[JXSY] Chapter 3: Mother

March 5, 2021AwkwarDerp

Upon hearing Luo Madame’s question, The 11th Lady stood up and respectfully answered with a ‘yes’ and continued saying, “I just learned some basic stuff…” 

Seeing her polite attitude, Luo Madame nodded with satisfaction. 

“The 24th of April will be the birthday of the Madame of Marquis Yongping. I have already asked your 5th Sister to write the word ‘longevity’ in various fonts. At that time, you use the double-side embroidery skill to sew them, then you take it to Yanjing and give it to Madame.”

Luo Family’s Eldest Miss is Luo Yuanniang, who got married to Xu Lingyi of Marquis Yongping. 

The Great Madame of Marquis Yongping, is Luo Yuanniang’s mother-in-law and also in-laws with the Luo Family. 

 Xu Family’s eldest son passed away, the second son died of illness; but the inheritance unexpectedly bypassed the third son and went to the fourth son, Xu Lingyi. Aside from that, two years ago,  Xu Lingyi’s sister was announced to become the Empress. From thereon, the Xu Family became a powerful family in the Great Zhou Dynasty and the status of Luo Yuanniang, as the wife of Marquis Yongping is starting to be recognized by others, whether it is among noble women in Yanjing or in the Luo Family way in the far south. Therefore, this birthday gift required a lot of preparation. 

Understanding the importance of the matter, the 11th Lady couldn’t help but say, “Although I can perform the double-sided embroidery, my skill still isn’t very good. I’m just afraid I will only embarrass Eldest Sister.”

Not letting her finish her words, Luo Madame smiled and said, “If you want to talk about skill, no one can be a match to the Gongli Embroidery Department. We’ve gifted them a Baishou Vase in the past, but that’s just to show our generosity.”

The meaning behind her words was, no matter how good your skills are, you will never be as good as those hired from all over the country. The gifts prepared from the Luo Family will be no match to the Emperor’s reward.

*[So, because the Emperor is technically her “son-in-laws” cause he got married to Xu Lingyi’s sister, therefore, what they’re saying is that, it doesn’t matter what you give to the Xu Family’s, she won’t care because it isn’t as valuable as the gift from the Emperor, TN]

The 11th Lady felt relieved by her words, she smiled and said: “What date have you decided for us to go to Yanjing?”

“The 6th of March.” Luo Madame smiled, “I’ve already checked the date, the 6th is a good day to start a business, to travel to meet acquaintances. Earlier than that, there weren’t any good dates; later than that, I was afraid there would be a delay.”

There were clear signs of hesitations on the 11th Lady’s face. 

Luo Madame looked at her and asked with concern, “Is there something wrong?”

The 11th Lady paused for a moment: “The double-side embroidery requires three times the work as compared to the single-side embroidery. I’m afraid the date is too close.”

“Then, what should we do?” Luo Madame frowned, “I’ve thought about this plan for half a month. If we need to reselect the birthday gift, I’m afraid we won’t have enough time. Even if it’s too late, the gift is still an important aspect.”

‘The Luo Family has been involved as government officials for generations. Even if they don’t have anything rare, it isn’t hard to find something special and use it as a gift, right? What is so special about the birthday of The Great Madame of Marquis Yongping?’

The 11th Lady thought, raised her eyes and quickly glanced at The 5th Lady, who was sitting next to Luo Madame with her teacup, her eyes focusing elsewhere, not listening to Luo Madame’s words. 

The 11th Lady couldn’t help but feel something in her heart. 

Although it wasn’t easy to ask her to embroider the word ‘Longevity’ a hundred times, it is equally difficult for The 5th Lady to write ‘Longevity’ a hundred times in various fonts. Due to this problem, The 5th Lady who was always so daring, had remained silent this whole time. 

Earlier, The 5th Lady was still happily supporting Luo Madame walk to the hall. 

It seemed that either the 5th Lady did not find it difficult to fulfill Luo Madame’s request or she did find it difficult but thought that the embroidery part would be extra difficult so she’s waiting for her to refuse. This way, Luo Madame would only blame her for not being able to complete the task. 

In either case, the current situation doesn’t give her a chance to refuse. 

Besides, her intention isn’t to refuse Luo Madame’s request. 

It was just that she did not want to agree so quickly that would make Luo Madame think embroidering one hundred ‘Longevity’ is a simple task and turn a blind eye on her hard work…

Her thoughts were fleeting. 

She thought again, “How about we ask Master Jian to help us?”

“How can that be?!” Before The 11th Lady could finish speaking, Luo Madame immediately turned down her idea. “Sending this ‘One Hundred Longevity Embroidery Screen’ was meant to show our Luo Family’s sincerity, how can we let someone else do the embroidery?”

The 11th Lady felt slightly embarrassed as she listened: “I didn’t think it through, this is my fault. Mother, don’t blame me.”

Luo Madame sighed as she listened. 

The 11th Lady felt a little hesitant and said: “How about I give it a try…”

Luo Madame’s eyes lit up, “Are you sure?”

The 11th Lady thought for a long while, then said, “I will get up early and go to bed late, in between times, Dongqing will help me divide the thread and thread the needle. It will be faster this way.” There was an uncertain look on her face.

Luo Madame pondered on her idea and did not deny it. 

On the other hand, the 11th Lady looked a little frustrated. 

The 5th Lady smiled and said, “I also got up early and went to bed late. I was able to write one hundred words in two days but I’m not sure if 11th Sister is able to handle it?”

