Chapter One

  According to the customs of the Pei country, if the birth mother is a concubine, then mourning cannot exceed three months. After all, concubines are inferior people, and children born out of wedlock are not much better than servants before being recognized by their legitimate mothers. It's like Jin Fenghua being able to leave the mansion to send her mother back to her hometown; if it weren't for the old lady's kindness, this would be impossible in other mansions. Of course, this also involves Han Concubine's identity as the former wife of the old master. No matter what, having been a wife and being a virtuous concubine makes her status slightly higher than that of ordinary concubines.

  Xian Yi had packed everything up and put it on the couch, now she was assigned to Third Master, since there wasn't a capable maid by his side. So all along the way, she was in charge of packing and unpacking luggage. On the other hand, Pan Tao was guarding Madame Han's coffin, doing some odd jobs.

  She took a deep breath and sat down in the chair beside her, her ethereal clothes fluttering slightly. She had never thought that Jin Fenghua was serious about it. She had thought that Jin Fenghua was just being impulsive, or that he was just pretending to be interested in order to put on a show. But she had never really considered the possibility that she would actually marry him. After all, they were from different worlds, and Jin Fenghua's personality was strange and not like that of a normal person. He seemed like one of those tragic villains from past lives, destined to walk down a path of no return in order to facilitate the great love between the male and female leads, and even possibly be eliminated by the male lead. This was not the kind of husband she had wanted, but he was someone she couldn't avoid choosing. By now, she had deeply realized that there were many things in life that couldn't be changed just because she didn't want to do them. She had never been the center of the world.

  Since there is no other choice, and for Xianyi, marrying a small servant and marrying Jin Fenghua are actually not much different except in external conditions. Even if Jin Fenghua doesn't go crazy, she would still be more familiar with him. As long as Jin Fenghua doesn't take advantage of her, as long as she stays by his side honestly, and as long as he doesn't go crazy and get beheaded for rebelling, according to Xianyi's understanding of Jin Fenghua, she will remember Han Niang's last words for the rest of her life. So why should she still be timid? Following Jin Fenghua, she can enjoy wealth and glory with a commoner's identity, which is a million times better than marrying a small servant. Moreover, her mother can also live a comfortable life with her, what else does she have to be pretentious about?

  Don't mention anything about self-respect or freedom to her, she didn't come here to pursue some deep romance either. In ancient times, women were like this, even if they didn't want to, they couldn't choose their own marriage, let alone have a free marriage or run away from home for love. She believes that as long as she has the intention of not wanting to marry Jin Fenghua, Jin Fenghua will immediately give in. So whether it's said that she's incompetent or not like a transmigrated female lead, fate is like this, and she'll have to endure it. However, later on, she should think about how to expand her own interests.

  The internal struggle didn't last for a moment, and Xian Yi stood up again, rummaging through the things in Jin Fenghua's wardrobe. Anyway, he had very few belongings, so even if she packed everything away, no one would notice. However, what surprised Xian Yi was that people like Jin Fenghua, who were usually psychologically twisted, generally didn't like others invading their territory. But Jin Fenghua not only let her into his bedroom but also helped her rummage through the boxes and tidy up, really making it impossible to understand what he was thinking.

  The fairy dress hurriedly packed her luggage, who knew that another trouble had occurred in the Jin Mansion. Cao's wife knelt on the road where the old master would return, crying with tears streaming down her face, and said that the big madam had intentionally harmed her, and also showed the old master the red flower medicine she had taken. As a result, the old master became angry again and went to the main house, causing chaos and commotion, making all the masters of the Jin Mansion feel annoyed, except for Xianyi who was about to leave the mansion and Jinfenghua, who were standing outside watching this farce like spectators.

  The lady was already in a bad mood because of the untimely death of her mother-in-law, and now another concubine dared to frame her. She thought of her husband's protective attitude and her anger surged, causing her to fall onto the soft couch, punching the thin quilt and cursing: "You cheap slut, you're just a concubine, but you really think you're the mistress? Just wait and see, once she gives birth to a child, whether it's a boy or a girl, I'll have her sent away."

  "Madam, let me say something. After all, that is the old master's bloodline. Madam must not speak such angry words." Zeng Yini waved her hand to let the maids in the room go out and accompanied the madam alone to comfort her.

  "What's the bloodline? When did our country ever recognize a child born out of wedlock? Only those small, declining countries nearby would emphasize such things and even create troubles like favoring concubines over wives. A child born out of wedlock is considered inferior, that's the ancestors' rule, an iron law that even the emperor can't defy. How could he want to ruin the imperial family's rules?" The old madam threw away her soft pillow and spoke with reckless abandon, clutching at her chest.

  The old lady hastily went to the window and looked again, then returned to Madame Wang's side with a lingering fear, saying anxiously: "Madame, this is something that cannot be said."

