Chapter 159 – Quick-witted
Had it been under usual circumstances, it would have been fine, but at this moment, just when Mrs. Shen finished speaking and with Grand Madam falling silent, Second young Miss’s cold scoff landed clearly and distinctly in everyone’s ears.
Mrs. Shen expression changed greatly, and even her gaze towards second young miss became somewhat hateful.
Since you dared to act in such a manner, you have to bear the consequences.
Yu Tang pretended not to have seen it.
Chen Daniang who was nearby serving, however, could not let the atmosphere turn sour, so she hurriedly smiled and asked, ”Mrs. Shen has just recovered from a serious illness, and so I wonder what the physician has prescribed? I can also instruct the maids and servants to take precautions as well.”
An upset stomach was not an uncommon disease. Most servants in wealthy families had some general knowledge about it, so when Chen Daniang asked, it was clear that she was trying to smoothen things over.
Perhaps Grand Madam was being protective of Second Young Miss or that she disliked Mrs. Shen, but she didn’t stop her, and everyone else followed Grand Madam’s lead, and bowed their heads low like quails.
Mrs. Shen’s expression became even more unpleasant, and the corners of her mouth opened and closed, like she wanted to say something.
Gu Xi quickly glanced at Yu Tang.
She didn’t expect this Lady Yu to be a coward, when something happened, she acted as though the situation was none of her concern and stayed out of it, calmly watching from the sidelines. So why did Grand Madam ask her to come along?
Was it because she is obedient?
But among the Pei family’s young ladies, which one of them weren’t obedient?
Why would Grand Madam request to have a young lady from another family accompany her just because she’s obedient?
Gu Xi secretly despised Yu Tang in her heart. She became a little irritable, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she smiled, “I’ll have to trouble Chen Daniang then. The physician didn’t have any special instructions, only advising Mrs. Shen to eat less spicy food for the next two to three days.”
She needed to find out why Grand Madam called Yu Tang to come over and stay in the other courtyard!
In contrast, Chen Daniang was relieved to have received Gu Xi’s reply.
She served Grand Madam for many years, so she knew Grand Madam’s temperament. Especially after Grand Elder’s passing, Grand Madam became more carefree with her words and actions, not mentioning the likes of Mrs. Shen, even the eldest Madam of the Song family, she would show her dislike upfront without holding back.
Now that Lady Gu offered a way out, she naturally grabbed hold of it, immediately smiling, “I’ve heard about avoiding spicy things as well. Although our family’s meals are usually light in flavour, it’s better to be safe. I’ll instruct those maid-servants accordingly.” After saying that, she immediately called a maid over, saying, “In addition to informing the kitchen, on Mrs. Shen’s side, you should inform them as well. If there’s a mistake, you will all be liable!”
The maid answered obediently and quickly retreated.
Chen Daniang then asked Mrs. Shen: “Have you had dinner yet? Would you like to have a little more?”
This question was a bit impolite.
Usually when one wanted to have someone join them for dinner, one would directly keep them, rather than asking if they wanted to.
Moreover, didn’t Mrs. Shen and the others come at this hour to have dinner together?
Gu Xi once again saved the situation.
Before Mrs. Shen could reply, she quickly responded, “Perhaps the kitchen isn’t prepared for our arrival. Why don’t I ask Hexiang to inform the kitchen servants in our courtyard to bring our dinner over here?”
This meant that they were staying for the evening meal.
Grand Madam glanced at Mrs. Shen.
Mrs. Shen’s forehead popped up with veins, but she didn’t refute Gu Xi’s words.
Grand Madam smiled and said, “Alright then. Mrs. Shen can’t eat spicy things, but I love spicy food. Mrs. Shen has only just recovered, so if I were to cause her to fall sick again, it would be a terrible thing on my part.”
Grand Madam was a fan of spicy food?
This is the first time Yu Tang has heard of it.
Gu Xi, however, smiled and replied, “I’ve heard from my aunt’s side that Grand Madam used to reside in Changsha with Master Qian, who was an official serving there. I didn’t realize that Grand Madam’s tastes have grown to be the same as those of the people in Hunan Province.”
This was also the first time Yu Tang had heard such a thing, and she looked at Grand Madam in surprise.
Grand Madam An’s expression, which was tense moments ago, relaxed at her words, and she sighed in a reminiscing tone, “That was more than fifty years ago!”
Gu Xi chuckled, “No matter how long ago it was, people will still remember. I even heard my elder brother say just the other day that when his senior brother went to Changsha Prefecture, he specially visited the canals that Great Elder Master had built back then, and said that even though more than fifty years have passed, the irrigation in that part of Ningxiang still depended on those canals that Great Elder Master built while he was still serving as governor! We all remember his benevolence, and there are people even now who still dedicate tablets in his honour!”
“Really?” Grand Madam was happily surprised by this, and her gaze towards Gu Xi was no longer as cold as before and became gentler, “There are still people who remember my father?”
“Really!” Gu Xi nodded her head, looking sincere, and said, “It was my dear brother who wrote back informing of this, otherwise how else would I get to know of it? Moreover, my elder brother’s letter wasn’t even for me, it was written to my great uncle. It said that when one is an official, one should imitate Great Elder Master, and asked my great-uncle to have the children of the family educated to learn from Great Elder Master.”
“Goodness me, I’ve caused trouble for your brother. ” Grand Madam politely answered, but her face lit up like a flower as she started speaking about her father while he was in office in her younger days. Gu Xi chimed in with a few words from time to time, and the atmosphere became lively.
Yu Tang was deeply impressed.
She had underestimated her greatly in her previous life.
No wonder she was so well-liked by everyone around her.
Just like this, their conversation on this topic lasted until Second Madam’s arrival, and even then Grand Madam was still in high spirits and dragged Second Madam into the conversation as well.
