Chapter 69

Chapter 69

[The Male Chauvinist’s Victory – 10]

The smile on Li Jiangxue’s face instantly froze.

Li Dongshan looked awkward, Madam Wei embarrassed, while Madam Yu lowered her eyes slightly, her expression revealing neither pleasure nor anger.

Li Jiangxue had not expected her half sister to deny her face so openly before the entire family. Her lips moved several times before she managed to joke, “Jiangyue, it is only a luminous pearl. Surely you aren’t so petty that Elder Sister cannot even look at it?”

“Of course not.” Li Jiangyue smiled. “Elder Sister and I are close blood kin. Though this pearl was bestowed by His Majesty and is exceptionally precious, it cannot compare with our sisterly affection. Three whole days remain before the wedding. If Elder Sister likes it, take it and enjoy it. Simply return it before the ceremony.”

Li Jiangxue’s forced smile vanished. Biting her lip, she said unhappily, “Jiangyue, what do you mean? Are you deliberately competing with your sister? Father and Mother said that we would stand as equals without distinction.”

Li Jiangyue remained unangered and smiled back. “Would Elder Sister like me to send someone for the exchanged birth charts and His Majesty’s marriage decree?”

Li Jiangxue’s face instantly turned livid. Madam Wei looked displeased as well, but reproached, “Jiangxue, stop making trouble. Return the luminous pearl to Jiangyue.”

Li Jiangxue pressed her lips together and unhappily placed the pearl inside its sandalwood box. Then she slammed it down before Li Jiangyue.

“Who wants it? Take it!”

The lid was not secured, and she used some force. When the box struck the table before Li Jiangyue, it bounced, and the luminous pearl rolled onto the floor.

Now Madam Yu’s expression darkened too.

Li Dongshan slammed the table. “Jiangxue, what are you doing? Who are you throwing a tantrum at? You have no manners at all!”

Anxious, Madam Wei pulled her daughter down and hurriedly ordered the servants, “Why aren’t you helping Jiangyue pick up the pearl?”

The servants bent to search, but Li Jiangyue stopped them in an even tone.

“Madam cherishes her daughter, and Jiangyue can understand that. But understanding is one matter; whether the conduct is proper is another. An old saying holds that the person who acts must bear the consequences. Elder Sister, you threw away the luminous pearl. I must trouble you to pick it up personally.”

Li Jiangxue felt deeply humiliated. Her face changed. “You!”

Anger appeared in Madam Wei’s eyes too. “Jiangyue, forgive where you can. Do not push too far!”

“Am I the one pushing too far?” Li Jiangyue asked coolly. “Madam has been clever all her life. Why do you lose sight of the truth when your own daughter is involved? We have not yet married, yet Elder Sister is already so confused that she dares throw an imperial gift onto the floor. Does she believe the Imperial House can be insulted, or has the empty title of Ladies of the Left and Right made her forget the distinction between wife and concubine?”

She met Madam Wei’s gaze and smiled faintly. “Jiangyue is young and dares not speak of the Imperial House. I only observe that within this household, noble and low are clearly distinguished and order is maintained. If Madam is so magnanimous that you can stand equal with the household’s concubines, without distinction of rank, then consider my words unsaid.”

Who did not know that being the principal wife was more respectable than being a concubine?

Who did not know it was more comfortable to be the chopping block than the fish?

If they wished to discuss the distinction between wife and concubine, then the same rules must apply to everyone. Madam Wei had spent years putting on the airs of a principal wife before Li Jiangyue’s mother, ordering her to stand attendance or serve meals at the slightest excuse. Now that Madam Wei’s own daughter would be a concubine, she began speaking of Ladies of the Left and Right and equal status.

Could every good thing beneath Heaven belong to her?

A savage look flashed through Madam Wei’s eyes. Li Jiangyue acted as though she saw nothing and turned to instruct her maid.

“Elder Sister is noble and always remembers that she is the legitimate daughter of the Li Family of Lingnan. Presumably, she has never lived at another’s mercy. Jiangyue does not dare trouble her precious hands. You may pick it up.”

