"This is a hundred years old ginseng. You give it to Mama Liu and ask her to take good care of her body."
The inner courtyard steward, though, could not compare to the Chief Steward of the mansion. However, the matters of the backyard still had to be handled by the backyard stewards...sending a heavy gift was only for the sake of the concubine and Young Master Ming...
Ginseng was easy to get, but it wasn’t easy to get a ginseng older than thirty years. What's more, this ginseng was even over a hundred years old. Originally, this ginseng was bestowed by Master Hou when the concubine was favored by him. No matter how hard it was for her all these years, Concubine never wanted to eat it. But today, she was the one who gave this ginseng to a powerful housekeeper in the inner courtyard.......
When Han Xiao reported this to Concubine Mei, she thought she would be heavily punished. But contrary to her presumption, after being startled and dazed for half a moment, Concubine Mei just gave an astringent smile.
Concubine Mei got up and slowly walked over to the water pavilion. She looked around at the images in the water.
"Han Xiao… I am...really old!"
Han Xiao's heart clenched tightly. Looking at the concubine who was still as bright and beautiful as before, Han Xiao’s eyes turned red and she shook her head, "Concubine, you think too much. You're still as radiant as ever."
While making various expressions, Concubine Mei carefully scrutinized her face in the water. Finally, she straightened up, "Concubine knows that this concubine is getting old… There are wrinkles at the corner of my eyes. I've heard that several concubines who have been newly added to the mansion in the past two years have won the favor of Lord Hou. In particular, a concubine named Xiang gave birth to a girl, and because she was favored, she asked Marquis Hou to please the elders and patriarch to keep the child by her side! "
Han Xiao lowered her head even more angrily and whispered back, "Concubine, don't think too much and hurt your spirit."
"Lord Hou really can't remember to come here anymore. Back then, I..."
Concubine Mei said sadly, but in the end, she couldn't say it all. She just weakly waved her hand and said, "Han Xiao, what you're thinking is right. Moreover, what you did was also extremely right. In the beginning, when you asked the little fat girl to wait on Mama Liu, I'm afraid this is what you had in mind?"
Han Xiao’s body trembled slightly, but she told it as it should be.
"Concubine, I think the fat girl was right. You shouldn't just be a concubine."
Concubine Mei abruptly turned and stared closely at the person behind her. Her eyes were bright but then dimmed in an instant. "Han Xiao, you think too highly of me."
Han Xiao stopped trembling. She raised her head and faced Concubine Mei directly, "Has Concubine ever thought that the favored Concubine Xiang is actually...just a replica of you when you were young? However, how could a young concubine be as considerate as an experienced person like you? Not a few people came to serve Master Hou in the house over these years, so why...has no one been able to come forward for the main concubine position till now?"
This one question caused Concubine Mei to stare at her. She drew in a long breath, "Han Xiao, you mean? In fact, back then, he might have had a suspicion inside about what happened back then, but...he didn't get openly involved to follow through on the obvious…knowing it all, he just didn't help the most favored few...up, huh?"
With a miserable smile, Han Xiao nodded and asked rhetorically, "Concubine, you really didn't think about it! These things were too obvious. As much as Lord Hou favored the First Lady Hou back then, as much he hated her now. However, after she left, that concubine position has always been empty for her till now. It's obvious that Master Hou also has other hatred in his heart. If the concubine has a chance to look into the matter, perhaps we can take another route to win the love of Master Hou. At that time, even if he gets a new favorite, it would be better than this indifferent attitude and being left out in the backyard like this now. That way you could at least get a humble burial even if you die one day!"
Concubine Mei remained silent for a long time. She was just dumbfoundedly looking at the softly sobbing girl in front of her...
It took a long, long time; so long that Han Xiao was almost about to faint. Concubine Mei's eyes became firm.
"Very well, I really have to do something for the sake of Ming’er. Han Xiao, you’ve done the right thing. That fat girl, it's best to let her have more contact with Mama Liu. With Mama Liu’s help, our news will be smoother, and we will be able to act more conveniently."
Han Xiao became completely relieved and solemnly kowtowed, "Yes, this servant will do these things well." If the master is prosperous, only then the slaves can have a way out.
If the master had been so unhappy and downtrodden, the slaves would also be just trampled on every day. In fact, by helping the concubine, they were helping themselves.
While holding the gift plate to run to Mama Liu's yard, Shen Xiangwan was actually very anxious inside. But on the surface, she still had an indifferent appearance.
Her mother said that regardless of the thunder in the sky, or facing death in front, the heart should always stay calm. Otherwise, you will panic when you encounter something. If you panic, you will be confused, and if you are confused, it will lead you to trouble.
She wasn’t alone. She had so many lives on her shoulders. How could she panic? How could she be confused? Confusion and chaos are an invitation for disaster!
When she arrived at Mama Liu's courtyard, there was a small boy who greeted her with a smile.
"Greetings Xiao Jie."
"It's Xiao Lizi. Is Mama fine?" Shen Xiangwan smiled and shoved a piece of candy to the baby, who blushed and softly said, "She is inside."
Immediately, he whirled, and after seeing that no one was around, he lowered his voice.
"Xiao Jie, you told me to pay more attention to Mama. Three days ago, it was really dangerous. That Hong Feng is also a bold and courageous person, she almost strangled the Mama to death."
Shen Xiangwan’s eyes moved slightly, and her walk became even slower. Xiao Lizi followed her lightly. “It's also strange that at that moment, the right-hand lady in the second lady's room also came to the courtyard. She not only saw Hong Feng like that but also heard Hong Feng saying something nonsense. After calming Mama Liu, the woman turned around and went to talk to the second lady. Xiao Jie, you also know what happened afterward."
Shen Xiangwan gently nodded, "You did a great job."
Xiao Lizi was also one of the targets they picked in. He was often bullied by Deputy Steward Lin's people. At first, Xiao Lizi was beaten by Deputy Steward Lin's people and almost died. It was Shen Xiangwan who quietly gave him medicine and taught him how to be an errand boy and to act tactfully...
This small benefit was also a handy one, and when he got better, she began to gather another target of bullying. Now, she was small, but a new force inside this mansion was slowly gathering around her.
If not, how could she easily get to know the little movement in this mansion?
"Are the other few okay?"
"Back to Xiao Jie Jie, they don't make the same foolishness as before anymore. Some of them are rushing to do work, and some are avoiding the sharp edges. All of them are growing up. and only when they grow up, can they protect each other and help out Xiao Jie."
"Good!"
Shen Xiangwan nodded, and a sweet smile appeared on her face, "Mama, I'm here to see you."
In the room, Mama Liu was still coughing.
After hearing the little girl's call, her eyebrows and eyes crinkled with a smile.
"Come in."
"Yes, Mama."
A waiting-maid had already drawn the curtain and said, "Mama was still talking about you today. You also happened to come. Hurry into the room and have some soup with Mama."
(T/N: Chapter Name is Yī róng jù róng, an idiom which means ‘be bound together for good or ill’)
(T/N: Sorry guys but I'm too busy so from now onward, I'll only post 1 chap/week.)