The next day, Luo Su went to pay respects to her mother-in-law, and Jin Chao arrived at her mother’s place early.
As a new bride, Luo Su wore a lake-blue Hangzhou silk padded jacket with a xiang fei-colored moonlight skirt. Her ears were adorned with small pearls, and she wore silver lotus-patterned hairpins on her temples—simple yet elegant.
The three concubines were already waiting at the mother’s place. When Luo Su paid her respects to the mother and raised her head, her face caused all three concubines to change expression.
Jin Chao’s lips bore a faint smile as she sipped her tea. She guessed that none of them had expected her to bring back someone who looked so similar to Concubine Yun.
Song Concubine was the first to smile: “Our new sister is as beautiful as flowers and jade. Just looking at her makes me happy inside.”
Madam Ji asked Luo Su to come closer, held her hand, and asked softly: “Last night… were all the rituals completed?”
Luo Su’s fair face blushed with shyness. Housekeeper Xu, standing at her side, answered with a smile: “The bridal veil showed the red mark.”
Song Concubine bit her lower lip. No matter how detached she had trained herself to be, it was still extremely uncomfortable when the man she loved consummated his marriage with another young woman.
Madam Ji instructed Housekeeper Xu: “No need for medicinal soup. Our Concubine Luo might bring a child to the household soon.”
She then had Mo Yu bring out the prepared welcoming gifts—a pair of gold hairpins with yellow-green tourmaline in the pattern of double cloud dragons symbolizing good fortune and longevity. Mother had always been generous, and she wasn’t short of such things. Luo Su thanked Mother and accepted the gifts. Then the other concubines presented their gifts in turn: Song Concubine gave a gold-plated silver full crown, Du Concubine gave an agate Buddha-hand-shaped gold hairpin, but Guo Concubine only gave a pair of jade gourd earrings.
Jin Chao glanced at Guo Concubine, whose expression was neither servile nor arrogant, and who didn’t seem to think her gift was too meager.
Housekeeper Xu brought low stools for the concubines to sit on. Song Concubine chatted with Luo Su: “I find sister familiar. You look similar to our former Concubine Yun, which makes me feel especially close to you.”
Luo Su spoke in a soft, gentle voice: “My mother is the elder sister of the former Concubine Yun. I should address her as my maternal aunt.”
Song Concubine then glanced at Jin Chao, who had been sitting silently nearby: “No wonder our Young Lady was so confident in having the Master take a concubine.”
Oh, now the topic had shifted to her.
Jin Chao put down her teacup and replied unhurriedly: “Song Concubine’s words are biased. Father approved the person; I merely helped with the selection.”
Madam Ji said calmly: “Song Concubine, you should mind your words. Don’t spread such talk and damage Jin Chao’s reputation.”
Song Concubine’s lips twitched slightly—as if Jin Chao’s reputation needed any further damage from her… Outwardly, she could only express regret: “This concubine was wrong. My words were inappropriate.”
Du Concubine smiled, the crow’s feet at her eyes visible: “With a new sister, Song Concubine must be delighted…”
Jin Chao glanced at her.
As the weather gradually warmed, Jin Chao had the servants and maids thoroughly clean the Qing Tong Courtyard. Some of the original luxurious decorations were removed. The ornate screen inlaid with white and green jade depicting a hundred birds was replaced with a marble screen painted with ink landscapes. With gold ornaments removed from the room, it looked much more refreshing. Light blue-and-white gourds and slender white porcelain vases were added, filled with flowers from the greenhouse.
Jin Chao also wanted to set up a grape trellis in the courtyard. She invited a gardener from the outer court to build a wooden frame, and personally selected grapevines to plant in the yard. Come spring, this place would provide a patch of shade.
Yu Zhu loved grape trellises the most. She told Jin Chao: “When I was little, our neighbor Song Fourth Girl had grapevines. Every summer, purple grapes hung from the vines like crystals, bunch after bunch. If Fourth Girl was in a good mood, she’d share some with us. Her family would pick grapes to sell, and with the money, they could buy osmanthus candy… All of us children were envious. Once, we quietly climbed over the wall to steal from Fourth Girl’s house. I even got bitten on the buttocks by her dog…”
She spoke proudly, without any embarrassment, seeming eager to share her joy with Jin Chao.
Bai Yun beside her was too angry to speak. This maid was simply too talkative!
Jin Chao, however, liked Yu Zhu’s personality and smiled as she told her: “When these grapes bear fruit, you can come pick them whenever you want.”
Yu Zhu cheered with joy. Each day, she went to watch the grapevines sprout, eagerly measuring with her fingers how much they had grown, then reporting back to Jin Chao.
She complained that the vines were growing too slowly: “I check them every day, but they never seem to grow. Young Lady, how long will it take for them to cover the entire trellis…”
Qing Pu lifted the curtain and entered: “Young Lady, Concubine Luo is here.”
Yu Zhu stuck out her tongue and retreated with Yu Tong. Jin Chao sat up straight before nodding: “Please invite her in.”
Luo Su entered with only her maid Qing Yi. After half a month of care, the maid’s complexion had improved, and one could now make out the vague outline of a beauty.
