Chapter 55: CH 31

Gu Sui’er thought about that night over a thousand times in her heart.

Slowly, she understood. They had kissed again.

Perhaps the previous one could not be calculated as a real kiss. But this time, it surely was.

Gu Sui’er sat there looking at the bamboo forest outside, listening to the faint symphony produced as the bamboo leaves gently swayed in the breeze. Lost in her thoughts, she came to the conclusion that kissing could also be considered life-threatening; one could suck the soul out of the other person when they were kissing.

Whenever Nanny An saw her being like this, she would always laugh and sigh simultaneously.

Now that the third Master and Young Mistress sleep in the same room, Young Mistress has really been enchanted. At night, she is unwilling to move her eyes from him. In the evening, she sits in front of the window and thinks about him. She’s becoming muddle-headed!1The Author wrote “五迷三道” which is a phrase meaning becoming delirious/confused.

She was naturally happy when she saw that Xiao Heng and Gu Sui’er had a good relationship. However, after thinking about it, she began to worry about her Young Mistress again.

No matter how much the third Master loved her, she was just a Concubine, not his main wife.

Sooner or later, the third Master will marry a main wife. At that time, how will she treat the Young Mistress? Will the third Master ignore the Young Mistress once he takes in a main wife?

In the depths of the noble houses, these incidents were very common. Nanny An herself had seen many such episodes happening.

If it was before, she would definitely presume that it was good enough for a mere Concubine to be doted on and pampered for a while. How could she still hope to dominate a man’s heart and body for a lifetime? Wasn’t it enough to be his most beloved for a while?

But now, she didn’t think so.

As she witnessed Gu Sui’er’s foolish infatuation with the third Master, she began to wonder how miserable she would feel if he were to hug and cherish another woman in front of her every day. Most probably, her Young Mistress would be heartbroken. Just the thought of it made her feel sad on Gu Sui’er’s behalf.

“Young Mistress, you are pregnant now. If you manage to give birth to a Little Young Master, you can gain barely enough foothold in this noble residence. But you have to be cautious. You still have a long road ahead of you ah!”

From the side, Nanny An reminded her ambiguously.

“I understand, Nanny An.” There was a slight smile in Gu Sui’er’s eyes as the corners of her mouth rose up in a sweet smile.

Seeing that she didn’t understand at all, Nanny An had no other choice but to go on.

“Young Mistress, your belly has become so big now. You have to be careful these days. Normally, men and women sleep in different rooms during these days to avoid any mishaps.”

Gu Sui’er stroked her belly. Her lovely and limpid eyes seemed to be covered by a layer of mist that floated over a river very early in the morning, highlighting her natural charm and simplicity.

“Nanny An, you thought too much. The third Master and I do not do anything other than merely lying down and sleeping together.”

Nanny An was taken aback and looked at Gu Sui’er blankly.

Although she was only fifteen years old, a year younger than the eldest Young Miss of the Marquis’ Mansion, Xiao Jin, Gu Sui’er was born weak and petite. Sometimes, her cluelessness was also revealed from her words. But besides that naivety and tenderness, these days, a bit of a mature woman’s charm seemed to be added to her inexplicably.

Any man would, without a doubt, feel the urge to spoil this delicate woman to no end.

Even when she looked outside the window with those moist eyes, Nanny An could perceive her longing for the man she had gradually engraved in her heart.

Nanny An’s thoughts were interrupted as she suddenly remembered the day when Gu Sui’er entered the Marquis’ Mansion. At that time, she was nothing more than a beautiful girl from the countryside.

She had an exquisite countenance but after all, it was mixed with the familiar unsophistication of country folk.

However, she was different now.

Nanny An suddenly let out a long sigh.

How long has it been since the third Master has successfully etched himself in the clear eyes of this countryside girl?

If the third Master stops doting on her one day, what will happen to the Young Mistress?

She didn’t dare to think about it. She scolded herself for the thought and quickly chanted Buddha’s name, wholeheartedly praying to grant her three wishes. First, to bless and protect Gu Sui’er, second, she gives birth to a male child so that she has a minimum position in this mansion, and third, to bless the third Master with a virtuous and magnanimous wife in the future, who can tolerate this foolish Young Mistress of hers.

