Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 80 - 9: On Prince Ke

Although Susu was thinking about her brother far away in the Northwest, the most important thing right now was the invitation from Prince Ke Mansion for the Chongyang Festival.

This was the first time Prince Ke openly showed goodwill towards the Song family, and the Song family, wanting to hold onto such a golden opportunity, naturally had to put some thought into it.

The Old Madam opened her private storage, and the First Master also took out a few items from his private quarters and the public treasury. Besides the red gold inlaid with East Pearl necklace, bracelet, and anklet sent to the Little Commandery Princess, there were four other items, each worth a fortune!

Among them, the Old Madam brought out an agarwood frame Gu embroidery flower bird screen, lifelike and a rare treasure that money can’t easily buy! According to Susu’s knowledge, this Gu embroidery is similar to the "Huiwen" in "Dream of the Red Chamber," elegant and charming without being vulgar, and rare to begin with, naturally attracting admiration.

With the gifts settled, the attendees had to be decided. The Second Miss was engaged and should not leave the house casually, so she wouldn’t be going! The Second Madam wanted to go but pretended not to desire the invitation from the Old Madam, who simply ignored her. The Third Miss, Fourth Miss, Fifth Miss, and Sixth Miss were expected to go, their clothes and jewelry prepared, and the Old Madam, not entirely reassured, instructed the tutor to explain carefully once more!

Accompanying the Old Madam were Yang Liu and Susu, while with the Misses were a maid and a tutor.

Nowadays, every girl’s room had added two tutors, along with the removal of two second-class and two third-class maids’ allowances, setting four servants for rough work. Even so, besides the wet nurse, each Miss had fourteen people serving her, no wonder the mansion filled with three to four hundred servants, with monthly expenses reaching several hundred taels of silver, lucky for the Song family to only have money left! 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

On the ninth day of September, the Chongyang banquet at the mansion was postponed to the evening.

The four Misses dressed up appropriately, arrived at the Old Madam’s room. Seeing the four Misses’ outfits surprised Susu. The Third Miss and Sixth Miss looked the same as usual, but the Fourth Miss wore not her usual favorite bright colors but rather a rain blue jacket and skirt embroidered with gold thread chrysanthemums, her accessories being of a pink rose crystal series.

The Fourth Miss, around the same age as Susu, seemed quite childish, having groomed her eyebrows and lowered her eyelashes, looking adorable and harmless, making Susu marvel at the hidden talents among civilians!

Conversely, the Fifth Miss, usually misunderstood as being mistreated, surprisingly wore a rose-red jacket skirt, embroidered all over with silver thread roses, looking very luxurious. Coupled with her good looks and the right amount of makeup, her eyes were moist and appealing, making Susu look to the sky, wondering if the sun was rising in the west today?

The Old Madam said nothing, only rubbing her forehead after boarding the carriage, saying, "The Fourth Girl has come to terms with reality, now planning for the future, which I am quite satisfied with. As for the Fifth Girl, what is she intending?"

Yang Liu put an incense ball into the burner, exchanged glances with Susu, and said, "I’ve heard the Fifth Miss’s mother’s side has a brother who’s also in the capital, just waiting for the examination. The Fifth Miss’s wet nurse went out several times, reportedly because the Miss loves eating apricots from a dry fruit store outside."

The Old Madam closed her eyes, reopened them with a cold gaze, and said indifferently, "Ignore it. As her grandmother, I provide her food and drink and arranged for people to teach her manners and etiquette; there is nothing more I can do! When she is two years older, she’ll have to honor her parents and plan for her marriage."

The Fifth Miss’s recent behavior completely vexed the Old Madam; it’s not bad for a girl to have ambition, but she must know her limits, understand manners, shame, and family honor, yet the Fifth Miss stubbornly intends to go down a doomed path, that even immortals wouldn’t save her!

