Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 91 - 17: The Blessed Matrons
On the day before the wedding, servants from the Zhao Family came to deliver the dowry and make the bed. There were six auspicious people alone, not to mention the heavy dowry carried on each palanquin. The sound of gongs and drums could be heard all along the way. The first palanquin of dowry entered the gates of the Shun’an Earl Mansion, while half of the dowry was still at the Wenchang Marquis Mansion.
Leading the procession were a pair of Mutton Fat Jade Ruyi gifted by the Emperor, followed by two Jade Guanyin statues bestowed by the Empress for fertility. Then came ten palanquins filled with dowries contributed by the concubines in the palace and various nobles, and only after that, were the dowries provided by the Marquis Mansion itself.
The dowry included land and property on two palanquins, furniture on twenty palanquins, daily necessities on twenty palanquins, antiques and paintings on twenty palanquins, pearls, gemstones, and assorted jewelry on twenty-two palanquins, clothes for all seasons on ten palanquins, fabrics and wool on ten palanquins, and transportation such as carriages and horses on ten palanquins, making a total of one hundred and twenty-eight palanquins. Additionally, six households came as attendants, along with maidservants and maids totaling twelve people.
The Qingfeng Pavilion, designated as the new bridal chamber, was filled to the brim, with no room to step in. Maids and old women from various courtyards competed to see the lively scene. Even though the Song Family was wealthy, the dowry chests packed so full left everyone dazzled.
Not to mention the four leading gifts from the Emperor and Empress, Ruyi and Guanyin, which represented prestige; even the twenty palanquins of antiques and paintings demonstrated profound heritage. The head servant who came with the dowry was clearly from the palace, with an air slightly superior to the current teaching maids hired by the Song Family!
The six auspicious people had to be of full parentage with both parents alive and having both sons and daughters! Apart from the mother of the Heir’s wife, Marchioness Wenchang, there were ladies from the legitimate second wife of the Wenchang Marquis Mansion as the new bride’s aunts, the Ancestral Lady of the Cui Family in Qinghe as the Heir’s wife’s maternal aunt, and the Third Madam Qin from the Duke Zhen’s Mansion as a legitimate aunt of the Heir’s wife.
Speaking of Third Madam Qin, the incident where a legitimate daughter of the Wenchang Marquis Mansion had taken a liking to an illegitimate son of the Duke Zhen’s Mansion had been widely gossiped about, yet now, who doesn’t say Third Madam Qin had good foresight!
Third Master Qin, not yet forty, had already reached the rank of Second Rank General of Zhenbei, stationed in the Northwest. Not a single concubine in the house, Third Madam Qin had given birth to three sons and a daughter in succession. Upon receiving the news of her niece’s marriage, she had specifically rushed back from the Northwest.
Furthermore, Third Madam Qin held another identity, as the maternal aunt of Ruan Qiniang. Third Master Qin and the original Duchess Li, Mrs. Qin, were siblings of the same mother. When Mrs. Qin divorced, it was Third Master Qin who arranged another marriage for his sister, unwilling for his young sister to live in loneliness!
As for Ruan Qiniang, a fallen noblewoman whose family had been confiscated and title voided, marrying into the Annan Earl Mansion, one of the founding noble families, besides her own qualities, her greatest reliance was the support from Duke Zhen’s Mansion and her maternal uncle!
The remaining two auspicious persons were selected from the family-born slaves of the Zhao Family, to handle tasks that the noble ladies couldn’t!
The Old Madam welcomed guests in the Qingfeng Pavilion with the First Madam, Second Madam, and Third Madam, exchanging pleasantries upon meeting.
Since the Third Madam arrived in the capital, she had taken over household affairs from the Old Madam and was fully responsible for the Heir’s grand wedding. The First Madam, being in a trial period, nevertheless had to put on a smiling face for the Third Madam despite any dissatisfaction in her heart.
On the other hand, the Second Madam maintained an attitude of "minding her own business." Had the Old Madam not called her to come today, she indeed wouldn’t have dared to attend.
The eldest brother of the Second Madam’s natal family, after ten years of diligent study, finally progressed from scholar to attained scholar nobility. This time, taking advantage of the Heir’s wedding, her entire family hitched a ride on the Li Family’s ship to the capital, intending to participate in the imperial examination three years later to become a Jinshi, planning to settle in the capital during those three years.
This Chang family maternal uncle, on the surface, was a person of face, claiming only to disturb the Song Family for a few days to share the joy with the eldest nephew, promising to move out once a house is found!
The Second Madam was busy reuniting with her brother and sister-in-law from her natal family, engrossed in their matters; she paid little heed to the marriage affairs of her nephew once removed! In the eyes of the Second Madam, even her biological daughter was not as important as her own family.
