In the quiet of the flower hall, Du Jingyi’s voice rang out with crystal clarity. “The sky is high and the sea is wide; there is always a place for me to stay. If Grandmother expects me to remain in this inner court and spend my life fighting other women for a scrap of affection, I am not willing.”
Old Madam Gu’s clenched fist slowly relaxed. “Are you truly unwilling?” she pressed, her tone suppressed.
“I am unwilling.”
“You will not allow it?”
“I will not allow it.”
The exchange was as sharp as a sword-clash, but the tension suddenly broke. Old Madam Gu burst into a hearty laugh, her eyes shining with genuine satisfaction. “Good! If your late mother-in-law, Yunhe, had possessed your courage, the East Garden would never have been suppressed so cruelly. If Madam Liu had your decisiveness, Ping’er would not have grown up so timid. One who stands by Shaoyu’s side must be like this!”
Du Jingyi breathed a silent sigh of relief. It had been a test. She realized then that her “tantrum” at lunch had been her salvation; by understanding her husband’s heart first, she had gained the strength to defy his grandmother.
Old Madam Gu pulled Jingyi to sit beside her, stroking her hair with newfound tenderness. “You were not chosen by my hand, so I was worried. I knew Shaoyu chose you, but I had to know if you had chosen him. If you could not even stand up to an old woman like me, you would never be fit to walk beside him through the hardships to come. Seeing your resolve… I am happy. This child has suffered enough; I hope your future is filled with sweetness.”
Now the misunderstandings cleared, the Matriarch told Jingyi to let Gu Xiaolang “recover” in solitude for a fortnight to clear her head. The two women shared a knowing smile, an alliance formed.
Later that night, in Xitang Courtyard, Shang Ji finally stirred from his wine-induced slumber. It was just past 1:45 AM.
“General, are you feeling better?” Jingyi asked, propping herself up. Though the scent of alcohol lingered, to her, it had become a familiar, intoxicating fragrance.
“I am fine,” Shang Ji murmured, though he insisted on changing the bedding so the smell wouldn’t disturb her pregnancy. As the maids relit the lamps and he washed, the couple found themselves wide awake. To pass the time, they sat by the dim light to play chess.
The game was a disaster. “Tomorrow I must find a master to teach me,” Jingyi grumbled as her pieces were swept away. “Losing to the General every night is truly tedious.”
Shang Ji chuckled, deliberately making a haphazard move to let her win. “You don’t need to fool me with such charity,” she teased.
“Perhaps you should ask Fourth Aunt Zhang to teach you,” Shang Ji suggested. “She studied under the great Master Li. In her youth, she was a fierce general in the Gu family army.”
Jingyi’s eyes widened. A female general! No wonder her Fourth Aunt possessed such a formidable capacity for wine and a gaze of cold steel. “If she is willing, I shall be a most diligent disciple!”
While the couple slept soundly into the dawn, trouble arrived at the gates of the General’s Mansion. Shang Yukuan, the Duke of Dingyuan, and his wife, Madam Wei, requested an audience with the Matriarch.
The servants were hesitant. They remembered the bitter history between the East and West Gardens.Still due to courtesy steward He hurried to Xu Lai Courtyard to consult the Old Madam, who was currently taking her morning porridge, served by Mama Qin and Gu Xiaolang.
“How dare the Duke show his face here?” Gu Xiaolang hissed, her eyes flashing with cold fire. “My aunt’s body was barely cold when he rushed to elevate Madam Wei. He has ignored Jinling for years, yet now he plays the filial son-in-law? Preposterous!”
Steward He agreed in his heart, but the final word belonged to the Matriarch. Old Madam Gu finished her meal with an indifferent calm. “Invite the Duke in,” she commanded.
This was the first time Shang Yukuan and Madam Wei had stepped inside the General’s Mansion. Madam Wei’s eyes roved over the exquisite furnishings of the mansion, her heart seething with envy. She suspected the gold bestowed by the Emperor had been poured into these walls—the very walls she had once hoped to control.
The Duke, however, was trembling. He had avoided his mother-in-law for a decade. “Let us go,” he whispered to Madam Wei, seeking her reassurance. “We must pay our respects.”
As they reached the main hall of Xu Lai Courtyard. Steward He’s voice rang out, pointedly omitting any noble title for the second wife: “The Duke has arrived! Madam Wei has arrived!”
In this house, there was only ever one Duchess of Dingyuan, and she had been a daughter of the Gu family.
The heavy curtain was pulled back by Mama Qin. Her expression was like a frozen lake as she stared at the man who had abandoned her late mistress’s memory. “Duke,” she said coldly. “Please enter.”Madam Wei moved to follow her husband into the warmth of the hall, but her path was barred by the unyielding figure of Mama Qin. The old nanny, usually the embodiment of serene service, stood like an iron gate, her face void of any warmth.
“The Old Madam has granted an audience to the Duke alone,” Mama Qin stated, her voice as sharp as a winter gale. “As for Madam Wei, please remain here.”
