Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 354 - 34: Song Family’s Misfortune (Part 1)
Amber and Dong Song’s letters were particularly polite, which made Susu feel a bit sad. However, considering they hadn’t seen each other for many years and their status and position had changed, she gradually let go of those feelings.
Although she believed she hadn’t changed, those carefree and innocent days of childhood were truly gone forever.
These two clever and capable sisters had also been weathered by time, becoming ordinary women, with their letters filled mostly with mentions of their husbands, children, and trivial matters of daily life.
And wasn’t she the same? It’s just that she was a bit luckier than them.
...
The Third Miss married in June. Now, she is the daughter-in-law of the eldest son of the Sun Family, whose father is an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. When Susu prepared festival gifts for her, they were prepared according to the standards of a married woman.
The Third Miss thanked Susu in her letter for her thoughtfulness, saying that this year’s festival gifts were personally ordered by her mother-in-law, joking that it saved her personal house money.
From between the lines, Susu knew that the Third Miss was living well after marriage.
Uncle Wei delivered Mid-Autumn Festival gifts in August, and at that time, Yang Liu had not yet given birth. Now, the letter states she has given birth to a son.
It was from the Old Madam that Susu heard she was also pregnant and that giving birth was not as difficult as they had imagined.
The Old Madam even summarized a rhyming phrase for Susu, saying, "No crying, no fussing, no pain or itch, and the child arrives," which made Susu both laugh and feel exasperated. Was she kidding a fool?
Even if she hadn’t eaten pork, she had seen pigs run. She had personally witnessed Bisi and the Heir’s wife give birth.
Though it was commendable that after experiencing the pain of childbirth, she could still, straight-faced, utter such nonsense.
Bisi, Ning Cui, and Mrs. Zhao were naturally very happy for Susu.
Yet, Ning Cui expressed some frustration in her letter. She had been married for more than a year, while Bisi’s child was already old enough to run errands, Yang Liu had given birth, and Susu was expecting. Ning Cui, however, was still not pregnant, which made her a bit anxious.
Susu thought for a moment and decided to keep the three remaining Fertility Pills aside, intending to have them sent to Ning Cui when spring arrived.
The Heir’s wife was also eager to conceive, but Susu dared not give these to the Old Madam.
It wasn’t that the Old Madam would doubt it, but rather she believed that Susu wouldn’t act without reason and would definitely give them to the Heir’s wife.
But the Heir’s wife might not believe it, and she would have to speculate on what the Old Madam meant by it.
One look at the two maids sent by the Old Madam, and you would know it. If it harmed the harmony between them, then Susu’s good intentions might have turned into something bad, so it was better not to mention it at all.
Susu finally opened the letter from the Sixth Miss, thinking she must be flaunting something fun or delicious she had acquired, with the belief that Susu couldn’t get her hands on it, so she wanted to entice Susu to return to the Capital sooner.
Thinking of this, Susu’s smile grew brighter. Unlike in her previous life as a loner, in this life, she had many people she cared about, but only a few mattered the most.
But upon opening the letter, Susu’s expression changed abruptly, "Linlang, call Madam Shui Mo here!"
Except when sleeping, Susu always had someone by her side, fearing something might happen to her. Linlang did not bother with other tasks but only stayed close to Susu.
Upon hearing this, seeing Susu’s face was not well, she quickly called in Qi Qiao and Linglong, who were outside checking the gift list. She then rushed towards the servant quarters.
When Qi Qiao and Linglong came in, they saw Susu’s face was ashen. Except for the time when Susu lost composure due to a Chaotic Heart, they had never seen the mistress so angry.
They quickly supported Susu to sit down, "Madam, no matter how big the issue is, can it be bigger than the little master? Please calm down first!"
Susu tightly gripped the letter from the Sixth Miss. Thinking of what it said, she wished to return to the Capital immediately.
Upon hearing Qi Qiao and Linglong’s words, Susu quickly patted her abdomen, "Baby, mommy is a bit emotional, don’t be afraid."