The maid bowed in acknowledgment. Madam Wei, however, felt as though someone had slapped her before the crowd. Her face burned.

What else could she say?

Should she truly affirm that wives and concubines were equal, and that the household’s secondary women differed little from herself?

Madam Wei was so furious she could have vomited blood, but she could not lash out. She glared fiercely at her daughter and ordered in a low voice, “Pick it up and apologize to Jiangyue!”

The concubines’ quiet discussion drifted over, carrying faint mockery.

Li Jiangxue had thrown the pearl precisely because she could not lower her pride. How could she now willingly bend down? But her mother’s gaze was too sharp to resist. Deeply unwilling, she stepped forward, picked up the luminous pearl, wiped it clean, and returned it to the sandalwood box.

“Jiangyue, I’m sorry. I lost my head just now. Don’t be angry…”

Then she bent her knees and bowed to her younger sister.

Li Jiangyue smiled warmly and answered politely, “We are close blood kin. Elder Sister’s courtesy leaves your younger sister at a loss.”

Li Dongshan had been angry when his eldest daughter made trouble and worried when his third daughter responded forcefully. Now that the matter was resolved, he should have felt relieved. Instead, his heart remained heavy, and he sighed inwardly.

He waved a hand to smooth things over. “Enough. Eat, everyone.”

…

The wedding day soon arrived.

One side was a newly risen military noble, the other a daughter of an aristocratic clan. First came the emperor’s marriage decree, then the Li Family gave two daughters to one man. Before it even began, the wedding was destined to draw every eye.
Liu Che’s current residence had been newly bestowed by the emperor. It was naturally smaller than the Li estate, but the Yan household had few members. After he married a wife and took a concubine, there would be only three of them. Including his two half brothers, the household contained only five masters, so the residence still felt excessively empty.

The Yan Family had finished preparing long ago. Festive lanterns and decorations filled every corner, while gongs and drums thundered. Liu Che had specially invited He An, commander during the campaign against the allied Northern armies, to officiate. The veteran general was now conversing with Qu Guangqi in the front hall.

The Yan household was busy, but the Li household was busier still. The patriarch’s two most valued daughters were marrying on the same day. One had received a marriage decree from the Reigning Emperor; the other was legitimate, born to the principal wife, and a granddaughter of the Wei Family. How could the spectacle be modest?

Madam Yu and her daughter had slept in the same room the previous night and risen before dawn. Watching Li Jiangyue finish dressing and applying her makeup, Madam Yu’s eyes reddened.

“Live well,” she said. “You have been clever since childhood and never needed Mother to worry. My own life has not been bad. You begin from a higher place than I did, so you should live even better.”

Li Jiangyue answered through tears.

Marrying off a daughter differed from welcoming a daughter-in-law. One was sent away; the other brought inside. Having watched his daughter grow from a tiny child into a graceful young woman, Li Dongshan inevitably grew emotional. He stepped forward, offered several instructions, and shed tears too.

He wanted to mention his eldest daughter, but felt it would be too cruel to speak of her at this moment. Then he remembered how much face he had sacrificed for that marriage and decided he had already done everything possible for Jiangxue. He swallowed every word.

Madam Yu’s quarters were lively. Madam Wei’s were altogether different. It was not that the arrangements lacked splendor or propriety; compared with the former, however, the atmosphere remained inescapably awkward.

Old Madam Wei sat in a chair with a livid face, several daughters-in-law standing respectfully beside her. The moment she opened her mouth, she cursed her muddleheaded daughter bloody.

“I never thought you were stupid. How did you raise a perfectly good child into this? Becoming her own brother-in-law’s concubine… I cannot believe you did such a thing! Your father is too ashamed to leave the house. He absolutely refused to come today and forbade your brothers from coming. I had to summon my courage again and again before I could thicken my skin enough to appear!”

