Chapter Twenty-Three: Auspicious Snow

  The rules of the Hou Mansion, in the Shuijing Hall, managing household chores has always been a matter of seeing people at 6 am and dispersing at noon. The early breakfast was also hastily eaten here. Since it was Chen Lan's sisters' first experience, they dispersed later than usual. Adding to that, there was the previous incident with Chu Si's family, so when leaving, Chen Huang didn't want to linger and left after saying only a couple of words. Chen Tang, however, walked with Chen Lan for a while, and it wasn't until they reached the crossroads where they had to part ways that she stopped in her tracks and carefully looked at Chen Lan's face once more.

  "Today's matter, Third Sister handled it with both kindness and severity, if it gets out, I'm afraid the entire household will know that Third Sister was hiding her abilities. Seeing Chen Lan smile slightly, as if she didn't take it to heart, Chen Cang furrowed her brow, then spoke lightly, "Last time when we moved houses, I owed you a favor, today I might as well tell you the truth. In the current Hou household, there are not just one or two families like the Chu family. Those who usually get fat benefits, once they see something is wrong, will have second thoughts, otherwise why would four of the wives and mothers-in-law be missing today? You think it's handled fairly, but in reality, someone will still harbor resentment."

  Chen Lan knew that in the past decade or so, Chen Yu had never spoken to her for so long. The youngest sister in this family was always distant from everyone with a cold and icy demeanor, and it wouldn't be just a simple conversation now. After a moment's thought, she nodded and thanked him, waiting until Chen Yu led the group to the other side before calling over a few maids to walk together towards the front.

  Chen Lan saw Hongluo coming over and asked: "Just now you went outside to take a look, did they say anything?"

  "What nonsense, those are just the lowest-level servant girls, they're the ones who do all the dirty and exhausting tasks that offend people. It's just for the two rewards given by Mistress, since I said it was Miss's order, how dare they disobey? Of course, they were beaten too lightly." Hong Luo saw Su Mu and Hu Jiao on the side, their eyes wide with surprise, only then did she smile and say, "Although Chu Si's family didn't express a thousand thanks, she's not really stupid, naturally she understands, after returning home she will definitely be grateful for Miss's kindness."

  "It's not like I want her sympathy!"

  Chen Lan had previously heard from Chen Yan about the difficulties of those old families, and she had intended to use these people, but she had not planned to make such a big show today. However, Chen Hu and Chen Tai seemed to have their own plans, and with her stuck in between, she could only cut through the chaos quickly.

  "Miss is really impressive, now they won't dare to underestimate you again. At the time of eating breakfast, several aunties and mothers who were in charge invited me and Su Mu over, sending us pastries and porridge, saying a lot of good things, all of which were probing your temperament in a roundabout way." Hu Jiao laughed, revealing two small dimples on her face, and only then said with satisfaction, "The two of us just ate without speaking, finally wiping our mouths to thank them for their hospitality, and only then did we stammer that usually we just serve tea and water, knowing that Miss has a good temper and is easy to serve."

  Su Mu and Hu Jiao were only twelve or thirteen years old, younger than Chen Lan. After the anxiety of yesterday had passed, Hu Jiao's expression when saying this was naturally tinged with a bit of naivety, even Hong Luo couldn't help but smile. Chen Lan lightly tapped Hu Jiao's cheek, his mouth curling up: "If you usually say things like this, everyone would believe you, but if you say it today, no one will definitely believe you! Don't worry about so much, when the soldiers come we'll defend, when the water comes we'll cover with earth, after a morning of fuss, I'm already dizzy and my eyes are blurry, let's go back to Jin Xiu Ge and rest properly!"

  This sounds natural, although Su Mu was still holding his stomach and muttering under his breath that he had been forced to drink a lot of things at breakfast and now couldn't eat anything. However, he walked quickly back to the Jinxiu Pavilion. As soon as they arrived, all the maids who had stayed in the courtyard came out to greet them. Xuanfang didn't say much, but Yun'er kept asking questions nonstop. After Su Mu told her about what happened that morning, she listened with a thrilled heart. Taking advantage of Xuanfang and Hongluo setting the table, she quietly slipped over to Chen Lan's side.

  "Miss, can you take me out tomorrow and show me around?"

  "What experience? With your temperament, what scene haven't you experienced in the entire household?" Seeing Yun'er still begging, Chen Lan thought for a moment and smiled, "Today's incident was just this one thing, so it was lively in the Water Mirror Hall earlier. Later, everything was dull and uninteresting, just handling silver and doing business. If you went, you would have been bored to death. How about this? After dinner, I'll give you a day off, and you can sneak out of the back door. You're best at gathering information, so go take a look at what's going on with the Chu family and those other families. Also, see if anyone has been in contact with them these past few days. This matter is extremely important, much more so than going to the Water Mirror Hall for experience."

  "Alright, I'll make sure to listen carefully!"

  Yun'er has always been competitive and hated being overshadowed, so when Hong Luo suddenly appeared and stole the spotlight, she was furious. When Su Mu Huai said Hong Luo had gone out, Yun'er felt a bit better and agreed to serve Chen Lan dinner with the others. As soon as the dishes were cleared away, she immediately left.

