Madame Lü was startled when he grabbed her wrist. “Husband!”
It had been many days since Magistrate Xu had initiated any physical contact with her.
The maids and mamas nearby, seeing the situation, sensibly withdrew from the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
Xu Zhongyi raised his eyes to look at Madame Lü’s profile, silently lamenting in his heart. What a pity. In her youth, Madame Lü was naturally beautiful and straightforward. However, after becoming the Principal Wife, she had consecutive pregnancies, grew intolerant of others, and sulked all day. She had needlessly tainted her own features with a harshness, breeding a certain mean-spiritedness.
Others all said he had married a virtuous wife who managed household affairs in perfect order, but only Magistrate Xu knew the unspoken bitterness in his heart—heaven knew what a dull person Madame Lü was.
Now, when they met, within three sentences she would bring up the hierarchy of legitimate and concubine-born, and how one must not favor a concubine and destroy the principal wife, lest they become a laughingstock.
However, Lü Ding doted on this youngest daughter extremely. Every few months, a letter would arrive without fail. Even though Magistrate Xu disliked Madame Lü’s behavior and style, he had no choice but to tolerate his principal wife for the sake of Lü Ding.
Madame Lü, unaware of Magistrate Xu’s thoughts, felt a blush color her cheeks.
Back when her father married her to Xu Zhongyi, aside from the fact that the two men got along well in their shared disappointment of poverty and failing the imperial examinations, the rest was because Madame Lü herself had taken a liking to Xu Zhongyi’s appearance.
In terms of looks alone, Xu Zhongyi was tall and had well-defined handsome features. Once he donned his official robes, he was the very picture of a jade-faced gentleman. Although he was older now and wrinkles had appeared on his face, what married couple didn’t support each other and grow old together?
Madame Lü forced herself to forget the fact that Concubine Yao was pregnant again, tenderly leaning against Xu Zhongyi and calling softly, “Husband.”
Xu Zhongyi concealed a trace of annoyance in his eyes, let go of her wrist, closed his eyes, and said, “Sit up, I have a matter to discuss with you!”
His tone was stern and his voice loud, leaving Madame Lü feeling alarmed and uncertain.
Could it be that the matter between Yuyan and that young gentleman was discovered by Husband?
“…” Madame Lü hesitated for a moment before asking in a gentle voice, “What matter does Husband wish to discuss?”
Magistrate Xu, reeking of alcohol, said in a muffled voice, “Yuyan is of age. I have chosen a good family for her…”
Madame Lü listened patiently to what Magistrate Xu called a “good family,” but the more she listened, the darker her face became.
Over thirty years old, quite advanced in age, and word had it he was a widower raising two children. The eldest was already ten, an age where they form permanent memories.
By the time Magistrate Xu finished describing what he thought was a good match for his daughter, the dignified and proper expression on Madame Lü’s face had practically shattered completely. She was almost laughing out of anger at herself for being moved by him just moments ago. With a trembling voice, she asked, “This can be called a good match?”
Magistrate Xu argued, “How is it not a good match? The husband of Xianwei Wei’s maternal grand-uncle’s niece is a capital official! If I can receive his patronage, my future official career will be smooth, I can secure titles for my wife and sons, and even the Xu family will gain face!”
Finishing his words, fueled by liquid courage, he slammed his hand hard on the table. “You only care about the trivialities in front of you; when have you ever thought about the future? In the end, you are just a woman of the inner chambers, short-sighted!”
Madame Lü held back a breath of anger. Seeing that Magistrate Xu had slammed the table so hard the water in the teacups spilled out, even a clay Buddha would have lost its temper. “Since you think it’s such a good destination, why don’t you marry off the daughter of Concubine Yao, whom you hold so dear to your heart? In the future, if she really achieves great success, it wouldn’t be impossible for me to give up this Da-niangzi position for her to sit in!”
Magistrate Xu said, “Why can I never get through to you!”
The commotion of the two arguing inside the room was not small. The maidservants to the side looked nervously at Sun Mama. “Sun Mama, the Master and Da-niangzi are arguing.”
Sun Mama, separated by the door, had more or less heard a little something. Surrounded by the maids, her mind was a tangled mess of yarn.
Just as the maids serving outside had yet to make up their minds, a sudden commotion erupted from within the room again.
