has been stripped of his title due to his crime, the title can still be inherited by his son or brother. It depends on the emperor's mood. If Zhu Shi and the Empress Dowager were indeed sisters, then no matter what crime Chen Jiu committed, the title of Yangning Hou would definitely be preserved, whether it would be changed to someone else is in Zhu Shi's hands.

  She didn't like the feeling of being calculated by others, but she was now a 13-year-old girl who had been raised in a deep boudoir without her parents' support. If she couldn't rely on that old lady, she and Chen Yan would be swallowed alive. However, Zhu Shi had daughters and granddaughters as her assistants, while she and Chen Yan didn't have any. She had only recently inquired about the matter of inheriting the title, and before the age of 15, there was only one precedent for a young man to inherit the title - a country duke from the previous dynasty who had inherited it due to his father's death in battle. For someone like Chen Yan, whose father had been stripped of his official position due to guilt, it was almost impossible to make it happen. If that were really the case, then at this time, the old lady would have made a target of herself by taking charge of the eldest branch of the family.

  With something on her mind, Chen Lan naturally went through the motions of eating, and after Yun'er directed the little maids to clear away the small dining table, she sat down at her desk. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't focus on reading, and eventually got up, intending to go to Chen Yan's place for a visit and give her brother some proper advice. Before she could even give any instructions, the curtain was suddenly flung open by someone in a flurry. Yun'er rushed to her side without even catching her breath.

  "Miss, miss, Luo Niang has come back! It's that Luo Niang from the third house!"

  Chen Lan was taken aback, she hadn't paid much attention to the various aunts in her family, but when Yun'er shouted again that it was Luo Yiniang from the third house, she suddenly remembered.

  As usual, the military officers were stationed outside with their troops, and their wives and daughters naturally had to stay in the capital. However, concubines and maidservants were not included in this rule. The imperial court also knew that being separated from one's spouse for many years was against heaven's will, so they even encouraged military officers to take local concubines. As a result, many aristocratic families had few legitimate sons but numerous illegitimate ones, and the current Yangning Duke's estate was not an exception.

  Chen Ying was the same, Xu's wife was not his first wife but a subsequent one. This Luo aunt was married to him in the south after his first wife passed away. Originally, there were three matchmakers and six betrothals, and also the marriage of Princess Weiguo, treating her as a wife. Who knew that Chen Ying did not report back to his family? At that time, Zhu Shi had already arranged for him to marry his own niece, Xu's third daughter from Guangning, as his wife. Therefore, after Chen Ying returned to Beijing, he made a big fuss about this matter and only reluctantly corrected the names of his wives under the persuasion of many elders.

  However, Lady Luo was after all a distant relative of General Weiguo Gong of Zhen Nan, and now that she had become a concubine, Zhu treated her three children with exceptional kindness in order to comfort Chen Ying. Chen Quan was no different from the legitimate Miss in every way, while Chen Qing and Chen Han were fond of martial arts, so they specially invited a martial arts instructor to teach them, and also gave them four family guards to follow. As for Lady Luo, not being the official wife had its advantages, and soon after returning to the capital, she followed Chen Ying to his post again. How others addressed her or paid their respects outside was something no one could control.

  So, Chen Lan naturally thought of the things she heard last night and her heart tightened first, then she pretended to be curious and asked: "Isn't Luo Niang still following San Shu in office? How did she suddenly come back?"

  Yinger listened to Chen Lan's question and immediately became more energetic. She casually drove out the two third-class maids who were serving in the house, and then said with a mysterious tone: "Miss, I've already asked around, and Third Master is still in office now. But it's said that he'll be back in a few months. This time, Luo Niangniang came back with Weiguo Gong because Weiguo Gong was transferred back, and Third Master will also be promoted. She might have come back to help with the preparations. These are all things that Lü Que, a maid from Luo Niangniang's side, told me. She was my playmate when I was young, so she would tell me these things. Others absolutely don't know yet."

  "You little devil, you not only speak quickly, but your ears are also quicker than others!"

  Although Chen Lan thought that Yun'er was too nosy and had a sharp tongue, and was even wary of people making a fuss in front of Chen Yan, she couldn't help but admit that such a maid who could put aside her pride to argue and swallow it to gather information was extremely useful. Therefore, regarding this matter, she couldn't help but praise Yun'er a couple of times, but also reminded her to be careful when gathering this kind of information, not to spread rumors carelessly.

  Yuner nodded repeatedly, smiling and saying: "Don't worry, miss. I'm not a novice, it's not easy to get caught off guard. Our days will be good if we live in harmony, I absolutely won't cause trouble!"

