“Miss, Madam Zhang is here.”
The Madam Zhang mentioned here refers to Madam Xu, the wife of the eldest son of the fourth aunt’s paternal uncle.
Lu Huiyi’s maternal cousin-uncle surnamed Zhang was not good at studying. After marrying and having children, he relied on his father, the Libationer Zhang, to purchase an official position, and he now served as a Secretariat Proctor in the Directorate of Education.
This cousin-uncle Zhang happened to share mutual tastes with the Fourth Master. Perhaps because both had obtained their offices through purchase, they were fond of eating, drinking, and merrymaking, neglecting proper duties in their daily lives.
The Fourth Master was somewhat more fortunate: his father was a Grand Secretary in the Grand Secretariat, and he had an elder brother serving as an Administration Commissioner in a Provincial Administration Commission. A provincial administration commissioner was a third-rank senior official of the imperial court, essentially a local feudal lord.
While a Secretariat Proctor was merely eighth-rank, the dignified Fourth Master had used the influence of his father and elder brother to secure the position of a seventh-rank Compiler in the Hanlin Academy.
The Fourth Master usually loved writing pretentious, flowery poetry, which quite suited the role of a compiler.
Now, speaking of purchased official positions, Third Master Lu, the Fourth Master, and Cousin-Uncle Zhang certainly did not belong to the same mold.
Third Master Lu served as a sixth-rank bureau director in the Ministry of Works, while also managing the family’s estates, shops, and various businesses alongside his wife, Madam Qiao. Third Master Lu had naturally disliked studying from birth, and the old grandfather had never pinned any hopes on him. Nowadays, seeing that he was exceptionally skilled at keeping accounts, he could be considered somewhat accomplished.
Only the youngest son among them studied, but he wrote pretentious poetry; he was useless in the imperial examinations, and his literary talent fell short as well.
Hearing that Aunt Zhang had arrived, Lu Huiyi’s eyelids twitched fiercely.
Why did she not remember this happening in her previous life? Or had too much time passed, causing her to forget?
Whenever Madam Xu visited in the past, Madam Zhang would always personally go out to the second gate to welcome her inside.
Although Madam Zhang was an orphan who had lived with her paternal uncle’s family before marriage and had been forced into an unsatisfactory match, she naturally felt some grievances. However, as time went on, Madam Zhang also understood her predicament: with neither parents nor relatives alive in the world, her uncle’s official rank not holding much weight in the capital, and her cousin being incompetent, the Lu family was already her best destination.
Libationer Zhang had only one brother, which was Madam Zhang’s father. Aside from his biological children, Madam Zhang was his closest living blood relative. He had treated Madam Zhang with genuine sincerity, and how could Madam Zhang not feel the same toward the Zhang family?
Therefore, this time Madam Xu did not think Madam Zhang was putting on airs; instead, she muttered inwardly whether Madam Zhang might have fallen ill, or perhaps committed some offense within the Lu family.
Thinking along these lines, Madam Xu asked Mama Hu, “How has Madam’s health been recently?”
Hearing this, Mama Hu could not help covering her mouth and smiling.
“She is doing very well. You will know as soon as you enter the room.”
Seeing Mama Hu’s reaction, Madam Xu felt even more suspicious.
This time, Madam Xu had brought several small dishes of pastries from the Tianxiang Pavilion.
Making her way all the way into the inner room, with barely half a foot across the threshold, she eagerly blurted out, “Good sister, you have always known that your elder brother has never attended to proper business. Look at what this is!”
Accepting the food box carried by the servant behind her, Madam Xu continued, “He actually did a good thing this time. These are pastries from the Tianxiang Pavilion, which are always in short supply. He happened to buy a large quantity just by chance, and the moment I got them, I thought of you, my sister, and rushed over without stopping.”
Madam Zhang stood up, personally took the food box, and said with a smile, “Thank you, Sister-in-law.”
Mama Hu stood behind Madam Zhang, took the food box, and extracted the plates one by one, arranging them on the table.
“My health is a bit out of sorts today, so I did not go out to welcome you, Sister-in-law. You won’t be angry with me, will you?”
“What kind of talk is that? Do we stand on such formalities between us?” Madam Xu asked again, “Where is your body feeling unwell? Have you called a doctor to examine you?”
