Chapter 43

Su Jia pulled Tao Sheng into the house: “It’s cold outside, let’s talk inside.”

In the past, Ji Yanming rarely joined in the conversations between Su Jia and Tao Sheng. He would usually go to the study to read or work. But now, it was unusual for him to come in with them.

Although Ji Yanming was also the son she had raised, Su Jia felt a bit uncomfortable and unhappy when she thought of him staying to chat.

She smiled gently at him: “Xiaobai, if you still have official work, please go to the study. Your sister will talk with me.”

Earlier, when Su Jia came in, Tao Sheng hadn’t returned yet, so she had to chat with Ji Yanming for a while. But now that Tao Sheng was back, Su Jia felt she had a better person to talk to. Suddenly, she didn’t think there was much to discuss between her and Ji Yanming.

Ji Yanming sat down steadily: “Mother has been traveling for a long time. Now that she’s back, it’s my duty to show filial piety by keeping her company.”

Su Jia secretly sighed.

She knew her son didn’t like to waste time chatting. Over the years, whenever they had guests or relatives, she would usually let him go to the study to read or write so he could have some quiet time.

At that time, he never mentioned filial duty or sharing responsibilities. Why now, when he’s an official, does he start talking about these things?

But it was still a kind gesture from her son, so Su Jia couldn’t refuse disrespectfully and didn’t ask him to leave.

Neither Su Jia nor Tao Sheng had ever met Mr. Murong, so they skipped that topic and quickly moved on to something else, like Tao Sheng’s work.

Su Jia smiled, holding her teacup. “I saw your letter about becoming an eighth-rank music official. It reminded me of a girl from our hometown who became a sixth-rank censor in the palace. Her family was very proud. But even though it sounds like a good job, it’s said that working for the palace is tough. I thought you’d be like that girl, unable to leave the palace. But after hearing Xiaobai talk about the Imperial Music Bureau, I understand it better now.”

Tao Sheng explained, “The Imperial Music Office was originally part of Honglu Temple but is now independent. It’s one of the government offices in the city. I can go home daily and return to work the next day. I don’t have to serve in the palace like a female official.”

Su Jia quickly responded: “So it’s like your cousin Xiaobai?”

“Exactly,” Tao Sheng confirmed.

“That’s great,” Su Jia smiled. “Now, our family has two court officials, something most families only dream of.”

“Yes, even we servants feel proud,” Zhou Mama, the wet nurse, chimed in as she brought clothes for Tao Sheng. “But once, someone from the Crown Prince’s household came to warn the young lady to know her limits. He mentioned the Imperial Music Bureau has a mixed staff of eunuchs and actors, mostly men, and that she should be careful or risk making it harder to marry.”

Tao Sheng thought that this was probably something Zhou Mama heard when Guan Muyun came by. Although it wasn’t the exact wording, the message was clear.

Zhou Mama had always been good at understanding things and had summarized Master Guan’s words perfectly.

Su Jia despised the stuffy and outdated ideas of the Duke of Ling’s son, Prince Guan.

When Ji Yanming’s father got into trouble, almost all of Su Jia’s friends advised her to remarry. They said it would be best to marry while she was still young and have more children, as if a woman couldn’t survive without a husband.

But she was determined not to remarry and raised Ji Yanming by herself. Later, Tao Sheng was born, and their family thrived, living better than many others.

Prince Guan’s old-fashioned ideas were even worse than the gossiping maids in the household.

“But not all men are like this,” Su Jia smiled, changing the topic. “Your grandmother mentioned Mr. Murong has a good upbringing. He’s definitely not that type of person.”

“What if he is?” Ji Yanming, who had been sitting quietly, finally spoke up.

“If he is, then we definitely won’t keep him around,” Su Jia said firmly.

Tao Sheng smiled and nodded.

Finally, Ji Yanming seemed to relax.

_

At Lingguogong Mansion.

After waking up, Ruojin stared at the bronze mirror on the dressing table for a long time until Biqin asked her what she wanted for breakfast.

