Chapter 447

The Guide for a Virtuous Daughter Chapter 454: Ripples (Middle)

In the following days, the child in Eleven Lady's belly played a game of hide-and-seek with Lord Xu. Whenever Lord Xu casually placed his hand on Eleven Lady's stomach, the child would move spontaneously. But if Lord Xu carefully caressed it, the child would remain still.

Lord Xu was full of anticipation for this child: "He must be very lively!"

Eleven Lady smiled brightly.

Lively and mischievous were only a hair's breadth apart!

A few days later, the Gan family sent over a grand red and gold invitation.

Cao E's wedding was set for the tenth day of the ninth lunar month.

"It's better for her to marry early," Eleven Lady sighed to Teacher Jian. "Staying in that household, who knows what might happen? Though she'll be in unfamiliar surroundings with her husband's family, having her dowry in hand will at least give her some peace of mind."

Lord Xu smiled without comment.

Not every family could resist coveting a bride's dowry. Without strong backing from her natal family, it was difficult for a woman to keep all of her dowry intact.

"Will you see Cao E off when she marries?" He was now concerned about this.

Understanding his meaning, Eleven Lady smiled. "I won't attend the wedding itself. But I'd like to personally deliver the wedding gifts and take the chance to bid her farewell."

After all, Cao E was marrying into Fujian—they might never meet again in this lifetime!

Lord Xu nodded slightly.

Eleven Lady took advantage of a cool day after the rain to visit the residence of Count Zhongqin.

The household lacked the joyous atmosphere of a wedding. Instead, the maids and older women wore expressions of cautious unease.

Lady Gan accepted the winter-plum enamel tea set from the imperial workshops that Eleven Lady had brought as a wedding gift for Cao E, offering a strained smile. "How kind of you to make the trip, Madam Xu." She then accompanied Eleven Lady to Cao E's quarters.

Cao E's gaze toward Lady Gan was cold, but she softened when personally pouring tea for Eleven Lady. "How are you?" she asked, her eyes lingering on Eleven Lady's swollen abdomen.

"I'm doing well!" Eleven Lady smiled and tactfully explained her purpose for visiting.

Cao E had already guessed. "It's my own fault for choosing poorly," she said lightly.

Lady Gan frowned at this. "The date was chosen by the Imperial Astronomer. If we'd listened to your elder brother and set it for the tenth month—right around Madam Xu's delivery—she wouldn't have been able to come at all!"

Cao E didn't even glance at her, let alone reply. Instead, she smiled at Eleven Lady. "I just didn't expect you to come so early." She then instructed a young maid, "Go fetch that navy blue bundle." Turning back to Eleven Lady, she added, "Mother said as a widow she might bring ill fortune, so she didn't participate. But I've sewn some clothes, shoes, and socks for the unborn little master... There's also a cloak, just a few stitches short of finishing. I'll send it over in a couple of days." As she spoke, the maid returned with a large bundle.

Eleven Lady was deeply touched and rose to thank her. "You have your own embroidery to complete, yet you went to the trouble of making these for my child."

"My deceased mother prepared everything for me long ago," Cao E replied with a smile. "I just had to have them brought from storage. Please don't stand on ceremony, Madam Xu."

Every word was a pointed jab at Lady Gan, who stood by uncomfortably, her expression sour. But with Eleven Lady present, she couldn't voice her displeasure.

Every family had its own troubles.

Eleven Lady tactfully ignored the tension. She had Amber pay her respects to Elder Madam Gan on her behalf before taking her leave.

Upon returning home, she found Amber—now wearing married women's attire—chatting with Song Mama under the eaves.

Spotting Eleven Lady, both hurried over to greet her. Song Mama smiled. "I came specifically to pay my respects, but you were away at the residence of Count Zhongqin."

At the end of the seventh month, Eleven Lady had entrusted Lady Wen with arranging Amber's wedding. Steward Bai had three side rooms prepared near the Western Compound as their new home. On the first day of the eighth month, Amber was joyfully seen married. She had been told to return to duty in the tenth month, yet she'd already come back. (Note: The Ant Manual Team presents this first-hand translation draft. Salute to all previous manual teams. So exhausting...)

"Why didn’t you mention this earlier?" Eleven Miss leaned on Amber as she entered the house. "Is something the matter?"

"There's something I'd like to ask of you!" Amber said, smiling as she glanced at Song Mama.

Song Mama also pursed her lips in a smile.

Eleven Miss clambered awkwardly onto the heated bed and laughed, "What is it? So mysterious."

Song Mama then dismissed the servants in the room with a smile: "Guan Qing’s wife—meaning Amber—would like to ask the madam to keep someone!"

It took Eleven Miss a moment to process the title.

These days, her household was in the process of choosing new maids.

"I happened to hear about this matter, which gave me the idea," Amber explained in a low voice. "There's a girl named Xiu Lian who was betrothed since childhood to a guard named Wu Liu from the outer courtyard's attendants' office. I heard from Guan Qing that Wu Liu's father was originally a former armed escort and passed down excellent skills, highly regarded by the attendants' office manager. As for Xiu Lian, I went to see her quietly—she's fair-complexioned, skilled in needlework, and mild-mannered. Whether she rises to senior maid depends on fortune, but she’s certainly fit to be a second-tier maid."

The marquis’s outer estate was overseen by a chief steward managing general affairs, with thirteen departments under him: reception office, attendants' office, study, treasury, ancestral hall, kitchen, tea room, needlework room, night watchmen's quarters, stables, farmlands, and shops. Among these, the reception office handled social interactions and guest hospitality; the treasury managed account books and financial transactions; and the attendants' office was in charge of security. These three departments were the pulse of the entire marquis household.

