Chapter Thirteen: Calculations

  Lingxiang Courtyard was located on the east side of the Hou Mansion, and it was only separated from Qing Xi's residence by a wall. Although it couldn't compare to the spacious and bright hall on the other side, it was still a neat and tidy courtyard. Madam Zhu usually received guests in the main hall, but after they left, she would retire to the eastern warm pavilion's second room.

  She is more than twenty years younger than Chen Yong, the former Prince of Yangning. Now she is only sixty-four years old. Because she pays attention to the way of nourishing her life and is good at adjusting her body, her skin is ruddy and she walks steadily. Even among her hair, there are very few silver threads. However, now that she is getting older after all, those bright red and pink clothes from her youth have been pressed under the bottom of the trunk. On ordinary days, most of them wear green clothes, lotus green, stone green, sky blue after rain, Buddha's head green, crow green, each with different styles. Occasionally going out can also bring many people's praise.

  In the imperial city, among those without a direct heir to inherit their noble titles and honors, there was no one who lived as comfortably as she did.

  Next to the window was a warm kang, but on the floor there were only four chairs, unlike the eight armchairs in the main hall. Against the east wall stood an old dressing table made of purple sandalwood, with intricate carvings of dragons and deer, which had been with her for over 40 years, its surface smooth and unadorned, exuding a subtle elegance that came from another era. The one who helped her comb her hair was Zhao Daigniang, an old maid who had come with her from her natal family, and even though she had become a young matron, this task had never been passed on to anyone else. And Zhao's daughter, Zheng Mama, had also remained by Zhu Shi's side, serving her since she was a young girl, then as a daughter-in-law, and finally as a mother.

  Her hair was combed neatly, with a jade pin inserted between her temples. Seeing herself in the mirror looking spirited and neat, Zhu Shi nodded in satisfaction and smiled: "After all these years, your craftsmanship is still so good. Unfortunately, although your daughter is capable, she didn't learn this skill of yours for doing up hair. In the future when you can no longer do my hair, where will I find someone with such skills?"

  Zhao Danni listened to Zhu Shi's praise, her waist straightened with excitement, and the tip of her chin slightly raised. She then turned her head to glance at her daughter beside her before speaking seriously: "As for hairdressing, as long as she is properly taught, someone will be able to do it. I haven't been idle these years either, and many young maids who learned this skill from me have gone on to serve in the households of various marquises, earls, and other high-ranking officials. It's not a big deal if she doesn't learn this skill; what matters most is that she can take care of Old Mistress."

  Madam Zhu nodded and, with the help of Zheng's mother, stood up and walked to the east end of the kang. Only then did she smile slightly and say: "Zheng's family is reliable, stable, and trustworthy. She has always been my right-hand woman. In the past, she was a top maid in my household, and now all the people in my house, big or small, have been trained by her."

  One was the master, one was the mother. Zheng Mama, who was usually very proper when she was out, naturally wouldn't interrupt at this moment either. Madame Zhu pointed to a velvet cushion and asked Old Mother Zhao to sit down. The three of them chatted for a while, but as soon as Old Mother Zhao started talking, her words became more and more jumbled. Zheng Mama knew that she was old and although she tried to put on a strong front, her spirit wasn't what it used to be. She quickly thought of ways to change the subject, trying to get Madame Zhu to think about her grandson at home. Only then did Old Mother Zhao come back to herself, sat for a little while longer, and then took her leave.

  Mrs. Zheng personally escorted the person to the gate of Lianxiangyuan and when she returned, she saw two first-class maidservants, Yu Rong and Lu'e, busy in the main hall. She went straight into the east wing room and saw Zhu Shi looking distracted, so she quickly poured out the half-cooled tea on the kang table and re-brewed a cup of tea to serve her. Zhu Shi's distraction came and went quickly, and after taking a sip of tea, she immediately looked up and asked: "You said, what's going on with Lao San's side? Why did they let that woman come back alone?"

  "Old lady, you've already guessed it, why ask me?" Zheng's mother stood beside Zhu and said in a low voice, "Isn't it because the Wei Guo Gong's household has recently added a new noble consort?"

  Zhu coldly smiled and said, "That's right, Weiguo Gong was a national duke in the past, but this title is after all conferred later, can't compare with us who are the founding fathers. So I'm determined that woman is Lao San's secret wife, Lao San has no way out, even if he is Weiguo Gong, far away in the south, it's still beyond his reach. But now it's different, Weiguo Gong's sister, who was always low-key, suddenly became a noble consort, and he returned to the capital. The originally young Ruzi suddenly became popular. The Noble Consort is that woman's older female cousin, she endured so much hardship in the past, now she's back, I don't dare to show her my face. Moreover, since Lao San is going to be promoted, I should give her some respect, shouldn't I?"

  Here is the translation:

  As she said this, Zhu reached out to pat the kang table with her hand, but her right hand stopped in mid-air and slowly drew back, picking up the teacup again. Closing her eyes for a moment, she opened her mouth and asked: "You say, if Old Three comes back, will he take advantage of the situation to stir up trouble about Old Two's affair?"

  "Old lady, don't worry, the order of seniority is clear. Besides, Yunnan is 108,000 miles away from the capital, how can Third Master return so quickly? You have the support of Madame Korea and Princess Jin, everything in this household is under your control. Why bother with that woman? Even if she has status, what's the big deal? At best, she's a noble concubine, at worst, just a little dog or cat, not worth mentioning. But as for the eldest branch, are you really determined to let Fourth Master... this matter is likely not as certain as you think."

