Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 127 - 15: A Sudden Change of Heart

In the previous Chapter, it mentioned the return to the Capital of the Second Master; the Second Master still needed to handle the handover with the incoming official at his post. The first to return were several boatloads of luggage and belongings, followed by Aunt Li and her daughter, the Eighth Miss, who accompanied the Second Master.

This Aunt was previously mentioned.

The Second Master needs to embark on his official duties, and by necessity, must bring a female companion to manage the household. The Second Madam was unwilling to leave the bustling city of the Capital herself, and yet, she was also unwilling to favor any of the two concubine mothers who had sons.

So, at the cost of harming others without benefiting herself, she sought to vex Aunt Bai (the biological mother of the Second Young Master and the Third Miss), and arranged for the Second Master to take in a proper concubine, who was Aunt Li.

Since the Old Madam was in Yangzhou at the time, she didn’t meet Aunt Li; moreover, since the time was short, Aunt Li followed the Second Master to his post, and no one came to know her temperament.

All that was known was that she was a daughter born out of wedlock from a declining landlord’s family, and by age, she was no more than a year older than the Second Miss.

Susu once again marveled, how did the Second Madam come up with such an idea that harms others without benefiting herself?

Early in the La Ba Festival, the Heir’s wife and several young ladies accompanied the Old Madam to drink La Ba porridge, followed by visits from the First and Second Madam to pay respects. Then a servant reported that Aunt Li and the Eighth Miss had arrived at the dock.

Those present had received news half a month in advance, so they were not surprised. The First Madam looked at the Second Madam with a half-smile, and the Second Madam, as if she hadn’t heard the news, continued to sip tea, without even lifting her eyelids.

Having been in the Song Family for years, she was knowledgeable, and today’s Phoenix Tea in the Sui’an Hall was a superior quality, costing one hundred silver per thumb-sized piece.

Susu, sitting behind the Old Madam, was cracking paper-skinned walnuts with a small golden hammer, placing them into the jade plate on the small black lacquer table beside them, which Sixth Miss and Miss Zhao ate up with smiling faces!

Upon hearing this announcement, she instinctively glanced at the Second Madam, whose expression was cold and clear, much like Li Wan from "Dream of the Red Chamber", a widow who dressed with more brightness than her.

She seemed not to consider the presence of older family members, a new daughter-in-law, or even her own daughter about to be married, living her own life in ultimate self-centricity.

Through the intervention of her maternal uncle to go to Shangjing, the Second Miss had seen through the true nature of her mother; after many days of studying household management with the Old Madam and the Heir’s wife, her temper had become much more composed.

The First Madam naturally wouldn’t lower her status to give face to a concubine of the Second Wife, observed that there was no lively spectacle from the Second Wife, found the glance at her daughter-in-law tiresome, and left while flipping her handkerchief!

The Second Madam evidently didn’t believe she needed to give her concubine daughter any face, disregarded her daughter’s expression, drank the tea, and returned to her yard.

Before leaving, she calmly asked the Old Madam for a box of Phoenix Tea.

A small box containing ten thumb-sized pieces was worth a thousand silver.

The Old Madam smiled and instructed Susu to fetch it for her.

The Second Miss left with her face red, unable to face the expressions of her sisters and sister-in-law, and said, "Granddaughter will go see what the courtyard prepared for Aunt and Eighth Sister needs," before hurrying away.

The Old Madam sighed, but in Susu’s heart, she thought: truly a case of "those who are hateful must have pity somewhere"!

Over at Sui’an Hall, Sixth Miss quietly asked Third Miss what kind of character Aunt Li had.

On the other side, Aunt Li and the Eighth Miss, held by her nurse, were also surrounded by maids and wives, entering the Shun’an Earl Mansion through the West Corner Gate.

Once they passed through the ceremonial gate and entered the inner courtyard, seeing the maids and wives coming and going, dressed in bright colors but behaving with great decorum, Aunt Li finally felt relieved.

It is said that the household is currently managed by the Heir’s wife, who hails from the prominent Wenchang Marquis Mansion. From the servants who greeted them at the dock to the maids seen along the way, one can tell that she is strict and adheres to rules well.

She is not afraid of following rules, only of disorder, as she felt when she first entered the mansion.

She herself is unafraid of hardship, but now that she has the Eighth Miss with her.

Though she received the favor of the Second Master, accumulating considerable private savings over the years, if the Second Madam were truly to treat her harshly, the Master wouldn’t want to tarnish his reputation by indulging a concubine at the expense of his wife.

