Being a second wife is difficult

The carriage stopped outside Ganen Temple for two days. On the morning of the third day, the abbot and several young novices were waiting at the gate.

Jiang Wan stood at the bottom of the steps, bending down to tie the sash of Lu Shan's cloak.

Lu Shan had been following Lu Wan around a lot these past two days, and her cheeks were a bit more rosy than when she arrived. She stood quietly as Jiang Wan tied her ribbons, without moving around. Only after the ribbons were tied did she look up at Jiang Wan and say, "Thank you, Mother."

The old lady came out of the hall, and Granny Gui helped her down the steps. Today she was wearing a dark brown plain jacket, which was thicker than when she came, probably because it was cool in the morning.

Fang followed behind her, dressed more neatly than she had been the previous two days, and had changed her hairpin to a silver one, making her look much more capable.

The abbot stepped forward, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Please take care, madam. The temple has been keeping things simple these past few days, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused."

The old lady waved her hand: "After staying for a few days, I find it quieter than the mansion. Abbot, there's no need to see us off. We'll go on our own."

The abbot nodded again in Jiang Wan's direction, and Jiang Wan returned the gesture without further formalities.

The carriage was already waiting outside the temple gate.

The children boarded the bus one after another. Lu Wan climbed in first and took a window seat. Lu Zhao followed behind her and sat down next to her. When Lu Hui climbed in, he was still clutching that oddly shaped, bent ear of corn in his hand. He hadn't put it down in the past two days, so he must really like it.

Lu Shan was young, so Zhao Tongfang carried her up and put her next to Lu Wan. The children were squeezed into one car, but it didn't feel cramped at all; on the contrary, it was quite warm.

Jiang Wan stood by the car and waited until they were all seated before stepping onto the car in front.

The old lady had already sat inside, leaning against the car wall with her eyes closed, as if she wanted to rest.

Fang sat on the other side of Jiang Wan, lifted the carriage curtain to take one last look outside, and said as she lowered the curtain, "After staying for a few days, I'm starting to not want to leave."

Jiang Wan sat down opposite her, placing the small bundle in her hand beside her: "If you like it, sister-in-law, you can come again when the weather is nice."

Fang glanced at her but didn't respond, only saying, "Sister-in-law has been getting quite close to that Mrs. Shen these past few days."

Jiang Wan put down the bundle in her hand: "We just bumped into each other and exchanged a few words, we're not that close."

Fang hummed in agreement and didn't ask any further questions. She leaned back against the car wall and closed her eyes to rest.

The carriage started moving.

The wheels rolled over the gravel road outside the temple gate, turned onto the dirt road, and slowly drove towards the official road.

The temple's shadow shrank smaller and smaller in the back window until it was finally blocked by a grove of low trees.

The return journey was slower than the way there. The car was quiet, and the children didn't talk much along the way, probably because they were tired after playing for several days.

Lu Wan slept on Lu Zhao's shoulder the whole way, and Lu Zhao was so numb from being pressed down on one side of his body that he didn't move.

The only sound was the wheels rolling over the road, occasionally bumping and then continuing to make noise in a different direction.

Jiang Wan sat for a while and then closed her eyes.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop outside the Earl's mansion gate, the gatekeeper came out to greet them.

Granny Gui got out of the carriage first, helping the old lady down the steps. Madam Fang followed behind, and Jiang Wan lagged behind.

Qinghe got off the carriage first and waited by the door to help Jiang Wan.

Jiang Wan stepped down onto the small stool and glanced at the steps in front of the door. The moss in the cracks of the stone slabs was still the same, as if they had never left.

"Let's go."

Qiu Tang was already waiting inside the second gate.

When Jiang Wan stepped across the threshold, she took two steps forward. Instead of greeting her as usual, she moved closer and whispered "Madam," her voice lower than usual.

Jiang Wan didn't stop walking, continuing inside, and glanced at her sideways: "What's wrong?"

Qiu Tang followed her steps, glanced left and right, and when there was no one else under the corridor, she said in a low voice, "When Madam left, she instructed that the courtyard be well watched over. Everything in the mansion is fine, but... Cui'er sent something over today."

She paused, as if carefully choosing her words, "She sent a maid to deliver it. The maid looked unfamiliar and I was afraid there was something wrong with the package, so I opened it myself first. It was a letter."

Jiang Wan paused for a moment, then resumed her normal pace: "Where's the letter?"

Qiu Tang took out a folded letter from her sleeve and handed it to Jiang Wan. The envelope was not sealed and the edges were wrinkled, as if it had been squeezed by someone.

Jiang Wan took the letter but didn't open it right away. She first asked Qiu Tang, "Has the messenger left?"

"She's gone. This servant said that Madam is not in the manor and we need to wait for her to return before we can make a decision. The little maid didn't stay long, she just left the letter and left."

"You recognize her?"

Qiu Tang shook her head: "I have seen her. She is the little maid who was sent to a remote area to be responsible for feeding Cui'er. I suppose she was asked by Cui'er to send the letter."

Jiang Wan put the letter into her sleeve without looking at it again: "I understand. You should go back and rest now. You've worked hard these past few days."

Qiu Tang responded and bowed as she withdrew.

When Jiang Wan returned to the main courtyard, Qing He had already tidied up the house.

