Wei Xun lowered his gaze, spinning the rim of his cup with his fingertips, and did not respond. Madam Wei knew he was still unwilling, so she continued to plead earnestly.
“Your second brother’s health requires constant medication to sustain him, so he cannot assist you in your career. Although your second sister-in-law can manage the household, it is ultimately improper. I am old and won’t live many more years. Do you want me to die without seeing you marry and have children?”
Marquis Wei was stationed at the border, returning only once every few years. The three Wei siblings had all been raised solely by Madam Wei.
Wei Xun was especially filial. Seeing the white hair at his mother’s temples, he could no longer refuse.
“Alright… I will follow your arrangements.”
Seeing her son finally relent, Madam Wei beamed with joy.
“Good, good, good! I will send for a matchmaker right away. Which family’s daughter do you prefer? Do you have any requirements for appearance or temperament?”
After speaking, she realized she had asked the wrong person. If her third son had someone he liked, why would he have delayed marriage until now?
“The eldest daughter of the Su family from the Prime Minister’s residence is a few years younger than you, and her family status matches ours. I have seen her several times at gatherings—she is a talented and beautiful lady. Or perhaps the second daughter of the Lin family from the Minister’s residence. Her mother is Princess Hui Rong, so her family background is impeccable. Her older brothers are all accomplished, and after marriage, they could be your support…”
Madam Wei listed several renowned young ladies in the capital, feeling each was excellent, waiting only for her son’s nod to send someone to propose marriage.
“Whatever you deem suitable is fine.” Wei Xun’s expression remained indifferent.
“What do you mean by ‘whatever I deem suitable’? This is your marriage. After she enters the household, she will bear children and manage the rear courtyard for you. Naturally, you should marry someone you like.”
Wei Xun had no woman he liked, but when he heard “manage the rear courtyard,” the delicate and fragile face of A’Yuan appeared before his eyes, and his gaze flickered slightly.
“I have no restrictions on family status or appearance, only that her temperament should be gentle and magnanimous.”
“Gentle and magnanimous… alright, I will carefully select for you.”
Madam Wei did not think of A’Yuan. Her third son was always rational; how could he be influenced by a concubine in such an important matter as marriage?
However, the cold and rational Wei Xun she believed him to be had already drifted his thoughts to the ancestral hall.
Madam Wei was busy discussing with the maidservant which matchmaker in the capital was better, and she no longer cared whether her son had eaten breakfast.
Seeing this, Wei Xun stood up, instructing the maidservant to later give the food box to Chang Yuan, and he himself walked toward the ancestral hall.
The ancestral hall was behind the main room, guarded by two sturdy maidservants at the entrance. Seeing Wei Xun approach, they hurriedly bowed.
“Master.”
“Open the door.”
Wei Xun’s voice was authoritative. The maidservants dared not disobey and quickly opened the ancestral hall door.
In the dim ancestral hall, A’Yuan knelt on the ground, her back straight.
Before her was a low table with brushes, ink, paper, inkstone, and the Lotus Sutra placed on it. To her right were the completed scriptures, already forming a thick stack.
Wind blew in from all sides, and A’Yuan’s hand holding the brush was frozen red.
Hearing the noise at the door, she turned her head and saw Wei Xun entering with the light.
“Mas… Master?”
A’Yuan resembled a child who had made a mistake, her expression somewhat bewildered.
Wei Xun walked to her front, his gaze falling on her swollen, red hands.
“Didn’t I exempt you from today’s morning greeting?”
“The Master is compassionate toward A’Yuan, but A’Yuan cannot forget the rules.”
She lowered her head, revealing a section of snow-white neck, daring not to look up at Wei Xun.
In the Master’s heart, she must be an ungrateful person.
Now that she’s been punished, it’s her own fault for suffering.
The little concubine was delicate yet stubborn, Wei Xun tapped her forehead with his fingertip.
“No need to kneel anymore, get up.”
“But Madam Wei…”
“What? Won’t you listen to my words?”
“A’Yuan dare not.”
Wei Xun’s expression cooled, and A’Yuan hurriedly rose.
However, she had knelt for too long, her legs stiff and numb, nearly stumbling as she stood up.
The man’s hand supported her waist, the heat from his palm transmitted through her padded skirt, causing A’Yuan’s ears to quietly flush red.
“Thank you, sir.”
Wei Xun didn’t pay attention to her shyness, his palm supporting her body, he asked, “Can you still walk?”
“Yes… yes.”
A’Yuan wasn’t accustomed to being intimate with him in front of others, even though only they two were in the ancestral hall, with the Wei family ancestors’ tablets watching, she endured the soreness and numbness in her legs to distance herself from Wei Xun.
The man’s brows slightly furrowed, displeased as he withdrew his hand.
“Let’s go.”
The maids outside the door saw the two emerge one after another, exchanging glances with each other.
“This…”
One of the maids wanted to step forward to block them, but was hastily pulled back by the other.
“Do you not want your job anymore, daring to block the heir?”
“But Madam Wei ordered us to watch Xie Niangzi, only releasing her after she finishes copying the Lotus Sutra…”
Without Madam Wei’s word, they dared not release her.
“Alright, Xie Niangzi belongs to the heir’s courtyard, if he wants to take her away, can Madam Wei refuse? Let’s just pretend we didn’t see.”
After discussing, the two maids went to the front courtyard to apologize to Madam Wei, but at this moment Madam Wei was fully focused on selecting a wife for Wei Xun, waving her hand dismissively to let them leave. However, Zhao Wan, returning from the kitchen, heard about Wei Xun protecting A’Yuan and angrily smashed a teacup.
“Little slut, always seducing men!”
“Madam, calm your anger, she’s just a concubine, not worth your fury.”
Zhao Wan’s milkmaid, Nanny Chen, handed her a cup of hot tea and gently patted her chest.
“With her seductive appearance, sooner or later someone will deal with her for you.”
“I just can’t stand it, these little temptresses always seduce their masters. If I hadn’t suppressed them, the two in our courtyard would have wished for Second Master to die on the bed.”
Zhao Wan’s hatred for A’Yuan was merely because she couldn’t control her own man.
Her father Zhao Ping was a minor seventh-rank official, logically speaking, with her family background she couldn’t have married into the Marquis Manor.
But Wei Cong’s body was weak, families of equal status wouldn’t let their daughters live as widows, so Madam Wei, hoping to bring luck to her son, chose Zhao Wan from a low-status family known for fertility.
Hoping she could bring forth offspring for her son upon entering.
However, Wei Cong, this sickly man who gasped after walking two steps, was a lustful devil, growing tired of Zhao Wan shortly after marrying her.
He had no duties, and Madam Wei indulged him, so he spent all day fooling around with concubines in his room.
While managing the household, Zhao Wan also had to guard against the women in the backyard, forced into becoming a shrew.
Nanny Chen pitied her own mistress, knowing Wei Cong was like this, her mistress should never have married here.
“Madam, that skinny horse concubine is just a plaything, not worth fearing. What you should guard against is the future heir’s wife. Now that the heir hasn’t married, you manage the Marquis Manor, but once the heir’s wife enters, the household authority will be handed over.”
Zhao Wan and the second branch’s current dignity all stem from her managing the household. If she loses the household authority, the second branch and she would become marginalized in this Marquis Manor.
How could Zhao Wan, accustomed to power, bear this?
“Then what should we do, Nanny?”
Zhao Wan hurriedly grabbed the wet nurse’s hand. A glint of shrewdness flashed in Nanny Chen’s clouded eyes.
“So the future mistress of the estate must be someone you can control… The young mistress is seventeen this year, and it’s time to arrange a marriage for her.”