  However, although she let Yun'er go and ask about the situation at Chu Si's house, Chen Lan still wanted to know what had happened to her second uncle Chen Jiu after he was released from prison. Unfortunately, this large Houfu gate is heavily guarded, it's easy to inquire about family matters, but it's not that simple to inquire about court affairs. So, when she heard that Zhu Shi in Lianxiang Temple had already taken a nap, she gave up the idea of going there immediately and sat on the kang reading books.

  But she was preoccupied with her worries, and the remaining unread book on the bookshelf couldn't hold her attention. After some deliberation, Chen Lan called in Hong Luo and Qin Fang one after another, assigning each of them a task. As they were about to leave after acknowledging their instructions, she suddenly remembered something else and added: "When you go out, tell Su Mu and Hu Jiao where you're going. Also, let them know that I don't need anyone here, so just have them keep watch outside."

  Chen Lan made all the arrangements, but on the pretext of not wanting to disturb others, he stayed in his room reading alone. However, he couldn't shake off the feeling of unease and after a while, he felt stifled, so he put on his crane cloak and went out.

  It was freezing in the capital city on New Year's Day, and it had been overcast for many days. She didn't realize it had started snowing until she stepped out of her room. She couldn't help but feel both surprised and delighted, standing under the eaves with her head tilted back to gaze up at the sky. At this moment, all three of the second-class maids had gone on errands, and the smaller maids were nowhere to be found, hiding away to play. The courtyard was quiet and still, set off by the snowflakes that would soon fill the sky, so peaceful that it made one reluctant to move. Just for a moment, she felt her hands grow cold after coming out of the warm room, and she quickly rubbed them gently together.

  "Miss, have a cup of tea to warm your hands."

  Upon hearing the voice, Chen Lan couldn't help but turn his head around and saw a tall and slender maid, about twelve or thirteen years old. She wasn't particularly pretty, with a noticeable black mole beside her nose, wearing a light blue jacket, white cotton socks, and a lotus-colored skirt that revealed a pair of exquisite embroidered shoes with plum blossoms. After taking a closer look, he vaguely remembered having some impression of this maid when he was recovering from his illness in the courtyard and decided to go pay respects to the Zhu family, so he took over the tea.

  "How did you bring tea here?"

  "Qin Fang and the others went to take care of some business, Su Mu and Hu Jiao were summoned by someone from Ling Xiang Yuan, and I don't know where everyone else is. I saw Miss standing here watching the snow, she must be very cold, so I took it upon myself to go pour her some tea."

  Chen Lan looked at her, and suddenly thought of the little Hong who also spilled tea in Dream of the Red Chamber, then thought of Bao Yu's bad luck, but Feng Jie got a good deal, and couldn't help but smile slightly. As for Su Mu and Hu Jiao being called to Lianxiangyuan, no one told her anything, which was expected, so she didn't show any surprise on her face. When asked about her name, it turned out that this maid was originally named Hong Xiao, because her name was similar to Hong Luo's, she had just changed it to Luo Xiao after hearing Xiang Fang's words, and she shook her head slightly.

  "What's the big deal, are there really that many taboos? And besides, from Hongdou to Luodou, they're all just different types of silk fabrics. If you say it out loud, others will think it's tacky. In my opinion, today is a great day with heavy snow, why don't you just change your name to Ruixue?"

  She was taken aback at first, then hastily thanked her and read it several times, feeling that it was fluent and smooth, and her face added a few more joyful expressions. However, seeing Chen Lan standing outside for so long, she advised: "Miss, the snowy scene is beautiful, but the ground is really cold. You said your injury has healed, but you still need to take care of your body, so don't stand in the wind for too long."

  She had just come out on a whim, without even bringing a hand warmer. Chen Lan was indeed cold to the point of numbness in her hands and feet at this time. She nodded and turned back into the house, calling Rui Xue in again. Although there were many young maidservants in Jinxiu Pavilion, she had secretly observed them over the past few days and had already distinguished between those who were close to her and those who were not. Qin Fang Hongluo was naturally reliable, and Yun'er, although sharp-tongued, had a good heart and could also be trusted. Next in line were Su Mu and Hu Jiao, whom she had personally named herself. The rest were either lazy or useless, or had been sent over by the second or third branch of the family, and didn't have her best interests at heart. Otherwise, if Su Mu and Hu Jiao had been called away, there wouldn't be a Rui Xue coming to report news until now.

  So, Chen Lan said a few words to Rui Xue, seeing that she was quick-witted and spoke fluently. Chen Lan had the intention of keeping her around, so she went back inside and sat for a moment. When Rui Xue brought in a hand warmer again, Chen Lan smiled and said: "Since no one else is here, you go pack up your things and come with me to visit Old Lady Liang at Lianxiang Institute."

  Rui Xue usually only took care of sweeping and cleaning the courtyard, serving tea and water, and following errands out the door, which never fell to her. This time she couldn't help but be overjoyed, hastily knelt down to respond, and hurriedly rushed back to the house to change into a new set of clothes. When she followed Chen Lan out of the courtyard gate, she again made an effort to press down the corners of her mouth that were raised in a smile.

  She's still just a little girl now, don't get too full of yourself or you'll end up falling behind and becoming the laughing stock!

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