Early in the morning, Madam Wang took her daughter to attend the coming-of-age ceremony of Princess Changping at the Prince’s Mansion. She hit a hard wall there, and before she could catch her breath, she learned of the big trouble at her maternal ho. It was already dark when she returned to the Wu Family.
Nothing was going right. In her half a lifeti, Madam Wang had never felt so exhausted as she did now. Her entire body ached as she leaned on the chaise longue. Thinking of the cold-hearted and indifferent Wu Lihong made her want to spill blood in anger.
At the Marquis Yongan’s Mansion, he had promised so sweetly to help find connections and negotiate. But as soon as he left the Marquis’s place, he turned into another person entirely. Back ho, he went straight to the concubine’s courtyard.
"Bastard!" Madam Wang was furious and swept the teacup off the small table, letting it smash to the floor.
Nanny Wei shrank her neck, personally fetched a broom to clean up the shards, and served a fresh cup of tea. She advised, "Madam, you need to calm down. With so many matters at hand, if you fall ill, what would we do?"
Nanny Wei understood deeply how important the Marquis Yongan’s Mansion was to Madam Wang. It was her maternal family, her pillar of support. If the Marquis’s Mansion fell, Madam Wang would lose her backing too.
A woman without her maternal ho—how pitiful would that be.
Moreover, although Madam Wang was head of the household now, the Old Madam had never liked Madam Wang’s domineering and aloof manner. She cherished the second branch more, and even the third branch daughter-in-law, born of a concubine. If the Marquis’s Mansion were to truly fall, there’s a chance the Old Madam might strip Madam Wang of her household authority!
"Wet nurse, what sin have I committed to be stuck with such a heartless and selfish man? How could he utter those words?" Madam Wang asked Nanny Wei with a face full of forlornness, accusing, "I bore and raised his children, managed the household affairs. How have I wronged him? Over the years, hasn’t my maternal family helped in advancing his official rank? But how does he repay us? He can’t wait to cut all ties at a hint of trouble. I was truly blind!"
Nanny Wei also found the conduct of the Master utterly chilling, but it was difficult to articulate this, so she rely said, "Because it’s like this, Madam, you must pull yourself together. If sothing happens to you, how would you support the Marquis?"
Madam Wang wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, "I’m just heartbroken, cold inside."
Nanny Wei was about to say sothing when Qing Lian hurriedly walked in and said anxiously, "Madam, the Old Madam has summoned you over, the Master has already gone too!"
Madam Wang’s heart sank, and she quickly asked, "Is sothing the matter?"
Qing Lian replied, "It’s probably about the Marquis’s Mansion’s affairs, the second and third branch have gone too!"
Madam Wang felt a chill rise in her heart upon hearing this, yet she did not dare not to go. Dismounting the chaise, Nanny Wei and Qing Lian knelt to put her shoes on, tidied her hair, and supported her left and right towards Chunhui Hall.
Chunhui Hall was neither too far nor too close to the main courtyard. It took only the ti it took to drink a cup of tea to get there.
Entering the inner hall, she saw the Old Madam sitting in the Taishi Chair, with Wu Lihong seated to her left, while the second and third branches also each took their seats.
Madam Wang anxiously paid respects to Old Madam Wu and sat next to Wu Lihong.
The Old Madam watched her sit and then asked, "Wang, have matters at your maternal ho been concluded? Did that boy called Hao really commit a major offense?"
Madam Wang’s face stiffened, her heart growing even more cold and desolate. She feared the Old Madam had also heard of her family’s troubles and was anxious about implicating the Wu Family, wanting her to sever ties with her maternal ho.
"It only happened today. How could it be concluded so quickly?" Madam Wang let out a bitter smile.
She was wrong. She should never have married into the Wu Family in the first place. Truly a mistake!
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