While she was talking to herself, she heard someone’s loud voice calling from the outside: “Nanny An?”

Hearing this, Nanny An hurriedly went outside to take a look. She saw the Old Madam’s most favored maid, RuYi, had come over.

She walked in with a smile, bowed, and then said to Gu Sui’er: “Concubine Gu, a distinguished guest arrived in the residence today. The Old Madam expressed that she wants you to come and join her if you aren’t tired. Do you wish to go?”

After hearing this, Gu Sui’er promptly replied: “RuYi girl must have been inconvenienced to make a trip here especially to inform me. I’m not tired now so I’ll depart in a short while after I have dressed appropriately.”

After speaking, she said to Nanny An: “The mooncakes that the third Master brought back from the Imperial Palace during the Mid-Autumn Festival may not have been eaten by RuYi girl when it was served. Nanny An, please take some out and give it to her. “

RuYi had indeed not eaten the mooncakes. She immediately chuckled: “Prior to today, I had only heard that Concubine Gu’s temper was the best and she had a deeply compassionate heart. I didn’t understand it before, but now, I do. Concubine Gu is really considerate. I had learned from some people that the taste of these mooncakes is different from the ordinary ones. However, I couldn’t fully believe them since I had never tasted them!”

Naturally, Nanny An hurriedly ordered the maids to fetch the mooncakes and cut them into small pieces. Gu Sui’er took it personally and handed it over to RuYi.

Unexpectedly, this maid called RuYi didn’t decline her actions.

She calmly received it from Gu Sui’er. She was indeed the Old Madam’s most favored maid. It was also because of this reason that the two Young Madams and even the Madam gave her a bit of face.

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After RuYi tasted the mooncakes, she went back. Gu Sui’er quickly asked Nanny An to help her prepare and put on her newly made dress. Then, she left with Nanny An.

Barely had she walked into the courtyard when Gu Sui’er heard the noises coming from inside. Even the hwamei2The Chinese hwamei or melodious laughingthrush is a passerine bird of eastern Asia in the family Leiothrichidae. The name ‘hwamei’ comes from ‘画眉’ which means ‘painted eyebrows’ referring to the distinctive marking around the bird’s eyes. [Source: Wikipedia] birds and parrots in the corridor were twittering.

When a few young maids saw her, they all greeted her with a smile and told her to go in.

As soon as she entered, Gu Sui’er saw a grandly dressed woman sitting next to the Old Madam. At first glance, she looked like a fairy who had descended upon the earth from the celestial realm. When she took a closer look, she saw that the woman was wearing a heavy golden hairpin with jade beads on her head. Those beads were probably bigger than even her own head. A bright golden ring was looped around her neck. As for her clothes, they were splendidly embroidered and were bedecked with glittering jewels. She did not know how much effort the embroiderer had put into making it and how much silver was spent in purchasing those luxurious head ornaments.

Gu Sui’er suddenly felt that this woman seemed somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t think back to seeing such a beautiful and wealthy girl before. As a result, she was dumbfounded.

At this time, the Old Madam introduced them with a smile: “Sui’er, this is ZhaoYang. You have seen her before. Come, come closer and greet her.”

When Gu Sui’er heard the word ‘ZhaoYang’, she finally realized that this was Princess ZhaoYang, the woman who had almost hit her with a whip sometime ago.

No wonder I felt she was familiar.

When she looked at her again and saw Princess ZhaoYang’s half-smile, a sense of foreboding suddenly spread in her heart.

She had the feeling that this person seemed to harbor malicious intentions.

But she couldn’t escape at this moment. So she braced herself and walked up to the old lady and prepared to kneel.

Fortunately, the Old Madam stopped her and continued with a smile: “According to the rules, you should kneel in order to greet her, but your belly is not small anymore. It won’t be easy for you now.”

After speaking, she looked at Princess ZhaoYang next to her: “ZhaoYang, I think you might as well excuse her from greeting this time.”

Princess ZhaoYang chuckled with a nonchalantly: “Imperial Grandaunt, ZhaoYang has always obeyed you the most. Since you advised to exempt her, she will naturally be exempted.”

