Chapter 113: The Distinction Between Wife and Concubine

It wasn’t twice, but three times. Yet even with the extra visit, Aunt Hua’s surprise did not lessen. There was little difference between two and three times—especially the third time, when Young Master Qi had brought her to the An residence. They had only just met; it was hardly worth counting.

Aunt Hua looked at An Yi’s clear, delicate face, a flicker of complex emotion passing through her eyes. It was undeniable that the young lady before her was exceptionally beautiful. It was only natural that Young Master Qi would take a liking to her. But to fall for her after only two or three meetings—wasn’t that rather sudden?

Well, matters of the heart couldn’t be measured by speed. Yet if Young Master Qi was smitten with Miss An, that might be understandable. But why was Young Master Si also so taken with her?

Young Master Si had known Miss An for many years, so it made sense for him to care for her. But Young Master Si was gentle and sincere, while Young Master Qi was cold and aloof—the two had entirely opposite temperaments and tastes. Why then did they both fix their eyes on the same young lady?

A heavy weight settled in Aunt Hua’s heart. Could it be that Miss An had employed some kind of enchantment to beguile the two young masters? She glanced again at An Yi, seeing her hands calmly resting on her knees, her expression serene and composed, her eyes pure and unblemished. Immediately, she dismissed the thought. Despite the brief acquaintance, Aunt Hua’s keen judgment told her that this young lady was not the type to manipulate others through charm or deceit.

Aunt Hua sighed quietly, suddenly recalling something: Why had Young Master Qi, who had just returned to the capital a few days ago, left so abruptly without any warning? Had he sensed Young Master Si’s feelings for Miss An and, unwilling to let brothers come to blows, insisted on leaving despite Young Master Si’s objections? If Young Master Qi had already stepped back to give way to Young Master Si, then why stir trouble? It would be best to abide by his wishes and drop the matter, lest it breed resentment in Young Master Si’s heart and ruin his favorable match with Miss An.

An Yi sat sideways beside Aunt Hua. Though Aunt Hua masked her emotions well, her flickering gaze did not escape An Yi’s sharp eyes. Her silence too aroused An Yi’s curiosity.

An Yi did not disturb her. Instead, she focused and recalled the earlier conversation, frowning slightly. Why had Aunt Hua asked when she first met Han Songyan and Bai Wuming? What was the significance of her acquaintance with them?

Before she could ponder further, Aunt Hua had composed herself and asked, “Miss An, how many maids do you have?”

“I have four—Fang Rong, Xiang Qin, and the newly purchased Xing Ren and Tao Ren,” An Yi quickly recovered from her thoughts and, seeing Aunt Hua restored to normal, was surprised but followed the conversation, diverting the topic.

“You have too few attendants; you should add more,” Aunt Hua advised.

“Four are enough. There’s no need to increase their number,” An Yi said, disliking too many people following her around.

“Miss An, some appearances must be maintained.”

“My family’s circumstances are such. There’s no need to put on a show for outsiders,” An Yi replied with a calm smile, unwilling to feign grandeur.

“Miss An, please consider this matter carefully before deciding,” Aunt Hua said gently, not pressing her further. After all, she was an outsider; some matters could only be hinted at.

“I’ll think about it,” An Yi replied casually, not taking it to heart.

Aunt Hua lowered her head and sipped her tea. Just as she was about to speak again, Xiang Qin entered and bowed, “Miss, the hour grows late. For lunch, shall we go to the Jingli Garden to accompany Madam, or have the meal sent to Mingzhu Pavilion?”

“Send it to Mingzhu Pavilion—I’ll dine with Aunt Hua,” An Yi said.

“Miss, you mustn’t do that. Though you hold me in high esteem and grant me such great honor, I am but a servant. I cannot sit at the same table as the mistress,” Aunt Hua rose to protest.

“Aunt Hua, though you are a servant, you have taught me so much—you are like a teacher to me. Why can’t I dine with you at the same table?” An Yi smiled.

“I have come to the residence twice only at Young Master Si’s arrangement, merely following orders. Your gratitude humbles me. Please, Miss, allow me to eat downstairs. If you wish to show kindness, perhaps grant me two dishes,” Aunt Hua said, hoping An Yi would remember Han Songyan’s kindness and not disappoint Young Master Qi’s efforts.

Seeing how much she cared about the servant-master distinction, An Yi did not press the matter. “Xiang Qin, ask the steward to come and accompany Aunt Hua for the meal, and have the kitchen prepare two extra dishes she likes.”

The steward of the An household was known as Guan Erjia. Having her accompany Aunt Hua was very appropriate.

An Yi left Xiang Qin, Xing Ren, and Tao Ren to look after Mingzhu Pavilion and took Fang Rong with her to Jingli Garden. On the way, Fang Rong whispered, “Miss, Madam Chang did not take Aunt Huang with her.”

An Yi had long suspected Madam Chang would not easily take Huang Shi away and was not surprised. “What did the mother and daughter say hiding in the room?”