  Although not the legitimate wife, Luo Yiniang was after all different from ordinary concubines. As soon as Zhu Shi and Madam Ma and Madam Xu returned, she went to the Lianxiang Institute to pay her respects, and at the same time sent gifts to each room. The ones sent to the Jinxiu Pavilion were a woolen blanket, a pair of jade pendants, four small silver trinkets, and a package of medicinal materials, all except the blanket were packed in an intricately carved camphor wood box. In less than an hour, Yun'er had already come back with news that the gifts for each of the young ladies were the same, and those for each of the young masters were also the same, and even Madam Ma of the second house and Madam Xu, the legitimate mistress of the third house, received exactly the same things, without any distinction or favoritism.

  Chen Lan was curious about Luo Yiniang, but she wasn't the official wife, so Chen Lan suppressed her curiosity and only asked Qinfang to invite Chen Yan over. Chen Yan had just received a square inkstone and a Burmese knife, and he was thrilled, praising the sharpness of the knife as soon as he sat down, finally letting out an unwilling sigh.

  "What a pity, just as I got the Burmese knife, the old lady sent someone to take it away, saying it would be kept in storage until I was older. Third Aunt is usually so stingy, nothing like Lady Luo, who is generous and open-handed."

  Although children often only look at the surface, Chen Yan's evaluation made Chen Lan feel that Luo Niang was indeed a remarkable person. However, for now, she had other things to attend to, and the words she heard last night were like a sharp thorn stuck in her heart. So, finding an excuse to send Yun'er out of the room, she gave Hongluo a signal to guard outside, then pulled Chen Yan down to sit on the warm bed with her.

  "Do you still remember what I told you a few days ago?"

  "Remember, sister, I know it's not just about flattering the old lady in front of her, but also about not arguing with others outside?" Chen Yan shrugged and smiled, "It was that day when my milk brother Li Zheng took me to play on the back street, we saw several old family generals who used to fight with grandfather, they were all struggling to make ends meet. Although they didn't have to worry about their next meal, but from what I heard, they used to be the best of everything, now it's a far cry from that. Li Zheng kept whispering 'twenty years on the east bank, twenty years on the west bank' to me, thinking I wouldn't understand his meaning."

  Chen Lan vaguely remembered that it had been over a decade since anything exciting happened, so when Chen Yan mentioned those old generals, she couldn't help but think to herself for a moment, and a faint idea formed in her mind. She then asked: "Don't those people have children working as attendants in the mansion?"

  Chen Yan didn't expect Chen Lan to ask so carefully, and he furrowed his brow in thought as he leaned against the edge of the kang table. Before he could think of a response, Hong Luo's voice came from outside: "Third Miss, Fourth Young Master, Luo Niang has arrived!"

  When Chen Yan heard this, he immediately jumped down from the ground with both legs stretched out, and Chen Lan was also shocked. She was very curious about Luo Yiniang, but the Hou Mansion had its own rules. After the death of the husband and wife in the main house, the concubines were all dismissed by Zhu Shi. The second and third houses each had several concubines, but in this past month, she hadn't seen a single one, which showed how strict the hierarchy was between wives and concubines. Even if Luo Yiniang was a relative of the Duke of Wei and became a concubine due to some mistake, Zhu Shi was a person who valued rules above all else, and Xu Furen was also very strict, so how could they let her move around freely in the mansion?

  Just as she was thinking, Hongluo had already led the way into the western wing of the warm pavilion. Behind her, a woman in her thirties, wearing a peach-red embroidered silk jacket with gold trim and a white gauze skirt with woven gold threads, had a jade hairpin slanted on her temple. Her figure was slightly plump, but unlike Chen Yu's coldness, her eyes always showed a warm and friendly meaning, looking refined yet not vulgar.

  "I just got back and heard that Third Miss was unwell a few days ago, so I reported it to the old lady and came over to take a look."

  Luo Niangniang's voice was low and pleasant to listen to, and her manners were also impeccable. Chen Lan hastily pulled Chen Yan to greet her. When it was time to take their seats, Luo Niangniang had already sat down in the first chair on the right-hand side, insisting on not going up to the kang. She couldn't help but think that this was an extremely astute person. After exchanging a few words, Hongluo personally brought over tea, and Luo Niangniang thanked her with a bow before turning to Chen Lan with a smile: "We rushed along the way, and it wasn't until today that we finally arrived. It's not just me, even Duke Weiguo is quite vexed. Just before the new year, my cousin had just been promoted to imperial consort, and Duke Weiguo had originally wanted to request an audience with the emperor, but now he can only wait until Yuanxiao."

  Chen Yan was still young, so it didn't matter. But Chen Lan had a deeper understanding of the situation. Luo Yiniang only sat for a moment before taking her leave, but the message she left behind went far beyond that.

  His third uncle, this time back to Beijing is probably not a ordinary promotion!