Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 305 - 15: Stirring Up Trouble (Part 1) (Third Update)

Chapter 305: Chapter 15: Stirring Up Trouble (Part 1) (Third Update)

There was no noblewoman of higher rank than the Qin family in Hami County, so when guests arrived, it was not necessary for the Qin family to greet them personally; Mrs. Sun took care of bringing the guests in.

Mrs. Zhao came for Susu, but such a banquet was inconvenient for her to attend, so she quickly took Qin Miao to avoid the occasion in an inner room.

Susu, not wanting people to know about her close relationship with the Qin family, also intended to avoid the situation, but was stopped by the Qin family.

"Today’s banquet was arranged to welcome you, so you’re like half the host. What does it look like to avoid it? Besides, who would conclude our close relationship just because I hosted this banquet for you?"

Hearing this, Susu sat back in her original place, remembering Yue Baiyou who was in another flower hall. Susu wanted to leave her there for a while, but she also wanted to see what intentions this person had.

So she told Aunt Qin to let someone escort her to a side hall first.

She gave the opportunity to Yue Baiyou; now it’s up to her to seize it, whatever opportunity it may be!

The first guests to arrive were naturally the female relatives of lower rank families. After paying respects to the Qin family, they were led to the side hall for tea. Only those with a close relationship could sit briefly with the Qin family in the main room.

However, because the Qin family was remarried, despite being from Duke Zhen Guo’s Mansion and having a brother who was the Northwest Governor, there were still whispers about her background.

In addition, her previous role as Duchess Li was criticized, so she mostly stayed out of the public eye, keeping a low profile, and naturally, she didn’t have many close female relatives.

Guests arrived one after another, mainly female relatives from Fifth Rank official families. The Qin family spoke a few nonchalant words and pointed to Susu, saying, "This is Madam Su from Commander Hong’s family."

She didn’t say much else, let alone introduced these people to Susu. After the ladies had greeted Susu, and before much conversation ensued, someone led them to the front hall for tea.

It wasn’t just the guests looking at each other in confusion; even Susu was a bit baffled. So this is how you introduce people!

The Qin family shook her head helplessly, saying, "These people are nothing but fence-sitters. Once you truly establish yourself, people will naturally come to fawn over you. Saying more now is useless and might even make them think you are weak and easy to bully."

Who is the Qin family? She was personally taught by Duke Zhen Guo and once served as Duchess Li. What grand occasions hasn’t she seen? She had seen countless similar small-minded people since she came to the Northwest, so she had no intention of letting Susu waste her time on them.

Anyway, as long as Hong Sheng’s status continues to be higher than their families’, even if they don’t flatter Susu, they wouldn’t dare offend her.

Power is always a good thing, no matter the time.

"The ones you should really pay attention to are coming up. The wives of the two Deputy Commanders don’t matter; their husbands are friends of your uncle’s, so they merit some consideration. Besides, one mother and daughter pair live in the Capital, and another is from Yangzhou, although there’s an age gap, you probably have common ground when it comes to hometowns. But be mindful of the other three wives of the Commanders."

No need for the Qin family to say, Susu had already inquired about the wives of Hong Sheng’s colleagues and superiors.

As Aunt Qin mentioned, the two women holding Junior Third Rank titles were unlikely to harbor hostility towards Susu.

Firstly, Hong Sheng is unlikely to be promoted in the short term, and even if he is promoted, he wouldn’t displace their positions.

Secondly, these two Deputy Commanders had both drunk wine at Hong Sheng’s small courtyard in the camp, and along with Commander Liu, referred to her as their niece. They would likely share this with their wives.

Thirdly, their families were places Susu was most familiar with, offering many common topics for conversation.

Additionally, given the age difference, if they were also young women, they might feel envy or jealousy upon meeting Susu. However, the wives of the two Deputy Commanders were both around forty. Some of their children were older than Susu, so naturally, there was no rivalry.

The real challenge lies with three fellow Madams from her own rank.

One Madam Liu, a native military household from the Northwest in her fifties, had no direct conflict with Susu, but the issues with Hong Sheng were significant.

Within the Great Chu Garrison system, there was one Garrison Commander of Third Rank, two Deputy Commanders of Junior Third Rank, four Commanders of Fourth Rank, and other Fifth Rank Garrison Commanders, clerks, and military officials. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

A Standard Thousand Households included Standard Thousand Households (Fifth Rank), Vice Thousand Households (Junior Fifth Rank), and Garrison Commanders (Junior Sixth Rank), with clerks beneath them; a Hundred Households included Hundred Households (Sixth Rank), Chief Banners, and small banners.

Because the Garrison and military household systems run concurrently, officers of Fifth Rank and below could prefer hereditary succession.

This preference naturally created loopholes, allowing most to inherit positions.

Thus, there’s the saying "easy to become a Thousand Households, hard to rise to Fourth Rank."

There were only four Commander positions in the Garrison, but at least fifty Thousand Household officers vying for promotion, not counting the ratio of military officials directly assigned by the Ministry of War.

A vacancy for a Commander position naturally led to fierce competition, including Madam Liu’s maiden brother, who, in his forties and a dozen years as a Thousand Households with sufficient military achievements and experience, had a brother-in-law who was a Commander, feeling the promotion was guaranteed.

But then a Lin came from the sky—no, a Chang Yujin came at an unexpected moment, capturing the Sixth Prince of Tartar alive. Summoned by the Emperor, he was immediately promoted to First Rank, taking the Commander position, frustrating him almost to the point of illness.

Resenting the Emperor was not an option, so he was left with a bellyful of frustration, nearly unable to endure the shock.

The main issue was he had assumed the promotion was certain, spread the word, accepted gifts, but didn’t succeed, leaving him too ashamed to face others.

Hong Sheng naturally endured many sarcastic remarks from the brother-in-law.

One Madam Jiang, not very old, just in her twenties, her husband also considered a young talent, hailed from a prominent family in the Northern Border. Five years ago, he ranked first in the military examinations. After some family arrangements, arriving in Hami, he immediately became a Thousand Households, and in two years rose to a Commander, even more smoothly than Hong Sheng.

He and Hong Sheng had long-standing conflicts. Despite both being young with outstanding military achievements, their personalities and tempers were incompatible, creating no camaraderie, only "two tigers cannot coexist on one mountain."

Previously, Madam Jiang’s husband had set traps for Hong Sheng in terms of military personnel, funds, and equipment, causing significant trouble for Hong Sheng once.

Now, the issue was the formation of the "Vanguard Camp."

Although forming a Vanguard Camp is a challenging and thankless task, everyone knew that once trained, the Vanguard Camp would undoubtedly be the sharpest sword of Hami Guard. The other two Commanders, not being young anymore, wanted to play it safe, pushing the two "youngsters" to take responsibility.

These two "youngsters" naturally became competitors.

Madam Jiang’s husband wanted to reap benefits without putting in effort, suggesting they both oversee it while he, being older, took on more responsibility, with Hong Sheng as his deputy.

Hong Sheng refused to believe him, firmly stating he could handle it alone and was willing to make a military pledge.

Commander Liu, of course, wasn’t foolish; he already valued Hong Sheng, ultimately choosing Hong Sheng, who was two years younger but daring, committed, and more steady.

Hong Sheng thus became a thorn in Madam Jiang’s husband’s side.

The last Madam Bai, with a surname like Bai, what more is there to understand? It’s simply affection extending to attached parties, and hate extending to disliked parties!