Chapter 475 - 475: Doting on a Concubine and Ignoring a Wife
Yu Jianjia lowered her eyes and said gently, “It turns out that Mother is seriously ill, and all the family matters are reliant on Eldest Sister. She’s not much older than me, but she’s busy every day. I’m very worried) so I’m not in the mood to go to the manor to recuperate.”
At this point, she sighed faintly, looking a little ashamed.
“Third Miss, don’t let your imagination run wild. Everyone at home is looking forward to seeing you well.” Although she said that, Seventh Aunt agreed deeply. Previously, Yu Jianjia’s illness was serious, so she had gone to the manor to recuperate. It could be said that she had no choice.
However, now that her health had improved a little, Old Madam was old. As her granddaughter, she had to be filial to her.
Her mother was seriously ill. Although she couldn’t sit by the side and attend to her illness, she should go over every now and then to take a look and show her concern.
It was also difficult for Eldest Sister to manage the family. As her younger sister, even if she couldn’t help much, she should do what she could.
Only filial piety, virtue, respect, and deference could truly show everyone’s upbringing.
However, Yu Jianjia did a good job.
Although Second Madam Yao had not asked her to interfere in the banquet in the residence earlier, Yu Jianjia was good at tending to flowers and plants. She had also brought along the maidservants and old maids in the courtyard to arrange the flowers in the residence.
At the banquet, she received a lot of praise from the madams.
Later on, Second Madam Yao and Old Madam Yu were also very satisfied.
Yu Jianjia forced herself to perk up and smiled. “I know that Grandmother and
Eldest Sister dote on me, but I can’t help but feel a little ashamed. Fortunately, Concubine Qiu is pregnant and helped Eldest Sister manage the household, so I’m much more at ease. It’s just that there are too many people in the capital, so it’s more peaceful to raise flowers in the manor.”
Her words were very beautiful, but there was a faint sarcasm in them that only she knew.
After the imperial examination, all the families in the capital were holding banquets. Yu Youyao and Madam Yao attended some of close families that valued etiquette.
The other banquets were all held by Concubine Qiu. She used the excuse that Eldest Madam Yu was seriously ill and Old Madam Yu was too old to attend.
She thought of her mother, the first wife, being locked up in Tranquil Heart Residence. She was a concubine who was not presentable, but she was pregnant and was stepping on her mother’s face to call the shots in the Yu Residence!
How dignified and glorious!
Recently, Concubine Qiu preferred sour and spicy. There were rumors in the residence that
“Concubine Qiu’s child is definitely a male. Old Madam values Concubine Qiu so much. If Concubine Qiu really gives birth to a boy, she might even be able to become a noble concubine!”
“Although she will still be a concubine, her status is much higher. When the time comes, it’ll be more logical for her to manage the family and go out.”
“Concubine Qiu’s status will be high because of her son. Her glorious days are yet to come…”
“…”
Hearing these rumors, Yu Jianjia made an excuse to visit Yu Shansi and said a few words.
Initially, she had also felt that in the past, Yu Shansi was her father’s only son and had obtained all his father’s love. Now that there was another person to share her father’s attention, no matter who it was, they would probably feel the difference.
Unexpectedly, Yu Shansi said, “Grandmother told me that I’m Father’s only legitimate son and the eldest. No one can surpass me. However, as the legitimate son, I should take on the responsibility of prospering the family like Big Brother. I should also show the demeanor of the legitimate wife like Eldest Sister.”
Yu Jianjia felt a lump in her throat and understood how powerful Old Madam was.
Her mother was locked up in the Tranquil Heart Residence. It was her father and Old Madam who were raising Yu Shansi.
Yu Shansi had just turned seven years old and was at the age of being influenced. He treated his elders’ words as the truth, so it was impossible for him to be on her side anymore.
Yu Shansi thought that Third Sister was worried about him, so he came over to comfort him. “Third Sister, don’t worry. No matter if Concubine Qiu’s child is a boy or a girl, she’s still my sister. I’ll also do my job as an elder brother. Don’t worry about me. Just take care of yourself.”
These words were simply heart-wrenching. Yu Jianjia’s expression changed and she said, “In that case, study hard. I won’t disturb you anymore.”
Since they couldn’t be united, she shouldn’t embarrass herself in the future.
Fortunately, she and Yu Shansi were from the same mother, so in terms of relationship, they were closer than the others in the residence. As long as Yu Shansi’s title as the legitimate son lasted, her future as his sister would not be bad.
In the future, if Yu Shansi became successful, the benefits of being his sister would also come.
However, just the thought of watching a concubine dance and show off in the residence all day made her feel disgusted!!
Yu Jianjia did not want to stay in this disgusting place for a moment.
Since Yu Shansi couldn’t be on her side, there was no need for her to stay in the residence anymore.
As she thought about it, Yu Jianjia continued, “Although it’s not very appropriate for a young miss like me to always live in the manor, Imperial
Physician Hu said that the younger I am, the easier it is for me to recover from my illness. I thought that since I’m still young, I should quickly recuperate so that the family won’t always worry. In the future, when my body recovers, I can often be filial to my elders and share Eldest Sister’s burden.”
These words were said righteously and well-mannered.
Anyone who heard this would think that she was sensible and considerate.
“Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll go look for Old Madam later and mention it to her. How to convince her will depend on you.”
Seventh Aunt did not persuade her. Her body was hers. How she recuperated depended on herself.
Although she used the title of a clan aunt to take care of Yu Jianjia’s daily life and would usually teach her some principles of managing the household and handling matters, she would not interfere with Yu Jianjia’s decisions.
Old Madam Yu did not want Yu Jianjia to blame her in the future.
As an aunt who was a few branches away, she was even more unwilling.
Yu Youyao had also heard some rumors about Concubine Qiu in the residence.
This matter concerned children. This matter was neither big nor small. Concubine Qiu had gained power in the residence as a concubine, so it was inevitable that the servants would think they were smart by currying favor.
Yu Youyao thought for a moment before going to An Shou Hall to talk to her grandmother.
When Old Madam Yu heard this, her expression darkened. “I knew it. A concubine is a concubine. If word gets out that a concubine is helping to manage the household, people will think that our family has gone crazy. They would think we would promote a concubine to not be suspected of pampering her and ignoring a wife.”
Yu Youyao held her teacup and said nothing. This was the reason why she had mentioned this to her grandmother.
Old Madam Yu turned to look at Nanny Liu and said word by word, “Tell Concubine Qiu that a true aristocratic family doesn’t have such messy things as noble concubines and equal wives. Concubines are only capable of helping a family that has lost their morals. Tell her not to use them as a tool to test me anymore..”