The Eldest Daughter-in-Law [Reborn] - Chapter 38

Wang Shuhuai asked Ming Gui to step back and began to examine the ball in front of him. The ball was white, with layers of hollowed-out spheres, each with a different carved pattern. The outermost layer featured auspicious dragons and phoenixes. Using a small silver needle, he carefully moved it inside. The pattern of the second layer slowly emerged from the hollow parts, depicting the four scenes of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The third layer showed twin flowers and mulberry trees; the fourth layer displayed a full moon; the fifth layer illustrated many children and blessings; the sixth layer depicted the sound of musical instruments; and the innermost layer seemed to represent a heart-to-heart bond, with some words engraved on it that were not clearly visible in the dim light.

The patterns were complex, exquisite, and meaningful. The elegant and graceful lines made Wang Shuhuai wonder if it could have been made by a female craftsman. He admired it greatly, played with it for a while, and then placed it on its base in the dark box behind him.

It rained for several days in a row, and it cleared up on April 26th. Dewdrops covered the lush summer grass, and hundreds of peonies were in full bloom, like flaming clouds. There were only six days left until Wang Shuhuai’s birthday.

In the early morning, the Third Madam called Xie Yunchu to discuss the birthday banquet. The other young wives and grandmothers were sitting in the hanging flower hall drinking tea. Across the water was a pavilion. Laughter came through the woods and across the water, creating a unique artistic conception. It was the girls in the mansion who were enjoying themselves by admiring the flowers and bamboo, drinking, and composing poems.

Xie Yunchu took on the responsibility in front of everyone and said, “The guest list will be decided by Third Aunt, and the rest of the kitchen and meal arrangements will be handed over to me.” 

She thought that the order would come down soon, so she took the job first to prevent the Third Madam from wasting money.

Upon hearing that, the Third Madam showed her admiration and said, “Look, if the Fifth Young Master (her son) could get a wife as capable as Chu’er, I would wake up with a smile every morning.” 

The Third Madam had a son and a daughter, the Fifth Young Master and the Second Lady, who were both in the process of being married. As they were the legitimate grandchildren of the Eldest Princess and the Duke, they were very popular in the capital.

Second Madam Jiang thought that Xie Yunchu was just being courteous to the Third Madam, and she felt so sick that she snorted awkwardly.

Outside the curtain, bamboo sounds were like singing. The Third Madam told Xie Yunchu what to pay attention to. Xie Yunchu lowered her head and listened silently. After a while, a maid ran over from the corridor in front. It was obvious that she was greatly frightened.

The Third Madam saw that the person looked familiar, and she was a well-known maid in the mansion. She immediately said, “Why are you so scared now? There is a master sitting here. How can you be so rude?”

The Eldest Madam sitting at the top recognized the housekeeper beside her. Her heart sank slightly and she leaned forward and asked, “What’s wrong?” After all, she was not the real mistress of the Wang family, so she lacked confidence when she spoke.

The maid fell to her knees in front of her, tears streaming down her face. “Madam, our master was just carried back. It was said that someone had covered him in ink while he was walking through the streets. That person even threatened to challenge him to a duel. Our master is a scholar; how could he know any martial arts?”

The Eldest Madam was shaking, saying, “How is that possible?”

The Third Madam’s face suddenly darkened, “This is simply lawless.”

After a while, she called the servant who followed the master Wang Shuzhao and asked him the reason.

The boy cried with snot and tears, “That man is big and strong, claiming to be a retainer of the Jing’an Palace of Western Chu. He said that he came to the capital this time to challenge the eldest grandson of our Duke’s Mansion and to settle the feud with the Duke.” At the end, he lowered his voice and glanced at Jiang secretly.

After these words were spoken, no one spoke in the Chuihua Hall for a long time.

The feud between the Duke and King Jing’an of Western Chu was known to everyone in the palace.

Logically, the target of Jing’an Palace’s revenge should be Wang Shuhuai, but the Eldest Master Wang Bin had followed his mother to the Wang family since he was two years old. Outsiders regarded him as the Eldest Son of the Duke, so they seeked revenge on him.

The situation was so delicate that even the Third Madam, Zhou, didn’t know how to handle it.

The Eldest Madam’s eyes were filled with tears. She was so shocked that she half collapsed in the armchair, feeling both aggrieved and angry.

Jiang silently wiped her forehead and, for the first time, felt fortunate that someone ignored Wang Shuhuai’s identity as the eldest grandson. Xie Yunchu was not so lucky. She knew very well that the Eldest Princess ‘s order would come down soon and Wang Shuhuai would definitely be pushed to the forefront. In her previous life, it was her brother who protected him from disaster. In this life, she detained her brother in the academy. What should Wang Shuhuai do?

It was not that she didn’t worry. Even if her heart had turned cold towards him, he was still her husband and the father of her children. They rose and fell together.

The ladies soon left, and Xie Yunchu followed Jiang back to the second house. When they were alone, Jiang couldn’t help but gloat over her misfortune. “See? It’s not that he won’t take revenge. It’s just that the time has not come yet. Didn’t they want to take advantage of the title of eldest grandson? Well, now they are here to seek revenge. Let them have a headache.”

Jiang was short-sighted and had no foresight. Xie Yunchu had no time to pay attention to her. She sent her to Ninghe Hall and went back to her room. Sure enough, in the evening, news came from the palace that the Eldest Princess was about to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for Wang Shuhuai in the Imperial Palace. This news was like a thunderbolt hitting the Second Madam’s head. Not only could they not say a word, but they also had to be grateful. Jiang almost cried and fell into her husband’s arms.

“Why push my Huai’er out? They take the benefits while we take the blame. Is there any law in this world…” The Second Master blocked the second half of the sentence. He was angry and panicked, “Just stop talking. There’s no point in nagging like this.”

The Second Master was so anxious that he was incoherent. When he came to his senses, he saw his wife bowing her head, regretting their words. He was silent for a moment, then he looked at Xie Yunchu.

“Chu girl, you have some face in front of the Princess . Tomorrow morning, you go to the palace to ask for an audience with the Princess and ask her to tell you how to deal with this matter.”

Xie Yunchu knew that this approach would not work. “Father, how about we wait for the Second Young Master to come back and discuss it first, and then make a decision?”

After being reminded by her, the Second Master realized that it was too rash to go look for the Princess . That matter was of great importance and the Duke would definitely come back to give an explanation. The Second Master had never felt so aggrieved as that day. His deep eyes were red, veins were bulging on his forehead, and he was venting all his grievances.