“I didn’t sleep well last night, so I don’t have much energy today. Just make some porridge with the bird’s nest the prince sent yesterday and add some pickles made by the new Suzhou chef ^[1]refers to a cook specializing in cuisine from Suzhou, a city known for refined dishes..”

Biqin smiled, “I already thought of that, so I had them start stewing it early this morning.”

Ling’er, a maid sent by the Duke’s wife after Ruojin got married, looked envious. “The prince is really good to the young lady. I heard that the bird’s nests delivered yesterday were given only to the Madam and the young lady.”

Faced with Ling’er’s flattery, Ruojin said nothing.

The bird’s nest sent by Guan Muyun was only average. Luo Xin used to buy much better bird’s nests with her own money, as the ones sent by the Lady of the Marquis’ Mansion were far superior to the one Guan Muyun sent.

The Duke Ling’s mansion was wealthy, but it housed four families together, and the master alone had 20 to 30 people, all of whom were served by slaves and maids. Everyone had to manage their own clothing and daily expenses.

Shen Ruojin looked at her reflection in the mirror and noticed that, although she had been married for less than two months, her face already showed signs of aging, and even heavy makeup could not conceal her weariness.

Currently, four generations and several families lived together in the Duke of Lingguo’s mansion. As the wife of the Crown Prince, almost everyone paid close attention to her.

The Crown Prince, Guan Muyun, undoubtedly liked her. While the head of the mansion, Duke Ling, had never shown any particular favoritism, he treated her just like the other wives of Guan Muyun’s brothers, indicating that he had accepted her as his daughter-in-law.

However, her mother-in-law, Madam Guan, was not an easy person to deal with. She had been displeased with her since the engagement with Guan Muyun.

The Madam Guan had been competing with them since childhood, constantly comparing everything.

The fact that Shen Ruojin’s dowry was less generous than her sister-in-law’s was a thorn in Madam Guan’s side, and it almost felt like a personal insult.

Guan Muyun had been carefully raised by Duke Lingguo and Madam Guan. In terms of status, appearance, and talent, he far surpassed his half-brothers. Madam Guan and her son had always held a superior position over the other families. The only thing that embarrassed Madam Guan was Guan Muyun’s marriage. Although the concubines didn’t say anything outright, they gossiped about it in private.

Thus, even two months after Shen Ruojin’s marriage, Madam Guan still did not treat her well.

Madam Guan was getting older and lacked energy. When her eldest daughter-in-law, Fang, entered the household, Duke Ling and Madam Guan agreed to let Miss Guan, the third daughter of Madam Guan, handle some of the household duties.

Initially, Madam Guan didn’t want to give her eldest daughter-in-law any power. However, since Duke Ling included his own daughter, Madam Guan saw this as an opportunity to train her daughter in household management. Coupled with her poor health at the time, she finally compromised, handing over minor responsibilities to both her daughter and her eldest daughter-in-law.

Miss Guan San was Shen Ruojin’s legitimate sister-in-law, so Shen Ruojin didn’t feel the need to compete with her.

But Fang was the eldest son’s illegitimate daughter-in-law, so why should she be involved in managing the household?

Madam Guan naturally hoped that Shen Ruojin would take over from her eldest daughter-in-law. However, because of the previous dowry issue, Madam Guan held some resentment and didn’t want to give Shen Ruojin control of the household too soon. She wanted to temper her first.

Although Madam Guan appeared to be helping Ruojin, her efforts were mostly for show, aimed at her son. In reality, Shen Ruojin had to figure things out on her own.

Shen Ruojin knew this was a test from Madam Guan. She wanted to pass the test quickly and win her mother-in-law’s approval, so she worked especially hard.

Shen Ruojin was now focusing most of her energy on dealing with her eldest sister-in-law, but Fang was no easy opponent. Coming from a merchant family, Fang had learned many calculating methods since childhood. Though some of her tactics were questionable in Shen Ruojin’s eyes, the two of them were evenly matched in their struggles.