maidservant

Chapter 5: The eldest daughter gets married and embezzles the fifth concubine's private money

Miss Yu pulled her sleeve and asked, "Sister Tang, why are there so many concubines?"

Gan Tang looked at the newly hung red lanterns under the eaves and thought of the back of Fourth Aunt playing the piano alone.

These days, the second concubine has been crying every day, as if her father had made a mistake in his official duties and she begged the lady's father for help so that she would not be sent to jail.

The Second Concubine's health seemed to be gradually deteriorating. In order to prevent her from getting sick, Master Yan Lie kept her in the Madam's courtyard.

When Second Aunt was seriously ill, Yan Lie suddenly became much quieter.

Gan Tang often saw him practicing calligraphy alone in the corridor, his brush strokes sharp and his ink soaking through the rice paper. Once, when Miss Yu's kite got stuck in a tree, he climbed a ladder to get it down.

Gan Tang saw half a scar on his sleeve, as if he had been hit with a ruler.

The Third Aunt has been calling Miss Yu over to talk to her recently.

Gan Tang was kneeling behind the screen embroidering and heard her teaching Miss Yu to identify the herbs: "This is angelica, this is forsythia. Remember their smell." Gan Tang closed her eyes and sniffed the herbs carefully. She always had a very sensitive sense of smell, so she remembered them.

The crabapple trees outside the window bloomed and withered. Gan Tang counted the falling petals and always felt that there was something else behind Third Aunt's words. However, Third Aunt would not tell Miss Yu what was in her heart, and Gan Tang could not guess.

The late spring cold snap came suddenly, and the scent of medicine lingered in Second Aunt's room all night long.

Gan Tang was holding the stove in the side room. He heard the night watchman knock on the third watch. Suddenly, a maid cried out: "Second Aunt is dead."

How did he die? !

In a big house, you have to be careful after all.

When Yan Lie knelt in front of the coffin and burned paper money, the ashes floated to the edge of Miss Yu's skirt. He reached out and brushed them away. His movements were so gentle that he didn't look like the naughty boy who threw firecrackers in the past. Yan Lie seemed to have changed.

Gan Tang suddenly remembered what the Third Aunt said: "Everyone in this house is changing."

In the dead of night, Gan Tang counted the silver she had saved. She was eleven years old, and twenty taels of silver would buy her freedom. She was working hard, and it wouldn't be long. She could be free at fourteen, right? The Shangshu Mansion seemed calm on the surface, but beneath the surface, there was turmoil. If she remained a slave in the Shangshu Mansion, if she was ever sold or used as a scapegoat, that would be the end! This made Gan Tang feel very insecure.

The crabapple tree outside the window was in bloom again. She touched the patch on her cuff and thought of the purses, school bags, and handkerchiefs she had embroidered in the past three years, as well as the magnolia pattern that Li Meng had taken away.

The moonlight shone into the ear room, casting mottled shadows on the ground, which looked very much like the debris of firecrackers on New Year's Eve.

Feeling lonely, Gan Tang thought about many things.

For example, are my sister and father doing well now? They must be fine, they are both better than me.

For example, Gan Tang now probably understands why the water in the Nuyi water tank is not drinkable. Perhaps it was poisoned.

The number of enslaved people is increasing, and there are only a few matchmakers who can buy people each day. If someone is outsold, and no one buys them for half a month, they will probably starve to death. There are too many monks and too little porridge, too many low-class people and too few noble people. When survival is a problem, the evil of human nature will grow from the bottom of our hearts.

After three years of accompanying his child in study and growing up, little Gan Tang gradually solved some of the mysteries in his heart.

----

Willow catkins drifted into Yushu Courtyard in the early spring. Gan Tang was combing Miss Yu's hair. The bronze mirror reflected the teardrop mole between her eyebrows, red as if dripping blood.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside. She stood on tiptoe and saw more than a dozen gold-painted boxes being carried in from the main courtyard. The corners of the boxes were covered with copper sheets, shining in the sun.

"The eldest young lady has arranged a marriage." Nanny Zhou came in with a tea tray, her skirt stained with fresh mud. "I heard it's the second son of the Earl of Wuding's mansion."

Gan Tang's hand trembled, and the comb almost fell to the ground. She remembered that on New Year's Eve, Yan Zhen was wearing a pair of jade bracelets on her wrists, which were the New Year's gifts from the Zheng family.

