Dow's story 1
Since they last parted during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ling Wan had not seen Mrs. Tao for several days when she went to Rong'an Hall to pay her respects.
Mrs. Lin, Tao's attendant, came to tell her that she was ill and could not see the wind. Mrs. Shen said nothing, but made Mrs. Lin kneel in the side hall for a long time, and then, as if she had just remembered her, she told the maid to send her away.
At first Ling Wan thought that Tao was really sick, and ran to the pomegranate garden in a hurry.
But after running several times, she was blocked outside the garden by Mother Lin with an embarrassed look on her face. Then she figured out what was going on: Mrs. Tao was not sick, she just didn't want to see anyone.
Because of Sixth Master Shen's concubine, Tao openly quarreled with her mother-in-law. Lu was furious and resentful. If Tao were her daughter, the eldest lady would have whipped her with a horsewhip.
Although Chen Yuanyuan disapproved of her behavior of hurting herself and her enemies for a man, she also understood Tao's feelings. So she would still visit the pomegranate garden every now and then to check on Tao's well-being.
That day, Madam Lu was away, and Ling Wan accompanied Old Lady Shen in the west wing for breakfast. Suddenly, Old Lady Shen asked, "Ling Wan, is your sixth brother's wife feeling better?"
The Second Lady went to the pomegranate garden to visit the Sixth Lady, but was always turned away by her. This matter had already spread among the servants.
Ling Wan was stunned, not knowing what to say. She could only serve Old Madam Shen a small bowl of glutinous rice, mushroom and duck breast porridge in a flattering manner, and said vaguely, "It's better now. Mother, this glutinous rice porridge is smooth and fragrant today. Please try it."
Old Madam Shen glanced at her, then half-closed her eyes and said nothing.
Chen Yuanyuan felt half sighing and half disappointed in herself.
Why put yourself in a disadvantageous situation for a man?
Although she understood that Tao wanted to be with one person for the rest of her life, under this feudal system, it was allowed by both national law and patriarchal law for a man to have one wife and multiple concubines.
She quarreled with her husband over a concubine or maid, and was openly disrespectful to her mother-in-law. If word got out, people would accuse Tao of being jealous and disobedient to her parents-in-law (she had committed two of the seven grounds for divorce). Not only would it damage the reputations of her sisters, but it would also lead to criticism of the family traditions of the Cheng'en Marquisate, making marriages between siblings difficult in the future.
Was Mr. Shen Liu a glittering swan, worthy of being disliked by her husband's family, unloved by her own family, and ultimately left alone and helpless?!
She had already decided that if she saw Mrs. Tao, she would scold her until she woke up. If that didn't work, she would ask her eldest sister-in-law to scold her with a horsewhip. But she didn't give her a chance, and for the sake of her reputation, she couldn't force her way in.
"Second brother's wife, when you go to the pomegranate garden to visit your sixth brother's wife, please also give a message to mother." Old Madam Shen slowly opened her eyes, "Tell her that I know she is depressed and can't get over it, so I want to invite the uncle and the aunt to come over in a few days and take her back to her parents' home to stay for a while."
Ling Wan was stunned and immediately knelt down: "Mother, no!"
Old Madam Shen was born into a family of ancient scholars in Xunyang. When she was young, she was highly praised by the circle of noble ladies in Kyoto for her upright character, kindness and generosity.
Mrs. Tao pretended to be sick, and Old Lady Shen went along with it and pretended to be deaf and dumb. On the one hand, she really loved her daughter-in-law and wanted to give her time to figure things out on her own; on the other hand, she was also concerned about the reputation of the Tao family. If this got out, who would dare to marry the daughter of the Marquis of Cheng'en's mansion?
But half a month later, Tao was still doing her own thing, acting as if everyone was sorry for her. If Old Madam Shen continued to keep silent, it would be a problem with the Shen family's family tradition.
Ling Wan tugged at Madam Shen's sleeve, thought for a moment, and said earnestly, "It's true that Sixth Brother's wife was wrong in this matter. She was confused for a moment, so it's normal for Mother to be angry with her, and it's normal for her daughter-in-law to be angry too."
"But sometimes I think privately, mother, and I'm not afraid of your blame, I'm actually a little envious of my sixth brother's wife."
"She was deeply in love with Uncle Six, a love stronger than gold. Her deep love made her impulsive, which is why she had an argument with Uncle Six and came crying in front of you."
