Chapter One
The eldest daughter got married last year and it's been half a year now, but unfortunately, there has been no news about her pregnancy during this time. The old lady is very anxious about this, but since her daughter is already someone else's wife, she can't just go to their house and interfere. She can only hope that heaven will bless them with a child soon, so the eldest daughter can establish herself in her husband's family. Knowing the old lady's thoughts, Xian Yi naturally catered to her wishes and continued to select some auspicious jewelry and gemstones for the eldest daughter, making the old lady overjoyed. She pulled Xian Yi aside and talked to her for a while until Cui Zhu came to report that the young master had arrived.
As soon as she heard that her son had returned, the madam didn't have the heart to look at those accessories and fabrics anymore. She hastily called for someone to let the young master in. Xian Yi also didn't say much, directly lowering his head and quietly slipping away to an inconspicuous corner.
The son greets his mother. The young master entered with a somewhat guilty conscience, knowing that even if his mother found out about his recent behavior, she would only scold him a couple of times. After all, their family wasn't one of those who treated illegitimate children as playthings. If he had really gone too far, his mother wouldn't forgive him first, not to mention that he had also heard rumors of an upcoming engagement. If he spread any more unpleasant rumors and ruined the engagement, it wasn't just a matter of whether he would be angry or not - his father would definitely make him suffer.
"What's with just you? Where's Mu Xun?" The madam looked behind him, furrowing her brow.
"The girl doesn't know that kid, he's always buried in books all day, saying he'll be back a bit later, guessing it'll be this afternoon." The young master sat down on the chair, picked up his tea cup, and waited until he saw no unusual expression on his mother's face before secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
"It's also, you always come home in the afternoon, how did you come back so early?" The madam was busy with her younger son not coming back and forgot about the time, until her older son reminded her, she asked puzzled.
At the mention of this, Young Master's hand holding the teacup paused, and he awkwardly turned his head away, not daring to make eye contact with his mother, only mumbling: "The gentleman wasn't feeling well today, so we came back early."
The lady looked at her son and felt a little worried, she couldn't help but sigh. Although the eldest son was already of marriageable age, he didn't seem like someone who could make it in officialdom. His mischievous behavior on ordinary days was one thing, but when it came to his studies, he had been punished by the master countless times and yet still hadn't improved. Even though the master had found him a good school, the young master still hadn't achieved any honors. The lady felt suffocated and pressed her chest, thinking about her younger son who was two years younger than his older brother but had already passed the imperial examination to become a scholar, and it was said that he might even pass the next level of examination to become a jinshi next month. No wonder the master favored the second son more and neglected the eldest.
"You, work harder from now on. The teachers in the academy are all good, and the principal is Mr. Wen. You don't know how much effort your father put into getting you into the academy." Although Madame knew her eldest son wouldn't listen, she couldn't help but say a few more words. The Ministry of Punishment's official residence was a government office in the capital, but compared to those with higher ranks, such as the Grand Secretariat, the Lieutenant Generals, and even the Marquis and Earl residences, it was far inferior. If the old master didn't have the support of his wife's family, the Minister of Revenue, he would probably have been forgotten in a corner long ago.
"Alright, alright!" The young master interrupted impatiently, then hesitated and glanced at the surrounding maidservants before winking at Madame and speaking in a flattering tone: "Mother, I have something to discuss with you privately."
The madam glared at her son, but also softened, raised her hand and waved it, the servant girls very honestly walked out one by one, Xianyi blended into the crowd with his head down and didn't say a word, until he quietly slipped away.
The maids came out from inside, but didn't wait outside, leaving only two senior maids by Madame's side and Xian Yi's mother, Chen Shi, blocking the entrance. The rest had gone into the side room to await orders. As soon as Xian Yi followed the maids and servants into the side room, she heard someone whispering: "The young master has returned so early, he must have borrowed money from someone again, otherwise when did he ever show such courtesy?"
Afterwards, the concubines started discussing in hushed tones, anyway the masters were not around, and there was no one to control them.
Xian Yi sat on the side, sipping tea and listening quietly without speaking. The eldest young master, Jin Mu Lin, was the second child of the madam after having a daughter. His arrival made the madam proud, so he had been spoiled by her since childhood. However, after the birth of the second young master, some of the madam's attention was diverted, but unfortunately, the eldest young master was too pampered and dull-witted. Even after entering school, he remained ignorant and foolish. Despite the old master's teachings, there was no improvement, and for several years in a row, he went to take the imperial examination but failed miserably, becoming a laughing stock. As the years passed, the old master and madam were at their wit's end. If the eldest young master had only been bad at studying, it would have been tolerable, as the second young master was talented in reading. However, the problem lay in that the eldest young master not only failed academically but also excelled in indulging in food, drink, and pleasure, befriending some spoiled sons of wealthy families and becoming arrogant and self-important, thinking he had a keen eye for antiques and art. With his so-called friends flattering him, he often got cheated and squandered the family's money. Even after being scolded by the old master, the eldest young master remained stubborn and continued to recklessly pursue his foolish path.
