Chapter 30: Family Ties

Madam Zheng sighed, “What does she want? Everyone in the household knows that Ying married you only for your beauty, and that’s all you bring. The old lady has a thorn in her heart over it. Men love beauty, but they don’t realize that all women are the same. Once a man marries you, the freshness wears off, and his interest wanes. It’s fortunate you gave birth to Heng Ge’er and have the imperial decree granting the marriage, so the old lady can’t go too far. However, she still wants to raise Zhuang Yulan to the status of a proper wife, to put her on equal footing with you. If that happens and Zhuang Yu Lan bears a son, the master may favor her more, and Heng Ge’er…you need to think about this. Nobody can stop the old lady from what she wants to do. I care for Heng’er and am thinking about what’s best for you and him. I don’t mind telling you, the two concubines in your courtyard have people under my control. They are just raised maids, they can’t cause much trouble. But I’m concerned about you. Ying is a sentimental man, and if the old lady tells him to marry Zhuang Yulan, he won’t refuse. Once she’s in Tsinghua Courtyard, staying in the East Garden where Ying spends all his time, they’ll be together day and night. How will you compete with her then? I think it’s better to let our Yu’er enter the courtyard first. Yu’er and Ying get along well, so if she’s with you, both of you can handle Zhuang Yu Lan together.”

Meinang was taken aback. Zhuang Yu Lan and Zheng Mei Yu, and wait sending Yu’er in first?

Feigning confusion, she looked at Madam Zheng and asked, “Mother wants Yu’er to enter the master’s room? But in what capacity? Yu’er is a well-bred lady, she can’t be a concubine, can she?”

Emphasizing the word “concubine” made Madam Zheng visibly uncomfortable. She cleared her throat and said, “That can only be blamed on her fate! Ying originally liked her… you talk to Ying first, then I’ll arrange it. If Yu’er enters as an official concubine, it’s different from a lower concubine. She can support you and help keep Zhuang Yu Lan in check.”

Meinang was silent for a moment before she asked, “Mother, how many concubines does Father have? Are they official concubines as well?”

Madam Zheng’s face contorted as if in pain. She snorted, “Why bring up those disgraceful women?”

She was bitterly resentful. Xu Jun Ying’s birth mother had made provisions before her death, freeing her maidservants Lin and Zhou, making them commoners with the right to be taken as official concubines. She had made her intentions clear official concubines are different from low-ranked ones, out of reach from a second wife’s control, and they could care for her son. Although their children didn’t hold the prestige of a second wife’s, they were better off than those born of lower concubines. The Hou family had unique rules whether born of a wife or concubine, as long as they were sons, all but the eldest were treated equally, with the most capable ones promoted. If not for Madam Zheng’s years of suppressing those concubine families, they would have long run wild!

Madam Zheng felt increasingly bitter. Shortly after her marriage, the old lord raised two official concubines, treating them equally to the wife. He stayed with them as much as with her. Not knowing their background at first, she thought her lack of favor was her own fault. When she realized the truth, she hated those women bitterly. Thankfully, she gave birth to a daughter, Xu Xiao Yuan, whom the old lord adored, and her kindness toward the eldest son, Xu Jun Ying, gradually won his favor. Yet he continued to care for the concubines’ children as well. For his fourth and sixth sons, Xu Jun Ying and Xu Jun Xuan, he personally hired scholars to teach them when they showed no interest in martial arts. Later, Zhou bore him a daughter, Xu Xiao Rong, whom he cherished as much as his own.

Madam Zheng closed her eyes, unwilling to recall those frustrating days. She turned to Meinang and said, “For now, let’s focus on your courtyard. You’ve just recovered, and it’s improper for me, as your mother in law, to push someone in so quickly. But if we wait, the old lady might just let Ying marry Zhuang Yu Lan. By then, it will be too late!”

What pressure! Meinang frowned slightly. What now? Marrying Zhuang Yu Lan requires a formal process, which takes at least a few months, unless it’s another imperial decree. If so, Xu Jun Ying might as well quit his life since every marriage would need the emperor’s intervention! With a bit of time, she could figure out a way to block Zhuang Yulan’s entry. As for Madam Zheng forcing Zheng Mei Yu on her, she wasn’t having it. Both Nurse Wang and Cui Si made it clear that this scheming woman was detestable. Let her enter Tsinghua Courtyard? Better off tossing her into the fish pond out front!

Of course, she couldn’t say that directly. Meinang blinked, pondering how best to deflect Madam Zheng’s suggestion.

Lying beside Xu Jun Ying last night, Meinang had finally figured it out ancient people cared most about their old age. Madam Zheng had just lost her biological son. Xu Jun Ying wasn’t her blood, and though he was filial now, who knew how he’d treat her in the future? To secure her care in old age, she’d taken to Heng Ge’er, raising him as her own insurance. Xu Jun Ying might honor her, but if he didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. Heng Ge’er, raised by her, would surely care for her after years of upbringing!

Madam Zheng was set on making Heng Ge’er her own, securing her retirement. Otherwise, why would she support Meinang in managing Hou’s household affairs? It was all for Heng Ge’er, like those ancient empress dowagers clinging to power by raising a young emperor. She’d found her purpose, filling her life with meaning.

Poor Heng Ge’er, escaping the loss of his mother only to fall into a grandmother’s schemes. As his mother, all she could do was stay close to him, showing him motherly love whenever possible.

Just as she was thinking about Heng Ge’er, a servant woman announced, “Young Master Heng is here!”

Meinang instinctively stood up, feeling Madam Zheng’s sharp gaze and quickly composed herself, bowing slightly and saying with a smile, “Mother, I’ll go greet him!”

Madam Zheng said calmly, “Now that Heng Ge’er is with me, I’ll teach him the proper rules. As his mother, you can observe, but don’t say anything contradictory that would confuse him.”

“I’ll listen to Mother!” Meinang replied, obediently staying in place.

The nanny entered, carrying Heng Ge’er. Spotting his mother, he eagerly reached out his tiny hands toward Meinang, who smiled warmly but made no move to take him, signaling the nanny to first greet Madam Zheng.

Pleased, Madam Zheng’s face softened. “Ah, you see your mother, don’t you? Go and talk with her, then!”

Finally, Meinang took Heng Ge’er in her arms. Heng Ge’er wrapped his chubby arms around her neck, his little face nuzzling hers, making noises as if to scold her for leaving him alone in this unfamiliar place overnight. Tears rolled down Meinang’s face, mingling with his, though she kept her face buried in his little body, quietly wiping her tears on his clothes.

Still, she hadn’t fully fulfilled her role as his mother. Heng Ge’er, forgive me, she thought. I’ll hold you and love you whenever I can. One day, I’ll be the one to hold you close and sing you to sleep.