Chapter Thirty-Four: Poor Relatives

  Yangning Street was occupied by the Yangning Marquis's mansion, which took up most of the space. Next to it were two officials' residences. The entire street was clean and tidy, with no shops or other houses. While the east end of Yangning Street led directly to Xuanwu Gate Avenue, a main thoroughfare in the capital, where people and vehicles flowed continuously day and night, the west end intersected with a narrow alleyway.

  That alley was called Zhi Fen Hutong, which sounds elegant. As the name suggests, there were several famous spice shops in Beijing, as well as the Ya Shi Lan Dai store, which was famous for its high-quality cosmetics and hair oil, Zhang Sheng Ji, which was famous for its Hangzhou cuisine, Ni Ren Zhang, which sold clay figurines, and Duo Yun Xuan, which sold paintings and calligraphy. In short, they were all old brands from the Taizu era, making it very convenient to purchase goods on a daily basis.

  That afternoon, a mule cart swayed from Zhī Fěn Alley to Yáng Níng Street. The mule pulling the cart was quite sturdy, but its coat wasn't very good; the carriage wasn't painted with clear lacquer, but rather with a chestnut color, and it had a thick blue canvas cover on top. The mule cart passed through Jiě Yì Alley in the east and stopped in front of the main gate of Hóu Mansion.

  As soon as the carriage stopped, several gatekeepers who were chatting at the entrance immediately noticed it. One of them, with a blue sash around his waist, rushed down from the steps and scolded the coachman: "Do you know the rules? If you're looking for someone familiar, go to the back door; if you're visiting, report to the west corner gate! What is this place? This main entrance is only for noble people!"

  One sentence made the car husband stunned, and then a gentle voice came from inside: "Zhang Bo, don't be stunned there. Since they reminded us, let's go to Xijiao Gate."

  The coachman finally reacted, but glared at the doorman with annoyance, and then lightly swung his whip, quickly turning around to head towards the west gate. The doorman who had spoken stood in place for a while, before reluctantly walking back, muttering under his breath: "Another poor relative from who-knows-where, so tactless, coming to visit at this time, who has the energy to entertain them? Our household is already in chaos!"

  According to the old rules of the Hou Mansion, ordinary people usually enter from the west corner gate and exit from the east corner gate. Therefore, there are always servants standing in front of the east and west corner gates, ready to serve the masters or guests entering or leaving the mansion. At this moment, a mule cart stopped, and another servant came over to ask questions. The curtain on the cart was lifted, and a young girl who was still wearing her hair in a single braid got off the cart and handed over an invitation card, saying: "My family's old lady is the younger sister of Old Master Hou, and today she has come especially to visit the old lady of the Hou Mansion."

  As soon as this was said, the little servant who was lowering his head to look at the poster suddenly raised his head, looked at the mule cart again, and swept a glance at the little girl who spoke. Seeing that she was wearing a brand new green jacket, neat and tidy, he smiled and handed the poster back.

  "Our household has been busy for the past two days, and the old lady probably doesn't have time to see external guests. Even if I were to go in and make excuses on your behalf, the masters would likely be too preoccupied to see you."

  The little girl was so angry that she puffed out her cheeks and was about to argue, but then she heard a low voice calling from the mule cart. She quickly turned around and went back, stretching out her hand to help someone get down from the cart. The girl who got off the cart was Su Wan'er. Unlike yesterday's scene at the Great Protection Temple, today she was dressed in brand new clothes, with gold and jade ornaments on her head and hands, looking quite elegant. Seeing the little boy staring at her face, she couldn't help but feel annoyed, and then smiled sweetly: "This young man, please go inside and report to your third miss that Su Wan'er has come to see her grandmother, and please excuse the elderly for their trouble on this trip, and inform the old lady of the noble mansion."

  That little servant was still hesitating, but the little girl next to him had already stuffed a silver ingot into his hand. He weighed it carefully, and only then did he smile all over his face and agree, turning around and running quickly towards the back. Su Wan'er returned to the carriage, smoothed out her skirt, and sat properly before speaking in a low voice to the old woman beside her: "Grandmother, the second master of the Hou estate was just stripped of his title yesterday, why have we come at this time?"

  "They've just lost their title, and others are avoiding them as much as possible. We can only meet the master here now. Besides, at this critical juncture, they wouldn't dare to be arrogant anymore. Did you see the road we just came from? The Yangning Street is empty and quiet, the Hou Mansion is not what it used to be. Your brother is a scholar, he might even pass the imperial examination this year, this marriage was previously out of our league, but now it's not bad! Besides, we entered the capital with Duke Wei, they have to consider the connections between us. Don't worry, I know my limits, the Chen family won't fall, this marriage is beneficial for your brother."

  Madam Chen was seventy-four years old, with a full head of silver hair and wrinkles all over her face. She wore a loose-fitting long gown in a light yellow color, and on her exposed hands she wore a pair of jade bangles. However, due to her extremely thin build and rigid expression, she did not exude the kind of wealthy and benevolent air that one would expect from an elderly lady of a prominent family. She had married into the Su family at the age of sixteen and had managed the household for decades, taking care of everything from the outside in, and had long since developed the habit of pointing out every little thing. At this moment, she scrutinized Su Wan'er's makeup with a rigid expression, then reached out and pulled out the long double-strand gold hairpin, saying: "You've just suffered a loss, don't be too fancy."

  Su Wan'er saw Chen Shi put the golden phoenix hairpin directly into her sleeve, and her eyelid jumped. She then lowered her head and said, "Grandmother's teachings are right."

