Being a second wife is difficult

After the birthday banquet, the mansion remained quiet for about ten days.

Lu Huaijin left early the next morning. Before leaving, he stood in the main courtyard for a quarter of an hour, said "Take care of things at home" and then went out.

Jiang Wan saw him off at the second gate, watched his carriage turn out of the alley, and then turned back to her courtyard.

After that, life returned to its previous rhythm. Every day at Chenshi (7-9 AM), I would go to Songhe Hall to pay my respects, listen to the various households talk about trivial matters, and then return to my room to do needlework.

The weather got hotter day by day at the end of May.

Jiang Wan moved the embroidery frame to the window, and the wind blew in through the windowpane, carrying the sweet scent of pomegranate blossoms from the courtyard.

Early that morning, Qinghe went to fetch water and returned with a smile on her face: "Madam, Qiutang has reorganized all the trunks. She said that you mentioned last time that you wanted to find that piece of grayish-blue cotton cloth, and she found it and put it on the top shelf of the cabinet. She'll let you take a look when you have time."

Jiang Wan hummed in agreement: "She certainly takes it seriously."

"That's right. I received your reward last time, and I've been working harder than anyone else these past few days."

Qinghe placed the basin on the shelf. "Yunzhi told me yesterday that Qiutang folded every piece of clothing in the trunk as if it had been measured with a ruler, stacking them neatly in three layers."

Jiang Wan washed her hands and was about to speak when footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

Qinghe peeked out, then turned back and whispered, "Madam, the Second Madam is here."

Fang has already entered the courtyard.

Today she was wearing a light green gauze shirt and carrying a small cloth bag. She smiled as she entered the room and said, "Is my sister-in-law inside? I thought you went to the old lady's."

"Just got back." Jiang Wan stood up to greet her. "What brings you here today, sister-in-law?"

Fang sat down on the embroidered stool, placed the cloth bag in her hand on the table, and pushed it over.

"A few days ago, my family sent over a package of new tea, which they said was pre-rain Longjing. I thought it was quite good, and I thought my sister-in-law should try some too."

As she spoke, she first unwrapped the bundle, revealing a small celadon jar inside. "Sister-in-law, try this. If you like it, we'll have someone bring you some more next time."

Jiang Wan asked Qinghe to accept the tea leaves and thanked her.

Fang picked up her teacup, took a sip, and glanced around the room. "Sister-in-law, this room is so elegantly decorated. It's much more comfortable than mine."

"Sister-in-law, you're joking. It's just that there's less food, so it looks more refreshing."

Fang praised her a couple more times, then suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, sister-in-law, you've gotten the hang of things in the household in the few months since you married in, haven't you? My brother's wives all got the hang of things in just six months, you're much more capable than them."

"Sister-in-law, you flatter me. I was just doing what the old lady instructed," Jiang Wan said. "The old lady makes all the decisions in the household; how could I dare say I know everything about it?"

Madam Fang nodded, took another sip of tea, and casually remarked, "Speaking of which, it's been almost four years since my sister-in-law passed away. What happened to her dowry in the public treasury? Such a large sum of money can't just sit in the storeroom collecting dust, can it?"

Jiang Wan paused slightly in her hand holding the teacup.

Fang's tone sounded like she was chatting casually, but the matter of the dowry was not something Fang should ask, much less ask her.

The dowry of the first wife, Gu, was given by the Gu family, and according to the law, it should belong to the two children born to Gu.

Fang, a second wife, inquired about the dowry left by the first wife, which was an overreach of her authority.

"Why is your sister-in-law asking this?" Jiang Wan put down her teacup, her tone as usual. "I came into the family late and have never seen the late Madam's things. I'm afraid we should ask the old lady about this."

Madam Fang blinked: "Sister-in-law, you're the head of the household, why do you need to ask the old lady? These things should be handled by you. The old lady is getting old, we can't let her worry about everything, don't you think?"

Her words sounded friendly, as if she was thinking of Jiang Wan, but her words were actually pushing Jiang Wan to move forward.

What would people think if a second wife who had only been married for a few months tried to touch the first wife's dowry?

Jiang Wan picked up her teacup, took another sip, and slowly put it down. "The old lady is in good health, and she's the one who makes all the decisions in the household. As for the dowry, it's not something I, as the new daughter-in-law, should concern myself with. If you have any ideas, sister-in-law, you should go and talk to the old lady directly."

Fang's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned: "Sister-in-law, you're overthinking it. What could I possibly be thinking? I was just asking casually."

She stood up and straightened her clothes. "Sister Tea, please accept this. I have things to do at home, so I'll head back now."

Jiang Wan saw her to the door. When Fang stepped out of the threshold, she paused for a moment, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything and walked away quickly.

