Marquis of Suiping's Residence

Though they had spent less than an hour together, her good impression of Xu Xi had not changed in the slightest. She even thought Xu Xi was better than she had imagined.

The girl carried herself and spoke with easy grace, knew right from wrong and when to advance or retreat, and was clever besides. Whatever she or Matron Ruan told her, she grasped at once. By the look of it, she was even better than the carefully raised young ladies now in the residence.

Lady Zhu was accustomed to a life of comfort, and after taking a carriage to Little Banyan Village early that morning, she was a little tired. Once she had told Xu Xi about the marquis's household, she closed her eyes to rest. Xu Xi, on the other hand, was wide awake, but Lady Zhu was resting, and the carriage curtains were drawn so tightly that there was not the slightest gap through which to see the scenery outside. She had no choice but to close her eyes too.

Xu Xi had long since had more than enough of the village mule carts. She had thought the marquis's carriage would be more comfortable, but as soon as she climbed in, she knew she was wrong. Though it was somewhat better than a mule cart, the comfort it offered was truly limited. With no suspension, it jolted unbearably whenever the road was uneven.

No wonder people in ancient times preferred riding horses to traveling by carriage.

Fortunately, it was only ten li, and in less than half an hour, the carriage stopped in a broad street.

Lady Zhu had opened her eyes as soon as the carriage entered the city. Now Matron Ruan helped her down first, then returned to help Xu Xi, saying with a smile, "Miss, this is our Marquis of Suiping's Residence."

Xu Xi got out of the carriage and examined the entrance to the Marquis of Suiping's Residence.

The family had been demoted rank by rank until it became a marquisate. In his great favor, the emperor had not made them move; they still lived in their former residence, having merely changed the plaque above the gate and removed or altered anything that did not accord with the regulations for their rank.

The Marquis of Suiping's Residence was therefore in an excellent location, on a main street not far from the inner city. The street was also extremely wide, with room for two carriages to travel side by side. The vermilion gate and the stone lions in front of it were both imposing, matched by the long, towering walls on either side.

"First Madam." The two men guarding the gate hurried forward and bowed when they saw Lady Zhu.

Lady Zhu pointed to Xu Xi and said, "This is the fifth miss, who has just been brought back to the residence. Take a good look at her. From now on, when she comes and goes, you must not offend her."

The two men quickly raised their heads and glanced at Xu Xi, then lowered them again. "We obey," they replied.

Lady Zhu paid them no further attention and led Xu Xi inside. Past the screen wall was a large courtyard.

"This is the main hall of the outer courtyard," Lady Zhu explained. "Your eldest uncle, father, and younger uncle, as well as several of your brothers who study, all have studies here. Your brothers also study and practice martial arts here. Sometimes, when male guests come, they are also lodged in courtyards here."

When the duke was alive, quite a few retainers had lived in the outer courtyards. But now, not one of the men in the household had made anything of himself, and money was tight. Apart from a few studies furnished for the masters and young masters, the outer courtyard housed only three tutors and two masters who instructed them in martial arts.

Looking at the vast grounds, Xu Xi was truly envious.

In modern times, she had worked herself to the bone, taking on design jobs of her own while helping professors with their projects. That, together with the money her parents had left her, had only been enough to buy a two-bedroom apartment with a living room in a second-tier city, less than seventy square meters in all. She had once gone with a friend who designed gardens to visit one of her friend's completed projects. Seeing the three-and-a-half-story villa and its two-hundred-square-meter yard, with its comfortable, ingenious design both inside and out, she had made a villa like that her ultimate goal.

But compared with the marquis's residence before her, a villa like that might as well have been on earth while the residence was in heaven. The outer courtyard alone had seven or eight compounds like that little villa, to say nothing of the inner courtyard.

Xu Xi felt ashamed of how small her goal was.

Still, considering how much land and how few people there were in ancient times, even here in the capital, land was presumably cheaper and easier to acquire than in a modern first- or second-tier city.

So Xu Xi quietly set herself a small goal: to buy a few courtyard houses through her own efforts. They did not need to be this large; two or three courtyards deep would be enough. Even if she did not live in them herself, renting them out would be quite nice. The promising career of a landlady was well worth pursuing.

As for a mansion like the marquis's residence, Xu Xi did not dare dream of it. Buildings in ancient times were subject to regulations, with different kinds of houses allotted to people of different status. Unless you were a prince, marquis, general, or minister, you could not build a mansion like this even if you had the money.

The two went along a covered walkway and walked for another time it took to drink a cup of tea before reaching the ornamental gate. The guards here were older female servants. They too bowed respectfully at the sight of Lady Zhu, who introduced Xu Xi to them as well.

"Old Madam, First Madam has returned with Fifth Miss," a maid reported, running into the main hall.

"They've finally come," Third Madam Lady Su said with a smile. As she spoke, she cast a meaningful glance at Lady Wei.

Everyone looked toward the door.

Since Xu Xi had agreed to return to the marquis's residence the day before, the women of the inner household had gathered again in the main hall today. They were intensely curious to see what this fifth miss, who put on such airs and had been so difficult to invite, looked like, and could hardly wait to stick their heads out and look.

Only Lady Wei and Zhao Ruyu of the second branch appeared calmer than anyone else, but their hands gripping their handkerchiefs betrayed the unrest in their hearts.