As it turned out, the Fourth Miss, Xu Yuyan, who was sleeping in Madame Lü’s room, had been woken up by the couple’s argument. After listening to a few sentences, her face turned pale. She let out a wail on the spot and knelt before Magistrate Xu and Madame Lü. “Father, Mother, I won’t marry! I absolutely will not marry!”
Magistrate Xu was furious at the sight. He reached out and swept the teacup off the table with a crash, directing his anger straight at Madame Lü: “Look at the fine daughter you’ve raised!”
Madame Lü shielded the Fourth Miss behind her, tightly gripping her daughter’s wrist. Her voice trembled, but her face was resolute. “If you want my Yuyan to marry that kind of person, it will be over my dead body.”
Outside the door, Sun Mama’s expression tightened. No longer caring about anything else, she pushed the door open and walked to Madame Lü’s side.
“Has the Master forgotten? At the end of every year, Da-niangzi takes the Fourth Miss to visit Lord Lü. If something goes wrong now, the Master had better think carefully about how to explain it.”
Magistrate Xu’s expression softened a fraction.
Over these years, he had mostly relied on his father-in-law to achieve his current status. If he really angered Lü Ding, his official hat would probably fall to the ground right along with it.
Thinking this way, Magistrate Xu’s mind sobered up a little. Walking to Madame Lü’s side, he personally helped her up from the floor.
“Da-niangzi, do not be angry. Your husband is drunk and speaking nonsense.”
Madame Lü reached up to wipe away her tears and said to the pale, terrified Fourth Miss, “Yuyan, stand up.”
The Fourth Miss stood up, knowing that her father would mostly likely let today’s disaster pass for the sake of her maternal grandfather.
Madame Lü sat across from Magistrate Xu. Seeing him furrowing his brows tightly, she remained silent for a long moment before suddenly saying, “I actually have an idea that can solve Husband’s current worries.”
Magistrate Xu shot her a drunken glance, his face clearly saying, What kind of idea could you possibly have?
Madame Lü formulated her thoughts and said softly, “If Husband cannot bear to let this opportunity go, why not let the Third Miss go? I have watched the Third Miss grow up all these years, and in terms of talent and learning, she is outstanding among the sisters. It just so happens her birth mother has already passed away. If we simply foster her under my name, she can take on the title of a legitimate daughter.”
Magistrate Xu’s brow slowly relaxed. Seeing that her persuasion was effective, Madame Lü immediately added, “Husband, the moment you returned you said you wanted to marry our Yuyan off. Wasn’t it because you were afraid of rejecting Xianwei Wei and causing him to lose face? If the Third Miss is raised under my name, very few people in Eqiao County will know the difference, so naturally, nothing will go wrong.”
“This method…” Magistrate Xu pondered in his heart, “…is actually feasible.”
Madame Lü lowered her eyes with a smile and turned to Sun Mama beside her. “Sun Mama, go and call the Third Miss over.”
Sun Mama voiced her compliance, only to hear Madame Lü add one more sentence: “Remember to tell her it is a good thing.”
Being fostered under the First Madam’s name, transforming a concubine-born daughter into a proper legitimate daughter in a flash—was that not a tremendous good thing?
Sun Mama accepted the order and left, followed closely by a grand procession of four rough-working mamas. It didn’t look like they were going to fetch someone; it looked more like they were going to kidnap someone.
Seeing Magistrate Xu suffering from a drunken headache, Madame Lü ordered the servants to bring a fresh bowl of sobering soup, while she stood behind him and massaged his temples.
“Husband, when the Third Miss arrives later, you must speak nicely.”
Magistrate Xu had a pent-up breath of anger in his chest. At the county office, he had to look at Xianwei Wei’s expressions, and upon returning home, he was still pressed down by his father-in-law like a heavy mountain. With nowhere to vent his wrath, he directed it straight at Xu Zhihe. “I am her father! If I tell her to go east, let’s see if she dares to go west! If she refuses to accept this arrangement, then making her a concubine is not impossible either!”
Inside the west wing, the halo of the oil lamp flickered. Xu Zhihe sat on the bed, watching Fang Li light the brazier, preparing to wrap herself in her quilt and sleep.
Suddenly, a loud, rapid knocking sound came from the door. Sun Mama raised her voice from outside and shouted, “Third Miss, Third Miss, are you asleep?”
Xu Zhihe and Fang Li exchanged a glance: it was actually Madame Lü’s dowry maid, Sun Mama, coming to their door in person.
