Chapter 560

Chapter 566: Auspicious Celebrations (Part 2)

Perhaps it was because the accounts had been settled, or perhaps because Xu Siqin’s wedding was approaching, but the Third Madame finally quieted down and began focusing wholeheartedly on preparing for her son’s wedding.

As soon as July arrived, she sent Old Gan’s wife to Song Mama to inquire, “…Has the shop’s accounts been submitted to the accounting office yet?” She was preparing to claim the three hundred taels from the public funds.

Song Mama had a maid serve Old Gan’s wife a bowl of iced fruit syrup and said with a smile, “These days, the Marquis has been taking the fourth young master to oversee the accounts in the accounting office. I’d say by mid-month at the latest, the accounts should be settled.”

The fruit syrup was fragrant and enticing. Old Gan’s wife took it, took a few whiffs, then took a sip. “It’s been years since I’ve had such fine fruit syrup. Is it mint with licorice and honeysuckle?”

“It was a gift from the Second Madame,” Song Mama replied with a nod, then remembered that none had been sent to the Third Well Lane household. She quickly explained, “It’s a new recipe the Second Madame came up with. She sent some to the elder madam, some to us, and some to the Fifth Madame, saying we should try it first. If it’s good, she’ll make more. Our Madame also gave some to us. I hadn’t found a reason to serve it until now, but since you’re a special guest, I brought it out.” After all, now that they had separate households, things weren’t as warm as before.

Old Gan’s wife said enviously, “It’s still better to serve in the main residence! Even the scraps from the madams’ fingers are better than what’s available outside.”

Song Mama just smiled wordlessly.

Old Gan’s wife, enjoying the coolness of Song Mama’s north-facing quarters, wasn’t eager to leave. She asked about Xu Sizhun, “What? Has the Marquis already started teaching the young master about household affairs?”

“The fourth young master is still young. The Marquis is just showing him the ropes,” Song Mama said with a laugh. “Right now, his studies come first.”

Just then, a maidservant hurried in. “Mama, the madam is calling for you!”

Song Mama quickly stood up. “Sister Gan, please stay a while longer. I’ll be right back.”

Old Gan’s wife waved her off. “Please go ahead!”

Song Mama instructed the maid, “Take good care of her, don’t neglect…” before following the maid to Eleven Miss’s quarters.

Eleven Miss sat by the window on the kang, wearing a lake-blue Hangzhou silk blouse with sleeves rolled up twice, revealing wrists as fair as frost and a glowing jade bracelet. She held a red-handled palace fan embroidered with peonies, fanning Jin Geer as he napped.

“The Hungry Ghost Festival is almost here,” she said to Song Mama. “Go to Ciyuan Temple for me.”

Every year at this time, the Xu family would donate incense oil and ask the abbot of Ciyuan Temple to perform rituals.

Song Mama acknowledged the order with a smile, took the tally, and left the inner courtyard to collect the incense oil donation from the accounting office.

On her way, she saw Xu Sizhun with his attendant Wang Shu, walking briskly toward the inner courtyard.

Song Mama stood aside against the wall, lowering her hands and eyes as she greeted, “Fourth young master.”

Xu Sizhun, however, lit up when he saw her and quickly asked, “Is Mother in her room?”

“Yes,” Song Mama replied, slightly puzzled by his urgency but still respectful. “The madam is putting the sixth young master down for his nap.”

Xu Sizhun nodded and dashed toward the main house.

“Mother!” He had slipped away to use the bathroom to sneak out and didn’t dare waste a moment. Seeing Eleven Miss, he got straight to the point. “Are we still releasing river lanterns this year? I made a really beautiful lotus lantern! Can you ask Father if we can go to Biyi Lake to release them?”

Eleven Miss, seeing him sweating profusely, had a maid bring a towel dipped in cool well water for him to wipe his face. Smiling, she said, “That’s no trouble at all! We’ll go release the lanterns when the time comes.”

Xu Sizhun grabbed the towel from the maid and wiped his face haphazardly. “Mother, Father said he’s taking me to Baiyun Temple for the vegetarian feast on the day of the Hungry Ghost Festival!”

“Don’t you want to go?” Eleven Miss asked with a smile. “I heard from your father that Wang Yu, the son of Scholar Wang, will also be there. Aren’t you two close? You can spend time together.”

Xu Sizhun looked dejected. “But I want to release lanterns with Fifth Brother!”

(Probably to show off the lantern he made!)

Eleven Miss hid a smile. “Then we’ll wait for you to come back before releasing the lanterns.” Xu Sizhun brightened immediately and excitedly hurried back to the accounting office.

Song Mama had already retrieved the silver and whispered to Eleventh Miss, "...Steward Wan Daxian asked me to relay a message to you. When the Marquis was calculating accounts with several shop managers, the fourth young master kept yawning nearby. Manager Tao, who oversees the fur trade in Baoding, behaved with utter arrogance and immediately had the maids serving tea and snacks see the fourth young master back to his room to sleep. The Marquis only remarked that the fourth young master was still young and immature, but his face darkened."

Eleventh Miss couldn't help feeling weary upon hearing this.

She had never quite understood Xu Sizhun, feeling as though he never applied himself properly.

"I understand," Eleventh Miss sent Song Mama away, just as Madam Huang came by.

