Chapter 60: Chapter 60 (Two Chapters Combined)

Chapter 60: Two Chapters Combined

As the twelfth lunar month began, the Prince of Qing’s household grew increasingly busy. Besides the Junzhu’s impending wedding, there were goods arriving from the estates and New Year banquets to prepare—everything had to be arranged well in advance.

Though stewards managed their specific duties, Sheniang, now overseeing everything, had to dedicate herself fully to the work.

Yet, she had been careless and woke one morning with a sore throat, a stuffy nose, and a pounding headache. Seeing her condition, Li Ju said, “I’ll send for a doctor. Don’t push yourself.”

“Yes, my right eye feels hot and twitching—it might not just be a cold, but internal heat,” Sheniang mused, having a rough idea of the cause. Li Ju had an extremely warm constitution; every night Sheniang would sweat so much she often kicked off the covers. In winter, kicking off the covers inevitably led to catching a chill.

If Li Ju noticed, he would cover her up at night and tease her about her restless sleep.

But sometimes he slept too deeply, and Sheniang ended up suffering as she did now.

Li Ju felt her forehead but, doubting his own judgment, pressed his own forehead to hers for a moment. “Good, no fever.”

A physician was summoned and prescribed two doses of medicine. Sheniang had someone prepare it immediately, drank a large bowl, and went to bed to rest. Then she said to him, “Starting today, let’s sleep under separate covers. You’re like a ball of fire—every morning I wake up drenched in sweat, unbearably hot.”

Hearing this, Li Ju gave a wry smile but still went to request leave on her behalf from the Princess of Qing. “My wife isn’t feeling well—she has a pounding headache and just took medicine.”

The Princess of Qing said, “She’s been exhausted these past few days. Let her rest more.”

Though she said this, the Princess of Qing herself was overwhelmed and naturally hoped her daughter-in-law would recover quickly to help. There was no avoiding it—she had only one true daughter-in-law, so who else could she rely on?

When the Dowager Consort heard, she recommended someone: “What do you think of Lady Bai?”

Lady Bai was the widow of the Prince of Qing’s eldest son, who had died at fifteen. She had lived in seclusion with the Concubine, rarely appearing in public. Even Sheniang had never met her during her own wedding.

The Princess of Qing was wary of her, often recalling how the eldest son had nearly displaced her own son, and how the Concubine had once been her rival. Thus, she had ignored Lady Bai.

She almost wished this person didn’t exist in the mansion, so when the Dowager Consort suddenly mentioned her, the Princess of Qing felt uneasy: “Lady Bai? I’m afraid I might overburden her.”

To the Princess of Qing, Li Ju and Li Baoying were her children; the children of concubines were irrelevant. But to the Dowager Consort, the eldest grandson was also her flesh and blood—he had been sensible, filial, and had once brought her joy.

Lady Bai was his widow and would eventually adopt a child from the clan to continue the line. Now that Li Ju had a son, the heir’s position was more secure. The Dowager Consort felt this was a good opportunity—better than having the wives of the third or fourth sons, or someone from the Chongning Prince’s mansion, step in. If outsiders inserted their people, the Prince of Qing’s household would fall into chaos.

So the Dowager Consort smiled and said, “She’s only in her twenties, in the prime of life. What’s the point of hiding in her room all day? You’re her mother-in-law; it’s only natural to assign her tasks.”

Since the Dowager Consort had spoken, the Princess of Qing reluctantly agreed.

After recovering from her illness, Sheniang finally met this elder sister-in-law. This woman’s presence in the household was so faint that Sheniang felt she had only ever exchanged a glance with her, and no one ever mentioned her voluntarily.

She wore a blue woolen cloak, her face pale, with a few jade hairpins in her hair—she looked as lifeless as dead wood. The Princess of Qing hoped Sheniang would outshine Lady Bai, but Sheniang saw no need. Truthfully, she herself was only second-in-command—doing well was expected, and doing poorly would earn her a scolding.

She was little more than a high-ranking stewardess.

If Lady Bai wanted to manage affairs, Sheniang had no objection. It meant fewer tasks for her and more time to rest.

So when the Princess of Qing brought up Lady Bai, Sheniang said, “If the two of us handle matters together, constant back-and-forth will only waste time. Why don’t I and Elder Sister-in-law each take on a few tasks? What do you think, Mother?”

