Chapter 24

Chapter 24: A Comparison Everyone present knew that Madame Jiang had no brains—except for Madame Jiang herself. Yet Cui Lingrong had asked Madame Jiang to "guide" Princess Rongjia. This was an insult, implying that Princess Rongjia was even less capable than Madame Jiang. But even Old Madame Song could find no fault with the words. Third Master was concubine-born, and Old Madame Song had always ignored Third Master and Madam Li. She could not possibly bypass Madame Jiang and let Madam Li help manage the household. With things having come to this point, Old Madame Song had no other choice. She could only agree for now, then added, "Lady Cui is ill. The Marquis should go see her, lest she feel her heart grow cold." She harbored suspicion. How could a person who was perfectly fine during the day suddenly eat something wrong? Lady Cui was such a cautious person. Old Madame Song understood that Lady Cui harbored resentment. She could accept Lady Cui using small tricks, as long as she didn't go too far. Song Shulan agreed. As the group walked out of Shouan Tang, Song Shulan stood at the fork in the path and saw Princess Rongjia gazing at him with eager eyes. He sighed inwardly and went to Qiushuang Zhai after all. When he arrived at Qiushuang Zhai, he saw Cui Lingrong's face was deathly pale—she truly could not get out of bed. He scolded the servants for not attending to her properly. How did the madam end up like this? How were Caixia and the others attending to you?" "Caixia is ill too. It was my own gluttony—after returning from the banquet, I had the small kitchen make me some more food." Cui Lingrong said, covering her face as she coughed. Song Shulan frowned deeply, finding it strange. When did the madam become so fond of eating?" In his memory, Cui Lingrong never touched food after the evening meal. She observed propriety strictly and would never give herself extra meals. "Marquis, people change." Cui Lingrong said lightly, a flicker of mockery passing through her eyes. Before Princess Rongjia appeared, she had been quite satisfied with her life. Her husband respected her, her children were obedient and filial. Though the Marquis's household had some minor conflicts, compared to families mired in chaos, it was already much better. But then her life changed. Song Shulan changed. Cui Lingrong changed too. The two sat in silence. After a while, Song Shulan brought up Cui Zeyu. "He's nothing but a picked-up plaything. What was his meaning today? An ungrateful thing, actually tearing down the household's reputation in public, siding with that Xie Yunting—utterly devoid of gratitude!" "Before the Marquis scolds Zeyu, shouldn't he go to Wutong Yuan and reproach the Princess?" Cui Lingrong defended her own, her face darkening. "If she hadn't mismanaged things, Xie Yunting wouldn't have made a scene. Or is it that the Marquis can't bear to blame the Princess?" Yes, Zeyu shouldn't have disregarded the household's face at that moment, but in her heart, Cui Lingrong felt a sense of satisfaction. Because of Zeyu's words, everyone would now compare her with Princess Rongjia. "Are these the same thing?" Song Shulan said, exasperated. "When did you become so unreasonable? Or is it that you still don't trust me?" Unreasonable? This was the first time in her life Cui Lingrong had been described that way. She didn't even know how to refute it, because she truly had never imagined she'd be called unreasonable. "Not speaking again. You're always like this, a closed gourd!" Song Shulan rose to leave. Cui Lingrong instinctively wanted to stop him, but in the end, the words wouldn't come out. The room fell silent once more. Nanny Qiu came in with a sigh. "The eldest mistress always held back her temper before. Why did you quarrel with the Marquis just now?" "Nanny Qiu, I still want to know—in the Marquis's eyes, am I truly completely inferior to Princess Rongjia?" Cui Lingrong laughed bitterly at herself. "You said before that the Marquis and I have been married for many years, so he must treat me better. Now it seems that's not the case. Men always prefer the new over the old." Whatever he said about his future prospects. It was still that the new favorite was better than the old love. "Nanny Qiu, I'm tired." Cui Lingrong didn't want to say more and asked Nanny Qiu to blow out the candles. Nanny Qiu knew her mistress was heartbroken and understood that further words were useless. Rather than hoping for the Marquis's affection, it was better to keep power and money firmly in hand. In the following days, Cui Lingrong continued to claim illness, and Princess Rongjia also said she felt unwell. It was Wang Shanxi's Wife who stepped forward to manage the household together with Madame Jiang. If this had happened before, Madame Jiang would have been delighted. But now, whenever she saw Wang Shanxi's Wife, her heart grew uneasy. One day, the tenant farmers delivered firewood, and the charcoal purchased by the household also arrived. After Madame Jiang finished counting, she found there wasn't enough to cover each household's allowance. She wanted to go discuss it with Princess Rongjia, but Wang Shanxi's Wife said directly, "The Princess is ill. This small matter is something Second Mistress can handle herself. In this household, the Old Madame and the Princess are the most honored—not to mention