As the commotion erupted outside the main gate, the Old Madam of the Xie family’s Third Branch was seated comfortably in a carved redwood armchair, her eyes half-closed in rest.
“Old Madam, Eighth Miss insisted on entering through the main gate. One of the gatekeepers pushed her, knocking her to the ground. Sixth Master was so enraged that he kicked the man and led them in through the front entrance.”
The senior maid Chunping lifted the heavy quilted winter curtain and entered quietly, then delivered her report respectfully.
Rolling the prayer beads between her fingers, the Third Old Madam slowly opened her eyes.
“Go. Replace everyone at the gatehouse. Servants so lacking in judgment are nothing but future trouble.”
“Mother, that girl is only four years old, yet she already has such a temperament. I certainly wouldn’t dare raise her.” Seated nearby, Madam Chen frowned slightly as she watched Chunping leave.
At those words, the Third Old Madam set aside her prayer beads. Her well-maintained pale fingers curled slightly as she tapped the bronze phoenix-shaped hand warmer at her side.
“What are you afraid of?” she said casually. “She’s nothing more than an ignorant little girl. Keep her under control and teach her properly. How much courage can she really have? Treat her as you would a pet cat or dog. Raise her for ten years, then marry her off somewhere and be rid of her.” A cold smile flickered across her lips.
“The one you should worry about is her brother.”
“I beg Mother to enlighten me further.” As Madam Chen spoke, the slight upward tilt at the corners of her eyes made her appear even more alluring, though her tone remained humble and deferential.
Madam Chen was the Third Old Madam’s own niece. People often said that nieces resembled their aunts, and she indeed shared half her aunt’s features—the same slightly upturned eyes and brows, bearing both sharpness and striking beauty.
Perhaps for that very reason, the Third Old Madam had chosen to keep her by her side and raise her personally.
As a cousin of the Xie family, Madam Chen had grown up within the household. Though no formal engagement had ever been announced between her and Xie Yuanmao, the Third Branch’s only male heir, everyone had assumed she would eventually marry into the family. Then, six years earlier, Xie Yuanmao had traveled to Jiangnan with several fellow scholars. He never returned. After falling into the water by accident, he had disappeared without a trace. Not even a body was recovered. With that, the Third Branch of the Xie family had effectively lost its sole heir.
Not long afterward, under the Third Old Madam’s direction, Madam Chen entered the Xie family carrying Xie Yuanmao’s memorial tablet and became his posthumous wife.
Rumors spread throughout the residence that the Third Branch had terrible feng shui.
Otherwise, how could the late Third Master, despite taking numerous concubines in his younger years, have failed to produce a single son?
Soon afterward, his principal wife fell ill and died. While still in mourning, he married the present Third Old Madam, née Chen, as his second wife. Yet scarcely a year later, the Third Master, then only thirty-five years old, became drunk, suffered a fall, and lost his life as well. As a second wife, widowed before reaching twenty, Third Old Madam Chen’s life was hardly easy. Fortunately, she understood her circumstances. A widow with no children of her own could not expect lasting security. Setting aside pride, she petitioned the clan and obtained permission to adopt a son from the flourishing main branch of the family. Thus, seven-year-old Xie Yuanmao became her heir. But who could have imagined that, after raising him to adulthood, he would not live long either?
Because of this, the Old Madam of the main branch came to deeply detest the Third Old Madam, believing she had brought misfortune upon her son.
“It is a good thing that Old Sixth has returned.” The Third Old Madam suddenly smiled. “Watching you spend your youth guarding an empty room has never sat well with me.”
Her smile deepened. “As long as I live, the position of principal wife will belong to no one but you.”
With this assurance, Madam Chen finally let a trace of genuine satisfaction appear on her face. As the Third Old Madam’s niece, she had never doubted her aunt’s methods.
With the Third Old Madam backing her, Madam Chen was certain that the Song woman outside would never be able to stir up any real trouble.
“Still, you should pay closer attention yourself.” The Third Old Madam’s smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“Since Old Sixth returned, has he entered your chambers even once?”
Her expression turned cold. “Must I, as his mother, personally force him to consummate the marriage with you?”
Madam Chen stiffened. Her smile immediately disappeared.
Likewise, Xie Shuning could not smile at all. Countless wolves, tigers, and leopards lived in this household, but the cruelest and most venomous beast among them was undoubtedly the Third Old Madam. She was already the matriarch of the Third Branch, yet she was not even forty years old this year. Thanks to meticulous care, she appeared to be only around thirty.