A flush of deep embarrassment burned across Madam Wei’s cheeks. She cast a look of tearful grievance toward Shang Yukuan. “Master… this is surely not appropriate. We came together to fulfill our filial duties. To be kept at the door like a commoner…”
Shang Yukuan shifted uncomfortably, his courage failing him under Mama Qin’s cold stare. “Mama Qin, this… she is my wife. To bar her entry is a bit much, is it not?”
“This old servant merely relays the commands of her mistress,” Mama Qin replied, her chin held high. “If the Duke has complaints, he may voice them to the Old Madam himself.”
Shang Yukuan, who had always felt like a shadow in the presence of the Gu family’s martial glory, dared not argue. He turned to Madam Wei with a helpless sigh. “Wait here a moment. I shall speak a few words to Mother-in-law and return.”
Madam Wei watched with simmering resentment as the heavy curtains fell shut. No one invited her to a side room; no servant offered a brazier. She was left to stand in the biting wind of the corridor—a deliberate, public humiliation for everyone to stare.
Inside, the transition from the freezing exterior to the nuange [warm room] was startling. Shang Yukuan felt the spring-like warmth immediately, though he could not fathom how a house in Sui’an could be so comfortable. He barely had time to marvel at the refined furnishings before he found himself standing before the Matriarch.
Old Madam Gu did not look up. She sat with regal poise, sipping her tea as if she were alone. Gu Xiaolang had already retreated behind a pingsheng [ornamental floor screen], as it was unbefitting for an unmarried daughter of the Gu clan to be seen by “outsiders.”
The silence stretched until beads of nervous sweat began to dot the Duke’s brow. Finally, he bowed low. “This son-in-law greets Mother-in-law. I trust your health is robust?”
Old Madam Gu set her cup down with a soft clack. “I am sorry to have troubled you, Duke. I am perfectly fine.”
Relieved by the response, Shang Yukuan hurried to fill the silence. “Mother-in-law, you must prolong your stay in the north. It would give me… and the children, Liu Lang and Xue Niang, more time to show you the respect you deserve.”
The Matriarch’s lip curled in a flicker of sarcasm. Since her daughter, the first Duchess, had passed, the Duke’s “filial piety” had withered like autumn leaves. He had once sent tributes to Jinling out of fear, but lately, those riches were reserved only for the Wei family’s prestige.
“Lord Duke,” she said, her voice cutting through his platitudes. “Speak frankly. There is no need for such empty formalities between us.”
Shang Yukuan’s face darkened, but he pressed on. “Mother-in-law, you jest. I heard the General’s Mansion has issued invitations for a welcome banquet on the 19th. Many of the Imperial kinsmen and high officials will attend. I thought… well, I thought I should bring the children to join the festivities. After all, we are one family.”
A look of disgust crossed not only the Matriarch’s face but Mama Qin’s as well. They saw through him instantly. He didn’t want a family reunion; he wanted to parade his other children—specifically his still-unmarried seventh son, Shang Qilang—before the elite of the capital, riding on the coattails of Shang Ji’s success.
“This General’s Mansion is not mine to command,” Old Madam Gu replied with a forced, icy smile. “If you wish to attend, go and beg Shaoyu yourself.” Her gaze turned piercing. “However, let me remind you: you and I are barely kin. As for those people from the Duke’s Mansion, do not even dream of involving them. I am old and my heart is frail; if I am provoked and turn this ‘good thing’ into a disaster, I fear the Shang family will not be able to bear the consequences.”
Shang Yukuan broke into a cold sweat. He had always been a man who yielded to pressure, cowed by the strength of his own son, let alone the legendary Matriarch of the Gu clan. “Mother-in-law, why such harsh words? We are all children of the Shang name.”
“Is that so?” Old Madam Gu stood, her white hair gleaming like a silver crown. “Let us debate that, then. How did your eldest son, Dalang, die? Why was Liu Lang raised by the Gu family? What life does Xue Niang lead under your roof? And Ping’er! Are they not all named Shang?”
Her voice rose with the authority of a general on the field. “Were it not for the life-saving grace your father once showed mine, would this old woman even breathe the same air as you? Marrying my Yunhe into your house was the only regret of my long life. You are unworthy to be a husband, and utterly unworthy to be a father!”
“If you have a shred of shame left, take that ‘new lady’ of yours and leave this instant. I can turn a blind eye to your existence for a time, but if you dare to bring the embarrassments of the Duke’s Mansion into this house to shackle Shaoyu, do not blame me for being impolite!”
Shang Yukuan collapsed to his knees, his face pale. “Mother-in-law, you have wronged me! Dalang was my firstborn; his death broke my heart, but life must go on. And Liu Lang… I sent him to the Gu family because he loved martial arts and I did not wish my own incompetence to hold him back!”
He looked up, his voice trembling with a weak defense. “And Xue Niang and Ping’er have grown up well! How can you say I have mistreated them?”