  "It's not like I have a choice, so I'll just try. The second son's wife is not only stupid but also greedy. She doesn't even think about how it was the emperor's order that her husband's salary be allocated 100 stones to the main house every year, and she dares to embezzle even this. When has she ever fully provided for the main house's expenses? The main house only has two children, a young son, but the third daughter seems clever and knows how to use your power to eliminate the second son's wife's schemes, forming a good alliance. None of my three sons were raised by me, I don't expect them to be truly filial, so I can only look at my grandsons... After all, even if the eldest son died, that matter would still be stuck in the hearts of the second and third sons. Especially the third son, whose temperament is exactly like his father's. How long did he stay in the capital after growing up? If it weren't for that matter..."

  Although it's been many years, as soon as Zhu mentioned it, Zheng Mama couldn't help but twitch her eyelid and swallow hard before finally calming down. She didn't dare continue the conversation, hastily changing the subject to some trivial matters of each household. Just then, a clear tinkling sound came from outside, followed by Green Lotus's voice.

  "Old lady, Tang Shun's family has returned from the Jin Wang Fu."

  Tang Shun's family was the mother of Zhen Rong, originally in charge of sending gifts to various mansions. Although Zhen Rong had been taken away by the King's consort, she still didn't have a name or status, so naturally it was still her who sent the New Year's gifts this year. After visiting the Wang mansion, she saw that Zhen Rong beside the King's consort wore more dignified clothes than at home, and that golden pearl hairpin was something she had only seen on the master's body before. She was extremely delighted. After reporting back to Mrs. Ma, she came here again to kowtow to Zhu Shi, with a happy expression.

  Zhen Rong was beside the King of Jin's consort, so Zhu Shi naturally didn't have to worry about her father Tang Shun Guan's three shops anymore. She had a warm smile on her face as she chatted with the Tang family for a while. After they left, Zheng Mama immediately came in, but didn't say anything, just gave a look, and Zhu Shi understood, moved the pillow slightly, and lay down on the kang. Then, Zheng Mama personally took the beauty hammer and pounded her legs. Before long, some noise came from outside, and soon someone lifted up the small blue flower-patterned door curtain again.

  It was Mrs. Ma who crossed the threshold. Seeing Zhu Shi sleeping on the kang, she hesitated for a moment, and then Lu'e followed her in, took the ruyi from Zheng Mama's hand, and knelt down beside the kang to massage Zhu Shi's legs. It wasn't until then that Zheng Mama stood up and walked forward to pay her respects to Mrs. Ma.

  "This matter can be handled by the young girls, Zheng Mama, you've been busy running around all day, it's time for you to take a rest."

  Mrs. Ma spoke softly, and Mrs. Zheng naturally said it was a matter of course, then looked back at the kang and followed Mrs. Ma out of the house to talk behind the screen in the main hall. Mrs. Ma first mentioned the New Year's gift-giving, and after a while, she carefully said: "The second, third, fourth, and fifth daughters are all about the same age, only differing by month, especially the second daughter, who will be fifteen this New Year's. This marriage has been dragged on without being settled, I don't know what Old Lady's intention is."

  "Second Miss is the eldest legitimate daughter of Yangning Marquis, with a noble status. How could Madam worry that she can't marry into a good family? Zheng Mama knew in her heart that this was about the plum blossom appreciation on Yuanxiao Festival, but on the surface, she smiled even more, "The few families who proposed marriage earlier, although Old Lady agreed, I suppose Madam would definitely not agree. Some of them are illegitimate children who can't inherit the title, some are born out of wedlock, some have a bad reputation in their family, and some have a bunch of concubines at home. Our Second Miss is talented and beautiful, she can't be humbled. As for other misses, they can't surpass her sister, what do you think, Madam?"

  Madam Ma's face lit up with a smile at these words. Indeed, Chen Bing was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Yangning, and no one in the household could surpass her in status. However, this made sense but she had just received some news, so she swept a glance around the main hall, seeing that all the maids had already retreated, she lowered her voice: "Aunt Zheng, I'll also tell you the truth, I'm not afraid of anything else, what I fear most is that family coming to our doorstep. What if they produce evidence..."

  Before she could finish, Zheng's mother raised an eyebrow and said: "What proof? What proof is there? This marriage was originally about matching doors, but now they are what kind of people who dare to come and ask for the eldest miss of the Yang Ning Hou family? Moreover, they are all families that have fallen to the extreme, and it's uncertain whether those things were lost long ago. At the beginning, it was just a word from the old marquis after drinking, and he gave a piece of jade."

  Mrs. Ma grasped her handkerchief tightly, hesitated for a long time, and then stammered: "I heard that the family followed Wei Guogong and Luo Yiniang to Beijing, and now they are probably renting a house to settle down."

  "What did you say?" Zheng's mother suddenly changed color, forgetting to use honorifics. It wasn't until Mrs. Ma repeated herself that she gradually calmed down, thinking for a moment before nodding and saying, "I'll find time to report this to the old lady myself, so please don't worry, ma'am. With all the relatives we visited during the New Year, the old lady is also tired, let's not mention this for now."

  Although Mrs. Ma was very displeased with Zheng's tone, she didn't dare show it on her face and instead accompanied him with some pleasant words. It wasn't until they left the Lai Xiang courtyard that she let out a soft hum of discontent, but immediately afterwards, her expression relaxed again. Only Yu had no proof, and if all else failed, they could just pick one of the daughters from a humble family to marry off - what's the worst that could happen? Besides, wasn't there another daughter in the Hou household, aside from Chen Bing, who was also from the main branch of the family?

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