Sipping chilled mung bean soup, Madam Huang sighed in relief, "Well, this marriage business is finally settled. The third madam has invited Count Zhongqin as the matchmaker, while the other side has requested Commander Wei of the Five City Military and Police Office. Now I just have to wait for the wedding day to fetch the bride home."

"You've gone through so much trouble, sister!" Eleventh Miss felt relieved now that the matter was settled.

When the Jin family's dowry arrived at Three-Well Lane on the nineteenth of August, everyone was slightly surprised.

Though the dowry numbered just sixty-four trunks, each was meticulously arranged, with clothing trunks packed so tightly that one couldn't even insert a hand.

The third madam felt immensely proud and spoke with her nose in the air, "...The Jin family said that since there's an elder sister-in-law ahead, they had to consider her dignity. So they compressed the originally planned one hundred twenty-four loads into sixty-four. Truly, my in-laws are such practical folks."

Everyone came forward to congratulate the third madam.

A faint glow of pride showed on her face.

Fang Shi's wet nurse fumed, "The madam is utterly disregarding our young madam’s dignity, using the Jin family to humiliate us. No matter how much they have, can it compare to our young madam’s dowry?"

Fang Shi calmly waved her off, "There will be many such incidents in the future. Remember this—whenever you encounter the third young madam, you must treat her with the same courtesy as you do me. Otherwise, don’t blame me for disowning you."

Knowing Fang Shi always meant what she said, the wet nurse straightened her expression and respectfully replied, "Yes."

Meanwhile, the fifth madam yawned and asked Eleventh Miss, "Are you staying overnight here? I want to return early—I have to act as the 'good luck attendant' tomorrow!"

Since the place was too crowded and noisy, she hadn’t brought Jin Geer along.

"With Song Mama and the others helping, along with the clerks from the affairs office—all capable people—I’m not worried," Eleventh Miss smiled and had Zhuxiang put away the accounting tally. "But I miss Jin Geer and plan to go back to check on him."

"Then let’s leave together!" The fifth madam yawned again. "Madam Lin and the others won’t arrive until the main ceremony tomorrow, and there are no guests to entertain. Staying here serves no purpose."

Eleventh Miss nodded with a smile, and the two went to bid farewell to the third madam.

The third madam was playing cards with relatives from the Gan family while going on about the Jin family’s dowry, "...They also have two three-hundred-acre estates in Daxing, plus a shopfront on East Street. They’ll never go hungry in this lifetime!" Hearing that the two were returning to Lotus Lane, she had Xing Jiao take over her cards and escorted them to the gate. "Though my place is small, I’ve lived in the mansion for over twenty years, so it’s at least tidy. You should’ve brought Jin Geer and Shen Geer along," she said pointedly.

"We’ll bring them first thing tomorrow," the fifth madam replied cheerfully before boarding the carriage with Eleventh Miss.

"Thank goodness the third sister-in-law moved out, or our mansion would be even livelier," she remarked, pursing her lips. "Did you notice during the hall decorations this morning? The third sister-in-law insisted on using red paper sprinkled with gold, while the elder young madam wanted gold-engraved red paper. Over such a trivial matter, the Third Young Master actually stepped in to mediate. Though they went with the third sister-in-law’s choice for the paper, when it came to the fruit offerings, they used the elder young madam’s blue-and-white porcelain high-footed dishes..." She covered her sleeve and laughed. "Seems the Third Young Master finds reason in both sides—no firm stance. Still, the third sister-in-law is his wedded wife, yet our elder young madam can speak up before her father-in-law. I can’t help but feel she’s extraordinary in her ways."

Eleventh Miss had initially worried that if the Third Young Master and the third madam remained idle at home, the latter might suppress Fang Shi with her mother-in-law’s authority, making life difficult for her. But now it seemed Fang Shi was quite clever herself.

"It’s because both sides have their reasons," she smiled. "I actually think our elder young madam is quite sensible!"

The fifth madam recalled how Fang Shi had sent a rare antique book for Shen Geer’s first birthday as promised and chuckled, "Yes, I think so too!"

The two shared a meaningful look.

After crossing the wealth basin, bowing to heaven and earth, and sitting on the bridal bed, the bridal introductions to the family took place the next day.

Perhaps learning from past mistakes, the third madam dressed modestly this time. Her gift to Jin Shi lacked a phoenix hairpin but included a pure gold choker. Eleventh Miss and the fifth madam followed the same gifts they had given Fang Shi. The three madams from Nanjing didn’t attend, only sending stewards and capable matrons with gifts. Several Gan family relatives had excused themselves right after the wedding ceremony the night before. Compared to Xu Siqin’s wedding, the event seemed somewhat lackluster.

The newlywed Jin Shi remained unaware. She only felt, as her mother had said, that the Xu family was indeed wealthy. Her aunts’ generous gifts clearly showed their approval.

After presenting shoes and socks, Jin Shi skipped lunch. Accompanied by the fifth madam and led by the third madam, she went to Lotus Lane to pay respects to the elder madam.

The elder madam, pleased with the youthful, wide-eyed Jin Shi, chatted with her at length. Returning to Three-Well Lane, Jin Shi’s face still glowed with excitement.

The third madam, seeing her childlike daughter-in-law, was also satisfied.

Children are easily coaxed—she’d have her way in the end.

Once Xu Sijian returned with Jin Shi after her home visit, she began morning and evening rituals as a proper Xu family daughter-in-law. Meanwhile, Lotus Lane waited anxiously for Shao Zhongran’s martial exam results.