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Upon hearing the Princess’s praises for Lu Man, a flicker of surprise passed through Young Madam Han’s eyes. She quickly smiled and said, “Grandmother has a keen eye, and I feel the same. The third sister-in-law is lively, resourceful, even our little Dewen likes her. Once she cures Grandfather’s illness, oh my, she’ll be our family’s hero.”
The Princess nodded and added, “Although Lu Man is He Huang’s granddaughter, she’s not as guilty as a married-in daughter. Besides, her birth mother, Madam He, has already been dismissed by the Lu family.” She coldly harrumphed, “That person is becoming more domineering and unreasonable. It’s unreasonable for our family to be dictated on what kind of daughter-in-law to marry, still needing to consider her feelings. Others may fear her, but I, the Princess, do not.”
Young Madam Han thought to herself that while the Princess might not fear, they certainly did. Being caught between the Princess and the Empress in the future would be difficult. The Princess likely intended to use this statement to subtly assert dominance over her sister-in-law…
Despite her thoughts, Young Madam Han’s face beamed with a smile as she chuckled, “You fear no one, and we, the younger generation, bask in your light, swaggering confidently wherever we go.”
The Princess was delighted and continued, “I enjoy seeing a harmonious family. In the future, you sisters-in-law should get along well. The child is sensible and won’t dwell on things she shouldn’t. When the old Marquis awakens, I will advise him too. During this crisis, it was the illegitimate son who helped him out. Although I don’t like the idea of having both legitimate and illegitimate children in a family, due to certain circumstances, since they are behaving properly, there’s no need for excessive suppression. After all, they are still our blood…”
Once the children had had their fill of fun, Young Madam Han led them away from the Crane Pavilion to Minghe Hall where the Eldest Madam resided. With the sun shining brightly in the afternoon, it would take over an hour to walk from the Crane Pavilion to Minghe Hall, so they traveled in sedan chairs.
The Masters had left the yamen and were now at the Crane Pavilion to have dinner with the Princess. The masters of the other branch, except for Marquis Jiang, would dine together with the Eldest Madam at Minghe Hall.
The Eldest Madam was enjoying yogurt fruit shaved ice provided by Orchid Pavilion in a room on the west side of the rear hall. This time, Lu Man had prepared more yogurt, each bowl generously topped with it. Fruit shaved ice was easy to make, and anyone could learn, but the addition of yogurt was unique to Orchid Pavilion.
The three children rushed over upon seeing it. The Madam Hong instructed the servants to take the children to the spacious hall to eat, where it was well-ventilated.
Young Madam Han gestured, and the servants discreetly left. She then whispered to Madam Hong, “Today, it seems like Grandmother plans to keep Lu Man in the mansion for an extended period.”
Madam Hong set down her porcelain bowl, wiped her mouth, and remarked, “I didn’t realize before, but that Lu Man is exceptionally clever. In no time, she managed to win over your grandmother.” Letting out a sigh, she continued, “She is the second branch’s daughter-in-law, which shouldn’t concern our main household. However, the Empress mentioned her disapproval… As we haven’t yet divided the family, regardless of whether Lu Man still be Zhanwei’s wife in the future, we cannot allow her to stay here. Even if she successfully cures the old Marquis, we can’t openly dismiss her. We’ll have to send her away to the countryside due to her supposed serious illness. I don’t wish to contradict the Princess, but Second Master’s wife, Mrs. Lin is like the breeze on the mountain, indifferent to everything except for appreciating the wind and the moon. Her son’s health is fragile, and we don’t know how long he’ll live. She can afford not to worry about the future, but I can’t turn a blind eye. We can’t let Lu Man ruin the future prospects of Zhanju and Zhanxun. The Princess will have to come up with a solution later. She won’t sacrifice the future of her descendants for the sake of a disgraced traitor’s offspring.”
Young Madam Han smiled but remained silent.
When Sixth Young Master, Jiang Zhanxun, returned from school, and the Young Master Jiang Zhanju, return from the yamen, they all had their meal in the side room.
After dinner, Jiang Zhanju and Young Madam Han returned to their courtyard and spoke privately about the conflicting views between the Princess and Madam Hong.
Jiang Zhanju pondered for a moment and said, “Grandmother is the head of the family, and we must follow her lead, not upset her or provoke her displeasure. As for Mother, I will advise her privately. It concerns the second household, and we shouldn’t interfere. Besides, Third Brother is not the same as before, his ambitions have grown. Although he vocally defends Lu Man, it might not be genuine.” Lowering his voice, he added, “Following Grandmother and Father’s wishes, it seems the Emperor is increasingly displeased with that person’s dominance. The Crown Prince also seems to hold reservations against the Wang family. I’ll need to persuade Mother. Despite her close relations with that person, who is a distant relative by marriage, we should limit contact with her and the Wang family in the future. At present, she can’t control our future… Remember, listen to Grandmother and Father regarding family matters.”
Young Madam Han nodded in agreement. Internally conflicted, she knew she had to heed the Princess’s advice, but disobeying her Mother-in-law’s instructions didn’t sit well with her…
Later that afternoon, Lu Man hurried back to Orchid Pavilion, where Tao had already returned from the west side gate.
Tao reported, “I delivered the money and handkerchief to Hong Ling’s mother, mentioning my close friendship with Hong Ling, and how she is now highly regarded by Third Young Madam, promising a bright future. However, this morning, while assisting Third Young Madam with her morning routine, Hong Ling sprained her ankle and couldn’t walk, so I had to stay back to see if there was anything urgent…”
In fact, earlier in the morning, when Lu Ying went to the Lu residence to retrieve the slave contract for Mama Wang’s family, she had already mentioned that Hong Ling had sprained her ankle. However, Mrs. Xiao Chen did not believe her and promptly sent Hong Ling’s mother.
Mrs. Xiao Chen was now at a loss regarding Lu Man. She had sent Ling’s mother to see Hong Ling to inquire about how Lu Man was faring in the Princess’s residence, whether she had gained the favor of the Princess and the Master…
When she had sold off the Wang family members, Mrs. Xiao Chen had no information about Lu Man, not even knowing if she was alive or dead. Mrs. Xiao Chen absolutely did not believe that someone who had brought great shame to the Princess’s residence could win the favor of the Princess and her husband. She had sold off the Wang family solely because of this belief.
What caught her off guard was that Lu Man seemed to be doing quite well at the Princess’s residence. First, Lu Ying had brought people from the Princess’s residence to move books, and today, they had come to demand the slave contract of the Wang family. Mrs. Xiao Chen regretted deeply. If she had known, she wouldn’t have been greedy for those twenty or so taels of silver. She should have listened to the old lady and found a way to eliminate the whole family.
Not only had she failed to eliminate them, but the old lady had also made her return the money from selling the people to that girl. It was a complete disaster. Seeing the old lady’s predatory gaze, she was overwhelmed with regret.
She had sent Ling’s mothers to see Hong Ling to inquire about how Lu Man was doing in the Princess’s residence.
Ling’s mother was somewhat disappointed not to see her daughter. Although she was pleased to receive the usual generous gift from her daughter, she hadn’t completed Second Madam Chen’s task.
Upon hearing that Tao was close to Hong Ling, she took out two silver coins from her pocket and handed them to Tao, saying, “Second Miss Lu has great fortune to participate in the old Marquis’s joyous event. Second Madam Chen heard today that she is in good health and can now pay her respects to the old Marquis every day, feeling elated.”