Chapter 030

Chapter 30: Days Kept Getting Better

Today Tang Mo still had to visit Tang Yong’s residence. After trading a few teasing lines with Xin An, he tucked away some private silver and went to find his mother. When Madam Wang learned that he wanted to lend Tang Yao Ming a hand, she agreed readily and prepared several things for him to take, advising with a smile: “Although the Grand Matron does not forbid our visits, we must not make a spectacle of it; add a few things as you see fit, and do not slight propriety.”

Tang Mo assented and turned to leave. Watching his departing figure, Madam Wang smiled in satisfaction, then thought of the person at Chun Hua Courtyard who was still convalescing and reflected: [As a mother-in-law, I should go and pay a visit.]

In Qiu Shi Courtyard, Xin An rested for a moment, then had Chun Yang bring Nan Feng before her, asking: “You heard everything?”

Nan Feng knelt before her in a daze. Xin An set down her teacup and said calmly: “Second Young Master told me to choose someone to marry you to. I see your looks are good, these hands are kept like those of a young lady, and I hear you can read and write; to match you casually with a groom would be a bit of a waste.”

Terror rose in Nan Feng’s chest. She was a maid bought by the household; only in the past few years, by the lady’s favor, had she gained a chance to learn a few characters. Her name had changed from Spring Flower to Nan Feng, solely so she could serve better in the Second Young Master’s quarters.

She had thought she would end up like Ying Yue and Xue Yu next door, yet the Second Young Master had never taken her. Then the Second Young Madam arrived; fearing the Second Young Madam would not tolerate her, she hurried to try to secure her place.

If she could no longer serve in Qiu Shi Courtyard, where should she go?

There was a groom in the manor who, whenever he was in a foul mood, would beat his wife with a horsewhip. If the same fate befell her…

She pleaded in panic: “Please have mercy, Second Young Madam.”

Xin An asked evenly: “When Mother sent you to serve by Second Young Master’s side, how did she put it?”

Nan Feng knocked her head to the floor and said: “She told this maid to attend to Second Young Master with all her heart.”

“Nan Feng,” Xin An said, “the word attend does not only mean to attend the bed. Is it possible you misunderstood Mother’s intent?”

Nan Feng’s mind swam. Xin An went on at her unhurried pace: “You are pretty, careful, and quick-witted. I see everyone in this courtyard trusts you; you arrange affairs methodically. You have your strengths. Serving as a steward to share the Second Young Master’s burdens is also a kind of service; why must you fixate on becoming a concubine?”

“Your Second Young Master is the legitimate son of a marquisate, and he will soon go to the Northern Garrison Army for training. With such a status, you might at best become a bedchamber maid, like Ying Yue and Xue Yu next door. Is that truly your aim?”

Nan Feng’s heart was a tangle. She certainly did not wish to be a bedchamber maid, yet whether she became a concubine was not for her to decide. As a maid, her life was not her own.

She accidentally met Xin An’s gaze, then hastily kowtowed: “This maid does not want to be a bedchamber maid. I was muddleheaded; I beg Second Young Madam to show me the way.”

Xin An did not circle around the point and said directly: “Then follow me. You will continue to serve in Chun Hua Courtyard, and I will assign you to other duties. I will speak to Second Young Master.”

Joy flared in Nan Feng’s chest. She kowtowed again and said: “Many thanks, Second Young Madam. From this day on, I am Second Young Madam’s maid and will devote myself to easing Second Young Madam’s burdens. If I betray you, may I be struck by thunder.”

Xin An laughed softly and said: “Get up.”

“So long as you do your duties well, I will treat you generously. When the time is right, I will seek a reliable, respectable marriage for you, so you may become a lawful wife and live with dignity.”

A moment earlier Nan Feng had feared being married off to a groom; in the next, the willows and flowers opened to a sunlit path. She burst into tears, this time with joy: “Thank you, Second Young Madam.”

