Chapter 15: Events (Part 2)

There is a three-foot square shrine at the front of the main hall, housing a seated statue of Guanyin. In front of the statue is a small three-legged gilt incense burner with three sticks of canaan incense.

Amid the curling incense smoke, Guanyin Bodhisattva is gazing at all living beings with a loving and compassionate expression.

The maid reported that Eleventh Lady had come in person to send off the baby, and the two concubines came together.

The eldest aunt smiled gently and intimately, and ordered Caixia loudly: "Quick, serve tea to Miss Eleven!"

The second aunt's thin face also showed a few traces of smiles, and pointed to the armchair beside her: "Sit down and talk!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and bowed to the two concubines, half-sitting on the armchair, motioning Amber to hand the box to the two concubines, and humbly said, "I don't know if it suits you or not?"

The eldest aunt took the box in her own hands and smiled before she even looked at it: "I like it, I like it, how could I not like it!"

The maids served tea, and the eldest aunt said with a smile, "I went to Luyun Tower early this morning, and heard that you were making trouble, so I didn't disturb you and went to see the tenth young lady."

Since I personally brought the silk cord here, I wanted to take this opportunity to make some things clear. Since the other party was not shy at all, I also wanted to open the window and speak frankly.

If I continue to beat around the bush, I'll seem hypocritical.

Shiyi Niang smiled slightly: "I heard that you went to Shi Niang's place, so I asked Dong Qing to go and ask you to come. Who knew you had already left? I thought that the knot would be sent to you after it was tied, so I didn't ask her to chase you."

The eldest aunt smiled kindly and said, "I went to the fifth young lady's place."

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but be surprised. She twitched her lips slightly and was thinking about what to say when the eldest aunt sighed, "You are young and don't know some things in the past.

Your eldest sister's in-laws are from Hebei. They were awarded the title of Yongping Marquis Xu because of their meritorious service to the emperor. They were named one of the ten founding generals and were enshrined in the imperial temple. During the Zheng'an period, the Xu family was involved in the "Zheng'an Prince Rebellion Case" and was stripped of their titles. Although they were restored to their titles during the Yannian period, their prestige was not as high as before. When the old lady was an official in Beijing, she was on good terms with the old marquis of the Xu family and promised your eldest sister to the Xu family.

At that time, the second daughter of the Xu family was just a powerless Princess Jian. Her aunt was not well educated, had an older brother and a younger brother, and was appointed as a seventh-rank guard in the Imperial Guard. The eldest wife was not very willing.

Who knows, good times will come.

First, my aunt's brother died of illness, and my aunt was given a title, and the eldest daughter became the wife of the Marquis of Yongping. Later, Prince Jian ascended the throne and became the emperor, and made the second daughter of the Xu family the empress. My aunt also successively suppressed the rebellions of the Miao tribe and the northern border, and was made a general and a governor of the third rank. Such wealth and honor are not something that everyone can enjoy. "

Having said this, there was a hint of coldness in the aunt's eyes.

"The eldest daughter had a miscarriage with her first child. The old lady of the Xu family took charge. First, she stopped the medicines of the two concubines, Qin and Tong, who were in the room of the aunt before the eldest daughter entered the family. Later, she took the eldest daughter of the Wen family in Yangzhou as a concubine for the aunt. The next year, Qin gave birth to a son and took away the concubine. Although the concubine Wen did not have the blessing of Qin, she also gave birth to a daughter. As for our eldest daughter, there was no movement for several years. So she took Qiu Luo, the personal maid, as her concubine. After a lot of effort, Qiu Luo also became pregnant and gave birth to a son the next year, but the child died before full term.

For this matter, our first wife prayed to countless gods and worshipped countless Buddhas, and our eldest daughter looked for countless secret recipes and took countless medicines. Finally, in the eighth year of marriage, we got the good news. Who would have thought that the child was born prematurely in the seventh month of pregnancy, and a weak son was born, who didn’t even have the strength to cry a few times. We named him Brother Chen.

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but let out a soft "ah".

In the eyes of the Luo family's maids, and among the sisters of the Luo family, Luo Yuanniang has always been a god-like and distant existence.

She was good-looking, talented, married to a powerful man, and had a legitimate son... She had all the happiness that could be imagined in the world. But she didn't expect... What she didn't expect was that the Wen family, one of the four great families in Jiangnan, actually agreed to let their daughter be a concubine of the Yongping Marquis.

She thought of what the Second Aunt said that day, "Brother Zhe is a legitimate son, but not a prince." Could this be the inside story? Eleventh Lady felt her throat dry and wanted to ask, but she didn't know how to start.

"After all, it was premature. Even though he was fed with ginseng and bird's nest, he was not as lively as Qin's son. He was also very smart. He could read at the age of three, interpret texts at the age of five, and write policy essays at the age of seven. Now he is just nine years old, and he is said to take the examination for the scholar next year." As she spoke, the eldest aunt glanced at the eleventh lady deeply, "So, our eldest daughter has been unable to sleep or eat well these years...naturally, her health is unlikely to recover."

The Xu family is really complicated...

Eleventh Lady smiled bitterly in her heart. She pondered and said, "How could the Wen family agree to give their daughter to someone else as a concubine... This is too shameful!"

The second concubine, who had been silent the whole time, snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "What's the point of face? It's like being able to eat or drink. The Wen family had this relationship and only won the porcelain business of the Ministry of Internal Affairs this year. Compared with the profits from porcelain, what's the point of face?"

