Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 294 - 6: Flaunting Wealth

On the very day of the banquet at Liu Mansion, Susu got up early.

Susu usually has breakfast before dressing and grooming, so after Susu washed up, the kitchen sent breakfast over.

Now, there was only Susu in the house, and she had instructed not to be overly lavish, so besides a small bowl of bird’s nest porridge with rock sugar, there were two salty and sweet snacks: a plate of tofu skin buns and a dessert made with milk butter and pine nut sugar filling, plus two small plates of pickles.

The snacks were all made petite, with only four on each plate. Susu wasn’t even half full after eating them. Frequent restroom visits during the banquet were quite irregular, and Susu certainly wouldn’t let this become a handle for others, for today a tough battle awaited her.

After breakfast, it was just half past six, and the four little maids led by Fen Dai started to use all their skills to dress her up, while Linlang stood guard with Chang Sheng and Bai Yue at the door, waiting for Yue Baiyou to arrive.

Underneath, Susu wore a collarless blouse with a mandarin collar in off-white crêpe, adorned only with a row of golden buttons set with milky white pearls, simple and devoid of any patterns.

The blouse was not only calf-length but also had an outer cardigan of the same length made of silken fabric in sunshine after the rain color, with wide sleeves and collar edges trimmed with a light green border, embroidered with folded branch peach flowers in gold thread.

If Susu’s upper body attire was understated luxury, elegant yet not overshadowing, then her lower outfit was attention-grabbing and boldly high-profile.

It was a floral skirt, now known as the moonlight skirt, a flaunting of wealth by noble daughters in the Capital City.

The floral skirt was very popular in the Early Tang Dynasty; it involved cutting two or more different colored and patterned materials into long narrow strips, with each strip cleverly arranged alternately to create a densely sewn skirt.

The making of a floral skirt, when cutting the material, sometimes intentionally cuts each strip to be narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, making the sewn skirt tapered at the waist and look slender; the long skirt trailing to the ground appears particularly graceful and elegant.

A seven-strip floral skirt was already costly, but among experts, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four strip skirts appeared one after another, earning a reputation as "Changle Silk luxury" in the Capital.

Susu’s skirt was the epitome of luxury, a twenty-four strip moonlight skirt made by Qi Qiao’s mother when preparing Susu’s wedding attire, and Wei Rong’s skilled household used the same material to create two different moonlight skirts, with the remaining material even capable of tailoring smaller garments, not wasting a thread.

But Susu was never fond of such peacock-like skirts; even if made, it was due to "fashion" and the influence of the Song Family’s wealthy mindset, "may not wear, but must have", ha, that’s the style!

This moment, it was taken from the bottom of the chest by Qi Qiao, saying it must "show those bumpkins, not everyone can trample over our master."

Good-tempered Qi Qiao was infuriated by Yue Baiyou and Bai Lili’s shamelessness, using such despicable tactics like poisoning, utterly disgraceful.

"You want to see our master make a fool of herself? Ha, keep dreaming, wait to be proven wrong."

Susu watched the four little maids full of "impetus," feeling amused and touched, let them fuss, after all, her face was attention-grabbing enough, not caring if a skirt attracted more envy.

Inside, Linglong was preparing Susu’s hair in a beautiful hairstyle, while the other three were chattering away, taking out from four large boxes jewelry suitable for this season, discussing with Susu about which material was expensive, which craftsmanship was superior, choosing which...

Just heard outside Linlang’s loud voice saying, "Greetings Miss Yue, our mistress is dressing, if you wish to wait, wait here, if not, go back and wait."

Ever since breaking off with Susu, Yue Baiyou came a few times for courtesy, all blocked by Linlang, already brewing anger.

Though now she still relied on Susu to bring her into Liu Mansion, just wanted to kill this little maid who supported her master, she still had to keep a smile, bitterly said, "Miss Linlang, is this what sister said? Even if I’m not well, I’m still a guest in the mansion, came several times to be courteous yet sister avoids me, but today I came early, sister still has me wait outside, is this how well-born siblings treat guests?"

The words were indeed cutting, specifically stressing the words "well-born," sneering at Susu’s maid origin, questioning her upbringing.

But now those words fell on deaf ears, as Linlang didn’t understand her hidden implication.

However, Linlang, being sensitively minded, felt Yue Baiyou’s malice, suspecting her words weren’t kind, especially smelled Yue Baiyou’s overpowering fragrance, lowered her head, hiding the hatred in her eyes, but stood firm at the door not letting her in.

Moreover, Chang Sheng and Bai Yue held back Xiang’er, preventing her from causing trouble, after all, these two were not even seven, you can’t accuse children of being inappropriate, can you?

Usually, Yue Baiyou liked to disgust others, didn’t expect to be disgusted now, didn’t expect Susu would really ignore her, methods remained crude as ever.

She wanted to leave but thinking of her mission, clenched at the sachet in her sleeve, also worried Susu might really leave her, suppressed anger, faced sternly, "Then I’ll wait here for sister."

Susu, sharp-eared, of course heard these words, needless to say Yue Baiyou and Linlang’s voices weren’t small.

Susu heard Linlang foil Yue Baiyou from entering, knowing Yue Baiyou carried "Chaotic Heart," sneered inwardly, such blatant audacity, who gave you the guts?

The four little maids, Fen Dai and others, naturally heard too, were also furious, their mistress said they wouldn’t rest, indeed, truly targeted at their mistress’ life.

Then come, hurt each other, let’s see who laughs last.

They pretended not to hear, eyeing one another, raised volume significantly, "Mistress, what about this golden phoenix? More exquisite than those bracelets awarded to us!"

Fen Dai winked at Susu, nudged towards outside, envy, jealousy, even this little maid isn’t comparable, what face to boast before the mistress?

Susu tapped her small nose, amused, but cooperated, "Not bad, was made by Qiaogong Pavilion master craftsmen when they heard I was marrying, several large boxes, who’s patient to inspect each item? If you like, when you marry, add this to your dowry, this golden phoenix is a classic style, yet not outdated."

Susu indeed said truthfully, directly told Shuimo to put it away, "Place it in a box, register it, await Fen Dai’s wedding."