The hexagram "Ben" (贲) is a middle-upper-level hexagram.
Chapter 22, Hexagram 22 (Ben): A Middle-Upper Hexagram - A Concubine Delivered to the Door
Madam Wang's words were merely meant to comfort her. She feared that since she had only recently married into the family, rumors about the princess and Xie Chengzhi would already be circulating, which would upset her.
Only then did he hurriedly inform her before she heard the gossip that her eldest brother had not received the princess.
Upon hearing this, Rong Yan's expression shifted slightly. Although they had only known each other for a short time, judging from her discerning eye, he was a man of such deep thoughts who would never refuse Princess Yongqing's entry for her own sake.
There are people in the mansion who want him dead. Perhaps he is deliberately being cold and indifferent to avoid implicating his "beloved".
Therefore, Rong Yan lingered by the Golden Lotus Pond for a long time before returning to Qu Shen Courtyard.
Unexpectedly, they were told that Wang was inside and that no one was allowed to enter.
In the room separated by a door, Madam Wang was sitting in front of the bed, while Xie Chengzhi was leaning against the bed.
The room was filled with a strong smell of medicine, but Wang seemed to have gotten used to it and did not find it unpleasant.
"The princess just came to see me. She, a princess of such high status, has humbled herself for you. Why should you avoid her? Your mother knows it was my own decision to arrange for you to marry the young lady from Minister Rong's family, and you feel ashamed to face Princess Yongqing. But she is a compassionate person; you don't need to be arrogant. Now, what's done is done, and I must advise you: if you truly do not wish to, then take a concubine you like. If Princess Yongqing is willing…"
As soon as Wang finished speaking, Xie Chengzhi's expression became somewhat subtle.
Seeing this, Madam Wang pressed on, saying, "Princess Yongqing came today. Do you really think it's for the banquet in the inner quarters? She just wants to see you. You're not stupid, so why keep her at arm's length?"
He raised a faint smile, a hint of self-deprecation in his voice, and said, "I am a dying man, without any official rank. I am not the same person I was yesterday, so what merit do I have to deserve the favor of those in the palace?"
"Don't say such unlucky things as 'about to die'! You know perfectly well that Princess Yongqing..."
"It's impossible for us to be together."
Seeing his resolute answer, Madam Wang was somewhat surprised. After regaining her composure, she said, "Do you think Princess Yongqing is unwilling to be a concubine? Today, she stated directly that she would ask the Emperor for a marriage contract. Although she would enter the palace as a concubine, given her status, she could become a secondary wife. Although a secondary wife is nominally a concubine, who dares to say that a dignified Princess Yongqing is a concubine? Moreover, if the Emperor agrees to her request, Rongyan will certainly be demoted to a concubine as well."
Xie Chengzhi smiled, a smile that bore a striking resemblance to that of the Marquis, which was why Wang Shi was quite familiar with him. His smile carried a hint of sarcasm.
"Mother, do you really think that this marriage between me and the Rong family was truly arranged because you received guidance from Lord Zhao and obtained the auspicious birth dates for a marriage to bring good fortune?"
Wang's heart skipped a beat. She covered her mouth to hide the shock on her face. "You...you mean?"
“Although you have never been interested in court affairs, as the mistress of the house, you should have some knowledge of the current status of the Marquis’s mansion in the court. The Emperor will absolutely not betroth Princess Yongqing to our Runan Marquis’s mansion. You should give up on that idea as soon as possible. Besides, there was never any possibility between her and me from the very beginning.”
Wang's face turned deathly pale. Could it be that from the very beginning, the celestial phenomena and the auspicious birth charts mentioned by Lord Zhao of the Imperial Observatory were all instructed by the Emperor?
Wang's face was very unpleasant. She seemed to want to say something, but hesitated for a long time before finally speaking softly when she saw Xie Chengzhi close his eyes and remain silent. "After all these years, are you still resenting me?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Chengzhi slightly lifted his lowered eyes and looked at Madam Wang again.
Madam Wang's face was stern. "I know you must resent my strictness towards you since childhood, which is why you're so cold to me. I want to tell you something from the bottom of my heart: I don't regret it, not even if I could do it all over again. As the eldest son of the Marquis's family, you should know what you're carrying. You shouldn't blame me for being strict with you; in fact, you should be stricter with yourself..."
Before Wang could finish speaking, Xie Chengzhi suddenly interrupted, a sly smile spreading across his face. "Mother, my chest hurts and I need to rest. Please go back."
Wang looked somewhat dejected; over the past few years, Xie Chengzhi had become increasingly estranged from them.
She had clearly seen on his face that he wanted to continue listening to her, so why did his expression suddenly change?
When Wang left the courtyard, she ran into Rong, who was waiting in the front yard.