Seeing Sheniang like this, the Princess of Qing felt frustrated but ultimately agreed: “Fine. But your sister-in-law has never managed affairs before. I’ll assign her two tasks for now: one is night patrols—drinking and gambling are most likely to cause trouble, so the gates must be strictly monitored. The second is procurement for the Dowager Consort’s kitchen and managing the daily needs of the young performers.”

Clearly, these two tasks hadn’t yet touched the core of household management. But if she performed well, the Dowager Consort would surely speak up for her.

After years of being invisible, Lady Bai was finally given these two tasks. Though night patrols were unpleasant, it was an opportunity for her. Her servants were delighted. Her maid, Qiaoguo, said, “With the New Year approaching, many will drink and gamble. But many are long-serving old servants. Why not show some leniency and win their favor? I heard that when the principal wife patrols, she’s strict—anyone caught is beaten according to the Princess’s orders.”

“I was thinking the same. If night patrols are too strict, it’s easy to offend people. Especially Nanny Zhu and Nanny Fang—they’re the Dowager Consort’s people,” Lady Bai said.

Qiaoguo quickly added, “That’s why I said it’s best not to offend them.”

Lady Bai smiled. “She’s strict, so I’ll be lenient. How about this: I’ll patrol for a fixed hour each time, not randomly. That way, as long as they don’t gamble or drink during my patrol, no one can blame me later.”

Sheniang was unaware of this for now, because the Junzhu was about to marry into the Marquis of Shouning’s household, and the dowry had to be delivered in advance. As the sister-in-law, she was to guard the bridal chamber at the Marquis’s residence.

She had to pack her luggage and wondered what the people at the Marquis of Shouning’s household were like—she would have to interact with them.

Most importantly, she had to ensure the dowry wasn’t tampered with, which was crucial. She was also responsible for learning about the people in Wu Ting’s quarters.

Amid this busy period, she still had to manage household affairs. When she arrived at the main hall in the morning, someone reported, “Shizi’s wife, Little Hong from the Junzhu’s quarters has fallen ill. What should we do? She was supposed to accompany you tomorrow.”

“First, call a physician for her. See how serious her condition is. If she recovers by noon today, she can still accompany me tomorrow for the wedding. If not, send Chunxian instead,” Sheniang immediately instructed.

Such small, trivial matters, which once required her to consult past precedents, she could now handle with quick decisions.

After settling most of the issues, she learned that the Marquis of Dingbei had sent someone to announce good news: Li Niang was pregnant. Sheniang immediately had someone select tonics, supplements, and some of Aheng’s unused baby clothes to send over.

Nanny Xia remarked, “Fourth Young Mistress has finally seen better days after suffering so much.”

“Yes, it’s truly difficult for women. Even I can’t escape it now,” Sheniang said, unable to free herself from these constraints.

Nanny Xia smiled. “No matter what, now that Fourth Young Mistress can safely deliver a child, regardless of gender, it’s better than having none.”

If she had remained childless while a concubine gave birth to a son first, it would have been problematic. The way the Princess of Qing was wary of Lady Bai showed how much of an impact that could have.

The next day, Sheniang first went to the Princess of Qing to retrieve the dowry inventory, which was overwhelmingly long. She said, “Mother, I will first go to the storeroom to recheck the inventory. Then I’ll record which porter carries which chest. This way, if there’s an issue with any chest, we can trace it.”

“That’s a good method, though quite troublesome,” the Princess of Qing said, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the dowry. She had no desire to recheck it herself.

Sheniang smiled. “It’s no trouble. This is an important matter.”

The Princess of Qing was pleased to see her so diligent. Sheniang knew she was happy—those in power always liked hardworking and efficient subordinates.

She hurried to cross-check the large items, assigning specific porters to each and ensuring everything was in order.

For the smaller items, she cross-referenced them with the dowry list, replenishing anything missing and recording extras on a separate sheet.

This process took a full four hours. Sheniang preferred to finish tasks in one go—if something was left undone, she couldn’t eat. She meticulously wrote everything down on a sheet of paper and kept it as a draft.

Without stopping, she selected a few problematic items and had Qiu Ju take them to the Princess of Qing. Meanwhile, she began getting ready, as she would soon accompany the dowry to the Marquis’s residence.