The young master has this problem every other day, and I suppose this time he's gone to ask the mistress to use her dowry to make up for it, so as not to be discovered by the old master and get a severe punishment. In fact, both the mistress and the old master have problems in educating their children. The mistress is overly indulgent, even covering up the child's mistakes, while the old master only wants to use strict methods to eliminate the child's mistakes, but doesn't take the time to talk to the child, analyze his mistakes one by one, and solve them. As a result, the young master, under this chaotic education, neither knows where he went wrong nor is willing to admit his mistakes. I suppose the young master still thinks that not being able to pass the imperial examination and not being able to buy genuine antiques are just due to bad luck.
The madam and the young master didn't talk for long, the young master left with a satisfied expression, but the madam lay down in the inner room, only calling two senior maids to serve her, and didn't summon anyone else. Xianyi guessed that the madam was probably so angry with the young master that she took out a lot of private money, and now she's probably feeling quite painful.
The lady of the house was in a bad mood, so Chen Shi naturally couldn't leave either. Since the young master had already left, Xian Yi didn't need to stay and wait on him anymore. So she took charge of delivering the notices to each room about adding clothes and accessories. In a household like Yuan Wai Lang's, which wasn't considered a high-ranking official residence, the masters would distribute new clothes four times a year. The old lady would get six sets at a time, the big madam would get four sets, while the young masters and misses from the main branch would get two sets each, and those from the side branches would only get one set. As for the concubines, according to custom they were supposed to get two sets, but some of them who came from poor families and had limited means hoped to exchange these clothes for silver instead. This required the young servant girls like Xian Yi to keep a clear record, so that later on it wouldn't be mistaken which room wanted money or goods.
The place where Xiānyī went first was definitely the old lady's courtyard. Since the old master had passed away, and the old lady was a person who liked lively scenes, this time should be when the old lady heard that Shūnǚ Xiānshēng was telling stories. Fortunately, Xiānyī didn't need to go forward to pay respects, only finding Dòu Miǎo, the big servant girl by the old lady's side, and explaining things clearly would suffice.
However, it wasn't easy for the old lady to reach this day. In the past, the old master's family had only a few acres of thin land, but after marrying the second daughter of the small cloth shop, everything went smoothly, whether it was farming or business. He managed to turn an ordinary farmer into a well-known landlord in Línqīng County. The old lady also gave birth to Dàlǎoyé without any issues.
But there's some truth to the saying that men get corrupted when they have money. Even though the old master loved the old lady dearly, he still had his secrets. After becoming a landlord, the family also had servants, and it's unclear whether the servants had ill intentions or if the old master was blinded by love for a young girl. In short, the old master's second son was born from one of the servant girls in the house.
It's likely that the old lady had already made a fuss and quarreled, but since she had married the old master, there was nothing to be done about her grievances. So in the end, the old lady put all her energy into her son. Fortunately, the eldest son was quite capable, not only did he excel in his studies, but also became an official in the capital. As for the second son born by the servant girl, it's already a wonder that he didn't die young, considering his poor health since childhood. He couldn't even manage the household accounts properly. After getting married and having children, he passed away soon after. This made the old master think that the servant girl was unlucky. So when the eldest son went to the capital, the old master decided to leave the family of the servant girl's child in their hometown of Linqing County until the old master passed away. The old lady never mentioned that branch of the family again and only let the eldest son send someone to divide the old master's property, which was already a sign of not wanting to have anything to do with them anymore.
In a world where the status of concubines is so low, Xian Yi would rather not be a concubine to anyone, even marrying a slave would make her a legitimate wife, which is better than being at the mercy of her husband's first wife in the future.
Recalling the concubine's quarters, Xian Yi couldn't help but sigh as she looked at the several courtyards in front of her. The old master now has four concubines. The eldest is the mother of the third son, the old master's former wife, Han Shi. Next is Zhou Yiniang, who was sent by the old lady to be a concubine and gave birth to the fourth son before being promoted in rank. Then there is Liu Yiniang, a woman from a humble background who was sent by one of the old master's subordinates and gave birth to the second daughter a few years ago. The last and youngest one is Cao Yiniang, the daughter of a grain merchant on the verge of bankruptcy, who is still in her prime and has not yet borne any children. In Xian Yi's opinion, in this era, being a concubine is not as good as not having children at all, so that the children born would not be bullied by the legitimate offspring or sent away later. The best outcome would be to give birth to a son out of wedlock, and even then, the main wife might still be tolerant, but one day they would have to leave with their share of the family property.
