Chapter 4 The Elder Bestows Upon

  The Yangning Marquis's mansion occupied the entire street of Yangning, with its front and back buildings overlapping, numerous pavilions and towers, and a small stream called Xiaoyu Creek that was diverted from Shichahai. The rear garden had a hint of Jiangnan water village gardens. This large mansion was originally bestowed by Emperor Taizong, following the specifications for the mansions of dukes, marquises, and earls, with a three-bay five-rafter gatehouse, gold-painted beast faces, and tin rings. The four characters "Yangning Marquis's Mansion" on the plaque were written by Zhang, the first chief grand councilor appointed by Emperor Wuzong.

  In front of the seven-bay, nine-frame front hall is a small two-bay pavilion, which has always been the place to receive ordinary guests, called the Hall of Three Virtues. The central hall, also seven bays and nine frames, is called the Hall of Good Fortune, with one bay in the middle dedicated to displaying the imperial plaque bestowed by Emperor Taizong, normally not easily opened except on New Year's or when noble guests arrive. The rear hall, Qing Xi Ju, has been the residence of Madame Zhu for decades, also seven bays and seven frames.

  Since the death of Chen Yong, the former Marquis of Yangning, Zhu Shi moved out and lived in Lianxiangyuan to the east. However, although she had no son, her eldest daughter married into the Gong Mansion and later gave birth to two sons and two daughters. Moreover, six years ago, during the selection of the emperor's concubine, among many daughters of dukes and marquises, her eldest daughter stood out and became the formal wife of Jin Wang, the second son of the current emperor.

  With this reason, no one in the family dared to underestimate this old ancestor. Even if Hou became the second lady and Madame Ma didn't mention moving into Qing Xi residence, she just expanded her own residence, Zi Ning residence again. Since it occupied half of Chang Fang's Fang Fei building, she also used the excuse that Fang Fei building was old and moved Chen Lan to Jin Xiu building in the west, while Chen Yan was in Cui Zhu garden not far from here.

  The name of Jinxiu Pavilion sounds good, but it is actually the most remote place in the entire Houfu courtyard, whether it is to the central hall or the back hall, you have to go around a long corridor first, and then pass by the courtyards of various houses. Therefore, Chen Lan used to walk many original roads every day at dawn and dusk, heard many cold words and phrases, and became more and more reluctant to leave Jinxiu Pavilion, only guarding his younger brother.

  Now she had become another Chen Lan, and was quite satisfied with this quiet place. For the time being, she didn't go to change this self-sealing life. In the early days, she only stayed at home to recover from her injuries, while quietly inquiring about news from the maids.

  Fortunately, the Chen family of Yangning did not believe that a woman's virtue lay in her lack of talent. In the past, they had invited tutors to teach these girls, and reading was not a problem. As a result, there were gradually many more books on her bedside table. However, they were not the poetry and essays she used to study hard, but some miscellaneous books, some of which were originally in the study, and some were given by Chen Yan in the past, including geography, travel notes, and miscellaneous notes.

  Days passed one by one, and when the white Korean paper on the window could no longer withstand the wind and sand, a layer of dust had accumulated. Every now and then, the imperial physician who came to take her pulse finally gave her good news, saying that her injury had healed. After another few days of recuperation, when she was dressed and walked out of the house under the busy care of the maids, standing in the sunlight, breathing in the long-awaited fresh air, Chen Lan suddenly felt a sense of relief from the depression that had accumulated for so long.

  "When Fourth Master returns from school, he'll be overjoyed to hear that Miss is much better."

  Qin Fang said as she handed Chen Lan a half-old, half-new large red velvet cloak. She was a maid with an average build and a dignified appearance, but at this moment, seeing Chen Lan still motionless in the cloak, she couldn't help but feel some worry, hesitating again and again before softly advising: "Miss, it's very windy outside, you shouldn't stand out here for too long, go inside first. The old lady has excused you from morning and evening duties for two months, and after a few more days, it will be the new year, you can still go to pay respects to your ancestors with a clear mind."

