Chapter 7: Entering the Tang Mansion

Hongji's rebuttal infuriated Mrs. Lai, as her always obedient son started to disobey.

"Hongji, how can you speak like that, ah! Have you grown up to become unfilial! Oh my heavens…"

Mrs. Lai feigned crying as she spoke.

"Mother, don't cry. The elder brother has long been heartless," Third Miss added fuel to the fire.

Hongji's miserable face dripped with even more sweat in the light of the firewood, leaving him speechless.

...

Mrs. Li cried in the carriage from the moment they left her home, the old woman sitting inside watched in silence, devoid of much sympathy today, not offering comforting words, but proudly looking at the scenery outside.

After leaving the village, it didn't take long for the carriage to reach the town, where the old woman asked the driver to stop and go into a shop on the main street to buy six large hot pork buns.

The driver kept two for himself and handed the rest to the old woman.

The old woman gave two buns to Mrs. Li and said, "Your family didn't even offer any food, fortunately when leaving I had reward money given by the young madam, or else we would have gone hungry."

"Are these for me?" Mrs. Li hesitated to accept, since she had never eaten such large buns after getting married. Before her marriage, when she earned a little money from sewing, she would sometimes buy some buns to taste.

Reflecting upon her departure, she couldn't help but worry about the future of her five pitiful children, tears once again welling up in her eyes.

"Look here, Mrs. Li, if I give you food just take it. When you're in a wealthy family's home, you can't be so meek. To have food given to you and to cry about it, it's bad luck," the old woman retorted.

As someone who worked closely with the Old Lady and had always been a house slave, the old woman had clearly never suffered. Accustomed to the life of a wealthy family, she also adopted their disdain for the poor, exuding a sense of superiority.

"Thank you," Mrs. Li, paying no attention to the old woman's demeanor, lowered her head and took the buns in her hands, eating them in small bites. She was hungry, after working non-stop at home without a full meal, and having to nurse the children, her body was greatly depleted.

However, this childbirth seemed a bit easier than before; she hadn't experienced the usual postpartum symptoms of back pain and headaches.

After half an hour, the carriage arrived at the grand entrance of a blue-brick mansion belonging to a wealthy family in the county.

Mrs. Li, being uneducated, could not recognize the large characters on the signboard.

Before getting off the carriage, the old woman informed her:

"This is Tang Mansion. You're to be the wet nurse for the young madam's son; after you go in, speak little and work much, avoid gossip, watch your speech, and don't wander around. Your main task is to take good care of the Young Master."

"Yes," Mrs. Li meekly replied, showing a kind of fear typical for a commoner, bowing her head as she received instructions.

"This is the main entrance of Tang Mansion. As servants, we shouldn't enter through the front. The driver brought you here just so you'd know what the front looks like; we'll be going in through a side door shortly."

"Yes."

After giving her orders, the old woman got off the carriage first and led the way, with Mrs. Li following behind to a side entrance.

There were guards at the main entrance and at the side entrance, too. An old woman manned the side entrance, which led to the inner courtyard.

The old woman first led Mrs. Li to her quarters, located within the Young Master's courtyard, which housed maids and young servants.

"That room over there is yours; it's right outside the Young Master's room. You'll only sleep after the Young Master has, and if he hasn't, neither can you."

"Yes," Mrs. Li observed her small room, which had a mosquito net and bedding—a servant and wet nurse's small room that was much better than the nuptial chamber in her own home, though the bed was a bit smaller, plenty large for one person to sleep in.

Having so many children, they all used to sleep on one large bed at home, with the youngest sleeping foot to foot; neither she nor her husband had had room to turn.

"Leave your things here for now, and I'll take you to meet the young madam. The Young Master is with her. After you've seen the young madam and if she or the Young Master takes a liking to you, you can stay; otherwise, you must return."

"Yes," Mrs. Li followed the old woman, her head hanging low as she walked, not daring to look around for fear of bumping into someone of high status.

She silently memorized the route in her heart, knowing you can't just barge into different areas of a grand household, a story she'd heard many times back in the countryside.

They passed through the garden and came to a courtyard. At the entrance of the courtyard, there was an old woman standing guard. Upon seeing the accompanying old woman leading an unfamiliar woman inside, she said with a face full of flattery,

"Mrs. Pan, congratulations, you've got a nice job again."

"That's right... This is thanks to Madam and the young madam thinking highly of me," Mrs. Pan said proudly.

After Mrs. Pan finished speaking, she continued walking inside and whispered to Mrs. Li, "This is the young madam's courtyard, Yixin Garden. You should have met with Madam first before meeting the young madam, but Madam instructed us to let the young madam and the Young Master see you first. After that, whenever the Young Master goes to give his respects, he will naturally meet Madam."

"Yes," Mrs. Li didn't know the rules of Tang Mansion and committed Mrs. Pan's words to memory.

"Remember, our young madam is pregnant, so the Young Master cannot pester her. You must be loyal to the Young Master and do your job well."

"Yes,"

Mrs. Pan led Mrs. Li to a room guarded by maids, and she asked them,

"Is the young madam awake from her nap?"

"The Young Master was playing around and has just fallen asleep. The young madam is resting from fatigue," replied the maid.

"Please go inform the young madam that the wet nurse has been brought here."

After the maid reported back, she came out again and ushered Mrs. Pan and Mrs. Li inside.

They passed through the beaded curtains, and on the bed canopied with a lotus-flower mosquito net lay a young woman with a softly made-up, heart-shaped face while a two-year-old Young Master, covered with a thin blanket, slept beside her.

"Young madam, I've brought the person," Mrs. Pan bowed as she greeted.

Mrs. Li also followed Mrs. Pan's action, bowing her head for the first time, not daring to gaze directly at the person on the bed.

Supported gently onto brocade satin plum blossom pillows by the arriving maid, the young madam surveyed Mrs. Li with serious eyes and a delicate voice lacking sternness,

"Are you healthy, and is your milk supply sufficient?"

With her waist still bent, not daring to rise, Mrs. Li replied, "This humble woman is well; it has only been a month since I gave birth, and my own child feeds only on my milk."

From the look on Mrs. Li's face, the young madam guessed she was telling the truth about her health. Just as she was about to say something else, the two-year-old child, who had just settled down, stirred, wrinkled his nose, opened his eyes, and cried out, "Mommy, I want milk."

The young madam waved Mrs. Li over and said to her two-year-old son, "My child, mommy has found you a wet nurse to feed you."

"Wet nurse?" The two-year-old Young Master sat up abruptly, clambered over his mother, aiming to get down to the floor, heading towards Mrs. Li.

"Aren't you going to pick up the Young Master?" Mrs. Pan commanded.

"Yes," Mrs. Li obediently went to pick up the two-year-old child.

"Wet nurse, I want milk."

"This..." Mrs. Li glanced at Mrs. Pan, the young madam, and her maid, feeling embarrassed.

"Didn't you hear what the Young Master said? We're all women here," Mrs. Pan chided.

"Yes," Mrs. Li sat down on a small stool at the side and turned her back, holding the Young Master.

Seeing her son eating happily and no longer fussing, the young madam nodded in satisfaction and addressed Mrs. Li, whose back was turned to them, "Take good care of the Young Master from now on."