Being a second wife is difficult

Most of the pomegranate blossoms in the garden have fallen, leaving a thin layer of crimson petals on the bluestone path.

Fang had been sitting on the stone bench next to the artificial hill for almost half an hour, the handkerchief in her hand being crumpled into a ball, then unfolded, then crumpled into a ball again.

She stared at the clump of low shrubs on the other side of the artificial hill, her gaze unfocused, as if she were thinking about something and yet thinking about nothing at all.

She's been feeling down these past few days.

First, there was a welcome banquet. In front of the whole family, the old lady said, "Your sister-in-law is in charge," and she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Then she went to Bao'en Temple to offer incense, but she said she was sick and didn't go. However, after she returned, she heard that the old lady had recognized Jiang Wandong's family as relatives in front of an outsider at the temple.

And then there's Aunt Zhou. She heard from the maids that Aunt Zhou has been frequently visiting Jiang Wan's courtyard lately, always carrying a food box or something else.

Even Lu Hui, that blockheaded kid, she actually heard yesterday that he brought a wooden rabbit to Jiang Wan to curry favor.

Fang crumpled the handkerchief into another ball.

She never thought anyone could threaten her. She had been married into the family for nine years. Although the old lady held great power, she was in charge of the banquets in the mansion, she handled the affairs of each household, and she managed all the big and small matters in the three years after the first wife left.

Why should a second wife and a newcomer who has been married for less than half a year have the right to be together?

She stood up and walked around the garden path, trying to clear her mind. When she reached the crabapple tree, she ran into someone – Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao had just come home from school, holding a book in his hand. He was walking with his head down when he heard footsteps, looked up, and stopped when he saw it was her.

"Zhao'er? You're out of school?" Madam Fang's face immediately lit up with a smile, and her voice softened. "Why are you walking alone? Didn't you have a maid with you?"

"Second Aunt, I'm used to walking like this." Lu Zhao stopped and cupped his hands in a proper manner, but he didn't take any steps forward.

Fang smiled again, took a step forward, as if she had encountered something important by the roadside: "Has your mother been very busy lately? I've noticed she's been sitting inside most of the time, hardly coming out for a walk. Managing the accounts must be tiring for her?"

Lu Zhao didn't follow her lead, but simply said, "Mother is busy with Mid-Autumn Festival preparations. The festival is approaching, and the household needs to prepare gifts. She's been looking at lists these past few days."

Fang said "Oh" and took another step forward.

Her gaze lingered on Lu Zhao's face for a moment, as if trying to find some flaw: "Zhao'er, have you seen your mother's things...? I'm talking about the things your biological mother left behind."

Lu Zhao raised his eyes: "Never seen it before."

Before Fang could speak again, Lu Zhao suddenly tucked the book under his arm and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards her: "Second Aunt, I have to go back now. The teacher assigned homework; we have to write a large character today."

His tone remained calm and his manners impeccable, but as he finished speaking, he turned to the side, as if waiting for her to make way.

Fang opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again. She turned to the side, and Lu Zhao nodded and walked past her.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, just like when he came, as if he were really just passing by, really just rushing back to do his homework.

Fang stood under the flower trellis watching his back, and after a long while she turned around and walked back.

Lu Zhao didn't go straight back to his own courtyard. Instead, he turned through the moon gate and headed towards Jiang Wan's courtyard.

Qinghe was drying handkerchiefs on the veranda when she saw him arrive. She lifted the curtain and announced his arrival. Lu Zhao entered the room, bowed first, and then said, "Mother, I ran into Second Aunt in the garden when I came back from school just now."

Jiang Wan put down her needlework: "What did she say to you?"

She asked my mother if she had been very busy lately, and if managing the accounts was tiring.

Lu Zhao's voice wasn't loud, as if he were repeating something that didn't really concern him, "She brought up my mother's things again. She asked me if I had seen them, and I said no. She wanted to ask again, but I said the teacher had assigned homework, and then I left."

Jiang Wan looked at him and asked, "What did you think when she talked about your mother's things?"

Lu Zhao thought for a moment: "I don't have any thoughts." He paused, then added, "I shouldn't have answered her questions, so I said I didn't know. If she kept asking, I made an excuse to leave."

Jiang Wan nodded: "You did the right thing. Do the same in the future. If she asks you anything else, answer the same way."

She paused for a moment, then added, "What your mother left you is ultimately yours; no one else can take it away. Whatever nonsense she's spouting, just let it slide like you did today. Don't argue with her. If there's anything you're unsure about, come back and tell me."

Lu Zhao stood there without immediately replying. He lowered his eyes and paused for a moment, as if thinking about something, then looked up at Jiang Wan and said, "I understand."

He didn't say much, but his voice was more steady than before. He chatted with Jiang Wan for a while longer, and after confirming that Jiang Wan had nothing else to tell him, he bowed and took his leave.

Jiang Wan sat by the window watching his back as he walked through the courtyard. When Qing He came in with a teacup, she said, "Madam, the Second Young Master is getting more and more opinionated."

"He knows what he should and shouldn't say." Jiang Wan took the teacup. "If it were before, he might have stood there and refused to leave after being questioned by Fang Shi. Now he knows how to make excuses to slip away. He's getting smarter and smarter."

Jiang Wan shook her head and smiled, and Qing He echoed her.

When Fang returned to the east wing, the smile on her face immediately vanished as soon as the curtain was drawn.

