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Chapter 9 suspicion part 3
One day, a month later, Qian Mama reported to Madam and the old Madam what happened in Shen Wen's courtyard: "Yesterday the Yapo brought people to Second Miss's courtyard. Second Miss looked left and right and said she couldn't decide, and finally Wanniang, oh, Xia Wan, helped pick the person."
Yang Shi frowned, "She actually let that maid pick someone?"
Qian Ma Ma nodded: "Second Miss is very attached to that maid, although named Xia Wan, but usually 'Wan Niang sister' 'Wan Niang sister' called, everything by that maid to do. The maid was also very capable, and in the past month she had dismissed all the people in the courtyard, and the rest had been divided into jobs, such as sweeping the floor, cleaning the windows and carrying water, and someone was watching every day to see if they had done it. The people on duty also have different coloured scarves tied around their wrists so that people can tell at a glance who is in charge of what. They were not allowed to gossip in the courtyard or talk to people outside about the courtyard, and often got together to talk about it. Now that the courtyard is clean, usually quiet, the maids can obey." Naturally, Qian Mama did not know that this was Shen Wen's idea.
Yang Shi smiled bitterly, "She is even more of a master than Wen'er."
The old Madam also nodded and said, "This look is no worse than Xiang Er's courtyard, which was managed like the military."
Yang Shi said, "I heard that she took charge of the house after her father's accident, so it's not surprising that she is so capable."
The Old Madam asked, "Speaking of her father, did you ask anyone to look into it?"
Yang Shi sighed, "Yi'er and Jian'er have checked, but all they got was that her father had embezzled money, and there was no physical evidence, so he died in prison, probably by suicide."
The Old Madam frowned:"It's all a matter of people's opinions, none of them are accurate. You should tell Yi'er not to make too much noise, if people know that the Zhenbei Marquisate is investigating the court's case for its own maid, there's no telling how many people will chew on it."
Yang Shi was busy saying, "It's better not to ask more questions, as long as that maid is nice and good to Wen'er." She looked at Qian Mama.
Qian Mama hurriedly said: "I saw that the maid is good to the second young lady. Usually control the maids are not allowed to speak ill of the young lady. The first is that the maid has to smile when she sees the young lady, remembering that this is the person who feeds them. Every day, she cares about the second young lady, how her clothes should match and be warm. Not to mention the food, the young lady's favourite food was written down, what soup and what snack and what taste, it was written down clearly and given to the kitchen."
The Old Madam nodded and said, "It seems to be a child who knows how to be grateful, Wen'er is blessed to have her."
Yang Shi hesitated a little, she raised her eyes to look around, the other maids standing saw her wink and retreated. Only then did Yang Shi whisper, "That child has such a stunning look, later Wen'er will be compared to her ......"
Usually a girl would be married off with a dowry, and some would become her husband's concubine. Although marrying a wife for virtue and a concubine for bed matters. If the concubine is too beautiful and the Main wife is weak, the stability of the family will inevitably be affected later.
Qian Mama also whispered, "I heard that girl say that the Su family 'men don't become servants and women don't become concubines' Only then did the young lady beg Madam to let her mother and brother move out of the house."
Yang Shi said in a daze, "Oh, no wonder, she's afraid that they'll be seen as servants if they keep living in the Servants Quaters."
Qian's Mama continued to mutter, "Miss said to let her mother and brother go and stay in the guest room, which made that girl stop it, saying not to cause trouble for the Marquis Mansion."
Yang Shi nodded: it is not acceptable for the Marquis Mansion to treat the family of a criminal officer with the same courtesy as a guest.
Qian Ma Ma said, "That girl rented them a small house outside the Marquis Mansion, and Miss let her visit from time to time. That girl is so grateful to Miss that she gets teary-eyed when she talks about it and puts more effort into managing the yard."
The Old Madam said, "Since she said that the family motto is 'a woman should not be a concubine', and seeing that she has a strong nature, don't let her be a dowry maid in the future, and find her someone properly."
Yang Shi was relieved and said to Qian's Mama: "Let her be these years, but you go over to see and talk to Wen'er from time to time."
Qian Ma Ma replied, and said, "Xia Hong's parents came over the other day and said they wanted Xia Hong to go back at the end of the year, to prepare for her marriage."
Yang Shi was still hesitating when the Old Madam shook her head, "You let her go, it's because she can't beat that girl and wants to leave." Although she didn't like the Old Madam telling her what to do, Yang Shi couldn't refute her words in front of others, so she nodded her head.
Qian Mama echoed and said: "That girl speaks unforgivingly, and usually in the courtyard only to He Shi is still kind, while the others always scowl. Obviously beautiful, but people dare not underestimate. Xia Hong is indeed unable to compete with her."
Yang Shi said, "I heard that she used to practice martial arts with Xiang'er in the morning?"
Qian Mama said, "Not used to it? It's the same now, it never stops. Eldest Miss is also happy, always having people send her clothes for martial arts training, saying that she doesn't need to make another, it's her old clothes. But when I look at it, that is all new!"
Yang Shi smiled bitterly, "Xiang'er always wants to take on disciples, Wen'er doesn't like martial arts, she even told me to give her another sibling, now she's got her wish."
The Old Madam's eyes lit up, "Oh, it would be nice to give Xiang'er another sibling, isn't the Marquis coming back soon?"
Even though Yang Shi was in her thirties, she blushed and said with a frown, "What are you talking about? The Marquis said he wanted to come back for Yi's wedding, but only if the Emperor agrees? Besides, even if the emperor agrees, it will take at least a year and a half!"
The Old Madam gave a tsk, "Of course you think it's slow when you count the days like that. Don't worry too much about it, the days will pass quickly. A year and a half will pass in a blink of an eye.
