Being a second wife is difficult

Over there at the ancestral hall, the sunlight had already passed over the high walls, casting a warm yellow glow.

Lu Huaiyu had been kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights.

His knees had long since lost all feeling, and he knelt on the prayer mat with his back hunched over. The ancestral hall was dimly lit, with an oil lamp burning on the offering table, its flickering light reflecting off his lowered face.

On the offering table were the ancestral tablets of the Earl's family, and incense burned continuously, the smoke swirling in the dim space, making his eyes dry and sore.

At this moment, his mind was blank, and he stared blankly at the ground, unable to say what he was thinking.

Footsteps approached from outside the door and stopped at the door.

Fang's voice came through the door: "Open the door."

The old servant guarding the ancestral hall hurriedly pushed open the door latch, and Fang's figure appeared at the door.

She changed into a simple dress, wore only a silver hairpin in her hair, and had very light makeup on her face, but her eyes were clearly red.

At first glance, it looks like she's been crying. But if you look closely, the red makeup is applied quite evenly, spreading from the corner of her eye all the way to her temple, which makes her eye sockets look swollen.

"You can all wait outside," Fang Shi waved to the maids behind her and stepped into the ancestral hall.

The door closed behind her again.

The ancestral hall was dimly lit, and the candlelight on the incense table flickered, making Lu Huaiyu's figure appear to be glowing intermittently.

Fang walked up to him and looked down at him.

"Get up," Fang said, her voice carrying a deliberately suppressed gentleness. "Three days of kneeling is enough."

Lu Huaiyu tried to stand up, supporting himself on the prayer mat, but his knee hurt so much that he hissed as soon as he moved. Fang took a step forward and reached out to support his arm.

Lu Huaiyu took her hand, and the moment his fingertips touched her palm, Fang's wrist went limp, as if she hadn't exerted any force, and her whole arm slumped down.

Lu Huaiyu grasped at empty air, his body swayed, and he barely managed to steady himself by holding onto the offering table next to him.

Both of them were stunned for a moment.

Fang withdrew her hand and turned her face away. Lu Huaiyu looked down at her empty palm, said nothing, and slowly straightened up while holding onto the edge of the table.

My knees were throbbing and aching, my legs felt like they were filled with lead, and every step felt like a strain.

"You've actually been kneeling for three days straight. Don't you want your knees anymore?" Fang's voice carried a suppressed concern, sounding like she was heartbroken.

"I was just angry and said a few harsh words, but you actually took it seriously. You've been kneeling for so long and you didn't even bother to send someone to deliver a message."

Lu Huaiyu didn't respond to Fang's comment, only saying, "My knees hurt."

Fang was speechless for a moment. She had prepared a lot to say, from Cui'er to rules, from rules to face, and from his kneeling in the ancestral hall to how to explain to the old lady. But when she heard the name Lu Huaiyu, all those words got stuck in her throat.

She looked at the fine sweat beading on his forehead, at his trembling fingers gripping the edge of the table, and the fire in her chest swelled twice, finally turning into a short "humph".

"Go back and rest well." Fang turned around, her voice lower than before. "I'll talk to the old lady and say that I 'felt sorry for you' and personally released you."

After she finished speaking, she walked out quickly. Lu Huaiyu opened her mouth behind her and called out, "Thank you for your hard work."

Fang's hand was already on the door latch when those four words came over, and she paused, freezing in place.

After a moment she didn't answer, she unlatched the door, stepped out, and the door slammed shut behind her with a thud.

Lu Huaiyu stood there, listening to Fang's footsteps disappear down the corridor before slowly exhaling.

He moved two steps while holding onto the wall, his knees bending very slightly, and he had to stop and catch his breath after each step.

The door to the ancestral hall was pushed open again. His servant, Shunxi, squeezed through the crack in the door, and upon seeing his appearance, his face immediately changed: "My goodness, your legs are all swollen!"

Shunxi rushed over in three quick steps and grabbed Lu Huaiyu's arm.

Lu Huaiyu didn't stand on ceremony, pressing most of his weight onto him, hissing as he breathed, "Slow down, slow down, I can't get any strength in my left knee."

