Chapter 091

Chapter 91: Xin An Lends Support to Tang Mo

Seeing the shyness on Xin An’s face, the Grand Matron chuckled. She knew this young couple had originally slept in separate rooms, and then, little by little, they ended up in the same one. Their relationship was progressing swiftly, and yet they were still bashful, each finding the other good?looking, he like a meditating monk and she like a novice nun before beauty. The old lady could not quite make sense of it.

After accompanying the Grand Matron through the meal, the sun had come out. Because she wanted to protect her skin, the Grand Matron would not go out again, so the two sat indoors chatting. Though her face had darkened in the sun, the Grand Matron still loved the days at the country estate. After a few sentimental remarks, she asked how Xin An’s preparations were going for the banquet at Duke En’s residence.

Xin An did not hide anything; she laid out all she had arranged. When the Grand Matron learned that Xin An had already made the acquaintance of two noble ladies and that, that evening, Tang Mo would host a small gathering to introduce her to more people, she was delighted and spoke a few words in praise of Tang Mo, essentially marveling at his thoughtfulness and care: “A man this attentive is hard to find even across the whole capital.” Even she was impressed that Tang Mo had such a meticulous side; which elder would not be fond of a grandson like that?

“At the time, you shall remain at Grandmother’s side first,” the Grand Matron said with pride. “I will take you around to make introductions. Your grandfather’s prestige still lingers; those people would not dare withhold face from an old woman like me.” She sounded proud and pleased, yet there was a trace of sadness in her heart. [If only my old man were still here.]

Xin An caught the shadow in her eyes and seized the chance to ask for stories about the Old Master: “I have met Grandfather, but I was too young back then. His features are already a blur.”

People of years love to speak of the past. Smiling, the Grand Matron began to tell her stories, starting from when she was a maiden. Events from decades ago came to her lips as if they had happened yesterday. Xin An listened quietly and from time to time responded in agreement. The Grand Matron boasted of how many mu the family compound covered, how there had been hundreds of hired hands and a thousand qing of fields, that they were among the richest households in their region; how her parents had doted on her; and what had happened the first time she met the Old Master.

Time slipped by unwittingly, until the blazing sunlight had crept into the yard of Chun Rong Courtyard and the room gradually grew warm. Gan Lu brought in two round fans, giving one to Xin An and taking the other to fan cool air for the Grand Matron. Drawing back from her memories, the Grand Matron said: “I never saw your grandfather’s heroic bearing on the battlefield, but where would a general who always wins not be awe?inspiring? Surely he rode with a long blade at his side, straddling his horse, living at the edge of the blade, fearing nothing.” She paused, then added softly: “Your grandfather was a very good man.”

Xin An stilled the fan in her hand and said with a smile: “I vaguely remember Grandfather’s look as well. Back then, I thought he was terribly imposing. How to put it? I did not dare to go near.” The killing aura of a commander could indeed be frightening to a child.

The Grand Matron laughed and said: “Yes, ordinary little ones would not dare approach him. We used to joke he could stop babies from crying at night.”

Speaking of the past made the Grand Matron seem years younger, and Xin An could not help but remark: “My mother says a wife is a mirror to her husband. From a wife’s face you can glimpse a man’s character. Grandmother’s features are kindly and gentle, your gaze is soft, your skin is luminous, and when you smile it seems as if good fortune coils about you. Only one with great blessings can have such looks. It shows Grandfather was indeed very good and never made Grandmother worry.”

The Grand Matron laughed: “There is such a saying?”

“There certainly is,” Xin An answered earnestly. “My mother even pointed people out to me at the time. Those whose days go well look gentle; those whose days go badly grow increasingly pinched and mean. It is very accurate.”

The Grand Matron laughed even more heartily and turned her head to say to Gan Lu: “Listen to this mouth. She is gifted at coaxing an old woman like me into happiness.”

Fanning gently, Gan Lu smiled and said: “Second Young Madam speaks with reason. Your blessings are indeed abundant.”

“I ask for nothing else,” the Grand Matron said contentedly. “I only wish to pass these blessings to my descendants, and hope for a family that is harmonious, a family in which everyone does well.”

“They will,” Gan Lu said as she moved the fan, and Xin An nodded beside her.

With the Old Master as a starting point, Xin An soon shifted the topic to those retired veterans and said: “Though my parents have only me and my younger brother, and our family has some means, they did not raise us in softness. One could say I grew up at the Huaijiang Chamber of Commerce. My father did not care that I am a daughter; if he thought I could handle something, he let me try it. So I am not one of those boudoir ladies who never set foot outside.”

“Since coming to the marquis’s household, there have been things I am unaccustomed to, and I often miss home. Fortunately my husband is tolerant; he often takes me out, keeps me company, and amuses me, so that I am not left idle and bored in the courtyard. I know how well he treats me, so I want to repay him a little…” She meant to become Tang Mo’s support by taking part in the relief and comfort of those old soldiers, and she needed a suitable reason that would win the Grand Matron’s support; otherwise, as a woman of the rear residence, it would not be easy for her to leave the gates without Tang Mo accompanying her.

The Grand Matron already missed the Old Marquis in her heart, and she remembered clearly what he had charged her with on his deathbed. Aside from the household, if there was anything else he could not set down, it was those old retainers who had followed him through life and death. He had always said that after he breathed his last, those men would lose their shelter and their days would be hard. Because Xin An brought it up, the Grand Matron was willing at once, thinking first that it would give the girl something to do so she would not pine for home, and second that it was a fine opportunity for the couple to take another step forward in closeness. “Husband and wife are one. You thinking this way makes Grandmother very happy,” she said.

Relieved to have the Grand Matron’s approval, Xin An stayed to eat the noon meal in her courtyard before going to Madam Wang to fetch the ledgers and lists from past years’ relief for the veterans. With nothing pressing to do, she leafed through them to have a sense of things.

On her way back to Qiu Shi Courtyard, she ran into Madam Tao. Xin An thought to herself: [Madam Tao does run here diligently; within a single month she has come several times.] She smiled and said: “Aunt Tao, you have come to see Elder Sister?in?law?”

Madam Tao forced a smile and said: “Yi’er is unwell, and I cannot put my mind at ease. You have just come from your mother?in?law’s courtyard?”

“Idle and alone, I went to sit with Mother,” Xin An said. The two walked side by side, and Madam Tao chatted as if nothing were amiss: “I hear you have not missed morning and evening greetings for even a day, which is rare filial piety.”

“It is only a matter of doing my part,” Xin An replied with a pleasant sigh, then added, “As for Elder Sister?in?law, though she is unwell, she still offers a daily salute from within her courtyard toward Mother’s rooms. Her person does not arrive, but her regard does not fail. That is what I should learn from.”

“A salute from afar?” Madam Tao’s mouth twitched. She sighed lightly and said: “That child is weak. If only she were as hale as you, I would not have to worry. We are also fortunate that your mother?in?law is broad?minded. That is a blessing.”

Xin An smiled and chose not to continue. She had no liking for Madam Tao. In her previous life, the moment Tang Mo breathed his last, this woman had gone to clutch at Tang Rong and weep, begging him to look after Tao Yi Ran; whenever anything came up she would go directly to Tang Rong, often playing at intercepting people midway. One could say mother and daughter both had no sense of shame. [Shameless.]

After they had gone a little way, Madam Tao spoke again: “Speaking of which, I have always wanted to ask you something: how are you and the second young master getting along?”