Chapter 6: Making an Entrance
Qing Lan Courtyard was where the First Madam, Fu Shi, resided.
Inside the warm pavilion, an incense burner with a ruyi pattern was emitting wisps of smoke.
Xue Yueying accompanied the First Madam, diligently offering her hot tea.
“I don’t know what Eldest Sister is thinking. Both Eighth Sister and Ninth Sister in the mansion are as beautiful as jade, and their ages are also quite suitable. Why must she favor Sixth Sister?”
She observed Fu Shi’s expression as she spoke, “In my daughter’s opinion, Sixth Sister still has feelings for Young Master Gu and is very unwilling…”
As a concubine’s daughter of the Xue Mansion, Xue Yueying had been raised by the First Madam since childhood. She was adept at pleasing and flattering, far more favored than other concubine’s daughters, and spoke with less discretion.
“If she were to threaten to die later and cause any scandal in Prince Duan’s Mansion, wouldn’t that be an embarrassment to Eldest Sister?”
Fu Shi pulled the thin blanket covering her knees higher and scoffed.
“If she were willing to die, the grass on her grave could be used as firewood. This lowly wench couldn’t bear to die even in that filthy place, the Old Mausoleum Swamp. To go to the Prince’s Mansion to enjoy blessings, she must be secretly burning incense…”
Xue Yueying said, “Mother, why don’t you advise Eldest Sister? Sixth Sister didn’t grow up in the Minister’s Mansion, and she wouldn’t have learned any etiquette or rules in such a lowly place. She’ll only embarrass us later.”
Fu Shi sighed, “Haven’t I tried to advise her? Your Eldest Sister, her mind is made up now. She says some eminent monk predicted her fate and that she’s the only one. I’ve nearly exhausted my saliva, but she insists on going against her father and mother. She’s the Princess Consort Duan, what can I do?”
Xue Yueying noticed the First Madam’s reluctance and smiled slightly.
“What if Sixth Sister gains Prince Duan’s favor and surpasses Eldest Sister, then starts to suppress Eldest Sister?”
Fu Shi snorted, “She’s just borrowing a womb to lay eggs, how could she gain favor? I don’t think she has that kind of fortune.”
“First Madam…” Xiugu, the manager of the inner courtyard of Qing Lan Courtyard, lifted the curtain and entered.
She glanced at Xue Yueying, then bowed and whispered in Fu Shi’s ear.
Fu Shi’s expression changed slightly. She suddenly straightened up, banging the low table with a loud crack, splashing tea everywhere.
“What a brazen wench! She wasn’t just throwing her weight around at the gatekeeper, she was clearly slapping my face.”
Seeing the First Madam’s fury, Xue Yueying quickly began to massage her shoulders.
“Mother, calm your anger. Sixth Sister stayed in the Old Mausoleum Swamp for too long, she must have forgotten the rules. Mother, there’s no need to make yourself sick with anger…”
Fu Shi was furious and couldn’t hear a word of it.
The more Xue Yueying spoke of Xue Sui’s difficulties, the more she fueled the flames. Fu Shi impatiently told Xiugu to help her change, intending to confront Xue Sui.
“Returning to the mansion and not paying respects to the Mistress first, it’s more than just forgetting the rules. I think she doesn’t even have me, the Mistress, in her eyes and is determined to disgrace the Xue family’s reputation. If I don’t teach her a lesson today, tomorrow she might climb over me and act like a tyrant!”
Xue Yueying watched Fu Shi put on her outer garments and leave, then slowly extended her hand to the head maid, Qing Zhu.
“Let’s go back.”
Qing Zhu asked, “Doesn’t Fourth Miss want to take a look?”
Xue Yueying chuckled, “Mother is in a rage right now, why should I court bad luck? Sixth Sister will have to fend for herself.”
–
Xue Sui was in the servant’s quarters of the Servant’s Quarters where her birth mother, Xue Ji, lived.
Xue Ji was referred to by her name, meaning she wasn’t even considered a concubine of Xue Qingzhi, but remained the lowest-ranking concubine in the mansion.
There were quite a few concubines in Xue Qingzhi’s inner court, and two concubines who served as bed warmers. Fu Shi, confident in her status as a legitimate daughter from a Marquis’s Mansion, could maintain some semblance of dignity as the First Madam. No matter how unhappy she was, she treated the concubine’s daughters and sons acceptably on the surface.
