Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 48 - 26: Thorough Consideration (Part 2)

Although the Third Madam didn’t explicitly state what a pity it was, as a confidante, that old maid naturally understood her master’s thoughts.

With Susu’s looks and character, she could easily become a Lady in the palace. Which small and lowly household would dare to have her as their wife? It’s only those from prominent families who could, but Susu is merely a maid, at best she could be a Noble Concubine.

The confidante maid hesitated and said, "Could the Old Madam be thinking of keeping Susu for the Eldest Young Master?" The Third Madam shook her head upon hearing this: "No! I dare not speculate what Aunt really thinks, and even if I did, I wouldn’t guess it correctly. However, it would definitely not include keeping Susu here for Qing He or any of the sons as a concubine. Firstly, Aunt would be reluctant to part with her, and secondly, Susu is not that type of person."

The most likely option is sending her to the Royal Family, though the Third Madam wouldn’t say this, as her aunt is truly a heroine among women, with a spirit and ambition that even surpasses most men.

It was simply said that when Susu and her group arrived at the palace storeroom, compared to the small storeroom at Sui’an Hall, it was several times larger.

Susu had been here a few times, but it was the first time for Ning Xiang and Wu Tong to witness the grand storeroom. Yet, having followed Susu for some time, they had seen many fine things. Their eyes were not so shallow, and they didn’t look around carelessly, which made the accompanying servants regard them more highly.

The storeroom’s wardrobe was opened. The housekeeper managing the storeroom showed Susu the registered books, pointing out which outfit was which, including shoes, socks, and belts, divided into men’s and women’s, and according to the four seasons. Just the cotton clothes and woolen garments brought in from the winter of the year before and last year amounted to dozens of boxes.

Susu carefully selected from the records, then had boxes opened to choose herself: a plain navy Hang silk cloak lined with black fox fur, a silver-gray brocade cloak embroidered with cloud patterns lined with gray squirrel fur, a light blue Kesi coat with silver borders lined with lynx fur, and, additionally, deep blue and dark black satin wolf fur capes each one. She also selected several pairs of leather boots with fur trimmings and four sets of unassuming cotton robes to be bundled together.

Meanwhile, the clothes given as a gift by the Third Madam to Susu were also ready. A box containing autumn clothes currently in fashion, and another box with various furs, understanding the favor Susu and her group had with the Third Madam, the housekeeper naturally picked the best items to fill the boxes.

Afterward, Susu went to the medicinal storeroom to take some of each type of medicine and necessary ointments, then returned to Sui’an Hall.

She presented them to the Old Madam and also mentioned the clothes gifted by the Third Madam. The Old Madam laughed, "There’s no need to specifically mention such a small matter. Your Third Mistress is right. You should dress beautifully to make me happy when I see you."

Each received two sets of autumn clothes, a cloak, and two fur jackets. Later, Yang Liu, Bisi, and Ning Cui each went to thank the Third Madam specifically.

Susu packed everything prepared for Hong Sheng into a large camphor wood box, organizing the medicines and labeling each one. She then took the newly made autumn clothes and two pairs of shoes for Hong Sheng from her room and packed them together.

Reflecting, she realized she had already been making him clothes for five years.

Once everything was neatly arranged, she called for the rough servants in the courtyard to have it sent to the outer court.

Susu let out a sigh of relief, finally returning to the main house. She sincerely hoped Hong Sheng could secure a promising future, and in doing so might remember her little gesture, so if she needed him in the future, it wouldn’t be too difficult. Susu knew her calculations with Hong Sheng might be unfair to her benefactor, but she was desperate to hear news of her brother.

Currently, Susu didn’t know that a certain person remembered her gesture, keeping it in his heart, dreaming of it.

Despite her diligence in other areas, Susu wasn’t particularly fond of needlework. Making clothes for Hong Sheng for five years wasn’t easy. Yet, once a habit is formed, it becomes second nature. Stopping suddenly felt strange. Fortunately, Susu loved to enjoy herself, and with the Old Madam’s fondness and the girls’ involvement, Susu felt inspired, feeling there was never enough time, so the slight sadness that began to emerge was quickly dispelled.

During this time, the food, drinks, and entertainment at the Song family were unmatched in all of Yangzhou for their novelty and delicacy, all thanks to a clever and imaginative young maid at the Song family. Especially the incense gifted by the Old Madam; even the palace had none like it.

Speaking of incense, it wasn’t a skill from Susu’s past but a memory from this life, where she inherited knowledge from the original host. Starting from age three, she secretly learned about incense recipes and ingredients from Auntie.

Susu’s aunt never spoke about her family, and the original host never met them. Auntie only mentioned that these incense recipes were a family inheritance, passed down to daughters but not sons, and expected even the clueless original host to memorize them diligently.

Initially, when Susu crossed into this world, she didn’t fully embrace the original host’s memories, relying mostly on trigger-based memories. It wasn’t until at the Song family, handling the storerooom and coming into contact with incense, that these memories gradually surfaced.

The original host was too young to understand the value of these formulas, but Susu, with some knowledge, understood that perhaps these incense recipes were the most valuable legacy Auntie left her daughter. The more she learned, the more she realized their worth, and Susu dared not speak of them lightly.

There was definitely a secret surrounding Auntie, perhaps a story stranger than Susu’s own crossing, but her instincts told her curiosity killed the cat, ignorance is bliss. Yet, since she had taken the body of someone else’s daughter and benefited from Auntie’s kindness and met Mrs. Zhao, she could only repay Ruan Sixth Son twofold in the future.

At the start of the year, the Princely Heir returned the Third Miss and Fourth Miss, and the New Year gifts arrived from various places. The manor heads and shopkeepers of various estates and shops came to pay respects to the main family, making Susu incredibly busy once more. Fortunately, this year with Ning Xiang and Wu Tong sharing the workload, Susu spent her sixth New Year in this world in a busy yet joyous atmosphere.