  Chen Lan didn't make a sound, and swept her gaze over the big and small maids in the courtyard. Some looked bewildered and ignorant, some were noncommittal, while others hung their heads low, but only one tall maid furrowed her brow, seemingly disapproving. A few days ago when she was able to get out of bed and move around the room, she vaguely remembered seeing this maid in the outer house, apparently a maid who took care of flowers and vases in the courtyard, but didn't know her name. After glancing at her, Chen Lan withdrew her gaze and shook her head again.

  "It's already been a month, and you're still so weak. Even Old Lady Zheng has come to visit with her mother, I'm better now, I should go pay my respects. Choose two people to follow me to the Lai Xiang Institute, first let someone go announce our arrival."

  Although she knew that Chen Lan was a person who would not go out unless necessary, now her words were unobjectionable, and Qin Fang had no choice but to agree. She first sent someone to report the news, then left another senior maid, Yun'er, with two third-grade maids, Hua Jiao and Su Mu, to watch the house. She also instructed the younger maids to do their work in the courtyard and not to move around casually. Only then did she take the two of them to accompany Chen Lan out.

  This was Chen Lan's first time walking out of the house after her rebirth, and also her first time seeing the scenery in front of the large mansion. The courtyard was deep and winding, with layers upon layers of courtyards on both sides. The servants she saw were old and young, some retreated to the side without a word and paid their respects, while others came forward with smiles and asked about her well-being. Although Chen Lan had already steeled herself for this, when she stepped through the gate of the Lianxiang courtyard, she still felt a slight headache, so she leaned on Xianfang for support before steadying her footsteps and calming her emotions.

  The main house of the Lianxiang Institute had five rooms, with a thick cotton curtain hanging in the middle, adorned with a pattern of blue sky and good fortune. After entering the house surrounded by the maids who came to greet her, she walked past the large glass screen at the front, through a beaded curtain to the warm pavilion at the back, where Chen Lan found that it was not as quiet as she had imagined.

  An old woman sat on the warm kang, wearing a dark blue silk jacket with a five-bat pattern, and a silver fox fur hat adorned with a green jade pin. She was smiling and chatting with two young girls beside her, but when she saw Chen Lan enter, she shifted her gaze away. It was none other than Madame Zhu, the wife of Duke Yangning. As people approached to pay their respects, she revealed a warm smile.

  Chen Lancai was pulled up as soon as she knelt down. The one who pulled her was a melon-faced, slender girl with a honey-colored large-sleeved round-necked velvet jacket, a jade hairpin on her head, and an inlaid gold clove on her ear that was particularly eye-catching. She smiled slightly and dragged Chen Lan to the front of Zhu's family, saying: "Old lady, you said that San Jie would not be able to lose weight, look at her now, her complexion is much better than before, this is a blessing in disguise!"

  Another girl nodded in agreement: "Second sister is right, after all, it was the old lady who personally appointed the imperial physician to treat third sister's injury, and within a month, even third sister's chronic illness had been mostly cured."

  The two of them sang in harmony, and the others in the room couldn't help but join in. Zhu also smiled, and pulled Chen Lan's hand to sit beside her, then shooed away those two people: "Don't compare yourself to your second sister and fourth younger sister, if it were them lying in bed for a month, who knows how they would complain? How could you be so understanding? Nowadays, who in the capital doesn't know that you're this protective older sister, everyone says I'm lucky to have such a kind and filial granddaughter.

  The room was filled with the sound of birds chirping, and the tables were laden with silk, satin, gold, and jade jewelry. Chen Lan was initially dazzled by the sight, but someone pulled her back to reality, saying that good fortune had come from misfortune, and another person added more words, causing her to suddenly become alert. At this moment, when Zhu Shi said she understood, she lowered her head and said: "Those were just rumors spread by outsiders, at that time I didn't think much of it, I just wanted to save people with all my heart. However, the commotion caused unrest in the household, and we had to invite doctors and pay visits, which also troubled the old lady..."

  To others, her face turned bright red, and she seemed to be talking nonsense. The rest of the people burst out laughing, and even Zhu's wife couldn't help but tap her hand in annoyance.

  "Taking care of your brother is good, just be more careful next time. Come, sit down quickly."