Currently, Wan Daxian was in the treasury, Guan Qing and Cao An in the storeroom, and Chang Xuezhi in the reception office. Due to Amber's influence, Guan Qing could no longer stay in the treasury. The reception office and farmlands offered the most profit—the former received guests' red envelopes, while the latter could falsify land rents for personal gain. These two departments were either under Elder Madam's people, Lord Xu, or his associates, making it hard to place someone discreetly. Moreover, Guan Qing lacked martial skills, so the best outcome would be assigning him to nearby shops or farmlands.

The Qin Yi incident had made Eleven Miss acutely aware how fragile life was under strict hierarchies.

Perhaps such things existed even in her former society that emphasized equality and freedom, but as she hadn’t been part of the elite, the shock hadn’t been as profound as now.

This further solidified her resolve—since she couldn’t match Elder Madam’s decisiveness, she planned to gradually relinquish household authority to the heir's wife once Ninth Miss Jiang entered the household.

Yet Eleven Miss was acutely aware that people changed with their circumstances. If she relinquished power and relied solely on Xu Sizhun's filial piety to live with dignity, it would remain an ideal at best, reducing her to another Elder Madam Gan! She needed to stay informed of the Xu family's affairs, ensuring she understood everything clearly. This way, she could make sound judgments during conflicts and safeguard her rights. After all, wasn’t there a saying: "Harm none, but trust no one"?

But achieving this required connections—specifically, having people in the treasury, reception office, and attendants' office...

Eleven Miss didn’t hesitate before instructing Song Mama: "Handle this matter personally."

Song Mama solemnly agreed.

Eleven Miss then went to see Elder Madam.

"Amber came specifically to pay her respects today," she brought up casually between rounds of cards. "She wanted to secure a position for her husband, Guan Qing. Considering they’ve just married and are a young couple, I thought to ask for your grace in assigning Guan Qing a post within the capital."

Elder Madam laughed. "I don’t handle such matters now. Discuss it with Lord Xu."

Eleven Miss sat beside Elder Madam. "It’d be better if you mentioned it to the marquis!" She pretended to hesitate.

Elder Madam laughed, seeing right through her.

That evening, she deliberately brought it up with Lord Xu.

Lord Xu raised an eyebrow, eyeing Eleven Miss, who sat intimately beside Elder Madam, and respectfully agreed.

Back in their room, he teased her: "You’ve got quite the knack for charming Mother!"

"Charming?" Eleven Miss retorted playfully. "It’s called respect!"

"Oh?" Lord Xu gave her a suggestive look. "Then how will you 'respect' me, the one arranging this?"

Eleven Miss recalled his early morning arousal pressed against her these past few days... Her face flushed, but she ignored his remark, handing him tea from a maid instead. With a mock bow, she said, "My lord, please enjoy your tea!" Her eyes gleamed playfully.

Lord Xu laughed heartily, pulling her into his arms and giving her cheek a firm kiss.

He found such a quick-witted Eleven Miss utterly adorable.

Within a few days, Fangxi and Qiuyu in Eleven Miss's quarters were promoted to second-tier maids, while three new junior maids—Xiu Lian, Yu Mei, and Hong Lian—were added.

Eleven Miss devoted her energy to finding a match for Lü Yun, and before she knew it, the season for admiring chrysanthemums and feasting on crabs had arrived.

Ji Ting had long cultivated rare varieties, stacking a small chrysanthemum mountain in the elder madam's courtyard while adorning every room with vases and pots of the flowers. At a glance, the entire Yongping Marquis's inner residence was awash with chrysanthemums. Moreover, Madam Hongda from Nanjing sent four baskets of crabs. Lord Xu insisted on hosting a banquet at home—enjoying opera, flowers, and crabs.

Crabs were cooling food, which Eleven Miss could not tolerate, and Xu Sizhun dared not touch.

The elder madam laughed and said, "What kind of banquet can you hold with just four baskets of crabs? If you want to feast and play, go outside—don’t tempt everyone at home." She instructed Madam Du to distribute the crabs: "One basket to the old marquis at Red Lantern Alley, one to Madam Huang of Yongchang Marquis's household, one to Madam Lin next door, and one to Fourth Auntie."

The "Fourth Auntie" the elder madam mentioned was Eleven Miss’s cousin, Fourth Miss.

Eleven Miss and Fifth Madam both smiled and thanked the elder madam.

Fourth Miss sent four jars of Jinhua wine in return.

"Our mistress is with child," the older women delivering the gifts stood respectfully at the door, "and is having a rough pregnancy. She had to send us instead and asked us to inform the elder madam that once the child settles, she will personally visit to express her gratitude."

The elder madam was delighted, asking a slew of questions—"How many months along? Is the pregnancy going well?"—before finally letting the women leave.

Meanwhile, Fifth Master Xu Lingkuan, taking the elder madam’s words as permission, took every chance to go out daily with colleagues and friends. On several occasions, he even had Fifth Madam dress as a servant boy to accompany him, much to Xu Sijian’s envy. The boy clamored that Tutor Zhao should be given leave so he, too, could disguise himself as a servant and join Tutor Zhao on outings—hiking, sightseeing, and visiting friends.

Xu Siqin was amused yet exasperated, but Xu Sijian’s words gave him an idea. He selected a few prized chrysanthemums from the greenhouse and, during his day off, dragged Xu Sijian to Luoyue Mountain.

The extra update is a bit late—everyone can read it tomorrow morning!