Rong Yan was bending over and dipping her hand into the golden lotus pond. The exposed part of her skin was fair and her face was like a lotus flower. The gentle light of the setting sun poured over her, and her skin was so delicate that it looked as if it was dyed with a layer of gold.
Wang was somewhat stunned; she was truly exceptionally beautiful.
It seemed she was recalling the past, when she had waited for the Marquis to return in the same way. Who would have thought that there would be all sorts of concubines and mistresses in the future?
Wang's steps abruptly stopped, her face filled with bitterness.
"Don't blame me, you can only blame yourself for not sewing spring when you came."
As the setting sun slanted westward, a chilly spring breeze swept across the western courtyard, carrying away withered leaves and melancholy.
In the past few days, Rong Yan has only dined with the Xie family twice. The Marquis's newly acquired concubine is suffering from severe morning sickness, and after one meal, she made an excuse not to come again.
Her relationship with Xie Chengzhi seemed to remain unchanged.
She tasted his medicine every morning, and the two of them were very tacit, never mentioning Princess Yongqing.
Starting last night, Rong Yan noticed that the lights in the house were no longer on at night. Since he didn't mention it, she didn't ask about it either.
The blood-red layout inside the house was broken by Aunt Qiushi accidentally tripping and breaking the Bagua mirror. The water lily withered and died, which coincidentally destroyed the layout.
Since he woke up, the feng shui master hiding in the shadows has not made any further moves and has been very cautious.
Xie Chengzhi also had a younger sister named Xie Ningling.
After her wedding, she went up the mountain to observe mourning for her mentor, who was also Xie Chengzhi's teacher.
The Marquis's concubine, Lady Wang, has a daughter from her previous marriage, who is a year younger than Rong Yan.
Now that the Marquis's newly acquired concubine, Lady Zhou, is pregnant, she has naturally become the focus of attention. If she can give birth to a son, her status will be greatly different, and the Marquis will surely help her get out of poverty for the sake of the son.
After two of Wang's three biological sons died, Xie Chengzhi naturally became the eldest son, and the Marquis's branch of the family had no second sons.
Therefore, this concubine was extremely careful in the Marquis's mansion. Rong Yan even noticed that she had to use a silver bowl to hold her water.
Madam Wang was quite magnanimous, remaining silent about her actions and not showing any displeasure, which somewhat changed Rong Yan's impression of her.
Not having to eat with the whole family is also a happy thing for her.
After all, she had only recently entered the family, and her husband was still a stranger, let alone his family.
For the past three days, Rong Shu has remained confined to her residence and has not left.
Despite the severe slaps to her face, Xie Zhezhi never mentioned it when he saw her, nor did he ever show her any displeasure.
She couldn't quite figure him out; was he too deep in thought, or was he truly a refined and gentlemanly man?
On this day, as dawn broke, a sedan chair was parked in front of the Marquis of Runan's residence. A small bamboo plaque was hung on one side of the carriage, bearing the character "容" (meaning "to tolerate").
Duan was the first to emerge from the sedan chair, and the maidservant descended the wooden steps to help her down.
The maid stepped forward and knocked on the door of the Marquis of Runan's residence. "We are from the Rong family. We sent a letter to the Marquis's wife the day before yesterday."
Upon hearing that they were from the Rong family, the gatekeeper quickly opened the gate and had someone lead them to the inner courtyard.
This was the first meeting between the mothers of the two families after Rong Yan's marriage.
The Marquis of Runan's family was, after all, a powerful and wealthy household. Wang Shi was quite courteous in her dealings with people, so she did not heed Fang Mama's advice and deliberately put on airs, making Duan Shi wait for a long time.
Since the last banquet, Wang has grown even more fond of Rongyan, and has become even more courteous to Duan.
For the past month, whenever they went out to banquets, they would bring Rong Yan along and praise her everywhere.
This prompted other noblewomen to ask Rong Yan to help plan their banquets, but Wang Shi declined.
When he was about to meet the Duan family, his previous arrogance was gone.
Upon meeting, the two exchanged pleasantries for quite some time.
Finally, Duan explained his purpose.
"Congratulations to my son-in-law on regaining consciousness. He should have arrived earlier, but he was delayed. I hope Madam Hou will not take offense. I know very well how capable my wife is. I have come here today to bring you some joy. I have many talented women under my command. If Madam Hou does not mind, you can send a few to my son as his concubines."
Seeing that Lady Hou's expression changed slightly, Madam Duan quickly explained, "The Marquis of Runan's mansion is wealthy and powerful, so it must not lack talented people. My men have been trained for many years and not only understand men's hearts very well, but they are also knowledgeable in medicine. Lady Hou need not worry, they will definitely be able to completely cure the eldest son's health."
