Delicate Flower – Chapter 160

Chapter 160 – Eldest Daughter-in-Law

First Madam respectfully responded “Yes”. She smiled at Second Madam and continued, “It’s my fault for having a weak constitution. I have troubled you, Second Sister-in-law.”

Second Madam, looked unperturbed as she gently smiled and said quietly, “A family should not speak as if they were two different entities, sister-in-law is being too polite.” She personally went to bring an embroidered stool for First Madam, saying: “Eldest Sister-in-law, quickly take a sit and have a chat with us.”

First Madam smiled in response and her smile was delicate and had a slight frailty to it, causing people to be drawn to her slender and thin frame.

Yu Tang became even more curious after this.

Eldest Master passed away before Grand Elder did, so if you wanted to say that First Madam was feeling sorrowful over the loss of her late husband… at that time although she looked somewhat sad, she wasn’t as sad as she was now… …… As if she was intentionally displaying her frailty…

She frowned unconsciously.

Mrs. Shen also felt that it was a little strange. However, it was not about the reason why First Madam suddenly became this way. After all, from being the legal wife of a third ranked official and the expected future patriarch’s wife to now becoming a widow who has to abide to rules of chastity, anyone would have difficulty adjusting to it for a period of time. She was more curious about the look that Grand Madam gave her.

What did First Madam’s appearance have to do with her?

Her relationship with the Shen family was not good, and she seldom attended social gatherings among relatives. She didn’t know if First Madam and the Shen family were related by marriage, but First Madam was certainly not related by marriage to her mother’s family, so how could First Madam’s appearance have anything to do with her?

These were just fleeting thoughts in her mind as she politely exchanged a few pleasantries with First Madam according to etiquette.

First Madam’s replies were polite but not too detached or nor too enthusiastic, and she managed to strike the right balance.

Mrs. Shen secretly commended her in her heart and could not help but pay more attention to First Madam.

She noticed that First Madam looked plain, and upon closer inspection, she was dressed a little shabbily.

Shoes that have been washed several times causing them to turn a little white, her outer robes was made of fine white silk, but the inner garments were made of just fine cotton cloth.

Mrs. Shen’s heart sank a little.

She knew that she had a straight-talking personality, often bluntly blurting out something that makes people uncomfortable, but she felt that this was the proper way for people to behave.

Could it be that after the death of Eldest Master, the Pei family treated First Madam harshly, and Grand Madam was afraid that she would see it and call it out?

This was not out of the question. Afterall, the patriarch position went to Third Master instead of the Eldest and Second Eldest. It was common knowledge that Third Master was the beloved of both Grand Elder and Grand Madam.

Back then, when he burned down Eldest Master Song’s new matrimonial chambers, Grand Madam couldn’t bear to let her youngest son suffer even the slightest injustice by saying a single word of apology.

This matter was widely-known among relatives and various influential families.

Mrs. Shen lowered her head as she sipped the tea.

On the contrary, it was Gu Xi, who became very interested in First Madam, not only did she warmly greet her, she also asked about her everyday living with great concern. And this questioning of hers wasn’t just ordinary socializing. Her topic quickly shifted from copying Buddhist scriptures to writing, and added that although she copied Yan Zhenqing’s writings when she first started, she ended up following Mrs. Wei’s style, which made First Madam’s eyes light up and she spoke with a little more feeling.

Yu Tang surmised that First Madam must have good handwriting.

She became a little dejected internally.

It looked like Gu Xi was really here to marry Pei Yan, otherwise she wouldn’t have known everyone in the Pei family so well.

The atmosphere gradually started to recover because of Gu Xi, and it was second young miss who slowly re-joined the conversation between Gu Xi and First Madam. Mrs. Shen even started looking at First Madam differently and she praised First Madam for being a truly talented woman.

First Madam humbly responded, “No, it’s just that my maternal grandfather liked to write, and we, his grandchildren benefited from his tutelage.”

Mrs. Shen remembered that First Madam’s father was the Minister of the State Scholarship Academy, and remembered that Shen Shanyan refused to go to the State Scholarship Academy to teach but stayed nestled in Lin’an City. Her heart was a little uncomfortable, and she revealed these emotions in her expression.

First Madam quickly diverted the topic as she asked about the homework of the several Pei young ladies, and the identity of Yu Tang.

Several Pei ladies replied to First Madam according to the order of seniority, and fourth young miss was eager to introduce Yu Tang.

Yu Tang got up and gave First Madam a fresh curtesy.

First Madam touched in her sleeve and said with some embarrassment, “I didn’t realize that there were so many guests in the house, and I didn’t bring anything over. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

Yu Tang respectfully thanked her.

First Madam then spoke with Gu Xi about their shared relatives. “Since you are from the Gu family in Hangzhou, do you know an aunt with a maiden name of Liushen? She married into my family, and she is my maternal aunt.” 

Gu Xi quickly responded, “Isn’t she the aunt of our fourth branch? She got married before I was born. However, to this day there are still people who say that she is the prettiest lady in the Gu family. It’s a pity that I don’t have the chance to meet her. I wonder if the rumours are true?”

First Madam pursed her lips and smiled, her brows and eyes sparkling with charm.

Yu Tang suddenly understood a little why Eldest Master and First Madam had such a good husband and wife relationship.

Anyone who has such a wife will feel a little more love for her, right?

As the two spoke about this aunt of the Gu family, they became more and more comfortable with each other.

Mrs. Shen, however, frowned.

She sensed that First Mistress changed the topic because of her. She originally wanted to explain herself, but as several of the Pei ladies chatted on, it was  difficult for her to interrupt the flow and even if she wanted to explain herself further, she couldn’t find a suitable opportunity to do so.

