Chapter 2 Visitation

  On a winter day, the warm sunshine generously shines in the spacious courtyard and also passes through the thick Korean paper on the window lattice into the house, adding a few warm and cozy breaths to the dimly lit room. Chen Lan lies on the bed covered with a thick brocade quilt, his eyes occasionally glancing at the stone-green embroidered flower gauze canopy beside him, and sometimes staring blankly at the roof. At this moment, the whispers outside also floated in through the Korean paper, but because the sound was too small, it couldn't be heard clearly.

  But before long, those low murmurs were dispersed by a stern rebuke: "What time is it now? Still hissing and whispering without end, as if there's nothing else to do?"

  As the courtyard suddenly fell silent, footsteps and voices came from outside, as if a group of people had entered. Chen Lan glanced at the little girl sitting on a small stool beside her, who was nodding off to sleep, and thought about speaking up, but ultimately remained silent. Before long, she heard the door curtain rustling, followed by a cough, so she simply closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

  "Ah, cheers to mom!"

  The maid who was guarding the bedside suddenly woke up with a start, saw the newcomer and was frightened, called out and hastily saluted, but in her confusion she knocked over the small stool. Seeing this scene, the head nurse, Mrs. Zhu, finally couldn't help it and scolded angrily: "You're supposed to be watching over Third Miss, but you're actually sneaking a nap, and you're so clumsy, what kind of service is this?"

  As the sound grew louder, Chen Lan slightly shifted her body. Sure enough, a calm and unhurried voice responded from beside her.

  "Zhū jiā de, sān xiǎo jiě fáng zhōng de yā tóu, nǐ yào jiào dǎo yě gāi zài wài tóu, méi lái yóu jīng rǎo le sān xiǎo jiě."

  Translation: "You're from the Zhu family, a maid in Third Miss's chamber. If you want to instruct someone, it should be done outside, don't disturb Third Miss for no reason."

  As soon as these words were spoken, the loud voice was suddenly cut off. Chen Lan opened her eyes to see a smiling face leaning over, speaking kindly, and she slightly furrowed her brow. At this time, the maid who had just been scolded until her eyes were red quickly came forward, carefully helped her up, and placed an old water-ink satin pillow behind her back for support.

  After glancing at Chen Lan, Mrs. Zhu retreated and smiled: "Third Miss, the old lady has asked Zheng Mama to take a look at you."

  At this time, a more elderly woman walked up. Her hair was neatly combed with many silver threads, and only one silver pin was inserted between her temples. She wore a lotus-green robe with a willow-patterned jacket. Although she was dressed so simply, she looked even more dignified than Zhu Ma's mother, who wore gold bangles on her wrists and jade pins in her hair, and whose silk clothes were stiff with starch.

  "Is Miss Three better now?"

  After what happened three days ago, Chen Lan finally got rid of her helplessness and despair, and reluctantly accepted the current situation. She had always been a person with excellent adaptability, so even though the company's boss changed several times, her position continued to rise steadily. However, the current situation was different from changing superiors, so she had to come up with a most suitable excuse.

  "I'm feeling a bit better, thanks for coming to see me, Aunt Zheng. I still get occasional headaches and my head feels a bit foggy."

  "Does her head still hurt?" Zheng's mother was somewhat taken aback, and immediately turned around to glare at the person next to her. "Old lady, you've sent people to ask three times already, and they all said she woke up and everything is fine. How can Third Miss still say her head hurts? Fourth Young Master is still young, are you people also muddled? Even if others are muddled, as a member of the Zhu family, you should know better! Third Madam has sent you to check on her several times already, how could you not report back? What kind of laziness is this?"

  Chen Lan leaned against the headrest, seeing Zhu's mother lower her eyes and only nod, but the corners of her mouth curled up. She didn't know that this person was just verbally obedient but not in heart. Her current memory was still a bit confused, she remembered two faces, and had an impression of their names. At this moment, she recalled that one was the old lady's confidant, and the other was the second madam's person. Although they came together, they were not on the same path, so she simply didn't make a sound. Then Zheng's mother finished scolding, seeing everyone silent like cicadas in winter, she slowed down her voice: "Third Miss, the old lady has something special to tell you."

  At the sound of this, although Zheng's mother was extremely unwilling, she still took the little girl who came with her and retreated. The little girl in the house had already moved a velvet cushion for Zheng's mother to sit on. It wasn't until then that Zheng's mother put on a concerned expression.

  "Third Miss, the East Changhou family sent people to apologize repeatedly, but at that time, there were many people and it was difficult to distinguish who pushed you. So we can only let you suffer this injustice. However, now all the marquises' and earls' mansions in the capital know that our Yangninghou Mansion's Third Miss loves her brother so much that she herself is injured and bleeding, but still pushed her brother ashore first. Sisterly love is a good thing, but this time you're hurt, and Fourth Young Master didn't even attend school. The young masters have all grown up, and the other day, Second Madam and Third Madam told Old Madame that they plan to find a good day to move all the young masters except Sixth Young Master to the outer courtyard."

