Spring Message in the Snow – CH 009

Chapter 9

Yingrou, who had been eating fruit, interrupted, saying, “The Duke of Wen’s Mansion has a county princess who is choosing a female tutor. The Princess heard that Second Sister had left the palace and sent someone to the Mansion to inquire after her, implying that Second Sister was invited to come and accompany the county princess.”

Mianmian nodded, thinking to herself, “Oh, so that’s how it is.” She had thought Surou was about to rise in rank, but it turned out they just wanted to hire a high-ranking maid.

However, upon further reflection, she realized that the Duke of Wen’s Mansion was a legitimate member of the royal family, quite different from the Marquis of Xingyang’s. The former’s matriarch was the Princess, while the latter was a Founding Marquis granted a title outside the royal family—the difference in rank alone was significant. The Duke of Wen’s Mansion was associated with extraordinary people, and being in such an environment would inevitably elevate one’s status… She even thought of a more reliable shortcut: “Does the Duke of Wen have a son?”

Even Qingrou, standing nearby, glanced at her upon hearing this. Qingrou usually did not meddle in other people’s business, and she felt Zhirou and Jirou didn’t have to be so hostile towards Mianmian. However, she could not help but notice a certain mercenary air about Mianmian at times. She seemed to always remember her purpose in coming to the capital, and at the slightest sign of trouble, she would immediately start thinking about marriage.

Yingrou, still a child, did not think so much. She put down the fruit, wiped her mouth, and said, “I do not know; I have not heard of it.”

Anyway, Surou was incredibly lucky. Everyone had said that her release from the palace would likely cause gossip, but the very next day, the Duke of Wen’s Mansion sent someone to her door. With five or six days until the first day of the month, other families might try to curry favor, but a palace attendant released midway through her life had inexplicably become a hot commodity in the capital.

Mianmian was also adept at assessing situations. She had no particularly close confidants in the household. Zhirou and Jirou were clearly at odds with her; Qingrou was mute, and Yingrou was mentally challenged. On the contrary, this newly returned cousin seemed promising and cultured. Becoming closer to her would be entirely beneficial.

The elders in the hall continued their casual conversation, eventually bringing up the Golden Duck Banquet. This banquet, established by the Princess of Pingyao, was specifically for the female relatives of noble families in the capital. Unlike the Youzhou Flower Banquet, held at the beginning of March, the Golden Duck Banquet was held in mid-May. Attendance at such gatherings was selective; usually, it was attended by the principal wife and her eldest daughter. While ostensibly for facilitating friendships among noble ladies, it was essentially a large-scale matchmaking event. Those with young ladies looked for good husbands; those without young ladies looked for good wives. During the banquet, everyone exchanged pleasantries and laughter. After the banquet, a suitable day was chosen for them to visit and meet. If things went well, then a matchmaker could be asked to arrange the betrothal.

Grand Madam Zhang took this matter very seriously, earnestly instructing her three daughters-in-law: “The children are all grown up now; we cannot treat this as casually as we did in previous years. Although Jiezhi and Chengzhi are still studying, they will take the imperial examinations this year, and we should start arranging marriages for them. There are also several girls in the household, all around the same age, and you all need to arrange marriages for them.”

She then turned to Surou and discussed, “Let’s wait until after the Golden Duck Banquet to accept the Princess’s invitation. If someone proposes marriage, it’s always important. You are eighteen this year; while it’s not too late to discuss marriage, we cannot delay any longer. The Princess probably knows the situation and should understand.”

The elders spoke with particular seriousness about their children’s marriages, so Surou could only reassure her grandmother, “Even after entering the Duke’s Mansion, it will only be an hour or two each day, unlike being a maid and spending all of one’s time in someone else’s household.”

Grand Madam Zhang nodded. “That’s true. Last year, Nanny Fan from Zheng Taizai Street ran a private school for a month. Zhirou and the others went there at dawn and returned at noon, not staying long.”

Lady Pan said, “Nanny Fan charged a commission for teaching. The Second Young Lady is going to the Duke’s Mansion to give face to the Princess, so it’s different. We do not accept money either. If we get along well with the County Princess, we will have a close friend in the future. If we do not get along, we can just find an excuse to decline.”

As long as there was no exchange of benefits, things in this world were mostly simple. Surou smiled and nodded. “Mother is right.”

At this moment, a maid entered through the door and reported to Shangrou that An’er had woken up and was looking for his mother everywhere.

Shangrou stood up and looked at the Grand Madam, who quickly said, “Go quickly, get him ready, and bring him here. I have not played with him in a long time.”

