The young maid kneeling on the ground asked, her voice trembling, "You... you... are you the Mistress?"
Zhu Xiuxiu retrieved the token and, without a word, leisurely sipped her tea.
A head maidservant walked in slowly from the door, already speaking as she entered, "The Master should be at Shunhe Pharmacy on Peace Street today. If you are in a hurry to see the Master of the house, you may go find him yourself. If it’s nothing urgent, please wait in the room. I will send someone to inform the Master that you and the Old Madam have arrived."
Zhu Xiuxiu recognized this person as Xiu Zhu, one of the four head maids attending her unbelievably handsome husband. This woman excelled not only in Martial Arts but also in culinary skills. She was likely left at the Mansion today specifically to prepare meals for their party.
"Shunhe?"
"Yes! This is a property the Master just acquired. He said it’s for the dowry of the young lady of the Mansion. You’ve come at the perfect time; today is the grand opening of Shunhe Pharmacy. Why don’t you take the young lady to see it for yourself?"
"He certainly knows how to curry favor. When Suisui needed him, he didn’t even come back to see her once. Now that Suisui is fine and has received His Majesty’s grace, he sure knows how to make a gesture, even preparing the dowry in advance." Zhu Xiuxiu fumed, beginning to rail against Xiaosuisui’s third maternal uncle, Ji Youcheng.
Hearing the clear disdain for her Master in her Mistress’s words, both spoken and unspoken, Xiu Zhu hurriedly defended him. "My Lady, you misunderstand. The Master hasn’t been in the Central Plains these past years. The message you sent out reached Zhou Bo, and he immediately used a hawk to relay it to Xiling. As soon as the Master received the news, he rushed back on horseback, even leaving the Princess Xiling’s..."
At this point, Xiu Zhu suddenly paused, discreetly glancing at Zhu Xiuxiu’s expression. Seeing nothing amiss, she continued, "The Master only returned three days ago. Upon his return, he received a letter from the Seventh Young Master. We hurriedly tidied up the Mansion, and he stayed up all night preparing the dowry for the young lady!"
Zhu Xiuxiu was quite oblivious; she had no idea why Xiu Zhu had suddenly paused. She was, however, quite keen to see the dowry Ji Youcheng had prepared for Xiaosuisui.
"I’ll go to Mother’s and see if Suisui is taking her afternoon nap. If she’s interested, I’ll take her to see the dowry her third maternal uncle has prepared for her in advance!"
Watching Zhu Xiuxiu’s retreating figure, Xiu Zhu couldn’t help but frown. This Mistress of theirs! Just as their Master said, truly carefree and oblivious!
Zhu Xiuxiu had just reached the Old Madam’s room when Xiaosuisui opened her eyes. She glanced at her still-sleeping maternal grandmother, not wanting her third aunt-in-law to come in and disturb her, so she quietly got up and tiptoed out.
"Third Aunt-in-law!" As soon as the little girl stepped out of the room, she opened her small arms wide and hugged Zhu Xiuxiu’s leg.
"Seeing you like this, you knew I was coming, didn’t you?"
Xiaosuisui giggled. "I recognized your footsteps, Third Aunt-in-law."
Zhu Xiuxiu was overjoyed. "To recognize me just by my footsteps, it seems your martial arts have improved considerably." Strange, she hadn’t seen the little girl practicing with swords or staffs these days! How could she always manage to learn so much about martial arts without anyone noticing?
"Want to go out and play? Come with your Third Aunt-in-law to see the dowry properties your third maternal uncle has set up for you!"
Hearing this, the little girl was puzzled. "What’s a dowry?"