Chapter 213: The Madam Who Came to Fetch the Concubine (1)
Translator: Iris
Since Gu Tingye had recalled the memories of his deceased father, he remained well-behaved and only held Minglan in his arms on the bed. Both of them kept silent until the midnight. Minglan who was worn-out due to the whole day’s work fell asleep in the man’s arms which were as hot as the stove. Gu Tingye rubbed Minglan’s soft hair gently. Seeing her jade-like tender face still covered with tiredness, he felt deeply sorry to her. Then he thought of Rong who would come to his mansion tomorrow and Chang who still stayed at a place far away from him. Actually, he never really wanted those two kids. Thinking of that, he couldn’t help but sigh– He was never a good father either.
He moved his hand down and touched Minglan’s soft belly, feeling hopeful all of a sudden.
The next day before the daybreak, Gu Tingye got up early to wash his face and get dressed. When he came out from the shower room, he saw Minglan climbing up with difficulty from the bed. Then he couldn’t help laughing and said, “Rest a bit longer. You have been tired out these days.”
Minglan shook her head firmly and said, “Since I have to go, I’d better follow all the rules. Normally, the time for giving the obeisance in Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion should be Chen Hour (7 a.m.)”
Gu Tingye looked at the sand glass and said with his eyebrows knitted, “But it’s only Chou Hour (3 a.m) now.”
Minglan, having looked at her pillow with reluctance, turned her head with her teeth gritted and got off the bed, saying, “I seldom get up early. A few hours wouldn’t make a huge difference anyway. I might as well do more things today. Then I could get up late in other days.”
The things Minglan did include: Accompanying Gu Tingye to eat breakfast and sending Gu Tingye off with a graceful and virtuous gesture. However, Gu Tingye only sneered at her pretended elegant look while rolling his eyes. Minglan ignored him completely and continued smiling tamely– Even though she was not able to fool Gu Tingye, she could still fool the servants in the mansion. After all, she needed to build a great public figure.
After that, she started to call the roll in the morning, supervise the affairs in the mansion and check whether the people in charge had done their work well. During this surprise inspection, some loyal and diligent servants were praised, some crafty servants were punished. In short, the supervision gained good results. At half past the Chou Hour, Minglan got into the sedan and went to Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion.
Cheng Manor (Gu Tingye’s mansion) and Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion were situated on the same side of one road with half of a garden of the Imperial Household Department in between (The other half was in Cheng Manor). Once being overlooked, they seemed to be located on both ends of a bow. If Minglan could go straightly along the bowstring, which meant going along the pathway in the woods, it would only take her around ten minutes to get to Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion. Unfortunately, due to certain reason, Minglan could only advance along the back of the bow. She had to get out of the inner yard, the outer yard, the gate of the Cheng Manor and then arrived at the gate of Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion by sedan. After that, she would go through the outer yard and the inner yard of Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion to get to the inside of the room.
It was exactly the Chen Hour when Minglan stepped into the House of Blessing Lily which had two gates and three rows of rooms. Mama Xiang greeted Minglan smilingly at the door, however she didn’t invite Minglan into the room immediately and only spoke to Minglan in the yard, “Second Madam, because you have said that you would come today, Old Madam have got up very early for you.”
Minglan paused for a second. Then she apologized with a blushing face, “It’s all my fault that Old Madam hasn’t slept well. Mama Xiang, I am new here and don’t know about the rules. Please tell me what time does Old Madam get up every day. I’ll come at the right hour next time.”
‘Damn it! If I didn’t come, your madam wouldn’t get up? Don’t Madam Shao and Zhu shi have to give their obeisance? Are you trying to fool me?!’ Minglan thought that.
Mama Xiang, in a daze for a second, reacted quickly, “Pardon me for being so gossipy. Old Madam has got aged, sometimes she gets up early, sometimes she gets up late. I can’t tell you an exact hour...”
“It doesn’t matter.” Minglan interrupted her in a soft voice, “If I arrive early, I can wait in the side room. I’ll give my obeisance when Old Madam is ready.”
‘Puff, you better let me wait. I’ll see if you’ll let me stand in the yard for half an hour as a punishment.’ Minglan pondered that. Old Madam Yuan had played that trick on Hualan for so many times. But it was hard for the mothers-in-law to do that. Because as long as they really let their daughters-in-law stand in the yard for once, tongues would start to wag! By then, how was Old Madam Qin who was famous for her kindness able to win people by her virtue?
Thinking of that, Minglan couldn’t help looking forward to it– Eh, she found herself getting more and more twisted.
Mama Xiang gave out a reluctant smile, not daring to underestimate Minglan again. Then she asked Minglan to enter in the room politely right away.
As Minglan stepped into the room, she saw Madam Shao and Zhu shi already there. Right now, the two women were talking with Old Madam Qin now. Madam Shao seemed quite anxious with a sallow face. Old Madam Qin was trying to comfort her, “... Tingyu is a lucky man. He has already been through so many things. I believe he can overcome the difficulty this time.”
“Second Sister-in-law is here.” Seeing Minglan entering the room, Zhu shi stood up right away and gave her obeisance, saying with a smile, “Eldest Sister-in-law was planning to come back to take care of Eldest Brother after she gave obeisance to mother. We were waiting for you to join us.”
Minglan couldn’t help looking at Mama Xiang who was standing next to her while using her innocent eyes to express her doubt: ‘One of you said I was early, one of you said I was late. How come?’
Mama Xiang showed an embarrassed look on her face and lowered her head.
Zhu shi, as sensitive as she was, realized that she must have said something wrong, given the look on Mama Xiang’s face. Before Minglan could reply anything, Zhu shi pulled her to the front at once. Then Minglan let it pass and only gave her obeisance to Old Madam Qin and Madam Shao. After that, Old Madam Qin let them sit on their seats and offered them tea. After they finished greeting each other, the four women started to chat.
“... We were talking about your Eldest Brother’s condition just now.” Old Madam Qin said that with a kind look on her face while pointing to a plate of fresh fruit on the table and ordering the maid to serve it to Minglan, “They said that weak people tended to live longer. I was comforting your Eldest Sister-in-law.”
Minglan also began to console Madam Shao, “There are still a few pieces of old mountain ginseng of excellent quality in my storeroom. I’ll send them to you when I go back. Any kind of medicine you need, just tell me, Eldest Sister-in-law.”
Madam Shao was touched by Minglan’s sincere look and gave out a wry smile, “Thank you, sister-in-law. You know about your Eldest Brother’s disease, every day is a blessing for him to be alive.”