Madam Zhang smiled and nodded, gently patting her lower abdomen. Having given birth to several children, Madam Xu understood the gesture instantly, though she could not believe it for a moment.
Madam Zhang had only given birth to a child fourteen years ago, and now that Hui Niang was already this grown up, to think that she was pregnant again!
“You, this, really?”
“Really, it has already been three months. However, the doctor says the fetus is not very stable and requires me to rest quietly for some days.”
Madam Zhang was turning thirty years old this very year. To receive such news was simply a heaven-sent blessing. Madam Xu appeared even more excited than Madam Zhang herself; she stood up, briskly walked around in a circle, and returned to Madam Zhang’s side.
“Do you feel any discomfort? What else do you need?”
“No discomfort, and nothing needed.”
“It has already been three months; why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Madam Xu calmed down a bit and reproached playfully.
“It’s not that I didn’t mention it earlier. Yesterday, when I went to see Hui Jie’er, she happened to have a doctor feeling her pulse. Hui Jie’er said my complexion looked wrong and insisted on having the doctor check me as well. Once he checked, oh my, what a surprise.”
“You only found out yesterday? It turns out I came at just the right time. You really are something, not caring about your own body at all.”
Madam Xu glanced up secretly, observing Madam Zhang’s expression, and asked, “I heard that Hui Niang fell into the water on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Did something happen? Is Hui Niang still in good health?”
Madam Zhang immediately withdrew her smile and let out a heavy sigh.
“It was because Hui Jie’er and the Fourteenth Miss argued a few words that the Fourteenth Miss pushed her into the water. She was unconscious for about three or four days and only woke up the night before yesterday.”
“Such a huge matter! Only you could remain so calm. Anyone else would have driven that pair of mother and daughter right out of the house!”
“But they are the Lu family’s concubine and daughter…”
“Aunt is right. Allowing those two mother and daughter pairs to do as they please will only make them increasingly bold and presumptuous.” Lu Huiyi arrived before her voice could be fully heard.
Before the servants could go in to announce her, she walked straight into the room and bowed to the two elders, saying, “Mother. Aunt. Thank you, Aunt, for your concern. Hui Niang only nearly drowned in the water and is now completely out of danger.”
“This…” Hearing the word drowned, Madam Xu stood up in shock. She grasped Lu Huiyi’s hands, looking her up and down to make sure whether she was truly unharmed.
Lu Huiyi’s gaze fell upon the few plates of pastries resting on the black-lacquered four-cornered table with beast-foot legs inside the room.
She had indeed forgotten, to think she could forget even something like this.
Aunt had come to visit Mother and brought popular, rare pastries from the capital. Mother had eaten a couple of pieces without much appetite and instructed the servants to take the rest to the various masters of the Fourth Household.
The Sixth Brother was on the verge of a new marriage, yet he suffered from relentless diarrhea. It was later discovered that the pastries sent by Mother had been adulterated with croton beans.
The stepmother sending out pastries that caused the Fourth Household’s only male heir to fall ill before his wedding was something that could never be glossed over, no matter how one explained it.
Mother was confined to her courtyard, and the elder brother’s wedding banquet could not even be hosted by her.
In the end, sitting in the seat of honor were the Father and Minor Concubine Xiao.
The fourteen-year-old Lu Huiyi had no idea who had harmed Mother, but the twenty-eight-year-old Lu Huiyi found it all rather tedious.
Thinking back, Mother going to argue with Minor Concubine Xiao early that morning must have been because she had discovered something. What a pity about the child in her womb.
People truly tended to pursue whatever they lacked the most.
Mother’s lack of contention and struggle had only ended up breeding the insatiable greed of that woman surnamed Xiao.
Managing affairs inside the house while bypassing the main quarters was not enough; she even had to put on airs as the legitimate mistress in front of outsiders.
Sometimes Lu Huiyi would think with self-abandonment that with the Lu family’s appearance of being jade on the outside but rotten on the inside, it deserved nothing less than complete ruin.
Yet this was the Lu family, the Lu family she had failed to let go of for an entire lifetime, the family that had given birth to and raised her.
Madam Xu pulled Lu Huiyi down to sit beside her. “Let’s not talk about such absurd matters. I think Hui Niang looks like a proper young lady after falling ill this once, and before we knew it, she has blossomed into a graceful maiden.”