  Chen nodded in satisfaction, and the two of them waited in the carriage. After a while, Su Wan'er had been scolded by her grandmother's occasional warnings until she was speechless. Finally, they saw a young servant hastily coming out from inside. The servant came to the front of the horse-drawn carriage, bowed deeply, and said: "My elderly mistress invites you two to speak in the Lianxiang Hall."

  The fragrance of the lotus wafted through the corridor, and Chen Lan stood there with Hong Luo, but in her heart she was thinking that earlier that morning, Chen Xu had said he wasn't feeling well, and Chen Quan had said he needed to attend to the ailing Lady Xu, so neither of them had come to the Shuijing Hall. Just then, she received a message, and after some thought, she sent Hong Luo to the Lianxiang Institute to report back. She had assumed that Zhu Shi would surely find an excuse to decline, but unexpectedly, in the end, it was announced that someone was invited to enter. At this moment, seeing Su Wan'er supporting an elderly woman as they entered from the other side of the door, she stepped down from the corridor.

  "Grandma, this is Third Miss of the Marquis's Manor."

  As soon as Su Yuanyu spoke to the old woman next to her, Chen Lan knew that it was Old Lady Chen of the Su family and couldn't help but take a few more glances. Seeing that Old Lady Chen was leaning on a long nanmu wooden cane, her thin face had a pair of sharp eyes that were somewhat too piercing, her lips were extremely thin, and due to years of frowning, they revealed a hint of nastiness. Just from this initial impression, she felt that the old lady in front of her wasn't someone easy to get along with.

  As expected, after seeing her before, she just politely chatted with her for a few words, and then Chen Shi boldly sized her up for a while, only to squeeze out a smile: "Third Miss is indeed a noble lady, her demeanor and appearance are indeed more elegant than my family's Wan'er."

  What kind of talk is this?

  It wasn't just Hongluo behind Chen Lan, but the other maids also furrowed their brows. Since Old Lady had ordered them to receive her, no one dared say anything more. One of the maids stepped forward and supported Chen's left arm, and the group escorted her towards the main house.

  Su Wan'er was still visiting the Hou Mansion for the first time, and since she got off the mule cart and a young servant pushed the cart through the west gate, she had been extremely careful all the way, fearing that one wrong step would make her a laughing stock. At this moment, seeing a group of maids all wearing silk clothes, her own brand new dress seemed to be out of place, so she deliberately got close to Chen Lan, intending to let people see the closeness between them. However, no matter what she said, Chen Lan only responded vaguely, rarely answering one sentence in ten.

  Chen Lan was not interested in the old couple, so she entered the main room. She explained something to Su Wan'er and then went ahead to the back of the partition. She spoke softly to Zhu Shi, who was sitting on the warm kang in the middle of the room, saying that someone had arrived. Immediately, she was pulled over to sit beside the kang. Before long, the maids from the back came in, surrounding the old couple.

  On the warm couch, Zhu Shi saw Chen Shi for the first time, who was said to be her husband's cousin. With just one glance from her sharp eyes, she knew how things were going in the Su household. Thinking that this was someone who had entered the capital with San Niang and Wei Guogong, she felt even more disgusted. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she smiled and said: "I'm getting old now, I can barely recognize my relatives at home. Just now, San Er told me it was the Su family, and I thought for a long time before remembering that Old Duke had mentioned something like this back then. It's been so many years, and sister has never come to our house either, no wonder you wouldn't recognize me."

  Madam Chen was about the same age as Madam Zhu, but she couldn't hear the sarcasm in her words. She had long since become accustomed to the subtle jabs and jokes that came with being married to the Duke of Yangning, Chen Yong. So she just smiled and said: "Sister-in-law is wise, it's not that we didn't want to come visit, but there are many things going on at home. If it weren't for my grandson coming to Beijing to take the exams, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to make it this time either. Although the Su family has had bad luck, with his grandfather and father passing away early, he's made a name for himself. At 12 years old, he passed the county-level exam, at 16, he passed the provincial-level exam, and everyone in the surrounding areas calls him a prodigy. Last time, he missed the exams because he had to take care of me when I was ill, but this time, he's studied hard for three years, and as long as he can bring back a jinshi degree, the Su family will be transformed overnight."

  If it wasn't for seeing Su Yi yesterday, Chen Lan would have really thought that was a talented person. At this time, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart. Seeing Zhu Shi laughing and praising a few words, while Chen Shi's gaze kept sizing herself up, she couldn't help but feel extremely vigilant - the accidental encounter yesterday might be intentional, let alone today's visit. So, after a moment of thought, she whispered to Zhu Shi: "Old lady, since there are guests coming, Su's sister is about the same age as my sisters, why not invite everyone over? It seems they know something is going on at the Hou Mansion and came, don't let outsiders laugh."

  Zhu originally guessed Chen's intention from Zheng Mama, and now hearing Chen Lan say so, she immediately nodded in agreement. She then instructed Green Orchid beside her: "Go to Purple Peace Residence and Emerald Willow Residence, and let the second, fourth, and fifth young ladies come together. We have guests at home, these younger generations should come to see them."

  P.S. I'll be updating irregularly from now on, and by the way, it might go on sale next month, so please spare a few pink tickets for me, don't let me shave my head bald, thanks in advance...

  By the way, I previously mentioned that a great god had just started a new book, and now there's another one. Yun Nai, the leader of the Cloud Sect, has also started a new book called "Difficult to Follow Orders". We even discussed some issues related to customs and official systems. Classmates can take a look at the link below ^_^