Chapter 723 - 351 Mr. Qian and Yueniang_1
Within moments, the sedan chair arrived at the courtyard gate, and the puddles within the yard had been cleaned up by the maids. Cai Yue helped Qian Yixiu onto the sedan chair.
Today marked her first public appearance since becoming pregnant. She had reached the three-month milestone a few days ago and was supposed to pay her respects but bad weather had prevailed, prompting the oldest family member to send someone specially to tell her to rest comfortably in her courtyard.
After the rain, the weather was moist and fresh. Qian Yixiu opened the sedan chair’s curtain to view the scenery along the way. Under the bright light of day, droplets still fell from leaves, and birds that had stayed out of sight for days excitedly hopped and chirped among the branches.
In the distance, she saw Lady Lin’s maid walking toward the main courtyard with a small sedan chair.
It was only in the past few days that Qian Yixiu had learned of the potential crisis that might befall her household. Auntie Cui had already selected a concubine for Liang Jinzhao and was waiting for Qian Yixiu to be securely pregnant before sending her over.
She pretended not to know, thinking to see how Liang Jinzhao would handle the situation upon the concubine’s arrival. Although she fully trusted that Uncle Liang would not break his promise, she was curious to see how he would act. It was difficult; after all, the concept of polygamy was deeply ingrained in the men of this era.
Sometimes, Qian Yixiu wondered if she could be more straightforward in her speech had she been with Zhu Sujin? If angered, she might even tug on his ear without much consequence. But with Liang Jinzhao, even after establishing the closest of relationships, she still felt not as familiar and dared not to be too presumptuous.
Qian Yixiu harbored no end of scorn for mothers-in-law who forcefully provided their daughters-in-law with concubines – she considered it pathological. Misery endured themselves, they wished to inflict the same on another woman of the younger generation, to find balance in their bitterness.
She had originally held a measure of sympathy for Auntie Cui, recognizing the difficulty of her daily life and wanting to improve their relationship for Liang Jinzhao’s sake, yet Auntie Cui proved to be truly troublesome.
Though Qian Yixiu felt extreme discomfort internally, she continued to observe all the necessary social protocols and showed her respect, hoping to move Auntie Cui’s heart. If she couldn’t win her over and things did indeed fall apart later, Uncle Liang couldn’t blame her.
Indeed, just last night Liang Jinzhao had spoken to her about this matter, revealing that it was Maternal Aunt Qin who had suggested the ill-intentioned plan. He and his siblings had already convinced Lady Cui to make alternative arrangements for the girl and advised Qian Yixiu to chat more with Lady Cui when she had the opportunity, both to foster a better mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship and to lessen the chances of Lady Cui being instigated against.