Whenever Xie Shuning recalled her face, a chill ran down her spine. Standing before the Xie family’s imposing green-painted gates, she had deliberately caused a scene, pounding loudly on the beast-faced bronze door ring. Then, when the gatekeeper reached out to stop her, she had pretended to fall, provoking Father into a fit of anger.
By now, the Third Old Madam had surely heard about the incident. Sure enough, shortly after they passed through the ornate hanging-flower gate, someone came out to greet them.
“Sixth Master, Fifth Young Master, Eighth Miss.” The newcomer bowed to each of them in turn, yet seemed to deliberately omit Madam Song.
Nestled in Xie Yuanmao’s arms, Xie Shuning narrowed her eyes and studied the woman carefully. She vaguely remembered her as Dongle, one of the Third Old Madam’s senior maids. Smiling brightly, she pointed a short, plump finger at her and announced loudly, “You forgot to greet my mother!”
Dongle froze. After a long pause, she finally bowed reluctantly toward Madam Song.
“This servant greets Madam.”
Even then, she deliberately avoided addressing Madam Song by rank or status.
Watching coldly, Xie Shuning wrapped her arms around Xie Yuanmao’s neck and said in a soft, childish voice, “Father, the people here have no manners at all.”
“I’ll punish them later,” Xie Yuanmao coaxed gently.
Dongle could not hide her surprise. She had never expected Xie Yuanmao to treat this little Eighth Miss, whom she had only just met, this way. He was completely different from the man she had seen within the residence.
The group proceeded along winding covered corridors. Beyond the veranda, the trees stood bare beneath blankets of white snow, creating a bleak, lonely scene. The cold seemed to seep from the very air itself and creep into Xie Shuning’s body until she shivered uncontrollably. She had never grown accustomed to capital’s winters. Even after many years, she still hated the cold.
In that regard, Zhen’er had been just like her. He feared the cold terribly. Whenever she spoke of Jiangnan, he insisted he wanted to go there someday. Yet even she had never again been able to return to Jiangnan and see it with her own eyes.
Drowsily burying her face in the fur-lined cloak draped around Xie Yuanmao’s shoulders, she sighed inwardly.
Before long, they arrived at Shou’an Hall. As they entered the front reception hall, someone inside must have heard them arrive, for Chunping soon emerged to welcome them.
Looking up, Xie Shuning saw Chunping lifting the curtain and smiling as she bowed. “Sixth Master has returned. The Old Madam has been waiting for you.”
A single sentence. And it acknowledged only Xie Yuanmao.
Xie Shuning pressed her lips together silently.
From the moment they stepped through the gates, Grandmother had never intended to treat them kindly. Yet in her previous life, they had all been foolish enough to believe this youthful grandmother was benevolent and compassionate.
The moment she entered the room, a dense cloud of fragrance struck her face.
In front of a mother-of-pearl-inlaid marble screen, three feet wide and five feet high, stood a black lacquer incense table. Upon it rested an ancient bronze beast-shaped censer, releasing an overpoweringly rich aroma.
The weather outside was bitterly cold. Braziers burned inside the room, while thick curtains blocked every draft.
Trapped within the enclosed space, the fragrance was so intense that it nearly made one faint.
“Mother, I’ve brought them.” After setting Xie Shuning down, Xie Yuanmao spoke respectfully to the Third Old Madam.
“Mother.” Madam Song echoed the greeting.
But the Third Old Madam acted as though she hadn’t heard anything. Instead, she smiled affectionately and beckoned to Xie Yi. “So this is Yi-ge’er, is it? Come, come sit beside Grandmother.”
Xie Yi turned around in confusion. He glanced at Madam Song, then at Xie Yuanmao, hesitating to approach.
Seeing this, Madam Chen rose with a smile and warmly beckoned him forward. “Come closer, Yi-ge’er. Let Mother and Grandmother get a good look at you.”
The single word “Mother” rolled naturally from her lips. In the blink of an eye, she had subtly overshadowed the newly arrived Madam Song.
Yet the principal wife’s identity had not even been settled. What right did she have to call herself “Mother”?
Xie Shuning glanced at Madam Song and saw that her mother’s attention was fixed entirely on the hesitant Xie Yi, worried only about her son’s discomfort. She could not help sighing inwardly. Then she grasped Xie Yuanmao’s hand and deliberately stepped back. Putting on an innocent, bewildered expression, she looked up fearfully at him and asked, “Father… why is this concubine telling Brother to call her Mother?”