"My son, let me introduce you. This is Granny Shao, and this is Granny Shi. They were both released from the Empress Dowager's palace this year." The two women were dressed in dark blue robes, with auspicious clouds and ruyi embroidered on their cuffs and collars, simple and refreshing yet solemn.
"This servant, Shao Shi, greets the Fifth Miss. May the Fifth Miss be blessed."
Those who come from the palace are indeed different; their manners are impeccable. The two matrons walked with measured precision, their voices calm and their postures upright. The little butterfly hanging from the plain silver plum blossom hairpin in Granny Shi's hair did not sway at all, showing meticulousness. Granny Shao's hairpin was a sandalwood hairpin carved with auspicious clouds and ruyi.
"Get up, get up quickly." I hurried forward and helped the two old women up with my own hands.
"Please rise quickly, both of you. How can a mere child deserve such a grand gesture?" The mother also instructed her head maid to step forward and help her up.
"Fifth girl, from now on these two nannies will be by your side to teach you palace etiquette, how to identify spices, and how to understand food incompatibilities and pairings." My grandmother took my hand and patted it gently, her face full of love.
"Yes, thank you, Grandmother." I bowed gracefully.
"Come, look, these are the fashionable palace flowers, and these two bolts of brocade satin, the colors are delicate and bright, just right for you young girls. After the mourning period, make some bright clothes and dress up nicely, my dear grandson will look the best in them." Grandmother pulled me into her arms and rubbed and kissed me affectionately for a while. "But you must listen carefully and learn well, both of you are good nannies. Come, let Grandmother take a look." Grandmother pulled me out of her arms and looked me up and down very carefully. "Hmm... my dear grandson will definitely have a blessed life in the future."
“Grandmother, you are the most important person in our family,” I said, giving a thumbs up. “I just come here often to pay my respects and share in your good fortune.”
"This girl is really mischievous." Grandmother's face was full of smiles, and her eyes were full of doting.
"Grandmother, these palace flowers are so beautiful. Can I give some to my sixth sister? She's six years old now." I snuggled up to my grandmother and acted coquettishly.
The sixth sister's birth mother was her father's concubine, Aunt Ma, who was a Han woman. Because her father had chosen her to be his concubine, she was not liked by her grandmother, who thought Aunt Ma was a southern barbarian vixen and therefore disliked the sixth sister as well.
This reminded her of her grandmother's old aunt in the backyard, a white lotus flower. Her grandfather had brought her back from the war years ago. She was favored for a while because of her innocence, cuteness, and natural simplicity. After giving birth to her third uncle, she was blinded by the wealth of the mansion and, with the instigation of her family, attempted to compete with the legitimate son. When her grandfather discovered this, he severely reprimanded her, and her family was also expelled from the capital and forbidden to have any contact with her.
My grandfather was a strict father, and he and my grandmother went through many hardships together during the war years, so they had a deep bond. They had two daughters and one son together.
The old concubine was said to have been favored for a month, but he only visited her room three or four times. At that time, there were no concubines in the mansion, only a few of the grandfather's wives. The second uncle's concubine also died in childbirth, which gave her the illusion that the grandfather treated her differently and that she was the grandfather's white moonlight.
She lived a quiet life in the backyard from then on. However, every time we saw her grandfather, he looked aggrieved. Even when we grandchildren occasionally came to her room to pay our respects, she always looked sad and pitiful, which was unlucky to look at, so we would avoid her.
Therefore, the grandmother did not allow Aunt Ma to come and pay her respects, or rather, the concubines of all the branches of the family were not allowed to come to the grandmother's room to pay their respects.
Since my grandfather retired due to illness in the fourth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, my grandmother usually spent most of her time with him at an imperial estate granted by the Shunzhi Emperor, enjoying the company of her grandchildren.
"Good, good, my dear grandson, yes, yes, I've already given your sixth sister and the others to your mother. Your mother will send them over to them in a little while. My dear grandson is indeed a good one, loving his sisters. The eldest daughter, the sixth girl, is six years old now. Since the old man has passed away, the girls' teachers have all stopped teaching. Let them resume classes after the mourning period."
All children over six years old should go; let's see if any children from the clan are sent to attend classes this year. As for the fifth girl, she shouldn't go; let the two nannies teach her for now!
"Yes, my daughter-in-law has already contacted the teachers, but Teacher Liu (who teaches painting and music) has something to attend to at home and is expected to be able to come to class in the latter half of next month."
"Okay, you can arrange it. I trust you to handle things." Grandmother closed her eyes to rest, and I squatted behind her, gently touching her shoulders and neck.
"How is Brother Shou's health? I have some bird's nest that I brought as tribute. Give it to him and tell him to take care of himself."
"Mother, Shou-ge is still the same as before. The imperial physician said his body can't withstand any more strain." Mother's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke of her fifth brother, and she dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Oh, I know it's hard on you. I know you have a mother's heart. Shou'er is 15 now. You must keep an eye on him to see if there are any scheming maids around him, lest they harm the young master." At this point, Grandmother's face hardened, exuding the aura of a noblewoman from the Borjigit Mongol clan, the matriarch of the household. Grandmother looked into my large, watery eyes: "Did you frighten my son? If those heartless servants are around again, you can't be soft-hearted." Then she transformed back into that kind and harmless old grandmother.
"No, Fifth Brother is much healthier than he was a few years ago. Now he even reads and plays with Fourth Brother and the others every day. It's clear that the estate is a good place to live."
“When spring comes, Shou’er will still come to the village, without you, you little rascal,” Grandmother said with a teasing smile.
"Hmph, I'm ignoring Grandma." I pouted and looked to my mother for help.
The mother feigned sadness, her eyes filled with a smile: "You're a grown girl now, why are you still acting like a spoiled child? Wouldn't it be better to stay in the manor and keep your mother company?"
"Alright, Xiao Wu can stay in the manor with Mother, while Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother can stay with Grandmother." I pretended to tilt my head and consider for a moment before replying.
"Alright, you little rascal, take those two old ladies back to your courtyard!" Grandmother said, giving you a look that said, "You little imp, hurry up and leave."
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
