As the Dragon Boat Festival approached, the Duchess unexpectedly came down with a cold.
It was not considered serious—only a persistent cough that lasted several days. In the mornings, she often felt phlegm in her throat, and at night she slept poorly. The Imperial Physician who examined her said it was a seasonal chill combined with accumulated fatigue from recent worries. She was instructed to rest for a few days, avoid exertion, and keep a light diet. The prescriptions were mild, and the household immediately became more careful in every detail.
Gui Qiong stayed inside to supervise the medicine, while Dan Zhi led the servants in checking window seams, curtain edges, incense burners, and hot tea, ensuring everything was handled with greater precision. The Duchess’s courtyard, usually lively, became quiet, and even those delivering messages lowered their voices.
In times like these, people’s intentions became especially clear.
Jiang Yunzhi was the first to act.
She had always been good at gentle, pleasing gestures. Upon hearing that the Duchess’s cough had worsened, she went to the kitchen before dawn the next day. She personally watched over the simmering of pear-and-fritillaria soup while Yin Zhu tended the fire. Though she had once been a merchant’s daughter and had never needed to cook herself, she had learned small dishes and desserts for the sake of pleasing elders. Now, although not fully skilled, she handled them competently enough.
She delivered the soup daily without fail.
The Duchess, suffering from throat irritation, found the soup soothing.
Soon, everyone in the manor knew that Concubine Jiang was attentive and thoughtful.
Under the covered corridor, young maids privately praised her.
“Concubine Jiang is truly meticulous. She goes to the kitchen before dawn and even personally selects the fritillaria.”
“No wonder the Duchess likes her. Who wouldn’t feel comforted receiving such soup while ill?”
That morning, Jiang Yunzhi arrived even earlier than usual.
By the time she came for morning greetings, she was already carrying the bowl of pear soup. The Duchess was coughing again, and when Dan Zhi received the bowl, the rising steam softened the atmosphere in the room.
“Why are you here so early today?” the Duchess asked, her voice still hoarse.
Standing below, Jiang Yunzhi’s cheeks were faintly red. “Concubine thought Mother would be most uncomfortable at this hour, so I brought it while it was still warm, so it may soothe your throat.”
She spoke gently, without any trace of self-praise. After drinking a few spoonfuls, the Duchess indeed felt relief in her throat and nodded slightly.
“You are thoughtful.”
Those words softened the mood in the room.
Just then, someone announced that the Princess Consort had arrived.
When Wen Yunyi entered, she immediately saw Jiang Yunzhi already seated below, the empty porcelain bowl of pear soup still beside her. The Duchess leaned against the couch, still weary but visibly more at ease than before.
Wen Yunyi understood everything in a single glance.
She stepped forward to pay her respects, her expression unchanged. After asking about the Duchess’s condition and listening to the physician’s instructions, she sat quietly. Jiang Yunzhi remained seated to the side, calm and composed as always.
When the Duchess coughed again, Jiang Yunzhi naturally took the warm tea from Dan Zhi and offered it.
The gesture was seamless, effortless.
Wen Yunyi felt a subtle awkwardness settle in the air.
Jiang Yunzhi had already completed the most visible and effective act of care.
If Wen Yunyi now also brought soup or porridge, it would appear late—and deliberate.
After the morning greetings ended, Wen Yunyi returned to the Main Courtyard.
As Qing Tao helped her remove her outer robe, she hesitated before finally speaking. “Concubine Jiang has once again arrived earlier than us. Everyone is praising her thoughtfulness… it makes it seem as though…”
She stopped herself from finishing.
Wen Yunyi took a sip of tea without responding.
Of course she understood. If she did nothing, others would inevitably see her as inattentive. The Duchess was ill, Jiang Yunzhi was delivering soup daily, while the Main Courtyard appeared to be doing nothing—people might not say it openly, but they would judge silently.
But she also knew she could not imitate Jiang Yunzhi.
Jiang Yunzhi’s favor with the Duchess was not built on a single bowl of soup. She was soft-spoken, pleasant, attentive in small ways, and knew how to satisfy emotional comfort during illness. The Duchess naturally felt soothed.
That was Jiang Yunzhi’s strength.