  Chen Lan remained silent for a while before nodding: "I understand what you said, I'll thank Old Lady Labour on my mother's behalf."

  "I knew it, Third Miss is the most understanding. Moreover, the servants need to be restrained a bit more strictly, those little maids outside are like three-legged cats, only knowing how to quarrel and gossip, but not reliable when doing things. The one guarding the house just now was Qin Fang, wasn't she? A big maid of 14 or 15 years old, still so clumsy, how can she manage those little maids? It's better to go ask Old Lady for a good one to serve you, first, it will be convenient and suitable, second, it will also intimidate others, third, it will also take care of you."

  How cleverly to squeeze people in, this kind of trickery is naturally understood by the veteran Chen Lan, so the subtle smile on his face didn't change at all, and he even nodded more obediently: "Mm, thank you for reminding me."

  Mrs. Zheng nodded in relief, but didn't stop there and instead continued to instruct Chen Lan at length. Chen Lan was worried that she would be left in the dark, so she nodded along from time to time, pretending to listen intently, and managed to dig up a lot of information and gain a large number of kind reminders. After Mrs. Zheng personally helped her get into bed and left with a large group of people, Chen Lan finally began to think deeply about what had happened.

  Since she's already come, then let her be. She's someone who has died once before, what else can't she accept? Moreover, even if she were to oppose it, even if she were to resist, could she still return to the familiar environment she knew before? Previously, she was a poor and white-collar worker who struggled to make ends meet on her own, now that she's fallen into this seemingly luxurious but actually dirty place, she can't just resign herself to fate!

  She clenched her fists lightly, and with Zheng Mama's words, she recalled the threads she had sorted out over the past few days. It was now the Yongxi year of the Chu dynasty, as for what this Chu dynasty was all about, how its territory was like, she would have to find a way to flip through history books later, because she never remembered that there was such a dynasty in Chinese history.

  This is the capital of Great Chu, and the street where she lives in this mansion is called Yangning Street, named after her grandfather Chen Yong, Marquis of Yangning. Her grandfather Chen Yong was originally only the Earl of Yangning, but that year he followed Emperor Wu to overthrow the emperor and sit on the world, and later he was promoted to Marquis of Yangning for his meritorious service.

  Only Yan Yong's military achievements were brilliant, and his skills in hunting were also renowned. After marrying his wife, he had many concubines due to his frequent trips outside the capital, and his family had dozens of servants. He was famous among the meritorious officials and nobles in the entire capital. Not only that, but he was also famous for having gone through five dynasties, being punished several times and reinstated several times, standing firm without falling, and living to be 88 years old.

  However, although there were many women around him, his first wife had passed away early and did not leave any children. His second wife, Zhu Shi, only had one legitimate daughter, and the rest of the children who grew up smoothly were three illegitimate sons, in addition to several married illegitimate daughters.

  Chang Fang, also known as her father Chen Wei, was granted the title of Xunwei in his early years. However, due to his improper behavior and repeated impeachments by the Imperial Censor, all his mistakes were exposed after his death. As a result, the title that should have been inherited by him went to the second house instead. Afterwards, he became even more arrogant and was eventually stripped of his position as Xunwei, passing away three years ago. His first wife, Fang Shi, had passed away even earlier, leaving behind only Chen Lan and Chen Yan, a son and daughter. Chen Lan is now 13 years old, while Chen Yan is 11 years old.

  The Second House is her second uncle Chen Jiu, who inherited the title and was content with it, not caring that he held an idle post. He had no sons to this day, married to Ma Shi, his only illegitimate son died of illness last year, leaving behind two daughters, Chen Bing and Chen Hu.

  As for the third house... Chen Ying, her third uncle, had long been a military officer and rose through the ranks from thousand households to commander-in-chief. He is currently stationed in the southern border with the main army. It's said that he has extensive connections and a reputation for being heroic outside. And when it comes to women, he is even more like his father, having many affairs over the years while away. Now, Luo Niangniang is following him in the south, while his first wife Xu Shi passed away after remarriage, and his current wife Xu Shi and other concubines and children are all in the capital. Xu Shi's eldest son Chen Kuang died at the age of six, and now her youngest son Chen Han is only three years old and ranked sixth. Luo Niangniang has given birth to a daughter named Chen Xi and two sons named Chen Qing and Chen Jiang. There are also two other concubine daughters.

  No matter what, she and Chen Yan are the most pitiful siblings. The older sister is weak and the younger brother is fragile, with only their grandmother above them, but not a biological one. It's unknown how they've managed to survive all these years. Moreover, if memory serves correct, she used to be a gentle soul, so it's no surprise that her daughter, Quan Fang, also has a timid personality. On the other hand, Chen Yan is impulsive and quick-tempered, which explains why he got into a fight with someone while visiting their home.

  Just as he was lost in thought, a hurried footsteps sound came from outside.

  "Sister, sister, I'm back!"