  The lady knew she had misspoken and fell silent, but the grievances in her heart couldn't be stopped. Even if the laws of Pei Guo were strict and protected these legitimate wives, people's hearts can't be controlled by laws. Being a legitimate wife may guarantee respect and control over concubines, but what's the use if the husband's heart isn't with them? Moreover, for every law that has its loopholes, the common people will find their ways to circumvent it. If they want to get rid of the legitimate son, they can do so and make the lady unable to bear a legitimate heir. In a decent family, divorcing the wife and remarrying would be the best solution. But if they insist on passing off the concubine's illegitimate child as the legitimate heir, that would be a slap in the face. They wouldn't even be able to show their faces outside, and their future days would be even more unbearable.

  "Good madam, don't think too much about it, it's just a trivial matter. You're going to be a mother-in-law soon, why bother with them?" Zeng Yini helped the mistress sit up and handed her a cup of tea to attend to her.

  "I really can't swallow this breath." The madam twisted her handkerchief, and her eyes were already red.

  If it were Chen's nanny, she would have used other methods to privately punish Cao's wife, such as using the excuse of nourishing the fetus to restrict her freedom or setting up rules to separate Cao's wife from the master. No matter what, she could only endure for a while and wait until Cao's wife gave birth to the child. However, Zeng's nanny was a ruthless person who didn't have Chen's foresight. Seeing Madame's reaction, she secretly rejoiced in her heart but showed a hint of resentment on her face: "Since she is slandering you like this, it would be better if..."

  The madam wiped her eyes and stared blankly for a moment before saying: "What do you mean?"

  "Since she doesn't know what's good for her and is causing so much trouble, then let her know the consequences of causing trouble." Zeng Nian's voice was very soft, but it made people feel a chill run down their spine.

  "This probably isn't proper." Madame thought of what Chen's wife had said earlier, that some things can't be done openly, fearing it would hurt her relationship with the master.

  "There's nothing wrong with that, anyway she suspects the lady, it's better to make it real." Zeng Yini said with a sly tone, as if tempting.

  "What if Master finds out."

  "This matter cannot be handled directly by the mistress, isn't there still Aunt Liu in this courtyard?" Zeng Yima saw that the big mistress had moved her heart and hurriedly added fuel to the fire.

  "What if she doesn't want to?" Chen's nanny had also taught her the way of balance, but in her heart, she had never used this harm on people. The big madam always felt guilty and unconsciously thought of heavenly retribution.

  "Oh dear, my good lady, Second Miss is in our hands, whatever you tell her to do, she'll have to do it. Besides, Madam Liu doesn't necessarily think highly of Madam Cao either, so why not join forces? Even if things are exposed later, you can just shift the blame and we won't be affected."

  The madam looked at Zeng Nainai's confident face and couldn't help but waver in her heart, the evil fire in her chest slowly burning away her last bit of concern.

  Zeng Nianiang had attended to the mistress for a whole day, and at night, the mistress went to bed early. As it wasn't her turn to keep watch, she left early for home. Now her residence had also changed location, and she lived alone in a small courtyard. At this time, just as the sky was darkening, Zeng Nianiang strolled past the flower garden, but didn't expect to be pulled behind a rock. Zeng Nianiang was so frightened that she almost shouted out loud, but was forcefully covered by someone beside her.

  "Mother, mother it's me." The person's voice was trembling, but it still sounded like a girl.

  The old lady obviously knew the person, she pushed the girl away with one hand, originally wanting to slap her, but then avoided her face and pinched her several times until the girl's eyes were filled with tears.

  "You're going to scare me to death!"

  The girl replied while evading: "I don't dare, mistress, don't blame me, it's all my fault."

  She pinched his hand, and he also lost his temper. Zeng Nainai looked outside and said in a low voice: "How did you come? Were you seen by someone when you came?"

  "That girl hastily waved her hand and said: 'I took advantage of the aunt's sleep, and when Huamei sister went to decoct medicine, no one saw me come out.'"

  The old lady narrowed her eyes and looked at her for a while, making sure she wasn't lying before saying: "Be more careful in the future, or else if someone sees you, I won't be able to protect you."

  "Yes, yes, yes, I know...". The girl stood in the dark, biting her lip, and finally mustered up the courage to say: "The things the mistress ordered me to do, I've already done them, see..."

  The old lady sneered in her heart, thinking that this little girl wanted to fly high and was about to go crazy. However, she didn't show it on her face, instead revealing a benevolent appearance. She pulled the young girl's delicate white hand and comforted her: "Don't worry, as long as you complete the task for the mistress, you will eventually become the madam, just be patient..."

  She received the message, but her heart was uncertain. She wanted to ask more questions, but Zeng Yiniang remained tight-lipped, only saying that she would be notified once there were any updates. The girl had no choice but to hold back, and handed over the silver bangle to Zeng Yiniang. Seeing that Zeng Yiniang accepted the bangle, she finally felt relieved and walked out towards the mountain rocks. At this moment, a patch of moonlight peeked out, illuminating the pink lotus flowers on her dress clearly.