Chapter 5: 5. Chapter 5: The Third Bath

Chapter 5: The "Three-Day" Ceremony

"You are still so young!" Su Yanli fretted over how his wife would manage her postpartum recovery while trying to think of a solution. "How about I go and bring Mother Dong back tomorrow?"

Su Ruojin reminded him, "Father, it’s not that I’m reluctant to part with the seven taels of silver on the table, but the landlady is determined to snatch Mother Dong away from us. Even if you go tomorrow, she’ll find a way to ensure you can’t take her back."

As a scholar, Su Yanli truly had no way to contend with a shrew, and he was so frustrated his temples throbbed.

Su Ruojin sighed inwardly. If it weren't for her training Mother Dong in the culinary arts, the former landlady wouldn't have been so covetous of her skills, going so far as to refuse the three months of overdue rent just to keep her.

What a mess!

Su Yanli’s mind was entirely on his wife and children; he didn't even notice the delicious dinner his six-year-old daughter had prepared. Putting down his chopsticks, he thought for a moment and said helplessly, "Fine. Shutong, you don't need to escort me to work anymore. Just follow A-Jin; whatever she tells you to do, you do."

"You got it!" Shutong happily cleared the dishes from the table. Ever since they earned eight taels today, he saw the Second Young Mistress as a little god of wealth. He grinned from ear to ear, thinking to himself: *If I accidentally earn another eight taels tomorrow, wouldn't that mean I’ll get a monthly allowance?*

Just thinking about it made him happy.

With his mother in confinement and his father finally relenting, Su Ruojin finally achieved her wish of managing the household.

Originally, the family had no money, so the "Three-Day" ceremony would have been a symbolic affair behind closed doors. But now that they had silver, they at least had to let the neighbors know; after all, it was a joyous occasion.

The six-year-old head of the house spent the next day taking Shutong to buy eggs and dye them red, announcing the good news to the neighbors and inviting everyone to their humble home for her little brother’s ceremony the next day.

The ancient "Three-Day" ceremony was quite elaborate, but the Su family had moved here less than half a year ago and had no relatives. Su Ruojin consulted the midwife, Mother Ma, and decided to follow the simplest procedure.

Firstly, the Su family truly couldn't afford an extravagant spread, and secondly, it was the dead of winter. For the sake of her little brother’s health, Su Ruojin didn't want a grand affair; a simple gesture would suffice.

Even with such frugality, it still cost nearly two taels of silver, which made Su Ruojin’s heart ache.

The ingredients for the banquet were bought, but who would cook them? Su Ruojin was, in reality, just a six-year-old child; she truly didn't have the strength to prepare a full banquet.

Shutong worried, "Should we go to the agency and hire a cook for the banquet?"

Su Ruojin shook her head. "No need."

"Are you thinking of asking the neighbors to help?"

Su Ruojin shook her head again. "They are already doing us a favor by coming to see my mother and brother; we can't ask them to cook."

"Then what do we do?" In the past, whenever the mistress gave birth, Mother Dong handled the banquet. Now that Mother Dong had been snatched away, Shutong, a young man, had no idea what to do.

Su Ruojin smiled slyly. "Follow me."

It wasn't until they reached their old rental place that Shutong understood. "You want to bring Mother Dong back to cook the banquet?"

"That's right!"

"But, the night before last, you told Master that the shrewish Mother Xu wouldn't let her go. Why are you so sure you can bring her back today?"

Su Ruojin said mysteriously, "That’s where you don't understand!" Her father, a professor at the Imperial Academy, couldn't possibly lower himself to bicker with a woman over such trivial matters, but she was different. Besides, she knew exactly what kind of person Mother Xu was, which gave her the confidence to bring her back.

The little girl’s eyes danced with spirit, looking quite lively.

Shutong:...

*Why does the little mistress look like a cunning little fox?*

When the former landlady, Mother Xu, saw Su Ruojin, she immediately bristled like a hedgehog, her brows furrowed and eyes glaring. "Get out, go back the way you came..." Facing the fair and delicate child, the plump Mother Xu kept her tongue in check and didn't say anything too nasty.

Su Ruojin grinned, her eyes curving into crescents like a child sitting at the feet of Guanyin. "Auntie, my mother has given birth to a little brother, and we are holding a 'Three-Day' ceremony today..."

"Go, go..." Just as she had guessed, Mother Xu refused to let Mother Dong go because she wanted her to cook the banquet.

Su Ruojin played her trump card: "My mother said she wants to teach Mother Dong two new recipes."

New recipes!

Mother Xu’s plump, round frame wasn't grown for nothing—it was the result of being a foodie. Upon hearing about new recipes, her eyes, squeezed into slits by her chubby cheeks, spun around several times. The face that had been tight and hostile a moment ago instantly bloomed like a flower. "Oh my, Madam Su has been blessed with another son? Congratulations, congratulations! It’s just going back to cook a lunch banquet, that’s nothing. Go, go quickly!"

Mother Dong had been standing cautiously in a corner. Hearing the landlady finally relent, she wiped her hands on her apron in joy and hurried to her little mistress. "Second Young Mistress..." She was so happy she was nearly in tears.

Su Ruojin reached out her small hand to take hers. "Mother Dong, let’s go."

"Yes."

*The little mistress really has a way with things!* She had brought the person back in just a few words. Shutong followed them, beaming.

Mother Xu stood at the gate, staring at their retreating backs for a long time.

Su Yanli had no relatives in the capital; only his close colleagues came. Cheng Yingzhen had relatives, but as the daughter of a concubine born to a concubine, she had no presence in the Earl’s mansion. Every year, she only brought some gifts to the side gate a couple of days before the New Year to see her birth mother; there was no other interaction. They were like orphans.

Su Ruojin didn't care about having few relatives. While her father greeted the male guests in the main hall, she took the female guests to the side room to see her mother, then ushered them out to the parlor for tea until it was time for lunch.

Three of Su Yanli’s colleagues came, all around his age. When Su Yanli had gone to borrow money the night before, some were truly out, while others had their wives turn him away. They had originally intended to find excuses not to come today, but Su Yanli had insisted that he was hosting a banquet and they must attend.

Hosting a banquet? Did that mean he had borrowed the money? They asked each other, but none of them had lent it to him. Could it be Magistrate Fan again?

Someone noticed that whenever Su Yanli managed to borrow money from Magistrate Fan, it wouldn't be long before he was promoted.

If the man surnamed Su were promoted again, he would be a seventh-rank Secretary of the Imperial Academy. That was a position that handled the actual affairs of the Academy; no one working there didn't covet it.

They hadn't come today to give Su Yanli face, but to probe his situation. The man was decent at academics, but as for practical affairs... they hadn't seen any talent in him!

Why did Magistrate Fan lend him money, and why did he promote him? What exactly was their relationship?

His colleagues, who had worked with Su Yanli for seven or eight years, truly couldn't figure it out.

The three colleagues were busy prying, and their wives were even busier. Cheng Yingzhen was weak and had no energy, so they stuck close to Su Ruojin. While drinking tea in the parlor, they bombarded her with questions.

On the surface, Su Ruojin played the part of a naive six-year-old girl who didn't understand anything. In reality, her father hadn't borrowed any silver from Magistrate Fan, which meant he wouldn't be getting a promotion anytime soon.

The eighth rank and the seventh rank seemed only two levels apart, but in reality, there was a qualitative change. On the surface, officials below the ninth rank were considered "unranked," but in reality, minor officials below the eighth rank weren't much better. The gap between the eighth and seventh rank was the first major watershed in an official's career.