Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 62 - 12: Entering the Capital (2)

Susu, Yang Liu, Ning Cui, along with Yun Duo who filled Bisi’s place, formed four maids accompanying the Old Madam in a carriage pulled by two Zao Hong horses, a sandalwood carriage inlaid with gems and carvings, with gilded bells hanging from the four corners.

As it was summer, the carriage windows and door curtains were made of rain-clear colored cicada wing gauze. The innermost part of the carriage had a black lacquered wooden couch where one could half-recline, with thick cotton pads and a felt underneath, and a layer of shrimp whisk bamboo mat on top.

On both sides in front of the wooden couch were rows of black lacquered low cabinets, serving both as seats and storage; in the center was a small sandalwood table, its four legs fixed to the carriage, adorned with gilded teapot and teacup holders, ensuring that even with jolts, the tea wouldn’t spill.

Yang Liu lifted a low cabinet to peek inside, finding tea leaves, tea sets, a small red clay stove, charcoal, a kettle, and various fruits and pastries, all there. The tea comprised of the Old Madam’s favorite Laojunmei, along with Longjing, Pu’er, and Biluochun; the pastries included her commonly eaten Baxhen cake, red date yam cake, cream walnut crisps, etcetera, with fruits chilled in ice.

Yang Liu raised an eyebrow, then checked the other cabinet, which contained a fine small copper basin, towels, soap, ointment, and a grooming box, she remarked satisfactorily, "I wonder who prepared this, they truly put effort into it."

Ning Cui set the red clay stove to boil water for tea, while Susu took out a pellet of incense from her pocket, placing it in a gilded copper bird of paradise incense burner on the small table, instantly filling the carriage with a light, elegant fragrance.

The Old Madam observed the three busy maids, and noticing the recently promoted Yun Duo fiddling with her hands, a bit at a loss, she smiled and said, "Don’t be afraid, it’s your first time coming out. Just follow as Sister Bisi instructed you."

Yun Duo then responded: "Sister Bisi told me that whenever going out, I mustn’t let go of the grooming box and spare clothes, I must closely follow the Old Madam, and without her instructions, I shouldn’t concern myself with others."

The Old Madam handed her a piece of Baxhen cake, saying to all three maids: "You should eat some too. There’ll be much to do once we arrive, and we won’t be having a proper meal anytime soon!"

Seeing the maids enjoying the pastries, the Old Madam continued: "I haven’t seen the residence granted to us by His Majesty, but I’ve heard about it in your elder master’s letters. Your third and fourth sisters must have also mentioned it to you. Altogether, it isn’t even half the size of our two courtyards, yet there are over a thousand rooms. Courtyards are just separated by a wall. With many people, words travel fast; be sure to manage the maids and women folks below properly!"

This matter fell to Yang Liu, who had a grandfather serving as a major steward and a father who was the elder master’s trusted servant. She was naturally unafraid! The Old Madam was only starting; the focus was yet to come.

"Currently, the main family oversees the household, and our practices don’t match theirs. It’s said that they’ve adopted the style of families in the Capital. Let’s not concern ourselves with that for now; we’ll see when we arrive! But your elder master eagerly called me to the Capital, I suspect his wife is up to something again!" The Old Madam’s face darkened as she spoke of this.

Ning Cui quickly offered the Old Madam the brewed tea, saying, "As long as you’re here, nothing she does can scare us! To us, you’re like The Buddha; no matter how fierce the monkey, he can’t escape your Five Finger Mountain!"

True to the nature of transmigrators, although the Capital is named Changle, its construction still mirrors Beijing City. Centering around the Weiyang Palace, it radiates outwards, with the Palace City at its core; the Outer City is divided into one to four rings, beyond which lies the suburb where Royal Gardens like the Yuanming Garden and Xiaotangshan Palace are built.

The founding Emperor pushed the concept of "governing and pleasure-seeking without compromise" to its limits; with the Royal Family’s vast ocean fleet and Household Affairs possessing enterprises across regions, annually bringing in millions of silver into the Emperor’s private treasury.

Being the Emperor of Great Chu, perfectly embodied what it was to "rule with an iron fist by day, and hold beauties in embrace by night"! But being a Prince of Great Chu was exceedingly miserable.

Besides the stipend from the Imperial Family, Princes and Princesses of Great Chu only received a one-time settling allowance when establishing their households. They were granted no fiefs or food towns.

Getting a post was a sign of favor, but not receiving one was normal, so escaping this miserable life was every prince’s dream. This often led to bloody throne contention among the princes.

Comparatively, Great Chu had witnessed the most frequent forced throne successions by princes in history, each time resulting in rivers of blood. Only heaven knows what went through the mind of the founding Emperor, revered as wise and formidable by posterity, to create such a festering ground for trouble!

The pier is not actually in the Capital, but in Shuntian Prefecture’s Tongzhou, also the northern starting point of the Grand Canal. Back then, when Susu went to Yangzhou, she didn’t use this pier but boarded the ship from Tianjin Port.

Tongzhou is about twenty miles from the Capital, reaching the city gates would take half an hour, and though it wasn’t yet noon, it was bustling with people coming and going.

Susu couldn’t quite understand the division of the fourth ring in the Capital of today. She only heard Fifth Young Master mention on the boat that the Imperial City is the Palace City, encompassing a series of imperial facilities and administrative departments including Weiyang Palace.

The outer city, the fourth ring, the first ring was filled with major prince mansions, princess mansions, and even the Four Great Dukes’ Mansions established at the founding; marquises, earls, and other nobility and some First Rank and Second Rank major officials resided in the second ring; the third ring, the largest and most prosperous, featured residential and commercial streets, very well-planned; the fourth ring contained ordinary residents and some workshops, vibrant and lively, exuding more signs of life compared to within the third ring!

The Song Family, though granted noble titles, only had a history of thirty years of prosperity, and wasn’t some affluent family with deep roots, hence even with favor from His Majesty, didn’t have a residence in the second ring.

The residence granted by His Majesty was in the third ring, close to the second ring, originally an Earl Mansion. It was just that the unfortunate earl sided with the wrong faction during a past throne struggle and was executed, so his mansion was confiscated by the state and later gifted to the Song Family.

Upon entering the city, they traveled for approximately another half hour before the carriage came to a stop; the four maids and the Old Madam exchanged glances, fully aware that the "drama was about to unfold."

A maid lifted the carriage curtain, and the first sight was the main entrance wide open, above which hung a plaque inscribed with the eight large golden shimmering words "Imperially Constructed Assistant Country Earl Sunan Mansion," exceedingly impressive!