Chapter Five
Regardless of what Granny Liu thought after hearing Xia Qiangwei's words, Xia Yuhe, who was diligently learning etiquette from Granny Liu, felt increasingly anxious. Her Han Chinese identity was unpopular. Although there had been favored Han concubines in the palace, their backgrounds were all higher than hers. She was merely the daughter of a small merchant family; what abilities did she possess? Could she endure the palace rules of three bows and nine prostrations? Her two daughters wouldn't be registered under her name if they entered the palace. What would she do? Moreover, Granny Liu had mentioned countless beauties in the harem. Could she really find another chance with that great goddess? Xia Yuhe was lost and confused.
Xia Qiangwei was apprehensive about sending Xia Yuhe to the palace. Given Xia Yuhe's personality, she lacked cunning, connections, and money. As for her looks… Xia Yuhe's only redeeming qualities were her figure and appearance, but… that didn't mean she could gain favor simply because of her looks. With Consort Ling's skill in sowing discord, Xia Yuhe would be finished in no time. Xia Qiangwei sighed. "Xia Yuhe," she thought, "how can I make you understand that you can't survive in the deep palace without cunning?" Before Xia Qiangwei could come up with a solution, Xia Yuhe approached her, her eyes filled with tears.
"Mother, what's wrong? Who bullied you?" Xia Qiangwei put down the account book that Baozhu had just brought and stood up to greet Xia Yuhe.
"Rose, I'm afraid that once I go there, I won't be able to stay with you anymore, I..." I don't want to share the Gods with anyone else!
...Xia Qiangwei was initially moved. Xia Yuhe still had some conscience and hadn't forgotten her daughter. "Mother, let me tell you, there are rules in this mansion. Children born to concubines have to be mothers to wives and call concubines 'aunts'." Xia Qiangwei said, recounting the rules she had heard about in the past few days. "Therefore, women below the rank of concubine cannot raise their own children. Mother, for our sake, you must climb the social ladder."
Upon hearing that women below the rank of concubine were not allowed to raise their own children, Xia Yuhe asked, "Rose, how did you know that?"
“Ask Granny Liu! Mother, if we get there, we can’t call you Mother for the time being, but once you are promoted to the rank of Consort, we can… Mother, please keep this money. If you don’t understand anything, ask Granny Liu. In the future, I will rely entirely on Granny Liu for help. Before we go there, I need to learn how to use money.”
"This...is it for Granny Liu?"
"Yes, you have to give it secretly. Granny Liu isn't Mother's wet nurse, she won't be wholeheartedly devoted to Mother, so you can only use this to win her over. Don't give it all at once, give it in installments. If what she says is useful, give more; if what she says is useless, give less. Mother needs to learn to distinguish which words are useful and which are not." Xia Qiangwei sighed heavily in her heart, wondering if teaching Xia Yuhe this way was a good idea.
"Rose, how can Mother rise to the rank of Consort or above in the fastest way?" Xia Yuhe completely forgot that the person in front of her was a twelve-year-old child and treated Xia Rose as her strategist.
"Mother, just like I told Ziwei, those who greet people with smiles and treat them kindly aren't necessarily good people, and those who scold people with stern faces aren't necessarily bad people. If we really go there, Mother, you need to learn to retreat strategically. As for the rest... Mother, you should ask Granny Liu more questions. She's an old nanny from the palace, and she was once the most favored Consort Huixian. She must know a lot about the ways of the palace." Xia Qiangwei didn't dare to say more. The more she said, the more mistakes she would make. If a twelve-year-old child knew too much, she would be seen as a monster.
"Where did all this silver come from?" Xia Yuhe was somewhat intelligent; looking at the silver in the purse, she realized there was far too much.
"Mother, these are all embroidery patterns that Ziwei embroidered with gold locks and pearls, and she's selling them. Mother didn't know that these things are very valuable in the capital." Xia Qiangwei hadn't expected that those hand embroideries would be so valuable. She needed to get more of these before Ziwei entered the palace so she could store them and sell them for a good price if she ever had to go hungry.
After seeing Xia Yuhe off, Xia Qiangwei welcomed Xia Ziwei. "Ziwei, how is it? Can you embroider the patterns those noble people gave you? If you can't, I'll send the servants back tomorrow."
"There's no such thing as going back. Jin Suo and I tried it, and it should work. Sister, may I go out and have a look?" Xia Ziwei had been hearing a lot about the fun and delicious things in the capital these past few days, and she wanted to go out and explore.
"You're going out?" Xia Qiangwei thought for a moment, then looked at Ziwei. "Those thugs outside?"
"I will stay far away."
"What kind of person plays the piano and sings for money?"
"I don't offer sympathy indiscriminately."
"What if you see a man?"
"I'll avoid it."
Xia Qiangwei nodded. "Call Jin Suo, you all change into men's clothes, take this, and call Xiao Fuzi, go for a walk! Come back early." Xia Qiangwei gave a few more instructions out of concern. Watching Xia Ziwei leave, Xia Qiangwei sighed inwardly. She was almost like an old woman. If this were her daughter, she would strangle her and put her back in her womb to be reborn.