So Gu Sui’er didn’t kneel down. However, she bent down slightly with the support of Nanny An to greet the Princess.

The Old Madam spoke again: “The last time you met ZhaoYang in the GuiYuan, there was a big misunderstanding which almost injured you. Now that she has come to hang out with the girls, it is not worthwhile to bother about it. You girls are around the same age, so you should all chat together nicely. “

Princess ZhaoYang also smiled and said: “As Imperial Grandaunt said, I had acted a bit unreasonably before. Father Emperor also reprimanded me later that day. As a matter of fact, I have specially come here today to apologize to the Concubine. Concubine Gu is magnanimous so I know she would never bother to quibble over it!”

Gu Sui’er lowered her head. She knew that neither did she have the position to act magnanimous nor did she have the position to quibble with her.

Princess ZhaoYang was the Emperor’s daughter. Her identity and stature itself meant that she was out of her reach. Before coming here, she had only seen Princesses in the plays performed in the countryside. How could she have ever thought that she would see a real Princess in her life?

Whenever Princess ZhaoYang came to Marquis RuiDing’s Mansion, she would be welcomed with open arms, and everybody here doted on her. Speaking of which, the Emperor called the Old Madam ‘Imperial Aunt’ while Princess ZhaoYang called her ‘Imperial Grandaunt’. They were people who were connected by blood.

Of course, she was incomparable to her.

If it wasn’t for the little tadpole in her womb, then she would have to kneel on the ground and greet her. If she didn’t do it, she might have even been expelled due to her outrageous behavior.

She looked at Princess ZhaoYang and bowed her head cautiously: “Sui’er greets Princess ZhaoYang. Sui’er has come from the countryside, so she doesn’t understand the rules and etiquette very well. I apologize for not being able to kowtow to the Princess.”

Saying this, she lowered her head.

From Princess ZhaoYang’s perspective, Gu Sui’er’s humbleness didn’t seem to be false and this compliance somewhat satisfied her. Everyone present was relieved; even the Madam smiled slightly.

“You all children belong to the same family. You don’t need to kowtow anymore. Quickly get up.”

Hence, everyone sat down together and chatted while eating fruits.

As Princess ZhaoYang was a distinguished guest, the topic naturally revolved around her. They all talked about what new accessories and patterns were being used in the Palace recently, whether Her Majesty, the Empress’ phoenix body3It was believed that the Emperor represented the dragon [龍] while the Empress represented the phoenix [凤]. If you want to read something more about the Chinese phoenix, there’s an interesting article here. was in good shape, which books she had read recently etc.

Except for the Old Madam, everyone present was quite respectful to Princess ZhaoYang. Even the usually bright and unconstrained Xiao Jin seemed to be restraining herself while speaking to Princess ZhaoYang.

Furthermore, Xiao Xu made use of every gap to stick in a needle4Every gap to stick in a needle [见缝插针] – It means she used every means and opportunity. and tried to curry favor with Princess ZhaoYang.

Gu Sui’er sat aside, looking down at the pointy tip of her bulging belly. She did not dare to speak but just listened to their words in silence.

She used to think that both the girls and the Young Madams of RuiDing residence were fairy-like people, respectable and extraordinary. She thought under the sun, nothing could surpass them.

But since Princess ZhaoYang arrived, everyone couldn’t help but go along with her words. She understood this now.

It turned out that there was a high mountain behind this one. Marquis RuiDing’s residence might be great, but in front of the Princess, they had to stoop down.

The Imperial Power was supreme and all-surpassing in this secular world.

Thinking like this, she lowered her head with even more caution.

The higher people stand, the more they hold their heads up.

The lower you are, the more you have to bend down.

At this moment, Princess ZhaoYang suddenly asked: “Eh, why don’t you speak, Sui’er? Come on, tell bengong5Bengong [本宫] – Bengong is usually used by the royal family members, Empress, or high-ranking consorts. Normally, high-ranking consorts and royal family members would have their own palaces. Bengong carries the meaning of ‘in the name of (the owner of) this palace’. [Source: Quora]. Where are you from? What happened between you and Ah Heng ah?”

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