Su Wanrou waited in vain for Pei Jingnian to come. Leaning against Nanny Zhou, she burst into tears once more.
She truly loved Pei Jingnian with all her heart. Before this, he had always treated her with tenderness and affection, and the two had lived in perfect harmony.
But now her husband had become so distant toward her. How could she possibly bear it?
She even began to resent her mother-in-law. If Lady Wang had not insisted on summoning an imperial physician to examine her pulse, her condition of cold womb could have remained hidden forever. She could have quietly taken medicine, and perhaps one day conceived. Everything would have been fine.
But that imperial physician had come, exposing the truth. From then on, her husband’s attitude toward her had never been the same.
“I hate this so much!” she sobbed. “Nanny, why can’t I bear children? Will my husband never come to my room again?”
Her face was drenched in tears, making Nanny Zhou’s heart ache.
Gently patting her back, the old nurse comforted her.
“How could that be, my dear young lady? You are the heir’s lawful wife. He’s only angry right now. Once his temper cools, he’ll naturally reconcile with you.”
Sniffling, Su Wanrou dabbed at her tears with a silk handkerchief.
“But how am I supposed to know when he’ll stop being angry?”
Watching her young mistress completely consumed by matters of the heart, Nanny Zhou sighed.
Su Wanrou’s mother had always been frail. Knowing she had little time left with her daughter, she had spent her final years teaching Su Wanrou how to manage a household and oversee family affairs, doing everything she could to raise her into a dignified noblewoman capable of serving as the mistress of a great household.
As for the relationship between husband and wife…
That was something Su Wanrou had been left to figure out on her own.
By the time she reached marriageable age, her birth mother had long since passed away.
Originally, Nanny Zhou had thought her young mistress incredibly fortunate to marry the heir of the Marquis’s estate. The young master was handsome, noble, and had treated Su Wanrou well.
But now…
She was beginning to waver.
Her mistress had thrown herself so completely into love that she simply could not bear the thought of her husband taking concubines. All she wanted was for him to remain devoted to her alone.
But in a great aristocratic family…
That was impossible.
Especially when…
Her mistress could not bear children.
The only way to secure her position now was to ensure there was an heir in the inner household as soon as possible.
Yet even agreeing to bring Rouge into the manor had already gone against Su Wanrou’s true wishes.
Nanny Zhou sighed again.
One could not have both fish and bear’s paw.
If her mistress wanted the reputation of being a virtuous matriarch while refusing to allow her husband concubines, how could such a perfect arrangement exist in this world?
In fact, Nanny Zhou even felt they had made a grave mistake by secretly giving musk to the heir’s maids.
After all, maids were of low status. Even if they bore children, how much standing could they possibly gain?
Instead, that incident had cost them both the heir’s favor and the old madam’s goodwill.
The loss far outweighed the gain.
After organizing her thoughts, she said,
“Young Lady, the most important thing now is winning back the heir’s heart. I don’t think simply bringing Rouge into the manor is enough. Why not suggest to the heir that Linglan and Ruichu also be promoted from maids to concubines? Consider it compensation for what happened to them.”
The moment Su Wanrou heard this, her face darkened.
Agreeing to take Rouge as a concubine was already painful enough.
At least Rouge belonged to the Su family. No matter what happened, she would never escape Su Wanrou’s control.
But Linglan and Ruichu…
Those two maids had always been an eyesore to her.
Now she was supposed to elevate them as well?
Wouldn’t that mean Pei Jingnian would suddenly have three concubines?
He hadn’t had even one before!
Her fingers twisted the handkerchief so tightly it seemed water could be wrung from it, yet she refused to agree.
Seeing her jealousy flare up once more, Nanny Zhou hurried to reason with her.
“Think carefully, Young Lady. Why has the heir been avoiding you? Isn’t it because of the contraceptive soup incident? You must lower yourself and admit your mistake sincerely. Only then can he let this matter go.”
Only then did Su Wanrou begin to calm down.
She had always regarded those two maids as nothing more than playthings. Drugging them with musk had never seemed wrong to her.