Now with the Old Madam presiding and the Heir’s wife managing the household, as long as she conducts herself properly and the Eighth Miss is given a brother, the situation shouldn’t be worse than it was at her natal home!

The truth is, a person must be optimistic and content to avoid living too harshly.

As a proper concubine, having given birth to the Eighth Miss, and since the Second Master had entrusted her with items for the Old Madam, she was naturally expected to first visit the Old Madam at the Sui’an Hall.

Susu also saw this Aunt Li, who managed her household affairs like a dignified mistress from outside.

Originally, she thought Aunt Li would be vibrant and flamboyant, similar to Aunt Bai who bore the Second Young Master and Third Miss, and Aunt Jin who bore the Third Young Master.

Surprisingly, upon seeing her, she was somewhat like the Second Madam in her plainness.

However, youth was her advantage, at the tender age of eighteen blossoming like a flower, her plainness transformed into elegance.

She wore a lotus-blue cloak with embroidery embellishments, outlined in wild silk, making her snow-white complexion appear even more striking.

Once inside, she removed the cloak, revealing a jacket of silver-red embroidered with plum blossoms and trimmed with white fox fur, along with a skirt of apricot yellow with silver edges.

Her hair was styled in a low cloud bun, adorned with a silver hairpin set with small shards of diamonds and a few red gemstone plum blossoms the size of fingernails for decoration.

On her jacket, she wore a delicate golden trio with bamboo pattern embellishments, and among her luggage revealed on her wrist were bracelets of red gold inlaid with pearls with shrimp tendrils, along with rings of red and green gemstone.

Aunt Li bowed respectfully to the Old Madam, meeting the Heir’s wife and the young ladies, then stood quietly without deliberately hiding nor overly showcasing, with a warm and gentle demeanor, appearing likable.

The Old Madam gifted her a pair of hairpins, seemingly ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, revealed intricately fine gold wire woven into auspicious rabbits courting Ling, inlaid with two red gemstones as eyes, lively and vivid.

The Eighth Miss, too young yet to show her nature, appeared obedient and lovable, dressed in bright red clothing, with a chubby white complexion, like a child in a festive painting.

Receiving a box of little trinkets from the Old Madam, she even knew to say, "Thank you, Grandmother."

The Heir’s wife and several young ladies, and two Cousins also prepared gifts for this youngest sister.

Later, Aunt Li handed over the possessions brought back by the Second Master, which had been registered, all passed to the Old Madam.

Ordinarily, these items should first go to the Second Wife, entrusted to the Second Madam for redistribution.

However, the Second Master had early instructions, Aunt Li understood some of the nature of the head mistress, but feared the Old Madam would overthink, thus she said: "Our Master has instructed, apologizing for troubling the Old Madam, and when he returns, will fulfill his filial duty before the Old Madam."

The Old Madam knew clearly what her son apprehended, waving her hand.

"First move the items into Sui’an Hall, you and Eighth Girl go pay respects to your mistress, then rest. Should anything be missing, send someone to report to Second Miss or the Heir’s wife, don’t let the young girl be wronged!"

Aunt Li received the Old Madam’s last words, finally satisfied, and returned to the Second Wife’s courtyard with her daughter!

No need to detail the happenings at the Second Wife’s courtyard, let’s focus on Sui’an Hall, where Susu, suddenly burdened with increased workloads, could only fully exploit Ning Xiang and Yun Tong.

Both, being close to Susu, naturally gained some insights, knowing Susu’s intentions for their benefit, eagerly wished they could split themselves into eight to have more time to learn from Susu. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Fortunately, Aunt Li was also clever enough, having tagged items meant for specific places, well-rounded in her approach, even the maids of the Old Madam’s room received a box of small trinkets made of seashells.

Susu, being favored as a maid, naturally received more substantial gifts, and even Yang Liu, who had left the mansion, got a share.

The Second Master was not a neglectful father, though his legitimate daughter had been misled by her mother and was distant from him, he specifically prepared a shipload of dowries for his daughter.

The Old Madam instructed these items to be boxed and recorded, placed with the Second Miss’s earlier dowries, locked in the storeroom, with the keys given to the Second Miss herself for safekeeping.

This gesture from the Second Master led the previously distanced Second Miss to a realization, privately kneeling before the Old Madam in tears of regret; was it remorse for past actions, or blaming her mother’s misguidance? In any case, it was very complex.