Just then, Aheng wanted to be picked up. Sheniang looked at her son with reluctance, thinking how she was neglecting her own child for someone else’s affairs. But there was no helping it—she couldn’t let Lady Bai accompany the dowry instead. Even if she were willing, the Princess of Qing would likely refuse.

When Li Ju returned and saw this, he tried to hold Aheng, but the boy wanted only Sheniang. With her hair half done, Sheniang held her son and said, “Please take care of him today.”

“Don’t worry, but he doesn’t want me,” Li Ju said anxiously.

In his agitation, he grew warm and removed his heavy outer robe and jacket.

Seeing this, Sheniang said, “You can’t take your youth for granted. You mustn’t catch a chill.”

Li Ju looked at Aheng snuggled in Sheniang’s arms, like a little kitten, and said, “I know what you mean, but will Aheng ever want me?”

“It’s fine. Once I leave, he’ll want you. Children are naturally clever—you’ll see,” Sheniang said, then continued her grooming while holding the child.

After finishing her hair, she let the child play with the wet nurse and specifically instructed Nanny Xia to keep Xueji and the other young maids from entering without permission.

With that, she led the dowry procession to the Marquis of Shouning’s residence.

The Marquis of Shouning's residence had its main gates wide open today to welcome guests, and the Marchioness of Shouning was dressed in full ceremonial attire. Some relatives of the Wu family were chatting idly: "I heard the one overseeing the bridal chamber today is the heir's consort of the Prince of Qing. Do any of you know who she is?"

Someone said, "I know—she’s a daughter of the Pei family from Hedong."

"That’s also a prominent family, though we haven’t seen much of her."

...

None of them had interacted with the Junzhu before, assuming that people from the same household would behave similarly, so they were curious to see what the heir's consort of the Prince of Qing was like.

Then, a large red sedan chair embroidered with gold thread, carried by sixteen people, came to a stop. The ladies with official titles of the Marquis of Shouning's residence stood waiting respectfully. Shortly after, a young woman emerged—her forehead full and smooth, her nose delicate, her eyebrows elegant, her figure light and graceful, stunningly beautiful, standing out prominently in the crowd.

The Marchioness of Shouning thought to herself, *What fine looks and noble bearing—a perfect match for the heir of the Prince of Qing.*

Sheniang smiled and said, "There’s no need for such formality. Today, I am here on behalf of the Prince and Princess to deliver the dowry for the Junzhu."

The Marchioness of Shouning said, "Please, Consort."

Sheniang then had the dowry carried in one load after another. Although Princess Jiangdu was not an imperial princess, this marriage was even better than marrying one—while imperial sons-in-law could not participate in politics, there were no such restrictions for the husbands of Junzhus.

As the dowry was being brought in, Sheniang exchanged pleasantries with the Marchioness of Shouning. "I’ll hand the dowry list to you. Perhaps you could have someone check it."

"Why would we need to check? Would the Prince of Qing’s household ever deceive anyone? You honor me too much, Consort," the Marchioness of Shouning quickly declined.

Sheniang smiled. "Please accept it—it’s only proper."

The Marchioness of Shouning finally took it and asked, "How is the Dowager Consort and the Princess? We think of them often but haven’t had the chance to visit."

"Both are well. The Dowager Consort said that once things settle down, she’ll invite everyone to enjoy some opera. Our household has recently prepared several new performances."

After saying this, Sheniang added, "Which courtyard should the dowry be moved to?"

The Marchioness of Shouning pointed ahead. "Right up front—this courtyard was specially built for the wedding. I hope it doesn’t disappoint."

"Not at all. I see the area is level on all sides, with a spring as its lifeblood. The northeast corner is slightly recessed—a sure sign of prosperity and good fortune," Sheniang remarked.

The Marchioness of Shouning was surprised. "I don’t understand these things. I thought the recessed corner was a flaw—I had no idea it held such meaning."

Sheniang smiled. "An empty corner in the northeast attracts wealth—it’s quite obvious. You must be testing me, Marchioness."

At this, everyone laughed along.

When Sheniang arrived at the bridal chamber in the marquis’s residence, she saw the main room consisted of five sections: a heated chamber to the east, two bedrooms to the west, and a central hall that also served as a study. The west side faced water, and the northeast corner was recessed, with a large painted screen wall. She paused to look for a moment before stepping inside.