Qinghe collected the teacup that Fang Shi had used and asked in a low voice, "Madam, why did you suddenly ask about the late Madam's dowry?"

"She didn't suddenly decide to ask." Jiang Wan picked up her needle and thread again. "She's probably been thinking about this for a while now, but she just found the opportunity to bring it up today."

Qinghe thought for a moment, "Then, Madam, you..."

"I won't meddle in things that aren't my business."

Jiang Wan lowered her head and picked up a needle. "The original wife's dowry belonged to Lu Zhao and Lu Wan. If I interfere in this matter, it will be all my fault if something goes wrong in the future. It is right to ignore it."

Qinghe nodded and took the teacup outside.

Jiang Wan sat by the window and continued embroidering the handkerchief, the needle and thread making a soft rustling sound as they passed through the fabric.

Fang came to test her today, but she turned her back. However, she knew that Fang would not give up so easily.

Not long after, another person arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

This time it was Aunt Liu. She stood outside the courtyard gate without coming in directly, as if she hesitated. Qinghe saw this and called out, "Aunt Liu is here? Come in and sit down."

Aunt Liu then stepped across the threshold, holding a neatly folded honey-colored blouse in her hands.

She walked to the corridor and stopped, first bowing to Jiang Wanfu: "Madam, I made a summer dress for Shan'er, and since there was some fabric left over, and considering that the eldest young lady's size is similar to Shan'er's, I made an extra one."

"Madam, please check if it fits. If not, I will alter it."

Jiang Wan put down her needlework, took the needle and thread, and unfolded it to examine it.

The blouse is made of honey-colored fine cotton fabric, with a white trim around the collar and cuffs. The stitches are fine and neat, showing that it was made with care.

She nodded: "This embroidery is exquisite, with even stitches. Aunt Liu must have put in a lot of effort."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu blushed slightly: "I'm glad Madam doesn't mind... I was thinking that Miss has been wearing that pale yellow dress for quite some time now, it's time for her to change into something else."

"You're so thoughtful." Jiang Wan told Qinghe to put away the small shirt, and then asked Aunt Liu to sit down and have some tea.

After sitting down, Aunt Liu spoke little. She took a couple of sips of tea, rubbed her fingers together for a while, and then, as if mustering her courage, spoke up: "Madam, I have another matter I would like to ask you."

"you say."

"Shan'er is four years old this year. I was thinking that I should let her learn a few words. I don't know many words myself, and I'm afraid that if I teach her the wrong ones, it will delay her progress."

Aunt Liu's voice grew softer and softer, "Madam is an educated woman, and I would like to ask Madam how to teach properly."

Jiang Wan held her teacup and thought for a moment: "Four years old is not a rush. Let him learn a few simple characters first. One a day is enough. He won't be able to remember more than that."

"If you're worried about teaching her incorrectly, let her practice tracing the strokes first until she's familiar with them."

Aunt Liu nodded repeatedly, as if she had received some precious instruction.

Jiang Wan turned to Qing He and said, "I remember there's a set of calligraphy practice books in the storeroom. I found it when I was organizing the boxes last time. It's in the top cabinet. Go get it."

Qinghe responded and went away. A little while later, she returned with a roll of paper. Jiang Wan took it and unfolded it. It was a set of tracing books for the "Thousand Character Classic". The characters were large and the grids were wide. The strokes were clear and it was very suitable for children who were just learning to write.

"The characters in this calligraphy set are large, making it easy to trace. Take it back to Sister Shan, and she can trace one character a day; there's no rush."

Jiang Wan rolled up the invitation and handed it to Aunt Liu. "She's only four years old now, so she doesn't need to study formally. Knowing a few characters is enough. When she starts school in a few months, the teacher will naturally teach her."

Aunt Liu took it, gently stroking the paper with her fingers as if she were holding something extraordinary: "Madam... this is too precious, how can I possibly accept it..."

"It's just a set of posts; it'll just gather dust here."

Jiang Wan said, "It's a good thing that Shan Jie'er can use it. Don't rush her, teach her slowly, don't force her."

Aunt Liu nodded repeatedly, her eyes slightly reddening. After a long while, she managed to squeeze out a "Thank you, Madam," then carefully tucked the invitation into her bosom. She sat for a while longer before getting up to take her leave.

Not long after Aunt Liu left, Qiu Tang walked in quickly from outside, seemingly in a hurry.

Clutching a letter in her hand, she walked up to Jiang Wan: "Madam, the doorman just delivered this. He said it was sent by someone from the Jiang family."

Jiang Wan took the letter, glanced at the sealing wax, and saw that it was from her father, Jiang Huaiyuan. She opened the letter, unfolded it, and read it through. Her expression gradually became serious.

