After the banquet, the Eldest Young Mistress’s standing in the inner quarters was more secure than ever. Not only did she move into the same residence as the Heir Apparent and his wife, but she also won the favor of Marquis Dingxi. The couplet the Young Mistress spoke during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was personally inscribed by the Marquis and hung in a pouch in her room.
“She even smiled and asked the Marquis for that calligraphy, claiming she wanted to hang her father’s brushwork in her room to absorb some talent…” Mother Su told Madam Xie.
Madam Xie let out a snort of amusement through her nose.
“The Marquis is finally satisfied; this beautiful daughter-in-law truly possesses both talent and looks.”
She said this, slowly turning the teacup in her hand.
Indeed, the Marquis had been roaring with laughter at the time, and Concubine Zhou had chimed in along with him.
“That lowly maid is quite pleasing, my efforts were not in vain.” Madam Xie sneered, placing the teacup heavily onto the low table.
“The Young Mistress also—” Mother Su began to speak.
Before she could finish, a maid outside announced the arrival of the Second Madam.
The Second Madam entered the courtyard and saw Madam Xie descending the steps to personally help her.
“If there was anything, you could have just sent someone to call me, and I would have come over. Why did you run out yourself again?” Madam Xie chided with a touch of worried concern.
Madam Chen smiled and took her hand.
“I’m fine, I just came to check on my sister-in-law,” she said.
Madam Xie pulled her inside and settled them according to rank. Ah Luan personally brought tea.
“Second Mistress cannot drink this tea,” Madam Xie stated.
“Yes, this servant remembers, this is Tongmuguan,” Ah Luan replied with a smile.
Only then did Madam Xie nod, relieved.
“You are thoughtful, girl,” Madam Chen smiled, looking toward Madam Xie. “Thank you, sister-in-law.”
“What are you saying?” Madam Xie sighed, looking at her. “Your health was just starting to recover, and you suffered all this because of me back then…”
Speaking of this, she gave another bitter smile.
“In the end, you suffered for nothing because of this,” she said, her expression unable to conceal her sorrow and indignation.
Mother Su, sensing the moment, waved her hand, ushering the maids out of the room, leaving only Ah Luan and the Second Mistress’s head maid, Cai Qing, standing nearby.
“Sister-in-law, I heard Eldest Brother favors Yue Niang even more now?” Madam Chen began.
The children from the West Residence had all seen at the banquet how that lowly maid managed to delight Marquis Dingxi.
Madam Xie gave a mocking smile.
“It would be strange if he didn't,” she said. “As long as she’s a beauty, she’s good in his eyes. That’s why that old shrew was so certain back then—”
She stopped herself after uttering the words ‘old shrew.’
Madam Chen seemed not to have heard, letting out a soft sigh.
Silence settled in the room for a moment.
“I heard about it last night, so I made a special trip to see you, sister-in-law,” Madam Chen looked at Madam Xie. “Sister-in-law, please don’t anger yourself to ill health. You must know, only letting yourself suffer will please those people even more.”
Madam Xie’s tightly strung expression slowly relaxed, and the sorrow on her face could no longer be hidden.
“It’s not anger, I’m just unwilling,” she said slowly, her voice trembling. “I’m unwilling, I’m unwilling!”
Tears welling in her eyes, Madam Chen walked to her side and grasped her hand.
“Sister-in-law, we still have a way, we still have a way,” she comforted.
“What way is there? It was a marriage decreed by the Emperor; we can’t dismiss her. That old shrew blocked every path. Unless—unless that lowly maid dies!” Madam Xie muttered, her eyes brightening at the mention of death.
Madam Chen noticed the hand she was holding clench tightly and hastily called out, “Sister-in-law!”
“Sister-in-law, no, no! Don’t risk anything for this woman! If anything happened to you, Cheng Ge’er wouldn’t escape blame either. Never mind that the Qiutong Courtyard is remote and neglected, there are countless eyes watching everything in secret,” she urged in a low voice.
Madam Xie tightened her grip before finally relaxing it.
“Even if she were dead, what respectable family’s daughter would willingly become a second wife?” Her sorrow returned, tears tracing paths down her cheeks. “Our Cheng Ge’er, he has been ruined by her…”
“No, no, our Cheng Ge’er has looks, he has status, and young as he is, he has earned the Emperor’s favor. He is a rare find, someone you wouldn't find even with a lantern! So many families dream of having him enter their household. Never mind being the principal wife, they’d fight over him just to be a concubine,” Madam Chen said quickly with a smile. “Lately, I’ve suddenly been receiving so many invitations—some to visit, some wanting to visit our home. I was wondering why, after being ill for so long, I’ve suddenly become so popular. It was Cai Qing, that clever girl, who said they aren't coming to play with me; they are clearly looking for a chance to visit our household, hoping that sister-in-law might take a look at them…”
Madam Xie found her amusing and couldn't help but laugh.
“Who would debase themselves like that? You were always popular to begin with.” She smiled, patted Madam Chen’s hand, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and called out, “Cai Qing! I said you were clever, why aren't you helping your mistress stand? She’s been standing this long.”
Cai Qing was a girl of seventeen or eighteen, not strikingly beautiful, but possessing two dimples that appeared when she smiled, making her very endearing. She quickly helped the Second Madam back to her seat with a smile.
After this bout of tears, laughter, and talk, Madam Xie felt the oppression in her heart truly lessen. Looking at Madam Chen’s delicate and frail appearance, she sighed.
“There will always be a way, sister-in-law, don’t fret,” Madam Chen said with a slight smile.
Madam Xie let out a long breath.