Eleventh Lady seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

Just as the Second Aunt said, face can neither be eaten nor drunk, but at the critical moment, it can make people straighten their backs and overcome the dilemma of having no food or drink.

But she was not here to argue with the two aunts, nor did she want to change other people's ideas.

She smiled faintly and said, "In that case, Qiu Luo in our house is not lonely at all since she has Miss Wen as her companion!"

In fact, he was asking the aunt in a tactful way, what happened to Qiu Luo, who had given birth to a child for Marquis Yongping?

The eldest aunt was also a smart person. She immediately smiled and said, "Qin was brought up by the old lady of the Xu family since she was a child. Wen is the legitimate daughter. Although our Qiu Luo is beautiful, if this woman only relies on her beauty, then how can there be the saying of 'equal status'?" As she spoke, she covered her mouth and smiled, and there was unexpectedly a bit of charm in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.

In other words, Qiu Luo couldn't even get a concubine!

Eleventh Lady's expression changed slightly.

Although these two concubines have lost their youth and their faces are haggard, the charm revealed in their gestures can make her guess how beautiful they were in their past. Even they have ended up like this, isn't it the best argument that "women can't rely on beauty alone"?

She couldn't help but sigh softly.

"But our Luo family is a family of officials, and our family has been a family of scholars for generations. Our old lady has been promoted to the position of Grand Scholar of the Inner Court, which is not comparable to the Wen family, which has been a family of merchants for generations." Eleventh Lady further verified, "Lighting the longevity lamp is not an ordinary Buddhist practice, right?"

"I didn't expect you to know about lighting longevity lamps." The second aunt, who had always had a cold face, had a deep smile in her eyes. "When the former Minister of Personnel Ma Zifu was a councilor in Shaanxi, his concubine brought her son home. The late emperor still praised him as "a very good official with excellent talent and character". What's more, the three of you are not included in the family tree!"

This time, Eleventh Lady could no longer conceal the throbbing in her heart, and her face turned pale.

“Not in the family tree?”

She never knew that she was not included in the family tree.

The eldest aunt sighed, and looked at her with a bit of pity: "When you just came back from Fujian, the second and third masters also brought their families back from their posts. There were a lot of things to do at home, and you just happened to fall down... The first wife can forget it!"

Eleventh Lady returned to Luyun Tower with mixed feelings.

Shi Niang hasn't come back yet.

She asked Dongqing to find out some information, and Baizhi said that Shi Niang had not returned since she went out in the afternoon.

After listening to this, Eleventh Lady was silent for a long time, and asked Amber to unfold the words written by Fifth Lady and show them to Dongqing.

"I'll give you one night, and you can draw a picture on clear paper."

Although he didn't know what Shiyi Niang was going to do, Dongqing still responded respectfully as before.

Eleventh Lady didn't say anything else and went to rest with Amber's help.

Early the next morning, Dongqing completed the task she was assigned with dark circles under her eyes.

Shiyi Niang took it and looked at it carefully for a long time, then nodded and smiled, "Dongqing's painting skills are getting better and better. You worked hard yesterday, go and have a rest!"

Dong Qing retreated. Shiyi Niang wrote a letter, then put the letter and paper into an envelope, sealed it and gave it to Qiu Ju: "You take this to Master Jian in Hangzhou." She also asked Hubo to give her five taels of silver, "Don't let anyone know."

When winter came, Master Jian went back to Hangzhou to celebrate the New Year and would not return to the Luo Mansion until March of the next year.

Qiu Ju took the letter and put it in her arms: "Miss, you are asking Master Jian for advice on embroidering a folding screen, right? I will definitely not tell anyone."

She had a brother who worked as a servant in Ma Yuan and had a very good relationship with the boatmen who transported goods for the Luo family.

Eleventh Lady didn't explain much and went to the First Lady with a smile.

"I had a good sleep last night. I will start embroidering the screen when I get home."

Although she came earlier today than yesterday, she still met Wu Niang.

The eldest wife immediately had her fed with goat's milk. After she drank it, she told her to concentrate on embroidering the screen and not to come to pay respects in the evening. She also emphasized: "Finishing the screen on time is the true filial piety."

The eldest wife said something similar last time, and it seems that she is not being fake.

Eleventh Lady thought about it and agreed with a smile. She chatted with the eldest lady for a few words and then returned to Luyun Tower and began to embroider the screen with great concentration.

After a few days, the eldest wife sent someone to make spring clothes for Eleventh Lady.

Holly was stunned.

Spring clothes have to be made to order and must be made after the second day of the second lunar month.

Now, it’s not the Chinese New Year yet?

When Eleventh Lady found out, she just looked up and asked, "Is it just for me? Or is it for everyone?"

The man who came to measure the clothes smiled and said, "Of course everyone has one. However, the eldest lady said that Miss Eleven has grown a lot this year, so she asked us to make a few more sets for her."

After hearing this, Eleventh Lady nodded absentmindedly, then lowered her head to continue embroidering the screen.

Amber felt uneasy after hearing this, and pulled Binju: "While the young lady has Dongqing to serve her, let's go to the fifth young lady's place. I used to be with the first lady, and I didn't get along much with Ziwei and Ziyuan. Now I am in the room of the eleventh young lady, so it's better for me to get closer to the people in the rooms of the young ladies."

Binju still supported her opinion and went to Wuniang with Amber.