Chapter 224 Hard to Be A Daughter-in-law
He Shuijin sighed, “But how could I get to talk in front of the grandfather?”
She continued, “Grandfather favors the first branch the most and then Yashuang. So, if we can win Madame Qiu over, it will benefit our branch a lot. In order to do so, you instructed me deliberately that I needed to get Madame Qiu to trust me even I had to speak ill of you and two sisters-in-law! Now Madame Qiu has already…”
“That’s right. But don’t let it show,” Madame He reminded, “Madame Qiu can’t figure it out herself. Your grandfather is too busy to mind minor matters. Her Majesty is in the palace. But don’t forget that there is the grandmother in your family! She has staked her life on the fourth branch! If you are too close to Madame Qiu and make her feel threatened, she will never tolerate it! She has Her Majesty to depend on!”
He Shuijin was startled, “I’m such a fool! Thank you for reminding me!”
Madame He smiled with satisfaction and said, “You have done pretty well. You need to manage the whole family’s expenses after all. Even I feel those old-timers among the butlers difficult to be dealt with. Let alone you. Even though, you still have to find time to win over Madame Qiu… Alas, your sisters-in-law don’t know her. It’s better for you to do it! You have so many things to do. It’s inevitable to make mistakes!”
She didn’t know that He Shuijin was polite and obedient on the surface. He Shuijin thought, “It’s true that being a daughter-in-law is hard! When my aunt just consulted back then, she wanted me to do it for her. So, she didn’t need to worry about anything! But when I became the Jiang Family’s future daughter-in-law and took over the finance, I handled everything impeccably. My aunt was not happy about it! I thought I wasn’t good enough. Thank my mother for reminding me. I knew that my problem was being too good! Comparing to me, my aunt was nothing. How could she like me? So, I made mistakes deliberately every now and then after that. And then she was happy!”
Of course, she showed her slip deliberately this time. So that Madame He could teach her in order to make her, the aunt and mother-in-law, feel useful.
So, after Madame He was satisfied, she went out and asked her maids, “Will the bamboo flute from the former emperor’s reign arrive in the city tomorrow?”
The oldest maid Xian said in a hurry, “It should be no problem!”
“If it can’t arrive tomorrow, it must arrive the day after tomorrow!” A fierce look flashed through He Shuijin’s eyes. She said in a low voice, “Deliver a message that they need to deliver it to me before the day after tomorrow regardless of the method. And they can’t make a fuss about it!”
Xian said yes and hurried to arrange it.
Another maid Juan asked curiously, “Why do you care about that bamboo flute so much? Although it’s from the former emperor’s region… There are a few flutes which are better than it in our storage!”
“You know nothing!” Although there was no one around, He Shuijin still lowered her voice. She said flatly, “That bamboo flute is called ‘resentment of a beautiful soul’. It’s said that a famous bamboo flute maker from the former emperor’s region who was a concubine in the palace made it with her hands without any tools out of bamboo in the cold palace after she got slandered and sent to the cold palace. She worked her heart out for more than a decade and made it from scratch… After she made it, she played one of her favorite tunes on it. And then she died… So, it’s called ‘resentment of a beautiful soul’.”
Juan was confused, “But you usually don’t care about these kinds of things?”
He Shuijin was cool and calculating. She despised sad love stories. She thought it was just a waste of time.
“But Uncle Tianjiao was very interested in it!” He Shuijin squinted, “It’s said that after he heard the story back then, he wanted to have people look for it… But he was ill not long after that. And then…”
“You want to give it to Madame Tao as a gift?” Juan was enlightened.
Old Master Jiang Tianjiao was Madame Tao’s only son and also Empress Jiang’s brother. Judging by his name “Tianjiao”, which meant the G.o.d’s favored one, you could tell how much Marquess Qin adored him.
Jiang Tianjiao lived up to his father’s expectations. Under the guidance of Madame Tao, he grew up with people calling him a child prodigy. He was so brilliant, and yet he was humble, gentle and easy-going!
He was in full swing back then. Qiu Jinglan who got in the Hanlin Academy at 18 and Jiang Yashuang who got in the Hanlin Academy at 19 combined was no match for him!