Xin An instructed Chun Yang: “Find her two suitable hairpins and earrings, then choose a bolt of cloth to make her a dress. From today, she will serve at my side. Teach her some of the rules.”

Chun Yang nodded. Xin An then told Nan Feng: “Chun Yang and the others came with me only recently to the marquisate; they do not understand much of the household yet. Speak with them carefully.”

“From now on, everyone in the courtyard will be under Auntie Wang’s management. You will assist her.”

Nan Feng agreed repeatedly, then followed Chun Yang out. Auntie Wang remained behind and asked: “Is this Nan Feng reliable?”

Leaning back, Xin An answered: “She is a girl who has seldom stepped beyond the marquisate gates and thought that to serve one’s master meant serving in bed. She feared that if she failed at that, she would be discarded, or that I would not tolerate her, so she hurried to nail down a status.”

“Besides, she was sent by Mother, certainly after careful selection, and was even taught to read on purpose. These past few days I have seen she is a clever person, not flashy and quick to handle tasks. Casting her aside at random would be a pity, and I would owe Mother an explanation. Those who do not know the truth would think me jealous and unable to tolerate her.”

“You have seen the state of the marquisate. I have some dowry, but I cannot eat through the mountain while sitting still. I want to do some business and need someone who can move about outside. She is quite suitable.”

Auntie Wang felt Xin An overestimated Nan Feng and said with a frown: “Just because she can read? Literacy does not mean she can do business.”

“Who said I would have her do business,” Xin An replied.

Xin An felt her mouth dry and said: “I would like a bowl of white fungus soup to moisten my lungs.”

“I will have someone prepare it at once,” Auntie Wang said.

In Auntie Wang’s eyes, whatever Xin An wished to eat or drink was a grand matter, more important than anything else.

No sooner had Auntie Wang walked out than Chun Lv arrived. Xin An yawned, and Chun Lv quickly helped her lie down on the soft couch, thoughtfully removing her shoes and saying in a low voice: “You got up too early; steal a little nap.”

As she spoke, Chun Lv removed the hairpins from Xin An’s hair to make her more comfortable, then said playfully: “It has been so long since this maid gave young madam a leg massage; shall I see whether my hands have grown rusty?”

“All right, thank you, my Chun Lv,” Xin An answered with a smile.

Xin An felt that such days were becoming increasingly addictive. In the past, in front of Tang Rong, she had to mind her deportment and had never in her life sat comfortably; how could it compare to the ease and freedom of now. [As for whether Tang Mo would mind, he himself lounges in his room with no decorum, slumped in a chair like a pickled cabbage; would he dare despise me?]

At that very moment, the pickled cabbage had already arrived at Tang Yong’s residence. Seeing him appear, Tang Yong was truly surprised, since people from the marquisate rarely set foot there even once in a whole year. He said with careful politeness: “Second Young Master, please come in.”

Tang Mo grinned and said cheerfully: “Second Uncle can call me Old Second, or Mo; please do not be so distant.”

Tang Yong was even more unsure of his intentions, but after a moment he called him Little Mo. He remembered that this boy had once had the baby name Shun Shun, though he stopped allowing anyone to use it once he grew a little older.

After they sat, Tang Mo broke the awkwardness with a laugh: “Second Uncle, you must have heard some of the household matters. On the day of the tea ceremony, we had business on our minds and failed to entertain you properly. You and Second Aunt even left without eating. My mother mentioned it twice afterward; it was truly a lapse in propriety.”

“Today I came first to offer an apology, and second to ask how Cousin Yao Ming’s affairs are going, to see whether there is anything I can help with.”

He had brought many gifts, and not a few; they were piled on the table like a little mountain. Tang Yong waved both hands again and again, saying: “That day you had matters to handle. It would not have been convenient for me and your Second Aunt to stay. It is only a meal; when can we not eat a meal?”

He had not dared to stay because the Grand Matron disliked him. It was an open secret, understood without being spoken. “And you brought so many things; take them back in a while. We are one family; there is no need to be so polite.”