Chapter 471

Chapter 478: Circumstances (Part 2)

"I had hoped to talk to my brother about this opportunity. But he was only concerned with matters in Quanzhou," Lanting lowered her head, wiping the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, "and even scolded me for being meddlesome..."

"Ultimately, we must live our own lives." Shier Niang tightly held Lanting's hand, "Why don't you write a letter to comfort Cao E? If you can offer her some advice, that would be even better."

Lanting nodded, and when her mood improved, she went with Shier Niang to the main house.

Lady Gan was speaking with Yang Shi, Huang Shi, and another woman wearing a dark blue brocade robe. Hearing the commotion, the woman turned around; it was an acquaintance of Shier Niang—Madam Fourth from the Tang family of Zhongshan Marquis.

"What a coincidence today." Madam Tang Fourth hurriedly stood up to greet Shier Niang, "I didn't expect to meet you here." She seemed very enthusiastic.

Shier Niang smiled and returned the greeting.

Madam Tang Fourth then welcomed Shier Niang to sit beside her, holding her hand affectionately: "The last time I visited for the full moon celebration, I heard you were not feeling well, so I didn't want to disturb you." That day, she had been listening to opera in the flower hall. Speaking, she scrutinized Shier Niang closely, "You look much better than last time." Given their friendship, her actions seemed overly intimate.

Shier Niang withdrew her hand without showing any emotion, subtly raising it to adjust her hairpin, and smiled: "Thank you, Madam Fourth, for your concern. Physician Liu is highly skilled, and I am much better now."

Hearing this, Madam Tang Fourth beamed with delight: "That's good, that's good. When you fell ill, all the household affairs fell on the shoulders of the Grand Lady. She is quite advanced in age, after all. Some matters still require your decision-making." Then she pointed to the pomegranate stone bracelet on Shier Niang's wrist:

"Madam Xu Fourth truly has a refined taste. I have a set of such pomegranate stones in my box, but they are a bit small for making jewelry, and when pinned to clothing, they seem a bit lacking... I never thought they could look so fresh and beautiful when strung into a bracelet like yours. No wonder people say that the wife of the Yongping Marquis is the best-dressed lady in Yanjing."

The pomegranate stones Shier Niang used for her bracelet varied in size, some as large as grains of rice, others as big as soybeans, and were somewhat irregular, typically used for shoe decorations. She had simply decided to string them together and wear them on her wrist, which was not as useless as Madam Tang Fourth suggested. However, Madam Tang Fourth was known for her smooth tongue, exaggerating everything she mentioned.

"I wouldn't dare to accept such praise," Lady Shier smiled, "I just enjoy being a bit unconventional." As she spoke, her eyes quickly scanned the room, noticing that Lady Gan was wearing a silk flower and hurriedly said, "I find this silk flower on Lady Gan very novel. Is it perhaps a new style from the palace?"

Lady Gan laughed and replied, "It's not a new style from the palace. I bought it from East Street. They say it’s the latest Suzhou style of this year."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Tang engaged Elder Madam Gan in a conversation about silk flowers: "... Nowadays, there aren’t many good masters left in the Imperial Household Department. Unlike when we were young, the mention of the Imperial Household Department always meant quality goods." She then drew Lady Huang into the conversation, "You’ve just come from the south. What are the current trends there?"

Lady Huang smiled and said, "Speaking of trends, they change from the beginning to the end of the year. It’s hard to say. However, when I first came to Yanjing, the Xiang skirts had eight panels. In autumn, my sister-in-law brought me two Xiang skirts, both with twenty-four panels. She said it was the new style for this autumn."

Mrs. Tang exclaimed, "Oh!" Her gaze then fell on Lady Shier, "It seems we are all antiques now, but at least Lady Xu has managed to keep up with half of the trends."

Everyone’s attention also turned to Lady Shier’s twelve-panel Xiang skirt.

"This was made by Master Jian from our bridal shop," Lady Shier smiled, "I haven’t really paid much attention to these things."

"Truly a master of needlework," Mrs. Tang smiled, "Unlike us, who either look to the palace or the few tailors on East Street. We wear the same styles over and over, just changing the broth but not the dish." She then asked Lanting, "Your dress is beautifully made. Was it the work of a Suzhou tailor or Master Hu?"

They talked back and forth, ignoring Yang Shi.

Yang Shi sat to one side, her expression somewhat uncertain.

Taking advantage of Mrs. Tang turning to speak with Lady Gan, Lady Shier signaled to Lanting.

Lanting understood, nodded slightly, and stood up: "It’s getting late, Sister-in-law. We’ll take our leave now. We’ll come again when Xianjie sends the dowry."

Yang Shi and Huang Shi immediately stood up as well.

Lady Gan quickly said, "Seventh Aunt, you must come back again. At least stay for a meal before leaving!"

"No need for that!" Lan Ting smiled. "With all three of us sisters-in-law out, there’s no one left to attend to our mother-in-law—we’ll bother you another time, sister-in-law!"

Eleven Lady noticed that as Lan Ting spoke, Yang Shi curled her lips disdainfully, while a trace of mockery flashed in Huang Shi’s eyes.

It seemed Lan Ting’s situation wasn’t easy either.

Thinking it over, Eleven Lady also rose. "I should head back too. The children are at home, and I can’t help but worry."