“That lowly maid has become more clever under that vile woman’s tutelage, jumping about and causing such a fuss in the residence. With a few sweet words, she has completely charmed the Marquis so he can’t find his bearings…”
She continued, “Everyone in the household has seen it. She has earned the Marquis’s favor and moved into Cheng Ge’er’s courtyard. Who can stop this adulteress…”
“Oh, right.” Madam Chen’s expression shifted as she remembered something, interrupting her. “How did Cheng Ge’er allow her—”
Madam Xie glanced at her.
“It’s nothing. Didn’t Cheng Ge’er get injured a while back? On the way back, he met an unorthodox person who warned of impending disaster, saying it needed to be suppressed by a yin person. And it had to be a non-primary wife. Of course, it doesn't require conjugal intimacy; just living in the same courtyard would suffice. It won't be for long, ten or fifteen days at most. You know how hard Cheng Ge’er works outside; I can’t bear any fright,” Madam Xie said with a smile.
Madam Chen finally let out a sigh of relief.
“You scared me to death, I thought—” she said, clutching her chest.
“What did you think? Must Cheng Ge’er take after his father in everything?” Madam Xie said, unable to hide the pride in her expression. “Once this period passes, we’ll send her packing immediately.”
Madam Chen pursed her lips and smiled.
“It’s precisely because our father has seen too many beauties that our Cheng Ge’er has grown weary of them,” she chuckled.
“Cheng Ge’er is upright, proper, and steady. Those flower-scented companions are merely skeletons in his eyes,” Madam Xie said, slightly lifting her chin, her admiration and pride for her son undisguised.
Madam Chen covered her mouth to laugh.
“However,” after her laugh faded, worry still lingered in her eyes. “A man and a woman living under the same roof, Cheng Ge’er is growing up. Moreover, that Yue Niang is still a beauty. If he were to touch her, if she were to become pregnant, that would be even more troublesome…”
“It won’t happen,” Madam Xie said without hesitation.
“Sister-in-law, such things shouldn't be spoken lightly. You should still caution Cheng Ge’er,” Madam Chen advised.
“Cheng Ge’er never needs cautioning,” Madam Xie stated confidently, then smiled again. “Besides, what if he did get involved with her…”
Madam Chen’s eyelids jumped, and she involuntarily stood up.
Madam Xie looked surprised.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Madam Chen quickly laughed, then sighed again. “Sister-in-law, you should still remind Cheng Ge’er. Precisely because our Cheng Ge’er is so upright and sincere, he is the easiest to be taken advantage of, especially by these seductive blossoms…”
Seeing her bring it up repeatedly, Madam Xie's heart stirred a little. Recalling the captivating way the lowly maid had smiled at the banquet, her expression finally grew serious, and she slowly nodded.
“You are indeed more thoughtful,” she patted Madam Chen’s hand and sighed.
“I just genuinely cannot accept it,” Madam Chen said, her expression complex.
Madam Xie nodded gratefully at her. The Second Madam’s long illness had weakened her, and she looked exhausted after this lengthy conversation. Madam Xie quickly ordered someone to send her back properly by sedan chair. She stood at the doorway, watching until the sedan chair disappeared from sight before turning back.
“The Second Madam truly dotes on the Heir Apparent,” Mother Su exclaimed. “When the Old Madam decreed that marriage, we thought no one would object, but unexpectedly, the first person to stand up was her. To make the Old Madam retract her word, she even went on a hunger strike and refused medicine…”
“She said it was so the children would have Cheng Ge’er to rely on. While there were selfish motives, for her to go that far, I will remember her kindness,” Madam Xie said. As she helped Mother Su turn, she remembered something. “What were you about to say? What else did that lowly maid do?”
“The Heir Apparent’s courtyard still hasn't been named, and you said you would wait for the Heir to inscribe it himself,” Mother Su said, sounding indignant.
Madam Xie nodded.
“And then—” Mother Su seemed hesitant to use the word ‘lowly maid’ again and glossed over it. “After flattering the Marquis into happiness, she actually said she had thought of a name for the Heir Apparent’s courtyard and suggested that the Marquis inscribe it all at once and hang it up…”
“What?” Madam Xie clenched her hands, raising her eyebrows. “This lowly maid! She is too presumptuous!”
Too presumptuous!
At this moment, standing in the courtyard, Qiu Xiang was inwardly screaming these words countless times. Yet, the surging rage in her heart did not prevent the brand-new plaque from being hung on the courtyard gate.
Pengcheng Courtyard.
“It’s quite nice,” Qi Yue observed, looking around, nodding at the servants. “Reward them.”
Jiu Zhi cheerfully threw a string of cash to the servants.
“Thank you, Young Mistress, for the reward,” the servants kowtowed and shouted, all departing gleefully.
“Qiu Xiang!” Jiu Zhi called out. “What do you think?”
Qiu Xiang’s face turned green. The calligraphy was written by the Marquis; how could she say it wasn't good? If she didn't hang it here...
“Good,” she managed to say dryly.
Jiu Zhi shot her a flirtatious glance. Qiu Xiang snorted and turned away, only to see seven or eight servant women dragging a flat cart towards them, piled high with various flowers and grasses.
“What is this?” she couldn't help but ask.
Qi Yue stepped into the doorway, hearing her question, and looked over too.
“Oh,” she smiled. “The rooms and the courtyard here are too plain. I’ve asked the flower nursery to send over some plants.”
“But, but the Heir Apparent dislikes flowers,” Qiu Xiang said, biting her lower lip.
Qi Yue looked at her.
“Really?” Her eyes narrowed into a smile.
Qiu Xiang nodded heavily.
“Is one cart not enough?” Qi Yue stopped looking at her, turning to smile at the women currently unloading the carts. “Bring another cart over!”