Shen Xiangwan pondered for a while, then said boldly,”I suppose that perhaps the Lady wants to help the Seventh Master, her youngest and dearest son. After all, he is still young.”
Yixuan’s eyes kindled with amusement, but her facial expressions remained neutral as she turned around and asked Ruyue.
“Little Yue, what do you think? Why do the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth wives seem to be favoured by the Duke, but didn’t get the right to be the head of the house? As for the Duchess’s courtyard, isn’t it wrong to appoint someone from her courtyard to be in charge of the Duke’s mansion even though she had made a mistake? Why would the favour fall into the Second Lady’s courtyard? You see, the third, fourth, and fifth wives are also worthy opponents of the Second Lady, and they went to great lengths to earn their places. But so far, the Second Lady’s people prevail in their positions as the in-charge of Duke’s mansion!"
Ruyue frowned, and then lowered her head to think for a moment before answering, “I think, I agree with what Xiangwan said, that the Second Lady was favoured. Moreover, it could also be that her power is growing stronger. Before this, I heard that her family was not significant at all. But now, she had relatives who work in the salt bureau, and some are respectable priests. Of course, the Elder would not want to offend such a prominent family."
Yixuan nodded. "So you think the reason she remained in power is because of her family supporting her!"
"Yes, Mama Yi."
Shen Xiangwan shook her head. "I don't agree. In my opinion, she indeed had power. However, the Third Lady had a cousin who lived in the palace. Rumors say that she had given birth to a little prince two years ago. A Second Lady who gave the Emperor a prince can be regarded as a significant figure, and her family would also be seen as respectable people. But why is it that even though the Third Lady, who has worked so hard, still hasn't gotten control of the mansion? Probably because the Elder was biased towards the Second Lady. However, in the end, he still wants his beloved seventh son to lead the mansion."
Yixuan stared at Sheng Xiangwan’s serious expressions and raised her eyebrows. "Why are you so sure that the Second Lady is just a puppet used by the Elder to help his son?"
"Because she is by far the Lady with the least children. Although she gave the Duke a son, despite him being treated with various medicines throughout the years, the son has always remained in bad health. Besides, she is also a jealous woman. She did not have many maids in her courtyard, so none of them could provide her a child either."
"But the Second Lady is still young, so she should be able to reproduce. Or else who would inherit the family business?"
Shen Xiangwan nodded her head certainly.
"Do you really think that Lady Bing came to this mansion to treat Lady Mei? Haha, don't be silly, rumors say that Lady Mei was chosen by the Second Lady to serve the Duke. She has been in contact with the Second Lady ever since she moved into the mansion, so what does this mean? Some things needed to be kept secret. It’s not a coincidence that Lady Mei invited Lady Bing this time. Based on what I’ve seen, I think the Second Lady is pregnant."
Yixuan was shocked to hear that, and she nodded. "Atta girl! Although you are young, you managed to see through everything clearly. Yes, your analysis is correct. The Second Lady is indeed related to Lady Mei. It’s not just because they are best friends, but because Lady Mei was picked by the Second Lady. She depended on her, and their relationship was purely beneficial. This time, Lady Mei helped the Second Lady to invite Lady Bing over. I believe she is indeed pregnant. But because she’s pregnant, she’s been very cautious. Too wary, in fact, of all the things that were happening in the mansion. Someone was behind all these incidents, and of course, she knew about it. However, she never suspected the Elder. However, we cannot assume that the Elder was behind all this before the truth gets revealed. It depends on whether she can successfully give birth or not."
Ruyue's eyes darkened when she heard it, and then she sighed softly, "Mother, the politics in the backyard is really... violent."
"Silly girl, aren't we all familiar with these things? I also learned a little bit about the politics of the backyard before. As Xiangwan said, if the Second Lady miscarried, she might not be able to get pregnant anymore. At that moment, she would lose her status completely."
The three stared at each other, and they saw the fear in each other's eyes. The Elder was the most terrifying thing in the mansion! Although he always kept a friendly grin, he was in fact a dangerous man.
Meanwhile, as Yixuan and the girls were busy speculating about what happened in the mansion, Lady Ji, the Second Lady, who was now in charge of the mansion, was stroking her belly anxiously.
Although she was married to the Duke for a long time, and they genuinely liked each other, she only gave birth to a frail and sickly son.
She was the head wife of such a prominent family, yet she had provided the Duke with a weak son.
"Madam, here is the list of various gifts that the mansion ordered recently, as well as the various arrangements made by the Elder and the others."
"Let me see."
As the head wife, she had to take care of a lot of matters. As she glanced through the list, she spotted a few errors and raised her eyebrows angrily.
"Here, bring Madame He to me. I would like to question her. She has been handling the bird's nest for so long, yet why did it suddenly become so expensive?!"
"Also, look at this, I remember that I already purchased these things in the first half of the year. Why does the Elder want to buy them again?"
"Why are there so many gift orders from the Duchess’s house and the Third Lady’s house?"
......
After pointing out the errors, Lady Ji felt that her stomach hurt a little. However, she was unwilling to give up her power. She thought that if she surrendered her rights because of her pregnancy, it would be extremely difficult for her to take back her throne after that. Especially when the fifth wife, who has been eagerly waiting for her throne. She did not dare to relax. Moreover, she didn't tell the Elder about her pregnancy yet.
"My Lady, these things were ordered by the Elder, what else can I say?"
"Besides, the Second Master also agreed to purchase the paintings and calligraphy for the third wife. He said that they belong to the brothers, so he couldn’t delay the purchase."
"The Duke’s fourth daughter in the main house has been feeling ill recently. I’m her servant, so I cannot ignore her condition and not call the doctor. Due to her illness, the expenses also increased."
After listening to the various excuses from the maid, Lady Ji’s stomach hurt even more.