Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 38 - 21: News from Afar (Part 2)

After dinner, Susu walked Mrs. Zhao out of the garden and gave her a small purse: "Last time you mentioned that Sister Qiuyun was expecting. The little nephew or niece must be two years old by now. This is a gift from Susu for the child, please don’t refuse it."

Qiuyun is Mrs. Zhao’s only daughter, who married a man who moved into the family. Mrs. Zhao took it and said, "I will accept it on behalf of your Sister Qiuyun and little nephew. When you come to the Capital in the future, I’ll have your nephew serve you tea." Then she added, "Susu, me coming too often is suspicious. So this will be the last time I come south to Yangzhou. You are clever, and the Old Madam cares for you so much. I hope everything will only get better for you. Just be careful."

Susu touched the wad of paper in her belt: "Thank you, Mama, for taking care of me for so many years. When there’s a chance, I’ll surely visit you in the Capital." If it weren’t for her, Mrs. Zhao wouldn’t have made three trips south in five years, being so busy with the brokers in the capital. Susu always remembered this kindness.

After sending off Mrs. Zhao, Susu returned to the storeroom, where Yang Liu also brought four young maids who had just received their initial coarse servant stipends.

These young maids were not as fortunate as Susu was back then; they entered the house as third-level maids. However, the Old Madam was kind-hearted, giving even new coarse maids a hundred coins in pocket money. It was also half a month until the end of the month, and they would receive a full month’s salary then.

"Why are you personally bringing them here?" Susu was sorting the new trinkets sent from the jewelry shop under the Old Madam’s name.

Yang Liu replied, "The Old Madam is taking an afternoon nap, Ning Cui and Bisi are with her. I had nothing to do, so I brought them here."

Each coarse maid received three sets of clothes a season, including shoes and socks, and a stipends that included a boxwood jewelry box containing two silk flowers, four hair ties, a small comb, and a hundred coins.

The large jewelry chest Susu was tidying was full to the brim with gold, silver, and jade. As Susu turned around, the four young maids saw it clearly, all gasping in shock.

The little maid picked by Yang Liu was named Xing Xiao. Her family once had some means, but after her father’s death, her mother remarried, her brother taken in by uncles, leaving her unwanted and sold by her aunt. Xing Xiao glanced over at Susu, then looked at the others before lowering her head.

Nanny Qin picked two named Xi Ya and Xiao Hua, staring at the jewelry without blinking, their eyes fixed.

And the little girl sold by her stepmother had a nice name, Wu Tong. She glanced once, sighed, then quickly lowered her head.

Later Susu asked Wu Tong why she looked down immediately when she first saw those gold and silver jewels upon entering the house. Wu Tong’s response was, "Everyone loves gold and silver jewelry, but my mother told me not to take what isn’t mine, no matter how much I like it. If I can’t suppress greed, then don’t look, don’t listen, don’t think."

Susu was silent for a long time before saying, "You have a good mother!"

Now Susu just glanced at them, closed the box, and got another smaller chest, saying, "There are too many things, I got them mixed up, this is the one!" Opening it, inside were silver cloves, silver earrings, small rings, and the like. Giving each of them a pair of earrings and a ring, she said, "Even the coarse maids from Sui’an Hall can’t lose face. Serve well in the future, and the Old Madam won’t be stingy with even better things."

Xing Xiao received it without a hint of emotion, while Chun Ya and Xiao Hua were visibly disappointed, and Wu Tong showed a happy smile. After Yang Liu asked someone to take the four young maids out to settle them, she said, "Nanny Qin, getting older, likes lively, clever, and pretty little maids, but those two are too shallow; Xing Xiao seems steady, but she’s too calculating; Wu Tong, on the other hand, looks promising and trainable. Your selecting skills have only improved!"

Susu smiled without speaking. In her past life, she hadn’t lived in vain, and compared to these women in deep courtyards, she considered herself quite worldly.

In the evening, returning to her room after work as usual, Susu washed and then sat on the bed by the window. Only then did she take the wad of paper given by Mrs. Zhao from her belt. Spreading it out, just a few words made tears stream down her face, "Hami Garrison, Military Household, Tartar."

Chu Country’s territory is vast, comparable to the Ming Dynasty, economically prosperous and commercially flourishing. The Silk Road at sea and on land draws merchants worldwide. Small countries dared not offend Chu Country, but the northern border has been constantly at war, due to the Tartar and Wala tribes. These nomadic tribes, resisting civilization, prompted Chu Country to establish garrisons at borders, stationing large troops, and most exiled convicts were sent to serve in the army, condemned to military households for generations.

Four years ago, when Mrs. Zhao came to Jiangnan again, Susu asked her to inquire about her brother, but Mrs. Zhao, mingling in powerful families as a broker herself, could only obtain this information at significant risk.

Her brother, Ruan Sixth Son, was in the Hami Garrison in the Northwest, serving as a military household, facing the Tartar barbarians. Recalling the young boy once praised by teachers for both character and talent now likely heading to battle, Susu’s heart twisted with pain, yet there was a faint joy, at least her brother was alive.

"Hami Garrison," Susu repeated these four words, suddenly harboring a thought. When the Old Madam released her from indenture and allowed her to leave the house, she would go Northwest to find her brother.

Susu didn’t know when she fell asleep, but when she woke, it was already the next evening. In her sleep, she felt someone wiping her body, feeding her medicine, feeling weak, knowing that she must be ill, then drifted back to sleep.

Now awake, seeing Yang Liu and Bisi nodding off by the bedside, the room filled with the smell of wine and medicine, she guessed she had a fever, her stomach grumbling, not knowing what time it was.

Just as Susu thought of getting up, Yang Liu and Bisi, sensing movement, opened their eyes. Bisi first touched Susu’s forehead and breathed a sigh of relief, "No more fever!" Yang Liu, hearing this, also sighed in relief, saying grumpily, "Finally, you woke up." Pointing at Susu’s nose, she scolded, "I’ve always said your thoughts are heavy. Speak out, and if we can’t help, can’t you ask the Old Madam? Now look, the body we painstakingly nursed back to health has relapsed from your excessive worry. What am I to say!"

Bisi hurriedly consoled, saying, "She barely woke up, why say that? Isn’t everyone cautious in service roles, and Susu is still young, overseeing so much already, only more vigilant. It’s our fault, we didn’t pay enough attention, we’ll care for her more from now on."

Yang Liu, still annoyed, said, "I treat her as my dear sister, and she... hmph..."

Susu was momentarily bewildered, "Dear sister, it must be my fault, tell me what I did to upset you?" Ning Cui, just entering the door, hearing this, couldn’t help but chuckle, "The Old Madam couldn’t sleep, sent me to check. Susu, you finally woke up, you’ve been sleeping for a whole day and night!"