Fifth Miss was fortunate to accompany the Grand Madam to the capital for the birthday celebration, yet she wasn’t particularly happy.
Though the Grand Madam doted on her, she was ultimately a young lady of a great family. Upon reaching the capital, she couldn’t be as willful as at home—she had to be careful at every step to avoid being looked down upon by those cousins she’d never met.
The Qin family was full of distinguished relatives. Two sons and three daughters had all established their own households. Even a Jiangnan great family like the Yangs wasn’t considered particularly illustrious in the Qin family.
But to be brought along by the Grand Madam was ultimately something worth being happy about. Though Ninth Brother was the Grand Madam’s precious treasure, not being legitimate-born, he could only obediently stay home.
Fortunately, Ninth Brother had a good temper. His eyes were merely red from reluctance to part with the Grand Madam and Fifth Miss, yet he didn’t make a fuss about wanting to go too.
They played in the eastern side room while the Grand Madam took Seventh Miss to stroll in the rear garden.
Though the Yang estate occupied a vast area, the Grand Madam’s daily activities were all in the main courtyard, so she rarely visited the scenically beautiful rear garden.
Several branches of early peach blossoms could no longer restrain themselves and bloomed exuberantly in the spring. Outside Qinghong Pavilion was a mass of pink.
The Grand Madam stopped and gazed at the peach blossoms with a smile.
“When we bought this garden years ago, these peach trees were on their last breath. Master wanted to uproot them, but I insisted on keeping them and had people water and fertilize them. Surprisingly, they came back to life.”
Moreover, they flourished with flowers and leaves, radiating exceptional vitality.
“Flowers are like people,” Seventh Miss carefully chose her words. What the Grand Madam spoke of was naturally not just flowers. “When the household living in the garden prospers, the flowers and trees also flourish.”
The Grand Madam looked at her with a smile.
What a pity—not a birth daughter. Such an endearing temperament—if only Fifth Miss had it… Ah, but Fifth Miss could never develop such a temperament.
“Right now the Yang family is like oil cooking over flames—a proud time of adding flowers to brocade,” she sat down sideways on a rock. “You sit too.”
Seventh Miss quickly sat beside the Grand Madam, leaning slightly against her. Lichun stood not far away, smiling beneath the peach blossoms.
The Grand Madam glanced at Lichun and couldn’t help staring for a long moment before collecting her thoughts and sighing with a smile, “However, the Yang family only has Ninth Brother as its single seedling… If anything should happen to Ninth Brother, the current splendor would, in ten or twenty years, all fall to the ground.”
Seventh Miss understood perfectly: if she hadn’t been brought to the main courtyard and shown herself capable everywhere, the Grand Madam might not have dared leave Ninth Brother at home to go to the capital for the birthday celebration.
This was a warning before entrusting Ninth Brother to her.
She responded solemnly, “Mother speaks truly.” Not one superfluous word.
The Grand Madam was somewhat dissatisfied, but thinking carefully, she couldn’t say what was wrong.
Seventh Miss wasn’t naturally talkative—not like Third Miss who always smiled ingratiatingly to elders while having another face in private.
Seventh Miss was the same inside and out, to old and young alike—calm and composed, speaking little, yet handling everything properly.
Such a person gave her peace of mind!
“I’m entrusting Ninth Brother to you,” she said, unconsciously treating Seventh Miss as an adult, completely forgetting she was only seven years old. “As for Second Madam… I’m sure you’ve also detected the clues.”
“I won’t disappoint Mother,” Seventh Miss answered, her tone light but firm.
The Grand Madam smiled and patted Seventh Miss’s hand. “Good. Do your best, and Mother won’t treat you poorly.”
“Daughter will certainly do her utmost.” Seventh Miss dared not say more.
The more one spoke, the more mistakes one made. She hadn’t yet reached the point where she could afford mistakes before the Grand Madam.
The Grand Madam’s attitude toward her became somewhat warmer. With Seventh Miss’s support, she stood up. Lichun hurried to the Grand Madam’s side to steady her.
“You standing beneath the peach blossoms look very beautiful,” the Grand Madam rarely praised.
Lichun’s face reddened as she mumbled, not knowing what to say.
The Grand Madam gazed at the peach blossoms and said with another smile, “Years ago when Third Aunt lived here, she also liked to sunbathe under the peach blossoms.”
Lichun’s face instantly turned pale, and Seventh Miss also became uncomfortable. But the Grand Madam acted as if nothing was amiss and teased Lichun, “Your face merely resembles peach blossoms. At that time, Third Aunt was truly more delicate than flowers.”
Lichun didn’t respond, biting her lip and staring down in a daze.
Seventh Miss had to smooth things over. “Sister Lichun resembles winter jasmine flowers, not really peach blossoms.”
Lichun liked wearing yellow—wasn’t she just like clusters of winter jasmine flowers?
The Grand Madam laughed softly. Lichun came to her senses and twisted her body in protest. “Seventh Miss is teasing me.”
That evening, Lichun personally brought a plate of palace-made peach blossom cakes to the western side courtyard to thank Seventh Miss. “Thank you, Seventh Miss, for coming to my aid during the day.”
Seventh Miss smiled and had Bai Lu put away the peach blossom cakes. “Sister Lichun just knows I’m a foodie and is being considerate, deliberately finding an excuse to bring me delicious things.”
The two smiled at each other.
Perhaps the Grand Madam’s words during the day were truly unintentional.
Lichun was the most prestigious senior maid under her command. Whom she would disparage, she would never disparage Lichun. Nor did she need to—if Lichun did something wrong, she would say so directly.
But Lichun couldn’t ignore what others might think.
The capital trip was imminent, yet Lichun had to stay behind to look after the main courtyard and Ninth Brother. At such a time, for the Grand Madam to compare her to Third Aunt…
Third Aunt had been beaten to death and afterward, wrapped in a tattered straw mat and thrown into a mass grave.
Among the Yang family’s aunts, her end was the most miserable. Even now, mentioning her made the Master darken his face and lose his temper for ages.
What would other maids think hearing the Grand Madam make such a comparison? Could it be that Lichun had developed some improper thoughts, to be compared to such a person?
Public opinion was fearsome.
Seventh Miss’s few words were merely idle chat to her and to the Grand Madam, but to Lichun, they prevented a potential trouble.