Chapter 5

Chapter 5

On the second day after the wedding, everyone in the household knew Zhong Ling’an had abandoned me on our wedding night.

The servants looked at me in all sorts of ways.

Some were watching a joke unfold. Some looked at me with sympathy.

But all of them knew one thing: the newly married young madam was not favored.

They were all people trying to survive in the inner residence, so naturally they understood how difficult my days would be from now on.

Early that morning, Old Madam Zhong sent a maid to summon me, saying that on a new bride’s first day in the household, she ought to go and receive instruction from her husband’s parents.

It should have been a scene where husband and wife went together to pay their respects. Instead, I was left to face it alone.

Before dawn had even broken, Old Madam Zhong was already seated in the main hall, her expression cold and stern.

I offered her tea. She let me stand there holding the scalding cup, but refused to take it for a long while.

“Our Zhong Family has built its legacy on military merit. Every honor we have was earned on horseback, on battlefields and frontier campaigns. We have never cared for the sour pedantry of scholars. I hear that back at home you used to love clutching those stale, clichéd books of yours and reading all day. Since you have married into the Zhong Family, you must learn to follow the Zhong Family’s rules. In the future, do not go around quoting books again. It gives me a headache. Now that you have entered this household, learn to manage the inner residence, attend to household affairs, serve your husband, and regard him as your heaven. You must not continue with your former habits…”

She lectured me at length. Perhaps she truly did grow thirsty in the end, because only then did she take the teacup from my hands.

I remained silent.

After leaving the main hall, my thoughts churned. Within these small courtyard walls, how many women’s entire lives had been imprisoned?

I did not know what Old Madam Zhong had been like in her youth, but at this moment, she looked exactly like a marionette controlled by unseen strings, capable only of repeating words like “regard your husband as your heaven.”

When I returned to the main courtyard, I saw that the books I had brought with me had been thrown out.

I called for them to stop, but the maids said without fear, “Young Madam, please forgive us. These are Old Madam’s orders.”

“Put them down. I will answer to Old Madam myself.” Hearing the displeasure in my tone, they finally withdrew, albeit slowly.

At noon, Zhong Ling’an returned, bringing Song Wanyin and her child with him.

He knelt before Old Madam Zhong and said in a firm voice, “You said that while the legal wife had not yet entered the household, a concubine could not enter first. Now that your son is married, can you accept Wanyin? A child of the Zhong Family cannot be left wandering outside.”

What Old Madam Zhong truly minded was Song Wanyin’s background. She was the descendant of a criminal exiled by the court to the southwestern borderlands. If someone with ulterior motives seized upon that, it might hinder Zhong Ling’an’s future. All that talk about how a concubine could not enter before the legal wife was merely an excuse she had used with him.

Song Wanyin looked at me, then stepped forward and knelt before me. In a gentle voice, she said, “This concubine only asks for a small place to live. I will never fight with the mistress for anything. I will surely know my place and devote myself to serving the General and Madam.”

Seeing Song Wanyin abase herself before me, humble to the extreme, Zhong Ling’an’s face flickered with pity and heartache.

Old Madam Zhong seized the opportunity and said, “You have already taken a wife, and I am old now. I do not wish to manage these matters anymore. As long as the mistress gives her nod, she may be allowed into the household.”

Everyone’s gaze gathered on me, as if they wished they could bore a hole through me with their eyes.

Zhong Ling’an saw me as a stepping stone to bring Song Wanyin into the household, while Old Madam Zhong pushed me forward as her shield.

She was certain that after Zhong Ling’an had left in anger last night and never stayed with me, he had already stripped me of all dignity. Now, he had openly brought his outside woman to the door. Surely I would never agree to such a humiliating request. If I refused in public, Zhong Ling’an would only loathe and blame me, venting all his anger on me, while she would achieve her goal and remain perfectly hidden behind the scenes.

But I raised my hand and helped Song Wanyin to her feet. Softly, I said, “Miss Song has rendered merit by bearing the Zhong Family a child. Naturally, she should enter the residence to serve. The General should bring mother and child into the household soon, so the family may be reunited, and Old Madam may enjoy the pleasures of holding and playing with her grandchild.”

The moment I finished speaking, everyone froze where they stood.

Old Madam Zhong had anger simmering beneath the surface, but she could not let it show.

Song Wanyin could barely conceal her astonishment, clearly caught off guard. Only Zhong Ling’an was beside himself with joy.