Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 49 - 1: Each Has Their Differences (Part 1)

Once the fifteenth day of the first lunar month passed, the festive atmosphere gradually faded. The masters’ visits to relatives and banquets also gradually decreased. The Sui’an Hall and the neighboring Yayun Pavilion thus became lively again.

Susu, having no family, had nowhere to go during her usual breaks. As she aged, her beauty became more noticeable, so she never accompanied the Old Madam to banquets, choosing instead to stay at Sui’an Hall, brewing wine and mixing fragrances, much to her delight.

Susu’s leisurely and easy-going lifestyle made the Sixth Miss, who was extremely impatient with banquets yet had to attend them, very envious.

In the flower hall of Sui’an Hall, the four young ladies accompanied the Old Madam for dinner. After Susu and several maids assisted with mouth washing and hand cleansing, the Sixth Miss gave a very unladylike sigh, saying, "Finally, I feel alive again. This meal was the most pleasant in a long time, and thinking about the past half month really makes me narrow-minded."

The Old Madam knew her granddaughter’s nature and jokingly scolded, "You’re speaking nonsense, be careful your mother might hit you."

Among the granddaughters, the Old Madam favored the Sixth Miss the most, who was unafraid of her mother, pouting, "I don’t submit to my mother hitting me. Forget relatives, the banquets of official families are never peaceful, one moment a young girl wets her skirt, the next a young lady loses a bracelet, and she’s the housekeeper’s daughter, competing in food, clothing, and jewelry, when one of my dresses can make them praise endlessly, it’s really absurd."

Seeing the Sixth Miss act all grown-up made everyone stifle their laughter.

Although the Fourth Miss was a concubine’s daughter, she was the most cheerful among the sisters and echoed, "When you were younger and didn’t go out much, you didn’t know that back then, before our eldest aunt was titled a consort or a concubine, and before our big uncle, my father, was titled an Earl, we were truly considered absurd in other people’s eyes. Now it’s just the cycle of what goes around, comes around!"

These two young ladies, one thirteen and one nine years old, spoke words that made the Old Madam feel both amused and a bit bittersweet, those were indeed years like drinking water where only oneself knows its temperature.

The Old Madam lightly patted each one, saying, "These words should not be said outside, otherwise it’s not the cycle of luck, but rather, little people gaining success." Then she seriously said, "You represent the Song Family’s face and education outside, we used to disdain flattery, and now we shouldn’t look down on others. The heart of gains and losses shouldn’t be too strong, otherwise, where would the pleasant days be."

The four young ladies all stood up and solemnly said in unison, "Thank you, Grandmother, for your teachings."

After that, the Old Madam dismissed the young ladies, Susu, Yang Liu, Ning Cui, Bisi, and others took turns eating, and attended the Old Madam’s nap.

Susu softly recited the Heart Sutra beside the Old Madam, who seemed asleep with her eyes closed. Just as Susu finished tidying up the Buddhist Scripture, the Old Madam softly sighed, "Big family, big responsibilities, I’m not worried about the few boys, but at home, each girl has her shortcomings. The eldest girl is considered a waste; the second girl’s engagement is with one of the Eight Great Earl Mansions, Changle Earl Mansion, given her nature, she won’t learn without suffering a loss; the fourth girl is cheerful and amiable, and the sixth girl is quirky, but both girls take after their grandfather with a chivalrous heart, neither is suited to be the head mistress of a large family; the least worrying third girl yet caused a commotion with the talk of withdrawing from an engagement; as for the fifth girl, although young, she’s overly calculating."

Saying this, the Old Madam opened her eyes, and at this time, the four maids with various tasks had already put down their work and gathered around her.

Because they were discussing the young ladies who were the masters, the four couldn’t respond, and the Old Madam sighed again. Susu followed suit with several sighs, amusing the Old Madam who said, "So young, what are you sighing for?"

Susu replied, "Seeing the Old Madam like this, I presumed sighing was beneficial, but I wonder what ocean prescription can cure what illness?"

The Old Madam was taken aback, then noticed the other three maids stifling laughter, realizing Susu was being mischievous, and jokingly scolded, "It’s an ocean prescription, especially for treating cheeky spirits!"

She laughed herself afterward, "Sighing cures no illness, I’m the one caught up in appearances, you little maid!"

Ning Cui comforted, "You just think too much, as the saying goes, children and grandchildren have their own fortunes, the girls in our family are all outstanding, just teach them more in the future."