the Marquis. As for the charcoal for the remaining places, Second Mistress can arrange it herself." "But..." "Second Mistress is the one managing things now. Surely you can't fail to arrange even such a small matter? Or does Second Mistress intend to withhold the charcoal from Wutong Yuan?" The charcoal had been purchased according to the Princess's earlier arrangements. Now that Madame Jiang was managing things, Wang Shanxi's Wife naturally shifted the responsibility onto her. No matter how slow Madame Jiang's mind was, she understood Princess Rongjia's meaning. But the Old Madame had just punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall. If anything else went wrong under her watch, she feared the Old Madame would send her back to the old residence under house arrest. Moreover, the money saved from skimping on charcoal had all been taken by Princess Rongjia. Madame Jiang hadn't gotten a single cent of benefit—why should she bear the responsibility? She was so worried that she didn't know what to do. At night, she grabbed Song Shucheng and sobbed, "Eldest Sister-in-law and the Commandery Princess are having their showdown—let them fight their own battle. Why drag me out to be cannon fodder? If it all comes to light, Old Madame will still punish me." Song Shucheng had just returned from drinking and said impatiently, "If you can't handle it, then don't. Let Third Brother's wife handle it." "What do you know? I can accept being pushed around by Eldest Sister-in-law and the Commandery Princess, but why should I let Madam Li push me around?" She absolutely would not go to Madam Li. "Then what are you going to do? Do you dare to shortchange the charcoal for Shouan Tang, or for the Commandery Princess's quarters? You get no benefit and still have to bear the responsibility—there's no end to your stupidity." Over the years, Song Shucheng had grown increasingly dissatisfied with Madame Jiang. She couldn't bear children herself, yet she blocked everyone else from having them, leaving him without a son to this day. Song Shucheng didn't want to listen to Madame Jiang's complaints. He got up to leave but was yanked back by her, stumbling. He turned and shoved her. "What are you doing?" "Where are you going again?" Madame Jiang's elbow hit the floor, and tears instantly rolled down her face. "Tonight you're supposed to stay with me!" "What's with 'supposed to'? What use is it if I stay here? A hen that won't lay eggs—no matter how hard I try, it's useless." Song Shucheng didn't even look at her as he turned and left. Madame Jiang sat on the floor, holding back her tears. The nanny beside her wanted to console her but dared not. The next day, when the charcoal was distributed, Madame Jiang steeled herself and shorted the Second and Third branches, thinking she would have to make up the difference herself. In the Third branch's quarters, Madam Li saw that the charcoal was cut in half and frowned deeply. Her natal family was not prominent, and her dowry was modest—how was she supposed to get through winter with half the charcoal? When Third Master Song Shuhe learned the charcoal had been halved, he took out his private savings to comfort Madam Li. "Don't worry. Once Eldest Sister-in-law takes over the household, things will be better." Madam Li shook her head. She had known Lady Cui for many years and could understand some of her thoughts. "Eldest Sister-in-law is holding in her anger. Do you really think she's actually ill?" Song Shuhe's eyes darkened. "Before, when Eldest Sister-in-law wanted the household management back, Old Madame and the Marquis wouldn't allow it, insisting on saving face for the Commandery Princess. Now that the Commandery Princess is mismanaging things, Old Madame wants Eldest Sister-in-law to take over again—summoned when needed, dismissed when not, without the slightest respect for her." Madam Li sighed. "Eldest Sister-in-law's illness won't heal quickly. She's waiting—waiting for Second Sister-in-law to make a fool of herself, waiting for Old Madame and the Marquis to lose patience and come to her with their heads bowed." Song Shuhe had a good impression of Lady Cui. She was modest and approachable, and she never looked down on the Third branch because he was concubine-born. "Eldest Sister-in-law isn't easy either, to have to scheme like this." "Yes, Eldest Sister-in-law has it hard." "Don't think about it anymore. Eldest Sister-in-law is capable—she won't suffer losses. Let's just live our own lives well. As for the affairs of the Marquis's household, the less we get involved, the better." Song Shuhe wrapped his arm around Madam Li. They had been married for years, yet their affection remained as warm as ever. Madam Li nodded. Still, the next day she simmered a pot of ginseng soup and personally delivered it to Qiushuang Zhai. When she arrived, she saw Cui Zeyu there as well. She set down the soup, exchanged a few pleasantries, and returned home. Cui Zeyu's face was full of urgency. "Sister, your face is so pale, and you still say nothing's wrong. I can tell you're not happy in this Marquis's household. Why force yourself to keep going?" "Talking nonsense again." Cui Lingrong didn't bother hiding anything in front of her younger brother. "This paleness is just powder—it's not real. But you—what about the matter I discussed with you? Have you thought it over?"