Shangrou agreed, bowed, and left. Surou followed, taking her arm and saying, “I will go with you, Eldest Sister.”

The two sisters left Suihua Garden and strolled side by side along the garden path. Shangrou listlessly looked around, patted Surou’s hand, and said, “Walking like this suddenly reminds me of our childhood. Back then, my younger sisters were all small; only the two of us were close in age. On rainy days, we’d squat under the banana tree pretending to be homeless, building a tiny earthen stove, and even planning to cook.”

Surou also remembered, smiling, “It feels like it happened yesterday. In the blink of an eye, we’ve all grown up.”

It was a pity they missed each other’s girlhood. Shangrou said, “You suffered a lot in the Forbidden City, did you not?”

Surou was silent for a moment. Actually, there were many things she did not want to recall, and she only ever reported good news to her elders. But behind the elders’ backs, there seemed to be nothing to hide, so confiding in Shangrou was not entirely inappropriate.

“Failed requests are a terrible thing. The person I sought refuge with had passed away, and nobody cared about me anymore. I lost my mother at a young age, and my father was gone when I entered the palace. In such an unfamiliar environment, how could I not be bullied? At first, I was assigned to work under older palace attendants. If I made a mistake, I was punished by standing and going hungry. If I resisted even slightly, I was often scolded and beaten. For three or four years, I did all the heavy work—sweeping, washing clothes, everything. Later, as I gained seniority, I was promoted to Junior Palace Attendant, and things started to get better when I was leading my own young servants.”

“…”

Shangrou felt sorry for her and frowned, saying, “My troubles are nothing compared to yours. At least I am not frugal in terms of food, clothing, or daily necessities, and I have people to take care of me. It’s you who have had such a hard time these past few years.”

Surou did not like to suffer for herself and shook her head. “It’s all in the past. I was able to come back this time entirely thanks to Consort Zheng. You do not know how happy I was when she said she would let me leave the palace.”

Shangrou could not understand this. “Was it not because Second Uncle was enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple that she intentionally let you go home?”

Surou, however, took it as a joke, covering her mouth and saying, “It was Consort Xiuyuan’s idea. Because the Emperor said a few words to me that day, Consort Zheng found out and immediately granted me permission to return home.”

Shangrou immediately understood. The two looked at each other, laughing helplessly in silence.

They entered the courtyard where Shangrou had lived before her marriage. Beside a small artificial hill in the courtyard stood a vermilion swing, swaying gently in the breeze.

The wet nurse, holding An’er, paced under the wooden corridor. Seeing Shangrou return, she turned to attract An’er’s attention, coaxing in a high-pitched voice, “Look, little one, who’s here?” She then complained to Shangrou with a smile, “I’ve already fed him, but as soon as I changed his clothes, a stream of urine drenched him all over.”

The child was adorable, pure, and innocent. An’er was only a year old, a time of great playfulness, and his features were beautiful. In Surou’s eyes, he was even more handsome than the young princes in the palace. Shangrou took the child, clicking her tongue, “You’ve been naughty again…” She then pointed to Surou. “Young man, recognize her; this is your second aunt.”

An’er was intelligent; as if understanding, he smiled at Surou. His tiny gums had just sprouted a tiny tooth, no bigger than half a grain of rice, and drool dripped from his mouth as he grinned.

The wet nurse quickly came to wipe it away, and Shangrou chimed in, “The young man smiled at you; you are sure to have good luck this year.”

Surou adored the child, reaching out to take him, holding him close and examining him closely, sighing, “He’s definitely my own child; he’s so much better than others.”

Shangrou, however, felt a pang of sadness. “Such a good child; it’s a pity he has not met a good father.”

This marriage had come to this point; it was truly despairing. Shangrou’s downfall was due to her weak nature. She did not know where her temper flared yesterday; she had Pan’er tied up and started a fight. This once-in-a-lifetime attempt to establish her authority ended in such a dismal way. She felt her life was probably destined to be like this—unable to control men or the inner quarters, destined to be a nominal young mistress of a marquis’s mansion, enduring until An’er grew up, and that would be it.

Seeing her somber expression, Surou handed the child to the wet nurse, saying, “The apples are very soft today; use a silver spoon to scrape them for An’er.”