  After this round of greetings and comfort, the seating arrangement in the house was rearranged. Chen Lan sat on the right-hand side as the first, while the left-hand side had Er Jie Chen Bing as the first, followed by Si Mei Chen Hu as the second. The two were one legitimate and one illegitimate child, so Chen Hu always followed Chen Bing's lead, like a parrot. On the right-hand side, the second seat was occupied by San Fang's eldest daughter, Chen Quan. She was born out of wedlock, but her mother was a noble concubine, and she had distant relatives in the Wei Guo Gong Fu. As a result, she grew up in the capital city from a young age and seemed even more arrogant than Chen Bing and Chen Hu. From start to finish, she only wore a faint smile on her face, often holding a tea cup as if it was more captivating than the people around her.

  Chen Xiao remained silent, while Chen Bing and Chen Huan chatted eloquently. Although Chen Lan was reserved, she would occasionally interject a sentence or two, often making Zhu Shi laugh. After a while, Zhu Shi suddenly remembered something and instructed the maid with a few words. Before long, she brought out a box, saying it was a gift from Princess Jin of the palace - a set of ten new-style palace hairpins made by the imperial workshop, to be shared among her sisters.

  Chen Bing was overjoyed and got up to thank her repeatedly. Madam Zhu just smiled and nodded, then looked at Chen Lan and said: "Lan'er, your injury has just healed, and your eldest cousin is also very concerned about you. This way, they will each have two branches, and the remaining four branches you can take back with you, even if you don't wear them, it's good to weigh down the trunk."

  She alone crossed over the other sisters, this outstanding hook Chen Lan was not rare. But after being humble for two sentences, seeing Zhu's determination, she could only thank her first. Next is to select according to age, she is second among the four sisters, Chen Bing first picked two long hairpins with inlaid jade and treasure, now excitedly looking at the string of pearls on the lower head, praising something, the maid brought the box to her again. Seeing the gold and jade shining inside, she only took a glance and moved her gaze away, smiling: "Since the old lady and elder sister pity me, let me take the lead, it's better to let third sister and fourth sister pick first."

  She said so, and Zhu Shi naturally agreed. Then Chen Huan and Chen Xian each chose a pair. When the box was presented to her, she opened it and saw that there were only two pairs left: one pair of five-inch Western-style gold hairpins with lotus flowers, and one pair of three-inch delicate insect-shaped pearl hairpins. She closed the lid without making a sound, just as she was about to hand it over to Xianfang, who was waiting behind her. Zhu Shi smiled and said, "Don't put them away so quickly. Among us sisters, you've always been simple and unadorned. Now that you've just recovered from your illness, you should dress up a bit and let me see how you look with two hairpins in."

  As they spoke, Zheng's mother took the initiative to come forward and took over the box. She opened it, was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and inserted the pair of pomegranate gold hairpins into Chen Lan's hair. She pulled Chen Lan in front of Zhu Shi and praised her profusely. Chen Lan saw Zheng's mother bring out a mirror, glanced at herself briefly, and smiled slightly: "I didn't wear it before not because I didn't like it, but because it felt too heavy on my head. Just now I thought the pearl hairpin was more convenient, who would have thought that this pomegranate hairpin would be transformed by Zheng's mother's skilled hands."

  "She's thirteen now, a big girl, and should be wearing some gold jewelry."

  Madam Zhu waved her hand calmly, and Chen Lan sat back down. Zheng Mama handed the box to Xuanfang beside her. At this moment, Chen Bing, who had been sitting quietly all along, suddenly spoke up: "Of course, Madam Zheng is skilled with her hands, but which of the people in front of Old Lady isn't skilled? Today, taking advantage of Old Lady's good mood, I'd like to ask a favor of you!"

  Zhu was taken aback, then rushed to Chen Bing and smiled: "You little girl, you're taking advantage of me again. Tell me, who do you want? I'll consider it."

  Chen Bing heard this and was overjoyed, hastily stepping forward to the front of Zhu's chair and making a curtsy. She then batted her eyelashes and said: "The sisters in front of Old Lady are each more beautiful than the last, how can I be blamed for being tempted? The silk fabric in my house has grown old, it's just right to send it out, I want to ask Old Lady to bestow Zhen Rong sister upon me."