The next day, Jiang Yanqing slept in until the sun was high in the sky. Upon waking, she cooked herself a bowl of millet porridge and fried an egg pancake. With her bowl in hand, she was sitting on a small stool in the courtyard eating when a hurried and delighted voice rang out at the entrance. “Qingqing… my precious granddaughter…”
With that, a group of people walked in. Leading the way was the old Dowager of the Pingyuan Marquis Manor, in her early fifties and in robust health. Though plainly dressed with no makeup on, her entire person still radiated an aura of grace and luxury. The generations of women on the old Dowager’s maternal side had all been court officials. As a pampered legitimate daughter in her youth whose husband was the former Marquis, she naturally carried a golden and haughty air.
In Jiang Yanqing’s memory, this grandmother of hers had always looked down upon her merchant-born mother, and by extension, held the utmost disgust for her as well. Yet every single time her maternal grandfather, grandmother, and uncles sent her gifts, the old Dowager would invariably take them, either keeping them for herself or giving them to Shen Ruoyou. Clearly her mother was the mistress of the Pingyuan Marquis Manor and she herself was the legitimate daughter, yet they lived worse than the servants.
Right now, the old Dowager was showing her such enthusiasm; she was bound to be plotting some vicious scheme. Therefore, Jiang Yanqing didn’t even budge, simply taking another bite of her pancake.
As if blind to her cold indifference, the old Dowager didn’t mind in the least, walking swiftly right up to her with tear-filled eyes. “Oh, my precious darling… is this my precious granddaughter? You’ve grown up so beautiful! Your grandmother has missed you every single day all these years. Originally, your third sister Ruoyou and I were practicing asceticism in a temple, but upon learning of your return, we rushed right back through the night. It’s wonderful! From now on, our manor is completely reunited, and I can close my eyes in death with no regrets.”
Jiang Yanqing didn’t reply, and the old Dowager continued, “Qingqing, you are the only legitimate daughter of our manor; how can you eat such coarse food? Hurry and put it down. I heard the kitchen caught fire, so I had someone buy you some breakfast from the Heyun Tower. Have a taste.”
As her voice trailed off, Mammy Lan beside her opened the food box and handed it right in front of Jiang Yanqing. “Fourth Young Miss, please partake.” Though Mammy Lan’s words sounded polite, she completely failed to mask the disdain in her eyes and tone.
Jiang Yanqing didn’t even raise her head. “I won’t eat it. I’m afraid you lot will poison me.”
“Insolent wretch!” Shen Changfeng rebuked in a roar. “Your grandmother loves you dearly, yet you treat her like an enemy! She comes to see you, and you don’t even stand up. You have zero upbringing—is this how your mother taught you when you were little?”
“Shut your trap!” Jiang Yanqing’s sharp gaze slashed toward him like a knife. “You ungrateful scumbag, what qualifications do you have to bring up my mother? Ever since my mother married into this family, for these past twenty-some years, every single one of you in this manor has lived off my mother’s dowry. You’re all base, despicable parasites, and you dare talk to me about upbringing? I’ll teach you right out of existence! Hmph! It’s simply that my mother raised you too well, making you forget your own weight. Scram, all of you, and stop ruining my meal.”
The old Dowager took a deep breath, forcing down the raging fury in her heart. “Qingqing, you’ve misunderstood. Our manor is a prominent, high-ranking household with plenty of assets; where would we ever need your mother’s dowry? Besides, back when your mother was alive, your grandfather’s business had already gone into a decline, and most of her dowry was taken by her to subsidize her maternal family. There isn’t much left now, but when you get married, it will all be given to you as your dowry.”
Jiang Yanqing narrowed her eyes, sneering, “You’ve played the role of a noble, high-minded mistress for a lifetime—have you completely lost your shame in your old age? I’ve only been away for thirteen years, not turned into an idiot, nor am I dead. How could I let you hoodwink me over everything? Don’t waste your breath on me; just hand over every single tael of the silver I asked for without a single coin missing.”
The old Dowager pressed on, “Qingqing, your mother and maternal grandfather really didn’t leave behind much property back then—just two courtyards, three shops, and a few sets of jewelry. If you want them now, they shall all be given to you. Besides, for a woman, the most important thing in life is to marry a fine and desirable husband. We brought you back precisely to have someone arrange a good match for you. This place isn’t casual like the countryside, Qingqing; you must dress up properly from now on.”
At that moment, Shen Ruoyou—who had been supporting the old Dowager the whole time—spoke up as well. “Fourth Sister, I am your Third Sister. You just came back, and Mother didn’t have time to have a tailor make clothes for you. So I brought you a few sets of mine; I hope you won’t disdain them.”
Jiang Yanqing slowly stood up and slapped her right across the face. “The true mistress of this manor died long ago; you don’t have a mother in this life! As the dignified Third Young Miss of the Marquis Manor, you open your mouth and call a concubine ‘mother’? Is that how Grandmother and the Marquis taught you?
Even a mere concubine-born daughter’s clothes aren’t fit for me to wear. At eighteen you still don’t understand the first thing about rules—what prominent family would ever dare marry you into their house? In my view, this manor simply won’t do without a mistress, and we don’t even have a legitimate son.
As the legitimate daughter of the manor, I absolutely cannot watch the family decline. Starting today, I am going to scout out women for the Marquis, so he can remarry a well-read and virtuous second wife to properly manage the household. Most importantly, we need this second wife to bear a legitimate son for the manor to inherit the title, or else won’t the Marquis Manor die out completely?”