"But mother, think carefully, if Sixth Brother's wife didn't regard you as a close relative and a person of the greatest respect, how could a daughter-in-law cry and complain to her mother-in-law about her bedroom affairs, earning her a reputation as jealous for no reason?"
"When you've been wronged, you go and cry to your mother. That's what a daughter would do. You're her mother-in-law, and even more so, her mother."
Ling Wan had been secretly watching Madam Shen's expression from the corner of her eye. Seeing her expression gradually soften, she immediately added fuel to the fire: "It's normal for a daughter to quarrel with her mother. Just scold her and give her some advice. Why get angry and hurt yourself?"
Ling Wan started to act aggrieved as she spoke, "Sometimes I see my mother and my sixth brother's wife being as close as mother and daughter, and I'm really envious."
"But when I think about it, my sixth brother's wife married into the family before me and spent much more time with Mother than I did. I also think it's normal for Mother to be partial and only love her daughter."
"You little girl, among you three sisters-in-law, how could I ever be partial to any of you?" Old Madam Shen's face was completely relaxed. She gestured to her personal maid, Mama Fan, to help her up and asked with a smile.
Ling Wan pretended to wipe away her tears: "She's just partial. Last month, Mother gave Chun Lei to my sixth brother's wife, but not to me or my eldest sister-in-law."
Faced with her second daughter-in-law's unreasonable and nonsensical "accusations", Old Lady Shen was shocked for a moment, then sighed with laughter and said to Mother Fan, "Look at her mouth. It's obvious that among the three of them, only Sister Zhang knows some piano skills, and now the little girl is blaming me for being partial."
Ling Wan chuckled dryly, then feigned indifference, her bright almond-shaped eyes wide open as she spoke aggrievedly, "Mother, you forgot. Although your daughter-in-law isn't good at playing the zither, her husband is a master of it."
As soon as the words fell, even Mrs. Fan beside her burst into laughter. Old Madam Shen pointed at Ling Wan and laughed so hard that she couldn't speak.
The subsequent matter of inviting Uncle Cheng'en and his wife naturally came to nothing.
Ling Wan knew very well that this time, Madam Shen was giving face to her sixth daughter-in-law because she remembered the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for many years. But if Mrs. Tao still couldn't figure it out, it would be useless for the eldest sister-in-law to ask for help next time.
So after coming out of Rong'an Hall, Ling Wan went straight to Minghui Garden to discuss with Mrs. Lu how to wake up her love brain.
When Mrs. Lu heard that Mrs. Shen was going to invite the uncle's wife to her house, she frowned.
The mother-in-law had always been fond of Mrs. Tao, so from an emotional point of view, the punishment was indeed too harsh. But Mrs. Lu thought about it and could understand it. Sister Tang would be getting married soon, and Huailin and Huaijin had been married for a few years.
If a daughter-in-law dares to be openly rude to her mother-in-law because her husband does not help her with a concubine, and her descendants follow suit, the Shen family's reputation will be ruined and its foundation will be overturned in an instant.
Ling Wan frowned and said, "I don't know the details of the people in the mansion as well as my elder sister-in-law, so please arrange for some loyal and reliable women and wives to clear the area outside the pomegranate garden, especially guarding the entrances and exits to prevent the servants from gossiping."
"I will lead my men into the pomegranate orchard later. We must pull out that coward today."
Tao was her first friend here. How could she bear to see her abandon her own reputation and family for a stinky man?
Ling Wan explained her plans in detail to her eldest sister-in-law. Meanwhile, Madam Lu sipped her tea silently, her eyes flickering slightly, though she remained silent.
As for the matter of the sixth room, no matter how much she was secretly annoyed with the Tao family for not living up to her expectations, she could only remain secretly annoyed.
After all, there is always a room between them, and their identities are only sisters-in-law. There are also many concerns between legitimate and illegitimate children. It is not her turn as the eldest sister-in-law to intervene in the feuds between the six rooms.
But the second sister-in-law was different. She treated Tao and herself with genuine sincerity and openness. While she was angry at Tao's lack of fighting spirit and grieved at her misfortune, she was also fearless and stood up for Tao and made plans for her.
With such sisters-in-law, what more could one ask for? Mrs. Lu felt ashamed that she was not as good as them.
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