Chapter Three: Double Happiness

  Zhao Jia arrived at the old lady's courtyard not long after, and Li received news from that side. Although the relationship between sisters-in-law was only lukewarm, they still had to put on a good face. After tidying up, she brought several maidservants and concubines to the backyard.

  The old lady saw the several maids following behind Li Shi and thought of something, asking Zhao Jia Shi: "Do you remember that some days ago we mentioned that Bao Die in your courtyard was pregnant? How many months is she now?"

  Bao Die was Cao Yun's concubine, originally a maid in the Zhao Jia Shi house, and was promoted to concubine after becoming pregnant.

  Zhao Jia's expression was not as sour as before, but instead she smiled and replied: "It's been eight months, the nursery has already been arranged, the midwife and wet nurse have also been found, so just wait anxiously for the arrival of your grandson!"

  The old lady and Mrs. Li were both astonished by the magnanimity of Zhao Jia's wife, who was standing behind her with a smile all over her face, saying: "We still have to congratulate our ancestors, our madam is pregnant again!"

  The old lady looked at Zhao Jia with a few more worried expressions: "When was it found out, be careful in the next few months, this is not a joke!"

  Li stood beside her, hastily congratulating her.

  The old lady smiled and nodded after hearing this: "A sour son and a spicy daughter, it's actually a good omen, they will definitely have a big fat baby boy!" As she spoke, she looked at her eldest daughter-in-law Li with a few more profound intentions in her eyes.

  Although Mrs. Li was smiling, her hands and feet were icy cold. After Cao Kun was born, her belly had no movement again, and the couple had sons and daughters, but they didn't rush. It's just that the old lady saw that the eldest branch of the family was sparse, and Cao Kun didn't have a close brother to accompany him. Every time she heard that the second branch had good news, she would arrange for her eldest son to take a concubine. It seems that this new aunt will be taken in soon.

  Zhao Jia knew the reason and was delighted to see Li's joke, only pulling east and west, teasing the old lady with a happy face.

  The women in the backyard were chatting idly, while Cao Yin, who had finished his official duties in the front hall, did not return to the inner house. His face showed a few more shades of worry. Zhuang Chang, the chief aide of the mansion, had been getting along with him for many years and was not kept in the dark about anything. Seeing him, he asked: "Sir, what's troubling you?"

  Cao Yin saw that there was no one else in the study, looked at Zhuang Chang and said: "There are no outsiders here, Tian Xing brother still calls you 'daren', it's actually humiliating you, he has been promoted to a real fifth rank for a long time, but just can't make it public, even when meeting an eighth-rank official, he has to pay his respects!"

  "Tianhang" is a title of Zhuang Chang, apart from being the chief clerk of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau on the surface, he also has a secret identity as a consultant of Jiangnan's Tongzheng Department, which is an official position of Zhengwu Pin. Cao Yin is also, apart from being a Zhengwu Pin official of the Jiangning Weaving and Dyeing Bureau on the surface, but also the head of the Tongzheng Department, Tongzhengshi, Zhengsanpin.

  The Jiangnan Governor's Office was a department directly under the jurisdiction of Emperor Kangxi, initially established to better control the political situation in Jiangnan and serve as the imperial court's eyes and ears in the region. In its early years, it focused mainly on suppressing anti-Qing forces among the people, but as these forces dwindled in recent years, the Governor's Office expanded its scope of attention, covering everything from officials' private matters to the livelihoods of ordinary people, all summarized periodically and presented to the emperor for personal review in secret memorials. Due to its secretive nature, this government office was unknown to outsiders except for the emperor and a few high-ranking ministers in the Grand Council, and even the officials within the Governor's Office concealed their identities and dispersed throughout Jiangnan.

  Zhuang Chang heard Cao Yin's words, stroking his beard and smiling: "Brother Dongting is indeed impatient, to say such complaining words out loud, it's rare!" He paused for a moment and said: "Let me guess, isn't it because of the eldest young master?"

  Cao Yin sighed, nodded: "It's all because of this scourge, already over seven years old, the old lady still protects him like this, and even school only went for a few days. Wasting time like this, how can people not worry!"

  Zhuang Chang sank into thought for a moment: "Dong Ting brother is too impatient, Da Gongzi is the eldest grandson of the mansion, and Tai Furen dotes on him a bit, which is normal. Relying on the relationship between Wan Sui Ye and the Cao family, if there are no accidents, this Weaving Mansion will still fall to Da Gongzi's head in the future, so don't worry too much about fame."

  Cao Yin shook his head: "Even so, we can't be careless. Now that you're young it's okay, but when you get older and go to the capital to take office, if you become an unlearned and unskilled dandy, I'm afraid the dignity of two generations will be hard to maintain!"

  After all, it was a matter of the Cao family, and Zhuang Chang didn't want to say much more. He spoke about some news from the capital city before dispersing.

