Chapter 43 The Drunkard’s Heart Is Not on the Wine

Chapter 43: The Drinker's Heart Is Not in the Wine

Concubine Yu was startled and flicked her handkerchief: "You, you girl, how dare you set your sights on this? Your legitimate mother is not what she used to be, and your elder sister is even more formidable. If they were to find out, you'd be asking for trouble!"

At this, Concubine Yu looked somewhat terrified, as if the mother-daughter pair were already summoning burly maidservants to come storming over.

A few days ago, they had all been beaten, and that feeling... she never wanted to go through that again.

"Besides, a legitimate wife is a legitimate wife, period. To be honest, in the past, your legitimate mother didn't give us concubines a second thought, letting us do whatever we wanted. But when she truly decides to put us in our place, like that day... your elder sister is even more formidable. If you were to share a husband with her, you'd truly fall into the hands of that shrew."

Concubine Yu then pleaded with her daughter: "My dear girl, just put this idea out of your head. There are plenty of good families out there. Forget about the powerful and influential—aren't there plenty of rich men around? Why not just settle down as a rich man's wife? Wouldn't that be nice?"

"What kind of rich wife could I ever be?" Xi Jiaojiao sneered. "Don't try to fool me. Could I marry a concubine-born son? Could I be a rich merchant's second wife?"

Concubine Yu was stunned. She wanted to reassure her daughter that things wouldn't turn out so badly.

But she also knew full well—a concubine-born daughter, a merchant's daughter at that—what kind of family could she possibly marry into?

She didn't have a hundred thousand taels of silver as a dowry!

Nor did she have those one hundred and twenty-eight chests of fine dowry goods!

The legitimate mistress had made it clear that these concubine-born sons and daughters wouldn't get a single bit of advantage.

Concubine Yu was momentarily at a loss. Having grown used to a life of luxury, and since she'd given birth to a daughter, she had gotten used to not thinking about anything at all.

"Mother, think carefully—among the people we can actually meet, is there anyone better than Young Master Yang out there?"

Xi Jiaojiao asked seriously. She knew her mother wasn't very knowledgeable, but she was a woman who had won favor through her looks—a concubine.

A concubine could still teach her how to survive in the inner quarters.

Concubine Yu muttered: "You know, I rarely get to meet people. I can't even..."

Socializing was something only the legitimate wife and lady of the house could do.

Concubines, of course, could only shrink into the back courtyard, like pretty caged birds.

"Jiaojiao, think it over carefully in your heart—is the life I live what you want? Just eating well and dressing well, with no worries, but is it as comfortable as being the lady of the house?"

Xi Jiaojiao smiled: "Mother, of course I want to be a legitimate wife. As long as—as long as Young Master Yang divorces elder sister, then I could take her place, right?"

Concubine Yu found it unbelievable: "Are you crazy? Why on earth would he divorce your elder sister for no reason?"

"Sigh, as long as we have silver, he'd surely be willing to divorce her."

Concubine Yu still found it hard to believe, but Xi Jiaojiao no longer wanted to discuss it.

She had clearly noticed that her elder sister and that young master from the marquis's manor were only putting on a show of harmony. The fact that they hadn't divorced was also because each was getting something out of it.

It was all about silver, wasn't it?

"Mother, how much silver do you have? When I marry, you'll need to prepare a dowry for me, won't you?"

Xi Jiaojiao's gaze turned cold and sharp, as if she were pressing Concubine Yu for an answer.

Concubine Yu felt a sudden, inexplicable panic: "You know, I don't have a dependable family to fall back on. Over the years, I've given quite a bit to your maternal grandfather and uncles... I don't have any property of my own, only what your father gives me."

"How much is it exactly?" Xi Jiaojiao was very impatient.

"Five thousand taels." Concubine Yu carefully observed her daughter's expression. "Five thousand taels is no small sum—I scrimped and saved for it. The other concubines don't have nearly as much as I do. You know I'm the most favored..."

Xi Jiaojiao's face fell: "I'm a concubine's daughter, and you only have five thousand taels. Even if you gave me all five thousand, what kind of good family could I marry into?"

Concubine Yu's heart lurched. Five thousand taels—in her eyes, that was a fortune! And this daughter of hers actually thought it was too little.

Besides, she had no intention of giving all five thousand taels to her daughter.

When beauty fades, love grows cold—she knew this principle well.

Being favored now didn't mean she would always be favored. She took good care of herself and looked young, but in reality, she was already getting on in years.

Of all the concubines, she was the oldest!

Master Xi was not a man of lasting love. He had plenty of silver—how many women threw themselves at him on a daily basis?

It was only recently, because the legitimate mistress Zeng Shi had gotten her father and elder brother to gradually cut off their business dealings with the Xi family, that Master Xi was so overwhelmed he had no time to chase after women.

Otherwise, who knew when there might be new sisters in this household?

She had to keep some silver for her own old age!

Seeing that her daughter showed her no consideration, she also got a bit angry: "Girl, your ambitions are sky-high, but unfortunately you weren't born from the mistress's womb. I, your concubine mother, only have this much ability. That's just how it is—I envy the mistress too, born into a wealthy family, with a father and brothers to back her up."

Mother and daughter were both angry, and fell into silence, the mood ruined.

Concubine Yu then went back to her own courtyard. The maidservant at her side advised: "Madam, why get angry at the Second Miss? In this great household, the Second Miss is the one closest to you."

"That's true, but look—now that she's grown up, she's not the least bit considerate. She never thinks about my difficulties, only that I'm useless." Concubine Yu said wistfully. "If only I had a son to lean on. A daughter is bound to marry out eventually. It's just a pity that after I miscarried, I could never get pregnant again."

After her conversation with Concubine Yu, Xi Jiaojiao felt more and more that her fate was already sealed for the worse.

No, she couldn't just sit back and wait for her doom.

When Xi Qianyue heard that Xi Jiaojiao had come to see her, she was quite surprised.

She asked, not quite sure: "Who did you say it was?"

The maidservant answered smartly: "It's the Second Miss, Xi Jiaojiao. She said she came to see you."

"Let her in."

Xi Qianyue then asked Qing Rong with a smile: "Tell me, what brings the Second Miss here?"

"Maybe she really did come to see the Eldest Young Madam?"

"I think there's more to this than meets the eye."

Xi Jiaojiao entered the exquisite courtyard and saw quite a few burly maidservants, secretly marveling at the sight.

This elder sister was beautiful herself, yet she had hired so many sturdy maidservants—was she afraid they wouldn't make her look slender by comparison?

"What brings Second Sister here?" Xi Qianyue smiled slightly, but her tone was far from warm.

"I had nothing better to do, so I thought I'd come see elder sister."

Xi Jiaojiao had shed her usual willful demeanor, as if she were truly close to Xi Qianyue.

Xi Qianyue found this amusing: "Our relationship isn't that close yet, is it? Curious about my life after marriage? Now that you've seen it, are you envious, or what?"

Xi Jiaojiao hadn't expected Xi Qianyue to have completely changed her personality—neither putting on a false front nor being subtle and roundabout, but so blunt. She was momentarily taken aback.