Even Susu had heard that the Second Miss had already flared up several times because of the two cousins from her maternal uncle’s family. Those two daughters from the Chang Family, upon arriving at the Song Family, sought after this and that, all of which the Second Madam had the Second Miss give to them.
The Second Miss, known for being calculative, had put up with it, but who knew those two girls, with shallow eyes, fell for the Second Miss’s dowry, sparking a huge scandal!
The Third Madam was overwhelmed with tasks, while the First Madam only watched the spectacle. Ultimately, it was the Old Madam who instructed Susu to prepare some satin and jewelry to send to the two girls.
"Now that you’re at our home, consider yourselves guests! The Old Madam said that anything the girls wish to eat or play with, just ask the Second Madam, and even if the Second Madam doesn’t have it, the Old Madam will find a way to get it for you. It is just we are busy with our young master’s marriage, if we fail to entertain, please forgive us! These items, I’m sure the young ladies have seen plenty, but they represent a kind gesture from our Old Madam!"
The two young ladies from the Chang Family focused only on sifting through the fabrics and jewelry. The Madam of the Chang Family and the Second Madam shared a similar character, pretending to be aloof, ignoring Susu, a maid. Meanwhile, the Second Miss blushed with embarrassment, feeling she had never been this humiliated in her life. For the first time, she amiably saw Susu out, even gave a purse, and later requested the steward left by Second Master to find a house to settle her uncle’s family out.
"My mother didn’t save up any dowry for me, all went to her natal family, I said nothing; I am a member of the Song Family, I have a father, and a grandmother. If my uncle acknowledges Little Seventh Brother and me as nephews and nieces, then don’t cause trouble for my family, making siblings look down on us. And don’t assume that my father really wouldn’t dare to divorce my mother!"
These words left the maternal uncle of the Chang Family blushing with shame, so much so that they moved out that very day.
The Second Miss may not be the best granddaughter but is definitely a good daughter. For the first time, her lack of consideration for face embarrassed the Second Madam, so much so that she feigned illness at home.
Had it not been for the Old Madam summoning her, she likely would have continued her "illness" until her daughter admitted her mistake! Even now, having arrived, she only converses with Madam Cui, aiming to exhibit her cultivated womanly talents.
Yet only Madam Cui knows how exasperated she truly is, maintaining a gentle smile on her face which even Susu admired as the work of a high-caliber person!
Opportunities for the four auspicious matrons to lend their hands weren’t frequent. Their main purpose was to demonstrate the strong interpersonal connections of the bride’s family before the in-laws, emphasizing the significance of this marriage, and at the same time, to improve their daughter’s (niece’s, cousin’s) favorability!
After exchanging pleasantries, the other two auspicious women completed the bedding ceremony, locked the bridal chamber, and handed the keys to the two housekeeper matrons who came with the dowry.
The dowry, however, could not be stored away yet and had to be displayed on the wedding day itself.
The Old Madam accompanied the four auspicious matrons, having Nanny Qin escort the other two for a meal, successfully completing the day’s tasks. Following the Old Madam, Susu also breathed a sigh of relief.
Only because Susu had memories of seeing that Third Madam Qin, who had once been addressed as "aunt." Yet as time changes all things, it seemed Third Madam Qin did not recognize her.
The Third Madam Qin, sitting in the sedan chair, let out a sigh. Always repaying kindness, she had not dared to intervene when the Emperor’s attention was fixed on the Qin Family! Even the sister-in-law and niece were protected only through strenuous efforts by the Qin Family back then.
Fortunately, goodness begets goodness. That Granny Zhao, who had received a great favor from Aunt Su, willingly risked the dreadful danger of death, faking Thirteenth Lady’s "illness passing," swapping identities, allowing her to facilitate an imperceptible conclusion.
Now having met Thirteenth Lady, although nominally a slave, she was aware that Old Madam Song treated her as her own granddaughter.
Nevertheless, Thirteenth Lady’s beauty, even more so than Aunt Su, caused apprehension over what fortune or misfortune it might herald!
Mrs. Qin Shan also recalled the woman who always carried an air of melancholy. Outsiders saw her with children and harmonious marriage, yet they wouldn’t know she too started merely as one who judged only by appearances.
Upon marriage, faced with a husband favoring a concubine; a year into wedlock, she had yet to bear a child. If not for visiting her pregnant sister-in-law, chancing upon Aunt Su, she would have never discovered being subjected to contraception incense.
The Third Madam could never forget her frantic state upon discovering the truth, rushing back to Duke Zhen’s Mansion, kneeling before the Old Madam, crying bitterly. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Subsequent thorough checks of the third household revealed the concubine cherished by Third Master had a brother versed in the incense trade, knowledgeable of rare harmful incense formulas.
The bloody aftermath, Third Madam Qin did not wish to recall, yet Aunt Su being her benefactor remained irrefutable. The offspring she failed to save that Aunt Su left behind, at least now she needed to protect one completely!