Evidently, Second madam heard of it before. She not only responded with a smile, but also added: ”Mother, the death anniversary of maternal grandfather is approaching. Do you think we should go and speak with the abbot of Zhaoming Temple and ask them to perform a few Buddhist rituals for maternal grandfather?”
“There’s no need for that.” Grand Madam sighed, “Your maternal grandfather, though you have never met him, was a stubborn man. Before he died, he even left a will to have his corpse burned and his ashes sprinkled over the West Lake. Your uncle was at a loss as to how to proceed and specially invited the patriarch of the family to intervene, which led to the burial of your grandfather in the ancestral tomb. I sometimes wondered who Xia Guang’s temperament followed, and I think it was very similar to your grandfather’s. However, your grandmother and grandfather didn’t think so, and was particularly fond of his personality. Otherwise, your grandmother would not have left all her dowry to Xiaguang when she passed. You had only just gotten married into our family at that time!”
Pei Yan’s maternal uncle was Grand Madam’s older brother.
Wasn’t it because Pei Yan was his own grandson?
Yu Tang didn’t think much of it.
However, hearing Grand Madam relate this, Pei Yan was really quite similar to his maternal grandfather.
Surprisingly, he wanted to burn his own corpse and even scatter the ashes …… She couldn’t help but shiver when she thought about it.
Perhaps, Second Madam didn’t care much about Pei Yan inheriting his maternal grandfather’s family’s property, or that she was just very skilled at making conversation.
“Grandfather lived his life as he pleased, and third uncle was also similar in many ways to grandfather. Since grandfather was fond of third uncle, it’s only natural that he wanted to leave his personal belongings with him. Moreover, grandfather’s belongings were also better in the hands of third uncle than in ours, and this is also likened to gifting a sword to a hero.” She said with a smiling face, “When it is passed on to further generations, it will be a good heirloom as well.”
Grand Madam was both happy and relieved at her words, as she held Second Madam’s hand and nodded.
Zhen Zhu came in and reported softly that the table was set.
Second Madam supported Grand Madam to stand.
The group then followed Grand Madam to the west wing for dinner.
Mrs. Shen and Second Madam sat to the left and right of Grand Madam.
Gu Xi sat at Mrs. Shen’s side, while Yu Tang sat at Second Mistress’s side, and the other ladies sat at their respective positions based on their ages.
The meal was eaten quietly, without any disturbance.
After the meal, Grand Madam was in a good mood, and everyone went back to the east wing to have some tea and chat.
The topic of conversation shifted from discussing about Great Grand Elder to the snowy scenery of Mount Fenghuang.
Mount Fenghuang was located on the outskirts of Hangzhou City, so when it came discussing the snowy scenery of Mount Fenghuang, it was Gu Xi, who naturally had the most to say.
She spoke vividly about following Gu Chaoyang to Mount Fenghuang to catch sparrows when she was little.
Several ladies, including Grand Madam, Second Madam and Mrs. Shen listened with great interest. Only Yu Tang, internally sneered.
In her previous life, she also heard Gu Xi speak about catching sparrows.
However, it wasn’t at Mount Fenghuang, but at Yongfu Temple located in the western suburbs of Hangzhou City.
According to Gu Xi in her previous life, that was the first time she went to the temple with her sibling Gu Chaoyang to perform a doxology for her mother on her mother’s tenth death anniversary.
She was more inclined to believe Gu Xi’s words of her past life then her words today.
But for Gu Xi to improvise to this extent, it was worthy of admiration.
The room was lively and bustling when Ji Daniang walked in with slight trepidation and whispered a few words in Grand Madam’s ear.
The smile on Grand Madam’s face immediately disappeared.
Fifth Miss was so frightened that she tugged at the lapel of Ah Shan’s clothes behind her.
The atmosphere in the room instantly froze.
Gu Xi’s face showed her indecisiveness.
Yu Tang knew that she was thinking to say her goodbyes but didn’t want to lose her chance of getting closed to Grand Madam.
Some opportunities were lost in the blink of an eye.
Before Gu Xi could speak, Grand Madam said tersely, “Since she has the heart, let her come in!” After speaking, she then glanced at Mrs. Shen.
Mrs. Shen was puzzled and a negative premonition formed in Gu Xi’s heart.
Yu Tang and the other Pei ladies held their breaths in silence.
Not long after, Ji Daniang led a woman dressed in onyx black mourning robes in.
Yu Tang almost cried out in fright.
The person who came was actually First Madam Pei.
Yu Tang stared at her, it had only been a little over a year since she last seen her, but compared to the first time, Eldest Madam Pei seemed to have aged ten years overnight, not only did she have gray hair at her temples, but she also had obvious wrinkles and a haggard look, like she lost her spirit after having her muscles and bones taken away.
“Mother!” First Madam respectfully greeted Grand Madam, her expression was humble, and gone was her dignified arrogance from before.
Yu Tang was confused for a moment.
What exactly happened to First Madam since the start of this year? And why was she staying in this other courtyard? Did she stay here right after Grand Master’s funeral? Or did Grand Madam take First Madam along when she went to the mountains as well?
Yu Tang’s mind was filled with troubling thoughts like a tsunami, but she feared that others might see her astonishment, so she hid it by lowering her head and sipping her tea.
But as she lowered her tea cup, out of the corner of her eye she unintentionally glanced over to Gu Xi and discovered that she too was drinking tea with her head bowed.
Yu Tang smiled wryly.
Grand Madam spoke to First Madam, “You’re not in good health nowadays, and every month you still need Imperial Physician Yang to come over and check your pulse. It is better for you to rest more. I have Second Daughter-in-Law to accompany me, and a few maids as well, and there’s nothing that needs your involvement, so you should just take good care of yourself.”
xkurohana 