"Qi'er, let your mother-in-law come inside to talk," Xu Shaowen suggested from the side.
The eldest princess quickly pulled Song Shi into the house. Qingping and Cuiyun were each carrying a rattan box, which had already been taken by the eldest princess's maid.
"Shaowen, go and see how things are going with Mother. I want to have a good talk with her," the eldest princess said to Xu Shaowen.
Upon hearing this, Madam Song felt a surge of anxiety. How could anyone chase away their husband like this? Having spent half her life as a concubine, Madam Song naturally felt that the longer she could keep her husband, the better.
Xu Shaowen then bowed to Madam Song and went out.
"Why did you kick him out like that?" Madam Song said, pulling the eldest princess along.
"It's alright. With him here, how can my daughter and I have a private conversation?" Mo Yaqi said with a smile, unconcerned.
“You can’t embarrass your husband like that!” Madam Song tapped Mo Yaqi’s forehead and said, “His respect for you is largely due to your status. But if a couple relies solely on their status, they won’t have a happy life together. Your stepmother is a perfect example.”
Mo Yaqi was taken aback by Song's words, but then smiled and said, "Mother, I understand."
Only then did Madam Song begin to examine the room where Mo Yaqi lived. She noticed that in addition to the dowry given by the Fourth Master, there were some new furnishings, which should have been provided by the Xu family.
"Where are Chunliu and Xiahe?" Madam Song glanced at the maids standing in the room, but did not find them.
“Xia He has already been sent away, and Chun Liu took leave yesterday to visit her family. I usually grant her leave after she’s been with me for so long,” Mo Yaqi said.
"Xia He got married? When did that happen?" Madam Song asked in surprise.
“It happened a month ago. She suddenly came to me and said that her family had arranged a marriage for her. She really wanted to go out, so I agreed and gave her thirty taels as a dowry,” Mo Yaqi said.
After thinking for a moment, Madam Song signaled to Moyaqi to dismiss all the maids in the room, leaving only the four maids who had come with her as part of the dowry.
"Mo Yaqi, how are you? Tell your mother, don't hide anything!" said Madam Song.
“I don’t know if I’m doing well or not. My mother-in-law is supposed to visit me every morning and evening, but she’s never really liked me. My father-in-law and Shaowen are both very nice, so I don’t feel like there’s anything wrong with me,” Mo Yaqi said.
Madam Song looked at the eldest princess with concern, feeling that the child had been raised by the Fujin to be somewhat dull-witted. She had grown up safely, but lacked any cunning or scheming.
"Why doesn't your mother-in-law like you very much?" Song knew that the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was a difficult one, but as long as her father-in-law and husband sided with the eldest princess, life wouldn't be too hard. But since she was here, she naturally had to inquire about it; it would be even better if the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was improved.
“My mother-in-law likes my sister-in-law. Because my sister-in-law is her own niece, she could never treat me any better. No matter how well I do, she still prefers my sister-in-law. My mother-in-law's health isn't very good, so all the big and small affairs of the Xu family are handled by my sister-in-law,” Mo Yaqi said.
"She's the elder sister, and you're the younger one. She entered the family first, so it's only natural that she's in charge of managing the household. As long as she doesn't bully you, you should show her some respect, and maintain harmony between you two sisters-in-law," Madam Song instructed.
“Yes, but she deliberately reduced our expenses time and time again, and I really don’t know what she meant. My sister-in-law has given birth to two daughters, and she’s afraid that if I have a boy this time, I might have a reason to replace her position in the family. That’s why she dares to manipulate me with my mother-in-law’s favor.” Mo Yaqi said, “Shaowen isn’t good at managing household affairs. When I talked to him about it, he just told my family to prioritize harmony. But I, the granddaughter of the emperor, am being manipulated by them. I really feel resentful.”
Seeing the resentment on Moyaqi's face, Madam Song quickly comforted her, "Moya, the most important thing for you now is to give birth to a healthy baby. If it's a boy, your mother-in-law will change her attitude towards you. After all, the eldest son's side only has daughters."
Mo Yaqi nestled in Song's arms, saying somewhat dejectedly, "My sister-in-law is still trying to get pregnant. She probably wants a son. However, my brother already has two concubines, and they've been causing her a lot of trouble lately."
Upon hearing this, Madam Song asked in a low voice, "Has Shaowen not yet taken a concubine?"
Mo Yaqi smiled shyly and said, "On our wedding day, he promised me that he would never take a concubine."
Looking at her daughter's shy face, Madam Song felt a pang of emotion. This was the dream of so many women: a man who would remain devoted to one woman his entire life, bearing children and growing old together.
"Mo'er, I'm relieved that Shaowen treats you this way. But you still need to find a way to get along well with your mother-in-law. She is, after all, his mother, and filial piety is one of the necessary conditions for serving as an official in the court. So, you must get along well with your mother-in-law. Do you understand?" Although Madam Song was advising Mo Yaqi, she was actually dissatisfied with this mother-in-law who had not yet met her husband. How come she hadn't shown up yet, not even the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xu family? Was she supposed to go and pay her respects to them?
Meanwhile, Lord Xu and Xu Shaowen were in Madam Meng's room, trying to persuade her to go see Madam Song.
"I won't go, Grandfather. What kind of talk is it for a third-rank lady, a daughter of a marquis, to go to see a concubine? The Song family is just a minor garrison officer in Jiangnan. Why should you take it so seriously, sir?" Madam Xu, Meng, sat upright on the daybed by the window, which was covered with a thick cotton quilt. Standing beside her was a middle-aged woman in a bright red satin robe, who was none other than her eldest daughter-in-law, Han.
“What are you saying? She is the princess of the Fourth Prince, and you should go and meet her according to her status. Besides, she has already come, and you are avoiding her like this. It makes people think that our Xu family has no manners at all,” said Lord Xu.
"As a concubine, she shouldn't have come to see us. Now that she's here, she should be the one paying her respects, not me. My lord, although our second daughter-in-law's family is the Fourth Prince's family, Shaowen had other options back then. If you hadn't insisted on this marriage, Ruo'er would have become our second daughter-in-law, strengthening family ties. Wouldn't that be better than things are now?" Meng Shi had said this to her husband more than once in the past year. It turned out that Meng Shi already had a chosen second daughter-in-law in mind—her younger brother's legitimate daughter, Meng Ruo'er. Unfortunately, Lord Xu had arranged a marriage with the Fourth Prince, forcing her to accept the arrangement. Although it was considered a stepping stone to the royal family, Meng Shi felt that the eldest princess was merely an illegitimate daughter and wouldn't bring much benefit to the Xu family.
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