The palace maid said gravely, "You may leave; I have sothing to discuss with the Old Madam."
The Old Maid asked curiously, "What is it? It seems quite serious."
"Indeed! There’s trouble with the Pri Minister."
"Is it that the Pri Minister has taken his twentieth concubine again? Rest assured, all these years, the Old Madam has co to terms with it. The Pri Minister, at his age, still doesn’t settle down. He has such a wonderful daughter, the Empress, and he’s still not satisfied, wanting to bring about a son. I tell you, these matters of sons are all determined by fate. As the saying goes, whatever is ant to happen, will; if it’s not ant to be, don’t force it. Think about it, the Pri Minister barely managed to bring the Young Master into the world, and Heaven took him back. I think the Pri Minister simply isn’t fated to have a son; such is the nature of these things, they can’t be forced."
The Old Maid rattled off a string of words, emboldened by the Old Madam’s dislike of the Pri Minister’s concubines.
The palace maid frowned deeply, knowing that the "Young Master" the Old Maid referred to was the Pri Minister’s recently deceased young son.
"What nonsense are you talking? Have you forgotten your place?" the palace maid reprimanded irritably, wondering how this gossipy Old Maid ended up serving the Old Madam.
Seeing the palace maid’s displeasure, the Old Maid hurriedly explained, "Ordinarily, this old servant wouldn’t dare speak recklessly; seeing that Aunt is so approachable, I said a bit more."
The Old Maid originally wanted to curry favor with the palace maid, knowing she was soone from the Empress’ side, but ended up misjudging completely.
The palace maid glanced at her expressionlessly and said, "Matters concerning the Master are not for us servants to discuss."
"Yes, this old servant understands."
"Let this be the last ti, step back now."
"Understood."
Since the palace maid was from the Empress’ side, the Old Maid dared not defy her orders and obediently retreated.
The palace maid stepped into the inner room...
The Old Madam was dressed in a splendid outfit, with her hairbun adorned with gold and silver jewelry. She was seated by the table, sipping tea and chatting rrily with the palace maid attending her, creating a harmonious and joyful scene.
The palace maid hesitated to deliver news about the Pri Minister, but disobeying the Empress’ order was not an option. She stepped forward to greet, "Maid greets the Old Madam."
The Old Madam, smiling, looked down and saw a palace maid greeting her, and paused, "You... who are you?"
"I am sent by the Empress."
"Oh! Does the Empress have sothing for ?"
The palace maid stood up and nodded toward the other servants, signaling them to leave. Being from the Empress’ side, her status was higher than these ordinary palace maids; they quickly withdrew.
The Old Madam, looking puzzled, watched them leave and said, "Hey, hey, hey! Why are they all leaving?"
The palace maid: "Old Madam, I have sothing to tell you."
"What is it? It’s so secretive."
"It’s about the Pri Minister."
The Old Madam laughed upon hearing this, saying, "Is it that the Pri Minister’s residence is completed and he’s planning to bring back?"
"No."
"No?"
"Yes."
"If that’s not it, then what does the Pri Minister want? I’m too old to bear him children."
The Old Madam’s expression imdiately changed; the one thing she couldn’t reconcile within this lifeti was the Pri Minister taking one concubine after another. Each concubine entering was a tornt for her, especially given the Pri Minister had taken nineteen wives, leaving the Old Madam feeling quite numb from his unyielding acts.
The palace maid: "No, the Pri Minister is in trouble!"
The Old Madam: "I know; didn’t you just say that?"
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