Of course, before Jiang Tianjiao was going to take the imperial examination in spring as Jieyuan when he was 16, he suddenly was badly ill. And he died after a few months. Marquess Qin who was deeply grieved thought it was because he was showing his ability to the full extent. Something bad would happen if one was too showy. When it came to Jiang Yashuang, Marquess Qin forbade him to have a reputation abroad. So, other than the Empress Dowager’s clique who always kept an eye on the Jiang Family, Jiang Yashuang’s talent was well-known after the county exam.
Besides, if Jiang Yashuang hadn’t been so brilliant that he got the ability to get the first rank before 20 and he might be lazy over time, Marquess Qin even wanted him to take the exam later. Might be when he was 30. It was better than ending up like Jiang Tianjiao!
Madame Tao was devastated because of Jiang Tianjiao’s death that she almost died. Madame Dou and Madame He didn’t pay much attention to Jiang Tianjiao’s funeral. They even gloated in private. Other than Empress Jiang, among the juniors, only Madame Tao Junior was truly sad about her uncle’s death. And she took care of Madame Tao almost 24 hours a day during that period which gave Madame Tao some comfort. And Madame Tao gradually recovered because of it.
So, since then, although Madame Tao didn’t say it out loud, she hated Madame Dou’s and other’s guts! And she treated her grandniece and granddaughter-in-law Madame Tao Junior like her own granddaughter. She looked out for her in every possible way.
Madame Dou, Madame He and others had their reasons for being so unwise back then. Empress Jiang just went to the palace back then and she didn’t have political influence yet. So, her influence in the Jiang Family hadn’t increased much since she got married. The emperor was such a puppet after all.
So, Jiang Tianjiao was the biggest threat to Madame Dou and others in the Jiang Family.
With Jiang Tianjiao’s death, their husbands and sons didn’t need to worry that their resources got taken by him. Of course, they were happy.
However, the Empress had political influence later. Although Marquess Qin was still in charge of the Jiang Family, Empress Jiang had more influence than her brothers. She was the most important leader after Marquess Qin in the Empress’s clique. It was too late for Madame Dou, Madame He and others to regret.
He Shuijin sent people to find the bamboo flute which Jiang Tianjiao wanted. Because she wanted to use this dead uncle to play up to Madame Tao and Empress Jiang.
“A bamboo flute can please grandmother and Her Majesty. What a great deal!” He Shuijin smiled faintly, “Uncle Tianjiao’s death anniversary is in three days. It has to arrive on time!”
“Does Madame He… This bamboo flute?” Juan whispered.
“It’s said that mother behaved inappropriately on uncle Tianjiao’s funeral which was seen by my grandmother’s maids,” He Shuijin had a strange look, “So, it’s better not tell mother. In case her going there reminds grandmother of the unhappy past… It’s better I go to talk to my grandmother alone.”
Juan said knowingly, “I promise that there will be something which Madame He will ask you to consult with Madame Tao on that day!”
He Shuijin nodded with satisfaction.
Right after she finished pleasing Qiu Yelan, she planned to please Madame Tao and the Empress. She really had a deliberate plan. But she didn’t know that Empress Jiang was looking at a few secret letters with a sneer, “Oh? It turns out that Yaheng’s wife bought that bamboo flute. And it’s on the way to the city at top speed? Interesting!”
The maid gave a fair a.s.sessment, “Although Madame Shuijin has an agenda, she is still thoughtful.”
“I know,” Empress Jiang nodded, “Getting her son to marry her niece was probably the best thing Madame He did in her life!”
“Then let Madame Shuijin give Madame Tao the bamboo flute?” the maid asked.
“Considering that she made so much effort, let’s do her a favor,” Empress Jiang said casually, “Especially, she wants to keep it from Madame He and tell her afterwards… I wonder how Madame He will react after finding out about it?”
The maid puckered her lips, “If you want to encourage Madame Shishui to continue working for you and Madame Tao, it’s better not to expose her.”
“I’m just saying,” the Empress said lazily, “Right. How does Yashuang’s wife do these days? The Jiang Family has a lot going on right now. If she isn’t smart enough, then Yashuang has to take care of her!”
The maid thought for a while and then said, “Can’t tell for now. However, she doesn’t seem like a person who is willing to suffer losses.”
