Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was not until the next day that the two concubines formally served me tea.

Fu Huai had spent the night in Shen Ru’s courtyard, and she was clearly looking much better this morning.

But Shen Ru remained hostile toward me.

She prided herself on having once gone through life and death with Fu Huai, and she was utterly unwilling to be only a concubine.

Unfortunately for her, she had never managed to conceive, so she could not rise in status through a child. Her birth was not enough to support her becoming the legitimate wife of an aristocratic family, either.

In front of Linglong, I deliberately said with concern, “Younger Sister Shen, how is your health? Yesterday, my husband specifically mentioned your old injury. You once took an arrow for him. That makes you a benefactor of the Duke’s Mansion.”

As I spoke, I rewarded Shen Ru handsomely.

Linglong, meanwhile, received only a silver jewelry set.

She had followed the old madam for years and had always handled the household affairs, treating herself as half a mistress of the family. Naturally, she could not bear being treated so differently.

The old madam had kept Linglong in charge of the household accounts all this time precisely to keep me in check.

A noble family’s inner residence this shabby and unpresentable was truly rare.

No wonder, in my previous life, my elder sister had been tormented to death.

“Thank you, Madam,” Shen Ru said expressionlessly. She did not want to acknowledge at all that I was the one who was Fu Huai’s wife. Since she had been with Fu Huai last night, she must have seen the teeth marks on the back of his hand.

The moment Shen Ru entered this morning, she had been staring at my teeth.

Linglong also gave thanks, and her expression was no better.

She had been Fu Huai’s first woman, as well as his only bedchamber maid. In the first few years, Fu Huai had favored her alone. Later, after Shen Ru appeared, the number of times Fu Huai visited her courtyard dwindled to almost nothing.

Now there was me as well, and her days were even worse than before.

Once resentment builds in a person’s heart, they will start stirring up trouble over nothing, and every emotion becomes magnified many times over.

That night, Fu Huai came to my room. His gaze burned, but I pretended not to understand what he wanted. Instead, I pushed him toward Shen Ru and said, “Husband, Younger Sister Shen has a bond with you forged through life and death. These past few days, her old ailment has happened to flare up again. You should go and see her.”

In the past, Fu Huai had favored Shen Ru because there had been no one better by his side.

But on his wedding night, he had already lost control. Naturally, he now knew the taste of it.

Tonight, even if I pushed him toward Shen Ru, he might not have the slightest romantic thought about her.

People were always like this. Things within easy reach were treated as dispensable.

Once they grew tired of them, they became sick of them altogether.

Fu Huai left. When he reached the corridor, he even looked back at me one more time. I turned sideways and did not let him see the expression on my face clearly.

He would surely imagine for himself how his new bride must be quietly heartbroken.

The moment Fu Huai left, my face went cold. I gave Cui Niang a look.

Money can make even ghosts turn millstones. Cui Niang used silver to bribe the servants in the manor and had them sow discord in front of Linglong.

For example: Shen Ru was arrogant because of favor, and even though Lord Duke was newly married, she still clung to him and would not let go.

Or: Shen Ru was scheming to conceive first, then rise by virtue of her child and be promoted to equal wife.

The women of the rear courtyard all wanted to climb higher. This was especially true for a concubine like Linglong, who managed the household. Power was dazzling, even if it was only a tiny bit of authority over household affairs.

That very night, Linglong stormed into Shen Ru’s courtyard on the excuse that “the accounts don’t match.”

Whether Fu Huai was angered, I did not know. But Shen Ru would certainly be furious.

I simply loved watching my enemies tear each other apart.

I slept soundly and peacefully through the night, until dawn.

Today was the day I returned to my maiden home. I would be able to see my elder sister, so I took great care washing and dressing myself.