Chapter 170: Chapter 170: The Roulette (Part 1)
The old woman was startled and knelt down in fright: "Miss, please don’t speak recklessly. This servant was entrusted by someone to deliver something."
Chunyan wanted to say something, but Xiqiu shook her head at her. If Xu Tianqing had brought something, it wouldn’t be delivered by an old woman. She asked, "Who had you deliver it and what is the item?"
The old woman looked up at Chunyan hesitantly. Xiqiu frowned and said: "She is my maid; just say whatever you have to say!" The old woman hesitated and said: "A young master delivered a box. This servant observed he seemed like a gentleman’s servant. His attire and speech were quite refined. He entrusted the box to me, asking me to hand it to the young lady, saying if the young lady refuses to accept it, then... then..."
Chunyan was displeased with the way the old woman spoke to Xiqiu and urged her, "Speak quickly!"
The old woman glanced at Chunyan, laughed, and said, "Miss, you are quite fierce." She then turned to Xiqiu, smiling ambiguously: "That gentleman said if you do not accept it, then let the servant find a place to throw it away." She clicked her tongue, looking at the valuable box in Chunyan’s hand and sighed: "Miss, isn’t that strange? After all that effort and expense, just to throw it away, what a waste!"
Discard if not taken? Chunyan was full of disbelief: "Was nothing else said?" The old woman shook her head repeatedly: "Nothing else."
Chunyan looked uncertainly at Xiqiu, who pondered for a moment and nodded to Chunyan: "Accept it." She then pointed to the old woman and said: "Give her one tael of silver to buy some wine."
Chunyan hesitantly took out the silver and handed it to the old woman, saying sternly: "Don’t let your tongue wag outside." The old woman kowtowed several times, promising: "Even if I die, I won’t speak recklessly outside."
Xiqiu waved her off and then asked Chunyan to open the box. Chunyan nodded and opened the box, handing it to Xiqiu with a face full of surprise: "Miss, what is this?"
Xiqiu was also stunned. It was a black lacquer bottle with a red label on it, reading: "External Injury," with no further explanation.
External injury? Medicine for external injury?
Instantly, like a flash, Xiqiu suddenly thought of who might own this item. She frowned and said, "Throw it away, be careful, don’t let anyone see."
Chunyan was still confused and turned the bottle over, inspecting it: "Miss, who sent it?" She also thought the box looked quite valuable.
Xiqiu gestured dismissively: "Don’t ask, just throw it away as I said!"
Chunyan nodded, putting the bottle back in the box, then hesitantly asked: "Will the old woman gossip outside?"
Xiqiu said with a smile: "With just her words, who would believe her!"
Only then was Chunyan relieved, wrapping the box in a blue cloth and taking it to the bamboo grove outside the courtyard, where she carefully buried it.
The following day Xiao Yanyi indeed summoned the Imperial Physician from the palace, who took Xiqiu’s pulse and prescribed medicine for an external injury, advising her not to touch water for seven days before leaving. Xiao Yanyi stayed in the outer yard and did not enter, listening to the Imperial Physician’s words and nodding indifferently. After greeting Lady, he left.
A few days later, on the Dragon Boat Festival, the concubine and Lord Xu arrived, but they didn’t stay at the mansion, choosing instead to lodge with Lord Xu at an inn in the Capital. Given Lord Xu’s official duties, staying at the inn was understandable, but the concubine did not even show her face in front of Lady, merely taking Xu Tianqing to the inn.
Lady’s face was gloomy for many days, canceling the greetings of several illegitimate daughters, casting a shadow over the mansion, while Xiqiu enjoyed the peace, staying in her room or going to the bamboo grove with Chunyan and others to cool off. After she made summer clothes for Tong Minzhi and Madam Xia, and exchanged three letters with Xiao Yanzheng, Lady’s mood finally improved.
Madam Qian visited. They also agreed to go to Puji Temple together, returning with even more smiles, and that night she sent a letter to First Master. The next day, she made another visit to Xuanning Marquis Mansion.
Xiqiu sensed that something was about to happen, leaving her uneasy. She recalled the way Madam Qian looked at Tong Xiyan, and considering Lady’s eagerness, could it be related to Tong Xiyan’s marriage?
Siliu, having been sold to the mansion young by traffickers, had to follow the custom of marrying outside the mansion, as she was a maid in the unmarried Miss’s room. Xiqiu entrusted Laiwang’s wife to find a private house near the Tong residence, a property owned by a fur trading family in the Capital, unoccupied during summer and autumn. Laiwang’s wife paid two taels of silver, and they rented a small courtyard in the outer yard for three days for Xiqiu.
Sixing took Nanny Song, Chunyan, and Chunliu to move Siliu’s dowry there, spending a day setting up the wedding hall. Though it was just a simple marriage, a woman’s only wedding should not be careless. They also invited Tong Xiyan’s wet nurse, Nanny Duan, to be the Quan Furen, with Nanny Qian and a steward from the outer yard acting as matchmakers for both sides.
Siliu knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Xiqiu: "Miss..." She started crying, unable to utter a word.
Xiqiu helped her up, using a handkerchief to wipe her tears: "In just two days, you’re getting married. If you cry your eyes red, how will you marry beautifully?" Her own voice was choked: "It’s not far, Fugui still works in the mansion, you can come see me often."
According to the mansion’s rules, a married couple cannot both serve in the mansion, so with Fugui staying, Siliu couldn’t return.
Siliu wept uncontrollably, hugging Xiqiu: "Miss, take care of your health, don’t stay up late, and eat properly. It’s your growing years; you shouldn’t harm your health by skipping meals." She rattled on and on, while Xiqiu always smiled. When she finished, Xiqiu teased her: "People say when a woman marries, her mother nags at her side, fearing she’ll miss some instructions. Now, it’s reversed with our Siliu."
Siliu cried and laughed, pouting: "Miss just makes fun of this servant." Then she cried again.
Sixing, Chunyan, Chunliu, and a few little maids, including Xi’er, also cried uncontrollably, leaving the courtyard filled with sobs.
Tong Xiyan and Tong Xiyu entered, initially stunned, then smiled as they walked in. Tong Xiyan joked: "I thought today was the wedding day, hearing all the crying for marriage. But it’s not even the day yet. Is someone impatient to marry early?"
Siliu quickly wiped her tears, curtsying to Tong Xiyan and Tong Xiyu.
Tong Xiyan smiled, taking a pocket from Xinzhu and giving it to Siliu: "This ten taels of silver is my contribution to your dowry." He then took out another box: "This is a set of jewelry I prepared earlier, consider it an added joy for you."
When Siliu went to bid farewell to Lady yesterday, she received twenty taels for her dowry. Tong Xiyan couldn’t surpass Lady, so he gave ten taels.