Yang Liu and Bisi followed with good words, finally relieving the Old Madam of this concern, though before sleep she instructed Susu, "There’s nothing significant this afternoon, you should go play with the girls. It seems my words were a bit harsh today, tell them not to overthink, by the way, inform the third girl to start learning household management from her third aunt tomorrow; the fourth girl and fifth girl cannot neglect their embroidery work; tell the little sixth not to spend all her time painting her beauties, if she doesn’t learn the rules well, I won’t favor her."

Susu noted everything down, and once the Old Madam fell asleep, she gestured to the others and quietly left the room, first going to her own room in the back courtyard to fetch a few things, before heading to Yayun Pavilion.

Susu first went to the Half Moon Pavilion where Third Miss resided, who was half reclining with a book in her hand against the lock brocade embroidered backrest of a window seat, with a pumpkin-shaped hand warmer with gilded bronze and hollow flower and bird patterns on her lap, and a camel hair thin blanket draped over her knees, seeing Susu enter, she softly said, "In such cold weather, why have you come? Does Grandmother have any instructions?"

She then invited Susu to sit and asked someone to quickly serve hot tea.

Susu laughed, "It’s only been three years since we last met, yet Miss has become more courteous."

After sitting down, she saw Third Miss was actually reading Women’s Rules, and Susu contemplated how to reply before saying, "The Old Madam mentioned that the young lady’s studies and embroidery work are excellent, though the girls in our family learn these merely to go with the flow, doing well is sufficient, managing the household in the future requires more learning in internal affairs, from tomorrow onwards, the young lady should follow Third Madam to learn household management in the morning, and join the other young ladies for classes in the afternoon if there is no other matter."

Third Miss seemed somewhat incredulous, staring at Susu, only feeling certain that she heard correctly seeing Susu’s genuine smile.

Due to her Legitimate Mother arranging the engagement, the means led to her eldest uncle discovering and causing a scandal throughout the city, now with the engagement withdrawn, thinking for the Song Family’s reputation, she initially thought the Old Madam, even if not casting her far away, would merely marry her into a merchant or landlord family, unexpectedly the Old Madam hadn’t abandoned her intentions, bringing her back wasn’t for the sake of casually marrying her off.

Although calm as she was, she was still only fourteen, and suddenly moved to tears, Susu didn’t try to comfort her, feeling both she underestimated the Old Madam’s generosity, and pitying her.

After a long while when Third Miss finally stopped crying, she called someone to fetch water to wash and apply makeup anew.

Once tidied, Third Miss awkwardly said, "You found my weakness."

Susu then said, "The Old Madam is the young lady’s true grandmother, who only harbors more affection for you, last year when the young lady just returned and casually mentioned the incense at Sui’an Hall smelled nice, the Old Madam noted it down and asked me to send it to you. Unfortunately, the incense ran out, given that it’s produced by me and not available elsewhere, since it was a busy time, I could only concoct it in spare time, it was finished yesterday."

While speaking, Susu took out from a pocket a small jade box carved with bird and floral patterns about the size of half a palm, opening it revealed sixteen pills as small as lotus seeds, emitting a distinct refreshing scent.

Third Miss accepted it and liked it more and more, "I didn’t realize you’re a perfumer! What’s the name of this fragrance? I’ve never seen such unique incense in the capital."

Susu modestly waved it off, "I merely studied some miscellaneous books, tinkering casually, unexpectedly creating something indeed, it’s hardly worthy of being called ’master.’ In the room where the dragon-shaped warming stove is lit, which is rather dry, lighting this evokes a refreshing feeling, naming it ’Snowfall’."

"Snowfall, it’s certainly elegant and fitting. When snow falls isn’t it indeed refreshing?" Third Miss kept praising it, inquiring about usage herself, she personally got up to place a pill into the warm stove at the corner, immediately diffusing aroma everywhere.

She carefully asked the maid to keep the remaining ones well, and then instructed someone to bring out a small cedar box, placed on the small table in the middle of the couch, opening it revealed a dazzling array of gold, silver, gemstones, and pearls.

She personally selected a hairpin adorned with butterflies, flowers, and green jade beads and a string of amber beads, instructing someone to wrap them for Susu, saying, "These are gifts from those ladies during this year’s festivities, though not as valuable as those from Grandmother, they are rather exquisite, don’t disdain them, take them for fun."

These two items are worth no less than two hundred silver, but Susu is not superficial, furthermore no outsider could fathom how much savings she had amassed herself over these five years. After refusing several times, ultimately unable to decline, she accepted them, thanking Third Miss.

After bidding farewell to Third Miss, Susu went to the Snowfall Garden of Fourth Miss, but she wasn’t there. The maids said the young lady went with her painting tools to Sixth Miss, Susu decided to first visit Fifth Miss at Rouyi Hall.