Duan was very perceptive; with just a word about pharmacology, she grasped the Lady Hou's thoughts.
As the spring breeze began to rise, the tender grass fluttered about, almost blinding the two of them.
Lady Hou, lost in her own thoughts, suddenly came to her senses.
"Mrs. Duan."
"Eh."
"The eldest son has only been married for a short time, and he wants to take a concubine. If this gets out, people will surely criticize him."
Madam Duan smiled warmly and patted Madam Hou's hand affectionately. "Madam Hou, we're all family, so I'll speak frankly. If... if Princess Yongqing were to marry into the family, would you still think the world would criticize us? I believe that if you wanted to, you would have many ways to prevent this mess from being thrown at the eldest son. I think it must be because my wife in the Rong family has not served her properly. Given her status, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Besides, it's her responsibility to produce an heir for the eldest son as soon as possible."
For some reason, Duan's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, and seeing the Hou's face growing increasingly gloomy, she suddenly stopped talking.
"Madam Hou, are you feeling unwell?"
As he spoke, he tried to place his hand on the Lady Hou's forehead to check her temperature, but she avoided him.
“Madam Duan, there is still no news about Rong Shu’s pregnancy. You can’t neglect her for the sake of this. You should pay more attention to her.”
Princess Yongqing had only been here a few days, yet she already knew about this matter; she was probably keeping an eye on the Marquis's residence as well.
Madam Duan naturally understood the Hou lady's refusal. Little did she know that it was precisely mentioning Princess Yongqing that made the Hou lady wary.
Marrying Rong Yan was a decision made in a moment of desperation. If she were to take a concubine so soon, Princess Yongqing would probably be the first to punish her.
If this drags on, it will become a matter between the Emperor and her. Isn't what she's doing now exactly what the Emperor wants?
However, after weighing the pros and cons, Lady Hou decided to dismiss the guests.
"I'm a little tired."
“Then I’ll go see Shu’er. By the way, if Madam Hou doesn’t want to arrange for the eldest young master to take a concubine so soon, why don’t I send those two maids to the mansion to serve as servants? They can also check on the eldest young master’s health from time to time.”
Lady Hou seemed to have heard a satisfactory answer, and then smiled, "How could I possibly accept this?"
"There's no need for formalities between us. They're just two maids who know a little about medicine. You should rest well. I'm leaving now, so don't see me off." With that, he stood up and said these words to the Lady Hou, who showed no intention of seeing him off.
Lady Hou smiled slightly and said, "Then I won't see you off. By the way, Lady Duan, I think you should visit the young mistress first. Although she is not your daughter, she holds a higher position in our Hou mansion than Rong Shu. In terms of rank, you should visit the young mistress first."
Madam Duan's face stiffened, but she forced herself to remain calm. This damned woman, she took two of her maids who knew pharmacology for nothing, and now she's putting on airs!
"It was my oversight, I'll go right away."
Duan never expected that the Lady of the Marquis would actually be so supportive of Rong Yan.
A mere concubine's daughter has now truly risen to prominence. Who could have imagined that the eldest son would wake up so quickly?
If they hadn't yielded to each other in the first place, how could Rong Yan have ended up in this marriage?
The more Duan thought about it, the more choked she felt. She gritted her teeth and pursed her lips, not daring to show her anger.
Once her daughter takes power, let's see if she still cares about hierarchy!
When Madam Duan arrived, she seemed quite at ease, but when she left, she appeared hurried. Whether she went to Qu Shen Yuan or not was none of the Lady Hou's business; even if she turned around and "forgot to go," what could the Lady Hou do to her?
On the day of her return visit, she did not return to the Rong residence, which already showed a lack of respect to the Rong family.
She did this for two reasons: first, for her daughter's sake, and second, to teach her a lesson.
Did she think she would be so magnanimous as to not hold her past actions against her at all?
Don't think that just because you've become the eldest daughter-in-law, you'll truly become the mistress of the Runan Marquis's mansion. That position will definitely belong to Shu'er in the future.
When Madam Wang saw that Madam Duan had gone to find Rong Yan, she turned to Li Mama and instructed her, "Don't gossip about the origins of these two maids to the young mistress. Just say that they were sent by her mother to take care of her eldest son."
"Is Madam worried that the young mistress is upset?"
Madam Wang pursed her lips and sighed, "I'm afraid she'll be like I was when I was young, intolerant of any wrongdoing. After all, she knows a bit about pharmacology, and keeping her around will be good for my eldest son."
"Yes, madam."
Have the palace sent any more invitations recently?
Granny Li shook her head. "No, ever since the eldest young master's wedding, the palace has not summoned anyone again."
"Alright, I understand." After hearing this, Wang looked preoccupied, and Li Mama didn't dare to ask any further questions, so she withdrew on her own.
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