Not hearing a response, Sun Mama directly instructed the maids behind her to push the door. As the wooden door rattled, Fang Li stood up and reached out to pull the door open.
Fang Li bowed slightly to Sun Mama, offering a greeting, “I wonder what urgent matter brings Sun Mama here so late?”
Sun Mama twisted her waist, forcefully bumping Fang Li out of the way, and squeezed into the room. Seeing Xu Zhihe dressed in her plain white nightclothes, her eyes crinkled into smiling slits. “Third Miss, I thought the Third Miss had already fallen asleep and couldn’t hear this old woman’s words.”
Xu Zhihe stood up. “What is Sun Mama saying? I wonder if there is an important matter for Sun Mama to seek me out now?”
Sun Mama’s face was piled high with smiles. “What is the Miss saying? What important matter? It’s simply a good thing, a tremendously good thing!”
The smile on Xu Zhihe’s face faded slightly.
Why did she find that so hard to believe?
There were only so many good things in this household; when would it ever be her turn?
Sun Mama, however, gave Xu Zhihe a push without brooking any argument. “Third Miss, don’t just stand there. You, girl, hurry over and serve the Miss in getting dressed.”
After saying this, she led the rough-working mamas out and stood outside the door, raising her voice, “Third Miss, this old woman will be waiting outside for you.”
Fang Li pursed her lips, looking at Xu Zhihe with worry.
“Miss.”
“If it’s a blessing, it’s not a disaster; if it’s a disaster, it cannot be avoided.” Xu Zhihe’s expression remained fairly calm as she soothingly patted the back of Fang Li’s hand. “Let’s go to the main hall and see.”
Fang Li collected her emotions, brought the dresses over to Xu Zhihe’s back, and helped her change clothes.
Xu Zhihe dressed very quickly, not giving Sun Mama any reason to urge her.
Sun Mama looked her up and down. Seeing nothing amiss, she immediately smiled and said, “Third Miss, please.”
The group arrived outside the main hall. Before Sun Mama could even knock on the door, they happened to hear Magistrate Xu say: “Then making her a concubine is not impossible either!”
Xu Zhihe’s heart sank.
She had only come of age a year ago. She knew that without a birth mother to plan for her, her marriage could only be decided by her father and the First Madam, and it was entirely out of her control.
In ancient times, a woman could not choose her birth, and getting married was akin to a woman’s second rebirth. She did not ask to marry into a family of high-ranking nobles, nor did she expect to marry the legitimate son of a Tongpan (Prefectural Vice-Administrator) like her Second sister had. But deep down, more or less, she did not want her marriage to become a stepping stone for someone else’s ambitions.
If she married poorly, it would likely be even worse than her current situation. Xu Zhihe had long calculated in her heart: it was absolutely impossible for her to marry someone as a concubine.
It was just that despite all her rushing, she was still a step too late.
Upon hearing that sentence, Fang Li’s expression changed, and she tightly clutched Xu Zhihe’s hand.
Xu Zhihe took a deep breath, and Sun Mama next to her raised her voice, “Master, Da-niangzi, the Third Miss has arrived.”
Madame Lü withdrew the expression on her face and complained softly to Magistrate Xu, “Husband truly has no filter on your mouth. If the Third Miss heard those words, she would inevitably feel a bout of heartbreak.”
After saying this, she called out toward the outside, “Come in.”
Xu Zhihe followed behind Sun Mama as they entered. Madame Lü gave Sun Mama a look, and the latter brought over a soft stool, placing it beside Madame Lü.
“Sit.” Madame Lü sat upright in the seat of honor, her gaze uncharacteristically gentle. “Zhihe, Mother has something to say to you.”
She was smiling and calling herself “Mother”—alarm bells rang wildly in Xu Zhihe’s heart. However, it didn’t show on her face at all as she replied obediently, “Please speak, Mother.”
“Good child.” Madame Lü sneaked a peek at Magistrate Xu’s expression, then turned back to continue smiling amiably at Xu Zhihe. “Mother has a wonderful marriage prospect here, and I was just about to tell you all about it!”
T/n: The New chapter is up! Enjoy the ride and do join us on this adventure 😍🎉🎊. If you want to support me, do check my other novels on my Translator’s Page🫶. You can support the original author here. Please vote on NU here. If you’re interested, you can also buy me a Ko-Fi. Happy Reading 🤓 💅.