The 11th Lady’s spirit was lifted and let out a laugh, “I originally calculated that writing these characters would’ve taken 5th Sister half a month but since you said it only took two days, then naturally, I should be able to make it work.”

In her mind, she had thought of a plan to trace two copies of The 5th Lady’s word ‘longevity’ and then will ask Master Jian to find someone to embroider a pair and she will embroider the other pair, whoever finishes first can hand it over. In case, Luo Madame became suspicious and decided to investigate her, will Master Jian confess? 

Luo Madame was happy to hear her say that. “In that case, both of you should work together to complete this ‘One Hundred Longevity Embroidery Screen’. Try not to embarrass your older sister. Let the people of Yanjing see that our Luo Family’s daughters are not only knowledgeable but also graceful.”

The Luo Family had a motto written by the Luo Family’s Ancestor, Ji Gong, for the daughters of the family. They would have to read ‘Ji Gong’s Discipline for Women’, then ‘Commandments for Women’ and lastly, ‘Inner Discipline’. These were related to shaping a woman, but the sentence that Luo Madame used in this situation, no matter how hard she listened to it, there seems to be a slight awkwardness. 

But who would be idiotic enough to question Luo Madame?

The 11th Lady and the 5th Lady stood up and half-crouched down to respectfully bow to Luo Madame and responded, “Yes.”

Luo Madame was satisfied with their attitude and nodded. As if she suddenly remembered something, she turned to Wu Xiao and said: “I remember the nanny in 11th Lady’s house left for Fujian.”

Wu Xiao immediately stepped forward to answer: “Yes, at that time, the nanny didn’t want to leave home, so she didn’t come along.”

“Ah!” Luo Madame raised her head, “Then have Amber serve the 11th Lady from now on…”

The 11th Lady was stunned. 

If Amber comes to her house, then what about Dongqing?

Did Nanny Yao really tell Luo Madame to give Dongqing to her nephew, so now they want to send Amber over? They’re trying to make her get familiar with Amber, so when Dongqing leaves, everything won’t be a mess?

Thinking about this, The 11th Lady felt overwhelmed and vaguely had resentment. 

After three years of being together, she finally managed to have feelings with the people around her; especially to let them be able to act like themselves but Luo Madame suddenly ordered her own maid and placed her [Amber] next to her. This is no different than raising a spy; even if she doesn’t harbour evil intentions, she still makes others feel uneasy. 

After this thought passed, she still didn’t dare to show any expression but she didn’t hesitate to speak up, “Mother, how can this be? Amber is your right hand servant, if you’re giving her to me, then what about you?”

Luo Madame smiled and waved her hand, motioning her to stop talking. 

“There are set rules for all the ladies in the house.” She said firmly, then the headservant continued, “Every lady has a pair of two main maids, two side maids and one nanny. 11th Lady, your nanny is currently in Fujian, therefore, another main maid will fill in the nanny’s spot. It’s not against the rule.”

People around the servant started saying ‘Luo Madame is very thoughtful’, or ‘Luo Madame is very considerate’. Wu Xiao laughed and said: “According to this reason, Luo Madame should’ve filled the spot a long time ago. Only doing it now, not sure if it is to save a few years of money or did not think about it at all.”

Everyone laughed. 

Luo Madame also laughed. 

Wu Xiao is the steward in the Luo Family and the servant in Xu Family; also Luo Madame’s companion. 

When dealing with these people, she’s very patient.

Everyone laughed for a while, then Luo Madame turned to look at the 11th Lady, “As for Dongqing, in your house…” she paused. 

Maybe because of Amber’s sudden arrival, it had completely brought her back to her senses, knowing that the castle she had built with all her strength might collapse in front of Luo Madame. She always becomes very weak in front of this person. She has always been a very composed person but suddenly became impetuous. Although that sentence was short, it already made her sweat all over her back, as if she’s sitting on pins. 

I guess this is the feeling of ‘a fish under the knife’.

The 11th Lady clenched her hands and hid them under her sleeves. Her nails penetrated her skin but she did not feel any pain. 

I have to find a way to change the situation… Or else her fate will be controlled by others!

“I will spare her from running errands and let her serve you wholeheartedly so that you can quickly complete the birthday gift in peace.” Luo Madame’s voice seems like it’s fading even though she’s sitting next to her. ‘Buzzes’ are the only things she hears in her head. “Amber is very capable and I will feel more at ease with her serving you. From now on, let her take care of your house errands.”

At this point, there was no chance to refuse, so she didn’t bother trying to save it.

The 11th Lady forced herself to gather her good mood. 

Her top priority is to deal with what is in front of her first. 

The 11th Lady put on a shy expression, half-crouched and bowed to Luo Madame, “Thank you, Mother.”

“That’s all, then!” Luo Madame’s face showed a bit of tiredness and instructed Wu Xiao, “Later, tell the two ladies the size and style of the screen, to avoid them wasting it trying to figure things out. Once those two finish discussing, come and relay it back to me.”

Wu Xiao responded with a smile. 

Luo Madame picks up the teacup, “You all can go.”

There was no mention of Dongqing’s marriage at all. 

Did she forget?

Or it is because now is not the time?

The 11th Lady couldn’t help but glance at Nanny Yao who was standing far behind Luo Madame. 

Nanny Yao also looked at her. 

The four eyes met in the air. The 11th Lady stared at her unyielding eyes. 

She suddenly felt sad for herself. 

Because she only has the ability to fight with people like Nanny Yao.