The wet nurse agreed and took the child inside. Surou pulled Shangrou to sit on a goose-neck chair in the pavilion and said gently, “I saw everything that happened last night. I originally agreed with my elder sister and brother-in-law’s divorce; after all, you are still young, and it’s not worth wasting your whole life in that family. But my elder sister has concerns; for An’er and for the future of her brothers and sisters, she’s still willing to return…”

“So, I feel sorry for my elder sister, too. I have something I want to say to her: after all this trouble, do not expect your husband to change his ways. A man like that will never truly settle down unless he’s written on his memorial tablet. You need to go back; there’s a very important matter to attend to. The old servants of the Marquis’s Mansion cannot be used anymore. Keep only a few for menial tasks, and replace the rest with our family members. That way, we will have trusted confidants to handle things, preventing anyone from taking advantage of us.”

Shangrou was momentarily stunned. “Replace them all with our… Our family might offend my mother-in-law; most of the people there were sent by her.”

Seeing her waver, Surou sighed and said, “No matter how good the Marquis’s wife is, she still sides with her son. If she were willing to control my brother-in-law, she would have dealt with those two concubines for you long ago. Eldest Sister can use her poor health as an excuse to say that her maids and servants from her maternal family are better at serving her, and bring some capable ones from home to ward off evil spirits. That way, you will not have any worries. Next, you can set up a separate courtyard and buy a few maids to keep in the house…”

“Firstly, it will earn you a good reputation, and secondly, it will deter him from keeping mistresses. After all, you know their background and have their slave registration documents, which is better than him getting someone of dubious origin. Once all this is arranged, my elder sister can sit back and watch the drama unfold. With so many concubines, he will naturally be busy dealing with them. They will fight tooth and nail over every single one, and even if they fight to the death, as long as they do not bother you, even if they tear down the roof of the Marquis’s Mansion, it’s none of your business.”

After hearing this, the tears that had been welling up in Shangrou’s eyes suddenly cooled and dried.

“Yes…you are right…” she murmured as if waking from a dream. “Why did I not think of this method? I am only focused on getting angry with those two concubines every day, making myself look like a ghost.”

Shangrou’s temperament was somewhat like her mother’s, Lady Yuan’s, except she did not have Lady Yuan’s good fortune to marry into a family like the Zhang family.

The Zhang family was considered a respectable and upright family. The patriarch and matriarch had strict family rules; wives were wives, and concubines were concubines, with a clear distinction between superior and inferior. There was never a precedent of a concubine rebelling. Having been in the Zhang family for over twenty years, Lady Yuan was unaware of the fierce power struggles within the inner quarters. Therefore, when her daughter encountered unfair treatment, she could only wipe away her tears and sigh, “It’s all fate.”

As for Surou, she had witnessed too much intrigue and backstabbing within the palace. She knew that to survive, one had to fight for one’s own life. A good marriage was the envy of all; a bad marriage meant that clinging to hope was cruelty to oneself.

“My elder sister is kind-hearted and never intended to go to extremes. This is just a desperate measure; I cannot persuade her husband to take the right path, so I have to let her protect herself first. He will definitely hold a grudge against you for a while because of those two concubines. Rather than letting him cause trouble, it’s better to play to his interests and bring peace.”

She took Shangrou’s hand and said gently, “Right now, Eldest Sister only needs to focus on one thing: taking care of your health. There’s plenty of time. You cannot do anything to Chen Ang now, but one day he will fall into your hands. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. When that time comes, deal with him behind closed doors and let him taste the bitterness of being helpless.”

Surou’s words truly struck a chord with Shangrou. Three years of pent-up frustration instantly dissipated.

Only with hope could one live with focus. Before today, she truly felt that life had no purpose, always having a premonition that her days were numbered, wondering if she could even live past twenty-five. But now things were different. Surou patiently taught her, and her inflexible mind suddenly opened up, realizing there was still such a chance to turn things around.

A mix of heartache, exhilaration, and a sudden awakening felt like seeing the light of day again. She gritted her teeth and said, “Alright, I will listen to you; I will do it your way.”

Seeing the light rekindle in her eyes, Surou felt relieved and said kindly, “With money and power, one can be more open-minded; the longer one lives, the greater the chances of success. Now that we’ve reached an agreement, Eldest Sister has a pillar of support. From now on, cheer up and make your own plans. I cannot offer much help, but I can offer some advice. If you encounter difficulties in the future, feel free to come to me for advice. Do not keep it all bottled up inside and ruin your health.”

Shangrou nodded repeatedly, inwardly grateful that she was not destined to die; this younger sister who had returned home midway could save her life.

A heavy weight lifted from her heart, and she could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The two sisters sat under the wooden veranda, the warm breeze causing the painted silk to flutter, realizing that the sky was high and the clouds were light—it was a beautiful time of year with lush greenery.