She still felt that she had to find an opportunity to explain to First Madam, lest she misunderstand that she was unhappy with First Madam, and wouldn’t then she be wrongly accused of bullying First Madam who was a widow!

Yu Tang, however, observed Grand Madam and Second Madam silently.

Unfortunately, Grand Madam and Second Madam were experienced and if they wanted to keep their thoughts and feelings hidden, no one would be able to discern them. One sat drinking tea without revealing any joy or displeasure, and the other watched First Madam and Gu Xi with a smile on her face as she seemed to be listening intently to the conversation.

What exactly did First Madam come here for?

Was she simply here to greet Grand Madam?

And why was she staying in the courtyard here?

Yu Tang felt that she wasn’t intelligent enough, so she should just stay out of it and not cross swords with the experts, or else she might end up dying without even knowing the reason why.

She silently sighed in her heart.

The atmosphere in the house, even though it looked quite cozy, was no longer as joyful as it had been before, and in the end, it still made people feel a little tired.

Fortunately, first madam did not stay long. She only said that she has been living in the mountains since the beginning of autumn to have some peace and quiet, and that she is staying in the west courtyard of Autumn Shuangzhai , and asked them, mainly referring to Mrs. Shen and Gu Xi, to visit her when they are free, and that when she is alone, she copies the sutras and recites the Buddhist scriptures, which is relatively relaxing and leisurely, and then got up to take her leave.

Mrs. Shen and Gu Xi both smiled and agreed.

Only then did First Madam, as if remembering that there was still Yu Tang here, gave Yu Tang another special instruction, adding, “The snow scenery is especially beautiful on my side, so you should come over to play with a few of your younger sisters then.”

Yu Tang smilingly agreed.

Excluding Grand Madam, everyone got up to see the First Madam out.

When First Madam reached the door, she stopped the crowd from seeing her off further and said, “It’s cold outside, it’s fine to only have Chen Daniang accompany me.”

Second Madam also smiled and stopped the rest from sending First Madam as she personally sent First Madam out of Grand Madam’s courtyard before returning.

After this, the atmosphere couldn’t return to the way it was before. Everyone sat for a short while before saying their goodbyes.

Grand Madam nodded and did not keep them, and everyone went back to their respective courtyards.

Shuang Tao followed Yu Tang into the inner room and closed the door.

Yu Tang thought that she wanted to help her change her clothing, but instead, she smiled and pulled out an oil-paper bag, opened it and handed it to Yu Tang: “Miss, do you want to have some?”

The aroma of baked sweet potatoes immediately filled the inner room, causing Yu Tang to salivate a little, “Where did you get this from?”

As Yu Tang only brought this one maid Shuang Tao over, Grand Madam allocated a second maid named Liu Shu to serve Yu Tang as well. Yu Tang was afraid Shuang Tao might act inappropriately, so she had Shuang Tao follow Liu Shu’s example and learn from her. So when she had her meals, she was served by Liu Shu, and Shuang Tao followed several of the second grade maids of the Pei family’s young ladies and waited in the tea room instead. This was also a good opportunity for her to meet and familiarize herself with various people.

Shuang Tao knew that Yu Tang liked to eat roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts in winter, and giggled, “It was the accompanying maid of second young miss who roasted them, and we had one each.” She then smilingly added, “I feel that the Pei family’s young ladies are all worthy of the name, not only do they treat each other kindly, but even their serving maids were all very nice. The accompanying maid of third young miss even taught me a lot of the Pei family’s rules, and said that if there’s anything I don’t understand, I can ask her.”

That’s good!

Yu Tang smiled and nodded. She pointed to the sweet potato that was in her hand and said, “Didn’t you say each person only had one? Why don’t you keep it for yourself? With Grand Madam here, would I still lack food? In future, if you come across something like this again, you should take care of yourself first.”

Shuang Tao smiled and replied ‘yes’, but she still left half of the sweet potato for Yu Tang, saying that Yu Tang should have it when she felt like it.

Yu Tang didn’t respond, but in her heart, she was filled with gratitude.

She knew this was because ShuangTao was afraid that she would not be able to eat properly in front Grand Madam especially when she just entered the residence, and purposely left some for her.

Early next morning, when they got up, they saw traces of water on the hairs of the maid who brought the hot water in, and discovered that it had snowed heavily in the middle of the night yesterday.

It was also the first snowfall of the year in Lin’an City.

Yu Tang and Shuang Tao were pleasantly surprised as they pushed open the windows.

Outside a white blanket covered the landscape, large cotton wool-like snowflakes were still falling, the leaves on the trees were already stacked full of snow. Now and again, some branches that could not bear the weight of the snow cracked, causing the snow piled up on them to slide down from the leaves, making a “bu bu” sound.

Yu Tang and Shuang Tao did not expect to see such heavy snowfall.

Shuang Tao squealed, “We can build a snowman!”

As soon she spoke, a cold wind blow in, making both of them shiver, but as they had been staying in the house where they had floor burner going last night, their bodies were still warm and they didn’t feel cold, but both of them still closed the windows immediately.

Shuang Tao asked Yu Tang, “Do you want to build a snowman today?”

If they were in the Yu family, when they encountered such a heavy snowfall, they would definitely be building snowmen.

Yu Tang hesitated for a moment and said, “Let’s see!”

If no one in the Pei family had such a custom, she wouldn’t do it.

As a matter of fact, in her previous life, after she married into the Li family, she had not built a snowman since.

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TL note: I will be going on holiday for 2 weeks so there’s no releases next week. I managed to rush this one out. Thanks for all your support especially those on Ko-Fi ~~ 🙂