She sat down in front of the dressing table, without removing her hairpins, and rested her hands on the edge of the table, staring at herself in the bronze mirror for a while.

Lu Zhao was only eight years old. In the past, although he didn't talk much when he saw her, he would at least stand and listen to her speak, and he would show the proper manners.

Just like his father, he was dull, silent, and rule-abiding.

But today, he started making excuses to leave halfway through his journey. Even after she finished asking him about his mother, he looked away without hesitation.

The more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt. She reached for the wooden comb on the dressing table, picked it up, and then put it down again.

At this moment, Cui'er entered, carrying a teacup and lifting the curtain. She placed the tea on the table, stood by with her hands at her sides, and waited for a while. Seeing that Madam Fang did not intend to dismiss her, she tentatively spoke up: "Madam, about what you mentioned the other day... about Granny Ding, would you like me to keep in touch with her more often?"

Fang was annoyed when she heard this and suddenly looked up at her.

That glance held a hint of impatience, as if displeased that Cui'er had taken the initiative to probe her thoughts: "So you've learned to read my mind, haven't you?"

Cui'er immediately lowered her head: "This servant wouldn't dare. This servant is just afraid that Madam will worry, and wants to share Madam's worries."

"Share my burdens?" Madam Fang sneered. "Now you're thinking of me, are you afraid that if I fall, you'll all suffer along with me?"

She glanced at Cui'er's lowered head as she spoke, "What? You've only spent a few days with Granny Ding, and you've already received her favors? Now that Granny Ding has been wronged, you're thinking of me, your proper mistress?"

Cui'er's face paled for a moment, and her voice trembled: "This servant wouldn't dare, this servant has never had any disloyal intentions..."

"Alright." Madam Fang frowned, her tone irritated. "Get out of here. Don't stand around like this. I don't want to hear anyone else talk today."

"Let's also avoid contact with Granny Ding for now. She was just snubbed by the old lady, so it's not good for us to get too close to her right now."

Cui'er felt as if she had been granted a pardon, responded with a sound of agreement, and withdrew with the empty tray.

When I reached the corridor, I walked more quietly, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Fang's words just now felt like needles pricking her, each sentence implying that she "had ulterior motives," was "one of Ding's people," and was "looking for a way out for herself."

She didn't reply, but she knew in her heart that Fang was mostly right.

Inside the room, Madam Fang was still sitting in front of her dressing table. Her hair in the bronze mirror was a little messy, and she reached out to smooth it.

She looked at her face in the mirror and suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

She had been managing this mansion for nine years, thinking she was strategizing and keeping a low profile, but what did she do today?

She ran into the garden and stopped an eight-year-old child, asking him indirectly about his mother's things. After she finished asking, the child casually brushed her off.

She chuckled, a laugh tinged with sarcasm.

She said to her reflection in the bronze mirror, "You've been foolish enough to test even a child, and you got turned away and suffered a humiliating defeat. What will people think of you now?"

She shook her head, reached for the silver comb, and slowly combed the hair at her temples, her movements much slower than before, one stroke at a time, as if trying to calm herself down.

Fang put the comb back on the table, her voice low, only she could hear: "No rush, what use is it for her to hold back a child?"

"There are countless intricate connections within this mansion. She can only touch a few inches of it right now. I have plenty of ways to deal with her. Now is not the right time. Let's take it slow and not rush..."

The sound of the night watchman's clapper came from outside the window. Fang took off the last hairpin and put it on the table, then got up and went back to the inner room.

After returning to her room, Cui'er did not light a lamp. She groped her way to the bedside in the dark and sat down. Fang's nagging today felt like a thorn stuck in her heart.

But the thorn couldn't be pulled out.

My mind was a jumbled mess, with one terrible thought after another surfacing.

Madam Fang knew she was close to Granny Ding, but how much did Madam Fang actually know? Did she know they were from the same hometown? Did she know she had secretly given Granny Ding things? Did she know what she had said that night?

Cui'er's back was pressed against the cold wall, her fingers gripping the corner of the blanket tightly; she dared not think any further.

What if Madam Fang knew more than this? What if Madam Fang found out that she was only able to enter this courtyard because she had begged Granny Ding?

Given Fang's personality, she hated being lied to by those around her. Over the years, she had seen it all clearly: those who schemed behind people's backs and tried to please both sides—which of them had ended up well?

As Cui'er pondered, a thin layer of sweat appeared on her back, and the coolness of the wall against her made her shiver.

A few days ago, Granny Ding had told her not to do anything right now, to remain calm and wait for any eventuality.

Cui'er knew that what the old woman said was right. If she showed any sign of panic at this time, Fang Shi would only become more suspicious.

But she couldn't help thinking about it, about the scrutiny and assessment hidden in Fang's eyes when they fell on her today.

She knew she was already standing at the very edge of that ripple, and if she took another step forward, she would be swept in.

But she didn't want to be like those disloyal maids. She was still young and didn't want to ruin her future because of a single suspicion.

Since Fang was able to ask those questions today, he probably already has some doubts in his mind, and will only keep a closer eye on things from now on.

Ding Mama's words made sense, but what if Madam Fang didn't give her a chance to "stay put"? She couldn't just wait to be exposed; she had to find a way out for herself as soon as possible.

Cui'er slowly loosened her grip on the corner of the blanket and exhaled softly in the darkness.