  In the backyard, Cao Gong was not very comfortable. After all, Cao Song was a six-year-old child and after being quiet for a while, he started to be naughty and chased the white cranes in the pool. The white cranes were domesticated and their wings had been clipped, so they couldn't fly and could only escape and hide from this little ancestor.

  Cao Song laughed "haha" and the hem of his pants got wet, without caring at all. Seeing Cao Yun standing still beside him, he splashed water on him again. Cao Yun dodged too late and was soaked thoroughly.

  Cao Gong saw Cao Song having a great time, so he let him be, not paying attention at all. He didn't think that a gust of wind would blow by, and his wet clothes would stick to his body, causing him to sneeze heavily.

  Cao Cong was extremely depressed, it seems that for now, he won't mention the future fortunes of the Cao family, taking good care of his body is the most important thing, otherwise this small body might be gone one day.

  Jade just came out of the house, saw him and hurried up, squatted down to wipe the water on Cao Yu's face with a handkerchief, his face full of worry: "Little ancestor, it's just gotten better, what if you catch a cold again?"

  Following Zhao Jia's arrival, Zhang Po came out to find Cao Song and saw him soaked from head to toe. She quickly went over and pulled him out of the water. After another round of fussing, several maidservants came out and took away the wet clothes of the two brothers. Cao Song hadn't brought a change of clothes with him, so he wore Cao Yun's instead, which was too small for him and clung tightly to his body.

  After a while, it was time for dinner. The old lady had the kitchen add more dishes because her grandson and granddaughter from the Western Mansion were coming. The round dining table was set up in the western wing, and according to custom, the daughter-in-law was not allowed to join them at the table. The old lady sat on the north side, with Cao Ying and Cao Yan, her two granddaughters, on her left, and Cao Kun and Cao Chen, her two grandsons, on her right. Cao Shuo, being young, was fed by his wet nurse while sitting on a small stool beside them.

  As described in Dream of the Red Chamber, after everyone sat down, the maids brought out copper basins with a diameter of about one foot, filled with clear water.

  Cao Gong has been here for a few days, and he is already familiar with the rules of eating. Although he finds it cumbersome, he can only follow local customs. After washing his hands, he took a silk handkerchief to wipe them.

  The cold dishes on the table were already arranged, a total of eight plates, placed in five-inch small plates: salted water elbow flowers, pine flower small belly, insect grass chicken, rabbit jerky, assorted tofu, sauce gourd silk, clear stir-fry bean skin, red oil bamboo shoots. After everyone sat down and washed their hands, the hot dishes started to come up, also eight plates, seven-inch plates, three fresh fish fins, Buddha's hand sea cucumber, steamed white fish, small stir-fried crab, Jiangmi wine duck, sugar-braised lotus seeds, roasted lily, stir-fried silk gourd. Next were four bowls, braised turtle, fragrant mushroom wild duck, winter melon chicken wings, high soup cabbage. Then there were two soups, duck blood soup and three fresh meatball soup. Finally, there were four small desserts, lotus seed cake, bean paste rolls, pea shoots yellow, golden silk roasted sell.

  The old lady was eating glutinous rice, while everyone else had a bowl of plain rice.

  Considering that Zhao Jia had become pregnant, after arranging the bowls and chopsticks, Old Lady called her to rest in the east house. Li Shi led Cao Yin's two concubines, Feng Shi and Qian Shi, to serve dishes for everyone.

  Cao Gong had just drunk the lotus root powder, and wasn't hungry yet. He ate half a bowl of rice with sauce melon shreds and bamboo shoots, which was almost enough. Then he slowly drank half a bowl of duck blood soup. When he saw that everyone else had put down their chopsticks, he finally put down his spoon. The maids brought up half a bowl of chrysanthemum tea for rinsing mouths. They spat out the water into another maid's delicate small spittoon. Afterwards, different teas were served according to each person's preferences. Old Lady was Pu'er tea, the two misses were jasmine tea, and the two young masters had Bi Luo Chun.

  The dishes on the table were taken away, and most of them had only been tasted with one or two chopsticks. The old lady pointed to a few more substantial dishes and asked someone to send them to Xi Fu's Bao Die.

  Cao Gong saw Cao Song eating his fill and starting to doze off, so he pulled him into the Cong Cui Pavilion to lie down. Cao Ying and Cao Yan, the two sisters, also followed in and sat on a small stool at the bedside, chatting with their brothers. The old lady saw how close the siblings were and was delighted, calling for someone to wash and send over some melons, fruits, pears, and peaches.

  The north-facing Longcui Pavilion faces the lotus pond in the back garden, with all windows open and covered with grass-green gauze curtains, gently blowing cool breeze, without any feeling of sweltering heat.