Xia Ziwei, who had never left home before, wandered the streets, looking around curiously. Like a child, everything was new and exciting to her, and she wanted to pick up and examine everything. Jin Suo stood beside Xia Ziwei like a loyal dog, watching over those passing by. Xiao Fuzi stood behind the young master, mentally calculating the items the young lady had asked him to buy.
The group turned left and right, arriving at the most bustling street in the capital. "Young... young master, there are a lot of thieves in this area." Xiao Fuzi pointed to the person who had been hit, and then showed Xia Ziwei the place where the money bag was hanging.
Xia Ziwei's eyes widened. "Little Fuzi, why...why hasn't anyone reported this to the authorities?"
"Young master, why report this to the authorities? Those thieves have been operating in this area for years. There are many of them. If anyone tries to meddle, they will all come at them."
"This..." Xia Ziwei was at a loss for words.
“Young master, you stay at home and don’t know what it’s like outside. Did you see those street performers over there? And look at that little girl, she’s the one who just stole the money.”
"How is that possible!"
"If you don't believe me, young master, come with me to the teahouse over there. That girl will make another move soon. Young master, don't do anything impulsive, or the young lady will skin me alive."
Xia Ziwei nodded. She wanted to see if Xiao Fuzi was lying to her. The little girl didn't look like a thief at all; she seemed more like someone who had suffered. Jin Suo, on the other hand, believed Xiao Fuzi. She knew that Xiao Fuzi was out running errands every day, and someone who worked for the young lady wouldn't lie to her.
Xia Ziwei stared intently at the little girl waving the big flag and performing for money. The little girl looked about her age. "Jin Suo, what did that girl say her name was?"
"Young...Young Master, she said her name is Little Swallow." Jin Suo almost said "Miss," but luckily she reacted quickly.
"It's strange that someone has the surname 'Xiao' (小)." The more Xia Ziwei looked, the less she believed the girl was a thief. Before Xia Ziwei could scold Xiao Fuzi, she saw Xiao Yanzi disappear into nowhere. Xia Ziwei turned to look at Xiao Fuzi.
"Young Master, that person is behind the young master in white."
Xia Ziwei immediately went to find the young master in white. When she saw him, she was stunned. Xiao Yanzi was taking someone's money bag. Xia Ziwei stood up, but Xiao Fuzi pushed her back down. "Young master, it's time to go back. Miss instructed us to go back early."
~~~~~~
Angered, Xia Ziwei returned home and immediately rushed to Xia Qiangwei's room. "Sister, that Xiao Fuzi is so infuriating! I saw a thief stealing something, and when I tried to go over, Xiao Fuzi pulled me back."
"Are you confident you can beat that thief?" Xia Qiangwei asked casually.
"Isn't there still Xiao Fuzi?"
"You have one little lucky charm, but other people have several. Are you sure you can beat them?"
"Then I'll report it to the authorities!" Xia Ziwei said, not giving up.
"Haven't you heard the saying 'Officials and bandits are one family'?"
"Sister, is there really no place in this world where the common people can stand up for themselves?"
Xia Qiangwei looked at Xia Ziwei, whose face was filled with grief, and shook her head. "Yes, but the authorities are too busy to deal with these trivial matters. Besides, those wealthy gentlemen don't care about losing a few coins, so naturally they won't report it to the authorities. Why bother?" Behind the glitz and glamour, there is usually the beginning of decline. The Qing Dynasty actually began its decline during the reign of Qianlong.
Xia Ziwei left, looking bewildered. Xia Qiangwei, on the other hand, was troubled, wondering whether she should leave as well, since she had already done her best for the mother and daughter.
~！ ~
Liu Mama was increasingly suspicious lately. Which family was Madam Xia planning to remarry into? She was even asking her about palace etiquette. The eldest daughter of the Xia family didn't study etiquette, but the second daughter was diligently learning it. However, the eldest daughter wasn't completely slacking off; her greetings and other mannerisms were quite proper, her movements exuding elegance. The second daughter's movements were indeed standard, but perhaps she was too naive, always addressing the servants around her as sisters, lacking any sense of refinement. There was something strange about the Xia family. Liu Mama had pondered the eldest daughter's words that day. She had no relatives, and although she had a considerable amount of money after leaving the palace, how could she endure the humiliation outside, having grown accustomed to palace life? Before coming to the Xia family, she had suffered a lot of secret bullying. Back then, she often thought that if her mistress were still alive, she wouldn't have ended up in this state.
"Granny Liu. This is your monthly allowance. Are you getting used to the food and lodging here? If there's anything you're not comfortable with, please let me know." After distributing the servants' monthly allowances, Xia Qiangwei took the largest portion and went to Granny Liu, hoping that Granny Liu would go to the palace with Xia Yuhe.
"Young Miss is very kind. This old servant is not uncomfortable with anything. However, there is something I am not sure if I should ask."
"Granny Liu is not an outsider, there's nothing she shouldn't ask."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