"You're not just weak, your knees are all bruised!" Shunxi glanced down, his voice trembling. "Sir, you just kneel down like that without even telling me. Three days and three nights! I haven't even had a proper meal. Do you think you're made of iron?"

"Shut up." Lu Huaiyu was being helped towards the door. "Hold on tight."

Shunxi quickly shut up, tightened her grip on his arm, and helped him out of the ancestral hall.

The light outside was much brighter than inside the ancestral hall. Lu Huaiyu squinted and turned his head away slightly.

As they walked, Shunxi kept nagging, "We should see a doctor when we get back. If we don't take good care of this knee, it could become a serious problem later. You're still young; if you become the top scholar in the imperial examinations, you'll still be riding horses and being carried in sedan chairs..."

Lu Huaiyu ignored him, her gaze passing over the eaves of the courtyard wall, and subconsciously looked in the direction of the Fang family's courtyard. However, that simple figure had already disappeared around the corner of the corridor and could no longer be seen.

Shunxi helped him turn around the corridor, still nagging, "Master, you said Madam came to pick you up, right? But why did she leave first after picking you up? She didn't even say a word to me..."

"She confessed," Lu Huaiyu interrupted him.

"Oh," Shunxi replied, and seeing that Lu Huaiyu didn't intend to continue, she didn't ask any more questions.

Lu Huaiyu didn't respond.

His knees were in excruciating pain, and every step felt like walking on needles, but his mind kept replaying the hand that Fang had reached out to him.

Her palms were cold, her fingers loosely clenched, she didn't use any force when supporting him, nor did she grip him firmly.

As they walked down the corridor, Lu Huaiyu, supporting Shunxi's shoulders, stepped over a threshold. Behind them, from the direction of the ancestral hall, came the sound of an old servant locking the door, a click that echoed far and wide in the empty courtyard.

When Fang returned to her room, she stood still after the curtain was drawn. Zhu Ling noticed that her expression was not right, but did not dare to ask. She simply placed a cup of hot tea on the table and stepped aside.

Fang sat at the table for a while, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then put it down.

She was unhappy.

Before going to the ancestral hall, she had planned everything out clearly. She needed to say a few kind words to bring the person back, to appear virtuous and magnanimous, and to smooth things over in front of outsiders.

She did everything she could, but Lu Huaiyu's words, "Thank you for your hard work," were like a needle stuck in her heart, impossible to pull out.

She had expected him to remain silent as usual, or to lower his head after being scolded by her. She had anticipated his reaction, so she had prepared everything.

But he didn't lower his head or keep quiet; he said something she hadn't expected at all.

It didn't sound like sarcasm, nor like admitting defeat; rather, it sounded like he was being sincere, as if he had truly taken to heart what the old lady had told him that day, "You should side with your wife."

But this sincere demeanor disgusted her even more than her previous cowardly behavior, and she didn't know how to respond.

Fang put the teacup back on the table, rubbed her temples, feeling a lump in her throat. After a long while, she whispered, "He's learned to talk now. Why didn't you ever hear him say that before?"

Zhu Ling stood to the side, not daring to say anything. She lowered her head and pretended to tidy up the things on the table, even her breathing became lighter, for fear of being noticed at this moment.

Fang suddenly remembered the time when she married into the Earl's family.

At that time, her father had just been promoted because of a major case in the imperial court. The case involved a wide range of people, and most of his superiors were investigated and punished for corruption and favoritism. He, on the other hand, got away scot-free because he was clean and innocent and had not been involved.

His official rank also jumped from the fifth rank to the third rank. Although he didn't have much real power, it looked good on the surface.

But she had disliked her father since she was a child. He had been an official for twenty years, but he refused to curry favor or bow down. He preferred to live a frugal life with his family rather than use those connections.

Even though he got a promotion because of that case, the family's life is still tight, just like before.

Her stepmother died early, and her father did not remarry. She managed all the affairs of the household herself, from food and clothing to the servants' monthly wages and social obligations.

She thought then that after she got married, she would never live a life where she had to calculate her monthly allowance and count money on her fingers again.

She'd had enough of this kind of hardship, where she had to carefully consider everything she ate, wore, and used, and had to stretch every penny to its limit.

She went to great lengths to win the favor of the old lady of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion and entered the mansion, hoping to finally live the life she desired.