But Pei Jingnian had indeed been furious when he learned the truth.
After all, Linglan and Ruichu had served by his side for many years. Surely he felt some affection for them.
Swallowing her bitterness, Su Wanrou muttered unhappily,
“So now I have to humble myself before two maids? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Oh, my dear!” Nanny Zhou exclaimed. “You’re not apologizing to the maids. You’re apologizing to the heir! Those two wenches are nothing but decorations. They can’t even bear children anymore. No matter how much they struggle, what can they accomplish? Promoting them only earns you the reputation of being a virtuous wife.”
Only after Nanny Zhou patiently explained everything from every angle did Su Wanrou finally relent.
The following day, she personally sought out Pei Jingnian.
She proposed promoting Linglan and Ruichu to concubines, then tearfully admitted her mistakes.
Only then did Pei Jingnian’s mood soften.
He was no longer as cold toward her as before.
Su Wanrou felt both relieved and miserable.
She was happy because her relationship with her husband had finally begun to improve.
But she was also heartbroken.
Nanny Zhou had been right.
His resentment truly stemmed from the contraceptive soup incident.
Didn’t that prove he cared about those two maids?
The thought made jealousy consume her once again.
In truth, Linglan and Ruichu had indeed served Pei Jingnian for many years.
But it wasn’t because he held especially deep feelings for them.
Pei Jingnian possessed the pride common among aristocratic nobles. He would never develop romantic feelings for servant girls.
Still…
People were not made of stone.
Because of the contraceptive medicine, Linglan had developed a severe gynecological illness. Her monthly bleeding became incessant, and even the imperial physician declared it nearly impossible to cure.
For that…
Pei Jingnian couldn’t help feeling somewhat guilty.
Su Wanrou’s decision, at the very least, compensated the two maids.
And it eased the guilt weighing on Pei Jingnian’s heart.
Meanwhile, Xuezhi was reporting everything she had learned to Shen Yunshuang.
“The concubine the Crown Princess selected for the heir is named Rouge. She’s eighteen this year and was born into servitude in the Su household.
“Her father manages one of the Su family’s silk shops.
“As for her mother, she works in the kitchen. But recently, she suddenly fell gravely ill and has been recuperating at home.”
The moment Shen Yunshuang heard the words gravely ill, a mocking smile flashed through her heart.
So…
They were using the same trick again.
But Xuezhi continued.
“There’s another person.”
“Her cousin?” Shen Yunshuang blinked.
“Yes. I discovered Rouge has a childhood sweetheart—her cousin. He’s not a servant but a scholar who has already passed the county examination. Their families were preparing to arrange their marriage. But after the Heir’s Wife returned to the Su residence, she chose Rouge instead. Coincidentally… Rouge’s mother also fell seriously ill and now requires extremely expensive medicine to stay alive.”
Shen Yunshuang fell into thought.
Perhaps…
Just like her former self, Rouge was not entering the Marquis’s estate willingly.
A cousin…
Interesting.
Although Xuezhi did not understand why her young lady was investigating the heir’s future concubine, she wisely asked no questions.
A woman’s intuition told her…
Her young lady seemed…
To view the heir somewhat differently than before.
Having learned everything she wanted to know, Shen Yunshuang dismissed Xuezhi.
She calmly resumed copying the Buddhist scriptures in her hands.
After lunch, she went to Fuxi Hall.
There, Lady Wang was standing before a prized orchid, sighing repeatedly.
The rare orchid Su Wanrou had gifted her only a few days earlier had somehow already begun to wither.
It had been in the manor for only a handful of days.
Lady Wang truly loved flowers, and seeing such a precious orchid deteriorate made her heart ache.
“Hurry and send for the gardener,” she said unhappily.
The nanny attending her gently rubbed her back.
“Please don’t worry, Madam. Yuanwei(Iris) has already gone to fetch him.”
“Aunt?”
Just then, Shen Yunshuang stepped inside and happened upon the scene.
The moment Lady Wang looked up and saw her niece, the gloom on her face immediately vanished, replaced by a warm smile.
“Shuang’er, you’re here.”