Only Xue Ji and Xue Liu were exceptions.
Years ago, Xue Qingzhi was dining with his colleagues at Liuxiang Pavilion when Fu Shi was about to give birth.
Servants went to summon him again and again, but he did not return to the mansion.
That night, Fu Shi gave birth to Jiu Sheng, but he died. The youngest son had no breath from the moment he left the womb.
The next morning, Xue Qingzhi returned to the mansion with Xue Ji, igniting Fu Shi’s immense rage, and she hated her to the bone…
After a brief period of affection for Xue Ji, Xue Qingzhi quickly abandoned her like a discarded shoe, due to his guilt over his youngest son’s death and Fu Shi’s oppressive power.
Xue Ji was a Hu woman, with no relatives in Shangjing. In the Xue Mansion, she received no kindness. At her worst, Fu Shi had people tattoo characters on her eyebrows and eyes, staining them with ink that would never fade. She could no longer show her face in public and felt inferior without anyone else needing to humiliate her.
Xue Ji was accustomed to living a life of subservience. Even upon seeing her biological daughter after ten years, she felt no joy but rather like facing a formidable enemy, trembling with fear like a startled bird, her eyes darting about uneasily…
“Sixth Sister, is that you, Sixth Sister?”
“How did you return? Do Master and Madam know?”
She was not yet forty years old, but she was already hunched over. Xue Sui stood before her, more than half a head taller.
“They know.” Xue Sui adjusted the silk scarf on her head and had Xiao Zhao bring the ginseng Xue Yueying had sent.
“Make ginseng soup with it and take it with your medicine.”
Xue Ji extended her thin, dry hand, pushing it away slightly with a tremor.
“Such fine old ginseng, how can I, a lowly servant, eat it… I don’t deserve it, I don’t deserve it…”
Xue Sui forced it into her hand, “If I say you can eat it, then you can eat it. Take it!”
Xue Ji still shook her head. Xue Sui had to bend down and cup her cold hands.
“Xue Ji! This is a gift from the First Madam.”
Xue Ji was stunned for a moment. Looking at her daughter’s gentle and firm eyes, a hint of joy finally appeared. She coughed and smiled.
“The First Madam has finally forgiven my Sixth Sister. Sixth Sister, you must strive to improve in the future…”
“You wretched creature!” The tightly shut wooden door was suddenly pushed open with a bang, interrupting Xue Ji’s words.
Two nannies, holding lanterns, stood on either side of the doorway. Fu Shi, supported by Xiugu, stepped over the threshold with a grim expression and began to scold her fiercely.
“You’ve grown bold, you little wench? You entered the mansion and didn’t pay respects to the Mistress, but came to the servant’s quarters to show filial piety?”
“First Madam, please forgive me, First Madam, please forgive me.” Xue Ji’s face turned pale with fright. Her knees buckled, and she knelt on the ground, her shoulders shaking like a sieve. She tugged at Xue Sui’s sleeve while kowtowing to Fu Shi, begging for mercy.
“Sixth Sister has been away from the mansion for many years and has completely forgotten the rules. First Madam is right to punish her… Sixth Sister, why don’t you quickly kneel and kowtow to First Madam to admit your mistake…”
Xue Sui forcefully pulled her sleeve back and, under Xue Ji’s astonished gaze, gave a light curtsy to Fu Shi.
“I recall the First Madam saying that after You Shi, one should not be disturbed. It is now Hai Shi, and I dare not disturb First Madam’s peace.”
Years ago, she had been bullied by two lackeys from the Xue Mansion’s main kitchen and wanted to seek justice from Fu Shi. However, she was stopped by two nannies at the door, with the reason being that the time had passed.
That day, she was beaten until her skin was torn and bleeding, her nose bled all over the floor, and her face was swollen for more than half a month.
“I remember the rules of First Madam’s chambers very well.”
Fu Shi scrutinized her from head to toe. She wore a half-worn jacket and skirt, the hem of which was frayed, and her shoes looked like they were from an unknown era, washed to a pale white. It was clear at a glance that she had lived a difficult life outside, and Fu Shi couldn’t help but let out a sneer.
“A lowly creature, but quick-witted!”
She pointed at the ginseng in Xue Ji’s hand.
“Then you tell me, who has been unclean and stolen the mansion’s property?”
