Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 31 - 14: Outing (Part 1)

As soon as March arrives, Yangzhou transforms into a sea of flowers: camellias, peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, pear blossoms, magnolias, redbuds, plum blossoms, and over a dozen other types of flowers bloom in succession. The famous Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai once wrote in a poem: ’In the misty, flowery March, I go down to Yangzhou.’

Among all the flowers, the most renowned is still the plum blossom. In the Song Family’s Shouzhi Garden, there is a famous Plum Garden in the entire Yangzhou, where over three hundred precious plum trees are planted, including dozens of hundred-year-old plum trees transplanted from elsewhere. Although it can’t be called ’ten miles of fragrant plum blossom sea,’ it is still incredibly beautiful.

Ever since the First Madam married into the Song Family, she has hosted a plum appreciation banquet every March, inviting the wives of officials large and small in Yangzhou City. People attend because their husbands have instructed them to establish good relations with the Song Family, but the First Madam always assumed it was her own reputation that was the draw. Now that she’s become Lady Shun’an, the invitations for the plum appreciation banquet have already been sent out.

In the past, the Old Madam would only make a brief appearance at the plum appreciation banquet, entertaining a few close female friends in her own courtyard. The First Madam, because of her status as a legitimate daughter of an official family, looked down on merchants even though she married into a merchant family. She wouldn’t entertain the wives of merchant families with whom the family had relations, and the Old Madam would have to mediate.

No one expected it to be more outrageous this year, as she didn’t even prepare invitations for merchant families. The Old Madam was so furious that she rebuked her sternly. Susu, Amber, and Dong Song were in a small partition in the inner room organizing the storeroom accounts when they heard the Old Madam speaking in a tone colder than ever: "Our family originally started with business, and the families we associate with are also merchants. Just because we’ve become an earl doesn’t mean we don’t need to eat, wear clothes, or spend silver. You look down on merchants; you look down on the Song Family, yet didn’t you also marry into the Song Family to become a daughter-in-law to a maid from a merchant family? Don’t you eat the Song Family’s food, wear the Song Family’s clothes, and use the Song Family’s silver to support your mother’s family? If you think the Song Family embarrasses you, then you should return to your mother’s home. Today, I’ll have the eldest son give you the divorce paper."

That day, the third wives of the three branches of the family were all present, making the First Madam quite embarrassed. However, the Old Madam’s years of tolerance had allowed the First Madam’s boldness to grow. She neither apologized immediately nor admitted her fault but ran out of Sui’an Hall crying and shouting, "This newfound wealth, and as the mother-in-law, she wants to drive the daughter-in-law to death." The Old Madam was so furious she nearly fainted.

When the Great Master returned upon hearing the news and understood what had happened, he was almost furious to death. He immediately knelt before the Old Madam, and the mother and son were utterly distressed. The Great Master ordered someone to fetch pen and ink and wrote a divorce paper on the spot, arranging for the First Madam’s dowry to be sent back to her family. Only then did the First Madam come to her senses, collapsing on the ground in fear. It took a long while before she knelt outside the Old Madam’s door, tearfully pleading for forgiveness with the help of the maid who accompanied her dowry.

The Second Madam didn’t quite know how to react for a moment, but the Third Madam covered her mouth with a handkerchief and sneered continuously.

She knew her aunt’s character very well. Don’t be fooled by her current benevolent appearance, like a kind-hearted Guanyin. In her younger days, she was most daring and had a no-nonsense attitude. Could an ordinary person have done such things as selling herself to save her family, refusing to be a concubine even if it meant dying, and fighting alongside her husband to create this grand enterprise?

All these years, she tolerated the First Sister-in-law like a flea not because she was afraid, but because she was the daughter-in-law her father-in-law favored. Unexpectedly, her favoritism allowed her boldness to grow further. Now that the eldest brother has become the Shun’an Earl, and the eldest sister is a Noble in the palace, the men in the family are still cautious, but she’s the one holding them back. How could my aunt continue to indulge her?

Susu didn’t know what happened afterward because all the maids in the room were sent out by the Old Madam before asking the First Madam to enter.

Only two days later, the First Madam was bedridden, and the affairs of the plum appreciation banquet were led by the Third Madam, with the Second Madam assisting. The plum appreciation banquet was thus held lively and successfully. After the banquet, the Great Master elevated a Noble Concubine of the Yangzhou Prefect’s concubine’s family, just sixteen years old, naturally beautiful and gentle in temperament.

The eldest and her daughter, Tao Hua, who entered the mansion at the same time, both served in the eldest branch’s courtyard. With the rapport built during their journey, Susu would leave them a share of anything delicious. The two young girls naturally became very close with Susu and occasionally came to play with her. Discussing the newly arrived Aunt Yue, they praised her as unparalleled, gentle to the servants, respectful to the madam, and kind to the young master and lady, etc.

With a cheerful face, Susu listened, yet she thought to herself that Aunt Yue was indeed calculating, having won over everyone inside and out just days after entering the household. Upon hearing this, the Old Madam shook her head helplessly and said, "The eldest daughter-in-law only sees immediate benefits; this new concubine isn’t smart either." In the end, she sent Mrs. Qin to Aunt Yue’s room to talk, although it’s unknown what was said. Aunt Yue did, however, become quite serene, refraining from spreading her reputed virtue outside the garden, preventing the Great Master from being labeled a man who favors concubines over his wife.

But who would have thought that the First Madam, adept at stirring trouble, would allow her most beautiful maid, Liu Li, to rise as a concubine, instigating a rivalry between her and Aunt Yue, benefiting herself from the struggle. As a result, the mansion became accustomed to frequent small quarrels and occasional big fights. The Old Madam chose to ignore it, planning a spring outing to the estate outside the city.

For the first time, Susu saw the grand outing of a wealthy ancient family. Just the Old Madam’s luggage filled two carts. According to Sister Zhen Zhu, "the countryside is ultimately simple." Hence, there was also food and other essentials, from large mattresses to small spices, carried with them, naturally filling another two carts.

Aside from Nanny Qin and Sister Amber who needed to stay and look after the courtyard, more than half of the maids and matrons in Sui’an Hall had to accompany them. The four little maids in Susu’s room, favored by the Old Madam, had already received word of their participation. The maids who couldn’t go spoke much idle chatter, but they pretended not to hear.

Recently, the little maids took turns taking leave. Susu and Yang Liu returned to the Qiao Family, where Housekeeper Qiao was very fond of Susu and gave Susu and Yang Liu a few words of advice: "As servants, loyalty is paramount. Be loyal and devoted to the Old Madam, make her fond of you, and don’t concern yourselves with anything else. The Old Madam will naturally act on your behalf."

Regarding this, Susu saw things more clearly than Yang Liu. In the Song Family, she had no other path to rely on but the Old Madam. She needed to live well, be the Old Madam’s favorite maid, save money, and let the Old Madam emancipate her. Eventually, perhaps she would find her brother and might even get married and have children in this era. With so much to do, why squabble with others like a child?

This time, the estate the Old Madam intended to visit was Hongshan Village, one of two small estates outside the city. Although small, it covered a hillside and two hundred mu of fertile land below the mountain. Daily supplies of chicken, duck, eggs, beef, milk, and occasionally wild game for Sui’an Hall all came from this estate. Located less than an hour’s drive from the inner city, Housekeeper Qiao had already informed the steward of the estate to clean up the dwellings, awaiting the arrival of the owners.