“It’s good that she isn’t willing to suffer losses!” Empress Jiang sneered, “I’m not afraid that she acts like Madame Zhuang. Madame Zhuang is fine until now anyway, right? No one among the daughters-in-law of the Jiang Family lives more comfortable than her! I’m afraid that she acts like Qianbin! That’ll be bad! As long as Ningyi thinks for Yashuang sincerely and is good to my mother, so what she is a little aggressive? I’ll speak up for her! However, if she is like Qianbin whom everyone compliments… How does it work out on Qianbin? Although she is the lineal daughter-in-law, the servants are able to bully her.”
The maid didn’t say anything. She didn’t agree with her evaluation of Madame Tao Junior, “Madame Zhuang and Commandery Princess Ningyi both have their husbands to depend on. Madame Zhuang even has a son… What does Madame Tao Junior have? It’s true that Madame Tao and Her Majesty both take pity on her. But Her Majesty is able to have political influence because of her maiden family. So, how do Her Majesty and Madame Tao dare to be too bias? Otherwise, other branches of the Jiang Family won’t be obedient… Marquess Qin also won’t agree!”
“Especially, even if she is aggressive, Young Master Yadan still won’t be obedient. Hasn’t he abandoned or even beaten a few concubines to death out of anger who he adored the minute before over the years? Having a husband like this, what else could Madame Tao Junior do except swallowing her pride?”
When the maid was absent-minded, she heard a eunuch reporting, “Your Majesty, the Seventh Prince is here!”
“Weisang?” Empress Jiang gave the secret letters to the maid and instructed her to store these properly. She straightened her clothing and then instructed, “Ask him to come in!”
After a while, the Seventh Prince Chu Weisang in prince clothes who wasn’t tall enough but already had an imposing appearance came in alone. He bowed, “Greetings, mother!”
“No need for the formalities!” Empress Jiang was very indifferent to those princes and princesses who weren’t hers including Chu Weisang, the one in front of her, who was known as the smartest prince.
However, since she took Xue Chang’s advice and chose Chu Weisang to fight for the throne, she didn’t mind acting a little more pa.s.sionately. After she asked him to skip the formality, she asked him to sit in front of her, “How is your day?”
Chu Weisang expressed grat.i.tude one more time before sitting down and then said, “Thank you, mother. I’m all well today.” He continued, “I met Weizhou just now. We argued about some words of the sage. Weizhou couldn’t justify himself and stormed out!”
“Everyone in the government knows that you are smart. How could that cheap n.o.ble Consort Gu’s son compare to you?” Although Empress Jiang didn’t like the puppet Emperor much, it didn’t mean that she could tolerate a concubine to have an affair. Didn’t that fair concubine die suddenly? It’s hard to go after her own nephew. Otherwise, as long as he wasn’t a member of the Jiang Family, the Empress definitely wouldn’t let him off the hook!
So, the Empress already hated n.o.ble Consort Gu. After she knew that she had another man outside the palace, she hated her even more. However, Xue Chang was more valuable than an unfaithful concubine. The Empress had to tolerate her for now. She only addressed her with insulting words, “Your gift is way better than Chu Weize. And you work harder than him. When they discuss the heir to throne someday, who else could they pick but you?”
Chu Weisang said respectfully, “How could I have the honor to be picked by the officials? I’ll only be able to do that with your help!”
“Prepare for the exam well. In case people from Empress Dowager’s clique harbor hostile intentions and make you fail,” Empress Jiang was pleased with his att.i.tude and urged him not to slack.
With Xue Chang’s promise, the Empress was rea.s.sured. She just needed to urge Chu Weisang to put up a good show. Comparing to her, Empress Dowager Gu was intense, “You got defeated again when you met Weisang just now? I did ask you not to answer his questions with your poor knowledge reserve! Or you can ask one of your talented staff to answer… It’s not your first time losing to him. Why do you have to humiliate yourself?”
Prince of Zhou was too scared to talk under the red stairs.
The maid mediated, “It’s because the Seventh Prince was so mean that Prince of Zhou couldn’t bear it at that moment… However, the Seventh Prince only dares to compete in studying. When it comes to general affairs, how could he compare with Prince of Zhou?”
“But he is still young. Jiang keeps him away from general affairs on the pretext of his needing to study…” Speaking of which, the Empress Dowager mused, “She is probably making efforts to teach him to handle general affairs in the meantime. I can’t let him keep studying. How many times has he shown his talent by defeating Weizhou recently?”