Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 53 - 5: Growth (Part 1)

After spending a good while at Taoran Inn, Susu finally returned to Sui’an Hall. She looked at the things she had gotten today, went back to her room to tidy up, and then entered the main room.

Inside, the Old Madam had just woken from her nap and was playing Mahjong with Yang Liu, Ning Cui, and Nanny Qin, while Bisi was advising her behind her. Yang Liu, seeing Susu, looked as if she had seen a savior, "Good Susu, you’ve come, let’s switch, my luck isn’t good today, I’ve lost half a year’s salary in such a short time."

Ning Cui, while drawing a tile, said, "Look at you, bringing shame to the Old Madam’s maids." Nanny Qin fed a tile to the Old Madam and, seeing her complete her hand, she laughed and said, "That’s worth a dozen silver taels! People often don’t realize the cost of living until they manage a household. Yang Liu is saving up for her dowry, and your time will come, too; you can’t be as carefree as now."

Nanny Qin’s remarks made Yang Liu, Bisi, and Ning Cui blush, with Yang Liu stomping her foot in mock protest. While Susu secretly laughed, her heart was heavy. Housekeeper Qiao had found a young man in the Capital for Yang Liu. His family was a major landlord in the suburb, with houses and shops in the nearby county, and the Old Madam had been informed, waiting for Yang Liu to turn eighteen to marry him.

Housekeeper Qiao was very smart, so his choice couldn’t be wrong, but Susu was uneasy about such blind arranged marriages. However, this was characteristic of the era, unlike the fantasies in novels where time-traveling heroines fall in love with princes and young lords. Now Susu could only comfort herself by thinking she’s still young.

That evening, only the Old Madam, Nanny Qin, and the four of them remained in the room. Susu then reported today’s interactions with the four young ladies precisely: what she said, how they responded, and what gifts she received. Although she disliked talking about the Fifth Miss, she didn’t embellish.

Living beside the Old Madam for five years, Susu had little else to repay the Old Madam’s kindness besides loyalty.

The Old Madam listened to the accounts of her granddaughters and remained expressions unreadable until she finally said, "Since the young ladies gifted you, they must regard you favorably, accept them. Speaking of Zhen Zhu, I remember there are some such trinkets in the treasury, take them out for you sisters to wear as a hobby, remember new designs are a form of appreciation from the young ladies."

Yang Liu laughed and said, "That really agrees with Susu’s words, borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha, except for the young ladies, we’ve got a true Buddha here!" She looked at the Old Madam, and Susu, Ning Cui, and Bisi all laughed realizing, "Indeed, nearly forgot about the true Buddha." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The Old Madam was amused by the four and said to Nanny Qin, "Look at them, no propriety, only playfulness." Though her words were disparaging, her eyes were full of laughter. Nanny Qin understood the master’s contradictions and replied, "There’s nothing unseemly, I think it’s perfectly right, to us servants, you are the true Buddha."

The Old Madam laughed heartily, pointing at Nanny Qin, "Ah Xiang, you just indulge them."

Hearing this, Nanny Qin felt the Old Madam was falsely accusing her, for if anyone was doting towards the four maids, it was the Old Madam herself. Luckily, the four maids were lovable and considerate. Watching the four maids laugh uproariously, even the daughters of noble families may lack their beauty and temperament, and more rare is their thoughtfulness for the Old Madam. Having these four maids, the Old Madam was increasingly relaxed, which explained her favoring them.

The next day Susu indeed found a large redwood box in the corner of the storeroom’s miscellaneous supplies section, filled with various materials and colors of beads, round or flat, hollowed out or carved, along with several rolls of real gold and silver threads of different thicknesses and colorful cords for making knotted designs, dizzying Susu’s eyes. Later, she strung pearl flowers, bracelets, knots, belts, pockets, and other new designs to gift the young ladies, loved dearly by them.

Yang Liu and the others together made a palm-sized pearl flower of turquoise, tortoiseshell, and amber beads for Song Yu Old Madam, who said her age was not fit for such bright colors, but would touch it frequently, revealing her fondness.

Time quietly slipped away in such joyful moments, bringing the sixth spring of Kangping in the Great Chu Country.

Susu had just celebrated her thirteenth birthday and was now experiencing an important and frustrating bleeding event for a girl; in ancient times, it was called Kuishui. This caused her to be absent from the Old Madam’s side or the storeroom during the day. Rarely lying in bed as her body had cramps. As a former tomboy, Susu never knew Aunt Flo would require such attention.

Don’t overexert, don’t catch cold, don’t do vigorous exercise. These Susu tolerated, even the absence of sanitary pads replaced by that ’menstruation belt’, she tolerated, but what’s with this agonizing abdominal pain? She used to not believe that people said it could hurt so much, wanting to roll around, but now she believed it entirely for she truly wanted to roll.

"Knock knock knock," the sound of knocking came, Susu who lay in bed feeling uncomfortable unable to sleep called out, "Come in." The visitor was Ning Cui, who should have been serving the Old Madam in the upper room.

Entering with a food box, Susu asked, "Why are you here?" Also checked the pocket watch beside her, "It should be time for meals in the upper room!" Ning Cui noticed Susu’s pale face and worriedly asked, "Is it still painful?" Opening the food box, the top layer held a bowl of steaming herbal medicine, Susu frowned yet took a breath and drank it in one go, then quickly took the warm water Ning Cui poured, rinsing her mouth before sighing in relief, stating, "It’s simply a biological weapon."

Ning Cui, used to Susu’s odd words from spending time together, was unfazed, understanding it was not praise, advised, "It needs to be drunk despite tasting bad, Mr. Zhao the Household Doctor said your pain is due to a little coldness in the womb. Now is the time to regulate it while you’re young, otherwise, it will bring constant pain and affect offspring. This medicine was personally brewed by Nanny Qin, apart from the Old Madam and ourselves, no one else knows, even if the Third Madam and the young ladies ask, it’s said you caught a chill causing slight cold symptoms, to prevent the Old Madam catching the illness hence asked you to rest."

Indeed, fewer people know about Susu’s womb coldness the better.

Susu hardly worried about whether her womb was cold, as childbearing did not cross her mind, listening but soon dismissing, felt touched by the Old Madam’s protective intention.

Ning Cui quietly breathed a sigh, thinking how someone like a fairy seems to be beset with troubles. Having read a few books, Ning Cui suddenly recalled a phrase "beautiful faces have tragic fate," spat inwardly not thinking Susu would meet such a short-lived fate.