Probably talked her thoughts which made Yang Shi's face more red. Qian Ma Ma quickly smiled and said: "The marriage of the Eldest Gongzi has to go through three medium and six etiquettes, the groom hired a matchmaker, the bride hired a matchmaker, and then there is a neutral matchmaker. The wedding ceremony is followed to proposing, birthday matching, betrothal gifts, wedding gifts, choosing the wedding date, and the ceremony itself. The gifts for the wedding, the decoration of the house and all the other preparations must be made. Madam should be keeping an eye on the day, but it must be a very busy year and a half, and it will go by in a blink of an eye."
TL Note: A traditional and genuine Chinese marriage should follow a basic principle of the “Three Letters and Six Etiquettes” in the past. Even now some customs are still followed. The “Three Letters” include the Betrothal Letter, Gift Letter and Wedding Letter. The Betrothal Letter is the formal document of the engagement. The gift letter would be given to the identified girl’s family. Within the letter will be a list of the types and quantity of gifts designated for the wedding. Once both parties accept the marriage, the Wedding letter is prepared and presented to the bride’s family on the day of the wedding and is a document that confirmed and commemorated the formal acceptance of the bride into the bridegroom’s family, with some adaptations of course. The six etiquettes include the proposal. It is done by the matchmaker. The 2nd one is the birthday matching. The matchmaker will ask for the girl’s birthday and birth-hour to assure the compatibility of the potential bride and bridegroom. The 3rd step is to present the betrothal gifts. And then the man should present the wedding gifts. The 5th step is for both of the parties to pick a wedding date. Then it is the final and the most interesting step: the wedding ceremony.
The Old Madam smiled and said to Qian Mama, "You don't offend either side!"
Yang Shi whispered, "When the time comes, I will have to ask Mother to help me with my ideas."
The Old Madam smiled comfortably. With so many things to do, the relationship between the two people was better than before.
If the Marquis' residence was just beginning to get busy, the First Prince's residence had already been busy for some time. The New Year would soon be upon us, and after that, in March of the New Year, the bride would be married. This was the marriage of the Emperor's eldest son, and the other party was from a noble family of "one family and three ministers", so the wedding had to be a big affair in any case.
It was nightfall, and four or five men stood in the First Prince's study, and what they reported in turn was not news about the marriage. By the time they had said all that needed to be said, it was close to midnight.
The First Prince let out a tired breath, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind and he asked offhandedly, "That time mentioned ...... that the second young lady of the Zhenbei Marquis family ...... she bought a maid ......" he recalled.
A member of the staff said busily: "Oh, that maid's name is Su Wanniang. There was a letter saying that the second Young lady of the Zhenbei Hou Fu had promoted her to the rank of first maid and put her in charge of the courtyard. As a result, in less than a month, she has thrown out most of the people, including the Pozi who spoke sarcastically about her when she first arrived at the Marquis' residence and other maids who treated her badly. Our people sent silver to stay. That second young lady obeyed her and even let her pick the people sent to her by the YaPo woman. She has become a real master in that courtyard, and the underlings say she is proud of her favour and has a personal vendetta."
T N Note: use public office to avenge private wrongs
The First Prince frowned instead, "And that Young girl is so indulgent her like this?"
The staff was busy saying, "The second young lady of the Marquis of Zhenbei's family has always been weak, and her courtyard was originally under the control of a big maid, but not as strict as Su Wanniang. As soon as Su Wanniang came in, she pushed the old maid aside, and I heard that she will be leaving soon."
Another person in the room said, "This Su Wanniang is so powerful, the slave is strong and the master is weak, there will be chaos in the future."
Another person said, "The Marquis of Zhenbei's residence seems to be losing its management, and Yang Shi is probably trying to save her time."
The First Prince pondered for a moment and said, "After the New Year, make arrangements, I want to meet her."
Someone asked, "Su Wanniang?"
The First Prince shook his head slowly, "It's that Second Miss."
A few of the staff members looked at each other: a seven-year-old girl? The First Prince, probably aware of their confusion, said casually, explanatory, "I just wanted to see if anyone could really be that stupid."
Everyone laughs: "The Marquis of Zhenbei is a military General, neither Gu Shi nor Yang Shi is from a prominent family. That second young lady's only sister is also fond of martial arts, so she has received a limited amount of family education. Moreover, the woman who once raised her seems to say that this second young lady was born stupid and has a bad brain."
The First Prince smiled back, and his hand went to his cup of tea as the people took their leave. The matter would never be brought up again. Although everyone felt that it was purely superfluous for the First Prince to want to check on a seven-year-old child in person, it showed the caution with which the First Prince took care of everything.
Of course even the First Prince himself did not realise that one has an instinct for danger, it is only that this feeling appears more than occasionally and in a flash, leaving one to wonder what it means.
Just as the First Prince wanted to meet Shen Wen, thinking he just wanted to see how stupid she was, completely unaware that his instincts were cautioning him that he should go and see how smart she was.
The First Prince opened his mouth and didn't say it wasn't necessary, what should be arranged still had to be arranged. Soon after, Empress' maternal family, Changle Hou Fu’s Lady in Charge, sent an invitation to Zhenbei Hou Fu, inviting the two young ladies to come to the Lantern Festival of the Changle Hou Fu to spend the festive season with the famous young ladies of the capital's powerful and noble families.
Although Yang Shi did not like to socialise herself, Shen Xiang was almost ten years old and should be socialising with the girls from other families. Besides, the lantern fair was just a gathering of girls from different families in the evening to guess a few lantern riddles, do some poetry and show their talents, and then go home or watch the lanterns on the street which won’t take too long. Yang Shi had someone write an invitation back, thanking her for the invitation and informing the Marquess of Changle that the two Young ladies of the Marquisate would be there.
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