Volume One, Chapter 17: A Change in Temperament

The crowd dispersed, and a group of people was carried into the Xiahou Residence.

Xia Huaian lay on the bed but could not rest. Clutching a brush in his hand, he wrote furiously.

He could already foresee how those old officials would corner him in court tomorrow.

All of today’s troubles were caused by Xia Qianshan.

Wanning was no different. If she had refused the emperor’s summons as usual today, he wouldn’t be suffering like this.

The ministers wouldn’t have to write a ten-thousand-character memorial either; they should be blaming the Jiang family, not him. How could they be so blind?

After lying there for a long while, his waist and back began to ache.

“Wanning, my waist hurts,” he called out instinctively, staying still and waiting for someone to attend to him.

“Master, madam was frightened today and has already gone to rest,” the maid said cautiously, her eyes wary. Madam wasn’t resting at all—she was busy rectifying the household’s discipline!

In the past, the maid would have complained to the master, but this time was different.

Everyone had witnessed today’s events. Jiang had a foster father who fiercely protected her.

If even the Marquis of Anjing was beaten, how could the maids and servants stand a chance?

Xia Huaian was momentarily stunned, then frowned.

In the past, whenever he caught a chill, she would unfasten his clothes and personally tend to him, preparing medicine.

This was the first time she wasn’t by his side, and it made him somewhat uncomfortable.

Yet he paid it little mind—after all, there was still the gentle and considerate Qi’er.

“Where is Qi’er? Send her here.”

The maid’s eyes did not blink as she replied according to Shen Qi’er’s instructions, “Master, Miss Shen has also already gone to rest.”

Xia Huaian’s displeasure grew. “She hasn’t even been punished—how is she resting?”

“Perhaps she was frightened as well,” the maid said with a neutral expression but inwardly sneered. She wouldn’t come to tend to him anyway; after all, it was always madam who did this work.

Hearing this, Xia Huaian’s anger subsided considerably.

“Qi’er just gave birth and was frightened; her body surely can’t handle it.”

“Go call madam. How can a wife ignore her husband’s discomfort and rest herself first?”

The maid curled her lips in disdain—if the concubine couldn’t endure it, then madam certainly could?

She acknowledged and left, but soon returned with a hint of unease in her eyes.

“Master… madam said that if she feels unwell, she should call the doctor. But she… she is not a doctor.”

“Did she really say that?” Xia Huaian could not believe it. When had Jiang Guanning ever treated him so dismissively?

“After seeing the emperor, has her temper really changed?”

The maid was new but had quickly grasped the household situation.

The mistress was out of favor, lacked the official badge of status, was bullied by the matriarch, and overshadowed by the concubines. The master favored the concubines and their children.

After all these years, madam should have started resisting by now.

The maid couldn’t help but speak up for madam, “Perhaps she’s trying to vent her anger at the young master’s birth. As a mother, no matter the child’s faults, they are still flesh and blood.”

“The young master is the master’s own child. Would you bear to send him away as a child bride to another family?”

Bear to? That was his own flesh and blood—of course he wouldn’t.

Let alone Wanning, as a mother.

But as head of the family, he had to consider the long-term interests of the Xiahou household.

“I promised we could keep Qianshan, didn’t I? Besides, the emperor has already granted her the title of princess. Who would dare send her away now?”

“I’m already exhausted from dealing with court affairs every day. Can’t she show some understanding for her husband?”

Xia Huaian grew angrier the more he spoke, his dissatisfaction with Jiang mounting. “She’s the mistress, yet even Qi’er is favored over her!”

Seeing his expression, the maid smirked silently.

Jiang was completely unaware of this.

At that moment, she was purging the household.

Dozens of trembling maids knelt before her, most from Shen Qi’er’s and the matriarch’s quarters.

Jiang sat upright.

“Madam, please don’t sell us! We beg you!”

“Who knows what kind of hellholes other families are.”

“I’ve heard from sisters in other marquisates that if they displease their mistress, they get thirty lashes or are sold to brothels. Some are even beaten to death and thrown to the dogs. They don’t treat us like humans at all.”

“Madam, I don’t want to go.”

None of them wanted to leave. Inside Xiahou Residence, no one disciplined them. As long as they served Miss Shen and the matriarch well, they were rewarded handsomely. Life was comfortable.

Who wanted to leave this easy life for some wolf’s den?

Jiang cast them a cold glance.

These people had often stolen and pilfered.

Coal fires in winter and ice blocks in summer were scarce.

But what was sent to Biluo Courtyard was always shortchanged.

Nanny Yun secretly inquired and learned these people took their share and sent it to Bisheng Courtyard and the matriarch’s quarters just to curry favor and get rewards.

But those rewards came out of her dowry.

They gave them to Shen Qi’er and the matriarch—she could understand that. But they even dared to pocket the usual pastries for themselves!

She had let it slide before; now they had the audacity to stay on in the Xiahou Residence.

She hadn’t interfered before.

But the matriarch insisted it was a trivial matter, no need to fuss.

She also claimed Jiang was bullying the maids, and if word got out, it would disgrace the Xiahou family.

Over time, Jiang began to wonder if she was overreacting.

But when she saw a maid accidentally spill tea on Shen Qi’er and be chased out of the residence by the matriarch, she realized the petty grievances were only directed at her.

She had tolerated and endured for Xia Huaian’s sake.

Now, she intended to change and no longer endure.

Xiaomei glanced at Jiang. Seeing her assume the mistress’s airs and bully the maids, she felt indignant.

“Though madam is the mistress, she has no official badge and no authority to decide our fates, right?”

Nanny Li agreed, “That’s right! Even if she’s protected by the emperor, once the gates of Xiahou Residence close, she’s still the mistress here and must obey the matriarch!”

Afraid? Not in the slightest!

“Yes, madam, if you have grievances with us, why not wait until the matriarch wakes up?”

“Otherwise, if the matriarch finds out I’m gone, how will you explain?”

The two women—one Shen Qi’er’s personal maid, the other a long-serving attendant of the matriarch—felt emboldened, confident that with their backing, Jiang dared not lay a finger on them.

Jiang smiled coldly. “The Li family has recently lost many maids. You two have strong wills; you suit the task.”

Xiaomei and Nanny Li stared in disbelief. They hadn’t expected her to disregard Miss Shen and the matriarch and sell them off!

Moreover, the Li family was infamous as a living hell!

Those missing maids had all been beaten to death by their mistresses.

Xiaomei, used to shouting, ignored her words entirely.

She stood up, pointed at Jiang’s nose, and scolded, “You know what the Li family is like, yet you want to send us there. You want us dead!”

“We didn’t take proper care of you before, but wanting us dead is truly cruel!”

The others knelt silently, but their eyes held resentment, clearly agreeing with Xiaomei.

Nanny Li, maintaining her dignity, lectured, “Madam, the matriarch already dislikes you. You’d better not anger her further.”

“Be careful not to push the matriarch too far—she might really decide to dismiss you.”

Xiaomei snorted softly, “Why waste words? The matriarch has long wanted to divorce her and make Miss Shen the principal wife.”