On the day of the betrothal ceremony, Gan Tang hid behind the window of the ear room and saw Zheng An riding in on a tall horse.

He was wearing the official uniform of the Jinwu Guard, with a sword at his waist and a ruby ​​the size of a pigeon egg inlaid on the scabbard.

Miss Yu pulled her sleeve and said, "Gan Tang, Brother Zheng is so impressive."

Gan Tang noticed a scar on his left ring finger when he dismounted, as if it had been injured by a sharp weapon. The name-invitation ceremony took place in the main hall, and Gan Tang waited behind a screen, holding a tea tray.

She heard the master praise Zheng An: "You have joined the Jinwu Guard at such a young age. You have a bright future."

The eldest lady twirled her Buddhist beads and continued, "I heard that he is also familiar with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Zheng An's voice was clear and bright: "Your Highness often summons me to discuss important matters."

Gan Tang counted the number of times he turned his ring three times while he was talking. He was a restless person.

On the day of Naji's birth, Gan Tang heard Madam Zhou sigh in the side room: "Although the Second Young Master is a good man, he is not the heir to the throne."

She lowered her head to embroider a purse, and remembered that a few days ago, when she went to the warehouse to get material, she saw a gilded box among the betrothal gifts sent by the Zheng family, and the word "Eastern Palace" was engraved on the lock.

The wedding date was set for March of the following year, and Gan Tang accompanied Miss Yu to the main courtyard to see the dowry.

The yard was filled with eighty-eight boxes, the most eye-catching of which was a pair of gilded cloisonné vases, which were said to be a reward from the prince.

Miss Yu touched the copper nails on the box and asked, "Will I have so much dowry when I get married?" Gan Tang did not answer.

On the eighth day of the third lunar month, the auspicious time arrived. Gan Tang supported Miss Yu and stood in the corridor when they saw Zheng An riding a horse to pick up the bride.

He was wearing a bright red wedding gown, and the sword at his waist had been replaced with a jade belt, but the scar on his left hand could not be concealed.

The wedding procession marched out of the mansion in a mighty procession. Gan Tang counted the porters who were carrying the dowry and there were a total of 360 people.

In the front stood a pair of gilded cloisonné vases, gleaming in the sun, followed by twelve gilded boxes with copper-covered corners.

Miss Yu pulled her sleeve and said, "Gan Tang, look at how beautiful those vases are."

At night, Gan Tang counted the silver he had saved in the side room. Twenty taels of silver could redeem her, but Miss Yu still needed her.

The crabapple blossoms outside the window. She touched the patch on her cuff and thought of the purses, school bags, and handkerchiefs she had embroidered in the past three years, as well as the magnolia pattern that Li Meng had taken away.

The moonlight shone into the ear room, casting mottled shadows on the ground, which looked very much like the debris of firecrackers on New Year's Eve that year.

Although the son-in-law cannot inherit the title, he still has a lot of room for development in the future.

The Yan family gave the eldest daughter enough face, and this marriage was considered an up-migration for the Yan family of the Minister of Personnel.

The two dissolute brothers of the brother-in-law also became officials in the same year and held empty positions, which became a crime that was later placed on Yan Jing.

On the second day after Yan Zhen got married, Gan Tang heard the sound of porcelain breaking coming from the direction of the main courtyard in the ear room.

She stood on tiptoe to look and saw the Fifth Aunt rushing out with disheveled hair, holding an empty dressing box in her hand.

Nanny Zhou came in with a tea tray, her skirt stained with fresh mud. "Fifth Concubine is making a fuss, saying that her dowry was taken to buy the eldest lady's dowry."

Gan Tang supported Miss Yu and hid behind a pillar in the corridor. He saw the Fifth Concubine kneeling before the master and crying, "My dowry filled the deficit in the mansion. The master accepted me as a concubine, and I accepted it. But now, even the last bit of his money has been given to the eldest lady."

The gold bracelet on her wrist hit the blue bricks, making a crisp sound.

The master twisted his beard, his brows furrowed so tightly that they could kill a fly: "You are a merchant girl, it is a blessing to be able to enter my Yan Mansion."

Before he could finish his words, the Fifth Aunt suddenly rushed over and tugged at his sleeve: "My fifty-load dowry is now only a few loads left."

The master swung his sleeves and pushed her to the ground, shouting, "Come here! Drag her to the courtyard and make her kneel!"

Gan Tang counted the hours, and Fifth Aunt knelt in the yard for four full hours.

(End of this chapter)