Madam Wei lowered her head beneath the scolding, feeling wronged and helpless. The moment she opened her lips, tears fell.

“You cry? You still have the face to cry?!”

Old Madam Wei grew angrier. “If I were you, I would have sent her to a convent before she ruined the family’s reputation! Your daughter has gotten what she wanted, but what of the Li Family’s other girls? Your sisters-in-law must hate you to death! Even your sisters-in-law and I feel ashamed whenever we go out!”

Madam Wei choked, “Mother, your daughter had no choice. Jiangxue insisted. She threw away even her life. The cut on her wrist was so deep that she almost couldn’t be saved. I… I…”

Old Madam Wei was a mother too and understood her daughter’s helpless pain. She struck her cane against the floor repeatedly. “What a wretched creature!”

Nothing could now be changed. She stopped scolding and asked, “Where is the son-in-law?”

Madam Wei’s face turned gray. “He came to speak for a while this morning, then went to the other side.”

Seeing her daughter twist the handkerchief tightly, Old Madam Wei knew she was furious. She sighed and counseled, “Don’t be angry. The son-in-law hasn’t acted wrongly. The other marriage was bestowed by His Majesty and properly arranged. He cannot slight that bride. If he had remained here and outsiders saw, what would they think?”

She waved and had Li Jiangxue summoned in her wedding robes. She offered no further reproach and spoke from her heart.

“Child, your maternal grandmother has a few words. Remember them carefully. Your half sister has been clever since childhood and is the principal wife by imperial decree. You cannot defeat her. After entering the household, see her as little as possible and devise no petty schemes. Devote yourself to holding your man’s heart and bear a child early. Then put a courtyard wall between you-she lives on one side, you on the other, neither disturbing the other’s waters. Nothing could be better.”

Li Jiangxue feared her grandmother and nodded obediently. Remembering Li Jiangyue’s humiliation three nights earlier, she pouted. “What if she relies on her status and deliberately bullies me?”

“How can she bully you? Make you stand attendance, offer tea, or serve dishes? You were willing to become your own brother-in-law’s concubine. Are you afraid of that little hardship?”

Old Madam Wei looked at her daughter. “Your daughter will live beneath a concubine’s daughter. Keep that in mind when deciding how to treat Lady Yu. If you torment her mother here, will Jiangyue not torment your daughter? You must judge the proper limits yourself.”

Scolded by her own mother before so many people, Madam Wei looked embarrassed and hurriedly agreed.

The auspicious hour arrived. Old Madam Wei said no more. With a sigh, she took the gold-handled jade fan from the wedding matron and placed it in her granddaughter’s hands.

“Go.”

Only then did parting sadness arise in Li Jiangxue. Her eyes reddened. She kowtowed to her mother and grandmother in farewell. “Mother, Grandmother, don’t worry about me. I will live very well!”

Let us hope so.

Madam Wei and Old Madam Wei no longer wished to say anything.

Li Jiangxue bade farewell to her elders, while Li Jiangyue said goodbye to her parents. Holding round fans, the two brides were led into their sedans by the wedding matrons, Li Jiangyue in front and Li Jiangxue behind. Liu Che mounted at the head of the procession, took leave of the Li Family, and set out for the Yan residence.
Firecrackers sounded at the proper moment. In early spring, when warmth had only just returned and the air remained cool, a faint scent of gunpowder mingled with the Yan Family’s lanterns and decorations. The festivity seemed to come alive, winding into every nose.

Li Jiangxue entered behind her younger sister, step by step approaching the front hall where they would perform the wedding bows.

“He truly is marrying two.”

“What is the Li Family thinking…”

“Eldest Young Lady Li actually agreed?”

Gazes fell upon her, and she heard low, jumbled discussion. It quickly subsided, as though the brief disturbance had been an illusion.

Li Jiangxue silently bit her lip, then remembered the carefully applied rouge and hurriedly relaxed her teeth.

He An’s hair was white, but his voice remained full and powerful. Firecrackers crackled continuously in the distance, yet his call drowned out everything.