  Cao Gong half leaned on the bed, looking at the two little girls sitting on the ground. Cao Ying wore a crimson silk jacket and a milky white small vest, with a personality unlike Zhao Jia's, who was more outgoing, but instead had a few southern girl's shyness, speaking in a soft and gentle voice. Cao Yan, on the other hand, was dressed in a sky blue dress, taught by her father Cao Yin from a young age, proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting, considered a little talent. Although only ten years old, her words and deeds were already not common, subtly revealing a noble demeanor.

  It seems that all the women of the Eight Banners have to participate in the palace selection, and the Cao family, being under the Zhengbai Banner, is no exception. I vaguely remember that Cao Yin had a daughter who married an Iron Hat Prince as his main wife; if there were no accidents, it would be Cao Yan, but I don't know what Cao Ying's future will be like. Thinking of these things, Cao Yun's mind wandered a bit - although he has a daughter who is a princess, the Cao family still can't escape the fate of being searched and seized. That prince seems to be one without real power either; otherwise, as the younger brother-in-law of that prince, with a strong backing, he wouldn't have to worry about the fate of the Cao family anymore. As for Cao Ying's fate, it is completely unknown - probably just like ordinary daughters of wealthy families, marrying a suitable husband and becoming a virtuous main wife.

  Cao Ying saw Cao Guang looking at her, thinking he wanted to eat fruit, so she used a bamboo skewer to pick up a grape and handed it over. Cao Guang took it and thanked her. Cao Ying just smiled and retreated back to her seat. But Cao Yan was not having it, pouting with a stern face, pretending to be angry: "Brother is really rude, acting clever in front of grandmother, but behind her back he's so arrogant, not even calling me sister, I'll make sure to tell father to scold you!"

  He was actually threatened by a child, Cao Yun rolled his eyes inwardly, but still explained on the surface that he didn't. Cao Yan deliberately teased him and wouldn't give up, speaking eloquently again. Cao Ying saw her siblings quarreling interestingly, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, giggling silently.

  Suddenly, a "bang" came from the old lady's room, like the sound of a cup falling to the ground. The outer room fell silent, and the children in the inner room sensed that something was wrong and stopped making noise. Then, the old lady raised her voice: "It's settled then, go back and pack your bags, tomorrow someone will send them over, good things come in pairs, and it saves you from accusing me of being biased towards my daughter-in-law!"

  Before long, Zhang Po led several maids from the East House over and asked Cao Ying and Cao Cong to go out. Cao Cong rubbed his eyes and followed Zhang Po out. Cao Ying and Cao Yan exchanged a glance, lowered their heads and walked out quietly. Cao Yun also got up and followed behind the two little girls.

  Zhao Jia's family bid farewell and left, and after the two sisters came out, they instructed the wet nurse to take Cao Shuo back to the mansion. The broken tea cup on the ground had already been cleaned up by someone, leaving only a water stain as proof that the sound just heard was real. Although Zhao Jia lowered her head, Cao Yun saw her shoulders slightly move, and the half of her face exposed was pale.

  What on earth had happened, Cao Yun's mind was full of curiosity. The atmosphere was still good after dinner, how could it become like this in just two minutes? Thinking about these things, he carefully observed the old lady, who was calm and composed, with no expression of joy or anger; then looked at Li Shi, whose face was flat, but her eyes were complex, seemingly mocking and tired.

  After Zhao Jia took the children away, Old Lady sent Cao Yan back and then instructed Li Shi a few words. She prepared two sets of dowries for Liu Li and Fei Cui. Liu Li was taken to the front yard, while Fei Cui was taken to the Western House. Each of them was given two third-class maids to follow. Li Shi responded calmly and took people down to prepare.

  The old lady was leaning on the soft couch, seemingly lost in thought. Cao Yu sat at the edge of the kang, occasionally helping her massage her legs. In fact, he was quite surprised in his heart, it seemed that the old lady had given her two maids, Liu Li and Fei Cui, to Cao Yin and Cao Quan as concubines. No wonder Zhao Jia's face looked so gloomy, unlike Li Shi's kindness, she had always been the one who dominated the household, although there was a secondary wife, Bao Die, but she was her maid, brought in for the sake of appearances. She must be regretting it now, if not for this blatant show-off, probably wouldn't have led to such an unexpected "happy event".

  Cao Gong didn't know whether to envy his cheap old man, a 43-year-old who wanted to take a 16 or 17-year-old girl as a concubine. Thinking of Li Shi's expression just now, Cao Gong felt a little heartache, after all, she was the birth mother connected by blood and flesh with this small body. The daughter had a noble character, but the relationship between mother and daughter was thin, the son was taken care of by his grandmother, her husband was busy with official duties, and he also had two or three beautiful concubines. This "virtuous wife and good mother" in everyone's eyes was really bitter.