“I suppose this counts as having walked past the gates of the Ten Courts of Hell, forcing me to grow up and become sensible. Thanks to Aunt’s blessing, I am still able to see you whole and intact.”
“You are a blessed child. I heard that if not for you, your mother wouldn’t even have known she was pregnant.”
Lu Huiyi pressed her handkerchief against her lips, lowered her gaze, and gave two light coughs before continuing, “I saw many ghosts in the City of Fengdu and heard of numerous regrets. Realizing that bodily health trumps everything else, I thought of having Lady Physician Wang check Mother as well.”
Lu Huiyi’s falling into the water was a domestic matter of the Lu family, and Madam Xu preferred not to dwell on it, so she invited Madam Zhang and Lu Huiyi to partake in the pastries.
Madam Zhang only tasted two bites before putting them down, as her appetite was not very good.
After sitting for a little while longer and telling Madam Zhang and Lu Huiyi to take good care of their health, Madam Xu announced that she was returning to the Zhang family to share the good news, and thus took her leave.
Having accompanied Madam Xu in conversation for so long, Madam Zhang was somewhat fatigued and told Lu Huiyi to take a plate back to Begonia Courtyard herself, while instructing the maid Wanqing to take the remaining portions and deliver them separately to the Fourth Master and Lu Qizheng.
Wanqing? That maid who was always adept at trimming her sails with the wind?
Lu Huiyi watched as Wanqing acknowledged the order and stepped out from the corner.
Wanqing had originally been a maid by Madam Zhang’s side. When the Lu family left the capital, Wanqing was among the servants dismissed. It wasn’t until Lu Huiyi entered the Prince of Xing’s manor that this Wanqing popped up from somewhere, weeping over her past mistress-servant bond with Mother. Out of regard for her deceased mother, Lu Huiyi had kept Wanqing by her side, only to discover later that this person was full of flowery words and most easily bought off behind the scenes.
As soon as Wanqing stepped outside and rounded a few corners, she bumped into Caiping, the maid serving Minor Concubine Xiao.
“Sister Caiping, why have you come?” Wanqing scanned her surroundings with caution, pulling Caiping under the courtyard wall. “This isn’t far from the Fourth Aunt’s courtyard. If Sister has anything to say, please speak quickly.”
“Good sister.”
Caiping fished out a few silver ingots and quietly stuffed them into Wanqing’s sleeve. Wanqing put down the food box, drew out the silver ingots right before Caiping’s eyes, carefully tucked them into her purse, and smiled with satisfaction.
“Sister Caiping is truly polite. Is there something Madam Xiao needs instructed?”
“Sister, you are carrying two food boxes, where are you heading?”
“Oh, you mean these?” Wanqing explained, “Madam Zhang just came over, bringing several plates of pastries from Tianxiang Pavilion. Fourth Aunt asked me to take them and deliver them to the Fourth Master and the Sixth Young Master.”
Caiping nodded. “So Madam Zhang came to deliver things. Which box is for the Fourth Master? Let me carry it for you along the way.”
Wanqing lifted the lid to take a look. “These peach blossom pastries are for the Sixth Young Master, and these mung bean rolls are for the Fourth Master.”
“Such exquisite and fine pastries, I wouldn’t dare steal sister’s credit for delivering them to the Fourth Master. I’ll just accompany you for a stretch.”
As she spoke, Caiping helped Wanqing re-cover the food box containing the peach blossom pastries, but her hand noticeably lingered on top for a moment.
“Sister Caiping?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. This is my first time seeing pastries from Tianxiang Pavilion, so I was momentarily fascinated.” Caiping smiled, closed the food box, held it in her hand, and did not return it to Wanqing.
Just as they walked out of Madam Zhang’s Plum Garden, Lu Huiyi instructed Chuntao to take her food box and return to Begonia Courtyard first.
“I suddenly remembered I have something to attend to. You head back to the courtyard first.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Chuntao headed in the direction of Begonia Courtyard, while Lu Huiyi turned around and walked away without further ado.
She had brought both Chuntao and Qingzhu out with her today, and Qingzhu could not help feeling a bit apprehensive. “Miss, where are we going?”
“To find Father.”
Qingzhu was somewhat bewildered. Were they going to make a complaint before the Fourth Master? That would be of no use whatsoever.