Ruan Susu touched the bellyband in her arms and followed the maid into Mrs. Zhao's room. She bowed her head and greeted silently, naturally missing the complex expression on Mrs. Zhao's face.
After a while, Mrs. Zhao sighed, stood up, and pulled Ruan Susu to sit down on the couch by the window. Seeing Susu being so cautious and tentative, her heart ached even more.
"Miss, remember this, you are a person from Jingjiao Tong County. Your father's name is Su Shicheng, a scholar. Your mother's name is Zhao Hehua. She passed away three years ago, and your father was also in poor health and passed away this year. With no stable income and no uncles or elders in the family, you had no choice but to sell yourself for a thin coffin to bury your father."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Susu suddenly looked up at Mrs. Zhao. What does this mean?
She clearly knows she is Miss Thirteen of Duke Li's Mansion!
Mrs. Zhao gently patted Ruan Susu's head and said softly, "Miss, don't be afraid. You've done very well this past month, and things won't be harder than this in the future."
Then she added, "Aunt Su has been kind to me, and this is all I can do for you. Although you've changed your identity and been sold under a death contract, you are a private slave. In the future, if the master family grants you a sell deed, and the government reissues your household registration, you will be a proper commoner, without bearing the identity of an official slave that condemns you to servitude for generations. Miss Thirteen, forget the past."
Ruan Susu no longer cared about her modern dignity at this moment and knelt down to kowtow to Mrs. Zhao.
Mrs. Zhao quickly pulled Susu up, "Good girl, there's no need for that. Aunt Su saved my life, but I can't rescue you from this bitterness, which makes me feel deeply guilty!"
Ruan Susu did not expect that even after Aunt Su had passed, she had left a way out for her daughter, allowing this wandering soul to receive such grace. Tears fell incessantly.
Mrs. Zhao hurriedly consoled her, "Miss, don't cry anymore. Be careful not to wake up with swollen eyes tomorrow."
She then carefully talked to Susu about the Song Family. Although the Song Family is not an official family nowadays, they are truly wealthy merchants, to the extent that even the palace's living standards might not match theirs.
Old Master Song started with salt merchants, and now the third generation has become the general merchant among salt merchants (among salt merchants, there are field merchants, transport merchants, general merchants, with the general merchant being the most powerful and having the most connections with the government). The family's business spans across various industries, and the heaps of silver and gold are genuinely mountainous.
Seeing that Ruan Susu was listening carefully, Mrs. Zhao felt relieved. Initially, she worried that Miss Thirteen might be pampered and considered tempering her disposition to prevent her from losing her life because of it later.
Unexpectedly, over this month, Ruan Susu truly surprised Mrs. Zhao. She neither quarreled nor made a fuss, never said much, endured even the most unpalatable food without complaint, and never mentioned her past, quiet as if not a young girl. This made Mrs. Zhao sigh—being a concubine-born daughter in a wealthy household was tough, and her patience was truly commendable.
This is good, at least it ensures her survival. However, looking at Susu's appearance, which even malnutrition couldn't conceal, one wonders if it's a blessing or a curse.
Mrs. Zhao continued, "This time, I heard that the Song Family plans to marry off a batch of maids of age. The inner courtyard needs to fill some spots with young maids. Although most are selected from family-born, there's also word for some from outside. I have some rapport with a few housekeepers in the inner courtyard, and it's best if Miss can enter Old Madam Song's courtyard. Old Madam Song is the kindest, and her chief maids are granted marital proposals as principal wives. With your character and appearance, pleasing the Old Madam would make erasing your slave status just a matter of words."
Mrs. Zhao then carefully advised Susu about some of the underworld matters within large families, and had Susu memorize her background several times.
The details on the sell deed are real. The young girl named Su He was unfortunate and died of illness. Mrs. Zhao, being cautious, didn't go to the government to cancel the registration, which now conveniently served Susu.
"Miss, remember, there is no Miss Thirteen of Duke Li's Mansion anymore, only the daughter of Scholar Su, Su He." Ruan Susu nodded, acknowledging that the Thirteen Miss of the Ruan Family had long ceased to exist.
Early the next morning, the young girls dressed up neatly and boarded the carriage, driving for nearly half an hour before stopping.
Getting off, they saw a quiet back street. A few people were there, on the left was a high wall with a corner gate and two young men watching the door. Mrs. Zhao seemed familiar with them, exchanging greetings such as "long time no see, how have you been?" before leading the young girls through the corner gate.
Once inside the courtyard, Susu understood why Yangzhou was said to be the richest place under heaven and why Emperor Qianlong sighed, "How great is the financial power of salt merchants." Just by looking at this garden, one could glimpse a bit of it.