If Wen Yunyi now rushed to the kitchen and stood over a pot for an hour or two just to produce a similar bowl, it would only look forced. It would not win genuine praise—it would only drag her into someone else’s strengths, which was not worth it.
The next morning, Jiang Yunzhi indeed arrived early again.
After greetings and inquiries, Wen Yunyi stepped forward with several prepared lists and placed them neatly on the table.
“Mother,” she said evenly, “as you are unwell, the matters before the Dragon Boat Festival will be particularly tiring—festival gifts, mugwort, sachets, rice dumplings, summer fabrics for each courtyard, and external social obligations. If Mother trusts me, I can take over part of them so you may rest.”
The room fell quiet.
Jiang Yunzhi glanced at her briefly, then lowered her eyes again.
The Duchess did not respond immediately.
She liked Jiang Yunzhi’s attentiveness, yes. A bowl of soup brought warmth to the sickbed. But the matters of the Dragon Boat Festival were not something a bowl of soup could replace. These days, her cough made her most frustrated precisely because of these administrative burdens.
Now Wen Yunyi had offered to take them on.
She flipped through the lists slowly.
“What are your thoughts?” she finally asked.
Wen Yunyi answered steadily. “For external gift exchanges, I would not dare make decisions without Mother’s approval. But matters such as household festival items, kitchen preparations for the Dragon Boat Festival, mugwort hanging, and distribution of sachets may be handled first by Daughter-in-law.”
She did not take everything at once, nor did she only choose the easy tasks.
The Duchess’s gaze softened slightly.
“Then take responsibility for those,” she said. “Dan Zhi and Gui Qiong will give you last year’s records. If you handle them well, this year’s Dragon Boat Festival will count as you taking charge.”
This was no longer assistance.
It was authority being transferred.
Wen Yunyi stood and acknowledged the order calmly, without visible joy.
The Duchess, however, felt more at ease seeing her composure.
Later, Wen Yunyi went to the storeroom with Bai Lan to review past Dragon Boat Festival records. The ledgers were thick and detailed—records of gifts, colored threads, sachet patterns, rice dumpling ingredients, and even which servants were efficient and which embroidery girls had the best color sense.
Bai Lan quietly remarked, “Once this is in your hands, the Madam will rely on you even more.”
Wen Yunyi gave a soft “mm.”
That evening, Xu Jinzhi returned to the manor and went to the Duchess’s courtyard first.
The Duchess, still unwell, mentioned casually, “Your wife is becoming capable. With me ill, she has taken over much of the Dragon Boat Festival preparation.”
Xu Jinzhi paused slightly.
“The Jiang concubine is considerate,” the Duchess continued. “But when one is ill, what truly matters is someone willing to shoulder burdens. Wen Yunyi is beginning to show real capability.”
The words were spoken casually.
But they landed differently in Xu Jinzhi’s heart.
When he left the courtyard, the evening light stretched long under the covered corridors. Halfway along, he saw Wen Yunyi returning from the storeroom with Bai Lan, holding several old ledgers.
She wore a simple lotus-purple dress, her profile pale and calm in the fading light. Bai Lan spoke softly beside her while she occasionally nodded, fully focused on the records in her hands.
She did not see him.
Or perhaps she did, but chose not to stop.
Xu Jinzhi stood still for a moment at the end of the corridor.
Only when her figure disappeared did he finally look away.
Back in the Main Courtyard, Wen Yunyi spread out the Dragon Boat Festival ledgers and examined them carefully. Patterns of sachets, quantities of mugwort, rice dumpling flavors, household allocations—she reviewed everything in detail.
Qing Tao could not help but say, “Princess Consort, a festival is only a festival. There are so many details involved.”
Wen Yunyi marked something in the ledger without looking up. “The more ordinary something seems, the easier it is to make mistakes.”
Qing Tao thought about it and found it reasonable.
Bai Lan quietly ground ink and then said softly, “The pear soup Concubine Jiang sent today pleased the Duchess greatly.”
The tone was careful, as though worried it might upset her.
Wen Yunyi still did not look up. She only smiled faintly.
“That is her ability.”
After a pause, she added evenly, “She does what she should do. I do what I should do. There is no need to compete over anyone’s portion.”