A cup of warm tea sat on the table, and the orchid on the windowsill had its water changed; its leaves looked more vibrant than before I left.

She sat down at the table, took out the letter and placed it on the table. She looked at it for a while but did not open it immediately.

The letter was folded haphazardly, with crooked creases, as if the writer's hand was trembling badly.

She slowly unfolded it; there were only four or five lines of text on it, the handwriting was messy, and in a few places the ink had bled through, making it a little difficult to read.

After reading the letter, Jiang Wan did not put it down immediately.

Cui'er wrote two things in the letter.

The first thing she said was that Fang had been secretly sending money to her family home, not her own allowance, but the public funds of the household, and this had been going on for several years.

Secondly, she said she knew there was a record of this matter, but the letter did not specify what the record was or where it was. It only said that if her wife was willing to save her life, she was willing to hand it over.

The letter ended with only one sentence: Please, my wife, save me.

Jiang Wan folded the letter again and placed it on the table. She picked up the cup of warm tea and took a sip. The tea had cooled down a bit and tasted slightly bitter.

Cui'er was Fang's head maid, who had served Fang for several years. Logically, she should have been the person Fang trusted most, but she suddenly betrayed Fang.

She also knew that Cui'er and Granny Ding were from the same hometown. Last time when Madam Fang had a fit of anger towards Cui'er, Cui'er was taken away and knelt on the ground trembling violently. At that time, she saw it clearly. The girl was terrified, but there was something else in her eyes besides fear.

Jiang Wan put down her teacup and ran her fingertips along the edge of the letter.

She wasn't actually surprised that Fang was sending money to her parents' home.

She had inquired about Fang's family background; they weren't particularly wealthy or powerful, but they were known for their integrity. Fang was able to live comfortably in the Earl's mansion largely due to her own efforts in managing the household, and partly due to her family's connections in the Six Ministries.

Such a family would naturally be short of money, and it sounds like something Fang would do to use public funds to subsidize her maternal family.

The problem is, she doesn't know if what Cui'er said is true.

Cui'er said there were records, but what records? Account books? Or something else? She didn't specify in the letter.

If there are indeed records, are they sufficient? Can we definitively say that it was Fang who did it? Or are they just some scattered receipts, not enough to be presented in a formal manner?

More importantly, why did she help Cui'er?

Cui'er was originally Fang's person, and even more so, she was Ding's person.

Even if she really had something on Fang's hands, it was something stolen right under Fang's nose. Such a person could betray Fang, and could betray her in the future.

If she really takes on this hot potato, is it worth it to gain someone who might turn on her at any moment?

On the other hand, it would be a waste to leave Cui'er's knife there unused.

Jiang Wan picked up the teacup and took another sip. The tea was a little cold, but she didn't change it. She just held it there, her fingertips touching the side of the cup, and only put it down after a while.

She folded the letter and put it in the cupboard.

When she came out, Qiu Tang was still standing under the corridor. When she saw her come out, she took two steps forward, as if waiting for her to speak.

Jiang Wan walked to the door and instructed, "Go tell Cui'er that I received the letter. Tell her to focus on recovering first. Don't worry about anything else. Just remember to be careful and don't let anyone see you."

Qiu Tang was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn't expected her to say that. She quickly came to her senses, replied "Yes," and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

Jiang Wan stood under the eaves, watching Qiu Tang's figure pass through the moon gate and disappear around the corner of the courtyard wall.

Cui'er is indeed someone you can't touch right now, not because what she has isn't valuable enough, but because you don't have a suitable reason to take action against her.

Fang was the second wife and had been managing the household for many years. She had only recently entered the household and her position was not yet stable enough for anyone to easily touch Fang. Moreover, she had no reason to help Cui'er in this matter.

Even if Cui'er really has something on Fang Shi, she can't use it now. Using it would only alert Fang Shi and get herself into trouble.

But Cui'er is useful.

She couldn't use her now, but she had to let Cui'er know that someone else was taking over her role as a pawn. She couldn't let Cui'er think that her path was blocked and turn back to rely on someone else.

Jiang Wan turned and went back into the house. Qing He brought in freshly brewed hot tea and placed it on the table. Seeing that Jiang Wan's expression was normal, she didn't ask any questions and only said one sentence.

"Madam, someone just delivered a message saying that a maid from the Second Madam's courtyard brought over a plate of pastries, saying that it was osmanthus cake made by the Second Madam herself, for you to try."

Jiang Wan glanced down at the plate of osmanthus cake on the table. It was neatly arranged, with a thin layer of osmanthus petals sprinkled on top, and was golden in color.

She picked up a piece, took a bite, and found it soft and not too sweet, typical of Fang's style.

"Please thank Second Madam for me." Jiang Wan put the remaining half back on the plate, patted the crumbs off her hands, and said, "Tell her I've tasted it and it's delicious."

Qinghe responded and then asked, "Is there anything you want to reply to?"

Jiang Wan thought for a moment and said, "No need, I'll go there in a couple of days to thank you in person."

Qinghe nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Jiang Wan sat back down at the table.

It had already darkened outside the window, and the light from the lantern under the eaves shone through the window paper, casting a warm orange glow on the table.

She glanced down at the plate of osmanthus cake on the table, then looked away.