Seeing the Old Madam’s displeasure, Susu hurriedly changed the subject, "Old Madam, could you tell us about Prince Ke Mansion? It would broaden my knowledge."

The Old Madam laughed at this, "Haven’t you heard enough these days?" But she went on to say some things she knew.

"We’ve only recently arrived in the capital, what we know is only superficial. I specifically asked your First Master and the Wenchang Marquis Mansion to learn more. Prince Ke is the fourth among the princes, born to the legitimate wife of the current emperor. However, when Prince Ke was ten, Princess Consort Rong, now posthumously honored as Empress Xiao Zhao, passed away. The emperor then married the legitimate daughter of the current Chief Cabinet Minister, Mr. Wang, who is the now Empress Wang."

The Old Madam sighed at this, stating, "This Empress Wang is two years younger than Consort Xi, and still hasn’t borne any children. If she had, the Song family wouldn’t know which Prince to ally with."

The Old Madam continued, "When the current emperor ascended the throne, the Fourth Prince was eighteen and titled Prince Ke, granted marriage to the legitimate eldest granddaughter of the hereditary founding Duke Ning. He also has two concubines from noble families, two other concubines, and several minor wives. Now he has two daughters and a son. The Commandery Princess is five years old, born to Concubine Leng. The eldest son is four, born to a minor wife, now Concubine Zhao. The little Commandery Princess, who had her first full moon today, is the legitimate daughter of the Princess Ke, named Qingfu after her ’three washes,’ a titled Commandery Princess holds greater status than even an untitled princess."

At this, the Old Madam shook her head, "This Princess Ke is skilled, but her luck is a bit poor. Married to Prince Ke for seven years, and only three children among a dozen women in the house indicate intense in-fighting in the rear courtyard, no wonder the Fourth Girl puts on a protective color for herself!"

Susu thought about the mistress of Prince Ke Mansion, who was her tenth sister and fellow countrywoman in this life. Secretly, Susu pinched her pocket inside her sleeve, hoping to see her!

This is the lead’s period of being hidden away; after this time, she would rise as if on wings. If not embracing the thigh now, then when? Offering help in need is far more memorable than adding to the flowers in her brocade!

Susu also thought of the little actor Fang Guan’er in the mansion. When Yang Liu got confirmation from Steward Qiao and told Susu that Fang Guan’er was an official slave and of significant background, Susu confirmed that Fang Guan’er was indeed that favored great-granddaughter of the Old Madam of Duke Li’s Mansion from the third branch, the little niece she couldn’t help but give jerky to in the prison back then.

Why Susu was so certain had real reason. In Duke Li’s Mansion, each generation had a few boys or girls with the same eyes, said to be inherited from the first Duchess Li - the illustrious Lady Linlang. Originally a childless noblewoman, Lady Linlang saved both the future Saint Martial Emperor and the first Duke Li when they were being pursued. She not only married Duke Li but also became sworn siblings with Saint Martial Emperor, donating her entire million taels of silver fortune to him as military funds. After the founding, the Duchess was made Eldest Princess by the Emperor, titled Linlang, a legendary woman in Great Chu.

In this life, Susu shares her eye features with the lead, Ruan Shiniang, and the next generation has the eldest brother’s nephew and the second brother’s little niece, now Fang Guan’er.

Becoming a servant isn’t the scariest, the worst is becoming an official slave, and even worse than an official slave is an escaped slave. If caught, escaped slaves are beaten nearly to death and tattooed on the face, known as tattoo punishment.

On the day Mrs. Zhao reported Susu’s death, replacing her identity with Su He, Susu effectively became an escaped slave. She was already at risk herself, much less daring to recognize her niece. Only with conscience and blood ties did she care a little more for her.

As for daring to recognize the leading lady, it was because she was an adult, could weigh pros and cons, and would not disclose Susu’s identity.

Susu made up her mind to calm herself, and in a quarter of an hour, they arrived at Prince Ke Mansion.