The Marchioness of Shouning had met Shun Niang before—a proper, well-mannered girl who clearly knew all the rules. This heir's consort, however, was different. She seemed highly educated, and her words and actions often carried depth that was hard to fathom.

After sitting down in the main hall, Sheniang said to Qiu Ju, Dong Mei, and the wet nurse who had come with the Junzhu, "Go and unpack the items from chests Jia-Xu and Geng-Chen first and arrange them. Then open the Ding-numbered chest and organize its contents."

Making the bed was of utmost importance. Sheniang had already labeled the chests, so they could be opened directly when needed.

The three didn’t dare delay and immediately set to work.

With that, Sheniang began conversing with the Marchioness of Shouning and the others. "Since the prince’s household sent me here today, I will naturally stay at your residence for the night. As the saying goes, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' How would you like to arrange things, Marchioness?"

Seeing her straightforward and direct manner, the Marchioness of Shouning smiled. "I thought we could wait until the bridal chamber is properly arranged, then have a banquet brought over. There’s a small kitchen not far from the courtyard gate—I’ve already instructed them to prepare meals. We’ve also made up a bed in the eastern heated chamber for our honored guest to rest."

"You’re too kind. My only wish is for harmony between our two families through this marriage," Sheniang replied with a smile.

After this, the Marchioness of Shouning and the others took their leave, leaving only a few maids behind to relay messages if needed.

Sheniang then went in to oversee the arrangement of the bridal chamber. She asked Nanny An, "Has all the dowry been moved into the storeroom? Is anything missing?"

Nanny An quickly replied, "Don’t worry—everything has been checked. Nothing is missing."

"Mmm, I’m not here to socialize. We need to make sure the bridal chamber is properly prepared," Sheniang said with a smile.

Nanny An thought to herself, *It’s clear the heir's consort isn’t particularly fond of socializing, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t good at it. At the very least, she knows how to handle basic interactions.*

*She’s very efficient—whatever she comes to do, she gets it done.*

The bed was set up, the bedding laid out, the utensils arranged neatly, antiques placed on the display shelves, ancient paintings hung on the walls, and the bed curtains and door hangings all put up.

Once everything was done, Sheniang finally sat down to eat. The food at the Marquis of Shouning’s residence was quite delicious. She hadn’t eaten all day, so she ended up having two bowls of rice.

"Don’t wait on me here—go and have your meal. I’ll take a stroll around the courtyard myself," Sheniang said after finishing her meal, not wanting to sit still.

It was a good chance to walk around the courtyard. She had no particular desire to pry into the Wu family’s affairs—after all, hearsay could be misleading, and even what one saw might not be entirely true. She was afraid that if she said something, it might lead to misunderstandings, which wouldn’t be good.

The people of the Marquis of Shouning’s residence were also eating together. Today, Wu Ting was dining with his mother and couldn’t help asking, "What do you think of the people from the Prince of Qing’s household?"

"Very proper. They don’t speak loudly and are very efficient. But the heir's consort of the Prince of Qing..." The Marchioness of Shouning wasn’t sure how to describe her.

Wu Ting pressed, "What about her?"

The Marchioness of Shouning recounted the day’s events: "I heard she was the Junzhu’s study companion. She can even discuss Yin-Yang, the Eight Trigrams, and feng shui with ease—it shows how learned she is. The Junzhu might be even more so."

The Marquis of Shouning’s household was different from the Marquis of Xinan’s. The latter had married daughters of civil officials for two generations, so the family emphasized literary pursuits. The men of the Marquis of Shouning’s household also studied but focused more on martial training—even the heir, Wu Ting, was like this.

Wu Ting nodded. "Yes, the heir of the Prince of Qing was famously studious among the imperial clan—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been chosen as the Crown Prince’s study companion."

Sheniang, of course, had no idea about this misunderstanding. She still had to guard the bridal chamber, but after her walk, she felt sleepy and soon dozed off.

Li Ju, on the other hand, had gone to see A Heng before returning to rest. With the heir's consort away, some people naturally grew restless—like Xue Ji. Not long after Cui Lan left, her family had arranged a marriage for her. Xue Ji wanted to return, but the heir's consort simply said there were already enough people and no vacancies, so she had no choice.

Now that the heir's consort had given birth and still monopolized the heir, quite a few in the residence were displeased.

