A day after the the Mid-Autumn Festival, Heir Jing’an, He Changqi, invited his friends to a small gathering at their estate. Keeping to the promise she had made earlier with Matriarch He and Eldest Brother-in-Law, when it was close to noon, Chu Lian guided her maidservants as they worked together to prepare a few special dishes to be sent to the outer court later.
However, Chu Lian was He Changdi’s wife after all. It wouldn’t be very appropriate if she and her maidservants brought the dishes to the outer court just like that. She thought for a moment and decided that it would be better to go over to Qingxi Hall first and let Matriarch He’s servants send the dishes instead.
When they arrived at the entrance of Qingxi Hall, they could hear the sounds of conversation from inside. Matriarch He’s handmaid, Muxiang, happened to be on her way out at this time, and spotted Chu Lian at the entrance. She smiled and greeted her, “Third Young Madam, you’ve come over! Please come in. Eldest Young Madam and the two young ladies are already inside!”
After she said so, she lifted the bamboo blinds covering the entrance for Chu Lian and took over the big box of food from Mingyan’s hands. Next, she followed behind Chu Lian as she walked into the parlour of Qingxi Hall.
Matriarch He was seated in the highest ranked seat. She didn’t know what Matriarch He and Madam Zou were talking about, but they were laughing together and obviously in a very good mood. Chu Lian’s gaze shot over to Madam Zou. She noticed that Madam Zou was wearing a navy-blue dress made in the latest style, with a sheer smoky blue outer garment. The ornament on her head was the sapphire headdress bestowed by the Empress Dowager at the Mid-Autumn Banquet. Although she was dressed elegantly, it was a pity that this headdress looked very old-fashioned and added several years to her age. Madam Zou was only in her mid-twenties, but looked to be in her mid-thirties instead with this headdress.
Madam Zou was all smiles. Whatever she had said before seemed to have amused Matriarch He.
“Greetings to Grandmother and Eldest Sister-in-Law.” Chu Lian bobbed towards the both of them.
“Sanlang’s wife, you’ve arrived! Come and sit down. Your Eldest Brother-in-Law just sent someone over from the outer court to inquire about the food!”
Madam Zou cast a glance over and found that Chu Lian was still dressed in plain home clothes. Her black hair was fixed into a bun with just a single green jade hairpin and she wasn’t wearing any other jewellery on her body. Only then did Madam Zou heave a sigh of relief in her heart.
It seemed that Chu Lian wasn’t intending to go to the outer court, dressed like this.
Chu Lian gave a slight smile, “One of the dishes had to be stewed for a longer period of time so Granddaughter-in-Law was delayed for a bit. Grandmother, Eldest Sister-in-Law, please forgive Granddaughter-in-Law for being late.”
Matriarch He pulled Chu Lian to her side. If she didn’t have to worry about Dalang’s wife being there, Matriarch He would definitely have pinched Chu Lian’s tiny nose. “Silly child, how could Grandmother blame you? Senior Servant Liu, take these food boxes to the outer court.”
Right after Matriarch He finished speaking, Madam Zou quickly spoke up, “Grandmother, since they’re Dalang’s close friends, there’s no need to trouble Senior Servant Liu. It would be better for Granddaughter-in-Law to send it over personally!”
Matriarch He casually glanced at Madam Zou’s dressed up appearance. She paused for a moment before nodding. “Why don’t you lead the servants and send it over then? Just be careful on the way there. Don’t let Dalang lose face in front of his friends.”
Seeing that Matriarch He had agreed, Madam Zou heaved a sigh of relief and quickly assured her, “Please don’t worry, Grandmother. Granddaughter-in-Law knows how to behave appropriately.”
Madam Zou then bowed respectfully towards Matriarch He before she led her servants away with the food boxes and hurried to the Outer Court.
It wasn’t until Madam Zou’s figure had passed through the entrance of the parlour that Chu Lian said with a smile, “Grandmother, I boiled an entire pot of old duck soup just now. I made sure that the meat is soft enough to come right off the bone, it’s perfect for you to eat! Today, Granddaughter-in-Law offers up this dish and will trade it for a free meal here with you. Does Grandmother have a seat at the table for me?”
“Pfft,” Matriarch He laughed. “There’s no need to act like that, silly child. You can just say it out directly if you want to have a meal with Grandmother. “
Matriarch He got busy with instructing Muxiang to have the other maidservants serve up the meal.
Chu Lian ate lunch together with Matriarch He in Qingxi Hall. She waited upon Matriarch He until the matriarch took her afternoon nap before returning to her own Songtao Court.