“You have been married to your husband for five years, but you have no children. I have told you so many times to provide your husband with two beautiful concubines so that you can raise any children he may have, which will also help win over the young master’s heart.” Madam Zhao continued to persuade her earnestly, “I will also find you a good doctor to help you improve your health. Giving birth to a legitimate son as soon as possible is the foundation for your future!”
Zhao herself had suffered the pain of not having given birth to a legitimate son after being married for many years, but she never expected that her daughter would have the same experience as her!
"I'm not reconciled! Mother, I'm not reconciled!" Third Mother's voice was already trembling with tears. She said indignantly, "Why does Xiao Jinniang have such a good life? Ten years have passed, and in these ten years, there has only been one Empress in the harem, and not a single new concubine has been added!"
"What is Yun Shen? He's just a prince's heir! He—"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Madam Zhao quickly stopped her agitated daughter. Knowing that her daughter had gotten stuck in a rut, she hurriedly said, "Her Majesty the Empress gave birth to her eldest son in the twenty-fourth year of Kangping, and in the first year of Jinyuan, the eldest son was named Crown Prince. Although there is only one Empress in the harem now, there are three princes and one princess!"
The tears in San Niang's eyes dried on her cheeks.
"Listen to your mother's advice, and don't cause any more trouble. You must live a good life with your son-in-law." Looking at her daughter with red eyes, Zhao Shi gently advised, "I have suffered a lot because of this. Back then, when did I not try to be strong? When did I not suppress the people around your father? But look at this mansion, it's so chaotic. Today a concubine's daughter comes, tomorrow another concubine's daughter comes back. I don't even know if the day after tomorrow or the day after that another concubine's daughter I don't even know will come in!"
When she spoke of her sorrows, Zhao couldn't help but shed tears.
Seeing her mother heartbroken, Third Sister had no choice but to suppress her own emotions and comfort Zhao.
Zhao glanced at the still unwilling-looking Third Sister and sighed deeply in her heart.
I hope my daughter won't follow in my footsteps.
Chapter 4 Old Friends
The four An sisters left the main courtyard of the Grand Madam, exchanging polite greetings along the way.
Seventh Sister and Tenth Sister seemed to get along well, but they were particularly hostile to Sixth Sister. However, Sixth Sister seemed completely oblivious and spoke intimately with Seventh Sister. Although it was unknown how the three of them usually got along, today the focus was on An Ran, who had just returned.
Especially after An Ran, dressed simply, started wearing the jade bracelet that San Niang had given her.
"Ninth Sister is so lucky." A hint of envy flashed in Seventh Sister's eyes, and her tone was a little sour. "This bracelet is also Third Sister's favorite. I didn't expect to give it to you so casually today."
An Ran didn't want to be in the limelight anymore, so she just smiled shyly and didn't reply.
Sixth Sister also laughed from the side, "Ninth Sister is so beautiful and has such fair skin, she looks perfect with this emerald green bracelet."
“That’s right.” Shi Niang chimed in, smiling innocently. “It seems that our brother-in-law, the young master, brought this back from Yunnan. The jadeite there has such good clarity! Such quality is extremely rare these days.”
A few words of praise from others would have been fine; An Ran could have just smiled and let it go. But Shi Niang's words forced her to speak.
An Ran's right hand unconsciously gripped the bracelet on her left wrist, a hint of fear creeping into her expression. "Such a valuable item, is it inappropriate to give it to me? I'd better return it to Third Sister another day; how can I let her spend money?"
Before she could finish speaking, Qi Niang couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Even Sixth Sister and Tenth Sister showed a hint of suppressed laughter on their faces.
"Ninth Sister, aren't you being a little too honest?" Seeing An Ran's flustered appearance, Seventh Sister's initial wariness of her immediately lessened considerably. "Since Third Sister has given it to you, how can there be any reason to take it back? Not to mention that Third Sister is now the principal wife of the Prince's heir, even when Third Sister was still a young lady at home, I would never have asked you to return it."
An Ran's face flushed red instantly.
She forced a smile, her expression revealing a hint of unease.
Seeing her like this, Sixth Sister and Tenth Sister kindly changed the subject, and Seventh Sister teased her a couple of times before letting go.
After walking together for a while, Anran parted ways with Sixth Sister and Seventh Sister at the end of the western path and followed Tenth Sister into Ningxue Courtyard.
Shi Niang pointed to a row of side rooms on the east side and said to An Ran, "This is my sister's room. I live right across from her."
An Ran quickly surveyed the layout of the courtyard.
Unlike the delicate white walls and black tiles of the Jiangnan region, the courtyard of the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion is more grand and spacious. Although there are many rooms, it does not feel too cramped or confined.
The courtyard was paved with bluestone bricks, and the glass lanterns hanging under the eaves shone brightly in the sunlight. The magnolias in front of the carved windows of the vermilion-lacquered covered walkway were in full bloom. In front of the main house, two crabapple trees had lush branches and leaves, full of greenery.
Seeing An Ran's gaze fall on the row of main houses, Shi Niang explained, "This is where Third Sister lived before she got married."
It turns out this was the courtyard where the eldest daughter lived; no wonder it was so elegantly decorated.
An Ran nodded. She was still worried about An tide and An Mu, and her face showed signs of fatigue.
“Ninth Sister must be tired from the journey, so I won’t disturb you while you wash up and eat.” Tenth Sister was very sensible. She said obediently, “I will come to find you when we go to Grandmother’s courtyard for dinner.”
Shi Niang can be described as a beautiful and understanding flower.
An Ran couldn't help but marvel inwardly; her ability to read people at such a young age was remarkable.
"Thank you so much, sister." An Ran said with a smile, "I really don't know what to do today without you."
After exchanging pleasantries with the sisters, Shi Niang took her leave and returned to her room.
The two maids who came back to the courtyard with An Ran were Cui Ping and Jinping, who had gone to Yangzhou to fetch her. They were said to have been maids of Zhao Shi.
An Ran had just entered the house and hadn't even had a chance to properly look around when footsteps sounded outside.
Jinping came in and replied, "Miss, it's Mama Shi who's here."
An Ran quickly invited Shi's mother in and asked her to sit down. "I haven't had time to tidy up yet, please excuse the mess."
"You flatter me, young lady." Mama Shi was much more polite to An Ran at this moment. She smiled and said, "I came here on the behalf of Madam to bring your servants."
“There are fixed rules for the people who serve the young ladies in the Marquis’s mansion: two head maids and four junior maids. The old women who are responsible for cleaning and the maids who do rough work are separate.” Shi Mama explained, “Jinping and Cuiping also served the young ladies for a period of time. Now we’ll just assign them to the young ladies. They are very reliable.”
Madam Shi beckoned outside, and several young maids waiting under the eaves came in. "These are the maids chosen for the young lady. Madam specifically instructed that if any of them are not good enough, the young lady should just go and tell Madam, and must not wrong herself."
An Ran quickly thanked Zhao Shi profusely.
When An Ran saw the faces of the four maids clearly, she was immediately stunned.
"These are green plums, green apricots, peach leaves, and peach branches," said Mama Shi to the four. "Why don't you come and greet Ninth Miss?"