Meanwhile, Madam Zhao Youshen, with the help of her daughter-in-law, washed her hands and face, changed her clothes, and finally let out a sigh of relief on the brick bed.
There was no need for politeness among familiar people. Moreover, even though she hadn’t attended her son’s wedding, the daughter-in-law had been arranged before she left.
Mrs. Zhao Wu, having a straightforward personality, said, "Mom, why don’t you take a nap? Although we don’t cook at home, everything is available. I’ll go to the kitchen and make you a bowl of noodles." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
As a mother-in-law now, Madam Zhao Youshen felt it was good to have a daughter-in-law, but she waved her hand, "No need, I’m not hungry. Let’s chat for a while. Are you adjusting well in the nanny’s room?"
She had something else unsaid, wondering if the nanny might call her later.
As expected, after familiarizing herself with what had happened in the family during the half-year she’s been to the Capital, Linlang rushed in to fetch her after about half an hour.
Fully aware of this, she did not dare to delay, putting on a somewhat worn stone-blue kesi silk coat with mouse-gray fur lining, and Madam Zhao Wu Wu also quickly tied on a half-new, half-old bright red ape fleece cape newly awarded by Susu, then followed Linlang to the upper room.
By the time they arrived, Susu had already regained her usual calm demeanor, dismissing the maids and daughters-in-law, leaving only Madam Zhao Youshen, then slightly scolded, "How dare you hide such a big thing from me in the mansion?"
Madam Zhao Youshen forced a smile, "Although the Old Madam gave orders not to tell you, how could I dare disobey?
With you currently pregnant, if I anxiously said a bunch and made you react poorly to it, what then? I thought I’d explain it to you slowly."
"The Sixth Miss hinted at a few things without clear writing; what’s happened to the Fifth Miss? Is the Old Madam’s illness healed?"
As Susu spoke, she became more worried.
Madam Zhao Youshen quickly comforted her, "Madam, don’t worry. Since it’s already happened, there is no use in getting anxious. Before I returned, the Old Madam’s illness was already healed."
She took Susu’s pulse, then felt relieved, "Listen to me explaining it slowly."
It turned out it was the mess caused by the Fifth Miss’s uncle, Gao Yue.
Gao Yue regretted once he knew he was to be an eighth-ranked County Magistrate in Qing’an County.
He regretted not conspiring against the Song Family to harm Susu, but overestimating his wife’s standing in the Qi Family, or perhaps putting too much value on his Yue Family.
It made sense; Mr. Wang and Empress Wang were Mrs. Qi’s biological father and sister, not Lord Qi’s.
His wife, being an illegitimate daughter, was essentially a troublemaker for Mrs. Qi. Even calling Mr. Wang and Empress Wang grandfather and aunt, people might not bother with her.
But even at this point, it was too late to regret. Fortunately, Lord Qi felt guilty for that illegitimate daughter, offering her a lot of personal silver.
Now, the entire Gao Family relied on the wife’s private funds for sustenance, and Gao Yue did treat her well.
As a County Magistrate, Gao Yue was under pressure from a County Magistrate above him and faced disrespect from local gentry beneath, his plight was apparent.
Yet, even amid such hardships, Gao Yue managed to associate with Prince Jing.
It’s said that Qing’an County produced tribute aromatic pears, attracting lots of nobles through them, and that’s how Gao Yue became acquainted with a Steward from Prince Jing’s mansion.
Being even a seventh-ranked official before a Prime Minister is remarkable. Of course, the Steward didn’t care much for a small County Magistrate, but mention Shun’an Earl Mansion, and it was a different story.
This Steward, a close subordinate to Prince Jing, often handled sensitive matters for him. Hence, upon learning of the failed endeavor to ally with Shun’an Earl Mansion, he stayed infuriated.
Hearing Gao Yue claimed to have leverage against the Shun’an Earl Mansion, he grew intrigued and sent a message to Prince Jing.
