Chapter 380: Chen Daling's Family Heads to the Capital
Chapter 380: Chen Daling's Family Heads to the Capital
Time flew by, and soon it was Feng Xuanze's birthday.
He and Feng XuanYu returned the evening before, and the entire household gathered for a meal the next day, without any grand celebrations.
SuSu had prepared a gift for her eldest brother—a set of Four Treasures of the Study, carefully chosen from the gifts bestowed by the Imperial Grandmother.
She had discussed it with her aunt, reasoning that since her brother was still studying, this gift would be most appropriate.
Feng Xuanze cherished the gifts from his younger siblings immensely.
He carefully packed them away, thanked his younger brother and sisters, spent some time with his mother, and then returned to the academy the following day.
June 26th marked the birthday of the Qi King.
Naturally, the royal palace was bustling with preparations for a grand celebration, and invitations had been sent out well in advance. The manor was also ready for the occasion.
On this day, Queen Qi would be entertaining two of her husband's concubines.
Fearing that she might neglect SuSu, Queen Qi arranged for Lu Xinglan to help look after her early in the morning.
Ren Shuhan kept SuSu company, along with Liu Hemeng, Shen Huatang, and the other young ladies. With so many of them together, there was no way SuSu would be treated unfairly.
On the 26th, it had rained a couple of days prior, and the sky was still a bit overcast.
However, during the summer, such weather was quite comfortable.
At the very least, the sun wasn't scorching, and people could still venture outdoors.
Otherwise, they would be confined to the indoors, fanning themselves and eating iced fruits, feeling unbearably hot nonetheless.
The current weather was quite pleasant.
Queen Qi woke up early to oversee the preparations.
SuSu spent some time with her brothers and then joined Liu Hemeng and the other sisters.
The children enjoyed themselves with food and play, free from the worries of adulthood.
The adults entertained their guests, and those with good relationships gathered to gossip.
"Have you heard? The Jinyang Marquis' household has become a laughingstock again."
"What's the joke this time? I haven't heard anything yet."
"I heard that Madam Xu sent the eldest young miss to Qiongzhou. She must have been gone for almost half a month now."
"That's not unusual, is it? It's awkward for the eldest young miss to remain in the capital with her ambiguous status—neither clearly legitimate nor clearly a concubine's daughter. It's caused quite a stir for the Jinyang Marquis, and with so many young misses in the household, they probably don't miss her much. But why send her to Qiongzhou?"
"I heard she was sent to be the wife of a young master from the Cui family. Listen to this—they sent her off without even consulting the Qiongzhou branch of the family. They only informed the Cui family in the capital and then shipped her off."
"I know about this too. Apparently, the Cui family didn't agree to the arrangement, but what could they do when the Xu family forced their hand? Even though the eldest young miss's status is ambiguous, forcing her on them like this… it doesn't look good. It'll be interesting to see what happens if the Cui family sends her back."
"I heard that she won't be sent back. There's a Cui clansman in Qiongzhou who went there to develop the frontier. He has a son by a concubine who suffered a leg injury as a child and is slightly crippled. When the Cui family heard that the Xu family was forcing this arrangement, they decided to match these two together. The Cui family even promised to grant her the position of the main wife, saving face for both families."
"I heard that Madam Xu initially wanted to send the eldest young miss to be a concubine to the Cui clansman."
"How could she even think of such a thing? That's a huge gap in status."
[...]
"So, that's all you've heard? I've got another piece of news that you might be interested in."
"Do tell! Don't hold back; we're all family here."
"I heard that one of the new concubines brought in from outside the family had a relative show up at their door, causing quite a scene."
"I heard about that too. Her cousin and his family are country bumpkins, and her mother is a mere village woman. Jinyang Marquis wasn't exactly picky when choosing his women."
"What happened in the end?"
"They gave silver, what else could they do?"
"But what is Old Madam Xu's goal in all of this?"
"Who knows? She must have her reasons."
...
Those who were acquainted chatted amongst themselves, while those who were less familiar actively introduced themselves and mingled.
Queen Qi, accompanied by Concubine Ren and Concubine Meng, was busy entertaining guests, exchanging pleasantries, and occasionally inquiring about SuSu's well-being with Autumn Aunt.
Free from the concerns and worries of adulthood, the children enjoyed themselves with food and play.
Moreover, Princess Feng Yao had arrived. With a princess present, no one dared to cause trouble in front of SuSu.
After all, if they did, the princess might directly deal with them.
Princess Sunyang would not hesitate to embarrass anyone who dared to cross her!
Meanwhile, at the Marquis of Jinyang's manor...
Old Madam Xu was in a fairly good state today. However, after suffering a stroke, her speech was unclear, and even those attending to her closely could barely understand what she was trying to express.
Only the maidservants close to her could vaguely guess at her intentions.
Old Madam Xu was filled with hatred! The dream she had was not supposed to turn out like this!
In her dream, one of the outer chamber ladies was a lucky charm, destined to bring fortune to the marquis' manor.
But why? Why, after bringing back all the outer chamber ladies, had the marquis' family not prospered but instead declined? How had they fallen from being the Marquis of Jinyang to a mere viscount?
Even though dreams were often the opposite of reality, the dream she had was too vivid, making her feel that it wasn't just a dream but perhaps a foretelling of the near future!
In her dream, they had even allied themselves with the Tang family, siding with the Crown Prince. After his ascension, their manor had been elevated to a ducal manor, and their status and influence had steadily risen, establishing them as one of the most prestigious and influential noble families in the capital!
In her dream, she wore the ceremonial garments of a first-rank official's wife, enjoying all the privileges and honors befitting her station. It all felt so real, as if she had truly experienced it.
But why was reality so different? How had things turned out this way?
Where had things gone wrong?
In her dream, she could never clearly see the face and identity of that particular outer chamber lady.
Thus, she had no choice but to bring them all back.
However, after bringing them back, she had never had that dream again.
"Hmph..." Old Madam Xu thought of all this, and she couldn't help but slap the bed board.
Why had things turned out this way?!
Where had her marquis family's glory gone?!
Who was it that brought bad luck and ruined their family?
Old Madam Xu was so enraged that she fainted again.
At this moment, Xu Yuyao was also in a state of disarray. Her distant relatives from Qingzhou had arrived, causing her great embarrassment.
They looked like refugees fleeing a famine, and their demands for money and power as they claimed to be her in-laws were outrageous.
What was even more shameful was that they had no regard for how difficult her life in the viscount's manor had been. They had directly latched onto her, sucking her dry like parasites.
Xu Yuyao recalled that her aunt had brought back a significant amount of money. She had seen her mother's private stash, which included several exquisite hairpins and a roll of silver notes.
Normally, they shouldn't be lacking in funds.
So why had they come to her in such a pitiful state, directly leeching off her?
Second update at 7 pm.
(End of Chapter)
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