“Madam Chang told Aunt Huang not to act rashly, to behave quietly in the room no matter what you do, to endure until she can convince you she harbors no ill intent, then find a way to deal with you. She said she would send two people inside to support Aunt Huang. She also said that even if you have the princess’s backing, it doesn’t matter—there is the noble consort and the Third Prince in the palace. Aunt Huang can rest assured that no one can bully her, and in time, she will repay you doubly for today’s humiliation.” Fang Rong focused on the main points, skipping over the curses Madam Chang and Aunt Huang had hurled at An Yi.

An Yi curled her lips into a cold smile. Huang Shi was confined in the courtyard, well-fed and served. Her life was little different from before, yet Madam Chang and Huang Shi treated it as an insult. If she did more, would Huang Shi truly obey Madam Chang’s orders and endure?

But what should she do?

An Yi lacked experience in this matter and didn’t know how to torment Huang Shi. After some thought, she decided to consult Aunt Hua in the afternoon to see if she had any good ideas.

After dining with Madam Luo in Jingli Garden and chatting for a while, An Yi returned to Mingzhu Pavilion and summoned Aunt Hua.

“Aunt Hua, please tell me how the ladies of the back chambers deal with those arrogant concubines,” An Yi requested.

Aunt Hua knew the An family had a noble concubine. Hearing this, she understood An Yi intended to deal with that concubine. Madam An was gentle by nature, and with An Yi soon to come of age and marry, a married woman could no longer meddle in her natal family’s affairs. If she didn’t find a way to remove the concubine now, Madam An would suffer greatly at the hands of that woman later.

“As I told you before, the relationship between wife and concubine is like that of cloud and mud. A concubine is half a mistress before the servants but a servant before the mistress. The primary wife need not lower herself to scold or mistreat the concubine. She only needs to set rules daily,” Aunt Hua explained.

“What kind of rules?” An Yi asked.

Aunt Hua hesitated. Young Master Si was good-natured, but he was still a man, and men having multiple wives and concubines was common. If she taught An Yi how to manage the concubine, and later An Yi applied the same methods to Young Master Si’s concubines, the back chambers would be far from peaceful. But if An Yi remained ignorant, she would suffer losses to the concubine, and peace would still be elusive.

An Yi, unaware of Aunt Hua’s concerns, thought she was searching for the right words and waited patiently.

“The concubine must rise before dawn to attend to the mistress—help her dress and eat. Aside from serving meals, she cannot leave unless the mistress permits. She must obey the mistress’s orders—to serve tea or water, copy scriptures, or do embroidery. At night, even if the concubine is in bed, if the mistress cannot sleep, she can summon her at any time. Even if the concubine returns to her room at midnight, she must rise at dawn to serve again without the slightest slack. If the concubine cannot endure and dies, that is her misfortune, unrelated to the mistress,” Aunt Hua decided to side with An Yi and spoke frankly.

An Yi frowned. These rules wouldn’t work; Madam Luo would never comply, and she couldn’t impose such rules on her father’s concubine. “Is there no other way besides setting rules?”

“There is—find a fault and send her away to a temple or estate outside the city. Once sent away, she cannot return,” Aunt Hua said plainly, indicating to An Yi that she could have Huang Shi sent away to eliminate future troubles.

An Yi’s eyes flickered. The Huang family had designs and would never accept Huang Shi back. Keeping her at home to torment was troublesome and unsafe; there was no guarantee she wouldn’t be betrayed. Sending Huang Shi away was a good plan. No matter the Huang family’s schemes, once Huang Shi was dead, relations between the two families would be severed. If the Huang family tried to send others later, it wouldn’t be so easy. She would have to find a good fault to send Huang Shi out of the residence.

Before An Yi could ask, Aunt Hua shared some excuses she had heard that primary wives used to drive concubines out.

An Yi listened attentively, full of emotion. To expel a concubine, the primary wife would try every conceivable excuse: theft, illicit affairs, harming offspring, framing other concubines…

Clearly, it was the man’s fault, yet women could only make life difficult for other women! One side would expel an old concubine, while the other welcomed a new one—an endless cycle of torment that never grew tiresome.

After explaining how primary wives dealt with concubines, Aunt Hua also described how favored concubines made life hard for the primary wife. In the back chambers, it was always one wind pressing against another; wives and concubines were mortal enemies, never able to coexist peacefully.

As Aunt Hua spoke, the afternoon slipped away. At the first hour of dusk, Han Songyan arrived punctually to escort Aunt Hua. An Yi had Fang Rong discreetly slip Aunt Hua a pouch containing fifty taels of silver as thanks for her candid advice.

After seeing Aunt Hua off, An Yi returned to Jingli Garden and chatted with Madam Luo. Soon, An Qing and the others returned.

The family dined together happily. An Yi gave a signal to An Kang. “Brother, I ate too much and feel stuffed. Will you accompany me for a walk in the garden to aid digestion?”

“Alright,” An Kang smiled. Even without the signal, An Yi knew he would never refuse her.

The siblings left Jingli Garden. An Yi took the lantern from Tao Ren’s hand. “You don’t need to follow us.”

“Sister, give the lantern to Brother,” An Kang reached out.

An Yi smiled and handed the lantern to him.

—End of side note—

Note: The power has yet to be restored; the cause is unknown, and complaints have been futile. This afternoon, I had to go to an internet cafe to retype and update. Hopefully, when I return home, the electricity will be back so I can publish another chapter.