Chapter 40 Wang's Heartache
On the wall of the inner room of the Crown Prince's wife, Wang, hung a picture of Guanyin sitting down. In the middle of the long table next to the bed stood a three-legged incense burner made of cloisonné enamel, from which the scent of sandalwood wafted.
"The young master went to the garden?" Wang was lying on the bed, and Mother Guo was gently massaging her legs.
"Yes, I went to Aunt Wan's room." Hua Rui said softly.
After hearing this, Wang tightly closed her eyes, and her already pale face looked even more haggard. Mother Guo sighed in her heart, what kind of thing is this, the concubines asked the maids from her own courtyard to serve the prince, and they did not ask the prince's wife for permission beforehand, and did not explain the situation afterwards, and the prince just let those concubines run around like this.
Thinking about the Huainan Marquis's Mansion, the Crown Prince's wife was alone, her family could not help her, and the two sons married and lived their own lives. Especially since Meng Shao married Liu's niece, during the past month or so, while Song was not in the mansion, she helped Liu to target Wang openly and secretly, and put Wang, the proper mother-in-law, aside. This was because she was resentful of Wang's opposition to Meng Shao marrying her.
"Madam, don't worry anymore. You've been working so hard these days. I see that you've lost weight. To be honest, even for the sake of the Fourth Young Miss, you have to take care of your body." Mother Guo stopped her hand, picked up the medicine that Hua Rui handed over, blew on it gently, and put it to Wang's mouth.
Hua Rui helped Wang up, and Wang drank the medicine from Guo Mama's hand. When Guo Mama wanted to give her some candied fruit, Wang waved her hand and said, "You're right. I'm just taking care of Sister Qi now. I think this broken body should be able to hold on for another three or four years. By then, I can always see Sister Qi get married."
When Mrs. Guo heard this, her eyes reddened, and she recalled what the prince said a few days ago when he stood in the room with a cold face. "You are the daughter-in-law, and the eldest daughter-in-law. Everyone has health problems. Mother has been in the West House for so long, but you didn't even ask and didn't go. Instead, you let the eldest daughter-in-law do the filial duty for you. This time when mother is coming back, you have to go to pick her up, or your daughter-in-law will follow suit in the future."
Wang felt like vomiting blood. She didn't go because Master Fang Zhi had told her that Jiang was the only one who could enter the mansion. Second, because Aunt Wan secretly gave her maid a face, she only reprimanded her when she was paying her respects, and Meng Yuan got angry and fell ill. She is still taking medicine.
At this time, he blamed himself again, as if he was unwilling to serve his mother-in-law and let his daughter-in-law do it, and he was lazy. What was this? Wasn't it because his father committed a crime and was forced to retire, and his brother was also implicated and far away from the center of the court.
Humph, the whole family is ungrateful. They have completely forgotten how they grovelled when they asked for my hand in marriage. If I hadn't been married, how could the emperor's incident back then have been easily exposed? Now, it's all my fault. Thinking about how my eldest son Meng Shao married Liu's niece Jiang despite my opposition, the people in the first house are leaning towards the second house. They act like white lotuses in front of others, but secretly let their sons get closer and closer to me.
"Madam, please don't make Fourth Miss feel bad. Even if Fourth Miss gets married, she still needs your support in her natal family. Our Fourth Miss is marrying into the Prince's Mansion, and she will need Madam's help in the future."
Wang took a sip of tea, spat out the medicine residue in her mouth into the basin, and said quietly: "I don't know whether the marriage I arranged for Sister Qi was the right one. Sister Qi is like this now. Oh, it's my fault. I indulged her too much, and she became naive and ignorant. She won't give in to Brother Lang. When she enters the Prince's Mansion in the future, and it's such a complicated family, I'm really worried."
"I'm going to say something I shouldn't say. The way the Fourth Miss treats Young Master Lang is because she's angry at the way the First Young Madam treats her. Why doesn't the Fourth Miss treat Miss Tian like that?"
Tianjie is the eldest daughter of the third young master Meng Wei.
"The fourth young lady is just young and has not experienced anything. Didn't you say a while ago that you would let her follow you and learn how to manage the household next spring? With the fourth young lady's intelligence, it shouldn't be a difficult task. Then arrange a few smart maids and experienced women to be around her, and there would be nothing to worry about."
Wang nodded and lay down again. "I don't have any other thoughts now. If they want to manage the household, let them do it. If they want to compete for favor, let them compete. Just don't offend Sister Qi. When Sister Qi marries the Zhou family safely, I will be happy even if they send me to the temple."
"Madam, what are you talking about? You..."
"I often wonder if my sister Wan blames me for not protecting her well, causing her to die at such a young age..."
"No, no, you don't want that. Everyone knows how much you loved the Second Miss. It was an accident, dear Madam, don't think about it anymore. The Second Miss's spirit in heaven would not have the heart to watch you torture yourself like this."
Mother Guo's tears were already falling at this time, thinking of the cute little girl who passed away so early, "Besides, you have copied so many scriptures, recited so many scriptures, and made so many wishes over so many years. The second young lady must have been reincarnated a long time ago."
Wang smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, my sister Wan is so lovable. She will definitely be born into a good family even if she is reincarnated. She will definitely not be as careless as me, letting her daughter have such an accident for the sake of the favor of that illusory man. I just thought that when sister Qi gets married and I am no longer needed, I will go to Xiangyun Temple and accompany my poor daughter every day."
Wang's first daughter was named Meng Wan. She was less than three years old when she passed away. She was placed in Xiangyun Temple, where Wang spent 20% of her time every year.
"Madam, don't think about it anymore. Take good care of yourself. You will have to take care of many things in the future."
"Through the illness of the Marquis this time, I have figured it out. Jiang's help to Liu is nothing more than the power of the housekeeper. In fact, all the housekeeper's affairs of the Marquis's mansion have fallen into their hands. What do I have in my hands? I might as well take this opportunity to hand them over and let them fight. I will be happy and at ease. No matter what, as long as I have my eyes open, I am the wife of the prince of Huainan Marquis's mansion, the eldest sister-in-law of Liu, and the mother-in-law of Jiang. I want to see if they can still love each other after giving them all the power. Now there is Liu, she is not an easy person to deal with. The whole family, young and old, live by the third child's face. Haha, it's really funny."
Mother Guo thought about it and agreed with Wang's idea. Although Wang was the wife of the prince of the Marquis's mansion, she was in charge of the household and was the mistress of the house. However, the important matters were always in Song's hands. For more than 20 years, Wang couldn't get involved. As for the rest, Liu and Jiang kept watching them, and they scratched a lot of them, big and small. Now the prince's wife only had those few pairs of cards and the prospects of the banker.
If anyone came to take the cards, could Wang Shi refuse to give them to them? How much would Wang Shi report on the farm? She could verify it herself. So, it was better to pay them. She would not lose her food and money. After all, the two sons of the prince were born to Wang Shi, even though the eldest son's heart was not with his mother.