But Xue Ji wasn’t as cunning as Cui Lan—she didn’t keep her actions discreet. She only thought about going in to serve, never expecting Xia Mama to be guarding the door. Seeing her trying to enter, Xia Mama said, "It’s not your turn to serve today. There’s no need for you to go in."

Xue Ji hadn’t expected the heir's consort to be so wary of them. Flushing with anger and embarrassment, she retreated. Li Ju inside heard but pretended not to, flipping through the books Sheniang usually read before settling down to sleep.

He had heard from Sheniang that internal household matters were for women to manage. If men interfered, it would only make the women seem incompetent. So, he left the handling of maids and servants to Sheniang.

The next day, when Sheniang returned home, she was busy for another full day before finally seeing her sister-in-law off.

As for Wu Ting, he had been worried that the Junzhu might be some kind of learned woman who spoke in overly refined language. But after a few days together, he found that while his wife was certainly educated, she didn’t even know works like *Lunheng* or *Yijing*. It seemed she was different from her sister-in-law, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

As for what the Junzhu and the Princess of Qing discussed in private or what the latter gave her, that wasn’t something Sheniang concerned herself with. She simply rested properly for two days before getting back to routine.

After the Junzhu’s marriage, the Princess of Qing seemed somewhat distraught. The Dowager Consort suggested that she raise her grandson by her side, but the Princess of Qing shook her head. "I couldn’t bear the pain of separating family, especially a mother from her child. Besides, at my age, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to care for such a young child properly."

Hearing this, Sheniang felt that her mother-in-law had her merits.

That night, on her way back from the Princess of Qing’s quarters, she happened to run into Lady Bai making her rounds. Xia Mama said, "This lady is very diligent. Every day at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), she takes a small sedan chair and inspects every area."

Sheniang wondered, "If she inspects at the same time every day, doesn’t that just tell the servants that they can do whatever they want at other times without anyone watching?"

"Oh," Xia Mama hadn’t thought of that before.

Sheniang said, "This is something the Princess of Qing should address, but she is watching from the sidelines, unwilling to speak up. We’ll keep a discreet watch, and if we find anyone committing wrongdoing, we’ll report it to her."

If it were up to her, she would have taken action long ago, but it wasn’t her place to make decisions now. Speaking out would mean offending the Dowager Consort.

After all, Lady Bai was someone recommended by the Dowager Consort.

Setting aside these household matters for now, Sheniang accompanied the Princess of Qing into the palace during the New Year festivities. Walking through the familiar palace corridors, she felt a strange mix of alienation and recognition.

The inner palace was the empress’s territory. However, since Consort Xu had given birth to the second prince and enjoyed the emperor’s favor, she now sat right below the empress dowager, almost as if vying for influence. To keep her daughter-in-law in check, the empress dowager showed considerable respect to Consort Xu.

In her previous life, there had been no second prince and no Consort Xu, because the emperor died early.

This Consort Xu clearly wasn’t someone who would abide by the rules quietly. She wondered if there would be a struggle for the throne in the future.

Returning from the palace, Sheniang was lost in thought. As someone who had been reborn, there were many things she couldn’t share with those around her. To distract herself, she decided to keep busy and personally made several types of dumplings, which she sent to the Dowager Consort and the Princess of Qing.

But this upset Lady Bai, who managed the Dowager Consort’s personal kitchen. The meals had already been prepared, yet Sheniang sent over dumplings. The Dowager Consort, acting like a capricious old lady, said, "The dumplings made by the Princess Consort herself must be delicious."

The Dowager Consort enjoyed the dumplings, leaving the prepared meals largely untouched.

Fuming, Lady Bai went out on her nightly rounds but hurried through them and returned early. As soon as she left, the matrons started gambling and drinking, making quite a ruckus. Coincidentally, this was when the Junzhu and Wu Ting had a fight, and the Junzhu ran back home in the middle of the night. She knocked on the side and back gates, but no one answered.

After a while, her knocking grew more frantic, and someone finally noticed the nearly frozen Junzhu. The Princess of Qing was heartbroken and began scolding Lady Bai for neglecting her night patrol duties. Sheniang thought to herself that her mother-in-law didn’t care about things until they affected her directly—she stood on the sidelines, avoiding responsibility when she should have taken action.

But why had the Junzhu returned to her mother’s home so soon, less than half a month after marriage?