Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day, my entire body was so sore and weak I could hardly get out of bed.

When Wen Hongxian saw I was awake, his expression turned lingeringly intimate. He bent down beside my ear.

“Your husband was too reckless last night. Tonight, I will be gentler.”

I pretended to be shy and annoyed, a blush flying across my cheeks, and lightly thumped him once.

He laughed and caught my hand, pressing a kiss into my palm before finally allowing the maidservants in to help me wash and dress.

Once we were ready, he took my hand and led me around the covered corridor to the southern courtyard.

The southern courtyard was where the matriarch of the Wen Family lived-my mother-in-law.

Unlike the Kong Family, the Wen Family was not a sprawling clan with countless branches. Though wealthy, it had only two branches.

As the legitimate son of the First Branch, Wen Hongxian had taken over the family business after his father’s death.

There was also the concubine-born Second Branch, who lived in the northern courtyard. They usually helped oversee the family’s properties, though I had heard they were anything but well behaved behind closed doors.

In the main hall, Madam Wen sat upright in a carved red sandalwood chair, slowly turning the prayer beads in her hand.

On the two rows of round-backed chairs to either side sat the female relatives of the clan, all smiling with their eyes and brows.

Only the woman seated on the right, dressed in a dark purple beizi, looked me up and down from the corner of her eye and gave a cold snort.

With manners so unfit for polite company, she had to be Second Madam.

I bowed gracefully. Zifu followed behind me with a red lacquer tray, receiving the generous welcome gifts from the elders.

When we reached the Second Branch, Second Madam deliberately took her time removing a bracelet.

“Niece-in-law, you were valued at the Prime Minister’s Residence and have seen grand things. I hope you won’t look down on poor little households like ours.”

I accepted it with a smile and glanced at it. The jade was only of average translucence.

Momo Chen clapped her hands at just the right moment, and the maidservants filed in carrying trays.

“Qinglian is young and inexperienced. In the future, I will still need all my elders to guide and support me. These small gifts are hardly enough to show my respect, so please do not refuse them.”

I had personally chosen each of these items. They were exquisite pieces that circulated only in the Capital-not overstepping in status, but weighty enough in value.

This was also my way of telling them that although I had once been a maidservant, I had still been valued by the Kong Family. If anyone wanted to use that against me, they had best weigh the consequences first.

Everyone was very pleased. They accepted the gifts with smiles and praised me for being sensible.

Only Second Madam pinched the fabric before her between her fingers, her lips curling slightly.

“I wondered what rare treasure it might be. It turns out to be nothing but a few bolts of cloth.”

She leaned back in her chair and lifted her chin. “What the Wen Family lacks least is silk and satin.”

“Second Madam is quite right. It is only that this fabric is Siamese tribute personally bestowed upon me by the Noble Consort in the palace when she learned I was to be married. I thought the pattern interesting, so I merely borrowed flowers to offer the Buddha.”

“If you dislike it, I can exchange it for another gift. We are all family here, so I imagine no one will spread word of this. Otherwise, if the Noble Consort hears of it, she may inevitably take offense.”

The moment I brought up the Noble Consort, the Second Branch’s smug smile froze at the corners of her mouth.

After a moment, she covered her lips with a handkerchief and coughed lightly, straightening her posture.

“I simply thought the color was lovely, but a little too bright for me. It would suit young ladies like you better.”

I smiled. “The gift is yours. How it is cut and made is entirely up to you.”

Madam Wen was very satisfied with how proper and considerate I was. In front of everyone, she slipped the dark green prayer beads from her own wrist onto mine.

“What a sensible child. No wonder Xian’er went to such effort to marry you. I am old now. From now on, you will have to trouble yourself more with the household affairs.”

Was she giving me authority over the household?

I looked at Wen Hongxian, only to see approval filling his eyes.

It seemed they had already discussed this beforehand.

Meals in the Wen Mansion were usually taken separately. Only on the first and fifteenth of each month did everyone gather for lunch, which was a relief in its own way.

After lunch, Wen Hongxian gave me a few thoughtful instructions, then went off to attend to business.

Madam Wen was kind and generous. After lunch, she had the Household Management Token sent over.

With the Household Management Token, I could take charge of the inner household affairs openly and legitimately.

As Zifu combed my hair, I asked casually, “Have the three concubines arrived?”

Before me, Wen Hongxian had three bedchamber women.

One was a noble concubine from a merchant family like his own, Concubine Zhou.

One was a proper concubine Madam Wen had sent to warm his bed, Concubine Zhao.

And the last was a lowly concubine Wen Hongxian had taken in himself from Fengyue House, Concubine Rui.

Zifu hemmed and hawed, and I knew at once that the three of them must have agreed among themselves to arrive late on purpose.

I raised my hand. “Do my brows in a sharp arch today-the kind that looks like it carries a blade.”

Since they did not want my gentle goodwill…

Then I would let them learn that what people from the Kong Mansion excelled at most was-

Killing the chicken to warn the monkeys.