Seeing this, Madam Tang also prepared to leave.

"Once guests leave, the host can rest," she said cheerfully, taking Lady Gan’s hand. "Besides, you’ve been busy these days. Once things settle down, we’ll have a proper chat."

Lady Gan, realizing their determination to leave, offered polite words of farewell while escorting them toward the Moon Gate.

The path was long, with the meandering covered walkway stretching ahead. Each moved at their own rhythm, gradually creating distance between them.

Madam Tang and Lady Gan chatted continuously, walking shoulder to shoulder at the front. Madam Tang occasionally turned back to speak with Huang Shi.

Eleven Lady and Lan Ting, being the closest friends, naturally walked together.

Only Yang Shi remained—stepping forward, Huang Shi was engrossed in Madam Tang and Lady Gan’s conversation, falling a few steps behind, while Eleven Lady and Lan Ting, heads bent in quiet conversation... Yang Shi walked stranded awkwardly in the middle, unaware that the two were discussing her.

"What’s going on?" Eleven Lady gestured toward Yang Shi’s back with her chin. "I noticed Madam Tang seems to be giving her the cold shoulder."

For women in their circles, personal preferences never dictated whether someone was snubbed or favored!

"So you didn’t know!" Lan Ting whispered. "Recently, a dike in Jiangling collapsed due to heavy rain. An imperial censor accused the River Governor of embezzlement, implicating Marquis Jianning—the Emperor flew into a rage and ordered the Censorate to investigate thoroughly."

Eleven Lady pondered. "You mean the Emperor intends to deal with Marquis Jianning...?"

Lan Ting nodded. "My father-in-law’s lost sleep over this. He even tactfully probed about my relationship with you." She added, "I’ve heard Marquis Zhongshan is also involved."

They understood each other, so the conversation remained tactful.

That evening, when Eleven Lady met Lord Xu, she asked, "My lord, are you aware of this matter?"

Lord Xu replied vaguely, "I’ve been keeping track of the timing—the Emperor should be making his move soon." Then he embraced her. "These matters are in hand. Just focus on recovering your health."

Meaning she shouldn’t worry too much.

If so, why had the Dowager tested her on these intricate relationships during her first formal social appearance in the capital? Clearly, she still expected her daughter-in-law to have political awareness.

Was it because of her poor health that Lord Xu didn’t want her overthinking?

Eleven Lady held Jin Geer in her arms, resting her head against his and closing her eyes.

Though Lord Xu meant well, she couldn’t comply—even if she couldn’t influence events, losing touch with the outside world would gradually strip her of independence, leaving her helpless as ivy without a trellis.

Still, since Lord Xu knew of this, he likely had his own plans.

She felt somewhat reassured as she drifted into sleep.

Lord Xu gazed at the two faces nestled together; his lips curved faintly.

He had been staying by Eleven Lady’s side these days—maybe she felt a twinge of guilt?

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken the initiative that day...

Oddly enough, though he didn’t care for constant revelry, he wasn’t one to deliberately restrain himself either... But ever since Eleventh Miss became pregnant, he had been especially looking forward to this child, counting the days until his birth. After Jin Geer was born, his greatest joy was watching his son grow day by day. Just like now, simply gazing at his wife and son brought him immense contentment.

Lord Xu thought this as he smiled and tucked them in.

But Elder Madam’s words suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"The Yang family affair will likely be settled before or after the New Year. You must make a decision about Yang Shi soon—we can’t keep dragging this on."

After Xianjie’s wedding, it would be Twelfth Miss’s turn to marry.

Eleventh Miss, afraid the firecrackers would frighten Jin Geer, left the child behind and returned to Bowstring Lane with Lord Xu.

Fifth Miss’s Xin Geer was quite mischievous and insatiably curious, peeking into every corner, with Zhuotao chasing after him everywhere. In contrast, the equally lively Yingniang was much quieter, playing in the courtyard with her little maidservant.

Fourth Miss, dressed in a roomy overjacket that concealed her pregnancy, sat by the window on the kang and glanced through the glass panes at the carefree Fourth Master Luo wandering the courtyard. She smiled and said to Eleventh Miss, "Fourth Brother is truly fortunate—he married such a capable wife."

The arrangements for Twelfth Miss’s wedding had been entirely handled by Fourth Madam.

"Not only is Fourth Brother fortunate, but he also knows how to enjoy it," Eleventh Miss replied, sipping her tea. "Otherwise, if he insisted on interfering in everything, whether reasonable or not, no matter how capable Fourth Sister-in-law was, Twelfth Sister’s wedding wouldn’t have gone so smoothly!"

"You make a fair point," Fourth Miss agreed with a smile. Just then, the curtain lifted, and Fifth Miss entered.

"Everyone’s busy outside, yet here you two are, hiding and slacking off," she teased, sitting beside Eleventh Miss.

Fourth Miss laughed. "We’re the married daughters of the house. Shouldn’t we sit here and supervise instead of helping out?" As she spoke, firecrackers erupted outside.

The Wang family’s dowry procession arrived.

Fifth Miss tugged at Eleventh Miss. "Fourth Sister is pregnant. Let’s go out and watch the festivities."

Eleventh Miss hesitated, nervous about the firecrackers.

But Fifth Miss kept urging her with meaningful looks.