“First bow, to Heaven and Earth!”

“Second bow, to the honored elders!”

Standing on Liu Che’s right, Li Jiangxue performed the first two bows according to procedure. Afterward, however, she did not remain in place. A wedding matron supported her one step backward. Before surprise could fully rise in her heart, He An called again.

“Husband and wife bow to each other!”

As Li Jiangxue stared in shock, Liu Che and Li Jiangyue had already bowed. She stood rigid several steps away, feeling as though an icicle hanging from winter eaves had pierced her heart.

It was painful and cold. The weapon remained lodged in her chest, slowly melting under her body’s heat until bloody water trickled out.

She was not Cousin’s principal wife. She had no right to take part in the bow between husband and wife.

Cold filled Li Jiangxue’s heart, and she shuddered involuntarily as though that nonexistent icicle truly remained buried there.

This was not how it should be.

The woman entitled to stand beside Cousin was not Li Jiangyue. It was her!

“…The ceremony is complete!”

He An’s final call pulled her back. Laughter filled the surroundings. A wedding matron supported Li Jiangyue away to rest. Li Jiangxue finally escaped the hall as well, temporarily leaving behind the meaningful gazes directed at her.

As they turned and crossed positions, Li Jiangxue glimpsed Li Jiangyue’s face. Her complexion was brilliant today, lovely as peach blossoms, with laughter in her eyes and all of March’s springtime gathered around her.

The sight stabbed Li Jiangxue’s heart. Like a venomous snake, the image continually tore at her organs.

She swiftly lowered her eyes and followed in silence, supported by her wedding matron.

As the principal wife granted by the Son of Heaven, Li Jiangyue was naturally taken to the main quarters. As a secondary wife, Li Jiangxue had to reside elsewhere. Before the two had gone far, they separated and proceeded to their respective rooms.

Liu Che was a newly risen military noble, marrying a Li daughter in a grand wedding. Many guests came from military families. Although trusted followers helped absorb the toasts, he was still staggering drunk by the end.

By evening, most guests had departed. The Guan brothers, excited all day, had gone to rest. A personal attendant carefully asked, “General, where will you sleep tonight?”

Without hesitation, Liu Che answered, “With my wife, of course.”

Li Jiangyue was beautiful to begin with. Wearing wedding robes and brilliant ornaments, she gained even greater radiance. Beneath the lamplight, she was as lovely as jade. When the wedding matron announced that her husband was coming, the breath she had held all day finally escaped.

Liu Che excelled at performance and naturally would not neglect her on their wedding night. Li Jiangyue was gentle and attentive, so husband and wife got along exceptionally well.

The Yan residence was only so large. The moment Liu Che entered Li Jiangyue’s quarters, the news reached Li Jiangxue. She threw away the jade fan in her hand, her eyes filled with grievance and anger.

Her dowry matron sighed helplessly and gently urged, “Madam should rest early. Presumably, the general will come tomorrow.”

Li Jiangxue said unhappily, “Either the east wind overwhelms the west, or the west overwhelms the east. If she suppresses me on the first day, how will I ever raise my head?”

She summoned a maid and whispered several instructions.

The maid hesitated. “Madam…”

Li Jiangxue glared. “Why aren’t you going?!”

The lamps in the main quarters had gone out. Liu Che held a fragrant beauty in his arms and was preparing to act when someone knocked. A maid lowered her voice helplessly.

“The Lady of the Right feels unwell. Her chest hurts terribly, and she asks the general to go see her…”

Liu Che propped himself up, his head full of question marks. “I’m neither a pill nor a physician. What use is looking at her? If she’s unwell, summon a doctor!”

Li Jiangyue pressed her lips together, barely suppressing her laughter. The maid looked embarrassed, curtsied, and hurried away.

“Wait!” Liu Che suddenly called her back.

The maid stopped hopefully. “General?”

Liu Che softened his voice and said with profound affection, “Tell Jiangxue she’ll feel better if she drinks some hot water.”