The letter was from my father, saying that a distant nephew of Grand Secretary Dong was traveling north from Nanjing and would be passing through Huzhou. He wanted to stay at the Earl's residence for a few days.

Grand Secretary Dong asked my father to pass on a message, so my father wrote this letter and asked Jiang Wan to make arrangements accordingly.

The letter also mentioned that Grand Secretary Dong's grand-nephew was named Dong Sinian, who was thirteen years old this year. He had been studying with Grand Secretary Dong since he was a child and was calm and composed. It told Jiang Wan not to go to too much trouble to entertain him, and that she should just give him a clean room to stay in.

Jiang Wan read the letter twice, folded it, and put it back in the envelope.

Grand Secretary Dong was her father Jiang Huaiyuan's mentor. Without Grand Secretary Dong's support, her father would still be a low-ranking official, and she would never have been able to marry into the Earl's family.

She couldn't refuse this favor.

"Qiutang, go to Songhe Hall and tell her that I will go there later to talk to the old lady about something."

Jiang Wan put the envelope into the vanity box. "And is the guest room on the west side empty?"

Qiu Tang replied, "It's empty. It was cleaned just last month."

"Change the bedding on the bed, set out the tea set, open the window to let in some fresh air, and then take an inkstone and a few new pens from my storeroom and put them on the desk."

Qiu Tang noted everything down and then turned and left.

Qinghe asked from the side, "Madam, how long will this relative be staying?"

"The letter didn't say, but I'll probably stay for a few days." Jiang Wan stood up and straightened her clothes. "I'll go to Songhe Hall first and tell the old lady."

When we arrived at Songhe Hall, my mother-in-law was copying scriptures by the window.

Jiang Wan waited at the door for a while before going in and handing over her father's letter.

The mother-in-law put down her pen, took the letter, and read it through. She raised her eyebrows slightly and asked, "Your father said in his letter that Grand Secretary Dong's grand-nephew is coming to stay?"

"Yes, they said they were passing through Huzhou on their way north and would like to stay at your residence for a few days," Jiang Wan said. "I think that since Grand Secretary Dong is my father's mentor, we cannot refuse. What arrangements would be appropriate for you, Madam?"

The mother-in-law put down the letter, thought for a moment, and said, "The guest room on the west side is still empty. Let him stay there. How long?"

"The letter didn't mention a specific date, but it probably won't be long."

"Then let's prepare for half a month," my mother-in-law said. "You can arrange it."

Jiang Wan responded.

Her mother-in-law glanced at her and added, "You can't refuse Grand Secretary Dong's request. Since it was handed over by your father, you should accept it properly."

It was getting late when we left Songhetang.

Jiang Wan walked along the covered walkway, with Qing He following behind carrying a lantern. As they approached the courtyard gate, they encountered Lu Zhao walking towards them from the direction of the school, followed by a servant carrying a book bag, keeping a distance of two steps.

Lu Zhao, who was holding a roll of paper, stopped when he saw her and called out, "Mother."

Jiang Wan stopped: "Why aren't you resting so late?"

"Mr. Chen assigned me a piece of homework, which I just finished." Lu Zhao unfolded the roll of paper in his hand to show her. It was a large piece of calligraphy, with sentences from "The Great Learning" written in it. The characters were neater than when he last saw her, and the strokes were steady.

Jiang Wan looked down and nodded: "You've improved since last time."

Lu Zhao rolled up the paper and handed it to the servant behind him. He then looked up at Jiang Wan and asked, "Mother, I just passed by the west guest courtyard and saw Qiu Tang tidying up the room. Are we having guests?"

Jiang Wan glanced at him; this kid was certainly well-informed: "Grand Secretary Dong's grand-nephew is coming to stay for a while. He's a few years older than you. When he arrives, you can spend more time with him."

Lu Zhao hummed in agreement, asked no further questions, and turned to walk towards his own courtyard. The servant picked up his satchel and followed him. The two disappeared around the corner of the covered walkway, one after the other.

Jiang Wan stood under the corridor watching his figure disappear around the corner. Qing He walked up carrying a lantern, its light shimmering on the bluestone path beneath her feet.

Back inside, Jiang Wan sat under the lamp and took out her father's letter again to read it once more.

Besides mentioning that Dong Yan was coming to stay, the letter also included a small line at the end: "When Si Nian went north this time, I asked him to bring you some things. You haven't returned home since you married into the Earl's family, so this is just a small token of our family's goodwill."

Jiang Wan's fingertip paused on that line of text for a moment.

My father didn't mention bringing anything, and it probably wasn't anything valuable, but the fact that he was able to get it through Dong Ge Lao's connections shows that he has some influence with Dong Ge Lao.

She looked at it for a moment, then folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, and placed it next to the dressing case.