But after marrying into the family, she discovered that Lu Huaiyu and her father were practically identical. They were bookish to death and completely ignorant of social etiquette. After spending so many years at the Imperial Academy, they hadn't even made a single decent friend.

She urged him countless times to go out and socialize with his classmates, and he would agree verbally, but in the end, he would still stay alone in his study, flipping through those old books.

She was furious, but what could she do after she calmed down? She was married, and life had to go on.

She began to plan other things: managing the household, social interactions, and the movement between different households. She couldn't reach the old lady's side, nor could she get involved with the Gu family. She could only try to squeeze out whatever little bit she could from the gaps.

Finally, Madam Gu left, and she thought her chance had come. But the old lady distributed power to those stewardesses, and she, the legitimate second wife, felt like an outsider.

That's when she realized that she couldn't rely on men; she could only rely on herself.

She began cultivating her relationships, associating with the stewardesses, and placing her own people throughout the mansion, believing she could gradually take those things back.

Not long after Madam Gu left, the first wife remarried and a new wife entered the family. The old lady relinquished power, and the new wife obtained the things that she had longed for for so long.

She picked up the teacup and put it down again, spilling a few drops of tea onto the table. Zhu Ling quickly grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it up, then stepped back, keeping her head down and remaining silent.

Fang stared at the few drops of water that had seeped into the water for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Zhuling, tell me, after all these years of effort, what have I gotten in the end?"

Zhu Ling was taken aback, not expecting her to ask that question. She lowered her eyes and carefully replied, "Madam has managed things in the mansion for so many years. Her connections, relationships, and interactions are all very real."

"Although the First Madam has taken over the power, those stewards may respect her on the surface, but they may not be convinced in their hearts. What the Madam holds in her hands cannot be taken away overnight."

After listening, Fang was silent for a moment, then her lips twitched slightly, whether it was a smile or something else was unclear.

"It's getting late, the old lady must have already retired for the night. I'll tell her in person when I go to Songhe Hall to pay my respects tomorrow."

Fang's voice returned to its usual calm, as if her earlier daze was just someone else's illusion. "Go and arrange for some blood-activating and stasis-removing ointment to be sent to the Second Master's courtyard. Don't let people say that the second wife and I are having a messy falling out. We still need to maintain appearances."

Zhu Ling responded with a "Yes," and turned to leave.

Fang sat down in front of the dressing table, her face reflected in the bronze mirror.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she suddenly felt that her face was somewhat unfamiliar. There was a white hair at her temple, hidden among her black hair, which was not noticeable unless you looked closely.

She reached out and plucked the white hair, placing it on the table. It was thin and gleamed silvery-white under the light. She looked at it for a while, then casually tossed it away.

The curtain fell behind her, and the candlelight on the table flickered, swallowing the last bit of light in the bronze mirror.

Outside the courtyard wall, Qiu Tang was carrying a lantern as she passed through the alley with light steps.

She went to the kitchen to get something, and when she passed by the ancestral hall, she saw Fang Shi and her maid coming out from that direction in a hurry, as if something was chasing them.

Qiu Tang didn't stop walking. She lowered her head, turned through the moon gate, and returned to the main courtyard.

Jiang Wan hadn't rested yet; she was leaning against the window organizing a stack of personnel files when she heard footsteps and looked up: "You're back?"

"You're back." Qiu Tang placed the lamp under the eaves, pushed open the door and came in, lowering her voice to say, "Madam, just now when I passed by the ancestral hall, I saw the Second Madam coming out from there. She was walking very fast, as if she was going to pick up the Second Master."

Jiang Wan's hands didn't stop flipping through the booklet: "Did you catch it?"

"It looks like they've been brought out. The second madam is walking in front, followed by a maid carrying a lantern. We didn't see the second master behind them, but we could see from afar that the lights over at the ancestral hall were already out."

Jiang Wan nodded without asking any further questions. She put the booklet back on the table. "You should get some rest too; you'll be busy tomorrow."

Qiu Tang responded, blew out the lamp under the eaves, and gently closed the door before leaving.

Only one candle was still burning in the room. Jiang Wan sat for a while, picked up the booklet, turned a page, read two lines, closed it, and then got up to blow out the lamp.