Qing Pu brought a stool. Luo Su sat down, and Jin Chao noticed her slightly red eyes as if she had been crying. Jin Chao composed herself and asked: “What’s wrong with Concubine? Are you homesick?”
Luo Su shook her head: “This concubine knows that I wasn’t married into the Gu family, so naturally, there’s no question of wanting to return home.”
Jin Chao smiled and said: “If you want to go back, it’s not impossible. I can arrange for someone to escort you home for a visit.”
Luo Su smiled bitterly: “That’s not it… This has happened to me several times. I initially wanted to speak with the Madam, but considering her poor health and that she shouldn’t be troubled with such matters, I came to the Young Lady instead. I have two maids, Hai Tang, and Qiu Kui, both assigned to me by the household. Following your and Housekeeper Xu’s instructions, I don’t let them serve my meals or dress me, only having them stand guard outside. But…”
Jin Chao nodded: “Go on.”
“These two maids standing outside… several times when the Master came to see me after court, they directly told him I was still asleep and hadn’t risen. The Master heard this and left. I was inside and heard everything, but I wasn’t sleeping—I was just embroidering in the inner chamber…” As she spoke, tears fell again. “Housekeeper Xu heard that the Master has been frequently visiting Song Concubine lately and scolded me, but how can I control this…”
Jin Chao watched her cry sorrowfully but could only sigh inwardly. She was indeed too young.
She asked Luo Su: “Do you know who you are?”
Luo Su was startled, “Young Lady… I… I am of course Luo Su…”
Jin Chao continued: “You are indeed Luo Su, but you are also a concubine of the Gu family! If the two little maids are ignorant, you should punish them. Why cry and make yourself miserable, allowing them to gain prestige?”
“I… When I was in the Luo family, I was the daughter of a concubine and didn’t even have a personal maid. My elder sister had one maid, and she treated that maid very kindly. I thought if I treated them kindly, they would naturally be kind to me… This concubine doesn’t know how to manage maids. Please instruct me, Young Lady, on how to properly discipline maids.”
Jin Chao smiled and shook her head: “Do I need to teach you this too?” She asked Qing Pu to find her an outer garment. “Then follow me.”
Jin Chao put on her clothes and, accompanied by Qing Pu, Cai Fu, and Bai Yun, led Luo Su and her servant toward the side gate.
Luo Su was surprised: “What… why are we going to the outer court?”
Jin Chao casually replied: “To find someone to serve you, of course.” She crossed the side gate and headed straight for the stables. When the stable manager heard the Young Lady had arrived, he hurried out to greet her: “Young Lady, what brings you here!”
Women rarely ventured beyond the side gate.
Jin Chao said: “I’m looking for Matron Liu and Matron Chen.” These two women had helped her catch Liu Xiang previously. They were bold, cunning, and very loyal to her. Whenever something happened in the outer court, the stables would immediately report it to Jin Chao.
Seeing it was the Young Lady herself who came looking, the manager dared not neglect her request and personally went to summon the two women. He thought they must have established a relationship with the Young Lady, as she politely referred to them as “matron.” The two women were both surprised and delighted that the Young Lady had come to find them. The manager had never treated them so respectfully before.
Jin Chao led the two stable matrons to Jing’an Residence, explaining everything to them along the way.
“…From now on, you will serve Concubine Luo at Jing’an Residence. If anyone disobeys the Concubine’s orders, punish them as you see fit. Concubine Luo has a gentle temperament. If you see anyone bullying her or causing trouble, report it to me. Are you willing?”
Matron Liu respectfully replied: “We understand. The Young Lady has been good to us, and we will certainly do our best to help the Young Lady and Concubine Luo!”
Qing Pu stood beside them, suppressing a smile. Her Young Lady was indeed clever. These stable matrons were the fiercest, with great strength. Even the regular guards wouldn’t provoke them. Using them to serve Concubine Luo—let’s see which maid would dare to misbehave now.
Concubine Luo observed that both matrons were stout and strong. She called them by name softly and saw that their smiles were extremely respectful, which further reassured her.
Matron Liu and Matron Chen were naturally overjoyed. The treatment of stable matrons compared to inner court servants was vastly different. They earned only two silver coins per month in the stables, while inner court servants received at least five silver coins, with new clothes for winter and summer, and bonuses from the masters during festivals.
Having the opportunity to serve a master, they must do well to avoid being sent back.
Just as Jin Chao reached the entrance of Jing’an Residence, she saw the two maids, Hai Tang and Qiu Kui, sitting in the corridor cracking melon seeds while chatting.
“Wonder how long our mistress will remain in favor…”
“Didn’t Song Concubine say it wouldn’t be long? By then, we two can become second-class maids…”
“She’s just taking advantage of her youth. We’re not much different from her. Some people just have good fortune… becoming a concubine overnight. The Master’s maids, Shui Ying, and Bi Yue, have served him for so many years and still haven’t been promoted from bedchamber attendants to concubines…”
As they casually gossiped, they suddenly heard a calm voice asking:
“So, you two wish to become concubines?”